Trump Team Brokers Gold Deal With Venezuela: Up To 1,000 Kg Headed To U.S. Markets As things continue to pop off in the Middle East, the United States is still focused on Venezuela - and has brokered a multimillion-dollar gold deal. The agreement, first reported by Axios , involves the sale of between 650 and 1,000 kilograms of gold doré bars - which are semi-refined with approximately 98% gold co...
Trump Team Brokers Gold Deal With Venezuela: Up To 1,000 Kg Headed To U.S. Markets As things continue to pop off in the Middle East, the United States is still focused on Venezuela - and has brokered a multimillion-dollar gold deal. The agreement, first reported by Axios , involves the sale of between 650 and 1,000 kilograms of gold doré bars - which are semi-refined with approximately 98% gold content - from Venezuela's state-owned mining company, Minerven , to the global commodities trader Trafigura. The gold is destined for refineries in the United States , marking a shift in Venezuela's resource exports toward American markets. The deal, valued at roughly $163,000 per kilogram based on current gold prices amid global economic uncertainty, marks the third extraction contract overseen by the Trump administration since U.S. forces captured Maduro on January 3. It's part of a broader effort to stabilize and reconstruct Venezuela's economy under U.S. influence, with the White House asserting de facto control over the country's vast oil reserves - the world's largest known. The Role of Key Players in Facilitating the Agreement According to the report, U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum played a pivotal role in shepherding the contract - traveling to Venezuela to discuss opportunities in oil and minerals, while leveraging his position to bridge the gap between Minerven and Trafigura. Under a separate arrangement with the U.S. government, Trafigura will handle the delivery of the gold to American refineries, ensuring compliance and oversight. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, shake hands after their meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on Wednesday. (via Axios) This gold transaction is intertwined with larger oil deals, including contracts worth over $1 billion also involving Trafigura. President Trump highlighted the progress in a post on Truth Social, stating, "The oil is beginning to flow, and the ...
The Donald Trump administration is reportedly considering a new framework for exporting advanced artificial intelligence chips that could require foreign governments to invest in U.S. data centers. Proposed AI Chip Export Framework U.S. officials are debating a regulatory framework to govern exports of advanced AI chips produced by companies such as Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Dev...
The Donald Trump administration is reportedly considering a new framework for exporting advanced artificial intelligence chips that could require foreign governments to invest in U.S. data centers. Proposed AI Chip Export Framework U.S. officials are debating a regulatory framework to govern exports of advanced AI chips produced by companies such as Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) , Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a document. Under the proposal, countries seeking large quantities of chips — particularly shipments of 200,000 units or more — may be required to commit investments in U.S.-based AI infrastructure or provide government-level security guarantees. The framework is still under discussion and could change before being finalized, the report said. AMD and the White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments. Nvidia declined to comment. Shift From Biden-Era AI Export Policy The potential rules would mark a significant departure from the approach taken during the administration of Joe Biden, which largely exempted close U.S. allies from strict export limits. According to the draft, even relatively small installations involving fewer than 1,000 chips could require licenses. Exporters may also need to monitor chip usage, while recipients could be required to install software preventing the chips from being linked into large computing "clusters." Security Oversight And Investment Requirements Foreign companies requesting up to 100,000 chips may have to provide government-to-government assurances, while installations approaching 200,000 chips could face visits from U.S. export control officials, the report said. Saif Khan, a former national security official, told the publication that the rule could help the U.S. government prevent AI chips from being diverted to China. It can also support a more secure development of powerful AI supercomputers, but cautioned that the proposed licensing requiremen...
Trump Admin Weighs New Export Rules That Ties Chip Purchase From Likes Of Nvidia, AMD To Investments In US Data Centers: Report - Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) Benzinga
Trump Admin Weighs New Export Rules That Ties Chip Purchase From Likes Of Nvidia, AMD To Investments In US Data Centers: Report - Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) Benzinga
Tokyo [Japan], March 6 : Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held discussions with Peter Thiel, Co-Founder and Chairman of Palantir Technologies, at the Prime Minister's Office, focusing on advanced technology developments and cooperation. As per an official statement from the Japanese Prime Minister's office on March 5, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi received a courtesy call from Peter Thiel...
Tokyo [Japan], March 6 : Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held discussions with Peter Thiel, Co-Founder and Chairman of Palantir Technologies, at the Prime Minister's Office, focusing on advanced technology developments and cooperation. As per an official statement from the Japanese Prime Minister's office on March 5, Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi received a courtesy call from Peter Thiel at the Prime Minister's Office. The meeting brought together the Japanese government and one of the leading figures in the global technology sector to exchange views on the evolving landscape of advanced technologies. In a social media post, Japan's Prime Minister's Office said that the discussion between the two focused on advanced technology in Japan. During the interaction, Takaichi noted that the conversation covered the current state and prospects of advanced technology fields in both Japan and the United States. "I received a courtesy call from Peter Thiel, co-founder and chairman of Palantir Technologies Inc. We exchanged views on the current state and prospects of advanced technology fields in Japan and the United States, among other topics," the Japanese Prime Minister said. Palantir Technologies is a US-based technology company known for developing advanced data analytics platforms that help governments and businesses analyse large and complex datasets. The company provides software that integrates artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and machine learning to support decision-making. Its platforms are widely used by government agencies, defence organisations, financial institutions, and private companies to analyse data, detect patterns, and improve operational efficiency. The discussion between Takaichi and Thiel is considered important as advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and digital infrastructure are becoming central to economic growth and national security. Exchanges between policymakers and technology leaders ...
Marvell Technology NASDAQ: MRVL reported record results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026, driven by strength in data center demand, and management raised its outlook for fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 while highlighting a broader product and customer engagement footprint across AI infrastructure. Get Marvell Technology alerts: Sign Up Quarterly and full-year results For the fourth quarter ...
Marvell Technology NASDAQ: MRVL reported record results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2026, driven by strength in data center demand, and management raised its outlook for fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 while highlighting a broader product and customer engagement footprint across AI infrastructure. Get Marvell Technology alerts: Sign Up Quarterly and full-year results For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Marvell delivered record revenue of $2.219 billion, up 7% sequentially, which CEO Matt Murphy said exceeded the midpoint of guidance due to strong demand in the data center end market. Non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.80, which Murphy said was $0.01 above the midpoint of guidance. For fiscal 2026, Marvell reported revenue of $8.195 billion, up 42% year-over-year. Murphy said revenue grew approximately 45% year-over-year excluding the divested automotive Ethernet business. CFO Willem Meintjes added that full-year GAAP gross margin was 51% and GAAP operating margin was 16.1%, while non-GAAP gross margin was 59.5% and non-GAAP operating margin was 35.3%. Non-GAAP EPS for the year was $2.84, up 81% year-over-year. Marvell’s fourth-quarter mix remained heavily weighted toward data center demand. Meintjes said data center represented 74% of revenue, with communications and other contributing 26%. Fourth-quarter GAAP EPS was $0.46, and non-GAAP EPS grew 33% year-over-year to $0.80. Data center growth drivers: interconnect, switching, and custom Murphy said fourth-quarter data center revenue was a record $1.65 billion, up 9% sequentially and 21% year-over-year, with sequential growth across optical interconnects, custom silicon, switching, and storage. For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, management expects data center revenue to grow about 10% sequentially, including a seasonal decline in on-premise data center revenue. In interconnect, Murphy pointed to robust demand for 800G products and said Marvell is seeing strong bookings for 1.6T solutions, which entered...
phongphan5922/iStock via Getty Images Key Takeaways Markets: U.S. equities finished a strong 2025 albeit with more subdued gains in the fourth quarter, with the S&P 500 Index rising 2.7% during the period to end the year up 17.9%. Value stocks outpaced growth in the quarter across all market caps as the market pivoted from recent high-momentum AI winners and leadership broadened. The benchmark Rus...
phongphan5922/iStock via Getty Images Key Takeaways Markets: U.S. equities finished a strong 2025 albeit with more subdued gains in the fourth quarter, with the S&P 500 Index rising 2.7% during the period to end the year up 17.9%. Value stocks outpaced growth in the quarter across all market caps as the market pivoted from recent high-momentum AI winners and leadership broadened. The benchmark Russell 1000 Value Index gained 3.8% for the quarter, capping off a 15.9% return for 2025. Contributors: Stock selection in financials and health care, underweights to real estate and consumer staples and a health care overweight were beneficial. Detractors: Stock selection in the IT, materials, consumer discretionary and industrials sectors detracted. Outlook: Thanks to our long duration, we see the recent selloff in high-quality businesses as a significant opportunity, and we have recently initiated or added to positions in several at attractive valuations. Performance Review During the fourth quarter, quality stocks across the market cap spectrum underperformed the broader market by the widest margin since the late 1990s. This was a headwind to the Strategy, which trailed the Russell 1000 Value in the quarter as several high-quality long-term holdings sold off. Within information technology ( IT ), long-term portfolio holding Motorola Solutions ( MSI ) sold off as its revenue growth rate continued to normalize in its core land mobile radio (LMR) devices business; the company is working off an unusually high backlog created by COVID-era government funding programs. While its LMR devices business is slowing, we think the company has augmented its core franchise with faster-growing adjacencies and increased its mix of software and services. We think Motorola Solutions is a core holding for our Strategy that offers attractive risk-reward at current valuation given a sustainable mid-single-digit top-line growth rate with continuously improving profit margins. Our high-quality bi...
Justice Department publishes some missing Epstein files related to Trump toggle caption Department of Justice and Getty Images/Collage by Danielle A. Scruggs/NPR The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld. They include 16 new pages that cover three a...
Justice Department publishes some missing Epstein files related to Trump toggle caption Department of Justice and Getty Images/Collage by Danielle A. Scruggs/NPR The Justice Department has published additional Epstein files related to allegations that President Trump sexually abused a minor after an NPR investigation found dozens of pages were withheld. They include 16 new pages that cover three additional FBI interview summaries with a woman who accused Trump of sexual abuse decades ago when she was a minor. Also included are two pages of an intake form documenting the initial call to the FBI from a friend who relayed the claims. DOJ removed, withheld Epstein files related to accusations about Trump : NPR NPR's investigation previously found 53 pages that appeared to be missing from the public database. Now that these documents are published, there are still 37 pages of records still missing from the public database, including notes from the interviews, a law enforcement report and license records. New Epstein files related to Trump | DocumentCloud Sponsor Message The Justice Department has repeatedly told NPR that any documents withheld were "privileged, are duplicates or relate to an ongoing federal investigation." Last week, after NPR's initial story, the Justice Department said it was determining if records had been mistakenly tagged as duplicates and if any were found, "the Department will of course publish it, consistent with the law." More detail, but less contextThe interview documents are part of more than 1,000 new pages published to the Epstein files public database Thursday that also include what appears to be the complete case file from the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell initiated in 2006. The new documents go into more detail about the allegations made against both Trump and Epstein when the woman was between 13 to 15 years old. An FBI email summarizing the claims and a Justice Department PowerPoint slide deck note the woman ...
In this article CAAS Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier stands guard in front of the National Museum of China in Beijing on March 3, 2025, ahead of the country's annual legislative meetings known as the "Two Sessions." Pedro Pardo | Afp | Getty Images China has set its lowest growth target in decades, acknowledging domestic challenges a...
In this article CAAS Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT A Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldier stands guard in front of the National Museum of China in Beijing on March 3, 2025, ahead of the country's annual legislative meetings known as the "Two Sessions." Pedro Pardo | Afp | Getty Images China has set its lowest growth target in decades, acknowledging domestic challenges and pointing to global uncertainty, while keeping some stimulus measures in place to counter a possible ramp up in external shocks. Beijing on Thursday announced its GDP growth target for 2026 at 4.5% to 5% , the least ambitious goal since early 1990s. The lower target range leaves room for policymakers to "react to the external environment, which has seen increased uncertainty this year," Danyang Shen, head of the team that drafted the target-setting report, told reporters Thursday, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese. "Factors that are uncertain and difficult to predict may turn out to be more numerous than anticipated," he said, noting that "everyone has seen the latest global trend." Barely three months into 2026, Beijing is facing heightened economic risks as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, a critical oil supplier to China, risks Beijing's energy supply — that comes against the backdrop of the ouster of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, another major oil supplier to China. China has reportedly ordered the largest state oil refiners to suspend exports of diesel and gasoline amid worries that the ongoing Iran conflict could disrupt easy access to energy. The U.S. military action in Middle East has also led to concerns over whether a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this month would take place as planned. watch now VIDEO 5:09 05:09 China's 2026 targets: Defense, stability, security The China Connection The lowered GDP target also recognizes the seriousness of persistent domestic growth headwinds. Chinese Pre...
TA Associates is considering selling bubble-tea maker Gong cha, according to people with knowledge of the matter. TA is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. on the potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. A transaction might value Gong cha at about $2 billion, the people said. Deliberations are at an early stage and no final decision has been ma...
TA Associates is considering selling bubble-tea maker Gong cha, according to people with knowledge of the matter. TA is working with JPMorgan Chase & Co. on the potential deal, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. A transaction might value Gong cha at about $2 billion, the people said. Deliberations are at an early stage and no final decision has been made, the people said. TA didn’t respond to requests for comment. JPM declined to comment. TA specializes in five target industries — technology, financial services, health care, consumer and business services, according to its website . The private equity firm invested in Gong cha in 2019 . Gong cha was founded in Taiwan and now has more than 2,000 outlets in 23 countries, offering various types of teas and smoothies, its website shows.