AI boom will produce winners and ‘carnage,’ says tech boss; dollar sinks to four-year lows after Trump comments – business live

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said it is likely that the dollar will continue to weaken.There were plenty of major stories and market moves yesterday, but the most significant — and most impactful — was undoubtedly the sharp sell-off in the US dollar. It pushed the US dollar index to a four-year low and continues to drive gold and silver to fresh record highs this morning.Trade and geopolitical uncertainty, tied to an increasingly unreliable American friend and ally, as well as growing concerns about what will happen to the Federal Reserve’s credibility once Jerome Powell leaves office (it will fly out of the window), continue to weigh on the US dollar. Add to that the latest US consumer survey, which showed a sharp drop in consumer confidence, a marked deterioration in how households view the current situation, a decline in the share of consumers expecting income growth, and a steady rise in those saying jobs are hard to get

Royal Mail delivered Christmas letters and parcels late to about 16m people

Royal Mail has been criticised for offering an “unacceptable” performance over the crucial Christmas period after it failed to deliver letters and cards on time to about 16 million people, Citizens Advice found.The consumer watchdog, which carried out research into Christmas deliveries, said that figure was 50% higher than in 2024, and the highest level over the festive period in five years, excluding when Royal Mail was hit by strike action in the run-up to Christmas four years ago.“We’re afraid there’s no light at the end of the tunnel for consumers struggling with Royal Mail’s persistent delivery failures,” said Anne Pardoe, the head of policy at Citizens Advice. “When people have no other postal provider to choose from, the sheer volume of delays is simply unacceptable.”The research, based on a survey of almost 2,100 adults conducted by Yonder, calculated that 5

Coinbase adverts banned in UK for suggesting crypto could ease cost of living crisis

A cryptocurrency company advised by George Osborne has been banned from showing a set of adverts that suggested using its services could be a solution to the cost of living crisis.Coinbase, which appointed the former Conservative chancellor to chair its global advisory council last year, has been told by the UK’s advertising watchdog that its adverts were “irresponsible” and “trivialised the risks of cryptocurrency”.The adverts from the US crypto exchange include a sarcastic two-minute video showing people singing “everything is just fine, everything is grand” as their home falls into a state of disrepair and suffers a power cut, while outside Britons cheerfully dance through streets littered with rats and piles of overflowing bin bags.As the ad progresses, a shopper faces rising prices for fish fingers in a supermarket, white-collar workers lose their jobs, a sewage pipe bursts and rubbish falls from the sky.The clip ends with large text saying: “If everything’s fine, don’t change anything”, before being replaced with the Coinbase logo

Pornhub to stop new UK users accessing site from next week

Pornhub is to stop new users accessing its site in the UK from next week, citing the impact of mandatory age checks that were introduced last summer under the Online Safety Act.The pornography website, which is one of the most visited in the world, announced that from 2 February only users who have already verified their age will retain access through their existing accounts. The change also affects YouPorn and RedTube, explicit websites operated by the same Cyprus-based company, Aylo.The move comes after Pornhub said in October that its traffic was down 77% in the UK since July, when the age checks came in and began to be enforced by Ofcom, the communications regulator.In a statement, the company said that it would “no longer participate in the failed system” created as a result of the OSA

Novak Djokovic survives at Australian Open as Lorenzo Musetti retires hurt while two sets up

Novak Djokovic said he will double his prayers on Wednesday night after receiving a massive slice of luck in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open as the Serb was thoroughly outplayed for two sets by an inspired Lorenzo Musetti before the Italian was forced to retire due to injury while leading 6-4, 6-3, 1-3.Musetti had been working towards one of the best victories of his career, dominating Djokovic from the baseline and establishing an authoritative lead before his retirement.“I don’t know what to say except that I feel really sorry for him. He was a far better player, I was on my way home tonight,” Djokovic said. “I don’t know what to say, these kinds of things happen in sport

Australian Open 2026 quarter-finals: Pegula beats Anisimova after Rybakina stuns Swiatek – as it happened

But that’s just about all from me today, it’s been a lot of fun having your company as we watched Elena Rybakina (5) and Jess Pegula (6) advance through to the final four of the women’s singles.Be sure to check back later this evening, where we’ll be bringing you all the action on a evening set to be highlighted by Ben Shelton (8) looking to upset the applecart and bundle Jannik Sinner (1) out in the quarterfinals.I’ve been Joey Lynch, thanks for your company.While both Pegula and Anisimova landed approximately 60% of their first serves in that one, the former was able to take 70% of those points compared to the 58% of the latter. Pegula also won 64% of her second serves, compared to the 39% logged by the frustrated Anisimova