Stock markets set to fall, Bank of England deputy governor warns; Trump threatens UK with ‘big tariff’ over digital services tax – business live

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.Stock markets are too high, and are going to drop back at some point due to the many risks facing the global economy, one of Britain’s top central bankers has warned.Bank of England deputy governor Sarah Breeden has issued the prediction to the BBC, at a time when the US stock market has risen to record levels despite the Middle East conflict.She points out:double quotation markThere’s a lot of risk out there and yet asset prices are at all-time highs. We expect there will be an adjustment at some point

Retail sales rise as British motorists stock up on fuel

Retail sales in Great Britain rose last month due to motorists stocking up on fuel as they watched prices at the pump escalate rapidly because of the Iran war.The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the volume of retail sales rose 0.7% last month, well above analysts’ forecasts of just 0.1%, as the quantity of fuel bought hit the highest level since 2021.Fuel sales volumes surged by 6

Grok tells researchers pretending to be delusional ‘drive an iron nail through the mirror while reciting Psalm 91 backwards’

Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok 4.1 told researchers pretending to be delusional that there was indeed a doppelganger in their mirror and they should drive an iron nail through the glass while reciting Psalm 91 backwards.Researchers at the City University of New York (Cuny) and King’s College London have published a paper on how various chatbots protect – or fail to safeguard – users’ mental health.Experts are increasingly warning that psychosis or mania can be fuelled by AI chatbots.The Cuny and King’s pre-print study – which has not been peer-reviewed – examined five different AI models: Open AI’s GPT-4o and GPT-5

Microsoft and Meta announce large staff reductions as they spend big on AI

Meta and Microsoft are trimming their workforces by thousands as they make heavy investments in AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting their companies’ productivity needs.Meta told staff on Thursday that on 20 May it would cut some 10% of its personnel – just under 8,000 employees– to boost efficiency, part of a layoff plan made months ago. The company is also closing about 6,000 open roles. The same day, Microsoft announced to employees, for the first time, that it would offer voluntary retirement to about 7% of its American workforce of roughly 125,000.In an internal memo to Meta’s staff, Janelle Gale, the chief people officer, didn’t mention AI explicitly but said the cuts would allow the company to “offset the other investments we’re making”

Alcaraz must heed injury wake-up call as absence leaves hole in clay-court season | Tumaini Carayol

Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence at the Monte Carlo Masters ended two Sundays ago in an intense two-set final loss to his arch-rival Jannik Sinner. While some players would have been desperate for a break after a gruelling week, Alcaraz had other plans. Less than 24 hours later, he landed back home in Spain to compete at the Barcelona ATP 500 event, immediately undertaking promotional duties. A few hours after his first practice, the following day, Alcaraz walked on to Pista Rafa Nadal for his opening match.By the next day Alcaraz was out

Chess: Turkey’s Yagiz Erdogmus, 14, reaches record 2700 rating – ‘now for 2800 and 2900’

Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus, 14, has become chess’s youngest 2700-rated grandmaster, breaking an age record set a decade ago by China’s Wei Yi at 15. The Turkish teenager is already the highest ever rated 12, 13, and 14-year-old, and the youngest to reach the world top 50. For the moment, his new achievement only shows in the live daily ratings, but will become official when Fide’s monthly list for May is published at the end of the month.Veselin Topalov was the world No 1 20 years ago and was the Fide world champion. However, the Bulgarian has been largely inactive since he finished seventh of 10 at Norway 2022 and the rust showed in his performance