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Europe
The Guardian

Apple becomes second $5tn company as investors flee AI stocks

Apple’s shares hit a session high ⁠of $342.89 on Tuesday. Photograph: Matthias Schräder/APView image in fullscreenApple’s shares hit a session high ⁠of $342.89 on Tuesday. Photograph: Matthias Schräder/APAppleApple becomes second $5tn company as investors flee AI stocksShare price rally driven by strong product demand as well as decision to sit out AI spending race, amid wider tech sell-off Apple has become only the second company to pass the $5tn valuation mark, as it benefited from investors fleeing AI and semiconductor stocks amid a wider tech sell-off. The iPhone maker’s shares hit a session high ⁠of $342.89 on Tuesday, giving it a market ⁠capitalisation of $5.04tn (£3.78tn), then eased back down to $340.08 – around the $5tn mark. Apple became the world’s most valuable company earlier this month, overtaking the chip giant Nvidia, which had been ⁠at the top since June 2025 and became the first company to breach the $5tn threshold last October. The US consumer electronics company’s rally has been driven ⁠as much by strong demand for its products as its decision to sit out the ​AI spending race that is sapping cash ‌flows at big tech ‌rivals. Its fresh high valuation came amid an intensifying sell-off of AI stocks around the world driven by rising concerns about AI companies’ borrowing to fund datacentre expansion. US chip stocks extended their recent losses when Wall Street opened on Tuesday, with Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, Sandisk, Western Digital and Seagate Technology all down by more than 4%. The Nasdaq 100 index of leading tech stocks fell by as much as 1.8% at one point, meaning since its early June record high it had fallen more than 10% – the technical definition of a market correction. Meanwhile South Korea’s stock market slid to its lowest level since mid-April, with semiconductor companies SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics falling by more than 10%. Analysts attributed the sell-off to renewed worries over AI investment spending, and competition from cheaper Chinese companies, after a report by the Information that China had begun mass production of homegrown deep ultraviolet (DUV) chip-making tools. View image in fullscreenApple’s decision to hold iPhone prices steady, despite increases last month for MacBooks and iPads, has bolstered demand. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersInvestors may also be growing jittery about the “circular funding” at the heart of the AI industry, through which artificial intelligence companies finance one another. They have also been spooked by the announcement from Google last week that it was further increasing capital spending this year to as much as $205bn to fund its AI plans, while reporting negative free cashflow for ​the first time in its history, burning through $5.9bn in the three months to the end of June.

Apple becomes second $5tn company as investors flee AI stocks
Europe
BBC Business

Brits urged to avoid dangerous plug adaptors this summer - what to watch out for

Brits going on holiday abroad this summer have been warned to watch out for dangerous travel adaptors, after an investigation suggested thousands may be for sale online. Consumer safety group Electrical Safety First (ESF) tested 14 products from AliExpress, Amazon Marketplace, eBay and TikTok Shop - and found they all failed to meet UK safety requirements. It said in some instances the devices could expose users to risk of serious electric shock or electrocution. AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and TikTok all said they had removed the products ESF flagged from sale, and that they treated product safety as a top priority. But Giuseppe Capanna, ESF product safety engineer, urged those "heading abroad this summer to think before they buy". Capanna also said shoppers should buy travel adaptors from trusted retailers "so they can travel with confidence". ESF tested six regular travel adaptors and eight universal adaptors it suspected could pose safety concerns. To be sold in the UK, adaptors must not have accessible live parts and only one set of pins should come out at a time. But the charity found multiple sets could be exposed simultaneously in six out of eight of the universal adaptors it tested. None of the eight met the required dimensions and mechanical strength, while some pins snapped off under force during tests. ESF said anyone who tried to remove a broken pin from a socket would be at risk of electric shock. These included missing safety shutters - which protect people from coming into contact with a plug's live internal parts - missing fuses and oversized pin holes.

Brits urged to avoid dangerous plug adaptors this summer - what to watch out for
Europe
BBC Business

Sloppy and clumsy but overwhelming - inside the rogue ChatGPT hack

Image source, Getty ImagesByJoe TidyCyber correspondent, BBC World ServicePublished4 hours agoThe company that got hacked by a rogue version of ChatGPT has revealed what it was like to be on the receiving end of the world's first fully-autonomous AI hack. In an emergency video call with hundreds of cyber-security professionals, the firm described how the AI worked at superhuman speed but also made strange decisions and mistakes that no human hacker would have made. Hugging Face, which is like an app store for AI tools, said the hacking agents worked relentlessly with thousands of different methods trialled simultaneously. The company first revealed that it had been hacked, external by someone using powerful autonomous AI on 16 July and reported it to police. Nearly a week later, OpenAI admitted it was its AI that had escaped a closed environment and attacked Hugging Face on its own during a test. It was trying to find the answers to a hacking exam it had been set by OpenAI, and targeted Hugging Face. The industry body the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) wrote-up a report , externalbased on the emergency meeting with Hugging Face on Friday - which Hugging Face itself has reviewed. "The agents followed inefficient routes and exhibited clumsy behaviours that no human would choose", the CSA wrote. The agents repeated actions that they had already completed - a sign of an agentic AI losing its thread and context. The agents also hallucinated reams of incoherent commands and text and were sloppy and did not cover their tracks well. But among the errors and strange behaviour, Hugging Face warned the AI agents made brilliant technical moves and were able to rapidly adapt to new scenarios in the days-long hack. It took three days for them to be discovered inside the Hugging Face IT network and it took the company's AI and cyber-security experts many hours to contain and eject the AI agents - something standard companies might struggle with.

Sloppy and clumsy but overwhelming - inside the rogue ChatGPT hack
Europe
BBC Business

'Don't wait until you want revenge' - why prenups are on the rise

Celine Tsoi and Charles Mock met two years ago in Goleta, California when she was just 23 and he was 27. Eight months later they were engaged. "A lot of things could happen in a marriage and you want to discuss them when you still love each other rather than when things go bad and you want to take revenge," says Celine. These days its not just the rich and famous; more of us are deciding it makes sense to have a legal agreement that sets out what happens to the money if the marriage ends, with younger couples particularly likely to sign one, even when there aren't great wealth differences to consider. Charles, a nurse, earns more than Celine does as a PhD student, but she had a bit more saved, so the disparities weren't big, but they wanted to face up to important financial questions from the start. She was particularly touched that Charles wanted the prenup to say if they split up, she should have the house. Just having the conversation "can show you what the person you're going to marry is like", she says. There are no official figures, but in the US, where divorce courts have always tended to uphold prenups, nearly half of married millennials and more than one in three Gen Z report that they have a prenup. Overall in the US around one in five married couples has a prenup. In the UK research suggests around one in ten couples now has a prenup, following a legal shift in England towards greater recognition. Here too it is younger couples leading the way, with around one in three married under-35-year-olds having signed one, according to surveys. London lawyer Mark Gilmartin at JMW Solicitors says in the past 18 months he has seen a big increase in demand for prenups, with the billionaire-and-barmaid stereotype fast giving way to demand from "start-up professionals" including entrepreneurs and influencers. "It's the attempts to protect the fruits of what's going to be, rather than what is," he says. But beyond the would-be TikTok stars, he sees a significant trend towards "every-day you and I" couples wanting them, often in order to protect inherited wealth.

'Don't wait until you want revenge' - why prenups are on the rise
North America
CNBC Finance

Boeing posts bigger loss than expected as Air Force One costs weigh on results

Boeing reported a bigger-than-expected loss for the second quarter as the aircraft manufacturer's long-delayed Air Force One program weighed down results. Boeing took a $280 million loss on the program to deliver two 747s that will serve as the next generation Air Force One aircraft to the U.S. government as it said it ramped up investment for that plane. It said it still expects the first delivery in 2028. "While we're making progress on our development programs, you're never done until you're done," CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a note to staff. The aircraft manufacturer, a top U.S. exporter, increased revenue 8% in the second quarter to $24.56 billion from a year earlier with gains across its businesses, including increased deliveries of commercial aircraft. Boeing has been ramping up production of its best-selling 737 Max airplanes to 47 a month, with further increases planned. Boeing's commercial aircraft deliveries in the second quarter rose 14% from a year earlier to 171 planes from 150 a year earlier. Free cash flow of $631 million came in well above the $177 million cash burn analysts expected, and compares to $200 million burn in the second quarter a year ago. Boeing reported a net loss of $428 million, or 67 cents a share, compared with a net loss last year of $612 million, or 92 cents a share. Adjusting for one-time items, Boeing reported a loss of 76 cents a share. "While two quarters don't make a year, if we work together and stay focused on safety, quality and on-time performance — we'll improve our competitiveness and set ourselves up for a big second half," Ortberg said in the staff note. Upcoming milestones include the certification of other delayed aircraft programs. First will likely be the Boeing 737 Max 7, the smallest aircraft in the family of planes. Boeing executives will hold a call with analysts at 10:30 a.m. ET, where they'll likely face questions about certification of the 737 Max 10 and the 777X, its new wide-body aircraft. 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.

Boeing posts bigger loss than expected as Air Force One costs weigh on results
Europe
BBC Business

eBay agrees $56m settlement with bloggers over harassment case

Image source, ReutersByKali HaysTechnology reporterPublished28 July 2026eBay and some former executives have agreed to pay a couple $56m (£42m) after a campaign of harassment in retaliation for their online criticism of the firm. In a statement on Tuesday, David and Ina Steiner, said they and eBay had reached a settlement stemming from the 2019 harassment they faced from several of the company's executives, as well as internal communications by eBay's then chief executive. A group of now former company executives ultimately pleaded guilty to sending the couple a costume mask covered in pigs blood, a book on surviving the death of a spouse, among other threatening actions. Other actions, external perpetrated against the Steiners included eBay executives sending them a funeral wreath and harassing messages on Twitter (the social media platform now known as X). Some even paid visits to the couple's Massachusetts home in a bid to install a tracking device on their car. Seven former eBay executives pleaded guilty, external to the criminal charges between 2022 and 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. An FBI agent involved in the investigation said in 2024 that the former executives' actions were an "unprecedented, relentless, and over-the-top harassment campaign". eBay was also criminally charged and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ and agreed to pay a fine of $3m. While eBay is paying the couple the bulk of the settlement, including $6m to "various non-profit organizations", Wenig is personally paying $1m toward the settlement. Wenig left eBay in 2019. The same year, he had sent eBay's top communications executive a text message regarding Ina Steiner which said: "Take her down." A representative of Wenig on Tuesday said earlier proceedings in the Steiners' lawsuit explained that his text was referring to a public relations strategy to combat purported errors in Ina Steiner's writing. Wenig added: "No one should ever have been subjected to what the Steiners endured in 2019, and I'm saddened by it, especially because it occurred during my time as CEO of eBay. The harassment was deliberately done in secret." His contribution is set to go to an unnamed charity that is "dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights" and will be gifted in the name of Ina Steiner, according to the couple's lawyers.

eBay agrees $56m settlement with bloggers over harassment case
Europe
The Guardian

60 Minutes adds new correspondents and contributors after key departures

Sebastian Junger, Trevor Phillips and Gianna Toboni. Photograph: Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenSebastian Junger, Trevor Phillips and Gianna Toboni. Photograph: Getty ImagesMedia60 Minutes adds new correspondents and contributors after key departuresNew York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat has been named a correspondent, while Sebastian Junger, Gianna Toboni and Trevor Phillips have been named contributors The CBS broadcast 60 Minutes announced a new slate of correspondents and contributors on Tuesday that will help replace a group of longtime correspondents, including Scott Pelley, Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, who were fired this spring. The most significant addition to the lineup, announced in a memo to employees from the executive producer, Nick Bilton, is the New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat, who is joining as a correspondent. Bilton called Douthat, who is leaving the Times, “a thinker of uncommon rigor and a journalist of deep empathy”. The show is also adding three new contributors: the author and documentarian Sebastian Junger, film-maker Gianna Toboni and prominent UK journalist and political commentator Trevor Phillips, who was hired by CBS News as a global correspondent in June. Bilton also announced that Norah O’Donnell, a “powerhouse” former network anchor who has served as a contributor to the show, had been promoted to the role of full-time correspondent. “An exceptional lineup of journalists will be joining 60 Minutes, carrying on its tradition of fearless, independent and impartial reporting. I can’t wait for them to get started,” he wrote in the memo. Praising Douthat, Junger, Toboni and Phillips, Bilton wrote that they were “entrepreneurial journalists who understand how to reach modern audiences. Between them they have written books and magazine articles, produced documentaries, TV shows and podcasts, hosted live events and built brands on independent platforms.” Bilton’s announcement comes two months after the day known by some 60 Minutes staffers as “Black Thursday”, when the network ousted Vega, Alfonsi, executive producer Tanya Simon, executive editor Draggan Mihailovich and multiple producers. Pelley was fired – “for cause” – the following week after challenging network management in a series of meetings. But, the show’s leadership was able to retain the services of longtime correspondents Lesley Stahl, Bill Whitaker and Jon Wertheim, who decided to “stay and fight” by remaining in their roles. While the show’s staff largely takes off the month of July, Bilton said the show had “so many stellar pieces in the works” for the new season, which begins on 13 September. Since leaving the network, Pelley, Alfonsi and Vega have all accused CBS News leadership of meddling with the show’s editorial independence, a charge the network has denied.

60 Minutes adds new correspondents and contributors after key departures
Europe
BBC Business

Chinese chipmaker shares surge nearly 470% in blockbuster stock market debut

Image source, ReutersByPeter HoskinsBusiness reporterPublished27 July 2026, 05:25 BSTUpdated 1 hour agoShares in China's biggest memory chip maker have soared by nearly 470% as they made their debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's tech-heavy Star Market. The surge has pushed ChangXin Memory Technologies' (CXMT) stock market valuation to around 3.3 trillion yuan ($487bn; £365bn), making it the most valuable listed company in mainland China. The spectacular debut comes despite a sharp sell-off in technology stocks around the world this month. CXMT manufactures dynamic random-access memory (Dram) chips that power AI data centres, mobile phones, PCs, tablets and other devices. The firm, which was founded in 2016 by Chairman Zhu Yiming, is headquartered in Hefei, Anhui Province in eastern China. The company has said it plans to use most of the proceeds from the initial public offering (IPO) to boost production of memory chips and carry out more research and developments. The stellar performance of its IPO will offer some comfort to Chinese financial officials, who have been rolling out measures to help curb a stock market slump that wiped out more than $1.5tn in recent weeks. Analysts said the jump was also being driven by demand for the shares far outstripping supply. "The reason for the extraordinary bounce this morning is that only 7% of the shares are available for trading," Anna Macdonald, investment strategy director at Hargreaves Lansdown told the BBC's Today programme. It also highlights Chinese investors' strong appetite for a homegrown chipmaker, as the government in Beijing pushes ahead with plans to make its technology industry self-reliant. South Korean tech giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix and US-based Micron dominate the Dram market, with the three companies accounting for around 90% of global production. Earlier this month, SK Hynix raised $26.5bn (£19.8bn) in its New York share offering, marking the largest ever listing by a foreign firm in the US.

Chinese chipmaker shares surge nearly 470% in blockbuster stock market debut
Europe
The Guardian

Ex-FCC officials warn agency sending ‘chilling message’ with ABC license review

The FCC chairman, Brendan Carr. Photograph: Kylie Cooper/ReutersView image in fullscreenThe FCC chairman, Brendan Carr. Photograph: Kylie Cooper/ReutersTrump administrationEx-FCC officials warn agency sending ‘chilling message’ with ABC license reviewEx-officials ask FCC to reject petitions to deny renewal of broadcast licenses for eight stations owned by ABC A group of prominent former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officials, including key staffers and commissioners appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents, issued a filing on Tuesday that warns the agency is trying to send a “chilling message” to broadcasters after it received petitions to deny ABC license renewals for eight of its local television stations. The network’s licenses are up for early renewal after an extremely unusual order from the Brendan Carr-led FCC in late April, following criticism of ABC by Donald Trump and Melania Trump. The group behind the filing includes Mark S Fowler, who served as FCC chair during Ronald Reagan’s presidency; Alfred C Sikes, who served as FCC chair during George HW Bush’s presidency; Thomas E Wheeler, who served as FCC chair during Barack Obama’s presidency; and several high-ranking lawyers and advisers to past commissioners. “This early license renewal proceeding is unprecedented in the history of the Federal Communications Commission and a grave violation of both the Communications Act and the Constitution,” the coalition wrote in the filing. “Through this proceeding, the FCC seeks to censor Disney’s and ABC’s speech and send a chilling message to all broadcasters: carry speech we don’t like at your peril.” Seeking to put the ABC license challenge into context, the group called the order “the latest attack in a sustained campaign by Chairman Carr and the Trump administration of threatening legal sanctions against licensees whose speech President Trump dislikes”. The filing is a response to petitions to deny ABC’s license renewals submitted by conservative media watchdog the Media Research Center (MRC) and the Center for American Rights (CAR), a conservative legal organization that is closely aligned with Carr and has initiated several complaints against television networks premised on accusations of liberal bias. CAR’s petition to deny ABC’s license renewal accused the network of “[ignoring] long-standing Commission precedents and principles protecting the integrity of the news” and “[engaging] in explicit racial and gender discrimination”. The coalition said in its Tuesday filing that the petitions should be denied because they ask the FCC to wade into “content and viewpoint regulation” and accusations of bias by punishing a network for their editorial decision-making – “a stunning – and plainly unconstitutional – expansion of the Commission’s role”. “As former Chairs, Commissioners, Chiefs of Staff, General Counsels and Bureau Chiefs, we call on the Commission to respect the constitutional and congressional prohibitions on its ‘power of censorship’ and terminate this proceeding,” the group wrote. Interested parties have until 5 August to reply to petitions to deny ABC’s licenses. After that time, the FCC could either grant the extension requests, a prospect that seems unlikely, or schedule hearings on the matter. The process has no clear timetable, leaving ABC and its eight local television stations mired in a cloud of uncertainty about their ability to continue broadcasting long-term.

Ex-FCC officials warn agency sending ‘chilling message’ with ABC license review