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

Nvidia insists it isn’t Enron, but its AI deals are testing investor faith

Nvidia is, in crucial ways, nothing like Enron – the Houston energy giant that imploded through multibillion-dollar accounting fraud in 2001. Nor is it similar to companies such as Lucent or Worldcom that folded during the dotcom bubble.But the fact that it needs to reiterate this to its investors is less than ideal.Now worth more than $4tn (£3tn), Nvidia makes the specialised technology that powers the world’s AI surge: silicon chips and software packages that train and host systems such as ChatGPT. Its products fill datacentres from Norway to New Jersey

From shrimp Jesus to erotic tractors: how viral AI slop took over the internet

Flood of unreality is an endpoint of algorithm-driven internet and product of an economy dependent on a few top tech firms In the algorithm-driven economy of 2025, one man’s shrimp Jesus is another man’s side hustle.AI slop – the low-quality, surreal content flooding social media platforms, designed to farm views – is a phenomenon, some would say the phenomenon of the 2024 and 2025 internet. Merriam-Webster’s word of the year this year is “slop”, referring exclusively to the internet variety.It came about shortly after the advent of popular large language models, such as ChatGPT and Dall-E, which democratised content creation and enabled vast swathes of internet denizens to create images and videos that resembled – to varying degrees – the creations of professionals.In 2024, it began to achieve peak cultural moments

MCG pitch is easy scapegoat but sloppy cricket is to blame for early Ashes finishes | Geoff Lemonff

You know that something has gone wrong when the man in charge of the cricket pitch is giving a post-match press conference. Australian pitches are celebrities in their own right, each with a distinct perceived personality. Perth – gasoline, bounce. Sydney – intrigue, spin. Adelaide – graft, a late finale

Hugh Morris, former England cricketer and ECB chief, dies aged 62

Hugh Morris, the former England and Glamorgan batter who went on to hold senior positions with country and county, has died at the age of 62.Born in Cardiff in 1963, Morris became Glamorgan’s youngest ever captain at the age of 22 before returning to the role later in his career, leading them to the Sunday League title in 1993, their first trophy in 24 years.The recipient of three Test caps in 1991, when he was unable to make much of an impression as he averaged 19.16, Morris also led England A on tours to South Africa, the West Indies and Sri Lanka.Morris ended his 17-year playing career – which yielded 19,785 first-class runs at an average of 40