Microsoft and Google showed investors that heavy artificial intelligence investment can pay off with rising revenue, allaying concerns raised a day earlier by Meta, which said its expensive foray into AI was not immediately paying off. Shares in Google-parent Alphabet were up over 11% in Frankfurt on Friday, while Microsoft shares rose nearly 5%. Microsoft beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday, driven by gains from adoption of artificial intelligence across its cloud services.
Consumer confidence is improving after the headline score on GfK’s long-running index rose two points to minus 19 in April, compared with minus 30 a year earlier. GfK’s client strategy director Joe Staton said the improvements reflect the impact on household budgets of lower inflation and the anticipation of further tax cuts. “But Spring has arrived and maybe consumer confidence is, at last, slowly becoming brighter and heading in the right direction.”
Commuters on the Tube are suffering serious morning rush-hour disruption as emergency workers respond to a casuality on the track. The incident has closed the District line between Tower Hill and Upminster with severe delays on the rest of the line. There is also now service on the Hammersmith & City line between Liverpool Street and Barking.