Amazon shares tumble as $200bn AI rollout plan worries markets – as it happened

Amazon’s shares are tumbling in early trading, though, as investors balk at its plans for an artificial intelligence spending blitz.Amazon’s shares have dropped by over 9%, a day after it announced plans to spend $200bn on artificial intelligence and robotics this year.Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy sounded bullish last night, declaring:“With such strong demand for our existing offerings and seminal opportunities like AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites, we expect to invest about $200 billion in capital expenditures across Amazon in 2026, and anticipate strong long-term return on invested capital.”But as flagged earlier (9.59am), investors fear companies are wasting their money, given the hundreds of billions of dollars being committed to AI rollout this year

Stellantis takes €22bn hit after ‘overestimating’ pace of shift to EVs

The carmaker Stellantis has said it will take a €22bn (£19.1bn) charge and sell a stake in its battery joint venture after admitting that it “overestimated” the pace of the shift to electric vehicles.Shares in the European-based carmaker, which owns marques including Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep and Citroën, plunged after it said that the move was part of a reset of its business as it also admitted “poor operational execution”.Antonio Filosa, the chief executive of Stellantis, said: “The charges announced today largely reflect the cost of overestimating the pace of the energy transition that distanced us from many car buyers’ real-world needs, means and desires.“They also reflect the impact of previous poor operational execution, the effects of which are being progressively addressed by our new team

Victims urge tougher action on deepfake abuse as new law comes into force

Victims of deepfake image abuse have called for stronger protection against AI-generated explicit images, as the law criminalising the creation of non-consensual intimate images comes into effect.Campaigners from Stop Image-Based Abuse delivered a petition to Downing Street with more than 73,000 signatures, urging the government to introduce civil routes to justice such as takedown orders for abusive imagery on platforms and devices.“Today’s a really momentous day,” said Jodie, a victim of deepfake abuse who uses a pseudonym.“We’re really pleased the government has put these amendments into law that will definitely protect more women and girls. They were hard-fought victories by campaigners, particularly the consent-based element of it,” she added

Tell us: how have you been affected by falling cryptocurrency prices?

Bitcoin sank to its lowest value in more than a year this week, faling to $63,000 on Thursday, about half its all-time peak of $126,000 in October 2025It’s part of a wider shock to crypto prices. The second-largest cryptocurrency, ether, has faced losses of more than 30% this year alone.The months-long dip in cryptocurrency prices has tanked shares of companies that have increasingly invested in bitcoin, exacerbating broader stock market jitters. CoinGecko data shows that the global crypto market has lost $2tn in value since early October. Meanwhile, gold has soared in value as investors seek safe haven assets

Winter Olympics 2026: speed skating gold for Italy, Cas upholds ban on GB skeleton helmets and more – as it happened

That’s it for today’s live blog. Thanks for following along and we’ll be back tomorrow with Geoff Lemon on the first shift.The picture desk have been beavering away to compile the best images from the opening day of the Games. Here’s a look at a few stunning snaps from the curling, downhill skiing, and ice hockey:Here’s a few of the big storylines from today:Italy got their first gold of the Games as 35-year-old Francesca Lollobrigida won the 3,000m speed skatingKira Kimura won gold in the men’s snowboarding big air, he saved his best run until last, posting a 90.50 on his third jump to pip Japanese teammate Riyoma KimataNorway’s Anna Odine Strøm won gold in the women’s normal hill ski jumpTeam GB’s mixed doubles curling team saw off Canada and USA to remain unbeaten

Cortina awakens to embrace competitive curling couples and Vonn’s valiant gold bid | Andy Bull

The sun rises late in Cortina d’Ampezzo, like everything else in this little alpine town. It’s gone eight o’clock in the morning by the time the daylight has made it over the high peaks to the east, and it’s another two hours from that before the Olympic day gets under way.It’s slow out, as if everyone’s still sleeping off the night before, when the town was out cheering for the athletes as they made their parade around the square. The police are still packing away all the railings, and the street sweeps are brushing up the confetti. Non c’è fretta