Pound falls after weak UK factory data as US dollar rises – as it happened

The pound has fallen by 1% against the US dollar to below $1.24, its lowest since April.Sterling was not helped by weak factory data, which suggests that the UK economy may have some way to go before it picks up the growth momentum for which the Labour government is aiming.But as ever with currency movements, there are two sides: on the other, there is the rise in the value of the US dollar as investors position for the second Trump administration. The dollar index against a trade-weighted basket of currencies has risen as high as 108

UK factory output falls at fastest rate since February amid tax rise fears

Manufacturers in the UK have cut back output at the fastest rate in 11 months, compounding the gloomy picture for the British economy, according to a closely watched survey.The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for manufacturing fell in December to 47, down from 48 in November – its weakest reading since February. Any reading below 50 signals a contraction.Sterling fell on foreign exchange markets after the news, underlining the challenge facing the Labour government, as it hopes for an economic upturn.The pound was down almost 1% against the dollar by mid-afternoon in London, at $1

If smart AI is so scary, why even develop it? | Brief letters

Prof Geoffrey Hinton claims “we’re going to develop AIs that are smarter than people. And that’s a very scary thought” (‘Godfather of AI’ shortens odds of the technology wiping out humanity over next 30 years, 27 December). The obvious response to this is: if something is “very scary”, why do it?Máire DaviesLondon Geoffrey Hinton seems to think humans are, so far, the most intelligent beings. To willingly contrive to get ourselves into this predicament suggests otherwise.Neil BlackshawAlnwick, Northumberland Delighted that the King’s daughter has been honoured with an MBE – Dawn Astle, that is, daughter of Jeff Astle, the King of the Baggies, rewarded for her work campaigning for research into head injuries in football (Report, 30 December)

Halal tech: how Muslim-friendly websites and apps blossomed in 2024

Amany Killawi made a breakup playlist every time she was dumped, three in all. The playlists, which feature songs such as Gotye’s Somebody That I Used to Know and Apologize by OneRepublic, would make good soundtracks to romantic splits, but that’s not what they were. The playlists came together after Killawi was told by three different banks and payment processors they would no longer work with LaunchGood, the crowdfunding platform for the Muslim community she co-founded.Stripe said it was restricting its work in the crowdfunding space after five years of working with LaunchGood. Stripe also told the company it didn’t want to do any more international humanitarian work – a prerequisite for a crowdfunding platform that caters to the Muslim community

Novak Djokovic extends Monfils misery with record 20th win over Frenchman

Novak Djokovic extended the most dominant head-to-head record in the history of tennis by defeating Gaël Monfils 6-3, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Thursday night.The victory marks Djokovic’s 20th career victory over Monfils, who is still searching for his first win over the Serbian after competing against each other on the professional circuit for 20 years. Rafael Nadal’s 18-0 record over Richard Gasquet is the second most lopsided record in the sport. “[Monfils’] game suits me well,” said Djokovic, smiling. “To some extent the more you win against someone, the happier you are to play him

Iga Swiatek bundles brilliant Boulter and Britain out of United Cup after epic

Over the course of the past 18 months, by far the most rewarding period in her blossoming career, Katie Boulter has gradually established herself as one of the best tennis players in the world. She has won noteworthy titles, defeated top opponents and embedded herself inside the top 30.Yet no battle in her career has quite matched the delirium of an unforgettable night in Sydney when she went shot-for-shot with the greatest active women’s player, Iga Swiatek, and came so close to securing the biggest win of her career. After three hours of tennis of the highest ­quality, Swiatek somehow survived a brilliant ­performance from Boulter, winning 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4 to secure a 2-0 win for Poland over Great Britain and a spot in the semi-finals of the United Cup.Earlier on Thursday, Britain’s Billy Harris played a solid match but he was outclassed by the men’s No 16, Hubert Hurkacz, who closed out a tough 7-6 (3), 7-5 win to secure Poland’s first win of the tie