Iran’s top diplomat was travelling on Sunday from Tehran to Geneva, where the second round of nuclear negotiations with the US will take place, Iranian state media reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation left for the Swiss city after the first round of indirect talks took place in Oman last week. Oman will mediate the talks in Geneva, the IRNA state-run news agency reported on...
Iran’s top diplomat was travelling on Sunday from Tehran to Geneva, where the second round of nuclear negotiations with the US will take place, Iranian state media reported. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation left for the Swiss city after the first round of indirect talks took place in Oman last week. Oman will mediate the talks in Geneva, the IRNA state-run news agency reported on its Telegram channel. Similar talks last year broke down after Israel launched what became a 12-day...
Meta Platforms (NasdaqGS:META) has started construction on a US$10b data center campus in Lebanon, Indiana. The facility is planned as a 1 gigawatt site focused on supporting advanced artificial intelligence workloads. The project includes more than US$120m in local water infrastructure investments and environmental measures. The Indiana campus is described as a core part of Meta's broader buildou...
Meta Platforms (NasdaqGS:META) has started construction on a US$10b data center campus in Lebanon, Indiana. The facility is planned as a 1 gigawatt site focused on supporting advanced artificial intelligence workloads. The project includes more than US$120m in local water infrastructure investments and environmental measures. The Indiana campus is described as a core part of Meta's broader buildout of global scale AI infrastructure. Meta Platforms, parent of Facebook, Instagram and...
Good morning and welcome back. This morning we’ve had first-half results from a2 Milk, which makes infant formula. The company may be based in New Zealand, and listed on the ASX, but it’s heavily reliant on the Chinese market. Last month, the company’s share price plunged after China revealed that births in 2025 fell to the lowest since at least 1949 — fewer babies equals less demand for infant fo...
Good morning and welcome back. This morning we’ve had first-half results from a2 Milk, which makes infant formula. The company may be based in New Zealand, and listed on the ASX, but it’s heavily reliant on the Chinese market. Last month, the company’s share price plunged after China revealed that births in 2025 fell to the lowest since at least 1949 — fewer babies equals less demand for infant formula. But as my colleague Ben Westcott explained here , there’s evidence that firms with premium branding and international cachet can still grow their market share despite fewer Chinese babies. And today, a2 said its sales in China continue to strengthen . — Ainsley Thomson, Wellington Bureau Chief What’s happening now Australia’s economy is undergoing one of its largest structural shifts in decades, with public spending swelling to levels that rival the mining boom of the 2000s, Westpac said. Government outlays now account for a record 35% of gross domestic product, around 7 percentage points higher than a decade ago. Meanwhile , i nflation-focused academic Bruce Preston was appointed to the Reserve Bank’s interest rate-setting board, replacing businesswoman Alison Watkins at a time of heightened uncertainty about the economy’s outlook. Preston, a professor of economics at the University of New South Wales, will begin his five-year term from March 1, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said. The Australian arm of Octopus Group plans to spend as much as A$20 billion on renewable projects over the next five years, one of the largest investment plans in the country’s green sector. Brookfield Asset Management and Singapore’s GIC are seeking a A$2.77 billion loan to back the purchase of Sydney-listed National Storage REIT, according to people familiar with the matter. Half a dozen banks — including DBS Group, National Australia Bank and United Overseas Bank — have been appointed as underwriters for the borrowing, which comprises several tranches split across three- and five-year tenors, s...
Despite its fourth-quarter results being pretty solid, the share price of pharmaceutical giant AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) fell after the company released earnings last week. The market reacted poorly to details in the drugmaker's earnings report, but the long-term outlook remains strong despite some headwinds. Here's why the stock is worth investing in, even after its recent setback. AbbVie's fourth-quar...
Despite its fourth-quarter results being pretty solid, the share price of pharmaceutical giant AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) fell after the company released earnings last week. The market reacted poorly to details in the drugmaker's earnings report, but the long-term outlook remains strong despite some headwinds. Here's why the stock is worth investing in, even after its recent setback. AbbVie's fourth-quarter revenue increased by 10% year over year to $16.6 billion. The company's key growth drivers, the immunology medicines Skyrizi and Rinvoq, continue to do much of the heavy lifting. Sales of both products grew at a good clip during the period. On the surface, things look pretty good. Continue reading
According to a SEC filing dated Feb. 13, 2026, Harvard Management Co. Inc. established a new position in the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (NASDAQ:ETHA) , acquiring 3,870,900 shares. The estimated transaction value is $86.82 million, based on the average fourth-quarter share price. Continue reading
According to a SEC filing dated Feb. 13, 2026, Harvard Management Co. Inc. established a new position in the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (NASDAQ:ETHA) , acquiring 3,870,900 shares. The estimated transaction value is $86.82 million, based on the average fourth-quarter share price. Continue reading
It is like House meets Elementary for this show about the sidekick of Conan Doyle's detective, who investigates a different medical mystery each week – when he isn't having tastefully lit horizontal time Go to 221B Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes fans you meet there will be American, not British – and while the BBC’s Sherlock might be the most famous Holmes revival on TV this century, the US ...
It is like House meets Elementary for this show about the sidekick of Conan Doyle's detective, who investigates a different medical mystery each week – when he isn't having tastefully lit horizontal time Go to 221B Baker Street and the Sherlock Holmes fans you meet there will be American, not British – and while the BBC’s Sherlock might be the most famous Holmes revival on TV this century, the US has us beat when it comes to volume. Stateside telly responded to Sherlockmania with Elementary, which relocated Jonny Lee Miller’s Holmes to New York and made Watson and Moriarty female, but was in many ways a more faithful sleuthfest than the overblown Benedict Cumberbatch show and ran for scores more episodes. Long before that, the biggest drama in the world was House, which was set in a hospital but featured a mercurial genius solving baffling mysteries – once the House-Home-Holmes penny dropped, you knew you were watching Sherlock in disguise. Watson is the latest attempt by US network television to keep the Conan Doyle canon firing, and it’s a straight cross between House and Elementary. Morris Chestnut is Dr John Watson, who is an American practising medicine in present-day Pittsburgh, but is also a war veteran who, when the show aired its first season last year, had just finished a stint cracking crimes in London with Sherlock Holmes. Showrunner Craig Sweeny, formerly a writer/producer on Elementary, gave his new Watson a litter of eager doctor pups who, like the gang who used to trail around behind Dr House, were always a step behind their boss when it came to working out which arcane condition was about to kill that week’s patient. Watson aired on Sky Witness and is available on NOW. Continue reading...
One of the most actively promoted cryptocurrencies over the past few years, Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO) has become a token best known for enabling investors to play the intersection of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI). As a leading machine learning network, developers can use Bittensor to collaborate and train their models, with the network's native TAO token granting external ac...
One of the most actively promoted cryptocurrencies over the past few years, Bittensor (CRYPTO: TAO) has become a token best known for enabling investors to play the intersection of blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI). As a leading machine learning network, developers can use Bittensor to collaborate and train their models, with the network's native TAO token granting external access and enabling users to access AI-related applications in a way few other decentralized networks do. Thus, the story around Bittensor really revolves around the speed of the AI revolution, spending trends in this sector, and how investors feel about the overall AI narrative moving forward. This past week, sentiment clearly improved on all fronts related to AI, propelling Bittensor's 5.1% gain over the past seven days (as of 3:30 p.m. ET). Let's dive into what other factors investors are watching with this key crypto network right now. Continue reading
Chinese military activities – and the need to respond to them – were framed as a major driver of cooperation between US allies in the Indo-Pacific and Europe during this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC). It comes as Washington pushes its allies to spend more on their own defence and in the collective defence of the “first island chain” to deter potential war with China. Speaking at the conf...
Chinese military activities – and the need to respond to them – were framed as a major driver of cooperation between US allies in the Indo-Pacific and Europe during this year’s Munich Security Conference (MSC). It comes as Washington pushes its allies to spend more on their own defence and in the collective defence of the “first island chain” to deter potential war with China. Speaking at the conference on Saturday, Elbridge Colby, US undersecretary of defence for policy, said that while...
US stock indexes ended the week lower as traders digested the latest round of key retail inflation data. Of the 81 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings this week , 54 beat EPS expectations, 23 missed, and 4 came in line. On a year-over-year basis, 47 companies posted higher earnings. For the week, the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) and Nasdaq ( COMP:IND ) fell 1.3% and 2.1%, while Dow ( DJI ) booked a 0.9%...
US stock indexes ended the week lower as traders digested the latest round of key retail inflation data. Of the 81 S&P 500 companies that reported earnings this week , 54 beat EPS expectations, 23 missed, and 4 came in line. On a year-over-year basis, 47 companies posted higher earnings. For the week, the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) and Nasdaq ( COMP:IND ) fell 1.3% and 2.1%, while Dow ( DJI ) booked a 0.9% fall. Across the Atlantic, the European equities ( STOXX ) ended the week 0.2% lower. On the data front, the Euro Area economy grew at its slowest pace in a year in the final quarter, edging down from the previous period and in line with the initial estimate. The UK economy edged higher in December, matching expectations and following an upwardly revised gain in November. In the week, London’s FTSE 100 ( UKX ) equities rose 0.6% while Germany ( DAX:IND ) and France ( CAC:IND ) markets advanced 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively. Major corporate news from Europe this week: Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca ( AZN ) exceeded Street forecasts with its Q4 2025 financials, thanks mainly to its oncology portfolio. Ferrari ( RACE ) enjoyed another solid quarter thanks to enduring demand for its iconic sports car and the ability of the company to pass higher costs onto its wealthy customers. L'Oreal ( LRLCF ) reported disappointing fourth-quarter operating profit, sales, and like-for-like sales growth, as well as total sales for FY25. NatWest Group ( NWG ) has reached an agreement to acquire Evelyn Partners from funds advised by Permira and Warburg Pincus for a £2.7B enterprise value. NWG also announced a share buyback of £750M. Unilever (UL ) warned annual sales would hit the low end of its outlook as weakness in the U.S. and Europe offset stronger emerging-market performance. The Asia-Pacific markets Asia stocks presented a mixed picture on Friday, reflecting divergent economic trends across the region. Annual inflation in China slowed sharply in January, declining from the previous m...
Chinese tech companies are competing to make their mark during the Spring Festival Gala presented by state-run broadcaster CCTV, a variety show and annual spectacle that provides a rare nationwide marketing opportunity, like the Super Bowl in the US, and is also an unmistakable signal of political alignment with Beijing’s industrial priorities. This year, ByteDance’s cloud computing arm, Volcano E...
Chinese tech companies are competing to make their mark during the Spring Festival Gala presented by state-run broadcaster CCTV, a variety show and annual spectacle that provides a rare nationwide marketing opportunity, like the Super Bowl in the US, and is also an unmistakable signal of political alignment with Beijing’s industrial priorities. This year, ByteDance’s cloud computing arm, Volcano Engine, secured an “exclusive AI cloud partnership” with the gala, scheduled for Monday, taking the...
Hillary Clinton Breaks With Party Line, Admits Mass Migration Is "Disruptive & Destabilizing" After U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke earlier on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, where he said the U.S. and Europe " belong together " and argued for a stronger West, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , who served under former President Barack Obama, appeared on a panel later...
Hillary Clinton Breaks With Party Line, Admits Mass Migration Is "Disruptive & Destabilizing" After U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke earlier on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, where he said the U.S. and Europe " belong together " and argued for a stronger West, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , who served under former President Barack Obama, appeared on a panel later that afternoon and made surprising remarks about mass migration. Clinton participated in a panel titled, " The West-West Divide: What Remains of Common Values ," and said that mass migration invasion involving millions of illegal aliens has been "destabilizing" to society. Clinton continued: So this debate that's going on is driven by an effort to control people, to control who we are, how we look, who we love. And I think we need to call it for what it is . There is a legitimate reason to have a debate about things like migration. It went too far. It's been disruptive and destabilizing, and it needs to be fixed in a humane way, with secure borders that don't torture and kill people, and with a strong family structure, because it is at the base. Hillary Clinton admits illegal immigration went too far: “It went too far, it’s been disruptive and destabilizing.” REMINDER: Biden let millions of unvetted illegal criminals pour into the country for four years. pic.twitter.com/JeqUxJsU7B — RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 14, 2026 Clinton's comments about how mass migration has been an utter failure probably made White House border czar Tom Homan blush. In fact, unhinged Democrats, such as the Democratic Socialists of America, are probably furious with Clinton, given her very blunt public stance on immigration policy. In fact, if we circle back to Rubio's comments earlier in the day , he slammed "mass migration". Let's not forget that Rubio's State Department last fall recognized that mass migration was an " existential threat " to the West and risks "undermining the stabilit...
Australian banking shares capped their biggest weekly jump in almost four years on better-than-expected earnings updates. A sub-gauge of financial stocks on Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 5.4% in the five sessions through Friday, notching its best week since March 2022. Climbing profits from Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. drove the rally. “Stronger-than-ex...
Australian banking shares capped their biggest weekly jump in almost four years on better-than-expected earnings updates. A sub-gauge of financial stocks on Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 5.4% in the five sessions through Friday, notching its best week since March 2022. Climbing profits from Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ Group Holdings Ltd. drove the rally. “Stronger-than-expected earnings coupled with market dislocation” from the so-called AI scare trade have supported banking stocks, said Matthew Haupt , portfolio manager at Wilson Asset Management in Sydney. Investors have been closing out long positions in technology shares and rotating into lenders, he added. ANZ stood out among its peers, with the stock surging to a record on Thursday after the lender’s quarterly profit soared. Commonwealth Bank, whose shares have steadily declined in recent months amid valuation concerns, spiked the most since 2020 Wednesday as it posted first-half earnings that beat estimates. Westpac Banking Corp. also unveiled a first-quarter profit increase on Friday. ANZ Shares Surge to Record as Matos’ Overhaul Boosts Profit Commonwealth Bank Shares Jump as Profit Tops Estimates Westpac Profit Climbs on Home Loans, Institutional Bank Lending