Today’s Agenda: Xai Share Sale. The climate was taken away under Bailey. Trump on Iran’s uranium enrichment. British nuclear power. and EU-India Trade
good morning. We begin with the exclusive story of a Big For Ascentacy company, where companies are competing to create a type of audit that validates the effectiveness of artificial intelligence tools, as they seek to benefit from client demand for evidence that AI systems are functional and safe.
AI Audit: Deloitte, EY and PWC told the Financial Times they are preparing to launch AI Assurance Services. They hope to use the reputation gained from financial audits to acquire work to assess whether AI systems, such as self-driving cars and cancer detection programs, are run as intended.
What’s Behind the Move: Audits open up another revenue stream to auditors, just as when companies cash out their tendency to buy assurances on environmental, social and governance metrics. Companies hope that the demand for new AI assurance services will be supported by the need for greater trust in technology and the company’s desire to ensure that companies comply with regulations. Eleshefba Kissin is more from London.
Here is the other thing we keep tabs today:
UK: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and other members of the Monetary Policy Committee appear before the Parliament’s Treasury Selection Committee.
Italy: Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni meets Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Rome French President Emmanuel Macron.
Economic Data: The OECD publishes the latest economic outlook. The EU reports preliminary inflation estimates for May and unemployment data for April, while the US releases labor market statistics.
Results: Chemistry, Cloud Strike, Dollar General, FD Technologies, Ferguson, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Pennon Report revenue.
Five more top stories
1. Elon Musk’s Xai is launching a $300 million share sale, valued at $113 billion, as the world’s wealthiest man returns to the race to develop his business empire and artificial intelligence. The deal will allow new investors to join the startup and will take over social platform X in March. Details of the tender offer are as follows:
More Technology News: Uber has appointed its first Chief Operating Officer since 2019 as CEO Dara Khosrowshahi rocked a senior leader at a riding company.
2. Exclusive: A staff member at the Bank of England, who has resigned from the role of overseeing climate and natural risks, complains that the central bank ignores these issues and has not adopted the UK financial sector. Six people who left BOE between 2020 and last year told FT that climate change was taken away under Gov. Andrew Bailey.
3. President Donald Trump said he argued that Iran would completely dismantle its uranium enrichment program as part of his nuclear deal with the United States, appearing to contradict the proposal proposed by his own special envoy, Steve Witkov. The statement is the latest example of the inconsistent message that bothered Washington’s latest talk with Tehran.
4. Exclusive: Sizewell C Nuclear Power Plant is expected to acquire the final Go-Aard during the Anglo-France summit in London next month. The UK minister is heading to secure billions of investments from the private sector. The Suffolk Site is part of a proposed fleet of new reactors that will help boost the UK’s low-carbon electricity supply.
5. India and the EU have reached consensus on almost half of the topics covered by the trade contracts they hope to seal this year. They agreed that the agreement would not cover “delicate” agricultural products, such as dairy products, according to those with knowledge of consultations. However, the fixed points remain.
Big reading
©ft Montage/Getty
The difference between the Big 3 Private Capital is becoming more severe from a business model perspective. Blackstone has stuck to the traditional rate-based approach, but rivals have embraced insurance-driven models where Apollo and KKR provide long-term funding but with bank-like risk. So which version of private equity wins?
We’re reading too. . .
“Problem Links”: A Chinese university co-founded by the University of Liverpool has close ties with us and entities subject to EU sanctions, a think tank has discovered.
Vibe coding: Creating an app using a large language model can go the same way as DIY. Some enjoy success, others have lost a very expensive mistake.
Second draft of globalization: capital markets should be suitable for individual countries’ goals and workers’ interests, writes BlackRock CEO Larry Fink.
Private Credit: The industry is currently entangled with major banks and insurance companies, and research finds that it could become a “contagious presence” in the next financial crisis.
The day’s graphics
As the industry faces declining demand, Oyster Yachts has found a new way to build orders. The British manufacturer of gorgeous “Blue Water” sailing boats offers 1,200 owners the challenges of life and mass thrills to 1,200 owners by helping them sail the world together, John Gapper writes.
Take a break from the news
La Tasquea, Madrid’s new Michelin-starred restaurant, is putting an off-duty spin on oats to wander Spanish culinary traditions.
Javi Estevez in La Tasqueria’s kitchen
