Sat 1st Nov, 2025
Recent research from New York University School of Medicine and its collaborators has highlighted a significant advancement in understanding how skin aging impacts microvascular health. The study investigates the role of…

Sat 1st Nov, 2025
Recent research from New York University School of Medicine and its collaborators has highlighted a significant advancement in understanding how skin aging impacts microvascular health. The study investigates the role of…

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slowed to 49.0, down from 49.8. This marked a 6-month low, tying April for the lowest level of the year. It came in below expectations for a smaller moderation to 49.6.
The slowdown was seen across all the major subcategories. Production fell into contraction for the first time in 6 months, down to 49.7. This was the lowest level since May 2023. The new orders subindex also fell after two consecutive months of increases, down to 48.8, the lowest level since August 2024. New export orders contributed to this decline, falling to a 6-month low of 45.9. Employment remained in contraction for a 32nd consecutive month. Yet, it saw a relatively smaller downturn of just 0.2pp to 48.3.
We saw large, medium, and small-sized enterprises all sliding into contractionary territory for the first time since April. The trend of larger enterprises outperforming continued in the month.
The downturn in the PMI marks a poor start to the fourth quarter and may cause some concern, given that growth has been supported by external demand and industrial activity. On a brighter note, the PMI has been in contractionary territory since April, but this has not translated into weakness in hard activity data. Come next month’s PMI data, it will be interesting to see if the tariff reduction and extended trade truce with the US help support a recovery of new export orders.

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INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images
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Gas giants Saturn (left) and Jupiter are some of the planetary highlight’s in this month’s sky. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute (Saturn); Enhanced image by Kevin M. Gill (CC-BY) based on images provided…

Samsung has announced plans to establish a next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) “megafactory” in partnership with US chipmaker Nvidia. The initiative, revealed on Friday and reported by Focus Taiwan, aims to integrate AI throughout Samsung’s entire semiconductor production ecosystem.
According to Samsung, the platform will operate on more than 50,000 Nvidia GPUs and serve as an “intelligent manufacturing platform” capable of analysing, predicting, and optimising chip production in real time.
“The Samsung AI Factory goes beyond traditional automation,” a company official said. “It connects and interprets immense data generated across chip design, production and equipment operations.”
The megafactory marks the latest chapter in a 25-year partnership between Samsung and Nvidia. Their collaboration began when Samsung supplied DRAM chips for Nvidia’s first-generation graphics cards and has since expanded to include foundry and memory technology.
Current joint efforts include the development of HBM4, Nvidia’s next-generation high-bandwidth memory, built using Samsung’s sixth-generation 10nm-class DRAM and 4nm logic base die. Samsung said it will continue to advance its portfolio of HBM, GDDR and SOCAMM solutions alongside foundry services to “drive innovation and scalability across the global AI value chain.”
At the heart of the new AI factory will be Nvidia’s Omniverse and Cuda-X platforms, which will enable Samsung to create digital twins of entire chip fabs. These virtual models simulate real-world factory conditions, allowing engineers to test new processes, predict maintenance needs and fine-tune operations without interrupting physical production.
Samsung will also use Nvidia’s cuLitho software to speed up computational lithography, a key step in chipmaking that determines circuit precision. The company expects up to a 20-fold increase in performance, enabling faster design iterations and higher chip yields.
Beyond chip design and lithography, Samsung plans to apply Nvidia’s AI capabilities to robotics and automation. The company is deploying RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs to enhance humanoid robot performance and Jetson Thor modules to power real-time AI reasoning and execution in its smart robotic systems.
The collaboration will also extend into AI-enhanced mobile networks. Through joint development of AI-RAN technology, Samsung and Nvidia aim to enable edge devices, such as drones and industrial robots, to process real-time data locally using GPU acceleration, reducing latency and enhancing operational efficiency.
“This AI-powered mobile network will play a crucial role as a neural network essential in the widespread adoption of physical AI,” Samsung said.
Samsung plans to roll out the AI factory infrastructure across its semiconductor plants worldwide, including the upcoming chip facility in Taylor, Texas. The move underlines the company’s ambition to lead across all semiconductor categories: memory, logic, foundry and advanced packaging.
Already, Samsung’s proprietary AI models power over 400 million consumer devices. Through its new Megatron framework, the company intends to embed similar capabilities into its manufacturing systems — enabling intelligent summarisation, multilingual interaction, and advanced reasoning across production lines.
“This is a critical milestone in our journey to lead the global shift toward AI-driven manufacturing,” the Samsung official added.
Key Takeaways

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Pick your poison: beer or cigarettes? Weak share prices are pushing cash yields on the biggest brewers closer to those of sin-bin stalwart, Big Tobacco. For investors with the bottle for a sector that seems to be sliding into pariah territory, that could spell opportunity.
Recent news has contributed to investors’ sour mood. Shares in AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer and maker of Budweiser and Stella Artois beers, fell on Thursday despite an unexpectedly generous $6bn two-year share buyback. Numbers two and three, Heineken and Carlsberg, recently reported falls in quantity sold, and stuck with already-watered down profit forecasts.
Over the past year, only shares in Carlsberg are in the black — and then, only barely. Its heftier rivals are each down roughly a tenth. Volumes have become a key metric for investors as brewers try to offset mature western markets with growth in less developed countries and in newer categories such as alcohol-free beer.
But key growth spots have gone flat, with Brazil hurt by bad weather and economic uncertainty — a factor in China too, which also this year banned alcohol from official events. Consumption in Vietnam, a market prized for its large, young population, has been slow to recover from the impact of a strict 2020 drink-driving law.
Mega-brewers’ relegation from the premium to the bargain shelves has been a long process. From trading on at least 20 times expected earnings in 2020, the three brewers now trade on between 12 and 14 times 2026 forecasts. Investors appear to fear that consumption will flag under the influence of public health groups and a more alcohol-conscious younger generation.
Investors gloomily peering into their half-empty glasses could choose to see things differently. Granted, neither Big Beer’s top nor bottom line have been effervescent of late. But managers have used a mix of price rises and cost cuts to boost free cash flow. AB Inbev, whose annual cash generation after investments is 9 per cent of its market capitalisation, is not far short of the 12 per cent yielded by tobacco stocks — a sector that has handsomely rewarded investors prepared to accept its sinful status.
Big Beer, for all its doubters, isn’t Big Tobacco. It still has growth potential if key markets steady. In the meantime, cash is a good consolation.
jennifer.hughes@ft.com
