More than 2,150 jobs are at risk after the UK business of struggling jewellery chain Claire's called in administrators, Reuters reported. Insolvency practitioners Interpath said on Wednesday they had been appointed joint administrators to Claire’s Accessories UK Ltd, the operator of Claire's 306 stores across the UK and Ireland. The move comes a week after its parent filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States. Headquartered in Birmingham, central England, Claire's is known for its trend-led accessories and as a destination for ear piercing.

Britain has appointed FTI Consulting to advise on contingency plans for Thames Water to be placed into a special administration regime were the country's largest water utility to collapse, a government source said. The heavily indebted and loss-making company is battling to avoid nationalisation by securing 5 billion pounds ($6.7 billion) of finance from its senior bondholders. Thames, which said in July it had enough funds to continue operating for 12 months, needs a reset of regulations for the deal to go ahead. The government said it would always act in the national interest.

The U.K.’s jobs market continued to cool in the second quarter as businesses grappled with an increase in employment taxes, uncertainty about the outlook for trade, and cautious consumers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months to June, from 4.5% in January to March, while the number of workers on payrolls fell by 26,000 between May and June, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

As its American parent files for bankruptcy, there are concerns that the UK arm of budget jewellery and accessories retailer Claire’s may struggle to find a buyer, raising the prospect of further job losses in a British retail sector already under pressure, FashionNetwork.com reported. A report by Sky News said the news organisation “has learnt that advisers to Claire's Inc… are not expected to land a solvent bid for its UK chain”. The British operation trades from around 300 British stores and the Europe-wide workforce (including the UK) numbers around 5,000.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said on Thursday it would roll out stricter rules for electronic payment firms from May 2026 to better safeguard customers' money, Reuters reported. The regulator, which first laid out proposed reforms for payment firms in September, said companies would be required to keep customer money separate from their own funds, so that it could be returned if the firm fails. The payments sector has come under greater scrutiny as more consumers have become exposed to the risk of poor safeguarding.

Brazil's government has set aside for now plans for direct retaliation against steep U.S. tariffs taking effect this week, focusing instead on a relief package for industries hit hardest by the levies, Reuters reported. Wide-ranging exemptions granted in U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order last week spared some of the most vulnerable sectors of Latin America's largest economy, to the relief of many investors and business leaders.

Ballooning spending on children with special educational needs and disabilities is putting England’s already stretched local councils under even more financial strain, adding urgency to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plans to reform the system, Bloomberg News reported. Across the country, cumulative overspends on the so-called SEND program were forecast to double to £8 billion ($10.6 billion) by 2027 from about £4 billion in March, according to a report earlier this year by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.

Five South London companies which claimed to have turnovers topping £1.6 billion have been shut down, after an investigation revealed that their accounts had been faked, The Standard reported. The Insolvency Service and Companies House obtained a High Court order on Thursday to close down Automarket Europe Limited, Integra Group Limited, Maxell Limited, Montana & Montana Limited, and Supermarket Plus Ltd.

Millions of drivers will miss out on tens of billions in compensation after Britain’s highest court rejected claims drivers were mis-sold car loans, The Telegraph reported. The Supreme Court on Friday rejected arguments that customers should have been informed about “secret” commissions paid to car salesmen when they arranged loans to fund vehicle purchases. Judges overturned earlier rulings that had claimed payments from banks amounted to “bribes” and salesmen had a “fiduciary duty” to look out for customers.