On today's podcast:

(1) Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said he expects China to be "at the forefront" of artificial intelligence, and said it's important for the US to collaborate with the Asian nation on both regulation and innovation.

(2) Applied Materials, the largest US maker of chipmaking machinery, slid in late trading following a report that it faces a US criminal investigation for allegedly violating export restrictions to China.

(3) British companies will be able to release billions of pounds from pension funds for investment under a package of growth reforms that Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will unveil at next week's autumn statement.

(4) With Formula 1 preparing for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll has sold a minority stake in the Aston Martin team to US private equity firm Arctos Partners.

(5) Inflation data from the US, UK and Eurozone all indicate inflationary pressures are now easing. But that also means the focus shifts from growing too fast to not growing fast enough, pushing yields across the treasury curve lower.