Good morning. Oil surges after US sanctions Russia’s biggest producers. Tesla’s profit tumbles. And Google unveils a quantum-computing breakthrough. Listen to the day’s top stories.
— Victoria Batchelor
Oil jumped after the US announced sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. He’s also seeking to squeeze Russia’s key crude buyers—India and China. Flows of Russian oil to major Indian refiners are expected to fall to near zero, executives said. EU countries reached an agreement on a new package of sanctions targeting Russia that are expected to be adopted today.
Tesla shares slid after the firm’s profit plunged as rising costs undercut a record quarter of vehicle sales. Elon Musk spent the end of the carmaker’s earnings call pleading with investors to ratify his $1 trillion pay package.
Europe’s most valuable software company, SAP, reported cloud revenue that missed estimates in a sign that trade disputes and a weaker economy are weighing on sales. Gucci owner Kering reported a smaller-than-expected sales decline, with demand for luxury goods improving in North America.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure held talks with Goldman’s international business co-CEO, according to a person familiar, kicking off a series of meetings aimed at reassuring bankers and investors that the country is attractive despite political turmoil.
The Bank of England’s top financial regulator criticized the banking industry’s push for a more favorable treatment of government bonds. Such a change would be equivalent to a mountaineer ripping off their “jacket, warm hat and gloves and throwing them all over the nearest cliff,” Sam Woods said.
Check out our Markets Today live blog for all the latest news and analysis relevant to UK assets.
Google ran an algorithm on its “Willow” quantum-computing chip that can be repeated on similar platforms and outperform classical supercomputers, a breakthrough it said clears a path for useful applications of quantum technology within five years.
The algorithm, detailed in a paper published in the science journal Nature, is verifiable, meaning it can be repeated on another quantum computer.
It also ran 13,000 times faster than possible on the world’s best supercomputer, Google said.
Taken together, the advances point to a broad range of potential uses in medicine and materials science, it said.
The news follows Google’s December announcement that Willow had solved a problem in five minutes that would have taken a supercomputer 10 septillion years.
The pound will struggle to hold onto this year’s 6.4% appreciation to the dollar and its 5% decline against the euro may worsen, writes Marcus Ashworth. Falling gilt yields reflect growing market expectations that the BOE cannot maintain its resistance to lower rates, putting more pressure on sterling.
Visitors queue outside the Louvre on Oct. 22. Photographer: Riccardo Milani/AFP/Getty Images
Better late than never? The director of the Louvre wants a police station inside the museum following the audacious daytime heist that saw €88 million worth of jewels literally out the window.
