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ECB has significant room for rate cuts – Villeroy

PARIS (Reuters) – The European Central Bank has plenty of room for rate cuts and current market expectations for easing over the long-run are reasonable, ECB policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in a newspaper interview on Monday. After a first rate cute next month that Villeroy described as a “done deal”, debate among ECB policymakers remains open about how fast and far to keep easing after that. Villeroy, who is also the governor of … Read more…

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Elon Musk’s xAI valued at $24 billion after fresh funding

(Reuters) -Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI raised $6 billion in series B funding, reaching a post-money valuation of $24 billion as investors bet big on challengers to companies like OpenAI in the intensifying AI race. The funding round was backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital, the company said in a blog post on Sunday. The company’s pre-money valuation was $18 billion, Musk said in a post on X. The money will be … Read more…

Alibaba’s AliExpress recruits Beckham to ‘score more’ global sales

By Casey Hall SHANGHAI (Reuters) – AliExpress, an e-commerce site owned by Chinese giant Alibaba, has signed former England soccer captain David Beckham as a brand ambassador as it plays catch-up with rival PDD Holdings’ Temu in a battle to sell cheap made-in-China goods to the world. A low-key cross-border player until recently, Alibaba is now investing aggressively to boost global sales as domestic e-commerce growth wanes. Its international division, which includes AliExpress, is its fastest … Read more…

Stocks rebound to close higher but Dow down for the week

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. stocks rebounded on Friday from sharp losses the day before on news of an improving consumer outlook on inflation, sending the Nasdaq to a fifth straight week of gains and record closing high. The Commerce Department said new orders for key U.S.-manufactured capital goods rebounded more than expected in April while the University of Michigan reported that consumers’ inflation expectations improved in late May after deteriorating early in … Read more…

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BlackRock pushed Anglo to extend talks with BHP, FT reports

(Reuters) – Anglo American was pressed by key shareholders including BlackRock to extend talks with BHP Group over its proposed 38.6 billion pound ($49.18 billion) mining merger, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. BHP, the world’s biggest listed mining group, now has until May 29 to make a firm bid for Anglo American or it will be forced to walk away for at least six months under the UK’s takeover rules after it was granted … Read more…

Elon Musk plans xAI supercomputer, The Information reports

(Reuters) – U.S. businessman Elon Musk recently told investors that his artificial intelligence startup xAI is planning to build a supercomputer to power the next version of its AI chatbot Grok, The Information reported on Saturday citing a presentation to investors. Musk said he wants to get the proposed supercomputer running by the fall of 2025, as per the report, adding that xAI could partner with Oracle to develop the massive computer. xAI could not … Read more…

Tesla shareholders advised to reject Musk’s $56 billion pay

(Reuters) – Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis said on Saturday it has urged Tesla shareholders to reject a $56 billion pay package for Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, which if passed would be the largest pay package for a CEO in corporate America. The report cited reasons like the “excessive size” of the pay deal, the dilutive effect upon exercise and the concentration of ownership. It also mentioned Musk’s “slate of extraordinarily time-consuming projects” which … Read more…

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Dell hits record high amid rally in AI stocks

By Yuvraj Malik (Reuters) – Shares of Dell Technologies hit a record high on Friday amid a rally in companies working on generative artificial intelligence applications, buoyed by strong optimism for the new technology. AI-heavyweight Nvidia posted strong quarterly results and forecast current-quarter revenue above Wall Street expectations on Wednesday, reinforcing that customers’ spending on genAI will continue to hold strong. The positive momentum extended to Dell, which has recently launched AI-oriented personal computers and … Read more…

US FDA panel votes against use of Novo Nordisk’s weekly insulin in type 1 diabetes patients

(Reuters) – A panel of independent experts to the U.S. health regulator on Friday voted against the use of Novo Nordisk’s weekly insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes due to risks of low blood sugar. The Food and Drug Administration’s panel voted 7-to-4 against the use of the weekly basal insulin icodec saying its benefits do not outweigh the risks when used in adult patients with type 1 diabetes. The comments come after the … Read more…

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China ends war games, Taiwan details warplane, warship surge

By Ben Blanchard TAIPEI (Reuters) – China ended two days of war games around Taiwan, in which it simulated attacks with bombers and practiced boarding ships, and Taiwan’s defence ministry detailed on Saturday the surge of Chinese warplanes and warships involved. Chinese state television’s military channel said late on Friday the drills had concluded. A commentary in the official People’s Liberation Army Daily said they had lasted for two days from Thursday to Friday, as … Read more…

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