Category: 3. Business

  • iPhone demand improving in China, Jefferies says

    iPhone demand improving in China, Jefferies says

    Investing.com — Apple’s iPhone demand in China is showing signs of recovery, according to Jefferies analyst Edison Lee, which said growth in the world’s second-largest economy “has accelerated,” challenging its earlier negative outlook.

    Lee told investors that his firm’s tracking shows “continued shortening in lead time in all models and markets, with only a few exceptions.”

    He added that “17P’s lead time has almost disappeared and 17 Air in China also saw lead time fall to nearly zero,” while “the base model still shows the strongest trend in lead time.”

    Despite shorter delivery times, Jefferies stated that “industry checks suggest growth in China has accelerated.”

    The firm estimated that “for the first five weeks since iPhone 17 shipment started, total iPhone unit growth reached 19% year over year,” a figure it described as “very impressive” and one that “continues to challenge our negative view on AAPL.”

    However, Jefferies warned that the recent momentum could come at the expense of profitability.

    “While volume growth may be better than expected, we remain concerned about the risk of margin miss, given aggressive pricing in the base model of 17 and lack of ASP increase for 17 PM despite higher BOM costs,” wrote Lee.

    The analyst also pointed to a “material shrinkage in resale premium” across all iPhone 17 variants, noting that “all variants of 17 Pro finally went into discounts from premium, which is the first time since launch.”

    Jefferies concluded that while China and Hong Kong “show the strongest demand among the six markets we track,” product mix and rising memory costs “would create margin risk in 2026 for the entire smartphone industry.”

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  • Exclusive: US Department of Energy forms $1 billion supercomputer and AI partnership with AMD – Reuters

    1. Exclusive: US Department of Energy forms $1 billion supercomputer and AI partnership with AMD  Reuters
    2. U.S. establishes $1bn supercomputer and AI partnership with AMD, Reuters reports  Investing.com
    3. AMD, HP Enterprise, Oracle working on DOE supercomputers, Reuters reports  TipRanks
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    5. AMD rises as CEO, Energy Secretary disclosed $1B partnership for supercomputers  MSN

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  • ECRS Mk1 adds key capabilities to Eurofighter Tranche 5

    ECRS Mk1 adds key capabilities to Eurofighter Tranche 5

    ECRS Mk1 is the next-generation Eurofighter radar system that will be put into service with the German and Spanish Air Forces. Based on multi-channel AESA technology and a high-end processor, ECRS Mk1 will further enhance the capabilities of the Eurofighter. The architecture of the ECRS Mk1 has been developed to enhance the entire spectrum of combat aircraft missions, including advanced air-to-air and high-resolution air-to-ground capabilities, as well as passive and active electronic warfare capabilities. In total approximately 200 ECRS Mk1 will be delivered to the German and Spanish Air Forces.

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  • Stock market today live updates

    Stock market today live updates

    Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Oct. 20, 2025 in New York City.

    Spencer Platt | Getty Images

    Stocks jumped to new records on Monday after U.S. and China officials cooled tensions over the weekend, laying the groundwork for President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping to clinch a trade deal this week.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 230 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.5%, bolstered by a rise in chip stocks like Nvidia. All three major averages had notched fresh all-time intraday highs in the session.

    “I think we have a very successful framework for the leaders to discuss on Thursday,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent from the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur.

    The framework potentially includes a delay of China’s rare earths restrictions that caused the latest trade flare-up, a spiking of Trump’s threatened 100% tariffs on China that were to start Nov. 1 and a resumption of Chinese purchases of soybeans. The agreement may include a resolution of the TikTok dispute with the U.S. getting a deal for the U.S. version of the social video app.

    “I have a lot of respect for President Xi, and we are going to come away with the deal,” Trump said on Monday from Air Force One.

    Chipmakers, the sector with the most to lose from tensions with China, supported the rally Monday. Nvidia rose about 2%, while Broadcom gained nearly 1%. Tesla and Apple also added around 3% and 1%, respectively, with the latter nearing $4 trillion in market cap.

    Qualcomm rose to a new high after the company announced new artificial intelligence chips, putting it in competition with Nvidia and AMD. The stock was last up almost 20%.

    “Details are still limited, and nothing will be finalized until the Trump-Xi meeting, but a renewed truce now seems near-certain, with China likely fully delaying their rare earth export controls for a year—better than the alternative of an agreement to grant licenses,” said Tobin Marcus of Wolf Research in a note. “This overall better-than-expected outcome should be bullish for markets this week, assuming the Trump-Xi meeting goes well.”

    Stocks are coming off a bullish week, with all three major indices hitting record highs last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its first-ever close above the 47,000 mark. The S&P 500 touched 6,800 for the first time ever Friday. All three major benchmarks posted their second week in a row of gains.

    Investors expect the Federal Reserve to slash rates on Wednesday, particularly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics released slightly cooler-than-expected inflation data last week. Big Tech companies’ upcoming earnings reports are also on tap. Several “Magnificent Seven” stocks, including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft, will release their third-quarter results this week.

    While investors were encouraged by improving China-U.S. relations, a setback with Canada kept their enthusiasm in check. Trump on Saturday put an additional 10% tariff on Canada imports for not pulling a TV ad featuring former President Ronald Reagan knocking tariffs fast enough.

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  • This options-income generation strategy cushions risk and boosts yield

    This options-income generation strategy cushions risk and boosts yield

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  • Qualcomm Unveils New AI Servers to Take on Nvidia and AMD. The Stock Jumps. – Barron's

    1. Qualcomm Unveils New AI Servers to Take on Nvidia and AMD. The Stock Jumps.  Barron’s
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  • Berkshire Hathaway downgraded to sell by KBW, citing Buffett succession, ‘many’ other issues

    Berkshire Hathaway downgraded to sell by KBW, citing Buffett succession, ‘many’ other issues

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  • Qualcomm accelerates data center push with new AI chips launching next year

    Qualcomm accelerates data center push with new AI chips launching next year

    (Reuters) -Qualcomm on Monday unveiled two artificial intelligence chips for data centers, with commercial availability from next year, as it pushes to diversify beyond smartphones and expand into the fast-growing AI infrastructure market.

    Shares of Qualcomm surged nearly 15% on the news.

    The new chips, called AI200 and AI250, are designed for improved memory capacity and running AI applications, or inference, and will be available in 2026 and 2027, respectively.

    Global investment in AI chips has soared as cloud providers, chipmakers and enterprises rush to build infrastructure capable of supporting complex, large language models, chatbots and other generative AI tools.

    Nvidia chips, however, underpin much of the current AI boom.

    Qualcomm, to strengthen its AI portfolio, agreed to buy Alphawave in June, which designs semiconductor tech for data centers, for about $2.4 billion.

    In May, Qualcomm also said it would make custom data center central processing units that use technology from Nvidia to connect to the firm’s artificial intelligence chips.

    Qualcomm said the new chips support common AI frameworks and tools, with advanced software support, and added they will lower the total cost of ownership for enterprises.

    The San Diego-based company also unveiled accelerator cards and racks based on the new chips.

    Earlier this month, peer Intel announced a new artificial intelligence chip called Crescent Island for the data center that it plans to launch next year.

    (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

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  • US debt set to soar above Italy and Greece after Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ | US economy

    US debt set to soar above Italy and Greece after Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ | US economy

    Donald Trump is on course to push US debt levels above those of Italy and Greece by the end of the decade after wide-ranging tax cuts and increased defence spending, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts.

    Illustrating the rising debt levels in Washington and efforts made by Rome and Athens to bring spending under control after the 2008 financial crash and Covid-19 pandemic, the IMF predicts the US will see its debts climb from 125% to 143% of annual income by 2030, while Italy’s will flatline at about 137%.

    Greece is on track to cut the ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) from 146% to 130% over the same period. According to IMF data, Athens has tackled a budget overspend that raced to 210% as a proportion of GDP in 2020.

    Amid tax cuts for high earners, the US is expected to run annual budget deficits of more than 7% over the next five years, while Italy is due to cut its spending shortfall this year to 2.9%, allowing it to meet a 3% limit set by Brussels a year early, in analysis first reported in the Financial Times.

    Trump increased US government spending and cut federal taxes in the “big, beautiful bill”, passed by Congress in the summer, forcing the White House to rely more heavily on borrowing to fund annual spending.

    The US president reversed efforts under the previous Biden administration to limit the size of the US deficit, offering tax cuts that will benefit mostly middle and high income groups. He has also pledged to build a “golden dome” defence shield, which could cost almost $1tn.

    Spending increases could push the budget deficit higher by $7tn a year by the time Trump is due to leave office in January 2029.

    Both Italy and Greece have committed to maintaining primary budget surpluses, which entail cuts in spending to below the incomes from tax receipts.

    Italy’s growth rate is expected to average 0.5% over the next couple of years. Its population is falling due to a declining birthrate and a level of emigration that hit 200,000 last year, but Italy has seen average household incomes recover.

    Lorenzo Codogno, the head of Lorenzo Codogno Macro Advisors and a former chief economist at Italy’s treasury department, said there was pressure on Giorgia Meloni’s government to increase spending in the wake of Trump’s tariffs and his demands for bigger European defence budgets.

    He said: “The economy and public finances remain vulnerable to a sudden negative shift in the global scenario.”

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    Mahmood Pradhan, head of global macro at the Amundi Investment Institute, told the FT: “It is a symbolic moment, and according to the Congressional Budget Office the projections are for US debt to carry on rising – that is the impact of running perpetual deficits.

    “But Italy has a weaker growth outlook than the US, so this should not be read as meaning Italy is out of the woods.”

    James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, said: “Many US politicians and investors look down somewhat on Europe and its slow growth and struggling economies, but when you have metrics like this, the conversation changes.”

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  • Oil steadies as US-China trade deal hopes counter demand concerns – Reuters

    1. Oil steadies as US-China trade deal hopes counter demand concerns  Reuters
    2. Brent Prices Reverse Early Gains  TradingView
    3. Crude Oil Weekly Outlook: Fed Decision, Earnings, and Supply Risks  FOREX.com
    4. Oil climbs on US-China trade hopes  Oil & Gas Middle East
    5. As trade discussions advance, WTI rises to approximately $61.50, reflecting improved oil demand prospects  VT Markets

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