Business & Economy

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption has continued examining financial and political relationships surrounding property developer Jean Nassif, with Liberal factional figure Jeremy Greenwood facing detailed questions about payments, consultancy work and his dealings with the collapsed Toplace development company. Greenwood returned to the ICAC inquiry on Wednesday as counsel assisting the commission, Peggy Dwyer SC,...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude AI model, has signed an agreement to use a major proposed data centre project in western Queensland, marking the company’s first major data-centre commitment in Australia. The proposed Western Downs Digital Park, near Dalby in Queensland’s Western Downs region, has an estimated value of about A$31.9 billion and is planned...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online A Michelin-starred restaurant in Seoul has been fined after serving customers a dessert topped with ants that had not been approved for use as a food ingredient under South Korean regulations. The Seoul Western District Court on Wednesday fined the company operating the restaurant 10 million won and its chief executive 15 million won after finding them guilty...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The company that spent more than a decade pursuing oil production at Horse Hill in Surrey has sold its interests in the controversial site for £1m, after the project became the subject of a landmark Supreme Court ruling on climate impacts. The sale marks a major change in direction for the former UK Oil & Gas, which has...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Mayors and other local political leaders could be given greater powers to oversee water companies under proposals being considered by the UK government, potentially giving regional authorities a stronger role in decisions about investment, customer bills and environmental performance. The proposals form part of a wider debate about how the water industry should be governed and regulated, following...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Mayors and other local leaders could be given greater powers to oversee water companies under proposals being considered by the UK government as part of efforts to increase public control and accountability across the water industry. The plans could allow regional authorities to influence certain company spending decisions and provide greater scrutiny of executives over household bills, infrastructure...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Britain’s already deteriorating road network could face further damage in the coming months as the effects of an exceptionally hot summer combine with the legacy of a wet winter, according to warnings from the RAC and road-surface specialists. The organisations say motorists should prepare for more potholes as prolonged heat and intense ultraviolet radiation weaken asphalt surfaces, leaving...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online The UK government’s plans to expand Heathrow Airport have come under renewed scrutiny after the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) said any expansion should be accompanied by measures requiring airlines to fully address their carbon emissions. In advice published on 16 September, the committee said Heathrow could not be expanded consistently with the UK’s carbon budgets and net-zero...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Young people across Britain face sharply different prospects when searching for work, with a new analysis showing that the availability of suitable job vacancies varies dramatically between local areas. The research, produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), found that Rotherham in South Yorkshire had one of the lowest levels of online job opportunities relative to...

Published: 16 September 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. New historical research has found that wealth generated through the transatlantic trafficking and enslavement of Africans was deeply connected to Britain’s financial system, including the early development of the Bank of England and other major financial institutions. The research, compiled through the Register of British Slave Traders, suggests that the involvement of financial institutions and prominent financiers in...