BHP Group ’s incoming Chief Executive Officer Brandon Craig has not ruled out dealmaking as a key part of the mining giant’s growth strategy. The company is focused on copper when it comes to acquisitions, Craig said in a speech at the Bank of America Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference in Miami on Tuesday. Copper has been a key growth engine for BHP, which saw earnings from the metal used in...
BHP Group ’s incoming Chief Executive Officer Brandon Craig has not ruled out dealmaking as a key part of the mining giant’s growth strategy. The company is focused on copper when it comes to acquisitions, Craig said in a speech at the Bank of America Global Metals, Mining & Steel Conference in Miami on Tuesday. Copper has been a key growth engine for BHP, which saw earnings from the metal used in electrification overtake steel ingredient iron ore in the six months to Dec. 31. “We’ll continue disciplined, consistent growth — developing the pipeline already in front of us and staying ready to act when value-accretive opportunities emerge,” Craig said. “The point is not growth for growth’s sake; it is value-accretive growth that ultimately matters.” Craig, who steps into the role on July 1 replacing Mike Henry , has largely been seen as a continuity pick by the BHP board. Global miners are shifting into a more assertive expansion phase, marked by sizable acquisitions, after a long stretch of cautious growth in the wake of past overspending. Under Henry, BHP twice attempted takeovers of fellow mining major Anglo American Plc , which both ultimately failed. Craig takes over the leadership of the world’s top miner as the ripple effects of war in the Middle East cast some doubt in banking circles over dealmaking of size. “One of my priorities will be ensuring we have options to grow well beyond 2035,” Craig said. “That means increasing exploration, seeking opportunities to partner with peers to unlock value in adjacent operations, and by executing smaller ‘bolt-on’ acquisitions when the value case supports them.”
Shares of Ambiq Micro (NYSE: AMBQ) soared on Tuesday after the maker of extremely power-efficient chips reported a surge in sales. Image source: Getty Images. Ambiq's revenue soared 59% year over year to $25 million in the first quarter. Continue reading
Shares of Ambiq Micro (NYSE: AMBQ) soared on Tuesday after the maker of extremely power-efficient chips reported a surge in sales. Image source: Getty Images. Ambiq's revenue soared 59% year over year to $25 million in the first quarter. Continue reading
Earnings Call Insights: The Beachbody Company (BODI) Q1 2026 Management View "Total revenue for Q1 was $54.3 million, which came in above the high end of our guidance" (Executive Chairman Mark Goldston). "We delivered our third consecutive quarter of net income at $2.3 million" and "operating income was $3.1 million," while "gross margin remained strong at 71.8%" (Executive Chairman Goldston). "As...
Earnings Call Insights: The Beachbody Company (BODI) Q1 2026 Management View "Total revenue for Q1 was $54.3 million, which came in above the high end of our guidance" (Executive Chairman Mark Goldston). "We delivered our third consecutive quarter of net income at $2.3 million" and "operating income was $3.1 million," while "gross margin remained strong at 71.8%" (Executive Chairman Goldston). "As of March 31, our cash balance was $36.6 million against outstanding debt principal of approximately $25 million" (Executive Chairman Goldston). "The cornerstone of our growth strategy is a pivot towards a heavier emphasis on nutrition" (Executive Chairman Goldston). "Now we're freed from the MLM commission constraints, and we can price our new nutritional products at dramatically lower price points" (Executive Chairman Goldston), including "a $34.95 retail price point versus our previous price point, which was $129 for a 30-serve pack" for Shakeology (Executive Chairman Goldston). "Shakeology will be carried in more than 80 Sprouts Farmers Market stores" and "Shakeology will now be carried by Vitamin Shoppe across its more than 640 stores" (Executive Chairman Goldston). Goldston also described an outsourced retail operating model: "We've outsourced virtually every aspect of our supply chain and distribution infrastructure" and said the company keeps in-house "marketing, brand management, product innovation and R&D" (Executive Chairman Goldston). "P90x Generation -- next launched in early February" and the company has launched "a P90x preworkout, P90x hydration, P90x creatine, P90x Recovery protein and P90x fast-acting energy" (CEO Carl Daikeler). Daikeler tied the product push to commerce changes: "The P90x supplement line launched with our long overdue transition over to the Shopify e-commerce platform" (CEO Daikeler). "For the quarter, total revenues of $54.3 million declined 2.3% sequentially and declined 25% year-over-year" (Interim CFO Brad Ramberg). "Digital revenue ...
Earnings Call Insights: National CineMedia (NCMI) Q1 2026 Management View "We entered the year with strong momentum from the holiday period, both in attendance and advertiser demand, and our first quarter played out largely as we anticipated." (CEO & Director Thomas Lesinski) "On a reported basis, NCM delivered total revenue of $34 million and adjusted OIBDA of negative $10.5 million, both within ...
Earnings Call Insights: National CineMedia (NCMI) Q1 2026 Management View "We entered the year with strong momentum from the holiday period, both in attendance and advertiser demand, and our first quarter played out largely as we anticipated." (CEO & Director Thomas Lesinski) "On a reported basis, NCM delivered total revenue of $34 million and adjusted OIBDA of negative $10.5 million, both within the guidance ranges we provided last quarter." (CEO & Director Lesinski) "In terms of the first quarter, the domestic box office grew approximately 25% year-over-year, with attendance across our network reaching 83 million, up 15% versus the prior year." (CEO & Director Lesinski) "In April, we announced a partnership to deploy large digital displays in high-impact lobby placements across 77% of AMC theaters nationwide, focusing on its highest traffic locations." (CEO & Director Lesinski) "During the first quarter, we implemented an operational transformation to streamline the organization and accelerate our adoption of AI where it creates the most leverage." (CEO & Director Lesinski) "Collectively, these actions are expected to generate approximately $11 million in annualized cost savings on a run-rate basis." (CEO & Director Lesinski) "Total revenue for the first quarter was $34 million, within our guidance range and reflecting the anticipated factors I just outlined." (Chief Financial Officer Ronnie Ng) Outlook "For the second quarter, we expect revenue to be between $57 million and $63 million, and adjusted OIBDA to be between $1 million and $5 million." (Chief Financial Officer Ng) "Our guidance reflects the strong outlook in the overall slate for the second quarter, which is expected to drive a year-over-year increase in attendance and higher theater exhibition fees." (Chief Financial Officer Ng) "Additionally, we anticipate improved monetization in the quarter, driven by our unified Platinum network and stronger local performance." (Chief Financial Officer Ng) "Our re...
Court cases in Kenya point to a growing market for ants as exotic pets in Asia and Europe that has implications for conservation and biosecurity In the biblical text Book of Proverbs, King Solomon describes the harvester ant as a model of wisdom and industriousness: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” Almost 3,000 years later, the thriving international parallel market fo...
Court cases in Kenya point to a growing market for ants as exotic pets in Asia and Europe that has implications for conservation and biosecurity In the biblical text Book of Proverbs, King Solomon describes the harvester ant as a model of wisdom and industriousness: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” Almost 3,000 years later, the thriving international parallel market for a distinct species of the ant native to east Africa has been thrust into the global spotlight after a series of convictions in Kenya for ant smuggling. Continue reading...
From supermarkets to corner shops, live facial recognition could be coming to retailers near you. Jessica Murray on the AI systems increasingly used by the police and stores Live facial recognition is being hailed as a powerful new frontier in the fight against crime, not only by police but by private companies too. Retailers from supermarkets to corner shops hope it will help them fight back agai...
From supermarkets to corner shops, live facial recognition could be coming to retailers near you. Jessica Murray on the AI systems increasingly used by the police and stores Live facial recognition is being hailed as a powerful new frontier in the fight against crime, not only by police but by private companies too. Retailers from supermarkets to corner shops hope it will help them fight back against shoplifting. But the Guardian’s social affairs correspondent, Jessica Murray , points out that it will also expand surveillance into more and more public spaces. And the technology doesn’t always get it right. Continue reading...
ByteDance’s Volcano Engine, the cloud unit that released an OpenClaw-based cloud agent tool ArkClaw, is betting that the next phase of artificial intelligence will hinge on cheaper tokens, higher inference efficiency and longer context windows. “Agent-related token consumption still accounts for a single-digit percentage of total token usage, but it is growing,” said Li Guodong, chief architect of...
ByteDance’s Volcano Engine, the cloud unit that released an OpenClaw-based cloud agent tool ArkClaw, is betting that the next phase of artificial intelligence will hinge on cheaper tokens, higher inference efficiency and longer context windows. “Agent-related token consumption still accounts for a single-digit percentage of total token usage, but it is growing,” said Li Guodong, chief architect of ArkClaw, on Tuesday on the sidelines of OpenClaw’s first mainland China event since the open-source...
Sony’s new flagship doesn’t look much like its predecessors. | Image: Sony / The Verge Sony's Xperia 1 flagships have looked more or less the same since 2020 , but that's finally changing with the Xperia 1 VIII, which moves to a chunky square camera island. The phone also boasts what should be a substantially improved telephoto camera, along with an AI camera assistant that looks like an improved ...
Sony’s new flagship doesn’t look much like its predecessors. | Image: Sony / The Verge Sony's Xperia 1 flagships have looked more or less the same since 2020 , but that's finally changing with the Xperia 1 VIII, which moves to a chunky square camera island. The phone also boasts what should be a substantially improved telephoto camera, along with an AI camera assistant that looks like an improved version of Google's Camera Coach. While every previous Xperia 1 phone has had three vertical cameras, and the last six have positioned them in the same top-left corner spot, the 1 VIII mixes things up. The three lenses are now laid out in a square block, together with the flash and a Sony logo, that's raised from the phone but slopes … Read the full story at The Verge.
The Bank of Japan’s policy rate is expected to reach 2% by the end of 2027, according to a new estimate from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Assuming inflation remains around 2%, the current policy rate is still near the lower end of a range that would be neutral for the economy, the OECD said in its economic surveys released Wednesday. It added that the BOJ should cont...
The Bank of Japan’s policy rate is expected to reach 2% by the end of 2027, according to a new estimate from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Assuming inflation remains around 2%, the current policy rate is still near the lower end of a range that would be neutral for the economy, the OECD said in its economic surveys released Wednesday. It added that the BOJ should continue raising interest rates gradually to prevent the economy from overheating. The report marks the OECD’s first survey on Japan since January 2024 , when the BOJ’s policy rate was still in negative territory. The latest projection comes as the BOJ continues to roll back the degree of easing in its monetary settings, as it moves toward a neutral level, the rate seen as neither stimulating nor restraining economic activity. The central bank has previously estimated Japan’s nominal neutral rate lies somewhere between 1.1% and 2.5%, while noting significant uncertainty around the exact level. The OECD’s 2% estimate is more hawkish than projections from other institutions, including the International Monetary Fund, which expects the terminal rate for the current tightening cycle to be around 1.5%. The median estimate among 49 economists surveyed by Bloomberg in April was also 1.5%. On fiscal policy, the OECD emphasized the need to build buffers amid an aging population, rising debt-servicing costs, as well as expected increases in spending on areas such as defense. The group recommended that Japan gradually raise its consumption tax, noting it could generate substantial revenue while causing relatively limited long-term harm to economic growth. Japan’s consumption tax currently stands at 10%, among the lowest in the OECD. That recommendation runs counter to the ongoing domestic debate over temporarily lowering taxes on food, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi considers steps to help households contend with rising costs of living. The OECD argued that a better approach would be to...
Chinese government appears to be using the workaround of a different character to represent part of the secretary of state’s name, to allow him to visit the country for the upcoming Trump summit US secretary of state Marco Rubio is heading to Beijing with president Donald Trump despite being under Chinese sanctions – a breakthrough that might have been made possible after China changed his name’s ...
Chinese government appears to be using the workaround of a different character to represent part of the secretary of state’s name, to allow him to visit the country for the upcoming Trump summit US secretary of state Marco Rubio is heading to Beijing with president Donald Trump despite being under Chinese sanctions – a breakthrough that might have been made possible after China changed his name’s transliteration. As a US senator, Rubio , who is visiting China for the first time, fiercely championed human rights in China, which retaliated by imposing sanctions on him twice – adopting a tactic more often used by the US against adversaries. Continue reading...