Finance news

+++ USA +++: ICE officer shoots Mexican immigrant during operation

Walmart indirectly contradicts Trump's representation on price cuts +++ USA criticizes China's missile test +++ Nancy Pelosi's husband charged with hit-and-run +++ The news blog.

Hong Kong universities snap up office and retail sites amid classroom crunch

At least six universities in Hong Kong have moved into office buildings or shopping centres over the past three years as classroom space has tightened amid rising non-local enrolment, according to the latest data. Among them is the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), which spent HK$345.4 million (US$44 million) in 2025 to acquire a 31,410 sq ft campus in Admiralty for its business school teaching centre. The university unveiled the centre on Tuesday on the fourth floor of...

Japanese anime's production costs jump as global viewership booms

Fiber-optic demand helps Japan's Fujikura move on from failed expansion

South Korea loses Canada submarine deal but cements top-tier defence status

South Korea may have lost Canada’s multibillion-dollar submarine order, but analysts say its close-run contest with Germany has handed Seoul a different prize: proof that it can challenge one of the world’s traditional undersea warfare powers on a stage watched closely by defence buyers. Canada chose Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) as the preferred bidder for a programme worth about US$40 billion to build up to 12 diesel-electric submarines, along with long-term maintenance and...

Why the AI Boom Is About to Break the U.S. Power Grid

The American power grid is about to fail the most important industry it has ever been asked to support. In fact…the dominoes in this potentially disastrous scenario have already begun to fall. Large companies that right now depend heavily on the grid are making behind-the-scenes moves that are key to understanding what’s about to happen next. Microsoft just signed a 20-year deal to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, a facility that has been offline since 2019. Amazon paid $650 million

Charges against US dad who drove family off cliff dropped after mental health treatment

All charges against a radiologist accused of trying to kill his family in 2023 by driving his car off a cliff along the Northern California coast have been dismissed by a judge following his completion of a mental health programme. Prosecutors charged Dharmesh Patel, 45, with attempted murder after he drove his Tesla off a 276-metre (50ft) cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway known as “Devil’s Slide,” injuring his wife and two young children. All four survived the January 2, 2023, crash in what

Barrage of explosions rocks Kyiv after Ukraine says drones attacked Russia ‘shadow fleet’

A series of explosions rocked Kyiv early on Wednesday as Russia keeps up its barrage of attacks on the Ukrainian capital while Nato leaders meet for a summit in Turkey. A first large blast was heard even before the city’s air alert sirens sounded, followed by four more, Agence France-Presse journalists in the city said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said warehouses were on fire in one district because of a missile strike, and in another a “non-residential building” was ablaze. Two ‌people were...

The Next Oil Price Spike Could Come Sooner Than Traders Think

Oil prices have dropped back to pre-war levels since the United States and Iran agreed to negotiate a deal under a framework that included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. With oil flows out of the Middle East starting to return to the market, analysts, investment banks, and traders expect the global oil glut to return as early as in 2027 and sink oil prices further. Prices are heading south to $60 per barrel, many analysts think. The futures market seems to think this way, too. Speculator

Netflix, Disney and YouTube interested in FIFA World Cup U.S. rights; package could reach $2 billion

FIFA has alerted media companies that English- and Spanish-language U.S. rights are likely to be sold together for 2030 and 2034, likely driving up the price.

Scalable: New terms and conditions

New terms and conditions Trade cheaply: Best execution in the broker on the European Investor Exchange – fees remain unchanged at €0 with PRIME+ from an order volume of €250, otherwise €0.99. More choice: Over 1.8 million derivatives from seven issuers. Xetra now for €1.99 and without any trading venue fees. These new conditions also apply to gettex from September 1st, 2026. I don't really know what to think about it. Trading at Gettex then costs €1.99. That's quite a downgrade, especially because of the spread

Kalshi traders see slim odds U.S. government will take a stake in OpenAI this year

Traders on the prediction markets platform see a less than 30% likelihood the federal government will take a stake in AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI.

Ukraine War: Another Russian attack on Kyiv with ballistic missiles

Explosions wake people in the Ukrainian capital from their sleep. At the NATO summit in Turkey, Zelensky is hoping for urgently needed Patriot anti-aircraft missiles.

FCC denies US firm with Chinese links approval to provide telecoms services

The US Federal Communications Commission ⁠said on Tuesday it is adding California-based Digitalsystem Technology to a list of companies posing risks to US national security, citing links to Chinese telecoms firms and its ownership by a Chinese national. The FCC also said ‌it was denying the Los Angeles-based IT company permission to provide international telecommunications services, saying it could be exploited by Chinese threat actors. “There is significant risk that the government of China and

AI-related debt sells off sharply as Amazon looks to borrow another $25 billion

Bonds financing the massive artificial-intelligence buildout were hit hard by selling on Tuesday, as Amazon.com set out to borrow another $25 billion in new debt.

U.S. resumes 'powerful strikes' on Iran after Hormuz Strait ship attacks, CENTCOM says

The U.S. revoked Iran oil sales authorization earlier in the day.

Jim Cramer says the market's reaction to Samsung may signal a shift in AI leadership

CNBC's Jim Cramer said Samsung's earnings sparked a sell-off in AI hardware stocks, while many tech names that have lagged this year rebounded.

DIU seeks cheaper drones to carry out Reaper missions

The notice comes after nearly 30 Reapers were reportedly lost in combat against Iran.

How Hong Kong is fighting to redefine its future with an institutional moat, wealth surge

For decades, warnings of Hong Kong’s terminal decline have arrived in periodic waves. When Stephen Roach, the former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, ignited a firestorm with his February 2024 assertion that “Hong Kong is over”, he pointed to a toxic cocktail of domestic and external pressures. Roach, who doubled down on his “wake-up call” a year ago, argued that the city’s economic glory was being extinguished by a loss of political autonomy following 2020’s national security law, the spillover

Has Iraq Finally Run Out of Road in Its Double-Dealings with the West?

Late June/early July normally brings twin events from Iraq for the global oil industry: an announcement that it intends to increase its crude oil production to either 6 or 7 million barrels per day (bpd) within three years, and a statement that its prime minister will visit Washington to discuss deepening strategic ties or something similar aimed at securing money from the U.S. This year is no different, with the announced three-year target being 7 million bpd, and the visit of new prime ministe

Think the U.S. stock market is too heavily exposed to AI? It’s even worse abroad.

Stock-market concentration is hardly just an issue in the U.S.

Iran War: Despite ceasefire: US military reports attacks against Iran

After the attack on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, much is still unclear. For the USA, it is now clear who is behind it. Now the reaction follows.

GameStop investors clear the way for a fresh attempt at buying eBay

Shareholders approved a change that will let the video-game retailer issue more stock.

3 tracks are shaping the Middle East’s post-Iran war order

The Iran battlefield might be quieter and diplomacy might have resumed, but the main contest has shifted to the architecture of the Middle East. The question is no longer whether Iran can be contained, the Strait of Hormuz can remain open or another round of escalation can be avoided. The larger issue is who will write the rules after the shock. Three tracks are taking shape. The first is led by the United States and built around the expansion of the Abraham Accords, the integration of Israel...

US Army tests autonomous mass mine-laying

The Army’s Volcano mine dispenser can blanket 32 acres of terrain with up to 960 mines. Now, the Army is testing an autonomous version.

At UN, Cuba rallies support against ‘cruel’ and ‘ruthless’ US blockade

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced the “ruthless” US embargo against the communist island during a UN General Assembly debate on Tuesday that took place despite diplomatic pressure by Washington to prevent it. “The government of the United States is carrying out against Cuba a multi-dimensional, non-conventional warfare that has already lasted for almost seven decades now and has become ever more cruel and more ruthless during the last seven months,” Rodriguez told the body,...

Traders on Kalshi think the Nasdaq-100 will end 2026 above 30,000, predicting a cooler second half of the year

Speculators think the massive rally in the Nasdaq-100 since the lows following the U.S.-Iran war will be more subdued in the second half of 2026.

Toyota investors cast doubtful eye on 20% ROE target

Spent fuel emerges as weak point in Japan's nuclear renaissance

Japan's Shimizu bets on humanoid robots to tackle construction labor crunch