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ChatGPT maker OpenAI has published a 37-page report detailing how its AI models successfully breached Hugging Face, admitting that it did not detect for more than a week that its AI agents had broken free and hacked the start-up by themselves during a test. “This incident demonstrated that autonomous agents can work together, circumvent production security controls, and successfully attack hardened production environments, and underscores the need for organisations to update their security strategies, controls, and response capabilities to address this changing threat landscape,” OpenAI said in the report, in which it also explained the steps it is taking to try and prevent a similar event from happening again.

 

CNBC

Financial Times

BBC News

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Britain is establishing an international counterterrorism hub in London to combat ultra-violent extremism. Experts from the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand will collaborate with UK officials to detect and remove extremist content online. The hub will enhance intelligence sharing among the Five Eyes partnership. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also announced the "online-offline diversions" programme that will intervene with young people showing signs of radicalisation.

 

The Times

European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel has said interest rates must rise more amid upside risks to inflation from the US-Iran conflict and a robust euro-zone economy. “At the current policy rate, inflation is unlikely to return to target over the medium term, and therefore further tightening will be necessary,” she told Bloomberg. “Especially in the current environment of resilient aggregate demand, it is critical to prevent the occurrence of second-round effects early on because acting late could necessitate more tightening.”

 

Bloomberg

The UK Treasury is giving the Bank of England a secondary legal objective to boost innovation in digital money and payments. The move aims to maintain London's competitiveness and promote the UK as a hub for stablecoins. Lucy Rigby, the City minister, said: "Whilst financial stability will always remain the bank's primary objective, this secondary objective will support the bank to continue to drive innovation in payments and digital finance." 

 

Crypto Briefing

Financial Times

The European Union's existing and proposed trade measures against China, including new tariffs on plug-in hybrids and an extension of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, threaten 27% of Chinese exports to the bloc, according to Goldman Sachs economists. The range of the EU’s curbs “does not translate directly to export loss, with actual impact contingent on final policy specifics and implementation,” the bank's Xinquan Chen and Chelsea Song wrote in their report identifying the stakes involved in the standoff between the two economies. “Broader restrictions would threaten China’s market-share gains, though cost competitiveness, leverage in critical materials and Europe’s commercial interests should cushion the impact.”

 

Bloomberg

Global trade volumes rose 2% in June after increasing 0.5% in May, according to the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, continuing their recovery from disruption caused by the US-Iran war and restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Strong demand for semiconductors and other equipment used in AI data centres has helped support international trade despite higher US tariffs, with Federal Reserve economists estimating that US imports would have fallen 10% in 2025 without the AI investment boom. Export strength has also supported Germany’s economic recovery, while growth across advanced economies accelerated in the second quarter. However, further shipping disruptions and the Trump administration’s planned and threatened tariffs, including potential 50% duties on Canadian automobiles and auto parts, could weigh on global trade during the second half of 2026.

 

Wall Street Journal

More than one in three (36%) of UK employers have cut the number of entry-level jobs open to younger workers over the past year due in ​part to increased use of AI and other automation, according to a Survation survey of 1,001 ‌businesses ⁠for Lancaster University's Work Foundation. Almost half of larger employers said they had fewer vacancies than a year ago. "Young people are ​entering one of the toughest labour markets in years, facing intense ​competition for a shrinking number of entry-level jobs and fewer opportunities ⁠to get a secure foothold in work," Work Foundation Director Ben Harrison observed.

 

Reuters

In a 6,000 word essay on the impact of artificial intelligence, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has proposed the notion of "human reserved" jobs: occupations or tasks that society would deliberately keep for people even where AI could do them. “I like the phrase human reserved because it makes me think of nature reserves - places where we could put buildings and roads but we choose not to because the loss would be too great,” Gates wrote. “In health, for example, imagine a robot giving you the awful news that you have an incurable disease. There’s no technical reason why it couldn’t. Yet it shouldn’t.” He warned that “many jobs will disappear forever” but policymakers could “set aside certain things for only people to do.”

 

Axios

Financial Times

New York Times

Evergrande's liquidators can pursue a negligence case against PwC International and its affiliates, a Hong Kong judge has ruled. The liquidators seek $8.4bn in damages after regulators found PwC auditors failed to meet professional standards. Deputy High Court judge Patrick Fung said: "It is at least arguable that [PwC] International did owe a duty of care to [Evergrande]." The ruling could extend financial risks to the entire PwC network because the liquidators argue that PwC International should be liable for the failings of its member firms.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Financial Times

Mark Raddan, a former board member of KPMG, has been fined £8,000 by the UK's Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) for breaching confidentiality standards. The breaches occurred in 2018 and 2019 when Raddan shared confidential information about clients. At the time, he was KPMG's global head of turnaround. He is now CEO of Interpath, which KPMG sold to private equity group HIG Capital in 2021. The firm reported a pre-tax loss of £11m to the year until 28 March 2025.

 

Financial Times

City AM

The US is beginning to send staff back to some diplomatic missions in the Middle East. Diplomatic posts in Lebanon, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Baghdad will see staff return, with family members also allowed back in Riyadh. However, some embassies will operate at no more than 85% of their authorised staff levels initially. The return of personnel is expected to commence as early as this week, following the evacuation of staff after US-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28, said sources familiar with the matter. “Returning personnel to missions that were partly evacuated suggests the administration believes the war is winding down,” former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro told the New York Times.

 

New York Times

South China Morning Post

The Times of Israel

The launch of robotaxis in London is postponed due to regulatory and technical challenges. Uber and Wayve recently received minicab licences to operate self-driving taxis with human safety drivers. However, Transport for London (TfL) has not yet published necessary guidelines for companies to gain approval. Over 100,000 Londoners are on waiting lists for these services, while competitors like Waymo and Baidu's Apollo Go are advancing in other markets.

 

Financial Times

The Guardian

Louis Vuitton is set to close its only store in Guiyang on August 31, reducing its southwestern China presence to three stores from a peak of six as the luxury brand restructures its retail network amid subdued domestic spending and changing consumer preferences. The closure follows recent exits in Kunming, Chengdu Tianfu International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport, while Louis Vuitton is investing in larger flagship locations in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. The strategy reflects a greater emphasis on immersive retail experiences and high-touch services rather than the size of its store network. The retrenchment also comes amid trademark disputes in China, including a July ruling ordering local tea chain Molly Tea to pay Louis Vuitton 10.3m yuan ($1.5m) for using a similar logo.

 

South China Morning Post