Business 24 April 2026 - 25 April 2026

LegalZoom Drops Ahead of Shareholder Meeting as AI Fight Hangs Over Stock
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LegalZoom Drops Ahead of Shareholder Meeting as AI Fight Hangs Over Stock

LegalZoom.com traded lower in premarket Wednesday, with the stock near $6.53 as investors prepared for the company’s annual meeting. Shares have had trouble translating stronger sales into better numbers on the bottom line. The latest price was off 14.5 cents from Tuesday’s close, giving LegalZoom a market cap near $1.16 billion. The timing sets the scene. U.S. markets are open as usual, and Nasdaq’s 2026 holiday list shows the next full day off is Juneteenth, June 19. LegalZoom’s shareholder meeting is scheduled for later in the day, not on a weekend or holiday.
June 3, 2026
IAG Fares Are Set To Rise As British Airways Owner Faces A Fuel Shock
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IAG Fares Are Set To Rise As British Airways Owner Faces A Fuel Shock

International Consolidated Airlines Group SA plans to hike ticket prices in response to climbing jet fuel costs, though the British Airways parent said it hasn’t encountered any supply disruptions so far. The company cautioned it was “not immune” to the broader impact from the Iran-war-driven spike in fuel prices. An IAG spokesperson added that the group is urging governments for more leeway on airport slots—crucial takeoff and landing rights airlines must typically use to retain—so carriers can operate more efficiently as expenses mount. The fuel pinch has broken out of the oil patch. Brent crude wrapped up Friday at $105.33 a barrel—up roughly 16% over the past week. Reuters, citing shipping data, reported just five vessels cleared the Strait of
April 25, 2026
Intertek Rejects EQT’s £8.3 Billion Takeover Bid as May Deadline Looms
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Intertek Rejects EQT’s £8.3 Billion Takeover Bid as May Deadline Looms

Intertek Group plc has turned down a sweetened £8.3 billion bid from Sweden-based EQT AB, sticking to its view that the private equity firm’s £54-per-share cash offer doesn’t fairly value the London-listed testing and certification group. The board rejected this latest proposal “unanimously and unequivocally” on Friday, according to a regulatory filing, after receiving the revised approach on April 21. The process moves forward, with EQT facing a 5 p.m. London deadline on May 14 to either confirm a formal offer or walk away—unless the UK Takeover Panel decides to grant more time.
April 25, 2026
Rio Tinto’s A$1.5 Million Cyclone Pledge Puts Pilbara Risk Back in View
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Rio Tinto’s A$1.5 Million Cyclone Pledge Puts Pilbara Risk Back in View

Rio Tinto is putting up A$1.5 million for Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services to assist communities hit by Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle—a move that comes after the storm knocked out some of the miner’s Pilbara iron ore logistics. The funds are earmarked for relief efforts, reconstruction, and longer-term resilience projects, the company said. The Pilbara’s significance runs deeper for Rio than just a regional concern — it's the backbone of the miner’s iron ore operations. Cyclones keep knocking shipments off course: back in late March, Rio said Cyclones Mitchell and Narelle together disrupted about 8 million tonnes of iron ore shipments. Still, the company stuck with its 2026 Pilbara shipment outlook, keeping the range at 323 million
April 25, 2026
GSK’s Jemperli Court Fight Just Got Tougher Before Q1 Earnings
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GSK’s Jemperli Court Fight Just Got Tougher Before Q1 Earnings

Tesaro, the GSK plc subsidiary, took a hit Friday when the Delaware Court of Chancery tossed out its claim that AnaptysBio had anticipatorily breached their Jemperli cancer-drug partnership. The court’s move leaves the door open for the larger licensing dispute to continue. It’s a tough moment for GSK. The drugmaker, listed in London, is set to release its first-quarter numbers on Wednesday, April 29, at 0700 BST. Investors want to see evidence that the company’s push into oncology and specialty drugs under Chief Executive Luke Miels is still driving growth.
April 25, 2026
BP PLC Faces Investor Revolt Before Meg O’Neill’s First Big Results Test
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BP PLC Faces Investor Revolt Before Meg O’Neill’s First Big Results Test

BP PLC’s fresh executive team faces its first-quarter results with a bruise: shareholders shot down two board-endorsed proposals at the annual meeting. That’s a jolt for Chair Albert Manifold and CEO Meg O’Neill, who are working to recalibrate the oil giant’s strategy. The vote shook up what would have been a straightforward AGM, turning it into a governance hurdle early on. The clock is ticking for BP. The company wants investors to buy into its strategy: shifting back toward more profitable oil and gas projects to boost earnings and trim its debt. But there’s pressure from some major shareholders, who are demanding greater transparency over climate risks and their own rights as shareholders.
April 25, 2026
Glencore’s South Africa smelter rescue now hinges on a fast Nersa ruling
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Glencore’s South Africa smelter rescue now hinges on a fast Nersa ruling

Glencore plc’s chrome business in South Africa is throwing its support behind efforts to accelerate regulatory sign-off on Eskom’s power-tariff relief proposal, as a key May 11 labor deadline looms over the bid to revive shuttered ferrochrome smelters. Time is tight: South Africa’s energy regulator Nersa published an April 22 call for stakeholders to weigh in—written comments, plus a public hearing—on proposed changes to Eskom’s negotiated pricing deals with Samancor Chrome and the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture. These negotiated pricing agreements? They’re custom electricity contracts struck with major power consumers.
April 25, 2026
Reckitt Benckiser Durex Headache Deepens as China Price Scare Follows Weak Quarter
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Reckitt Benckiser Durex Headache Deepens as China Price Scare Follows Weak Quarter

Reckitt Benckiser Group plc is under new pressure in China, with news of rising condom prices spreading quickly online. The viral warning has sparked chatter about stockpiling, hitting one of the company’s vital growth markets only days after it posted quarterly sales that fell short of forecasts. This issue is moving front and center after China and India gave Reckitt’s emerging markets results a lift in the first quarter. Durex sales in China, though, have stalled—condoms and contraceptive pills are now hit with a 13% value-added tax, pushing up prices throughout the supply chain. Karex Bhd, which makes more condoms than anyone and counts Durex and Trojan among its customers, says it may hike prices 20% to 30% if supply
April 25, 2026
Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Wins Fresh Europe SMR Deal as Czech Nuclear Bet Moves Forward
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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Wins Fresh Europe SMR Deal as Czech Nuclear Bet Moves Forward

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc’s small modular reactor business has entered an early works agreement with Czech utility ČEZ Group, kicking off groundwork for what would be the Czech Republic’s inaugural small modular nuclear unit at Temelín. The deal gives the British group another toehold in Europe’s nuclear scene. According to Reuters, the timeline for the first Czech SMR now stretches into the latter half of the 2030s, a slip from the previously floated mid-2030s target. This month, Rolls-Royce SMR made the jump from being just a contender to actually signing contracts in both Britain and the Czech Republic—finally putting its years-long reactor pitch into motion with site visits, permit filings, and supply-chain prep. Small modular reactors—SMRs—are designed for assembly line production,
April 25, 2026
RELX PLC Says AI Is Driving Growth. The Market Is Still Asking One Big Question
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RELX PLC Says AI Is Driving Growth. The Market Is Still Asking One Big Question

RELX PLC finished the week a touch stronger, with shares ticking up 0.45% to 2,701p on the sell side and 2,703p to buy, as the information and analytics giant stuck with its full-year guidance. Even so, questions lingered among investors about the impact of fresh artificial intelligence tools on RELX’s legal-data segment. The FTSE 100, for its part, slipped 0.75%. Timing’s playing a key role. RELX wants to make the case that AI isn’t just a challenge for LexisNexis—its legal research arm—but also a catalyst for growth throughout the group. On Thursday, the company reported a solid start to the year across all four divisions, reiterating its outlook for robust gains in both underlying revenue and adjusted operating profit. “Underlying
April 25, 2026
PLS Group Limited Starts A$38.1 Million-Backed Lithium Plant Trial as Battery Supply Chain Shifts
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PLS Group Limited Starts A$38.1 Million-Backed Lithium Plant Trial as Battery Supply Chain Shifts

Perth, Australia, April 25, 2026, 06:02 PLS Group Limited is kicking off commissioning of its lithium processing demonstration plant at the Pilgangoora site in Western Australia. The move comes on the back of up to A$38.1 million in government backing and an offtake agreement with China’s Ningbo Ronbay New Energy Technology. Managing Director and CEO Dale Henderson said the aim is to see if PLS can “capture more value” by advancing further down the lithium supply chain.
April 25, 2026
Telstra Group Limited’s AI Bet Has a New Number: 30% of Customer Queries
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Telstra Group Limited’s AI Bet Has a New Number: 30% of Customer Queries

Telstra Group Limited CEO Vicki Brady says artificial intelligence is now handling 30% of customer queries through the company’s website and app—a concrete figure that puts a number on the telco’s expanding use of the tech at the front line. The generative AI assistant, which generates responses and completes tasks based on data patterns, rolled out last November. It was added to Telstra’s app in March, letting customers request plan changes, adjust accounts, and troubleshoot issues. The timing isn’t incidental. Telstra wants to prove AI isn’t just for pilots or internal dashboards anymore; it’s moving into a core, high-traffic slice of operations, where labour costs, customer queues, and churn all collide.
April 25, 2026
Google’s $40 Billion Anthropic Bet Sharpens the AI Compute Race
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Google’s $40 Billion Anthropic Bet Sharpens the AI Compute Race

Google has committed as much as $40 billion to Anthropic, backing the Claude AI maker even as it squares off with Google in the AI race. The agreement lands $10 billion in cash immediately, valuing Anthropic at $350 billion, plus up to $30 billion extra if key milestones are met. Timing is crucial here, with the AI battle boiling down to a scramble for compute—chips, power, and data-center capacity to train models and serve users. Anthropic’s annual run-rate revenue just cleared $30 billion this month, a sharp climb from roughly $9 billion at 2025’s close.
April 24, 2026
BHP Group’s China Iron Ore Truce Comes With a Pricing Catch
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BHP Group’s China Iron Ore Truce Comes With a Pricing Catch

BHP Group Ltd will switch to a Chinese iron ore price index for its Jimblebar Fines product, settling a protracted dispute with China Mineral Resources Group, according to three sources cited by Reuters in a report published by Energy News. This pivot hands more pricing clout over BHP’s key iron ore product to China’s state buyer, following a stretch of procurement bans. China stands as BHP’s largest client, and iron ore is still the miner’s main source of cash, despite its ongoing push into copper.
April 24, 2026
United Utilities Group PLC’s £34 Million River Irwell Cleanup Comes With a Bill-Payer Test
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United Utilities Group PLC’s £34 Million River Irwell Cleanup Comes With a Bill-Payer Test

United Utilities Group PLC has kicked off water-quality projects topping £34 million across Bury, Prestwich and Whitefield, targeting the company’s promise to cut storm overflow discharges into the River Irwell and its tributaries. These overflow sites, designed to relieve pressure during heavy rainfall, have drawn scrutiny from regulators and locals alike. Timing is key here. Even as Ofwat’s 2025-30 price review is set to push customer costs higher, figures from the Consumer Council for Water reveal United Utilities’ average household bill jumping to £585 by 2029-30, up from £442 in 2024-25, excluding inflation.
April 24, 2026
ConvaTec Shares Drop Again as Wound-Care Warning Puts 2026 Growth Plan in Focus
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ConvaTec Shares Drop Again as Wound-Care Warning Puts 2026 Growth Plan in Focus

Convatec Group Plc dropped in London trading on Friday, putting the FTSE 100 medical-products company back in the spotlight. Investors are now sizing up its 2026 growth ambitions, with new signals of weakness emerging in certain segments of the wound-care market. Convatec shares finished the day at £2.21, down 1.69%—a steeper drop than the broader market. The closing price, according to MarketWatch, leaves the stock trading 29.05% beneath its 52-week high of £3.11.
April 24, 2026
Bunzl Shares Rise Again After Q1 Update: What the North America Rebound Means
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Bunzl Shares Rise Again After Q1 Update: What the North America Rebound Means

Bunzl closed 0.91% higher at 2,447 pence in London on Friday, chalking up a third consecutive gain. Investors stuck with the business supplies distributor after it reaffirmed its 2026 guidance in the latest first-quarter update. Shares have climbed 3.77% during the last five sessions and are now up 17.87% for the year, according to MarketScreener data. Bunzl is still working to win back investor confidence following turbulence in its North American business—the group’s biggest market. Reuters noted that soft demand and operational missteps in the region dragged on margins, while last year’s 2025 outlook downgrade and suspended buyback did nothing to help sentiment.
April 24, 2026
Tesco PLC Buyback Starts: £750 Million Return Moves Ahead as War Risk Clouds Grocery Outlook
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Tesco PLC Buyback Starts: £750 Million Return Moves Ahead as War Risk Clouds Grocery Outlook

Tesco PLC snapped up 415,797 shares for cancellation on April 23, marking the grocer’s second reported buyback since rolling out its new £750 million programme. Britain’s largest supermarket chain wasted little time resuming shareholder payouts after posting its annual numbers. The average price paid was 481.00 pence per share, according to a regulatory filing. The clock’s ticking for Tesco. The retailer is under pressure to keep returning cash to shareholders, even as the UK grocery sector contends with rising fuel prices, stubborn food inflation, and a less certain profit picture tied to the Middle East conflict.
April 24, 2026
Intertek Takeover Bid: EQT’s £54-a-Share Offer Puts May 14 Deadline in Focus
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Intertek Takeover Bid: EQT’s £54-a-Share Offer Puts May 14 Deadline in Focus

Intertek Group plc is facing a live takeover clock, with the company saying it’s considering an updated £54-per-share cash bid from EQT funds—still non-binding—for the London-based testing and certification firm. The UK’s takeover code gives EQT until 5 p.m. on May 14 to either put forward a firm offer or walk away. Governance is piling on, too. Intertek said Friday that PwC stepped down as auditor as of April 23, with Deloitte set for a shareholder vote to take over for the 2026 financial year. The annual general meeting is scheduled for May 20 in London.
April 24, 2026
Compass Group Shares Rise Before May Results as Investors Weigh AI Risk and U.S. Growth
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Compass Group Shares Rise Before May Results as Investors Weigh AI Risk and U.S. Growth

Shares of Compass Group PLC climbed on Friday, building on gains from late April as investors rotated back into the world's largest catering company before its half-year results in May. Compass shares in London finished April 24 at $30.075, up 0.96%, with roughly 2.86 million shares changing hands. The FTSE 100 slipped that session, but Compass managed to outperform the broader blue-chip index.
April 24, 2026
Anglo American Coal Sale Back In Play As Three Bidders Circle Australia Mines
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Anglo American Coal Sale Back In Play As Three Bidders Circle Australia Mines

At least three suitors have surfaced for Anglo American’s Australian steelmaking coal unit, breathing new life into a sale process derailed when Peabody Energy backed out of its $3.78 billion offer last year. According to Bloomberg News, Stanmore Resources, Mitsubishi Corp, and Indonesia’s PT Buma Internasional Grup are among those bidding, citing sources familiar with the situation. Anglo declined to comment, and none of the bidders gave Reuters an immediate response to requests for comment. The renewed attention comes as Anglo works to dismantle its traditional diversified mining setup and keeps moving toward its planned merger with Teck Resources. Its coal properties lie in the Bowen Basin in Queensland, an important region for steelmaking coal—the higher-grade variety used in blast-furnace
April 24, 2026
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