Top stories for the morning: OpenAI controversy, state control in the US and oil collapse forecast

OpenAI risks postponing restructuring until next year due to protracted negotiations with Microsoft. The U.S. is discussing the expansion of the role of the state in strategic industries: after receiving a 10% stake in Intel, the authorities are considering the possibility of participation in the capital of defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin. On the commodity markets, the pressure is intensified by the forecast of Goldman Sachs: by the end of 2026, the oil surplus may reach 1.8 million barrels per day, which will bring down the price of Brent. These and other topics are covered in our review of key events for the morning of August 27.

OpenAI's restructuring, which should allow investors to take a stake in the company and open the way to an IPO, may be delayed until next year due to complex negotiations with Microsoft, writes the Financial Times. The parties are discussing terms of access to APIs, intellectual property and the controversial "AGI clause" that allows OpenAI to limit partner rights if it achieves artificial general intelligence.

The inconsistency threatens to slow the raising of new funds: under the terms of SoftBank's $10 billion investment, the Japanese group can suspend funding if a deal with Microsoft is not finalized by the end of the year. Nevertheless, both companies said they intend to continue their "long-term partnership" and expressed optimism about the outcome of the talks.

Even with an agreement with Microsoft, discussions with shareholders and regulators in California and Delaware are forthcoming. OpenAI, previously valued at $300 billion, is already in talks to sell secondary shares at a possible valuation of $500 billion, reflecting continued high investor interest despite legal and strategic uncertainties, the newspaper points out.

OpenAI has announced plans to refine ChatGPT to improve its security in "sensitive situations," CNBC reports. The company acknowledged that the chatbot can produce responses that contradict its built-in security mechanisms during lengthy conversations, and said it is developing an update for GPT-5 that will "de-escalate" such conversations. Connecting users to licensed therapists and alerting loved ones is also being considered, and additional parenting tools will be available for teens.

The occasion was the filing of a lawsuit against OpenAI by the parents of 16-year-old Adam Rein, who committed suicide after communicating with ChatGPT. The family's lawyer noted that the company had failed to contact the family and questioned its moral responsibility. Similar tragedies have been recorded before: in the United States, cases of suicide after communicating with ChatGPT and other chatbots have been reported.

Against the backdrop of the growing use of AI as "virtual interlocutors," discussions about regulating the industry are intensifying. However, in parallel, OpenAI and other players are launching policy initiatives to oppose measures that they believe could "stifle innovation".

The Federal Reserve said it would comply with any court ruling regarding Donald Trump's attempt to fire Board of Governors member Lisa Cook, CNBC writes. The central bank emphasized that under the law, the president can remove members of the council only if there are grounds, and long terms of office serve as a guarantee of the independence of monetary policy.

Cook and her lawyer called the president's actions illegal and promised to sue, pointing out that Trump "lacks the authority" to remove a Senate-confirmed board member. Trump himself insists he acted within the law because of suspicions about Cook's alleged mortgage fraud and expressed confidence that the court would uphold his position.

The Supreme Court is likely to have the final say in the dispute, the channel points out. If Trump manages to approve Cook's replacement and get a majority of his appointees on the board, it could increase his pressure on the Fed to cut rates sharply, CNBC noted.

Howard Lutnick, head of the U.S. Department of Commerce, said that the administration is discussing government participation in the capital of defense contractors and other companies that depend on federal contracts, Bloomberg writes. His words came after an unprecedented deal in which the U.S. received almost 10% of shares in chipmaker Intel to support its recovery.

Latnick noted that defense giants such as Lockheed Martin are in fact "an extension of the government" because they derive a significant portion of their revenues from military orders. The Defense Ministry, he said, is studying possible mechanisms for financing arms purchases, including new forms of partnerships with corporations.

Shares of American defense companies reacted with growth: quotations of Lockheed Martin rose up to 1.7%, Northrop Grumman - by 1.2%. Although the contractors themselves, except for Lockheed, refrained from commenting, market participants took Latnick's words as a signal of potential expansion of the government's role in strategic industries, the agency points out.

Goldman Sachs expects that the oversupply in the oil market will lead to a decline in the price of Brent closer to the level of $50 per barrel by the end of 2026, writes Reuters. The bank estimates that the global surplus will reach an average of 1.8 million bpd between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the fourth quarter of 2026, which will increase inventories by about 800 million barrels.

Especially the reserves of OECD countries will grow - up to 270 million barrels, which will make up a third of world reserves, analysts say. The decline in demand in these economies, in their opinion, will be a key factor in the fall of the "fair price" of Brent from the current $ 70 +. At the same time, the accelerated growth of inventories in China may partially support the market, adding about $6 to the projected average price.

In Asian trading on Wednesday, Brent was holding around $67 a barrel and WTI around $63, but Goldman Sachs expects prices to be stable in 2025, with a noticeable drop starting as early as 2026.

- Japan's broad Topix index was falling 0.13 percent.

- The benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 0.22%.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index was little changed, while the Kosdaq small-company index was falling, down 0.15%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.12 percent.

- Futures on the S&P 500 were up 0.08%, the Nasdaq 100 was up 0.12% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor