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Trade Wars
NIST Commits $20M To Strengthen AI In Manufacturing
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology on Monday said it will invest $20 million to advance artificial intelligence-based solutions that strengthen manufacturing and cybersecurity. The investment will establish two centers as part of an expanded collaboration with the nonprofit Mitre Corp., according to a news release. The centers aim to drive adoption and development of U.S.-based autonomous software systems that advance AI innovation and bolster national security.
Mitre will operate both centers, according to a separate news release. The nonprofit also manages NIST’s National Cybersecurity Federally Funded Research and Development Center, founded in 2014. The investment aligns with NIST’s strategy to ensure the United States is a leader in critical and emerging technologies, such as AI, quantum computing, biotechnology and semiconductors. NIST said it will rely on “existing resources” to build on its expertise and carry out recommendations from the Trump administration’s AI action plan published in July in an effort to achieve “AI dominance.”
Read more at Manufacturing Dive
Howmet Aerospace Acquires Precision Component Supplier Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing For $1.8bn
Howmet Aerospace is set to expand, revealing plans to acquire another US aerospace component supplier, Consolidated Aerospace Manufacturing, for $1.8 billion in cash. Owned by Connecticut-based Stanley Black & Decker, Consolidated Aerospace is based in California and produces a variety precision components, including fluid-transfer fittings, latches, handles, release pins, couplings, clamps, flanges and heat shields for brake components. The company was founded in 2012 and employs some 1,400 workers.
“The acquisition is a major step in our strategy to build out our differentiated fastener portfolio,” says Howmet chief executive John Plant. “This transaction will allow us to better serve our aerospace and defence customers with a broader offering of mission-critical fastening solutions and represents a compelling use of capital to drive value for our shareholders.” Consolidated Aerospace is on track to generate revenue of $405-415 million in 2025 and to realise an adjusted profit margin in the “high-teens” percentage range, Stanley says. Howmet expects to grow the business roughly 20% next year, projecting it will generate revenue of $485-495 million in 2026.
Read more at Simple Flying
Car Payments Now Average More Than $750 a Month. Enter the 100-Month Car Loan.
The price of new cars and trucks in the U.S. has increased 33% since 2020, and consumers are piling on interest as they stretch out loan terms to eight, nine and nearly 10 years. The average price of a new car broke the $50,000 barrier this fall, according to Kelley Blue Book. That is up from less than $38,000 in early 2020 before the pandemic hit. As sticker prices marched higher, so did monthly payments. For a few years, car shoppers were undeterred. Many needed new vehicles after putting off buying during Covid when supply chains were upended and dealer lots were empty. Others, feeling flush, opted for luxury vehicles at much higher price points.
Fast forward to November of this year and the average monthly payment for a new car was estimated to be $760, according to J.D. Power. The hefty cumulative inflation is starting to weigh on consumers, and now some Americans are falling behind on their car payments. The reliance on longer car-loan terms illustrates how Americans are taking on, and holding on to, greater debt loads for longer periods. In the third quarter, Americans carried $1.66 trillion in auto loans, up $300 billion compared with five years earlier, according to the New York Federal Reserve Bank.
Read more at the WSJ
Danbury Defense Contractor ARKA Group To Be Acquired By CACI In $2.6B Deal
CACI International has agreed to acquire ARKA Group, a defense and space-technology contractor with deep roots in Connecticut’s aerospace sector, from funds managed by investment giant Blackstone. The deal is expected to close in CACI’s fiscal 2026, pending regulatory approvals. ARKA employs engineers and technical staff in Connecticut. The company develops space-based optical systems, sensors, communications equipment and software used in military and intelligence applications.
ARKA was formed through a series of mergers and acquisitions and has grown into a midsize defense contractor focused on classified and unclassified national security programs. Its legacy companies include Danbury Mission Technologies. The company in 2024 landed a $136 million U.S. Army contract to supply laser detecting systems. CACI said the acquisition will add space-related sensing and software capabilities to its existing portfolio, which serves the U.S. Department of Defense and intelligence agencies.
Read more at The Hartford Business Journal
EV Realism Is Here. How Automakers React In 2026 Will Be Telling
The U.S. automotive industry has entered a new phase for all-electric vehicles: realism. The industry was euphoric about the EV segment in the early 2020s, but consumer demand never took off as much as expected and, as it fizzled, automakers monitored and planned how to react. Now, they’re pivoting, as companies have wasted billions of dollars in capital, Detroit automakers are refocusing on large gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, and many have admitted that policies, not consumers, were driving the charge for EVs. “We have to make the investments to get to ... the regulatory environment they set. We’ve seen a complete change in that. One way, 180 degrees. One way, 180 degrees back. That’s the world CEOs of automakers are living in,” GM CEO and Chair Mary Barra said earlier this month.
How automakers like GM that invested heavily in EVs will respond over the next year will be telling for the future of the vehicles in the U.S., according to industry insiders and experts. GM continues to reassess its EV plans after disclosing a $1.6 billion impact from its pullback in those investments, with more write-downs expected in the future. Ford Motor last week said it expects to record about $19.5 billion in special items related to a restructuring of its business priorities and a pullback in its all-electric vehicle investments. “We evaluated the market, and we made the call. We’re following customers to where the market is, not where people thought it was going to be,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNBC last week.
Read more at CNBC
Gold And Silver Hit Record Highs Amid US-Venezuela Tensions
The price of gold and silver reached all-time highs Monday, while oil surged about 3% as escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Venezuela prompted supply concerns in commodities markets. Gold bullion hit an all-time high of $4,400, continuing a more than 55% surge so far this year and leading the metal on track for its best year since 1979. Silver gained close to 3% to a record $68 per ounce and is also on track for its best year in decades, while Copper, Steel and Lithium saw smaller gains.
U.S. crude oil rose 2.39% to $58 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 2.28% to $62 per barrel as U.S. President Donald Trump said he will not rule out war with Venezuela. Gold has hit a series of record highs in 2025, as investors continue to grab the asset, most known for its reputation as a safe haven asset. Experts have attributed the rise in gold to investor uncertainty caused by Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, a weaker dollar and lower U.S. interest rates. Goldman Sachs analysts said in a December report that gold prices will reach $5,000 by the end of 2026. Venezuela holds 17% of the world’s known oil reserves. In November, Trump told Maduro he should consider stepping down from the presidency.
Read more at Forbes
Driverless Future Gains Momentum With Global Robotaxi Deployments
Ride-hailing firms and technology companies around the world are racing to deploy driverless taxis, betting that robotaxis will reshape urban transport and unlock new growth as regulation gradually opens up. From China and the U.S. to Europe and the Middle East, companies are moving from pilots and safety-driver trials toward limited commercial rollouts, often in partnership with local authorities and fleet operators. Here are some of the major robotaxi tests, trials and operations globally:
UBER, LYFT AND BAIDU - Uber and Lyft partnered with Chinese tech company Baidu in December to test its Apollo Go RT6 vehicles for self-driving taxi trials in the UK next year.
WAYVE – Wayve. a British self-driving tech firm backed by SoftBank and Nvidia, partnered with Uber in August 2024 to bring AI to start advanced trials in the UK with plans to begin driverless tests in 2026.
TESLA - Tesla began a limited paid robotaxi rollout in Austin, Texas, in June, using Model Y SUVs within a restricted city area, requiring a safety monitor onboard. The Elon Musk-led company is testing its vehicles without safety monitors.
WERIDE - WeRide and Uber launched Level 4 fully driverless robotaxi operations in Abu Dhabi in November, and a month later started robotaxi passenger rides on Uber's platform in Dubai. A fully driverless commercial rollout in Dubai is expected in early 2026.
ZOOX Amazon's self-driving arm Zoox began offering free rides to select early users in parts of San Francisco, the company said in November.
WAYMO - Alphabet's self-driving unit, Waymo, said in October it will launch an autonomous ride-hailing service in London in 2026. The company rolled out services in Phoenix in October 2020, San Francisco in June 2024, and Los Angeles in November 2024.
PONY.AI - Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai launched paid robotaxi services in Guangzhou in February, in Shanghai in August, and received Shenzhen's first city-wide permit in October.
Read more at Reuters
Boeing Seeks FAA Emissions Exemption to Sell Additional 777F Aircraft
On December 19, Boeing asked the US Federal Aviation Administration to waive airplane emissions rules to allow it to sell another 35 Boeing 777F aircraft, citing steady customer demand and a delay in the next-generation plane’s certification. The new rules for airplane emissions take effect in 2028. Under FAA regulations aircraft which exceed certain fuel-efficiency limits will no longer be eligible for flight certificates after that date.
In 2024, the FAA issued final rules adopting international standards to reduce carbon pollution from most large airplanes flying in US airspace. With the new rules airplanes manufactured after January 1, 2028, are required to incorporate improved fuel-efficient technologies before they can take to the skies. However, the rules do not apply to aircraft made or in service before that date. Boeing acknowledged that the 777F ‘exceeds’ the set fuel efficiency limit, but says its next-generation 777-8 Freighter, which complies with the set limits, will not be ready until after that date. Boeing said the waiver would allow it to meet anticipated customer demand for cargo planes prior to the 777-8F entering service.
Read more at Travel Radar
The World’s 50 Most Valuable Sports Teams 2025
Six years ago, the world’s most valuable sports team was worth $5 billion. Now, that figure wouldn’t even crack the top 50. Together, the 50 top teams are worth more than $353 billion, or an average of $7.1 billion each—up 22% from 2024 and more than double the mark from just four years ago. Eight franchises in the top 50 posted year-over-year increases of at least 30%, and that number doesn’t include Formula 1’s Ferrari and Mercedes, which are both up 58% since 2023 but were not valued by Forbes last year. Broadly speaking, the soaring sports valuations of the past two decades are the result of a surge in media rights fees.
The Dallas Cowboys remain No. 1—as they have every year since 2016—but these days, America’s Team is valued at a stratospheric $13 billion. At the top of the ranking, a year after the Cowboys established the $10 billion club, it has four new members: the Golden State Warriors, estimated at $11 billion, followed by the Los Angeles Rams ($10.5 billion), the New York Giants ($10.1 billion) and the Los Angeles Lakers ($10 billion). And the New York Knicks are already knocking on the door, as the world’s sixth-most-valuable team at $9.75 billion.
Read more at Smart Industry
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