Top Stories This Morning: The Euro Falls to Its Lowest Level Since 2025; Altman Calls for Taking Risks with AI

The euro fell to its lowest level since May 2025 amid political and fiscal risks in France and Spain and a strengthening dollar. Sam Altman stated that the benefits of artificial intelligence justify taking certain risks and that the technology should remain widely accessible. Read about these and other topics in our roundup of key events as of the morning of October 5.

The euro fell to its lowest level since May 2025 amid mounting political and fiscal risks in Europe, according to Bloomberg. During Asian trading, the single currency fell 0.8% to $1.1161 following reports of a possible snap election in Spain and rising tensions in the French debt market.

The strengthening dollar is adding to the pressure: markets expect three more Fed rate hikes by June to combat inflation. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose to its highest level since late June

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the benefits of artificial intelligence justify taking certain risks, and that access to the technology should remain widespread, according to Reuters. He said that attempting to completely eliminate hacking, fraud, and other abuses would be an unacceptable trade-off, as AI will bring significantly more benefits than harm.

Altman also noted serious disagreements with Anthropic on the issue of AI regulation. OpenAI advocates for a more lenient approach, while Anthropic calls for a more cautious development of advanced models and warns of risks, including attempts by systems to resist shutdown and manipulate information, the agency notes.

According to estimates by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the exodus of the ultra-wealthy from the United Kingdom over the past two years has resulted in the loss of $160 billion in wealth. This amount exceeds the combined wealth of the index’s billionaires who still reside in the country.

One of the main reasons was the tax reforms implemented after the Labor Party came to power in 2024, including the abolition of the regime for so-called “non-doms” — high-net-worth residents who could avoid paying British taxes on their foreign income and assets for up to 15 years. Many wealthy residents have moved to Monaco, Switzerland, and the UAE, and authorities fear that the capital outflow will undermine London’s status as a global financial center, the agency notes.

The volume of share offerings in Europe fell by about 20% year-over-year in the third quarter, following a strong first half of the year in which companies raised $89 billion—36% more than a year earlier, according to Bloomberg. The agency notes that activity is being weighed down by expectations of interest rate hikes, inflationary risks, and geopolitical instability.

The IPO market remains particularly weak: some companies are postponing their listings, and investors are negotiating valuations more aggressively. At the same time, investment bankers expect additional share offerings, block sales, and convertible bonds to support the market through the end of the year.

— Japan's broad-market Topix index rose 1.1%, while the Nikkei 225 rose 2.1%.

— The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong remained virtually unchanged. Stock exchanges in mainland China are closed for the holidays.

— In South Korea, the Kospi rose 0.5%, while the Kosdaq fell 0.1%.

— Australia's S&P/ASX 200 remained virtually unchanged.

— Nasdaq 100 futures were virtually unchanged, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.1% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.2%.

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