Boeing-Lockheed’s Vulcan cleared to launch US national security satellites

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Space Force said on Wednesday it has cleared Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s Vulcan rocket to launch national security satellites for the United States. SpaceX was the first company to handle such missions. “Vulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency, and flexibility needed by our nation’s most critical space-based systems,” said Brigadier General Kristin Panzenhagen, the program executive officer for assured access to space. Vulcan was developed to replace the Boeing LMT joint … Read more…

Stellantis’ Maserati boosts customisation options ahead of relaunch plans

ROME (Reuters) – Italian sports car maker Maserati, one of the worst performing brands within the Stellantis group, said on Wednesday it was boosting lucrative customisation services while working on wider turnaround plans. The brand sold just 11,300 vehicles last year, down from 26,600 in 2023, with an adjusted operating loss of 260 million euros ($284 million). Its business plan, including new model launches, is under review after being put on hold last year. “We … Read more…

BofA raises gold price forecasts for 2025, 2026

(Reuters) – Bank of America (BofA) has raised its gold period average forecasts for this year and next, while highlighting that uncertainty arising from U.S. trade policies will continue to lend support to prices in the near-term. BofA now expects gold to trade at $3,063 per ounce (oz) in 2025 and $3,350/oz in 2026, it said in a note on Wednesday. This is an increase from its previous forecasts of $2,750/oz for 2025 and $2,625/oz … Read more…

Fidelity Investments tests dollar-pegged stablecoin

By Elizabeth Howcroft (Reuters) -U.S. asset manager Fidelity Investments is exploring whether to launch its own stablecoin, in the latest sign of mainstream investors looking to cash in on a revival of interest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, usually a 1:1 dollar peg, making it easier for traders to move funds between cryptocurrencies. Their use has grown rapidly in recent years. A spokesperson for Fidelity said … Read more…

Tesla’s sales and market share in Europe drop again in February

By Alessandro Parodi and Greta Rosen Fondahn (Reuters) -Tesla’s market share in Europe continued to shrink in February as sales of the all-electric car maker dropped for a second month even as EV registrations overall on the continent grew. As competition grows and a slowdown in European economies hampers total car sales, Elon Musk’s battery-electric (BEV) brand has sold 42.6% fewer cars in Europe so far this year, data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association … Read more…

China’s DeepSeek releases AI model upgrade, intensifies rivalry with OpenAI

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek released a major upgrade to its V3 large language model, intensifying competition with U.S. tech leaders like OpenAI and Anthropic. The new model, DeepSeek-V3-0324, was made available through AI development platform Hugging Face, marking the company’s latest push to establish itself in the rapidly evolving AI market. The latest model demonstrates significant improvements in areas such as reasoning and coding capabilities compared to its predecessor, with benchmark … Read more…

Trump administration to lay out defense of Venezuela deportations despite judge’s order

By Luc Cohen President Donald Trump’s administration faces a deadline on Tuesday to explain to a judge why its deportation flights carrying Venezuelan migrants did not violate a judicial order to halt such removals, a day after it argued that any disclosure of further details would jeopardize U.S. national security.  Washington-based U.S. District Judge James Boasberg last week instructed Justice Department lawyers to give him a justification for the administration’s failure to return two plane loads … Read more…

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Alphabet’s Waymo aims for 2026 self-driving ride-hailing launch in Washington, D.C

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Alphabet’s self-driving unit Waymo said on Tuesday it aims to launch its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in the U.S. capital city next year. Waymo began moving vehicles to Washington, D.C., in January and will bring more to the city in the coming weeks as it works to start paid commercial services as soon as next year. “We will also work closely with policymakers to formalize the legal framework needed … Read more…

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Apple is welcome to expand investment in China, commerce minister tells CEO

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s commerce minister told Apple CEO Tim Cook on Monday that the company is welcome to expand investment in the country, a ministry statement showed. Wang Wentao, the minister, and Cook exchanged views on topics such as Apple’s business development in China and China-U.S. economic and trade relations, according to the statement. Foreign CEOs were attending the China Development Forum in Beijing on Sunday and Monday, with some expected to meet President … Read more…

OpenAI COO to spearhead global growth, partnerships in expanded role, Altman says

(Reuters) – OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap will oversee global expansion and corporate partnerships, CEO Sam Altman said on Monday, as the Microsoft-backed startup seeks to cement its dominance in the fast-growing AI industry. The ChatGPT-maker is partnering with SoftBank Group and Oracle to establish a network of data centers under the $500-billion Stargate project, aimed at powering artificial intelligence workloads. “Brad will lead our global deployment, focusing on business strategy, key partnerships, infrastructure, … Read more…