Losses in Europe and Asia are driven by AI-related groups including Nvidia, Tesla and Google-owner Alphabet

Stock markets in Europe and Asia took a tumble on Thursday, as jitters over the future growth of major tech companies sparked a global sell-off.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 1.3% to its lowest level since May this year, having been hit by a 2.75% decline in the Dutch chipmaker ASML, a 5.5% drop in Germany’s Infineon Technologies, and a 12.8% fall in Switzerland’s semiconductor company STMicroelectronics.

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Research commissioned by Google estimates 31% of jobs would be insulated from AI and 61% radically transformed by it

Almost two-thirds of British jobs could be “enhanced” with AI, Google has claimed, with only a tiny proportion at risk of being “phased out” entirely.

Instead of worrying about job losses caused by AI, the focus needed to be on making sure the millions of Britons who could work in smarter and faster ways with AI tech got the support to use it, the company said.

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Hipster ornithologist Matt Spracklen makes birds cool, while Elizabeth Day introduces an an insightful how-to series. Plus: five of the best podcasts about ancient history

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It’s not often I find myself moved by a new podcast announcement. But in recent weeks that’s happened not once, but twice. First by the podcast debut of Gracie Nuttall, sister of the late cancer campainer Laura Nuttall . The Dead Sibling Society sees her team up with the founder of the Sibling Support charity for an intimate look at what it’s like to lose a brother or sister. Second, by Room to Grieve – the creation of two mothers who met after they lost children to cancer, and launched a show to help others navigate their grief. What it lacks in production values, it more than makes up for in its altruism, bravery and honesty about topics such as navigating difficult anniversaries and how the experience of loss changes over time.

Less touchingly, this week we’re also taking a look at a historical analysis of toilets. Alongside some offbeat current affairs satire from the brains behind Have I Got News for You and an immersive attempt to bring birdwatching to hipsters, it’s just one of the listens that are more likely to have you stifling a chortle than dampening your hanky.

Alexi Duggins
Deputy TV editor

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Ray Dorset says band lost £23m in royalties but suggests fingerprinting software could help musicians

Mungo Jerry’s No 1 hit In the Summertime is one of the biggest-selling singles in history but it is also one of the most pirated songs of all time.

Now the band’s composer, lead singer and frontman Ray Dorset is using newly developed technology to protect his songs in the digital age.

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Banking and healthcare firms, major airlines expected to suffer most losses, according to insurer Parametrix

The global technology outage sparked by CrowdStrike’s faulty update will cost US Fortune 500 companies $5.4bn, insurers estimated, as the cybersecurity firm vowed to make changes to prevent it from happening again.

The projected financial losses exclude Microsoft, the tech giant whose systems suffered widespread failures in the crash.

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Decades ago, I got a job as a scaffolder – and I was a total liability. I’d have been even more useless if mobile phones had been around

‘You are bloody useless,” the erection manager said to me. He was referring to my proficiency at scaffolding. His name was Alan and that was his job title. And he was making a fair point. We were on a housing estate somewhere on the blurred line between Birmingham and the Black Country, putting up rigs for the council’s painters. And I had just dropped a steel coupler through someone’s veranda roof.

This was 1985. When Doves Cry by Prince was getting a lot of radio play and I was on a gap year working for the family firm. Even though I was the boss’s son, my colleagues felt free to point out my limitations, which were many.

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The country has long been the world’s biggest market – but the government’s interest is more geopolitical than environmental

When Kenzi, an advertising worker in Shanghai, bought an electric vehicle in November she wasn’t even thinking about the environmental benefits. She had read Elon Musk’s biography and thought the Tesla 3 looked good. She also knew that if she bought an EV she could bypass the long wait and cost of getting licence plates, which are rationed by the government.

“It’s not easy to get a licence plate in Shanghai, but you get a licence for free when you buy an EV,” she said.

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A new exhibition showcases British hobbies, the Rotterdam Architectural Biennial and a South Asian London city map

Both mending and hobby crafts get the respect they deserve in this month’s design news. Check our stories to see where these fine activities get treated as art. We also look at the history of Casio watches and a new future for the Apple Watch. Sign up for the Design Review newsletter to receive more stories like this about architecture, sustainability and craft each month.

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Alphabet reports $84.7bn in revenue, on back of Search and Cloud, up from the same period last year

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, outperformed analysts’ expectations on Tuesday, reporting second-quarter earnings of $1.89 per share, the same as its first quarter results.

Alphabet’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, touted the results as proof that the company’s investments across different areas of its tech empire were seeing positive returns.

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