Taiwan revised up its economic growth forecast for this year as demand for tech goods in the AI era tops worries about the Iran war boosting energy costs. Gross domestic product is expected to expand 9.64% in 2026, the statistics bureau in Taipei said in a statement on Friday, up from its previous 7.71% estimate . GDP grew by 14.55% in the first quarter, topping the median estimate of 13.70% by ni...
Taiwan revised up its economic growth forecast for this year as demand for tech goods in the AI era tops worries about the Iran war boosting energy costs. Gross domestic product is expected to expand 9.64% in 2026, the statistics bureau in Taipei said in a statement on Friday, up from its previous 7.71% estimate . GDP grew by 14.55% in the first quarter, topping the median estimate of 13.70% by nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The figure is the fastest since 1981. Demand from the AI buildout is beyond expectations, the bureau said in a statement. The economy of the hub for advanced tech like semiconductors has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI era. It grew some 8.7% last year, among the top performances globally. Underscoring the outlook for more of the same, Taiwanese tech firms have completed a record $14.5 billion of debt deals so far this year as they race to secure financing to meet soaring demand for AI capacity. Read More: AI Boom Fuels Record $14.5 Billion in Taiwan Tech Firm Borrowing And this week, C.C. Wei, chief of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. , told staff they’ll see more than a 30% bump in their profit-sharing payouts this year on average. The chipmaker to Nvidia Corp . and Apple Inc . reported some $18.2 billion in earnings from the March quarter, more than double what it brought in over the same period two years earlier. Propelled by AI, Taiwan stocks trade near a record, and the local bourse just passed India as the world’s fifth-biggest by market cap. The AI boom is keeping the economy soaring even though the three-month-old war in Iran has roiled global oil markets. This week, Taiwan, which imports some 96% of its energy, said that industrial output rose nearly 14.2% from a year earlier. While robust, that was the slowest since March last year and a sign that higher energy costs were affecting segments of the economy besides tech, especially those linked to oil and coal. US Eases Some Tariffs on Taiwan to Formali...
Broadcom (NasdaqGS:AVGO) has introduced multiple Wi-Fi 8 systems-on-chip for routers and mesh networks. The company launched what it describes as the first 50G PON home gateway SoC with integrated on-device AI and security features. Broadcom announced a global fixed wireless access reference design with Samsung that combines 5G and Wi-Fi 8 for mass-market broadband. The company also revealed a col...
Broadcom (NasdaqGS:AVGO) has introduced multiple Wi-Fi 8 systems-on-chip for routers and mesh networks. The company launched what it describes as the first 50G PON home gateway SoC with integrated on-device AI and security features. Broadcom announced a global fixed wireless access reference design with Samsung that combines 5G and Wi-Fi 8 for mass-market broadband. The company also revealed a collaboration with FuriosaAI to co-develop third-generation AI accelerators and rack-scale inference platforms for hyperscale data centers. For anyone tracking NasdaqGS:AVGO, these announcements sit at the crossroads of connectivity, broadband and AI hardware. Broadcom already supplies core chips across networking, storage and wireless, and Wi-Fi 8 plus 50G PON keep it present in home and enterprise access equipment. At the same time, the new collaborations reach into data center AI, an area that remains a key focus for many chipmakers and cloud providers. The FWA partnership with Samsung and the rack-scale AI work with FuriosaAI show Broadcom extending its technology into both the edge and the data center. If you are assessing the stock, these moves may be relevant for how you think about the breadth of its product stack, customer relationships and exposure to demand for AI-capable connectivity. Stay updated on the most important news stories for by adding it to your or . Alternatively, explore our to discover new perspectives on Broadcom. NasdaqGS:AVGO Earnings & Revenue Growth as at May 2026 For Broadcom, this cluster of Wi-Fi 8 launches and AI-focused partnerships broadens its reach across both home broadband and data center infrastructure. On the access side, the BCM677x router chips and the 50G BCM68850 gateway SoC point squarely at operators that want multi-gigabit, low power customer premises equipment with on-device AI and security. The fixed wireless access platform with Samsung extends that into 5G-based broadband, giving carriers a template that mixes 5G downlink s...
Canadian Government Is Crushing Indie Media With Two Sneaky Policies Canada is not only going the way of Europe with the country's draconian speech laws, it is in many ways surpassing the suppression and censorship across the Atlantic. The speed at which the population is being robbed of their freedoms is staggering, and much of this is being done through backdoor bureaucracy. One factor that cons...
Canadian Government Is Crushing Indie Media With Two Sneaky Policies Canada is not only going the way of Europe with the country's draconian speech laws, it is in many ways surpassing the suppression and censorship across the Atlantic. The speed at which the population is being robbed of their freedoms is staggering, and much of this is being done through backdoor bureaucracy. One factor that consistently frustrated the globalist Trudeau regime during the pandemic lockdowns was the Canadian public's access to national and international independent media. Even with political leaders working directly with social media giants to censor users, truthful data outside of the institutional filters was still being effectively spread by alternative journalists and news sites. This ultimately led to a large enough backlash in Canada and the US that eventually, covid mandates had to be abandoned. Indie journalists were central to the effort to expose pandemic fallacies promoted by politicians as "science". It would seem that in Canada, the elites are quickly working to close that loophole. Mere proximity to the US makes censorship projects more difficult for the Canadian government, though incrementalism is well underway and "hate speech" laws in Canada are used on occasion to silence dissent, specifically on transgender issues. But officials are utilizing two sneaky policies as a way to subvert indie media outlets without directly shutting them down. The first policy is the Canadian Online News Act passed in 2023. This bill was presented as a way to force Big Tech intermediaries like Google and Facebook to share profits they derive from the flow of content created by mostly smaller digital media providers (indie media). It requires large online platforms to compensate Canadian news outlets for making their content available—through links, snippets, sharing, or search results. The Act argues that platforms benefit from news content (driving engagement and traffic) without fairl...
There's been a massive selloff in the bond market and rates are rising globally. Japan, Korea, the UK... You name it. Gita Gopinath — Harvard economics professor and the former first deputy managing director of the IMF — has long warned that bond markets are "in a fragile place." She sees a combo of demographics, high levels of public debt, and the intense capital needs of the AI boom creating inf...
There's been a massive selloff in the bond market and rates are rising globally. Japan, Korea, the UK... You name it. Gita Gopinath — Harvard economics professor and the former first deputy managing director of the IMF — has long warned that bond markets are "in a fragile place." She sees a combo of demographics, high levels of public debt, and the intense capital needs of the AI boom creating inflationary pressure all around the world. Today we speak with Gopinath about the seeming disconnect between stocks and bonds and why investors may be wrong to assume that governments will have their back the next time there's a major shock. (Source: Bloomberg)
solarseven European equity markets edged up on Friday, influenced by increased optimism from Middle East diplomacy. This was balanced by concerns over localized geopolitical issues and high inflation data. A 60-day U. S.-Iran ceasefire proposal aimed at stabilizing energy flows coincided with border tensions after a Russian drone incident in Romania, during broader attacks on Ukrainian infrastruct...
solarseven European equity markets edged up on Friday, influenced by increased optimism from Middle East diplomacy. This was balanced by concerns over localized geopolitical issues and high inflation data. A 60-day U. S.-Iran ceasefire proposal aimed at stabilizing energy flows coincided with border tensions after a Russian drone incident in Romania, during broader attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure near the border. Meanwhile, rising inflation in France added complexity to the European Central Bank's interest rate decisions. London ( UKX ) +0.12% at 10,438.66 . Germany ( DAX:IND ) +0.13% to 25,135.92 . I mport prices increased 5.3% year-on-year in April 2026, accelerating sharply from a 2.3% rise in the previous month and in line with market forecasts. On the data front, attention will be particularly focused on preliminary German inflation figures for May. France ( CAC:IND ) +0.60% to 8,238.66 . Flash data revealed France’s EU-harmonized inflation rate climbed to 2.8% in May, the highest since February 2024. Meanwhile, France’s Q1 2026 GDP was revised down to a 0.1% contraction. In other parts of Europe, Spain’s preliminary annual inflation held steady at 3.2% in May 2026, matching April's pace and coming in cooler than the 3.4% market forecast. Concurrently, Sweden's economy contracted 0.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, confirming initial flash estimates and sliding past expectations of a milder 0.1% decline. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ( STOXX) traded 0.35% higher to 627.26 . European natural gas futures fell below €47 per MWh. Investors also turned their attention to inflation and labor market data from across the region for clues on the future path of monetary policy from the European Central Bank. In the bond market , the yield on the US 10-year Treasury was slightly changed to 4.457%. The UK's 10-year yield was slightly changed to 4.833%. Germany's 10-year yield was slightly changed to 2.968% Currencies: ( EUR:USD ) ( GBP:USD ) ( CHF:USD ) ...
Brandon Bell Tesla's ( TSLA ) authorized robotaxi fleet in Texas is less than one-tenth the size of Waymo's ( WAYMO ), a database on the state's Department of Motor Vehicles website showed. According to the database, Tesla ( TSLA ) has 42 authorized robotaxis in Texas, while the Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Waymo ( WAYMO ) has 577 registered vehicles. Tesla ( TSLA ) also trails other robotaxi operator...
Brandon Bell Tesla's ( TSLA ) authorized robotaxi fleet in Texas is less than one-tenth the size of Waymo's ( WAYMO ), a database on the state's Department of Motor Vehicles website showed. According to the database, Tesla ( TSLA ) has 42 authorized robotaxis in Texas, while the Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Waymo ( WAYMO ) has 577 registered vehicles. Tesla ( TSLA ) also trails other robotaxi operators in the state - Nebius ( NBIS )-owned Avride has 317 authorized robotaxis and Nuro has 47. Meanwhile, Amazon's ( AMZN ) Zoox ( ZOOX ) has 35 authorized robotaxis in Texas. The records were published in the database as a new law took effect in Texas on Thursday, tightening oversight for commercial self-driving vehicles. Waymo ( WAYMO ) started robotaxi operations in Texas through a partnership with Uber ( UBER ) last March, while Tesla ( TSLA ) began in June 2025. Tesla ( TSLA ) Robotaxi service is available in limited areas of Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas. Waymo ( WAYMO ) operates in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. More on Tesla, Waymo Tesla's Own Auditors Say The Growth Narrative Is Currently 'Not Probable' Tesla's Robotaxi Opportunity Is Dead In Light Of Waymo's Dominance Waymo's $16B Round Drives PE Investment Surge In AVs Waymo recalls robotaxis after flooded road incident
Brandon Bell Tesla's ( TSLA ) authorized robotaxi fleet in Texas is less than one-tenth the size of Waymo's ( WAYMO ), a database on the state's Department of Motor Vehicles website showed. According to the database, Tesla ( TSLA ) has 42 authorized robotaxis in Texas, while the Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Waymo ( WAYMO ) has 577 registered vehicles. Tesla ( TSLA ) also trails other robotaxi operator...
Brandon Bell Tesla's ( TSLA ) authorized robotaxi fleet in Texas is less than one-tenth the size of Waymo's ( WAYMO ), a database on the state's Department of Motor Vehicles website showed. According to the database, Tesla ( TSLA ) has 42 authorized robotaxis in Texas, while the Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Waymo ( WAYMO ) has 577 registered vehicles. Tesla ( TSLA ) also trails other robotaxi operators in the state - Nebius ( NBIS )-owned Avride has 317 authorized robotaxis and Nuro has 47. Meanwhile, Amazon's ( AMZN ) Zoox ( ZOOX ) has 35 authorized robotaxis in Texas. The records were published in the database as a new law took effect in Texas on Thursday, tightening oversight for commercial self-driving vehicles. Waymo ( WAYMO ) started robotaxi operations in Texas through a partnership with Uber ( UBER ) last March, while Tesla ( TSLA ) began in June 2025. Tesla ( TSLA ) Robotaxi service is available in limited areas of Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas. Waymo ( WAYMO ) operates in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. More on Tesla, Waymo Tesla's Own Auditors Say The Growth Narrative Is Currently 'Not Probable' Tesla's Robotaxi Opportunity Is Dead In Light Of Waymo's Dominance Waymo's $16B Round Drives PE Investment Surge In AVs Waymo recalls robotaxis after flooded road incident
michelangeloop/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The major studios released 97 films in theaters in 2025, the largest number since the COVID-19 pandemic; however, 19 of those films were re-releases, and the other 78 were new films. The number of films released by major studios has been increasing nearly every year since 2020, approaching the 112-film average over the 2011-2019 period prior to the ...
michelangeloop/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The major studios released 97 films in theaters in 2025, the largest number since the COVID-19 pandemic; however, 19 of those films were re-releases, and the other 78 were new films. The number of films released by major studios has been increasing nearly every year since 2020, approaching the 112-film average over the 2011-2019 period prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 97 films from 2025 are estimated to generate nearly $22.14 billion in total revenue, up 5.9% from the $20.92 billion generated by the 86 films released in 2024. Total estimated revenues are approximately 74.7% of the $29.65 billion from the 2019 films. Total costs for the 2025 films are down 2.8% to $15.91 billion, spurred by a 4.3% drop in negative costs and a 9.3% drop in domestic prints and advertising (P&A) costs, resulting in net profit growing 36.8% to $6.23 billion and a 28.2% margin. The 104 films from 2019 made $7.29 billion in net profit and had a 24.6% margin. Walt Disney Co.'s ( DIS ) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures had the top slate again in 2025, largely thanks to "Zootopia 2" and "Lilo & Stitch," which grossed a combined $2.91 billion in worldwide box office. The studio's 14 films are estimated to generate $6.15 billion in total revenue over their lifecycles and cost $3.74 billion. The result is $2.41 billion in net profit and a 39.2% net profit margin. Disney's "Zootopia 2" was 2025's top film by projected net profit. We estimate the film will take in $1.34 billion in net profit from $1.98 billion in total revenue and $639.8 million in total costs. We estimate the 2025 film slates for five other major studios will turn a profit: Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.'s ( WBD ) Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. with $1.34 billion, Comcast Corp.'s ( CMCSA ) Universal Pictures with $1.01 billion, Sony Group Corp.'s ( SONY ) Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. with $730.2 million, Walt Disney Co.'s 20th Century Studios with $638.1 million and Lionsga...
undefined As mid-2026 approaches, the clock is ticking on one of the most ambitious and high-stakes financial cleanups in China’s recent history. In late 2024, Beijing rolled out a sweeping 12 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) package of policies to resolve a significant portion of the country’s officially recognized hidden local government debt , amassed during decades of credit-fueled infrastructure...
undefined As mid-2026 approaches, the clock is ticking on one of the most ambitious and high-stakes financial cleanups in China’s recent history. In late 2024, Beijing rolled out a sweeping 12 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) package of policies to resolve a significant portion of the country’s officially recognized hidden local government debt , amassed during decades of credit-fueled infrastructure-building. The campaign to eliminate the hidden debt is largely on track to meet the government’s mid-2027 deadline, thanks to a massive bond-swap program that has shifted these liabilities onto local government balance sheets. But the arguably more difficult task of tackling the murkier, more sprawling world of operational debt held by thousands of local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) is running into complications, partly in the form of a tangle of high-interest, noncompliant debt that banks are reluctant to touch. This stalemate is contributing to a growing liquidity strain for LGFVs, which can roll over their principal but are increasingly struggling to pay the interest, raising concerns about a buildup of default risks. The easy part first The primary goal of the debt resolution plan was clear: eliminate all hidden debts and remove the thousands of LGFVs from a centrally managed list by the end of June 2027. The main tool was the 12 trillion yuan package, including special-purpose bonds (SPBs) issued by local governments to swap out their high-cost hidden liabilities for lower-interest, longer-term official debt. From the central government’s perspective, progress has been made. Finance Minister Lan Fo’an said the outstanding balance of hidden debt fell by 3.8 trillion yuan from the end of 2023 to 10.5 trillion yuan by the end of 2024. The number of LGFVs on the official list — estimated to be around 18,000 initially — also plummeted, shrinking by 71% from March 2023 to September 2025, according to official data. With at least about 4 trillion yuan in SPB funds s...
Key Points Your Social Security benefits are calculated based on your 35 highest-paid years of earnings. If you retire in your 50s, you may not have a chance to work for 35 years. Early retirement could result in smaller monthly checks, but delaying your claim could help make up for that. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › For many people, retiring in their 50s s...
Key Points Your Social Security benefits are calculated based on your 35 highest-paid years of earnings. If you retire in your 50s, you may not have a chance to work for 35 years. Early retirement could result in smaller monthly checks, but delaying your claim could help make up for that. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › For many people, retiring in their 50s sounds like the ultimate financial goal. Leaving the workforce early can offer more freedom, less stress, and extra time to enjoy life while your health is still in good shape. But stepping away from work for good in your 50s could have a major impact on your Social Security checks. It's important to understand how retiring in your 50s might impact your future income, aside from needing your savings to last longer. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » How Social Security benefits are calculated Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings history -- specifically, your highest 35 years of income. But if you retire in your 50s, you may not spend 35 years in the labor force. For example, let's say you got your first job at 22 and you retire at 52. That's 30 years of earnings only, which means that for the remaining five years in your benefits formula, you'll have $0 factored in. Those $0s could reduce the retirement benefits you're entitled to, whereas working five extra years and avoiding those $0s could lead to larger Social Security checks. The impact of retiring in your 50s on your Social Security checks could be even more substantial if you took time off earlier in your career or had much lower wages in your 20s and 30s. If you reach your peak earnings around age 50 but retire just a few years later, you could end up with a monthly Social Security benefit you aren't as happy wi...
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The education ministry said Friday that Taiwan and the US have launched a semiconductor education alliance to train more workers for the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries. The alliance was launched at the 2026 US-Taiwan Semiconductor Higher Education Networking Event. Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) and American Institute in Taiwan Washington Offic...
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The education ministry said Friday that Taiwan and the US have launched a semiconductor education alliance to train more workers for the semiconductor and artificial intelligence industries. The alliance was launched at the 2026 US-Taiwan Semiconductor Higher Education Networking Event. Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) and American Institute in Taiwan Washington Office Executive Director Ingrid D. Larson witnessed the signing by the Foundation for International Cooperation in Higher Education of Taiwan Chair Li Tsai-yen (李蔡彥) and American Association of State Colleges and Universities President Charles Welch. The ministry said the cooperation will include degree and non-degree programs, overseas training, workshops, and short-term exchanges. Schools may also add internships with companies to help students gain job skills. So far, 23 Taiwan universities with semiconductor training programs and English-taught courses have joined the alliance. Of these, 20 sent representatives to the US event. On the US side, 27 member schools of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities attended the event. The ministry said the turnout showed strong interest from both sides in deeper education cooperation. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities was founded in 1971 and represents public colleges and universities in the US. The ministry said the group plays an important role in US higher education. The ministry said the new alliance builds on Taiwan-US education cooperation that began in 2020. It added that Taiwan has strong experience in training semiconductor workers, from research to practical skills. Taiwan and the US also signed an agreement to extend a memorandum on international education cooperation for five years. The ministry said the semiconductor education alliance will help attract more US students and young professionals to study and train in Taiwan.