Poor results at Puma and Zara owner fuel fears of slowing US consumer demand

Unexpectedly poor results from the sports brand Puma and the fashion group Inditex, which owns Zara, have fuelled fears about slowing consumer appetite in the US amid uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.Shares in Puma dived by more than a fifth as the company warned that sales growth this year would be slower than hoped as “geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic challenges will continue, especially trade disputes and currency volatility, which is expected to weigh on consumer sentiment and demand”.Piral Dadhania, a retail analyst at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), said: “There are some concerns around brand heat, increasing competition and North America distribution.”Inditex shares were down by 8% on Wednesday as the company said underlying sales grew by 4% in the five weeks to 10 March, well behind analysts’ expectations, and slower than the 10.5% increase rung up for the year to 31 January

Timid FCA has retreated too far on its ‘name and shame’ proposals

Lobbying victories for the City do not come much more comprehensive. Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority, the industry regulator, put forward a proposal that it should be able to name firms under investigation more frequently.Greater openness at an earlier stage, argued the FCA, could deter bad behaviour and protect consumers. A “public interest” test on disclosure would be better than the existing “exceptional circumstances” rule that was so stifling that the FCA was silent even as British Steel pensioners, in a well-publicised scandal in 2017, were fleeced by unscrupulous financial advisers who gave them terrible advice.But the uproar from City firms and lawyers over the FCA’s proposals was loud and persistent

ChatGPT firm reveals AI model that is ‘good at creative writing’

The company behind ChatGPT has revealed it has developed an artificial intelligence model that is “good at creative writing”, as the tech sector continues its tussle with the creative industries over copyright.The chief executive of OpenAI, Sam Altman, said the unnamed model, which has not been released publicly, was the first time he had been “really struck” by the written output of one of the startup’s products.In a post on the social media platform X, Altman wrote: “We trained a new model that is good at creative writing (not sure yet how/when it will get released). This is the first time i have been really struck by something written by AI.”AI systems such as ChatGPT are the subject of a running legal battle between AI companies and the creative industries because their underlying models are “trained” on reams of publicly available data, including copyright-protected material such as novels and journalism

iPhone 16e review: Apple’s cheapest new phone

Apple’s cheapest new smartphone is the iPhone 16e, which offers the basic modern iPhone experience including the latest chips and AI features but for a little less than its other models.The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The iPhone 16e costs £599 (€699/$599/A$999) and is the spiritual successor to the iPhone SE line

Borthwick deserves credit after bold selection for England’s Wales test

Pick the bones out of that. Four openside flankers in the squad, three fly‑halves, just two second-rows and one centre. It does not stop there with a first start on the wing and a debut in waiting on the bench, in Cardiff – a place that has a habit of swallowing up and spitting out fledgling England careers.On the back of a six-day turnaround, the easy move was to slot Henry Slade back into midfield for the injured Ollie Lawrence and challenge the other 14 who started the victory against Italy last Sunday to go out and do the same against Wales.Steve Borthwick has other ideas, however

Steve Borthwick may use three fly-halves for Six Nations finale in Wales

Steve Borthwick is prepared to unleash his triple threat of No 10s simultaneously against Wales on Saturday, with the head coach insisting England are heading to Cardiff intending to win the Six Nations title.Borthwick has selected Fin Smith and Marcus Smith as well as George Ford in his matchday squad for the first time and revealed deploying all three in harness is a possibility as England seek to keep their championship hopes alive on “Super Saturday”.The head coach has rolled the dice, making four personnel and three positional changes to his starting XV, with Marcus Smith recalled at full‑back and Ford on the bench. Fin Smith makes his fourth consecutive start at fly-half but, intriguingly, is also seen by Borthwick as an inside‑centre option. With Ford in line for a 99th cap and his first appearance of the 2025 championship, all three fly‑halves are poised to feature against Wales