Real-time News

August 14th - Robots are rapidly "entering factories to work," and capital is betting heavily on this sector. In the first half of 2026, the total financing amount in China's embodied intelligence sector exceeded 93.5 billion yuan, a five-fold increase year-on-year.

Goldman Sachs has raised its 12-month target for the UK FTSE 100 index to 11,400 points, up from 11,000 points previously.

Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month target price for the Stoxx Europe 600 index to 695 points from 660 points.

On August 14, it was learned from Iranian sources that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' air defense system intercepted and destroyed an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Hormozgan province.

August 14th - According to foreign media reports, the Swedish government will review the national budget to ensure taxpayers' money is not wasted. With only a month until the election and lagging in the polls, Prime Minister Christophe Kristonsson's center-right coalition announced on Friday the formation of a committee to review the country's operations. Led by Director-General Nordland, the committee's task is to identify savings, recommend optimal use of funds, and propose revocable initiatives. An interim report is scheduled for submission next March, with a final report due in January 2028. During its term, the government, supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats in parliament, has been committed to improving the efficiency of public finances. The government stated that the readjustment of the national budget for 2026 will amount to as much as 50 billion kronor.

According to South Korean media reports, the average salary of SK Hynix employees reached 144 million won (approximately US$104,000) in the first half of this year, an increase of 23% year-on-year.

According to South Korean media reports, SK Hynix received more than 17 trillion won in sales from Nvidia in the first half of this year, accounting for about 13% of the company's total sales.

According to South Korean media reports, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won received a salary of 1.75 billion won in the first half of this year.

The Ukrainian military stated that it hit the Ust-Luga complex in the Leningrad region of Russia.

On August 14, according to the Beijing Stock Exchange, from August 10 to August 14, the exchange listed "*ST Tianye", "*ST Tonghui" and "*ST Kangle" as key monitored stocks under delisting risk warning; and took self-regulatory measures against 23 cases of abnormal securities trading behavior, involving abnormal trading situations such as price manipulation and false declarations.

On August 14th, Shell lost a five-year legal battle with environmental activists over an oil exploration project in South Africa, a case that went all the way to the country's Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court ruled on Friday that the oil giant cannot renew its exploration rights off South Africa's rugged, wild Indian Ocean coast. This ruling comes as other offshore oil exploration in South Africa faces challenges, while neighboring Namibia is working to develop crude oil discoveries near its maritime border. The decision could further embolden activists who have won several lawsuits against oil exploration companies. The legal battle began in 2021 when activists objected to planned seismic surveys by Shell and its local partners in whale-infested areas.

Bank of America upgraded Lenovo's rating to "Buy" with a target price of HK$46.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that U.S. oil production will average 13.83 million barrels per day in August, compared with 13.82 million barrels per day in July; and will average 13.77 million barrels per day in September.

On August 14th, Futures News reported that, according to foreign media, Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi stated on Friday that Ukraine could resume grain exports through Black Sea ports within a month if all parties implement the agreement to suspend attacks on civilian cargo ships. According to Ukrainian sources on the 13th, Ukraine had proposed to Russia a cessation of mutual attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea. Recently, attacks by Russia and Ukraine against commercial shipping and port facilities in the Black Sea have escalated. Several Russian ports in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov have ceased operations, affecting key grain export hubs in southern Ukraine as well, leading to a significant decline in grain exports from both countries and pushing up global grain prices.

August 14th - According to the China Development Bank, in the first seven months of this year, the bank issued over 10 billion yuan in loans to the elderly care industry, representing a year-on-year increase of over 50%, supporting the implementation of a number of inclusive and accessible "small but beautiful" projects.

According to Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings, Xiaomi Group (01810.HK) repurchased 1.9 million Class B shares on August 14, at a cost of HK$49.8 million.

On August 14th, Miniso (09896.HK) announced that it expects to record revenue of approximately RMB11.45 billion to RMB11.55 billion for the first half of 2026, representing an increase of approximately 22% to 23% year-on-year; operating profit of approximately RMB1.62 billion to RMB1.66 billion, representing an increase of approximately 5% to 7% year-on-year; profit for the period of approximately RMB940 million to RMB960 million, representing an increase of approximately 4% to 6% year-on-year; and basic and diluted earnings per share of approximately RMB0.78 to RMB0.79, representing an increase of approximately 5% to 7% and 6% to 9% year-on-year, respectively. The increase in operating profit for the first half of 2026 is mainly due to the fair value change of an investment in a limited partnership investing in the artificial intelligence industry, resulting in an unrealized and market-valued gain of approximately RMB277 million.

Citigroup raised its price target for Coreweave from $142 to $159.

An Amazon subsidiary has reached an acquisition agreement with GlobalStar.