Burberry recreated a rainy London night out for its winter 2026 ‌show, sending models in fur and leather down a ‌tar-like catwalk covered in puddles.

In Old Billingsgate Market, a former ‌fish market on the banks of the Thames, a replica of Tower Bridge provided the centrepiece of creative director Daniel Lee’s seventh show for the British luxury brand on Monday.

Outerwear pieces included blue ‌trench coats ‌with ruffled collars, ⁠a check shearling jacket, and a ​dark plum overcoat with giant fur lapels.

In a collection meant to evoke “going out in a particularly London way”, women wore slinky satin dresses with fur trench coats and chunky check scarves, with ⁠men in leather suits, hoodies, ‌and ​motorcycle boots. Trousers and dresses featured beadwork designed to echo ​rainfall.

Among those walking ‌the runway were Romeo Beckham, son of soccer star ​David Beckham and designer Victoria Beckham, and model and actress Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, who were reflected in the resin puddles ​as ​they walked over ​the dark rubber floor to a ‌throbbing club soundtrack by FKA twigs.

Under CEO Joshua Schulman, Burberry has refocused on its core outerwear and scarf ranges and is beginning to recover from a two-year slump in ​sales. Last month the brand said young Chinese shoppers snapped ​up its ⁠check scarves in the fourth quarter, boosting its ​revenue.

Australia’s only locally owned streaming service has delivered record earnings, helping to boost the bottom line of its corporate parent.

Nine Entertainment made $95.2 million in net profit from continuing operations in the first half of 2025/26, up 30 per cent from the previous corresponding period.

Revenue fell five per cent to $1.05 billion while group earnings – before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – climbed 6.0 per cent to $192.2 million in the six months to December 31.

Stan’s earnings climbed 24 per cent to $37 million, a record result for the streaming service.

The performance was notable because the same corresponding period included an audience boost from the Paris Olympic Games and screening of the popular drama series Yellowstone starring Kevin Costner.

Stan’s number of paying subscribers climbed five per cent to 2.4 million and the launch of advertising on Stan Sport delivered revenue in the “single digit millions” despite a short lead time before the start of the English Premier League season, Nine group CEO Matt Stanton told analysts.

Nine’s earnings from its television division fell 1.0 per cent to $98.9 million, a result Mr Stanton said on Tuesday was “pleasingly robust”, given the softness in the advertising market.

Print advertising declined by 11 per cent and digital advertising dropped 14 per cent, but earnings dropped just 1.0 per cent to $73.7 million for Nine’s publishing business. 

Part of that was due to $8 million less in defamation costs, primarily a result of Nine’s successful completion of the Ben Roberts-Smith litigation.

Increased digital subscriber volumes and average revenue per user at the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review more than offset the decline in print subscriptions, Nine said.

Mr Stanton said Nine had successfully begun licensing content to other Australian corporations for use in their in-house artificial intelligence large language models, but declined to say how much revenue that was bringing in. 

The company confirmed it expected its sale of Nine Radio to be completed by the end of April and its $818 million acquisition of outdoor advertising business QMS to be done by the end of June.

Nine ended the first half with $158 million in net cash, reflecting a $720 million net impact from the sale of its real estate platform, Domain, to US property business CoStar in 2025.

Nine will pay an interim dividend of 4.5 cents per share, unfranked, up from a 3.5 cent per share a year ago.

Around midday, Nine shares were up 3.5 per cent to $1.10.

Asian ‌stock markets have stuttered in early trade as a selloff on Wall Street overnight rattled investors, with sentiment hurt by heightened uncertainty ‌over US President Donald Trump’s tariff policy and rising geopolitical tensions.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan flipped from gains to losses ‌following a six-day rally, and was last down 0.2 per cent on Tuesday, led by declines in South Korea.

The Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7 per cent as Japanese markets returned after a holiday. S&P 500 e-mini futures were up 0.1 per cent.

Stock market momentum “has been under pressure with increased concerns around the AI trade and escalation in geopolitical and trade uncertainty”, analysts from Bernstein wrote in a research report.

Trump warned on Monday countries against ‌backing away from recently ‌negotiated trade deals ⁠with the US after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs, saying that ​he would hit them with much higher duties under different trade laws.

The new tariffs are based on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, causing further confusion in markets trying to come to grips with US protectionist policies.

Overnight, the S&P 500 was down 1.0 per cent, erasing the past week of gains, as fears over the displacement effects of AI on software and other industries pushed the ⁠Nasdaq Composite 1.1 per cent lower. 

A bearish report from Citrini Research on the possible ‌risks to ​the global economy took a further toll on jittery investor sentiment.

The CBOE Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, rose 1.9 ​percentage points to ‌21.01.

Japan and China are returning from holidays on Tuesday, adding to liquidity in regional markets.

Against the yen, the US ​dollar was 0.1 per cent stronger at 154.77 yen. The Chinese yuan was unchanged at 6.889 yuan in offshore trade.

Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 95.5 per cent probability that the US central bank will remain on hold at its ​next two-day ​meeting on March 18, little changed from a ​day earlier, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

The yield on ‌the US 10-year Treasury bond was up 0.6 basis point at 4.029 per cent as investors pondered the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision on US tax receipts.

In commodities markets, WTI crude edged down 0.1 per cent to $US66.23 ($A93.85), as tensions continued to simmer between the US and Iran. 

On Monday, a senior State Department official said the department is pulling out non-essential government personnel and their eligible family ​members from the US embassy in Lebanon, amid growing concerns about the risk of a military conflict.

All of this uneasiness ​pushed the safe-haven gold up 0.3 per cent ⁠to $US5,244.96 ($A7,432.54), while silver slipped 0.1 per cent to $US88.12 ($A124.87).

Bitcoin climbed 0.4 per cent to $US64,832.48 ($A91,872.97), while ether was down 0.1 per cent ​at $US1,861.22 ($A2,637.50). 

Softer oil and gas prices have dragged on Woodside’s full-year bottom-line net profit, which slumped by almost a quarter to $US2.7 billion ($A3.8 billion) despite record production and lower unit costs.

Underlying net profit after tax came in at $US2.6 billion ($A3.7 billion), an eight per cent slip from 2024.

Oil prices tumbled 20 per cent in 2025 in their worst year since 2020, due to a global supply glut that the International Energy Agency expects will continue in 2026.

Record production of 198.8 million barrels of oil equivalent and a four per cent reduction in unit costs helped offset lower realised prices over the period, acting chief executive Liz Westcott said on Tuesday.

“In a testament to the strength of our underlying business, during a period of increased capital expenditure and softer prices, we generated free cash flow of $US1.9 million ($2.7 million),” she told analysts in an earnings briefing.

Ms Westcott was optimistic about oil’s attractiveness in 2026.

“Oil is a core product for Woodside underpinned by a robust demand outlook,” she said.

“The difficulty of decarbonising hard to abate sectors such as heavy transport and petrochemicals means that oil demand is forecast to remain resilient as the world’s energy mix evolves.”

Ms Westcott is acting for outgoing boss Meg O’Neill, who will become BP’s first female leader on April 1.

Woodside has not announced a permanent replacement for Ms O’Neill, but Ms Westcott confirmed the board was assessing several internal and external candidates and expected to make an announcement in the first quarter.

“I know everyone’s very interested in the outcome, but I want to reinforce that what I’m interested in and what I know is very important … is that we continue to execute against our strategy and deliver shareholder value through our disciplined decision making and our operational excellence,” she said.

Investors responded warmly to the results, as production topped the upper end of guidance, supporting a 1.4 per cent lift in Woodside shares to $27.48 in early trade.

Woodside declared a final dividend of 59 cents per share, compared with 53 cents the year before.

“The strength of our base business has delivered returns for shareholders, with Woodside having returned approximately $11 billion in dividends since merger completion in 2022,” Ms Westcott said.

In project news, the Beaumont New Ammonia project off the US Gulf Coast achieved first production in December 2025, Trion off Mexico remains on target for first oil in 2028, and Scarborough’s first LNG cargo should be loaded off the WA coast in 2026.

Paramount Skydance has submitted a higher offer for Warner Bros Discovery, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, ratcheting up efforts to derail ‌the HBO Max owner’s deal with Netflix.

The bidding war for one of Hollywood’s most coveted assets including the Harry ‌Potter and Game of Thrones franchises has raised the stakes for dominance in the streaming-led market.

Warner Bros’ chosen suitor ‌Netflix, which offered to buy the studios and streaming assets for $US27.75 ($A39.32) per share in cash, or $US82.7 billion ($A117.2 billion), is allowed to match the latest bid from David Ellison-led Paramount.

Netflix has ample cash and could bump up its offer for HBO Max owner, while Paramount’s rival bid is backed by Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison.

Paramount’s ‌initial offer for ‌the whole company ⁠comes to $US108.4 billion ($A153.6 billion), or $US30 ($A43) per share.

It was asked to submit ​its “best and final offer” after Warner Bros rejected an enhanced bid that included paying the $US2.8 billion ($A4 billion) in termination fee to Netflix and adding a 25-cent per share quarterly “ticking fee” from next year to compensate Warner Bros shareholders for any delay in deal closure.

Warner Bros said Paramount’s February 10 offer still falls short of what ⁠its board would consider a superior proposal and gave a ‌seven-day ​deadline until February 23 to submit a revised offer.

MoffettNathanson analysts had earlier said that an offer in the ​range of $US34 ($A48) per ‌share from Paramount would end the bidding war and “avoid further debate over Discovery Global’s value.”

Discovery Global ​could fetch between $US1.33 ($A1.88) and $US6.86 ($A9.72) a share, according to Warner Bros estimates.

Netflix said its offer gives Warner Bros shareholders added upside from the Discovery Global spinoff, which WBD argues will add value ​by ​giving the new company greater strategic, operational and ​financial flexibility.

However, Paramount has said the cable spinoff ‌central to the streaming giant’s offer is effectively worthless.

The David Zaslav-led Warner Bros came under pressure from Ancora Capital after the activist investor built a roughly $US200 million ($A283 million) stake in the HBO owner and accused the company of failing to adequately engage with Paramount.

The investor warned if Warner Bros refuses to re-enter discussions with ​Paramount, it will vote against the Netflix deal and hold the company’s board accountable during its ​annual meeting.

The media titan arising from the merger of Southern Cross Austereo and Seven West Media is targeting at least $30 million in savings as it searches for a new boss.

Southern Cross Media completed the effective takeover of Seven West in January, while the former head of Seven moved across to take the reins at the new entity.

But Jeff Howard tapped out on Monday evening as CEO and managing director “with immediate effect”, the day before the company’s first-half results announcement on Tuesday.

Chairman Heith Mackay-Cruise, who took over from WA billionaire Kerry Stokes after he stepped down from the role on Friday, will become interim executive chairman.

All internal leaders will report to him as a global search begins for a new chief executive.

The Southern Cross entity is absorbing Network Seven and The West Australian print and digital assets to sit with its Triple M and Hit radio networks, Listnr app and podcast network, and regional radio stations.

Mr Mackay-Cruise said on Tuesday the new business was already securing merger benefits, particularly through cross-promotion as TV accelerated growth in audio and digital audiences.

“We have also identified an early opportunity in regional markets, where client overlap between television and audio represents new business growth across both platforms,” he said.

“We are targeting cost synergies of at least $30 million and expect to deliver these within fiscal 2027.”

Southern Cross’s audio business generated underlying earnings – before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation – of $40 million, up 28 per cent on the previous first half.

The TV and publishing assets generated underlying earnings of $67 million, down 27 per cent, as previously announced earlier in February by former majority owner, the Stokes-family controlled conglomerate SGH.

Southern Cross is targeting pro-forma group revenue of $1.91-$1.92 billion for the 2025/26 financial year and group underlying earnings of $200-$220 million.

“Together, we reach Australians at scale at a national, regional and local level across our key content platforms of audio, television, streaming, publishing and digital,” Mr Mackay-Cruise said.

Slovakia has escalated a dispute with Ukraine over oil deliveries by halting emergency electricity supplies to the country suffering from daily blackouts caused by Russia’s bombardment of power plants and transmission lines.

Russian oil shipments to Slovakia and Hungary have been interrupted since January 27 after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian drone attacks that damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude across Ukrainian territory and into Central Europe.

The two most pro-Russian countries in the European Union blamed Ukraine for deliberately holding back the oil shipments. They received a temporary exemption from an EU policy prohibiting imports of Russian oil.

Populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Monday’s decision was taken after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declined to discuss the issue with him until after Wednesday.

“Given the seriousness of the situation and the declared state of oil emergency in Slovakia, we are forced to take the first reciprocal measure immediately. It will be lifted immediately after the resumption of oil transit to Slovakia,” Fico said in a statement on X.

“As of today, if the Ukrainian side turns to Slovakia with a request for assistance in stabilising the Ukrainian energy network, it will not receive such assistance,” he said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on both countries “to engage in constructive co-operation and responsible behaviour” as he launched an international fundraising campaign to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people who are grappling with power outages in the depths of a freezing winter.

“This assistance is urgently needed. It will go toward purchasing equipment, electricity, power supplies, and all forms of energy directly for Ukrainians and the communities in need,” he said on X.

“A small piece of your warmth will save Ukrainian families and children.”

The Slovak opposition condemned the government’s decision.

Fico threatened to take further measures if the shipments don’t resume, including ending support for Ukraine’s aspiration to become an EU member.

Slovakia and Hungary have challenged Ukraine, claiming the Druzhba pipeline was ready to transport oil, without giving evidence.

“Our intelligence services report that the oil pipeline in Ukraine is functional,” Fico said. “Our ambassador to Kyiv has not yet been allowed to visit the part of the oil pipeline that the Ukrainian side claims is damaged.”

The Slovak leader asserted that stopping oil deliveries was “a purely political decision with the aim of blackmailing Slovakia” because its views of the Russian war against Ukraine differ from Europe’s mainstream.

UN Secretary General António Guterres issued a statement marking the grim anniversary of Russia’s invasion.

“This devastating war is a stain on our collective consciousness and remains a threat to regional and international peace and security,” Guterres said in a statement.

“The longer the war continues, the deadlier it becomes,” he continued. “Civilians bear the brunt of this conflict, with 2025 witnessing the largest number of civilians killed in Ukraine. This is simply unacceptable.”

Guterres further reiterated his call for “an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire as a first step towards a just, lasting and comprehensive peace”.

A massive snowstorm is pummelling the northeast United States from Maryland to Maine, forcing millions of people to stay home amid strong wind and blizzard warnings, transportation shutdowns and school and business closures.

The storm dumped up to 60cm of snow in parts of the metropolitan northeast as accumulations from an earlier snowfall had just melted away – except for grey mountainous piles in parking lots and along the side of roads. 

Officials declared emergencies from Delaware to Massachusetts, and hundreds of thousands of people grappled with power failure from downed electrical lines.

Even as the snow moved northward and tapered off in other areas, the National Weather Service said it is tracking another storm that could bring more snow to the region later this week. 

The weather service referred to Monday’s storm as a “classic bomb cyclone/nor’easter off the Northeast coast”.

A bomb cyclone happens when a storm’s pressure falls by a certain amount within a 24-hour period, occurring mainly in the fall and winter when frigid Arctic air can reach the south and clash with warmer temperatures.

New York City and Boston cancelled public school classes for Monday, while Philadelphia switched to online learning. 

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it the “first old-school snow day since 2019”. But class would be back in person on Tuesday, he said. 

He went on X to encourage people to sign up for emergency snow shovelling work “as we get through this historic storm”.

In Lower Manhattan, snow shovellers appeared to outnumber commuting office workers, and pedestrians walked freely in streets normally blocked by morning traffic.

“It’s very quiet, except for the howling winds,” said Luis Valez, a concierge at a residential tower just off Wall Street, as he cleared the footpath.

Karen Smith and Adele Bawden are tourists visiting New York from the United Kingdom.

“We’ve been dancing in Times Square this morning in the middle of the road in rush hour,” Bawden said. 

New York, Philadelphia and other cities, as well as several states, declared emergencies. 

More than 5000 flights in and out of the United States were cancelled for Monday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

Most were cancelled in New York, New Jersey and Boston. Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport announced Monday that it was temporarily ending all airport operations.

Public transit ground to a halt in some areas, while DoorDash suspended deliveries in New York City overnight.

Storm-related power outages plunged more than 500,000 customers into darkness along the East Coast early on Monday, including over 212,000 customers in Massachusetts and 128,000 customers in New Jersey, according to PowerOutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide.

About 10,000 customers were without power Monday morning on suburban Long Island. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said utility crews would restore power as soon as possible, but winds of 80km/h or higher could delay action.

In New York City, several subway lines reported severe delays, while the Long Island Rail Road was fully suspended until further notice. 

Some Metro-North commuter trains between New York City and its suburbs were delayed by up to an hour. New Jersey Transit suspended bus and rail services “until further notice.”

The weather service said strong wind gusts could cause whiteout conditions and warned of a “Potentially Historic/Destructive Storm” southeast of the Boston-Providence corridor.

“Winds like that, combined with heavy, wet snow, are a recipe for damaged trees and prolonged power outages,” said Bryce Williams, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Boston office.

“That’s what we’re most concerned with, is the combination of those extreme snow amounts with that wind.”

Outreach workers meanwhile tried to coax homeless New Yorkers into shelters and warming centres.

Various landmarks and cultural institutions were closed Monday, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art and the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC Broadway shows were cancelled.

Frustrated European officials have pushed for clarification on how US President Donald Trump’s declaration of a 15 per cent global tax on imports would affect the trade deal they struck with Trump as EU MPs hit pause on the deal’s ratification until they get clarity. 

The European Parliament’s trade committee postponed a committee vote on ratification after Trump said he would impose the new tariff, following the US Supreme Court striking down his use of an emergency powers law to set new import taxes. 

Trump then turned to another section of trade law to justify his imposition of the 15 per cent global rate, which takes effect Tuesday. 

The EU position is expressed in five words: “A deal is a deal,” said commission spokesman Olof Gill. 

“So now we are simply saying to the US, it is up to you to clearly show to us what path you are taking to honour the agreement,” Gill said.

The US-EU deal called for a 15 per cent cap on tariffs on most European goods imports, while tariffs on US industrial goods would be lowered to zero. 

While the deal burdened consumers and businesses with a tariff increase from the previous average of 4.8 per cent, it also gave businesses certainty so they could plan – a factor credited with helping Europe avoid a recession last year. 

Since the new 15 per cent rate announced Saturday would be applied on top of the previous tariffs, it would break the agreed ceiling on tariffs, said Bernd Lange, chair of the parliament’s trade committee. 

MPs postponed a committee vote on the agreement scheduled for Tuesday.

Questions surrounded other trade deals done with individual countries, including Brazil, India and Britain. 

For instance, Britain agreed a 10 per cent maximum tariff with the US, while India settled on 18 per cent and Vietnam accepted 20 per cent. 

Although the Supreme Court decision did not directly affect bilateral deals, they were negotiated using threats of imposing the now-invalidated tariffs as leverage. 

However, re-opening those deals could backfire because Trump has made clear he will pursue tariffs under other laws than the one the Supreme Court said he could not apply. 

US Trade Representative Jamison Greer said Sunday on US network CBS’ that the administration had made clear to negotiating partners that Trump was intent on tariffs whether the Supreme Court ruled against him or not, that “whether we won or lost, there were going to be tariffs”.

He said that the bilateral deals “are good deals, we expect to stand by them, we expect our partners to stand by them.”

Moving from country-specific tariffs to the flat 15 per cent global tariff “will have considerable implications elsewhere,” said Atakan Bakiskan, US economist at Berenberg Bank. 

The new tariff means a reduced rate for some countries, for example Brazil, which faces a reduction of nearly 15 percentage points and China, which sees a reduction of nearly 10 percentage points. 

Under the law Trump relied on, these latest tariffs are in effect for only 150 days unless Congress votes to extend them. 

Trump could use that time to search for other legal provisions that would support his actions. 

While uncertainty hits European companies, it puts pressure on the US economy as well, where consumers and companies pay the tariffs on goods purchased from abroad. 

“Uncertainty around trade policy appears here to stay – putting continued pressure on the US economy,” Bakiskan said.

Patchwork laws between states, including those that ban single-use plastics, are driving up costs for shoppers.

It’s a claim Australia’s peak retail body makes in a new report that argues the “regulatory fragmentation” costs households about $900 million a year.

Single-use coffee cups are legal in some states but can’t be used in others, meaning retailers are spending more to comply with laws while being forced to run separate, jurisdiction-specific supply chains.

The Australian Retail Council says coffee cups are an example of the contrasting laws hurting retailers and driving up prices.

“Right now, a truck carrying a legal load in Sydney can be forced to stop at the border and transfer that load onto a different vehicle simply to continue to Brisbane,” the council’s chief policy officer Glenn Fahey said.

“Delivery schedules are dictated by mismatched local rules and different council curfews … this friction ultimately ends up in the price on the shelf that every Australian pays.”

Differing heavy vehicle standards and driver rules including curfews are another source of frustration for retailers.

The retail council said it could take as long as two years to obtain permits for some freight routes, with retailers requiring approval from each state and council area through which goods travelled.

The report’s financial modelling was conducted by consulting firm Mandala, which found jurisdictional fragmentation costs Australia $2.6 billion a year.

Without conceding law variation was natural within Australia’s federation, the retail council called for the establishment of a national harmonisation council to drive universal decision-making and ease fragmentation.

It also wants $260 million from the national productivity fund spent on a harmonisation incentive scheme.

A one per cent lift in retail productivity would save a household $115 a year, retail council chief executive Chris Rodwell said.

“Businesses are spending more time and money navigating different rules when they could be investing in jobs, innovation and growth,” he said.

“The good news is there are obvious solutions and significant financial upside for all Australians if we seize the moment and tackle the problem.”

Retail is Australia’s second-largest employing sector, with more than 1.5 million workers.