Cooling UK inflation, heating pp the AI chip wars - Dec 17, 2025

As of December 17, today’s news sees developments in inflation trends in the UK and strategic moves by major corporations in the tech and energy sectors. British inflation fell much more sharply than forecast in November to 3.2%, its lowest since March, from 3.6% in October, official data showed today, cementing market expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates on Thursday. Meanwhile, Alphabet's Google is working on a new initiative to make its artificial intelligence chips better at running PyTorch, the world’s most widely used AI software framework, in a move aimed at weakening Nvidia's longstanding dominance of the AI computing market, according to people familiar with the matter. Turning to market updates, Nexans has completed its acquisition of Electro Cables, reinforcing its low-voltage solutions segment in North America. This acquisition, fully financed in cash, is expected to be accretive to earnings from year one. Furthermore, copper prices showed a notable rise, driven by mixed U.S. labor market data which revealed a rebound in job growth. The most-traded copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange increased by 0.49%, while the benchmark three-month copper price on the London Metal Exchange rose by 1.15%. This uptick suggests a correlation with improved economic conditions and rising demand for the metal. From the international front, Amazon is reportedly in negotiations to invest around 10 billion dollars in OpenAI, which could elevate OpenAI's valuation above 500 billion dollars. This potential investment demonstrates the fierce competition in the AI sector for computing resources, with other notable players like Nvidia and Oracle already having substantial deals with OpenAI. Conversely, Oracle has faced obstacles in its data center plans as Blue Owl Capital has withdrawn from a 10 billion dollars deal intended to fund a new facility, amid concerns about Oracle's rising debt linked to AI expenditures. Finally, a strategic development in the semiconductor sector comes from China, where engineers have reportedly created a prototype machine capable of producing advanced semiconductor chips, aiming to compete against Western technology, Reuters has learned. This initiative underscores ongoing tensions and competition in the global tech arena.