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Trade Wars
Apple's 50-Year Journey From Garage To Tech Titan
In early 1976 in California, Steve Wozniak had just completed the design of a computer circuit board he intended to share with fellow hobbyists at a prominent local club. His friend Steve Jobs also saw a business opportunity to manufacture and sell the boards, and thus Apple was born. The company turns 50 on Wednesday. Its rise has shaped both the technology industry and popular culture by making first desktop computers and then smartphones mainstream, popularizing mobile apps and showing how tightly integrated devices and software can work.
But the iPhone maker is now under pressure to show it can remain a technology powerhouse in the age of artificial intelligence as software rivals Alphabet and Microsoft spend tens of billions of dollars to seize a lead. Despite embedding machine learning features in its chips since 2017, analysts and investors say delays in roll-out of features, including a revamped Siri, suggest Apple was underprepared for how consumers would use AI. Rivals such as OpenAI are also planning to launch AI devices that aim to shake the long-held dominance of smartphones.
Read more at Reuters
Q1 Auto Sales: GM, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Mazda Slide As Market Downshifts; Hyundai, Kia Overcome Weaker March To Post Record Sales
Top automakers General Motors and Toyota reported lower first-quarter sales in the U.S. on Wednesday, as economic uncertainty, high borrowing costs and vehicle prices keep buyers on the sidelines. GM reported a nearly 10% drop in sales to 626,429 units, hit by winter storms early in the quarter and an unfavorable comparison due to a strong surge of sales in the year-ago period. But the company still held on to its top spot for quarterly sales, followed by Japan's Toyota, which reported a marginal drop in sales to 569,420 units, helped by steady demand for crossover SUVs like the RAV4.
- Mazda reported about a 14% drop in its quarterly sales.
- Stellantis is slowly rebounding from a long sales slump, recording a 4% sales increase in the U.S. for the quarter, helped by improvement in the Ram and Jeep brands.
- Hyundai and Honda reported higher numbers, buoyed by demand for their SUVs, trucks and hybrid models.
Read more at US News
America’s Best New Weapon in Iran Is a Drone Inspired by Iran
The powerful, low-cost attack drone the U.S. is using in its war with Iran doesn’t come from one of America’s more than 400 venture-backed drone startups. And it isn’t the product of Silicon Valley ingenuity. Instead, the drone having its moment in the Middle East conflict was designed by the U.S. military itself, using reverse-engineered Iranian technology. From the earliest days of the war, the FLM 136, or Lucas, as it is known, has been wiping out Iranian military targets, while better-funded hardware systems and drones from defense startups have had little involvement.
It is a victory for the U.S. military, which went from blueprint to battle-ready drone in less than two years, jettisoning its tradition of slowly buying very expensive equipment. The creation of Lucas is an early proofpoint of a new strategy of making cheap drones quickly and a sign that the Pentagon can change the way it does business to better prepare for modern conflict. The low-cost drones, the first one-way attack drones the U.S. deployed in the Iran war, have roots in America’s preparation for a separate potential conflict between the U.S. and China.
Read more at the WSJ
HP Pulls Multiple Levers To Battle Soaring Memory Chip Costs
HP Inc. is leveraging its supplier relationships and long-term agreements to help counter memory chip shortages that have dramatically raised prices, executives said. The company is also adding new suppliers to its network and cutting the time to qualify new material in half to speed up product configuration changes, executives said in a Feb. 24 earnings call. “Our initiatives are focused on securing supply, shaping demand and product configuration, implementing targeted cost reductions and taking pricing actions, and all of these are well on track,” CFO Karen Parkhill told investors.
HP is just one of a growing list of computer technology makers confronting price increases in memory and storage chips. Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo have all raised prices. Dell has also tightened discounts, and HPE has extended agreements with silicon and memory component providers. Meanwhile, memory and storage sourcing has tightened across the computer industry as cloud providers and developers buy massive quantities to support AI data center buildouts.
Read more at Supply Chain Dive
Mercedes-Benz to Invest $4bn In Alabama Plant
Mercedes-Benz will invest $4bn in its Tuscaloosa, Alabama facility by 2030 to expand SUV production and localise a new model. The German carmaker said the investment is part of a broader plan exceeding $7bn across its US operations in the coming years. The Tuscaloosa plant, operational since 1997, has produced more than 4.5 million vehicles to date and will add a new c The facility has developed into a key export base for SUVs, with approximately 60% of its output shipped to international markets.
In 2024, the plant produced around 260,000 vehicles, including the GLE, GLS, GLE Coupe, Mercedes-Maybach GLS, as well as the electric EQE SUV and EQS SUV. The announcement coincides with the production of the plant’s five-millionth SUV, marking three decades of operations. The milestone vehicle, a GLE, was unveiled alongside updated versions of the GLE and GLS models. Separately, Mercedes-Benz is restructuring part of its US workforce by relocating up to 500 roles to a new research and development hub in Atlanta.ore segment model from 2027, designed for US customer preferences.
Read more at Just Auto
Hershey Says It Will Shift Back To Classic Recipe For All Reese’s Products After Criticism
Hershey said Wednesday it will use classic recipes for all Reese’s products starting next year, a change that comes after the grandson of Reese’s founder criticized the company for shifting to cheaper ingredients. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have always been made with real milk chocolate or dark chocolate and peanut butter. But a small portion of Hershey’s and Reese’s products, like mini Easter eggs, are now made with a coating that contains less chocolate. Hershey said that in 2027, it will shift those products to “their classic milk chocolate and dark chocolate recipes.” The Hershey, Pennsylvania-based company said it will also be making other changes to its sweets portfolio next year, including transitioning to natural colors and enhancing Kit-Kat’s recipe to make it creamier. The company said it plans to increase its research and development funding by 25% next year.
Brad Reese, the grandson of the inventor of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, ignited the controversy in a public letter he sent to Hershey’s corporate brand manager on Valentine’s Day. “How does The Hershey Co. continue to position Reese’s as its flagship brand, a symbol of trust, quality and leadership, while quietly replacing the very ingredients (Milk Chocolate + Peanut Butter) that built Reese’s trust in the first place?” Reese wrote in the letter, which he posted on his LinkedIn profile.
Read more at AP
Pentagon Finalizes $3.8B Deal With P&W For F135 Engines
The Pentagon issued a $3.8-billion contract modification to Pratt & Whitney to finalizing contract terms, specifications, and cost for a previously awarded contract for manufacturing a total of 148 F135 engines. The engines will power the current production series - Lot 18 - of F-35 single-engine fighter jets. Lot 18 will include 148 aircraft that are scheduled for delivery in 2026 and 2027. The F135 is an afterburning turbofan engine for the Joint Strike Fighter series, which includes three aircraft models for different takeoff and landing requirements.
The award covers full-rate production of the engines and initial spares, plus engine modules, engineering resources, program oversight, and dedicated production support services, the Pentagon stated. "The F135 is the most advanced military engine in the world, delivering unmatched thrust, reliability and mission readiness for the United States and its allies," stated Pratt & Whitney Military Engines president Jill Albertelli. "Pratt & Whitney is investing heavily across our global production base and supply chain to increase production and accelerate engine delivery and sustainment to meet growing global demand for the F-35 program." Under Pratt’s new award, work will be carried out a various sites in Connecticut, Indiana, and other states. Its completion date is March 2028.
Read more at American Machinist
Oracle Cutting Thousands In Latest Layoff Round As Company Continues To Ramp AI Spending
Oracle has started telling employees that it’s cutting thousands of jobs, CNBC has confirmed, as the software maker deals with a plummeting stock price tied to hefty capital commitments for building out AI infrastructure. While Oracle’s core business is on the receiving end of market panic about competitive risk from generative artificial intelligence models, the company is also facing pressure from investors about the amount of debt it’s raising for AI investments and its dwindling cash flow.
Business Insider reported on the latest cuts earlier on Tuesday. CNBC confirmed the cuts with two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the announcement hasn’t been made public. Oracle, which employed 162,000 people as of May 2025, declined to comment. Cutting 20,000 to 30,000 employees could lead to $8 billion to $10 billion in incremental free cash flow, TD Cowen analysts wrote in a January note.
Read more at Hoodline
Musk’s SpaceX Files to Go Public in One of the Biggest IPOs Ever
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is one step closer to staging what could be the largest initial public offering of all time. The satellite builder and rocket operator has confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. SpaceX is aiming for an IPO that could raise between $40 billion and $80 billion, The Wall Street Journal has reported. The filing puts the company on track to potentially list shares by July, as Musk has told people is his goal.
SpaceX selected five banks to lead the offering: Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, people familiar with the matter said. Several other banks are set to have supporting roles in the IPO, which could reap the banks involved tens of millions of dollars in fees if the offering goes on as planned. Details of the Texas-based company’s sales, costs, earnings and balance sheet have been a tightly held secret for years, available only to investors who forged close relationships with SpaceX leadership. While the space side of the business has built up revenue and generated earnings, its xAI artificial intelligence arm is at a much more nascent stage, needing significant amounts of cash.
Read more at WSJ
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