Caroline Hepker

Gold is down 1%.

You've got this continued tech hit to stocks in the Asia trading hours and stock futures for the US rebounding a bit for the Nasdaq up four tenths this hour.

I'm Caroline Hepka and this is Bloomberg.

News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

I'm Caroline Hepker.

AI's potential to change business models, large and small, is driving a trillion-dollar sell-off in stocks, bonds and loans of companies.

The route was first sparked by Anthropic's release of a new tool for legal work earlier this week.

That move ignited fears across markets that AI leaders will overtake established industry players in innovation sooner rather than later.

And in a confusing mix of market signals, even companies long seen as the prime beneficiaries of the AI boom are showing signs of fatigue.

In his latest earnings report, Alphabet topped projections for quarterly revenue but said that capital spending on AI will be significantly higher than anticipated.

CEO Sundar Pichai says the money will deliver a return on investment.

Sundar Pichai speaking there.

As the Google parent said that capital expenditure could come close to $185 billion this year, compared with almost $120 billion that analysts had expected, Alphabet's shares fluctuated in extended trading following the publication of the earnings.

Here in the UK, the Prime Minister is facing a growing backlash from his own party as revelations over Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein threaten to further damage his already embattled premiership.

MPs voted to require the government to disclose all documents related to Mandelson's appointment as US ambassador by Keir Starmer.

Publication of the vetting files threatens to create another dangerous moment for Starmer, who's already...

widely considered vulnerable to a leadership challenge, given Labour's dire standing in the polls and his own record disapproval rating.

Speaking during Prime Minister's questions on Wednesday, Salma was in damage limitation mode as he accused Mandelson of betrayal and said that he regrets appointing him.

Keir Starmer speaking there as he was also forced to acknowledge that the material used to vet Mandelson did contain details of Mandelson's dealings with Epstein.

And in further earnings news, BNP Paribas has announced an expectation-beating set of results for the fourth quarter.