The United States is seeking low-cost guided munitions to counter future warfare involving large numbers of drones, and China should also invest in this area, according to a Chinese military magazine. The magazine, popular among military enthusiasts and supervised by the Shaanxi Provincial Association for Science and Technology, primarily reports on popular science content and the latest Chinese m...
The United States is seeking low-cost guided munitions to counter future warfare involving large numbers of drones, and China should also invest in this area, according to a Chinese military magazine. The magazine, popular among military enthusiasts and supervised by the Shaanxi Provincial Association for Science and Technology, primarily reports on popular science content and the latest Chinese military developments and defence dynamics, and analyses military developments in other countries and regions. 09:40 Violence at sea: how armed attacks on the high seas affect mariners Violence at sea: how armed attacks on the high seas affect mariners The article said that in 2023, when the US faced Houthi attacks costing less than US$2,000 per shot, it launched a large number of SM-2/6 missiles, each costing more than US$2.5 million, resulting in a cost exceeding US$1 billion, a figure the article described as highly disproportionate. Advertisement “The United States urgently needs long-range munitions suitable for large-scale consumption, in a high-low mix to reduce the cost of war,” said the article which carried the byline Ma Lihua. The article listed four low-cost guided munitions still being tested that the author believed the US military might procure in large quantities. Advertisement It highlighted the Wolf Pack weapon system developed by L3 Harris Large Defense, which it considered a low-cost cruise missile system. The system, which was unveiled in July, has a munition length of only 2 metres (6.6 feet) and stealth design features, and can fly at subsonic and ultra-low altitudes throughout its flight, with a range of 370km (230 miles).
The 70s musicians who choose to lay down some tracks in remote Welsh countryside may not really surprise, but one young local is startlingly memorable There’s an oscillation of weirdness in this feature debut from Bryn Chainey, who takes us deep into the traditional folk-horror thicket with a fervently atmospheric and intriguingly acted, if finally directionless drama set in 1970s Wales. Like Dani...
The 70s musicians who choose to lay down some tracks in remote Welsh countryside may not really surprise, but one young local is startlingly memorable There’s an oscillation of weirdness in this feature debut from Bryn Chainey, who takes us deep into the traditional folk-horror thicket with a fervently atmospheric and intriguingly acted, if finally directionless drama set in 1970s Wales. Like Daniel Kokotajlo’s recent Starve Acre or Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men , Rabbit Trap swathes you in ambient sound design and insists on a kind of atavistic authenticity in the 70s stylings themselves: the woollens, the gloom and the analogue recording equipment. Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen play Darcy and Daphne, an English couple involved in the music scene; she is a folk singer whose last LP was called Mono Moon. They have come to the remote Welsh countryside to work on her new album, a bit like Led Zeppelin, whose experience recording in primitive Welsh cottages in the early 70s deserves a folk-horror treatment of its own. They rent a cottage featuring the kind of windows at which, in Withnail’s immortal words, faces look in at. Darcy is Daphne’s producer and sound engineer and tapes interesting sounds thereabouts for use on the record – birdsong, rainwater dripping into a barrel – but is also picking up a strange thrumming from the shroomy netherworld. Soon this English couple find themselves befriended and yet menaced by a smudgy-faced, jumper-wearing feral Welsh child (rather brilliantly played by Jade Croot) who could be any age from nine to 54, telling uneasy Darcy about the Tylwyth Teg fairy folk and showing him a rabbit trap in which the captured bunnies are transformed into fetish sacrifices. Continue reading...
A father and son move to the Patagonian woods – but intensity wanes when a search for home becomes an obsessive quest for revenge When the protagonist of Daniel Wiles’s debut novel Mercia’s Take , set in a mining community during the industrial revolution, left a bag of gold downstairs unprotected and then went to bed, I actually closed the book, in an attempt to stop the unfolding disaster. After...
A father and son move to the Patagonian woods – but intensity wanes when a search for home becomes an obsessive quest for revenge When the protagonist of Daniel Wiles’s debut novel Mercia’s Take , set in a mining community during the industrial revolution, left a bag of gold downstairs unprotected and then went to bed, I actually closed the book, in an attempt to stop the unfolding disaster. After finding this seam of gold, miner Michael dreams that his son will be able to go to school, rather than join the other children who work in the mine, like “blind, bald rodents unearthing themselves in search of scraps of candlelight”. In the novel, which won the 2023 Betty Trask prize, everything closes in on Michael: lungs clog, tunnels collapse, horse-drawn narrowboats are attacked by robbers in the sooty dusk. It’s a vivid reminder of the cost, in bodily suffering, of resource extraction. The Puma, Wiles’s second novel, is also a serious and intense historical novel about a father with limited resources who attempts to break a cycle of violence. In the early 1950s Bernardo, a more morally ambiguous figure than Michael, has brought his young son James across the Atlantic from England to the house in the Patagonian woods where he himself grew up. James chatters blithely about becoming a footballer, but Bernardo is distracted. He thinks he sees “shadows of his family walking in and out”, reminding him of a childhood in which “his eyes were wide and hurt by the twilight and he was barefooted and emptyhearted”. Continue reading...
Key Points In September, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned investors that equity prices were fairly expensive by many measures. The S&P 500 currently trades at 22.1 times forward, a valuation that has historically correlated with negative returns in the next two years. Among 19 Wall Street analysts, the S&P 500 has a median year-end target of 7,600, which implies 10% upside from its curre...
Key Points In September, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned investors that equity prices were fairly expensive by many measures. The S&P 500 currently trades at 22.1 times forward, a valuation that has historically correlated with negative returns in the next two years. Among 19 Wall Street analysts, the S&P 500 has a median year-end target of 7,600, which implies 10% upside from its current level of 6,950. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › The S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has added 1.5% year to date, and the benchmark index currently sits within half a percentage point of its all-time high. However, several Federal Reserve officials (including Chair Jerome Powell) have warned investors that stock prices are elevated by historical standards. Wall Street anticipates double-digit gains in the S&P 500 in the remaining months of 2026, but a stock market drawdown (or even a crash) is well within the realm of possibility. Here's what investors should know. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned investors that stocks are expensive While Federal Reserve officials monitor the stock market, their monetary policy decisions do not target specific prices for any financial asset. Nevertheless, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell warned in September, "By many measures... equity prices are fairly highly valued." Other policymakers have expressed similar concerns. Minutes from the FOMC meeting in October stated, "Some participants commented on stretched asset valuations in financial markets, with several of these participants highlighting the possibility of a disorderly fall in equity prices." Additionally, the latest version of the Federal Reserve's semiannual financial stability report was published in November. It warned that the S&P 500's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was "close to the upper end of its h...
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks were lacklustre on Wednesday as the European Union and India reached a trade deal that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called the "mother of all deals." The landmark agreement will allow free trade of goods between the bloc of 27 European states and the world's most populous country, which together make up nearly 25% of global gross domes...
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) and European stocks were lacklustre on Wednesday as the European Union and India reached a trade deal that European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called the "mother of all deals." The landmark agreement will allow free trade of goods between the bloc of 27 European states and the world's most populous country, which together make up nearly 25% of global gross domestic product and a market of two billion people. The deal will see a number of huge tariff cuts across a range of goods and services, and a joint security partnership. "We did it, we delivered the mother of all deals," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said at a media briefing in Delhi. Meanwhile, India's prime minister Narendra Modi called the pact "historic". It comes after almost two decades of on-and-off talks, with both sides aiming to deepen ties amid tensions with the US. The euro has hit $1.20 against the greenback on Wednesday, setting a new milestone as the dollar continues to sour. The dollar has been on the backfoot against a number of major currencies, sinking to a fresh four-year low today. Elsewhere, traders will focus on the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision later today. Markets are expecting no change at the meeting, with policymakers widely expected to leave the funds rate at its range of 3.75% to 3.5%. This could inject further volatility into dollar trading. The next rate reduction is not expected until after chairman Jerome Powell departs in May. London’s benchmark index (^FTSE) eked out a 0.1% gain in early morning trade. Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) was also treading water and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.7% into the red. The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was flat. Wall Street is set for a positive start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green. The pound was 0.3% down against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3804. Follow along for live updates throughout the day: LIVE 3 update...
Kia Corp. said US tariffs cost it 3.3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) last year and the South Korean automaker will roll out incentives to boost sales as competition intensifies. Tariffs totaled about 1 trillion won in the fourth quarter alone, Kia said Wednesday, driving a 32% slump in operating profit from a year earlier to 1.8 trillion won. That missed analyst estimates for 1.9 trillion won and cam...
Kia Corp. said US tariffs cost it 3.3 trillion won ($2.3 billion) last year and the South Korean automaker will roll out incentives to boost sales as competition intensifies. Tariffs totaled about 1 trillion won in the fourth quarter alone, Kia said Wednesday, driving a 32% slump in operating profit from a year earlier to 1.8 trillion won. That missed analyst estimates for 1.9 trillion won and came despite the company reporting its highest-ever fourth-quarter revenue on strong demand for electric and hybrid cars. While South Korea and the US reached a deal to lower import duties to 15% from 25% from Nov. 1, Kia didn’t reap the full benefit because it had already paid the higher rate on inventory sitting in the US, Chief Financial Officer Kim Seung Jun said during a conference call. Shares closed 2.5% lower. Despite mounting pressure, Kia’s global sales started to turn around after bottoming out in the third quarter, and the company will be able to recover its free cash flow to pre-tariff levels early this year, Kim said. The global automotive sector has been whipsawed by US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policies, including tariffs on imports of vehicles and parts. General Motors Co. has warned the duties will likely cost the company $3 billion to $4 billion this year, while European automakers were roiled last week by Trump’s threat to hike tariffs again in a standoff over Greenland. South Korea’s car manufacturers were also surprised this week after the US President said he’d increase tariffs to 25% again due to what he said was the failure of the country’s legislature to codify the trade deal the two nations reached last year. Industry watchers are set to get a further gauge of the sector’s sentiment on Thursday when Kia’s bigger affiliate, Hyundai Motor Co. , releases earnings. It’s previously said tariffs had caused a 1.8 trillion won hit in the third quarter. Beyond tariffs, Kia is also facing an uncertain demand outlook as the EV transition slow...
aprott/iStock via Getty Images My last look at Roche Holding AG ( RHHBY ) followed its acquisition of 89bio for its drug targeting MASH and severe hypertriglyceridemia, pegozafermin. Seeking Alpha The deal strengthened its cardiometabolic portfolio and followed Roche's acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics for its obesity clinical candidates, including CT-388. I thought that Roche was slyly positioni...
aprott/iStock via Getty Images My last look at Roche Holding AG ( RHHBY ) followed its acquisition of 89bio for its drug targeting MASH and severe hypertriglyceridemia, pegozafermin. Seeking Alpha The deal strengthened its cardiometabolic portfolio and followed Roche's acquisition of Carmot Therapeutics for its obesity clinical candidates, including CT-388. I thought that Roche was slyly positioning itself as a future leader in the cardiometabolic market "without having to be face-to-face with obesity leaders like Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) and Eli Lilly ( LLY )." So I recommended a "Buy" rating. Roche's stock has since climbed 36%, outperforming the S&P 500's ( SPY ) 5% gains. On Tuesday, Genentech (a member of the Roche Group) reported Phase 2 data for its CT-388 obesity candidate. Below, I take a closer look at it. Recent Developments CT-388 is a once-weekly subcutaneous peptide that agonizes GLP-1 and GIP receptors. These are the same core receptor targets as ZEPBOUND, but 388 is supposedly differentiated by its signaling-bias/low β-arrestin recruitment design goal. This is believed to help reduce receptor internalization/desensitization (supporting more sustained pharmacology activity). The Phase 2 obesity trial was randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled. Genentech disclosed top-line results primarily for the 24 mg arm. Placebo-adjusted weight loss after 48 weeks was 22.5% (efficacy estimand), with the company stating that there was no weight loss plateau at 48 weeks. Placebo-adjusted weight loss in the treatment-regimen estimand was 18.3%. This is a more "real-world" effectiveness under typical discontinuation/rescue patterns. The discontinuation rate due to adverse events was 5.9% across drug arms versus 1.3% in the placebo. Moving forward, Roche plans to begin a Phase 3 obesity program in the first quarter of 2026. And the company is also evaluating 388 in obesity/overweight patients with type 2 diabetes. So the profile looks pretty close to Zepbound. Now, a...
Key Points Even if you never worked, you may be eligible for spousal benefits from Social Security. Those benefits have a cap on how much you can collect. Delaying a Social Security claim past full retirement age is a good strategy to grow your own benefit -- not a spousal benefit. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Generally speaking, people earn Social Security...
Key Points Even if you never worked, you may be eligible for spousal benefits from Social Security. Those benefits have a cap on how much you can collect. Delaying a Social Security claim past full retirement age is a good strategy to grow your own benefit -- not a spousal benefit. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › Generally speaking, people earn Social Security benefits in retirement by working long enough and paying taxes on their wages. But there's way to get Social Security even if you never worked. Social Security pays spousal benefits to older Americans, and you can qualify based on a current or former spouse's record. You may also want to file for Social Security spousal benefits if your spouse earned a lot more money than you, as your spousal benefit may be more generous than the benefit you get based on your own wage history. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » But it's important to have realistic expectations about how much income you'll get in spousal benefits. And because of one rule that's specific to spousal benefits, your monthly checks may end up being smaller than expected. You can't grow a spousal benefit When you're claiming Social Security based on your own earnings record, there's a big incentive to delay your claim past full retirement age. For each year you do, until you turn 70, your monthly benefits get an 8% boost. But while you can accrue delayed retirement credits in that situation, those credits don't apply to spousal benefits. Or, to put it another way, there's no sense in delaying a spousal benefit claim past full retirement age, because it won't result in any more monthly income for you. When you're claiming spousal benefits, the maximum you can get is 50% of your spouse's Social Security benefit at their full retirement age. And that assumes you wait until your own full retirement age to file. Filing ...
The first documented case of a Filipino man who died fighting alongside Russian forces in the Ukraine war has raised concerns in the Philippines over coerced recruitment and sparked calls for compensation from Moscow. In a report released on Monday, Ukraine’s intelligence operations identified the body of John Patrick, a Filipino national, among Russian troops killed near the village of Novoselivk...
The first documented case of a Filipino man who died fighting alongside Russian forces in the Ukraine war has raised concerns in the Philippines over coerced recruitment and sparked calls for compensation from Moscow. In a report released on Monday, Ukraine’s intelligence operations identified the body of John Patrick, a Filipino national, among Russian troops killed near the village of Novoselivka in the Donetsk region, marking the first such report of its kind. Kyiv officials said Patrick’s body was found with only a weapon, ammunition and a scrap of paper bearing unit and phone numbers, as well as his commander’s name, with details indicating he did not speak Russian. Advertisement Three selfies retrieved from Patrick’s mobile phone and posted by Ukraine show him wearing a hooded military jacket in a pixelated camouflage pattern. Other data retrieved from his electronic devices indicate his basic training lasted only a week before he was sent to the front line. Patrick is believed to have died from his injuries in a forest belt, with no evacuation planned. People stand by a crater left in an area hit by an air attack in Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photo: AFP Observers say the Philippine national may have been motivated by financial compensation.
CEO Elon Musk recently provided encouraging updates on Tesla's autonomous driving and humanoid robotics technology. Tesla (TSLA 0.99%) lost substantial market share in electric cars during the past year due to increased competition, brand backlash, and the discontinuation of federal tax credits. The company said deliveries fell 9% in 2025 despite global electric car sales increasing 25%. However, ...
CEO Elon Musk recently provided encouraging updates on Tesla's autonomous driving and humanoid robotics technology. Tesla (TSLA 0.99%) lost substantial market share in electric cars during the past year due to increased competition, brand backlash, and the discontinuation of federal tax credits. The company said deliveries fell 9% in 2025 despite global electric car sales increasing 25%. However, Tesla is more focused on robotaxis and robots, a transition that has been years in the making, and CEO Elon Musk recently shared some good news about those products. Here's what you need to know. Tesla's robotaxis are operating without safety monitors in Austin Tesla launched its autonomous ride-sharing service in Austin to a limited group of people in June 2025. The company has since opened the service to everyone and expanded the service area rapidly, validating its camera-only strategy to some extent. Last week, Musk posted on social media: "Just started Tesla robotaxi drives in Austin with no safety monitor in the car. Congrats to the Tesla AI team!" Whereas rivals like Waymo equip robotaxis with lidar sensors that use detailed maps to navigate, Tesla relies solely on cameras. That strategy is not only cheaper, but also less time-consuming because the company doesn't need to map cities before putting robotaxis on the road. In other words, Tesla should be able to scale its autonomous ride-sharing service faster than its competitors. Beyond Austin, Tesla also offers its autonomous ride-sharing service in the San Francisco Bay Area, though a safety monitor still sits in the car. In addition to Texas and California, Tesla has also received a permit to operate a ride-sharing service in Arizona and to test robotaxis in Nevada. This year, the company hopes to launch autonomous ride-sharing in five new markets: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, and Miami. Tesla still trails Waymo, which has commercial robotaxi services in five U.S. cities, but the company is making progress ...
The European Central Bank is closely watching how an appreciating euro is affecting inflation and will consider the impact when setting monetary policy, according to Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau . While reiterating that officials don’t have any target for the exchange rate, the French central banker joined others in warning that further euro strength could weigh on consumer...
The European Central Bank is closely watching how an appreciating euro is affecting inflation and will consider the impact when setting monetary policy, according to Governing Council member Francois Villeroy de Galhau . While reiterating that officials don’t have any target for the exchange rate, the French central banker joined others in warning that further euro strength could weigh on consumer prices. “We are closely monitoring this appreciation of the euro and its possible consequences in terms of lower inflation,” he said on LinkedIn . “This is one of the factors that will guide our monetary policy and our decisions on interest rates over the coming months.” Euro-zone inflation is currently a touch below the ECB’s 2% target and is projected to remain below that level this year and next — making some policymakers particularly sensitive to any additional downside dangers. Speaking Tuesday to Bloomberg Television, Austrian central-bank Governor Martin Kocher said the ECB must monitor whether the euro makes more gains. “We don’t see that at the moment,” he said. “But, of course, events that have been happening over the last couple of days contributed to some concern.” Kocher spoke hours before President Donald Trump said he’s not concerned with the US currency’s decline, prompting the euro to briefly climb above $1.20 on Tuesday for the first time since June 2021. While it was trading just below that level on Wednesday, it’s rallied 2% against the greenback this year. ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos in July described an exchange rate of $1.20 as “perfectly acceptable,” but cautioned that anything above that level “would be much more complicated.” Carsten Brzeski , global head of macro at ING in Frankfurt, said further appreciation by the common currency could prompt some to push for more monetary easing. “If the strengthening continues, calls for a rate cut will get louder,” he said. Before Trump’s latest comments, Villeroy had already listed a possible depreci...
Stocks looked set to extend their record-breaking run on Wednesday following earnings reports from two chip companies, while the dollar looked set to carry on sliding after comments from President Donald Trump sparked a brutal selloff for the greenback. The tech-heavy index was racking up gains after semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments and chip tool maker ASML both issued solid guidance, ...
Stocks looked set to extend their record-breaking run on Wednesday following earnings reports from two chip companies, while the dollar looked set to carry on sliding after comments from President Donald Trump sparked a brutal selloff for the greenback. The tech-heavy index was racking up gains after semiconductor manufacturer Texas Instruments and chip tool maker ASML both issued solid guidance, which investors took as a sign that the artificial-intelligence boom still has legs. The Federal Reserve is also set to make its latest policy decision–the central bank is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged, but Chair Jerome Powell’s comments could give the market a better idea of whether there’ll be scope for cuts to borrowing costs later in 2026.