Dow Jones Industrial Average posts best day since early February as hopes of Middle East de-escalation lift markets – as it happened

Wall Street has joined the global relief rally after Donald Trump postponed attacks on Iran’s power plants, sending a surge of optimism though trading floors.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average has jumped by 2% or 928 points to 46,505 points.Construction equipment firm Caterpillar (+4.4%), manufacturing conglomerate 3M (+3.7%) and DIY chain Home Depot (+3

The UK sleepwalked into this energy price shock | Nils Pratley

“Because of the choices we made before the conflict in the Middle East began, we are better prepared for a more volatile world”, the chief secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, claimed last week. That statement – surprise, surprise – failed to calm the bond vigilantes who had pushed the yield on 10-year government debt to a punishing 5% before Monday’s modest retreat.Murray seemed to be referring to tax increases and the chancellor’s decision to shift £150 of green levies from energy bills into general taxation. Count those if you wish but, come on, they are minor entries. The UK’s vulnerability to energy price shocks flows from bigger forces, such as our large and growing dependency on imports

AI boom risks widening wealth divide, says BlackRock’s Larry Fink

The boom in artificial intelligence risks widening inequality, with only a handful of companies and investors likely to reap its financial rewards, the BlackRock chief executive, Larry Fink, has said.The boss of the $14tn (£10.4tn) asset manager used his annual letter to investors on Monday to highlight potential hazards around the exponential growth in AI, which has attracted rapid investment and become, he said, “central to strategic competition” between global powers such as the US and China.“The massive wealth created over the past several generations flowed mostly to people who already owned financial assets,” Fink said. “And now AI threatens to repeat that pattern at an even larger scale

Leonid Radvinsky, owner of OnlyFans, dies aged 43

Leonid Radvinsky, the owner of OnlyFans, has died of cancer at the age of 43, the company announced on Monday.“We are deeply saddened ​to announce the death of Leo ​Radvinsky. Leo passed away peacefully after a ⁠long battle with cancer,” said a spokesperson for the company, best known for subscriptions to pornographic content creators. “His family have requested privacy at ​this difficult time.”Radvinsky, a Ukrainian-American billionaire with a net worth of about $3

‘It may not be popular’: England stand by McCullum and Key despite Ashes debacle

Brendon McCullum and Rob Key have been backed to lead England’s response to the grisly winter Ashes defeat in Australia, with Richard Gould, the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, insisting that while it may not be a popular decision it is the right one.At Lord’s on Monday, and with Key, the managing director of cricket, sitting next to him, Gould stressed that lessons have been learned from the 4-1 defeat and that the head coach in particular is willing to “adapt” and “evolve” his style. Even with an appetite for change among the public, the status quo holds, as revealed exclusively by the Guardian this month.Later in the day the Test captain, Ben Stokes, endorsed the ECB’s decision in an expletive-filled open letter to supporters on Instagram.Gould said: “We do keep a very close eye on all of our supporters

Cycling, crystals and cutting-edge science: the secrets of Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell’s success

Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, who oversaw gold medal success in Torun for Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell, believe the best is yet to come for the pairIt was the architect of the London 2012 Olympics who said it best, shortly after Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, Georgia Hunter Bell and Molly Caudery had lit up the world indoor championships with three gold medals in 29 minutes. “That was a towering moment, not just for UK Athletics but for British sport,” said Sebastian Coe, now the World Athletics president. “It was very exciting, hugely inspirational. I really do hope they cause a stampede to local athletics clubs, particularly among young girls.”Soon afterwards, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, the husband and wife coaching team who have guided Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell to glory, were explaining the secrets behind their success – ranging from cycling to crystals to cutting-edge science – before predicting the best was yet to come