OpenAI Spying Arrest, Aramco HQ Bombed, McIlroy Talks LIV Golf

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

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Caroline Hepker (0:09)

This is the Bloomberg Daybreak Europe podcast. Good morning. It's Wednesday, the 14th of October. I'm Caroline Hepker in London. Coming up today, an OpenAI employee is charged with hiding a recording device inside the company's US headquarters. As a missile attack hit Saudi Aramco's headquarters, we look at how Qatar is rewriting its own playbook with old tankers and new tactics.

Plus, live in on borrowed time, Rory McIlroy tells us that he doubts the breakaway Gulf League can survive bankruptcy. Let's start with a roundup of our top stories.

An OpenAI employee has been arrested and charged with hiding a recording device inside the company's San Francisco offices. The US. Justice Department says the Saudi Arabian National allegedly placed the device behind a TV in a conference room. With more, here's Bloomberg's James Wolcock.

James Wolcock (1:07)

OpenAI says the room was used for meetings involving highly confidential technical, commercial and strategic information. The company says it found evidence pointing to its own employee, Abdulrahman al-Fozan, who they say also secretly planned to record meetings in other parts of the office.

The company says al-Fozan was fired on the day of his arrest and that it has no indication he improperly accessed model weights, source code or customer data. In London, James Wolcock, Bloomberg Radio.

Caroline Hepker (1:37)

Artificial intelligence could put more pressure on Britain's labour market, with many large businesses expecting to cut jobs as they adopt the technology. The warning comes as the UK economy expands with fewer new roles being created. Bloomberg's Ewan Potts has more.

Ewan Potts (1:55)

Just over half of CFOs surveyed by Deloitte expect to cut headcount as a result of AI over the next year. Two-thirds of the company leaders said they've achieved just a quarter of the changes they ultimately expect from the technology.

The impact on profits is less certain though, with just the third believing AI will increase margins in the next year. The report adds to evidence of the UK's jobless growth revival exactly two weeks ahead of the government's budget. In London, I'm Ewan Potts, Bloomberg Radio.

Caroline Hepker (2:24)

AsML has reported third quarter net sales of 11.7 billion euros, almost exactly in line with estimates. The chip equipment maker posted net income of 5 billion euros with its margin slightly higher than expected. AsML expects full year sales of between 44 and 45 billion euros, but says that planned supplies won't fully meet demand. So some interesting results out from AsML today.

Saudi Aramco's headquarters have been hit by a missile attack. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry says that the office complex was targeted by Houthi militants in Yemen. Clearviews director of research, Kevin Book, says it's a worrying sign for energy markets.

Kevin Book (3:13)

It's very good news that nobody, there were no casualties.

It's also bad news that the Houthis were able to outline this target. Brigadier General Yaga Saree, who is the spokesperson for the militia, posted on X this morning that that was going to be one of their targets. And indeed, they seem to have hit it.

Caroline Hepker (3:30)

Kevin Book there. From the energy research firm Clearview, the strike is the latest in a string of attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil industry at a time when oil prices are already high.

Europe's two key central banks are thinking differently, though, about those high energy prices. European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde told CNN she is yet to see those high prices feed into the wider economy.

Christine Lagarde (3:55)

We can look at the situation, analyse the data, understand the development and determine how much indirect effects are travelling through the economy and see how best we can anticipate if second round effects are showing up. We are not seeing any of that yet.

Caroline Hepker (4:19)

So not yet, says Christine Lagarde. But unlike the ECB president, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey says the spectre of inflation is getting harder to avoid in the UK. Bailey and other swing voters on the UK's Central Bank Committee have signalled that they are considering a rate hike at their meeting next month. The split comes as bond markets brace for inflationary fallout from America's war in the Middle East. The traders are pricing in 4 Bank of England hikes, while the ECB weighs another increase with inflation approaching 4%.

China's trade surplus has ballooned to $938 billion in the first nine months of the year. It's now on track to top a trillion dollars this month. Customs data shows exports jumped by 36% in September from a year earlier, pushing the monthly surplus above $133 billion. Goldman Sachs estimates that 82 countries now run trade deficits with China, exceeding 3% of their GDP.