Wednesday newspaper round-up: Grangemouth ethylene plant, Warner Bros, ChatGPT

(Sharecast News) - Jim Ratcliffe's chemicals company Ineos has been granted £120m of government funding to help save the UK's last ethylene plant at Grangemouth, in a deal expected to protect more than 500 jobs. The investment in the Scottish plant was necessary to preserve a vital part of the country's chemicals infrastructure, the UK government said. The ethylene produced there was essential for medical-grade plastics production, water treatment and in aerospace and car-building, it added. - Guardian Downing Street insists the $40bn Tech Prosperity Deal between the US and UK that is on hold is not permanently stalled. The BBC reported on Tuesday evening that the prime minister's office claimed that the UK remains in "active conversations with US counterparts at all levels of government" about the wide-ranging deal for the technology industries in both countries to cooperate. The agreement, previously billed as historic, was paused after the US accused the UK of failing to lower trade barriers, including a digital services tax on US tech companies and food safety rules that limit the export of some agricultural products. The New York Times first reported British confirmation that negotiations had stalled. - Guardian

Jared Kushner has withdrawn from the $100bn (£75bn) bid battle to buy Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Mr Kushner's private equity firm, Affinity Partners, on Tuesday said it would no longer be backing a hostile takeover offer for Warner Bros by Paramount, the Hollywood studio owned by the billionaire Ellison family. - Telegraph

The developer of ChatGPT has hired George Osborne to help expand its business internationally. The former Conservative Chancellor confirmed he would take on a role leading OpenAI's push to establish American-led AI infrastructure worldwide, in a challenge to China. - Telegraph

Warner Bros Discovery's board is reported to be ready to announce a decision as early as Wednesday on Paramount Skydance's $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid, with the board likely to advise shareholders to vote against the offer. The decision to recommit to Netflix's $82.7 billion buyout offer would mark the latest twist in the race for assets that include Warner Bros' film and TV studio, and its extensive film and television library. These includes classics ranging from Casablanca and Citizen Kane to contemporary favourites such as Harry Potter and Friends, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service. - The Times