What happens when eight million Universal visitors need the loo? 2 hours ago Share Save Ben Schofield , Political correspondent, in Bedford and Naomi Richardson , Bedfordshire Share Save Ben Schofield/BBC Bedford sewage works does not currently have capacity to treat effluent from Universal's planned theme park A new theme park is forecast to attract millions of visitors and create thousands of jo...
What happens when eight million Universal visitors need the loo? 2 hours ago Share Save Ben Schofield , Political correspondent, in Bedford and Naomi Richardson , Bedfordshire Share Save Ben Schofield/BBC Bedford sewage works does not currently have capacity to treat effluent from Universal's planned theme park A new theme park is forecast to attract millions of visitors and create thousands of jobs – and an awful lot of sewage. But the water treatment works close to Universal's planned site in Bedfordshire is already at capacity, and there are warnings that upgrade plans will need to be "sped through". In December, the government granted planning permission for the park on a former brickworks at Stewartby, about six miles (10km) south of Bedford town centre. Expected to open in 2031, it will be one of the biggest in the world, with rides that could be inspired by movies from James Bond to Jurassic World. The movie giant says it will create 8,000 permanent jobs and the park is expected to draw eight million visitors in its first year, potentially rising to 12 million by 2051. But Anglian Water says Bedford Water Recycling Centre (WRC) will not be able to cope with the park's output without a major upgrade. Currently, the plant has permission to return about 35 million litres of cleaned sewage back to the environment per day, in fair weather. According to planning documents, Universal could eventually send 10.6 million litres a day of "foul discharge" to the plant. Ben Schofield/BBC Geoff Darch says Anglian Water was already planning to expand Bedford's sewage works but will need to increase capacity even more Standing inside Bedford WRC, Geoff Darch, Anglian Water's head of strategic asset planning, says the site is "at its limit". The theme park will be "like an additional small town being added in to this area – so it's something we've got to take really seriously", he says. In November, Anglian Water told Bedford Borough Council's planning committee that up to 1,...
In recent days, Okta and external researchers have detailed a wave of sophisticated social engineering campaigns, including custom phishing-as-a-service kits and voice-phishing attacks, aimed at stealing single sign-on credentials and bypassing multi-factor authentication across Okta, Google, and Microsoft environments. Although these incidents are not rooted in product vulnerabilities, they spotl...
In recent days, Okta and external researchers have detailed a wave of sophisticated social engineering campaigns, including custom phishing-as-a-service kits and voice-phishing attacks, aimed at stealing single sign-on credentials and bypassing multi-factor authentication across Okta, Google, and Microsoft environments. Although these incidents are not rooted in product vulnerabilities, they spotlight how attackers increasingly exploit human behavior and real-time MFA interception, reinforcing the importance of phishing-resistant authentication and continuous identity governance. We’ll explore how this surge in advanced social engineering against Okta-managed identities shapes the company’s investment narrative and risk profile. The best AI stocks today may lie beyond giants like Nvidia and Microsoft. Find the next big opportunity with these 24 smaller AI-focused companies with strong growth potential through early-stage innovation in machine learning, automation, and data intelligence that could fund your retirement. What Is Okta's Investment Narrative? To own Okta, you have to believe identity will remain a central control point for security, and that Okta can turn its profitable, slower‑growth profile into durable, high‑margin cash generation despite a rich valuation. The latest wave of advanced social engineering and MFA‑bypass campaigns reinforces how critical Okta’s role is, but also sharpens its biggest risk: every high‑profile identity attack, even without a product flaw, can weigh on customer confidence and deal timing. By contrast, the new in‑country platform launch in India looks like a modest near‑term catalyst, supporting regulated and AI‑heavy customers rather than transforming growth on its own. With billings momentum already questioned and a US$1.00 billion buyback signaling management’s confidence, the key short term swing factors remain security perception, sales execution, and pricing power. However, one underappreciated risk could catch some shar...
Japanese video game publisher Capcom Co. posted its biggest single-day share gain in 18 months on Wednesday after December-quarter earnings beat expectations, helped by unexpectedly strong sales of older titles that bolstered optimism the company will surpass forecasts. The stock rose as much as 12% on Wednesday, the sharpest intraday jump since the summer of 2024, as investors recalibrated expect...
Japanese video game publisher Capcom Co. posted its biggest single-day share gain in 18 months on Wednesday after December-quarter earnings beat expectations, helped by unexpectedly strong sales of older titles that bolstered optimism the company will surpass forecasts. The stock rose as much as 12% on Wednesday, the sharpest intraday jump since the summer of 2024, as investors recalibrated expectations for the creator of the Street Fighter and Resident Evil series. The latter franchise of horror action games was a particular highlight over the December period, with several games doing better than anticipated. The Osaka-based entertainment company on Tuesday said game sales for the nine months through December rose 13.5% from a year earlier to a record 34.64 million copies. Titles released in prior fiscal years accounted for the bulk of the growth, showing Capcom effectively exploiting an established library of hits. The results helped shore up sentiment toward the whole video game sector, which has been under pressure following a negative shock from Ubisoft Entertainment SA the previous week, Bernstein analyst Robin Zhu said. Some investors may see this as an opportune time for a rotation of capital away from artificial intelligence-related stocks, he added. Read more: Ubisoft Plunges Most Ever on Guidance Cut, Canceled Games “Capcom comes on the back of a broader de-rating in the sector, with video gaming falling to the bottom of the Japan tech rotation after semiconductors and factory automation,” Zhu said. “With valuation multiples now lower, management sounding better, and the valuation premium Capcom trades at versus peers compressed to near zero, we expect sentiment to normalize and support the stock.” Investor confidence in Capcom had weakened after Monster Hunter Wilds , the latest installment from one of the company’s flagship franchises, fell short of sales expectations last year. Investors had bet the title would be a blockbuster and drive earnings growt...
KRAKacquisition ( KRAQU ), a blank-check SPAC backed by Kraken affiliates, priced its upsized IPO at $300M, including 30M units at $10 each, up from an initial 25M, with trading under "KRAQU" on Nasdaq starting January 28, 2026. Each unit comprises one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of a redeemable warrant, exercisable at $11.50 per share; separate trading of shares ( KRAQ ) and warrants ( ...
KRAKacquisition ( KRAQU ), a blank-check SPAC backed by Kraken affiliates, priced its upsized IPO at $300M, including 30M units at $10 each, up from an initial 25M, with trading under "KRAQU" on Nasdaq starting January 28, 2026. Each unit comprises one Class A ordinary share and one-fourth of a redeemable warrant, exercisable at $11.50 per share; separate trading of shares ( KRAQ ) and warrants ( KRAQW ) is expected later. The underwriters have a 45-day option to purchase up to 4.5M additional units at IPO price to cover over-allotments, if any. The closing is anticipated on January 29, 2026. More on Krakacquisition Corp Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Krakacquisition Corp Financial information for Krakacquisition Corp
ASML Holding NV ’s orders in the fourth quarter exceeded analysts’ expectations, as the rapid development of artificial intelligence infrastructure boosted demand for its cutting-edge chip-making machines. Bookings in the fourth quarter were a record €13.2 billion ($15.8 billion), driven by demand for its most sophisticated equipment, the Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company said in a statement on...
ASML Holding NV ’s orders in the fourth quarter exceeded analysts’ expectations, as the rapid development of artificial intelligence infrastructure boosted demand for its cutting-edge chip-making machines. Bookings in the fourth quarter were a record €13.2 billion ($15.8 billion), driven by demand for its most sophisticated equipment, the Veldhoven, Netherlands-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. That compares with an average analyst estimate of €6.85 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. ASML is the only producer of cutting-edge lithography machines that are needed to make advanced semiconductors, and counts all the leading chip manufacturers as customers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. and Intel Corp. Its machinery is integral to producing the Nvidia Corp. AI accelerators that are the backbone for training and running AI models in data centers. The Dutch company’s bookings are one signal of chipmakers’ confidence in future AI demand. Read More: ASML CEO Plots to Keep Pace With AI Demand and Nvidia’s Huang The AI boom has continued into 2026, defying concerns about about over-investment and helping push ASML’s market value over $500 billion this month. Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp . are among the companies that are pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into building data centers, driving chipmakers to increase capacity and in turn stoking demand for ASML’s products. TSMC said this month it anticipates capital spending of more than $52 billion in 2026, much of which will be toward advanced manufacturing techniques. More than half of last quarter’s bookings were for extreme ultraviolet, or EUV, lithography machines, totaling €7.4 billion, ASML said. “In the last months, many of our customers have shared a notably more positive assessment of the medium-term market situation, primarily based on more robust expectations of the sustainability of AI-related demand,” Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said in ...
(RTTNews) - Tech major Oracle Corp. (ORCL), which offers cloud infrastructure to TikTok, reportedly said that a temporary weather-related power outage at an Oracle data center caused the issues faced by U.S. users of the social media app. Reuters reported quoting Oracle spokesperson Michael Egbert's email that the challenges U.S. TikTok users may be experiencing were the result of technical issues...
(RTTNews) - Tech major Oracle Corp. (ORCL), which offers cloud infrastructure to TikTok, reportedly said that a temporary weather-related power outage at an Oracle data center caused the issues faced by U.S. users of the social media app. Reuters reported quoting Oracle spokesperson Michael Egbert's email that the challenges U.S. TikTok users may be experiencing were the result of technical issues that followed the power outage. Over the weekened, TikTok users across multiple regions in the US faced widespread service outage. They complained about not being able to login to the app, and also to load the videos. The companies said they were working to quickly resolve the major infrastructure issue. Last week, TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, had finalized a deal to set up a majority U.S.-owned joint venture, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, to avert a ban on the short video app used by more than 200 million Americans. The majority American board for TikTok's U.S. operations is closely aligned with President Donald Trump. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a longtime Trump ally, is central to the new ownership structure. A 2024 bipartisan law had required TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the app or face a U.S. ban due to national security concerns. Oracle closed Tuesday's regular trading 4.1 percent lower at $174.90. In the overnight trading, the shares were gaining 1.1 percent to trade at $176.76. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Google is bringing AI-powered photo editing to more users around the world, making it easier to fix your photos with simple text commands instead of complicated editing tools. The company announced Tuesday that it’s expanding natural language-based editing in Google Photos to additional countries, including Australia, India, and Japan. The feature, which Google first launched for Pixel 10 users in...
Google is bringing AI-powered photo editing to more users around the world, making it easier to fix your photos with simple text commands instead of complicated editing tools. The company announced Tuesday that it’s expanding natural language-based editing in Google Photos to additional countries, including Australia, India, and Japan. The feature, which Google first launched for Pixel 10 users in the U.S. last August, lets people describe the changes they want to make to their photos rather than manually adjusting sliders or learning complex editing software. Users in these newly supported countries will now see a “Help me Edit” box when they tap the edit option on a photo. From there, they can either select from suggested prompts or type their own requests in plain language. For example, you could ask the app to “remove the motorcycle in the background,” “reduce the background blur,” or use a more general command like “restore this old photo.” The AI can handle surprisingly specific requests too. You can ask it to edit a friend’s pose, remove their glasses, or even have them open their eyes in a photo where they blinked. The feature uses Google’s Nano Banana image model to transform photos, and all the processing happens directly within the app without requiring an internet connection for the actual editing. Loading the player… The feature will work on any Android device with at least 4GB of RAM running Android 8.0 or higher, meaning it’s not limited to Google’s own Pixel phones. Along with this geographic expansion, Google is also adding language support beyond English, including Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Bengali, and Gujarati, making the tool accessible to millions more users in their native languages. Google is also rolling out C2PA Content Credentials support in Google Photos for these countries. This metadata will indicate when an image was created or edited using AI. As AI-generated and AI-edited images become more common, social media platforms have be...