World stock markets brace for turbulence after Trump’s latest tariff shock
Posted on Sunday January 18, 2026

Losses on stocks likely with precious metals forecast to spike even higher after move to impose 25% levies on European alliesTrump threatens 25% tariff on allies over GreenlandAnalysis: tariff threats are bad, but uncertainty is worseGlobal stock markets are bracing for falls when trading resumes on Monday after Donald Trump threatened eight European countries with fresh tariffs until they support his ambition to acquire Greenland.The US president’s plan to impose new trade levies of 10% on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Finland from 1 February, rising to 25% on 1 June, is creating fear in the markets, and among European businesses. Continue reading...

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Why Rachel Reeves should give bankers more of the cold shoulder at Davos 2026 | Heather Stewart
Posted on Sunday January 18, 2026

The chancellor has been cosseting City lenders to fuel economic growth but studies show UK plc would be better served by trying to keep them in checkBack-slapping bankers will be thick on the ground in the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week as Rachel Reeves flies in to mix with the global elite. But she might be wise to treat the finance bros with a certain froideur.That has not been Labour’s approach thus far: Reeves spared the banks from a windfall tax in her 26 November budget, and the UK’s regulators have just loosened capital rules for the first time since the financial crisis. Continue reading...

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Davos 2026: the last-chance saloon to save the old world order?
Posted on Sunday January 18, 2026

Donald Trump will lead the largest US delegation ever at the World Economic Forum, as others plan a fightback against his policies including his latest tariff threats“A Spirit of Dialogue”: the theme for this year’s World Economic Forum, the gathering of the global elite in the sparkling Alpine air of Davos, seems a heroic stretch, when star guest Donald Trump has spent the past year smashing up the world order.The president will touch down alongside the snowcapped Swiss mountains with the largest US delegation ever seen at the WEF, including the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, and the special envoy Steve Witkoff. Continue reading...

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‘We could hit a wall’: why trillions of dollars of risk is no guarantee of AI reward
Posted on Saturday January 17, 2026

Progress of artificial general intelligence could stall, which may lead to a financial crash, says Yoshua Bengio, one of the ‘godfathers’ of modern AIWill the race to artificial general intelligence (AGI) lead us to a land of financial plenty – or will it end in a 2008-style bust? Trillions of dollars rest on the answer.The figures are staggering: an estimated $2.9tn (£2.2tn) being spent on datacentres, the central nervous systems of AI tools; the more than $4tn stock market capitalisation of Nvidia, the company that makes the chips powering cutting-edge AI systems; and the $100m signing-on bonuses offered by Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta to top engineers at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. Continue reading...

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‘Still here!’: X’s Grok AI tool accessible in Malaysia and Indonesia despite ban
Posted on Sunday January 18, 2026

Experts warn use of VPNs makes it hard to limit access to technology that can create nonconsensual explicit imagesDays after Malaysia made global headlines by announcing it would temporarily ban Grok over its ability to generate “grossly offensive and nonconsensual manipulated images”, the generative AI tool was conversing breezily with accounts registered in the country.“Still here! That DNS block in Malaysia is pretty lightweight – easy to bypass with a VPN or DNS tweak,” Grok’s account on X said in response to a question from a user. Continue reading...

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Aston Villa v Everton: Premier League – live
Posted on Sunday January 18, 2026

⚽ Premier League updates from the 4.30pm GMT kick-off⚽ Live scores | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail BillyPremier League report: Will Unwin was at Molineux this afternoon. Let’s hope this one is a bit livelier. The players are in the tunnel, kick-off is in five minutes.Harrison Armstrong, 18, will start his third game in a row for Everton since returning from his loan at Preston. Continue reading...

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Senegal v Morocco: Africa Cup of Nations final – live
Posted on Sunday January 18, 2026

⚽ Afcon final updates, 7pm GMT (8pm in Rabat) kick-off⚽ Jonathan Wilson on this Afcon | Follow us on BlueskySometimes a tournament’s greatest strength can be its greatest weakness. In part because of the excellent playing conditions, this has been an Africa Cup of Nations devoid of shocks. The better teams keep winning. There has been a lot of good football, but not a huge amount of memorable football.And the consequence is that, in the final, we have the two best teams, or certainly the best team in north Africa against the best team in sub-Saharan Africa: the hosts and World Cup semi-finalists Morocco against Senegal, who have reached three of the past four Afcon finals. Continue reading...

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