The Bletchley Declaration; Ørsted Drops US Projects; Pharma’s Mixed Fortunes

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The Bletchley Declaration

Wednesday saw a host of influential people — among them Elon Musk, US Vice President Kamala Harris and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — descend on Bletchley Park near London for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s two-day artificial intelligence (AI) safety summit. That morning the UK government released ‘The Bletchley Declaration’, a document signed by representatives from the 28 countries attending the event, committing to “inclusive global dialogue”.

Ørsted Drops US Projects; Neste to Shed Jobs

Denmark’s Ørsted [ORSTED.CO], the world’s largest offshore wind developer, has said it had “no choice” but to drop two major US-based projects off the New Jersey coast. The firm also announced $4bn of impairments, beyond expectations. Its stock price fell 15% Wednesday on the news. Meanwhile, Finland's Neste [NESTE.HE], the world's largest producer of renewable diesel, plans to save $53m annually through lay-offs as it prepares for an intensification of competition in renewable fuels.

Pharma’s Mixed Fortunes

Moderna [MRNA] expects to meet the lower end of its 2023 sales target for Covid-19 vaccines, with at least $2bn in commercial sales. Pfizer [PFE] announced last month that it lowered its outlook for its Covid-19 vaccines this year due to lower-than-expected vaccination rates. GSK [GSK] raised its 2023 profit forecast following the strong launch of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine. GSK has supplied two-thirds of the RSV doses administered in the US since early September.

Toyota Injects $8bn into Battery Plant

Toyota [TM] will invest an additional $8bn in a battery plant under construction in North Carolina, bringing the total investment to $13.9bn. It will be the company’s first in North America and powered entirely by renewable energy. On Wednesday the company raised its profit forecast by 50%. Elon Musk announced Tesla [TSLA] will make 200,000 Cybertrucks a year, with deliveries commencing 30 November. A Chinese court cleared the company of fault in a 2022 accident that killed two and injured three.

Southeast Asian E-commerce Players Grapple Slowdown

Total online spending in southeast Asia is set to grow by 11% this year to $218bn, Bloomberg reported, the slowest expansion on record. Global giants like Amazon [AMZN] and Alibaba [9988.HK] are competing with local players Grab Holdings [A6I.SG], Sea [SE] and GoTo Group [GOTO.JK] for market share. The region’s internet economy is set to reach $295bn by 2025, down from a previous estimate of $330bn.