Prudential Posts 8% Rise in H1 Profit, Expands Buyback

Prudential reported first-half new business profit of $1.38 billion, rising 8% on a constant exchange rate basis according to Reuters reporting by Sameer Manekar and Shruti Agarwal, driven by growth in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore while expanding its ongoing share repurchase program by $300 million. Prudential First-Half New Business Profit Rises 8% to $1.38 … Read more

New NASA Telescope to Probe Dark Energy and Exoplanets

NASA is preparing to launch the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a roughly $4 billion observatory designed to probe dark energy, dark matter, and hunt for exoplanets. According to U.S. space agency officials, the mission is scheduled for liftoff on Sunday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, with … Read more

Unitree’s Post-Listing Slump Sparks China Robot Bubble Fears

Unitree shares slumped 45% from their debut peak in late August, dropping by $30 billion after soaring to an early $66 billion valuation on the Shanghai STAR Market, according to Reuters. The steep post-listing selloff for China’s best-known humanoid robot maker has triggered widespread regulatory and investor anxiety over retail losses, retail trading frenzies, and … Read more

Federal Bank Becomes Latest India Lender to Tap Dollar Debt via GIFT City

Federal Bank plans to raise $500 million through a five-year dollar bond sale, according to bankers who requested anonymity because they lack authorization to speak with the media. The capital-raising effort follows a board approval on Friday for foreign-currency-denominated bonds issued through the International Financial Services Centre Banking Unit located in GIFT City. Federal Bank … Read more

Apple Trains AI Model for China with Alibaba Support, Sources Say

Apple has trained a large language model specifically for the China market with support from Alibaba Group, according to three people familiar with the matter who spoke with Reuters. The development marks a departure from the iPhone maker’s prior strategy of relying entirely on third-party models to power artificial intelligence features in the country, where … Read more

Iran Reports No Progress in Reviving US Interim Peace Deal

Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to secure a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who reported zero progress in reviving an interim deal agreed in June. The stalled diplomatic efforts coincided with a fresh wave of maritime attacks on Tuesday that rattled … Read more

Saudi Red Sea Oil Exports Stop Amid Houthi Threats

Saudi crude exports from the Red Sea are increasingly vanishing from view as tankers switch off tracking signals to avoid attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, according to ship-tracking firms and industry analysts. The shift obscures visibility into global oil supply assessments and creates wide discrepancies in export estimates used by the International Energy Agency and … Read more

Meta Faces 29 States in Landmark Youth Social Media Lawsuit

Meta Platforms will face a coalition of state attorneys general in a California federal court trial beginning on Wednesday over claims that the tech giant engineered Facebook and Instagram to be addictive to children. According to court filings, the seven-week trial in Oakland tests allegations from Colorado, Kentucky, California, and New Jersey that Meta designed … Read more

Taylor Swift Wedding Dress Fever Sparks Bridal Brand Alert

Major bridal chains and designers are actively sketching Swift-inspired wedding gowns and monitoring upcoming dress reveals, anticipating a surge in market demand following the pop star’s high-profile celebration. According to Reuters, brands like David’s Bridal and Justin Alexander are preparing new collections despite strict secrecy surrounding the Christian Dior dress worn at Madison Square Garden … Read more

Wall Street Drops as Hormuz Deal Hopes Fade

Wall Street closed lower as climbing crude oil prices driven by Middle East tensions and a massive share sale by Intel weighed on investor sentiment, according to Reuters. The S&P 500 declined 0.06% to finish at 7,753.12 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.32% to 26,605.36 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped … Read more