Novo Nordisk hits out at rival Hims & Hers over cheaper weight-loss pill
US telehealth group will sell product for $49 a month, a third that of its Danish competitor
Starmer apologises to victims of Epstein
UK prime minister faces criticism from Labour MPs but insists he is not about to quit
AI agents are prompting human boom scrolling
Moltbook and Claude Cowork are pushing the ‘vibe coding’ revolution forward
Rio Tinto and Glencore abandon $260bn merger plan
Deal would have created world’s largest mining group
US labour demand cools faster than expected in December
Jolts survey shows job openings down more than 1mn between September and December 2025
As software sinks, US oil majors are regaining their lustre
The date at which the world is supposed to hit peak oil keeps receding
Bank of England holds rates steady at 3.75% in knife-edge vote
Central bank awaits stronger evidence that inflation is on track to fall to 2% target
Bitcoin falls below $70,000 to wipe out ‘Trump rally’
Cryptocurrency returns to November 2024 level as it is swept up in tech stock sell-off
US tech rout enters third day as Alphabet shares sink
Nasdaq drops 1.8% as investors continue to ditch high-flying AI-linked shares
UK to scrap more than £250mn in planned physics project funding
Cern particle accelerator led by British scientist among institutions affected
Epstein donated $50,000 to Branson-linked charity at Virgin’s suggestion
British billionaire has denied his group or foundation accepted any money from sex offender
ECB holds interest rates at 2%
Decision follows signs of stronger growth in Eurozone economy
AI venture Fundamental secures $1.2bn valuation and Amazon deal
Start-up partners with AWS to sell AI model designed to interpret petabytes of tabular data in company databases
Private credit group Ares defies market jitters with record inflows
Concerns about exposure to software investments have weighed on sector
Airport screening won’t stop the next pandemic
An outbreak of the Nipah virus near Kolkata is a reminder that hospital containment matters more than thermal scanning
Google set to double AI spending to $185bn after strong earnings
Shares in parent Alphabet slide as capex plan unsettles investors
Ovo in talks with Engie, EDF and E.ON over deal for retail arm
French and German utilities in discussions with UK energy supplier as it seeks to raise funds to meet capital requirements
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber attack costs widen to £260mn
UK carmaker, which warned of negative free cash flow of up to £2.5bn, has not tapped into £1.5bn UK government-backed loan
Cuba plunged into darkness as power cuts worsen
Eastern area that is home to roughly a third of the country’s population suffers power outages
Are US markets and the economy as strong as Trump claims? You asked, we answered
US managing editor Brooke Masters and US financial commentator Robert Armstrong replied to reader questions
Top Republican senator criticises probe into Jay Powell
Also in today’s newsletter, are US companies ‘AI-washing’ to justify tens of thousands of job cuts?
US job cuts surge to highest January total since 2009
Employers slash 108,000 positions in latest sign of cooling labour market
Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece Arcadia glows with historical, intellectual and sexual intrigue
The late playwright’s tumbling, centuries-spanning exploration of the human condition is lovingly revived at the Old Vic
Israel charges troops with smuggling iPhones and cigarettes into Gaza
Prosecutors accuse domestic spy chief’s brother of working with ring that made millions selling goods into besieged strip