Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The UK stands apart as a place to do business, not because of one advantage, but many working together. Over Ā£10 trillion in capital, four of the world's top universities, a 10-year industrial strategy in action, its stability with dynamism, global reach with local depth. It all adds up to greater growth. Find out more at business.gov.uk slash growth.
News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Caroline Hepker.
And I'm Stephen Carroll.
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,
And the company is already seeing a payoff in the way that AI is being used internally.
I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work. As we navigate this, our North Star is building the best place for individuals to make a massive impact. So to do this, we're investing in AI-native tooling so individuals at Meta can get more done. We're elevating individual contributors and flattening teams.
We're starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single, very talented person.
Mark Zuckerberg speaking there as Meta's earnings call saw also him discuss the firm's better than expected sales outlook, which helped to ease market concerns over record spending. Meta's shares jumped almost 7% in after hours trading.
Well, despite that gain in Meta's shares post-market, doubts are persisting among some investors that firms can recoup their massive AI outlay. Shares in Microsoft dropped in after-hours trading as the software giant announced a 66% increase in capital expenditure for the second quarter.
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Chapter 2: What are the latest trends in AI spending by major tech firms?
That speculation has fuelled growing bets on a dovish policy shift, helping propel a record-breaking rally across commodities with gold, copper and silver all together. hitting new highs.
Deutsche Bank has announced a ā¬1 billion share buyback as it reported pre-tax profits of just over ā¬2 billion for the fourth quarter. However, the results were overshadowed after the lenders' offices in Frankfurt and Berlin were raided by German authorities yesterday. The move was part of a money laundering probe looking at past dealings by staff with firms linked to Roman Abramovich.
Here's what the chief financial officer of Deutsche Bank, James von Moltke, told Bloomberg about the investigation.
Well, we had one of our occasional visits from the prosecutors yesterday. And as you may have seen in some of the reporting yesterday, the investigation relates to transactions from the years 2013 to 2018. Naturally, we're cooperating, as we do in each case, with the prosecutor in their search, and we will continue to do that.
Deutsche Bank CFO James Womolka speaking there as news of the probe drove the bank's share price lower yesterday. It closed down by 2%.
Some breaking news this hour. Lloyds Bank has announced a share buyback of up to Ā£1.75 billion. That's as it reported pre-tax profits in the fourth quarter that beat estimates of almost Ā£2 billion. Lloyds sees its return on tangible equity for this year rising above 16%, an improvement on its last forecast.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for more sophisticated ties with China during a historic visit to the country. Speaking during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this morning, Starmer also called for meaningful dialogue on areas of disagreement. He also emphasised the importance of international cooperation.
I made a promise when we were elected into government that I would make Britain face outward again because, as we all know, events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, from prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.
Keir Starmer is the first British Prime Minister in eight years to visit the country as part of a broader charm offensive designed to reset relations frozen since 2018 over alleged human rights abuses and other matters.
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Chapter 3: How is Meta planning to invest in AI and what are the expected outcomes?
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.
US President Donald Trump has warned Iran that time is running out to make a nuclear deal with the US. In a social media post, Trump said that the fleet of American ships ordered to the region is ready to fulfil its mission with speed and violence if necessary.
The latest remarks come after repeated threats from the White House to launch another attack on Iran over recent crackdowns on domestic protests rather than nuclear activities. Iran's mission to the United Nations said that it's ready for dialogue but will respond like never before if pushed.
That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Stephen Carroll.
I'm Caroline Hepka and this is Bloomberg.
As a place to do business, the UK stands apart. Not because of a single advantage, but a uniquely powerful combination of many. As one of the world's leading financial centres, the UK puts over Ā£10 trillion to work every day, fuelling innovation across every sector. Home to four of the world's top universities, it provides exceptional talent and breakthrough research.
This sits alongside a clear 10-year industrial strategy, unlocking smarter regulation and making it faster and easier to operate. Stability with dynamism. Global connectivity with local depth. It all adds up to greater growth. Visit business.gov.uk slash growth.
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