BUSINESS

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Marking a substantial increase from its $2,600 per ounce valuation at the beginning of the year, gold has now broken new ground, trading above $4,400 (£3,275) an ounce for the first time in history. This latest record high for the precious metal is largely underpinned by a strengthening investor appetite for safe haven assets. Analysts explain that this demand is being fueled by ongoing geopolitical tensions, the lingering effects of Trump tariffs, and widespread expectations that the US central bank will implement additional interest rate cuts next year.

The prices of other precious metals also rose on Monday, with silver hitting a record high as well.

The gold price has risen more than 68% this year, the highest increase since 1979.

After passing the $4,400 an ounce mark on Monday, the spot price of gold hit a high of $4,426.66.

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Warner Bros is launching a new contemporary film label led by three former senior executives from Neon Christian Parkes Jason Wald and Spencer Collantes. The move marks a significant shift for the studio as it looks to strengthen its slate of smartly budgeted theatrical films aimed at modern audiences while expanding opportunities for emerging filmmakers.

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A new era for UK transport could begin by 2026, as Chinese robotaxis, backed by Baidu, prepare for potential deployment through partnerships with Uber and Lyft. While Baidu's Apollo Go service has a strong track record of millions of driverless rides in China, the key next step for this expansion involves securing regulatory clearance for trials of the autonomous vehicles in London.

Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said the news was "another vote of confidence in our plans for self-driving vehicles" - but many remain sceptical about their safety.

"We're planning for self-driving cars to carry passengers for the first time from spring, under our pilot scheme – harnessing this technology safely and responsibly to transform travel," Ms Alexander said in a post on X.

Uber said in June it would bring its plans to trial UK driverless cars forward as the government sought to accelerate a framework to allow pilots of small autonomous "bus and taxi like" commercial services in 2026.

"We're excited to accelerate Britain's leadership in the future of mobility, bringing another safe and reliable travel option to Londoners next year," it said of its Baidu partnership on Monday.

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The "Hollywood giant and owner of CNN," Warner Bros. Discovery, on Wednesday dismissed a hostile takeover bid made by Paramount last week. Paramount's move was an effort to overshadow or beat previous plans by streaming giant Netflix, which also had its sights set on acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery.

In a statement, Warner Bros. said the terms of the Netflix merger were better, while the Paramount offer "once again fails to address key concerns that we have consistently communicated...throughout our extensive engagement and review of their six previous proposals."

"We are confident that our merger with Netflix represents superior, more certain value for our shareholders," it said.

Netflix shocked the industry on December 5 by announcing it had sealed an agreement to buy the film and television studio for nearly $83 billion, the entertainment industry's biggest consolidation deal this decade.

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While many companies are working to address the shortage, General Motors has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build its own pipeline of future workers.

Over the past five years alone, the automaker has invested more than $242 million in its skilled trades apprenticeship program, which is geared toward training the next generation of skilled trade professionals with a combination of classroom instruction and thousands of hours of hands-on experience at a GM facility, Michael Trevorrow, GM's senior vice president of global manufacturing, told FOX Business.

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MetaX raised close to $600 million in its initial public offering, pricing shares at 104.66 yuan before they rocketed to more than 830 yuan in early trading. The explosive rise reflects growing demand for companies positioned at the intersection of artificial intelligence and advanced chip development, particularly as China accelerates efforts to build domestic alternatives to U.S. technology.

Founded by former AMD executive Chen Weiliang, MetaX develops graphics processing units designed for artificial intelligence workloads. Its listing follows a wave of successful Chinese semiconductor IPOs, including rival Moore Threads, whose shares climbed more than 400% earlier this month after debuting in Shanghai.