Nvidia, the California company that makes about 90 percent of the world’s cutting-edge AI chips, has become the world’s most valuable company, seeing its market value soar by $2.5 billion over the past 12 months.
ECONOMIC UPDATE – MARKET OVERVIEW
On the economic front, it is more of the same, but just a different day. The U.S. equities keep riding high following the re-election of Donald Trump who will take over the White House on Monday, 20 January 2025.
STOCK TRADERS SHRUG OFF TRUMP’S TARIFF THREATS
Equity markets seem to be taking Donald Trump’s threats of expansive new global tariffs in stride.
ISRAEL VIOLATING CEASEFIRE WITH HEZBOLLAH
The Israeli military has continued its effort to advance in southern Lebanon, carried out dozens of airstrikes, and continued to carry out demolition operations, despite a supposed ceasefire resolution with Hezbollah that called for an end of the fighting for 60 days.
WHEN AI LEARNS YOU, WHO OWNS “YOU?” (HINT: NOT YOU)
Young workers have already embraced AI in startling numbers to get work done and make their lives easier.
PUTIN WARNS THAT RUSSIA COULD TURN DECISION-MAKING CENTERS IN KYIV TO DUST WITH NEW MISSILE
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week warned that Moscow has escalation capabilities in Ukraine and its next targets could be a wide range of military facilities and decision-making centers in Kyiv that Moscow could “turn to dust.”
75 PERCENT OF ADULTS IN THE U.S. ARE CONSIDERED CLINICALLY OVERWEIGHT OR OBESE
A newly released study found that 208 million Americans out of about 335 million are considered to be medically overweight or obese.
Global Economy
SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER
Oneok, a U.S. oil and gas pipeline company, is trading $4.5 billion of its stock for the remaining shares it does not yet own of Enlink Midstream, a pipeline company operating in the south central U.S.
SPOTLIGHT: RUSSIA’S ECONOMIC SQUEEZE
After nearly two years of fighting its war with Ukraine, Russia’s economy is feeling the pressure.
SPECIAL REPORT: WILL CHINA RETALIATE AGAINST TRUMP TARIFFS?
At various times during his presidential campaign, Donald Trump said he would impose tariffs of 10, 25, 60, and 200 percent on Chinese imports into the U.S.
The Israel War
GAZA DEATH TOLL
The death toll in Gaza reached 44,502 on Tuesday along with 105,454 people who have been injured in the nearly 14-month-long genocide.
ISRAEL VIOLATING CEASEFIRE WITH HEZBOLLAH
The Israeli military has continued its effort to advance in southern Lebanon, carried out dozens of airstrikes, and continued to carry out demolition operations, despite a supposed ceasefire resolution with Hezbollah that called for an end of the fighting for 60 days.
HEZBOLLAH VS. ISRAEL, FACTS AND FICTION
Israel and Hezbollah leaders have agreed to a 60-day ceasefire after weeks of Israeli bombing campaigns across Lebanon and fierce clashes as IDF troops tried to enter the country.
AI
U.K. OPENS LAB TO FIND AND COUNTER AI SECURITY THREATS
Britain has established the Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR) to safeguard the nation and its allies against AI-based cybersecurity threats in what officials called an “AI arms race.”
BANKING ON AI: CAPITAL ONE, JPMORGAN ARE LEADING THE INDUSTRY
Banks are adopting and deploying AI at an accelerating pace, but the best are doing so twice as fast as their competitors.
NVIDIA: HOW FAST, HOW HIGH, HOW FAR?
Nvidia, the California company that makes about 90 percent of the world’s cutting-edge AI chips, has become the world’s most valuable company, seeing its market value soar by $2.5 billion over the past 12 months.
Hi-Tech Science
INDIANA START-UP INTRODUCES GIANT BATTERY ON WHEELS
It looks like a windowless military personnel carrier, or maybe a Humvee on steroids, but it’s actually a self-propelled, all-electric, giant battery on wheels called the Mobile Power Station (MPS), created by Dannar LLC in Indiana.
HOW TO TURN LEAVES INTO ELECTRONIC CIRCUIT BOARDS
Peeling the valuable electronic components and useful metals from discarded circuit boards is labor-intensive and time-consuming.
TENS OF THOUSANDS OF NEW HUMAN GENES HAVE BEEN REVEALED. WHAT ARE THEY FOR?
Scientists surveying previously overlooked crannies of the human genome have found thousands of new genes that might hold the key to everything from understanding neurodegenerative conditions to curing cancer.
