‘Degree of complacency’: are supply chains prepared for impact of ongoing Iran war?

The biggest energy shock in modern history, jet fuel shortages “within weeks”, a global recession – since Iran throttled shipping flows through the strait of Hormuz at the end of February the economic warnings have become increasingly dire.Yet 10 weeks on from the first US-Israeli attacks, share indices, companies and governments have been surprisingly sanguine. Every day the divergence grows between the eerie quiet on markets and alarming warnings of an imminent supply chain crunch.It is true that some countries have taken significant steps to mitigate soaring fossil fuel prices, with many in Asia that depend on Gulf oil urging citizens to take action to conserve energy – or, in some cases, resorting to outright rationing.Yet in Europe, the response has been more muted: motorists are feeling the pinch from higher petrol and diesel costs, and central banks have warned they may raise interest rates to constrain inflation, but wider supply chains appear to be holding up

Advisers urge JP Morgan investors to vote to split chair and CEO positions

Investors in JP Morgan have been urged to vote in favour of splitting the role of chief executive and chair at America’s largest bank, amid concerns over the power wielded by its billionaire boss Jamie Dimon.ISS and Glass Lewis, which issue advice to some of the world’s biggest fund managers on how to vote at annual investor meetings, have thrown their weight behind a shareholder resolution that would ensure two separate people hold the office of chair and chief executive “as soon as possible”. Investors are due to vote on the resolution at the bank’s annual general meeting on 19 May.Dimon, who is worth an estimated $2.6bn (£1

Mistaking AI behaviour for conscious being | Letter

Richard Dawkins’ reflections on AI consciousness are striking – not because they show that machines have crossed some hidden threshold into inner life, but because they reveal how readily we can be persuaded that they have (Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it, 5 May).Many will recognise the experience: a system that responds with fluency, humour and apparent understanding. At some point, simulation starts to feel like presence. But that shift tells us more about human cognition than machine consciousness. The error is a category one

What I saw at the Musk-OpenAI trial: petty billionaires, protests and a stern judge

For the past couple of weeks, on the fourth floor of a courthouse on a quiet street in downtown Oakland, the world’s richest man and one of the world’s most valuable startups have been at war over the future of artificial intelligence.Being one of the reporters in the room has felt like watching an updated, opposite-coast version of Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of the Vanities – ambition, ego, greed and the spectrum of social class on full display. The supporting cast has included Elon Musk fanboys, a stern judge and a who’s-who of Silicon Valley’s most influential people.All courtroom battles are theatre, but this one has proved to be a unique spectacle, with the judge chastising the lawyers for leading the witness, raising meritless objections and even too much coughing. With Musk on the stand, he griped that an opposing attorney had asked a leading question, to which the judge told him to “tell the jury you’re not a lawyer”

England v New Zealand: first women’s cricket ODI – live

28th over: England 118-5 (Bouchier 39, Gibson 1) Dani Gibson gets off the mark with a single to third. Plenty of pressure on her now, on debut with a big Hundred price tag hovering above her head. Can she get England home?That is not what the Doctor ordered. Amy Jones plays a loose drive and plinks a simple catch to Amelia Kerr at cover.27th over: England 114-4 (Bouchier 37, Jones 3) Jones shows Andrex soft hands with a glide for two behind point

Nottinghamshire v Surrey, Glamorgan v Somerset, and more: county cricket – live

A slow slow finger of doom from the umpires, as Ethan Bamber picks up his third, and Adam Lyth shuffles, disconsolate, away, Yorkshire 14-3. Enter Harry Brook – does he dig in here?Bad news for Glamorgan fans, Kiran Carlson is out, shortly after Zain ul Hassan. A great chance for England Lions Kellaway and Tribe here.Glamorgan 97-2 need another 186.Home and pondering my streams, quite something for Yorkshire to be 12-2 after Warwickshire piled on 537