Wall Street joins global sell-off as Iran war drives up oil and gas prices – business live

The US stock market has opened, with a bump!With fears of a protracted conflict in the Middle East swirling, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (which tracks 30 large companies) is down 488 points, or 1%, at 48,489 points.Paint and coatings company Sherwin-Williams (-3.1%) are the top faller on the DJIA, followed by athletic footwear firm Nike (-3%) and Walt Disney (-2.8%).The broader S&P 500 index is also down 1%, while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite fell by 1

UK competition watchdog investigates hotel groups over alleged data sharing

The UK competition watchdog has opened an investigation into three of the world’s biggest hotel chains – Hilton, InterContinental Hotels (IHG) and Marriott – amid suspicions they could be sharing “competitively sensitive” information with each other.The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating allegations that the businesses, which together operate more than 25,000 hotels worldwide, could be sharing information through the data analytics tool STR. CoStar, the real estate data firm that owns STR, is also under investigation.While it is common for hotel chains to use data analytics and algorithms to help them set prices, which can improve competition and lower costs, sharing this information with competitors can be harmful to their customers.The watchdog said: “When rival businesses share competitively sensitive information – including through a third-party data analytics provider – this reduces the uncertainty competing businesses normally have about how each other will act

US military reportedly used Claude in Iran strikes despite Trump’s ban

The US military reportedly used Claude, Anthropic’s AI model, to inform its attack on Iran despite Donald Trump’s decision, announced hours earlier, to sever all ties with the company and its artificial intelligence tools.The use of Claude during the massive joint US-Israel bombardment of Iran that began on Saturday was reported by the Wall Street Journal and Axios. It underlines the complexity of the US military withdrawing powerful AI tools from its missions when the technology is already intricately embedded in operations.According to the Journal, US military command used the tools for intelligence purposes, as well as to help select targets and carry out battlefield simulations.On Friday, just hours before the Iran attack began, Trump ordered all federal agencies to stop using Claude immediately

Datacentre developers face calls to disclose effect on UK’s net emissions

Datacentre developers are facing pressure to reveal whether their projects will increase the UK’s net greenhouse gas emissions, amid concerns the sites could double national electricity demand.Campaign groups have written to the UK technology secretary, Liz Kendall, warning that the energy required by new AI infrastructure poses a “serious threat to efforts to decarbonise the electricity grid”.Developers should demonstrate that their projects will not cause an increase in the UK’s overall CO2 emissions or local water scarcity, as part of a forthcoming national policy statement (NPS) on datacentres, the letter says.“Without these commitments, such vast electricity use will inevitably generate vast climate emissions,” the campaigners write.The letter is signed by Foxglove, a group that campaigns against big tech dominance, and five other non-governmental organisations including the environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth

AFL 2026 predicted ladder part two: history suggests Geelong may struggle

The Cats remain a flawed team and could find themselves among footy’s lower middle class after last year’s grand final maulingPart one: Collingwood on a cliff edge as time waits for no oneMelbourne recently released a membership video that leaned into the cliches and the disappointment – one of the better executed and coherent offerings from the club in recent years. They were eight wins off finals last year. But they beat Brisbane at the Gabba, nearly beat Collingwood twice and ran top-placed Adelaide close. They lost half a dozen games by eight points or less.The new coach Steven King wants them to make mistakes, take risks and play with freedom and flair

Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix hit by travel chaos amid Middle East crisis

As many as one thousand members of the Formula One circus have been forced into last-minute travel changes to get to Melbourne’s opening round in the wake of the escalating crisis in the Middle East, and some are set to miss the start of the season entirely.However, a larger logistical headache has been narrowly avoided, after the cars and supporting equipment were already shipped from last month’s testing in Bahrain – one of the countries drawn into the conflict – prior to this week’s widespread aviation disruptions.Travis Auld, chief executive of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, told Channel Nine on Monday the vehicles were already sitting on the main straight at Albert Park in containers, ready to be put into the garages ahead of the Formula One race weekend, which begins with practice on Friday.He added, however, that many staff have had to make new travel arrangements to avoid international airport hubs in places such as Qatar and the UAE which have been hit by Iranian missiles.“You’re talking about teams, drivers, Formula One personnel, I’m guessing there’d be close to a thousand people that would have already booked their flights and would be landing somewhere between today, tomorrow, Wednesday – they had to all be changed