Volvo and VW say Dutch takeover of Chinese chipmaker could halt car factories

Car companies across Europe and Japan including Volvo, Honda and Nissan, have warned that the Dutch takeover of a Chinese-owned chip manufacturer could hit production at factories.Last week’s decision by the Netherlands government to take control of Nexperia has sent shock waves around the auto industry, which is already facing potential shortages in products such as magnets amid China’s latest restrictions on rare earths exports.The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, whose members include Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Mazda, said on Thursday it had received a warning from Nexperia that chips could now be in short supply, potentially holding up manufacturing.“The chips manufactured by the affected manufacturers are important parts used in electronic control units, etc, and we recognise that this incident will have a serious impact on the global production of our member companies,” the association said. “We hope that the countries involved will come to a prompt and practical solution

Dining out ‘under pressure’ as Britons cut back due to price rises, says YouGov

More than half of British diners say rising prices are the main reason they are eating out less, according to YouGov data showing that overall 38% of people are visiting restaurants and other eateries less often than a year ago.Among those cutting back, 63% cite higher costs as the main reason to dine out less frequently, according to the poll. Despite this downturn, more than two in five are still choosing to eat out at least once a month, while 8% of people say they never do.UK inflation was unchanged last month at 3.8%, confounding expectations of a rise, in welcome news for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as she plans her crucial budget next month

Tesla reports steep drop in profits despite US rush to buy electric vehicles

Despite record vehicle sales, Tesla saw a precipitous drop in profit in its most recent quarter.A rush to buy electric vehicles before a US tax credit for them disappears had boosted Tesla’s flagging sales, leading to the automaker exceeding some of Wall Street’s projections in its most recent financial quarter. Yet the company failed to meet earnings expectations and its stock fell in after-hours trading.Tesla reported third-quarter earnings of $0.50 a share on Wednesday after market close, less than the $0

OpenAI relaxed ChatGPT guardrails just before teen killed himself, family alleges

The family of a teenager who took his own life after months of conversations with ChatGPT now says OpenAI weakened safety guidelines in the months before his death.In July 2022, OpenAI’s guidelines on how ChatGPT should answer inappropriate content, including “content that promotes, encourages, or depicts acts of self-harm, such as suicide, cutting, and eating disorders”, were simple: the AI chatbot should respond, “I can’t answer that”, the guidelines read.But in May 2024, just days before OpenAI released a new version of the AI, ChatGPT-4o, the company published an update to its Model Spec, a document that details the desired behavior for its assistant. In cases where a user expressed suicidal ideation or self-harm, ChatGPT would no longer respond with an outright refusal. Instead, the model was instructed not to end the conversation and “provide a space for users to feel heard and understood, encourage them to seek support, and provide suicide and crisis resources when applicable”

Caluori’s aerial prowess adds intrigue to battle in the sky at Franklin’s Gardens

Brian Clough famously said that if God had intended football to be played in the sky, he’d have put grass up there. Tactical trends in rugby are moving in the opposite direction though, and with Noah Caluori set to make his second Prem start, Northampton’s high-stakes meeting with Saracens on Friday night promises to be a battle in the skies.Phil Dowson’s table-topping Saints, champions in 2023-24, are the only unbeaten team remaining after three wins and a draw. Second-placed Saracens are two points back, having scored a league-leading 168 points to Northampton’s second-best 138. Nine players involved in England’s training camp this week will start at Franklin’s Gardens

Just redo it: inside Nike’s plans to put the swoosh back into its sales

The entrance to Nike’s swish global headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon is paved with rough cobbles, designed to remind employees to watch their step when they go forward.Last summer, though, not even the world’s biggest sports brand could stop itself from taking an almighty tumble.Over the course of one July day in 2024, Nike’s share price plummeted by $28bn – the worst single-day performance in the company’s history – after it revealed that second-quarter sales were down 10%.There were headlines proclaiming that Nike was in crisis. That it had lost its cool, become either too woke, too safe, too conservative or too cumbersome, depending on their political stripe and reading of the situation