Aurelia Butler

CEO of the CMA, Sarah Cardell, emphasized the potential of AI to boost productivity and simplify daily tasks, but also stressed the need for proactive measures to ensure a positive future. According to her, the CMA’s role is to shape these markets in ways that foster strong competition and effective consumer protection. She added that it was critical for the CMA to be at the forefront of this thinking rather than waiting for problems to emerge and only then stepping in with corrective measures.The seven principles encompass accountability, access, diversity, choice, flexibility, fair dealing, and transparency. They are designed to hold AI developers accountable for their system outputs, ensure ongoing access to key inputs without unnecessary restrictions, promote diversity in business models, guarantee sufficient choice for businesses in using foundation models (FMs), allow flexibility to switch and/or use multiple FMs as needed, prohibit anti-competitive conduct, and provide consumers and businesses with information about the risks and limitations of FM-generated content.Will Hayter, Senior Director for the CMA’s Digital Markets Unit (DMU), highlighted the significance of these principles in an evolving market like AI. He mentioned that if the market works well, both consumers and businesses benefit. However, if it doesn’t function properly, people could lose out and compelling businesses could struggle to compete.The CMA is seeking feedback on these principles from stakeholders and plans to publish a final version in early 2024. As part of its comprehensive engagement program initiated on Tuesday, the UK will host an AI safety summit in November. The summit will underscore the country’s position as a global leader in AI regulation.The CMA’s focus on foundation models, substantial AI models designed for customization in downstream customer applications through fine-tuning, reflects their crucial role in the AI supply chain. These models are intended to serve as building blocks for others in the development of customer-facing apps and services. The CMA believes that proactive regulation of these models is key to fostering competition and safeguarding consumers.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

Previously, the Federal Reserve had raised interest rates to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent, marking a 22-year high. This was aimed at curbing economic demand by making borrowing more costly for housing or business expansion, thereby limiting companies from increasing prices without risking customer loss, hence slowing price hikes.In their last economic forecast in June, officials had projected a potential rate increase by the end of 2023. Despite signs of easing inflation, this prospect has been maintained throughout summer. However, key policymakers have shown less inclination towards another rate hike in recent weeks.This week’s meeting will see Fed officials providing updated economic projections. These insights will reveal whether most policymakers still believe one final rate hike is necessary and how they interpret the current economic scenario. Interestingly, consumer spending has surpassed expectations even as inflation has slightly cooled down.The revised forecasts alongside the Fed’s statement and a post-meeting news conference with Jerome H. Powell, the Fed’s chair, could offer the clearest indication yet of how close the central bank believes it is to concluding its series of rate increases and what the next steps in managing inflation might entail.Even if the Fed signals that interest rates have peaked, officials have stated that they are likely to remain high for some time. Policymakers believe that maintaining high rates will continue to limit economic growth and gradually temper the economy.Economic forecasts due for release after the meeting could provide clues about future interest rates. Projections for 2024, 2025 and newly added 2026 will be unveiled, which could indicate when officials plan to lower borrowing costs and what conditions would make them comfortable to do so.However, the resilience of economic growth despite high rates may also influence the Fed’s economic forecasts. Factors such as leftover household savings from the pandemic, a strong labor market with solid wage growth, and government policies promoting infrastructure and green energy investment may be contributing to this resilience.Despite a recent slowdown in inflation, policymakers may remain cautious about declaring victory over inflation in an economy that continues to grow robustly. If consumers continue to spend, companies might still be able to raise prices to increase or safeguard profits. In light of this, officials might believe that a more significant economic slowdown is required to achieve their 2 percent inflation target.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

This increase in inflation complicates the Bank of England’s decision-making process concerning the timing of its subsequent interest rate pause. The forthcoming U.K. inflation data, due for release on Wednesday, is expected to verify these projections.The Bank of England faces an increasingly challenging task of managing monetary policy amidst fluctuating economic conditions. The potential rise in inflation adds another layer of complexity to this already intricate task. The central bank will have to carefully consider the implications of this anticipated inflation surge on its future policy decisions.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More