Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said it has been ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeal to disclose details of its coal, transport and diesel procurement contracts to activist group Afriforum. South Africa’s state power utility said in a statement late Tuesday it will take legal advice before taking any action. Afriforum will assemble a team to scrutinize the contracts, Business Day reported on Wednesday....
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said it has been ordered by the Supreme Court of Appeal to disclose details of its coal, transport and diesel procurement contracts to activist group Afriforum. South Africa’s state power utility said in a statement late Tuesday it will take legal advice before taking any action. Afriforum will assemble a team to scrutinize the contracts, Business Day reported on Wednesday. Eskom buys more than 70 billion rand ($4.1 billion) of coal annually and has argued that the contracts are commercially sensitive. The ruling could mean that all state-owned companies are obliged to disclose the details of their procurement, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said, adding that Eskom may be able to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
The first boat of a flotilla carrying medical supplies, food and solar panels reached Cuba on Tuesday to aid the island as a US fuel blockade deepens its energy crisis. The Maguro shrimp fishing boat docked in Havana three days later than hoped after battling strong winds, currents and a pesky battery during its journey from Mexico. As they approached Havana’s colonial-era fortification, the inter...
The first boat of a flotilla carrying medical supplies, food and solar panels reached Cuba on Tuesday to aid the island as a US fuel blockade deepens its energy crisis. The Maguro shrimp fishing boat docked in Havana three days later than hoped after battling strong winds, currents and a pesky battery during its journey from Mexico. As they approached Havana’s colonial-era fortification, the international activists stood on the cabin roof of the boat - symbolically renamed “Granma 2.0” as a...
The disruption to shipping traffic along the Strait of Hormuz is starting to bite in China, where some manufacturers are reducing production due to soaring energy, raw material and freight costs. Zhao, who runs a bicycle factory in Guangzhou serving clients in the United States, Middle East and Europe, has already put most export business on hold. “We also cancelled all orders from Iran,” he said....
The disruption to shipping traffic along the Strait of Hormuz is starting to bite in China, where some manufacturers are reducing production due to soaring energy, raw material and freight costs. Zhao, who runs a bicycle factory in Guangzhou serving clients in the United States, Middle East and Europe, has already put most export business on hold. “We also cancelled all orders from Iran,” he said. “The cost of aluminium, a key raw material for bicycle production, has risen by 30 per...
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to France this week to try to sell America's skeptical Group of Seven allies on the Iran war that has sent global fuel prices soaring. (Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to France this week to try to sell America's skeptical Group of Seven allies on the Iran war that has sent global fuel prices soaring. (Image credit: Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
BlakeDavidTaylor Meta Platforms' ( META ) rollout of new display-equipped Ray-Ban smart glasses in the European Union has reportedly been hampered by battery and AI regulations in addition to supply constraints. The social networking giant wants to launch the product in the EU but has been unable to secure enough supply, Bloomberg reported. Meta is also in discussions with the EU about the battery...
BlakeDavidTaylor Meta Platforms' ( META ) rollout of new display-equipped Ray-Ban smart glasses in the European Union has reportedly been hampered by battery and AI regulations in addition to supply constraints. The social networking giant wants to launch the product in the EU but has been unable to secure enough supply, Bloomberg reported. Meta is also in discussions with the EU about the battery law and is seeking a carve-out for smart glasses developed both by it and other companies, the report added. The EU's batteries regulation requires that from February 18, 2027 portable batteries in devices sold on the EU market be readily removed. Meta's smart glasses do not have removable batteries. Meta ( META ) earlier this year said it has decided to pause international expansion of its Ray-Ban Display glasses due to short supply and strong demand in the United States. The Facebook parent had planned to roll out its augmented reality smart glasses, Meta Ray-Ban Display, in the UK, France, Italy, and Canada starting early this year after tasting success with earlier versions. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses , developed with EssilorLuxottica's ( ESLOF ) Ray-Ban, let wearers take photos, stream content, and talk to an AI assistant. A New York Times report last month described the company’s internal deliberations on adding facial recognition capabilities to its popular smart glasses. The technology could come as soon as this year, the paper reported. More on Meta, EssilorLuxottica ADR Meta Platforms: The AI Spending Spree Is Out Of Control Meta Platforms: 16x Adjusted FY2026 P/E Is A Solid Buy Delays, Compute Deals, And Sky-High CapEx: Why I'm Still Bullish On Meta Meta Platforms raises top executive pay with stock options amid intensifying AI race Meta found guilty by N.M. jury in child safety trial; receives $375M penalty
Key PointsThe U.S. Justice Department has charged three Super Micro Computer employees with selling restricted hardware to China in violation of export laws.
Key PointsThe U.S. Justice Department has charged three Super Micro Computer employees with selling restricted hardware to China in violation of export laws.
Chinese artificial intelligence service stocks rallied after state media highlighted a sharp increase in domestic AI model adoption and a surge in token usage they generate. Shares of Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd. , known as Zhipu, rose as much as 8% in Hong Kong on Wednesday, while peer MiniMax Group Inc. ’s stock pared earlier gains. Data-center operators also advanced, with Beijing Sinnet...
Chinese artificial intelligence service stocks rallied after state media highlighted a sharp increase in domestic AI model adoption and a surge in token usage they generate. Shares of Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd. , known as Zhipu, rose as much as 8% in Hong Kong on Wednesday, while peer MiniMax Group Inc. ’s stock pared earlier gains. Data-center operators also advanced, with Beijing Sinnet Technology Co. and GDS Holdings Ltd. gaining, as expectations build for continued capacity demand. Token consumption, which measures data units processed by AI models for generating text and other outputs, is emerging as a key metric for monetizing AI offerings, China Central Television reported Tuesday, citing Liu Liehong, head of the National Data Administration. Rising usage and an escalating competitive landscape may influence sector valuations in the months ahead. Companies like MiniMax and Zhipu “are the clearest beneficiaries of rising token usage, which looks set to continue,” said Vey-Sern Ling , a managing director at Union Bancaire Privee. “The issue with those companies is a lack of visibility on profitability, especially given increasing competition.” China’s token consumption jumped 57% in the week of March 16–22 from the prior period, far outpacing 7.4% growth in the US, state-backed Science and Technology Daily reported Tuesday. Separately, daily token usage has expanded more than 1,000-fold since the start of 2024, according to China Daily . Chinese large language models, including DeepSeek-V3.2 and MiniMax M2.5, are seeing a sharp rise in token usage as falling costs spur broader adoption and AI agents such as Openclaw gain traction across applications. Increased government promotion of token consumption has also provided an additional tailwind for AI-related sectors.
RealPeopleGroup/E+ via Getty Images Investment overview I wrote about Academy Sports and Outdoors ( ASO ) previously with an upgrade to a buy rating as the underlying demand has gotten better and the strategy of opening new stores is working. As for this update, I agree that a lot of things are moving in the right direction for ASO, but the one metric that still matters most has not fully turned y...
RealPeopleGroup/E+ via Getty Images Investment overview I wrote about Academy Sports and Outdoors ( ASO ) previously with an upgrade to a buy rating as the underlying demand has gotten better and the strategy of opening new stores is working. As for this update, I agree that a lot of things are moving in the right direction for ASO, but the one metric that still matters most has not fully turned yet: traffic. That is why I am still downgrading to hold for now. 4Q25 Earnings ASO reported its Q4 2025 earnings last week, with net sales coming in at $1.7 billion, up 2.5% y/y. The growth came largely from new stores and higher tickets, as comparable sales fell 1.6%. The mix was transactions down 6.4% and tickets up 5.1%. What came out positive was that gross margin expanded 140 bps y/y to 33.6%, and that appears to be structural, as management said most of the expansion came from supply chain efficiency gains and also lapping costs from the previous year's port disruption. SG&A as a percentage of sales was up 70 bps y/y, driven by $21 million growth in SG&A, but the majority of that happened because of new-store growth. At the bottom line, adj. net income was $132.9 million, down 4.3% y/y, while adj. EPS was $1.97, up 0.5% y/y. The Operating Base is Improving While I am staying neutral on ASO, I do think there are improvements that are worth highlighting. I will start with the digital side of things. Traction here is great, as ASO's e-commerce business grew 13.6% in FY2025 (way better than the headline revenue growth figure), and management said the reasons were better search, a better site experience, and the launch of Scout (AI assistant). These are practical changes that can improve how customers shop. Specifically, better search makes it easier to find the right product. A better site experience reduces friction. And if Scout helps shoppers navigate the site more effectively, that should support conversion as well. This matters for understanding ASO's digital segment...