Ticker: Japan’s Nikkei stock tumbles more than 6%
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Japan's stock benchmark Nikkei tumbled more than 6% after trading opened Friday. The decline follows a widespread sellout of issues related to artificial intelligence on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 fell 4.4% Thursday for its worst day since U.S. President Donald Trump shook markets worldwide in April 2025 with his "Liberation Day" tariffs.
Anthropic accelerating AI development
Anthropic is developing its AI systems twice as quickly as last year, despite CEO Dario Amodei's calls to slow down model capabilities. An independent group, Model Evaluation and Threat Research, released an analysis on Thursday with these findings. The organization reviewed Anthropic's internal data and interviewed staff.
The report comes as Anthropic prepares for a major stock offering amid concerns about AI's potential risks. METR found that AI itself is helping accelerate development. The researchers noted the lack of bottlenecks like computing power or data. Amodei has previously urged the industry to slow down to ensure safety measures can keep up with AI advancements.
Google, Meta, TikTok sue California over child law
Google, Meta and TikTok filed separate lawsuits seeking to block a California law designed to protect children from the risks of social media, arguing that it violates their rights under the First Amendment.
The law, which is scheduled to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, prohibits tech companies from offering addictive feeds, endless scrolling and autoplayed videos to kids under 16. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in September. The office of Attorney General Rob Bonta, the defendant in each of the lawsuits, said it was reviewing the filings and that it was committed to defending state laws to protect kids online.
Republicans punished in midterms for economy
President Donald Trump was publicly rebuked by inflation in the midterm elections, as public anger over rising prices caused a blistering set of losses for Republicans. Most voters Tuesday said that Trump's policies smothered growth and drove costs even higher.
That's according to The AP Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 midterm voters. The Republican president's message that the fault lay with his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, didn't land. About two-thirds of voters said inflation was more because of Trump's policies. Democratic victories in Tuesday's midterms signaled that most voters don't believe the economy or Trump is working for them.
Tankers carrying Russian diesel change course
President Donald Trump's plan to import Russian diesel is facing setbacks. State and federal officials warn that ports and companies handling these shipments could face legal consequences. Two tankers initially headed for the U.S. have changed course.
Trump announced an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month to make Russian diesel available to U.S. and global markets. The U.S. banned Russian energy imports after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill has advised port operators in her state to turn away ships carrying the fuel. Federal lawmakers also have warned major banks, port authorities and fuel distributors that facilitating the imports could expose companies to civil or criminal liability.