European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde called on Europe to develop its own capabilities in the field of artificial intelligence, warning that European financial institutions' reliance on advanced technologies controlled by the United States and China could put them at risk of losing access to them.
Lagarde said, during a conference at the European Central Bank on Thursday, that the development of the most advanced artificial intelligence models is currently concentrated in the United States and China, which raises questions about controlling access to technologies that European financial institutions may become highly dependent on.
She warned that Europe should not become dependent on “a switch controlled by another party,” noting that the issue of controlling access to these technologies was previously only a possibility, but “it has no longer been so since this summer.”
Lagarde cited a US measure to control technology exports in June, which led to a sudden interruption in European users' access to some advanced artificial intelligence models.
Access to the form returned to general users weeks later, but the more sensitive form remained limited to institutions that obtain approval from US authorities.
Lagarde's statements come at a time when the European Union seeks to reduce its technological dependence on the United States and China.
Bloomberg has opened a new office in the King Abdullah Financial Center in Riyadh, in a step to expand its presence in Saudi Arabia.
In conjunction with the opening of the office, the company launched the “Bloomberg Financial Lab” and the “Bloomberg Financial Pathways” initiative in Saudi Arabia, based on the memorandum of understanding concluded with the Financial Academy in October 2025.
Bloomberg also disclosed its cooperation with the Turquoise Mountain organization to develop professional and entrepreneurship skills, with a primary focus on women in Saudi Arabia.
The company also announced the launch of a new cooperation fund in partnership with the Synergos organization to support social entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia through joint projects and capacity-building programs, with a focus on promoting entrepreneurship, providing economic opportunities, and stimulating social innovation.
To celebrate the opening of the office, Bloomberg hosted a special exhibition for the products of its financial platform, “Bloomberg Terminal,” to provide an opportunity for clients and partners to explore the latest findings in the fields of data, analytics, and technology.
Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said on Thursday that the labor market is not a major driver of the inflation that the US central bank seeks to reduce, adding that harming the labor market is not necessary to achieve this goal.
Kashkari told Bloomberg TV: “I do not think that is necessary, because the labor market is not the main source of inflation today, so I do not see the need for that.” His statements came in response to a question about whether he agreed with a colleague at the Federal Reserve who feared that high interest rates would lead to an increase in unemployment rates.
He added: “But I do not want to completely rule out this possibility.” We have a dual mandate; One side of this mandate appears to be in a very good position currently, while the other side has remained far from achieving its target over the past five years.”
For his part, Jeff Schmid, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, said on Thursday that determining the impact of rising energy prices on inflation remains a major challenge for US central bank officials, who are trying to assess whether the current inflationary pressures will continue.
“This is perhaps one of the biggest challenges facing monetary policy today, namely understanding what lies behind this supply shock,” Schmid said, during a conference organized by the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond on rural development, adding that the challenge is also to determine how long its impact on inflation rates may last.
