Analysis of 30 countries by Deutsche Bank reveals that Britain is the most vulnerable major economy to artificial intelligence (AI) disruption. A significant portion of the UK workforce is in roles susceptible to AI, particularly in the services sector. Deutsche analyst Shreyas Gopal said: “If we had to narrow our findings down to one country that stands out, it would be the UK.” Concerns about job losses were echoed by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey earlier this year while similar findings from the OECD further underscore the potential impact on employment.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is contemplating a potential interest rate increase due to rising inflation concerns. In July, the ECB maintained rates at 2.25%, but some policymakers advocated for a pre-emptive hike to mitigate the impact of escalating energy prices. Inflation in the eurozone rose from 2.8% to 2.9% in July, with gas prices reaching three-year highs. Isabel Schnabel, an ECB executive board member, said: “Inflation is unlikely to return to target over the medium term and therefore further tightening will be necessary.” Traders anticipate a rate increase to 2.5% at the next meeting.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed that 56% of 18-40-year-olds trust AI tools for investment decisions. The FCA’s survey found that 80% of inexperienced investors have used AI assistance. However, the FCA cautioned that AI-generated financial advice is unregulated, with 44% of respondents mistakenly believing it is. The FCA advises verifying sources and using personal judgement when investing.

UK venture capital investment surged to £14.4bn in the first half of the year, with the software, pharma and biotech sectors the main targets.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will implement new rules next month requiring nearly 40,000 firms to report serious non-financial misconduct, including bullying and harassment. The regulations aim to prevent “rolling bad apples” by ensuring that firms disclose misconduct to future employers. Despite some resistance from the industry, the FCA believes these changes could enhance the UK’s competitive edge in finance. Jill Lorimer, a partner at Kingsley Napley, said: “Firms dealing with allegations against their people now may want to ensure that these processes are wrapped up before the new regime takes effect.”

Consulting executives want junior staff in the office more frequently to develop key interpersonal skills, arguing human competencies are increasingly valuable as artificial intelligence takes over their technical work. EY is encouraging junior employees to return to the office but has made no formal changes to remote work policies. Sayeh Ghanbari, EY’s UK head of consulting, told the FT: “This change we’ve seen in the last few years where people have set up their lives to be at home a lot is just not the route to success in the world of AI.” KPMG UK’s head of advisory, Callum Licence, agreed saying learning softer skills directly from others is now “more important than ever”.

The number of young people in the UK classified as not in education, employment, or training (Neet) has fallen to 981,000, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This represents about 12.5% of those aged 16 to 24 and although the number has decreased from over 1m earlier this year, it has risen by 3% compared to last year. A recent report found the number of starter jobs that are accessible to applicants entering the workforce has fallen 49% in the past decade, leaving only one starter vacancy for every three young people nationally.

Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, has warned that the UK faces a significant gas shortage this winter due to critically low storage levels. Currently, gas facilities are only 30% full, a sharp decline from 46% last year and the lowest for August on record, according to Bloomberg data. O’Shea said: “We have almost no gas in storage in the UK for the coming winter, and this is a huge concern as energy security is national security.” He urged the Government to support a £2bn redevelopment of the Rough Field gas storage facility to enhance energy security.

PayPal shares fell as much as 14% on Friday after a consortium of buyout firm Advent and payment processor Stripe decided not to pursue a $50bn takeover of the company.

HMRC figures show some 17,600 individuals paid capital gains from crypto investments in the past year, worth £1.38bn. Around 240 investors gained more than a £1m and accounted for £717m in tax. The data also revealed that 87% of these investors were male, with over half aged 25-44. Phil Kinzett-Evans, partner at UHY Hacker Young, said the gains were “remarkable” but added: “HMRC suspects that there are a lot of undeclared gains still out there. It is stepping up its investigations into cryptocurrency investors over suspected tax evasion.”