We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2018: They fought for the Iranian revolution – and then for Saddam Hussein. The US and UK once condemned them. But now their opposition ...
Global EV sales surge during Iran warGlobal EV sales surge during Iran war
Global EV sales are expected to hit 23 million this year, an 11% jump from 2025, as the Iran war drives demand for cheaper electric mileage. Thanks to falling lithium-ion prices, EVs are becoming more affordable just as gas prices have risen, prompting more drivers to make the switch even ...
France’s spy agency drops PalantirFrance’s spy agency drops Palantir
France’s spy agency ended its contract with US-based software giant Palantir and replaced it with a domestic rival. Europe’s tech sovereignty concerns have risen after the US government blocked foreign nationals’ access to Anthropic’s frontier models. Palantir in particular has faced scrutiny, the Financial Times noted: Its deal with the ...
EU removes tariffs from US goodsEU removes tariffs from US goods
The European Parliament approved its trade deal with the US, agreeing to reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods. Washington agreed to cap its own tariffs. The deal was agreed last year, but votes were postponed after US President Donald Trump threatened to annex Greenland, leading parliamentarians to demand extra ...
DeepSeek fundraises $7.4 billionDeepSeek fundraises $7.4 billion
DeepSeek became China’s most valuable AI startup after raising $7.4 billion, but its $50 billion valuation is eclipsed by the astronomical market values of its US rivals. The upstart upended Silicon Valley with its cost-effective open-source model last year, and is seen as leading Beijing’s race against the US. While ...
SpaceX overtakes Amazon in value, raising concerns of a bubbleSpaceX overtakes Amazon in value, raising concerns of a bubble
SpaceX shares jumped further Tuesday, making the company more valuable than Amazon but further raising concerns of a bubble. The space giant’s IPO last week broke records and investors have only piled in since. But the numbers are startling: Its price-to-sales ratio is almost 150, compared to less than four ...
How Frederic Church brought America to the worldHow Frederic Church brought America to the world
by Victoria Johnson. Church was “the emblematic artist of the middle decades of America’s nineteenth century,” according to The New Yorker. This “lively” biography shows how he “did for America what John Constable and JMW Turner had done for Britain,” painting landscapes that defined the nation’s image of itself. Buy ...
Netflix wades into the M&A gameNetflix wades into the M&A game
The Scene It failed in a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. Then, it bowed out of its pursuit of Roku, according to people involved in the sale process. Netflix is increasingly showing up in the marketplace for giant deals, marking a territory for the company that historically said it prefers ...
How Amazon Business made business buying smart by rebuilding its consumer platform for companiesHow Amazon Business made business buying smart by rebuilding its consumer platform for companies
In this special episode of Compound Interest, Semafor’s Chief Commercial Officer Rachel Oppenheim sits down with Todd Heimes, Vice President and General Manager at our season sponsor, Amazon Business. Todd and Rachel sit down to discuss how Amazon Business is reshaping how organizations buy. Heimes has been scaling Amazon since ...
Hormuz will never really be open againHormuz will never really be open again
Tim’s view The US-Iran de-escalation deal may bring oil tanker traffic back to something resembling the pre-war norm, but the global energy trade will never be the same. Oil prices will very likely fall — Goldman Sachs lowered its fourth-quarter Brent forecast from $90 to $80 per barrel on Monday. ...