US hiring held firm in December capping weakest year of growth since pandemic

Hiring held firm in the US last month, official data showed, amid uncertainty over the strength and direction of the world’s largest economy.Employers added 50,000 jobs to the US labor force last month, capping the weakest year of growth since the pandemic, according to data released from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.The closely watched reading was slightly shy of the approximately 73,000 jobs economists expected to be added in the US economy in December.Previous readings for October and November were also revised lower, with the BLS now estimating that the US added 76,000 fewer jobs during those two months. In October, during the longest US government shutdown in history, the US economy shed 173,000 jobs

Glencore and Rio Tinto are at it again – and it seems the markets smell action

Here we go again. A combination of Rio Tinto and Glencore has been talked about for years and the duo held aborted negotiations at the end of 2024. With the global mining industry in deal-making mode – frenzies come along every 15 years or so – the idea of RioGlen or GlenTinto was due another whirl. On Friday, the two FTSE 100 companies said they were in “preliminary discussions” about a “possible combination of some or all of their businesses”. A full-blown tie-up would be worth about $260bn (£120bn), including debt

Elon Musk’s X threatened with UK ban over wave of indecent AI images

Elon Musk’s X has been ordered by the UK government to tackle a wave of indecent AI images or face a de facto ban, as an expert said the platform was no longer a “safe space” for women.The media watchdog, Ofcom, confirmed it would accelerate an investigation into X as a backlash grew against the site, which has hosted a deluge of images depicting partially stripped women and children.X announced a restriction on creating images via the Grok AI tool on Friday morning in response to the global outcry. A post on the platform said the ability to generate and edit images would now be “limited to paying subscribers”. Those who pay have to provide personal details, meaning they could be identified if the function was misused

Robots that can do laundry and more, plus unrolling laptops: the standout tech from CES 2026

This year will be filled with robots that can fold your laundry, pick up objects and climb stairs, fridges that you can command to open by voice, laptops with screens that can follow you around the room on motorised hinges and the reimagining of the BlackBerry phone.Those are the predictions from the annual CES tech show in Las Vegas that took place this week. The sprawling event aims to showcase cutting-edge technology developed by startups and big brands.Many of these fancy developments will be available to actually buy, moving from outlandish concepts to production devices, although some are still limited to costly prototypes.The rise of the humanoid robot continues, with the show floor filled with myriad prototypes, some of which operated autonomously rather than being remotely controlled or performing set routines this year

Kempton Park’s Lanzarote Hurdle card will go ahead but Warwick frozen off

Kempton Park’s Lanzarote Hurdle card will go ahead as planned on Saturday afternoon, but Warwick’s Classic Chase meeting has failed to beat the weather.Despite being passed fit for racing on Friday after managing to navigate a freezing week, the threat of sub-zero temperatures overnight had led to precautionary 8.00am raceday checks being called at both tracks.Warwick said on X: “Whilst the majority of the track is raceable, the back straight remains frozen in areas. The contingency plan we put in place yesterday, using the outer hurdle line, has frozen under the sheets and is unraceable

NFL wildcard weekend predictions: Allen can carry Bills – if he can handle the pressure

The NFL playoffs kick off with ground-game battles, QB duels and a high-stakes edition of the Packers v Bears rivalryWhat the Rams need to do to win Hold on to the ball. Across five regular-season defeats, Matthew Stafford gave the ball away seven times with six interceptions and a fumble. In the Rams’ worst loss of the season, to the Panthers in November, Stafford held his team back from taking a commanding lead with two picks in the first quarter. Keep it tight.What the Panthers need to do to win The Panthers are massive underdogs but hold an advantage in the vital experience of having already upset the Rams