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Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Anthropic, Open AI and the hyperscalers: The balance sheets that threaten to throw AI ‘off’ balance

If AI is too complex to comprehend, so are the jargons that surround the business models of AI companies. Not keeping track of them could mean being left out or staying behind the curve when it comes to what is apparently the most disruptive and transformative force the world has seen since the industrial revolution. It probably is the most disruptive force the investing world has seen as well. Keeping this in mind, at bl.portfolio, we have been demystifying the AI world via a series of articles in this Big Story section namely, ‘Too big to fail’ (September 21, 2025), ‘When bits and bytes take a large bite’ (May 31, 2026), ‘Welcome to the world of AI-nomics’ (July 12, 2026) and ‘AI’s dotcom déjà vu’ (August 2, 2026). Today, we deep dive into a few key aspects that have been making ripples recently, when it comes to the AI theme. We are talking about off balance sheet debt and variable interest entities. Off balance sheet debt or off balance sheet obligations ( sometimes called hidden debt too) is simple, if one understands the substance of these transactions and why they are disclosed off the balance sheet. * Obligations to purchase network infrastructure (including GPUs, CPUs, memory chips, servers and other network gear) and long-term agreements to procure energy to run the data centres. Financial statements are prepared by following certain rules. These rules are called accounting standards. Companies need to statutorily comply with them and doing so enables an investor to compare the financials of two companies. For assets and liabilities to be recognised on the balance sheet, they need to satisfy a few conditions — technically called recognition criteria. For example, to book an item as inventory, it should be a tangible asset and is either held for sale in the ordinary course of business or consumed during production of other goods or in the process of rendering a service. As far as leases go for certain long-term assets, the standards stipulate that under certain conditions, the lessee must simultaneously capitalise a lease asset (called right of use asset) and the present value of all future lease payments as a liability, on either sides of the balance sheet respectively. This is called initial recognition. How the lease asset and lease liability are accounted for subsequent to initial recognition is more complex and need not be focused now. The standards also prescribe the timing of initial recognition on a day termed as the ‘commencement date’. This is the day on which the lessor makes the leased asset available for use by the lessee. Hence, lessees must wait until the commencement date to record the lease asset and lease liability. In case of hyperscalers, they are the lessees of data centres, which take years to build. Since these leases are contracted for already, companies disclose these material transactions in the notes to accounts (off the balance sheet), until the data centres are delivered for their use by the developer/ lessor. Similarly, obligations to purchase network/ compute infrastructure are also disclosed in the notes, till they meet the recognition criteria meant for fixed assets. You can check out Amazon’s off balance sheet obligations in page 15 here: https://tinyurl.com/muhnka9t As an example, we shall look at the structure of Project Jupiter, which is part of the $500-billion Stargate project. At the core are four large data centres, co-developed by STACK Infrastructure and BorderPlex Digital Assets. STACK is ultimately controlled by Blue Owl Capital, a private credit firm. The project is being developed in Doña Ana County of New Mexico State in the US. Once built, the developers transfer the project assets temporarily to the county for 30 years and in turn, the county leases them back. This is to make use of a tax-efficient model to avoid paying high property taxes (property title is with the county itself for 30 years). PILOTs (payments in lieu of taxes) replace property taxes and act as consideration for the 30-year lease. Once up and running, the data centre is contracted to be leased to Oracle. Oracle pays Project Jupiter out of the revenue it generates from OpenAI’s use of compute. The deal between OpenAI and Oracle is a $300-billion multi-year one.

Anthropic, Open AI and the hyperscalers: The balance sheets that threaten to throw AI ‘off’ balance
Europe
The Guardian

Good news in US inflation report boosts chances Fed won’t hike rates

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange before the closing bell on 29 September 2026. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPAView image in fullscreenTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange before the closing bell on 29 September 2026. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPAUS economyGood news in US inflation report boosts chances Fed won’t hike ratesTraders see about a 35% chance of an October rate hike, down from ​about 45% following White House pressure Good economic news boosted Wall Street’s main indexes on Wednesday, as a softer-than-anticipated inflation reading buoyed up hopes that the Federal Reserve might not hike rates as soon ⁠as next month. A commerce department report ⁠showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) ​price index stood at 3.4% on an annual basis in August against estimates of 3.7%, per economists polled by Reuters. Separately, second-quarter GDP data – the broadest measure of the economy’s health – showed that the US economy grew at a solid clip, driven ⁠by robust consumer spending and business investment related to the buildout of AI infrastructure. “The market had been tracing out a bullish formation, meaning the price pattern suggested that any positive catalyst could trigger a move higher and that’s exactly ⁠what happened,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. Traders now see a roughly 35% chance of an October rate hike, down from about ​a 45% chance, according to data ‌compiled by LSEG. The Federal Reserve is under pressure to cut rates from the White House after raising them earlier this month for the first time since 2023. Inflation has emerged as the top issue for voters in the run-up to the midterm elections with Donald Trump receiving poor marks for his handling of the economy. US stock markets rose in early trading, but the S&P ended the day down 0.25% and the Dow fell 0.86%. The Nasdaq ended the day up 0.24%. Despite weakness in September, driven by bond market volatility and elevated oil prices amid the US-Iran conflict, the benchmark S&P 500 and the ‌Nasdaq were on pace for a second straight quarterly advance, if gains hold. On ​Wednesday, the yield on the 10-year treasury bond held steady at 5.246%, a day after hitting its highest since June 2007. Crude oil prices rose on the day, with the December contract for Brent crude futures moving higher. There was also positive news from the jobs market. ADP, the US’s largest payroll supplier, said private employers added 90,000 jobs in September, higher than expected and up from 36,000 in August. On Friday, the labor department will release its latest monthly jobs tally, which is expected to show a gain of 84,000 for September, down from 162,000 in the prior month.

Good news in US inflation report boosts chances Fed won’t hike rates
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Funding crunch dims lights at Puja Pandals

Pandals are coming up all across Kolkata, but behind the scaffolding. Puja committees are facing a stark new reality: Funds that usually fuel Bengal’s biggest festival have dried up. A transition in State governance has triggered an unintended financial crisis for Kolkata’s Durga Pujas, leaving small organisers worried and corporate sponsors backing away. A late decision by the government on the operating procedures for putting up advertisement hoardings this festival season is being blamed for the funds crisis. According to ‘Forum for Durgotsab’, a leading organisation of community Durga Pujas in Kolkata, overall corporate spending has seen a drastic cut of 30-40 per cent this year compared to last year, significantly impacting the budget of puja organisers. “Late decisions from the administration is one of the major factors that led to the major drop in corporate sponsorship. Puja committees need sufficient time to erect advertisement hoardings and banners, companies also want these to be displayed for a longer time in the festival season. Puja organisers and companies had been waiting for the guidelines, which came much later,” Partha Ghosh, Chairman, Forum for Durgotsab, told businessline. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation has limited the period when hoardings can be displayed to just seven days before Mahalaya and seven days after Bijaya Dashami. During the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government, there were no such guidelines. “Community pujas are witnessing stress in corporate sponsorship as well. For big and medium community pujas, around 70 per cent of the budgets comes from corporate sponsorship. Due to shrinking sponsorship, we are postponing payments to decorators,” said Saswata Basu, vice-president, Forum for Durgotsab and secretary of Hatibagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee. Notably, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari last month urged big budget community Durga Pujas to voluntarily forgo financial aid from the government, while announcing a grant of ₹1 lakh for Durga Puja committees that applied for the aid. Until last year, the previous Trinamool Congress government provided ₹1.10 lakh to each police-approved puja committee in the State. The grant, introduced in 2018, was raised to ₹50,000 per committee during the Covid-19 pandemic times to support puja organisers facing financial difficulties during the lockdown. It was subsequently increased in phases to ₹1.10 lakh in 2025. This year, several eligible puja committees have not been able to apply for aid as the application system was changed. “For providing financial support to community puja organisers, the new government has adopted an entirely new application system, which is more centralised. Earlier, local police stations helped puja organisers with the application process. This year many small puja committees could not apply because they did not get this support,” said Kajal Sarkar, committee president, Bosepukur Sitala Mandir, a crowd-puller and big-ticket Durga Puja in south Kolkata. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Funding crunch dims lights at Puja Pandals
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Premier Energies secures orders worth ₹4,000 crore in Q2

Premier Energies has received new orders totalling over ₹4,000 crore for the July-September period of FY27, the company said. These orders, from a mix of major power producers, module manufacturers, EPC companies and other customers, are for solar cell and module supplies (total 2,308 MW) and EPC project execution, the company said in a statement. The company said it recently nearly doubled module manufacturing capacity to 11.1 GW, while the solar cell manufacturing capacity has increased from 3.6 GW to 10.6 GW following the commissioning of a 7 GW TOPCon solar cell manufacturing facility last month at Naidupeta, Andhra Pradesh. Chiranjeev Saluja, Managing Director, Premier Energies, said: “Our growing order book is a strong validation of our growth strategy and execution ability." Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Premier Energies secures orders worth ₹4,000 crore in Q2
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Infosys sees no material impact from US suspension of PERM green card applications

FILE PHOTO: Infosys said it welcomes the opportunity to work with the Department of Labor and related government agencies to address any questions. | Photo Credit: Dado Ruvic Infosys, India's second-largest IT ​firm, said on ‌Saturday that it ​does not anticipate ⁠a material impact from the Permanent ‌Labor Certification (PERM) application suspension announced ‌by the US government. The ‌US ⁠government said ⁠on Thursday it was suspending some major ​global tech ‌and IT firms, including Infosys, from the PERM green ‌card program, which ​allows skilled foreign workers ⁠to gain permanent residency in the US ‌through their employment. "We welcome the opportunity to work with the Department ‌of Labor and related ​government agencies to answer any ⁠questions they may have," Infosys ⁠said in an exchange ‌filing. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Infosys sees no material impact from US suspension of PERM green card applications
Europe
BBC Business

Suppliers pile pressure on government over energy bills

Image source, Getty ImagesByKevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentPublished3 October 2026, 04:47 BSTUpdated 2 hours agoThe government should take immediate action to help those struggling with energy bills this winter, the suppliers' trade body has said. Energy UK said domestic gas prices, which rose on Thursday, and forecasts of steep rises in January meant inaction would lead to a longer-term, more costly and deeper crisis. Figures revealed by the BBC earlier this week showed forecasters predicting a 16% rise in domestic energy prices in the new year for 20 million households on variable tariffs affected by regulator Ofgem's price cap. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the government was considering any measure that took the pressure off. Households in England, Scotland and Wales on variable energy tariffs set by Ofgem's price cap, which puts a maximum price on each unit of gas and electricity, were hit with a 4% price increase at the start of October. That is the equivalent of about £60 per year - or £5 per month - taking an annual bill to £1,723 for the typical household using both electricity and gas and paying by direct debit if this level was sustained for a year. But forecasts show a far greater increase is possible for bills in January. Consultancy Cornwall Insight said its latest forecast suggested the same typical annual bill would rise to £1,999. Energy UK said it accepted the government had already provided some support. VAT on electricity bills was cut on Thursday, and some levies were cancelled or shifted into taxation earlier this year. But the trade body said these savings had been wiped out by high wholesale prices, paid by suppliers, that were the result in part of international events - namely conflict in the Middle East and the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. It said bills were soaring as they had in 2022 when they were driven up by the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We cannot afford to wait for the same scale of crisis before acting again. We must heed the lessons from that time," said Dhara Vyas, chief executive of Energy UK. She said that the urgent intervention needed was highlighted by growing levels of customer debt, the cost of which now added an average of £67 a year to everyone's bills.

Suppliers pile pressure on government over energy bills
North America
CNBC Finance

Goldman Sachs CEO succession planning faces one big problem

Goldman Sachs is on top of Wall Street right now, advising on more than $1 trillion in merger deals and generating more than $12 billion in equities revenue in the first six months of the year alone. Those records make it all the more striking that Goldman's board has reportedly discussed replacing CEO David Solomon, 64, with president John Waldron, 57, as early as next year. The succession plan, which would elevate Solomon to executive chairman, could be voted on by the bank's board in coming months, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday. The transition would be one of the "smoother and more deliberate" leadership handovers seen on Wall Street, Wells Fargo banking analyst Mike Mayo wrote Monday. But there's a key risk facing Goldman: Solomon may not be ready to give up his seat, and Waldron may not be willing to wait for it indefinitely. Solomon has gotten Goldman back on track after an ill-fated foray into consumer banking earlier in his tenure. With help from a deals rebound powered by the Trump administration and the artificial intelligence boom, Goldman is once again a clean story for investors: It's the top pure-play investment bank. "It's just very hard for a person like that to decide they are really going to retire," said retired University of Delaware law professor Charles Elson. "Being 65 years old today is like being 55 was 30 years ago." Elson also noted that Solomon is chairman of Goldman's board and holds outsized influence over the body, making it hard for him to be forced out. Goldman spokesman Tony Fratto said there is "no definitive timeline for succession" at the bank. Bank boards often discuss succession planning over the near, medium and longer term. Another expert in CEO succession, Yale School of Management's Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, said it would be bad governance if Goldman's board was trying to "drive out a high performing CEO like David Solomon." Under Solomon, who took over as CEO in 2018, Goldman shares are up more than 300%, the second-best performance versus the KBW Bank Index, according to Mayo. Only JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who has led his firm for nearly 21 years, has done better. That leaves Goldman in something of a bind: Even if Solomon is planning on leaving in a year, he has little incentive to say so. Doing so would make him a lame duck with less influence inside the bank, according to Elson.

Goldman Sachs CEO succession planning faces one big problem
North America
CNBC Finance

Alaska Airlines unveils massive premium cabin overhaul in high-end travel race

Alaska Airlines is overhauling cabins across Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines to add hundreds of high-end seats and building new airport lounges, banking on customers' continued willingness to pay a premium for travel luxuries to grow its profits into the next decade. The changes were announced ahead of Alaska's investor day in Seattle on Tuesday, when the carrier's executives will face questions on the new offerings, how the airline is coping with the profit-eating surge in jet fuel this year, and its ability to reach its goal of $1 billion in added profit from end of 2024 to the end of 2027. It said Tuesday that it's two-thirds of the way there. Investors are also likely to tie the new products to the company's prospects to grow its co-branded credit card and loyalty program, which have generated billions for airlines. Alaska said it's working to become more reliant on revenue from premium seats, international flights, its loyalty program and cargo, which is higher margin than the main cabin. It forecast on Tuesday that those more lucrative products will reach close to 60% of its total revenue by 2030, up from 53% currently. Even with the cabin changes, Alaska, which completed its merger with Hawaiian Airlines in September 2024, will continue to operate the two airlines as separate brands. U.S. airlines have been spending the past few years revamping their cabins to add more premium seats, often at the expense of coach seats, since first-class fares can go for many times more than an economy-class ticket, and customers keep paying to sit closer to the front. Most of Alaska Airlines' fleet doesn't have lie-flat or other premium options that are common on competitors' jets. Alaska is far from the first carrier to remodel its cabins, but that might work to its benefit when the fresh product hits the market. "There is an advantage to being the last mover in that you've seen what your competitors have and if you want to you can try to one-up them," said Henry Harteveldt, founder of Atmosphere Research Group, a travel consulting firm. The Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330s, used for flights to Hawaii, Asia and Oceania, have "aging interiors," said Shane Jones, Alaska's head of fleet. The new options will bring the total count down to 254 seats from 278 on those planes. Jones said the new options will give Hawaiian a range of premium choices, from the honeymoon splurge to repeat Hawaii visitors looking for a step-up from coach. He told CNBC that the airline spent months looking at fabric samples at the company's headquarters in Seattle under different types of lighting to pick the right one. Some shades were too bright pink, while others were too drab. He said that the airline wanted to evoke the colors and mood of tropical escapes to Hawaii with a wave pattern sewn into the seat, and that the carrier evaluated how many waves were enough because too many could be dizzying.

Alaska Airlines unveils massive premium cabin overhaul in high-end travel race
North America
CNBC Finance

El Pollo Loco to open first New York restaurant as it aims to become national chicken chain

El Pollo Loco will open its first New York City restaurant next year as the California chain looks to become a national player. El Pollo Loco has closed three development agreements for a total of 15 restaurants in the New York area over the next five years, the company announced on Tuesday. The first location is expected to open in Queens in mid-2027. Founded in Mexico in 1975, El Pollo Loco opened its first U.S. restaurant in Los Angeles. The majority of its locations are still concentrated in California, but its footprint has grown to more than 500 restaurants across 10 states. It is best known for its bone-in grilled chicken, although its menu has expanded. CEO Liz Williams wants to make El Pollo Loco into a national chain. To expand outside its Southwestern stronghold, El Pollo Loco will open restaurants on the East Coast and then move its way back to the West, she said. To succeed in new markets, the chain will have to build its brand awareness in a crowded space at a time when consumers are watching their budgets. "Being a 50-year-old brand, people have seen it over the years and have always had that curiosity, but we have our work cut out," Williams said. Under Williams' leadership, El Pollo Loco has embarked on a turnaround focused on modernizing its restaurants and expanding its menu into more convenient options, like wraps and chicken tenders. The efforts have started to pay off for the chain, which has reported three straight quarters of same-store sales growth. "In the current quarter, we've expanded margins, and the business model is healthy overall," Williams said. "The brand has gotten even stronger and healthier." El Pollo Loco has also expanding quickly during her tenure. When she began in March 2024, the chain was in just six states, she said. And while it opened nine restaurants last year, El Pollo Loco is projecting 18 to 20 new locations by the end of 2026. Investors like the company's trajectory. Shares of El Pollo Loco have climbed 44% over the past year. The S&P 500 rose more than 15% over the same period. Its comeback coincides with a challenging time for the restaurant industry. Burger and taco chains have been facing soaring costs for beef. Consumers have been dining out less frequently to save money, which has intensified competition between eateries. El Pollo Loco has also had to contend with more competition as restaurants aim to cash in on growth in the chicken category. McDonald's and Taco Bell — Williams' former employer — have expanded their chicken options in recent years, informed by consumer market research. And chicken-focused chains have been expanding quickly, from newcomer Dave's Hot Chicken to Southern names like Zaxby's and Raising Cane's.

El Pollo Loco to open first New York restaurant as it aims to become national chicken chain