Economy

US-China Relations
Pentagon names giants in China – reportedly supporting the army

The US Department of Defense is naming several of China's largest companies, including Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, for having connections to the Chinese military, Bloomberg reports.

According to the news agency, the Pentagon has added the companies to its list of companies that are considered to support China's military. The companies were included in a version of the list published in February but were quickly withdrawn without explanation.

Now the Pentagon has reinstated and expanded the list, which also includes tech giant Tencent and several Chinese semiconductor and technology companies.

Space X IPO
Space X is being shunned ahead of its debut – the valuation is "obscene"

On Friday, the space company Space X is expected to make its IPO in what is believed to be a historic listing. But the price tag is making some analysts cringe, writes Placera.

The company plans to raise a record $75 billion at a valuation of $1.75-2 trillion. Valtteri Ahti, chief strategist at asset manager Evli, does not mince words, calling the valuation "obscene."

- Space X's valuation is, in a word, astronomical. We're talking about a multiple of 100 times revenue, he says.

Apple conference WWDC
Analyst: Few signs that Apple is starting to make money on AI

Apple presented the expected AI upgrades for its voice assistant Siri during its annual WWDC conference yesterday. But analysts are not impressed, writes CNBC.

According to UBS-David Vogt, the event was a disappointment and probably not enough to increase demand for the iPhone. Key Banc's Brandon Nispel is also doubtful about how Apple will monetize its AI efforts.

"We see no clear signs that Apple is starting to make money from AI, just a slightly better standalone Siri, which is still worse than other major language models," he writes.

Baird analyst William Power instead believes that the new AI features have largely met expectations. If Apple manages to deliver on the upgrade, it could also be a significant breakthrough, he believes.

Brexit  The future of the UK
Report: Brexit has cost the UK billions

Brexit may have already cost the British economy around £30 billion in lost tax revenue per year. This corresponds to about 2-4 percent of GDP, according to a report from Bloomberg Economics.

The report authors note that the consequences of Brexit have been "significant and negative", although their results are not as bad as other assessments.

“The economy is smaller now than it would have been if the country had remained part of the EU,” the report says.

Ten years after the British voted to leave the EU, opinion polls show that more and more people want the country to rejoin. But repairing the damage that has already been done is easier said than done, writes Bloomberg.

The future of Open AI
Hat trick completed: Open AI files for IPO

Open AI has filed to go public on Wall Street. A confidential application has been filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, CNBC reports late Monday evening.

The application means that the authorities can now start digging deeper into the company’s books and preparing for the listing. It is possible that Open AI could start trading on the stock exchange in the fourth quarter.

The Chat GPT company is valued at more than $850 billion. But according to Reuters, OpenAI is aiming even higher, towards the $1 trillion mark.

The filing comes at a transformative time for the tech industry and the market. It comes just days before SpaceX's IPO and a week after AI giant Anthropic announced the same plan. According to CNBC, it could be the third-largest IPO in history.

Open AI's IPO will be a test of investors' risk appetite, given that the company is experiencing unprecedented revenue growth while making huge losses, the Financial Times reports.