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Move comes as the SEC has taken a series of friendly stances towards the cryptocurrency industry under TrumpThe US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday agreed to dismiss its enforcement case against a cryptocurrency exchange founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, after investors in its lending program recovered their assets in full.The SEC has taken a series of industry-friendly actions in recent years, a shift in its approach to crypto enforcement under Donald Trump, who promised to be the “crypto president”. He brought in more favorable rules and pledged to popularize mainstream use of digital currencies. Continue reading......

Southern state becoming ground zero in fight against rapid growth of facilities using huge amounts of energy and waterLawmakers in several states are exploring passing laws that would put statewide bans in place on building new datacenters as the issue of the power-hungry facilities has moved to the center of economic and environmental concerns in the US.In Georgia a state lawmaker has introduced a bill proposing what could become the first statewide moratorium on new datacenters in America. The bill is one of at least three statewide moratoriums on datacenters introduced in state legislatures in the last week as Maryland and Oklahoma lawmakers are also considering similar measures. Continue reading......

Tech company denied illegally recording and circulating private conversations to send phone users targeted adsGoogle agreed to pay $68m to settle a lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated assistant spied inappropriately on smartphone users, violating their privacy.A preliminary class action settlement was filed late on Friday night in the San Jose, California federal court, and requires approval by US district judge Beth Labson Freeman. Smartphone users accused Google, a unit of Alphabet, of illegally recording and disseminating private conversations after Google Assistant was triggered, in order to send them targeted advertising. Continue reading......

Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, who had held senior roles in Russian government, used a variant spelling of his name to access UK banking systemBank of Scotland has been fined £160,000 by the UK's sanctions watchdog after opening a bank account and processing payments for an ally of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, who became the first person to be prosecuted for circumventing UK sanctions last year, made 24 payments totalling £77,383 to or from a personal current account during February 2023. Continue reading......

European retailers urge traders to adhere to commitments after Brazilian lawmakers drop forest protection agreementLeading British and European retailers are trying to salvage the core elements of the Amazon soy moratorium after the world's most successful forest protection agreement was wrecked by Brazilian lawmakers and abandoned by international traders.In an open letter, high street brands including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda warn the breakdown this month of the 20-year-old agreement will damage consumer confidence in Brazil and the shipping firms unless new arrangements are put in place to ensure grain production is not linked to deforestation. Continue reading......

Business wing of Christian Democrats aims to scrap legal right to fewer hours, saying people should need permissionThe business wing of Germany's leading Christian Democrats party is proposing a ban on workers' legal entitlement to work part-time, arguing that those wishing to work fewer hours should have to acquire special permission to do so.Currently, every employee in Europe's largest economy has a fundamental right to carry out part-time work, with many, particularly women, often needing to do so for reasons relating to childcare or looking after elderly relatives. Continue reading......

James Daunt is relaxed about bills and the higher living wage, and says bookselling is having 'a nice time'The boss of Waterstones has defended the government's approach to the high street, arguing that controversial changes to business rates were “sensible” and had benefited outlets in struggling areas.James Daunt said the bookseller's total business rates bill for this year was going to be similar to last year's as big increases at large, successful sites such as its flagship on London's Piccadilly had been offset by “quite significant” decreases at shops in more troubled locations. Continue reading......

Shares in FTSE 250 company jump as it reveals Bridgepoint and Triton are among groups interested in takeoverBusiness live – latest updatesThe UK's biggest private hospital provider, Spire Healthcare, is in talks about a sale to private equity that could lead to it being delisted from the London Stock Exchange.The company, which owns the Claremont hospital in Sheffield and the historic St Anthony's hospital in south London, said on Monday that Bridgepoint Advisers and Triton Investments Advisers were “amongst the parties” with which it was in talks. Continue reading......

Investigation comes after Elon Musk's firm sparked outrage by allowing users to 'strip' photos of women and childrenEurope live – latest updatesThe European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X over the production of sexually explicit images and the spreading of possible child sexual abuse material by the platform's AI chatbot feature, Grok.The formal inquiry, launched on Monday, also extends an investigation into X's recommender systems, algorithms that help users discover new content. Continue reading......

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......