Author: Jaxon Bennett

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.UK advertising group WPP has invested in a generative AI start-up that last year secured funding from tech entrepreneurs including former Google boss Eric Schmidt, as part of a strategic tie-up that will give it access to a range of image generation tools.WPP, which is also increasing its investment in AI to about £300mn a year, said it would agree a commercial partnership to use Stability AI’s models across images, video and audio. The two groups will establish a joint R&D pipeline,…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Microsoft’s $13bn investment in OpenAI has been cleared by the UK’s competition regulator, weeks after the artificial intelligence start-up struck a new partnership with SoftBank that reduces its reliance on the US big tech company for its computing infrastructure. The Competition and Markets Authority on Wednesday said the deal did not qualify for a more formal investigation into whether the partnership was a merger between the two companies. It determined that there had not been any “change of control” that gave Microsoft…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Meta has reduced its annual distribution of stock options by about 10 per cent for tens of thousands of staff despite the social media group trading at record highs this month. Every year, Meta employees receive so-called equity refreshers, which form the majority of their remuneration, alongside base salaries and annual bonuses. These stack and “vest” every three months over four years, according to people familiar with the matter. Most employees have been told they would receive about 10 per cent less equity this…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Qualcomm and SoftBank-backed Arm posted strong quarterly sales growth on Wednesday as the chipmakers benefited from better than expected smartphone demand.Qualcomm reported revenue of $11.7bn for the quarter to the end of December, above consensus estimates in a S&P Capital IQ poll of $10.9bn and up 17 per cent year on year, and gave March quarter guidance that was above expectations, with a high end of about $11bn.Arm also beat revenue forecasts for its quarter to the end of December at $983mn,…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldPresident-elect Donald Trump said he would “most likely” extend the deadline for ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, to divest the video app which faces a nationwide ban that is set to come into effect on Sunday.In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he was considering issuing a 90-day extension to the deadline. His comments come one day after TikTok warned that its 170mn users would face an imminent blackout after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld the divest-or-ban…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The US Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Elon Musk for allegedly failing to disclose his acquisition of more than 5 per cent of Twitter’s stock in a timely manner. The securities watchdog accused the Tesla chief, who in 2022 acquired Twitter, now known as X, of not communicating the stock purchase he made in March that year by the required deadline. “As a result, Musk was able to continue purchasing shares at artificially low prices, allowing him to underpay by at least $150…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The first trial stemming from a wave of UK class action antitrust lawsuits against Big Tech is due to start on Monday as Apple faces a £1.5bn legal claim it levies “excessive and unfair” charges on software downloaded from its app store.Barring a last-minute settlement, the iPhone maker will begin a courtroom showdown in the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal over allegations it has abused a dominant market position to charge commissions of as much as 30 per cent on purchases on its…

Mark Zuckerberg’s unexpected ‘free speech’ overhaul of Meta’s content moderation has sparked concerns among advertisers that it will lead to a surge of harmful content and misinformation across the social media platform. Multiple advertising bosses told the Financial Times that Meta’s move to end its fact-checking programme and weaken hate speech policies could cost the platform, where marketing represents the majority of its $135bn in annual sales, if brands fear their adverts might run next to toxic content. “Some brands will already be assessing their plans carefully and it’s no doubt going to become a commercial conundrum for both sides,” said…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the US equities myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Wall Street stocks rallied on Friday to close out the first week of 2025 on an upbeat note amid fresh signs of manufacturing stability that brought a halt to several days of losses.The S&P 500 ended the day 1.3 per cent higher, posting its biggest rise since November 6 — the day after Donald Trump’s US election victory. The benchmark index’s gains on Friday also brought an end to five consecutive days of losses — the longest such streak since April. The…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what the 2024 US election means for Washington and the worldNick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta, is leaving the social media platform and will be replaced by Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican known for overseeing the company’s relationships with conservatives.In a post on Meta’s Facebook on Thursday, Clegg, a former leader of the Liberal Democrats and deputy prime minister in the UK, said he was departing the company after seven years. He added he would spend “a few months handing over the reins” and representing the social…