Meta Platforms' massive AI capex, custom chips and mega clusters contrast with Super Micro Computer's cash strain, giving META a diversified edge in AI infrastructure.
Meta Platforms' massive AI capex, custom chips and mega clusters contrast with Super Micro Computer's cash strain, giving META a diversified edge in AI infrastructure.
The government has been trying to send me back to France under the ‘one in, one out’ policy. The threats to my life there don’t seem to matter The writer is an asylum seeker in the UK I did not come to the UK on a small boat because I was reckless, desperate or careless with my life. I came because every legal door was closed to me. And the danger I faced at home left me with no real choice. Now, ...
The government has been trying to send me back to France under the ‘one in, one out’ policy. The threats to my life there don’t seem to matter The writer is an asylum seeker in the UK I did not come to the UK on a small boat because I was reckless, desperate or careless with my life. I came because every legal door was closed to me. And the danger I faced at home left me with no real choice. Now, however, I am staring down the barrel of a British government policy that could put me in harm’s way again. In my home country, I had a stable job helping manage an oilfield. I was not a failure and was not running towards Europe for a better salary or an easier life. I was running away from power, corruption and injustice. I had to flee because of a powerful, influential individual who targeted me. Where I am from, when someone like that decides to destroy you, there is no protection, no court you can rely on and no future. I tried many times to leave my country legally, but no other country would accept my case. The situation became urgent. Staying meant serious harm or death. I first went to France – but even there I did not feel safe. I knew the person I was running from could reach me. The power of smugglers, human trafficking networks and organised crime in France is well known to asylum seekers. I received threats and my family received threats as well. I lived in constant fear. That is why I made the most dangerous decision of my life: to cross the Channel on a small boat. After I left France to travel to the UK, my family received a call from a French number threatening to harm me. They said that they hadn’t managed to catch me while I was in France – but that if I returned there, they would get me. The writer is an asylum seeker in the UK. As told to Diane Taylor A Home Office spokesperson said, “We cannot be clearer: migrants arriving in the United Kingdom illegally on a small boat can expect to be sent back to France. Do you have an opinion on the issues raised ...
Jonathan Ferro, Lisa Abramowicz and Annmarie Hordern speak daily with leaders and decision makers from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. No other program better positions investors and executives for the trading day. (Source: Bloomberg)
Jonathan Ferro, Lisa Abramowicz and Annmarie Hordern speak daily with leaders and decision makers from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. No other program better positions investors and executives for the trading day. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Canadian oil industry’s two-year reprieve from pipeline bottlenecks may be nearing an end as global crude glut weighs on prices. Enbridge Inc. rationed the most space on its Mainline pipeline system for February than in any month since March 2024, which was before the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline added almost 600,000 barrels a day of export capacity for Western Canada. Shippers on the Main...
The Canadian oil industry’s two-year reprieve from pipeline bottlenecks may be nearing an end as global crude glut weighs on prices. Enbridge Inc. rationed the most space on its Mainline pipeline system for February than in any month since March 2024, which was before the expanded Trans Mountain pipeline added almost 600,000 barrels a day of export capacity for Western Canada. Shippers on the Mainline were required to cut the volumes they seek to send by 22% for dense, high-sulfur oil from Alberta’s oil sands and by 24% for light crude, a practice known as apportionment. The increase in rationing threatens to widen the discount for Canadian oil at a time when crude prices are already falling amid a glut of supplies. Oil sands production is particularly exposed after the US overthrew Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. President Donald Trump has said the US plans to sell as much as 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude — a grade similar to Canadian heavy oil — onto the international market following the leadership change. The discount of Canadian heavy crude in Alberta to a monthly average for the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate has widened to $14.80 a barrel from about $13 a barrel before Maduro’s capture, according to Modern Commodities and General Index pricing. Canada’s oil producers have benefited from almost two years of ample pipeline capacity, particularly since the Trans Mountain expansion began operating in May 2024. The line, which runs from Alberta to the Vancouver area, allowed oil-sands producers to export significant volumes to China for the first time and reduced the reliance on US refiners. Since then, Canadian heavy crude has traded at an average discount of about $12 a barrel to the US benchmark, compared with almost $17 a barrel in the year before the expansion. Read More: Trump’s Venezuela Oil Grab Pushes Chinese Refiners to Canada Pipeline bottlenecks became so severe that Alberta imposed production limits on large prod...
Investors should consider hedging ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs, as “an unexpected decision” to allow some of the Trump administration’s most sweeping levies to stand would trigger volatility, according to strategists at Jefferies. “A surprise ‘tariffs upheld’ ruling would likely jolt markets, since most have priced in relief,” the strategists, led by Aniket Shah , wrote in a Wedn...
Investors should consider hedging ahead of the Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs, as “an unexpected decision” to allow some of the Trump administration’s most sweeping levies to stand would trigger volatility, according to strategists at Jefferies. “A surprise ‘tariffs upheld’ ruling would likely jolt markets, since most have priced in relief,” the strategists, led by Aniket Shah , wrote in a Wednesday note. Shah recommended investors consider tools such as put options or instruments linked to volatility “as prudent insurance.” Investing in sectors that are likely to keep getting a break from levies, such as food and other staples, could also offer protection, the Jefferies strategists wrote. Markets have coalesced around the view that the court is likely to strike down the sweeping tariffs, a position that the strategists share. But expectations for a quick ruling haven’t materialized while trade tensions have rekindled amid a standoff between the US and Europe over Donald Trump’s push to take control of Greenland. The court does not have another scheduled courtroom session until Feb. 20, meaning a decision is unlikely before then. The past weeks have underscored the risk of volatility if the justices disappoint investors, with stocks such as Mattel Inc. and Deere & Co. taking a hit on Jan. 9 when the court didn’t issue an anticipated ruling in the case. The S&P 500 slid on Tuesday after Trump threatened fresh tariffs on eight European countries. The benchmark bounced back Wednesday, rising 1.1%, after Trump said he would not use force to acquire the world’s largest island. “If the Court upholds IEEPA tariffs, it likely green‑lights continued use of tariffs as policy leverage,” the Jefferies strategists wrote, referring to the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. “This would keep trade‑related headline risk elevated in 2026.” Read More: A US Trader’s Guide to the Supreme Court’s Looming Tariff Ruling
PDD saw its revenue growth drop from 131% in early 2024 to just 9% by the third quarter of 2025. Photo: VCG Chinese e-commerce firm PDD Holdings Inc. has been fined 100,000 yuan ($14,359) by tax authorities for failing to report merchant income data — a modest regulatory penalty that paradoxically sent the company’s shares sharply higher, as markets interpreted the move as a sign of easing complia...
PDD saw its revenue growth drop from 131% in early 2024 to just 9% by the third quarter of 2025. Photo: VCG Chinese e-commerce firm PDD Holdings Inc. has been fined 100,000 yuan ($14,359) by tax authorities for failing to report merchant income data — a modest regulatory penalty that paradoxically sent the company’s shares sharply higher, as markets interpreted the move as a sign of easing compliance uncertainty. The Shanghai office of the State Taxation Administration cited PDD’s domestic operating unit, Shanghai Xunmeng Information Technology Co. Ltd., for not submitting tax-related information for third-quarter 2025. Officials had ordered the company to rectify the issue in November, but the data was not filed in time, prompting an administrative sanction, official Xinhua News Agency reported Wednesday.
The groundbreaking singer, actor and athlete became a victim of McCarthyism and saw his shining career destroyed and his legacy tarnished In August 1972, the front page of the New York Times arts section published a story titled, Time to Break the Silence on Paul Robeson? The legendary bass-baritone spent the first half of the 20th century as one of the greatest talents the US had ever produced, a...
The groundbreaking singer, actor and athlete became a victim of McCarthyism and saw his shining career destroyed and his legacy tarnished In August 1972, the front page of the New York Times arts section published a story titled, Time to Break the Silence on Paul Robeson? The legendary bass-baritone spent the first half of the 20th century as one of the greatest talents the US had ever produced, and its second, both in life and in death as an outcast, the greatest casualty of the second Red Scare period to which today’s current attacks on liberal and progressive politics draw comparison. This week marks 50 years since Robeson’s death and the silence remains. His erasure from the lineage over the decades shows that what Robeson’s political opponents did not take from him, the years have most certainly. Robeson’s decoupling from the story of African American culture has been so complete that in the half-century since his death, even generations of Black Americans have never heard of him. Continue reading...
Tory leader says delay will harm children’s mental health after No 10 said it would consult on policy by summer As a parent – and a Conservative – I know that banning social media for under-16s is the right thing to do Kemi Badenoch has called on Keir Starmer to “just get on” with a ban on social media for under-16s, saying delay is a dereliction of duty that is harming children’s mental health. A...
Tory leader says delay will harm children’s mental health after No 10 said it would consult on policy by summer As a parent – and a Conservative – I know that banning social media for under-16s is the right thing to do Kemi Badenoch has called on Keir Starmer to “just get on” with a ban on social media for under-16s, saying delay is a dereliction of duty that is harming children’s mental health. After the government said it would consult on a social media ban for under-16s by the summer , the Conservative party leader urged the prime minister to act more quickly, “however difficult to implement” it would be. Continue reading...
Archaeologists say stencil painted with ochre in limestone cave on Muna Island was created at least 67,800 years ago The faded outline of a hand on a cave wall in Indonesia may be the world’s oldest known rock art, according to archaeologists who say it was created at least 67,800 years ago. The ancient hand stencil was discovered in a limestone cave popular with tourists on Muna Island, part of s...
Archaeologists say stencil painted with ochre in limestone cave on Muna Island was created at least 67,800 years ago The faded outline of a hand on a cave wall in Indonesia may be the world’s oldest known rock art, according to archaeologists who say it was created at least 67,800 years ago. The ancient hand stencil was discovered in a limestone cave popular with tourists on Muna Island, part of south-eastern Sulawesi, where it had gone unnoticed between more recent paintings of animals and other figures. Continue reading...
In this week’s newsletter: how mass exodus is bringing Cuba closer to collapse, Iran protests, and the new motorway dividing Mumbai In a world where geopolitical flashpoints push global media to focus on a narrow group of countries, turning vast regions into virtual news deserts, Cuba is a remarkable exception. For decades, it was scrutinised intensively; now it has slipped into obscurity as an un...
In this week’s newsletter: how mass exodus is bringing Cuba closer to collapse, Iran protests, and the new motorway dividing Mumbai In a world where geopolitical flashpoints push global media to focus on a narrow group of countries, turning vast regions into virtual news deserts, Cuba is a remarkable exception. For decades, it was scrutinised intensively; now it has slipped into obscurity as an undercovered Caribbean island. Rather than adopting the ideological biases that shaped 20th-century debates about Cuba under Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, I recently sought to show the Guardian’s global audience the challenging circumstances faced by the Cuban people , which were evident when I visited Havana. Continue reading...
Sony Group Corp. introduced its latest pair of consumer earbuds, with a clip-on design that resembles recent efforts from Bose Corp. , Lenovo Group Ltd. ’s Motorola unit and Huawei Technologies Co. The $230 LinkBuds Clip, announced Wednesday with immediate availability, join a subcategory of open-style earbuds that sit outside the ear canal, promising better situational awareness than regular buds...
Sony Group Corp. introduced its latest pair of consumer earbuds, with a clip-on design that resembles recent efforts from Bose Corp. , Lenovo Group Ltd. ’s Motorola unit and Huawei Technologies Co. The $230 LinkBuds Clip, announced Wednesday with immediate availability, join a subcategory of open-style earbuds that sit outside the ear canal, promising better situational awareness than regular buds. This design, different brands claim, makes it easy to have conversations with those nearby or hear what’s happening around you even with music playing at a moderate volume. Some people also find them more comfortable to wear throughout the day. Although Sony has offered open-ear earphones before, the LinkBuds Clip are its first with a clip-on style. But there can be trade-offs with this design: Bass tones typically aren’t as rich, and clip-style earbuds often lack active noise cancellation for those moments when users would prefer to silence a sudden cacophony of sound. People in close proximity can sometimes also hear whatever music is being played. To help mitigate the latter issue, the LinkBuds Clip have a dedicated “sound leakage reduction” mode that should make the earbuds less audible to others, according to Sony. A separate “voice boost” mode is optimized for podcast and audiobook clarity. Sony has included an optional silicone “cushion” accessory that fits onto the LinkBuds Clip, improving the comfort for those with small ears or anyone who prefers a tighter fit. The earbuds also have a water resistance rating of IPX4, meaning they can withstand sweat or light exposure to water — say, a walk in the rain. The earbuds can last for as long as nine hours on a charge, according to Sony, topping out at 37 hours of playback time when you factor in the included charging case. Three minutes of charging can restore the buds’ batteries to an hour’s worth of capacity, the company added. Sony has also sought to improve call quality compared with previous LinkBuds models. The C...
It looked like a rock concert: hundreds of the world’s rich and powerful stood in a massive line for a precious seat to hear US President Donald Trump deliver his speech in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. After a two-hour wait, the doors to the World Economic Forum’s congress hall closed to the disappointment of many who had to scramble for spots in four overflow rooms to watch him on television sc...
It looked like a rock concert: hundreds of the world’s rich and powerful stood in a massive line for a precious seat to hear US President Donald Trump deliver his speech in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. After a two-hour wait, the doors to the World Economic Forum’s congress hall closed to the disappointment of many who had to scramble for spots in four overflow rooms to watch him on television screens. The exclusive crowd included executives of top companies, academics and politicians – even...