Business archive

Page 8

1. Anthropic and Nscale Strike $45 Billion Cloud Deal, Sources Say

   Anthropic will rent about 460 megawatts of compute at an Nscale data center in West Virginia, in a deal valued at about $45 billion.

2. Blu Label Targets Electricity After Cell C Restructuring

   After separating from Cell C, Blu Label is pushing Blu Energy into trading, generation, storage and municipal billing as its next growth engine.

3. Mortgage Rates Rise to 6.78%, Squeezing Loan Demand

   Mortgage rates ticked up to 6.78% last week, trimming total applications and pushing refinance and purchase demand lower.

4. Jersey Workers See Small Real Pay Gain, Earnings Growth Slows Compared With Recent Years

   Statistics Jersey reports real earnings rose 1.2% to June, a gain slightly below the long-term 4.2% annual average.

5. Some US Restaurants Drop Tipping, Shift Pay Onto Higher Menu Prices

   A small group of US restaurants has scrapped tipping and raised menu prices to fund higher wages, splitting diners and operators.

6. Target Removes 'Glows Under Blacklight' Clown Costume After Racism Backlash, Issues Apology

   Target pulled a kids' 'Glows Under Blacklight Circus Clown' costume after critics said it echoed racist minstrel imagery. The retailer apologized.

7. Scottish National Investment Bank Posts £138m Loss After Failures at M Squared, Trojan and Krucial

   State-owned bank reports a £138m net loss after three early investments collapsed, while investing a record £374m in Scottish ventures.

8. Trump Media CEO Says Mid-Teens Have Paid up to $100,000 for Faster Access to Trump's Truth Social Posts

   Interim CEO Kevin McGurn said "mid-teens" customers have signed for Truth API, which costs up to $100,000 per month.

9. Foreign Investors Lose Ground as Nigerian Institutions Pour Trillions Into NGX Rally

   Foreign participation has collapsed to 5.6% in July as local institutions drove an equities boom that produced up to 60% YTD gains at 2026 peaks.

10. Oil Markets Slip as Traders Await U.S. Sanctions on Iran

    Markets fell as traders awaited Washington's new sanctions on Iran, while Tehran downplayed the threat and analysts warned of ongoing volatility.

11. ETranzact Revenue up 22.6% to ₦16.28 Billion, Profit Slides as Costs Rise

    Revenue rose 22.6% to ₦16.28 billion in H1 2026, but cost inflation pushed operating profit down and operating cash flow into negative ₦6.86 billion.

12. New York Tops San Francisco for Tech Talent, CBRE Says

    AI-related roles now account for nearly one-third of all tech-talent job listings in the U.S., per the new CBRE report.

13. Ray Dalio Says Bessent Debt Buybacks Signal Growing US Debt Crisis, Advises Gold and Bitcoin

    Ray Dalio warned Scott Bessent's debt buyback plan fits a pattern pointing to a debt crisis, recommending allocations to gold and bitcoin.

14. Broadcom Debt Talks Expected to Reach $70 to $80 Billion, Senior Tranche $45 Billion

    Broadcom is negotiating $70 to $80 billion in debt to finance chips and support AI firms including Anthropic, sources say.

15. Meta’s Hundreds-Of-Millions Azure Spend Makes It a Major Microsoft AI Customer

    Meta is spending hundreds of millions annually on Microsoft’s Azure for AI compute, underscoring why even big builders still buy cloud capacity.

16. Crypto Prices Jump After Trump Urges Passage of Clarity Act, Hyperliquid Token Jumps 20%

    Bitcoin and ether climbed after President Trump pushed Congress to pass the Clarity Act, while Hyperliquid's token rose about 20%.

17. Japan's Exports Jump 23.2% in July, Semiconductor Equipment Fuels Fifth Straight Gain

    Semiconductor equipment values surged 49.1% as AI demand lifts chip shipments; exports grew 23.2% in July, beating estimates.

18. Treasury, IRS Move to Bar Refundable Tax Credits for Some Immigrants With Work Authorization

    Proposal would block refundable portions of four tax credits for many noncitizens with Social Security numbers and work authorization.

19. Canada and US Near Deal That Could Cut Steel, Aluminium and Car Tariffs by Friday

    Negotiators say a deal could cut US tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminium and cars, as Trump pauses new levies and talks race to Friday.

20. Tinubu Orders ₦242 Billion Unclaimed Dividends and EFCC Cash Recoveries to NELFund

    President Tinubu approved diverting ₦242 billion in unclaimed dividends and cash recovered by the EFCC to finance the Nigeria Education Loan Fund.

21. Deoleo Shares Jump 20.5% After Dcoop Emerges as Lead Bidder in Takeover Race

    Deoleo shares climbed over 20% as Dcoop surfaced with a €470 million offer, pushing a potential deal toward a September close.

22. U.S. Pullback is Eroding Europe’s Growth Model, Lagarde Warns

    Christine Lagarde told World Economic Forum leaders Europe must integrate and reform capital markets so AI investment can scale, or it will fall

23. Amazon Expands Prime Air to Nearly 500 U.S. Cities, Targets 1 Million Deliveries

    Amazon will deploy Prime Air in almost 500 U.S. cities by year-end after regulators approved long-range drone flights, accelerating scale-up.

24. Unitree Soars in Shanghai IPO, Closes at 845 Yuan After Raising 6.1 Billion Yuan

    Unitree's shares climbed as much as nearly 630% and settled at 845 yuan after the company raised about 6.1 billion yuan in its IPO.

25. Edward Zimbardi Deported From Fiji to Face $165m Crypto Ponzi Charges

    Edward Zimbardi, 59, deported from Fiji, will appear in Los Angeles on wire fraud and money‑laundering charges tied to $165m losses.

26. Nigeria Targets $750m Cloud Investment

    Nigeria's Federal Government launches a National Cloud Policy to attract $750m in private investment and become a West African cloud computing hub

27. Vodka Brand - Au Vodka to Sell for £500m to Sazerac

    Au Vodka's sale to Sazerac is reportedly worth £500m, with founders set to make over £100m each.

28. Court Freezes 69 Accounts Over Alleged N1.39bn eTranzact Fraud

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered 12 banks and six fintech platforms to place post-no-debit restrictions on about 69 accounts linked to alleged unauthorised transactions on eTranzact’s payment ecosystem.

29. Oil Prices Rise as Iran Rules Out Extension of US Memorandum

    Crude oil prices rose on Monday after Iran ruled out talks to extend its memorandum of understanding with the United States as the 60-day deadline for a nuclear agreement expired.

30. GTCO Interest Income Climbs 506% Since 2020 as GTBank Raises Card Limit

    GTCO’s Q1 interest income reached N467bn, while GTBank doubled the international spending limit on eligible naira cards to $40,000 per quarter.

31. Ferrari’s First Electric Car Sells for $40m at Charity Auction

    Ferrari’s Luce electric car has sold for $40m at a California charity auction, setting a record for the highest price paid for a new vehicle at auction.

32. Global Goods Trade Reaches $13.7 Trillion in First Half of 2026, UNCTAD Says

    UNCTAD says global goods trade increased by 12.5% in the first half of 2026, supported by higher prices, East Asian activity and demand for AI- and electric vehicle-related products.

33. Anthropic Reports $11.5 Billion in Preliminary Quarterly Revenue Ahead of Potential IPO

    Anthropic’s latest quarterly revenue exceeded $11.5 billion as the Claude maker begins early investor meetings ahead of a potential public listing.

34. Agriculture Credit Rises to N3.86tn as Oil and Gas Lending Falls

    Credit to Nigeria’s agriculture sector rose to N3.86 trillion in March 2026, while oil and gas lending declined by N335 billion during the first quarter.

35. SEC Orders Capital Market Firms to Cut North Korea and Iran Ties

    Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has directed capital market operators to restrict dealings involving North Korea and Iran under new anti-money laundering rules.

36. Stripe and Advent Reportedly Renew Talks to Buy PayPal

    Stripe and private equity firm Advent are reportedly in continuing talks to acquire PayPal in a deal that could value the fintech company at $53 billion.

37. Drone Stocks Rally After Trump Orders Tariffs

    US drone stocks surge after President Trump announces import tariffs to boost national security and manufacturing.

38. Keyamo Orders Airlines and Aviation Agencies to Agree Debt Repayment Plans After Industrial Action

    Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo has directed airlines and aviation agencies to develop repayment plans for outstanding debts following an industrial action that disrupted flights at Nigerian airports.

39. Nigerian Banks Increase Marketing Spend

    Nigerian banks spent N76.5bn on marketing in Q1 2026, a 5.35% increase despite tighter regulations.

40. Denam Charity Foundation Awards Scholarships to 30 Students

    Thirty students receive two-year scholarships from Denam Charity Foundation to improve education access.