670,000 young people have unclaimed government trust fund

📍Top line: If you're aged 18 to 22, you could have an unclaimed Child Trust Fund (CTF) worth thousands! HMRC has reported that over 670,000 young people haven’t yet accessed their government savings, with the average account holding £2,212.

CTFs were set up for children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, allowing them to take control at 16 and withdraw funds at 18.

💷 Next steps? Analysts have warned that many of these accounts, especially those set up by the government, may have gone unnoticed. To find your CTF, you can use an online tool with your national insurance number and date of birth.

Charlene Young, a pensions expert, has recommended transferring the funds to an adult ISA or withdrawing them as soon as possible. "Until then, your money might just sit in an account with high fees, eroding its value," she said.

Co-op to use AI to counter shoplifting surge

📍Top line: The Co-op grocery chain has reported a significant rise in crime-related losses, with a nearly 20% increase in theft and other criminal activities, amounting to £40 million in the first half of the year.

In response, the company is turning to advanced technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), to bolster security across its stores. Co-op has invested £18 million in protective measures, which include AI systems to detect shoplifting, concealed weapons, and assaults on staff.

Despite the surge in theft and violence, Co-op has successfully returned to profitability, demonstrating strong resilience in a tough retail landscape. The group posted pre-tax profits of £58 million for the first half of 2024, a substantial recovery from the £33 million loss it experienced in the same period last year.

Elsewhere in business:

🍗 US fast food giant Chick-fil-A has announced its first locations in the UK, opening restaurants in London, Liverpool, Leeds, and two in Belfast as part of a £74 million investment. Known for its chicken sandwiches, nuggets, and waffle fries, Chick-fil-A aims to create 400 jobs in Britain.

📰 Michael Gove has been named the new editor of The Spectator magazine, following a £100 million takeover by GB News backer Paul Marshall. Gove will take over on October 4th, pending approval from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments. Former Daily Telegraph editor Charles Moore will also join The Spectator as chairman.

UK economy set to grow second fastest among G7 countries

📍Top line: The UK’s economy is to grow faster than Japan, Italy, and Germany this year, according to the OECD. Ranked joint second among G7 nations, along with the US, Britain’s growth forecast for 2024 has been upgraded to 1.1%, a sharp rise from the previous 0.4% prediction.

Despite the positive projections, the UK is expected to face the highest inflation in the G7, with prices set to rise 2.7% in 2024 and remain high at 2.4% in 2025. While inflation poses challenges, the OECD praised the UK’s "robust" recovery from last year’s mild recession.

Elsewhere in the economy:

🏦 A growing number of UK employers are planning to include salary ranges in job postings, reflecting a broader global movement toward pay transparency. According to a survey by Mercer International Inc., nearly half (48%) of businesses in the UK intend to disclose salary data in job ads within the next two years, up from 17% currently.

🎤 UK music fans are losing £145 million a year to ticket touts, according to O2, which is urging for stricter laws to combat the issue. The telecoms giant reported they have fended off 50,000 automated attacks from bots aimed at hoarding tickets. A government consultation may soon consider banning for-profit resales and addressing controversial dynamic pricing practices that inflate ticket costs.

Fashion and lifestyle news source Fizzy Mag has opened applications for its Music Writer Internship. The position is a remote role open to any individual currently enrolled at university. Successful applicants will be expected to write or conceptualise at least one article per day, regularly pitch ideas for articles and brainstorm ideas for viral content. Apply now here.

Zuckerberg unveils Meta’s augmented reality glasses

📍Top line: Meta has unveiled its first working prototype of augmented-reality glasses, dubbed Orion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg showcased the glasses, controllable via hand-tracking, voice commands, and wrist-based interfaces during Meta’s annual conference in California.

Zuckerberg stated during his keynote speech that “a lot of people have said this is the craziest technology they’ve ever seen,”

🇬🇧 Bad news for Brits: The company also announced that its latest artificial intelligence technology will not debut in Britain or the EU due to regulatory uncertainty. The new AI driven products, including Orion and a digital assistant that can emulate the voices of celebrities, will be released to the US and all other markets.

Elsewhere in tech

📦 Britain's skies will be filled with fleets of autonomous drones within the next three years, according to the UK’s airspace regulator. Drones will likely transport vital supplies like chemotherapy drugs, mail, and defibrillators, revolutionising emergency response. Amazon aims to launch drone deliveries in the UK by year’s end, marking the beginning of routine drone flights alongside traditional aircraft.

🚗 The owner of Vauxhall is shaking up the electric vehicle market by launching the Leapmotor T03, a hatchback that costs just under £16,000 in the UK. This move positions the T03 as the second-cheapest EV available on the market an could lead to a price war as brands rush to offer their own affordable electric options.

📱 More than 600,000 people, including celebrities like James McAvoy and Tom Brady, fell for an Instagram hoax that falsely promised privacy protection from Meta. Sharing the “Goodbye Meta AI” post supposedly ensured users that Meta could not utilise their data to train AI, but sharing it had no actual effect. Users must adjust settings to opt out of AI training, according to Meta, who labelled the message "false information".

🔭 Prepare for a cosmic surprise this autumn as Earth is set to gain a temporary "mini-moon"! A small asteroid will be captured by Earth's gravity on September 29 and will orbit the planet for about two months. The asteroid is only about 32 feet long and so will unfortunately be nearly invisible to the naked eye.

🦈 In the deep waters off New Zealand, scientists have discovered a mysterious new species of ghost shark with an unusually long nose and whip-like tail! The eerie creature, dubbed the narrow-nosed spookfish, is closely related to sharks and is found at great depths in South Pacific waters.