Rivian and VW’s new $22,500 car proves cheap EVs don’t have to be low-tech, the Tesla rival’s software boss says
Rivian and VW’s new $22,500 car proves cheap EVs don’t have to be low-tech, the Tesla rival’s software boss says
Volkswagen unveiled the $22,500 ID.EVERY1, its first car to include Rivian’s technology, earlier this year.Volkswagen
Rivian is teaming up with Volkswagen to make the ******* brand’s cheapest ever EV: the $22,500 ID.EVERY1.
Its software boss told *** it’s proof that cut-price electric cars don’t need to be “low-tech.”
The race to build more affordable EVs is heating up, with Slate Auto recently launching a $25,000 electric truck.
Rivian and VW are teaming up to build more affordable EVs, but that doesn’t mean they’re planning to skimp on high-tech features.
The Tesla rival is partnering with Volkswagen to develop a $22,500 electric car, and Wassym Bensaid, the company’s chief software officer, said the upcoming EV won’t compromise on tech despite its ultra-low price point.
VW and Rivian announced a deal last year that will see the ******* car giant invest over $5 billion in the startup and form a joint company to develop next-generation software and EV technology, with Bensaid and VW exec Carsten Helbing as co-CEOs.
In March, VW unveiled the ID.EVERY1, a compact electric hatchback that will be the first VW vehicle to include software developed by the joint venture.
The 13-foot-long, four-seater EV is set to go on ***** in Europe by 2027 for around 20,000 euros ($22,500). VW has not said whether it has any plans to bring it to the US.
“It’s something which is extremely close to my heart because it’s a way to bring that technology into many more cars,” Bensaid told ***.
“Inexpensive cars shouldn’t have low technology, and this is the beauty of the setup that we’re enabling through the joint venture,” said the Rivian executive, who spoke to *** on the sidelines of The Financial Times’ Future of the Car conference.
Bensaid said the affordable hatchback would leverage Rivian’s software architecture to cut costs.
Rather than use individual computers to control components like seats, lights, and doors, all the ID.EVERY1’s features will be handled by a central computer built on Rivian’s technology, which Bensaid would allow VW to save money by using fewer parts and simplifying the design.
The ID.EVERY1 will not be the first vehicle to use technology developed by the Rivian-VW joint venture — that will be Rivian’s R2, which is set to launch next year — but it is a huge step for both companies.
A lack of affordable EVs remains one of the main reasons customers are reluctant to go electric, and VW is betting that its cheapest ever battery-powered offering will help fill that gap.
They’re not the only ones making that bet. Startup Slate Auto caused a stir last month when it unveiled a $25,000 pickup truck, which is set to go on ***** in the US in 2026.
Story Continues
The Slate truck has bucked the trend of vehicles becoming more computerized and packed with smart technology.
The base model lacks power windows, a radio, and any kind of built-in infotainment system, with Slate’s CEO telling *** that the company had focused on simplicity to keep the price as low as possible.
So far, consumers haven’t seemed that bothered by the lack of bells and whistles, with the Jeff Bezos-backed startup receiving 100,000 refundable $50 reservations in just two weeks.
When asked about Slate’s approach, Bensaid said Rivian welcomes more competition in the EV market but has made a “different choice” in how it approaches making electric cars more affordable.
“Inexpensive cars shouldn’t be cars with limited features,” he said, adding that Rivian believed it was possible to deliver a “rich user experience” at a low price point by making vehicle technology more efficient.
“That is our approach. We would like to enable choice for customers, but without such severe compromise in terms of the overall experience,” Bensaid said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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Take-Two Interactive Files Trademark for "Small Axe"
Take-Two Interactive Files Trademark for "Small Axe"
Grand Theft Auto 6 IP owner Take-Two Interactive has filed a trademark for “Small Axe” which applies to “video game programs.”
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Couriers Evri and DHL merge to form delivery giant
Couriers Evri and DHL merge to form delivery giant
Evri will merge with DHL’s *** parcel delivery businesses to create a combined courier firm handling more than a billion parcels and a billion letters a year.
DHL focuses on faster, secure higher-value deliveries of items such as computers or phones, whereas Evri handles much larger volumes of lower-value goods such as clothing.
Evri’s deliveries are handled by self-employed couriers using their own vehicles, while DHL’s parcels are delivered by a combination of couriers and the company’s own fleet of vehicles.
The companies hope that combining the two operations will offer “greater choice” and “cost-competitive solutions” in the ***.
Evri said the deal will also expand its international delivery capacity by giving it access to DHL’s global network.
DHL’s e-commerce business will be renamed “Evri Premium – a network of DHL eCommerce”.
DHL delivers a billion letters a year in the ***, mainly for businesses sending out bulk mail to clients – and the merger will see Evri offer a letter service for the first time.
It hopes to use this service to handle deliveries of smaller items as well as letters.
The group said its combined operation will have access to a network of 15,000 out-of-home delivery points in shops and lockers.
With about a billion parcels a year, the merged business would get closer to Royal Mail’s parcel volumes. It delivered 1.3 billion parcels and 6.7 billion letters last year, according to its annual report.
Martijn de Lange, the chief executive of Evri, said that over the last decade Evri had “grown ten-fold in size”.
He added the merger would “further expand our access into the European and global e-commerce markets”.
After the merger DHL will acquire a ********* stake in Evri – financial terms have not been disclosed.
DHL’s other services in the ***, such as the DHL Express international delivery service are not included in the deal.
The merger is still subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.
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The relaxing and nostalgic puzzle adventure “Projected Dreams” is coming to Steam on May 29th
The relaxing and nostalgic puzzle adventure “Projected Dreams” is coming to Steam on May 29th
“The Zurich-based (Switzerland) indie games developer Flawberry Studio, today announced with great happiness and thrill that their relaxing and nostalgic puzzle adventure “Projected Dreams”, is coming to PC via Steam on May 29th, 2025″ – Jonas Ek. TGG.
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Samsung Reportedly Intends to Replace Galaxy S26+ With Galaxy S26 Edge Model Next Year
Samsung Reportedly Intends to Replace Galaxy S26+ With Galaxy S26 Edge Model Next Year
Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge earlier this week with a 5.8mm thin design. The thinnest Galaxy S series smartphone is yet to reach the hands of customers in India, but rumours about the Galaxy S26 lineup, particularly the Galaxy S26 Edge model, are already swirling on the Web. Samsung is said to replace one of the phones in the Galaxy S26 lineup with an Edge model next year. The final decision to eliminate the Plus model will reportedly be taken after evaluating the market response of the Galaxy S25 Edge.
Samsung May Add Edge Model to Galaxy S26 Series Next Year
As per a report by Korean publication The Elec, Samsung is planning to introduce an “Edge” model to its upcoming Galaxy S26 series. This new addition, expected to be named the Galaxy S26 Edge, will reportedly replace the Galaxy S26+ model from the lineup. This could be a strategic move by Samsung to streamline its flagship series.
Samsung’s strategic move to replace the traditional Plus variant in the lineup with a slim Edge variant will reportedly be considered based on the market response to the Galaxy S25 Edge. If the newly launched handset fails to attract consumers, Samsung may reconsider its decision and retain the Plus variant in the Galaxy S26 lineup.
The report said that Samsung is targeting to ship 37.7 million units of the Galaxy S25 series this year. The company is aiming to sell just 6.7 million units of the Galaxy S25+ compared to the 13.6 million units for the Galaxy S25. It is reportedly aiming to ship 17.4 million units of the Galaxy S25 Ultra.
Further, the report states that Samsung has started the development of the Galaxy S26 family, dubbed NPA. The company is said to be developing four different OLED panels for the Galaxy S26 series.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Price in India, Specifications
The Galaxy S25 Edge is currently available for pre-order in India. The price of the phone starts at Rs. 1,09,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage option.
Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge runs on Android 15 based One UI 7 and has a 6.7-inch Quad-HD+ Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED 2X screen with up to 120Hz refresh rate. It runs on a custom Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chip, paired with 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage.
For optics, the Galaxy S25 Edge has a dual rear camera setup comprising a 200-megapixel primary camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera. It boasts a 12-megapixel selfie camera. It is backed by a 3,900mAh battery with support for 25W wired charging. It measures 158.2×75.6×5.8mm and weighs 163g.
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Time to Talk in Turkey: Will Putin Show Up with the Whole World Watching?
Time to Talk in Turkey: Will Putin Show Up with the Whole World Watching?
ISTANBUL – The world is still waiting to hear if Vladimir Putin will go to Istanbul for peace talks on Thursday. U.S. and Ukrainian officials are set to travel to Turkey for the high-stakes summit with Russia. Putin called for the meeting, and Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said he’s coming. However, Putin is keeping everyone guessing.
Security is heightened across Istanbul and along the Bosphorus Strait as the city prepares for the potential high-stakes meeting.
CBN News spoke with Russian tourists named Vladislav and Katia, who are visiting Istanbul and hoping their president will finally give peace a chance. “I think this is a great chance for our country to resolve this issue once and for all, so that it has a good outcome, and we can stop this conflict,” Vladislav said.
Some Turkish citizens also urged Putin to meet with the Ukrainian leader. Istanbul resident Kerem said, “I’m sure Ukraine is worried about what peace will look like, but that’s a better option than war. I welcome Putin coming to my country and meeting with Zelenskyy. A peace agreement would benefit all parties involved.”
Putin proposed the direct negotiations in Turkey, and Zelenskyy said he would meet him there. So far, the Russians have not announced who they are sending and Zelenskyy has said he will only meet with Putin.
“I believe that if Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the final point that he does not want to end the war,” Zelenskyy said.
If Putin shows up here in Istanbul, it would be a pretty major move. He’s made it clear that he doesn’t like Zelenskyy and has even questioned whether he’s a legitimate president. The last time the two met in person was back in 2019. This would be their first face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine over three years ago.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has agreed to host the talks, says efforts to end the war have reached a turning point.
“As the only country that has gained the trust of all parties, we have reiterated that we are ready to contribute to these talks and that we will be happy to host them. We see that a new window of opportunity has emerged with the recent developments,” Erdogan said.
Meanwhile, President Trump—currently on a four-day Middle East tour—floated the idea of diverting to Istanbul.
“If I thought it would be helpful, I don’t know where I’m going to be at that particular point, I’ll be someplace in the Middle East, but I would fly there if I thought it would be helpful,” he said.
Trump, speaking in Saudi Arabia, announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend Thursday’s talks.
The U.S. and European allies have ramped up efforts to end the war, which has already claimed tens of thousands of lives. Whether the meeting happens or not, the world is watching. The next steps toward peace may well be decided here in Turkey.
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Here’s How FBC: Firebreak Fits Into The Remedy Connected Universe
Here’s How FBC: Firebreak Fits Into The Remedy Connected Universe
When FBC: Firebreak arrives on June 17, it will be the latest game to add to the Remedy Connected Universe. It’s inherently a Control spin-off, even being set in the same liminal bureaucratic maze known as the Oldest House, so there’s no question whether it would contribute to Remedy’s Marvel-like spider web of storytelling, but after speaking to the team, we now know a bit more about how it will contribute to that connected universe.
We know the game is set six years after the events of Control. Like the 13 real-time years between both the fictional events and releases of Alan Wake and Alan Wake 2, the time between 2019’s Control and 2025’s FBC: Firebreak will mirror the real world. In that span, the Oldest House has remained locked down and the Hiss did not let up.
That’s meant anyone outside of the building hasn’t been able to get in, apparently. Worse, it means the unfortunate agents who were inside the shapeshifting hub that day have spent more than half a decade stuck inside with the Hiss threat. In gameplay terms, this will see player-characters running low on standard-issue supplies, resulting in them improvising with unique weapons and gear for the three-player co-op game. Still, since the game is without cutscenes or heavy exposition, lore devotees like me might wonder what else the game can teach them about the RCU. Don’t worry, game director Mike Kayetta told GameSpot; there’s still material there to be investigated.
“We knew that we wanted to find ways to connect back to the [RCU] and expose things going on, especially about this time ******* and these people,” he said, revealing that a lot of the lore will be found during loading screens. “You’re not going to be able to collect documents in the game and view them–although we have talked about if that’s something people want later, we’ll look at doing that. But for now, we were like, ‘Where are the places that we can fit things in?’
“And we identified the loading screens as one of these places where you can get snippets of information. So we’re actually going to be introducing a bunch of additional Control lore through those screens. And we’re randomizing it so that the more you play–even though you’re not collecting them–the more hours you put into the game, the more you’re going to actually start seeing more and more interesting things that may or may not connect to each other and to other events going on.”
Though I saw familiar locales during my hands-on time with FBC: Firebreak, Remedy confirmed the game will take players to brand-new corners of the Oldest House, too.
Kayetta said additional lore will drip out through the things characters say, likening it to Left 4 Dead’s way of doing things. “We talked about not doing a lot of direct storytelling for a lot of reasons. We believe this is very counter to the experience, just like Left 4 Dead. It’s one of the reasons they chose zombies, because you just go in and you know what zombies are […] One of the cosmetics that we’re adding to the game over time is voice packs. And each of those voice packs has a custom script, all of the lines, not just a reaction like, ‘Oh, there’s an enemy over there,’ but also all the idle or narrative-based lines that they say.
“And our goal right now is that you could be playing this for, like, 20 hours and still actually be hearing new things. So they’re all small, right? Because we don’t want to do cutscenes and big storytelling, but they do add up to something ******* and deeper and more interesting over time. So, if you are a lore guy, you’re not going to get that wild canvas that is something like Alan Wake, but we’re also not ignoring it. We’re taking it very seriously, and Clay [Murphy], who wrote Control, is helping work on a lot of these things too.”
Though Kayetta didn’t say this explicitly, I expect some of what FBC: Firebreak reveals about the future of Control 2 will be there for the lore divers to parse through. To that end, I’d bet my last pack of legally distinct Alan Wake Remastered flashlight batteries that we’ll see the name Chester Bless, or the Blessed Organization, appear in one or more of those loading screens. If that name is new to you, you might enjoy the deep dive that is our earlier look-ahead on the RCU.
FBC: Firebreak arrives on June 17 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. It’ll launch on Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus Premium, too. For more on the game, you can also check out our much longer preview of the game, detailing its punk spirit and defiant design sensibilities. We also have a story that reveals an unexpected inspiration for the co-op game.
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Savy King: Angel City defender has ‘successful’ heart surgery after collapse
Savy King: Angel City defender has ‘successful’ heart surgery after collapse
Angel City defender Savy King has had successful heart surgery following her collapse during a match against the Utah Royals.
The 20-year-old fell to the ground in the 74th minute of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) match at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday.
She left the pitch in a stable condition after receiving lengthy on-field treatment, and was then transported to the California Hospital Medical Centre.
Follow-ups discovered a heart abnormality, with King having surgery on Tuesday to “successfully” treat the issue, said Angel City.
“She is now resting and recovering surrounded by her family, and her prognosis is excellent,” the club said.
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Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land review [SideQuesting]
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land review [SideQuesting]
“I’m aware I’ve made a few complaints and nitpicks about Atelier Yumia above. Truth be told, I’ve struggled to put the game down. There’s so much going on, it’s difficult to cover it all. I’ve not even spoken about the energy meter that in theory limits how much exploration can be done and Synthesis you can perform. For me, it never really became a blocker. I’ve also avoided talking about the story and characters because I never like giving these details away in a review. Just know I’ve found the characters and the interpersonal relationships and stories to be charming.
Despite not feeling like I want to, or need to, engage with all its mechanics, I’ve had enough fun purely with the exploration, the characters, and the story. I’m not convinced that the other Atelier games would closely match the vibe of Yumia, but I’m definitely willing to give them a chance based on my experience here. As a newcomer to the series, I’d be happy to recommend people could start with this entry and see how they feel about it before exploring further games. For existing fans, I don’t know how this matches up to series favourites.”
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S&P 500: Stocks May Consolidate After Trade Deal Rally
S&P 500: Stocks May Consolidate After Trade Deal Rally
The extended its uptrend on Tuesday, but is the market becoming too overbought?
The S&P 500 gained 0.72% on Tuesday, extending its short-term uptrend following the U.S.-China trade deal announced over the weekend and U.S.-Saudi Arabia AI investment plans. The index breached the 5,900 level, reaching its highest since March 3.
While the market is becoming increasingly overbought, there are currently no negative signals. The S&P 500 is expected to open 0.1% higher today, and I think a ******* of consolidation is likely following the recent gains.
Investor sentiment has recently improved, as reflected in last Wednesday’s AAII Investor Sentiment Survey, which reported that 29.4% of individual investors are bullish, while 51.5% are bearish.
The S&P 500 index is set to open near the 5,900 level, likely pausing its rally. Key resistance remains at the 5,900-6,000 level.
Nasdaq 100: Tech Leadership Continues
The tech-heavy continues to outperform, with the index jumping 1.6% on Tuesday. Tech stocks remain in the spotlight, particularly with Nvidia (NASDAQ:) posting strong gains after announcing the ***** of 18,000 AI chips to Saudi Arabian company Humain for its data center.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:) earnings will be highlighted today, with analysts watching closely to see how the technology equipment firm views the impact from U.S. duties on its finances.
VIX Showing Investor Confidence
The volatility index continues to trend lower as stock prices extend their gains. It dipped to a local low of 17.65 yesterday.
Historically, a dropping indicates less fear in the market, and rising VIX accompanies stock market downturns. However, the lower the VIX, the higher the probability of the market’s downward reversal. Conversely, the higher the VIX, the higher the probability of the market’s upward reversal.
S&P 500 Futures Contract: Above 5,900
This morning, the contract is trading above the 5,900 level, moving sideways after gaining significantly since the beginning of the week.
“This technical breakout, fueled by the weekend’s trade agreement, opens the door to potential moves toward 5,900-6,000.” This proved correct.
However, some profit-taking could follow the initial surge. Support is currently near 5,850, marked by recent consolidation.
Conclusion
The S&P 500 is set to open near the 5,900 level, and I think the likely scenario is a short-term consolidation following recent rally. Today’s economic calendar is relatively light, but several Fed officials are set to speak. Investors will follow their comments as they attempt to gauge the future path of interest rates this year, especially after monthly figures were lower than expected on Tuesday.
Here’s the breakdown:
S&P 500 reached the highest since March 3, breaching the 5,900 level and extending gains for those who bought based on my Volatility Breakout System.
The market is getting more overbought, but no negative signals are evident yet.
Today, the S&P 500 is expected to open 0.1% higher, with consolidation the most likely scenario.
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Goodman eyes world title shot after successful return
Goodman eyes world title shot after successful return
*********** super-bantamweight Sam Goodman has set up a potential world title fight in the US with a unanimous points win over ******** Cesar Vaca.
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See Nicolas Cage As John Madden In Madden Movie’s First Photo
See Nicolas Cage As John Madden In Madden Movie’s First Photo
He’s stolen the Declaration of Independence, traded faces with John Travolta, and soon will portray one of the most famous faces in video games–and NFL football. Amazon MGM Studios has revealed the first photo of Nicolas Cage as John Madden on X, appearing beside fellow Oscar winner Christian Bale as former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis.
The social media post adds that Madden is in production right now, which makes sense considering the promotional photo. The movie has come together relatively quickly, as Cage joined the biopic in August. The cast also includes John Mulaney as EA founder Trip Hawkins; Agatha All Along star Kathryn Hahn as Madden’s wife, Virginia; and Sienna Miller as the wife of All Davis, Carol Davis. Meanwhile, Hawkins doesn’t sound too keen on the movie.
Your first-look at Nicolas Cage as John Madden and Christian Bale as Al Davis on set of the upcoming film, Madden. Production is currently underway. The film follows Madden’s remarkable journey—from his Super Bowl-winning partnership with Al Davis and the Raiders, to creating… pic.twitter.com/jmmF4uy8LR
— Amazon MGM Studios (@AmazonMGMStudio) May 14, 2025
Along with the first-look photo, Amazon MGM provided a synopsis of Madden: “The film follows Madden’s remarkable journey–from his Super Bowl-winning partnership with Al Davis and the Raiders, to creating Madden NFL, and becoming one of the most iconic voices in football history.”
Madden died in late 2021, and EA Sports honored the NFL legend by placing him on the cover for Madden NFL 23. The former coach and announcer used to serve as the cover star in the first few entries for the long-running video game franchise. The latest entry in the sports series was Madden NFL 25. Looking ahead, Madden NFL 26 will arrive on August 14.
David O. Russell is directing Madden and has previous experience covering the sports world with two films: The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook. Amazon also has a documentary focusing on the Madden NFL series with It’s In The Game.
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Mid-Q2 2025: What Investors Should Watch as Execs Enter Conference Season
Mid-Q2 2025: What Investors Should Watch as Execs Enter Conference Season
It feels like we’ve gotten over the hill a little bit. So-called “Liberation Day” is a memory, big-tech earnings (sans NVIDIA (NASDAQ:)) are in the rearview mirror, the May meeting was a snoozer, and, so far, the “hard” economic data has not deteriorated. Of course, much uncertainty remains both at the macro level and in C-suites.
The first quarter reporting ******* has featured solid profits to be sure, but many companies have withdrawn full-year top- and bottom-line guidance due to tariff unknowns. A few firms have tried their hands at offering bimodal revenue and EPS estimates, while others have widened their ranges of possible outcomes.
While we may have trudged through the shock-and-awe part of this crazy saga, the next phase—the endurance piece—brings about a whole new set of challenges for CEOs and CFOs:
What if no huge trade deals or memoranda of understanding come about?
What if the labor market turns south?
What if inflation takes a meaningful leg up?
What if the US dollar continues to lose value?
What if interest rates climb above 5%?
What if the AI story loses steam?
You see, executives now have time to grapple with these risks—some lingering, some growing. Multinational corporations also have opportunities to offer their thoughts and solutions. The second quarter might be our favorite at Wall Street Horizon. Now is not only “,” but also when hotels and exciting venues are sold out to gather executives, analysts, and key stakeholders at conferences.
Before folks set off on summer holiday, investors can expect outlooks for the balance of the year from the women and men who are most in the know. Just as the financial media probe Jerome Powell and the rest of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) members for answers on monetary policy, conference attendees should press executives for their strategies amid this “wait-and-see” economy.
After all, why does corporate America plan to buy back a record amount of shares if the macro is on such a shaky footing? Why are pacing so high? These are key pieces of corporate bond language, and they come amid what’s likely to be (admittedly, that’s pre-Liberation Day data…ancient history by now).
If we can’t get firm outlooks from the Fed, let’s demand them from the world’s most powerful companies. Are you with me?
Here are the major events on tap through June (listed by sector and conference start date):
Information Technology & Communication Services May 13: JP Morgan 53rd Annual TMT Global Technology Media and Communications Conference May 14: TD Securities Telecom & Media Conference May 20: J.P. Morgan Virtual Quantum Conference May 21: JP Morgan European Technology, Media and Telecoms TMT Conference May 27: Bitcoin 2025 May 28: TD Cowen and Company 53rd Annual Technology, Media and Telecom (BCBA:) Conference May 28: Jefferies Software & Internet Conference June 3: Baird 24th Annual Global Consumer Technology & Services Conference June 3: Bank of America Global Technology Conference
Health Care May 13: Bank of America Securities Global Healthcare Conference May 14: Berenberg Diagnostics Conference May 20: RBC Capital Markets Global Healthcare Conference June 3: Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference June 4: Jefferies Global Life Science Conference June 9: Goldman Sachs 46th Annual Global Healthcare Conference June 17: Truist Securities MedTech Conference June 17: Citizens JMP Medical Devices and Healthcare Services Forum June 24: UBS Spring Biotech Conference June 24: Truist Securities Healthcare Disruptors & Digital Health Conference
Consumer Discretionary & Consumer Staples May 13: Goldman Sachs Global Staples Forum May 14: Piper Sandler Infrastructure (Housing) Finance Summit May 20: HSBC Consumer Conference May 20: Morgan Stanley Luxury Goods Conference May 22: HSBC 18th Luxury Goods Conference May 22: Jefferies Automotive Aftermarket Conference May 28: BofA Consumer Apparel & E-Commerce virtual Fieldtrip June 2: Morgan Stanley 3rd Annual Travel & Leisure Conference June 2: Deutsche Bank 22nd Annual dbAccess Global Consumer Conference June 3: Bank of America Housing Symposium June 3: TD Cowen 9th Annual Future of the Consumer Conference June 11: Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference June 17: Jefferies Consumer Conference
Financials & Real Estate May 12: Morgan Stanley Business Services One-on-One Day May 12: BMO North American Real Estate Conference May 13: Wells Fargo Financial Services Investor Conference May 19: Barclays Leveraged Finance Conference, Emerging Payments and FinTech Forum May 20: Truist Securities Financial Services Conference May 27: Deutsche Bank 15th Annual Global Financial Services Conference May 29: Goldman Sachs Leveraged Finance and Credit Conference June 10: Morgan Stanley 16th Annual US Financials, Payments & CRE Conference June 12: Citi Regional Bank Access Day
Industrials May 13: BofA Industrials Key Leaders Conference May 13: RBC Capital Markets ********* Automotive, Industrials & Transportation Conference May 13: Bank of America 32nd Annual Transportation, Airlines and Industrials Conference May 20: Jefferies Infrastructure & Transport Summit June 4: Citi Global Freight Field Trip June 23: Goldman Sachs Business Services, Transport & Leisure Conference
Energy & Utilities May 13: UBS Energy Transition and Decarbonization Conference May 15: Deutsche Bank Virtual Global Solar & Clean Tech Conference (virtual) May 15: BMO Chemical Conference May 19: BNP Paribas 2nd Annual Global Electric Vehicle & Mobility Conference May 20: UBS Austin Energy Conference May 22: Citi Spotlight on SMID Energy Day May 28: Bank of America Power, Utilities and Alternative Energy Conference June 3: RBC Capital Markets Global Energy, Power and Infrastructure Conference June 4: Bank of America Energy and Power Credit Conference June 24: Barclays ESG Emerging Markets Corporate Days June 24: J.P. Morgan Energy, Power, Renewables & Mining Conference June 26: RBC Energy Transition Conference
Materials May 12: Bank of America Global Metals, Mining and Steel Conference May 14: BMO Capital Markets 20th Annual Farm to Market Conference May 20: Bank of America Ag Tech Conference (virtual) May 20: Canaccord Genuity 4th Annual Global Metals & Mining Conference May 28: Raymond James Silver Conference June 4: Deutsche Bank dbAccess 16th Annual Global Materials & Building Products Conference June 12: RBC Capital Markets Global Mining and Materials Conference
Regional May 12: Bank of America Securities China Conference May 13: UBS Pan European Small and Mid-Cap Conference (virtual) May 20: Goldman Sachs Utilities and Cleantech Conference, London May 20: Berenberg European Conference May 20: Berenberg US Conference May 21: Citi Taiwan Tech Conference May 21: Goldman Sachs TechNet China May 21: JP Morgan 21st annual Global China Summit May 22: Barclays European Leadership Conference June 10: Goldman Sachs 29th Annual European Financials Conference June 11: Bank of America Europe C-suite TMT Conference June 11: J.P. Morgan European Capital Goods Conference June 19: JP Morgan European Healthcare Forum
Investor Specific & Multi-Sector
May 20: Sidoti May Micro Cap Virtual Conference (virtual) May 21: Deutsche Bank Issuer and Investor Bond Forum May 28: Bank of America Securities Emerging Markets Debt & Equity Conference May 28: Bernstein 41st Annual Strategic Decisions Conference (SDC) June 3: Stifel 8th Annual Cross Sector Insight Conference June 3: William Blair 45th Annual Growth Stock Conference June 10: Wells Fargo Industrials & Materials Conference June 11: Sidoti June Small-Cap Conference June 17: TD Securities U.S. Corporate Access Day June 24: UBS SMID-Cap Multisector Virtual Conference June 25: Morningstar Investment Conference
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*** hits back at claims US tariff deal bad for China
*** hits back at claims US tariff deal bad for China
Karen Hoggan
Business reporter, BBC News
Getty Images
The *** government has hit back at suggestions the tariff agreement it reached with the US last week could be damaging to China.
It said there was “no such thing as a veto on ******** investment” in the deal.
The ***-US agreement rowed back on big hikes in tariffs on metals and cars imposed by President Donald Trump, but it also included conditions requiring the *** to “promptly meet” US demands on the “security of the supply chains” of steel and aluminium products exported to America.
Beijing fears this could see it being excluded from supplying US-bound goods to the ***, telling the Financial Times it was a “basic principle” that bilateral trade deals should not target other countries.
At a regular press conference on Tuesday China’s foreign ministry spokesperson was asked about the ***’s trade agreements with the US and India.
Lin Jian said: “As for the trade agreement… between the *** and relevant countries, I would like to point out that cooperation between countries should not target or harm the interests of third parties.”
China is the world’s second biggest economy and the ***’s fifth biggest trading partner. In 2024 total bilateral trade hit £98.4bn.
In response to the latest comments from China, the *** government said the agreement with the US was “in the national interest to secure thousands of jobs across key sectors, protect British businesses and lay the groundwork for greater trade in the future”.
Any “external provisions” in the agreement were “not designed to undermine mutually beneficial economic relations with any third country”, it said.
“As the Chief Secretary to the Treasury clearly stated, there is no such thing as a veto on ******** investment in this trade deal.”
It added that “trade and investment with China remain important to the ***.”
Under the ***-US deal Trump’s blanket 10% tariffs on imports from countries around the world still applies to most *** goods entering the US.
But the deal has reduced or removed tariffs on some of the ***’s exports, including steel and aluminium.
The terms of the agreement say the *** will “work to promptly meet US requirements on the security of the supply chains of steel and aluminium products intended for export to the United States and on the nature of ownership of relevant production facilities”.
‘Total reset’
The US and China have been engaged in a tariffs war since the beginning of this year.
The US buys much more from China ($440bn) than it sells to it ($145bn), which is something Trump has long been unhappy with.
His reasoning in part for introducing tariffs, and higher ones on countries which sell more to the US than they buy, is to encourage US consumers to buy more American-made goods, increase the amount of tax raised and boost manufacturing jobs.
However, on Monday, Trump said talks over the weekend between the US and China had resulted in a “total reset” in terms of trade between the two countries, with tariffs either being cut or suspended on both sides.
The result is that additional US tariffs on ******** imports – that’s the extra tariffs imposed in this recent stand-off – will fall from 145% to 30%, while recently-hiked ******** tariffs on some US imports will fall from 125% to 10%.
The move is seen as helping to defuse the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
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Remedy’s Control Spin-Off, FBC: Firebreak, Takes Inspiration From A Surprising Source
Remedy’s Control Spin-Off, FBC: Firebreak, Takes Inspiration From A Surprising Source
FBC: Firebreak is Remedy’s first multiplayer game, and it’s jumping into the well-occupied space of co-op PvE shooters. That means it has the benefit of looking to predecessors in the genre to understand what works, what doesn’t, and in what ways Firebreak can stand out from the pack. I always love learning about which games developers looked to when making theirs, so I recently asked Remedy’s Mike Kayetta, game director on FBC: Firebreak, to talk about the games the team looked at to help guide the scope and style of Remedy’s upcoming shooter.
Helldivers 2 was a big help, which makes sense given its popularity. Remedy observed how the team at Arrowhead was able to navigate the ups and downs of the ludicrous third-person shooter to somewhat inform best practices for a game like FBC: Firebreak. Kayetta told me that it helped when Remedy asked, “What’s working for them, what’s not working for them?”. But it was far from the only such game the team looked at. Kayetta name-dropped several games that the team would play together for “analysis” in the studio. Many of them make perfect sense as soon as you learn them.
“If it’s a session-based co-op shooter, we’ve played it into the ground,” he said, listing off a parade of recent co-op games including Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Aliens: Fireteam Elite, Vermintide, and Darktide. Like Helldivers 2, none of those were all that surprising, but one immediately stuck out the moment Kayetta said it. “We had some interesting additional reference points, too. We looked at Overcooked quite a bit, because we wanted to see–like, that is such a fun type of chaos, where things get out of hand, but you still feel like you have meaningful agency despite things feeling out of hand.”
Remedy looked to the past of co-op successes and struggles to help shape its first multiplayer game.
His comments came after I’d played the game for quite a while that morning already, so I could see firsthand the shared DNA between Overcooked and Firebreak, but it was still surprising to hear the comparison out loud. Firebreak’s elemental combat and class-based systems meant everyone had a role to play, and it was apparent when anyone in the group had broken that chain of responsibility–as apparent as leaving the burgers on the stove too long and starting a kitchen fire.
Funny enough, though the game’s Left 4 Dead-like beats are clear, Kayetta said he doesn’t recall the team ever playing that one together–for good reason, however. “Interestingly, it’s one of those games that’s so big and so famous that I don’t feel like we actually played it as a team very often, because everyone just felt like they were already bringing the full wealth of experience and knowledge about it. And so I literally can’t think of one time I played Left 4 Dead with anybody on the team. It’s one of those games that’s just in the DNA of gaming.”
FBC: Firebreak arrives on June 17 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. It’ll launch right on Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus Premium, too. Free updates will follow later this year, bringing more missions and cosmetics into the game, though the game has taken some anti-FOMO steps to keep players from feeling like the game is asking too much of their time.
If you’re coming to Remedy’s multiplayer game as a lore chaser, here’s how FBC: Firebreak fits into the Remedy Connected Universe.
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Former chairman of China’s chipmaking champion gets suspended death sentence in corruption and embezzlement case
Former chairman of China’s chipmaking champion gets suspended death sentence in corruption and embezzlement case
The former billionaire chairman of Tsinghua Unigroup, Zhao Weiguo, has been handed a suspended death sentence after being found guilty of corruption and embezzlement. Tsinghua Unigroup, founded in 1988, was once the darling of ******** chip manufacturing and the owner of numerous ******** semiconductor outfits, notably YMTC and Unisoc, but was plagued by corruption allegations and investigations.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported the sentence passed down by the Intermediate People’s Court in the northeastern city of Jilin. According to the report, Zhao was sentenced to death, suspended for two years. The punishment in such cases is normally commuted to life imprisonment if he doesn’t commit any further crimes during the suspension *******.
Once thought to be worth nearly $2.8 billion, Zhao was accused of corruption and embezzlement by China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The Commission alleged that Zhao, “as a manager of a state-owned enterprise, was blinded by greed, acted recklessly, betrayed his duties and mission, misused public resources for personal gain, turned public property into private property, and regarded the state-owned enterprises he managed as private territory.” He was also accused of deliberately seizing state-owned assets, illegally giving profitable business to relatives and friends, purchasing goods from said businesses at inflated prices, and more.
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According to the CCTV’s report, the court said that Zhao’s activities involved “extremely huge sums” and “caused especially severe losses to state interests.” CCTV also claimed that Zhao admitted guilt, had shown remorse, and had tried to return misappropriated funds, which allegedly included state assets worth $65 million and company losses worth $124 million.
Tsinghua Unigroup was supposed to be an integral part of China’s ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative, a plan to build a self-sufficient semiconductor industry, and was known for making high-profile and aggressive acquisitions funded by the state and bonds.
The company defaulted on $198 million in bonds in 2020 and by 2021 was facing bankruptcy, with debts to the tune of $31 billion. Zhao stepped down as chairman a year later, coinciding with reports of an investigation.
In March last year, YMTC claimed to have made a flash memory breakthrough in creating QLC NAND that matches the endurance of TLC NAND.
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Nasdaq 100: Can the Rally Continue to New Highs?
Nasdaq 100: Can the Rally Continue to New Highs?
Tech stocks rally on AI deals and easing trade tensions.
Nvidia leads the chipmaker charge with massive Middle East expansion.
Momentum remains strong, but overbought signals suggest a breather could come soon.
After a red-hot start to the week, US tech stocks are pausing — not falling, just catching their breath. Index futures barely moved overnight, and Europe seems to be on hold too. With no big bearish catalyst in sight, the market mood is cautiously optimistic. The big macro driver? A thaw in US-China trade tensions. With tariff rollbacks on both sides and negotiations showing real progress, investors are getting more comfortable. What’s more, Tuesday’s softer-than-expected US print added fuel to the fire — calming nerves that Trump’s trade tariffs would trigger a fresh inflation wave. So, for now, dip buyers are in control, and the tech sector, especially chipmakers, is the main beneficiary. Nvidia (NASDAQ:) popped another 1.7% in early trade after Monday’s 5.6% surge.
AI ***** Meets Middle Eastern Money
Tech stocks, especially in the chip space, got another leg up thanks to fresh AI investment out of the Gulf. The Nvidia stock stole the show with a blockbuster deal to build a mega AI data centre in partnership with Saudi-based Humain. This isn’t your average project — we’re talking 18,000 Grace Blackwell GB300 superchips in phase one alone, with full deployment of hundreds of thousands of GPUs over five years. All connected via Nvidia’s InfiniBand.
This move doesn’t just highlight Nvidia’s dominance — it marks the Middle East’s growing role in shaping the AI race. AMD (NASDAQ:) rode the wave too, helped by news of an $80 billion tech consortium channeling funds across the US and Saudi Arabia. AI investment is going global, and American chipmakers are cashing in.
Pair that with reduced tariffs on ******** imports, and it’s clear the sector is enjoying a double dose of good news.
Nasdaq 100 Technical Outlook: Still Bullish, With Strong Momentum
From a charting point of view, the has come a long way since its April lows, with a nearly 30% rally. That’s pushed the daily RSI deep into overbought territory. It’s not a sell signal yet, but it’s a warning: don’t be shocked if momentum slows or we see a healthy pullback.
Nasdaq 100 futures are reflecting this overextended move as well, trading near recent highs and suggesting that traders are pricing in high expectations — but also increasing the risk of short-term volatility.
Support-wise, keep an eye on the 20,210–20,340 zone. This range was major resistance back in March, then a ceiling earlier this month — until the bulls smashed through after the trade truce headlines. It now lines up with the 200-day average, offering a potential bounce zone if the index dips.
For now, it’s more likely we keep grinding higher, especially if institutional money (which had pulled back for 15 months) finally steps back in. COT data suggests short interest is easing, and longs have stabilised — not exactly a rush in, but a shift in tone nonetheless.
Immediate support: Monday’s high at 20,945.
On the resistance side, not much is left. The 21,325 level is interesting — it was the last major floor before the big correction. Above that, we’re looking at 22,000 as a psychological marker, then the all-time high of 22,245.
Bottom line
Momentum is with the bulls, and tech stocks continue to benefit from a mix of AI hype, improving trade dynamics, and cooling inflation. It’s not time to chase highs blindly, but buying into strength on dips — especially around key support — still makes sense. Until a fresh bearish catalyst shows up, the uptrend remains the path of least resistance.
***
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Billingham teen Bella Culley arrested in Georgia over drugs offences
Billingham teen Bella Culley arrested in Georgia over drugs offences
A British teenager has been arrested in Tbilisi, Georgia, on suspicion of drug offences.
Bella Culley, 18, from Billingham, who is understood to have gone missing in Thailand, is accused of illegally buying, possessing and importing large quantities of narcotics including **********.
Georgian Police have said, if found guilty, she could face up to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.
The Foreign Office have confirmed that they are “supporting the family of a British woman who is detained in Georgia”.
Georgian Police said it had seized up to 12kg (26lbs) of ********** and just over 2kg (4.4lbs) of the ********* drug hashish in a travel bag at Tbilisi International Airport.
A spokesperson said: “As a result of joint operational measures and investigative actions, officers of the Main Directorate for Combating Illicit Drug Trafficking of the Central Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Customs Department of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance arrested a British citizen on charges of drug trafficking.
The woman “is charged with the ******** purchase and possession of a particularly large amount of narcotics, the ******** purchase and possession of the ********* drug **********, and the ******** importation of the drug into Georgia”, they said.
Cleveland Police has confirmed an 18-year-old woman from Billingham has been arrested in Georgia “on suspicion of drugs offences” and remains in custody.
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FBC: Firebreak Preview – Hands-On With A Game Taking The “Opposite Approach” Of Fortnite
FBC: Firebreak Preview – Hands-On With A Game Taking The “Opposite Approach” Of Fortnite
The bar for multiplayer shooters is incredibly high. In many cases, the game’s developer wants you to play it daily, ideally for weeks on end. The potentially massive money at stake means the genre is extremely saturated, and only the absolute best will find any kind of success. However, the more I learn about FBC: Firebreak, Remedy Entertainment’s multiplayer spin-off of Control, the more I see how its developer plans to reject the mainstream to carve its own space in the genre. The studio flew me out to its headquarters in Helsinki, Finland, to get some hands-on with the game and speak to the folks behind its creation.
First introduced in Control, the fittingly named Federal Bureau of Control is a surreal, mindbending space where the mundane becomes the supernatural. When Jesse Faden becomes the bureau’s director in the opening moments of Control, she’s sent on a harrowing, life-defining journey to purge the Hiss from its walls.
In stark contrast, FBC: Firebreak has you and your friends play as one to three of the bureau’s everyday employees, holding off the hiss using mundane objects with supernatural properties. It’s a comically difficult job, and the occasional dialogue quips heard during my session make fun of the absurdity of it all. While blasting odd, alien pods sprouting from the walls, one character yells, “Is it true you can’t get overtime if you’re salaried? What kind of crap is that?”
This lighthearted tone permeates every aspect of the game. Director Mike Kayatta says that if Control is 80 percent atmospheric horror and 20 percent absurdity (numbers he says are arbitrary), FBC: Firebreak flips that ratio, instead leaning into the silliness of it all. “How do we keep that flavor but change the depth?” he says. “In other words, we wanted to lean into some of the more absurd aspects, like the shower, right?”
The shower he references is the game’s method of healing, an open, green closet-sized station where you can rinse off damage and status effects, from burning skin to radiation. If the power’s off, the water will be cold and slow you down. It fits perfectly fine in the world of Control, but mid-combat group showers are undeniably absurd, and the game frequently leans into it. This one mechanic is a microcosm of FBC: Firebreak: a silliness the game treats with sincerity, best enjoyed with friends.
As I, along with two other journalists set to be my teammates for the day, approach the room where we’ll be playing the demo, we pass life-size replicas of notable props in the game, including the showers. For any other game, it might’ve felt surreal and larger than life, but it actually emphasized just how mundane the objects in Control are before they come to life. Waves of sticky notes plaster the walls, obscuring portraits of Jesse Faden and Dr. Casper Darling, and it’s funny to imagine how terrifying they’ll become once I’m actually playing the game.
After some quick setups and a run-through of the game’s basic premise, we launch in. While the proper opening will have tutorials, our build is optimized to give us as much time playing the game as possible, so it’s a trial by fire. Before starting a Job, you can pick one of three Crisis Kits, which determine secondary abilities your character can use. I go for the splash kit, mainly enticed by its deployable humidifier, which you can use to heal allies. To say it came in handy is an understatement.
The first Job we play is called Hot Fix, which tasks the players with repairing overheating fans to secure an area. Like the other two Jobs, Hot Fix features intensifying waves of enemies, but outside of the occasional boss, they function as distractions rather than objectives. As my teammates and I repeatedly learned the hard way, it’s much smarter to focus on the mission goals, because if you spend too long shooting enemies, you’ll start drowning in difficult foes before you ever get the opportunity to escape. After we repair the generators, a task accomplished by pressing the bumpers on the controller in the order they appear on screen, we retreat to the elevator and escape to safety.
The whole experience takes six minutes and could have been cut in half if we had known what we were doing. There are ways to attempt longer levels, but the option to play in short bursts was an important part of the game’s design.
“We’re a bunch of middle-aged dads, you know?” lead designer Anssi Hyytiäinen says. “You have time restrictions and so on. […] I start a game, and if a session takes an hour, I just can’t do it.”
Kayatta reinforces the emphasis on respecting the player’s time. “There’s a million games out there,” he says. “They’re so good, and I think it’s so difficult to say the strategy for combating that is to [make] something that requires even more of your time. We’re trying to take literally the full opposite approach of Fortnite and say we are going to take up only as much time as you want to give us. You want to come in, play the content that we have, and go out? I hope you stay, but if you don’t want to, cool. Go play something else.”
Difficulty is determined by two factors in Firebreak: Clearance Level and Threat Level. The latter determines how dangerous enemies are, but the former determines how many zones you must complete, and, ultimately, the length of your run. If you want a quick, intense experience, you can lower the Clearance Level and crank up the Threat Level. Each job caps out at three zones, with further difficulty levels introducing Corrupted Items, which we faced off against in the next mode, Paper Chase.
Unlike Hot Fix’s handful of clearly marked objectives, Paper Chase’s main goal covers the entire level – to proceed to the next zone, you need to destroy as many of the yellow sticky notes that coat the area’s walls and floors as possible. It plays a little like a reverse-Splatoon, where you clean surfaces off, rather than ink them. At Clearance Level 4, we also have to deal with a floating snare drum, which flies around the level and makes all the enemies move faster. Luckily, my teammates and I also move and shoot faster, but with our unaltered reaction speeds, it’s in our best interest to destroy the drum as quickly as possible. Hindsight is 20/20; while I now know it should have been our highest priority, we failed to locate it, making our lives much harder.
Despite our struggles (and ultimate demise), Paper Chase is Firebreak at its finest. To borrow a sentiment mentioned in one of the game’s earlier trailers, it’s a mode that could only exist in this game, and while the sticky notes decorating the set didn’t haunt me before my demo, they certainly haunted me after. Bullets can destroy them, but they’re best eliminated by combining the Jump and Splash Kits. When I got an area wet, my teammate could shock it with his secondary, the Electro-Kinetic Charge Impactor, clearing out large areas quickly. The aesthetic itself of swarming sticky notes is also instantly iconic, fitting seamlessly into Control’s “haunted office” vibe.
Unfortunately, when we reached Paper Chase’s boss on our next attempt, it was under frustrating circumstances. After struggling with the sped up enemies, we lowered the Clearance Level to 3 and the Threat Level to easy to see the end of the area without issue. However, a glitch in the build made it so all enemies were permanently sped up, arguably even more difficult than before, despite the lower Threat Level. When we finally reached Sticky Ricky, a swirling colossus of sticky notes, we were constantly dying and struggled to figure out how to damage him. The Day One build should have this issue resolved, and with proper tutorialization, it won’t be as big of a struggle for us to beat the boss, but it was still a notable low point of the experience.
The final mode was Ground Control, which we tackled on Clearance Level 2. In this mode, you must shoot open ******, pulsating pods growing out of the walls and ceiling to harvest leech pearls, radioactive basketball-sized objects that damage you if you hold them for too long. It’s my least favorite of the modes we play (the hunt for leech pearls gets stale fairly quickly), but it also goes by the fastest, now that we’re glitch-free and have upgraded weapons and gear.
Some of the last things you can unlock for each kit are their Altered Augments, a powerful ability to unleash when the time is right. The splash kit transforms the water cannon into a fire cannon, but you have to be careful where you point it; Firebreak has friendly fire active. The jump kit’s Altered Augment is an electric gnome, which summons a terrifying lightning storm that harms anyone within range. I know it was my ally’s tool, but it terrified me more than anything else in the game. I don’t know if it’s the erratic movement or the soulless eyes, but each time it was summoned, I felt like Donald Glover in his gif-worthy episode of Community.
FBC: Firebreak is weird, both aesthetically in-game and as a product, but after playing, my hesitation at this weirdness has been replaced by enthusiasm. Online shooters are a competitive field, but Remedy isn’t interested in competing – it hopes to coexist.
“It depends on how you define success, for sure,” Kayatta says. “I mean, if you’re trying to take over the world and make a gazillion dollars, yeah, you better have Fortnite on your hands. […] We want to make something that players will like and that will serve a wider goal for us also, of showing people Remedy is more than these atmospheric single-player experiences.”
I look forward to more time with FBC: Firebreak when it launches later this year on June 17.
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Comeback complete: Garside dominates in return to ring
Comeback complete: Garside dominates in return to ring
Harry Garside has exorcised his Olympic demons with a crushing win in his return to professional boxing, beating Queenslander Charlie Bell by TKO in Sydney.
Behind a dominant left hand, Garside was never troubled in his first fight since crashing out of the Paris Olympics with referee Les Fear stopping the lightweight bout after five of the six rounds.
Garside received a cut above his left eye in the first round at Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday night, but controlled the fight from the beginning.
He said afterwards the cut never worried him.
“I’ve been cut many times in my life, bloody southpaws always get cut,” Garside said.
“I’ve definitely had it before, I haven’t been cut for many years but I feel like I just had to get back into gear and box nice and smart.”
The Olympic bronze medallist started to hammer home his advantage in the third round with his trademark quick feet allowing him to get in under Bell’s defence and retreat before the Queenslander could counter.
Garside’s left hand caused continuous trouble for Bell as he was able to cut Bell’s left eye in the first and make several blows to his opponent’s head in the third and fourth rounds.
In a sign of Garside’s dominance, Fear stepped into Bell’s corner at the end of the fourth round telling him to protect himself or he would be forced to stop the fight.
It proved the beginning of the end with the referee allowing only one more round before stepping in and awarding the fight to the former amateur champion.
Garside now has his sights set on higher honours, believing he has the ability to retake the *********** lightweight championship he won in 2022.
“I’m one of the most patriotic people you will meet,” Garside said.
“I want to try and win the *********** and, I don’t know why, but the Commonwealth title always spoke to me.”
Earlier, an instant classic played out for the *********** heavyweight championship with Stevan Ivic (7-0-1, 2 KOs) hanging on in a 10-round fight to retain his title by unanimous decision.
Challenger Toese Vousiutu (8-2, 7 KOs) looked to be on the ropes in the sixth round, being knocked down for a count of eight, but mounted a spirited comeback to push Ivic all the way.
While Ivic was never knocked down in the fight and won the early rounds, there were several moments in the last four rounds where he appeared to be hanging on for dear life.
Watching on ringside, *********** boxing champion Tim Tszyu said the fight was “definitely fight of the year”.
“I might have lost a few brain cells,” Ivic said in the ring afterwards.
“I thought I had him in the sixth round, then in the seventh he beat the ***** out of me.
“I was like, ‘What the f***?'”
Ivic will take time to recover, but will have to front up for another title defence against Liam Talivaa next.
“He’s dangerous, I might need a month off to get my s*** together. Maybe more,” Ivic said.
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A graphic designer is making a GTA-style mystery game set in Paisley, Scotland
A graphic designer is making a GTA-style mystery game set in Paisley, Scotland
A Scottish graphic designer has started working on a mystery game set in his home town of Paisley.
Richard Gellatly, who goes by the name Bovine in his works, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Crystal Garden, a game named after a real-life ******** takeaway in the Scottish town.
Gellatly gained some media attention last year when early experimental footage showing a character running through real Paisley locations went viral among Scots.
In October he told Glasgow Live that he was inspired by Grand Theft Auto 3, saying: “I have a memory, which I’m sure a lot of guys around my age will have had in 2001 when GTA III was released, which was ‘I want my hometown version of this’.”
Encouraged by the reaction to his early footage and seeing other creators discussing it, Gellatly now wants to take things further, launching a Kickstarter in attempt to turn Crystal Garden into a full game.
“It’s always a dark and wet time of the year on the West Coast of Scotland where you’ll need to navigate through a town overflowing with subterranean skeletons in its antediluvian aqueducts,” the game’s synopsis reads.
“With assistance from an elusive ectoplasm, you uncover mysteries surrounding the town that have been obscured for a good reason and your only sanctuarium salutis becomes the Crystal Garden, a ******** takeaway long rumoured to conceal primordial powers in the fabric of its foundations, ancient things. Don’t let anything bad happen.”
Gellatly’s background is in audio production and visual design, and stresses that while he’s a “first time solo developer” and will need to “spend time learning and discovering best practices that a tenured developer or team would already have in place”, he thinks it will be “worth it in the end”.
The Kickstarter also has some rather unique rewards – backers can get their name put on a nameplate on one of the doors in the Rowan Court high flats (another real-life Paisley building), submit graffiti to appear in the streets or record their voice to be played in one of the town’s buzzer entry systems.
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The HP Omen Max 16 gaming laptop with RTX 5070 Ti is on *****
The HP Omen Max 16 gaming laptop with RTX 5070 Ti is on *****
Gamers who want an upgrade should be on the lookout for discounts from gaming laptop deals, as these devices can get pretty expensive. You should check out the HP Omen Max 16, as its configuration with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card is on ***** from HP itself for $2,150 instead of $2,500. That’s $350 in savings that you can spend on video games and other accessories, but you’re going to have to hurry with your purchase if you want to buy the gaming laptop at 16% off as the offer may be already gone by tomorrow.
Why you should buy the HP Omen Max 16 gaming laptop
The HP Omen Max 16 is the brand’s most powerful gaming laptop yet, with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card combining with the Intel Core Ultra 7 255Hx processor and 16GB of RAM for the ability to run the best PC games without breaking a sweat. This machine will even be prepared for the upcoming PC games of at least the next few years, so it will be a while before you start feeling the need for another upgrade.
Playing your favorite titles on the HP Omen Max 16’s 16-inch screen with 2K resolution and up to 165Hz refresh rate will be an immersive gaming experience, as you’ll enjoy lifelike details and smooth animations with modern graphics. The gaming laptop also features a 512GB SSD for enough storage space for multiple video games, which you can start installing right after turning on the HP Omen Max 16 for the first time as it ships with Windows 11 Home pre-loaded.
The HP Omen Max 16 is a top-of-the-line gaming laptop that you can currently buy with a $350 discount for its configuration with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card. That means you’ll only have to pay $2,150 for this powerful device instead of $2,500, but you need to act fast if you’re interested. Tomorrow may already be too late to take advantage of this offer for the HP Omen Max 16 gaming laptop, so complete your transaction immediately while it’s still 14% off.
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Why Americans pay so much more for prescription drugs
Why Americans pay so much more for prescription drugs
In a photo illustration, prescription drugs are seen next to a pill bottle on July 23, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s latest bid to slash prescription drug prices has once again stirred heated debate about the high costs paid by U.S. patients.
The White House leader on Monday signed an executive order to lower drug costs by tying the prices of some medicines in the U.S. to the significantly lower ones abroad.
Trump said the move, which revives and expands a controversial policy from his first term known as the “most favored nation” policy, was intended to bring “fairness to America” and lower prices by 59% or more.
Americans pay more for drugs than Europeans. Full stop. That is correct.
Emily Field
Head of European pharmaceutical research, Barclays
The U.S. consistently pays the most in the world for many prescription drugs.
A 2024 report by the RAND Corporation found that drug prices in the U.S. were almost three times higher than in 33 other high-income countries. Prices for branded drugs in the U.S. were more than four times higher.
That’s largely due to the U.S.’ highly complex and fragmented reimbursement system and lack of national pricing control.
Drug prices in the U.S. are generally set by pharmaceutical companies and negotiated by private insurers. That contrasts with many other nations, for instance in Europe, where governments negotiate directly with drug companies to cap what their state-funded health systems pay.
Private U.S. insurers typically rely on intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to negotiate costs, as they tend to be larger and have greater pricing power. However, they often do so with limited transparency and can be incentivized with fees on higher priced drugs.
Meanwhile, drug makers, for their part, defend higher U.S. costs by arguing that they help fund critical research and development — something Trump has long criticized for imposing an unfair burden on U.S. consumers.
“Americans pay more for drugs than Europeans. Full stop. That is correct,” Emily Field, head of European pharmaceutical research at Barclays, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday.
“Trump doesn’t like that [they’re] getting a bad deal,” she added.
Field noted, however, that although U.S. consumers typically pay more for branded drugs, the picture is far from clear cut.
“Although the branded market for U.S. pharmaceuticals is very expensive and very convoluted with very little price transparency, when you take a step back there are surprisingly parts of the U.S. system that are very, very efficient and good at lowering costs,” she said.
Unbranded generic drugs account for 90% of prescription volumes in the U.S. compared to 41% on average in other advanced nations, according to Rand. Those drugs tend to be cheaper for U.S. patients, too, at around two-thirds of the cost paid by other nations.
Clampdown on pharmacy benefit managers
The Trump administration will give drug makers price targets in the next 30 days, and will take further action if companies do not make “significant progress” toward those goals.
The plans are seen as impacting popular pharma firms such as weight loss drug makers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
Pharma stocks nevertheless rebounded from losses earlier this week as the measures were seen as less severe than expected and are likely to face legal challenges. Similar moves by Trump in his firm term were ultimately blocked by the courts.
“We expect the implementation of MFN [most favoured nation] to require legislation, with Trump citing a roll up into an official bill where we believe the industry has more avenues to oppose, UBS analyst Trung Huynh wrote in a note Monday.
“Pricing will remain an overhang on our sector, but we see President Trump’s tone as relatively positive for the industry.”
Still, Field noted that one measure of the order, which aims to restrict the role of private sector PBMs, could ultimately go some way to reducing U.S. costs.
“We’re gonna cut out the middlemen and facilitate the direct ***** of drugs at the most favored nation price,” President Trump wrote Monday in a Truth Social post.
Efforts to clampdown on PBMs have been gaining traction over recent years, as they have faced regulatory pressure from the Federal Trade Commission. Yet despite bipartisan support, lawmakers have thus far struggled to pass any changes in Congress.
The government’s health department will create a mechanism for patients to buy more drugs directly from manufacturers, according to the executive order.
“It does seem like there is an increasing effort to maybe make these pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs) the bad guys,” Field said.
“I think that you’ll probably see increasing dialogue questioning what value do PBMs add to the system and do they actually increase costs rather than save them for the users, as they claim to do.”
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Control Spin-Off FBC: Firebreak Is A Defiant, Punk-Rock Take On Co-Op Shooters
Control Spin-Off FBC: Firebreak Is A Defiant, Punk-Rock Take On Co-Op Shooters
I was several missions into my hands-on session with FBC: Firebreak when I consciously tried to pinpoint why I was enjoying it so much. The hordes of Hiss overwhelmed me and my group like an exciting round of Left 4 Dead, one of my favorite games ever made; that certainly helped. The objectives were varied, and the outcomes chaotic–the primary healing method is scrambling into a shower big enough to hold your whole team of three, but getting there is often like swimming upstream in a river of monsters. There’s, of course, the tried-and-true adage that says most games are better in co-op anyway, so that worked to its advantage, too. But it wasn’t until I spoke with Remedy after the session that it became clear how its punk-rock ethos is the glue that holds the project together.
Punk engineering
“One of the terms that we used to describe the aesthetics at some point was ‘punk engineering,'” lead level designer Teemu Huhtiniemi told GameSpot. As the game’s setup goes, the Oldest House’s agents have been locked away inside the liminal maze for six years following the events of Control, which has led to equipment steadily decreasing both in quality and quantity. As a result, agents have resorted to do-it-yourself (DIY) methods to stay armed in the face of the Hiss threat.
Continued Huhtiniemi, “They started building their own tools and modifying their body armor and everything.” Thus, despite being a multiplayer spin-off of Control, the game takes on a markedly different style of its own, with bright colors decorating their non-standard-issue welding masks, and spray paints plastering the once-sacred space with irreverent displays of cartoon ducks.
“But we also don’t want to drift into what I would call Mad Max land,” game director Mike Kayetta told me. “Now, I adore Mad Max. We’re just not Mad Max, where people are putting spikes on for no reason other than to look awesome or intimidating. That’s not to say there’s no sense of self. We start from the perspective of what actually makes sense in the world, and then we say, ‘How can we pull that into a [more expressive] place that still feels grounded?’ It’s pretty obvious that things feel different tonally, and that’s a necessity, and fits better with [Firebreak’s] genre. But we’ve never wanted to exit the Control space entirely, so we want to keep that edge.”
This punk spirit is expressed not just in their fashion, but also in their function, best seen in the game’s class-based system that divides players into Crisis Kits. Though you can double- or triple-up on Crisis Kits in a full team of three, it’s best played with one person taking on each role: the Jump Kit, Fix Kit, and Splash Kit. Each kit includes a lengthy chain of unlockables, such as passive traits that make ammo gathering faster or fortify defenses, as well as a primary set of skills and tools they bring into any mission, or “Job.”
With Firebreak’s class-based system, everyone has a distinct role, allowing teammates to rise to the occasion—or not.
The Jump Kit enjoys an electrifying weapon that zaps Hiss at short range, launches the player high off the ground, and repairs generators. There’s also a boombox that can be unlocked, which attracts all nearby Hiss into one spot and allows players to either find some breathing room or take them all out together.
The Fix Kit is the melee expert of the group and doubles as the repair technician for any Job’s broken-down machinery, like healing showers. Through persistent leveling, players can eventually attach a piggy bank to their wrench, shattering on contact, then re-forming over time and further damaging the Hiss it hits on the way back to taking shape, like a more scattershot version of the axe from God of War. This class also includes a turret that will fire until it’s destroyed.
The Splash Kit is the most visually interesting of the trio, equipped with a weapon that shoots water bubbles that get ******* and heavier the longer you hold down the fire trigger. Unlockables include a “Teapot” alternate firing mode that turns the weapon into a flamethrower and a “Humidifier” that does area-of-effect healing, which saved my team’s butts a number of times when showers were few and far between.
Essentially, each kit is decked out by way of the agents combining the Oldest House’s paranatural Altered Items with a bit of duct tape and improvisation. Playing with each class, I could really see and feel the makeshift nature of the tools at my disposal, and I loved how it tied itself to Control’s iconic setting by turning its dangerous artifacts into, essentially, weapon mods and deployable items on the battlefield.
This trio also combines to give the game an unexpected elemental approach to combat, where you can have the Splasher hosing down Hiss enemies, the Jumper shocking them to the point where they’re taking damage over time, and the Fixer vacillating between completing objectives and cracking skulls. I knew that the game might play a bit like Left 4 Dead based on what I’d seen so far in trailers, but it’s the makeshift elemental weapons that feel appreciably additive to that style of game.
You end up relying on your teammates to be where you need them to be when you need them to be there, which feels so satisfying when everything is clicking. Each of these special class-based weapons is aided by a customizable loadout that also includes things like grenades and more typical guns such as SMGs, shotguns, and pistols, and given how swarming the Hiss can be, you’ll routinely exhaust everything you’ve got on you to overcome the monsters.
Take control
Just as its heroes express punkish fashion and function, the game is designed with the same disregard for norms. The punk ethos is about questioning the status quo, and this shines through in FBC: Firebreak’s disregard for typical live-service elements. Though it’s a co-op game with free content updates that will follow its launch this summer, Firebreak has no intentions of putting a time limit on anything. It’s built with Remedy’s anti-FOMO intentions from top to bottom. Classified Requisitions packs will offer paid cosmetics that “come out at special times and feel special when they are released,” Kayetta said, but added that “they will just be permanent fixtures at that point, so you’ll always be able to access them. You should never feel like, ‘Oh, wow. I wasn’t in this game a year ago, and therefore I have a quote, unquote less valuable collection than other people.'”
I’m not surprised that a team obsessed with saunas has created a healing mechanic reliant on group showers.
Remedy also intentionally rejected systems like daily and weekly challenges, which Kayetta feels can push people away from some games, even as those systems are designed to keep them perpetually invested. “The FOMO thing is even deeper than just a battle pass,” he told me. “[A game is] presenting you with the idea that the value of this game is this big,” he said, gesturing to the size, “and if you only have time to do so much, you literally have a fear of missing out on tons of the value that you think you’re owed. Because the game has told you this is the value space. So for [the Firebreak team], it’s also about controlling the value space.” When a game gives off the feeling of being so enormous in its scope, “some players say, ‘I either am going to step all the way in, which is an additional investment, or I’m gonna go find something else.'”
Kayetta was touching on a topic I’ve written about previously. I’ve dropped games I enjoy from my personal time because I felt like I wasn’t getting all I was “supposed to” out of them. It’s something that still happens to this day. Many games, especially multiplayer games, often leave me feeling like I should be playing more to extract their maximum value. If it’s all or nothing, and I’m too busy to get all of it, I opt to get nothing. This likely reads as either silly or relatable, depending on who you are. FBC: Firebreak is thankfully built not to elicit those feelings, which is a defiant move in the genre today, and which Kayetta said is only possible because the game is self-published.
“We’re a publicly traded company, and we have our players, so it’s not like we’re not accountable to anybody,” he said. “Obviously, we’re accountable. But at the end of the day, Remedy self-publishing [FBC: Firebreak] has put us in the position where we can make these decisions. [We decide] what makes the most sense with this game, which is to make sure that players get value out of it, and that’s it, and that’s enough. I’m not talking about any games in particular, but, a lot of failed efforts that people unfairly compare games that haven’t come out to yet are often trying to fulfill a mandate to say, ‘The only way to be successful is to compete for that screen space against something like Fortnite’–which, what an outrageous mandate to deliver a team anyway.”
It was clear that Kayetta and I had both thought a lot about this modern dilemma, so I asked him if it’s scary to eschew so much of what everyone else in the multiplayer space tends to be doing right now. “It’s not scary to me in the least. I have a baby. I have a five-year-old. I have a backlog that’s 10,000 miles long. I want to be able to put something down for six months and come back to it. There are those days where I’m like, ‘Oh man, I remember having so much fun [with a game], and I want to go back,’ and then I open it and I’m like, ‘What has happened here?’ Like, this guy’s wearing this birthday hat, and there are 18 modes, and there are 70 patch notes. It’s terrifying to me, and I’m just like, ‘You know what? I only have an hour to play right now. I’m not spending 30 minutes of that hour reading about all of the stuff that I haven’t seen in months.'” He added that if players do come back each day, week, month, and so on, it should be because they want to be there, not because they feel like they’re there to check a box. “Of course,” he added, “if you’re having a blast, you wanna stay there every day? Awesome.”
The Oldest House party
It was fascinating to me not just that Remedy is making its first multiplayer game, but that it’s mapped the multiplayer landscape in such detail so that it can do things how it wants to, not necessarily how it’s learned to by playing and studying other co-op games. If that means bucking trends, so be it. “Sometimes you can kind of lift a feature [from a different game] and it can slot in, and that absolutely happens, and that’s fantastic, but ultimately, things are greater than the sum of their parts,” Kayetta said when I asked about how the team studied games similar to Firebreak.
“We started before Helldivers 2 came out,” he continued, “and once it did, we were looking for places to say, ‘What’s working for them, what’s not working for them?’ We do analysis playthroughs of things and say, ‘What do we like? What do we not like?’ We watch for player reactions, especially in live games. The key thing for us, though, is to know that what works for somebody else may or may not work for us. It’s not always a direct translation [that says] ‘This feature is bad or good.’ That’s never the case. It’s good or bad inside the context of the other features that it’s touching, especially in a systemic game.”Making a multiplayer game with post-launch plans in 2025 doesn’t have to mean building out FOMO systems, Remedy believes, but Kayetta does agree with popular opinion in at least one sense: The community of players has more input than ever before. Navigating that can be difficult for any team, as you don’t want to hand over all the power to your players, but neither do you necessarily want to ignore them and stubbornly press on with an idea that isn’t being received well. Kayetta offered an interesting perspective on this relationship: “Developers are really bad at seeing problems and really good at fixing problems, and players are really good at seeing problems and really bad at fixing problems.
“The community talks to you in two ways: with their words and with their actions. So the first one is, what are people talking about on Reddit? What are they telling us? What are they telling us in Steam ratings and things like this? And then there’s also like, what are all of the people who aren’t either so happy or so angry that they commented online doing? Then, that’s where we start gathering heat maps, and [seeing] where people were actually going and how they are progressing through the economy. Because you don’t want to leave that stuff to just the anecdotal.”
Hordes of Hiss provide plenty of chaos for a team, though Remedy says solo or paired players can play it too–it’ll just be harder.
Kayetta said the team’s plan in shaping the game with the community is twofold. One is adding “big, interesting, super impactful content” like the two more Jobs coming to the game in 2025, alongside features “we haven’t talked about yet that are in development, which I’m super excited about.” The other is considering feedback and letting player input drive some considerations. Remedy has been cautious not to nail down a specific number of Jobs (beyond the five at launch and two more in 2025), Kayetta said, because “some games are not made more interesting because you just keep adding, adding, adding, and adding things like levels. You could add 70 more campaigns [to Left 4 Dead]. I’m not sure if that makes Left 4 Dead better. So, what are people really looking for? And we understand that we don’t exactly know that yet, and so we do want to hear it.”
FBC: Firebreak arrives on June 17 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PS5. It will also debut in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PlayStation Plus Premium. PC specs have not yet been revealed, but Remedy said it’s targeting less-demanding specs than its past games, while still offering a host of visual effects like those seen in Control and Alan Wake 2. For more on my time with the multiplayer game, learn how FBC: Firebreak fits into the Remedy Connected Universe, and read about the unexpected game that influenced FBC: Firebreak.
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