Consumers

FCA’s review into how tech will reshape financial services warns about amplified risks of cyber-crime and fraudBusiness live – latest updatesMinisters have been urged to toughen the City regulator’s powers to protect consumers against the potential risks of AI, according to a landmark review.The Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Mills review, which looked at how AI will reshape financial services from 2030 onward, found that companies are already starting to shift from human-led activities towards AI-enabled services for everyday consumers. Continue reading...

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached new highs on Tuesday as investors extended a "risk-on" rally leading into the Independence Day 2026 holiday. • Technology stocks drove the growth, with chipmakers reporting their strongest three-month gains on record to close out the second quarter. • The rally was supported by new survey data indicating that consumers are recovering from previous energy shocks and feeling more confident about the broader economy.

• Premier Li Qiang chaired a State Council meeting focused on accelerating breakthroughs in AI, including the development of ultra-large computing clusters and the acquisition of high-quality data and talent. • The initiative highlights Beijing's strategy to drive growth through technology and exports to offset a significant slump in domestic consumer spending. • These high-level discussions serve as a precursor to a high-stakes economic growth assessment scheduled for the Politburo next month.

• Asian tech stocks plummeted on Friday, led by a 12% drop in SoftBank, following reports that Apple and Microsoft are passing rising AI chip costs to consumers. • Major semiconductor players were hit hard, with South Korea's SK Hynix and Samsung both falling over 4%, while Japan's Advantest and Tokyo Electron dropped 6% and 2% respectively. • The market volatility stems from growing fears that the escalating cost of AI hardware is squeezing the profit margins of Big Tech companies.

• India has emerged as the leader in AI adoption within the Asia Pacific region, according to the 16th annual Adobe AI and Digital Trends Report published on June 25. • A significant 60% of Indian consumers expressed a desire to build their own personal AI agents to manage complex tasks. • This trend highlights a shift toward "agentic AI," where systems move beyond simple responses to autonomously executing sophisticated workflows.

Fashion house pays tribute to Chinese style with its 75th anniversary catwalk show in Shanghai“New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Shanghai doesn’t even sit down.” For the British designer Ian Griffiths, who encountered this line in the New Yorker, it summed up why China’s biggest city was the right place to celebrate Max Mara’s 75th anniversary.“Max Mara is a product for metropolitan women, and it would be patronising to assume that a metropolitan wardrobe should be western-centric,” Griffiths said. Continue reading...

Data shows even if Iran war ends, shop price inflation on rise, while only 16% of firms left unscathed by conflictHigher prices could persist over the summer even if ceasefire talks between the US and Iran bear fruit, consumers have been warned, with economic shock waves likely to be felt “for many months to come”.Disruption to global shipping, coupled with soaring prices for energy and raw materials, have driven up costs for UK companies, with the impact already filtering through to prices paid at the tills, according to fresh inflation figures. Continue reading...

Cap of 20mph in towns and cities and 60mph on motorways would cut fuel demand and combat rising prices, IPPR saysBritain should lower speed limits for drivers as part of a package of measures to reduce the impact of the Iran war on consumers, a thinktank has said.Capping legal speeds at 20mph in towns and cities and 60mph on motorways would help reduce fuel demand and combat soaring oil prices triggered by conflict, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). Continue reading...

Case centers on glyphosate, pesticide used in Roundup and other products that has been linked to cancer in some studiesThe US supreme court will hear arguments in a key pesticide regulation case on Monday, setting the stage for a ruling that could weaken the ability of consumers to sue companies for failing to warn of product risks.The case centers on glyphosate – a weed-killing chemical used in the popular Roundup brand and numerous other herbicide products. The chemical has been scientifically linked to cancer in multiple studies, and was classified a probable human carcinogen by an arm of the World Health Organization in 2015. Continue reading...

Marine Conservation Society warns that fish numbers have reached dangerous point of declineConsumers should “completely avoid” buying UK-caught cod, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has said, as it warned that populations have reached a dangerous point of decline despite zero-catch recommendations.The MCS, an environmental charity, publishes a Good Fish Guide to help consumers and businesses make sustainable seafood choices. Continue reading...