Stock market sell-off continues, as Google boss warns ‘no company immune’ if AI bubble bursts – business live

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Global markets are racking up their fourth day of losses in a row, as concerns over technology valuations are worrying investors.Asia-Pacific stocks have dipped to a one-month low today, amid signs that the enthusiasm that has driven stocks higher in recent months is fading, with shares, risky currencies and crypto assets all slidingMSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan has lost 1.8%, slipping to its lowest level since mid-October. South Korea’s KOSPI has lost 3

Crest Nicholson plans job cuts and warns on profits, blaming budget uncertainty

The housebuilder Crest Nicholson has warned of job cuts and worse than expected profits after a summer of “subdued” sales amid uncertainty around the possible property taxes in the budget.The Surrey-based company said it planned to close one divisional office and cut 50 roles, including staff at that site and “selective other roles” across the business.Crest said its adjusted profit before tax for the year to 31 October would be at the low end or slightly below the previous estimated range of £28m to £38m, “reflecting a housing market that has remained subdued through the summer, and the continued uncertainty surrounding government tax policy ahead of the forthcoming budget” on 26 November.It cautioned that near-term market conditions were likely to remain challenging.Anthony Codling, a housing analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said budget uncertainty had “wiped out the autumn selling season, a critical period for Crest with an October year-end”

‘Fear really drives him’: is Alex Karp of Palantir the world’s scariest CEO?

His company is potentially creating the ultimate state surveillance tool, and Karp has recently been on a striking political and philosophical journey. His biographer reveals what makes him tickIn a recent interview, Alex Karp said that his company Palantir was “the most important software company in America and therefore in the world”. He may well be right. To some, Palantir is also the scariest company in the world, what with its involvement in the Trump administration’s authoritarian agenda. The potential end point of Palantir’s tech is an all-powerful government system amalgamating citizens’ tax records, biometric data and other personal information – the ultimate state surveillance tool

Don’t blindly trust everything AI tools say, warns Alphabet boss

The head of Google’s parent company has said people should not “blindly trust” everything artificial intelligence tools tell them.In an interview with the BBC, Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Alphabet, said AI models were “prone to errors” and urged people to use them alongside other tools.In the same interview, Pichai warned that no company would be immune if the AI bubble burst.Since May, Google has introduced an “AI Mode” into its search using its Gemini chatbot, which aims to give users the experience of talking to an expert.Google’s consumer AI model, Gemini 3

The Breakdown | Could new Nations Championship transform Test rugby? The jury is out

There is logic to the fresh international format, due to launch next year, but glaring issues and logistical challenges tooOK, let’s just pick the ball up and run with it for a little while. A reimagined global Test landscape pitching the northern hemisphere against the south commencing next July. Twelve men’s national sides playing six games each with a final playoff weekend. Concluding with one champion team hoisting a shiny trophy aloft in front of, hopefully, a worldwide television audience of millions.On paper – and years of scribbling on the backs of envelopes have gone into this – there is some logic to it

Mark Wood declared fit for first Ashes Test as England seamers ‘lick their lips’ at surface

Mark Wood is fully fit and available for selection in the first Ashes Test on Friday, having come through an extended spell of bowling at full pace in the Perth Stadium nets without issue – before emerging with his pads on to have a bat minutes later – as England’s seamers found conditions at the ground so good they were “licking their lips”.Wood’s left leg was heavily strapped throughout, as it has been since he returned after surgery to that knee in March, but the tightness in his hamstring that concerned him during the first day of England’s warm-up against the Lions last week has dissipated. It is believed that the scan he underwent last Friday was primarily intended to alleviate the player’s fitness worries, with the team’s medical staff never hugely concerned.Jamie Smith was one of the batters who faced Wood in the nets on Tuesday. “He was absolutely rapid today, I can tell you that first-hand,” he said