North Sea plan allows drilling while enabling Labour to keep ‘no new licences’ pledge

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has returned from the Cop30 climate conference in Brazil, where he championed the UK’s world-leading promise to ban all new oil and gas licences and backed the call for a blueprint to “transition away from fossil fuels”.Back at home, the government says it is sticking to its manifesto pledge by becoming the first major economy to have a 1.5C- and climate science-aligned no new licences position, but it plans to allow some new drilling in oil and gas fields that have existing licenses.The North Sea strategy, released on Wednesday alongside the autumn budget, will introduce “transitional energy certificates” that will allow new drilling on or near existing fields. These are called “tiebacks” and will enable a small amount of new fossil fuel extraction

Computer maker HP to cut up to 6,000 jobs by 2028 as it turns to AI

Up to 6,000 jobs are to go at HP worldwide in the next three years as the US computer and printer maker increasingly adopts AI to speed up product development.Announcing a lower-than-expected profit outlook for the coming year, HP said it would cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs by the end of October 2028. It has about 56,000 employees.“As we look ahead, we see a significant opportunity to embed AI into HP to accelerate product innovation, improve customer satisfaction and boost productivity,” said the California company’s chief executive, Enrique Lores.He said teams working on product development, internal operations and customer support would be affected by the job cuts

Ministers approve £750m Marlow Film Studios development after review

Ministers have approved a development to build a £750m Hollywood-style film and TV studios in Marlow, west of London, a project that has faced local opposition and been seen as a test of Labour’s appetite to prioritise economic growth.The Marlow Film Studios project has received high-profile backing from film-makers including the director of 1917, Sam Mendes, the director of Titanic and Avatar, James Cameron, and the Captain Phillips director, Paul Greengrass.Last year, Buckinghamshire county council rejected the planning application, prompting its backers to lodge an appeal to the national planning body to get the decision overturned.However, Angela Rayner, the former secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, called in the planning application. The outcome of the review had been seen as a benchmark for Labour’s desire to put economic growth ahead of local opposition, as stated repeatedly by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves

The latest inflation figures offer no joy – except to the gas producers whose windfall profits remain largely untouched | Greg Jericho

The latest inflation figures showed a jump in the growth of average prices from 3.6% to 3.8%. But they also indicate just how much our economy is caught up in the ramifications of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, which sent gas prices higher – and with it our electricity prices.The October consumer price index figures were a turning point for data in Australia

UK borrowing costs fall after early release of budget forecasts – as it happened

Follow Rachel Reeves’ budget as it happens, and all the details of the mistakenly released OBR forecasts, with Graeme Wearden and Andrew Sparrow on our politics live blog:By the end of the day, UK bonds had recovered more ground as investors welcomed the UK’s new fiscal outlook.The news that the chancellar has doubled her budget headroom to over £20bn helped to spark a rally in gilts today.The 10-year UK bond yield fell by 11 basis points, to 4.42%, while 30-year yields fell by 11bps.Deutsche Bank analysts have spotted that this was the best Budget day for UK government debt, compared to German and American debt, in almost 20 years!They report:At first glance, the gilt market likes what it heard from the Chancellor today

Warner Music signs deal with AI song generator Suno after settling lawsuit

Warner Music has signed a licensing deal with the artificial intelligence song generator Suno after settling a copyright infringement lawsuit it launched against the service a year agoWarner, the world’s third-largest music company and home to acts including Coldplay, Charli XCX and Ed Sheeran, is the first of the major record labels to partner officially with the company.As part of their agreement, users will be allowed to create AI-generated songs on Suno via simple text prompts using the voices, names and likenesses of the Warner acts who choose to opt in to the service.Robert Kyncl, the chief executive of Warner Music Group, said the deal showed that artificial intelligence could be “pro-artist” when it is licensed to “reflect the value of music”.“This landmark pact with Suno is a victory for the creative community that benefits everyone,” he said. “With Suno rapidly scaling, both in users and monetisation, we’ve seized this opportunity to shape models that expand revenue and deliver new fan experiences