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Europe
BBC Business

Wealthy AI workers send San Francisco house prices soaring

On a tree-lined street in the affluent Duboce Triangle residential neighbourhood of San Francisco, the top half of a white, Edwardian-era, detached house was drawing visitors from prospective buyers. The opulently renovated three-bedroom apartment was on the market for almost $3m (£2.3m). And it had been attracting increased attention due to an unusual payment possibility - the seller would consider shares in artificial intelligence companies OpenAI or Anthropic instead of cash. "The value [of the property] is questionable, but I would like to buy," says a young OpenAI employee who has just viewed the flat with his partner. The worker, who moved to the Californian city two years ago for a technical job with the San Francisco-based company, is currently renting. He plans, he says, to ask his bosses about the stock transfer possibility. Welcome to San Francisco 2026, also home to fellow AI giant Anthropic. The city is ground zero for the AI revolution, and its property prices have risen dramatically this year. "They are just astronomical," says Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, a real estate company that tracks US home prices. "People are flush with cash and ready to buy." In March, San Francisco regained its title as the most expensive city for homebuyers in the US, overtaking rival San Jose 50 miles to the south in the heart of traditional Silicon Valley. That month, the median house price in San Francisco rose 19% on the year before, and that trend has continued, up 14.5% and 14.1% in April and May respectively, according to data provided by Redfin. The median sale price in the city as of May 2026 is a record high of $1.76m, compared with nearly $400,000 for the US as a whole, where prices rose by just 1.4% in March, and 2% in both April and May. The prevailing view of pretty much everyone is that AI money is the driver of the red-hot San Francisco property market. "We have come to that conclusion based on what we're seeing in the data, and what we've heard from our agents," says Fairweather. She highlights the steep jump in prices, external in the wider San Francisco Bay Area's luxury zip codes – which includes Duboce Triangle – since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, a trend absent in cities with less AI wealth. It has halted the downturn that San Francisco saw during the Covid pandemic, when the population fell and house prices softened.

Wealthy AI workers send San Francisco house prices soaring
Europe
BBC Business

I run the UK's biggest bank, here are five ways to manage your money

Charlie Nunn is CEO of Lloyds Banking Group - the UK's biggest bank providing one in four current accounts - meaning he has a deep insight into customers' spending, saving and borrowing. Here are his top tips on how to manage your money from saving to avoiding scams. This means regular saving will stop being a decision or action you have to keep taking - and putting off. "If you're able to carve out a little bit and put it somewhere else where you won't have access to it and be able to spend it, I think that's the easiest way to start having a saving mindset," he says. That could mean setting up a direct debit from your current account to a savings account, organising cash into different envelopes or using round-up tools that put spare change aside when you spend. He admits he "hates budgeting and always has" so he says he looks at his current account as soon as he gets paid and decides how much he wants to move into savings. "Do it as soon as you can," he adds. As well as savings, he recommends having an emergency fund for surprise bills like a broken boiler or car repairs. How much you need in the fund depends on your circumstances but he advises having one to three months' salary set aside if you can. Nunn and his wife use a joint account and have "complete transparency" over money, he says. His red flag in a relationship is "someone who isn't careful with money" because he has always been "relatively prudent". His attitude to money was shaped by childhood - his parents divorced and his mother raised four children which meant he grew up thinking carefully about spending. "We were constantly worrying about what we were spending money on and managing money carefully which ranged from looking for cheap food in the supermarket to thinking carefully about holidays and what we did in our spare time". Nunn says his children "take no advice from me because I'm their dad" but he's tried to make them understand the value of money.

I run the UK's biggest bank, here are five ways to manage your money
Europe
BBC Business

Why electric cars cost more to insure - and what's being done about it

ByTheo LeggettInternational Business CorrespondentPublished4 hours agoIt's hot and bright beneath the high intensity lights in a cavernous crash and safety testing laboratory, hidden away in a business park outside Newbury. A siren blares and a disembodied voice counts down: "Three, two, one". A small white car trundles into view, rolls across the floor, and bumps into a barrier set against the wall. As crash tests go, this one is hardly spectacular. There is no torn metal or flying glass. At just 6mph, it replicates the kind of annoying prang you might well get in a car park or at a traffic light. But raise the slightly bent bonnet to look underneath, and it's a different story. This is an electric vehicle (EV) – a Dacia Spring – and the hidden damage is significant. As senior test engineer Sean Hoad points out, the high-voltage charging port, mounted at the front of the car is badly broken, as are components it's attached to. "This is all one big unit, meaning we can't just replace the front charge port. We have to replace the charger itself, the inverter, and some of the cabling", he explains. Repairing all of that, he says, would cost about £4,000, and there is other damage to consider as well, so the chances are an insurer would not bother getting it fixed. Thatcham Research, which works on behalf of the insurance industry, is carrying out tests like this to understand why EVs typically attract higher insurance premiums. On average, it says, EVs cost 30% more to repair than petrol or diesel models, and it takes 14% longer to fix them. This then feeds through to the insurance price. It can cost 10-25% more to insure an EV than a petrol or diesel car, depending on the make and model. According to the latest data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), EV sales have surged to the point that they made up almost one in every three new cars sold in the UK in June, external. Ian Plummer, chief customer officer of car selling website Autotrader, says the rising EV demand is "driven by intensifying competition and rising consumer interest in plug-in cars".

Why electric cars cost more to insure - and what's being done about it
Europe
BBC Business

Online marketplaces still selling dozens of unsafe baby products, Which? finds

Image source, Getty ImagesByVicky WongPublished8 July 2026Potentially dangerous baby products - including self-feeding devices, pillows and sleeping bags - are still being sold on online marketplaces in the UK, according to Which?. The consumer group found 150 such products listed for sale by third parties on sites like Amazon, eBay and TikTok - despite having been subject to official safety warnings and product recalls. Sue Davies, the head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said the investigation had shown "how easy it is to find these unsafe products" and urged the government to make marketplaces liable for the safety of items sold on their sites. Most of the companies concerned said they have removed some of the products Which? had flagged. The investigation looked at three types of products - sleeping bags, self-feeders and sleep pillows - that have been the subject of warnings from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). It found unsafe products were listed on eight online marketplaces - Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok, OnBuy and Wish. Of the 150 unsafe products it found, more than a third were designed to feed a baby from a bottle with little or no assistance despite an "obvious" risk of choking, Which? said. Thirty-three involved a long straw design and 21 were pillow bottle-holders designed to fasten around a baby's neck. These bottle-feeders were available on several platforms despite an OPSS alert from 2022 calling on businesses to remove such products. The probe also found 59 sleeping bags with hoods or without armholes and 37 sleep pillows marketed for newborns, despite concerns about suffocation and overheating, as well as NHS safe sleep guidance. OPSS also issued an alert for baby sleep pillows - some of which have been marketed with claims of improving night-time sleep - in December 2025. Davies said: "The lives of babies are at risk because these platforms won't stop dangerous products from reaching their customers - even though they are well aware that these products can be deadly."

Online marketplaces still selling dozens of unsafe baby products, Which? finds
Europe
BBC Business

Virgin Media fined after hanging up on customers trying to cancel contracts

Virgin Media has been fined £28m for repeatedly preventing customers from cancelling contracts, Ofcom said. The communications regulator said it uncovered tactics including agents deliberately hanging up calls, and customers being put on hold "for no reason". It said millions of calls from customers were "likely mishandled" over a three-year period which prevented or delayed them from switching to a better broadband, landline or pay-TV deal. The penalty was reduced by 30% as Virgin Media admitted its failing and agreed to settle, Ofcom added. Virgin Media apologised to the "small proportion who experienced an issue when contacting us to agree a new deal or cancel their service in the past". Ofcom's investigation uncovered behaviour including: excessive and unnecessary call transfers, deliberately hanging up calls, repeated attempts to pressure customers to stay, and unnecessarily and repeatedly keeping customers on hold. It said Virgin Media's commission scheme "effectively encouraged" and financially rewarded call centre agents for "behaving in this way". Virgin Media said it had "resolved all formal customer complaints from this period providing redress where appropriate". Ofcom said Virgin Media would need to check every affected customer who complained has received compensation or other remedies they were entitled to within six months. It said its rules "are clear that the conditions or procedures telecoms providers have in place must not act as a disincentive for customers who wish to cancel their contract" - and that Virgin Media's failings likely acted as a disincentive for customers in million of calls. The calls investigated were between 1 January 2022 and 11 September 2024 and were found to have likely been mishandled by call agents "in order to delay or prevent customers from cancelling and switching to a competitor". Natalie Black, Ofcom's group director for infrastructure and connectivity, told the BBC's Today programme that Virgin Media's actions were "pretty shocking" and showed "poor behaviour". "Right at the beginning of this problem, a number of years ago in 2022, we tried to resolve this informally. There wasn't the will to do that," she said.

Virgin Media fined after hanging up on customers trying to cancel contracts
North America
CNBC Finance

Netflix, Disney and YouTube interested in FIFA World Cup U.S. rights; package could reach $2 billion

As the FIFA World Cup captures massive global audiences, media companies are preparing to pay billions for the rights to the next two men's tournaments. Netflix, Disney and Alphabet's YouTube are all interested in challenging Fox for the U.S. broadcast rights to the 2030 and 2034 World Cup, according to people familiar with the matter. Amazon, which currently owns UEFA Champions League rights in the U.K., and Apple, which owns global MLS rights, could also enter the mix, further fueling a potential bidding war for the rights. Discussions between FIFA and potential media partners are expected to begin sometime in the next three months, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. FIFA has alerted media companies during preliminary talks, which began earlier this year, that English- and Spanish-language U.S. rights are likely to be sold together, rather than separately as they have been for previous World Cups, including 2026, according to the people. Fox paid $485 million for the English-language rights for this year's tournament, hosted across North American cities, according to The Athletic. NBCUniversal's Telemundo paid $600 million for the Spanish-language rights, according to people familiar with the matter. Executives at various media companies are budgeting between $1.5 billion and $2 billion for the U.S. rights to each tournament across languages, said the people. The last time FIFA negotiated a deal, with Fox and Telemundo, was in 2011. Four years later, FIFA extended that deal through 2026. FIFA won't sell global rights to the tournament, because different countries have regulations that mandate the World Cup must be sold over the air. But U.S. rights will be coveted, with major viewership and advertising opportunities. Netflix, Disney and YouTube all view the World Cup as a potential major boost for their streaming services, according to the people familiar. Disney could also air games on ESPN and ABC, which could be appealing to FIFA as the broadcast on Fox has seen strong ratings this year. FIFA has already shown interest in Netflix by awarding it the Women's World Cup in 2027 and 2031. Selling the English- and Spanish-language rights as a single package could help FIFA garner a higher price, driving up bids from eager media partners looking for big ratings. The combined TV audiences for U.S. games in recent weeks have rivaled NFL playoff games. Packaging the language rights could also help eliminate some tensions between rival media companies airing the same games.

Netflix, Disney and YouTube interested in FIFA World Cup U.S. rights; package could reach $2 billion
North America
CNBC Finance

Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino EV for $13,995 in U.S.

DETROIT — Chrysler parent Stellantis on Tuesday said it has opened ordering for its small Fiat Topolino electric vehicle in the U.S., starting at $13,995. While the Topolino resembles a small car such as the Fiat 500, the EV is actually a quadricycle that functions more like a golf cart. Stellantis said the Topolino is capable of going 19 mph, with an electric range of up to 46 miles. A low-speed vehicle conversion kit can boost the top speed to 25 mph to make it street legal on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less, according to the trans-Atlantic automaker. A Stellantis spokeswoman said there will be no charge for the conversion kit but confirmed a mandatory destination fee will add $990 to the base price, bringing the customer price to $14,985. The Topolino, which translates to "little mouse" in Italian, is produced in Morocco. The company said it will be available in limited quantities this year as a hardtop model with doors or as the Dolce Vita soft-top convertible model with a rope instead of doors. "Topolino represents a new chapter for the brand in the U.S. — defined not just by size, but by purpose," Fiat brand CEO Olivier François said in a release. "With Topolino, we bring a feeling, a lifestyle, a reminder that mobility can be joyful, expressive and beautifully simple." Stellantis, which also owns American brands such as Jeep and Dodge, late last year confirmed it would bring the vehicle from Italy to the U.S., less than a week after President Donald Trump praised small "Kei" cars from Japan during a meeting at the White House with Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa and other automotive leaders. "They're very small. They're really cute," Trump said at the December meeting. "And I said, 'How would that do in this country?' And everyone seems to think 'good,' but you're not allowed to build them." It's not illegal to produce such cars in America, but they have to meet American safety standards, speed requirements and other regulations. Small cars such as Fiats have historically not sold well in the U.S. In its first full year in the U.S. in 2012, Fiat sold 43,772 vehicles domestically. Those sales dwindled to roughly 1,300 Fiat vehicles sold last year in the U.S. The Stellantis spokeswoman at that time said Fiat's announcement was unrelated to Trump's comments and that the automaker had been has been gauging customer interest for the Topolino at U.S. events such as auto shows. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

Stellantis to sell small Fiat Topolino EV for $13,995 in U.S.
North America
Yahoo Finance

INTC, WDC, SNDK, AMD: Red-Hot AI Chip Stocks Lose Sheen In Samsung-Triggered Selloff

High-flying chip stocks tumbled on Tuesday as investors took profits, tracking the selloff in Samsung Electronics shares despite the company’s blowout preliminary results. Samsung said its second-quarter operating profit is expected to rise 19-fold to 89.4 trillion won ($58.44 billion), and revenue to increase 129% to 171 trillion won – above analysts’ expectations on both counts. Still, Samsung shares in Seoul tumbled nearly 7% on Tuesday, pulling down rival SK Hynix and the broader Kospi, where the two tech giants carry significant weight. In the U.S., Intel stock dropped 9.7%, its steepest one-day drop in a month, to emerge as the biggest loser in the S&P 500 on Tuesday, while rival Advanced Micro Devices’ shares plunged 6.5%. Memory chip stocks Western Digital and SanDisk shed over 7% each, while Micron declined 4.7%. Shares of chip-making equipment firms KLA Corp and LAM Research also dropped around 7% each. Curiously, the Nvidia stock, which has underperformed lately, ended 0.7% higher. Tuesday’s selloff is also notable because major chip stocks had already been retreating for several days, raising concerns among investors that the AI trade may be losing steam and that a broader downturn could be underway. Semiconductor stocks continue to dip further below their 50-day moving average. (see chart). There are not many catalysts behind the pullback, although concerns about elevated valuations have been building in the background. Intel stock has tripled this year, while AMD is up 141% and SanDisk has risen a staggering 582%. The AI-driven rally has boosted shares of several smaller players, such as Marvell Technologies, LAM Research, and Nebius. “The AI trade is intact. Structurally nothing has changed,” Daniel Newman, CEO of The Futurum Group said in an X post. “A little profit taking on memory and infra names is healthy after these parabolic moves. It’s still very early and demand still well outstrips supply.”

INTC, WDC, SNDK, AMD: Red-Hot AI Chip Stocks Lose Sheen In Samsung-Triggered Selloff
Europe
BBC Business

Trains and emergency calls affected after major outage at Australia's largest telecoms company

A major outage at Australia's largest telecommunications company has led to cancelled train services, left thousands of customers without mobile coverage, and sparked an investigation into emergency calls that were not connected. Telstra's chief financial officer Michael Ackland apologised for the issue which began at 04:30 local time on Wednesday and affected "some mobile calls and data services". Services were fully restored about 12 hours later, he said. A software defects related to time-keeping servers at data centres in Sydney and Melbourne was to blame - not a cyber attack, Ackland added. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the outage was "deeply concerning". Telstra described the outage as "intermittent" but acknowledged the impact had been "national". Ackland said the telecoms company had conducted welfare checks on customers who had called emergency services during the outage, with six requiring immediate help. Back-up systems, which divert emergency calls through other mobile carriers, largely worked as they should, he added. Asked if the country could still rely on its largest mobile network, Ackland said: "Australia can absolutely have faith in its biggest telco... we take these outages very very seriously. "Our investment in resilience and cyber security and redundancy in our network is significant but it is a big and complex network and from time to time, issues do occur." confirmed that welfare checks were being made for about three dozen calls to emergency services that did not go through but that the "core triple-zero system remains operational". Communications Minister Anika Wells said the country's telco regulator, the Australian Communication and Media Authority, will investigate the outage. In Victoria, all regional train services were cancelled due to the outage while some regional services in New South Wales were also disrupted. National freight services were also affected.

Trains and emergency calls affected after major outage at Australia's largest telecoms company