Risk Channel delivers the latest, most relevant and useful business intelligence to key decision makers and influencers, each weekday morning.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey ​has said the implications of Anthropic's new AI model must be quickly understood by central banks and financial regulators. "It would be reasonable to think that the events in the Gulf are the most ‌recent challenge to us in this world, until, I think it was last Friday, you wake up to find that Anthropic may have found a way to crack the whole cyber risk world open," he said at an event at Columbia University in New York. Bailey said cyber risks had in recent years rapidly risen up ​the list of regulators' concerns. "It's the one that never goes away. You have to keep mitigating it, but the threat actors will move on, so we have to deal with it," he observed.

 

Reuters

The European Union is being urged to urgently consider changes to the bloc’s upcoming regulations on methane emissions by a coalition of energy companies, chemical makers and trade associations that includes Exxon Mobil, BP and Trafigura Group as well as fertilizer makers, oil refiners, organised labour, and synthetic-fabric manufacturers. A letter to the energy ministers of the EU’s 27 member nations dated April 13 calls on them to consider a “stop-the-clock” mechanism to allow companies to adjust to new rules, among other proposals.

 

Bloomberg

RDW, the organisation that handles the approval and registration of vehicles in the Netherlands, has approved Tesla’s partially automated driving system, marketed as Full Self-Driving software (FSD). The software doesn’t render vehicles autonomous and needs constant human supervision. Bloomberg notes that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly complained about the regulatory approval processes for FSD in Europe. The Dutch regulator also said it would seek to submit an application for approval throughout the entire EU to the European Commission. 

 

Bloomberg

European airlines want the European Union to introduce temporary measures to help them deal with potential jet-fuel shortages and higher costs precipitated by the conflict in the Middle East. Airlines 4 Europe, which represents carriers including Deutsche Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways owner IAG, is urging the scrapping of aviation taxes, monitoring of jet fuel availability by the EU, and providing relief to airlines carrying extra fuel. “These are temporary measures to weather us through the current situation, plus more long-term planning to be prepared for the future,” A4E Managing Director Ourania Georgoutsakou said.

 

Bloomberg

World Bank President Ajay Banga has raised ​the alarm about a substantive shortfall in jobs for the 1.2 billion people who will reach working age in developing ‌countries in the next 10 to 15 years. At current trajectories, such economies will generate only about 400 million jobs, leaving a deficit of 800 million jobs, Banga told Reuters. He said his discussions with officials in developing countries showed their interest in creating more, and better, jobs for the next generation.

 

Reuters

Entrepreneurs in Russia are struggling to keep operating following a recent VAT increase from 20 to 22%, along with a lower threshold at which small and medium-sized enterprises must pay it.

 

Financial Times

European gas and power markets are expanding trading hours to 21 hours from 10 hours amid sharp price swings. The lengthier trading day is expected to reshape how energy traders work and live, and some have voiced concerns about the erosion of work-life balance. Yet many say the change is a logical next step for a market that has been transformed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The new extended day is “an advantage for global players,” observed Marco Saalfrank, head of continental Europe merchant trading at Swiss-based Axpo Holding. “If something happens in the market that affects prices, they can react immediately.”

 

Bloomberg

US Securities and Exchange Commission chair Paul Atkins has said retail investors should “get out of the kitchen” if they cannot “take the heat” of investing in private credit.

 

Financial Times

The BBC plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs, affecting about 10% of its 21,500 workforce. The decision is part of a £600m savings initiative announced in February and comes as the UK broadcaster faces financial pressure from a declining licence fee base and increased competition from streaming services. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the BBC, "like every institution," has to make "difficult decisions." Philippa Childs, head of broadcasting union Bectu, said that "cuts of this magnitude" would be "devastating for the workforce and to the BBC as a whole."

 

BBC News

France 24

The Daily Telegraph

The Times

Novo Nordisk is partnering with OpenAI to deploy artificial intelligence across its business. The partnership will aid the identification of promising drug candidates and improve efficiency in ⁠manufacturing, supply chains, distribution and corporate operations. The Danish firm, the maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, said OpenAI will also help train its global workforce, increase AI literacy and boost productivity across departments. "The aim here is not replacing our scientists. It's about supercharging them," Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar said.

 

Reuters

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, who is accused of being treated to luxury home stays and lavish spending sprees in the UK in exchange for granting government contracts, has denied asking for or taking bribes, insisting her role was a policymaking position in which she formally signed off on oil and gas contracts but had no role in determining who won them. Alison-Madueke told her corruption trial in London that she had "tried to push back on corruption" in the west African country. Several Nigerian businessmen are alleged to have bankrolled huge spending sprees, including more than £2m at luxury store Harrods and £4.6m on refurbishing homes in London and Buckinghamshire.

 

allAfrica.com

Financial Times

BBC News

Ads by Lidl and Iceland have become the first to be banned under new UK rules restricting the promotion of foods high in fat, salt and sugar (HFSS). The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that Lidl’s influencer-led Instagram post featuring bakery items and Iceland’s online advert promoting sweets breached the regulations. Introduced in January, the rules prohibit such products from being advertised on TV before 9pm and in paid online ads at any time. Both retailers accepted issues with their campaigns, with Iceland citing gaps in nutritional data. The ASA upheld complaints and instructed both companies to ensure future advertising complies with stricter standards.

 

Financial Times

London Evening Standard

The Guardian

The Times