Evening digest: Apple unveils iPhone Duo, oil tops $100

Apple unveiled its iPhone 18 Pro models and foldable iPhone Duo as part of its annual product launch, with the new devices carrying higher prices.

Brent crude prices climbed above $100 a barrel as renewed Middle East hostilities heightened concerns about energy supplies and inflation.

Bitcoin struggled below $80,000 as rising oil prices and a stronger Japanese yen weighed on risk assets.

An Anthropic researcher resigned from the company, warning that frontier AI labs are moving toward self-improving systems faster than safety measures can keep pace.

Apple unveils iPhone 18 Pro and foldable Duo

Apple introduced the iPhone 18 Pro models, the foldable iPhone Duo, AirPods 5 and Apple Watch Series 12 at its annual phone launch event.

The company also introduced new iPhone 18 colors, including glacier and burgundy, following the introduction of Cosmic Orange with last year's models.

The iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are priced $100 higher than their predecessors, while the foldable iPhone Duo starts at $1,999.

Apple kept pricing unchanged for its latest smartwatches. The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399, while the Ultra 4 starts at $799.

The company also launched AirPods 5, which feature longer battery life and active noise cancellation. The feature was previously unavailable on non pro AirPods. The standard model costs $129, while a version with wireless charging is priced at $149.

Oil prices rise above $100

Brent crude climbed above $100 a barrel on Wednesday as escalating tensions in the Middle East raised concerns about disruptions to regional oil supplies.

Brent was trading at $101.19 a barrel, up 3.36% on the day. The move marked the first time the benchmark had crossed the $100 level since July 24.

The increase followed reports that Iran fired ballistic missiles at a US base in Jordan, while both sides claimed to have attacked vessels.

Higher oil prices have added to concerns about inflation as investors assess the potential impact of prolonged energy supply disruptions. The rise also comes ahead of several central bank decisions and key US inflation data.

US 10-year Treasury yields climbed 3.26 basis points to 4.837%, reaching their highest level since November 2023.

The Federal Reserve is due to meet on September 15-16, while US producer and consumer price reports are scheduled for later this week.

Bitcoin struggles below $80,000

Bitcoin remained below the $80,000 level as investors assessed the impact of rising oil prices, Middle East tensions and movements in the Japanese yen.

BTC was unchanged on Wednesday around $78,360 after failing to sustain an attempt to revisit $80,000.

The Japanese yen also strengthened against the US dollar, reaching levels last seen in February.

Traders have been watching the currency as short positions remain elevated and expectations build for faster Bank of Japan rate hikes.

Saxo chief investment strategist Charu Chanana said the yen's strength could contribute to an unwinding of the carry trade. The Bank of Japan is expected to consider a 0.25% rate hike at its September 28 meeting.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also indicated that further intervention in currency markets could be possible.

Anthropic researcher quits over AI safety concerns

Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from the company, warning that frontier AI laboratories are moving toward self-improving superintelligence while facing competitive pressure to develop increasingly capable systems.

Coxon, who spent three years conducting pretraining research at OpenAI and Anthropic, said he no longer wanted to participate in building systems that could potentially become uncontrollable.

His resignation drew attention after Anthropic Alignment Science Lead Evan Hubinger said he personally estimates there is a greater than 10% chance that AI could kill all humans within the next decade.

Hubinger stressed that this is his personal estimate rather than an Anthropic forecast and said current AI models pose relatively low risks.

He also said Anthropic is trying its best but does not yet have a plan to solve alignment for superintelligence and is not clearly on track to do so.

Coxon's concerns focus on the competitive dynamics of frontier AI development. He argues that even companies taking AI safety seriously may face incentives to continue advancing their systems if slowing down could allow rivals to move ahead.