<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Wingdings;
panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Verdana;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Trebuchet MS";
panose-1:2 11 6 3 2 2 2 2 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
p.MsoBodyText, li.MsoBodyText, div.MsoBodyText
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Body Text Char";
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0cm;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0cm;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
p.MsoSubtitle, li.MsoSubtitle, div.MsoSubtitle
{mso-style-priority:11;
mso-style-link:"Subtitle Char";
margin-top:0cm;
margin-right:0cm;
margin-bottom:8.0pt;
margin-left:0cm;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:#5A5A5A;
letter-spacing:.75pt;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph
{mso-style-priority:34;
margin-top:0cm;
margin-right:0cm;
margin-bottom:8.0pt;
margin-left:36.0pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:105%;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0cm;
margin-right:0cm;
margin-bottom:0cm;
margin-left:36.0pt;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:105%;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0cm;
margin-right:0cm;
margin-bottom:0cm;
margin-left:36.0pt;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:105%;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast
{mso-style-priority:34;
mso-style-type:export-only;
margin-top:0cm;
margin-right:0cm;
margin-bottom:8.0pt;
margin-left:36.0pt;
mso-add-space:auto;
line-height:105%;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
p.msonormal0, li.msonormal0, div.msonormal0
{mso-style-name:msonormal;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0cm;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0cm;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
span.BodyTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Body Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Body Text";
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
span.SubtitleChar
{mso-style-name:"Subtitle Char";
mso-style-priority:11;
mso-style-link:Subtitle;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:#5A5A5A;
letter-spacing:.75pt;}
span.EmailStyle23
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
span.style30
{mso-style-name:style30;}
span.EmailStyle26
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
/* List Definitions */
@list l0
{mso-list-id:578756740;
mso-list-type:hybrid;
mso-list-template-ids:965541148 805896193 805896205 805896197 805896193 805896195 805896197 805896193 805896195 805896197;}
@list l0:level1
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level2
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0FC;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level3
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level4
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level5
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level6
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
@list l0:level7
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0B7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:Symbol;}
@list l0:level8
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:o;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:"Courier New";}
@list l0:level9
{mso-level-number-format:bullet;
mso-level-text:\F0A7;
mso-level-tab-stop:none;
mso-level-number-position:left;
text-indent:-18.0pt;
font-family:Wingdings;}
ol
{margin-bottom:0cm;}
ul
{margin-bottom:0cm;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-ZW link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><div align=center><table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=916 style='width:687.2pt;border-collapse:collapse'><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:solid #D9D9D9 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:33.35pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://bullszimbabwe.com/"><span lang=EN-ZW style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=246 height=120 id="Picture_x0020_5" src="cid:image001.png@01DC345B.5D02B8C0"></span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#002060'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.bullszimbabwe.com"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Bullszimbabwe.com </span></b></a></span><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0'> </span></b><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw?subject=View%20and%20Comments"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Views & Comments</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://bullszimbabwe.com/category/blogs/bullish-thoughts/"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Bullish Thoughts</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.twitter.com/BullsBears2010"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Twitter</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Facebook</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/bulls-n-bears-zimbabwe/57/577/72"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>LinkedIn</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/CF6wllAfScU9Wr6dXxoQnO"><b><span style='color:#70AD47;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'>WhatsApp</span></b></a></span><span class=MsoHyperlink><b><span lang=EN-US style='color:#70AD47;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'> </span></b></span><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:bulls@bullszimbabwe.com?subject=Unsubscribe"><b><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#0070C0;text-decoration:none'>Unsubscribe</span></b></a></span><span class=style30><span style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;color:#00B050'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoSubtitle style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><span class=style30><b><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:32.1pt;text-indent:7.5pt;line-height:105%'><span class=style30><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Major International Business Headlines Brief ::: 06 October 2025 </span></b></span><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span class=style30><b><span lang=EN-US> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.0pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw"><span lang=EN-ZW style='color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=804 height=268 id="Picture_x0020_4" src="cid:image002.jpg@01DC345B.5D02B8C0"></span></a></span><span class=style30><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.0pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:54.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Japan stocks hit record after ruling party names pro-business leader<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>US pharmacy chain Rite Aid closes final stores<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The true extent of cyber attacks on UK business - and the weak spots that allow them to happen<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>India wants to lure back its best minds after H-1B visa chaos - but it won't be easy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>How China is challenging Nvidia's AI chip dominance<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The indigenous weavers who aim for empowerment over exploitation<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>House-buying shake-up plan aims to cut costs and time<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Conservatives to pledge £5,000 tax rebate for young homebuyers<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>How the US got left behind in the global electric car race<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>OPEC+ opts for modest oil output hike as supply glut fears mount<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gold Powers Toward $4,000 as US Government Shutdown Drags On<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Aston Martin shares fall 10% as luxury carmaker issues fresh profit warning on tariff turmoil<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:Wingdings;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tesla teases new product reveal on October 7<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoListParagraphCxSpLast style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:72.0pt;mso-add-space:auto;text-indent:-18.0pt;line-height:115%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2;background:white'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-family:Wingdings;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>ü<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Eli Lilly to invest over $1 billion in India to expand manufacturing capacity</span></b><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;line-height:115%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw"><span lang=EN-ZW style='color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=804 height=268 id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image003.jpg@01DC345B.5D02B8C0"></span></a></span><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 rowspan=3 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Japan stocks hit record after ruling party names pro-business leader<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Japanese stocks have hit a record high after the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) named Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning the pro-business politician to be Japan's next prime minister.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed 4.75% higher on Monday, ending the day above 47,000 for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Takaichi, who has held senior government roles including minister for economic security and internal affairs, is known for her support of higher government spending and lower borrowing costs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>She is also a long-time admirer of former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher and her free market approach to economics.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Investors welcomed the announcement of her victory in the LDP leadership race, with shares rising in real estate, technology and heavy industry companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>While the Japanese stocks rose, the yen hit a record low against the euro and dropped by 1.7% against the US dollar.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Monday's market response was largely a "knee-jerk reaction" to the potential appointment of Takaichi as prime minister, Japan economist Jesper Koll told the BBC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>While her policy proposals to stimulate the economy through increased government spending could benefit businesses, they may further weaken the yen as Japan's debt rises, said Mr Koll.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>If confirmed later this month as the successor to Shigeru Ishiba, Takaichi will be Japan's first female prime minister.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Mentored by late Prime Minster Shinzo Abe, she has championed his economic vision - known as Abenomics - of high public spending and cheap borrowing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>If confirmed in the role, Takaichi will have to navigate a challenging US-Japan relationship and see through a tariff deal with US President Donald Trump's administration, which was previously agreed by the Ishiba government.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>She would also have to contend with a sluggish economy and households grappling with higher costs and slow wage growth.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>With Trump expected to visit Japan later this month, Mr Koll said Takaichi will be eager to negotiate a new agreement with the US president "to get the dollar down and to get the yen up."-bbc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>US pharmacy chain Rite Aid closes final stores<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>US pharmacy chain Rite Aid announced that it would close all remaining stores.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The company's website was replaced on Saturday with a message announcing the closure: "All Rite Aid stores have now closed. We thank our loyal customers for their many years of support." The site included a link to allow customers to request their pharmacy records.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Founded in 1962, the company was once one of the largest pharmacy chains in the country. At its peak, Rite Aid counted 5,000 stores.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But in recent years, the chain faced financial struggles and a Justice Department investigation. By Friday, data showed fewer than 100 stores remained.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Rite Aid had filed for bankruptcy in October 2023 and May 2025.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The company also faced legal troubles over its role in the opioid epidemic. In 2022, Rite Aid paid up to $30 million to settle lawsuits alleging it contributed to the flow of opioids in the US, according to CBS, the BBC's American news partner.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The following year, in the 2023 bankruptcy filing, the company said restructuring would help it "resolve litigation claims".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Rite Aid also faced a Justice Department complaint in which officials alleged the company's stores filled unlawful prescriptions for oxycodone and fentanyl. The company agreed to settle in July 2024.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Other US pharmacy chains have also been closing retail locations across the country, though different reasons have been cited.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Since 2021, CVS has closed more than 1,000 stores as part of a longer term strategic move.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Separately, Walgreens, which was recently purchased by private equity firm Sycamore Partners, closed 500 stores over the past year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Experts have raised concerns about growing "pharmacy deserts" in the US, where millions of people live without a pharmacy nearby and must travel to get prescriptions filled.-bbc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The true extent of cyber attacks on UK business - and the weak spots that allow them to happen<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The first day of September should have marked the beginning of one of the busiest periods of the year for Jaguar Land Rover.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It was a Monday, and the release of new 75 series number plates was expected to trigger a surge in demand. At factories in Solihull and Halewood, as well as at its engine plant in Wolverhampton, staff anticipated that they’d be working flat out.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Instead, when the early shift arrived, they were sent home. The production lines have remained idle ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Though they are expected to resume operations in the coming days, it will be in a slow and carefully controlled manner. It could be another month before output returns to normal. Such was the impact of a major cyber attack that hit JLR at the end of August.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It is working with various cyber security specialists and police to investigate, but the financial damage has already been done. More than a month's worth of worldwide production was lost.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Analysts have estimated its losses at £50m per week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>JLR's production lines were left idle after the firm faced a cyber attack at the end of August<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For a company that made a £2.5bn profit in the last financial year, and which is owned by the Indian giant Tata Group, the losses will likely be painful but not fatal. But JLR is not an isolated incident.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>So far this year there has been a wave of cyber attacks targeting big businesses, including retailers such as Marks & Spencer and the Co-op, as well as a key airport systems provider. Other high profile victims have included the children's nursery chain Kido, while last year incidents involving Southern Water and a company that provided blood tests to the NHS raised serious concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and services.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In all, a government-run survey on cyber security breaches estimates 612,000 businesses and 61,000 charities were targeted across the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>So just how much are attacks like these costing businesses and the economy? And could it be, as one expert analyst puts it, that this year's major attacks are the result of a "cumulative effect of a kind of inaction" on cyber security from the government and businesses that is now starting to bite?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Pyramid of suppliers affected<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>What is significant about an attack on the scale of the one that hit JLR is just how far the consequences can stretch.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The company sits at the top of a pyramid of suppliers, thousands of them. They range from major multinationals, such as Bosch, down to small firms with a handful of employees, and they include companies which are heavily reliant on a single customer: JLR.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For many of those firms, the shutdown represented a very real threat to their business.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In a letter to the Chancellor on 25 September, the Business and Trade Committee warned that smaller firms "may have at best a week of cashflow left to support themselves", while larger companies "may begin to seriously struggle within a fortnight".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Industry analysts expressed concerns that if companies started to go bankrupt, a trickle could soon become a flood – potentially causing permanent damage to the country's advanced engineering industry.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Resuming production does not automatically mean the crisis is over either.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"It has come too late," explains David Roberts, who is the Chairman of Coventry-based Evtec, a direct supplier to JLR, with some 1,250 employees.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"All of our companies have had six weeks of zero sales, but all the costs. The sector still desperately needs cash."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Russian cyber criminals or Western teens<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A recent IBM report, which looked at data breaches experienced by about 600 organisations worldwide found that the average cost was $4.4m (or £3.3m).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But JLR is far from an outlier when it comes to high-profile cyber attacks on an even greater scale. Marks & Spencer and the Co-op supermarket chain this year are estimated to have cost £300 million and £120 million respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Over the Easter weekend in April, attackers managed to gain entry to Marks & Spencer's IT systems via a third-party contractor, forcing it to take some networks offline.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Initially, the disruption seemed relatively minor – with contactless payment systems out of action, and customers unable to use its 'click and collect' service. However, within days, it had halted all online shopping – which normally makes up around a third of its business.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It was described at the time as "almost like cutting off one of your limbs", by Nayna McIntosh, former executive committee member of M&S and the founder of Hope Fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Attackers managed to gain entry to Marks & Spencer's IT systems via a third-party contractor<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>When the Co-op supermarket chain was hit, the same group of hackers claimed responsibility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It was, they suggested, an attempt to extort a ransom from the company by infecting its networks with malicious software. However the IT networks were shut down quickly enough to avoid significant damage.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>As the criminals angrily described it to the BBC, "they yanked their own plug - tanking sales, burning logistics, and torching shareholder value".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>According to Jamie MacColl, a cyber expert at the security research group, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), it is no surprise to see major businesses being targeted in this way.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He says it is the result of hackers being easily able to get hold of so-called ransomware (software which can lock up or encrypt a victim's computer networks until a ransom is paid).-bbc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>India wants to lure back its best minds after H-1B visa chaos - but it won't be easy<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A hostile immigration environment is prompting some Indians in the US to think of returning home<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>US President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to hike H-1B visa fees to $100,000 has prompted policymakers in Delhi to woo skilled Indians back home.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A bureaucrat, who works closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, recently said that the government was actively encouraging overseas Indians to return and contribute to nation-building. Yet, another member of the PM's economic advisory council told a media conclave that H-1B visas have always served the interests of the host nation, and so the hike in fee boded well for India's ability to attract global talent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The crux of these arguments is that the time is ripe for India to engineer a reverse brain drain and lure some of the world's most talented professionals in technology, medicine and other innovative industries, who'd left the country in the past 30 years, back to the homeland.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that an increasingly hostile immigration environment in the US is prompting a few Indians to think along these lines. But getting hundreds of thousands of people to ditch Bellevue for Bengaluru will be easier said than done, several experts told the BBC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nithin Hassan Nithin Hassan wearing a powder blue blazer (L) with his two daughters in the centre and his wife on the right wearing a traditional Indian saree, pose for a photograph. Nithin Hassan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nithin Hassan (left) gave up a $1m job at Meta in the US to return to India<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Nithin Hassan is among the few Indians who had settled in the US for the last 20 years but took a leap of faith and decided to move back to Bengaluru - often called India's Silicon Valley - last year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It wasn't an easy call. He quit a million-dollar job at Meta to plunge into the uncertain world of start-ups.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"I've always wanted to start something of my own, but my immigration status in the US limited that freedom," Mr Hassan told the BBC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Since his return, Mr Hassan has launched two start-ups, including a platform called B2I (Back to India) that helps other Indians settled in the US "navigate the emotional, financial and professional challenges of returning home".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He told the BBC that the US's immigration policy shifts in recent months had led to a sharp spike in enquiries from people looking to relocate, and the H-1B fracas could accelerate this trend.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Many professionals now accept that a green card may never come, and queries to B2I have surged - nearly tripling since Trump's second term began. In just the last six months, more than 200 NRIs [non-resident Indians] have reached out to explore return options," said Mr Hassan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa shock: Why US may lose more than India<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Other headhunters who scout for Indian talent from US universities corroborate this change in sentiment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The number of Indian students from Ivy League universities looking to come back to India after their studies has risen by 30% this season," Shivani Desai, CEO of BDO Executive Search, told the BBC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>She added that the uncertainty is also making senior Indian executives "think harder about their long-term careers in the US".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"While many are still anchored there, we see a noticeable uptick in CXO and senior tech leaders exploring India as a serious option," Ms Desai said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Such change in attitudes could also be aided by a massive boom in Global Capability Centres (GCCs) - or remote offices of multinational companies in India in recent years - that have thrown up viable work opportunities for returning Indians.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>These offshore operations could be where those from the tech industry relocate to if the US closes its doors to them, making GCCs "increasingly attractive to talent, especially as onsite opportunities decline", according to asset management firm Franklin Templeton.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Countries such as Germany have welcomed skilled Indians after Trump hiked H-1B visa fees<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But driving reverse migration at scale will require a concerted and serious effort by the government, and that's currently missing, says Sanjaya Baru, former media adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and author of Secession of the Successful: The Flight out of New India - a book on India's brain drain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The government will have to go out and actually identify individuals - including top-of-the-line scientists, professionals and entrepreneurs - it wants back. That requires effort, and it needs to come straight from the top," Mr Baru told the BBC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said this was what Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, did back in the day to get top minds in areas like space and nuclear technology back home and build institutions like the premier Indian Institute of Science.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"They were driven by a strong sense of purpose and nationalism. Where is the incentive to come back now?" said Mr Baru.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>On the contrary, there are both pull and push factors that have led to highly qualified professionals consistently leaving the country, Mr Baru said, and India has celebrated this trend, rather than arresting it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The pull factors include a growing number of countries offering golden visas and citizenship or residency by immigration programmes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In fact, even as the US tightened its H-1B visa regime, countries such as Germany immediately laid out the red carpet for Indian skilled migrants, with its ambassador pushing the country's credentials as a "predictable and rewarding destination".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Poor physical infrastructure and urban congestion are major problems in Indian cities<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The push factors, meanwhile, are long-standing bugbears - such as a poor regulatory environment, tiresome bureaucracy and a poor ease-of-business climate that has led to an exodus of wealthy, high-earning Indians over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The government's own data shows that over half a million Indians have renounced their citizenship since 2020. Separately, India is among the top five countries globally seeing a flight of millionaires, who are taking up citizenship or residency elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Mr Hassan says the government needs to work towards reducing "several friction points simultaneously" if it is really serious about getting overseas Indians to return.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>This includes simpler tax laws, targeted incentives such as special start-up visas and fixing other more fundamental problems such as poor physical infrastructure and urban congestion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It will also mean creating a better ecosystem for the highly educated to thrive - "including elevating the scale of R&D [research and development] and education back home", says Mr Baru - precisely the stuff that made the US such a big draw for Indian talent over the past half a century.-bbc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>How China is challenging Nvidia's AI chip dominance<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The US has dominated the global technology market for decades. But China wants to change that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The world's second largest economy is pouring huge amounts of money into artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. Crucially, Beijing is also investing heavily to produce the high-end chips that power these cutting-edge technologies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Last month, Jensen Huang - the boss of Silicon Valley-based AI chip giant Nvidia - warned that China was just "nanoseconds behind" the US in chip development.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>So can Beijing match American technology and break its reliance on imported high-end chips?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>After DeepSeek<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>China's DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the tech world in 2024 when it launched a rival to OpenAI's ChatGPT.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The announcement by a relatively unknown startup was impressive for a number of reasons, not least because the company said it cost much less to train than leading AI models.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It was said to have been created using far fewer high-end chips than its rivals, and its launch temporarily sank Silicon Valley-based Nvidia's market value.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>And momentum in China's tech sector has continued. This year, some of the country's big tech firms have made it clear that they aim to take on Nvidia and become the main advanced chip suppliers for local companies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In September, Chinese state media said a new chip announced by Alibaba can match the performance of Nvidia's H20 semiconductors while using less energy. H20s are scaled-down processors made for the Chinese market under US export rules.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Huawei also unveiled what it said were its most powerful chips ever, along with a three-year plan to challenge Nvidia's dominance of the AI market.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Chinese tech giant also said it would make its designs and computer programs available to the public in China in an effort to draw firms away from their reliance on US products.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Getty Images Two shoppers walk past an electronics shop advertising Deepseek on a large banner at the storefront in Hong Kong.Getty Images<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>DeepSeek stunned the tech world in 2024 when it launched an AI model to rival ChatGPT<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Other Chinese chip developers have also secured major contracts with big businesses in the country. MetaX is supplying advanced chips for the likes of state-owned telecoms operator, China Unicom.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Another hotly-tipped potential challenger to Nvidia is Beijing-based Cambricon Technologies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Its Shanghai-listed shares have more than doubled in value over the last three months as investors bet that it will benefit from Beijing's push for Chinese firms to use locally produced high-end chips.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tencent, which owns the super app WeChat, is another notable tech giant that has heeded the government’s call to use Chinese chips.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>There has also been no shortage of state-backed trade shows, promoting Chinese technology companies in a bid to attract investors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The competition has undeniably arrived," a spokesperson for Nvidia told the BBC in response to queries about the recent progress made by Chinese chip firms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Customers will choose the best technology stack for running the world's most popular commercial applications and open-source models. We'll continue to work to earn the trust and support of mainstream developers everywhere."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Yet some experts have cautioned that claims made by Chinese chipmakers should be taken with a pinch of salt due to a lack of publicly available data and consistent testing benchmarks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>China's semiconductors perform similarly to the US in predictive AI but fall short in complex analytics, said computer scientist Jawad Haj-Yahya, who has tested both American and Chinese chips.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The gap is clear and it is surely shrinking. But I don't think it's something they will catch up on in the short-term."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Where China leads - and lags<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>On the BG2 technology and business podcast in September, Nvidia's Jensen Huang highlighted the strengths of China's tech sector, crediting its hardworking and vast talent pool, intense domestic competition and progress in chipmaking.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"This is a vibrant entrepreneurial, high-tech, modern industry," he said, urging the US to compete "for its survival".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>His assessment is likely to be welcomed by officials in Beijing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The country has long vied to become a global leader in tech, partly to reduce its reliance on the West.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For years, China has invested heavily in what President Xi Jinping calls "high-quality development", which covers industries from renewables to AI.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Even before US President Donald Trump's return to the White House, China had spent tens of billions of dollars as part of its efforts to transform its vast economy from the "world's factory" for basic products to a home of cutting-edge industries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>An ongoing tariffs war with Trump's America has only made that mission more urgent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Xi has vowed to make his country more self-reliant and not depend on "anyone's gifts".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>What tariffs has Trump announced and why?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Trump's sweeping new tariffs take effect against dozens of countries<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Mr Huang has also warned that the US should trade freely with China or risk handing it the edge in the AI race.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>This comes against a backdrop of Beijing applying more pressure on Nvidia as it launched an anti-monopoly probe into the firm last month.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But China's state-led approach can also be an obstacle to innovation if everyone in the sector only focuses on a "shared goal", said computing professor Chia-Lin Yang from the National Taiwan University.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It can make it harder for disruptive ideas to break the mould, she added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>China's chip industry has also yet to overcome criticism that its products can be less user-friendly than those of Western rivals like Nvidia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Prof Yang believes these issues can soon be solved by China's huge number of skilled tech industry workers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"You cannot underestimate China's ability to catch up."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Getty Images The Huawei logo is seen prominently above a walkway near their booth at the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona in March, 2025.Getty Images<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Chinese tech giant Huawei unveiled its plans to rival Nvidia's dominance in AI chips<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>'Bargaining chip' for China<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>She described China's recent announcements about the chip sector as a "bargaining chip" in its months-long tariffs negotiations with the US.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Beijing aims to pressure Washington into selling its advanced equipment or risk losing its position in such a large market, said Dr Jawad.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>These announcements project strength on China's part, even though it is likely to still want to buy American technology, he added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Most experts agree that China is still reliant on the US for the most powerful chips, at least for now.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Beijing needs access to some high-end American technology for its more advanced projects and to ensure it isn't left behind, said semiconductor engineer Raghavendra Anjanappa.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Realistically, China can reduce its dependence on American chips in less-advanced tools, but doesn't have the "raw performance" of US chips to train more complex AI systems, said Mr Raghavendra.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Despite a number of breakthroughs China still lacks the highly developed supply chains that have been long established in the US, South Korea and Taiwan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The US has also deployed export restrictions as it tries to slow down China's development of advanced technology, including Washington's decision to block Beijing's access to high-end Nvidia chips.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The US has "hit China exactly where its dependency is deepest," said Mr Raghavendra.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"But China's not far off in the grand scheme and they might only need five more years to be independent from the US."-bbc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The indigenous weavers who aim for empowerment over exploitation<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For every handwoven bag she sells on the palm-lined promenade of Riohacha, a city on Colombia's Caribbean coast, Sandra Aguilar feels that she's sharing a piece of her heritage.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Once used exclusively by the Wayuu, the largest indigenous group in the South American country, the bags - known as mochilas - are now a staple across Colombia, and popular with foreign tourists.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But these days the bags are also increasingly sold in global boutiques, featured at fashion events around the world, and listed on platforms like Etsy, Amazon, and Instagram - reaching buyers who may never have set foot in Colombia.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Thanks to online posts, international visitors are becoming very knowledgeable about the mochila," Ms Aguilar says. "They recognise and appreciate its ancestral value."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Weaving has long been central to the Wayuu people, who number around 380,000 in Colombia. They have lived for centuries on the semi-arid peninsula of La Guajira in the northeast of the country, and extend into neighbouring Venezuela.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Techniques are passed down through generations, with geometric patterns on many mochilas reflecting clan identity, spirituality, and the natural world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Weaving is also a vital source of income in La Guajira, Colombia's second-poorest province, where two-thirds of the population live in poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For Ms Aguilar, both domestic mochila sales and exports have improved conditions in her rural Wayuu community of 11 families, and enabled her daughter and niece to attend university.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But while the growing global demand has improved opportunities for some, it has also brought challenges. Many artisans face exploitation, and there are concerns that traditional craftsmanship is being sacrificed for speed and commercial gain.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Some Wayuu women - supported by socially-conscious entrepreneurs - are working to access fairer export markets and promote the mochila's cultural value.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Prices for Wayuu mochilas vary considerably. A medium-sized lower quality bag - made with simpler designs and weaving techniques - can be found across Colombia for around $20 (£15) - sometimes less.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Higher-end bags typically start at around $80 and can rise to several hundred pounds, depending on the weaving time, complexity of the design.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Traditionally, mochilas were crafted over weeks, but rising demand led many weavers to develop faster techniques, producing simpler designs in two or three days.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sandra Aguilar stands above the mochilas she sells. She is wearing a patterned dress and holding a stripy mochila<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sandra Aguilar sells mochilas made by women in her extended Wayuu family<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For Colombian entrepreneur Laura Chica, compliments on the Wayuu bag she was using during a trip to Europe sparked a business idea. She founded mochila company Chila Bags back in 2013. "Instagram was just starting, and the brand began to take off," she says.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Ms Chica says she focuses on high-quality bags incorporating traditional patterns and elements. The bags reflect the artisans' skills, time, and heritage, for which they receive a fair wage, she says.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Her brand has been featured in magazines, such as Vogue China, and showcased at international fashion weeks and high-end retail spaces from Hawaii to London, Paris and Shanghai.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But does she think the flourishing popularity of mochilas has been beneficial for the Wayuu? For Ms Chica, that very much depends on which market you look at. She says two have developed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"There are brands, and those interested in the story behind how the bag is made, that want to keep sharing it with the world," she says. She adds that these provide a market for customers who value indigenous arts, sustainability and fair trade, and are willing to pay more.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But not all weavers have been able to access ways to work with such companies that pay decent prices, says Ms Chica. Instead she says that that many have to rely on a parallel market where quick production, sales and profits are prioritised, which undermines pay and the quality of the work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In Riohacha's Mercado Nuevo - a maze-like market bursting with colourful stalls selling yarn, chinchorros (traditional Wayuu hammocks) and mochilas - a group of women crouches on the concrete floor, weaving.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>They explain that intermediaries, or middlemen, may offer them as little as $5.50 per bag, but after paying for thread and transport, they often earn as little as $1.50 - excluding the time spent weaving.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Many such Wayuu weavers come from rural, isolated communities where only Wayuunaiki - the Wayuu language - is spoken. This makes it difficult for them to access a broader customer base and navigate economic opportunities. As a result, they sell to the middlemen.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Some Wayuu women are being forced to accept whatever price, benefiting everyone except the women themselves," says Paula Restrepo, director of Fundación Talento Colectivo.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Her organisation supports female weavers, whom she and many others recognise as skilled artisans, through education and training.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>She is keen to stress that not all intermediaries are harmful. Instead, she says that the reputable ones, which she calls "solidarity intermediaries" help establish an equitable system for purchasing mochilas, ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions through fair trade principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Her foundation has partnered with mochila brand and non-profit organisation One Thread Collective to provide the weavers with leadership workshops. "The idea is that the artisans prepare themselves to be autonomous, to be entrepreneurs, to be capable in the future of being in contact with other clients," says Ms Restrepo.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A weaver working as she sits on the floor in the Mercado Nuevo market<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The weavers in Riohacha's Mercado Nuevo work on the concrete floor<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>One of the weavers who has taken part in the workshops is Yamile Vangrieken. Sitting on a bright orange chinchorro at her home on the outskirts of Riohacha, she explains she leads a group of eight relatives from the rural community where her family is from.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>She acts as a bridge between them - many of whom don't speak Spanish and haven't ever been to the city - and One Thread Collective, which helps them export their bags, while providing stable income, thread and microloans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Ms Vangrieken's weaving has helped support her teenage daughter, who herself began weaving at just four-years-old. Ms Vangrieken hopes she'll finish school, go to university, and keep weaving by choice - not out of financial necessity.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>While mochilas are gaining international recognition, that doesn't always translate into higher sales for every business.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Brandon Miller is an American entrepreneur based in Riohacha. He runs Wayuumarket.com, a platform that helps Wayuu artisans sell directly to international buyers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He says his orders have slumped, not due to a lack of interest, but because more foreign businesses are travelling to La Guajira to source the bags directly, communicating through AI tools like ChatGPT and translation apps.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Yamile Vangrieken works on making a bag as she sits in an orange and red coloured hammock<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Yamile Vangrieken earns enough money to support her daugther<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But buying online has changed too. Mr Miller says influencers - especially from China and Thailand - started streaming live from La Guajira on platforms like TikTok, offering real-time purchases to their followers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Shifts in demand, and how mochilas are sold, have raised concerns about control over the bags' design, narrative, and profits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Back on Riohacha's promenade, Ms Aguilar says the bag's fashion rise has led artisans to adapt or add elements, such as elaborate beading, religious icons, or even football club logos. She worries that these sales strategies are eroding cultural norms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But she remains positive. Recognition is increasing - not only of the Wayuu bags - but of the indigenous group and the weavers themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We are also artists, even if we don't have a title that says so," she says.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Our essence is in our designs, in our products and we mustn't let that go. When we lose our customs and traditions, we are left with nothing."-bbc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>House-buying shake-up plan aims to cut costs and time<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Plans for a major reform of the house-buying system, which aim to cut costs, reduce delays and halve failed sales, have been unveiled by the government.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Under the new proposals, sellers and estate agents will be legally required to provide key information about a property up front, and binding contracts introduced to stop either party walking away late in the deal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The government estimates the overhaul could save first-time buyers an average of £710 and cut up to four weeks off the time it takes to complete a typical property deal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Buying a home should be a dream, not a nightmare. Our reforms will fix the broken system," said Housing Secretary Steve Reed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of families and first-time buyers could benefit from the reforms.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Those in the middle of a chain could also potentially gain a net saving of £400 as a result of the increased costs from selling being outweighed by lower buying expenses.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The consultation draws on other jurisdictions, including the Scottish system where there is more upfront information and earlier binding contracts.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>This will include being up front about the condition of the home, any leasehold costs, and details of property chains.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The government says this transparency will reduce the risk of deals collapsing late in the process and improve confidence among buyers, particularly those purchasing a home for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The planned introduction of binding contracts is intended to halve the number of failed transactions, which currently cost the UK economy an estimated £1.5bn a year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Miatta Fahnbulleh, told BBC Breakfast the plans to get sellers to arrange the house survey means buyers would get all the information "upfront".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"You know what you're getting, you don't have this thing that every time, for example, there is a new buyer because the transaction failed and you need to do another survey," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"In Scotland, where they do this, you see that it drives down the number of failed transactions."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The reforms also aim to boost professional standards across the housing sector.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A new mandatory Code of Practice for estate agents and conveyancers is being proposed, along with the introduction of side-by-side performance data to help buyers choose trusted professionals based on expertise and track record.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The government said a full roadmap for the changes would be published in the new year, forming part of its broader housing strategy, which includes a pledge to build 1.5 million new homes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Conservative shadow housing minister Paul Holmes said: "Whilst we welcome steps to digitise and speed up the process, this risks reinventing the last Labour government's failed Home Information Packs - which reduced the number of homes put on sale, and duplicated costs across buyers and sellers."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Conservatives to pledge £5,000 tax rebate for young homebuyers<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch spoke at the party's conference in Manchester as it began on Sunday<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Conservatives will set out plans to "reward work" by giving young people a £5,000 tax rebate towards their first home when they get their first full time job.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In his speech to the party's conference in Manchester, shadow chancellor Mel Stride is expected to announce proposals for a "first-job bonus" that would divert national insurance payments into a long-term savings account.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The party says the plans will be funded by cuts to public spending worth £47bn over five years in areas such as welfare, the civil service and the foreign aid budget.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sir Mel's speech on Monday is expected to say that there is "no more pretending we can keep spending money we simply do not have".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Proposals include stopping welfare claims for people with "low-level mental health problems" and reducing the number of civil servants by around 132,000, a reduction of around a quarter.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sir Mel will also say his party would reduce aid spending by £7 billion to 0.1% of national income.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The conference in Manchester marks almost one year since Kemi Badenoch was elected party leader.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In the last 12 months, the party has struggled to counter the political threat posed by Reform UK and suffered heavy defeats in this year's local elections.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>During their conference, which began on Sunday, the Conservatives are hoping to portray themselves as more competent and more credible - particularly on public spending - than their political rivals.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It comes as the Labour government has unveiled major housing market reform plans which will aim to cut costs, reduce delays and halve failed sales.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Hundreds of thousands of families and first-time buyers could benefit from the reforms, in what the government claims would be the biggest house buying shakeup in decades.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The battle is on for the Conservatives to show they matter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>My approach will pay off eventually, says Kemi Badenoch<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tories pledge to remove 750,000 migrants under borders plan<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In his conference speech on Monday, Sir Mel will say: "We must get on top of government spending.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We cannot deliver stability unless we live within our means.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We're the only party that gets it. The only party that will stand up for fiscal responsibility."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>His proposals include saving:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>£23bn from the welfare bill<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>£8bn by bringing civil servant numbers from 517,000 down to 2016 levels of 384,000<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>£7bn from the overseas aid budget<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>£3.5bn by ending the use of hotels to home asylum seekers<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>£4bn by ensuring benefits and social housing are reserved for UK nationals<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>£1.6bn by scrapping environmental policies, including cutting subsidies for heat pumps and electric vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Earlier this year, the Labour government sought to cut nearly £5bn from the disability and health-related benefits bill but had to backtrack after a rebellion by its own MPs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has suggested the government will return to the issue, telling the BBC that changes to the welfare system "must happen".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast that total spending on health and disability benefits would rise from £64.7bn in 2023-24 to £100.7bn in 2029-30.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Tories argue they can reduce the bill by reviewing exemptions for the Household Benefit Cap, limiting the VAT subsidy for Motability - which allows claimants to lease vehicles - and changing obligations for job-seekers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It says it would stop claims for people suffering from "low-level health" mental health problems arguing that "what is really needed is treatment and support, not cash".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It also says it would keep in place the two-child benefit cap, which prevents households on universal or child tax credit from receiving payments for a third or subsequent child born after April 2017.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Labour government has been under pressure to remove the cap, with many of its backbenchers arguing the limit has increased the number of children in poverty.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Resolution Foundation says axing the cap would lift 470,000 children out of poverty and would cost around £3.5bn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Badenoch has previously defended the cap saying it was a matter of "fairness" and Conservatives believed people on benefits "should have to make the same choices on having children as everyone else".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Earlier this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he would cut the UK's aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% in 2027 in order to pay for an increase in defence spending.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Conservatives say further reducing spending to 0.1% would save nearly £7bn.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Currently, a portion of the existing aid budget is used to pay for hotels to accommodate asylum seekers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank welcomed some of the proposals but warned the Conservatives not to ignore "elephant in the room" of age-related spending such as pensions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tom Clougherty, IEA executive director, said: "Ultimately, no political party is going to be able to balance the books only by cutting things their supporters don't like.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Without that, other cuts are likely to amount to running to stand still."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Conservatives have not committed to changing the triple lock, which guarantees that the state pension will go up each year in line with either inflation, wage increases or 2.5% - whichever is the highest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Romilly Greenhill, chief executive of Bond, the network of international development organisations, said the proposed aid budget cuts were "reckless, short-sighted, and morally indefensible".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Conservative conference comes six weeks before Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivers her Budget on 26 November.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>During the election, Labour promised not to increase income tax, National Insurance or VAT for working people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>However, there has been speculation that Reeves will need to raise taxes in order to meet her self-imposed rules for public spending and debt.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In a report in March, the Office for Budget Responsibility said the chancellor only had a "very small margin" - £10bn buffer - in which to operate.-BBC<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>How the US got left behind in the global electric car race<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>You could be forgiven for thinking that electric cars might finally be gaining momentum in the US.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>After all, sales of battery cars topped 1.2 million last year, more than five times the number just four years earlier. Hybrid sales have jumped by a factor of three.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Battery-powered cars accounted for 10% of overall sales in August - a new high, according to S&P Global Mobility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>And in updates to investors this week, General Motors, Ford, Tesla and other companies all reported record electric sales over the past three months.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>This marked a bright spot in an industry wrestling with the fallout from still high interest rates and buyers on edge over inflation, tariffs and the wider economy.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But analysts say the boom was caused by a dash to buy before the end of a government subsidy that helped knock as much as $7,500 (£5,588) off the price of certain battery electric, plug-in hybrid or fuel cell vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>With that tax credit gone as of the end of September, carmakers are expecting momentum to shift into reverse.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"It's going to be a vibrant industry, but it's going to be smaller, way smaller than we thought," Ford chief executive Jim Farley said at an event on Tuesday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"I expect that EV demand is going to drop off pretty precipitously," the chief financial officer of General Motors, Paul Jacobson, said at a conference last month, adding it would take time to see how quickly buyers would come back.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Even with the recent gains, the US, the world's second biggest car market, stood out as a laggard in electric car sales compared to much of the rest of the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In the UK, for example, sales of battery electric and hybrid cars made up nearly 30% of new sales last year, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Latest industry figures suggest that number is even higher.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In Europe, they accounted for roughly one in five sales, while in China, the world's biggest car market, sales of such cars accounted for almost half of overall sales last year, according to the IEA, and they are expected to become the majority this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Take-up in some other countries, like Norway and Nepal, is even greater.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Electric vehicles (EVs) tend to account for a smaller share of sales in Latin America, Africa and other parts of Asia - but growth there has been surging.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Policy differences<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Analysts say adoption in the US has been slowed by comparatively weak government support for the sector, which has limited the kinds of subsidies, trade-in programmes and rules that have helped the industry in places such as China, the UK and Europe.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Former President Joe Biden pushed hard to increase take-up, aiming for electric cars to account for half of all sales in the US by 2030.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>His administration tightened rules on emissions, boosted demand through purchases for government fleets, nudged carmakers to invest with loans and grants for EV investments, spent billions building charging stations and expanded the $7,500 tax credit as a sweetener for buyers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Supporters cast those efforts in part as a competitive imperative, warning that without these US carmakers would risk losing out to competitors from China and other countries.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But President Donald Trump, who recently called climate change a "con job", has pushed to scrap many of those measures, including the $7,500 credit, arguing that they were pushing people to buy cars they would not otherwise want.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We're saying ... you're not going to be forced to make all of those cars," he said this summer, while signing a bill aimed at striking down rules from California, which would have phased out sales of petrol-only cars in the state by 2035. "You can make them, but it'll be by the market, judged by the market."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bloomberg via Getty Images A row of BYD Dolphin compact hatchback electric vehicles illuminated by fluorescent lights at a manufacturing plantBloomberg via Getty Images<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Electric cars have become more affordable in the US in recent years - but they still cost more than comparable petrol-powered vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>And Chinese carmakers like BYD, which have made rapid inroads in other markets thanks to low prices, have been effectively shut out of the US, due to high tariffs targeting cars made in China, backed by both Biden and Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>As of August, the average transaction price of an electric car in the US was more than $57,000, according to auto industry research firm Kelley Blue Book, about 16% higher than the average for all cars.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The least expensive battery car on offer, a Nissan Leaf, costs about $30,000 (£22,000). By comparison, several models can be found for under £20,000 in the UK.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Analysts say what buyers do next hinges on how carmakers set prices in the months ahead, as they contend not only with the end of the tax credit but also tariffs on foreign cars and certain car parts that Trump introduced this spring.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Hyundai said this week it would offset the loss of the tax credit by lowering the price for its range of Ioniq EVs. But Tesla said the cost for monthly lease payments of some of its cars would rise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Stephanie Brinley, associate director of S&P Global Mobility, said she did not expect to see many firms follow Hyundai's example, given the pressures from tariffs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>While some buyers may opt for EVs anyway, "next year is going to be hard," she warned, noting that her firm is calling for overall car sales to fall by roughly 2% in 2026.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"It would have been difficult enough if all you had to deal with is new tariffs, but with new tariffs and the incentive going away, there's two impacts."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Carmakers had already been scaling back their investments in electric cars.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Researchers say Trump's policy changes could reduce those investments even more.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"It's a big hit to the EV industry - there's no tiptoeing around it," said Katherine Yusko, research analyst at the American Security Project<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The subsidies were initially a way to level the playing field and now that they're gone the US has a lot of ground to make up."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>However Ms Brinley said she was hesitant to declare the US behind in an industry still testing out technology alternatives.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Is [electric] really the right thing?" she said. "Saying that we're behind assumes that this is the only and best solution and I think it's a little early to say that."-BBC<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Kremlin-backed crypto coin moves $6bn despite US sanctions<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A Kremlin-backed cryptocurrency operation appears to have succeeded in circumventing US sanctions, moving at least $6bn since August when some of its entities were blacklisted — highlighting the limits of western efforts to curb Russia’s financial flows.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>More than 80 per cent of A7A5, a stablecoin at the heart of Russia’s growing cross-border payments empire, was swiftly destroyed and recreated to be cleared of links to a crypto exchange that had been just sanctioned by Washington, according to a Financial Times analysis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>A7A5 is part of A7, a growing cross-border payments system built as an alternative to the US-led financial system, from which Russian lenders were cut off after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Washington added Grinex, a Kyrgyzstan-based exchange, to its sanctions list in August, the latest step in its attempt to curb Russia’s crypto infrastructure. Grinex is an alleged successor of Garantex, which US law enforcement took down in March for “hacking, ransomware, terrorism and drug trafficking”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Grinex denies any connection to Garantex.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>According to the FT analysis, starting the day after the August designation A7A5 administrators deleted the contents of two wallets connected to Grinex, which were carrying a total of 33.8bn tokens worth $405mn. That represents more than 80 per cent of the total number of A7A5 in circulation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The wallets’ account balances were set to zero using an instruction called “destroyBlackFunds” that designates their tokens as “dirtyShares”.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But soon after, tokens worth the same amount were created in a new wallet, in effect moving the funds and giving them a clean slate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Unlike a regular transfer, this method breaks the link between the old and new accounts, making it harder to establish a connection between the tokens that had been targeted by sanctions and the newly-minted ones.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>This wallet was involved in $6.1bn worth of transactions since August, the FT found.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Activity on the new wallet mirrors patterns observed on its predecessors. The wallet has shared 11 counterparties and executed transfers during Moscow working hours. Activity peaks between 10am-12pm local time, with little movement overnight or on weekends.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>-ft<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>OPEC+ opts for modest oil output hike as supply glut fears mount<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>OPEC+ will raise oil output from November by 137,000 barrels per day (bpd), it said on Sunday, opting for the same fairly modest monthly increase as in October amid persistent worries over a looming supply glut.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The group comprising the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and some smaller producers has increased its oil output targets by more than 2.7 million bpd this year, equating to about 2.5% of global demand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The shift in policy after years of cuts is designed to regain market share from rivals such as U.S. shale producers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Supply glut seen in fourth quarter<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Oil prices settled higher on Friday but posted a weekly loss of 8.1% after news of potential increases to OPEC+ supply.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Brent<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> crude futures closed up 42 cents, or 0.7%, at $64.53 a barrel by, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> crude was up 40 cents, or 0.7%, at $60.88.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>For the week, Brent fell 8.1%, the largest weekly loss in over three months. WTI tumbled 7.4% in the week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Prices are trading below this year’s peaks of $82 per barrel but above $60 per barrel seen in May.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In the run-up to the meeting, Russia and Saudi Arabia, the two biggest producers in the OPEC+ group, had different views, sources have said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Russia was advocating for a modest output increase, the same as in October, to avoid pressuring oil prices and because it would struggle to raise output owing to sanctions over its war in Ukraine, two sources said this week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Saudi Arabia would have preferred double, triple or even quadruple that figure — 274,000 bpd, 411,000 bpd or 548,000 bpd, respectively — because it has spare capacity and wants to regain market share more quickly, sources said ahead of the meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>OPEC views the global economic outlook as steady and market fundamentals as healthy because of low oil inventories, it said in a statement on Sunday.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Walking a tightrope<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Scott Shelton at TP ICAP Group said oil prices may rise on Monday by up to $1 per barrel as the November production increase turned out to be modest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Jorge Leon at Rystad Energy said: “OPEC+ stepped carefully after witnessing how nervous the market had become ... The group is walking a tightrope between maintaining stability and clawing back market share in a surplus environmen.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>OPEC+ output cuts had peaked in March, amounting to 5.85 million bpd in total. The cuts were made up of three elements: voluntary cuts of 2.2 million bpd, 1.65 million bpd by eight members and a further 2 million bpd by the whole group.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The eight producers plan to fully unwind one element of those cuts - 2.2 million bpd — by the end of September. For October, they started removing the second layer of 1.65 million bpd with the increase of 137,000 bpd.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The eight producers will meet again on Nov. 2.-ft<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gold Powers Toward $4,000 as US Government Shutdown Drags On<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gold rose to a record, nearing $4,000-an-ounce, as looming US interest rate cuts and the prospect of a prolonged federal government shutdown lifted demand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The precious metal rallied as much as 1.5% to top $3,945 an ounce in the week’s opening session, with prices lifted about 50% this year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gold-backed exchange-traded funds swelled again last week, with private investors contributing to the latest leg in the rally and total holdings expanding the most in more than three years last month.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gold rose to a record, nearing $4,000-an-ounce, as looming US interest rate cuts and the prospect of a prolonged federal government shutdown lifted demand.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The precious metal rallied as much as 1.5% to top $3,945 an ounce in the week’s opening session. The upswing, which follows a run of seven weekly gains, has lifted prices about 50% this year. Gold-backed exchange-traded funds swelled again last week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The US shutdown has delayed key data, making a murky economic outlook more unclear. With a lack of official figures, traders are depending on private reports for signals, while the US central bank is also finding it challenging to assess changing conditions. Traders are still pricing in a quarter-point cut this month, which would benefit gold further as it doesn’t pay interest.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gold Hits Record as Shutdown Persists<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bullion has more than doubled over the past two years<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Source: Bloomberg<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bullion has pushed higher this year, spurred by central-bank purchases as they diversify away from the US</span></b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> dollar. Economic and geopolitical uncertainties triggered by the Trump administration, as well as Federal Reserve rate cuts, have also provided tailwinds. Investors have flocked to assets like gold, silver and Bitcoin, in what’s been dubbed the “debasement trade,” fueled by concerns about fiat currencies.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Private investors piling into gold-backed exchange-traded funds have contributed to the latest leg in the rally, with total holdings expanding the most in more than three years last month. Strong flows continued in the first few days of October.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Read More: Gold, Bitcoin Surge as ‘Debasement Trade’ Weighs on Currencies<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Fund flows have “been nothing short of remarkable,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Phillip Nova Pte. It’s “a testament to how deeply embedded the ‘buy-the-dip-in-gold’ mindset has become,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Gold rose 1.4% to trade at $3,943.89 an ounce at 8:58 a.m. in London. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index advanced 0.5%. Silver, platinum and palladium all climbed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The “backdrop is intact with the Fed on path to cut rates further, alongside the weakening labor market,” said Ahmad Assiri, an analyst at Pepperstone Group Ltd. However, “it feels like the risk-reward dynamics are shifting and a tactical pullback would be viewed as a healthy phase within an extended rally,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Aston Martin shares fall 10% as luxury carmaker issues fresh profit warning on tariff turmoil<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Aston Martin DB12 Goldfinger Edition is pictured during the 007 takeover of Burlington Arcade on October 29, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Burlington Arcade)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Aston Martin DB12 Goldfinger Edition during the 007 takeover of Burlington Arcade on Oct. 29, 2024, in London, England.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Shares of Aston Martin fell as much as 10% on Monday morning after the British luxury carmaker issued a fresh profit warning, citing a challenging industry outlook and uncertainties over tariffs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The company, which is famed for both its role in the James Bond movies and its history of financial ups and downs, said it expects its 2025 total wholesale volumes to fall by a “mid-high single digit percentage” compared to last year’s 6,030 units.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Aston Martin also said it no longer expects positive free cash flow generation in the second half of the year and initiated an immediate review of future cost and capital expenditure.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Analysts had expected the company to log an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) loss of £110 million ($147.8 million), according to estimates compiled by the company.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>“The global macroeconomic environment facing the industry remains challenging,” the automaker said in a release Monday. “This includes uncertainties over the economic impact from U.S. tariffs and the implementation of the quota mechanism, changes to China’s ultra-luxury car taxes and the increased potential for supply chain pressures.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Shares of Aston Martin were trading around 7.6% lower at 9:15 a.m. London time (4:15 a.m. ET). The stock is down around 24% year-to-date.-cnbc<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tesla teases new product reveal on October 7<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The company released two short videos on the social media platform X– one featuring a spinning wheel or turbine, and the other featuring the illuminated headlights of a vehicle– touting the date October 7.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The tease comes amid growing focus on an affordable model from the electric vehicle maker, as it struggles with declining sales, an aging lineup, and heightened competition from Chinese players. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tesla had last week reported record-high deliveries in the September quarter. But the figure was seen as largely driven by increased purchasing before the expiration of U.S. tax credits on EVs, with the company now set to face increased sales pressure in the coming quarters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Tesla was also seen losing ground in Europe and China, amid heavy competition from local automakers in both regions. China’s BYD Co (HK:1211) has been a major competitor for Tesla in recent quarters, and had outsold the EV maker in several markets outside the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>CEO Elon Musk has repeatedly touted self-driving, artificial intelligence, and robotics as the next major growth drivers for Tesla. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or remove ads.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Should you invest $2,000 in TSLA right now?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Most investors will find it hard to answer that question with total confidence. Short of a guarantee, which no one can give you, the most successful traders stick to proven best practices without letting hype or hyper-vigilance take over their better judgment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>But that doesn't mean you can't use smart shortcuts. If you're considering TSLA, try chatting with WarrenAI, our powerful AI financial assistant.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>It's just like ChatGPT for investors, but with access to 10 years of company data, a built-in screener, Wall Street analysts' reports, and earnings call transcripts for real-time, vetted insights.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Even if you end up going with your gut feeling, at least you'll know why.investing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Eli Lilly to invest over $1 billion in India to expand manufacturing capacity<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>(Reuters) - Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab will invest more than $1 billion in India in the coming years to boost manufacturing and supply through local drugmakers, the company said on Monday, as it seeks to tap into skilled workforce to bolster its global manufacturing expansion.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The collaborations aim to increase the availability of Lilly's key drugs, including those for obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer and autoimmune conditions, the company said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We are making significant investments to increase manufacturing and medicine supply capacity around the world," Patrik Jonsson, president of Lilly International, said, adding, India is a hub for capability building within its global network.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The company, which launched its blockbuster weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India this year, currently does not operate its own manufacturing facility in the country, which hosts several firms that develop and manufacture complex drugs, vials, injectables for larger pharmaceuticals on a contract basis.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Lilly is actively engaging with contract manufacturers in India," the company told Reuters, but did not divulge any further details.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Lilly's investment plans in India come at a time when global drugmakers are rushing to bolster U.S. manufacturing capacity after the Trump administration imposed a 100% tariff on imported branded and patented drugs from October 1.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Last month, Lilly announced a $5 billion investment in a new facility in Virginia, part of a $27 billion expansion plan to build four new U.S. plants over the next five years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Meanwhile, the India launch of Mounjaro, alongside Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab Wegovy, has increased patient awareness of obesity treatments in a country projected to have the world's second-largest obese population by 2050.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Sales of both drugs doubled within months of their launch.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Lilly is also preparing for increased competition from India's generic drugmakers, who are racing to launch cheaper versions of Wegovy once its main chemical ingredient, semaglutide, goes off patent next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Patients flock daily to a clinic in this part of Srinagar in India's Jammu and Kashmir territory.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Separately, Lilly is setting up a manufacturing and quality facility in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad to expand its presence beyond the city's global capability center.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The new hub will oversee the firm's contract manufacturing network across India and provide technical capabilities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Recruitment for the new site "will begin immediately", Lilly said, with plans to hire engineers, chemists, analytical scientists, quality control and assurance experts and managers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>China bets on Europe for self-driving tech expansion<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>(Reuters) - Blocked from the U.S. market, Chinese self-driving technology firms are accelerating their push into Europe, setting up headquarters, striking data deals, and road-testing - prompting alarm from local rivals over competition concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>In China, the world's largest car market, more than half of cars sold - including many entry-level models - now offer autonomous driving technology, sometimes as standard.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Beijing is pushing its companies to dominate autonomous-vehicle development globally while crafting national regulations to provide a clear roadmap at home.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>That expansion is already underway. Reuters spoke to a dozen company executives who described how Chinese firms are using Europe as a beachhead for global expansion, mirroring the push with electric vehicles.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"We're focusing on Europe for our global future," said Dong Li, chief technology officer of QCraft, which announced plans for a new German headquarters at last month's Munich auto show, citing a more open environment than in the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"There are barriers in the U.S. market," he said, referring to U.S. national security concerns over the data that autonomous driving systems collect.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Europe offers a more open regulatory environment, the companies said, although driver-assistance systems there are currently limited to a few luxury models and developers complain about patchwork regulation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Friday for a continent-wide push to develop self-driving cars, acknowledging they were already a reality in the United States and China.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"The same should be true here in Europe," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>CHINESE FIRMS TARGET EUROPE FOR GROWTH<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>QCraft, a Beijing-based startup that supplies driver-assistance systems, is working with Chinese and European automakers and expects to sell its technology in Europe within two years.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Buses in 26 Chinese cities operate QCraft's Level-4 autonomous technology, meaning they can drive for extended periods without human intervention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Deeproute.ai, another Chinese firm focused on supplying Level-4 technology to automakers, plans to build a European data center once it secures deals now under discussion with European and Chinese automakers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Leading Chinese autonomous-tech developer Momenta, which supplies systems to automakers including Toyota and General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab, has partnered with Uber (UBER.N), opens new tab to start testing Level-4 technology in Germany next year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Momenta announced in September it will supply driver-assistance technology for Mercedes-Benz in China, starting with the electric CLA sedan. Mercedes has started testing the same technology in Europe, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Momenta "has its eye on that prize: Europe", one of the sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>EUROPEAN STARTUPS WANT FAIR COMPETITION<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Other leading Chinese self-driving players including WeRide, Baidu and Pony.ai are also expanding in Europe, said Yvette Zhang, automotive consultant with research firm AlixPartners.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Like Chinese EV makers, they see an opportunity to generate higher profits than they can make in China's overcrowded market.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Investors expect growth," she said. "They are looking for other markets to grow."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Some European rivals want subsidies and protectionist trade policies while others recognise that Chinese competition could sharpen technology industry-wide and accelerate Europe's lagging development.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Jim Hutchinson, CEO of British startup Fusion Processing, which plans Level-4 driverless bus tests next year, argues for stricter oversight, citing national-security and competitive concerns.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"If we want to have this technology, we need higher levels of regulation and a bit of intervention for a level playing field," Hutchinson said.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>'EUROPE IS THE ONLY MARKET THEY CAN COME TO'<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Advanced driver-assistance systems that remain pricey in Europe are being offered cheaply – even free – in China by automakers looking to differentiate themselves in the price war.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>According to research firm Canalys, about 15 million cars sold in China this year - more than 60% - will have Level-2 technology, which allows automated driving under certain conditions but requires human drivers' attention.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Chinese regulators in June approved nine automakers for public-road testing of Level-3 systems that allow drivers to look away in most circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Following a U.S. ban on China connected-car technology under President Joe Biden, European governments have been seen as more accommodating to Chinese cars and technology, said Tu Le, founder of consultancy Sino Auto Insights.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"Europe is the only market they can come to," he said. "They have to make their move."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of European autonomous-tech firm Wayve, advocates for an open market with streamlined regulations. Chinese competition, he told Reuters, will accelerate growth in a fledgling industry.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>"How many autonomous vehicles are there in the world today? Not many, right?" Kendall asked. "Even if you're in some subset of the world, there's acres of space to grow."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>At September's Munich auto show, Chinese self-driving firms including Momenta, QCraft, Horizon Robotics (9660.HK), opens new tab and DeepRoute.ai showed up in force for the first time, alongside Chinese EV makers, to tout their low-priced systems.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Momenta's Level-4 testing with Uber will start in Munich, the hometown of BMW (BMWG.DE), opens new tab, which partners with Momenta in China. The Uber partnership is the "starting point for a broader rollout across Europe," Momenta's European chairman Gerhard Steiger said at the show.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>DeepRoute.ai CEO Maxwell Zhou echoed that ambition in an interview: "Europe is a huge market," he said. "It's very important for us."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>EU SEEKS UNIFIED RULES TO COMPETE GLOBALLY<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Europe's self-driving technology firms are testing their own systems but most European countries do not allow public deployment of anything beyond basic Level 2 systems that require drivers to maintain control at all times.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>The European Commission is aiming to harmonize a fragmented regulatory landscape for testing and eventual deployment of more sophisticated systems. For now, such testing is limited to a few markets including Britain and Germany.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Berlin-based startup Vay is currently testing self-driving technology for robotaxis and buses in Germany and runs a remotely-driven rental car service in Las Vegas and with D'leteren's (IETB.BR), opens new tab car rental unit Poppy Mobility.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Vay co-founder Fabrizio Scelsi supports the EU push for simplified regional regulations and calls for more government backing to bolster domestic players while embracing foreign innovation.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>He said Chinese competition will force "European players to sharpen their strategies very quickly," as the race for autonomous dominance shifts gear.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Reporting by Nick Carey; Additional reporting by Rachel More and Norihiko Sihrouzu; additional reporting by Daniel Leussink in Tokyo. Editing by Adam Jourdan, Brian Thevenot and Elaine Hardcastle<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-right:50.35pt;line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:10.05pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=X-NONE style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> </span><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Invest Wisely!</span></i><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Bulls n Bears </span></b><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Courier New";color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Cellphone: +263 71 944 1674 | +27 79 993 5557 <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Email: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:bulls@bullszimbabwe.com"><span style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>bulls@bullszimbabwe.com</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Website: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.bullszimbabwe.com"><span style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>www.bullszimbabwe.com</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Blog: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.bullszimbabwe.com/blog"><span style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>www.bullszimbabwe.com/blog</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Twitter (X): @bullsbears2010<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>LinkedIn: Bulls n Bears Zimbabwe<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%;background:white'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>Facebook: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe"><span style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>www.facebook.com/BullsBearsZimbabwe</span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.5pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:33.35pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><img border=0 width=278 height=115 id="_x0000_i1028" src="cid:image004.png@01DC345B.5D02B8C0"></span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-left:36.0pt;line-height:115%;background:white'><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#222222;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:10.05pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><strong><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:#345883'>INVESTORS DIARY 2025</span></strong><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:12.6pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Company</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Event</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Venue</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Date & Time</span></b><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=207 style='width:155.5pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=top style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Trebuchet MS",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:72.0pt;text-indent:-72.0pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#D9D9D9;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'>Companies under Cautionary<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#D9D9D9;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#D9D9D9;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><b><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>CBZH<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>GetBucks<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>EcoCash<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Padenga<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Econet<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>RTG<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>Fidelity<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>TSL<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'>FMHL<o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:3.25pt'><td width=382 colspan=2 valign=top style='width:286.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=353 style='width:264.7pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=175 valign=bottom style='width:131.3pt;border-top:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-right:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoBodyText style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:3.25pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr style='height:99.35pt'><td width=910 colspan=4 style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;height:99.35pt'><p class=MsoBodyText align=center style='margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:info@bulls.co.zw"><span lang=EN-ZW style='color:windowtext;mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW;text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=804 height=268 id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image005.jpg@01DC345B.5D02B8C0"></span></a></span><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:11.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm;height:99.35pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#1F497D;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#1F497D;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:white'>DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from s believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and d from third parties.</span></i><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></i></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><i><span lang=EN-GB style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif;color:white'><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=top style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-GB style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> (c) 2025 Web: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="http://www.bullszimbabwe.com"><span lang=EN-GB style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>www.bullszimbabwe.com</span></a></span><span lang=EN-GB style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> Email: </span><span lang=EN-US><a href="mailto:bulls@bullszimbabwe.com"><span lang=EN-GB style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'>bulls@bullszimbabwe.com</span></a></span><span lang=EN-GB style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'> Tel: +27 79 993 5557 | +263 71 944 1674</span><span lang=EN-US style='mso-fareast-language:EN-ZW'><o:p></o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr><tr><td width=910 colspan=4 valign=bottom style='width:682.8pt;border:solid #BFBFBF 1.0pt;border-top:none;background:#F2F2F2;padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:8.0pt;line-height:105%;font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></td><td width=6 style='width:4.4pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 0cm'><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:105%'><span lang=EN-US style='font-family:"Verdana",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></td></tr></table></div><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>