oil prices remain steady — for now — as nervous investors keep an eye on middle east hostilities artificial intelligence

bonanza for chatg pt maker openai — it takes in new funding, making it one of the most valuable start—ups in the world. will he or won't he — show up that is! elon musk is due to testify to the us markets watchdog over his twitter buyout after a no—show last month. welcome to business today, i'm ben thompson. we start in the middle east where, as we've been reporting, president biden has said the us does not support an attack by israel on iran's nuclear sites in response to tehran�*s missile strikes on israel on tuesday. the us president said the israelis had a right to respond to the attack, but they needed to do so proportionately. in the latest fighting, israel has bombed a building in central beirut. oil prices have risen since wednesday over supply fears, with markets regaining ground as investors seemingly come to terms with the escalation. lets have a quick look at the price of oil.

this is the one to keep an eye on, brent crude up another 2% today taking it above $75 per barrel. for more on that here's our north america business correpondent ritika gupta. stocks closed, little changed in the us, reversing the losses earlier in the session on concerns over middle east tensions. there was a dent to risk appetite. we know markets don't like uncertainty, and they're waiting to see israel's response to iran's attack and whether this could turn into a wider war in the region. one of the few sector groups that gained on wednesday were energy stocks. that's as crude oil prices rose nearly 4% before retreating over fears of supply disruptions from the conflict. the big rush into safe haven assets like gold and us government bonds eased somewhat, but overall, markets were in wait and see mode with a risk off tone, and that overshadowed some positive news in the economy, as private sector hiring or adp data came in better than expected

for september, adding 143,000 jobs last month. this suggests that the labour market is holding its ground despite some signs of weakness, but the focus will be on friday's septemberjobs report. that's more likely to impact the market ahead of the federal reserve�*s next move on interest rates in november. many have warned one of the biggest changes we expect to see from any conflict in the middle east is on the price of oil. in the past it has risen sharply over fears of supply disruptions from one of the world's biggest oil producing regions. but so far the reaction has been relatively muted. prices initiallyjumping before remaining steady. so why the change? david fyfe is chief economist at argus media. yesterday we saw that initial spike as investors try to work out what that conflict could mean. what is happening today, why are they seemingly calmer? it does account for one third

of the world's production? the reuion of of the world's production? the region of course _ of the world's production? tue: region of course is of the world's production? tte: region of course is very important, as you say, in terms of global production. in terms of global production. in terms of iran and the risk to exports out of iran, that is 1.8 million barrels per day and obviously the export facilities in iran are those probably at greatest risk in the aftermath of what happened on tuesday night. but i think we have had a muted reaction, partly because markets are still focused on a comparatively weak chinese economy and the expectations that the oil market more broadly next year is looking like it may head into surplus. so, you know, very much mixed messages at the moment coming out of the market. �* ,., moment coming out of the market. ~ ,., ., moment coming out of the market. ~ ., ., , market. also david, what does it tell is about _ market. also david, what does it tell is about our— market. also david, what does it tell is about our reliance - it tell is about our reliance on oil from the it tell is about our reliance on oilfrom the middle east? there was a time that any small change they could send prices

soaring but we know the us has become a major player through things like fracking and shale gas and oil, does it mean our reliance on that region is diminishing? t reliance on that region is diminishing?— reliance on that region is diminishing? i think that's riaht, diminishing? i think that's right. we _ diminishing? i think that's right. we do _ diminishing? i think that's right, we do have - diminishing? i think that's right, we do have the - diminishing? i think that's. right, we do have the share diminishing? i think that's - right, we do have the share of reliance at low levels and the expectation is this year, next year and potentially 2026, there is more than enough growth in supply out of the us and elsewhere in the americas to meet expected demand growth. so dependence on the middle east has gone down. t so dependence on the middle east has gone down. i suppose there is a _ east has gone down. i suppose there is a question, _ east has gone down. i suppose there is a question, too, - there is a question, too, before all of this kicked off, there was a worry about a slowdown in china that has traditionally sucked up all of those oil supplies so if china is using less and the rest of the world is using less because of may be a big investment in things like renewables, the role the middle east region would play in the global oil market is significantly less

thanit market is significantly less than it once was. tt market is significantly less than it once was.— market is significantly less than it once was. it is now but i think it _ than it once was. it is now but i think it is — than it once was. it is now but i think it is important - than it once was. it is now but i think it is important to - than it once was. it is now but i think it is important to note | i think it is important to note it is still the world's lowest cost producing region and therefore even with slowing demand, growth between now and the 20305, the chances are that over a time, the middle east will remain the last man standing in terms of global supply. standing in terms of global su .l . standing in terms of global su--l. ., standing in terms of global suul. ., ., supply. david, always good to talk to you. — supply. david, always good to talk to you, thank _ supply. david, always good to talk to you, thank you. - supply. david, always good to talk to you, thank you. david | talk to you, thank you. david fyfe from argus media, thank you. to tech now and 0penai has just become one of the most valuable start—ups in the world. the maker of the ai chatbot— chatgpt — has been run a5 a �*not for profit�* since it was founded in 2015. according to reports it is changing its corporate structure — from a �*not for profit�* to a profit making firm — hence the surge of interest from investors. so, to the numbers. it has raised $6.6 billion in funding. major backer microsoft is increasing its stake — and chip making giant nvidia

is coming on board. the deal values 0penai at $157 billion. that's similar to the investment banking giant goldman sachs and more than most of america's biggest companies. according to the financial times, investors have to agree not to put money into rival ai companies. fiona cincotta from city index told us there was a scramble to get in on the deal. this was very over5ub5cribed. there was a lot of demand. and that's basically because, you know, 0penai is expected to sort of lead the next wave of generative ai. and, you know, the expectations are for revenue to almost triple, um, next year to 11.5 billion from its sort of roughly 3 billion level at the moment. so, you know, this is a stock that really is expected to be at the very sort of foundations

of the next level of generative ai. and because of that, there was really strong demand. and as a result, there was also some very 5ort of particular arrangements to the dealforfunding. so for example, there are requirements for exclusivity. and this, as you also mentioned, was done on a convertible notes ba5i5. so basically, that sort of conversion to equity is very much hinging on this successful structural change from that for profit... sorry, into a for profit organisation from the non profit organisation that is at the moment. to the world's richest man now — elon musk. the multi—billionaire owner of te5la and spacex is due to te5tifty today to the us financial watchdog the sec over his $41; billion buyout of twitter — now called x. mr mu5k was due to testify back in september but failed to show up. the probe into his company

centres around whether he waited too long to disclose he was building up a stake in twitter before acquiring the social media platform in 2022. drew benvie is the ceo of social media consultancy battenhall. what can you tell us about the sec investigation so far? talk to me about this investigation, where are we, he was supposed to testify back in september?— september? that's right, ben. he has had _ september? that's right, ben. he has had other _ september? that's right, ben. he has had other things - september? that's right, ben. he has had other things on. i september? that's right, ben. he has had other things on. atj he has had other things on. at the time, he let the lawyers that turned up to the hearing which was due to be in los angeles with three hours notice that he had a rocket launch to attend in cape canaveral so didn't turn up. and elon mu5k has had a history of using the sec of overzealous scrutiny of his affairs but what we are dealing with here is potential misreporting of how many shares he had in twitter before he acquired it which could potentially have distorted the value of twitter when he bought it which is what is really at stake here.—

stake here. not without controversy _ stake here. not without controversy at - stake here. not without controversy at the - stake here. not without controversy at the time | stake here. not without - controversy at the time and since his ownership of that platform and what he does with it. i suppose two questions, will he show up today and what powers the sec have to compel him to appear? he powers the sec have to compel him to appear?— him to appear? he has been subpoenaed _ him to appear? he has been subpoenaed in _ him to appear? he has been subpoenaed in the _ him to appear? he has been subpoenaed in the past - him to appear? he has been subpoenaed in the past to l him to appear? he has been i subpoenaed in the past to turn up. we hope he should turn up today but twitter, or x as it is now known, is under scrutiny everywhere for misinformation, disinformation, the lack of safety of the content and user numbers are plummeting. currently here in the uk where i am, in the last month alone, 10% down and advertisers are less willing to put their money behind x now and advertiser numbers are plummeting also. twitter, orx, or musk or whoeverthis twitter, orx, or musk or whoever this is behind it are now threatening to sue the advertisers for not putting money into it. there is also some chaos going on and the world is looking to see will he turn up today and what will be thrown at him? t

turn up today and what will be thrown at him?— turn up today and what will be thrown at him? i suppose that is the question. _ thrown at him? i suppose that is the question. there - thrown at him? i suppose that is the question. there is - thrown at him? i suppose that is the question. there is a - is the question. there is a danger we look at this platform as a social media firm, it is an advertising giant, that is where they make their money from and they have tried things like subscriptions but as soon as advertisers get spooked, that has long—term implications for the profitability of the platform. for the profitability of the platform-— for the profitability of the platform. for the profitability of the latform. . �* , ., ., platform. that's right and what ha--ened platform. that's right and what happened in — platform. that's right and what happened in the _ platform. that's right and what happened in the early - platform. that's right and what happened in the early days - platform. that's right and what happened in the early days of l happened in the early days of musk cosmic takeover was the spooking of advertisers because safety staff were let go, a lot of staff, 80% of them, and with fewer staff checking to make sure content is appropriate for all audiences, advertisers are not as willing to put their brand on that platform and so many have pulled out now that it is a much different place to what it used to look like and changes such as the blue tick verification system, they used to be given to notable figures in industry, sport stars, celebrities, journalists. now anybody can buy that has definitely... many are accusing it of spreading misinformation and online harms as well. absolutely. we will keep a

close eye on indeed whether he shows up and if he does, what he has to say. true, good to talk to you. drew benvie at battenhall, thank you. in other news.... the uk's biggest supermarket — tesco — reports profits rose 10% in the first half of the year, with a 3.5% rise in revenues — as it continues to dominate the market. the retailer currently holds a near 28% share of the market — its closest competitor sainsbury meanwhile is trailing at 15% market share. tesco has now upped its profits forecast for the full year to around $3.8 billion. that is your business today, we will see you very soon, bye—bye.

hello from the bbc sport centre. it was a night of high emotion at aston villa, their first game at home in the top tier of european competition in over a0 years, and they won against

bayern munich, the team they beat to become european champions in 1982. jhon duran scored the only goal, his fifth of the season, all of them coming off the bench. that's a first defeat for bayern munich under vincent kompany but for villa that's two wins out of two in the champions league iam so, i am so, so happy. we are happy here with our supporters and of course we are trying to transmit our energy, our game plan, connected with them because if they are connected with us transmitting the energy to us on the field, here we can feel really strong. we had big chances, didn't score — we had big chances, didn't score them, we gave away moments and in that moment, aston — moments and in that moment, aston villa obviously scored a goat — aston villa obviously scored a goat i— aston villa obviously scored a goal. i understand the occasion

it was_ goal. i understand the occasion it was for— goal. i understand the occasion it was for the opponent today and of— it was for the opponent today and of course it is a