Wall Street and FTSE 100 hit record highs after US inflation report fuels interest rate cut hopes – as it happened

Newsflash: US inflation has risen, but not as much as expected, new delayed economic data shows.The annual US consumer prices index rose to 3% in September, up from 2.9% in August, but lower than the 3.1% which economists had forecast.That means the cost of living is continuing to rise faster than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, as the US central bank comes under pressure from the White House to cut interest rates faster

Nigel Farage seeks influence over Bank of England in same vein as Trump and US Federal Reserve

Nigel Farage has suggested he would replace the governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, if he were to become prime minister.“He’s had a good run, we might find someone new,” Farage said in an interview with Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain show.“He’s a nice enough bloke,” the Reform leader added.However, Farage is unlikely to have a say in Bailey’s leadership, given the governor’s single eight-year term is due to end in March 2028 and the prime minister, Keir Starmer, is only required to hold a general election sometime before 15 August 2029.Farage has been calling for politicians to have greater influence on the central bank, which was made independent in 1997 by the then chancellor, Gordon Brown

‘Sycophantic’ AI chatbots tell users what they want to hear, study shows

Turning to AI chatbots for personal advice poses “insidious risks”, according to a study showing the technology consistently affirms a user’s actions and opinions even when harmful.Scientists said the findings raised urgent concerns over the power of chatbots to distort people’s self-perceptions and make them less willing to patch things up after a row.With chatbots becoming a major source of advice on relationships and other personal issues, they could “reshape social interactions at scale”, the researchers added, calling on developers to address this risk.Myra Cheng, a computer scientist at Stanford University in California, said “social sycophancy” in AI chatbots was a huge problem: “Our key concern is that if models are always affirming people, then this may distort people’s judgments of themselves, their relationships, and the world around them. It can be hard to even realise that models are subtly, or not-so-subtly, reinforcing their existing beliefs, assumptions, and decisions

Meta found in breach of EU law over ‘ineffective’ complaints system for flagging illegal content

Instagram and Facebook have breached EU law by failing to provide users with simple ways to complain or flag illegal content, including child sexual abuse material and terrorist content, the European Commission has said.In a preliminary finding on Friday, the EU’s executive body said Meta, the $1.8tn (£1.4tn) California company that runs Instagram and Facebook, had introduced unnecessary steps in processes for users to submit reports.It said both platforms appeared to use deceptive design – known as “dark patterns” – in the reporting mechanism in a way that could be “confusing and dissuading” to users

World Series 2025 Game 1: Los Angeles Dodgers v Toronto Blue Jays – live updates

Why on this night do we hear two national anthems rather than one? Well son, because Toronto is in Canada and Los Angeles is in the United States.Pharrell Williams and a choir called Voices of Fire are singing the anthems tonight, because Nickleback presumably weren’t available.This rendition of the The Star-Spangled Banner sounds more like a Christmas song than the national anthem. Awful! I give it a 3/10.O Canada isn’t much better, maybe a 3

Tommy Freeman grabs four tries as Saints overwhelm Saracens in high-scoring thriller

A classic had seemed to be on the cards and the players emphatically delivered. A pulsating encounter at the top of the Prem table ended with Northampton ultimately pulling Saracens apart after blowing an early 17-0 lead.Noah Caluori had dominated the buildup after his five tries against Sale, but Tommy Freeman of England restated his class with a phenomenal four tries, while Fin Smith orchestrated a vintage attacking performance. Phil Dowson’s Northampton look well equipped for another title.“Tommy does so many things so well,” Dowson said of Freeman, who may soon feature at outside-centre for England