Evening digest: Barclays buyback surprise, Meta trims AI, India targets deepfakes

Markets digested a wave of policy and corporate headlines on Wednesday.

Barclays posted a softer profit but surprised investors with a fresh buyback and plans for regular capital return updates.

Meta moved to streamline its AI division with targeted layoffs while continuing to spend heavily on infrastructure.

India unveiled draft deepfake-labeling rules, and Ukraine pushed back on EU conditions tied to a loan backed by frozen Russian assets.

Here's a glance at global news developments on Wednesday.

Barclays posts soft profit, ups returns

Barclays delivered a mixed Q3 for 2025. The bank reported a pre-tax profit of £2.1 billion, that’s down 7% from last year and came in a bit light versus what analysts were expecting.

The headline surprise was a fresh £500 million share buyback, and management says they will start giving buyback updates every quarter from now on.

CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan stressed that the bank is committed to steady capital returns and also hinted that Barclays will roll out new targets for 2028 when it reports full-year 2025 numbers.

On the metrics front, Return on Tangible Equity slipped to 10.6% from 12.3%, and earnings per share landed at 10.4 pence.

Revenue, however, rose 9% to £7.2 billion, helped by strong investment banking results. Costs and credit losses ticked higher, too.

The CET1 capital ratio moved up to 14.1%, showing a stronger capital position.

Despite the dip in profit, Barclays’ stock is still up about 35% so far this year, lifted by strength across the sector.

Meta trims AI workforce

Meta is cutting about 600 jobs inside its AI unit, Superintelligence Labs, as part of a push to make the division leaner and more agile.

In a memo, Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang said the layoffs will hit teams working on AI infrastructure, foundational research, and some product roles, but the newly created TBD Lab, which is focused on next-gen AI models, won’t be affected.

The idea behind the cuts is to flatten management layers and speed up decisions, giving remaining teams more ownership and impact.

Even with the job reductions, Meta is still pouring money into AI, including a massive $27 billion financing deal for its Hyperion data center.

Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy is to stay competitive with players like OpenAI and Google while tightening the organization. Employees losing their roles will be able to apply for other positions within Meta.

India targets deepfake misuse

The Indian government has rolled out draft rules that would force AI and social media platforms to clearly label AI-generated content in an effort to combat deepfakes and misinformation.

Under the proposal, any synthetic image or video would need a visible marker covering at least 10% of the screen, and AI-generated audio would have to be identified in the first 10% of the clip.

Big platforms like Meta, OpenAI, and Google would also have to collect user declarations when someone uploads synthetic content and build in technical checks to catch it.

The government says the goal is to reduce the risk of AI being used to mislead people, manipulate elections, impersonate others, or cause harm, especially in a country with nearly a billion internet users.

The draft is open for public and industry comments until November 6, 2025.

Ukraine seeks spending flexibility

Ukraine is pushing back against conditions the EU wants to attach to a proposed $163 billion loan funded by frozen Russian assets.

As per a Reuters report, Kyiv is asking EU countries not to limit how the money can be used.

Instead of being forced to spend the funds on European-made weapons, Ukraine wants the freedom to buy US or other non-EU systems, repair war damage, and compensate victims of Russian attacks.

As EU leaders prepare to debate the “Reparations Loan” at an upcoming summit, Ukraine’s legal adviser, Iryna Mudra, stressed that, as the victim in this war, Ukraine should have the right to decide how the money is spent to meet its most urgent defense and recovery needs.

She pointed out that US-made Patriot air defense systems are still critical for shooting down Russian missiles, a clear example of why spending flexibility matters.