US dollar sinks to its lowest level in four years
The US dollar has fallen to its lowest level in four years after Donald Trump brushed off concerns over the currency’s fall, sending investors fleeing to traditional havens including gold and the Swiss franc.The dollar dropped by 1.3% against a basket of currencies after the president’s comments on Tuesday, marking its fourth day of declines, then slipped by a further 0.2% on Wednesday morning.“No, I think it’s great,” Trump said of the weaker dollar, during a visit to Iowa to promote his record on the economy.
Asked whether he was concerned about the currency’s slide, he told reporters: “I think the value of the dollar – look at the business we’re doing.The dollar’s doing great.”The greenback has tumbled by 10% over the past year, while Tuesday’s fall was the largest one-day drop since last April, when Trump announced his sweeping tariff plans, marking a global market sell-off.The dollar has now touched its lowest level since February 2022, after unpredictable US policymaking, including Trump’s recent threats to take over Greenland and impose further tariffs on European allies, unleashed fresh geopolitical shocks.“A weaker dollar is a two-sided coin,” said Steve Sosnick, a market strategist at Interactive Brokers, adding that it was good for multinational companies.
“If you have operations around the world and foreign currency revenue that will have a conversion advantage when you turn it into US dollars, that will be good.On the other, it makes imported goods more expensive and there might be some inflationary impact from that.”The dollar’s slide has also propelled some rival global currencies to multi-year highs.The Swiss franc has soared to its highest level against the dollar in more than a decade, as traders have sought out a store of wealth traditionally viewed as a haven insulated from global volatility.The franc has already climbed 3% against the dollar so far this year, after a 14% rise in 2025.
The euro has also surged to $1.20 against the dollar, setting a new milestone.The European single currency has climbed about 2% over the past week, marking its biggest weekly gain since last April, while 2025 was its best year since 2017 as it rose 13%.Gold has continued to climb to new record highs, breaking through the level of $5,200 (£3,770) an ounce.The precious metal, which investors traditionally seek out during times of political uncertainty, has continued an extraordinary rally, after it hit $5,000 an ounce for the first time on Monday.
The price of gold has jumped by almost 90% since Trump’s second inauguration a little over a year ago.Some analysts expect the dollar to weaker further, amid concerns about presidential pressure on the Federal Reserve, combined with the economic outlook in the US and its rising debt load.The US central bank is due to announce its first interest rate decision of the year on Wednesday, when it is widely expected to keep rates on hold, despite Trump’s demands for policymakers to cut rates.After unprecedented attacks on the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell – whom Trump has called “stupid” and threatened to fire – the justice department has also opened a criminal investigation into Powell over renovations to the central bank’s headquarters.Powell’s term as chair is due to expire in May, and Trump could name a successor soon after the interest rates decision.
The Original Factory Shop calls in administrators, putting 1,200 jobs at risk
The Original Factory Shop homeware chain has called in administrators, putting 1,200 jobs at risk, putting the decision partly down to higher costs from government policies.Administrators from Interpath have been appointed at the 137-store discount retailer, which was bought by the private equity firm Modella Capital less than a year ago.On Wednesday, the video game chain Game Retail filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, while the fashion chain LK Bennett was bought out of administration by a restructuring specialist.Administrators said the Original Factory Shop would continue to trade on high streets while they “assess options for the business”. Its website ceased taking new orders on Wednesday but orders placed before 28 January would be delivered as usual
SpaceX mulls $1.5tn IPO timed to ‘align with Musk’s birthday and the planets’
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YouTube criticised after pulling out of UK TV audience measurement
YouTube has been criticised by the TV and advertising industry after suspending its participation in a key measurement system that compares viewership on the social media site with other streamers such as Netflix and TV broadcasters.YouTube’s owner, Google, has sent “cease and desist” letters to Barb, which publishes audience figures that are used as the UK industry standard, and Kantar Media, its research partner in the service.The decision came months after YouTube started to allow viewership of 200 of its channels on TV sets to be included in viewer measurements alongside broadcasters including the BBC, Sky, ITV and Channel 4.Google sent the legal letters blocking access to data to attribute viewing sessions to specific content creators citing a breach of its terms of service, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the story.“It does seem odd that YouTube has spent so much effort trying to convince advertisers that they are TV, and so gain the benefits of that reputation, but the moment there’s some TV-like scrutiny they go legal to avoid it,” said Lindsey Clay, the chief executive of Thinkbox, the TV body owned by ITV, Sky, Channel 4 and UKTV
Amazon tells workers it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide in second big wave of layoffs
Amazon has told workers it is cutting 16,000 jobs around the world to streamline its operations, hours after sending out a message to staff about the layoffs apparently in error.It is the second big wave of job cuts at the US online retail company, and comes just three months after the company said it was slashing 14,000 roles. Amazon employs about 1.5 million workers worldwide.Most job cuts are expected to be in the US, although some roles in the UK may also be affected
Are England missing a trick by not taking Joe Root to the T20 World Cup? | Taha Hashim
The final night was Harry Brook’s but Joe Root still took the series, as he usually does in Sri Lanka. It was here that he began his stratospheric run against the red ball, a double hundred at Galle in 2021 the first of 24 Test tons in the next five years. Go back to 2014, his first visit to the country with England, and there’s an unbeaten 50-over century in Pallekele, a trick he repeated on Tuesday in Colombo.As Root and Brook sat on the Premadasa outfield after England’s 53-run win in the deciding one-day international, it was the former’s shirt that one supporter repeatedly pleaded for from the stands, never mind what the captain had just done. Local admiration is expected when the 35-year-old has never left a tour of Sri Lanka without at least one match winning knock
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