Business

Gary Mazin is the owner and principal lawyer of Mazin & Associates, a Canadian personal injury law firm known for its steady, client-focused approach. His career reflects a mix of discipline, long-term thinking, and practical leadership.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Mazin moved to Canada with his family at the age of four. He grew up in humble beginnings, an experience that shaped his work ethic and view on responsibility. “When you start with little, you learn quickly that effort and consistency matter,” he says.

Mazin built a strong academic foundation. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto, a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, and later an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University. This combination of law and business training allows him to think beyond individual cases and focus on sustainable firm leadership.

As a personal injury lawyer, Mazin is known for his structured and analytical approach. He focuses on clear communication, careful preparation, and realistic outcomes. “Clients need clarity more than noise,” he notes. “My role is to guide them through complex situations with honesty.”

As the leader of Mazin & Associates, he has translated big ideas into practical systems that support both clients and staff. His leadership style values process, accountability, and long-term growth over quick wins.

Outside of work, Mazin enjoys chess, swimming, travelling, and time with his family. He is also committed to giving back, supporting healthcare initiatives, including sponsoring a room at the University Health Network Hospital.

An Interview with Gary Mazin: Building a Career with Structure and Purpose

Q: Gary, let’s start at the beginning. How did your early life shape the way you think about work and business today?

I left the Soviet Union when I was four years old and came to Canada with my family. We started from very modest circumstances. That experience stays with you. You learn early that stability is built, not given. I think that’s where my focus on structure and consistency comes from. When things are not guaranteed, you value planning and discipline.

Q: Was law always the goal, or did that come later?

Law was not an instant decision. I was interested in ideas, systems, and how decisions affect people. That led me to study arts at the University of Toronto. Law became appealing because it combines reasoning with real-world consequences. It is not abstract. What you do matters to someone’s life.

Q: You later added an MBA to your legal education. Why was that important to you?

I realised early on that practising law and running a law firm are not the same thing. Osgoode Hall Law School gave me a strong legal foundation. But business education at Schulich helped me understand operations, leadership, and long-term planning. I didn’t want to rely on instinct alone. “Law teaches you how to analyse,” I often say. “Business teaches you how to build.”

Q: Why did you choose personal injury law as your focus?

Personal injury law is very grounded in reality. Clients are often dealing with physical injuries, stress, and uncertainty. There is very little room for theory. You need clarity and patience. I was drawn to that responsibility. You are guiding people through difficult moments, and that requires care and precision.

Q: What lessons did you learn early in your legal career?

One key lesson was that communication matters as much as legal skill. Clients do not want noise or complexity. They want to understand what is happening. I learned to slow things down, explain processes clearly, and set realistic expectations. That approach built trust over time.

Q: What prompted you to start Mazin & Associates?

I wanted to create a firm that reflected how I think about work. Clear systems. Accountability. A calm, professional environment. Starting a firm forces you to turn ideas into daily practice. It is not just about cases. It is about people, processes, and standards. “A firm is built one decision at a time,” and those decisions compound.

Q: How would you describe your leadership style as a business owner?

Measured and structured. I believe consistency is underrated. Big ideas are important, but execution is what makes them real. My goal has always been to build something sustainable. That means focusing on process, not shortcuts. Growth should be deliberate, not rushed.

Q: Many people associate leadership with constant visibility. You seem more reserved. Is that intentional?

Yes. I don’t believe leadership needs to be loud. Results come from systems that work quietly in the background. I prefer to focus on how things function day to day. If clients are supported and staff are clear on expectations, the rest follows.

Q: Outside of work, how do you maintain balance?

I enjoy chess, which mirrors how I think about strategy and patience. Swimming helps clear my head. Travelling gives perspective. Most importantly, I value time with my family. Work can expand endlessly if you let it. You need boundaries to stay effective.

Q: Philanthropy also plays a role in your life. Why is that important to you?

Giving back feels like a responsibility. I’ve supported healthcare initiatives, including sponsoring a room at University Health Network Hospital. Healthcare intersects closely with my work. Many clients rely on that system. Supporting it felt practical and meaningful, not symbolic.

Q: How has your definition of success changed over time?

Earlier in my career, success was about progress and achievement. Now it is about stability and impact. Building a firm that lasts. Treating people fairly. Making decisions I can stand behind. “Success is not speed,” I remind myself. “It’s durability.”

Q: Looking back, what connects all the stages of your career?

Intentional growth. From education to practice to business ownership, I tried to make thoughtful choices rather than reactive ones. Coming to Canada as a child taught me that progress is built step by step. That idea still guides how I approach my career today.

Read more:
Gary Mazin on Building a Law Firm with Structure and Purpose

It is a Saturday afternoon. Your potential customer, let’s call him Mark, finally sits down with a cup of coffee. He has been meaning to make a photo book of his daughter’s first year for months.

He has 1,200 photos scattered across his iPhone, his wife’s Instagram, and a random folder on his laptop.

He lands on your website. He clicks “Create.” And then, he stares at a blank screen.

Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of unorganized images and a confusing interface, Mark lasts about twelve minutes. He drags a few photos onto a page, struggles to align a text box, gets frustrated with the layout, and closes the tab.

The project remains unfinished. You lost the sale, not because your print quality is bad or your prices are too high, but because the tool you gave him was too much work.

For print shop owners and photo business entrepreneurs, this is the most critical bottleneck in the sales funnel. We often obsess over the machinery—the HP Indigos, the binding glue, the paper stock. But the battle for the customer isn’t won on the press; it is won in the browser.

Your photobook software is the bridge between a customer’s chaotic digital clutter and a beautiful physical product. If that bridge is shaky, nobody crosses it.

The “Time Poverty” Problem

The source of the problem is simple: people have never taken more photos, but they have never had less free time.

Years ago, scrapbooking was a hobby. People dedicated weekends to it. Today, creating a photo book is a task squeezed in between Zoom calls or while waiting for dinner to cook.

If your software requires the user to be a semi-professional designer, you are excluding 90% of your market. The modern consumer expects the software to do the heavy lifting. They don’t want to build a book; they want to edit a book that has arguably been built for them.

This brings us to the most significant evolution in the industry: AI-Driven Creation.

The Magic of Smart Algorithms

When evaluating software for your business, the first question shouldn’t be “How many templates does it have?” but rather “How intelligent is it?”

Leading solutions now utilize artificial intelligence to solve the “blank page” syndrome. Instead of forcing Mark to select 50 photos out of 1,200 manually, smart software can analyze his upload. It detects:

Image Quality: Filtering out blurry or dark shots.
Chronology: Arranging the story from January to December automatically.
Subject Matter: Using face detection to ensure heads aren’t cropped off in the layout.

With a smart system, the customer uploads their photos, and within seconds, the software populates a finished book. Mark’s job shifts from “creator” to “reviewer.” He might swap a photo or tweak a caption, but the friction of starting from scratch is gone. This drastically reduces the time-to-purchase and saves the sale.

Flexibility Where It Matters

While automation is key for speed, creative control is essential for satisfaction.

Once the AI has laid the foundation, the software must offer an intuitive, drag-and-drop playground. We are talking about simplified photo editing that happens right in the browser.

A user should be able to click a photo and apply a quick filter or adjust the brightness without needing to open Photoshop. They need to be able to add text—captions, dates, funny anecdotes—and have full control over the font style and placement.

If a user feels restricted by a template—for example, if they want to drag a photo across the spine for a panoramic spread—the software needs to allow that modification seamlessly. This balance between “guided automation” and “free-hand customization” is the hallmark of superior photobook software.

The Social Component: Collaboration

Here is a feature that is often overlooked but drives massive engagement: Collaboration.

Photo books are rarely solitary artifacts. They are often gifts—a wedding album for the couple, a “Year in Review” for the grandparents, a farewell book for a colleague.

Standard desktop software isolates the user. But cloud-based, modern platforms allow for shared creation. Imagine a scenario where three siblings living in different cities can all contribute photos and text to a single project for their parents’ anniversary.

By offering features that allow users to transfer images from different devices via URL or send a link to a finished project for review, you turn a single user into a team. This not only increases the likelihood of the project being finished, but it also introduces your brand to new potential customers (the collaborators).

The Business Case: Buy vs. Build

For many print businesses, the dilemma is whether to build a proprietary tool or license one.

Historically, many shops tried to build their own. They quickly learned that maintaining a complex graphical editor that works on every browser, every mobile device, and handles high-res uploads is a financial black hole.

This is why the industry has shifted toward White-Label SaaS (Software as a Service).

White-label solutions allow you to use a world-class engine under your own brand hood. To your customer, it looks like your technology. You get the stability of a platform used by millions, while avoiding the development costs.

If you are looking for a robust infrastructure that handles everything from the storefront to the editor, specialized photobook software providers like GetPrintbox offer a complete ecosystem. They provide the hosting, the administration panels, and the constant updates required to keep the software secure and fast. This allows you to focus on marketing and production, rather than debugging code.

From Screen to Machine: The Production Workflow

A pretty interface is useless if it sends you a messy file.

The final piece of the puzzle is what happens after the customer hits “Buy.”

Good software doesn’t just collect money; it acts as your pre-press department. It should automatically generate a print-ready file—usually a high-resolution PDF—that is strictly compliant with your specific production machinery.

It should handle:

Imposition: Arranging pages correctly for your specific paper size.
Bleed and Safe Zones: ensuring the customer hasn’t placed text where it will be cut off.
Color Profiles: Converting RGB screen previews to CMYK print files.

When the software handles this automatically, your production team spends less time fixing files and more time printing. This efficiency is where your profit margins truly expand.

The “Mobile-First” Reality

Finally, we cannot ignore where the photos live. They are on smartphones.

If your software requires a user to transfer photos to a desktop computer to begin, you have already added a hurdle. The best platforms offer seamless mobile integration, allowing uploads directly from the device or social media accounts like Instagram and Facebook.

An “Image Organizer” within the software helps users manage these uploads across sessions. If they start on their phone during a commute and finish on their laptop at home, the project should sync instantly.

Conclusion

The market for personalized photo products is growing, but consumer patience is shrinking. They want high-quality books, but they want the creation process to be effortless.

As a business owner, your choice of software is not just a technical decision; it is a strategic one. It defines the user experience. It determines whether Mark finishes that book of his daughter or abandons it.

Invest in a solution that offers smart automation, robust editing tools, and a rock-solid production backend. When you make the creation process a joy rather than a chore, you don’t just sell a product—you capture a memory, and you win a customer for life.

Read more:
How the Right Photobook Software Turns Frustrated Browsers into Loyal Buyers

Lloyds Banking Group is handing more than £3.1 billion back to shareholders after delivering stronger-than-expected annual profits, underlining the financial firepower of Britain’s biggest domestic lender.

The FTSE 100 bank reported full-year pre-tax profits of £6.66 billion, up 12 per cent on 2024 and comfortably ahead of the £6.38 billion forecast by City analysts. The performance was supported by lower-than-expected bad loan provisions and growing income from non-lending activities.

Lloyds announced a final dividend of 2.43p per share, up from 2.11p a year earlier, equating to a £1.43 billion cash payout to investors. In addition, the bank revealed plans for a share buyback of up to £1.75 billion, taking total capital returns for the year to more than £3.1 billion.

The lender said it would now review excess capital distributions every six months, alongside its ordinary dividend, reflecting “increasing confidence in our capital generation”.

Lower impairments helped drive the profit beat. Charges for bad loans totalled £795 million, well below the £920 million expected by analysts. Lloyds has also been pushing to diversify beyond traditional lending, under chief executive Charlie Nunn, expanding fee-based income from areas such as wealth management and insurance.

While underlying net interest income rose 6 per cent to £13.6 billion, non-interest income increased by 9 per cent to £6.1 billion, highlighting the growing contribution of these newer revenue streams.

The bumper shareholder returns are likely to attract attention amid debate over bank capital rules. In December, the Bank of England outlined plans to ease capital requirements from 2027 for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, with the aim of boosting lending. Critics have warned that banks could instead use the extra headroom to increase payouts.

Lloyds finance director William Chalmers said the dividend and buyback were not driven by the central bank’s proposals. “We have not changed our capital standards, and we have continued to lend heavily,” he said.

Management also upgraded guidance for the year ahead. Lloyds now expects to deliver a return on tangible equity of more than 16 per cent in 2026, up from its previous target of above 15 per cent. For 2025, the bank reported a return of 12.9 per cent, weighed down by an additional £800 million charge linked to the motor finance mis-selling scandal.

In total, Lloyds has set aside almost £2 billion to cover potential compensation costs related to the affair.

As the UK’s largest mortgage lender, Lloyds is closely watched as a bellwether for the domestic economy. The bank nudged up its forecast for UK GDP growth this year to 1.2 per cent, from 1 per cent previously, but now expects unemployment to rise to 5.2 per cent, compared with an earlier estimate of 5 per cent.

Lloyds also highlighted the growing role of artificial intelligence in its operations. The bank said AI delivered a £50 million benefit last year through higher revenues and improved staff productivity. Nunn acknowledged uncertainty around the longer-term impact of AI on jobs, adding: “We don’t quite know how this will play out over the medium term, but we’ll be very sensitive to it.”

Shares in Lloyds rose 0.9 per cent to 105½p following the results.

Read more:
Lloyds to return £3.1bn to investors as profits surge past forecasts

Amazon is in early-stage talks to invest as much as $50 billion (£40bn) in OpenAI, in what would be one of the largest private technology investments ever made.

According to reports, discussions remain preliminary and the final size and structure of any deal have yet to be agreed. If completed at the upper end, the investment would make Amazon the single largest backer in OpenAI’s latest fundraising round.

The talks come as OpenAI looks to raise up to $100 billion, which would value the company at around $830 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The funding drive underlines the extraordinary demand for exposure to frontier AI companies as they pour billions into data centres, chips and computing infrastructure.

Big Tech groups and global investors are scrambling to deepen their ties with OpenAI, betting that closer partnerships with the ChatGPT-maker will deliver a strategic edge in the intensifying AI race.

Japan’s SoftBank Group is also in discussions to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI, while the company continues to lay the groundwork for a potential stock market flotation that could eventually value it at close to $1 trillion.

The negotiations are being led by Andy Jassy and Sam Altman (pictured), highlighting how central AI has become to Amazon’s long-term strategy, particularly through its cloud computing arm.

Amazon already has significant exposure to the AI sector. It has invested around $8 billion in Anthropic, a fast-growing OpenAI rival whose services have gained strong traction with enterprise customers. Anthropic was recently valued at $183 billion and has forecast that its annualised revenue run rate could nearly triple in 2026 to around $26 billion.

OpenAI, meanwhile, continues to expand its computing partnerships. This month it signed a $10 billion deal with Cerebras, an emerging competitor to Nvidia, whose chips currently power much of OpenAI’s AI infrastructure.

The potential Amazon investment is part of a wider funding scramble. Reports suggest Microsoft, OpenAI’s long-standing strategic partner, and Nvidia are also in talks to participate in the round. Nvidia is said to be considering an investment of up to $30 billion, while Microsoft’s contribution would likely be below $10 billion.

Amazon declined to comment on the reports, and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If finalised, a $50bn commitment from Amazon would represent a dramatic escalation in the battle between the world’s largest technology companies to secure influence over the future direction of artificial intelligence, and the infrastructure that will underpin it.

Read more:
Amazon in talks over $50bn investment in OpenAI as AI arms race accelerates

Tens of thousands of so-called “zombie” businesses could collapse this year as mounting cost pressures and weak demand push companies to breaking point, insolvency specialists have warned.

New research from Begbies Traynor shows a sharp rise in businesses experiencing severe financial strain, with a 44 per cent increase in companies classed as being in “critical financial distress” in the final three months of last year compared with the same period in 2024.

In total, 67,369 companies were identified as facing critical distress, according to Begbies’ latest Red Flag Alert report. The long-running study analyses public filings such as county court judgments and company accounts, alongside Begbies’ own financial stress scoring, to assess sustained deterioration in key financial indicators.

The hospitality sector was among the hardest hit, following a difficult Christmas trading period marked by weaker consumer spending. Hotels saw a 54 per cent increase in businesses showing signs of critical distress over the past year, while bars and restaurants recorded a 39 per cent rise.

Begbies said companies across the economy were continuing to “grapple with a prolonged period of economic uncertainty”, compounded by rising operating costs from higher wages, elevated interest rates, increased tax burdens and subdued consumer demand.

Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said the current environment was creating a growing pool of zombie businesses, firms able to service the interest on their debts but unable to invest, grow or meaningfully reduce what they owe.

“While many of these organisations have struggled along for years, we see a new catalyst in 2026 that could push some over the edge,” Palmer said. “That catalyst is HMRC beginning to call in a portion of the £27 billion in overdue corporation tax, PAYE and VAT that built up during the pandemic.”

She added that unless these businesses could secure fresh investment or be acquired by “more agile companies”, many were likely to fail.

Predictions of a mass clear-out of zombie firms have been made repeatedly since the 2008 financial crisis, yet a dramatic spike in insolvencies has not materialised outside specific categories. In 2025, there were 23,938 registered company insolvencies, broadly in line with 2024 levels.

However, creditors’ voluntary liquidations, where shareholders wind up insolvent companies that can no longer pay their debts, have hit their highest levels since records began in 1960, with the past four years accounting for the four biggest annual totals.

These liquidations are often used by small businesses and have risen as the cost of voluntary liquidation has fallen and pandemic support measures have been withdrawn. Insolvency professionals have raised concerns that the process can be abused as a relatively low-scrutiny route to walk away from debts.

By contrast, company administrations, where an insolvency practitioner takes control in an attempt to rescue the business or achieve a better outcome for creditors, fell by 6 per cent last year compared with 2024. Administrations are often viewed as a better barometer of wider economic conditions.

Although insolvency numbers in 2024 and 2025 were similar to those seen during the 2008-09 recession, the overall corporate insolvency rate remains well below that peak. Analysts note this is largely because the UK now has far more companies on the register than it did during the financial crisis.

Begbies warned, however, that the combination of higher taxes, rising employment costs and the gradual withdrawal of pandemic-era forbearance could still trigger a delayed reckoning for thousands of financially fragile firms over the coming year.

Read more:
New wave of ‘zombie’ companies faces collapse as financial distress surges

Donald Trump has described it as “very dangerous” for the UK to do business with China, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Shanghai on the third day of his official visit to the country.

Trump’s comments followed the announcement of several agreements aimed at boosting trade and investment between the UK and China, reached after Starmer met Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Speaking to reporters at the premiere of a documentary about his wife Melania, Trump said: “It’s very dangerous” for the UK to engage economically with China, although he went on to describe Xi as “a friend” and said he knew the Chinese leader “very well”.

Beyond those remarks, the US president did not expand further on the UK’s engagement with China, instead pivoting his criticism towards Canada, which he described as being in an “even more dangerous” position. Trump recently threatened tariffs on Canada following economic discussions between Ottawa and Beijing.

In response, Downing Street indicated that Washington had been aware of Starmer’s visit and its objectives in advance, and noted that Trump himself is expected to visit China in April.

Starmer said the UK–China relationship was in a “good, strong place” following talks with Xi at the Great Hall of the People. Speaking on Friday at a UK–China Business Forum hosted at the Bank of China in Beijing, the prime minister said the meetings had delivered “just the level of engagement that we hoped for”.

“We warmly engaged and made some real progress,” Starmer said. “The UK has a huge amount to offer.”

Among the outcomes of the visit were an agreement to introduce visa-free travel for British visitors to China, a reduction in Chinese tariffs on UK whisky, and a £10.9 billion investment by AstraZeneca to build new manufacturing facilities in China. The two sides also announced further co-operation on issues including organised crime and illegal immigration.

According to the UK Department for Business and Trade, the US was Britain’s largest single-country trading partner in 2025, with China ranking fourth.

Chris Torrens, chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, described Starmer’s visit as “successful”, saying it made sense for the UK to engage with one of its major trading partners. He added that several Western leaders had visited Beijing recently or were planning to do so, including Trump.

Opposition MPs have criticised the prime minister’s visit, citing concerns over national security and China’s human rights record. China has faced accusations from the UN of serious human rights violations against Uyghur and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups, and international criticism over the treatment of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp accused the government of “trading national security for economic crumbs”, while ministers have insisted that intelligence agencies are closely involved in assessing and managing any associated risks.

Starmer’s visit to China, the first by a UK prime minister since 2018, concludes in Shanghai before he travels on to Tokyo for talks with Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, underscoring the government’s broader push to rebalance economic and diplomatic ties across Asia.

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Trump warns UK it is ‘very dangerous’ to do business with China as Starmer visits Shanghai

Octopus Energy Group has unveiled a major joint venture with PCG Power to trade renewable electricity in China, marking a significant expansion into the world’s largest clean energy market.

The deal was announced during Keir Starmer’s official visit to China, with Octopus founder and chief executive Greg Jackson joining the UK business delegation in Beijing.

The new venture, called Bitong Energy, will combine PCG Power’s position as one of China’s fastest-growing investors and solutions providers in the commercial and industrial renewable energy sector with Octopus’ proprietary software and expertise in green energy trading and optimisation.

Bitong Energy will initially focus on China’s rapidly expanding spot power markets, where electricity is bought and sold in real time to improve grid efficiency and reduce costs. China’s electricity demand is forecast to rise by around a third over the next five years, while government mandates require at least 10 per cent of power to be traded on spot markets by the end of this year.

By 2030, the joint venture aims to trade up to 140 terawatt hours (TWh) of renewable electricity a year, roughly equivalent to the UK’s current total green power output. Octopus estimates this could generate around £50 million in annual profits, with half returning to the UK economy.

Within five years, the partners believe Bitong Energy could achieve a valuation in excess of £500 million, helping to strengthen Britain’s economy by exporting UK-developed software, data and engineering capability.

The venture will launch in Guangdong province, China’s most advanced spot power market, before expanding into other regions as additional markets open nationwide. Alongside trading, Octopus will deploy its technology platform to optimise performance and maximise returns from China’s growing fleets of batteries, wind and solar assets.

Greg Jackson said the partnership highlighted how British innovation could benefit from China’s scale in clean energy manufacturing.

“China’s investments in scale and innovation have made solar, wind and batteries dramatically cheaper,” he said. “Now there’s a huge opportunity for Britain to succeed by building the smart solutions that use these technologies to cut the cost of electricity.

“Our partnership with PCG is about exporting world-class British energy capabilities, growing both our economies and accelerating the shift to cheaper, cleaner and more secure power.”

Li Wenxuan, chairman and chief executive of PCG Power, described the deal as a milestone for the company and for China’s energy transition.

“By integrating Octopus Energy’s world-leading technology and algorithmic expertise with our deep local market knowledge, we will create powerful synergies,” he said. “Together, we aim to deliver smarter, more cost-effective and reliable energy services for Chinese commercial and industrial customers, while supporting China’s green transformation.”

The joint venture builds on Octopus Energy Group’s broader strategy of exporting British clean energy technology overseas. The company has already formed international software partnerships designed to lower energy costs and improve grid flexibility, as well as expanding its electric vehicle and battery offerings.

Last year, Octopus launched its Power Pack Bundle with BYD, enabling electric vehicles to act as “batteries on wheels”. Through Octopus Electric Vehicles, the group has also helped introduce brands such as OMODA, Jaecoo, Geely and XPENG to the UK market.

The China partnership represents one of Octopus Energy’s most ambitious international moves to date, positioning the company at the heart of global renewable energy trading as spot markets expand worldwide.

Read more:
Octopus Energy strikes major China joint venture during PM visit

The UK’s advertising watchdog has banned a series of adverts by Coinbase, ruling that they implied cryptocurrency could help ease cost-of-living pressures and downplayed the risks associated with crypto investing.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints from members of the public after the adverts ran in August, depicting Britain in various states of decline alongside a satirical slogan and the Coinbase logo.

The campaign included three poster adverts and a video which portrayed families, businesses and communities struggling amid economic hardship. Scenes highlighted by the ASA included a family home “in a state of disrepair”, a high street with shuttered shops “littered with binbags and rats”, and supermarket shelves marked with signs showing rising prices.

These images were paired with a satirical refrain suggesting everything was “just fine”, followed by the slogan “if everything’s fine don’t change anything”, displayed alongside Coinbase’s branding.

In its ruling, published on Wednesday, the ASA said 35 people had complained that the adverts were irresponsible and trivialised the risks of cryptocurrency, which remains largely unregulated in the UK.

“By presenting the country as failing in areas such as the cost of living and home ownership, the ads implied that consumers should make a financial change,” the watchdog said. It added that the combination of the slogan and Coinbase’s logo suggested the crypto exchange “could be part of the solution to the financial problems stated in the ads”.

The ASA concluded that the adverts breached UK advertising rules and ordered that they must not appear again in their current form.

Coinbase said it disagreed with the decision. In a statement, the company said: “While we respect the ASA’s decision, we fundamentally disagree with the characterisation of a campaign that critically reflects widely reported economic conditions as socially irresponsible.

“The advert was intended to provoke discussion about the state of the financial system and the need to consider better futures, not to offer simplistic solutions or minimise risk.”

The ruling follows repeated warnings from the Financial Conduct Authority, which has told people considering cryptocurrency investments that they should be “prepared to lose all their money” if values collapse.

The ASA has previously taken action against crypto advertising that failed to clearly communicate risk. It has stressed that crypto products are “complex” and “volatile”, and that adverts must make clear when products are not regulated by the FCA and that investors may have no protection if things go wrong.

Responding to the ban, Coinbase acknowledged that digital assets were “not a panacea” for economic challenges, but said it believed “responsible adoption can play a constructive role in a more efficient and freer financial system”.

The decision underscores the UK regulator’s increasingly tough stance on crypto marketing, particularly where advertising is seen to exploit economic anxiety or blur the line between social commentary and financial advice.

Read more:
UK bans Coinbase adverts that suggested crypto could ease cost-of-living pressures

Apple has reported its strongest-ever quarterly iPhone sales, helping to lift overall revenues despite weaker performance in other parts of the business.

In results published on Thursday, the US technology giant said total revenue rose to $144bn (£82.5bn) in the final three months of last year, driven by record sales of the iPhone.

Apple said iPhone demand reached an all-time high during the quarter, supported by improved sales in China, as well as continued strength across Europe, the Americas and Japan.

The strong iPhone performance offset slower growth elsewhere in the business. Revenue from wearables and accessories, including products such as the Apple Watch and wireless earbuds, fell by around 3 per cent year on year.

Sales of Mac computers declined by just over 7 per cent over the same period, reflecting softer demand for personal computers as consumers and businesses continue to delay hardware upgrades.

The mixed performance highlights Apple’s ongoing reliance on the iPhone as its primary growth engine, even as it looks to diversify revenues across services, hardware and emerging technologies.

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Apple posts record iPhone sales as Mac revenues fall

Driverless taxis could begin operating in the UK as soon as September, according to Waymo, the US self-driving car firm owned by Alphabet.

Waymo said it plans to launch a pilot robotaxi service in London in April, with the ambition of carrying paying passengers later in the year once regulations allow. The UK government has said it intends to introduce new rules in the second half of 2026 to permit fully autonomous taxi services, though it has yet to confirm a specific start date.

Local transport minister Lilian Greenwood said the government was actively supporting trials.

“We’re supporting Waymo and other operators through our passenger pilots, and pro-innovation regulations to make self-driving cars a reality on British roads,” she said.

Waymo showcased a fleet of its autonomous vehicles at London’s Transport Museum this week. The cars are currently being driven by safety drivers while mapping London’s streets, but when the service opens to the public there will be no human behind the wheel.

Greenwood said autonomous vehicles had the potential to improve road safety. “Unlike human drivers, automated vehicles don’t get tired, don’t get distracted and don’t drive under the influence,” she said, adding that strict standards would still apply, including safeguards against hacking and cyber threats.

The government estimates the autonomous vehicle sector could add £42bn to the UK economy by 2035 and create close to 40,000 jobs.

Waymo’s robotaxis will be hailed via an app, although the initial service will not include airport drop-offs. The company said pricing would be “competitive but premium”, with fares rising during peak demand.

Waymo vehicles use a combination of lidar, cameras, radar and microphones to build a 360-degree view of their surroundings, with the firm claiming they can detect hazards up to three football fields away, even in poor weather. A high-powered computer processes the data in real time to control the vehicle’s movements.

Waymo’s UK plans come amid growing competition. Uber and Lyft have also signalled they are ready to launch robotaxi services once UK regulations change, both partnering with Chinese technology firm Baidu.

Waymo says its vehicles have driven more than 173 million miles fully autonomously, primarily in the US, where it already operates around 1,000 robotaxis in San Francisco and 700 in Los Angeles. However, isolated reports have emerged of technical glitches, including rare cases where passengers were temporarily unable to exit vehicles.

If approved, a London launch would mark one of the most significant steps yet in bringing large-scale autonomous transport to UK roads.

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Driverless taxis could hit UK roads as early as September, Waymo says