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UK energy giant BP has removed chair Albert Manifold with immediate effect. The oil firm was reportedly concerned over allegations of "bullying" and "overbearing" behaviour. In a statement, the firm cited "serious concerns" related to "important governance standards, oversight and conduct." Senior independent director Amanda Blanc said BP's board had been "surprised and disappointed" to learn of "issues it deems unacceptable," adding that the firm "has taken decisive action." Senior independent director Ian Tyler has been appointed interim chair. Manifold, who joined BP in September 2025 as a non-executive director, was appointed chair the following month.

 

Financial Times

BBC News

Daily Mail

The Times

Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper has reported that the European Union is planning to hand Alphabet's Google the largest penalty it has so far imposed for a ⁠breach of its Digital Markets Act (DMA). The investigation is focused on concerns that Google favours its own services in search results and seeks to ensure compliance with local rules. "The changes we've already made to Search under the DMA represent the ​biggest downgrade in the product's history, creating a ​second-rate experience ⁠for Europeans to the benefit of a few self-interested complainants," a Google spokesperson said.

 

Reuters

Shell has faced off with climate activists at the Dutch Supreme Court over demands for legally enforceable emissions cuts. The Netherlands branch of Friends of the Earth, Milieudefensie, was seeking to convince judges that the London-based oil and gas giant has a duty to reduce its CO2 emissions to 45% below 2019 levels by 2030 to keep its net zero 2050 target on track. Shell argues that lawmakers, and not courts, should have the power to set limits on a company. The court is expected to make a ruling in the case in the first half of next year.

 

Bloomberg

AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law which allows him to deploy the military to overseas countries to aid Russian citizens who have been detained or face prosecution. Bloomberg says it’s not immediately clear in what circumstances the Kremlin would invoke the law, but its adoption comes as Western governments step up efforts to curb Russia’s so-called shadow fleet carrying crude oil. 

 

Bloomberg

The government says reforms to UK financial regulation will provide a £1.6bn boost to the City of London over the next decade by cutting costs for banks and encouraging more lending. The Financial Services and Markets Bill will modernise how the sector is regulated, and enable it to grow, the government said. Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Rachel Blake, said: "Our financial services sector is world-leading, creating jobs, boosting growth and firing up our economy in Leeds, Manchester, Edinburgh and London. This Bill will unlock even more growth in the sector, making red tape less burdensome to business and boosting protections for consumers – part of our plan to build a stronger and fairer economy."

 

Financial Times

GOV.UK

Europe’s dealmakers say uncertainty in Brussels is already complicating merger plans, as muddled messaging and policy squabbling within the European Commission clouds a promised overhaul of EU competition policy.

 

Financial Times

Bloomberg reports that countries at the United Nations are rewriting international tax rules to tax technology giants based on where their users are located rather than where they are headquartered. A draft tax proposal seen by Bloomberg could significantly increase how much tax companies pay, and where. The draft contains some protections to ensure jurisdictions where companies are headquartered continue to receive some revenue, and it proposes a cap on the share a source country can tax, and has safeguards to ensure companies are not double taxed.

 

Bloomberg

UK shop price inflation rose to 1.2% in May from 1% in April, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), as disruption linked to the Iran war and higher energy costs pushed up prices across the retail sector. Furniture, health and beauty products recorded some of the sharpest increases due to rising raw material and shipping costs, while food price inflation eased to 2.7%, its lowest level in a year. The BRC called on the government to help reduce pressure on retailers by cutting energy-related charges, taxes and regulatory burdens, after ministers reportedly considered supermarket price caps earlier this month. The figures come as broader UK inflation is expected to climb towards 4% in the coming months amid the ongoing energy price shock.

 

Reuters

Speaking virtually at a Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) conference in Sydney, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he was initially concerned about the impact AI would have on global employment ​levels, but believed the rapid development ‌and adoption of the technology would not lead to a global "jobs apocalypse." Altman said his executive team had been "roughly right" on the technological predictions made by OpenAI when it launched ​ChatGPT in 2022, but were "pretty wrong" on the social and economic implications. "I'm delighted to ⁠be wrong about this, I thought there would have been more impact on entry-level white-collar jobs being eliminated by now than ​has actually happened," Altman said, adding that he didn't think the human interaction required in ⁠many jobs ​would be replaced by AI. "I don't think we're going to have the kind ​of jobs apocalypse that some of the companies in our space advocate or talk about."

 

Reuters

A High Court judge has criticised UK law firm Pinsent Masons for misleading the court with submissions generated by AI. Judge Mark Mullen noted that a junior lawyer from the firm relied heavily on the technology, producing references based on "hallucinated" information. He also reprimanded two senior lawyers for inadequate supervision. Mullen said that AI can be "wholly unreliable" and should be used cautiously. Pinsent Masons has referred itself to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and has apologised to the court, noting that it is enhancing its oversight processes to prevent future issues.

 

The Times

Software tools that remove safety protections from AI models developed by tech giants are being used to create thousands of altered versions stripped of their original controls, according to tests.

 

Financial Times

Deutsche Bank analysis suggests that "job hugging" is on the increase, with UK workers increasingly hesitant to resign. The report indicates that a decline in vacancies means employees are increasingly unlikely to leave roles. Office for National Statistics figures shows that vacancies have fallen to 705,000 in the past three months, from a high of 1.3m in 2022. Jack Kennedy from Indeed notes that the jobs market "remains tough and has fewer opportunities," adding: "People are keenly aware of that fact. If you can, you're hunkering down. We've definitely seen more of a tendency towards job hugging."

 

The Daily Telegraph

Shinsegae Group chair Chung Yong-jin has issued a personal public apology after Starbucks Korea faced mounting criticism over a marketing campaign accused of mocking South Korea’s pro-democracy history. The retailer's subsidiary E-Mart owns the coffee chain in South Korea. The controversy centred on a May 18th “Tank Day” promotion tied to Starbucks tumblers, which critics said referenced the military crackdown during the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising. The campaign also used wording linked to the torture death of student activist Park Jong-chul, a pivotal moment in South Korea’s democracy movement. Chung said the company had “hurt the hearts” of citizens and accepted full responsibility for the incident.

 

Korea JoongAng Daily

Bloomberg

South China Morning Post