Risk Channel delivers the latest, most relevant and useful business intelligence to key decision makers and influencers, each weekday morning.

The EU has told TikTok it must change its "addictive design" or face heavy fines. The warning follows an investigation which began in February 2024 into the Chinese-owned video sharing platform by the European Commission. In preliminary findings, the Commission said TikTok did not "adequately assess" how features such as autoplay could harm the wellbeing of its users, including children, and said it failed to implement measures to mitigate the risks. EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters that if TikTok wanted to avoid being fined, it would have to "change the design of their service in Europe." A TikTok spokesperson told the BBC the findings presented a "categorically false and entirely meritless depiction of our platform" and it planned to challenge them.

 

BBC News

Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, has raised concerns about potential complacency in financial markets regarding AI's productivity gains. He warned that expectations may not be met, leading to a stock market bubble. His comments align with the European Central Bank's recent warnings about high stock valuations in the AI sector, which could threaten financial stability. Bailey also said AI was impacting the job market in both positive and negative ways and called for a focus on education and training in AI skills. Speaking at a conference in Saudi Arabia, Bailey also warned about increased geopolitical tensions, further disruption to global trade and growing debt pressures.

 

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

UK company directors began 2026 with diminished confidence, according to a KPMG survey. Only 30% of the 1,500 surveyed expressed optimism about the economy, a drop from 42% in late 2024. Concerns over cost pressures and tax policy changes have increased, with 38% citing tax as a worry. Despite this, 87% remain optimistic about their company's prospects, though this is down from 92% the previous year. Euan West, head of regions at KPMG UK, noted that uncertainty has led to a reassessment of expectations, saying: "Resilience is the watchword." The survey aligns with findings from the Bank of England.

 

The Times

United States Vice President JD Vance has proposed creating a new critical mineral trading bloc and coordinating pricing floors as Washington seeks to loosen China’s control over rare earth mineral manufacturing. “We want members to form a trading bloc among allies and partners, one that guarantees American access to American industrial might while also expanding production across the entire zone,” Vance said at a meeting of foreign ministers at the US State Department. “What is before all of us is an opportunity at self-reliance that we never have to rely on anybody else except for each other, for the critical minerals necessary to sustain our industries and to sustain growth.”

 

AP News

Al Jazeera

Financial Times

Mining.com

Leading PC makers HP, Dell, Acer and Asus are considering using memory chips from Chinese chipmakers such as CXMT for the first time amid a global supply crunch that threatens product launches and is increasing costs across the tech sector, Nikkei Asia reports. 

 

Nikkei Asia

Shell will replace EY with PwC from 2027, following a regulatory investigation into EY's compliance with auditor rotation rules. EY has served as Shell's auditor since 2016 and will continue in this role until the end of 2026, pending shareholder approval. The UK Financial Reporting Council initiated an investigation in December 2023 regarding potential violations of rotation requirements for the financial year 2024. Shell said: "EY reported non-compliance with UK and US Securities and Exchange Commission rotation requirements."

 

Bloomberg Law

Bloomberg Tax

Financial Times

London South East

KPMG negotiated lower fees from its own accountant, Grant Thornton UK, by arguing that AI will make it cheaper to do the work, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

Financial Times

Lloyd’s of London chief executive Patrick Tiernan has said that insurers must be “risk-on” in offering cover for fast-growing industries such as military technology, power and artificial intelligence.

 

Financial Times

Analysis of filings on Companies House by the Financial Times reveals a fifth of FTSE 100 chief executives live outside the UK, raising concerns about their commitment to the London market.

 

Financial Times

KKR has ended its relationship with Global Counsel following new allegations regarding Lord Mandelson's connections to Jeffrey Epstein. The American investment firm had worked with the lobbying firm set up by Mandelson for some time. The decision follows similar actions by Barclays and the Premier League. Benjamin Wegg-Prosser resigned as Global Counsel's CEO, and Lord Mandelson's stake was sold to his successor, Rebecca Park. Mandelson was previously dismissed as Britain's ambassador to the US amid the scandal and has faced police investigations. The Telegraph reports that Blackstone, another private equity firm has also cut ties with Global Counsel.

 

Sky News

The Daily Telegraph

Nearly 900 Google employees have demanded more transparency over what the company's technology is being used for inside the US government, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Google has contracts to provide federal agencies with cloud services and also has links to work being done on federal immigration enforcement. The open letter from Google employees follows a separate letter published two weeks ago and signed by hundreds of workers at various companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, calling for all tech companies to stop their work supporting the federal immigration crackdown.

 

BBC News

Ocado is planning a major round of redundancies, with up to 1,000 roles - around 5% of its global workforce - potentially affected, mainly in its UK head office across technology, legal, finance, and HR teams. The move follows a challenging year for its automated warehouse business, compounded by closures of customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) by North American clients Kroger and Sobeys, which cited cost and market issues.

 

The Times

Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover is to start assembling the Range Rover Evoque at a new facility in Tamil Nadu on Feb. 9. The new factory is designed for an annual capacity of 250,000 vehicles and will eventually absorb more JLR assembly that is currently handled at Tata's Pune plant. The move aims to centralise JLR’s Indian operations in a modern hub that is closer to major ports and suppliers.

 

Bloomberg

Germany has the highest percentage of older workers in the EU, with nearly 24% of its 40.9 million workforce aged 55 to 64, according to Destatis. This contrasts with the EU average of about 20%. The average retirement age in 2024 was 64.7 years, up from 63.1 years in 2004. Italy follows with 23% of older workers, while Malta has the lowest at around 11%.

 

France 24