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Airline raises forecasts for profits and passenger numbers, after boss said spat with Tesla CEO boosted bookingsBusiness live – latest updatesRyanair would be open to using Elon Musk's Starlink wifi on its planes in the future, its finance chief has suggested, amid a feud between the boss of the Irish airline and the world's richest person.The airline would look at “whoever is the best, when the tech and price is right” for in-flight wifi, the Ryanair chief financial officer, Neil Sorahan, said. Continue reading......

Synthesia makes digital presenters for clients to use in corporate videos and counts 70% of FTSE 100 as customersA British AI startup that makes realistic video avatars has almost doubled its valuation to $4bn (£3bn), in a boost for the UK technology sector.Synthesia was valued at $2.1bn last year and moved into new offices in central London, marking the moment with a ceremony attended by the Sadiq Khan, the city's mayor, and Peter Kyle, then technology secretary. Continue reading......

Britain is losing more jobs than it creates owing to artificial intelligence, Morgan Stanley research suggestsMore than a quarter of Britons fear losing job to AI in next five yearsBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK is losing more jobs than it is creating because of artificial intelligence and is being hit harder than rival large economies, new research suggests.British companies reported that AI had resulted in net job losses over the past 12 months, down 8% – the highest rate among other leading economies including the US, Japan, Germany and Australia, according to a study by the investment bank Morgan Stanley. Continue reading......

Both precious metals hit all-time highs as investors pile into safe-haven assets amid Donald Trump's threat of 100% tariffs on Canada and shutdown fearsGood morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Gold has soared past $5,000 an ounce, as investors pile into safe-haven assets amid Donald Trump's threat of new tariffs on Canada and fears of another government shutdown in the US.What's striking is that this renewed flight to safe havens is unfolding without any major geopolitical headline this morning. There has been no new escalation over the weekend — no fresh breach of international law, no invasion, no immediate military threat. The US did, however, threaten Canada with 100% tariffs, after Mark Carney approached China last week, defying the White House — a reminder that trade tensions remain alive and well. Beyond that, the news flow is thin. Yet the bid for precious metals suggests that market stress is far from over.Last week was mark...

Guardian found OpenAI's platform cited Grokipedia on topics including Iran and Holocaust deniersThe latest model of ChatGPT has begun to cite Elon Musk's Grokipedia as a source on a wide range of queries, including on Iranian conglomerates and Holocaust deniers, raising concerns about misinformation on the platform.In tests done by the Guardian, GPT-5.2 cited Grokipedia nine times in response to more than a dozen different questions. These included queries on political structures in Iran, such as salaries of the Basij paramilitary force and the ownership of the Mostazafan Foundation, and questions on the biography of Sir Richard Evans, a British historian and expert witness against Holocaust denier David Irving in his libel trial. Continue reading......

Rising fears that another US shutdown looms pushes gold price to new height amid nearly 90% rise since Trump's inaugurationGold has jumped above US$5,000 an ounce for the first time, as Donald Trump's chaotic policies and proclamations drive more investors to seek safe harbour in the precious metal.The price of the yellow metal jumped 1.8% to $5,078 an ounce on Monday, according to Bloomberg. Continue reading......

Study finds top performers over past decade have companies in industries such software, marketing and financeA southern town in the north: how Warrington has adapted to changeEleven towns and cities in the UK, including Warrington, Barnsley and Wakefield, have seen their disposable incomes rise twice as fast as the rest of the UK over the past decade, a study has found.A report from Centre for Cities, a thinktank, showed that between 2013 and 2023, disposable income for residents of these top performing towns and cities rose by an average of 5.2%, compared with an increase of 2.4% for urban areas in the UK overall. Continue reading......

PM says recent agreement just cuts tariffs on a few sectors, as Trump threatens 100% tariffs on Canadian importsCanada's prime minister, Mark Carney, said on Sunday his country had no intention of pursuing a free trade deal with China, responding to Donald Trump's threat to impose a 100% tariff on goods imported from Canada if the US's northern neighbour went ahead with a trade deal with Beijing.Carney said his recent agreement with China merely cut tariffs on a few sectors that were recently hit with them. Continue reading......

Energy secretary Ed Miliband says clean energy project is part of efforts to leave 'the fossil fuel rollercoaster'The UK and nine other European countries have agreed to build an offshore wind power grid in the North Sea in a landmark pact to turn the ageing oil basin into a “clean energy reservoir”.The countries will build windfarms at sea that directly connect to multiple nations through high-voltage subsea cables, under plans that are expected to provide 100GW of offshore wind power, or enough electricity capacity to power 143m homes. Continue reading......

Multiple small-business indexes show an uptick in optimism as well as an easing of cost pressures and uncertaintyRegardless of all the challenges they face, small businesses have been doing pretty well in this country across the board. Don't believe me? Take a look at some of the latest numbers.For more than 50 years, the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) has published a monthly report of small-business economic trends, based on a random sample of the organization's approximately 300,000 member firms. This survey is one of the longest and most consistent of any I follow, using the same questionnaire since 1973. So where do things stand? Continue reading......

Survey reveals 'mismatched AI expectations' between views of employers and staff over impact on careersMore than a quarter (27%) of UK workers are worried their jobs could disappear in the next five years as a result of AI, according to a survey of thousands of employees.Two-thirds (66%) of UK employers reported having invested in AI in the past 12 months, according to the international recruitment company Randstad's annual review of the world of work, while more than half (56%) of workers said more companies were encouraging the use of AI tools in the workplace. Continue reading......

Some residents say they are facing financial ruin as government's long-awaited law changes stall“I don't say this lightly, but I feel traumatised by this,” said Sarah*, a leaseholder who owns a one-bedroom flat in Moseley, south Birmingham. “Every time I open the front door to my house I'm expecting some frightening letter with lots of zeros on it. It has ruined my life, to be honest.”Sarah works full-time as a school teacher, but has been forced to take up a second job to pay the spiralling bills from the management company of her building. Continue reading......

Altman's campaigning for his company coincides with its use of enormous present resources to serve an imagined futureSam Altman has claimed over the years that the advancement of AI could solve climate change, cure cancer, create a benevolent superintelligence beyond human comprehension, provide a tutor for every student, take over nearly half of the tasks in the economy and create what he calls “universal extreme wealth”.In order to bring about his utopian future, Altman is demanding enormous resources from the present. As CEO of OpenAI, the world's most valuable privately owned company, he has in recent months announced plans for $1tn of investment into datacenters and struck multibillion-dollar deals with several chipmakers. If completed, the datacenters are expected to use more power than entire European nations. OpenAI is pushing an aggressive expansion – encroaching on industries like e-commerce, healthcare and entertainment – while increasingly integrating its products into government, un...

Tech could lose its social acceptance unless it makes people's lives better – and trade unions want an urgent conversation “Who wouldn't want a robot to watch over your kids?” Elon Musk asked Davos delegates last week, as he looked forward with enthusiasm to a world with “more robots than people”.Not me, thanks: children need the human connection – the love – that gives life meaning. Continue reading......

Critics say banks will be able to avoid tax on compensation payouts to victims of £11bn loans scandalThe City minister, Lucy Rigby, has been accused of snubbing taxpayers after she appeared to brush off concerns about a £2bn tax loophole benefiting big banks caught up in the car loans scandal.Rigby was urged to intervene by a member of the parliamentary Treasury committee after it emerged that lenders including Barclays, Lloyds and Santander could sidestep rules designed to ensure banks pay tax on compensation linked to corporate misconduct. Continue reading......

Eco programme turned into a national scandal – but experts worry £15bn plan will prioritise green energy over insulatingNo homeowner wants to be faced with a hefty bill for household repairs – and when those charges are the result of botched insulation under a UK government-run scheme, individual misfortune turns to national scandal.That has been the experience of tens of thousands of households after what MPs have condemned as the “catastrophic failure” of the energy company obligation (Eco) insulation programme run by the last Conservative government, the results of which have only recently been uncovered. Continue reading......

Activists say the retailer has met with clergy but not spoken out against ICE or safeguarded employees and customersWhile thousands of protesters marched through downtown Minneapolis on Friday to demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents leave the city, a smaller group of activists set their sights on a specific destination: the downtown headquarters of national retailer Target.Dozens of clergy members and their supporters planted themselves in the atrium of the store. “Say it loud and say it clear, immigrants are welcome here,” the group chanted. “Something 'bout this isn't right – why does Target work for ICE?” Continue reading......

US legal cannabis industry seeks new ways to incorporate weed into meals after a tough year for business in 2025Food and stoner culture have always gone together, but these days chefs and cannabis professionals are working together to find thoughtful, new ways to incorporate weed into meals.For National Hot Pastrami Day on 14 January, a celebrated Jewish deli in Chicago teamed up with a local Illinois dispensary to give customers free pastrami sandwiches garnished with cannabis-infused mustard. Continue reading......

Conservative majority appears eager to hand president greater power – with one exception: the US central bankDonald Trump has tried his usual tactics when it comes to getting the US Federal Reserve to lower interest rates: bully when persuasion doesn't work, and then fire when bullying doesn't work.In an unprecedented assault on the central bank, the president has called the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, “stupid” and threatened to fire him for not cutting interest rates as quickly as Trump would like. Most recently, the justice department instigated a criminal investigation against Powell for testimony he gave about renovations at the Fed's headquarters. Even so, the Fed has not budged. Continue reading......

Change being considered amid global glut driven by supplies from China along with a rise in protectionism The UK is expected to reduce the amount of foreign steel it allows in tariff-free, as the government looks to protect its domestic industry amid a global glut and a rise in protectionism.Ministers are considering changing the quota system that allows a quantity of the metal to be imported before imposing a 25% levy on anything above that level. Continue reading......