Tuesday newspaper round-up: Poundland staff, Apple, Anthropic.


The founder of Poundland has warned that staff at the retailer could be out of work for “years” if it collapses, as he called on the owners of the troubled chain to accept a proposed buyout deal. Steve Smith, who set up the firm with a store in Burton upon Trent in 1990, said: “Once these jobs are lost, they are lost” from Britain’s struggling high streets. His warning comes as the chain’s 12,000 employees face uncertainty over their future in the run-up to Christmas. – Guardian

Source: Sharecast

Apple Inc posted stronger-than-expected revenue in the fiscal third quarter, giving John Ternus, the new CEO, an upbeat start to his tenure, which began in September. The solid results bucked a downward trend for tech giants this quarter, as companies including Alphabet, Amazon and Intel had disappointing quarterly results. “Apple’s strong earnings come in the wake of a recent tech sell-off, as investors question the enormous cost and uncertain returns of the AI boom driven by Apple’s big tech counterparts,” said Jacob Bourne, an Emarketer analyst, adding that record iPhone revenue and strong growth in China demonstrate the resilience of Apple’s business. – Guardian

Eurostar’s chief executive has left the company as it prepares to confront competition from Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Trains. The Channel Tunnel operator said Gwendoline Cazenave has left with immediate effect and will be replaced by French rail industry veteran Christophe Fanichet from December. Sources close to Eurostar said that while Ms Cazenave’s departure had been rumoured for some weeks, its timing came as a surprise. – Telegraph

Anthropic has revealed plans to spend more than $1tn (£745bn) on computing power in the coming years, even as fears about the costs of the AI boom rattle Wall Street. The tech giant, which is behind the AI assistant Claude, said it had made spending commitments worth $895.4bn in an updated stock market filing on Monday. In addition, the company said it expected to spend up to $175bn on further contracts that did not yet have a price. – Telegraph

A rise in advertising revenue lifted Fox Corporation’s performance above Wall Street expectations in the first quarter of its financial year. In the three months to September 30, the American broadcaster reported a 22 per cent increase in revenue to $4.6bn — from $3.7bn in the same period last year — which was ahead of the $4.3bn that analysts had forecast, according to consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. – The Times

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