Elon Musk’s growing business empire in Texas could face a more complicated regulatory and political environment following the Democratic Party’s gains in the November midterm elections. The defeat of Republican Governor Greg Abbott by Democrat Gina Hinojosa, alongside the Democrats’ capture of both chambers of Congress, has created fresh uncertainty for companies whose expansion plans…
London’s Oxford Street has entered a new phase with the permanent removal of motor traffic from a central stretch between Selfridges and IKEA. The restriction covers buses, cars, taxis, bicycles, scooters and other vehicles, making the section a pedestrian-only area. The change is part of a wider regeneration plan intended to attract shoppers, encourage investment…
Financial markets have entered a period in which the traditional summer slowdown offers little protection from major economic and geopolitical shocks. The market outlook during August was being shaped simultaneously by an unusually weak Japanese yen, uncertainty around energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, changing expectations for United States interest rates and renewed questions…
A Chinese humanoid robot running 100 metres faster than the fastest human in history is an extraordinary demonstration of engineering progress, but the significance of the achievement lies less in beating a sporting record than in what it reveals about the direction of China’s robotics industry. Tiangong Ultra completed the distance in 9.39 seconds at…
The rapid creation of wealth through artificial intelligence companies and technology-related public listings is reshaping one of the world’s most influential consumer markets. While luxury brands initially viewed a growing class of AI millionaires as the ideal customers to revive slowing sales, emerging spending patterns suggest the industry’s biggest opportunity may also be its greatest…
The question of whether artificial intelligence is in a bubble has dominated boardrooms, investor calls and tech conferences over the past year. Valuations have surged, capital has poured into AI-linked firms and expectations have raced ahead of proven returns. Into this debate has stepped an unlikely commentator: a humanoid robot. When asked directly whether the…
Elon Musk has rarely been subtle about where he believes the next technological frontier lies. In recent years, he has increasingly framed humanoid robots not as a side project but as a central pillar of future economic value, arguing they could eventually eclipse cars in importance. In Musk’s telling, robots that look and move like…
A fast, episodic storytelling format known in China as micro-dramas—typically two minutes or less—has rapidly leapt across borders into India’s streaming and short-video ecosystem, triggering a fresh wave of content competition. These highly-scripted bite-sized narratives, once the exclusive province of Chinese platforms, are now being localized, scaled and monetized by Indian production houses, apps and…
Amid volatility in technology stocks and whispers of rotation toward value sectors, State Street Global Advisors maintains that the artificial intelligence (AI) rally is far from over. The Boston-based asset manager argues that despite intermittent pullbacks, the underlying structure of the AI-driven market remains intact — a function of deep capital expenditure cycles, investor psychology,…
China’s manufacturing sector sank deeper in October, with the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) falling to 49.0—its weakest reading in six months and below economists’ expectations. The downturn continues a contractionary streak that now stretches into its seventh consecutive month, highlighting how external shocks, weak domestic demand and structural challenges are converging to test the…
