News/Finance
Fed policymaker: Anyone claiming AI certainty is “a hubristic fool”
Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran said Thursday that predicting artificial intelligence's impact on the U.S. labor market is "very difficult to anticipate," despite AI's potential to significantly boost productivity growth. Speaking at Semafor's World Economy Summit, Miran dismissed anyone claiming certainty about AI's labor effects as "a hubristic fool," highlighting the uncertainty even top economic policymakers face as they navigate AI's integration into the economy. What he's saying: Miran emphasized both AI's promise and the inherent unpredictability of its economic effects. "I think AI has the potential to really raise the productivity growth rate in the economy, which would be...
read Oct 14, 2025IMF economist: AI investment boom could trigger dot-com-style correction, though little more
The International Monetary Fund's chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas warns that the current AI investment boom could lead to a dot-com-style market correction, though he believes it's unlikely to trigger a systemic financial crisis. Unlike the 2008 housing bubble that relied heavily on debt financing, today's AI investments are funded primarily by cash-rich tech companies, reducing the risk of broader economic contagion. The big picture: Tech companies are pouring hundreds of billions into AI infrastructure without the leverage-based financing that made previous bubbles systemically dangerous. AI-related investment has increased by less than 0.4% of U.S. GDP since 2022, compared to the...
read Oct 10, 2025India launches world’s first chatbot payment system through United Payments Interface
India is launching a pilot program allowing consumers to make payments directly through AI chatbots using its government-backed Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the country's dominant instant payment platform. This initiative marks the world's first government-supported chatbot transaction system, positioning India as a global testing ground for AI-powered commerce that could set precedents for other major markets. What you should know: The payment system will initially roll out through ChatGPT before expanding to other major AI platforms. Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude will follow as the next platforms to integrate the payment capability. Bengaluru-based fintech company Razorpay developed the technical integration...
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Insurance brokerage Acrisure cuts 400 jobs globally as AI takes over accounting operations
Acrisure, a Grand Rapids-based insurance brokerage company, announced it will implement artificial intelligence for accounting operations, resulting in 400 job cuts globally—200 of which will come from its Grand Rapids headquarters. The decision highlights the growing tension between AI-driven efficiency gains and workforce displacement as companies increasingly turn to automation to streamline operations. What you should know: The AI implementation specifically targets accounting functions, representing a significant shift in how the insurance brokerage handles financial operations. Acrisure's move affects 400 positions worldwide, with half of the cuts concentrated at the company's Michigan headquarters. The decision reflects a broader trend of...
read Oct 9, 2025AI bubble concerns grow as handful of companies do all the stock market work
AI investments are driving U.S. economic stability despite President Trump's tariff and immigration policies creating business uncertainty. Deutsche Bank analysts warn that without tech-related spending, the U.S. "would be close to, or in, recession this year," but growing concerns about AI's actual utility could threaten this economic lifeline. The big picture: Seven major tech companies heavily invested in AI are single-handedly pulling the broader S&P 500 forward, with massive infrastructure investments like the $500 billion Stargate program and Nvidia's $100 billion OpenAI commitment keeping the economy afloat. Nvidia recently became the first U.S. company to hit $4 trillion in market...
read Oct 9, 2025Bank of England warns AI hype could trigger global market crash
The Bank of England warned on Wednesday that global financial markets could face a "sharp correction" if investor sentiment turns negative on artificial intelligence or the U.S. Federal Reserve's independence. The central bank's Financial Policy Committee issued its strongest warning to date about AI-triggered market risks, noting that U.S. stock valuations have reached levels similar to the dotcom bubble peak and expressing concern about potential spillovers to Britain's financial system. The big picture: Market concentration and AI-driven valuations have created unprecedented vulnerability in global financial markets. The five largest companies now represent 30% of the S&P 500's total valuation, marking...
read Oct 9, 2025SoftBank acquires ABB robotics for $5.38B to accelerate physical AI ambitions
SoftBank has agreed to acquire ABB's robotics business for $5.38 billion, marking the Japanese conglomerate's largest strategic move into the AI robotics sector. The deal positions SoftBank to accelerate its "Physical AI" ambitions by combining ABB's established robotics platform with its existing portfolio of AI and automation companies, targeting what CEO Masayoshi Son calls the next frontier toward artificial super intelligence. What you should know: This acquisition represents SoftBank's most significant investment in its AI robotics strategy, building on its mission to realize artificial super intelligence (ASI). SoftBank will acquire all shares of a newly carved-out ABB robotics holding company...
read Oct 7, 2025OpenAI’s basic tool demos not a good sign for DocuSign as stock drops 12%
OpenAI's internal AI tools announcement last week triggered significant stock drops for enterprise software companies, despite the tools being relatively basic demonstrations. DocuSign fell 12%, HubSpot dropped 50 points, and Salesforce saw smaller declines after OpenAI revealed custom programs including DocuGPT for contracts, an AI sales assistant, and customer support bots. The market reaction highlights how OpenAI's influence can reshape investor sentiment even when showcasing simple API-based tools. The big picture: OpenAI's power in the current AI market means even routine internal tool demonstrations can be interpreted as competitive threats to established enterprise software providers. The company was simply showcasing...
read Oct 3, 2025Bot bucks: Reflexivity CEO predicts AI will replace human financial advisors
Jan Szilagyi, CEO of financial technology company Reflexivity, predicts that AI tools will eventually replace human financial advisors entirely. His bold assertion comes as the financial services industry grapples with increasing automation and the potential for artificial intelligence to reshape traditional advisory relationships. What you should know: Szilagyi's company has developed AI-powered chatbot technology designed to provide financial guidance and advisory services. The CEO appeared on CNBC's 'Power Lunch' to discuss his vision for AI's role in financial planning and wealth management. Reflexivity is positioning itself at the forefront of this technological shift, betting that automated solutions will prove more...
read Oct 3, 2025Stripe and OpenAI launch AI payments protocol for autonomous transactions
Stripe has launched a new payments protocol in collaboration with OpenAI, marking a significant step toward an AI-driven internet economy where automated systems handle transactions independently. The development signals a potential shift away from advertising-based revenue models toward automation-powered commerce, with Stripe's head of AI suggesting this could substantially boost global economic activity. What you should know: Emily Sands, Stripe's head of AI and a PhD economist, believes this technology could fundamentally reshape global consumption patterns. The new payments protocol enables AI systems to conduct transactions without human intervention, removing traditional friction from online purchasing. Sands predicts this automation will...
read Oct 2, 2025Private credit firms pivot to $29B AI data centers amid capital struggles
Private credit managers are pivoting toward artificial intelligence data centers as they struggle to deploy record amounts of fundraised capital while traditional banks regain ground in corporate lending. This strategic shift represents a crucial lifeline for an industry sitting on mountains of uncommitted cash, with AI infrastructure offering the large-scale investment opportunities needed to justify their massive war chests. The big picture: Major asset managers are making substantial bets on AI data center financing as a way to stay competitive and relevant in an increasingly challenging lending environment. Key deals driving the trend: Recent high-profile transactions demonstrate the scale of...
read Oct 1, 2025AI investments drive 67% of US growth despite being just 6% of GDP
US economic growth has become dangerously dependent on artificial intelligence investments, with AI contributing two-thirds of the country's 1.6 percent GDP growth this year despite representing only 6 percent of the total economy. This concentration creates significant risks for retirement funds and the broader financial system, as any slowdown in AI spending could trigger a market crash that would devastate 401(k) accounts and other retirement savings vehicles. The big picture: America's economic engine has flipped upside down, with a tiny slice of AI investment now pulling the entire $28 trillion economy forward instead of the usual driver—consumer spending, which typically...
read Sep 30, 2025Google Fi adds AI billing summaries of upcoming charges, albeit with accuracy warnings
Google Fi has introduced AI-powered billing summaries that provide brief explanations of upcoming monthly charges directly in the app's Home tab. The feature aims to help users quickly understand bill fluctuations, though Google explicitly warns users not to rely solely on the AI-generated information due to potential inaccuracies. What you should know: The AI billing summary appears as a small paragraph on Google Fi's Home tab, offering insights into why your bill might be higher or lower than usual.• The feature explains changes compared to the previous month's bill and remains available for only 10 days after bill generation.• Google...
read Sep 29, 2025Cybercriminals use fake copyright notices to swap crypto wallet addresses
Cybercriminals are exploiting copyright fears to distribute malware through fake legal takedown notices, according to new research from Cofense Intelligence, a cybersecurity firm. The Vietnamese threat actor "Lone None" has been sending multilingual copyright violation messages that appear to come from legitimate law firms, but actually deliver malware when victims click on supposed "resolution" links. Why this matters: This campaign represents a sophisticated evolution in social engineering tactics, leveraging people's fear of copyright violations to bypass traditional security measures. Attackers are using AI tools and machine translation to create convincing takedown notices in multiple languages, expanding their global reach. Instead...
read Sep 26, 2025American Express AI tool helps 5,000 travel agents handle complex requests
American Express has deployed generative AI and machine learning across its customer support operations, with its Travel Counselor Assist tool now serving all 5,000 travel counselors across 19 markets. The credit card company credits these AI implementations with improving customer experiences, reducing call times, and increasing travel bookings while boosting its Net Promoter Score. What you should know: American Express has rolled out two major AI-driven customer service initiatives that leverage both traditional machine learning and generative AI. The first project, launched in 2022, uses machine learning to measure customer sentiment on telephone calls with about 12,900 support agents across...
read Sep 26, 2025In the money: Nvidia’s $100B OpenAI bet sparks $12B equity fund surge
U.S. equity funds attracted $12.06 billion in net inflows during the week ending September 24, reversing two consecutive weeks of outflows as investor sentiment improved following Nvidia's announcement of a potential $100 billion investment in OpenAI. The renewed appetite for equities signals growing confidence in AI-driven market opportunities, with large-cap funds leading the charge while bond funds also experienced their strongest weekly performance since February 2021. What you should know: The equity fund turnaround represents a dramatic shift from the previous week's massive $39.91 billion outflow. Large-cap equity funds dominated the inflows with $16.94 billion in net investments, marking the...
read Sep 25, 2025iOS 18 uses Apple Intelligence to fix Wallet’s broken order tracking
iOS 18 has transformed Apple Wallet's long-struggling order tracking feature by leveraging Apple Intelligence to automatically extract purchase details from confirmation emails. This AI-powered enhancement finally delivers on the original promise of creating a centralized hub for all online purchases, addressing years of limited merchant adoption that had rendered the feature largely useless for most users. What you should know: Apple Wallet's order tracking feature, introduced in iOS 16, has been significantly underutilized due to poor merchant support until now. The feature required individual merchants to integrate with Apple's system, which few bothered to do despite being available for years....
read Sep 24, 2025AI models now pass toughest Chartered Financial Analyst exam in minutes
Advanced AI models can now pass the most challenging level of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exam in just minutes, according to new research from New York University and AI wealth-management platform GoodFin. This breakthrough represents a significant leap in AI's financial reasoning capabilities, as Level III of the CFA—focused on portfolio management and wealth planning—previously stumped AI systems due to its complex essay questions. What you should know: Researchers tested 23 large language models on mock CFA Level III exams, finding that frontier reasoning models successfully passed using advanced prompting techniques. The study evaluated models including o4-mini, Gemini 2.5...
read Sep 22, 2025Ex-Stripe executives raise $19.2M for AI agent payment protocol ATXP
Two former Stripe executives have raised $19.2 million to develop ATXP, a protocol designed to enable AI agents to make autonomous payments across the internet. Louis Amira, Stripe's former head of crypto & AI partnerships, and David Noël-Romas, the company's former head of crypto engineering, launched Circuit & Chisel to address what they see as a critical infrastructure gap preventing widespread AI agent adoption. The big picture: ATXP aims to become the foundational protocol for agentic payments, similar to how HTTP enabled modern web browsing, potentially unlocking a new era of microtransactions powered by AI agents. Why this matters: The...
read Sep 18, 202534% of workers uncomfortable with AI calculating their pay, claims survey
A new PayrollOrg survey reveals significant worker resistance to artificial intelligence in payroll management, with 34% of American workers uncomfortable with AI calculating their wages and 45% opposing AI handling payroll inquiries. These findings suggest that despite AI's broader workplace adoption, employees remain particularly cautious about automation in areas directly affecting their financial wellbeing, highlighting the need for human oversight and transparent communication in payroll technology implementation. What you should know: The 2025 "Getting Paid In America" survey captured responses from over 25,900 workers nationwide, revealing deep skepticism about AI's role in payroll processes. Of 22,464 respondents asked about AI...
read Sep 18, 2025Bank of America raises minimum wage to $25 as AI reshapes workforce
Bank of America has raised its U.S. minimum wage to $25 per hour, fulfilling a "25 by 2025" commitment made in 2021 and translating to annual salaries exceeding $50,000 for full-time employees. The announcement comes as CEO Brian Moynihan acknowledged that artificial intelligence is shrinking some departments, though the bank is focusing on redeploying and reskilling affected workers. The big picture: This wage increase represents a 67% jump since 2017, when Bank of America's minimum wage was $15 per hour, positioning the financial giant at the forefront of corporate wage policy during a period of slowing employment growth and rising...
read Sep 17, 2025Moody’s flags risks in Oracle’s massive $300B AI infrastructure bet
Moody's Ratings has flagged several potential risks in Oracle's recently signed $300 billion in AI contracts, primarily with OpenAI, though the credit rating agency stopped short of taking ratings action against the software giant. The warning highlights concerns about Oracle's heavy reliance on a small number of AI companies to fund its massive data center expansion, which Moody's considers "effectively one of, if not the world's largest, project financing." What you should know: Oracle's $300 billion contract windfall comes primarily from a five-year deal with OpenAI for computing power, representing one of the biggest cloud contracts ever signed. Oracle said...
read Sep 17, 2025Google’s AP2 protocol enables secure AI agent payments with cryptographic proof
Google introduced the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) on Tuesday, a standardization framework designed to enable AI agents to authorize and complete purchases while maintaining accountability and audit trails. The protocol addresses a fundamental challenge in AI-driven commerce: proving that automated transactions carry the same legitimacy as human-initiated purchases, with backing from over 60 companies including American Express, Mastercard, PayPal, and Coinbase. How it works: AP2 uses cryptographically signed "mandates" that create tamper-evident records for each transaction phase. An intent mandate captures when a user requests an item, followed by a cart mandate that approves the final purchase basket. A third...
read Sep 15, 2025Oracle stock soars 40% after $300B OpenAI cloud deal
OpenAI has signed a $300 billion contract with Oracle to purchase computing power over the next five years, marking one of the largest cloud deals in history. The agreement, which begins in 2027, represents a massive bet on AI's continued growth while highlighting the extraordinary financial risks both companies are taking in the artificial intelligence race. What you should know: The deal requires unprecedented power and financial commitments that could reshape both companies' futures. The contract will consume 4.5 gigawatts of power capacity—enough electricity to supply about four million homes. OpenAI will owe Oracle an average of $60 billion annually...
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