Author: Press Room

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Global Economy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Good morning. The US, China and 26 other countries have agreed to work together to ensure artificial intelligence is used in a “human-centric, trustworthy and responsible” way, in the first global commitment of its kind.The pledge forms part of a communiqué signed by major powers at the inaugural AI Safety Summit. The two-day event began yesterday and is being hosted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at Bletchley Park. Called the Bletchley Declaration, the document recognises the “potential for serious, even catastrophic,…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A bus passes the Bank of England in the City of London, Britain, February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) – The Bank of England looks set to hold borrowing costs at a 15-year high on Thursday and signal that it does not plan to cut them anytime soon as it remains locked in a battle against the most elevated inflation rate among the world’s rich economies. Despite strain in the economy that some see as a sign of a recession starting, the BoE is expected to keep Bank Rate at 5.25%…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A truck drives past bales of cotton in Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, Bahia state, Brazil September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo By Ross Kerber (Reuters) – Swiss-based sustainability group Better Cotton said on Thursday it has added new functions to a platform that big retailers use to trace materials through their supply chains.     Better Cotton said retailers including Walmart (NYSE:) and Marks and Spencer will be able to tell where cotton was grown and traded, eventually to the level of individual farms. Currently the platform tracks only the total volume of cotton produced.     Jacky Broomhead, Better…

Jennifer Miranda/iStock via Getty Images Restaurant chains McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) anticipate raising prices next year in California in order to pass on some of the hit from the U.S. state’s recent minimum wage hike for fast food workers. In late September, California governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation that will raise the minimum wage for the state’s 500K fast food workers to $20/hour in April, 2024 from around $16/hour in 2022. Newsom at that time had said that the legislation was one step closer to “fairer wages, safer and healthier working conditions, and better training.” McDonald’s (MCD)…

Virginia erroneously purged almost 3,400 voters from the state’s rolls, election officials said in the run-up to statewide elections on Tuesday.The administration of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, had previously said that about 270 voters had been mistakenly removed from the rolls because of an error in the state’s computer system. The state’s admission on Friday that the problem was an order of magnitude larger than previously disclosed drew outcry from voting rights groups and the state’s Democratic Party.“The lack of transparency here is troubling,” said Aaron Mukerjee, the voter protection director for the Democratic Party of Virginia, adding that…

Retirement savings limits are increasing.getty The IRS says that the amount you can sock away for retirement is going up. In 2024, individuals can contribute up to $23,000 to their 401(k) plans in 2024—up from $22,500 for 2023. And those playing catch-up get a boost, too: the catch-up contribution limit for employees aged 50 and over is an additional $7,500 for 2024. The announcement was tied to cost‑of‑living adjustments for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2024. Here’s a look at some of the most common: 401(k) Plans The $23,000 limit applies to employee contributions made to…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Disney has agreed to acquire the 33 per cent of Hulu that it does not own from rival Comcast, firing the starting gun on what is expected to be heated negotiations between the media giants over the valuation of the popular US streaming service.In a statement on Wednesday, Disney said it was prepared to pay $8.6bn by December 1 for the remaining stake, which would value Hulu at $27.5bn. But that is expected to be just the floor for upcoming negotiations over…

By Douglas Gillison and Chris Prentice (Reuters) -The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is investigating potential misconduct by executives and board members of First Republic Bank (OTC:), raising the prospect of stiff penalties for the failed bank’s former bosses. “We can confirm a D&O probe into First Republic is taking place,” a spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday, referring to the bank’s directors and officers. The regulator did not provide further details. The investigation, which has not previously been reported, is the third the FDIC has opened into bank failures earlier this year which cost the federal government’s deposit insurance fund…

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A Boeing logo is seen at the 54th International Paris Airshow at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, June 18, 2023. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing said on Wednesday it is investigating a cyber incident impacting elements of the company’s parts and distribution business and is cooperating with law enforcement. Boeing (NYSE:) acknowledged the incident days after the Lockbit cybercrime gang said on Friday it had stolen “a tremendous amount” of sensitive data from the U.S. planemaker that it would dump online if Boeing didn’t pay ransom by Nov. 2. Boeing declined to comment on…

IR_Stone/iStock via Getty Images Shares of Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI) on Wednesday rose as much as 10.5% in extended trading, after the information technology services provider provided strong guidance despite supply constraints. SMCI stock was last up 3.8% to $261.87 after hours. San Jose, Calif.-based Super Micro (SMCI) makes products such as rackmount servers and graphics processing unit (GPU) servers, motherboards and chassis, and ethernet switches and adapters. The company posted FQ1 2024 adjusted earnings per share of $3.43, beating estimates by 18 cents. Revenue rose 14.6% Y/Y to $2.12B, beating expectations by $60M. Semiconductor equipment manufacturers, chipmakers and IT…