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The price of gold struck an all-time high on Monday, surging as much as 3% to trade at $2,135 per troy ounce as the US dollar fell.

Though gold futures have since dipped slightly — to roughly $2,080 in early morning trades — the price of the precious yellow metal hasn’t these levels since August 2020, when it hit its previous record-setting price, $2,072.49 per troy ounce.

Gold’s gains are part of a rally that began in November 2022 and has since worked in opposition with the US dollar, which has weakened as the world has become more volatile because of the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel.

The dollar experienced a 3.1% month-over-month dip on Monday against a basket of six other currencies, according to the Financial Times — a rate just slightly above its four-month low.

The fall, which has happened simultaneously alongside a drop in US Treasury yields, comes as investors have grown more confident that the Federal Reserve will slash interest rates soon.

It’s a similar view held by hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who predicted that the benchmark federal funds rate could fall from its current 22-year high — between 5.25% and 5.5% — as early as the first quarter.

He told Bloomberg last week that such a move would be necessary to avert a real risk of a hard landing for the US economy.

Ackman, whose made his name building up Pershing Square Capital Managements $17 billion portfolio, insisted that hes not convinced the US economy is headed for a soft landing, in which the Fed would be able to continue its tightening regime while staving off a recession.

He acted on this belief back in August, when he shorted 30-year Treasury bonds a move that netted Ackmans fund a profit of about $200 million.

JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon, meanwhile, has warned Wall Street to brace for a recession.

He forecasted at the New York Times DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday that the threat of rising interest rates even as inflation slows is looming over the economy.

A lot of things out there are dangerous and inflationary. Be prepared, Dimon said. Interest rates may go up and that might lead to recession.”

Dimons comments suggest that he doesnt forecast a rate cut following the next two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Dec. 11 and 12.

Economists have been divided on what central bankers next move is and whether it means the US economy is in for a soft or hard landing.

Those predicting that an interest rate cut is forthcoming have cited a weaker-than-expected jobs report in October, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added 150,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate is now 3.9%, the agency said, above the Feds 3.8% year-end forecast.

Inflation has also trended weaker than central bankers estimates as Americans see some reprieve from the Feds aggressive tightening cycle, which began in March 2022.

Those forecasting a recession have noted that interest rates have since increased at a pace not seen in 40 years, and the Fed hasnt cut interest rates in over a year despite falling inflation.

US inflation slowed to 3.2% in October , the latest Consumer Price Index showed, which tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services.

The figure marked a deceleration from Septembers 3.7% advance — and was the first time since June that inflation had slowed month-over-month — though it’s still uncomfortably above the Federal Reserves 2% target.

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Kate Winslet: I never wanted to direct, but couldn’t say no to this

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Kate Winslet: I never wanted to direct, but couldn't say no to this

Kate Winslet says she never set out to become a director – but after reading her son’s first screenplay, she simply “couldn’t let it go”.

In 2023, Joe Anders, whose father is director Sam Mendes, signed up to a screenwriting course at the National Film and Television School.

His mother read one of his assignments and insisted it was worth making into a film – so they did.

Anders created a story around adult siblings who reunite around Christmastime to say goodbye to their dying mother.

Abiding by Mark Twain’s phrase “write what you know”, it was inspired by the death of Winslet’s mother Sally Bridgers-Winslet from ovarian cancer in 2017.

Helen Mirren (left) as June and Kate Winslet (right) as Julia in Goodbye June. Pic: Netflix
Image:
Helen Mirren (left) as June and Kate Winslet (right) as Julia in Goodbye June. Pic: Netflix

Speaking to Sky News, the Titanic actress says they learned “how to develop a completely new relationship” as colleagues”.

“I’m incredibly impressed by him and really proud of him, not least because he wrote this screenplay and started writing it when he was 19,” she says.

“But he had to adapt and learn very, very quickly that when you’re developing something, you take notes, you take feedback.

“Netflix became involved at some stage that they were also giving notes to, and then I was sort of playing the role of kind of protecting the project and also protecting him at the same time from things that, you know, may necessarily not have been useful, things that actually were great ideas.”

Winslet speaking to Sky News
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Winslet speaking to Sky News

Anders isn’t her only child to have got their start alongside their famous parent.

Mia Threapleton, who most recently starred in the Wes Anderson film The Phoenician Scheme, made her on-screen debut in the 2014 Winslet-led movie A Little Chaos.

They worked together again in the series I Am… which won Winslet a TV BAFTA award for best leading actress.

Goodbye June stars (L-R) Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Kate Winslet and Fisayo Akinade, among others. Pic: Netflix
Image:
Goodbye June stars (L-R) Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Kate Winslet and Fisayo Akinade, among others. Pic: Netflix

An actor’s director

Winslet has starred in some of the biggest films of all time, with Titanic, Avatar and Sense And Sensibility, to name a few.

She says it’s that experience in front of the camera that helped her tailor the on-set experience to help its actors explore their emotions and creativity.

“We know what works for us as actors from a director,” she says. “We know what does not work, and we also know what’s actively destructive and sometimes that can mean the environment, the working environment.

“Film sets are very busy places it can often be frantic, sometimes it’s hard to kind of follow what’s going on or what you’re doing next, and it mattered to me enormously that everybody always felt extremely safe, completely informed, and very free.”

Read more from Sky News:
Actors demand AI protections
Celebrities who died in 2025
Oscars set to leave ABC

(L-R) Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn, Kate Winslet and Timothy Spall in Goodbye June. Pic: Netflix
Image:
(L-R) Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn, Kate Winslet and Timothy Spall in Goodbye June. Pic: Netflix

Winslet adds: “In this country, we’re not necessarily so good at processing, especially when it comes to talking about grief.

“And so hopefully through this film, which is also very funny, hopefully through this film, people might see something of themselves and connect with it in that way.”

Timothy Spall, next to co-star Toni Collette, says it is not surprising Winslet is such a good director
Image:
Timothy Spall, next to co-star Toni Collette, says it is not surprising Winslet is such a good director

‘One of the greats’

Co-star Timothy Spall says “it’s not surprising she’s such a good director” – and calls her “one of the great actresses in the world.”

“I worked with her when she was 20. She was impressive then, just before she got Titanic… and she’s paid attention. She’s listened. She’s a great actress,” Spall says of Winslet.

“She knows how it works, and she helps other actors to do the best they can. And she’s all over the crew. She’s great with them. She’s paid attention in every department.”

Goodbye June is out on Netflix on 24 December

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Physicists Push Superconducting Diodes to Higher Temperatures

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Researchers in China have demonstrated the first high-temperature superconducting diode, operating above liquid nitrogen temperatures without magnetic fields. Using cuprate materials, the device enables clean supercurrent flow and could reduce noise in quantum computers. The breakthrough marks an important step toward practical superconducting electronics and more sta…

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Science

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Poised for Years of Exploration Across Jezero Crater

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NASA’s Perseverance rover, in excellent condition, is ready for long-term Mars exploration. Using autonomous driving, it has travelled nearly 25 miles, studied olivine-rich rocks, and collected samples revealing potential signs of past microbial life. The rover now heads to Lac de Charmes for further scientific investigation, promising years of discoveries about Mar…

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