Consumer confidence hit by ripple of fear over Iran war

Precious metal prices have risen after the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro increased investors’ concerns about geopolitical risks. In Monday morning trade in Asia, gold was about 1.8% higher at around $4,408 (£3,282) an ounce, while silver was up close to 3.5%, as money was moved into so-called “safe-haven” assets. Meanwhile, crude oil…

Warner Bros Discovery has told its shareholders to reject an “inferior” updated bid from Paramount Skydance to buy the company. It is the second time in less than a month the Warner Bros board has urged its shareholders to say no to the Paramount offer, after announcing on 5 December that Netflix was buying the…

The EU has announced plans to hike tariffs on imported steel in a move the UK’s steel industry has said could be “perhaps the biggest crisis” it has ever faced. The commission has set out plans to cut the amount of steel that can be imported into the bloc by half – beyond which the…

“If this were merely a contracting impasse, DoW would presumably have just stopped using Claude,” Judge Lin wrote, referencing the Department of War, a secondary name for the Department of Defense. “The challenged actions, however, far exceed the scope of what could reasonably address such a national security interest.”

These productions have been sticking to romance or family drama to keep costs down as they need fewer visual effects. But now AI can “elevate low-budget productions into more ambitious genres such as sci-fi, period drama and, now, action”, Kwok says.