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North America
Yahoo Finance

2 Financials Stocks to Target This Week and 1 We Ignore

Financial providers use their expertise in capital allocation and risk assessment to help facilitate economic growth while offering consumers and businesses essential financial services. Still, investors are uneasy as companies face challenges from an unpredictable interest rate and inflation environment. These doubts have caused the industry to lag recently as financials stocks have collectively shed 2.4% over the past six months. This performance was disappointing since the S&P 500 climbed 6.1

2 Financials Stocks to Target This Week and 1 We Ignore
Europe
The Guardian

Return of the ‘greybeards’: AI backfired – so Ford had to rehire humans

I’m thinking old, and probably male? Most likely. Certainly human, that’s the main thing. Who is it about then? Veteran engineers, working for Ford Motor Company in the US. Oh dear, I think I know how this story goes: hundreds of longstanding workers get laid off because of automation and artificial intelligence … That kinda was how the story was going; the company has 5,000 fewer workers than it did in 2020. Recently, though, there’s been an unexpected twist. Ooh, I love those, go on. Over the past three years, the company has hired 350 veteran engineers – known as “greybeards” (or “graybeards” if you’re reading this in the US) – made up of former Ford employees and workers from suppliers. Excellent news! Why, though? I’m guessing it’s not because – despite the threat from the massive acceleration going on in the Chinese automotive industry – Ford has suddenly discovered its charitable side? No. It’s more about doing the things that AI proved to be a bit rubbish at. AI replaced with human beings, man bites dog! Go on! Not quite replaced. But they discovered that the hundreds of AI-powered cameras they were using, including for design and manufacturing checks, were prone to pitfalls. Because? To quote Ford’s vice president of vehicle hardware engineering, Charles Poon: “Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it’s only as good as the information you use to train it.” Hmm, now who would have that kind of knowhow and experience, I wonder? “Over prior years, we didn’t pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers that have been with us through many product cycles,” Poon said. “Who have been with us through many product cycles”, Mr Poon – they’re people, remember. True. With facial hair to prove it. So the AI gets chucked on the scrapheap and the “greybeards” come back through the factory gates, singing, like elves … In the fairytale version maybe. And in the real version? A combination of the two. Ford said that AI is very important to quality gains, “and that, in tandem with deep technical expertise, is what’s needed”. Yeah, until all that expertise has been successfully transferred to the machines. And the human becomes redundant. Not just from work, but existentially. Argggghhh!

Return of the ‘greybeards’: AI backfired – so Ford had to rehire humans
North America
CNBC Finance

Eli Lilly, Regeneron among first companies selected for FDA initiative to speed review of new manufacturing facilities

Eli Lilly and Regeneron are among the first seven companies the U.S. Food and Drug Administration selected for a pilot program designed to accelerate reviews of new domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities, CNBC has learned. Lilly, Regeneron, Amneal, Cellares, Fujifilm Biotechnologies, Kriya Therapeutics and Kyowa Kirin are the first companies that will participate in the FDA's PreCheck pilot program, according to FDA spokesperson Benjamin Nichols. The initiative will allow regulators to start reviewing new manufacturing facilities while they're under construction to catch and correct any issues, which the FDA estimates could save companies up to 14 months. Producing more drugs domestically has been a priority for the Trump administration. The initial recipients range from the most valuable healthcare company in the world to closely held biotechs developing gene therapies. The majority of them plan to make biologic drugs or genetic medicines, which involve more complex manufacturing. To be eligible for the PreCheck program, companies needed to build a new manufacturing facility capable of making drugs that would address a market supply gap or improve access to therapies for unmet medical needs. Only drugs that rely on the facility will be covered by the program. For example, the FDA selected Lilly's Lebanon, Indiana, facility that will make the main ingredients of GLP-1 pills and shots. Lilly said it's "evaluating how PreCheck and related regulatory improvements may impact the facility's timeline and will continue to work closely with FDA to support the program's success." The $2 billion Saratoga Springs, New York, site that Regeneron announced last fall was also chosen. In a statement, Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer said Regeneron has invested in U.S. biologics manufacturing and advocated for increased focus on domestic production of medicines. "We're pleased to see programs like the FDA's PreCheck Pilot Program that encourage collaboration between innovators and regulators to build next generation manufacturing capabilities and strengthen America's biopharmaceutical industry," he said. Another recipient is Fujfilm Biotechnologies' new facility in Holly Springs, North Carolina. The contract manufacturer opened the site last year. It's already making monoclonal antibodies for customers Regeneron and Johnson & Johnson, and will produce them for other customers as more parts of the site open in 2027 and 2028. The PreCheck program includes two components: facility readiness, where the FDA gives the companies technical guidance before the site opens, and application submission, where participants can get more hands-on feedback from the FDA and expedited inspections and facility evaluation. Fujifilm said it expects the operational readiness review before the end of the year thanks to the expedited process. And it expects the program will allow its customers to explore faster approval pathways with the FDA. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Eli Lilly, Regeneron among first companies selected for FDA initiative to speed review of new manufacturing facilities
North America
CNBC Finance

Comcast's NBCUniversal spinoff raises hope for more deals. There may not be good options

Analysts think Comcast is priming for deals. Comcast leadership says they're wrong. The company announced Monday it plans to separate its two primary businesses — cable broadband and the media units of NBCUniversal and Sky. It's the second major structural change for the decades-old company in recent months, and it's raising questions of potential future deals for either half of the company. "Absolutely not," Comcast co-CEO Brian Roberts said Monday, when asked if investors should view the separation as a potential setup for future deals. Roberts, son of founder Ralph Roberts and Comcast's controlling shareholder, won't be CEO of either company after the separation but will continue to be "actively involved" in the leadership of both companies, Comcast said. "This is the right move to put each company in the strongest position to create value, fully monetize its assets, and aggressively pursue its own organic growth strategies," Roberts said. A reason Comcast is squashing deal speculation? There may not be many good ones left. Wall Street and industry onlookers have called for a split of Comcast for years, motivated by the rise of streaming and severe competition in the media industry. While company leaders have discussed a separation at various points since at least 2019, executives have never seriously considered it until now, according to a person close to the situation who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. When Comcast decided to siphon off its cable TV networks into a separate publicly traded company less than two years ago — the spinoff that would ultimately become CNBC-parent Versant Media Group — the prospect of carving out NBCUniversal as a whole never came up, the person said. Instead, the move to sever NBCUniversal and Sky from the Xfinity cable business came together rather quickly in recent months, the person said. Wall Street just witnessed a large media deal following an announced spin, noted Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester. Before Warner Bros. Discovery launched a sale process that resulted in dueling bids from Netflix and Paramount Skydance, WBD said it planned to separate its assets into two companies. "Comcast is following a playbook we have already seen. Warner Bros. Discovery split itself apart as it moved into a deal with Paramount. Now Comcast is doing the same with NBCUniversal. History matters here because Peacock increases NBCUniversal's acquisition potential," Proulx said.

Comcast's NBCUniversal spinoff raises hope for more deals. There may not be good options
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Godrej Agrovet rejigs portfolio to improve earnings quality

Godrej Agrovet is entering a new phase of growth with a focus on earnings quality, capital efficiency and sustainable returns rather than revenue expansion alone. Targeting cash‑rich, low‑volatility businesses to boost returns and earnings quality. As Godrej Agrovet enters its next phase of growth, the company is placing greater emphasis on the quality and sustainability of earnings than on revenue expansion alone, reshaping its portfolio to improve returns on capital, reduce earnings volatility and strengthen long-term capital discipline. Over the past two years, Godrej Agrovet has deployed nearly ₹1,750 crore towards acquisitions, subsidiary consolidation and capital expenditure while improving return on capital employed (ROCE) from 16 per cent to 20 per cent. The ₹10,233-crore Godrej Industries Group company is sharpening its portfolio focus, with a greater emphasis on businesses that offer stronger growth visibility, higher value addition and better returns on capital. Investments are being directed towards premium animal nutrition, value-added dairy, branded foods, downstream oil palm. The contract Development and Manufacturing Operations (CDMO) segment is highly relevant for Godrej Agrovet Ltd. (GAVL) as it provides a strategic transition away from cyclical commodity chemicals toward high-margin, stable, and long-term partnerships with global innovators. This segment is primarily executed through its subsidiary, Astec According to company officials familiar with the strategy, the exercise is intended to improve returns on capital, reduce earnings volatility and focus management attention on businesses with stronger long-term growth potential. The transformation comes as Godrej Agrovet reported consolidated revenue of ₹10,233 crore in FY26, crossing the ₹10,000-crore mark for the first time, while profit before tax before exceptional items rose 17.2 per cent to ₹569 crore. The company has guided for double-digit revenue growth and mid-double-digit profit growth in FY27. Unlike earlier phases of expansion that relied largely on adding businesses and capacity, the current phase is being funded primarily through internal cash generation. Company officials said businesses with limited growth potential, structurally weak profitability, or volatile earnings are being evaluated alongside opportunities capable of delivering stronger returns and more durable cash generation. The portfolio review signals a broader change in how Godrej Agrovet intends to create value. Rather than assessing businesses primarily by their contribution to revenue, the company is increasingly prioritising earnings quality, return on capital and cash generation when allocating investment. However industry analysts say, the larger challenge, however, will be execution, whether higher-margin businesses such as value-added dairy, branded foods, premium animal nutrition , downstream oil palm and CDMO can grow quickly enough to contribute a materially larger share of profits while reducing the company’s dependence on more volatile, commodity-linked businesses.

Godrej Agrovet rejigs portfolio to improve earnings quality
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
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
BBC Business

Chinese tycoon sentenced to 30 years in US jail

Guo Wengui, who was once believed to be one of China's richest businessmen, has been sentenced to 30 years in jail in the US for running a billion dollar scam. The former property tycoon fled China to the US in 2017, where he reinvented himself as a Communist Party critic and built a loyal online following. But Guo was later convicted on charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering. New York court judge Analisa Torres said Guo had "preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China", taking their money to fund his lavish lifestyle. Guo - who goes by several names, including Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok - was sentenced in a courtroom packed with his supporters. US attorney Sean S Buckley told the BBC: "Rather than being satisfied with the many legitimate opportunities afforded to him, Guo exploited the trust that thousands had placed in him for his own greed." "Today's sentence shows that fame and wealth do not place you above the law, and that fraudsters who victimise families to enrich themselves will be met with significant consequences," Buckley said. Before fleeing China, Guo built a fortune as a property developer and had good ties with the country's government. But he sought asylum in the US after being accused by top Chinese officials of corruption. Guo became a critic of China's Communist regime and cultivated a wide online following among the Chinese community in the US. Prosecutors said Guo raised more than $1bn (£760m) from online followers, who joined him in investment and cryptocurrency schemes between 2018 and 2023. The money he raised was used to fund Guo's lavish lifestyle which included a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $1m Lamborghini and a $37m yacht, they said.

Chinese tycoon sentenced to 30 years in US jail
Europe
BBC Business

Shetland set to back £1.5bn plan to connect islands with undersea tunnels

Image source, Estunlar.foImage caption, The Faroe Islands serve as the inspiration for the Shetland tunnels project Undersea tunnels connecting some of the UK's most northerly islands could be in place within eight years, under plans expected to be approved on Tuesday. A feasibility study for Shetland Islands Council proposes replacing ageing ferries with tunnels from Shetland's mainland to Yell and from Yell to Unst, describing them as "economically transformative". Two more tunnels, to the islands of Whalsay and Bressay, could follow under the plans, which are estimated to cost £1.5bn. Council leaders say the tunnels would be cheaper than building new ferries and replacing harbours. The council is expected to explore funding from a mixture of private investment, public subsidy and borrowing, along with tolls covering maintenance costs. The council's transport chairperson, Moraig Lyall, said the report showed there were no technical barriers to building tunnels, which would be "cheaper in the long run" than ferries. The council currently runs ferry services to nine islands, carrying around 750,000 passengers each year on 12 vessels at a cost of £23m per year. Image caption, Moraig Lyall says tunnels which would be "cheaper in the long run" than ferries. Costs have risen sharply in the past decade, with some routes struggling to meet demand for vehicle places. Lyall said: "The system we have that has served us well for decades is now no longer able to do that. "It doesn't have the capacity and we're struggling with other things, like the ability to crew the system adequately.

Shetland set to back £1.5bn plan to connect islands with undersea tunnels