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Apple celebrates its 50th anniversary as artificial intelligence challenges the Silicon Valley legend to prove it can deliver yet another culture-changing innovation.Steve Jobs, a driven marketing genius, and Steve Wozniak, who invented the Apple computer, revolutionized how people use technology in the internet age and built a company now worth more than $3.6tn.The two college dropouts changed the way people use computers, listen to music and communicate on the go, giving rise to lifestyles revolving around smartphone apps.Apple's hit products - the Mac, the iPhone, the Apple Watch and the iPad - command a cult-like following, long after the company's humble beginnings on April 1, 1976 in Jobs' Cupertino, California garage.Apple has sold more than 3.1bn iPhones since the handsets debuted in 2007, generating about $2.3tn in revenue, according to Counterpoint Research.For Counterpoint analyst Yang Wang, the iPhone is the most successful consumer electronics product ever, reshaping human communication while becoming "a global fashion and status symbol."Before the iPhone, Apple shook up home computing with the 1984 Macintosh, whose icon-based interface and mouse made computing accessible beyond specialists -- and sparked a legendary rivalry between Jobs and Microsoft's Bill Gates."Apple was founded on the simple notion that technology should be personal, and that belief -- radical at the time -- changed everything," chief executive Tim Cook said in an anniversary letter posted online.Apple transformed the music market with the iPod and iTunes, made the smartphone a mass-market staple with the iPhone, and took tablets mainstream with the iPad.The Apple Watch quickly seized the lead in the smartwatch market, despite debuting later than its rivals.While not an inventor, Jobs -- who died in 2011 at age 56 -- was renowned for his uncompromising drive to marry technology with design to create products that were intuitive and hassle-free.Apple marketed the Macintosh as the "computer for the rest of us," but it was the iPhone that fulfilled that promise, said David Pogue, author of the recently released "Apple: The First 50 Years."The iPhone's dominance reshaped Apple's business model. With the premium smartphone market widely seen as saturated, Cook has increasingly turned to selling digital content and services to the company's vast existing base of users.Central to that strategy is the App Store, which Apple made the sole gateway to software on its devices, taking a cut of transactions -- and thereby drawing accusations of monopoly abuse, regulatory scrutiny in Europe and court orders in the United States to open up its platform.No country has been more central to Apple's rise -- or more fraught for its future -- than China, with Cook cementing ties to the Asian superpower through regular appearances at local Apple stores and official visits.Cook was the mastermind of the strategy that made China the primary manufacturing base for Apple devices, with the vast majority of iPhones assembled by contractor Foxconn and other suppliers in Chinese factories.It is also one of Apple's largest consumer markets, generating tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue.But the company faces mounting pressure on both fronts: trade tensions and tariffs have accelerated efforts to diversify manufacturing to India and Vietnam, while competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei has eaten into Apple's Chinese market share.A concern haunting investors is that Apple appears to be easing into generative AI while rivals Google, Microsoft and OpenAI race ahead.A promised upgrade to its Siri digital assistant was delayed, in what analysts called a rare stumble for the company.And rather than relying on its own engineers to overhaul Siri, Apple has turned to Google for AI capability.But whether built in-house or outsourced, Apple's obsession with user privacy and its premium hardware could position it to drive widespread adoption of personalised AI -- and make it profitable, a goal that has proved elusive for much of the AI industry.Already, Apple's AirPods are being steadily improved with sensors and smart software, and lessons learned from the Vision Pro could feed into AI smart glasses to rival Meta's."They are the ones that always seem able to create something so simple that users just fall in love with it," said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies. 

Asian markets extended losses with Wall Street Tuesday as investors prepared for key US jobs and inflation data, while sentiment remains subdued by worries over a possible tech bubble.In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed down 1.6% to 49,383.29 points; Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index ended down 1.5% to 25,235.41 points andShanghai - Composite closed down 1.1% to 3,824.81 points Tuesday.After a healthy tech-led run this year, traders appeared to be seeing it out on a tepid note amid questions over the huge sums pumped into artificial intelligence and indications the Federal Reserve will pause cutting interest rates.All eyes are on the release later in the day of US November jobs data and the delayed reading for October, which will be followed on Thursday by consumer price index figures.The readings will be pored over for some idea about the Fed's plans for borrowing costs as officials debate whether or not to continue lowering them in January.Comments from decision-makers show the policy board split, with recent reductions coming on the back of worries about the weakening labour market but concern now turning to stubbornly high inflation.Governor Stephen Miran - an appointee of Donald Trump - warned that rates are still too high, while New York Fed boss John Williams said they were at about the right place and Boston president Susan Collins called the decision a "close call"."After essentially missing the October jobs report due to a lack of survey data, the Fed will closely scrutinise the November figures when setting out the path of monetary policy through early 2026," Matt Weller, head of market research at City Index, said."That said, traders are currently pricing in only a one-in-four chance of another rate cut in January, meaning that the market reaction to the release may be more limited unless it shows a large deterioration in the labour market."With the chances of a cut appearing limited for now - with some putting them at about 25% for next month - equity traders were turned sellers for now.Seoul lost more than 2%, while Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei were all more than one percent lower. Sydney, Singapore, Manila, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta also fell.London, Frankfurt and Paris opened lower.Worries over the tech sector were also weighing on sentiment, with recent warnings about an AI-fuelled bubble compounded by weak disappointing earnings last week from Oracle and Broadcom.Speculation that the hundreds of billions of AI investments will take some time to make returns, if at all, has also acted as a drag."Jitters over the AI theme have resurfaced in recent sessions, not helped by Broadcom's failure to provide concrete guidance for the quarter ahead, nor by reports that Oracle's data centre construction may be delayed," wrote Pepperstone's Michael Brown."Concern also lingers over the increase in debt-financed capex, especially from the likes of Oracle, though those concerns seem more likely to linger in the background into next year, as opposed to sparking significant fear in the now."The downbeat mood on equity markets has filtered into the crypto sphere, with bitcoin briefly falling to as low as $85,171, while gold - a go-to asset in times of uncertainty - hovered around $4,300 and close to a new record high.The yen held gains against the dollar ahead of an expected rate hike by the Bank of Japan on Friday. 

OilOil prices fell on Friday as a weak US jobs report dimmed the outlook for energy demand, while swelling supplies may grow further after Opec and allied producers meet over the weekend. Brent crude futures settled at $65.50 a barrel, down $1.49. US WTI crude finished at $61.87, down $1.61.On Wednesday, Reuters reported that eight Opec+ producers would consider raising production further at a meeting on Sunday. US crude inventories rose 2.4mn barrels last week, rather than falling as analysts expected. US nonfarm payrolls increased by only 22,000 jobs last month after rising by an upwardly revised 79,000 in July, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its closely watched employment report on Friday.The weak jobs report will put pressure on the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. Expectations are growing that Opec+ – the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia – will decide at Sunday's meeting to push more barrels into the market to regain market share.The group would be starting to unwind a second layer of output cuts of about 1.65mn barrels per day, or 1.6% of world demand, more than a year ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump told European leaders on Thursday that Europe must stop buying Russian oil. Any cuts to Russia's crude exports or other disruption to supplies could push oil prices higher.GasAsian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices held steady last week as regional demand remained muted, while a gas supply deal between Russia and China is seen curbing future LNG shipments from the top Asian importer.Industry sources estimated that the average LNG price for October delivery into Northeast Asia was $11.30 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up slightly from $11.15 per mmBtu the previous week. Meanwhile, following the first unloading of an LNG cargo from Russia's sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in China, Beijing and Moscow this week signed agreements to increase gas supply via the existing Power of Siberia pipeline, and to construct the Power of Siberia 2, though they have yet to agree on pricing.China is sending a clear geopolitical signal that it is willing to receive more Russian gas, reducing LNG dependency from other sources from 2027 and influencing the profitability of other LNG producers. In Europe, the Dutch TTF hub settled at $11.02 per mmBtu, recording a weekly gain of 2.6%. Continued supply growth from the US helped to offset the decline seen from Nigeria. This also comes at a time where imports into Europe have seen slight declines as subsided heatwaves and easing fears over storage added further bearish tailwinds into the market. The US arbitrage to Northeast Asia via the Cape of Good Hope narrowed significantly last week, only marginally incentivising US cargo deliveries to Europe.This article was supplied by the Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development.