Latest Developments

Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Space start-up funding holds near record highs as SpaceX IPO draws new investors

Space companies raised about $9.6 billion across 141 venture funding deals in the second quarter. Global investment in space start-ups was near record levels in the second quarter, buoyed by investor enthusiasm following SpaceX’s nearly US$86 billion (S$111 billion) initial public offering (IPO), according to a Seraphim Space report on July 16. The landmark listing has broadened investor interest beyond traditional space-focused funds, reinforcing the industry’s emergence as a mainstream asset class. It has also supported larger financing rounds for companies developing launch systems, satellite networks, defence technologies, and other orbital infrastructure. “We’ve seen a clear increase in investor interest over the past year, which has been supported by the SpaceX IPO, but also reflects broader investor recognition of the commercial maturity of the sector,” said Lucas Bishop, investment analyst at the British investment firm. “We are seeing increased inbound from investors with limited or no prior space exposure, who are now looking to build positions in the category.” While Bishop said the first half of 2026 represented an exceptional period for fund-raising and quarterly totals may fluctuate, he said the industry’s underlying investment drivers remained strong. Investors said interest was also increasingly focused on companies serving defence and national security customers, as well as businesses developing in-space computing capabilities, reflecting expectations that governments and commercial customers will boost spending in those areas. Space companies raised about US$7.5 billion across 141 venture funding deals in the second quarter, compared with a record US$8 billion across 159 deals in the previous quarter. “We are now seeing investors put more money into larger funding rounds for established space businesses. That will mean there’s more capital for companies that have already proved their technology works, that there’s clear demand, and that now’s the time to scale,” said Felix von Schubert, executive partner at NewSpace Capital. Investors will be watching whether Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin completes its reported plan to raise about US$10 billion. The transaction could become among the largest private fundraises in the sector’s history and extend one of the strongest periods of capital formation the commercial space industry has seen. REUTERS

Space start-up funding holds near record highs as SpaceX IPO draws new investors
North America
CNBC Finance

Delta expects higher airfare to last, bringing 2026 profit goal in reach, CEO says

Delta Air Lines' profit goal is in reach this year as the carrier passes along higher fuel costs to customers, pricing power CEO Ed Bastian expects to last even as oil prices drop from multiyear highs. "I think it's sustainable," Bastian told CNBC in an interview. He said fares will likely stay strong thanks to robust demand, more diverse seat options, and a more disciplined airline industry that's learned from the past and isn't likely to expand capacity as soon oil falls. Delta on Friday forecast third-quarter per-share earnings of between $2.00 and $2.50, compared with analysts' estimates of $2.02 a share for the period. The company also projected revenue would be up in the mid-teens compared with the July-through-September period of 2025. For the full-year, the carrier reaffirmed its January per-share earnings forecast of between $6.50 and $7.50. Bastian said demand is strong across the board, noting that Delta, the most profitable U.S. airline, caters to higher-income customers in the K-shaped economy. Indeed, its premium seat sales outpaced the back of the plane in coach. Its premium tickets like first class brought in $6.92 billion in revenue for the quarter, while the main cabin reported $6.85 billion in revenue. Bastian said World Cup demand was stronger than expected, including from inbound visitors to the U.S. In an earnings release, the airline also said corporate travel rose in the second quarter, with the aerospace and defense, banking, and automotive sectors leading growth. Carriers have scaled back growth plans and pruned unprofitable flights after this year's record run-up in fuel, and airfares have surged. According to the latest federal data, May airfare was up nearly 27% compared with last year, though executives say they still haven't passed the entirety of the higher fuel bill on to consumers. Bastian said Delta was passing along about 60% to consumers, and that should get to close to 100% this quarter. Delta's second-quarter revenue per available seat mile, a measure of how much an airline is bringing in for each seat it flies, was up 17% from a year earlier, though its cost-per-available seat mile rose 21%. (Delta has other revenue streams including cargo, a maintenance business and its fuel refinery.) Delta's net income dropped 25% in the second quarter from a year earlier to $1.6 billion, or $2.44 a share, though operating revenue was up 19% from the 2025 period to $19.76 billion. Adjusting for one-time items including third-party refinery sales, Delta posted earnings of $1.03 billion, or $1.56 a share. Delta's refinery was also a bright spot, with revenue in the Trainer, Pennsylvania, facility surging 83% to $2.09 billion. 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.

Delta expects higher airfare to last, bringing 2026 profit goal in reach, CEO says
Europe
BBC Business

Is tracking your food purchases good for your health?

With a packet of biscuits in one hand and her smartphone in the other in the biscuits sucrées aisle of her local Hyper U supermarket west of Paris, Nathalie sees red. Literally. "Look at that!" she says showing me her phone. 0/100 is marked in red lettering. "This is one of Malo's [her 12-year-old son's] favourites but it's not only full of sugar and saturated fats, there are four additives as well including one health risk," she says. Nathalie clicks on the additive in question: E450. "A mineral which, taken in excess, can lead to bone marrow and kidney problems," she reads. "Honestly, that they can put this sort of thing in food aimed at children drives me nuts!" she says. We scan an Italian alternative whose packaging gives you the impression those biscuits have been hand-made by peasant women wearing black shawls. The score is not much better: "Malo hates shopping with me now," says Nathalie. "You spend ages scanning and he can never have what he wants." The app, having activated the red alert, suggests a healthier alternative. It's organic, containing wholewheat, fruit and fibre. Nathalie is one of a growing number of people using Yuka, an app developed in France, to shop more healthily. Not just for food but cosmetics and toiletries too. Download it and you can use your phone to scan the barcodes of any one of the six million products on the Yuka database (about 1,200 new ones a day) and it'll tell you immediately – green for good, red for bad, yellow for could be better. If you want to know more, you can delve further. Pages and pages if you want. Started in 2015, Yuka now has 85 million users in 12 countries: numerous European ones plus the US, Canada and Australia. The third-biggest user is the UK with around five million, second is France with six million, but the biggest by a very long way is the US with 28 million.

Is tracking your food purchases good for your health?
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Fresh data centre capacity rises 59% annually to 258 MW IT in Jan-Jun: Savills

India's data centre segment witnessed a 59 per cent annual growth in fresh capacity additions to 258 MW IT during January-June, according to Savills. In a statement on Tuesday, real estate consultant Savills India said, "The new data centre capacity additions in India surged to 258 MW IT in the first half of 2026, compared to 162 MW IT in H1 2025". The capacity additions took the country's total operational stock to 1.8 GW IT. Of the total operational stock, Savills said that hyperscalers accounted for 36 per cent, followed by enterprise-focused facilities at 8 per cent and edge data centres at 1 per cent. The remaining 55 per cent comprised facilities catering to both hyperscalers and enterprises. "India’s data centre market is set for significant expansion, with total capacity projected to nearly fourfold and reach over 7 GW IT by 2030," the consultant forecast. Srihari Srinivasan, Director & Lead - Data Centre Services, Savills India, said the Indian data centre market continues to witness sustained growth, driven by both established operators and an influx of new funds and developers. "While the broader colocation market has experienced relatively moderate demand due to increasing enterprise adoption of cloud services, demand from hyperscalers and large enterprises remains strong and is expected to continue underpinning market expansion," he added. The consultant expects emerging demand from Neo-Cloud service providers, which are actively evaluating India as a strategic destination because of cost advantages, location-agnostic nature, and expanding infrastructure ecosystem. "Despite the steady market outlook, facilitation of power and suitable land parcels for DC development remains a critical challenge across all key data centre markets in India, requiring Hyperscalers and DC Operators to explore new clusters for future expansion, with the support of local governments," Srinivasan said. 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.

Fresh data centre capacity rises 59% annually to 258 MW IT in Jan-Jun: Savills
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Paytm plans to infuse ₹100 cr in wealth tech arm Paytm Money

Fintech firm One97 Communications, which owns the Paytm brand, plans to infuse ₹100 crore in its wealth tech arm Paytm Money, the company said in a regulatory filing. Incorporated in 2017, Paytm Money is engaged in providing investment and wealth management services, including stock broking, mutual fund distribution and other financial services. "Additional investment by the company, by way of subscription, to the equity shares of its wholly owned subsidiary, namely Paytm Money Limited (PML) by way of a rights issue for an amount up to ₹100 crore, subject to the necessary approvals, as applicable," Paytm said in a late-night filing on Monday. "PML is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. Issuance of up to 10 crore (Ten crore) additional equity shares of face value of ₹10 each by PML, pursuant to the Rights Issue, will not result in a change in shareholding of the company in PML, which remains at 100 per cent," the filing said. 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.

Paytm plans to infuse ₹100 cr in wealth tech arm Paytm Money
Europe
BBC Business

UK wasted £10bn on PPE that left NHS staff poorly protected, Covid inquiry finds

Image source, Getty ImagesByJim ReedHealth reporterPublished14 July 2026, 12:01 BSTUpdated 2 hours agoThe lives of NHS staff and patients were put at risk in the pandemic because of a lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), with almost £10bn of taxpayers money wasted in a scramble to buy more, the Covid inquiry has said. The chair Baroness Hallett described the "vast" waste in pandemic procurement, amounting to £9.9bn – two-thirds of the £14.9bn the UK and devolved governments spent on PPE. The country entered the pandemic with its stockpile of masks, gowns and gloves in a "perilous state" and was "simply not ready to compete" in the global race to secure new supplies, added the chair. She criticised the controversial "VIP lane", which prioritised offers of PPE from those with political connections, as a "misguided" policy which undermined public confidence. But she said there was "no evidence of cronyism or corruption" by ministers or other officials when awarding the final contracts. When the cost of home testing kits and other equipment, such as ventilators, was included, the total amount spent by the government between January 2020 and June 2022 exceeded £42bn, the inquiry found. The UK's emergency stockpile of PPE, meant to last at least 15 weeks before being replenished, was running out by the end of March 2020 as demand from hospitals soared. Only a third of the masks in England's pandemic stockpile were usable, the inquiry found, while Scotland had no supplies of high-grade respiratory masks used in hospitals. At the time, care homes, GP surgeries and pharmacies were all expected to source their own PPE, something the report described as a "major failure in planning". In total the UK government was forced to write off £9.9bn worth of PPE that was either unused or out of date, as well as £157m for unused healthcare equipment. The "ventilator challenge" programme, where suppliers were asked to develop breathing equipment at short notice, led to another £143m charge for designs that never made it into production. In Scotland approximately £8mn of healthcare equipment, including PPE and testing kits, was written off.

UK wasted £10bn on PPE that left NHS staff poorly protected, Covid inquiry finds
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Beyond attracting MNCs, Singapore to grow next generation of global business champions

EDB executive vice-president Choo Heng Tong said it is working with venture capital and private equity firms to back high-growth companies. SINGAPORE – Looking beyond its longstanding strategy of attracting multinational corporations, Singapore is ramping up efforts to nurture more companies into global industry leaders. Speaking at a business conference organised by NUS Business School on July 16, Economic Development Board (EDB) executive vice-president Choo Heng Tong said the globally leading companies of tomorrow “are not just currently established multinationals”. “Founders like you who are here today will also build them,” he said in his keynote address at the event, which brought together 400 business founders, global investors and NUS alumni. EDB is working closely with venture capital and private equity firms to identify, anchor and support high-growth companies with the potential to lead their industries globally, taking what Choo described as a long-term approach because “building a world-class company takes time”. This stems from recommendations by the Economic Strategy Review committees, whose final report in June, following a year-long review of Singapore’s economic strategy, concluded that Singapore must move faster to adapt to a fundamentally changed global environment. Choo noted that the review identified two interlinked pillars for Singapore’s next phase of growth: nurturing a new generation of globally leading companies, particularly in technology and innovation sectors such as artificial intelligence, and sustaining a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. Held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, the half-day global entrepreneurship conference presented ideas on how business leaders can start cross-border ventures and go global, as well as the state of the macroeconomic environment. Singapore is not immune to the geopolitical and regulatory uncertainty reshaping the global business landscape, Choo said. But it offers three things that matter most to founders as they build their businesses globally: a reliable, trusted track record; connectivity to Asia’s fast-growing market; and a Government that invests in the innovation ecosystem as a partner. “The world is more uncertain than it has been in decades. But for founders who are prepared, that uncertainty also presents new opportunities.” Choo noted that Singapore has diplomatic relationships with 150 countries and has one of the most extensive free trade networks, with 29 free trade agreements.

Beyond attracting MNCs, Singapore to grow next generation of global business champions
Europe
BBC Business

How much should you give to the year-end teacher collection?

Image source, Getty ImagesByLucy Hooker, Emer Moreau and Daniel Thomas, Business reportersPublished14 July 2026, 00:02 BSTUpdated 3 hours agoParents know the drill: as the end of summer term rolls in it's time to think about thank-yous for the teachers after another year of hard work and tested patience. But just how generous should you be? Is £5 too much? Or too little? And what about support staff like teaching assistants, canteen staff and librarians? With many parents strapped for cash and heading into the holidays, it's an extra expense to budget for and an awkward etiquette to negotiate. Plus, what used to be a simple matter of buying chocolate and writing a card has been overtaken by an organisational extravaganza, with class reps sending out a flurry of Whatsapps to drum up contributions, before passing round the collective card, and deciding on flowers, spa days, wine or vouchers. At her South East London primary school, collections have reached as much as £560, which is split between the teacher and teaching assistants. For a class of 30, that works out at more than £18 per child. On top of this, she says there are usually bake sales and ice cream sales in June and July to raise money for the school, as well as collections for support staff who are leaving or members of the PTA. The mother-of-two, who didn't want to share her name, said she and her partner "were not in an uncomfortable position" but still "feel the strain". "Sometimes you are asked to put money into someone's bank account and there's a lot of pressure there. You can't just put a few quid in or you'll seem tight." Teacher whip-rounds are a hot topic on the online forum Mumsnet, where they tend to divide opinion. In a recent thread, one parent spoke of the "insane" amount they were asked to give, while another said they felt pressured to contribute, especially if there was a class "Queen Bee" organising the collection. But others responding online said it was reasonable to give a sizeable amount, with one arguing that teachers were "woefully underpaid and undervalued". Even if you are contributing £10 each for three members of staff, that costs the same as taking the family out for coffee and pastries, they pointed out.

How much should you give to the year-end teacher collection?
Europe
BBC Business

South East Water must pay £30.5m for supply failures

South East Water must spend £30.5m on improvements after supply interruptions hit thousands of its customers across Kent and Sussex. Water regulator Ofwat said this follows the conclusion of three investigations into the company's repeated failures. The redress package will be paid for by the firm's shareholders and not through customer bills. A spokesperson for the water company said they were "incredibly sorry" for the historical supply disruptions for Kent and Sussex customers. "We know this caused significant disruption and anxiety, and we accept the failures identified by Ofwat," they said. "Our priority has been to ensure that the resolution of this investigation directly benefits those who suffered the most." Ofwat says the redress will include £5m to provide free water butts for households, £5m to bring forward smart metering to businesses and other non-household customers, and a further £5m for on-site storage to help manage the supply during peak demand. The regulator previously proposed a £22m fine for water supply failures between 2020 and 2023, which impacted more than 286,000 people. It launched a second probe at the start of this year after further supply interruptions in Tunbridge Wells and across Kent and Sussex between November and January, which left up to 70,000 homes without water. Customers were unable to access tap water, shower or flush their toilets during the supply issues between November and January. Schools were closed and some customers had to cancel work due to childcare issues as a result, while others had difficulty dealing with medical conditions, according to Ofwat. The watchdog found the company did not communicate "clearly and accurately" with customers quickly enough and did not provide those affected with adequate bottled water supplies.

South East Water must pay £30.5m for supply failures