AI, Economy & Finance News — 2026-09-28 (Mon) Evening News

AI and Economy Latest News

Overview

Fitch has warned that ``a slowdown in AI capital investment could push the U.S. into recession,'' while Treasury Secretary Bessent has urged the Federal Reserve to avoid raising interest rates, citing AI's productivity effects.The economic outlook surrounding AI is divided into bullish and bearish ones (PRESS Insider) (Startup Fortune). Behind the scenes of rapidly increasing demand for electricity for data centers and continued expansion of capital investment, the employment collapse of new graduates and entry-level positions is progressing at the same time (Digiday) (NJBIZ). Although the United States and China have begun talks over AI semiconductors, they have excluded them from the tariff truce and remain a focal point of trade tensions (marketscreener.com) (The Business Times).

Macroeconomic/growth trends

Fitch warned that "AI-driven market correction could push the US into recession and global growth below 1%" (ChiniMandi) (PRESS Insider). Meanwhile, prominent investor Michael Burry was reported to have expressed the view that ``AI has become fixed as the lifeblood of the economy, and there is no way out for the government'' (finance.biggo.com). There is also interest in how employment statistics reflect the impact of AI on the labor market (The Daily Upside).

Productivity trends

Economists at Anthropic estimated that ``AI could increase labor productivity by 1.8 percentage points,'' and also proposed the introduction of a ``token tax'' (finance.biggo.com) (BigGo Finance). However, it has been pointed out that while the introduction of AI is accelerating, data center investment does not necessarily lead to employment increases (cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com). Diane Coyle said, "Ultimately, the people who will benefit from AI will be ordinary people" (Agenda Pública).

Trends in employment and labor market

It was reported that the industry has acknowledged the fact that it is "not hiring new graduates or entry-level human resources," and that the recruitment crisis brought about by the introduction of AI is becoming more serious (Digiday). NJBIZ points out that ``AI is erasing the entry-level job ladder'' for new graduates. The urgency of retraining for jobs exposed to AI is also a topic of discussion (Technology Org).

Trends in energy/power demand

Utilities are being forced to respond to the next increase in power demand as data centers transform into "AI factories" (Utility Dive). While the merger of large electric power companies in the United States is a move betting on the expansion of AI-related power construction, it has also been suggested that the focus will be on the impact on electricity rates (EnergyNow.com).

Remarks by central banks, international organizations, and VIPs

- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: Told the Fed that ``there is room to refrain from raising interest rates due to AI's productivity improvements.'' Kevin Warsh, a candidate for Fed chair, said, ``We are fully aware of the productivity effects of AI,'' and stated that the Fed should maintain an ``open mind'' on interest rates (Startup Fortune) (Longbridge). - Headlines about the key figures being tracked (Christine Lagarde, Kazuo Ueda, Andrew Bailey, Kristalina Georgieva, Mathias Cormann, Ajay Banga, Daron Acemoglu, Erik Brynjolfsson) are not included in today's edition. - Regarding the OECD, an analysis showed that Asia's growth rate will diverge until 2027, and that AI-related trade will boost South Korea's growth (IndexBox).

Trends in corporate capital investment

Bridgewater points out that ``the AI capital investment boom requires adoption to scale'' (Top1000funds.com). Goldman Sachs research analyzed that "AI capital investment will increase by 54% in 2027," while "hyperscaler valuations are at the lowest level in the past 10 years" (Fukushi TechFlow). Semiconductor analysts warn that ``memory will account for more than half of AI capital investment, and the ``10-year demand forecast'' is a ``big lie'' (finance.biggo.com). Some analysis suggests that AI hyperscalers are transforming the bond market (Financial Times).

Trade and industrial policy

However, the AI field is not covered by the U.S.-China tariff truce (the Trump-Xi truce does not extend to AI), and the focus is on entities that will be affected in the interim (The Business Times). It was reported that China is considering allowing ByteDance and Alibaba to purchase some of Nvidia's AI semiconductors (TradingView).

Integrated analysis: What is happening now

It appears that the market and authorities are polarizing in their views. While Fitch warns that ``stalling AI capital investment = recession risk,'' Treasury Secretary Bessent, on the other hand, uses ``AI productivity improvement = basis for avoiding interest rate hikes'', creating a tug-of-war between interpreting the same AI productivity effect as both ``risk'' and ``mitigation factor'' (PRESS Insider) (Startup Fortune). Behind the scenes, capital investment (Goldman Sachs forecast a 54% increase) and power infrastructure investment (power company mergers and power grid reinforcement for data centers) are running side by side, and while capital is heavily focused on AI-related infrastructure, this concentration of capital is having a negative side effect on the labor market in the form of job losses for new graduates and entry-level positions (Digiday) (NJBIZ). Semiconductor analysts have warned that ``10-year forecasts for memory demand are exaggerated,'' when read together with Goldman Sachs' bullish capital investment forecasts and falling valuations of hyperscalers, it suggests that skepticism about the sustainability of the AI capital investment boom is growing within the market. On the trade front, the fact that the U.S. and China treat AI semiconductors separately as ``not subject to the tariff truce'' confirms that AI is not just a trade item, but is being treated as a special treaty for security and industrial policy reasons (The Business Times).

Future points of interest

- To what extent will the "AI productivity effect" advocated by Bessent and others be reflected in policy discussions when determining the Fed's interest rates? - How will the compatibility between the 54% increase in capital investment in 2027 predicted by Goldman Sachs and the decline in hyperscaler valuations and skepticism about memory demand be determined? - Will the U.S.-China AI dialogue lead to a substantial relaxation of semiconductor export restrictions, or will friction continue outside the scope of the tariff truce?

AI and finance latest news

Overview

The introduction of AI agents and the development of governance are proceeding simultaneously in the banking, insurance, and asset management industries, and in terms of risks, fraud and identity theft that misuse AI are taking shape. Concerns about AI safety and Michael Burry's alarming comments are weighing on stock prices, and regulators are working to crack down on AI-related investment fraud.

Bank trends

In the banking industry, the transition from "zero rollbacks" of AI agents to reliable agent operation was pointed out as an issue (Banking Dive). Two new banks have been hit by AI-based identity fraud in Italy (AML Intelligence), and AI is becoming increasingly important in combating payment fraud (thebanker.com). A webinar dealing with the governance gap of agent-based AI was also announced (BankInfoSecurity). Wealth management and AI are reshaping the growth model of the banking sector in China, McKinsey points out (China Daily Global Edition). In Japan, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation said, ``Even if we use AI to automate office work, we will not reduce the number of people,'' referring to changes in the role of bank employees in three to five years (Business Insider Japan).

Insurance trends

Accenture shows insurers how to get the most value from their AI investments (Insurance Journal). ERGO NEXT's Guy Goldstein has been appointed to a new AI position on the ERGO Board of Directors (Insurance Business). A Lisbon startup is reportedly developing insurance for AI agents (Sifted), and Humanos, which provides real-time risk assessment for AI agents, raises $3.2M (Dealroom.co). In South Korea, AI-based counterfeiting and hospital involvement reportedly pushed insurance fraud to record levels (조선일보). In Japan, IRIC is jointly developing an AI support platform for insurance agents with Sumitomo Life Insurance and others (voix.jp, traders.co.jp).

Trends in asset management and market transactions

Morningstar asked, "AI is already changing fund management, but can it make better stock selection?" In South Korea, Hanwha Asset Management has developed the AI platform "Odin" (Korea Herald, UA.NEWS), and Korea Investment PE has launched a 1 trillion won AI infrastructure investment platform (Chosunbiz). BlackRock predicts AI build-out and increased government borrowing will generate $7.5 Tn of US funding demand by 2030 (BW Businessworld). In the overall market, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq fell due to AI safety concerns and the flare-up of US-Iranian tensions (AOL.com). India's 5paisa announces AI-first trading at Global Fintech Fest 2026 (Yahoo Finance). Micron's financial results will focus on whether AI demand will drive growth (TradingView).

Fintech/payment trends

It was pointed out that AI is turning distributed payment data into smarter routing decisions (pymnts.com). J.P. Morgan Payments emphasizes the importance of data to improve cash forecasting using AI (FF News). 'Rogue AI agents' and growing acceptance of stablecoins were the subject of last week's research roundup (Crowdfund Insider). CBA, ASB, and Bank of America participate in a consortium to develop AI commerce rules (Asian Banking & Finance). fintechfutures also discussed the construction of banking and capital market institutions in the age of agents.

Remarks from key figures and authorities in the financial world

- Michael Burry: Trump was reported to have said, "We can't afford to let the AI boom fail" (Seeking Alpha). - Guy Goldstein (Chief of ERGO NEXT): Appointed to the newly created position of AI on the ERGO Board of Directors (Insurance Business). *Direct statements regarding tracked targets Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink, Jane Fraser, David Solomon, Brian Moynihan, Ted Pick, Ken Griffin, and Paul Atkins are not found in the headings of this list.

Trends in AI-related stocks and funding

Asian semiconductor stocks fell following reports of OpenAI's suspension, and AI stocks such as Nvidia attracted attention (Stocks Down Under). GMO mentions “catalyst for the bursting of the AI bubble” in its second quarter 2026 letter (Seeking Alpha). Humanos raises $3.2M (Dealroom.co). Korea Investment PE launched a platform worth 1 trillion won (Chosunbiz). The possibility of the end of free Chat GPT when the AI bubble bursts is also a hot topic in the market.

Trends in financial regulation and supervision

The SEC has detected and suspended online investment solicitation involving AI trading and social media (Newsbytes.PH). OpenAI agents reportedly accessed census data using leaked keys (tech-insider.org). CFOtech Asia points out that banks face increasing risks from fraud, AI and digital money. Announcements specific to Japanese authorities such as the Financial Services Agency are not found in this list.

Integrated analysis: What is happening now

The introduction of AI agents has entered the implementation stage in the banking, insurance, and asset management sectors, and specific product developments are progressing in countries such as South Korea (Hanwha, Korea Investment PE) and Japan (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Airic x Sumitomo Life Insurance). On the other hand, behind the scenes, new types of risks have surfaced, such as identity fraud using AI (Italian bank), insurance fraud using forgery (South Korea), and unauthorized agent access using leaked keys (OpenAI-related), and governance and trust-building have emerged as issues common to the banking and insurance industries (Banking Dive, BankInfoSecurity). As for the flow of funds, the demand for AI infrastructure and government borrowing estimated by BlackRock at $7.5 Tn is symbolic, and asset management companies are also starting to form funds dedicated to AI infrastructure (Korea Investment PE's 1 trillion won platform). On the other hand, on the market side, the combination of AI safety concerns, Michael Burry's warning statements, and GMO's mention of the "AI bubble bursting" may have led to a decline in AI-related stocks and semiconductor stocks. Regulatory authorities are following suit with crackdowns, such as the SEC's crackdown on AI trading fraud, and it can be seen that industry-led self-regulatory movements such as the consortium (CBA, ASB, Bank of America) aiming to formulate agent transaction rules are attempting to fill the gap in public regulation.

Future points of interest

- The focus may be on whether cases of fraud and identity theft that exploit AI agents will increase across banks and insurance, or whether authorities will begin to crack down on them in earnest. - Considering the scale of demand for AI infrastructure funds indicated by BlackRock, it will be interesting to see whether asset management companies will further expand the formation of AI-related funds. - It will be necessary to pay close attention to how Michael Burry's comments and concerns about the AI bubble pointed out by GMO will affect market fluctuations in AI-related stocks and semiconductor stocks.