The Earth's resources are now exhausted for this year

 

TT

 

Published 04:56

 

We are consuming the Earth's resources at a rate that would require 1.73 Earths. Archive image. Photo: TT

Humanity has now exhausted the Earth's renewable resources for this year. July 30th is this year's "Earth overshoot day".

We are currently using nature's resources 73 percent faster than the Earth's ecosystem can recover - a rate that would require us to have 1.73 Earths, according to the organization Global Footprint Network, which makes the measurements.

For Sweden, the day fell on April 4th. The worst in the class is Qatar, which had already used up its ration of renewable resources on February 4th.

In the early 1970s, "Earth overshoot day" occurred at the end of December.

Wants to stop foreigners who “hate” Argentina

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 18:38

 

Argentine President Javier Milei, here in a picture from May this year. Photo: Natacha Pisarenko/AP/TT

Argentine President Javier Milei is demanding that foreign citizens who “express hatred” be able to be thrown out of the country.

Milei has signed a presidential decree targeting anyone who “spreads or incites hateful information” against Argentina or Argentines.

He states that the measure is a response to several “expressions of hostility” recently and claims that the decree does not violate freedom of expression.

Right-wing politician and Donald Trump supporter Milei has accused Brazil, Mexico and Democrats in the United States, among others, of “anti-Argentine campaigns” in the past week, partly referring to criticism of the Argentine team’s behavior after the final of the World Cup.

Guterres makes new attempt to unite Cyprus

 

TT-AFP-AP

 

Published 03:45

  

UN Secretary-General António Guterres in Cyprus' divided capital Nicosia on Wednesday. Photo: Petros Karadjias/AP/TT

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is trying again to reunite the divided Cyprus and resolve a conflict that has lasted more than 50 years.

During a visit to the divided island, Guterres says he wants the talks, which have been suspended for many years, to resume.

- A solution is absolutely necessary, not only for the Cypriots but as a factor of stability in an increasingly unstable region, he says after meeting with both Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot representatives.

Cyprus has been divided into a Greek Cypriot southern part and a Turkish Cypriot part in the north since Turkey's invasion in 1974.

The UN has organized several peace talks over the years, but without success. Guterres is not presenting a timeframe for the planned talks, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already reacted, saying that "any solutions that ignore the sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriots are doomed."

The AI ​​race

EU invests 10 billion euros in AI data centers

The European Commission has invited companies to apply for support of up to 10 billion euros to build up to seven large AI data centers in Europe. Bloomberg reports.

In addition to the billion-euro support from the EU and member states, around 20 billion euros in private investment is expected. So far, however, only 2 billion euros in public funding is available, the remaining funds require approval in the EU's next long-term budget.

Three larger facilities can receive up to 1 billion euros each in support, while four slightly smaller data centers can receive up to 500 million euros each. Construction is planned to start in the first quarter of 2027.

The EU states that parts of the procurements can be reserved for European companies, while the Union has signed letters of intent with AMD, Nvidia and Qualcomm.

Samsung's chip profits are soaring - they have increased 250-fold

Samsung's operating profit surged by more than 1,800 percent in the second quarter. In the red-hot chip business, profit growth was a full 250 times higher than in the same quarter last year, notes Bloomberg. Revenues increased by 130 percent at the same time.

The figures were largely as the market had expected and the stock was traded down almost 1 percent on the Seoul Stock Exchange.

Samsung sees no decrease in demand for memory chips for the massive AI expansion. However, Jung In Yun, founder of asset manager Fibonacci, warns of a coming setback when demand declines.

- In this market, record profits are no longer enough, he tells Bloomberg.
 

Fed vs. inflation

Analysis: Fed chief's statement raises market distrust

The Federal Reserve's statement to leave the policy rate unchanged should have been a non-event. Instead, the lack of communication from the new US central bank chief Kevin Warsh caused market interest rates to accelerate more than they have in over a year and Wall Street to fall. Bloomberg's John Authers writes in an analysis.

According to Authers, the interest rate movements show that the market believes that Warsh has made a mistake that could force the Fed to make larger interest rate hikes later. "It is a clear vote of no confidence," he writes.

According to CNBC's Matt Peterson, the market's reaction raises questions about Warsh's credibility when it comes to inflation. Before taking office, he pointed to the lack of credibility of his predecessor Jerome Powell as a reason behind rising market interest rates. Warsh's new explanation that the rise reflects a strong economy does not seem to be buying the market.

Three out of twelve Fed members wanted to raise the interest rate and that group is likely to grow if inflation does not turn down. "That puts Warsh in a difficult position. After just a few months in office, his credibility risks being eroded – both in the market and within the Federal Reserve," writes Matt Peterson.

Economist: "Warsh wants to take the back seat"

The announcement from the Federal Reserve that it will leave the policy rate unchanged at 3.5-3.75 percent was not only expected but also well thought out, says Robert Bergqvist, senior economist at SEB.

- If it had been a surprise, it would have been unfortunate, he tells TT.

Regarding the new Fed chief Kevin Warsh, Bergqvist believes that two conclusions can now be drawn.

Firstly, Warsh really wants to change monetary policy. It covers everything from communication, balance sheet and data collection to the framework for the inflation target.

Secondly, the Fed chief wants to sit in the back seat and observe what happens. He does not want to share more than necessary with the market. Bergqvist is not entirely convinced that this is a good strategy.

Economy

Forest fires in Europe
Fires are changing the insurance industry

Europe's insurance companies are bracing for a new era of catastrophic risks, driven by rising temperatures on the fastest-warming continent in the world. Bloomberg reports.

Although it is too early to say how much this year's forest fires will cost, Tyson Vickery, CEO of insurance broker Marsh, points out that Spain's 2025 forest fire season resulted in economic losses of almost 5 billion euros. Only 1 billion of this value was insured.

The consequences are likely to be higher premiums for policyholders, higher losses for insurance companies and new methods to try to detect fires in time. In addition, financing methods for the industry, where the risk is transferred to the capital market via so-called catastrophe bonds, are predicted to become more common.

Britain's Future
Burnham is "pragmatic" about oil drilling in the North Sea

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has told US President Donald Trump that the country will not "ignore" its resources in the North Sea, writes Bloomberg.

During a visit to Barrow in northwest England, Burnham said that he had told the president last week that he would take a "pragmatic" approach to oil.

- When people are struggling, we cannot ignore it, Burnham told reporters.

Trump criticized Burnham's representative Keir Starmer for not supporting the opening of new oil fields.

New oil exploration is likely to lead to criticism from the environmental movement and from the left wing of Labour.

Middle East crisis  Strait of Hormuz
Saudi Arabia's oil revenues rise but GDP falls

Saudi Arabia reported on Thursday a budget deficit of 34.3 billion riyals (equivalent to 87 billion kronor) for the second quarter of 2026. Compared to the previous quarter, the deficit decreased by 70 percent. Reuters writes, citing Saudi state television.

Oil revenues rose during the quarter by 22 percent to the equivalent of 470 billion kronor.

The country's economy is being pressured by the war in the Middle East. According to preliminary statistics reviewed by Bloomberg, the country's GDP decreased by 4.8 percent on an annual basis during the quarter.

Microsoft's future
Microsoft on track for historic stock market record

Microsoft is well on its way to recording the largest increase in market value in a single day for any stock ever. Bloomberg writes.

Microsoft's stock is up around 17 percent just two hours before the stock market close. This means that the company's market value increases by around 490 billion dollars.

If the rise continues, it will break Nvidia's record for the largest increase in market value in a single day. Nvidia's value rose by $440 billion in one trading day in 2025.

In percentage terms, today's rise is the largest since October 2008 for Microsoft. Behind the rise is a quarterly report that the company released yesterday after the stock market had closed, a report that took the market by storm. 

Meta's future
Analysts after the report: Harder to cheer for Meta now

Meta's interim report was a big disappointment for investors, writes Reuters. Cash flow collapsed and decreased by 91 percent, while profit was lower than expected and AI investments are being stepped up further.

Mike Proulx at the analysis firm Forrester notes that it was easier to cheer for Meta's AI investments when margins rose.

- It's harder now that the costs are visible in the numbers, he tells the news agency.

Luke Stillman, CEO of the analysis firm Madison and Walls, is instead focusing on the advertising business continuing to develop strongly.

The stock plunged more than 7 percent in after-hours trading last night.

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