Latest Developments

Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Alibaba shares rise after unveiling upgraded flagship AI model

People visiting the Alibaba booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, on July 18. Alibaba said its Qwen3.8 Max model is second only to Anthropic’s Fable 5. Alibaba Group Holding shares rose as much as 5.4 per cent on July 20 after the company launched a preview version of its flagship Qwen3.8 Max model, describing it as second only to Anthropic’s Fable 5. The July 19 release came only days after start-up Moonshot AI unveiled a powerful new offering that has roiled markets and triggered concern in the US about China closing the gap on global leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI. Qwen3.8 Max has 2.4 trillion parameters, joining Moonshot’s Kimi K3 in the heavyweight class. With 2.8 trillion parameters, K3 rivals top offerings, and Alibaba is setting similarly high expectations. Developers can now access Qwen3.8 Max through Alibaba’s coding platforms, including Qoder. Alibaba plans to make the model open weight soon, expanding access beyond the preview release. Interest in these made-in-China artificial intelligence systems and models is so high that Moonshot was forced to pause taking on new subscriptions late on July 19 to manage overwhelming demand. While optimism around Alibaba is growing, other contenders in China’s hotly contested AI race have suffered a drop in the wake of the new Kimi release. Rival Zhipu declined nearly 30 per cent on July 17 and added a further 14 per cent to the losses on July 20, after being one of the star debut stocks in Hong Kong for much of 2026. Hangzhou-based Alibaba, China’s e-commerce leader and one of its biggest investors in AI, recently scored another victory after Beijing approved Apple Intelligence, the software suite for iPhones, iPads and other Apple gear, which will use Alibaba technology in the country. BLOOMBERG

Alibaba shares rise after unveiling upgraded flagship AI model
North America
CNBC Finance

Florida's Palm Beach airport renamed for Trump

The airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, has officially been renamed after President Donald Trump, the first time an airport has been named after a sitting U.S. president. Effective Thursday, the facility will be called President Donald J. Trump International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The airport — formerly Palm Beach International Airport — said in an FAQ posted online that "updates to signage, branding and public‑facing materials, will occur in phases." As part of the transition, the airport's FAA locational identifier will change from PBI to DJT. The International Air Transport Association code change is set to occur on Aug. 18. Major U.S. carriers including United Airlines and Delta Air Lines began putting the new airport code DJT on their booking pages on Thursday, though consumers searching for flights can still use the old PBI code to find the airport. More than a dozen airlines fly into the facility, including domestic leaders Delta, United, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. The fresh branding comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law earlier this year to change the name of the airport. The move was later approved by the FAA. The state of Florida appropriated $2.75 million toward the project, according to the airport's FAQ, and the remaining costs for the transition will be funded through the local Department of Airports' operating budget and capital improvement program. "While we recognize that the required name change may be received in different ways by our passengers, we're grateful for your continued support through this transition period," the airport wrote in the FAQ. "While some things may evolve over time, our core focus remains the same: providing a safe, reliable and welcoming airport experience." The airport is near the president's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and he flies in and out of it fairly often. The president's son Eric Trump said Trump Force One — the nickname for the private jet owned by the Trump Organization — would be the first plane to land at the newly renamed airport. "As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials 'DJT' on my boarding pass," he wrote on X.

Florida's Palm Beach airport renamed for Trump
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Q1 Results Today LIVE: Infosys, Mphasis, IndiGo, Cipla, Meesho, Cyient, PVR INOX, IEX, VMM to announce Q1 results today, Eternal, Nestle, Adani Power, AGEL, Tata Comm, BPCL, HPCL, Dr Reddy's, IndusInd shares in focus

Follow our Stock Market LIVE Updates for Sensex, Nifty, sectoral movers and earnings-driven stock action. Infosys Q1FY27 preview indicates steady growth driven by acquisitions, yet mixed full-year outlook raises concerns among brokerages. Eternal shares rose 2.4% on the NSE to Rs 291.35 before trading flat at Rs 284.70 at 9.22 am. It reported a consolidated net profit of ₹92 crore in the June quarter Sensex traded 357.83 pts or 0.47% lower at 76,397.22 at 9.17 am after opening at 76,515.10 from the previous close of 76,755.05; Nifty 50 fell 101.30 pts or 0.42% to 23,894.95 Revenue from operations for Q1 FY27 stood at Rs. 924.25 crores a growth of 53.23% YoY Strong unexecuted orderbook of Rs. 5,300+ crores underpins sustained revenue visibility July 22, 2026, Mumbai: Waaree Renewable Technologies Limited(WRTL), the EPC arm of the Waaree Group, stands among the leading players in the EPC and T&D space. Beyond its core renewable EPC business, WRTL has been expanding its capabilities across adjacent segments. The recent acquisition of Associated Power Structures Pvt. Ltd. (APSPL) strengthens the company’s presence in the transmission and distribution (T&D) space. Company is also actively pursuing EPC opportunities in Battery Energy Storage Systems and Data Centre. These steps reflect WRTL’s effort to build a broader and more integrated presence across the clean energy value chain. It has announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended on June 30, 2026. • HFCL’s Board has approved setting up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility for Data Center Connectivity Products with an annual capacity of 2.7 lakh assemblies at an estimated capital outlay of ₹215 crore. • The investment is driven by the surging global demand for AI, hyperscale data centres, cloud computing, high-performance computing and high-speed networking, creating significant business opportunities in domestic and international markets. * The facility will manufacture Miniature Multi-Fiber (MMC) and Super High-Density Multi-Fiber Termination (SNMT) assemblies used in high-speed data centres and AI infrastructure and is expected to be commissioned by September 2027. * The project will be funded through an appropriate mix of internal accruals and debt and is expected to strengthen manufacturing capabilities, expand exports, support import substitution and reinforce HFCL’s position in next-generation optical connectivity solutions. Headline results: Continuingrevenue, EBITDA, and PAT growth of +28%, +40% and +42% was +18%, +25%, and +36% vs. our estimates and +19%, +25%, and 34% vs. the Street. Adjusted PAT beat vs. our forecast was driven by lower interest costs and higher associate income.

Q1 Results Today LIVE: Infosys, Mphasis, IndiGo, Cipla, Meesho, Cyient, PVR INOX, IEX, VMM to announce Q1 results today, Eternal, Nestle, Adani Power, AGEL, Tata Comm, BPCL, HPCL, Dr Reddy's, IndusInd shares in focus
Europe
The Guardian

Largest landlord in the US accused of civil rights violations

Union on Knox, an apartment complex, in College Park, Maryland. Photograph: Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun via Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenUnion on Knox, an apartment complex, in College Park, Maryland. Photograph: Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun via Getty ImagesThe price we payUS newsLargest landlord in the US accused of civil rights violationsFair housing complaints accuse Greystar of refusing to take tenants who use federal rent vouchers About this contentTracie McMillanThu 16 Jul 2026 14.09 EDTLast modified on Thu 16 Jul 2026 14.19 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleGreystar, the largest owner and manager of apartments in the US, systematically flouts local laws designed to make housing affordable to the poor, according to civil rights complaints filed with authorities in six states and the District of Columbia. The complaints – filed this week with government agencies in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington DC – accuse Greystar of 114 violations of state and DC fair housing laws. They allege that the company refuses to accept federal housing choice vouchers (also known as Section 8) in places that require landlords to accept them. “We have never encountered a landlord that operates with such brazen contempt and hostility toward the rule of law as Greystar,” Aaron Carr, executive director of the Housing Rights Initiative, said in a statement. “… As the largest landlord in America, Greystar should be setting the standard of best practices for the nation, not systematically rejecting legitimate prospective tenants.” Carr’s group and a national law firm, Cohen Milstein, submitted the complaints and publicly shared recordings of calls made to Greystar-run buildings by undercover testers posing as potential tenants with vouchers. At every building, the group says, Greystar staff either refused to accept vouchers or imposed unlawful conditions on voucher use. In a statement, Greystar did not address the specifics of the complaints but said it is “committed to fair housing practices in everything we do” and provides related training to staff. As of December, the company operated more than 1m units of housing in the US, including roughly 235,000 in the jurisdictions where the complaints were filed, according to Yardi Matrix data analyzed by the Private Equity Stateholder Project. The allegations come less than a month after a Guardian investigation reported that tenants in Greystar-run buildings face a mass of fees drawn from a menu of 125 different add-on charges. Lawsuits currently seeking class-action status in multiple states allege Greystar charges inflated or illegal fees. In 2025, Greystar agreed to a $50m settlement to resolve a federal class action alleging it colluded with other landlords to raise rents and reached a $24m settlement in a Federal Trade Commission case alleging it gouged tenants with hidden fees. Greystar did not admit wrongdoing in connection with those settlements and has said that the claims in the pending class actions are implausible and factually deficient.

Largest landlord in the US accused of civil rights violations
Europe
The Guardian

New York Times files motion to quash justice department’s subpoenas

New York Times newspaper office building seen in Manhattan, New York, on 26 October 2022. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenNew York Times newspaper office building seen in Manhattan, New York, on 26 October 2022. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesUS justice systemNew York Times files motion to quash justice department’s subpoenasJournalists who had reported on security concerns around the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, received summons The New York Times on Wednesday filed a motion to quash subpoenas the justice department served journalists who reported on security concerns involving the new Air Force One, a gift from Qatar, teeing up a significant court fight over press freedom and the government’s ability to force reporters to identify sources. “As we set out in our motion, these subpoenas are brought in bad faith to punish the Times for its coverage. They violate the constitutional rights of the Times and its journalists. We are going to court to defend our journalists’ rights to report freely on the administration and to provide the public with stories that matter,” David McCraw, the newspaper’s senior vice-president and deputy general counsel, said in a statement. The filing was made under seal in the southern district of New York, where the journalists were summoned in subpoenas delivered last Friday to testify before a federal grand jury. The subpoenas, some of which were delivered to reporters at their homes, marked a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media leaks that free press advocates swiftly condemned as a government effort to intimidate news organizations. It followed an FBI search earlier this year of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the seizure of her electronic devices. The subpoenas sought to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan this week after they reported on security concerns involving the new Air Force One. The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump’s administration spent $400m to retrofit and upgrade, recently entered service. But the Republican president used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a Nato summit in Turkey last week. The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns. The justice department has justified the subpoenas by saying that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are”. “We value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country,” the department said after the Times reported it had received the subpoenas. “But [the] DoJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.” The justice department over the years has developed, and revised, internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks. Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel a reporter to reveal their sources before a grand jury.

New York Times files motion to quash justice department’s subpoenas
Europe
BBC Business

British Steel taken into public ownership to protect 'vital' UK supply

Image source, Getty ImagesByHarry Sekulich, Archie Mitchell, Business reporters and Theo Leggett, Business CorrespondentPublished16 July 2026, 06:22 BSTUpdated 3 hours agoBritish Steel has been taken into public ownership in a move the government said would protect jobs and safeguard "a vital national capability". The future of the steelworks, which employs roughly 2,700 people in Scunthorpe and supports many other industries in north Lincolnshire, has been dogged by uncertainty over recent years. The UK government had taken control of British Steel's operations in Scunthorpe last year, though it was still owned by China's Jingye Group, limiting the government's ability to decide on its future strategy. Nationalisation buys the government time and gives it the power and freedom to decide on the future of the plant, while keeping the blast furnaces going. Ultimately it is unlikely the government will want to remain in charge of a business that is costing it more than a million pounds a day. In March, the National Audit Office released a report noting that the Scunthorpe steelworks was costing the government about £1.3m a day. The nationalisation came after Parliament on Wednesday passed legislation allowing the government to bring the steel industry into public ownership under circumstances where it met a public interest test. Jingye is seeking compensation for nationalisation, having previously said the business was losing £700,000 a day. The BBC has been unable to get a response from Jingye to Thursday's announcement. Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC the government will need to cover the running costs "for the immediate future". He said an independent assessor would determine whether Jingye should be compensated for the nationalisation based on the value of the company. "But let me be really clear, there is an alternative here - that we let this business go bust," he said. "If that business disappears, we will lose the ability for primary steel production in our country, we will become entirely dependent on global supply."

British Steel taken into public ownership to protect 'vital' UK supply
Europe
BBC Business

TikTok faces Ofcom investigation over child age checks

Image source, Getty ImagesByLiv McMahonTechnology reporterPublished16 July 2026, 08:04 BSTUpdated 3 hours agoAn investigation has been launched into whether TikTok is doing enough to keep children off its platform. The probe by media regulator Ofcom comes a month after the UK government announced that under-16's would be banned entirely from a range of platforms. Ofcom will examine how the video-sharing app assesses if a user is a child and whether it has adequate systems to prevent children from viewing harmful content. "We're confident that we meet our Online Safety Act obligations and will work with Ofcom to demonstrate it," a TikTok spokesperson said. It follows a review by regulator in May which criticised the platform for not being "safe enough" for children and called for stronger action on children's online safety. Kate Davies, Ofcom's group director for strategy and research told BBC's Today programme: "This is where TikTok comes in. We found that some method of age checks being used by social media are not working well enough". At the heart of the regulator's probe into the platform is its use of technology known as "age inference". This essentially relies on estimating how old a user is based on how they use the platform, such as the videos they watch or others they interact with. Davies said Ofcom had "serious doubts" over whether such tools are good enough at checking the age of users. The regulator requires social media platforms, among others, to use "highly effective" methods to check users are old enough to use them and prevent children from seeing harmful material. "We have very serious questions about whether age inference can be highly effective," she said. But a TikTok spokesperson said: "We strictly enforce age-appropriate experiences through expert-informed platform rules and advanced age inference technologies, in line with major industry peers."

TikTok faces Ofcom investigation over child age checks
Europe
BBC Business

Celebrity influencers paid up to £1m to advertise deodorant on Instagram

The #ad posts on your feed may look relaxed, personal and spontaneous but behind many of them is a carefully planned campaign, a detailed contract and, in some cases, a seven-figure fee. For Charlie Bowes-Lyon, the co-founder of Wild, a refillable natural deodorant, influencer marketing has been a huge part of the company's success and he calls it his "secret sauce". Wild, which was bought by Unilever last year, uses high-profile names including Stacey Solomon, Emma Raducanu and Molly-Mae Hague to promote its products on Instagram. Bowes-Lyon says the brand has spent millions on its partnership with Raducanu and hundreds of thousands on campaigns with Solomon and Hague. Hannah Campbell, founder of influencer marketing agency One Twelve Agency, says brands are using influencers over traditional adverts because "they do actually influence". "They have built audiences and communities that trust them, and the old adage 'people buy from people' is true. "Consumers, especially younger audiences, aren't engaging with traditional media but they do follow and engage with their favourite influencers daily." Influencer marketing is now such a big part of Wild's business that it employs a team of more than 20 solely dedicated to working on this. The company's yearly influencer marketing budget is just under £10m, "but next year that may double as we look for larger brand ambassadors", says Bowes-Lyon. How much the company spends on influencer marketing "can vary from £100,000 through to millions if you want a top-tier celebrity", says Bowes-Lyon. He says a lot of it also depends on the depth of the campaign as "if you want them to do a one-off post you wouldn't pay too much but typically what they and you want is to develop is a bit more of a relationship". British tennis player Emma Raducanu is Wild's current brand ambassador and has been working with the brand for the past year.

Celebrity influencers paid up to £1m to advertise deodorant on Instagram
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

India’s edible oil import bill up 20% in first 8 months

With India’s edible oil import bill up over 20 per cent in the first eight months of the oil year 2025-26 (November-October), the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) forecasts it to touch ₹1.75 lakh crore by the oil year-end. In his monthly letter to SEA members on Wedensday, Sanjeev Asthana, President of SEA, said India stands at a defining moment in its edible oil journey, and the warning signs are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The country’s edible oil import bill, which stood at ₹1.61 lakh crore last year, is now projected to cross an unprecedented ₹1.75 lakh crore this year. During November-June of the current oil year alone, imports have already exceeded 104 lakh tonnes, with the import bill rising from ₹99,000 crore to ₹1.19 lakh crore, an increase of nearly ₹20,000 crore in just eight months (a growth of 20.20 per cent). “This is not merely another statistic; it represents a substantial outflow of precious foreign exchange that could otherwise be channelled into strengthening India’s agricultural infrastructure,” he said. Stating that a weaker rupee has made imports costlier, Asthana said at the same time weather uncertainties, including below-normal monsoon forecasts and delayed sowing in several oilseed-growing regions, are raising concerns over domestic production. He said global developments are adding further pressure. Indonesia’s expanding biodiesel programme is diverting larger quantities of palm oil from food to fuel, tightening global supplies, while geopolitical uncertainties and higher freight and insurance costs continue to keep international edible oil prices volatile. “The net effect is that India may be compelled to import more, and pay considerably more for every tonne. While imports will continue to play an important role, India’s long-term answer cannot lie in importing more — it must lie in producing more,” he said. Expressing concerns over the delayed monsoon, he said the South-West monsoon has been uneven this year, with several oilseed-growing regions recording rainfall well below normal. Stating that initial kharif sowing data already reflect this stress, he said groundnut, soybean and sunflower sowing has lagged behind last year’s pace, and overall oilseed acreage has remained substantially lower at 147 lakh hectares as on July 17 compared to 155.7 lakh hectares, down by 8.6 lakh hectares, for the same period of last year. Particular concern is the possibility of weaker rainfall during the critical August-September flowering period, which could adversely affect oilseed yields and further deplete reservoir levels, with implications for the forthcoming rabi season as well. “The silver lining is that sowing delays do not necessarily translate into lower production; historically, acreage has caught up once rainfall improves. The coming weeks will therefore be decisive in determining whether kharif 2026 regains momentum, or whether India faces yet another year of heightened import dependence,” Asthana said. Referring to the recent calls by the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM), S Mahendra Dev, for incentive-driven crop diversification towards oilseeds and pulses, he said these calls reinforce a direction SEA has consistently advocated.

India’s edible oil import bill up 20% in first 8 months