Caroline Hepker

Shares in Microsoft dropped as the software giant announced a 66% increase in capital expenditure for the second quarter.

The higher than expected spend of over $37 billion came as the firm also announced a slowdown in cloud services growth.

But Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says he expects AI expenditure to deliver for the firm.

Satya Nadella was speaking as Microsoft's total sales increased by 17% to $81 billion during the quarter.

Meanwhile, San Francisco publication The Information is reporting that Microsoft, Nvidia and Amazon are in discussions to invest as much as $60 billion in

in open ai as part of a major new funding round this is analysts are increasingly warning of a potential ai bubble forming in part because of the circular nature of some investments meanwhile gold has surged to a new record above five thousand five hundred dollars an ounce as a lack of liquidity helped to accelerate a nine-day rally

The surge in gold and other metals came after the Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged in a widely expected move.

Traders largely looked past the decision, focusing instead on the weakening dollar.

The greenback has continued to slide after pairing some losses on Wednesday, even as the US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant came out to affirm that, quote, the US always has a strong dollar policy.

His remarks come after President Trump sparked a sell-off in the currency by suggesting that he is comfortable with a weaker dollar.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for more sophisticated ties with China during his visit to the country.

Speaking alongside the Chinese President Xi Jinping, Starmer also called for meaningful dialogue on areas of disagreement.

He also emphasised the importance of international cooperation.

Keir Starmer is the first British Prime Minister in eight years to visit China as part of efforts designed to reset relations frozen since 2018 over alleged human rights abuses and other matters.

China's official Xinhua news agency has hailed the event as a pivotal moment while urging the UK to adopt policies free from external influence.

News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now.

I'm Caroline Hepker.

The world's largest tech firms are showing no sign of easing up on AI spending as earnings reveal plans worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

Meta alone has ambitions to spend as much as $135 billion this year as Microsoft, Samsung and Tesla also ratchet up capital expenditure.

Now, Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg says that the cash is needed to front load computing capacity,