Friday newspaper round-up: Train strikes, Apple, Boohoo

The UK and US have intervened in the race to develop ever more powerful artificial intelligence technology, as the British competition watchdog launched a review of the sector and the White House advised tech firms of their fundamental responsibility to develop safe products. Regulators are under mounting pressure to intervene, as the emergence of AI-powered language generators such as ChatGPT raises concerns about the potential spread of misinformation, a rise in fraud and the impact on the jobs market, with Elon Musk among nearly 30,000 signatories to a letter published last month urging a pause in significant projects. – Guardian

Train passengers face further disruption this summer after members of the RMT rail union voted overwhelmingly for further strike action. A ballot of members working across 14 train operating companies “massively reaffirmed a mandate for further strike action”, the union said on Thursday, with 90% of votes cast in favour of holding more strikes over the next six months. – Guardian

Apple has reported its second straight drop in revenues as the rising cost of living hits sales of its high-end devices. The US tech giant, the world’s biggest company by market value, said last night that revenues had fallen by 3pc to $94.8bn (£75.4bn) in the first three months of the year. Profits dropped by 3.4pc to $24.2bn. – Telegraph

The Bank of England is to give City rulebreakers half-price fines if they settle cases early in an attempt to speed up investigations. As part of an overhaul of its enforcement powers for non-criminal cases, the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has outlined plans for an “early account scheme”. – Telegraph

Vodafone and Three are closing in on a £15 billion merger agreement to create the UK’s biggest mobile network operator with 28 million customers. The deal, which would be likely to face intense regulatory scrutiny, is expected to be announced this month and follows the appointment of Margherita Della Valle, formerly Vodafone’s chief financial officer, as chief executive. – The Times

Boohoo Group has asked its suppliers for a 10 per cent discount on delivered and undelivered clothing orders as the online fashion retailer takes a tighter control of costs. One supplier, who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity, said they had received a call yesterday “demanding” a discount on all outstanding orders. “It turns all orders produced into losses,” the supplier said. “This is major self-harm. They are struggling to find suppliers and now they are screwing the ones they have.” – The Times