FTI Consulting News Bytes – 8 May 2026

FTI Consulting News Bytes

This week’s news

Warnings over private credit’s central role in AI funding

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) warned on Wednesday that the private credit industry’s significant role in funding the AI boom could lead to sizeable financial losses. As covered by The Guardian, the FSB revealed AI companies, seeking capital for data centres and infrastructure, accounted for over one-third of private credit deals in 2025, up from 17% in previous years. The watchdog highlighted “idiosyncratic risks,” noting that a sharp correction in AI valuations or infrastructure hurdles, such as electricity shortages, could trigger defaults. While private credit operates outside traditional banking regulations, the FSB expressed concern over the “intricate web of exposures” linking these funds to traditional banks. With banks increasingly lending to or partnering with these opaque private funds, there is a concern brewing that a collapse in the AI-driven credit market could spill over into the broader global financial system.

Disney beats analysts’ expectations with higher quarterly revenues

In his first quarterly report as CEO, Josh D’Amaro revealed that Walt Disney beat analyst expectations despite a complex geopolitical and economic landscape. Total revenues rose 7% to $25.2bn, with net income reaching $2.5bn, as reported by the Financial Times. Attendance at US theme parks dipped 1% due to rising travel costs and a decline in international tourism, exacerbated by conflict between the US and Iran, revenue from the parks and cruise division still grew 7% thanks to higher per-guest spending. The entertainment giant also saw success in its media segment, with streaming revenue jumping 13% fuelled by hits like Zootopia 2. D’Amaro emphasised a strategy of “compounding value” by aggressively leveraging intellectual property across films, parks, and games. Despite record-low consumer sentiment and inflationary pressures on families, Disney remains optimistic, forecasting improved domestic park attendance in the coming months.

AI agents are now handling the bulk of coding at Deliveroo

Deliveroo software engineers have shifted almost entirely from manual coding to overseeing agentic AI workflows, according to a report by CityAM. Some developers claim they have barely written code manually for nearly a year, instead acting as orchestrators who manage fleets of AI agents. These tools now perform approximately 90% of the work, including gathering information and writing code directly from internal tickets, with humans intervening only to resolve complex issues or provide company-specific context. While Deliveroo encourages AI adoption and tracks usage via internal dashboards, the shift mirrors a broader industry trend seen at firms like Google and DoorDash. However, this transition has sparked concerns regarding the hollowing out of junior roles and the potential for “workslop” – low-quality code that requires human fixing. Despite these risks, the company says it remains focused on leveraging AI to accelerate innovation and improve service efficiency.

AI actors not eligible for Oscars

BBC News reports that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has introduced new rules for the Oscars to address the growing use of AI in filmmaking. It states that only human actors and writers will be eligible for awards in acting and screenplay categories, meaning AI-generated performances or scripts cannot win. However, the use of AI tools in other parts of filmmaking is still allowed and does not automatically disqualify a film. The Academy says it may request proof to confirm human involvement. The changes reflect concerns in the film industry about protecting human creativity, jobs, and authorship as AI technology becomes more widespread.

Arm could surpass $1 trillion

Shares of CPU-maker Arm Holdings took a dive yesterday over concerns about its ability to meet surging chip demand, largely overshadowing the company’s better-than-expected Q4 revenue and earnings, per CNBC. Research firm Evercore ISI remains confident in the semiconductor designer, reiterating an outperform rating and upping its price target to $326 from $277. Evercore noted the market value of Arm Holdings could one day surpass $1 trillion—putting it in league with other megacaps like Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft. Amid demand for memory, storage and CPUs in the exploding buildout for AI, concerns about component availability are serious. Still, Evercore ISI asserts that Arm Holdings has a real advantage for expanding its market cap given the company’s diverse and well-established network of suppliers and customers, which they hope will allow the semiconductor designer to ramp up product more easily.

Top Tweets of the Week

• CNN Breaking News: Ted Turner, the billionaire media entrepreneur and philanthropist who launched the 24-hour cable TV news revolution when he founded CNN in 1980, has died. He was 87. https://cnn.it/4d7tcQ2 
• Mohamed A. El-Erian: Some may feel I’m dwelling on this, but I am concerned for the health of the UK economy. The yield on the 10-year gilt has climbed 12 basis points today (see the CNBC chart below), decoupling from both oil prices and yields in other advanced economies—both of which are currently lower. Meanwhile, the 30-year yield has just hit a 28-year high. #economy #markets #gilts #uk
• Financial Times: Arm projects $2bn in sales of its new AI chip from next year

Number of the week

$250mn The amount paid by Apple to settle a class action lawsuit after the company delayed AI upgrades to its Siri voice assistant. (Reuters).