Stellantis takes €22bn hit after ‘overestimating’ pace of shift to EVs

The carmaker Stellantis has said it will take a €22bn (£19.1bn) charge and sell a stake in its battery joint venture after admitting that it “overestimated” the pace of the shift to electric vehicles.Shares in the European-based carmaker, which owns marques including Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep and Citroën, plunged after it said that the move was part of a reset of its business as it also admitted “poor operational execution”.Antonio Filosa, the chief executive of Stellantis, said: “The charges announced today largely reflect the cost of overestimating the pace of the energy transition that distanced us from many car buyers’ real-world needs, means and desires.“They also reflect the impact of previous poor operational execution, the effects of which are being progressively addressed by our new team

Price of average UK home passes £300,000 for first time, Halifax says

The average cost of a UK home passed £300,000 for the first time in January, as house prices increased at the fastest rate since November 2024.Data released by Halifax showed that house prices rose 0.7% month on month last month, the fastest rate since a 1.1% increase was recorded in November 2024. On an annual measure, prices grew 1%

TikTok could be forced to change app’s ‘addictive design’ by European Commission

TikTok could be forced into changes to make the app less addictive to users after the EU indicated the platform had breached the bloc’s digital safety rules.The EU’s executive arm said in a preliminary ruling that the popular app had infringed the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to its “addictive design”.The European Commission said TikTok, which has more than 1 billion users worldwide, had not adequately assessed how its design could harm the physical and mental wellbeing of users including children and vulnerable adults.By constantly “rewarding” users with new content, the Chinese-owned platform fuelled constant scrolling and shifted the brains of users into “autopilot mode”, the commission added, which could lead to compulsive behaviour and reduce users’ self-control.The preliminary ruling accused TikTok of ignoring indicators of compulsive use, such as the amount of time children spend on the app at night

Deepfake fraud taking place on an industrial scale, study finds

Deepfake fraud has gone “industrial”, an analysis published by AI experts has said.Tools to create tailored, even personalised, scams – leveraging, for example, deepfake videos of Swedish journalists or the president of Cyprus – are no longer niche, but inexpensive and easy to deploy at scale, said the analysis from the AI Incident Database.It catalogued more than a dozen recent examples of “impersonation for profit”, including a deepfake video of Western Australia’s premier, Robert Cook, hawking an investment scheme, and deepfake doctors promoting skin creams.These examples are part of a trend in which scammers are using widely available AI tools to perpetuate increasingly targeted heists. Last year, a finance officer at a Singaporean multinational paid out nearly $500,000 to scammers during what he believed was a video call with company leadership

Now or never for Townsend’s Scotland with head coach in Six Nations spotlight

If not now, then when? The stakes are never low in the Six Nations but for Scotland and Gregor Townsend the 2026 championship feels more loaded with significance than most.Under the tutelage of the 52-year-old head coach, the many disappointments of recent campaigns have been met with an assurance that there is potential for success in this squad. Between now and mid-March would be a handy time to prove it.Scotland have lost 11 consecutive matches against Ireland, for instance, and have finished fourth in five of eight tournaments under Townsend. They were unfortunate to be drawn with South Africa and Ireland at the last Rugby World Cup, but luck should not come into it now, especially considering the time he has had to build as he approaches a decade in the post

‘We are all connected’: Winter Olympics opening ceremony stresses harmony and showcases Italy

A stunning curtain-raiser was a fitting celebration of the host country and the Games – with wider messages never far from the surfaceThis was an opening ceremony for the ages: effortlessly chic, bewitching and divine. Milan simultaneously delivered a three-hour love letter to Italy, and a plea for hope and harmony in a fractious world.But not everyone in the 60,000 crowd at San Siro was listening. As the United States team, led by the speedskater Erin Jackson, made its way across the stadium it was loudly applauded. But then the TV cameras panned to the US vice-president, JD Vance, and his wife, Usha, and the cheers turned to loud boos