Category: 3. Business

  • Toyota Motor cuts annual profit forecast as U.S. tariffs bite

    Toyota Motor cuts annual profit forecast as U.S. tariffs bite

    A sign with the Toyota logo in Surrey, England on August, 2023

    Peter Dazeley | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    Toyota Motor on Thursday cut its annual operating profit forecast as the world’s largest auto company by sales volumes grapples with U.S. auto tariffs. 

    Here are Toyota’s results compared with the mean estimates from LSEG:

    • Revenue: 12.25 trillion Japanese yen ($83.4 billion) vs. 12.19 trillion yen
    • Operating profit: 1.17 trillion yen vs. 881.41 billion yen

    While its June-quarter results topped estimates, operating profit dropped 11% year on year, with the company ascribing 450 billion yen in losses to U.S. tariffs. Net income attributable to the company fell 37% to 841.3 billion yen.

    Toyota revised down its full-year operating income forecast by 600 billion yen to 3.2 trillion yen for its financial year ending in March 2026.

    “Due to the impact of U.S. tariffs and other factors, actual results showed decreased operating income, and the forecast has been revised downward,” the company said in an earnings release.

    In its home country of Japan, the company said that operating income was weighed down by the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and increased expenses.

    While profit fell, Toyota has seen strong global demand and the automaker last week reported record worldwide sales in the first half of the year.

    “Despite a challenging external environment, we have continued to make comprehensive investments and as well as improvements such as increased unit sales, cost reductions, and expanded value chain profits, thereby minimizing negative impacts,” the company said.

    Japanese carmakers have been hit by U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported vehicles, which came into effect in April. Peers such as Honda have also reported a drop in profit, as they cut prices in order to maintain market share in the U.S.

    “Japanese automakers faced significant profit pressure earlier this year due to elevated U.S. import tariffs and a stronger yen,” automotive analyst at Counterpoint Research Abhik Mukherjee, told CNBC.

    “Although vehicle export volumes to the U.S. held up, the higher costs from tariffs had to be partially absorbed, squeezing margins,” he added.

    In June, the value of Japan car exports to the U.S. fell 25.3% year over year, even though car export volumes to the U.S. rose by 4.6% in the same period, according to data from Japan’s trade ministry.

    Trump, however, announced a new trade deal with Tokyo last month with tariffs expected to fall to 15%, though the timeframe for the change remains unclear.

    In light of the Japan-U.S. agreement, Toyota said it was expecting a full financial year impact of 1.4 trillion yen on profits.

    “Automakers still face margin compression from the strong yen and lingering cost burdens from earlier tariffs. However, the 15% rate, combined with localization and pricing adjustments, should gradually stabilize earnings,” Mukherjee said.

    “Longer-term, Japanese brands may gain an edge over NAFTA-region competitors that still face higher tariffs, supporting a slow but steady recovery,” he added. The NAFTA or North American Free Trade Agreement includes Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

    Auto exports to the U.S. are a cornerstone of Japan’s economy, making up about 24% of its global auto shipments in 2024, according to Japan’s customs data. 

    Continue Reading

  • SBM Offshore Half Year 2025 Earnings

    Highlights

    • Increase in full year 2025 Directional[1] revenue guidance from above US$4.9 billion to above US$5.0 billion
    • Increase in full year 2025 Directional EBITDA guidance from around US$1.55 billion to above US$1.6 billion
    • 26% increase in year-to-date Directional revenue of US$2.3 billion; 10% increase in Directional EBITDA of US$682 million
    • First oil for FPSOs Almirante Tamandaré and Alexandre de Gusmão
    • FPSO ONE GUYANA on charter, preparing for first oil
    • FPSO GranMorgu operations and maintenance contract signed with TotalEnergies
    • Further portfolio rationalization through sale of FPSO Aseng[2]
    • EUR150 million dividend paid; EUR141 million share repurchase program on track, c. 34% completed[3]

    SBM Offshore’s Half Year 2025 Earnings and Interim Financial Statements can be found on its website here: HY25 Earnings.

    Øivind Tangen, CEO of SBM Offshore, commented:

    “Thanks to solid project execution performance and the start-up of two major FPSOs, we delivered strong financial results for the first half of 2025. As a result, we are increasing both our Directional revenue and EBITDA guidance for 2025. This success underscores our teams’ ability and discipline in executing our lifecycle model. It is also a clear demonstration of a resilient business model, consistently proving its quality and agility regardless of macro-economic uncertainties and geopolitical challenges.

    During the first half of the year, we brought online two large FPSOs in Brazil with a combined capacity of 405,000 bbls/day. Additionally, FPSO ONE GUYANA, which will be the largest producing unit in Guyana with a nameplate capacity of 250,000 bbls/day, is on charter as of August 4 and preparing for first oil. Delivery of these three assets brings the size of our fleet to 17 FPSOs with a production capacity of 2.7 million bbls/day.

    This scale brings experience, learnings and data which allow us to continuously refine our lifecycle value proposition and deliver enhanced value to our clients by derisking project execution, accelerating time to reach full operational capacity and improving uptime. Construction is on track for FPSOs Jaguar, GranMorgu and FSO Trion.

    The last two FPSOs that started production in Brazil achieved flare out in an industry-leading average below 45 days, and we achieved an uptime average of 99.4% for the first six months across the fleet. In Guyana, debottlenecking of processing facilities on our initial three FPSOs increased production capacity by 125,000 bbls/day. In June, we signed an agreement with TotalEnergies to provide the operations and maintenance service for at least two years of FPSO GranMorgu. This contract will make SBM Offshore the first FPSO operator in Suriname.

    The deepwater market outlook remains robust, driven by the demand for cost-efficient and low-emission oil production. We are progressing construction of two new hulls to actively support tendering activities and remain disciplined in selecting prospects where we can generate most value to enhance our portfolio.

    The strong fundamentals of the deepwater market, coupled with our backlog’s resilience to inflationary pressures, underpins our ability to provide stable and growing returns to shareholders. We are on track to return a minimum of US$1.7 billion to shareholders over the six years from 2025 to 2030, with upside potential from the existing backlog and prospective new awards.

    Using our ocean infrastructure expertise, we are innovating for the long term with purpose. In April 2025, we secured the American Bureau of Shipping’s approval in principle for our near zero emission FPSO, and our collaboration with Microsoft to develop standardized floating power solutions with integrated carbon capture technology is progressing.

    We are delivering on our promise to provide reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for the long-term through a strategy that pays.”

    Financial Overview[4]

    Directional IFRS
    in US$ million 1H 2025 1H 2024 % Change 1H 2025 1H 2024 % Change
    Revenue 2,311 1,840 26% 2,840 2,220 28%
    Lease and Operate 988 1,178 -16% 1,063 971 10%
    Turnkey 1,322 662 100% 1,777 1,249 42%
    EBITDA 682 620 10% 756 533 42%
    Lease and Operate 497 679 -27% 397 454 -13%
    Turnkey 225 (12) >1,000% 400 127 216%
    Other (41) (47) 14% (41) (47) 13%
    Profit attributable to Shareholders 274 128 114% 322 116 178%
    Earnings per share (US$ per share) 1.57 0.71 121% 1.85 0.64 187%
    in US$ billion 1H 2025 FY 2024 % Change 1H 2025 FY 2024 % Change
    Pro-forma Backlog  33.2 35.1 -5% – – –
    Net Debt  5.6 5.7 -2%  8.1 8.1 0%

    Directional revenue stood at US$2,311 million in the first half of 2025, a 26% increase compared with the same period in 2024. The increase is mainly driven by Directional Turnkey revenue, which rose to US$1,322 million in the first half, a 100% increase compared with US$662 million in the same period last year. This improved contribution mainly reflects the progress on the construction projects of FPSOs Jaguar and GranMorgu under the Sale and Operate model. This was partially offset by the completion of FPSO Sepetiba in January 2024, and the overall comparatively lower level of construction activity during the first half of 2025 on FPSOs Almirante Tamandaré, Alexandre de Gusmão and ONE GUYANA as these projects reached or neared completion.

    Directional Lease and Operate revenue came in at US$988 million, a 16% decrease compared with US$1,178 million in the same period last year. This variance is mainly driven by FPSOs Liza Destiny and Prosperity only contributing as operating contracts in 2025 following the purchase of the units by the client in 4Q 2024 and a decrease in reimbursable scope on the fleet, partially offset by FPSOs Almirante Tamandaré and Alexandre de Gusmão joining the fleet upon successful delivery in the first half year of 2025 and the contribution of FPSOs N’Goma, Saxi Batuque and Mondo following the increase in ownership in June 2024.

    Directional EBITDA amounted to US$682 million in the first half of 2025, a US$62 million or 10% improvement compared with the same period last year. This was mainly attributable to the higher contribution of Directional Turnkey EBITDA, which increased from US$(12) million in the year-ago period to US$225 million in the first half of 2025 due to (i) full margin contribution of FPSO Jaguar after reaching the 25% stage of completion gate in 4Q 2024, (ii) limited but positive contribution of FPSO GranMorgu as the project reached the requisite stage of completion in 2Q 2025, (iii) successful completion of FPSOs Almirante Tamandaré and Alexandre de Gusmão, and (iv) offset by a lower level of activity on other product and services projects.

    Directional Lease and Operate EBITDA stood at US$497 million in the first half of the year compared with US$679 million in the same period last year. This lower contribution reflects (i) the same drivers as Directional Lease and Operate revenue, and (ii) a net positive impact from the completion of the transactions with MISC in the first half of 2025 (acquisition of interests in FPSO Espirito Santo and the full divestment in FPSO Kikeh), partially offset by an aggregate gain in the prior period from the transactions with Sonangol (acquisition of interests held in FPSOs N’Goma, Saxi Batuque and Mondo, divestment of the Paenal shipyard).

    The other non-allocated costs charged to Directional EBITDA amounted to US$(41) million in the first half of 2025, a 14% improvement compared with the previous year as a result of lower general and administrative costs.

    The Company recorded a Directional net profit of US$274 million, or US$1.57 per share, for the first half of 2025 up from US$128 million, or US$0.71 per share, in the year-ago period.

     

    Funding and Directional Net Debt

    Directional net debt stood at US$5.6 billion as of June 30, 2025 versus US$5.7 billion as of December 31, 2024. While the Turnkey (with Sale and Operate model) and the Lease and Operate segments continue to generate strong operating cash flow, the Company implemented a new financing tool with the sale and leaseback financing agreement for FPSO Cidade de Paraty, fully drawn in the first half year of 2025. The Company also continued to draw on the project finance facilities for FPSOs Alexandre de Gusmão and ONE GUYANA, on the construction financing for FPSO Jaguar and on the new RCF agreement. This was partially offset by scheduled repayments on the non-recourse debt, the full repayment of the MPF facility, the full repayment of the previous RCF agreement and the full repayment of the US private placement notes in relation to FPSO Cidade de Anchieta.

    Almost half of the Company’s Directional debt as of June 30, 2025 consisted of non-recourse project financing (US$3.0 billion). The remainder (US$3.3 billion) comprised (i) borrowings supporting the construction of FPSOs ONE GUYANA and Alexandre de Gusmão, which will become non-recourse following project execution finalization and release of the related parent company guarantees, (ii) the construction financing for FPSO Jaguar which will be repaid following completion of construction, and (iii) the new Company’s RCF, which was drawn for US$100 million as at June 30, 2025.

    The Directional net cash balance stood at US$794 million as of June 30, 2025.

     

    Pro-Forma Directional Backlog

    Changes in ownership scenarios and lease contract durations have the potential to significantly impact the Company’s future cash flows, net debt balance as well as the profit and loss statement. The Company therefore provides a pro-forma Directional backlog based on the best available information regarding ownership scenarios and lease contract durations for the various projects.

    The pro-forma Directional backlog decreased by US$1.9 billion compared with the position at December 31, 2024 to a total of US$33.2 billion reflecting the turnover for the period. The Company’s backlog provides cash flow visibility up to 2050.

    in US$ billion   Turnkey Lease & Operate Total
    2H 2025 1.4 1.3 2.7
    2026 1.6 2.6 4.2
    2027 3.4 2.0 5.4
    Beyond 2027 0.4 20.5 20.9
    Total pro-forma Directional backlog 6.8 26.4 33.2

    The pro-forma Directional backlog at June 30, 2025 reflects the following key assumptions:

    • The FPSO ONE GUYANA contract covers a maximum lease period of 2 years, within which the ownership of the FPSO will transfer to the client. The impact of the subsequent sale is reflected in the Turnkey backlog.
    • The FPSO Jaguar contract awarded to the Company in April 2024 covers the construction period within which the ownership of the FPSO will transfer to the client and is reported in the Turnkey backlog.
    • 10 years of operations and maintenance are considered for FPSOs Liza Destiny, Liza Unity, Prosperity and ONE GUYANA following signature of the Operations & Maintenance Enabling Agreement in 2023. Regarding FPSO Jaguar, the pro-forma Directional backlog includes the operating and maintenance scope for 10 years as it has been agreed in principle, pending a final work order. This is consistent with prior years.
    • The FPSO GranMorgu contract awarded in November 2024 covers the construction period within which the FPSO ownership will transfer to the client and is reported in the Turnkey backlog. The operations and maintenance contract signed in June 2025 covers a minimal period of two years after first oil.
    • The FSO Trion contract awarded to the Company in August 2024 is considered for 20 years in lease and operate contracts at the Company ownership share at June 30, 2025 (100%).
    • The full divestment of FPSO Aseng has been reflected in the pro-forma backlog. The completion of the transaction remains subject to several conditions precedent and approvals.
    • Leases, operations and maintenance contract extension options are considered when secured.

    It should be noted that the sale and leaseback financing agreement for FPSO Cidade de Paraty signed in April 2025 did not impact the pro-forma Directional backlog. Under Directional reporting, the transaction is not treated as a sale of the unit according to IFRS 16.

     

    Project Review and Fleet Operational Update

    Project deliveries

    The Company is on track to bring three major FPSOs into operation in 2025:

    FPSO Almirante Tamandaré – First oil was achieved in February and gas flare out in 49 days, as planned.

    FPSO Alexandre de Gusmão – First oil was achieved in May and gas flare out in 36 days, ahead of plan.

    FPSO ONE GUYANA – The FPSO was delivered on time. The Production Readiness Notice was issued on August 4, and the unit is preparing for first oil.

    These three units have a combined production capacity of 655,000 bbls/day, bringing the size of the SBM fleet to 17 FPSOs with a production capacity of 2.7 million bbls/day.

     

    Projects under construction

    Project Client Contract SBM Share Capacity Percentage of Completion Project delivery
    FPSO Jaguar ExxonMobil
    Guyana    		 Sale & Operate 100% 250,000 bpd >25% <50% 2027
    FSO Trion Woodside 20-year Lease & Operate 100% n/a <25% n/a[5]
    FPSO GranMorgu TotalEnergies Sale & Operate 52% 220,000 bpd >25% <50% 2028

    The construction portfolio is progressing well and all projects remain on track. An update on the individual ongoing projects is provided below considering the latest known circumstances.

    FPSO Jaguar – The project continues to perform as per plan. The unit entered dry dock on July 1, and the topsides fabrication is on track. First oil is expected in 2027.

    FSO Trion – The fabrication of the disconnectable turret mooring system is progressing as per plan. The engineering and procurement activities for the hull are well under way with construction planned to start in the second part of the year.

    FPSO GranMorgu – Engineering and procurement continue to progress well and topside modules fabrication has started as per plan.

    Strategic positioning for new prospects

    The strategic positioning of SBM Offshore in the market is supported by investments in anticipation of new projects through the Company’s Fast4Ward® MPF hull program.

    Ten MPF hulls have been ordered to date:

    • Six Fast4Ward® MPF hulls are in operation.
    • Two Fast4Ward® MPF hulls are delivered and allocated to ongoing projects under construction.
    • Two Fast4Ward® MPF hulls are under construction, supporting active discussions with clients driven by the strong FPSO market outlook.

    Fleet update

    Contract extension – The Company has agreed the contract extension related to the lease and operations of FPSO Saxi until June 2026.

    Fleet Uptime – Year-to-date, the fleet uptime was 99.4%.

    Safety and Sustainability

    Safety – There were zero Fatalities or Permanent Impairment Injuries in the first half of 2025, within the full year target of zero.

    Sustainable recycling – SBM Offshore is recycling FPSO Capixaba at Denmark’s M.A.R.S. Facility, in line with its Responsible Recycling Policy aligned with the Hong Kong Convention and EU regulations. The unit is expected to move to final stage of cleaning and dismantling towards end of 2025. SBM remains committed to safe, compliant, and environmentally responsible recycling.

    Near zero emission FPSO – The Company has achieved its target to propose a near zero emission FPSO in 2025 as it has secured the American Bureau of Shipping’s “Approval in Principle” for its design.

     

    Shareholder Returns

    The EUR150 million dividend (c. US$155 million equivalent6) was paid in May. The EUR141 million (c. US$150 million equivalent[6]) share repurchase program effective from April 24, 2025 is progressing and was c. 34% complete on August 6, 2025 after market close. The objective of the share buyback program is to reduce share capital and provide shares for regular management and employee share programs (maximum US$25 million). Shares repurchased as part of the cash return will be cancelled.

     

    Guidance

    The Company’s 2025 Directional revenue guidance is increased to above US$5.0 billion of which above US$2.2 billion is expected from the Lease and Operate segment and around US$2.8 billion from the Turnkey segment.

    2025 Directional EBITDA guidance is increased to above US$1.6 billion for the Company.

     

    Conference Call

    SBM Offshore has scheduled a conference call together with a webcast, which will be followed by a Q&A session, to discuss the Half Year 2025 Earnings release.

    The event is scheduled for Thursday August 7, 2025, at 10.00 AM (CEST) and will be hosted by Øivind Tangen (CEO) and Douglas Wood (CFO).

    Interested parties are invited to register prior the call using the link: Half Year 2025 Earnings Conference Call

    Please note that the conference call can only be accessed with a personal identification code, which is sent to you by email after completion of the registration.

    The live webcast will be available at: Half Year 2025 Earnings Webcast

    A replay of the webcast, which is available shortly after the call, can be accessed using the same link.

     

    Corporate Profile

    SBM Offshore is the world’s deepwater ocean-infrastructure expert. Through the design, construction, installation, and operation of offshore floating facilities, we play a pivotal role in a just transition. By advancing our core, we deliver cleaner, more efficient energy production. By pioneering more, we unlock new markets within the blue economy.

    More than 7,800 SBMers collaborate worldwide to deliver innovative solutions as a responsible partner towards a sustainable future, balancing ocean protection with progress.

    For further information, please visit our website at www.sbmoffshore.com.

    Financial Calendar   Date Year
    Third Quarter 2025 Trading Update November 13 2025
    Full Year 2025 Earnings February 26 2026
    Annual General Meeting April 15 2026
    First Quarter 2026 Trading Update May 7 2026
    Half Year 2026 Earnings August 6 2026

     

    For further information, please contact:

    Investor Relations

    Wouter Holties

    Corporate Finance & Investor Relations Manager

    Media Relations

    Giampaolo Arghittu

    Head of External Relations

     

    Market Abuse Regulation

    This press release may contain inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

    Disclaimer

    Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements based on management’s current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those in such statements. These statements may be identified by words such as ‘expect’, ‘should’, ‘could’, ‘shall’ and / or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The principal risks which could affect the future operations of SBM Offshore N.V. are described in the ‘Impacts, Risks and Opportunities’ section of the 2024 Annual Report.

    Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results and performance of the Company’s business may vary materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements described in this release. SBM Offshore does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise.

    This release contains certain alternative performance measures (APMs) as defined by the ESMA guidelines which are not defined under IFRS. Further information on these APMs is included in the Half Year Management Report accompanying the Half Year Earnings 2025 report, available on our website Half Year Earnings – SBM Offshore.

    Nothing in this release shall be deemed an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities. The companies in which SBM Offshore N.V. directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release “SBM Offshore” and “SBM” are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to SBM Offshore N.V. and its subsidiaries in general. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies.

    “SBM Offshore®“, the SBM logomark, “Fast4Ward®” and “F4W®” are proprietary marks owned by SBM Offshore.

     

    [1] Directional reporting, presented in the Financial Statements under section Operating Segments and Directional Reporting, represents a pro-forma accounting policy, which treats all lease contracts as operating leases and consolidates all co-owned investees related to lease contracts on a proportional basis based on percentage of ownership. This explanatory note relates to all Directional reporting in this document.

    [2] The completion of the transaction remains subject to several conditions precedent and approvals.

    [3] As of August 6, 2025.

    [4] Numbers may not add up due to rounding.

    [5] Project delivery not disclosed by the client.

    [6] Based on the exchange rate on February 20, 2025.

    Continue Reading

  • Q2 2025 results – Merck Group

    1. Q2 2025 results  Merck Group
    2. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Needs To Move On From Talking About Its Animal Division, Says Jim Cramer  Yahoo Finance
    3. Merck KGaA raises forex-adj profit guidance on drugs, lab gear  TradingView
    4. Merck KGaA lifts 2025 profit outlook after strong drug, AI material sales in Q2  Investing.com
    5. Jim Cramer on Merck’s Latest Quarterly Report: “I Actually Liked It”  Yahoo Finance

    Continue Reading

  • Sustainable Cities Challenge: Finalists Announced to Transform Crowd Management in the Holy City of Varanasi

    The Toyota Mobility Foundation announced five finalists for the $3 million Sustainable Cities Challenge, focused on transforming crowd management solutions in Varanasi’s historic city, Kashi.

    Developed in collaboration with the City of Varanasi, Challenge Works and World Resources Institute, the Challenge supports innovative solutions to ease congestion and improve pedestrian and pilgrimage flows through one of India’s oldest and most sacred cities, which welcomes millions of visitors each year.

    The Challenge attracted entries from innovators worldwide, with 10 semi-finalists being invited to further develop their concepts over a six-month period. From that group, five have now been selected as finalists following a rigorous evaluation from a panel of expert judges.

    Finalists were chosen based on criteria including innovation in crowd management, effectiveness, supporting data, potential to scale and team capacity. Judges looked for solutions that could support in managing large crowds, improve the safety, accessibility and navigability of narrow lanes, and meaningfully alter crowd behavior — all while demonstrating a strong understanding of the needs of locals, tourists and the feasibility of implementation. Each team was required to present a clear demonstration plan with measurable performance indicators to support long-term impact and scalability.

    A panel of five judges, bringing together expertise in data-driven technology, sustainable mobility and urban design, alongside deep knowledge of local business and community needs, selected the following finalists:

    • Arcadis – Arcadis is the world’s leading company delivering intelligence-driven sustainable design, engineering and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets. The team’s integrated solution is called SANKALP, an ecosystem of interconnected technologies designed to shift from reactive measures to proactive, intelligent crowd management. SANKALP will use real-time data, advanced simulation, mobile technology and integrated communications platforms to keep people moving safely and efficiently.
    • CITYDATA – CITYDATA is a pioneering big data and AI company that delivers mobility intelligence to foster smarter, safer, more sustainable and resilient urban environments. The team’s solution is CityFlow, a cloud-based solution that uses big data, computer vision and generative AI to measure, analyze, simulate and manage crowds in real time. Built on the MASI framework, it delivers actionable insights without the need for new hardware.
    • VOGIC AI – VOGIC AI is at the forefront of Vision AI for public good, transforming video data into real-time intelligence for defense, smart cities and crowd-sensitive public spaces. VOGIC AI’s solution is Behtar-Way, India’s first AI powered, hyperlocal community-first pedestrian navigation platform. The team’s solution will help guide citizens through safer, alternative routes, equipping city officials with real-time crowd intelligence.
    • Prameya Consulting – Prameya Consulting is an urban planning and strategy firm that aims to drive urban transformation through collaborative problem-solving and strategic planning. The team’s solution is Nayichaal, a “phygital” (physical and digital) AI ecosystem combining a chatbot, navigation app, wayfinding signage and a mobility dashboard to improve mobility, inclusivity and safety.
    • The Urbanizer – The Urbanizer is a pioneering urban design, landscape design and architecture firm based in India. They specialize in creating vibrant, sustainable urban spaces through a data-driven and human-centric approach. The team’s solution is Jan Jatra, a people-first mobility solution blending local insights with color-coded wayfinding, dynamic digital signage and other tactical urbanism strategies to improve navigation and safety.

    Each finalist team will receive $130,000 in implementation funding to demonstrate and test their proposed solutions in Kashi.

    “Through the Sustainable Cities Challenge, Varanasi is setting a global example for how historic and pilgrimage cities can embrace innovation without compromising their identity,” said Akshat Verma, IAS, municipal commissioner/chief executive officer, Varanasi Municipal Corporation/Varanasi Smart City. “These five outstanding finalists are not only developing solutions that enhance safety, accessibility and the lived experience for both residents and pilgrims, but also ensuring they safeguard the cultural and spiritual fabric of Kashi for future generations. We hope the world will look to Varanasi as a model for how tradition and technology can co-exist to create more livable, resilient cities.”

    Pras Ganesh, executive program director, Toyota Mobility Foundation, said: “The Varanasi Sustainable City Challenge journey has been truly inspiring. From a field of global innovators, these finalists stood out for their creative, practical and contextual approaches to one of the world’s most complex mobility environments. As we move into the next phase, we’re excited to see how their solutions are implemented on the ground, not only to improve movement with convenient and safe access in Kashi, but to create a benchmark on how other heritage-rich, high-density cities around the world can tackle similar challenges with empathy and innovation.”

    “Varanasi, one of the world’s oldest and most visited cities, is fast emerging as a pioneer in sustainable mobility—setting a global benchmark for historic cities navigating the demands of modern movement. Through the Innovating Crowd Flow Challenge, the city has united global innovation with local insights to tackle the complex challenge of managing the flow of millions of tourists. We are deeply inspired by the creativity, empathy and innovation demonstrated by the participating teams.” said Avinash Dubedi, Head of Sustainable Cities and Transport at WRI. “Their solutions go beyond easing congestion, they reimagine how people of all ages and abilities – residents, pilgrims and those with special needs – can move through the city with dignity, safety and ease. As these ideas enter the pilot phase, we look forward to witnessing their real-world impact on the experience of every visitor to this holy city.”

    “Varanasi is showing how to lead globally while solving locally,” said Kathy Nothstine, director of Cities and Societies at Challenge Works. “The finalist teams reflect the best of collaborative, interdisciplinary innovation, and their work will help transform how we think about movement, space and sacredness in dense urban areas.”

    The Sustainable Cities Challenge is funded by the Toyota Mobility Foundation and has been designed in partnership with Challenge Works and World Resources Institute. It aims to create cleaner, more efficient urban mobility systems worldwide. The innovative approaches emerging from Varanasi’s Sustainable City Challenge demonstrate how locally grounded ideas can drive meaningful progress toward global sustainability goals.

    In addition, Toyota Mobility Foundation works with Toyota Kirloskar Motor for amplification and on-ground support towards effective implementation of its various initiatives in India. Commenting on the challenge, Vikram Gulati, country head and executive vice president for  corporate affairs and governance at  Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “We are truly inspired by the commitment and ingenuity of the five finalists, whose solutions offer new and exciting possibilities for managing crowd in Varanasi. Their innovations have the potential to transform historic cities and set new global standards in crowd management and urban mobility. We remain committed to championing ideas that reflect our mission of ‘Mobility for All’ and help shape a more sustainable and inclusive future for cities around the world.”

     

    For more information, visit sustainablecitieschallenge.org.

    Continue Reading

  • Global heat record streak ends in July, but risks still rising – Euronews.com

    1. Global heat record streak ends in July, but risks still rising  Euronews.com
    2. Third-hottest July on record wreaks climate havoc  CNA
    3. July was earth’s third-hottest on record: EU scientists  The Examiner
    4. World sees third-warmest July with slight respite in global temperatures  chinadailyasia.com
    5. Third-Warmest July on Record Puts End to Record Global Heat Streak  Earth.Org

    Continue Reading

  • Bank of England poised to cut interest rates on Thursday | Interest rates

    Bank of England poised to cut interest rates on Thursday | Interest rates

    The Bank of England is poised to cut interest rates on Thursday despite a growing divide between its policymakers over the dangers to the economy from high inflation and rising unemployment.

    In a development that will ease pressure on households and businesses, City forecasters expect the central bank to announce a quarter-point cut, its fifth rate reduction in a year.

    Financial markets predict an almost 100% chance of a quarter-point cut from 4.25%, the same as the last reduction in May.

    The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will welcome the cut as Labour comes under pressure over its economic management and growing questions about potential tax rises at her autumn budget.

    Ministers have sought to claim credit for the Bank reducing its base rate four times since August last year, arguing that it had been able to do so only after Labour had worked to “restore stability to the economy”.

    Publishing research before the rate decision at midday on Thursday, the party said a family buying a typical home was now paying almost £1,000 a year less on their mortgage than in July 2024, when the Conservatives left office.

    Figures from the property website Rightmove showed that a typical first-time buyer’s mortgage payment was now almost £100 a month less than a year earlier.

    However, a fifth rate cut will highlight the dangers facing the economy amid a worsening slowdown, as households and businesses grapple with tax rises, stubborn inflation, and global uncertainty created by Donald Trump’s tariff war.

    Analysts expect the vote on rates from the Bank’s nine-strong monetary policy committee to be split, exposing tensions at the heart of Threadneedle Street over the best course of action to keep fast-rising consumer prices in check while also safeguarding jobs and growth.

    City investors are predicting a three-way split, with the external economists Alan Taylor and Swati Dhingra favouring a bigger, half-point cut amid concern about rising job losses.

    Figures show a typical first-time buyer’s mortgage payment today is almost £100 a month less than a year earlier. Photograph: Richard Wayman/Alamy

    Most of the MPC members, including the governor, Andrew Bailey, are expected to vote for a quarter-point reduction.

    Huw Pill, the Bank’s chief economist, could split from his colleagues to join the external economist Catherine Mann in voting to keep rates unchanged owing to concerns that inflationary pressures are mounting.

    Analysts believe that divisions have become more entrenched since the Bank last produced economic forecasts in May. Threadneedle Street will update its outlook on Thursday.

    Michael Saunders, a former MPC member who is now at the consultancy Oxford Economics, said the committee’s split was understandable.

    “You have weak growth, rising unemployment and inflation well above target; those signals go in opposite directions [for a rate decision],” he said. “Different people will put different weights on them. It is not sign that they are more argumentative than other committees [in the past], just that they face a greater disparity between growth, unemployment and inflation.”

    skip past newsletter promotion

    Interest rate cuts support economic growth by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and households. However, bolstering economic activity can stoke inflationary pressures.

    “Monetary policy remains quite tight. Fiscal policy is tightening, and the budget may include further tax hikes later this year. Trade policy uncertainty remains high, deterring investment and hiring.”

    China diverting cheap exports from the US to the UK during Trump’s tariff war could also reinforce downward pressure on inflation, he added.

    Labour has come under pressure from business leaders blaming Britain’s recent economic weakness on Reeves raising employment taxes in her first autumn budget, which firms warned would force them to cut jobs and put up prices.

    Official figures show unemployment has crept higher in recent months, while the economy shrank in April and May. Inflation has risen by more than expected, reaching 3.6% in June – significantly above the Bank’s 2% target.

    Business surveys this week have shown a slowdown in the service sector and a collapse in construction output.

    Labour said cheaper mortgage rates available today – with the average two-year fixed rate falling to 4.52% – had saved borrowers £81.69 on average each month.

    The Treasury minister James Murray said: “Labour’s urgent task when we took office was to restore stability to the economy after 14 years of Tory failure. Since we came into office, rates have been cut four times, and that’s putting more pounds in the pocket of homeowners through cheaper mortgages.”

    Continue Reading

  • Ham sold in UK found to contain carcinogens 10 years after WHO warning | Health

    Ham sold in UK found to contain carcinogens 10 years after WHO warning | Health

    Ham and bacon sold by supermarkets including Tesco, and Marks and Spencer still contain cancer-causing chemicals almost 10 years after the World Health Organization warned about the dangers of their use in processed meats.

    Wiltshire ham is the product with the highest concentrations of nitrites, according to analysis that compared it to cooked ham and unsmoked bacon.

    All of the 21 products tested in a laboratory were found to contain nitrites, which are used to preserve meat, despite the WHO in October 2015 declaring them to be unsafe.

    Tesco’s Wiltshire ham contained the most nitrites – almost 33 milligrams per kilogram. That was 11 times the 2.88mg/kg in its cooked ham and almost four times the 8.64mg/kg in its unsmoked bacon. And it was also almost 18 times the 1.84mg/kg found in Morrisons’s bacon.

    Other Wiltshire ham products, including those sold by M&S (28.6 mg/kg), Sainsbury’s (21.1mg/kg) and Morrisons (19.2mg/kg) also contained relatively high levels, although Asda’s version only had 8mg/kg.

    Food campaigners, who want nitrites banned, said the findings were “alarming”.

    Cancer charities said the widespread use of nitrites showed that people should eat as little processed meat as possible, such as ham, bacon and sausages, because consumption increases the risk of bowel cancer. Cancer Research UK estimates that 13% of the 44,100 cases of the disease diagnosed each year in Britain are linked to processed meat.

    The analysis was commissioned by the Coalition Against Nitrites and undertaken by Food Science Fusion, an independent company, and the laboratory experts Rejuvetech. However, it found the levels of nitrites in all 21 products were well below the 150mg/kg legal limit.

    A spokesperson for the Coalition Against Nitrites, which includes food safety experts, medical specialists and politicians from most of the UK’s major parties, said: “It’s nearly a full decade since the WHO classified nitrite-cured processed meats as a group one carcinogen and it is disappointing and alarming that we continue to see products on sale containing high levels of nitrites.”

    They added: “Consumers are increasingly aware of the dangers of nitrites in processed meats, yet they continue to be exposed to their risks.”

    Wiltshire ham contains such high levels of nitrites because during the production process the pork is injected with nitrates, as also happens with cooked ham. However, Wiltshire ham is then soaked in a bath of brine and nitrites, to give it its red colour and protect it from deadly bacteria. At that point a chemical reaction occurs, which turns nitrates into nitrites.

    Prof Chris Elliott, the food safety expert who led the government-ordered investigation into the 2013 horsemeat scandal, said the research confirmed that nitrites remained “unnecessarily high in certain UK meat products”.

    He added: “Given the mounting scientific evidence of their cancer risk, we must prioritise safer alternatives and take urgent action to remove these dangerous chemicals from our diets.”

    Several food firms, including Finnebrogue and Waitrose, have responded to mounting concern about nitrites by producing bacon that is free of them.

    Dr Rachel Orritt, Cancer Research UK’s health information manager, said: “Eating processed meat increases the risk of bowel cancer. Nitrites … can lead to cell damage, which is one of the ways that processed meat is linked to bowel cancer. The less processed meat you eat, the lower your risk of bowel cancer.”

    Dr Giota Mitrou, the director of research and policy at the World Cancer Research Fund, said it recommended “eating as little, if any, processed meat as possible”.

    A Tesco spokesperson said: “We follow all UK and EU requirements, alongside guidance from the UK Food Standards Agency, to ensure we get the right balance of improving the shelf life and safety of our products with limited use of additives.

    “The nitrites levels in all of our products, including our traditionally cured Finest Wiltshire ham, fall significantly below the legal limits in the UK and EU.

    “Nitrates and nitrites are an important part of the curing process for some meats and they are used to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria that cause serious food poisoning.”

    Andrew Opie, the director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, said: “Food safety is paramount to our members and they implement strict policies with their suppliers to ensure all products comply with UK food legislation.”

    Continue Reading

  • Zurich reports record operating profit and industry-leading return on equity – Zurich Insurance Group

    1. Zurich reports record operating profit and industry-leading return on equity  Zurich Insurance Group
    2. Zurich Insurance posts 6% rise in operating profit  uk.finance.yahoo.com
    3. Zurich grows P&C profits 9% to $2.4bn over H1  Insurance Insider
    4. Zurich Insurance – net income attributable to shareholders at USD 3.1 bln  MarketScreener
    5. Zurich Insurance’s Resilient Earnings and Strategic Positioning in a Volatile Market  AInvest

    Continue Reading

  • Eco-driving measures could significantly reduce vehicle emissions | MIT News

    Eco-driving measures could significantly reduce vehicle emissions | MIT News

    Any motorist who has ever waited through multiple cycles for a traffic light to turn green knows how annoying signalized intersections can be. But sitting at intersections isn’t just a drag on drivers’ patience — unproductive vehicle idling could contribute as much as 15 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. land transportation.

    A large-scale modeling study led by MIT researchers reveals that eco-driving measures, which can involve dynamically adjusting vehicle speeds to reduce stopping and excessive acceleration, could significantly reduce those CO2 emissions.

    Using a powerful artificial intelligence method called deep reinforcement learning, the researchers conducted an in-depth impact assessment of the factors affecting vehicle emissions in three major U.S. cities.

    Their analysis indicates that fully adopting eco-driving measures could cut annual city-wide intersection carbon emissions by 11 to 22 percent, without slowing traffic throughput or affecting vehicle and traffic safety.

    Even if only 10 percent of vehicles on the road employ eco-driving, it would result in 25 to 50 percent of the total reduction in CO2 emissions, the researchers found.

    In addition, dynamically optimizing speed limits at about 20 percent of intersections provides 70 percent of the total emission benefits. This indicates that eco-driving measures could be implemented gradually while still having measurable, positive impacts on mitigating climate change and improving public health.

    “Vehicle-based control strategies like eco-driving can move the needle on climate change reduction. We’ve shown here that modern machine-learning tools, like deep reinforcement learning, can accelerate the kinds of analysis that support sociotechnical decision making. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” says senior author Cathy Wu, the Thomas D. and Virginia W. Cabot Career Development Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS) at MIT, and a member of the Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems (LIDS).

    She is joined on the paper by lead author Vindula Jayawardana, an MIT graduate student; as well as MIT graduate students Ao Qu, Cameron Hickert, and Edgar Sanchez; MIT undergraduate Catherine Tang; Baptiste Freydt, a graduate student at ETH Zurich; and Mark Taylor and Blaine Leonard of the Utah Department of Transportation. The research appears in Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies.

    A multi-part modeling study

    Traffic control measures typically call to mind fixed infrastructure, like stop signs and traffic signals. But as vehicles become more technologically advanced, it presents an opportunity for eco-driving, which is a catch-all term for vehicle-based traffic control measures like the use of dynamic speeds to reduce energy consumption.

    In the near term, eco-driving could involve speed guidance in the form of vehicle dashboards or smartphone apps. In the longer term, eco-driving could involve intelligent speed commands that directly control the acceleration of semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles through vehicle-to-infrastructure communication systems.

    “Most prior work has focused on how to implement eco-driving. We shifted the frame to consider the question of should we implement eco-driving. If we were to deploy this technology at scale, would it make a difference?” Wu says.

    To answer that question, the researchers embarked on a multifaceted modeling study that would take the better part of four years to complete.

    They began by identifying 33 factors that influence vehicle emissions, including temperature, road grade, intersection topology, age of the vehicle, traffic demand, vehicle types, driver behavior, traffic signal timing, road geometry, etc.

    “One of the biggest challenges was making sure we were diligent and didn’t leave out any major factors,” Wu says.

    Then they used data from open street maps, U.S. geological surveys, and other sources to create digital replicas of more than 6,000 signalized intersections in three cities — Atlanta, San Francisco, and Los Angeles — and simulated more than a million traffic scenarios.

    The researchers used deep reinforcement learning to optimize each scenario for eco-driving to achieve the maximum emissions benefits.

    Reinforcement learning optimizes the vehicles’ driving behavior through trial-and-error interactions with a high-fidelity traffic simulator, rewarding vehicle behaviors that are more energy-efficient while penalizing those that are not.

    However, training vehicle behaviors that generalize across diverse intersection traffic scenarios was a major challenge. The researchers observed that some scenarios are more similar to one another than others, such as scenarios with the same number of lanes or the same number of traffic signal phases.

    As such, the researchers trained separate reinforcement learning models for different clusters of traffic scenarios, yielding better emission benefits overall.

    But even with the help of AI, analyzing citywide traffic at the network level would be so computationally intensive it could take another decade to unravel, Wu says.

    Instead, they broke the problem down and solved each eco-driving scenario at the individual intersection level.

    “We carefully constrained the impact of eco-driving control at each intersection on neighboring intersections. In this way, we dramatically simplified the problem, which enabled us to perform this analysis at scale, without introducing unknown network effects,” she says.

    Significant emissions benefits

    When they analyzed the results, the researchers found that full adoption of eco-driving could result in intersection emissions reductions of between 11 and 22 percent.

    These benefits differ depending on the layout of a city’s streets. A denser city like San Francisco has less room to implement eco-driving between intersections, offering a possible explanation for reduced emission savings, while Atlanta could see greater benefits given its higher speed limits.

    Even if only 10 percent of vehicles employ eco-driving, a city could still realize 25 to 50 percent of the total emissions benefit because of car-following dynamics: Non-eco-driving vehicles would follow controlled eco-driving vehicles as they optimize speed to pass smoothly through intersections, reducing their carbon emissions as well.

    In some cases, eco-driving could also increase vehicle throughput by minimizing emissions. However, Wu cautions that increasing throughput could result in more drivers taking to the roads, reducing emissions benefits.

    And while their analysis of widely used safety metrics known as surrogate safety measures, such as time to collision, suggest that eco-driving is as safe as human driving, it could cause unexpected behavior in human drivers. More research is needed to fully understand potential safety impacts, Wu says.

    Their results also show that eco-driving could provide even greater benefits when combined with alternative transportation decarbonization solutions. For instance, 20 percent eco-driving adoption in San Francisco would cut emission levels by 7 percent, but when combined with the projected adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles, it would cut emissions by 17 percent.

    “This is a first attempt to systematically quantify network-wide environmental benefits of eco-driving. This is a great research effort that will serve as a key reference for others to build on in the assessment of eco-driving systems,” says Hesham Rakha, the Samuel L. Pritchard Professor of Engineering at Virginia Tech, who was not involved with this research.

    And while the researchers focus on carbon emissions, the benefits are highly correlated with improvements in fuel consumption, energy use, and air quality.

    “This is almost a free intervention. We already have smartphones in our cars, and we are rapidly adopting cars with more advanced automation features. For something to scale quickly in practice, it must be relatively simple to implement and shovel-ready. Eco-driving fits that bill,” Wu says.

    This work is funded, in part, by Amazon and the Utah Department of Transportation.

    Continue Reading

  • Investigative report exposes Microsoft support for Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank

    Investigative report exposes Microsoft support for Israeli war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank

    The Microsoft logo is pictured outside the headquarters in Paris, Jan. 8, 2021. [AP Photo/Thibault Camus]

    A joint investigation by The Guardian and +972 Magazine has revealed that Microsoft has been providing its Azure cloud computing infrastructure to Israeli military intelligence to store a vast archive of intercepted communications by Palestinians. The data stored and utilized by intelligence agents within Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Unit 8200 has facilitated deadly airstrikes and military operations in both Gaza and the West Bank.

    This unprecedented integration of Microsoft with the war crimes of the Israeli military exposes the increasingly central role played by and correspondence of interests between giant global tech corporations and the strategic aims of US imperialism in the ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.

    According to the investigative reports, the collaboration between Microsoft and Unit 8200 was brokered at the highest levels. In late 2021, a delegation from Israel’s military intelligence, led by then-commander Brigadier General Yossi Sariel, met at Microsoft’s Seattle headquarters with CEO Satya Nadella and other key executives.

    Nadella personally committed Microsoft’s technological resources to the project, reportedly calling the partnership “critical” for Microsoft’s future, and approved the creation of a customized, segregated area within Azure for exclusive use by Unit 8200.

    This platform, according to anonymous sources and leaked internal Microsoft documents, was not for hosting generic cloud services but was designed to meet “the most ambitious demands for mass data collection and analysis ever proposed to the company.” Within months, Unit 8200 was able to begin storing and analyzing intercepted communications on a scale that the Israeli military had previously regarded as technically impossible.

    The technological infrastructure that Microsoft built and now maintains is significant in its scale and scope. The foundation of the system is Azure data centers located in the Netherlands, with additional clusters in Ireland and within Israel itself. By July 2025, at least 11,500 terabytes of Israeli military data—equivalent to about 200 million hours of audio—were being stored on Microsoft servers.

    Most of the data, according to Israeli and Microsoft sources cited by the investigation, consist of recordings of phone calls by Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. Surveillance officers and internal documents described the ambition to “capture and store up to a million calls an hour.”

    This required “collaboration on security architecture between Microsoft engineers and military staff,” with Unit 8200 alumni among the Azure development teams responsible for implementation. Internal memos reveal “a rhythm of daily, top-down and bottom-up interaction” between the company’s cloud division and its Israeli military client, with project secrecy so tight that non-essential Microsoft personnel were not permitted to refer to the “8200 project” by name.

    The Israeli surveillance of Palestinians is universal. The operations described in the investigation mirror details revealed by former NSA intelligence officer Edward Snowden in 2013 about the scale and scope of US government surveillance, data storage and searching of the electronic communications of everyone in the country, if not throughout the entire world.

    Having long controlled the telecommunications infrastructure in the occupied territories, Israel indiscriminately intercepts all phone calls, radio transmissions and internet traffic, gathering up the communications of millions of ordinary Palestinians.

    Leaked documents show the primary purpose of this data is to generate rapid “targets for kinetic action,” that is, identify cellular phones and voices for tracking and subsequent drone strikes, air raids or ground operations. Several anonymous Israeli intelligence officers, speaking to reporters, described a machinery that “finds incriminating material to be used for anything: blackmail, mass arrests, administrative detention, or retroactive justification for killing.”

    Three sources specifically confirmed the data collected and stored using Microsoft’s cloud has been pivotal in planning lethal airstrikes in Gaza, as well as sweeping military detentions in the West Bank, operations which have left thousands of Palestinians dead or disappeared since October 2023.

    The source of these revelations is derived from a rare trove of leaked documents—internal emails, technical memos, contracts and meeting summaries—supplemented by extensive interviews. At least 11 current and former Microsoft and Israeli intelligence sources, some of whom participated directly in the system’s development, provided corroboration under strict anonymity due to the immense legal and career risks involved.

    One well-placed official warned that a successful legal challenge to this arrangement, especially under international human rights law, would threaten both Israeli and American interests, given the “codependence of government and cloud monopolies in waging cyber and kinetic war.”

    Continue Reading