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Europe
BBC Business

SpaceX shares sink after first earnings report reveals huge AI spending plans

Image source, EPAImage caption, Elon Musk's SpaceX in June became a publicly traded company. Shares in Elon Musk's SpaceX tumbled after the company's first-ever earnings report revealed a huge jump in spending on artificial intelligence, spooking investors. While the firm's quarterly revenue had nearly doubled to $7.8bn (£5.8bn) from a year earlier, its spending ballooned to $18.3bn, more than six times what it was a year ago, the bulk of which was for AI. The firm builds space rockets and Starlink internet satellites as well as owning the social media platform X. It began trading on the US stock market in June. Its stock fell nearly 9% in after-hours trading. Musk said during an investor call after the results that people seemed to be "underestimating" SpaceX. Overall SpaceX made a net loss of $143m in the three months to June, and a loss of $2bn during the first six months of the year. However, Musk cited Starlink, the one part of the company that is currently making a profit, bringing in $1.6bn in the second quarter. Musk said he expects that business to grow exponentially in the coming years. "It's not out of the question that, at some point, Starlink will operate most of the world's internet," Musk said. He also spoke of an expected and rapid growth of SpaceX's emerging line of business selling compute power needed for artificial intelligence (AI) projects to other companies, which currently include Google and Anthropic. Although SpaceX currently has 1.4 gigawatts of such compute power ready to use, Musk said that sometime next year that capacity should hit at least 10 gigawatts through its ongoing development of data centres. Musk said during the call: "Data centres are a trivial problem compared to making reusable rockets." Making rockets is SpaceX's core business, but the company's space segment showed a $542m net loss against $962m in revenue for the second quarter.

SpaceX shares sink after first earnings report reveals huge AI spending plans
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Shein finds there’s no place like China after Vietnam warehouse experiment disappoints  

HANOI/GUANGZHOU – Just over a year ago, Chinese ultra-fast fashion retailer Shein began leasing 15ha of warehouse facilities – equivalent in size to 21 soccer pitches – near Ho Chi Minh City, part of a grand experiment to make Vietnam a major export base. When it was formulating those plans in late 2024, it seemed like a bet that, while risky, was worth making. US exemptions from duties on small parcels from China that underpinned its business model looked as if they would be abolished. US President Donald Trump had just been elected to a second term, and fears of a heightened trade war were soon realised, with US tariffs on many Chinese goods rocketing to 145 per cent by April 2025. Shein started encouraging its biggest Chinese suppliers to set up manufacturing bases in Vietnam. Today, initial public offering (IPO) bound Shein, known for selling US$5 (S$6.40) tops and US$10 dresses, is drastically scaling back in Vietnam, according to six people familiar with its operations there. At 15ha, the bonded logistics hub was the largest of its kind in the country and employed thousands. The lease now covers 6ha, according to two of the sources. A separate person with direct knowledge of the matter said a third of the originally planned site is in use. Mass layoffs began in April, and more are expected, warehouse workers said, adding that some teams have retained one in four employees, while others have lost even more. During a Reuters visit to the site in late July, only a handful of workers were present, and just a few trucks were parked at its warehouses. Nearby warehouses operated by other tenants were bustling with activity. Its sharp U-turn in Vietnam, which has not previously been reported, reflects abrupt changes in US trade policies while underscoring how dependent Shein’s business model is on Chinese suppliers, which put up with terms that manufacturers in other countries will not – a pattern Shein has also seen play out in Brazil. It also highlights how Shein is hewing more closely to its Chinese roots. Having unsuccessfully sought listings in New York and London and moved its headquarters to Singapore as it expanded globally, the company is now pursuing a Hong Kong IPO while deepening its commitment to its manufacturing base in southern China. The first and biggest hit to Shein’s Vietnam plans was the end of the US de minimis duty-free exemption for shipments under US$800 from all countries, not just China. Trump ordered the move on July 30, 2025, and it took effect a month later, only a few months after the exemption for shipments from China ended. Then, sky-high US tariffs on Chinese goods gradually came down. Vietnamese apparel is still subject to smaller tariffs than Chinese clothing, but the advantage is no longer as large as it used to be. A knit polyester dress, for example, imported from either Vietnam or China, is subject to a 16 per cent duty, but the Chinese item would be hit with Section 301 tariffs imposed for alleged unfair trade practices that could lift the effective rate to around 33.5 per cent.

Shein finds there’s no place like China after Vietnam warehouse experiment disappoints  
Europe
The Guardian

Most Americans view rising living costs as biggest barrier to a better life, survey finds

Groceries and food costs in particular are causing financial distress, with 90% of survey respondents listing it as their top cost-of-living concern. Photograph: Jeff Greenberg/Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenGroceries and food costs in particular are causing financial distress, with 90% of survey respondents listing it as their top cost-of-living concern. Photograph: Jeff Greenberg/Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesUS economyMost Americans view rising living costs as biggest barrier to a better life, survey findsWhen asked to detail what would make a better life in three to five years, 60% of US adults said greater financial security Americans may seem increasingly divided on beliefs and values, but in a new survey of more than 30,000 adults from across the country spanning generations and economic classes, a majority of Americans agree there’s a significant barrier to achieving a better life: the rising cost of living. When asked to describe what a better life in three to five years would look like, 60% of Americans said they wanted greater financial security, according to a survey that was conducted by the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility and the WK Kellogg Foundation in mid-April. In interviews that accompanied the survey, respondents often defined financial security as being able to afford basic necessities without worry. “A better life for me and my family would look like being able to buy a home, and being able to afford all the basic necessities, rent, utilities, car, food, healthcare – as well as being able to have enough left over to save for the future for retirement and vacations,” said a 35-year-old respondent from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Though it may appear to be a simple goal, many Americans believe it’s out of reach. Forty per cent of respondents described themselves as either “getting by but financially vulnerable” or “struggling to meet basic needs”. Groceries and food costs in particular are causing financial distress, with 90% of respondents listing it as their top cost-of-living concern, followed by housing, transportation and healthcare. One survey respondent, a 49-year-old father in Philadelphia, said that success to him was not about extravagant living, rather it was being able to afford his child’s field trips for school or help a family member struggling with their bills. “I just want to be comfortable,” he said. The survey is the latest illustration of how the rising cost of living is the defining challenge for many Americans today. Between higher gas prices, growing electricity bills and a housing market that feels out of reach, many everyday expenses have turned into everyday frustrations for Americans whose paychecks aren’t keeping up with rising inflation. A recent Harris poll that found 95% of Americans believe the country is undergoing an affordability crisis. This experience seems out of step with other parts of the economy, like the US stock market reaching record highs and the seemingly unstoppable rise of AI investment, that are growing. “While we spend a lot of time discussing some of these macroeconomic indicators – from the jobs report, to quarterly GDP growth, to what’s happening with interest rates – they alone can’t help us understand how people are actually experiencing the economy in their day-to-day lives,” said JP Julien, a partner at McKinsey involved in the research, during a news briefing. While Americans largely agreed that affordability was a key barrier to achieving a better quality of life, they diverged on what needs to be improved. Rural respondents were likely to say they needed better jobs and career pathways, while urban respondents said they wanted to see more affordable housing and improved safety. A majority (60%) of respondents said local, state and federal government was responsible for helping people get ahead – 20% more than other institutions including faith organizations, banks, non-profits and schooling systems. But only 30% reported that government institutions have been helpful. Instead, respondents ranked friends and family as the top group helping them get ahead, followed by employers.

Most Americans view rising living costs as biggest barrier to a better life, survey finds
Europe
BBC Business

Meta fined $567m in largest child safety ruling against social media giant

A US judge in New Mexico on Thursday ordered Meta to pay another $567m (£421m) for its failure to warn the public about dangers its platforms posed to children, marking the largest ruling against the company over child safety. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the social media giant is a "public nuisance" akin to air pollution and that it must put the money in a fund aimed at reducing future harms. The ruling is in addition to $375m in fines Meta was already ordered to pay in the case, for a total of $942m. Judge Biedscheid compared Meta to a factory, with advertising and content as its product and "the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children to be the pollution that must be abated". A spokesman for Meta, which owns and operates Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads, said Thursday: "We disagree with the ruling and will appeal." "We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content. We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts." Regarding the earlier $375m verdict in the case, Meta had said it intended to appeal the ruling and gave a similar explanation. It was the first time that a state had successfully sued Meta over child safety issues. Meta is currently facing thousands of lawsuits in the US over similar issues. In addition to the New Mexico rulings, Meta earlier this year lost a case in Los Angeles making similar claims. The New Mexico case stems from a 2023 lawsuit brought by attorneys for the State of New Mexico, arguing Meta should be held liable for the way in which its platforms endangered children and exposed them to sexually explicit material and contact with sexual predators. In the first phase of the trial, Meta was found to have repeatedly violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act as its recommendation algorithms essentially "steered" young users toward harmful content and contacts. Recommendation algorithms are the tools that Meta uses to automatically curate the content a user sees on its platforms. In ruling on this second phase of the trial, Judge Biedscheid found that Meta's harms reached the level of "public nuisance", or an issue of health and safety that has become so widespread it is negatively impacting a general public.

Meta fined $567m in largest child safety ruling against social media giant
Europe
BBC Business

Cashing in on SpaceX: 'Every chance I get, I'll sell a little more'

Image source, Andre LavoieByNathalie Jimenez and Samira Hussain, Business reporter & North America business correspondentPublished6 August 2026, 06:00 BSTUpdated 2 hours agoAndre Lavoie joined SpaceX in 2009 as an engineer, designing the pressure tanks that help power its rocket. He was paid partly in stock - a common trade-off at start-ups as a hiring incentive. Some 17 years on, those 200,000 shares he was given are worth about $23m (£17m) - and the 63-year-old says he's ready to start cashing them as soon as he can. "Every chance I get going forward, I'll sell a little bit more," he tells the BBC. "The shares have been going up so radically it keeps messing up my life plans - you really can't know the future, so it's better to sell early and in intervals." Lavoie is far from being the only one who has seen the value of his stake in SpaceX rocket over the years. The company's founder, Elon Musk, said on Fox News that SpaceX's listing on the stock market in June had likely made "several thousand" employees millionaires - including staff "who were working on the production line". According to reports, there are estimated to be 4,400 new millionaires created by the listing. Unlike most newly-listed firms, SpaceX shares are set to be released in stages: the first 20% on 6 August, with more due in batches through the rest of the year. Whether or not shareholders decide to sell their stake at the first opportunity is a matter for individuals. Unlike Lavoie, some may choose to hold onto their shares altogether in the hope of bigger gains later. SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq in June, in the biggest initial public offering (IPO) in history, valuing the rocket and satellite firm at more than $2 trillion. It briefly made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire, before the stock cooled and his fortune slipped back below the milestone within weeks. In its first results as a public company this week, the firm's quarterly revenue was shown to have nearly doubled to $7.8bn (£5.8bn) from a year earlier, while its spending ballooned to $18.3bn - more than six times what it was a year ago.

Cashing in on SpaceX: 'Every chance I get, I'll sell a little more'
Europe
The Guardian

Oil prices plunge and Europe’s markets rally after Trump calls off Iran strikes

Oil supertankers and merchant marine ships in the Fujairah anchorage, just off the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Barry Iverson/AlamyView image in fullscreenOil supertankers and merchant marine ships in the Fujairah anchorage, just off the strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Barry Iverson/AlamyOilOil prices plunge and Europe’s markets rally after Trump calls off Iran strikesBrent crude drops by 5% after US president claimed talks on Middle East peace deal would resume Crude oil prices fell sharply while stocks and government bonds rallied on Monday after Donald Trump cancelled planned strikes on Iran and claimed peace talks were about to resume. Brent crude was trading 5% lower at $83.47 a barrel by lunchtime, after falling as much as 7.3% to $81.55 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate dropped more than 5% to $79.47 a barrel. Both global oil benchmarks jumped more than 20% in July after fighting between the US and Iran resumed, and as attacks on several tankers in the strait of Hormuz revived fears for the safety of vessels transiting the important shipping passage. Trump said late on Saturday on his Truth Social platform that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal that would lead to “the Immediate, Complete and Total” reopening of the strait and “an end to Iran’s nuclear threat”. On Sunday, he said talks would start on Monday, a claim denied by Tehran. Fuel prices for UK motorists continued to rise over the weekend at a time when families are heading off on their summer breaks. Petrol hit an Iran-war high of 160.85p a litre on Monday, surpassing its previous high on Friday, and diesel rose above 180p for the first time since 9 June, according to the RAC. The motoring group’s head of policy, Simon Williams, said: “Unleaded has now risen more than 10p a litre – 7% – since bottoming out at 150.59p on 6 July while diesel is up 16p (15.8p) a litre, or 10%, almost fully reversing June’s 16.6p reduction which was the biggest monthly drop on record.” He said prices at the pump should begin to stabilise this week, though diesel could reach 185p over the next week. Kathleen Brooks, the research director of the broker XTB, said the drop in oil prices should help support markets. “This will ease inflation fears and could also act as a dampener on bond yields, which rose sharply last week, especially at the long end, where 30-year US Treasury yields jumped to their highest level for 19 years,” she added. In a positive start to August, European shares rose and US stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street later. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5%. Energy stocks slid 2%, while travel and leisure shares gained 2.1%. The UK’s FTSE 100 index gained 30 points by midday, despite being dragged back by negative reaction to AstraZeneca’s talks about a tie-up with its US rival Bristol Myers Squibb. In bond markets, US Treasuries increased, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond down five basis points to 4.68%, a retreat from the highest level since January.

Oil prices plunge and Europe’s markets rally after Trump calls off Iran strikes
Europe
BBC Business

Why airlines are warning over lithium-ion batteries

Ben Wodecki is used to travelling the globe and is used to seeing airline crew at work. But flying into Las Vegas in June, the technology journalist saw something he'd never seen before, as worried looking flight crew dashed to the rear of the plane. "There was a glint of fear. They were dour. This was something more than someone being ill. It was something that affected them." As smoke, then distressed passengers emerged from the rear of the plane, it because clear what had happened. A passenger had been using a battery pack during the flight, and it had overheated before bursting into flames with a seat catching fire. Flight crew dropped the device into a container of water, Wodecki says. The plane then landed "fast and aggressively" at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, he explains, where it was met by fire crews on the runway. It was a dramatic end to a routine flight – and it illustrates why flyers are hearing more frequent and more insistent warnings about the dangers of bringing battery powered devices and specifically lithium-ion batteries on flights. These include warnings about trying to retrieve devices that slip into seat and pleas not to put lithium-ion devices in checked luggage. According to Jonathan Nicholson at the UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), for the airline industry, lithium-ion batteries are "if not number one, within the top three risks for a good few years now". A US recent study showed, external the industry was affected by two lithium-ion battery related incidents a week worldwide, he adds. Those incidents could range from passengers belatedly realising they'd left a device in checked baggage, to devices smoking or catching fire in airport baggage halls, or on flights. But the results can be far more extreme. In January 2025 an Air Busan plane was destroyed on the tarmac in Gimhae Airport in South Korea, with investigators concluding a power bank battery pack left in an overhead luggage compartment was the culprit. This prompted the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to launch a global campaign, external to encourage passengers to "Travel Smart with Lithium Batteries". There is nothing about flying that makes lithium-ion technology more dangerous, explains Nicholson. Rather, he said "it's a lot harder to deal with at 32,000 feet in an aircraft cabin". Nicholson said the prevalence of lithium-ion related incidents was down to "more people, more flights, more devices".

Why airlines are warning over lithium-ion batteries
Europe
BBC Business

Argos is getting a makeover - but can it attract new shoppers?

ByDaniel ThomasBBC NewsPublished4 hours agoDo you still shop at Argos? And if so, what do you think of it? The chain has been a fixture of the British High Street for more than 50 years and is still used by around half of all UK households. But it has struggled to thrive in recent years amid fierce competition from online giants like Amazon, with sales stagnating. Its owner Sainsbury's recently announced it was selling the chain for a lot less than it paid for it just 10 years ago. But the new owners say they see "real opportunities" for growth, including opening new standalone shops. Can they succeed where Sainsbury's did not? When the BBC spoke to shoppers in central London this week, the retailer seemed to divide opinion. Some, like Enrico, 28, said they loved the convenience of same-day collection, and felt nostalgic towards a brand which unlocked fond childhood memories. "It was a great way of doing your Christmas shopping," he told the BBC. "We'd go into our local Argos and we'd get the massive print catalogue." For others, though, Argos has not moved with the times and is at odds with the seemingly endless online choice. "I feel Amazon is a lot easier because it gets delivered straight to your door with Prime," said Emily, 22, adding that she only used Argos to buy appliances, not "day to day" items. Jack Cunningham, 26, from Kent often uses Argos to pick up things when he's at work in London. The scientist said the big draw was convenience: "If I need something in the moment and can't wait for delivery, normally I'll get it in Argos.

Argos is getting a makeover - but can it attract new shoppers?
Europe
The Guardian

Yen hits three-month high after Trump helps prop up currency

Japan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi met Donald Trump in March. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersView image in fullscreenJapan’s prime minister Sanae Takaichi met Donald Trump in March. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/ReutersYenYen hits three-month high after Trump helps prop up currencyUS and Japanese governments confirm they carried out a rare joint intervention late last week The yen has hit its highest level in three months after Japan and the US launched a combined operation to support the Japanese currency. The yen strengthened to ¥155 to the US dollar on Monday, its highest level since early May, after Tokyo and Washington confirmed they had carried out a rare joint currency intervention late last week. Tokyo’s finance ministry said on Monday the two governments had conducted coordinated yen-buying intervention and would not hesitate to take further action. The intervention came after the yen had weakened to a 40-year low of almost ¥164 to the dollar last week. Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday: “They have a weakening yen, and they wanted a little bit of help. And we’re always there for Japan.” The yen had weakened in recent months as Japanese borrowing costs remained lower than in other advanced economies. This disparity fuelled a so-called “carry trade”, in which investors borrowed cheaply in yen to buy higher-yielding dollar assets. The yen has also suffered from investors’ concern about Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi’s push to use tax and spending measures to stimulate the Japanese economy, and her criticism of the Bank of Japan setting higher interest rates, which have also pushed up the country’s borrowing costs. The US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said Washington “will not hesitate to ⁠participate in further joint intervention”, while repeating calls for further interest rate rises from Japan’s central ​bank. On Saturday, a photograph of Bessent’s notebook taken during a cabinet meeting showed that his “to do” list included buying $5bn-$10bn ⁠worth of Japanese yen. However, the Financial Times reported that Washington had sold euros to buy yen, rather than using dollars – perhaps to avoid suggesting it wanted a weaker US currency. Bank of Japan data suggested Tokyo spent as much as $36.58bn last Friday to buy yen and strengthen the local currency, Reuters reported. This is the first collaboration involving Japan and the US since March 2011 when a joint intervention was made to weaken the yen after the March Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Yen hits three-month high after Trump helps prop up currency