ActiveInvestorMag.com: Mainstream News

Barclays to cut 5,000 jobs as it leans on AI

Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:18:00 GMT

The British bank said greater use of artificial intelligence will remove about 5% of its workforce, as its chief executive discussed third-quarter results, the UK budget and private credit.

Barclays is cutting 5,000 jobs as it increases its reliance on artificial intelligence. The bank said its greater use of AI will lead to a 5% reduction in its workforce.

The cuts equate to the loss of 5% of its 93,000 global staff. A Barclays executive said the reductions, affecting about 5% of full-time roles, come as “AI makes our people more productive”. The bank’s bosses hailed advances in AI productivity as they announced the cuts.

The bank is turning to AI to improve efficiency. Chief executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan discussed the bank’s third-quarter earnings, economic volatility, the upcoming UK budget and private credit. He outlined three forces to watch in the bond market.

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Anthropic’s leaked filing shows a first-half loss of more than $80 billion ahead of its IPO

Wed, 21 Oct 2026 21:18:00 GMT

Details of the AI developer’s finances point to computing commitments that could reach $750 billion, as investors argue it has outgrown private funding.

Anthropic recorded a net loss of more than $80 billion in the first half of 2026.

The figure emerged from a leak of the company’s S-1, the registration statement it is preparing for its stock market listing; it is not the first time the document has leaked, and its income statement shows massive losses.

Anthropic plans $750 billion of spending on computing power, a total that includes hundreds of billions of dollars in non-cancelable deals. Its computing commitments could reach that level in the coming years, according to a draft of the company’s plans.

Further details of the company’s borrowing have also surfaced in the past day.

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Saudi Arabia postpones its Davos in the Desert investment conference to 2027 amid Houthi attacks

Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:18:00 GMT

Wall Street executives raised safety concerns with the head of the Public Investment Fund before the in-person gathering was called off.

Saudi Arabia has postponed its flagship investment conference until 2027 amid fighting with the Houthis, The Hill reported. The Jerusalem Post and NDTV Profit also reported the delay to 2027, citing escalating Houthi attacks. Business Insider quoted a statement saying “We will announce the new” date, and framed the decision as the fallout from the Iran war expanding.

Semafor reported that the in-person gathering was postponed after lobbying from Wall Street, with executives expressing safety concerns to Yasir Al-Rumayyan, head of the Public Investment Fund. Breaking The News had earlier reported that the kingdom might move the summit online because of the attacks. Chosunbiz reported that some attendees had already been blocked by flight disruptions. Semafor, which referred to the conference by its acronym, FII, said it was the in-person event that had been postponed.

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Three national polls put Trump’s approval between 33% and 36% two weeks from the midterms

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 21:20:00 GMT

Democrats lead on the generic ballot by eight to 10 points, and Republican winning streaks dating to the 1930s are suddenly competitive.

New national polls from the Washington Post, ABC News and Ipsos, from NBC News and from Fox News put President Donald Trump’s approval rating at 33%, 34% and 36% respectively, record or second-term lows in each survey, Axios reported. Democrats lead Republicans by eight points in the Post poll, nine points in the Fox poll and 10 points in the NBC poll among registered voters.

The coalition is lopsided. Some 95% of MAGA Republicans approve of Trump, against 47% of non-MAGA Republicans. Axios notes the tactical problem that creates: Republicans need the loyalists to turn out, but embracing an unpopular president risks alienating the independents they need in competitive races. The economy, once a strength, is now the president’s main vulnerability.

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Violence spreads through French protests as the budget reaches a decisive week

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 14:23:00 GMT

Marches drew hundreds of thousands and turned destructive, days before a budget moment that commentators are calling make or break.

Demonstrations across France turned violent, with cars and buildings set alight and shops ransacked, the BBC reported. Interior figures cited in one account put the day at 110 marches drawing about 550,000 people nationwide, a count organisers dispute. Clashes, fires and looting were reported across the country.

The unrest began with a student revolt in Paris and has now reached Europe’s markets, according to a weekend account of the crisis. The dispute has also been drawn into American politics: US Vice-President JD Vance condemned the disorder, blamed “western liberals” and attached a warning for Americans, Newsweek reported.

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UK banks expect Healey’s first Budget to tax their profits as he promises to stay the path on the deficit

Thu, 15 Oct 2026 21:25:00 GMT

Senior banking executives told the BBC they expect to be on the menu this month, while the chancellor’s fiscal pledge lifted the FTSE 100.

Senior banking executives have told the BBC they expect to be “on the menu” in the chancellor’s Budget later this month, in what the broadcaster described as a planned tax raid on bank profits. John Healey, the chancellor, promised to “stay the path” on reducing the UK deficit, the Financial Times reported, speaking at the International Monetary Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok on Thursday.

The market read the pledge as discipline. The FTSE 100 hit a near one-month high after Healey backed fiscal discipline, Reuters reported. At home the chancellor has been pressing his cabinet colleagues to find savings for the Budget, according to The Times, and the Telegraph tracked the economy slowing ahead of what it called his maiden Budget.

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Guilfoyle leaves the Athens embassy after the White House asked her to go

Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:26:00 GMT

The ambassador to Greece resigned following reports that she used political connections to seek financial favours, and a Republican donor says he will now pursue the vice president.

Kimberly Guilfoyle, the US ambassador to Greece, announced her resignation on Tuesday shortly after the White House asked her to step down, Axios reported. Politico reported that she resigned after being asked to go, and that her tenure in Athens had been embroiled in controversy. NPR reported that the administration had said earlier that day it asked her to leave her post after she faced severe criticism.

Axios reported that the exit of the president’s longtime political ally, and the former fiancee of his son Donald Trump Jr., follows a series of Wall Street Journal reports alleging she used her political connections to seek financial favours and promote private business interests. Guilfoyle has denied any wrongdoing. White House press secretary Katie Zacharia said during her first briefing that Guilfoyle was asked to resign and called her a wonderful asset to the team. Semafor had reported the previous day that her future was in question following critical coverage.

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Six senators from both parties call the Russian diesel purchase illegal and demand it be undone

Mon, 12 Oct 2026 14:48:00 GMT

A bipartisan group of six senators has told the administration to reverse course immediately on buying Russian diesel, questioning its legality under Congress’s 2022 ban on Russian energy imports, while the Treasury secretary says the plan will go ahead.

A bipartisan group of six senators called on President Donald Trump’s administration to immediately reverse course on a plan to purchase Russian diesel. The Associated Press report, dated Sunday, used the same words. Politico reported that the senators are questioning the legality of the decision, citing Congress’s 2022 ban on Russian energy imports, and a separate account described a prominent Republican senator saying the deal may be illegal.

CNN reported that the diesel deal with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin is facing bipartisan blowback, with lawmakers warning of something the excerpt does not finish stating. The BBC reported that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have criticised the plan, which was announced weeks before the midterm elections.

The wording is consistent across the reports: the senators asked the administration to ‘immediately reverse course’, and the group is described as bipartisan in each of them. One account titled its report on the legal violations the senators allege.

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Polls point to Democratic gains in Ohio as Republicans question the numbers

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 21:29:00 GMT

Two surveys put the Democratic candidate for governor ahead as Trump and Vance campaign in the state, and Republicans argue the polling may be repeating the errors of three presidential cycles.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance campaigned in Ohio as Democrats look to flip the governor’s mansion. A CNN poll on Thursday showed Acton up 8 percentage points over Ramaswamy, after a New York Times and Siena College poll found Acton ahead by 4 points.

Vance campaigned in his native state, where in Lima he shook hands with a woman wearing a “Vance 2028” cap. Trump, while arguing that Republicans should win the midterm congressional elections, is bracing to be blamed if they lose.

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Paramount closes its Warner Bros. Discovery takeover to form Skydance

Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:31:00 GMT

The combined company owns three studios, two global streamers and both CNN and CBS News.

Paramount Skydance closed its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, ending a dramatic, yearlong process that rattled Hollywood, Wall Street and Washington. The BBC reported the takeover as a $110bn Hollywood merger, completed after months of legal disputes and concern over competition. The sources differ on the price: Screen Daily reported the merger at $111bn.

The combined entity, rebranded Skydance, will house three major movie studios in Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and Skydance, two global streamers in Paramount+ and HBO Max, and two major news networks in CNN and CBS. Al Jazeera reported that CNN and CBS News are now under one roof. Gizmodo reported the two companies officially becoming one company. RNZ reported the takeover as a US$110b deal giving David Ellison control of one of the world’s largest entertainment and news businesses. The Japan Times reported the closing as a historic Hollywood deal.

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Euro falls to a 17-month low as European fiscal and political strains build

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:34:00 GMT

The euro hit its weakest level against the dollar in 17 months as French deficits and a snap Spanish election unsettled investors.

The euro fell to a 17-month low against the dollar on Monday as political and fiscal worries rattled European markets. Deutsche Welle reported the same move and asked whether the next financial crisis has begun, noting that political worries and concern over French debt were already troubling investors. Semafor said the euro sank as fiscal and political worries mounted, with many investors growing anxious over the eurozone’s debt burden.

Two national stories drove it. France is grappling with high deficits, rising long-term rates and political stalemate over how to address them. Spain’s prime minister called a snap election for Nov. 29, after parliament rejected his plan to tame public anger over the country’s housing crisis. Housing-price protests had been growing before the call.

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Trump orders one-time Medicare payments to more than 20 million seniors

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 21:25:00 GMT

The White House puts the figure at $90 a head for Part B premiums; the president said the checks would be nearly $100.

The White House said the federal government will make one-time payments of $90 per person to help more than 20 million enrollees pay their Medicare Part B premiums. The fact sheet said Trump is the first president to use the Medicare Improvement Fund in this way.

The president announced it in a Truth Social post just before 11 p.m. Eastern on Friday. “I am pleased to announce that my Administration will, immediately, begin sending ‘Checks’ of nearly $100 to over 20 MILLION wonderful Seniors to help pay for their Medicare Part B premiums, which we have already reduced by significant amounts,” he wrote. Politico reported the promise as checks of “nearly $100” to 20 million seniors. The sources do not agree on the amount: the White House fact sheet specifies $90, which is also the figure in later reporting, while the president’s own post said nearly $100.

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G7 agrees to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 14:23:00 GMT

The coordinated release follows a US threat to ban diesel exports and record pump prices in Britain.

The G7 has agreed a deal to ease global energy supply concerns through a coordinated release of oil and diesel reserves. Quartz reported the figure as 100 million barrels of oil and diesel, and other coverage described G7 nations agreeing to release 100 million. The BBC said the release is aimed at heading off further price spikes and avoiding a ban on US diesel exports. The group’s statement reaffirmed a commitment to refrain from export restrictions on energy. President Trump then walked back the diesel export ban, saying the administration was never going to do it.

Washington pressed its allies first. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright both urged European countries to tap diesel stockpiles, and Wright held talks with his British counterpart Miatta Fahnbulleh on the crisis, including on the UK’s strategic reserves. Wright appeared to swipe at European nations for not doing the same. EU member states are holding an emergency meeting on soaring diesel prices amid the US pressure; the bloc’s Sefcovic said he did not go into details with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on energy exports.

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G7 agrees to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 21:24:00 GMT

The coordinated drawdown begins with diesel and is meant to head off further price spikes and a US export ban.

The G7 will release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel after President Donald Trump threatened a ban on US diesel exports. The coordinated release is aimed at heading off further price spikes and avoiding that ban. The Globe and Mail reported that the release begins with diesel, and Morningstar carried the same agreement.

Trump announced that Europe had agreed to release “a massive amount of their heavily stocked diesel oil” following days of pressure from Washington. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said earlier in the week that the United States and Japan were “delivering on their commitments” from March. Senator Susan Collins said Wright called to inform her of the G7 release of diesel and crude oil.

Politico Europe reported that Wright had asked European countries to release 120 million barrels from stockpiles over a three-month period, and that France floated a major release of its own reserves in response.

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UK diesel hits a record 198.32p a litre as Trump’s export-ban threat unsettles Europe

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:42:00 GMT

Pump prices in Britain reached an all-time high while European officials worked to head off a US ban on diesel exports.

The average price of a litre of diesel at UK pumps stands at 198.32p, according to the RAC motoring body, an all-time high. The Guardian reported the record as approaching £2 a litre. The RAC attributed the rise to disruption of global oil supplies caused by the war with Iran.

President Donald Trump has again threatened to ban US diesel exports. The United States is the world’s biggest diesel producer and exporter, and the threat has put buyers on alert. Britain is in talks with Washington to stop the ban, John Healey said.

European officials are more sanguine. EU officials said they were confident Trump would drop the plan, citing Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has said a ban would not work and would not be in anyone’s interests. Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen welcomed those comments. Trump earlier this month appeared to endorse temporarily blocking exports. The White House is separately weighing red-dyed diesel tax relief to lower fuel prices, with Wright contacting refiner executives about it.

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SpaceX Starship reaches orbit for the first time and ends in flames

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:25:00 GMT

The rocket deployed Starlink satellites on its first orbital flight, then exploded moments after splashdown in the Pacific.

SpaceX’s next-generation Starship rocket came back to Earth earlier than planned after its first orbital flight on Monday, with an explosion visible on the company’s livestream just after touchdown in the Pacific Ocean, Axios reported. Scripps News said Starship tipped over and erupted in flames upon splashdown. The Sydney Morning Herald described a fiery splashdown north of Hawaii as the orbital flight was cut short.

Starship launched from south Texas on a planned test flight of about ten hours and was set to orbit Earth about six times before splashing down west of Chile, but the company decided to bring it back early. NPR reported the flight as Starship’s first orbital mission from Texas. ABC News in Australia said the rocket reached orbit for the first time after an engine failure.

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Court orders the White House to restore access for banned news outlets

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 14:23:00 GMT

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order returning press credentials to CNN, MS NOW and Politico.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the return of press credentials that President Trump had revoked, restoring White House access for Politico, CNN and MS NOW. Axios reported that the judge found the White House had violated the outlets’ Fifth Amendment rights and granted a temporary restraining order requiring their access to be reinstated immediately for 14 days. Semafor reported that the order allows the three outlets to return.

The judge said the ban was likely unconstitutional. Kelly, a Trump appointee, had appeared sceptical of the administration’s arguments at a hearing on Wednesday but did not rule immediately. The fight had moved to court after the White House barred the three outlets.

NBC News reported the judge pausing the media ban and described the decision as a finding that the ban was likely unconstitutional. ABC News reported the same conclusion from the bench. Politico had reported on Wednesday that Kelly said he would rule soon.

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First US-Iran Talks in Months Send Crude Lower

Wed, 23 Sep 2026 21:20:00 GMT

Oil prices fell after American and Iranian officials met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

A United States delegation met with Iranian officials, and President Trump said another meeting would be scheduled for the “very near future”. Trump called the talks productive, having earlier threatened to “annihilate” Iran unless it agreed to end the war. CBS News reported these were the first US-Iran talks since June, held after the president’s annihilation threat.

The contact was indirect. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated through mediators on the sidelines of the United Nations meeting, in talks that raised hopes for progress despite no concessions. Trump told reporters the US delegation spent three hours with Iranian officials. Speaking at the 81st session of the General Assembly, Trump said he may sign a deal with Iran after the midterm elections, or annihilate it instead.

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Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire’s chairman

Sat, 19 Sep 2026 14:12:00 GMT

The board seat passes to Howard Buffett, less than a year after Greg Abel took the chief executive role.

Warren Buffett will step down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, less than a year after handing over the chief executive reins, the company said on Friday. His son Howard becomes chairman, and the Wall Street Journal reported the handover of the chairman’s seat the same day.

“Father Time always wins,” Buffett said in a letter to shareholders announcing the news. He said the time was right to step aside from leading the board, after transitioning the chief executive role to Greg Abel earlier this year. Buffett is 96, and the insurance-to-railroads conglomerate is moving onto a new generation. He took control in 1965 and grew a struggling textile mill into a global conglomerate over six decades.

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Warren Buffett steps down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 21:16:00 GMT

The company said Buffett is leaving the board’s top job less than a year after handing the chief executive role to Greg Abel, with his son Howard becoming chairman.

Warren Buffett will step down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, less than a year after handing over the chief executive role, the company said on Friday. Buffett is 96, and his insurance-to-railroads conglomerate is moving onto a new generation, with his son Howard becoming chairman. In a brief letter to shareholders, Buffett said the time was right to step aside from leading the board, after transitioning the chief executive role to Greg Abel earlier this year.

Buffett set out the division of responsibility directly. “Greg runs the company; Howard will guard its culture and values – both worth more than anything on our balance sheet,” he wrote. The Washington Sun also reported the chairman’s departure. The announcement completes a handover run in two stages, with the executive role moved earlier in the year and the board seat now following it.

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Trump lifts the Irish whiskey tariff at a golf tournament

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 21:11:00 GMT

The president announced the carve-out at the close of the Irish Open, and Brussels responded by asking for more.

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday, at the close of a golf tournament in Ireland, that he plans to remove a 10 percent tariff on Irish whiskey. The Wall Street Journal described it as a surprise trade announcement made at the Irish Open, with the president saying he plans to rescind the levy. Politico reported that Ireland’s distillers would no longer face the tariff, presented as a thank-you gesture for the hosting of the tournament.

Trump’s stated reason was pressure rather than policy: he said he is lifting the tariff because “everybody’s been bugging me” about it. The announcement closed out a two-day visit, and was made at the same event where Shane Lowry took the trophy.

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Trump’s $5,000 dividend meets Congress and its own arithmetic

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 14:23:00 GMT

The Speaker says the checks need legislation; the administration says they will not cost taxpayers anything.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday that the proposal to send adult US citizens $5,000 dividend checks would require congressional approval. ‘He’d need Congress to act,’ Johnson said in a CNN interview. Asked on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ whether he would commit that the checks will be sent, Johnson said he commits that Congress will work through it and find consensus on that as it has to do everything else.

The Globe and Mail carried the same account of the Speaker’s position. Trump, for his part, says the checks will ‘happen 100 percent’.

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Diesel passes $6 a gallon for the first time

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 21:16:00 GMT

The White House is weighing the Defense Production Act to expand refining capacity as crude holds above $100 a barrel.

The national average price of a gallon of diesel jumped over $6 for the first time ever, AAA said on Friday. Other coverage described prices soaring past $6 a gallon and deepening the strain on hauling everyday goods. WTI crude held near $100 a barrel, and net long positions in WTI hit a 20-week high as prices climbed back above $100.

The supply story runs through the Middle East. One account attributes the move to supply chain disruptions across the region, with most tanker traffic bottlenecked in the Strait of Hormuz. The White House is weighing how to use the Defense Production Act to expand US oil refining capacity, according to a Reuters report, and the proposal came up during an internal discussion.

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Trump Pledges $5,000 Payments to Every Adult Citizen if Republicans Hold Congress

Thu, 10 Sep 2026 14:22:00 GMT

The president told the Republican midterm convention that every adult US citizen would receive $5,000 if his party keeps control, a payout costed above $1 trillion.

President Trump promised $5,000 checks for every adult US citizen if Republicans retain control of Congress at the coming midterm election. He made the pledge at the Republican midterm convention. It was not immediately clear how the plan would be financed. Vice President JD Vance linked it to the revenue the administration has raised through tariffs, then appeared to partially row back the offer the following day.

The costings vary. Sending $5,000 to roughly 245 million adult citizens could cost upwards of $1 trillion. CNBC put the cost at more than $1 trillion and reported that such a payout could break federal law. Newsweek costed the dividends at $1.22 trillion. A separate calculation put the payment at $1.173 trillion, equal to roughly 3.6% of US gross domestic product, while another reckoning described it as nearly 3% of GDP.

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AfD’s record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt reaches from Berlin to the ECB succession

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 21:13:00 GMT

A state election result has become a national and European question, with Germany’s chancellor weakened and the next central bank presidency in play.

The Alternative for Germany won a record 44% in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, its highest vote share ever in a state election. The party more than doubled the 20.8% share it took in 2021 and finished ahead of the centre-right Christian Democrats, who polled 17%. The result leaves a small party holding the seats that determine whether the AfD can lead what would be the country’s first far-right state government since the Second World War.

Forming that government is not automatic, and German coverage has focused on the mechanics of whether it can be done at all. Nationally, the party has nearly doubled its support compared with a 2024 low, which is why the result is being read as more than a regional event.

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AfD’s record Saxony-Anhalt result puts Germany’s firewall to its biggest test

Mon, 07 Sep 2026 14:27:00 GMT

The far-right Alternative for Germany took 44% in a state election, leaving it within reach of leading a German state government for the first time since the Second World War.

Alternative for Germany won a record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt on Sunday, leaving a small party with the seats that could determine whether it leads the country’s first far-right state government since the Second World War. Semafor described the outcome as a landslide victory in the eastern state, with the same potential result. UPI reported the party as the projected winner, the first time a right-wing party may take power at that level since the war.

The party’s own reaction was to call it a dream result, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz reportedly held crisis talks. Merz said the shock victory is an election result that cannot simply be moved past. Whether or not the AfD can actually form a government remains open.

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