Daily Buzz: 25 June 2026

Top News

China Takes Crown for World's Fastest Supercomputer

China reclaimed the top spot for the world's fastest supercomputer for the first times since 2017, with its LineShine supercomputer overtaking the El Capitan computer in the US, according to the Top500.org biannual survey released at the International Supercomputing Conference in Hamburg. LineShine, which is located at the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, achieved a performance of 2.198 exaflops, carrying out more than 2 quintillion calculations per second – a 20 percent lead over El Capitan, which is located at California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It is the first supercomputer in the world to exceed two exaflops using only central processing units instead of the graphics processing units that power AI models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude. The Shenzhen center said LineShine has already been deployed in applications ranging from climate modeling and engineering simulations to drug discovery, neuroscience and AI.

US Tries to Calm Gulf Allies Nervous About Peace Prospects

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Gulf states to sell the US peace plan for ending the Iran war. Skepticism remains in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain, who got dragged into the conflict because of US military facilities they host. Rubio said technical talks with Iran on its nuclear program and other issues are continuing under a 60-day negotiating period created by a preliminary agreement. Contentious issues remain, and US President Donald Trump has threatened resumed bombing of Iran if Tehran doesn't make concessions. One sticking point is Israel's determination to retain occupation of areas it has seized in southern Lebanon. Oil traffic blocked by closure of the Strait of Hormuz has begun slowing moving out of the Persian Gulf, sending oil prices lower. Benchmark Brent crude futures closed in New York at about US$73 a barrel, their lowest since the war started.

Back-to-Back Earthquakes Strike Venezuela

Two powerful back-to-back earthquakes, measuring magnitudes of 7.5 and 7.2, struck Venezuela Wednesday evening, collapsing buildings in the capital Caracas and sending people fleeing onto the streets. The quakes struck an area west of Caracas and could be felt as far away as Bogota, Colombia. The US Geological Survey said quakes that size can cause widespread damage and mass casualties.

Brutal Heat Wave Grips Parts of Western Europe

France, Spain and Italy have been gripped by an unseasonal heat wave this week that has broken June records with temperatures soaring into the high 30s and low 40s Celsius. Dozens of people have died from swimming mishaps and hyperthermia-related illnesses. Two children died in Spain after being left in a car by their parents. The scorching temperatures have resulted in school closures, electricity blackouts and rail transport disruptions. Madrid called off a planned outdoor screening of a national team World Cup match. Even Britain, which normally enjoys relatively mild summers, has issued a red heat alert for parts of the country. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said global warming is increasing the incidence and severity of such weather events.

Ukrainian Drones Knock Out Power in Sevastopol

A Ukrainian drone attack on the main power substation in Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-occupied Crimea, knocked out power in the city. Kiev has been stepping up attacks on power facilities in Russia and areas held by the Kremlin to disrupt oil revenues that finance the war and try to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the more than four-year conflict.

Israel Accused of Intentionally Targeting Children in Gaza

Israel continues to commit genocide by deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, according to a report from the independent UN International Commission, saying about 30 percent of people killed by Israeli forces in the occupied strip been children. Israel called the report a "libelous sham." Israel has continued sporadic attacks on Gaza since a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect last October.

Top Business

Micron Posts Record Earnings in Boost for Investor Sentiment on Tech

US memory chip giant Micron reported record revenue, net income and gross margin for its fiscal third-quarter ended June 4, sucking some of the air out of the current investor debate over potential versus profitability in advanced tech industries. Micron, citing booming demand and prices for AI chips, said has signed 16 major purchase commitment deals --- valued at up to US$22 billion -- from data centers, automakers and other customers, locking in supply for three to five years. The company reported revenue quadrupled to US$41.5 billion, net income soared to US$28.2 billion from US$1.9 billion a year earlier, and gross margin reached 85 percent. Micron shares surged 14 percent in after-hours trading in New York when the earnings were announced. The results may set a positive tone in global stock trading today, after the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.43 percent on Wednesday in a third-day of a slump in tech shares.

ByteDance Reported in Preliminary Talks for a US$20 Billion Loan

Beijing-based ByteDance, which operates TikTok, AI assistant Doubao and Volcano Engine Cloud, is in early-stage talks with banks for a jumbo offshore loan of about US$20 billion, its largest ever, Bloomberg News reported. The proceeds would likely go toward further investments in artificial intelligence. The loan, according to unidentified sources, would have a three-year maturity, with an option to extend the borrowing up to five years. Last September, ByteDance signed a US$10.8 billion corporate loan agreement with a consortium of 29 lenders.

Separately, Doubao officially launched its highly anticipated Professional Edition on Wednesday, introducing a tiered subscription model to monetize high-end productivity workflows. The price package starts from 68 yuan (US$10) a month.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that US-based Qualcomm is in talks to provide custom chip-design services to ByteDance. Qualcomm is the world's largest supplier of smartphone modem chips but is seeking to expand beyond that business. The talks come amid ongoing tensions as the US government seeks to restrain China's rapid emergence in advanced technologies.

Zhipu Mulls Share Placement That May Rival Its IPO Proceeds

Chinese AI startup Zhipu, which trades in Hong Kong as Knowledge Atlas Technology, is considering a share placement valued in the multimillions of US dollars, Bloomberg News reported. The placement could take place as early as next months and dwarf the US$558 million Zhipu raised in its Hong Kong IPO in January. The company's shares have surged 20-fold since listing, briefly touching HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion) in value in intraday trading on Monday before dropping back. The Beijing-based company, which develops AI large language models, has indicated ambitions for a listing in Shanghai.

Economy & Markets

Momenta Clears Regulatory Hurdles for HK IPO

Momenta, a self-driving technology start-up in China, has cleared regulatory approval from both Beijing and Hong Kong for an initial public listing in Hong Kong under its Momenta Global entity incorporated in Cayman Islands, the South China Morning Post reported. The approval was in some doubt as China tightens vetting of offshore registered companies. Momenta hasn't made public how much it will seek to raise in the IPO. Joint sponsors are CICC and Deutsche Bank. Momenta spent 47 billion yuan (US$686 million) on research and development in the past three years.

'Summer Davos' Highlights Strengths, Weaknesses in Global Yuan

China's efforts to promote international use of the yuan are proceeding apace but there are still stumbling blocks to iron out, said Chinese and foreign participants in a discussion at the World Economic Forum's annual "Summer Davos" summit in Dalian. China is continuing to expand offshore yuan centers and build supporting financial, said Zhu Ning, finance professor at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance at Jiao Tong University, with the strong resilience of the Chinese economy increasing global interest in the yuan. The path to internationalization of the currently doesn't rest on a single path, but rather on a diversity of approaches, said Ashor Nick Sarupen, South Africa's deputy finance minister. Liu Zongyuan, a senior researcher in China studies for the US think tank Council on Foreign Relations, said the cross-border function for yuan settlements is maturing but the function for pricing the currency lags behind. She suggested moving away from dominance by a single reserve currency.

CBOE to Enter Prediction Market in Offering All-or-Nothing Options

CBOE Global Markets, formerly known as the Chicago Board Options Exchange, said it will roll out its first options to capitalize on the craze in prediction markets, where investors speculate on outcomes of real-world events like sports matches, elections, central bank rate decisions or even who will win an Oscar. Such markets typically offer so-called "binary" options: you either win or lose it all on a single bet. CBOE said it will offer binary option contracts based on the Mini-S&P 500 Index. There are already numerous markets offering prediction contracts. Two of them, Kalshi and Polymarket, had trading volumes valued at US$24 billion in April, up from less than US$5 billion last September. Some governments consider such markets outright gambling and ban them. CNBC earlier reported that Meta is creating a prediction market platform.

China Embodied Intelligence Firms Hit 10,000, Dreame Aims Outlined

The number of embodied intelligence companies in China, as of May, surpassed 10,000, according to business data provider Qixinbao. The number includes 269 publicly listed companies. Embodied intelligence focuses on giving machines the capability to perceive, make decisions, act and adapt to complex environments.

One of the more prominent players in the industry is robotics firm Dreame Technology. Yu Hao, founder and chief executive, said at the "Summer Davos" summit in Dalian that the company is scaling up its ecosystem, identifying precise application scenarios and aiming for a closed-loop business model. Dreame can leverage core proprietary technologies from high-speed digital motors, intelligent algorithms and robotic arms, he said, with a focus on smart homes, outdoor yards, intelligent mobility and humanoid robots.

Corporate

ASE to Expand Capacity to Meet AI Demand

Taiwan-based ASE Technology, the world's biggest chip packaging ​and testing provider, is expanding capacity to ‌meet AI demand, Reuters reported, citing Chief Operating Officer Tien Wu. He said the company is adding 15 ​new sites this year and this year's capital spending may exceed the budgeted US$8.5 billion.

Lightwheel Completes Fundraising

Lightwheel AI has closed a new financing round, raising 1 billion yuan (US$147 million). The company said it will use the proceeds for research and development of core technologies of physical AI data and evaluation infrastructure. Investors in the fundraising round included Zhongguancun Science City Fund, Sichuan Development Sci-Tech Innovation Fund and Giant Network.

Abbisko Signs New Collaboration Deal With Eli Lilly

Shanghai-based Abbisko Cayman has entered into an agreement with US drugmaker Eli Lilly to collaborate on experimental treatments, with potential payments of up to about US$1.9 billion from the US drugmaker. Subsidiary Abbisko Therapeutics entered a 2022 partnership with Lilly to discover, develop and potentially commercialize small-molecule therapeutics.

Li Auto Launches New L8 models

China's Li Auto announced the launch of the two versions of the all-new L8 model, with a limited-time introductory prices of 359,800 yuan (US$58.873) and 419,800 yuan. Both versions are equipped with the third-generation 5C extended-range system.

Kuaishou Enters Fast-Delivery Services Market

Kuaishou's e-commerce platform has launched a fast-delivery service called Jisu Da on the Kuaishou App mall. Unlike other competitors in in the hotly contested market, Jisu Da initially offers only next-day and two-day delivery, not same-day or one-hour delivery offered by rivals.

Pony.ai, Partner Integrate Public Robotaxi Service in Singapore

Leading Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai and Singapore ride-hailing partner ComfortDelGro have fully integrated a robotaxi service in the island city, the companies announced. Pony.ai has been expanding robotaxi services overseas.