The Scene Soccer fans in Saudi Arabia have been unable to legally watch World Cup matches, after restrictions were placed on the Qatar-owned platform that holds the exclusive regional broadcasting rights. It’s unclear why the kingdom — which is preparing to host the 2034 World Cup — has blocked access. ...
Category: Semafor
Category Added in a WPeMatico Campaign
DeepSeek reportedly weighs IPO amid zeal for Chinese low-cost techDeepSeek reportedly weighs IPO amid zeal for Chinese low-cost tech
DeepSeek could reportedly file for an IPO as soon as this year, joining its rivals in capitalizing on investor enthusiasm for low-cost Chinese tech. The AI powerhouse is also considering raising new funds, weeks after completing its first financing round that valued the company at $52 billion. Other Chinese AI ...
NY enacts data center moratoriumNY enacts data center moratorium
New York’s data center moratorium, announced Tuesday, signals growing mainstream political pushback to unchecked AI growth in the US. The move puts a one-year suspension on construction of large-scale facilities in the state and is the first of its kind in the US, which is seeing a rapid AI infrastructure ...
Xi steps up corruption purgeXi steps up corruption purge
The Chinese Communist Party purged another top official Tuesday, as Xi Jinping intensifies his anti-corruption drive. Ma Xingrui is the third Politburo member expelled since 2025 from the party’s top echelon, whose members previously enjoyed some impunity but now “drop like bowling pins,” a China-focused academic told The New York ...
Trump abandons Hormuz toll plan, restarts naval blockadeTrump abandons Hormuz toll plan, restarts naval blockade
US President Donald Trump backed off a plan to charge a 20% toll in the Strait of Hormuz, a day after a White House official told Semafor that Trump was “very serious” about the fee. Analysts were skeptical about the proposal, as it would double the cost of moving oil ...
US banks smash profit records after trading frenzyUS banks smash profit records after trading frenzy
The five largest US banks reported blockbuster earnings on Tuesday, owing to geopolitical uncertainty and technological upheaval that caused a trading frenzy. SpaceX’s historic IPO last month contributed to their collective $49 billion in profits, which shattered records. Market volatility often benefits trading divisions on Wall Street, but unlike in ...
Tariff refunds weigh on federal budgetTariff refunds weigh on federal budget
Tariff refunds are squeezing the federal budget. The US paid out $26 billion more in refunds than it collected in June after a February Supreme Court decision struck down most of the Trump administration’s levies, contributing to a widening $120 billion monthly deficit. The White House justified tariffs partly as ...
IBM’s warning sows anxiety for investorsIBM’s warning sows anxiety for investors
It might be tempting to dismiss IBM’s early profit warning — its first since the early 2000s — as a misstep by a tech company stuck in an earlier era, rather than an indictment of the software sector or a broader economic warning bell. But CEO Arvind Krishna’s comments paint ...
AI is the business-model shock law firms needAI is the business-model shock law firms need
Liz’s view It’s easier to change the law than the firms that practice it, an old industry saying goes. Teleport a lawyer from the 1970s to a big law firm today and the work looks basically the same, except with better pay (shockingly at the high end) and computers. Young ...
DeepMind’s Hassabis calls for AI government oversightDeepMind’s Hassabis calls for AI government oversight
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called for government oversight and, potentially, a mandated pause for frontier AI research, warning that a race-to-the-top dynamic is exacerbating the technology’s risks. AI will herald “a new age for humanity,” Hassabis wrote, greater than the Industrial Revolution, but only if deployed responsibly. As it ...