SoftBank's credit default swaps hit their highest level since 2023 amid concerns over artificial intelligence safety, rising costs and intensifying competition. SoftBank Group's equity investors are increasingly focused on the potential returns from its artificial intelligence bets, helping the stock rebound even as the Japanese company faces higher borrowing costs. SoftBank shares posted their first monthly gain in four months in September, after OpenAI's new GPT-6 Astra model rekindled optimism around Masayoshi Son's $65 billion commitment to the ChatGPT creator. The stock rose 24% in four weeks, helped by OpenAI's latest plan to raise $30 billion at a valuation of $1.4 trillion. A recovery in chip unit Arm Holdings shares also bolstered confidence about the tech investor's ability to finance growing debt.

Apollo Global Management intends to serve as a strategic investment and financing partner for U.K. developer RHAELM Holdings, which is teaming up with Jera, Japan's largest power generator, and Dell Technologies on a venture in Chiba Prefecture. Apollo Global Management is set to provide financing for a $15 billion AI infrastructure project in Japan, accelerating the private asset firm's push into the artificial intelligence sphere. The New York-based company intends to serve as a strategic investment and financing partner for U.K. developer RHAELM Holdings, which is teaming up with Jera, Japan's largest power generator, and Dell Technologies on the venture in Chiba Prefecture, according to a statement on Thursday. The project, aimed at strengthening Japan's domestic AI capacity, is expected to involve more than $15 billion in capital deployed across land, power infrastructure, construction and computing. Operations are slated to start around 2028, and it will be powered by as much as 400 megawatts of electricity with help from Jera's nearby thermal power station.

The European Union (EU) has introduced some of the world's strictest Artificial Intelligence (AI) laws, with firms facing huge fines for breaches. But the US is putting pressure on the Europeans to scale back oversight. Everything you need to know about Brazil's tight presidential race

United States President Donald Trump has kicked off a 32-day campaign tour ahead of the November midterm elections that could see his Republican Party hurt by his handling of the war on Iran and the economy. "I give us an A+ on the government, on economics, on everything," Trump told a crowd of supporters at the Peterbilt Motors Company, a truck manufacturer. The president also blamed unfair media coverage for his growing unpopularity, arguing that his pre-election rally blitz was necessary to set the record straight. "We're doing an extremely poor job of promotion and an extremely great job of running the country," Trump said. But Trump's poll numbers have raised concerns about Republican prospects ahead of the November 3 midterm election.

Moonshot AI launched an internal investigation after researcher Peter Garrigan found its Kimi model could be manipulated to provide biological weapons and assassination instructions.

OpenAI fires three workers over mishandling'sensitive information' OpenAI has fired three researchers for allegedly mishandling information, including work that involved an external organisation that analyses artificial intelligence (AI) models. Our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work, a spokesperson told the BBC. The ChatGPT-maker did not name the sacked workers, but at least two of them were involved in safety research at the firm. The firings come as the debate over AI safety and the risks the technology may pose to humanity has intensified in recent weeks. We have parted ways with three individuals for violating our policies on accessing and handling sensitive company information, OpenAI's spokesperson said.

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