Good morning. It’s a good day for stock investors. An AI startup makes an audacious bid for Google’s Chrome. And European leaders and Ukraine’s president are set to hold a call with Donald Trump. Listen to the day’s top stories.
Green day. A global stock index rose to a record after US inflation data fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will have room to cut interest rates next month. European equity futures gained. Some traders are betting heavily on an outsized Fed move. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested the central bank should to be open to a 50 basis-point reduction. Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets.
JD Vance is having a busy summer break in Britain, with the US vice president also set to meet with Reform leader Nigel Farage today, according to the Financial Times. Also in the UK, the embattled statistics organization is facing more real-terms cuts to its core funding despite concerns that financial pressure was a key factor behind the crisis in the country’s economic data.
A S4 Energy Zeeland Battery Energy Storage System in the Netherlands. Source: S4 Energy
Three years ago, Castleton Commodities International analysts huddled in their London office to discuss how to make money from a growing phenomenon in the European power market—negative prices.
The dislocated markets and sharp price swings they saw are exactly the type of conditions that commodity traders like CCI thrive on.
It’s only becoming more widespread, as renewable output far outstrips demand at times during the day, sending prices below zero and causing excess supplies to be wasted. Then hours later, a drop in wind or the sun going down can see prices jump back up.
The problem is that storing electricity when it’s not needed and selling when prices are higher is much harder than for other commodities like copper or oil.
CCI found a solution: It decided to get into the battery business.
While the company was an early mover among commodity traders, it’s one of a growing number of firms including heavyweights Vitol and Trafigura that are investing in utility-scale batteries.
After making fortunes hauling oil, gas and metals around the world, the traders are turning their attention to opportunities buying, storing and selling energy back into grids—especially in Europe, where capacity is set to rise sevenfold by 2030.
OpenAI needs to keep drawing a clearer line between useful chatbot and emotional confidant, Parmy Olson writes. ChatGPT-5 may sound more robotic, but unless it reminds users that it is in fact a bot, the illusion of companionship will persist, and so will the risks.
Chalets in Switzerland in January. Photographer: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty
Switzerland is likely to scrap a century-old tax on real estate and introduce a new levy that will target second homes—such as mountain chalets—to offset any budget shortfalls, according to a poll. The government proposal goes to a national vote next month.
