Twelve top central bankers defend Fed’s Jerome Powell over DoJ investigation; oil hits two-month high as Trump threatens Iran’s trading partners – as it happened

Newsflash: Eleven of the world’s top central bankers have released a statement of support for Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, after the US Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into him.In an unprecedented move, top central bank chiefs including the Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey, and Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank, have backed Powell, and warned against undermining central bank independence.The heads of the Swedish, Denmark, Swiss, Australian, Canadian, South Korean, and Brazilian central banks have also signed, as have two top officials at the Bank of International Settlements (known as the “central bank for central banks”).Others may yet sign the letter too, Reuters suggested this morning.The central bank chiefs say:We stand in full solidarity with the Federal Reserve System and its Chair Jerome H

US inflation held firm in December amid pressure on Trump over cost of living

US inflation held firm last month as Donald Trump faces mounting pressure over the cost of living for millions of Americans.The closely watched consumer price index rose 2.7% in the year to December, in line with the previous month, according to official data published on Tuesday morning, ahead of a speech by the US president on the economy.The latest reading was broadly in line with economists’ expectations last month, and significantly above the Federal Reserve’s target for 2% inflation. Food prices and housing costs lifted the index higher in December

Can X be banned under UK law and what are the other options?

The UK government is threatening Elon Musk’s X with the nuclear option under the country’s online safety laws: a ban. The social media platform is under pressure from ministers after it allowed the Grok AI tool, which is integrated within the app, to generate indecent images of unsuspecting women and children.The government has said it will support the media regulator Ofcom, which has launched an investigation into X, if it decides to push ahead with a ban. But is such a move likely?The Online Safety Act (OSA) contains a provision that allows Ofcom to seek a court order imposing “business disruption measures” on a website or app that is in breach of the legislation. These measures are in effect a block on the recipient operating in the UK

UK media regulator investigating Elon Musk’s X after outcry over sexualised AI images

The UK media watchdog has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s X over the use of the Grok AI tool to manipulate images of women and children by removing their clothes.Ofcom has acted after a public and political outcry over a deluge of sexual images appearing on the platform, created by Musk’s Grok, which is integrated with X.The regulator is investigating X under 2023’s Online Safety Act (OSA), which carries a range of possible punishments for breaches, including a UK ban of apps and websites for the most serious abuses.Ofcom said it would pursue the investigation as a “matter of the highest priority”, while Liz Kendall, the technology secretary, said the regulator had the government’s full backing.Ofcom said: “Reports of Grok being used to create and share illegal nonconsensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material on X have been deeply concerning

Frustrated Raducanu held up by rain with match suspended overnight in Hobart

Emma Raducanu cut a frustrated figure on Tuesday at the Hobart International as her first round match was suspended for the night due to rain with the Briton struggling to hold on to her precarious 6-3, 2-4 lead against Camila Osorio of Colombia.Raducanu, the top seed in Hobart, will return to the court on Wednesday afternoon hoping to close out her first win of the season. She lost her only match of 2026 to Maria Sakkari at the United Cup mixed-team competition last week. Afterwards, Raducanu explained how her pre-season had been badly disrupted by the foot injury she had been struggling with since she prematurely ended her 2025 season in October. The 22-year-old only began to play points and move properly in her training sessions once she arrived in Australia at the end of December

Team GB targets record-breaking medal haul at 2026 Winter Olympics

Team GB believes it can achieve “the greatest performance we have ever seen at a winter Games” and is targeting a record-breaking eight medals at next month’s Winter Olympics.Britain’s previous best at a winter Games is the five medals secured in Sochi in 2014 and Pyeongchang in 2018. However the Covid-affected Games in Beijing in 2022 proved to be a disappointment, with Team GB leaving China with just two curling medals.But a glut of world cup and world championship medals over the last three years has left UK Sport, which funds Britain’s Olympic sports, confident that Team GB will bring home between four and eight medals from the Winter Olympics in Italy – and a further two-to-five medals from the Paralympic Winter Games.“That range is ambitious,” said Dr Kate Baker, director of performance and people at UK Sport