Germany’s gas storage operators are set to face a “difficult” stockpiling season this summer as it’s unprofitable to refill the vast sites, according to the country’s market manager. “Summer prices are relatively high, while winter 2026/27 prices are more or less at the same level, so there is no incentive to buy gas in summer and pay for storage,” said Torsten Frank , managing director of Trading...
Germany’s gas storage operators are set to face a “difficult” stockpiling season this summer as it’s unprofitable to refill the vast sites, according to the country’s market manager. “Summer prices are relatively high, while winter 2026/27 prices are more or less at the same level, so there is no incentive to buy gas in summer and pay for storage,” said Torsten Frank , managing director of Trading Hub Europe GmbH . “That makes it very difficult for storage operators to sell their storage capacities for the next year.” Europe’s gas storage sites are back in focus after the coldest winter since the energy crisis led to hefty withdrawals in recent months. Germany is the region’s biggest gas market and also has the largest storages. Those sites are now just over 26% full, well below the average for the season. Two German gas storage operators have already notified the energy regulator of plans to shut their facilities amid waning profitability, with regulatory approval for the closures still pending. The sites are Uniper SE’s Breitbrunn facility and Bayernugs GmbH’s Wolfersberg. Trading Hub Europe monitors the situation at every gas storage individually, but currently sees no need to intervene and remains in close contact with the economy ministry, Frank said in an interview at the E-world conference in Essen. Ahead of next winter, “some storages might only need additional filling in September to meet the October threshold, while others may need to start already in July or August,” he said. Introduced during the 2022 energy crisis, storage targets were designed to ensure sufficient gas supplies for winter. But European inventories have repeatedly struggled to reach required levels, a problem policymakers and traders alike expect to re-emerge in 2026. German officials are preparing to push for an end to EU-wide storage targets after 2027, eying a smaller, nationally managed strategic reserve instead. “This winter is effectively over, as the relevant threshold applied onl...
Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM - Free Report) by 31.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,792 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,106 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengese...
Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM - Free Report) by 31.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,792 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,106 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $2,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 26.7% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 12,046,792 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,728,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537,760 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 6,650,983 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,506,389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,006,745 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 109.5% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,526,160 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $798,640,000 after purchasing an additional 1,842,951 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 268.2% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,499,677 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $566,152,000 after buying an additional 1,820,852 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ...
Given that combination is probably the most common skin type, it’s frustratingly under-served, especially when it comes to moisturisers. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. In practice, day creams, lotions and gels marketed for those with a combination of dry, balanced and oily areas often only play to the ...
Given that combination is probably the most common skin type, it’s frustratingly under-served, especially when it comes to moisturisers. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. In practice, day creams, lotions and gels marketed for those with a combination of dry, balanced and oily areas often only play to the latter condition. They add no oil and shine to the chin, nose and forehead, but offer only fleeting comfort to tight, parched areas around the cheeks. A thoughtfully formulated combination skin moisturiser that gives lasting, soothing hydration without becoming greasy and clogging is consequently rare – but it does exist, usually in a hybrid gel-cream texture. I’m not entirely sure why Caudalie’s VinoHydra Gel Moisturiser is (at £20 for a 60ml tube) so much cheaper than the rest of the luxury French skincare brand’s line, but I assume it serves as a metaphorical gateway drug to get you hooked. Don’t loiter and fill your basket, is my advice. This contains soothing aloe, hydrating glycerin and fine, lightweight oils that sink in fast and behave well under makeup. Creams marketed for combination skin often offer little comfort to parched areas on the cheeks Bioderma’s Hydrabio Gel-Cream Moisturiser (£18) does its job so well that even dry skins will like it. I was shocked by how long my naturally very low moisture levels remained topped up underneath this fresh, lightweight, cloudy gel – even in cold weather. The key is likely the inclusion of squalane, which feels and moisturises like an oil, but isn’t technically one and therefore doesn’t clog congestion-prone pores. The men in my life enjoyed using it too, and didn’t balk at the price. I’ve long admired the textures in Summer Fridays’ skincare line. Lightweight but luxurious, they’re fast and faff-free. So while their new Cloud Dew Gel Cream (from £17) is too slight for my own skin, I could instantly feel why a combination...
Duma member Vitaly Milonov didn’t mince words when asked four years ago about the international ban against Russian athletes. “There’s no point in humiliating ourselves and begging to be let in,” said the St Petersburg deputy, a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. “We have our pride.” International events had been corrupted by the United States, he claimed in a 2022 interview, just wee...
Duma member Vitaly Milonov didn’t mince words when asked four years ago about the international ban against Russian athletes. “There’s no point in humiliating ourselves and begging to be let in,” said the St Petersburg deputy, a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. “We have our pride.” International events had been corrupted by the United States, he claimed in a 2022 interview, just weeks after the International Olympic Committee and other governing bodies imposed the ban. “Only Russia can say no. Other countries will accept whatever nonsense the Americans force on them – teams of vegans, queers and lesbians.” Some Russian commentators have taken similar stances toward this year’s Milano Cortina Winter Games, asking why their athletes should even bother with the Olympics. The Paris Games were said to be a cesspool of un-Russian immorality – “the Olympics from hell,” one news site proclaimed. And with the national team still excluded, competition this year will be subpar. “The Olympics have lost their importance as a global competition,” Milonov said in January. Disgruntled Duma members can badmouth the Olympics all they want. The fact is the world’s biggest sporting event is still significant for Moscow, not only as a showplace for its top athletes but also as a political tool. As far back as the 1950s, Soviet leaders saw the Olympics and world championships as a means of demonstrating their country’s superiority. Putin has had this same aim throughout his decades in power, especially as his government has struggled to maintain infrastructure, public health and education. As political scientist Nina Kramareva explained to me, “Russia has nothing concrete to offer its own people. It has to give them gold medals.” To get its national team back in the hunt for Olympic medals, Russia must clear two hurdles. First is the ongoing fallout from the doping scandal that broke in 2014. After investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed a massive, state-di...
Juliana Conceição startled awake as the first shots of an infamous day were fired in the Complexo da Penha, the labyrinthine Rio favela where she was born and raised. It was 4.30am on 28 October. Thousands of police had surrounded the community’s barricaded entrances and were preparing to swarm up its streets on foot and in black armoured personnel carriers with firing ports and bullet-cracked bal...
Juliana Conceição startled awake as the first shots of an infamous day were fired in the Complexo da Penha, the labyrinthine Rio favela where she was born and raised. It was 4.30am on 28 October. Thousands of police had surrounded the community’s barricaded entrances and were preparing to swarm up its streets on foot and in black armoured personnel carriers with firing ports and bullet-cracked ballistic windows. Clouds of smoke fouled the dawn air as drug traffickers torched tyres and cars and opened fire from above. “It was like the shooting was inside our house … like we were in the middle of a war,” said Conceição, who sheltered indoors as her neighbourhood became a battleground. By nightfall, the father of her six children, Ronaldo Julião da Silva, would lie dead in a nearby alley – one of 122 people killed in the deadliest police operation in Brazilian history. Five of the victims were police. View image in fullscreen Juliana Conceição, whose ex-husband, Ronaldo Julião da Silva, was one of those shot dead during the police operation in the Complexo da Penha. Relatives insist he was not involved in crime. Photograph: Alan Lima/The Guardian “It happened just down here,” Conceição said 10 days after the 17-hour raid, as she led the way down the passageway where her ex-husband was found, his skull and hand shredded by gunfire. View image in fullscreen Ana Beatriz shows a photograph of her father, Ronaldo Julião da Silva, 46, taken shortly before he was shot dead. Photograph: Alan Lima/The Guardian She carried a yellow certificate attributing Silva’s death – a day after his 46th birthday – to “cerebral and cardiac laceration [caused by] perforating blunt force”. The bricklayer’s place of death was given as Saint Luke Square, the plaza at the foot of the favela where scores of bodies were dumped after police withdrew. But his life actually ended half a mile away, as he tried to reach his home on the favela’s southern rim. “My dad wasn’t a crook. My dad was a worker,”...
The death in a horse riding accident of a Chinese government official while filming to promote the beauty of a local area has sparked heated online discussions about the phenomenon of “official influencers”. On January 11, He Jiaolong fell from a horse while filming for an agricultural e-commerce programme in the Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, northern China, and suffered a s...
The death in a horse riding accident of a Chinese government official while filming to promote the beauty of a local area has sparked heated online discussions about the phenomenon of “official influencers”. On January 11, He Jiaolong fell from a horse while filming for an agricultural e-commerce programme in the Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, northern China, and suffered a severe head injury. She was rushed to hospital but died from her injuries on January 14. She was 47. He Jiaolong rides her horse dressed in a festive outfit across a snowy expanse in Xinjiang. Photo: nfnews He had served as the director of Xinjiang’s Agricultural Product Brand Development and Marketing Service Centre since 2023. Advertisement In a video she posted on her account, which has 6.7 million followers, on the last day of 2025, He said she had been working too hard to enjoy leisure time or be with her family. She added that she never regretted her choice as she had to promote the agricultural products from her hometown to the outside world. Advertisement He was one of the first Chinese government officials to become an online influencer.
Company credits NVIDIA Inception and Microsoft Founders Hub support as it prepares public launch of its Security Analytics Mesh (SAM™) WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Security 2.0, Inc., an AI Consultancy, today announced it has been awarded an Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract by the U.S. Federal Government in support of the Golden Dome initiative with the Mi...
Company credits NVIDIA Inception and Microsoft Founders Hub support as it prepares public launch of its Security Analytics Mesh (SAM™) WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Security 2.0, Inc., an AI Consultancy, today announced it has been awarded an Indefinite Delivery / Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract by the U.S. Federal Government in support of the Golden Dome initiative with the Missile Defense Agency. The award places Security 2.0, Inc. in a highly competitive group of trusted contractors supporting one of the nation’s most critical defense missions—advancing integrated missile defense, situational awareness, and decision-support capabilities across a rapidly evolving global threat environment. “This award represents a major milestone for Security 2.0,” said Dr. James Hall, a service-disabled veteran-owned business owner (SDVOSB), with 23 years of military service. He is the Founder and CEO of Security 2.0, Inc., and served on the founding team that initially created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002, when the Homeland Security Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush. “Golden Dome demands intelligence systems that move at the speed of modern threats. Our SAM™ Intelligence Layer was designed precisely for this moment, fusing data, analytics, and AI-driven insight into a unified operational picture that supports real-world decision-making.” The SAM™ Intelligence Layer At the core of Security 2.0’s platform is SAM™ (Security Analytics Mesh)—an AI-native modular intelligence layer purpose-built to operate across domains including defense, public safety, infrastructure protection, financial risk, and media intelligence. Under the Golden Dome IDIQ, SAM will support government use cases ranging from intelligence discovery and signal correlation to predictive risk modeling and explainable AI outputs aligned with federal requirements. Powered by NVIDIA and Microsoft Security 2.0 also emphasized the importance of its participation ...
Pam Bondi to face questions from House lawmakers about her helm of the DOJ toggle caption Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify Wednesday on Capitol Hill where she's expected to face questions about the Justice Department's targeting of President Trump's political foes and its handling of the Epstein files. Bondi's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee c...
Pam Bondi to face questions from House lawmakers about her helm of the DOJ toggle caption Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Attorney General Pam Bondi is set to testify Wednesday on Capitol Hill where she's expected to face questions about the Justice Department's targeting of President Trump's political foes and its handling of the Epstein files. Bondi's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee comes one year into her tenure atop the Justice Department, a tumultuous period marked by a striking departure from the traditions and norms that have guided the department for decades. Watch the hearing, set for 10 a.m. ET Wednesday, live: Since taking the helm, Bondi has overseen the firing of career prosecutors and FBI officials who worked on Capitol riot cases or Trump investigations, investigated and prosecuted prominent opponents of the president, and dropped prosecutions of his allies. The changes also extend to the department's workforce. The section that prosecutes public corruption has been gutted; the Civil Rights Division, which protects the Constitutional rights of all Americans, has seen a mass exodus of career attorneys; and some U.S. Attorney's offices — including most recently the one in Minnesota — have been hit by resignations. In her public appearances, Bondi, who is a former Florida attorney general, has defended the department's actions, and sought to tout what she says are major accomplishments — going after cartels and violent crime, and helping in the administration's immigration enforcement. She also says she's made "tremendous progress" towards ending what she says was the department's weaponization in recent years against Trump and conservatives. Biden-era DOJ officials deny they politicized the department, and they point to the prosecutions of prominent Democratic lawmakers and even President Biden's son, Hunter, as evidence. Sponsor Message Accusations of politicization at DOJ For decades, the Justice Department has enjoyed a degree of independe...
Guyana, a fast-growing petrostate, is ripe with construction plans but short on workers. So the companies building roads, bridges and other infrastructure there are turning to Cuban migrants as a new source of labor. Official figures show a spike in Cubans coming to the country over the past five years. Last year, 135,000 were granted legal status, up sharply from over 800 in 2020. The rush could ...
Guyana, a fast-growing petrostate, is ripe with construction plans but short on workers. So the companies building roads, bridges and other infrastructure there are turning to Cuban migrants as a new source of labor. Official figures show a spike in Cubans coming to the country over the past five years. Last year, 135,000 were granted legal status, up sharply from over 800 in 2020. The rush could accelerate with dire conditions in Cuba worsening now that the US has captured its principal ally in Venezuela and is threatening tariffs on any country that sends vital fuel shipments . The current influx has already triggered debate in Guyana about how best to integrate the migrants and whether they should be granted voting rights. Nearly one in five Cubans has left the island over the past decade, and with the US now an unwelcoming destination under Donald Trump , migrants are looking for alternatives. One popular new route is to southern Brazil via Guyana, which doesn’t require a visa. But given the employment opportunities available, an increasing number are choosing the tiny South American nation of 955,000 as their final destination. “I came to Guyana looking for work, looking for money because Guyana is a beautiful country,” said Adrian Aguilar after arriving by truck with other migrant laborers to work on a prefabricated school in Georgetown, the Guyanese capital. “Opportunities are open and Guyana has plenty of work because a number of construction projects have started.” Aguilar, 36, left his job as a university sports lecturer in Las Tunas, a small city in eastern Cuba, to seek a better life abroad. He now sends a portion of the money he’s earning home to his parents and sisters, who still live on the communist-run island of about 10 million people. Part of the appeal of Guyana is the number of jobs on offer. With oil production set to soar to about 2 million barrels per day over the next five years, the capital is a hotbed of construction. The government has se...
Bolivia is in talks with the International Monetary Fund over a program that could provide as much as $3.3 billion in financing, as the new administration of President Rodrigo Paz seeks to pull the Andean nation out of its deepest economic crisis in four decades. Government officials and IMF staff are discussing a medium- to long-term arrangement known as an Extended Fund Facility, which would all...
Bolivia is in talks with the International Monetary Fund over a program that could provide as much as $3.3 billion in financing, as the new administration of President Rodrigo Paz seeks to pull the Andean nation out of its deepest economic crisis in four decades. Government officials and IMF staff are discussing a medium- to long-term arrangement known as an Extended Fund Facility, which would allow Bolivia to borrow between eight and 10 times its IMF quota, or about $2.6 billion to $3.3 billion, according to people familiar with the negotiations. In exchange, Paz’s administration would commit to structural reforms aimed at restoring growth and fiscal sustainability, both of which deteriorated under the socialist party that governed Bolivia for the past two decades. The size and terms of the deal have yet to be finalized as talks are ongoing, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. Read More: Bolivia to Tap Dollar Reserves for Bond Payments, Minister Says A spokesperson for the IMF did not respond to a request for comment. Bolivia’s finance ministry and central bank declined to comment. Frontloading An EFF program would give the South American nation a grace period of at least four and a half years before it begins repaying the debt. IMF funds are typically disbursed in installments and tied to the government meeting policy targets agreed with the lender. Bolivia, however, is seeking a large initial disbursement — a practice known as frontloading — one of the people said, without providing further details. Argentina last year secured frontloading of about 60% under a $20 billion IMF program. Read More: Bolivia Gets $4.5 Billion IDB Loan to Aid Emergency Reforms Current talks are focused on the preconditions Bolivia would need to meet to access the financing, two of the people said, adding that a currency devaluation is a central part of the prior actions requested by the IMF for a program. Bolivia’s official exchange rate ha...
The U.S. claims China is conducting secret nuclear tests. Here's what that means toggle caption GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images Late last week, the U.S. leveled an explosive claim: China is planning secret nuclear weapons tests and has already conducted at least one. China denied the allegations, but experts are worried that the claims mark a further unraveling of a long-standing global norm again...
The U.S. claims China is conducting secret nuclear tests. Here's what that means toggle caption GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images Late last week, the U.S. leveled an explosive claim: China is planning secret nuclear weapons tests and has already conducted at least one. China denied the allegations, but experts are worried that the claims mark a further unraveling of a long-standing global norm against nuclear testing. The devil is in the details. Here is what to know about the U.S. claims of Chinese testing. The claim was made publicly and very deliberately The undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, Thomas DiNanno, disclosed the major U.S. intelligence finding at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Friday. "I can reveal that the U.S. government is aware that China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons," he said in a speech to the attending delegates. He went on to say that China is using a technique known as "decoupling" to hide its activities. Sponsor Message "China conducted one such yield-producing nuclear test on June 22 of 2020," DiNanno said. The Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to NPR's request for comment, but in a statement to AFP, China's Foreign Ministry called the claims "outright lies." "China firmly opposes the US attempt to fabricate excuses for its own restarting of nuclear tests," said the statement to AFP on Monday. Most nations haven't tested nuclear weapons in years The last full-scale nuclear test took place in North Korea in 2017, said Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "As of this month, we are in the longest period in human history without a nuclear test," he said. (That's since the U.S. tested the first atomic bomb in 1945.) toggle caption NNSA/NNSS The U.S. conducted its last nuclear test in 1992, and China conducted its last official test in 1996. Both nat...
From gifting a hat to tossing them onto the rink, a history of hat tricks in sports toggle caption Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America The men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games is underway and many fans are hoping to see the exciting feat of scoring three goals in a single game, better known as a hat trick. " I'm curious to see over in Italy for the Olympics, if we'll see a ...
From gifting a hat to tossing them onto the rink, a history of hat tricks in sports toggle caption Bruce Bennett/Getty Images North America The men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games is underway and many fans are hoping to see the exciting feat of scoring three goals in a single game, better known as a hat trick. " I'm curious to see over in Italy for the Olympics, if we'll see a hat trick to begin with, and then second will people throw their hats?" said Ty Di Lello, a hockey historian based in Winnipeg, Canada. The international sporting event will mark the return of National Hockey League players after a 12 year absence . It comes as the NHL set a new record for the most hat tricks in a single month this January. Sponsor Message Hat tricks have a rich history in the world of hockey, but it didn't start there. In fact, the phrase originated in cricket and spread to many sports, including soccer, darts and horse racing. In this installment of NPR's Word of the Week series, we trace hat trick's some 150-year-history and why it's particularly special on a hockey rink. How 'hat trick' was coined in cricket In cricket, a hat trick refers to the dismissal of three batters by the same baller with three successive balls. Rodney Ulyate, a spokesperson for the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, compares it to when a pitcher in baseball gets three consecutive strikeouts. "I gather it's a very common thing in baseball. I think you call it a no hit inning," he said. "But in cricket, trust me, it is vanishingly rare." toggle caption Hulton Archive/Getty Images/Hulton Archive Now, it remains unclear who coined hat trick, but its origin did indeed involve headwear. In the 19th century, there were reports in British newspapers of cricketers being given a hat after achieving what is now known as a hat trick. Ulyate said at the time, cricketers earned very little for competing, so their pay was often supplemented with material prizes like bats, bal...
There's much more to the story than new customers and revenue growth. SoFi Technologies (SOFI 0.84%) reported fabulous results for the 2025 fourth quarter, but the stock tumbled after and still hasn't recovered. However, I'm excited about what SoFi has to offer and where it can go in the coming years. If you have some risk tolerance, you might want to view this as a buying opportunity. Here are fi...
There's much more to the story than new customers and revenue growth. SoFi Technologies (SOFI 0.84%) reported fabulous results for the 2025 fourth quarter, but the stock tumbled after and still hasn't recovered. However, I'm excited about what SoFi has to offer and where it can go in the coming years. If you have some risk tolerance, you might want to view this as a buying opportunity. Here are five reasons. 1. It's launching new blockchain services Since government regulations were relaxed last year to give banks more flexibility with the blockchain, SoFi has ramped up its innovation in this area. It immediately brought back cryptocurrency trading on its app, which it had closed when it applied for a bank charter, and it has already launched a blockchain-based global remittance service that allows users to safely send money to more than 30 countries, including much of Europe. It's now working on bringing those capabilities to more users outside the U.S., angling to become a global financial services giant. Management seems to be pumped about its new stablecoin offering, which drives the SoFi Pay global money transfers. It keeps a U.S. dollar for every SoFi stablecoin, giving it flexibility in working with one or the other, and it's planning to use this in powerful ways. 2. It's expanding its business segment Right now, SoFi is a personal bank, but it's expanding into commercial banking. However, it isn't necessarily looking to break into the institutional banking that the megabanks already control. "Our ambition is to be the bank for businesses and other financial institutions that want to transact in both fiat and cryptocurrencies, filling a critical gap that has existed in the market," Chief Executive Officer Anthony Noto said on the company's latest earnings call. SoFi has a segment called tech platform, also known as Galileo. It acquired Galileo, a business-to-business platform, in 2020, and it has been a ho-hum performer since then. However, it has for the mos...
Clashes between global powers will fuel further market swings over the coming year, according to a JPMorgan Chase & Co. survey, with developments in artificial intelligence also top of traders’ minds. The proportion of respondents who see geopolitical tensions having the biggest impact on financial markets this year more than doubled from 2025 to 41%, the Wall Street bank’s annual electronic tradi...
Clashes between global powers will fuel further market swings over the coming year, according to a JPMorgan Chase & Co. survey, with developments in artificial intelligence also top of traders’ minds. The proportion of respondents who see geopolitical tensions having the biggest impact on financial markets this year more than doubled from 2025 to 41%, the Wall Street bank’s annual electronic trading poll found. Technological innovation, such as AI advances, came second at 19%. Interest rate policy was third at 13%. “One thing that stands out is the focus on emerging and ongoing geopolitical tensions, implying that the market may not see a quick resolution to the current state of play,” said Chi Nzelu , who heads JPMorgan’s new quantitative trading and research group . This is “tied to concerns about continued volatility. Clients are mostly concerned about the expected cost of liquidating inventory.” The January survey of 955 institutional and professional traders from around the world provides a snapshot into their mentalities at the start of 2026, which has already seen an escalation of geopolitical tensions and a stock selloff driven by the threat of AI disrupting entire industries . The US’s unilateral capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and Trump’s push for American control over Greenland took investors by surprise this year. That’s on top of other known geopolitical hot-spots such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, a fraught ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and lingering US-China trade tensions. Investors across asset classes are adjusting their strategies. Emerging-market funds, for example, are pouring money into Latin American countries aligned with Trump as he looks to expand US influence in the region . The dollar, meanwhile, slid after the US threatened tariffs on European nations as part of its pursuit of Greenland last month. No asset class has seen as much volatility from this year’s headlines as precious metals. A surge to record highs driven b...
PM Meloni Calls Olympic Protesters "Enemies Of Italy And Italians" Via Remix News, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called anti-Olympic protesters enemies of the country after demonstrators clashed with police in Milan on Saturday and disrupted train traffic with sabotage actions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Giorgia Meloni (@giorgiameloni) In a post on Instagram, the Italian ...
PM Meloni Calls Olympic Protesters "Enemies Of Italy And Italians" Via Remix News, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called anti-Olympic protesters enemies of the country after demonstrators clashed with police in Milan on Saturday and disrupted train traffic with sabotage actions. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Giorgia Meloni (@giorgiameloni) In a post on Instagram, the Italian Prime Minister emphasized that while many people are working to make the Olympics a success and present a positive image of Italy, there are those who, in her opinion, are acting specifically against the country. “ Thousands upon thousands of Italians are working around the clock to ensure that everything runs smoothly during the Olympics . "Many are doing so as volunteers because they want their country to make a good impression and be admired and respected,” she posted. “ Then there are those who are enemies of Italy and Italians, protesting ‘against the Olympics’ and ensuring that these images are broadcast on television around the world. "This comes after others cut railway cables to prevent trains from running,” her post continued. “ Once again, we express our solidarity with the police, the city of Milan, and all those who will see their work undermined by these gangs of criminals ,” Meloni concluded. On Saturday, thousands of people protested against the Olympics in Milan, one of the main venues for the event, reports Hirado . During the demonstration, a group of about 100 people broke away from the crowd and clashed with police, throwing fireworks, smoke bombs, and bottles. Police also used water cannons to restore order. Authorities said six people were arrested after the riots. The incidents also disrupted rail traffic. Although Meloni made no mention of what Italians are protesting specifically, there have been ongoing protests against the use of U.S. ICE agents for anti-terrorism efforts during the Winter Olympics as well as against Israel’s participation in the...
The passenger car segment secures the largest market share of the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) market by leading the automotive industry’s transition to high-value Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs). Manufacturers are moving away from distributed electronic control units to centralized zonal architectures, which significantly increases the functional value of each VCU installed in modern passenger veh...
The passenger car segment secures the largest market share of the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) market by leading the automotive industry’s transition to high-value Software-Defined Vehicles (SDVs). Manufacturers are moving away from distributed electronic control units to centralized zonal architectures, which significantly increases the functional value of each VCU installed in modern passenger vehicles. This technological leap contributed to the passenger car sector generating a projected US$2.6 trillion in revenue in 2025, confirming its financial supremacy. North America is projected to experience substantial expansion in the industry throughout the forecast timeline. In terms of application, the powertrain segment secured the highest 44% share of the market in 2025. Tesla continues to be a dominant force in driving VCU consumption, having delivered 1,789,226 vehicles globally in 2024. The company’s production lines were equally active, churning out 1,679,338 units of the Model 3 and Model Y combined during the same period. Meanwhile, the Volkswagen Group contributed significantly to this demand by delivering 744,800 all-electric vehicles worldwide in the 2024 fiscal year. These robust production figures underscore a critical market reality: as EV adoption scales, the requirement for high-performance vehicle control units becomes increasingly vital for managing complex electric powertrains. The automotive industry is witnessing an unprecedented acceleration in electric mobility , which is directly propelling the Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) market to new heights. BYD, a global leader in new energy vehicles, achieved a staggering sales volume of 4.27 million units in 2024. This massive output included 1,764,992 passenger battery electric vehicles and 2,485,378 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, all of which rely on sophisticated VCUs for powertrain management. Furthermore, BYD expanded its international footprint by exporting 417,204 vehicles in 2024, ensuring that ad...
Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant is expected to receive two more domestically constructed ice-class liquefied natural gas carriers in 2026, further unlocking the project’s export potential. “Last year, the lead Arc7 gas carrier, designed by a foreign company, was delivered, and construction of two more will be completed this year,” Anton Alikhanov , Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister, said...
Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant is expected to receive two more domestically constructed ice-class liquefied natural gas carriers in 2026, further unlocking the project’s export potential. “Last year, the lead Arc7 gas carrier, designed by a foreign company, was delivered, and construction of two more will be completed this year,” Anton Alikhanov , Russia’s Industry and Trade Minister, said on Wednesday at a parliamentary meeting, according to Interfax. The first Russia-built Arc7 LNG tanker, Alexey Kosygin , was completed in late 2025 and started exporting fuel from Arctic LNG 2 last month. Additional tankers will help to increase output and exports from the facility, which has struggled to ramp up operations during the winter months because standard tankers can’t traverse the icy waters. Arc7 vessels are able to break ice as much as 2 meters (6.6 feet) thick and, depending on weather, cross some parts of Russia’s Arctic Northern Sea route without icebreaker escort, reducing shipping costs. Until the Alexey Kosygin came into service, Arctic LNG 2 had only one Arc7 vessel at its disposal, the Christophe de Margerie. Read More: LNG Fleet Scarcity Caps Russia’s Arctic 2 Export Potential: BNEF The Arctic LNG 2 plant, led by Novatek PJSC , is key to Russia’s ambitions to triple its production of super-chilled fuel to 100 million tons a year. However, Western restrictions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced Moscow to delay the timeframe for this target. The Alexey Kosygin, also sanctioned by the US, was build at Russia’s Zvezda shipyard specifically for Arctic LNG 2. Its delivery was initially expected in early 2023, but restrictions on equipment and lack of domestic expertise delayed the construction. The Zvezda shipyard built two more tankers with the same ice class, the Pyotr Stolypin , and the Sergei Witte in 2023. However, just like the Alexey Kosygin before, the vessels require additional work and trials before they can come online. Given the p...
Gerresheimer AG shares plunged to the lowest in more than 16 years after the German maker of packaging for medicines and cosmetics delayed the publication of its annual results. The decision was made after the company hired a second audit firm to examine its accounting practices for the 2024 and 2025 financial years, it said in a statement on Tuesday evening. The stock fell as much as 35% on Wedne...
Gerresheimer AG shares plunged to the lowest in more than 16 years after the German maker of packaging for medicines and cosmetics delayed the publication of its annual results. The decision was made after the company hired a second audit firm to examine its accounting practices for the 2024 and 2025 financial years, it said in a statement on Tuesday evening. The stock fell as much as 35% on Wednesday to the lowest since August 2009 before paring the decline to trade 29% lower as of 9:56 a.m. in London. Things are going “from bad to even worse,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst David Adlington said in a note. “We see the shares coming under considerable pressure today.” Wednesday’s stock move is a further blow for Gerresheimer, whose shares sank in September after Germany’s markets regulator initiated an audit of its accounts on suspicion of irregularities. The following month, the company said an external investigation it commissioned found evidence of probable accounting issues. Gerresheimer decided to defer the publication of the 2025 annual and consolidated financial statements, originally scheduled for Feb. 26. A new publication date will be set in consultation with the auditor. For the 2026 financial year, the company expects — before M&A activities — revenue of around €2.3 billion ($2.7 billion) to €2.4 billion, and an adjusted Ebitda margin of around 18% to 19%. Gerresheimer has also started the sale of its Centor business, which makes packaging systems for prescription medicines, and plans to complete the transaction before the end of this year. Meanwhile, the planned sale of its molded glass business won’t be initiated this year, but at a later date. “The planned divestment of Centor should bring some relief about fears for refinancing, but is clearly the loss of a highly attractive asset,” according to Oddo BHF analyst Oliver Metzger .
Various studies agree on one best age for most -- but it's not the best age for everyone. As you approach retirement, you should be thinking about when you'll claim your Social Security benefits -- because when you do so can make a big difference in your financial life. Various studies have pinpointed the best age for most people to claim, but there is no one perfect age for everyone. Read on for ...
Various studies agree on one best age for most -- but it's not the best age for everyone. As you approach retirement, you should be thinking about when you'll claim your Social Security benefits -- because when you do so can make a big difference in your financial life. Various studies have pinpointed the best age for most people to claim, but there is no one perfect age for everyone. Read on for a Social Security refresher and a look at what studies suggest. Social Security basics Each of us has a "full retirement age" at which we can start collecting the "full" benefits to which we're entitled based on our earnings. But we can start collecting as early as age 62, or we can delay, up to age 70. Claiming early means you'll receive smaller benefit checks -- but many more of them. Delay beyond your full retirement age, and your benefit checks will grow by about 8% per year up to age 70. Experts say... Researchers seem to agree that most people will get the most out of Social Security by delaying claiming until age 70. For example, a 2019 study, "The Retirement Solution Hiding in Plain Sight: How Much Retirees Would Gain by Improving Social Security Decisions," from United Income, found that: Millions of people claim their benefits too early -- leaving trillions of dollars in potential total Social Security benefits on the table -- an average of $111,000 per household. The average retiree would collect about 9% more retirement income from Social Security if they claimed their benefits at an optimal age. Only 4% of retirees seem to have claimed their benefits at the best time. More recently, a 2022 paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research offered this: We find that virtually all American workers age 45 to 62 should wait beyond age 65 to collect. More than 90% should wait till age 70. Only 10.2% appear to do so. The median loss for this age group in the present value of household lifetime discretionary spending is $182,370. But what's best for you? That's the ...