Kuwait inks $16 billion pipeline lease deal

 

Kuwait has agreed a $16 billion, 20.5-year lease-and-leaseback transaction for its national crude oil pipeline network with a consortium led by U.S. private equity firms Blackstone and KKR, alongside Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management. The deal, known as Project Peregrine, grants the investor group a 49% equity stake in a joint...

United States chipmaker Qualcomm announces double-digit price hikes

 

United States–based smartphone chipmaker Qualcomm has notified customers that it will impose double‑digit price increases on its products, citing accelerating supplier and supply chain costs. In a formal letter circulated to clients, the company said the higher prices will apply to all products shipped from September 1. Qualcomm explained it...

United States firms challenge new Section 301 tariffs

 

NEW YORK — Two U.S. small businesses filed a lawsuit Friday in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging new Section 301 tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration on imports from 60 economies. The Liberty Justice Center brought the case on behalf of Burlap & Barrel, a New York-based...

Washington launches Section 301 probe over EU Google fine

 

The United States announced it will immediately begin a formal Section 301 trade investigation into the European Union after the European Commission imposed a major antitrust fine on Alphabet Inc. and its subsidiary Google. On Thursday, regulators in Brussels concluded a lengthy competition probe, ruling that Google abused its market...

United States-based SLB pivots toward data centers

 

United States-based SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of 55 cents a share on revenue of $8.97 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts and lifting its stock about 10% for its strongest one-day gain in six months. Chief Executive Olivier Le Peuch said that increased offshore activity in...

New York tech billionaires drive record auction boom

 

New York, United States – Major global auction houses are reporting one of their strongest starts to a year, as surging wealth tied to technology, artificial intelligence and buoyant stock markets drives record prices for art, watches and even dinosaur fossils. In the first half, Sotheby’s posted its best performance...

San Jose AI chip startup Etched reaches $10.3B valuation

 

Etched, a San Jose, California-based artificial intelligence chip startup, has raised $300 million in a Series C round led by Sequoia Capital, valuing the company at $10.3 billion. The raise, completed roughly seven months after its previous round, doubles Etched’s valuation and marks the largest Series C ever led by...

United States chipmaker Intel surges on AI-driven rebound

 

United States-based Intel reported a sharp acceleration in growth in its latest quarter, posting second-quarter revenue of $16.13 billion, about 25% higher than a year earlier and well above Wall Street’s $14.3 billion consensus estimate, marking its fastest top-line expansion in more than 15 years. The company said surging demand...

Washington accuses Chinese startup of stealing Anthropic AI

 

Washington officials have accused Beijing-based Moonshot AI of large-scale intellectual property theft from U.S. artificial intelligence developer Anthropic, according to a formal announcement by senior White House technology staff. Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said federal authorities have specific information that Moonshot...

New York tech giants lose $797 billion in rout

 

NEW YORK — U.S. large-cap technology stocks recorded their steepest one-day selloff since April 2025 as investors reassessed the payoff from heavy artificial intelligence spending and rapidly exited high-valuation growth names. On Friday, July 24, 2026, the group of mega-cap companies known as the Magnificent 7 collectively lost about $797...