Closing summary
The US chipmaker Nvidia, riding high on the AI boom, has hit a market valuation of $2 trillion.
The shares rose more than 4% shortly after the opening bell, valuing the company as much as $2.05trn, and are now up 3.8%. The company has gone from a market cap of $1trn to $2trn in a record eight months – less than half the time it took tech giants Apple and Microsoft.
Nvidia posted record revenues on Wednesday after the closing bell, driving its shares 16.4% higher yesterday, which added $277bn to its market value – Wall Street’s largest one-day gain on record. It is benefiting from strong demand for its chips that made the Californian firm a pioneer of the artificial intelligence boom.
US stock markets made moderate gains in early trading today after soaring yesterday, when the S&P 500 enjoyed its best day in more than a year in New York, rising 2.1% amid a global equities rally. The technology-heavy Nasdaq gained 3%.
The energy price cap in Great Britain will fall by £238 to £1,690 this spring thanks to a mild winter and lower gas prices, easing pressure on household finances.
Set by energy regulator Ofgem, the cap reflects the average annual bill for 29 million households in England, and takes effect from April. It is a 12.3% reduction from £1,928 in the current quarter.
In a boost to the poorest households, Ofgem also confirmed it would equalise standing charges – the set fee paid before any gas or electricity is used - meaning customers with prepayment meters will no longer be charged more for their connection than those on credit or direct debit.
Wholesale gas prices have fallen as a mild winter in Europe reduced demand, helped by plentiful supplies of liquified natural gas in Europe and Asia, leading to a fall in household bills.
The outsourcing company Serco has been ordered to stop using facial recognition technology (FRT) and fingerprint scanning to monitor staff’s attendance in its leisure business.
Britain’s data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office, carried out an investigation that found Serco Leisure, Serco Jersey and seven associated community leisure trusts have been unlawfully processing the biometric data of more than 2,000 employees at 38 leisure facilities, for attendance checks and subsequent payment for their time.
Our other main stories today:
Thank you for reading. Have a fab weekend. We’ll be back next week. Take care! – JK
Updated
Paula Vennells, the former chief executive of the Post Office, has been formally stripped of her CBE by the King for “bringing the honours system into disrepute”.
She had previously said would hand back her CBE, an ignominious end to a career that will be remembered for her organisation’s relentless run of wrongful prosecutions against more than 900 post office operators.
Last year, Alan Bates, the operator who led the campaign to expose the Horizon IT scandal and whose story has now been told in an ITV drama, turned down an OBE, making the point that it would be “inappropriate” while victims still suffered and Vennells retained her accolade.
She was awarded her CBE for services to the Post Office and charity at the start of 2019, shortly before she stepped down – ending a seven-year period as chief executive during which she collected more than £4.5m in pay.
