Posts by Liam Redmond
Chinese firms dominated global humanoid robot shipments in 2025
The industry’s global sales more than quintupled from 2024, according to Omdia’s figures HUMANOID robot makers in China accounted for the vast majority of the roughly 13,000 units shipped globally last year, far outstripping US companies such as Tesla and Figure AI in sheer volume, according to research firm Omdia. The Chinese startup Shanghai AgiBot…
Read MoreGM to take US$6 billion writedown on EV pullback
GM’s EV sales dropped 43 per cent in the fourth quarter after the loss of the consumer tax credit [DETROIT] General Motors said on Thursday it would take a US$6 billion charge to unwind some electric-vehicle investments, the latest car company to pull back from EVs in response to the Trump administration’s policies and fading…
Read MoreExclusive | Hotshot lawyer who dropped Nick Reiner case avoided becoming Hollywood ‘pariah’: insiders
High-profile defense attorney Alan Jackson dodged becoming a “pariah in Hollywood” by dropping Nick Reiner as he faces accusations he killed his famous mom and dad, insiders said Thursday. Jackson abruptly quit the case Wednesday without an explanation beyond telling reporters he was legally and ethically barred from “explaining all the reasons” why — but…
Read MoreBlackstone eyes US$2.6 billion of debt to finance power merger
Electricity demand is soaring globally as the data centres needed for Big Tech’s artificial intelligence objectives put pressure on power grids [NEW YORK] A group of banks led by Barclays is shopping a roughly US$2.6 billion debt deal to support Blackstone’s effort to combine two of its power grid equipment suppliers, according to sources with…
Read MorePanama says it cancelled flag of US-seized oil tanker a year ago
[PANAMA CITY] Panama’s maritime authority on Thursday said it had cancelled in January of last year the flag of the M Sophia, a Venezuela-linked oil tanker seized by the US military this week. The US military’s Southern Command on Wednesday said it had intercepted the M Sophia before dawn, and described it as a “stateless, sanctioned dark…
Read MoreBig Tech spared strict rules in EU digital regulations overhaul, sources say
The tech giants will be subject only to a voluntary framework rather than binding rules [BRUSSELS] Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon will not face heavy-handed regulations in Europe’s digital rule overhaul despite calls from telecoms companies, people with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. A slew of new tech rules adopted in recent years…
Read MoreChina’s Anta Sports has offered to buy Pinault family’s 29% Puma stake: sources
The Hong Kong-listed company has a track record of acquiring and revamping Western sports and lifestyle brands [HONG KONG/LONDON] China’s Anta Sports Products has offered to buy 29 per cent of struggling German sportswear firm Puma from France’s Pinault family, three sources with knowledge of the talks said. Anta made the offer a few weeks…
Read MoreLong Island man killed estranged wife with lethal cyanide mixture that ‘seared her lungs:’ DA
A Long Island creep “lay in wait” for his estranged wife and killed her inside her home with a lethal cyanide mix that “seared her lungs,” Nassau County prosecutors said Thursday. Asif Qureshi, 53, busted into his former home in Herrick after Aleena Asif left to drop the couple’s kids off at school on Oct.…
Read MoreGlencore and Rio Tinto in talks to form world’s biggest miner
[NEW YORK] Rio Tinto Group is in talks to buy Glencore to create the world’s biggest mining company with a combined market value of more than US$200 billion, a little over a year after earlier talks between the two collapsed. The companies have been discussing a potential combination of some or all of their businesses…
Read MoreGlencore and Rio in talks to form world’s biggest miner
[NEW YORK] Glencore and Rio Tinto Group are in talks about a US$207 billion deal that would create the world’s biggest mining company, a little over a year after earlier talks between the two companies collapsed. Glencore said on Thursday (Jan 8) that it was in preliminary talks with Rio, with options including an all-share…
Read MoreUS stocks: Wall Street ends mixed as tech dips, defence stocks rally
WALL Street ended mixed on Thursday, as Nvidia and other technology stocks dipped, while defence companies advanced after President Donald Trump called for an enlarged US$1.5 trillion military budget. Nvidia slid 2.2 per cent, Broadcom declined 3.2 per cent and Microsoft dipped 1.1 per cent. The S&P 500 technology index lost 1.5 per cent, leaving it down…
Read MoreJD Vance announces new assistant AG position focusing on fraud impacting taxpayer funds
Vice President JD Vance announced Thursday that the Justice Department is creating a new assistant attorney general role to focus on nationwide fraud impacting taxpayer funds. “We are creating a new assistant attorney general position who will have nationwide jurisdiction over the issue of fraud. Now, of course, that person’s efforts will start and focus…
Read More