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Europe
BBC Business

Don't fall for this - how to protect yourself from AI scams

Image source, Getty ImagesByKevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentPublished4 hours agoBe careful where you buy from, shoppers are being warned as criminals use AI to supercharge scams. Some fraudsters have made websites for fake retailers that claim to be family-owned firms selling quality UK-made products. Images may show a UK High Street with Union Jack flags in shot. If you order you're likely to find a product either never arrives, or is a cheap, mass-produced item from a country such as China, trading standards officers say. AI-generated images like this, as well as voice cloning and deepfake videos are increasingly being used to trick people out of their money, according to National Trading Standards. For the first time, it has drawn up an AI scam watchlist, external highlighting some of the tools and techniques criminals are using. Some of the old scam-avoidance techniques may now be less successful due to the benefits of AI. Typos or grammatical errors can no longer be relied on to spot scams, says consumer group Which?. In general, they say stop and think before paying, sharing personal information or taking action. You should be especially wary of pressure or urgency because criminals want you to act before you have time to think. Fraud and scams can be reported to Report Fraud, external or by calling on 0300 1232040, or you can call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133 for advice.

Don't fall for this - how to protect yourself from AI scams
Europe
BBC Business

Home sellers cut asking prices on 3,000 properties a day

Image source, Getty ImagesByKevin PeacheyCost of living correspondentPublished4 hours agoHome sellers cut asking prices on more than 3,000 properties a day on average in Britain during September, according to figures from Rightmove shared exclusively with the BBC. The property website said the total was the highest of any month for 15 years and was driven, in part, by a glut of homes on the market and some sellers setting unrealistic expectations. The proportion of listed homes that eventually had a price cut peaked in 2023 and has remained relatively high since. Property portals say buyers are now having to be choosy, with many working to a tight budget as mortgage rates have risen to three-year highs. "Once a home has been on the market for a while and then has a price reduction, some buyers start asking questions, even when there is nothing wrong with the property," said Colleen Babcock of Rightmove. Rightmove data said the average price reduction was nearly 7% - the equivalent of nearly £21,000 cut from a typically valued home. Its data showed that homes that had a price reduction typically took 119 days to find a buyer, compared with 39 days for those listed at one price. The proportion of listed homes that had a price reduction stood at 34% in last month, only slightly lower than the recent peak of 36% seen in September 2023. Rival property portal Zoopla said that buyers were in the driving seat, and were being more cautious and selective about the properties they viewed. With mortgage rates at a three-year high, Zoopla said buyers needed to keep monthly mortgage payments affordable. So, while the number of homes for sale was up 5% in September compared with a year earlier, the number of sales agreed had fallen by 9% over the same period, its figures showed. September also tends to be the month with the most cuts to asking prices as sellers often want to complete a sale by the end of the year.

Home sellers cut asking prices on 3,000 properties a day
North America
CNBC Finance

Bank of America hired 1,000 contractors to patch software flaws exposed by Anthropic's Mythos

Bank of America has hired an army of external contractors to help it patch software vulnerabilities exposed by advanced artificial intelligence models including Anthropic's Mythos, the bank's CEO, Brian Moynihan, told CNBC on Wednesday. In an interview after the bank's third-quarter earnings release, Moynihan said that earlier this year the company rushed to bolster a wide spectrum of its internal and vendor code using thousands of employees and outside personnel. "That risk is real risk, and that's why when the frontier-type models came out. … A lot of us sat down and said, 'How do we figure out how to get through this quickly?" Moynihan told CNBC's Leslie Picker. "We put on 1,000 contractors to help us do the patching work in the second quarter, and those people remain here today, helping us, on top of the 3,000 people we have in that area," he said. The bank spent a "couple hundred million plus" on the software remediation and regulatory issues related to anti-money laundering compliance in the third quarter, Moynihan told analysts earlier Wednesday. The comments are some of the first by a major U.S. corporation to specify the manpower and dollars spent to protect software systems from Mythos, which was released to a small group of banks, technology firms and government agencies in April. They also highlight the dual-edged nature of AI: While it can help companies save money by boosting productivity, the ability of models like Mythos to uncover and exploit decades-old software flaws has also forced firms into a costly defensive scramble. "We've got to stay ahead of them, and we've got to be mindful that the people doing the software development are the people trying to sell us the services," Moynihan said. Still, Moynihan — speaking as his company's shares slumped as much as 8% Wednesday — sought to reassure investors that the spending increase was temporary. "Once you patch, you don't have to patch as much. … The pipeline moves through," Moynihan said, adding that the bank expects remediation costs to decline over time. In other places, AI is helping to reduce expenses. Bank of America has about 130 internal AI projects, and savings from those efforts are expected to rise from $300 million this year to $700 million in 2027, Moynihan told analysts. Bank of America's head count fell by about 3,400 employees in the past year as the firm cut roughly 5% of managers, he said. It's unclear how much of that workforce reduction is attributable to AI.

Bank of America hired 1,000 contractors to patch software flaws exposed by Anthropic's Mythos
Asia
The Economic Times

Equity mutual funds lose up to 9% in a week, international funds among biggest laggards

Equity mutual funds lost up to 9% last week, with international funds being the biggest laggards. The top six equity funds lost over 6.50%, and there were nearly 628 funds. Here is a detailed breakdown of top losers (Source: ACE MF) Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 FOF, an international fund, delivered a negative return of 7.45% in the said time period. Quant Value Fund, a value fund, gave a negative return of 6.52% in the mentioned time period. DSP World Gold Mining Overseas Equity Omni FoF, an international fund, delivered a negative return of 6.51% in the said time period.

Equity mutual funds lose up to 9% in a week, international funds among biggest laggards
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Air India and AI Express cancel Riyadh, Dammam flights till Nov 7

Air India and Air India Express on Saturday extended the cancellation of their flights connecting Riyadh and Dammam till November 7, while services to Jeddah will remain suspended till October 31. IndiGo and Akasa Air have also cancelled their services to Saudi Arabian cities amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the region and attacks at airports in the Gulf country. "In view of the prevailing situation in the region, Air India and Air India Express flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam will remain suspended until 7 November 2026, while services to and from Jeddah will remain suspended until 31 October 2026," Air India said in a post on X. The airline said passengers holding confirmed bookings issued on or before October 24 may avail flexible rebooking options or opt for a full refund upon cancellation of their bookings. Earlier, the two airlines cancelled their services to Saudi Arabia till October 24. IndiGo on Saturday said that after a careful assessment, flights to and from Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah will also remain cancelled till October 31. On Friday, the airline announced cancelling services to Riyadh till October 31, while for the other three cities, the cancellation of flights was till October 27. Akasa Air, on Friday, said it extended the suspension of flights connecting Riyadh till November 30 and to Jeddah till November 10. 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.

Air India and AI Express cancel Riyadh, Dammam flights till Nov 7
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

No AI, No Future? Why India’s wealth managers must adapt

India’s wealth management industry is entering a phase where technology, artificial intelligence, and platform consolidation will determine the long-term winners, according to Aprita Vinay, Senior Managing Director and CEO of Spark Capital Private Wealth Management. Speaking to businessline, Vinay said the traditional wealth management model as a standalone advisory business is rapidly evolving into an integrated ecosystem that combines wealth management, investment banking, asset management, succession planning, family governance, and alternative investments. Over the last three years, Spark has grown its assets under management from about Rs 3,000 crore to more than Rs 52,000 crore. Vinay said the firm’s strategy has been centered on building a consolidated platform rather than offering isolated products or services. “Wealth management is an access to a relationship. What you do with that relationship depends on the depth of your capabilities,” she said. Rather than treating wealth management and investment banking as separate businesses linked only through cross-selling, Spark has sought to integrate the two more closely, enabling deeper engagement with entrepreneurs and promoter-led companies. “The most valuable conversations with wealthy clients are no longer limited to portfolio returns. Increasingly, promoters are seeking advice on business growth, monetisation strategies, family governance, succession planning, tax structuring, private markets, offshore diversification, and inter-generational wealth transfer,” said Vinay. This has made investment banking capabilities a critical component of modern wealth management platforms. She believes firms that continue to operate in silos risk losing relevance. “The client is labelled as a wealth client, an investment banking client, an AMC client, and a brokerage client. The challenge is whether you can create a platform where all four businesses speak to each other,” she said. Artificial intelligence is a key driver of this transformation. Vinay believes firms that fail to adopt AI risk becoming irrelevant. “Any wealth management firm that does not use AI will have much lower chances of survival. Any relationship manager that does not use AI will also have much lower chances of survival,” she said. Spark is building a unified digital platform and a “super app” that will integrate broking, wealth management, and account aggregation capabilities, enabling hyper-personalised recommendations based on clients’ complete financial profiles. According to her, AI is already changing the business’s economics by automating data gathering, portfolio analysis, and client-servicing functions that previously required large teams. The objective is to move towards a “segment of one”, where advice is tailored to individual clients rather than broad customer categories. India has become too important for global wealth managers to ignore, driven by the rapid growth in the country’s high-net-worth population and entrepreneurial wealth creation. Several international wealth management firms have struggled to scale in India, often because they imported overseas business models that didn’t suit local entrepreneurs and family businesses. However, she expects many of them to return through partnerships, joint ventures and acquisitions rather than building operations from scratch. At the same time, domestic firms are increasingly bringing investment banking, wealth management, private assets, and family-office services under one platform, a model Vinay believes better serves the complex needs of wealthy Indian families. She also sees family offices emerging as a significant opportunity. Wealthy families are increasingly seeking institutional-quality investment capabilities while retaining customised advice and governance support. As inter-generational wealth transfers gather pace and promoter-led businesses monetise assets, demand for both single-family and multi-family office solutions is expected to rise. Looking ahead, Vinay believes technology, AI and integrated advisory capabilities will reshape the competitive landscape. “The future belongs to firms that can combine wealth management, investment banking, asset management and family-office capabilities into one seamless platform,” she said. “The businesses (wealth firm) that remain fragmented will find it increasingly difficult to stay relevant.” 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.

No AI, No Future? Why India’s wealth managers must adapt
North America
CNBC Finance

Bank earnings live updates: Goldman Sachs posts massive revenue beat, fueled by equities trading

This is CNBC's live coverage of bank earnings reports for JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. Four of the largest U.S. banks are reporting third-quarter results before the market opens on Tuesday: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs are first out of the gates. Citigroup reports later Tuesday morning, and Bank of America and Morgan Stanley will post earnings on Wednesday. The quarter was dominated by headlines around artificial intelligence, IPO uncertainty, high fuel prices and rising borrowing costs. All four reports on Tuesday are due by 8 a.m. ET, and executives from each of the banks will be addressing those topics and more during earnings calls between 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET. Goldman Sachs blew past expectations for third-quarter revenue, powered primarily by a strong quarter for equities trading, with help from investment banking and asset and wealth management. The firm's $18.68 billion in net revenue is nearly $2 billion more than the LSEG estimate. Equities revenue jumped 72% from a year earlier to $6.44 billion, topping estimates by about $1.42 billion. Investment banking fees rose 21% to $3.22 billion, beating estimates by $384 million, while asset and wealth management revenue climbed 14% to $5.05 billion, or about $450 million more than expected. Fixed income trading was a relative weak spot, with revenue slipping about 1% from a year earlier to $3.47 billion, below expectations by $239 million. JPMorgan raised its net interest income guidance to $106.2 billion for 2026. That compares to prior guidance issued in the second quarter of $105.5 billion. The statistic measures profitability for loan making. Its guidance for net income interest income excluding markets is $97.2 billion, compared with a prior estimate of $96.5 billion.

Bank earnings live updates: Goldman Sachs posts massive revenue beat, fueled by equities trading
Europe
BBC Business

Microsoft pulls out of UK's largest AI data centre

A tech company has said it still plans to build the UK's largest AI data centre despite Microsoft pulling out of the project. Nscale announced last year it had pledged £2bn to build and open a pioneering facility in Loughton, Essex. However, the BBC understands that Microsoft, which said it would fund a supercomputer at the site, has terminated its involvement. A spokesperson for Nscale said it was exploring alternative power sources and its relationship with Microsoft remained strong for their other projects together overseas. Microsoft declined to comment. "We remain committed to both the Loughton project and the UK and we are exploring alternative power sources for the site, in addition to other expansion sites in the UK," Nscale said. But as first reported by the Telegraph on Sunday, external, Nscale has been told this will not happen until the 2030s. "This unfortunate London-wide grid issue has no impact on our other contracts," Nscale told the BBC. Nscale and Microsoft are still working together on projects in Norway, Portugal and the United States. The Loughton site is expected to create 250 permanent jobs when it eventually opens. Only last month, Microsoft announced that some of the $30bn (£22bn) it was investing in the UK would be used to fund the Loughton supercomputer. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, external, Instagram, external and X, external.

Microsoft pulls out of UK's largest AI data centre
North America
CNBC Finance

Netflix to lay off roughly 1,000 employees, or 6% of workforce

Netflix said on Wednesday it will lay off roughly 6% of its employees, or roughly 1,000 workers, according to a memo obtained by CNBC. "Our mission - to entertain the world - is ambitious, and delivering on it requires us to be disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources," Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters wrote in the email to employees. "Our business is strong and growing, and we remain on track to deliver our full year forecast. We'll continue to invest aggressively in high impact areas to improve our service and further drive growth and innovation. "Doing that means making focused choices across the business so we can keep delivering for our members, partners, employees, and investors," the note said. Netflix said it did not have additional comments beyond the co-CEOs' memo. The company is due to report quarterly earnings on Oct. 20. The layoffs come just a few weeks after Sarandos told attendees at the Bloomberg Screentime conference that the company was "not growing as fast as I want." Netflix has faced a paradox in recent months. It continues to post solid profits and remains the biggest player in the streaming realm, but its viewing time has stagnated and the main driver of new subscriber acquisitions has been its password-sharing crackdown and the launch of a cheaper, ad-supported tier. Netflix's biggest threat has been YouTube, but looming on the horizon is Skydance. The combined entity of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery has plans to integrate the two companies' streaming platforms, Paramount+ and HBO Max. Netflix has diversified its content in recent years, expanding into live sports, documentaries and video games in order to compete for share of consumer attention. At the same time, it's lacked the water-cooler-type hits like "Stranger Things" and "Squid Game" that previously boosted subscriber growth and viewership. And Netflix is not the only company looking to cut costs in the media space. Last month, Disney said it would lay off around 300 employees, with the majority of cuts coming from human resources and technology roles. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Netflix to lay off roughly 1,000 employees, or 6% of workforce