Help UK ceramics industry or ‘lose piece of national identity’, government told

Britain will lose a piece of its national identity if the country’s ceramics industry is allowed to descend further into crisis without state assistance, the government has been warned.Ceramics producers including the struggling potteries of Staffordshire have come under huge pressure owing to factors such as the UK’s sky-high energy costs, leading to job losses.In a report, unions and the Green Alliance thinktank urged the government to step in to support the centuries-old sector.“Tens of thousands of working-class jobs rely on the ceramics sector so we cannot afford to leave its future to chance. But so far we aren’t seeing enough action from a government grappling with the unique challenges the sector faces,” said Chris Hoofe of the GMB union

Elon Musk warns of impact of record silver prices before China limits exports

A surge in the price of silver to record highs this month has prompted a warning from Elon Musk that manufacturers could suffer the consequences.Silver has risen sharply during December, part of a precious metals rally that also pushed gold and platinum to record levels on Boxing Day.Analysts have attributed the jump in prices to expectations of US interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2026, leading to increased demand for hard assets that protect against inflation and currency debasement.New restrictions on silver exports from China, which begin on 1 January, have created supply fears while geopolitical worries have lifted demand for safe-haven assets.Silver hit $79 (£58) an ounce for the first time last Friday, a new peak, up from $56 at the start of December, and just $29 an ounce at the start of 2025

AI is coming for young people’s office jobs. That’s good news for the construction industry | Gene Marks

While standing on the sideline watching a high school soccer game, my friend, who owned a small and successful construction company, complained that his son – a senior – was starting at a respected local university that fall, which would cost roughly $200,000 over the next four years.“I could take the same money and set him up in a contracting business,” he said. “It would be a much better investment.”That was in 2010. The kid did go to that college and graduated four years later with a degree in history

The 2025 US economy – in charts: rising prices, hiring slowdown, rollercoaster growth

The US economy is thriving, according to Donald Trump: jobs are surging, prices are falling, wages are soaring. The government’s own official statistics paint a more complicated picture of 2025.“The Trump Economic Golden Age is FULL steam ahead,” the president claimed on social media, after growth data for the third quarter of the year – covering July, August and September – was unexpectedly strong.But other key indicators have been far less robust in 2025. If Trump is right, and an unprecedented economic boom is about to take hold, the foundations appear fragile

Labour must learn lessons from history as automation hits jobs market | Richard Partington

Walk through a supermarket and the technology is everywhere. Self-service checkouts, electronic shelf labels, handheld barcode scanners and the video screens showing you – caught by AI facial recognition cameras – leaving the shop.In an economy struggling for growth, the encroachment of these machines in our everyday lives could be an early sign of a new dawn – a tech-driven renaissance in activity after years of flatlining growth in productivity and stalled business investment. No bad thing.On the other hand, it could be the glimpse of a dystopian future that is already beginning to take shape

Former Wessex Water boss received £170,000 bonus despite ban on performance pay

The former chief executive of Wessex Water received a £170,000 bonus from its parent company last year despite a ban on performance-related pay after criminal pollution failures on his watch.Colin Skellett received a total of £693,000 in pay from the water company’s Malaysian-owned parent company, YTL Utilities (UK), including the bonus, according to its accounts up to June 2025.The bonus prompted strong criticism from the Liberal Democrats, which said it showed that the government’s bonus ban was “nowhere near strong enough”.Wessex was banned from paying bonuses for the year after it was criminally convicted in November 2024 for a sewage pumping station failure six years earlier, which killed more than 2,000 fish and resulted in the company paying a fine of £500,000. In June the government banned bonuses covering the 2024-25 financial year for the chief executives and finance bosses of Wessex and five other companies