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Europe
BBC Business

OpenAI boss says world 'right to be afraid' but 'should trust' AI firms

OpenAI boss Sam Altman thinks people should have more faith in his company and others like it to do the right thing when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) development amid rising public concerns about all the risks. "The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it's the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this," Altman said on Tuesday during a conference in San Francisco. However, Altman noted that people were justified in their fears around AI, as the capability of the tools has progressed rapidly. "It doesn't take as much imagination as it used to for [us] to imagine how this could go wrong," he said. "I think the world is right to be afraid of this." Altman's comments came during an appearance at an annual conference hosted by software firm Salesforce. It was the first time he had spoken publicly since a post went viral last week by a researcher who quit the AI firm Anthropic. The researcher claimed AI could kill all humans by the end of the decade if left unchecked. A handful of other AI executives and experts responded by saying they agreed with the assessment, though they didn't explain how they came to their conclusions or how exactly AI could accomplish such a thing. The fervor over the claims has led to more scrutiny of AI development in recent days, and in response, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for the pace of all AI development to slow, external and urged governments to regulate the industry. The post was applauded by Altman, as well as co-founder of Google's DeepMind Demis Hassabis, and Elon Musk, owner of social media site X and AI assistant Grok. By Tuesday, more AI leaders were voicing support for self-regulation rather than government involvement. Altman said that he felt AI companies like his own were capable of essentially regulating themselves. "We will get it right, I'm very confident in our company's and industry's ability to do this safely," Altman said, adding that he was sure that they would "keep alignment and safety way ahead of capabilities" and if they couldn't, they would "slow down or stop".

OpenAI boss says world 'right to be afraid' but 'should trust' AI firms
Europe
BBC Business

State pension likely to top £13,000 a year as UK wage growth slows to 3.9%

Image source, Getty ImagesByEmer Moreau, Business reporter and Kevin Peachey, Cost of living correspondentPublished15 September 2026, 07:12 BSTUpdated 53 minutes agoThe state pension is expected to top £13,000 a year, reigniting the debate about its long-term affordability and generational fairness. The full, flat-rate state pension is expected to rise by £488 a year in April, based on the latest official earnings figure released on Tuesday. The so-called triple lock pension policy guarantees that the state pension will increase by either average wage growth, inflation or 2.5% - whichever is highest. Labour made a manifesto pledge to keep the triple lock until 2029, however economists have warned about the cost of the policy ahead of the Budget although pensioner groups say many people still face poverty in old age. The triple lock was designed to ensure the value of the state pension was not overtaken by the increase in the cost of living or the incomes of working people. Although the state pension age is rising to 67, the cost to the government has risen considerably too. Forecasts suggest state pension spending, already at £154bn this year, could go up by a further £600m a year by 2029-30. The policy is "crazy," Ruth Curtice, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, told the BBC. The triple lock is creating a "ratchet effect" where "pensioners' living standards grow even faster than just a typical worker," she added. "Pensioners have seen living standards grow three times more than typical workers over the last 20 years." Jonathan Cribb, deputy director of Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank, said: "Each increase in spending builds upon the last and so the long-run cost is substantial but very uncertain." The state pension is expected to match wage growth in the next calculation and is likely to be higher than the rate of inflation. Average wage growth, including bonuses, stood at 3.9% between May and July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), external, down from 4.2% between April and June.

State pension likely to top £13,000 a year as UK wage growth slows to 3.9%
North America
Yahoo Finance

S&P 500, Dow Break Past Four-Day Loss To End Higher As Investors Eye Fed Meeting Next Week — DELL, HPE, EL, WMT In Focus

U.S. stock indices rose on Friday as oil prices calmed and the consumer inflation print came in as expected, as investors shift focus to the Fed’s rate-setting meeting due next week. The S&P 500 ended Friday 0.9% higher, while the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1%. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, rose about 0.5%. However, all three benchmark indices ended the week lower as inflation and rate-hike risks dampened investor confidence. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for QQQ, SPY, and DIA was ‘bearish,’ with ‘high’ message volumes. In August, consumer inflation expanded 0.4% sequentially and 3.4% on an annualized basis, matching consensus expectations. Excluding volatile food and energy components, core CPI advanced 0.3% month-over-month, marginally topping projections. Treasury yields held relatively stable following the release, with the benchmark 2-year Treasury yield crossing 4.6% to reach peaks unseen since July 2024 as market participants price in monetary tightening. According to the CME FedWatch tool, the probability of a 25-basis-point rate increase at next week's policy meeting stands near 90%. Investors have been tracking inflation numbers to judge the Federal Reserve’s rate decision due next week. In the previous session, the Producer Price Index (PPI) showed a monthly expansion of 0.4%, lifting headline producer inflation to an annual rate of 5.4%, higher than the 5.3% economists expected. “There’s no guarantee that the Fed will hike next week, but it’s hard to see how the central bank can justify leaving rates on hold,” Chris Zaccarelli at Northlight Asset Management told Bloomberg. Microsoft Corp. (MSFT): The company plans to more than triple its data-center capacity, an effort that could help the company overcome a computing shortage that has forced it to turn away some AI and cloud business. Dell Technologies (DELL) and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): The stocks were the two biggest gainers in the S&P 500 on Friday following strong Oracle results and its reiteration of capex plans. Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (EL): The company secured a major procedural victory in its intellectual property dispute against Walmart Inc. (WMT). Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and California’s attorney general were reportedly ordered by the court to set two consecutive days in late October for in-person talks aimed at settling the state’s lawsuit over the studio’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.

S&P 500, Dow Break Past Four-Day Loss To End Higher As Investors Eye Fed Meeting Next Week — DELL, HPE, EL, WMT In Focus
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Indian exporters worry new US tariff law will disrupt trade

US President Donald Trump on September 18 signed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which may impose steep levies on Moscow and its top energy buyers. The new US law empowering President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on Indian goods is a major concern as it is creating uncertainty over the otherwise healthy trade relations between the two countries, and such duties, if imposed, could severely disrupt India's exports to America, according to exporters. However, the likely impact on Indian exports can be assessed only after Washington announces the tariff rate, product coverage and implementation schedule. They added that the Russia-Ukraine war and West Asia crisis have already pushed up raw material prices and transportation costs. Trump on September 18 signed the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which may impose steep levies on Moscow and its top energy buyers. The Act authorises President Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries buying Russian oil and gas, including China and India. The law comes into effect within 30 days of signing by the President and requires him to impose duties of up to 100 per cent on goods imported from countries that are the top five purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas by total volume during the 12 months preceding enactment. "We are very worried and concerned. If the US imposes high tariffs, it will completely halt our exports to the US. No importer can afford this high level of tariffs," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President SC Ralhan said. He said many engineering sector exporters have significant businesses in America and the US should factor in these aspects before taking any decision on new duties. Sharing similar views, Mumbai-based exporter and CMD of Technocraft Industries Sharad Saraf said that more than tariffs, the uncertain environment impacts more. "The clear impact can be assessed only after we have the details. We also have to see how much duty will be imposed on our competitor nations like China. We are quite worried about the new law because it is creating a lot of uncertainty in the otherwise healthy trade relations. We are not able to take decisions," Saraf said. He said the move could be a pressure tactic on countries like India by the Trump administration ahead of the US midterm elections in November.

Indian exporters worry new US tariff law will disrupt trade
Europe
BBC Business

Do you feel guilty when calling in sick at work? This might be why...

Image source, Getty ImagesByNick TriggleHealth correspondentPublished4 hours agoYou wake up feeling unwell but there's a big day at work ahead. Research suggests, external anywhere between a third to a half of people in the UK work even when sick - something experts call presenteeism. And your approach to sickness says a lot about you as an individual and where you work. "The younger generation get the snowflake tag thrown at them, but it's not true," says University of Manchester psychologist Prof Sir Cary Cooper, who is one of the world's leading experts on workplace wellbeing. Workers aged 16 to 24 took an average of 2.4 days off sick last year, compared to 6.2 days for those aged 50 to 64. Sir Cary, who has advised the UK government on employment policies in this area, says there are several reasons for this. Younger workers are more likely to work in roles where there is little security, such as zero-hours contracts. They are also less likely to suffer from long-term health conditions and joint problems that are major contributors to sickness absence. But Sir Cary adds: "I think younger generations do have higher expectations about how employers should treat them and consider their wellbeing. "Older generations have perhaps been more willing to put up with things, but that doesn't necessarily make that approach healthy. "When it comes to taking time off, younger workers seem more willing to view mental wellbeing as part of their overall health rather than something that should simply be pushed through." There are a variety of factors that influence someone's approach to sickness absence.

Do you feel guilty when calling in sick at work? This might be why...
Europe
BBC Business

Why doomsday warnings are not the only threat to the AI juggernaut

ByFaisal IslamEconomics editorThere is an eerie low hum that emanates from data centres, where tens of thousands of chips make trillions of computations a second to help drive the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution. These chips power the text, images and video generated by the queries made by the world of the advanced AI models. Their computations, which are in effect the switching on and off of microscopic silicon transistors that make up a chip, are actually silent. But, as with all computers, almost every watt of the significant electricity powering this process leaves as heat, and the sound you can hear is the slow whir of thousands of fans required to prevent the heat from frying the racks of servers. Depending on the size of the site, you may also hear the thrum of transformers in substations channelling electricity. In recent days, alarming warnings of threats to humanity have created a din, but it is these low hums that have stirred a backlash in the US which now threatens to envelop its mid-term elections, and could cross the Atlantic and come to the UK. In the US, the opposition to data centres is most overt on the political left. Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders has called for a moratorium on any new construction. "People are looking around worried about how quickly the technology is moving, how little control they have over it, how will data centres impact their community in terms of electric rates and water utilisation," he told me. It's possible that a global AI race travelling at Silicon Valley's top speeds could be about to hit the buffers of very localised political and environmental concerns. In the US, polling by Gallup published in May suggested having a data centre in your area was more unpopular than having a nuclear power station. On data centres, 71% were opposed, including 48% strongly opposed. For nuclear power stations 53% were opposed, including 34% strongly opposed. This unpopularity has grown over the past two years, with some polls suggesting half of Americans support a total pause on their construction. There has been opposition to some of these developments in the UK too, from Buckinghamshire and Berkshire to Brick Lane in east London, with locals fearing their areas will be negatively impacted. In Brick Lane, plans for a data centre likely to service the City of London's high frequency traders face a backlash from those who would prefer to see more social housing and local business developments in the capital's east end. Meanwhile in the shires, the sheer demand for data centres sees pressure to expand provision from Slough, into the leafy countryside. The UK has the third highest number of data centres in the world, one spot ahead of China. The US has the most. Back in the US, this backlash is being reflected in what politicians standing in critical elections in November are saying. The backlash is clearly more pronounced among Democrats on the left, but anti-data-centre sentiment is clear among Republican supporters too. City councils have been voted out in response to their policies on data centres, while some whole states - both red and blue - are proposing bans.

Why doomsday warnings are not the only threat to the AI juggernaut
Europe
BBC Business

The extreme engineering of aircraft windows

In late May, a chemical storage tank with more than 7,000 gallons of toxic material began heating up – fast. The tank belonged to GKN Aerospace, a company that supplies parts to the aviation industry, including aircraft windows. As the temperature inside the shiny metal storage vessel rose, workers realised they had a problem. The tank was at risk of exploding, potentially showering nearby neighbourhoods with methyl methacrylate (MMA), a skin and lung-irritating, external compound used in plastics production. The tank's temperature reached 100F (38C) – though possibly went higher - 100F was simply the maximum reading, external on the temperature gauge inside. More than 50,000 residents of Garden Grove city were evacuated and fire crews began hosing down the tank in a bid to cool it. At one point, the vessel "actually bulged" according to the local fire chief. Thankfully, no explosion occurred. Months later, in August, GKN and local authorities announced a $100m (£74m) programme, external to compensate residents evacuated during the incident. But production of aircraft windows at the site, which had been halted, is still not fully restored. This has sent a minor shockwave through the aircraft manufacturing industry because GKN is one of surprisingly few companies, anywhere in the world, that make aircraft windows – highly engineered, safety-critical parts for planes. Production at GKN's Garden Grove facility currently remains hobbled, at roughly 50% of normal, according to public statements, external by its UK parent company Melrose Industries. The aim is to have full production restored by 28 September. GKN declined an interview with the BBC. "They're one of only a handful of suppliers – less than a handful, really – of critical windows," says Marisa Garcia, an aviation industry analyst. "One of the breaking points of supply chain in aviation is you have very few companies qualified to do something and, when something goes wrong, it really upsets the entire system." Boeing tells the BBC it is "taking steps to mitigate any potential impacts", describing the shortfall in production as an "industry-wide" situation. "We are supporting our supplier," a spokesman adds. An Airbus spokeswoman says, "We are closely monitoring and are seeing positive progress toward a return to normal." It comes at a time when airlines "can't get new aircraft fast enough," says Mike Stengel of AeroDynamic Advisory, a consultancy. "They're holding on to aircraft for longer." Even though there are just a few aircraft window-manufacturing firms in existence, it's hard for new competitors to emerge because of how regulated the industry is, adds Stengel. "It can take time to pivot to a new supplier."

The extreme engineering of aircraft windows
Europe
BBC Business

Complaints to watchdog about water firms jump 84%

The number of complaints made by households about water companies to the industry watchdog has risen by a record 84% in a year, driven by customer concern and confusion over rising bills. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) said the year-on-year increase was the highest in its 20-year history and showed "just how dissatisfied" many people were. Water customers in England and Wales have been hit with steep price hikes in recent years. The regulator Ofwat has also allowed firms to put up bills by 36% between 2025 and 2030. Water UK, which represents firms, said it understood that higher bills was never welcome, but the money was needed "to fund vital upgrades". The total number of complaints to the watchdog rose to 15,115 in 2025-26, from 8,235 in the previous year. Meanwhile, complaints made by households directly to water companies, which is required before complaining to the CCW, rose by 56% to 321,347. The top three subjects of complaints to the CCW were measured billing, affordability and billing admin. Mike Keil, the chief executive of the CCW, said the figures "reflect just how dissatisfied many people still are with the state of the water sector". "Companies need to be clear and open with their customers about how they are investing people's money to deliver real improvements." The CCW assessed each water company's performance on the number of complaints it received for every 10,000 households it serves, and the amount of effort customers have to put in to get their complaint resolved. David Bird, retail director at Thames, apologised to customers who "have not received the service they should expect". "We know bill clarity has been a particular source of frustration, which is why we have launched a programme to redesign them, so they are easier to understand," he said.

Complaints to watchdog about water firms jump 84%
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Sensex today | Stock Market Live: Sensex, Nifty may open flat as crude prices and FPI flows remain in focus

Indian stock markets opened flat with positive bias on Monday. At 9.17 a.m., the Sensex was up 423.17 points, or 0.57 per cent, at 74,718.13, after opening at 74,535.18, against the previous close of 74,294.96. The Nifty 50 was up 39.20 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 23,385.60. Asian stocks were up in early trade, while crude prices remained elevated, with WTI around $95 a barrel and Brent above $100. Geopolitical tensions, particularly the ongoing Iran-US conflict, remain a key source of uncertainty for equities, currencies and energy markets. US tariff measures targeting major buyers of Russian oil are also posing risks to global trade, crude flows and emerging-market sentiment. Analysts said the market could remain in consolidation around opening levels. A move above 23,300 could support a recovery towards 23,500–23,600, while a sustained break below could revive selling pressure. Foreign portfolio investors have again turned sellers, with NSDL data showing ₹23,676 crore of exchange outflows up to September 19. Elevated crude prices and US bond yields remain negatives, while resilient domestic growth and better earnings expectations provide support. * Crude: WTI is around $95/barrel, while Brent remains above $100, keeping energy costs elevated. * Geopolitical risk: The Iran-US conflict remains a major source of uncertainty for equities, currencies and energy markets. * US tariffs: Measures targeting major buyers of Russian oil could affect crude flows, energy prices and emerging-market sentiment. * FPI flows: FPIs have again turned sellers, with ₹23,676 crore of exchange outflows recorded up to September 19. * Primary market: FPI investment through the primary market stood at ₹2,703 crore up to September 19. * Key market drivers: Traders should track crude prices, US bond yields and banking stocks. * Negative factors: Elevated crude prices and high US bond yields could weigh on Indian equities and FPI flows.

Sensex today | Stock Market Live: Sensex, Nifty may open flat as crude prices and FPI flows remain in focus