Category: Semafor

Iran will “administer” the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran’s chief negotiator said, in what would be a major diplomatic victory. Iran’s wins seem to be stacking up: It plans to make vessels traversing the waterway buy insurance, Lloyd’s List reported, something the outlet said amounted to a de facto toll. The ...

Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve who served during the pinnacle of US economic power, died on Monday at 100. The self-taught economist became chair in 1987, overseeing the longest economic boom on record and fiercely defending the central bank’s independence with laissez-faire theory and a “temperament ...

The News Senate Republicans helped thwart half of President Donald Trump’s settlement with the IRS — his $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund. Now they’re starting to raise concerns about the other half of that deal: Trump’s audit immunity. Five GOP senators told Semafor that they have questions about last month’s agreement ...

The News OpenAI is rapidly expanding its global advertising business to attract more users to its platform amid its push to meet ambitious revenue targets. “The revenue that we make from the ads offering is going to subsidize and grow access to information,” OpenAI advertising chief David Dugan told reporters ...

Tech stocks fell Monday even as the US projected optimism about ongoing peace talks with Iran. SpaceX continued a multi-day rout following an announcement last Thursday that the firm would launch an inaugural bond sale just days after its blockbuster IPO. Alphabet was also on track for its worst performance ...

SK Hynix on Monday topped Samsung as South Korea’s most valuable company, propelled by the AI-powered chip boom. It marked a stunning reversal for a once debt-ridden company that earned the Korean epithet for a penny stock — “Dongjeon-ju,” Reuters wrote. Its shares have more than quadrupled this year, and ...

More than 20,000 runners took part in the world’s oldest and largest ultramarathon earlier this month, a nearly 55-mile (89 kilometers) race between the South African cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The Comrades race has been held every year since 1921, pausing only during World War II and the COVID-19 ...

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party retained its large parliamentary majority in recent elections overshadowed by unrest in Africa’s second-most-populous country. The party extended its parliamentary majority, securing 90% of contested seats in this month’s general election, which 49-year-old Abiy was widely expected to win. More than 140 polling ...

Lithium miners ‌in Zimbabwe asked the government for more time to build processing facilities before a ban on concentrate exports takes effect in January 2027, Reuters reported. The leader of a lithium producers’ trade body said regulators had been asked for an extension because attempts to complete plant construction ahead ...

Botswana secured $100 million to build its first large-scale solar plant that will sell power to a regional market, as investors bet that rising electricity demand will offer lucrative returns on surplus power. The 100-megawatt Tati Solar Project is set to begin commercial operations next year, after securing financial arrangements ...