Latest Developments

Europe
BBC Business

Anthropic says US lifts export ban on its advanced AI tools

The US government has lifted an export ban on Anthropic's most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools, just weeks after ordering it to restrict access to them over national security concerns, the company has said. Anthropic said in a statement that it will begin restoring access to Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 on Wednesday after being notified that the US Department of Commerce has lifted restrictions on the two models. They are the firm's most advanced AI tools, which were abruptly suspended on 12 June over concerns that they could be used by hackers to exploit weaknesses in computer systems. The Commerce Department said in a letter seen by the BBC that Anthropic has addressed the risks. "Anthropic has agreed to proactively detect and address security risks associated with the models," Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote in a letter to the tech company. The firm has also agreed to collaborate on future releases of its AI models and alert the government of any malicious activity, Lutnick wrote. The Commerce Department reserves the right to reconsider its decision to lift export restrictions if necessary, he added. Mythos and Fable are two of Anthropic's AI models built on its Claude platform - a rival to the likes of OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Fable 5 is a version of the AI model for the consumer market, capable of deep reasoning and can perform complex tasks independently. Mythos 5 is a version of the platform designed for select businesses and cybersecurity experts. It is said to be able to identify vulnerabilities in computer code and exploit them. Both models were released on 9 June. The firm previously said that US authorities had not pinpointed specific concerns about its technology even as it ordered both platforms to be suspended around the world. "Our understanding is that the government believes it has become aware of a method of bypassing, or 'jailbreaking' Fable 5," the company said at the time, referring to a process of slipping past software safety restrictions to unblock features.

Anthropic says US lifts export ban on its advanced AI tools
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Delayed monsoon cuts Marathwada sowing area by nearly 18 lakh hectares

The sowing area across eight districts of Maharashtra’s Marathwada region has declined by 17.87 lakh hectares compared with the same period last year due to the delayed onset of the monsoon. | Photo Credit: PTI The sowing area across eight districts of the Marathwada region in Maharashtra shrank by 17.87 lakh hectares compared to the corresponding period last year due to the delayed onset of monsoon, officials said on Tuesday. The overall sowing percentage in the region comprising Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Nanded, Hingoli, Dharashiv and Latur districts is around 58 per cent. The average land under cultivation in the last five years was 49.72 lakh hectares. In 2025, sowing took place on 42.42 lakh hectares. However, the area under cultivation shrank to 24.55 lakh hectares as of now, according to a report from the agriculture department. Due to the delayed monsoon, Maharashtra’s agriculture department had initially appealed to agriculturists not to sow unless there is satisfactory rainfall. Unlike Konkan and western Maharashtra, the Marathwada region is yet to receive the average quota of rainfall this year,” the official said. While the average expected rainfall in Marathwada from June onwards is 176 mm, the current deficit is 13 per cent at 153.7 mm. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna have received rainfall above the expected figures of 100.4 mm and 112.5 mm, respectively. At 66 and 66.3 per cent of the average, respectively, Latur and Parbhani districts have received the lowest rainfall in the region. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Delayed monsoon cuts Marathwada sowing area by nearly 18 lakh hectares
North America
CNBC Finance

A surprisingly strong summer box office could mean Hollywood's first $10 billion year since the pandemic

Hollywood is having its best summer since before the pandemic, and that hot streak is putting the annual box office on pace to cross $10 billion for the first time in seven years. The season, which runs from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, has tallied $1.8 billion so far through Sunday. That's down less than 2% from 2019 levels, or just about a $30 million lag. Industry analysts keep a close eye on this period of the year because it typically accounts for about 40% of the total annual domestic box office. "The summer box office is incredibly important," said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at movie data company Rentrak. "It's vitally important in terms of what the overall health of the industry looks like and what that portends for the entire year." What sets this summer apart is that it didn't kick off with a blockbuster action film or superhero team-up. Instead, the first major hit of the season came with the release of Disney's "The Devil Wears Prada 2," followed by Universal's "Obsession" and A24's "Backrooms," two low-budget horror films from YouTube creators-turned-filmmakers. It was further fueled by residual ticket sales of Lionsgate's "Michael," the Michael Jackson biopic, which debuted in late April. Together, those four films have contributed nearly $850 million to the domestic summer box office since the start of May, according to data from Rentrak. Notably, that's about how much Disney and Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame" had tallied for the 2019 box office during the same period. Last week's release of Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5" delivered another boost, posting a franchise-best opening of $160 million. Combined, the handful of upside surprises is making for a stronger-than-expected domestic box office and a promising foundation for the second half of the year as the industry chases pre-pandemic levels. As of Sunday, the 2026 box office has tallied $4.4 billion domestically, about 15% behind the $5.2 billion the 2019 box office had collected during the same time period. Contributing to the surprisingly strong ticket sales is movies like "Michael," "Obsession" and even Amazon MGM's "Project Hail Mary," which was released in March, that are holding strong at the box office week after week. Typically, after opening weekend, a title will see sales drop anywhere from 50% to 70%. But these films were seeing drops of between 20% to 40% each week. "Obsession" has pulled off an even rarer box office feat as ticket sales actually increased in its second and third weekend in theaters, up 39% and 14%, respectively, according to data from The Numbers.

A surprisingly strong summer box office could mean Hollywood's first $10 billion year since the pandemic
North America
CNBC Finance

How Kohl's lost its way — and is trying to become relevant again

Kohl's was once a retail darling, carving out market share as a department store catering to the middle-income American consumer with coupons and deals that drove loyalty. But over the past five years, Kohl's stock has lost nearly 70% of its value, plummeting as the retailer reported weak sales. As department stores struggle to stay relevant and middle-income consumers face budget pressure, Kohl's is now trying to reinvigorate sales by leaning back into its core value proposition and investing in the store experience to ensure customers find what they need and keep coming back for more. Though Wall Street analysts believe the retailer has more work to do, investors have started to take notice: Kohl's shares have climbed more than 130% in the past year. "For us, it's really about making sure that we are picking a lane," CEO Michael Bender told CNBC. "Sitting in the middle of the retail landscape like we do, selling the products like we do, that are admittedly more discretionary than others, means that you have to pick a lane and decide who you're serving, and that you understand that customer really, really well." The company, which went public in 1992, saw its peak in the early 2000s as department stores gained traction around the U.S. Kohl's was known for its value, proprietary brands, coupons and Kohl's cash rewards, enjoying success along with other department store chains like Macy's and Bloomingdale's. At its height, Kohl's commanded major market share, with its stock reaching an all-time high of $82 per share in late 2018 and the company reporting revenue of $20.23 billion for the fiscal year ended February 2019. But soon after, the retailer began to lose traction. While department stores have broadly struggled during that time, Kohl's also faced specific issues that contributed to revenue declines. "As a department store, they've kind of been struggling for a number of years," Chuck Grom, an analyst at Gordon Haskett, told CNBC. Now, the company is working to stabilize its business, return to growth and win back a customer base that Bender said Kohl's never completely lost. Through changing its assortment, limiting coupon usage and leaning into off-price retail instead of proprietary brands, Kohl's "alienated" its core customers, forcing them to go elsewhere, Grom said. Grom, who has been covering Kohl's for years, said the retailer went wrong when it leaned into being an off-price retailer. "I think companies need to realize who their customer bases are and not try to become somebody they're not," he said. "I think too often retailers want to become what somebody else is, and that often can backfire on you."

How Kohl's lost its way — and is trying to become relevant again
Europe
BBC Business

Why Gen Z are planning for life without a state pension

ByColletta SmithBBC Your Voice correspondentJoel has finally landed his first graduate engineering job after several years of lower‑paid roles. He's in his early 20s, lives with his parents and works in London. But instead of splashing the extra cash, or saving up for holidays or a house deposit, he's decided to squirrel more of it away into his workplace pension. The reason? He doesn't think he'll get any kind of state pension. Like Joel, around half of Gen Z (those born from 1997–2012) say they don't expect the state pension to exist by the time they retire. It's pretty stark to hear, but growing up with constant headlines about an ageing population, a proportionally smaller working-age population, and the pressure that government finances are under, Joel thinks it's his generation that will suffer. "I don't believe that I'll be a recipient of a state pension. I know a lot of people my age don't think they're going to be... There just won't be enough money," he says. Retirement has always felt distant when you're in your 20s - something to think about later. But what's emerging among today's under‑30s is something different: not just distance, but doubt. "It just mathematically doesn't make sense… There has to get to a point where that state pension is taking up too much of the budget and can't exist in the way that it exists right now," Joel says. The state pension age is shifting. At the start of April, the age at which you receive it began to gradually creep up, rising from 66 years to 67 years by March 2028. It's due to go up again in 20 years' time to 68, though that might happen earlier as the government has an ongoing independent review. That's a frustration for 27-year-old retail manager Connor, who got in touch via BBC Your Voice, because he says "the goalpost keeps moving". "At the minute I'll be 68 by the time I can retire, but I do think I'll be probably closer to 75, if I'm honest." More than 13 million people - 19% of the population - are currently of state pension age. By 2050, even with the state pension age rising to 68, that group is projected to exceed 15 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, with numbers projected to climb towards 17 million by the 2070s. In other words, there will be lots more people qualifying for the state pension, and fewer working people, as a proportion, paying taxes into the pot to cover the bill. At the same time, almost half of working‑age adults are not paying into a private pension pot. That means many will be relying solely on the state pension for their retirement income - and with relative poverty rates among pensioners now at 14%, we can already see how difficult that can be. Experts warn that if a whole generation stops believing the state pension will be there, it could push people towards more risky investments, prompt overly restrictive behaviour, or lead others not to save at all. So, are we heading towards a major pension crisis for many in Gen Z? And if we are, might the Gen Z generation end up redefining what retirement looks like? For those hitting the state pension milestone today, as long as they've made 35 years of National Insurance contributions, they're entitled to £241.30 a week.

Why Gen Z are planning for life without a state pension
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Sensex today | Stock Market Live Updates: Indian shares likely to open higher on strong business updates from lenders

Sensex Today, Nifty 50 | Stock Market Live Updates - The new week is likely begin on flat note for Indian stock market on Monday, thanks to improvement in US-Iran situation. Gift Nifty indicates 24,325 indicates a slip of about 25 points at open for Nifty. According to analysts, with the return of foreign portfolio investors, markets likely to see consolidation. The focus will be on result season, with TCS set to announce on July 9. Besides, the reveal of monsoon will be keenly watched. Ponmudi R, CEO - Enrich Money, said Indian equities are expected to open on a steady note, supported by positive global cues, subdued crude oil prices and improving risk sentiment. Meanwhile, Asian stocks Nikkei and Kospi are down one early deal on Monday. Market participants will also closely monitor foreign institutional investor (FII) and domestic institutional investor (DII) flows, which continue to play a crucial role in determining near-term market momentum. Movements in the rupee against the US dollar and fluctuations in crude oil prices will also be closely tracked, given their implications for inflation, corporate profitability, and investor sentiment. Poonawalla Fincorp: Assets Under Management (AUM): AUM stands at approximately ₹ 67,000 crore as on 30th June 2026. Liquidity: The Company continues to have ample liquidity of approximately ₹ 4,000 crore as on 30th June 2026. Diamond Power Infrastructure has received a supply order valued at Rs. 435.71 crore (exclusive of GST) for the supply of HT & LT Power Cables for the 310 MW HYD22 to HYD26 Data Center Projects at Hyderabad, to be executed by L&T, Sterling and Wilson & Blue Star GK Energy has received a letter of empanelment from Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited for 10,000 Off-Grid Solar Photovoltaic Water Pumping Systems (SPWPS) pumps under Magel Tyala Saur Krushi Pump Yojana. The total value of order is Rs. 235.92 Crore. “Nifty is expected to open marginally lower around 24,230, down nearly 30 points, indicating a subdued start after the recent rally. Despite the muted opening, the short-term structure remains positive as the index continues to trade above key support levels. Traders should watch whether Nifty is able to sustain above 24,200, which now acts as immediate support.

Sensex today | Stock Market Live Updates: Indian shares likely to open higher on strong business updates from lenders
Europe
The Guardian

Trump threatens 100% tariff on European countries that impose digital tax

‘Numerous’ EU countries had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Photograph: ABACA/ShutterstockView image in fullscreen‘Numerous’ EU countries had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Photograph: ABACA/ShutterstockDonald TrumpTrump threatens 100% tariff on European countries that impose digital tax US president says levy would be imposed immediately and supersede pre-existing trade deals with the country Donald Trump has threatened to place a 100% import tariff on any European country that imposes a tax on digital services from US companies. Writing on Truth Social on Friday, the US president said that “numerous European countries” had been discussing putting a digital services tax on American companies and that “some of these countries are close to actually doing this”. “Please let this statement serve to represent that any country that imposes such a tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump continued. He added that the tariff would be immediately imposed and supersede any other prior trade deals that existed with the country. The threat could set off another saga in Trump’s global trade war, in which he has placed drastic tariffs on countries and economic blocs at once. If Trump followed through on his warning, it could set off a larger trade war between the US and EU if the 27-country economic bloc felt compelled to retaliate to the tariff hike. France, Spain and Italy impose a digital services tax of 3% on large companies working in their countries, while several other EU countries have either implemented or proposed similar policies. The UK has a 2% digital services tax that applies to social media platforms, large search engines and online marketplaces which have global revenues from digital services exceeding £500m , total UK revenues of over £25m and “derive value” from UK users. The digital services tax applies to US tech companies such as Apple, Google and Amazon, and raised more than £800m in 2024-2025, according to the UK Treasury. An EU spokesperson said that the economic bloc reserved the right to defend itself against such tariffs. “Unilateral measures targeting such legitimate policies are unjustified. If pursued, the EU will respond swiftly and decisively to defend its rights and regulatory autonomy,” said Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission. Gill said that digital services taxes did not target companies from any countries in particular and that they applied to “all large companies, regardless of their origin”.

Trump threatens 100% tariff on European countries that impose digital tax
Europe
The Guardian

NPR retracts ‘inaccurate’ story saying supreme court justice Samuel Alito retiring

Samuel Alito in Rome last year. A court spokesperson called NPR’s reporting ‘inaccurate’. Photograph: Vincenzo Livieri/ReutersView image in fullscreenSamuel Alito in Rome last year. A court spokesperson called NPR’s reporting ‘inaccurate’. Photograph: Vincenzo Livieri/ReutersNPRNPR retracts ‘inaccurate’ story saying supreme court justice Samuel Alito retiringStory from Nina Totenberg removed and replaced with editor’s note after journalist misheard announcement made by chief justice The US public broadcasting organization National Public Radio (NPR) on Tuesday took the unusual step of formally retracting a major news story, after it published what seemed like a bombshell scoop that the supreme court justice Samuel Alito was retiring. The story was written by Nina Totenberg, 82, one of the most prominent chroniclers of the supreme court in American media. NPR later explained that Totenberg had misheard a court announcement about upcoming retirements. The nearly 1,200-word story was completely removed and replaced with the following editor’s note: “Earlier today we erroneously published a story saying that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. He has not announced his retirement and we have retracted the story.” The opening paragraph of the story cited a “court announcement” that Alito was retiring, but no announcement had been made at the time of publication. Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson for the court, told NBC News that “NPR’s reporting regarding Justice Alito is inaccurate” and that “their reporting that there was any kind of court statement is inaccurate”. On Tuesday afternoon, NPR’s top editor, Thomas Evans, chalked the errant publication up to a “misunderstanding”. “Neither Justice Alito nor the Supreme Court Public Information Office has announced his retirement,” Evans said in the statement. “As soon as the error was realized, the story was retracted and removed from NPR’s website and an on-air correction was broadcast. We regret the error and any confusion this may have caused.” Journalistic ethics expert Kelly McBride, who serves as NPR’s public editor, published a story on Tuesday afternoon clarifying what happened. The error stemmed from Totenberg mishearing an announcement made by Chief Justice John Roberts about upcoming retirements. “NPR had the lengthy story about Alito’s retirement already written, because that’s what newsrooms do in anticipation of significant retirements and even deaths,” McBride wrote. “Totenberg spoke with both her intern, who was at the court with her, and NPR executive editor Krishnadev Calamur, and told them what she heard. Calamur surfaced the story that NPR had previously prepared for the day Alito did announce his retirement and published it.” Totenberg appeared on NPR on Tuesday afternoon and called it a “rookie mistake”, saying: “This is on me, and only me.” She also read from a letter that she sent to Alito apologizing for the error. “It was the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years of journalism,” she wrote. “I could go on, but I don’t know what else to say, other than to say that I am so, so sorry.”

NPR retracts ‘inaccurate’ story saying supreme court justice Samuel Alito retiring
Europe
BBC Business

India's biggest share sales tell the story of a country glued to its phones

Image source, NurPhoto via Getty ImagesImage caption, Jio is expected to raise around $4bn (£3.02bn) with an estimated valuation of $120-160bn India's largest stock exchange and its biggest telecoms operator will both go public by the end of this year in what experts say could be landmark listings for the country's capital markets. Jio Platforms, the digital arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) - the world's largest derivatives exchange and among the top three equity exchanges by trading volume - filed draft papers for their initial public offerings just days apart last month. Jio is expected to mop up around $4bn (£3.02bn) from the market at an estimated valuation of $120-160bn, while NSE's issue will reportedly offer 6% equity for $3.3bn, valuing the bourse at $57bn. Beyond the unprecedented scale of the offerings - which could take India's overall market capitalisation up by several notches - investors are closely watching the listings because they represent the sweeping changes in the way Indians have come to live, consume, invest and transact in the last decade, Yatin Singh, CEO - Investment Banking at Emkay Global, told the BBC. "These are unique businesses which don't get built often. NSE is a direct proxy of the 'financialisation' of Indian household savings into mutual funds and stocks, while Jio is the story of a company that single handedly ushered in a digital revolution, becoming a driving factor for several new-age Indian businesses," said Singh. "Their listings could be seminal for the Indian markets in the way the marquee offerings of software companies became many decades ago," he adds. Jio's belated entry into India's crowded telecom market in 2016 consolidated a highly fragmented industry of 17 operators and turned it into a virtual duopoly, as the Ambanis sparked a fierce pricing war by offering virtually free data to hundreds of millions of new users. Barely 200 million Indians used the internet decade ago. That number is now inching closer to the billion mark with Jio alone amassing 525 million of those subscribers. They use its data to make payments, watch web shows and shop online. In fact, Indians are now the largest consumers of mobile data globally, surpassing even developed markets like the US and China. And this has largely been driven by Jio's cheap tariffs that democratised smartphone use. The way the country spends money and time has also changed dramatically as a result of this digitisation. India's United Payments Interface (UPI), launched in the same year as Jio, went from processing near zero digital payments to 228 billion transactions in 2025, according to Zerodha, a brokerage. And paid subscribers to OTT platforms jumped 40% between 2019 and 2026.

India's biggest share sales tell the story of a country glued to its phones