Finance news

Ukraine war: After tensions: Lukashenko calls for negotiations

Alarm bells are ringing in Kiev and concerns are growing about Belarus' involvement in Moscow's war. But the Belarusian ruler Lukashenko is dismissive. Is there a risk of a new escalation?

DeepSeek hiring spree: Chinese AI firm seeks newcomers as it pursues AGI

DeepSeek is looking to “at least double the size of every department” in a new hiring spree, according to an announcement made by the Chinese AI champion on Thursday. The firm announced openings in 33 positions across seven major categories, including full-stack development and algorithms, artificial intelligence (AI) core system R&D, deep learning research, and model data strategy product management and engineering. “DeepSeek’s hiring philosophy is to let newcomers take on the most core and...

Frank Kendall on the trouble with banning autonomous weapons [Book excerpt]

Former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall discusses whether effective arms control can be applied to autonomous systems in this book excerpt.

AI Boom Forces Tennessee to Plan Massive Natural Gas Expansion

The Tennessee Valley Authority released its preliminary 2026 integrated resource plan on Monday, saying load growth in its footprint is already outpacing the reference case forecast in its draft IRP, and that it has incremental capacity needs for between 7 GW and 26 GW of natural gas between now and 2040. “TVA’s actual and forecasted electricity demand has increased relative to the draft IRP’s Reference scenario and is approaching the Higher Growth Economy scenario primarily due to data center g

UK Energy Secretary Vetoed Plan to Boost Oil Output for Defense Funds

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has vetoed a plan by the Treasury to boost North Sea oil and gas drilling in order to fund part of Britain’s increased defense funding needs, The Telegraph reported on Thursday, citing a government source. As the UK plans to increase funding for military programs and rearmament amid heightened geopolitical tensions, the Treasury has proposed a plan to boost drilling in the UK North Sea and use the higher tax revenues from said drilling to fund part of the $24 bill

Vitol Seals 20-Year, 1MMtpa Deal to Supply LNG to IRH

Vitol and International Resources Holding finalized a 20-year agreement for Vitol to supply 1 million metric tons per annum of liquefied natural gas to the trading arm of the metals and minerals mining company.

Pharma: Merck is building the tools for the next revolution

The German Merck Group is taking over the US laboratory specialist Bio-Techne for ten billion euros. What makes this business so attractive – and what risks there are.

Glyphosate dispute: Bayer wins decisive victory before US Supreme Court

Pharmaceutical and agricultural company Bayer wins the dispute over the pesticide glyphosate before the US Supreme Court. The stock reacts strongly to this.

Philippines deploys US-made Triton naval drones in its western waters to scout for intruders

The transfer comes after the military revealed that China discreetly deployed a 6x6 meter floating platform equipped with an antenna at Scarborough Shoal.

Takeover: Merck buys laboratory equipment in America for 9.9 billion euros

The German pharmaceutical company is making its next big takeover under its new boss. It is intended to advance business with laboratory customers. The share price is rising.

China vows to pursue US tariff cuts while decrying ‘malicious’ trade acts

So much for the new harmony following last month's bilateral summit. submitted by /u/GlobalMacroMaven [link] [comments]

Storage shortages: Apple increases prices for iPads and MacBooks

The expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence is making memory chips drastically more expensive. Apple kept prices largely stable for quite a long time - but now there are surcharges.

Storage shortages: Apple increases prices for iPads and MacBooks

The expansion of data centers for artificial intelligence is making memory chips drastically more expensive. Apple kept prices largely stable for quite a long time - but now there are surcharges.

Pentagon review asks Congress to fence off $5B over 5 years to rebuild ‘deteriorating’ labs

The armed services raid lab funding for more urgent needs like barrack repairs, the study says, leaving researchers in aging, outdated labs “that pose documented safety risks.”

China’s cybersecurity industry needs its own Mythos model, 360 founder warns

China must develop its own equivalent to Anthropic’s Mythos model to counter the cybersecurity risks posed by the artificial intelligence era, according to 360 Security Technology founder Zhou Hongyi, who likened the powerful US technology to a “cyber nuclear weapon”. Released in April with the ability to autonomously identify software vulnerabilities, Mythos has accelerated vulnerability discovery a hundredfold while slashing costs – a “terrifying change” that had effectively “democratised”...

These S&P 500 stocks are expected to make double-digit comebacks

A list of 20 highly rated stocks favored by analysts for gains over the next year includes only one that has risen this year: Nvidia.

Pharmaceutical industry: Merck buys US laboratory equipment manufacturer for ten billion euros

The pharmaceutical and technology group is carrying out the next takeover under its new boss Kai Beckmann. The billion-dollar deal is intended to advance Merck in the laboratory business with pharmaceutical customers and researchers.

Pharma: Merck strengthens life science division with US billion-dollar acquisition

The DAX group is taking over the US laboratory equipment manufacturer Bio-Techne for 9.9 billion - an acquisition that investors and analysts have been waiting for for years. The new CEO meanwhile sees further goals.

Kuaishou chip spin-off taps new funding for in-house designs amid US export controls

Chinese internet giants are increasingly moving beyond software and into semiconductor design, betting that proprietary chips will give them greater control over computing infrastructure as artificial intelligence workloads surge and geopolitical tensions hamper access to advanced foreign technology. Short video giant Kuaishou is the latest to ride the wave, after its chip spin-off TranStreams raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A+ financing round this week led by QF Capital, according to..

Bio-Techne: Merck acquires life science company for $11.3 billion

The Darmstadt-based Merck Group is making another billion-dollar purchase, thereby strengthening its life science business.

Food: High fertilizer costs: Agriculture Minister wants to examine further aid

Business prospects for farmers are depressed - also because energy and fertilizer are so expensive. Is the federal government increasing money from the EU?

Andy Burnham: The flexible new guy for Downing Street

Keir Starmer goes, Andy Burnham comes. But aside from a few good-sounding catchphrases like “hope” and “change,” his program is vague.

Artificial Intelligence: Deutsche Bank: Germany is at risk of falling behind in AI change

The revolution through artificial intelligence is changing the world. Deutsche Bank warns: Germany urgently needs to catch up. At the same time, she sees an economic opportunity in the backlog.

Defense stocks slide again, as Germany’s naval U-turn shakes confidence in Europe’s rearmament boom

Rheinmetall and other European defense stocks fell for a second day, after Germany scrapped the F126 naval program, raising procurement concerns.

Qualcomm vs. Nvidia and drones vs. dogs

Hong Kong exports rise by nearly 41% in May as AI keeps fuelling demand

The recent bumper growth in Hong Kong exports spilled into May, expanding by 40.8 per cent year on year, as artificial intelligence-related products continued to fuel already robust demand overseas. Provisional figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Thursday showed that the total value of exports rose to HK$611.2 billion (US$77.95 billion) last month, following a nearly 43 per cent increase in April. The May figure marked the second month in a row that export growth exceeded

ICEYE to double radar-satellite capacity by late 2027 as demand surges

The company's goal is to ramp up production to two satellites a week as it responds to surging demand from European militaries.

Poland buys V-BAT drones to boost Baltic Sea naval operations

The deal puts Poland in line to become the first country on NATO’s eastern flank to acquire the Shield AI-made drone.

Could China’s photonic chips help it leapfrog US on AI?

China opened a top-level optical computing laboratory in Shanghai in June after a string of breakthroughs in the field that could help get around US curbs on its development of artificial intelligence (AI). A decade after optical computing and next-generation photonics were made national priorities, China last year began limited production of locally designed photonic chips. These transmit and process data using photons – particles of light generated by lasers – whereas silicon chips such as the

Huawei and Cambricon lead China’s AI server chip surge, piling pressure on Nvidia

Chinese chip suppliers led by Huawei Technologies and Cambricon Technologies, together with tech giants developing their own silicon, are set to capture nearly 80 per cent of the domestic AI server market this year, further squeezing global rivals such as Nvidia, according to TrendForce. Geopolitical tensions continue to erode the position of Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and other foreign suppliers, whose combined share of China’s AI server market is forecast to fall to 21 per cent in 2026...