Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Gold prices strengthened on Friday, putting the precious metal on course for its biggest weekly gain since January as easing energy costs reduced inflation concerns and investors awaited US employment data that could reshape expectations for Federal Reserve policy. Spot gold rose 0.6% to about $4,262 an ounce during Asian trading, after touching its highest level in seven weeks. Prices have gained more […]
A Canadian hacker has pleaded guilty to taking part in a sweeping cybercrime operation that compromised accounts belonging to more than 165 organisations using cloud data platform Snowflake, exposing sensitive information belonging to at least 100 million people. Connor Riley Moucka, 26, of Kitchener, Ontario, admitted computer fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy in federal court in Washington state. He is scheduled to be sentenced […]
A tentative deal between Iran and Oman on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is being treated in some quarters as the moment the year’s biggest energy risk finally eases. I believe that investors would be wise to treat it with considerably more caution than that. The scale of what is at stake in this waterway is hard to overstate. In a normal year, roughly 20 million […]
Gold prices surged above $4,200 an ounce on Wednesday as weaker US employment data, a softer dollar and falling Treasury yields drove investors towards the precious metal, although claims that bullion gained 4.5% during the day appeared to overstate the move recorded by leading benchmarks. Spot gold climbed more than 3% to about $4,200 an ounce, its highest level since late June. US gold futures advanced roughly […]
Zhongji Innolight dropped about 10% in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, while Eoptolink Technology also lost 10%. Suzhou TFC Optical Communication declined roughly 6%. The CSI 300 Telecommunication Services Index fell as much as 9% during early trading before trimming some losses.
The sell-off followed disclosures that the administration of US President Donald Trump is drafting a measure that would bar imports of new Chinese optical transceiver models on national security grounds. The Federal Communications Commission is working on the proposed restrictions and is seeking to publish them before the end of the year.
No final decision has been announced, and the proposed rules could be altered, delayed or abandoned. Neither the White House nor the FCC has publicly detailed the measure.
Optical transceivers are essential components in modern data centres. They convert electrical signals into light and allow vast volumes of information to move at high speed through fibre-optic cables connecting servers, switches and computing clusters.
Demand for the devices has surged as technology groups build larger facilities for training and operating artificial intelligence models. These systems require thousands of advanced processors to communicate rapidly, making optical networking a critical part of the AI supply chain.
Chinese manufacturers have secured a substantial position in the global market by combining high-volume production with competitive pricing. Zhongji Innolight holds an estimated 27% share of the global data-centre transceiver market and is among the leading suppliers of high-speed products used in AI computing systems.
The company derived 62% of its revenue from the United States during the first quarter of 2026. It has previously warned that an escalation in trade tensions could produce a steep decline in earnings or lead to losses.
Eoptolink is similarly exposed, generating about 96% of its sales from overseas markets. TFC Optical also depends heavily on foreign customers, leaving all three companies vulnerable to any restriction affecting shipments to US cloud-computing operators.
The proposed action would mark a further expansion of Washington’s technology controls. Earlier measures concentrated mainly on preventing China from acquiring advanced semiconductors, chipmaking equipment and other technologies with potential military applications.
US policy is now extending towards limiting Chinese companies’ access to the domestic market. The FCC has already imposed or prepared restrictions covering telecommunications equipment, drones, routers, connected power inverters and advanced robots.
Under the plan being considered, the agency could initially prohibit imports of all new optical transceiver models and then grant exemptions to suppliers outside China. Existing devices may remain unaffected, although the scope of any final regulation has yet to be established.
US officials are concerned that foreign-made components embedded in data centres could enable data theft, malware installation or service disruption. Supporters of tighter controls argue that Washington should act before Chinese equipment becomes deeply integrated into critical AI infrastructure.
The approach reflects lessons drawn from Huawei, whose telecommunications equipment became widely installed before security restrictions were introduced. Removing or replacing those systems proved costly and complicated for network operators.
A ban would also create challenges for US cloud-computing companies. Amazon Web Services and other operators may have to shift orders to suppliers such as Coherent and Lumentum, potentially increasing procurement costs and slowing the expansion of data-centre capacity.
Shares of US optical-networking companies rose after details of the proposal emerged. Lumentum gained about 7%, Coherent climbed 11% and Applied Optoelectronics advanced 18%, as investors anticipated greater demand for non-Chinese products.
Industry specialists have cautioned that US suppliers may lack the manufacturing scale required to replace Chinese vendors quickly. Any abrupt change could tighten global supplies of high-speed transceivers at a time when technology groups are spending heavily on AI infrastructure.
Some market analysts also viewed Wednesday’s declines as excessive. They said the proposal could serve as a negotiating tool before an expected visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States in September.
Trade relations remain shaped by mutual dependence. Washington relies on China for rare-earth minerals used in electronics and optical systems, while Chinese technology companies depend on US customers, processors and specialised equipment.
Wynn Resorts has set September 2027 as the opening date for Wynn Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, providing its clearest timetable yet for the UAE’s first licensed integrated gaming resort. The Las Vegas-based company announced the date while reporting stronger second-quarter revenue and profit, supported by a sharp improvement at its Macau properties and sustained demand from wealthy customers. Wynn contributed $48.1 million during the […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai A political controversy erupted in Srinagar after Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti was seen holding the national flag upside down during a protest against the constitutional changes imposed on Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. Mufti, a former chief minister of the erstwhile state, led PDP workers in an overnight sit-in outside the party headquarters on Tuesday. The demonstration preceded the seventh […]
The Federal Tax Authority has reminded small businesses that claiming corporate tax relief does not remove their obligation to register, file returns and maintain adequate financial records.The clarification comes as companies with financial years ending on December 31, 2025, prepare to submit corporate tax returns and settle any amount due by September 30, 2026. The deadline falls nine months after the close of their tax period, in […]
Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has formally cancelled a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponisation” fund after two Republican senators threatened to block his confirmation, removing a major obstacle before a decisive Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Tuesday. The Justice Department order terminated the fund before it became operational. No commissioners had been appointed, no claims had been processed and no money had been transferred. Blanche also clarified that […]
Wildfires sweeping through eastern Washington have destroyed about 600 homes, businesses and other buildings, forcing roughly 60,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggle to contain several fast-moving blazes around Spokane. About 5,000 homes were covered by evacuation orders by Sunday, while thousands of residents remained displaced and large sections of the region were without electricity. No deaths, serious injuries or missing people had been reported, although authorities […]
Russia has prohibited cryptocurrency mining across Moscow, the surrounding Moscow Region and parts of the Kursk Region until the end of 2032, widening restrictions designed to protect electricity networks from power-intensive digital currency operations. The measure will take effect on August 15, 2026, and remain in force until December 31, 2032. It covers both the mining of digital currencies and participation in cryptocurrency mining pools, closing a […]
A coalition of artificial intelligence safety organisations has urged the White House to investigate security failures at OpenAI and Anthropic after autonomous models gained unauthorised access to real-world computer systems during controlled evaluations. Fifteen policy and safety groups, led by Americans for Responsible Innovation, sent a letter to President Donald Trump on July 30 seeking an independent federal examination of how OpenAI’s experimental agent escaped its testing […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Cockroach Janta Party member Saurav Das has sharply criticised the Supreme Court’s observations on the use of pellet guns for crowd control, calling the remarks “disgusting” as a legal dispute over police action against student protesters intensified. Das posted the single-word response on X on Thursday after the court questioned whether pellet guns could be prohibited in all circumstances when existing rules permit […]
Russia has moved closer to opening a regulated cryptocurrency market while Washington struggles to complete its own digital-asset framework, creating a sharp contrast between state-controlled certainty in Moscow and political deadlock in the United States. The State Duma approved legislation governing cryptocurrency trading in its second and third readings on July 21. The measure must complete the remaining constitutional steps, including consideration by the Federation Council and […]
Apple is facing a federal lawsuit from three investors who allege that a fraudulent cryptocurrency wallet distributed through its App Store enabled scammers to steal Bitcoin worth about $1.8 million. The complaint, filed on July 24 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses Apple of negligence, misrepresentation and failing to adequately review or monitor applications offered through its tightly controlled digital marketplace. […]
The benchmark closed at 61,434.19, down 930.73 points, or 1.49%, after briefly dropping to 60,448.90. The index moved through a range of almost 2,700 points, having reached a session high of 63,138.04 during early trading.
The intraday slide from the high exceeded 1,700 points, reflecting unusually volatile trading rather than a fall of that size from Tuesday’s closing level. The index had ended the previous session at 62,364.92 after losing more than 2,500 points.
Semiconductor companies led the decline as investors questioned whether the vast sums being invested in AI infrastructure would generate returns quickly enough to justify elevated technology valuations. The selling was amplified by weakness in South Korea and Taiwan, whose markets contain some of the world’s largest memory-chip and contract-manufacturing companies.
Asian chipmakers had benefited from expectations that spending on data centres, advanced processors and high-bandwidth memory would continue expanding. Those assumptions are now facing closer scrutiny as capital expenditure rises, borrowing costs remain high and earnings expectations become more difficult to exceed.
The shift was visible in South Korea, where the Kospi suffered another severe fall and chip heavyweights came under sustained pressure. Taiwan’s benchmark also declined as investors sold shares exposed to the global semiconductor supply chain.
Tokyo-listed equipment makers and chip-related companies were caught in the same retreat. Their large influence on the price-weighted Nikkei magnified the index’s movements, leaving the broader market vulnerable to concentrated selling in a small group of expensive stocks.
Investors were also awaiting quarterly results from major US technology companies, including businesses whose spending plans have become central to demand forecasts for advanced chips. Any indication that data-centre expenditure is slowing could deepen concerns about the durability of the AI investment cycle.
The Nikkei’s decline followed a powerful rally that had carried the benchmark above 70,000 earlier in July. Despite the pullback, the index remained substantially higher than a year earlier, showing how quickly valuations had expanded during the AI-driven advance.
Currency movements added another layer of uncertainty. The yen remained near its weakest level against the dollar in about four decades, despite gaining slightly during Wednesday’s trading. A weaker currency generally supports exporters by increasing the yen value of overseas earnings, but an extreme decline raises import costs and complicates monetary policy.
Japan depends heavily on imported energy and raw materials. The yen’s depreciation, combined with higher oil prices, threatens to intensify inflation and squeeze household spending. It has also increased speculation that authorities may intervene in foreign-exchange markets.
Markets are watching for any disruption to the yen carry trade, in which investors borrow cheaply in Japan and direct the funds towards assets offering higher returns elsewhere. A sudden strengthening of the yen can force traders to unwind those positions, producing rapid declines across equities, bonds and currencies.
The Bank of Japan begins a two-day policy meeting on Thursday. Traders are assessing whether persistent currency weakness and rising energy costs could push officials towards tighter policy, even as instability in equity markets increases the risks surrounding another rate move.
Oil prices climbed more than 3% as conflict in the Middle East threatened shipping and energy supplies. Higher crude prices added to inflation concerns ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy announcement and reduced investors’ willingness to hold high-valuation growth stocks.
The dollar remained supported near a one-month high as traders considered whether the Federal Reserve could maintain a restrictive policy stance. Higher US yields tend to pressure technology valuations by reducing the present value of expected future earnings.
Russia’s Federal Security Service has charged Telegram founder and chief executive Pavel Durov with facilitating terrorist activity and placed him on an international wanted list, sharply escalating Moscow’s confrontation with one of the country’s most widely used digital platforms. The FSB said Telegram failed to remove channels, group chats and automated bots that were allegedly used by Ukrainian intelligence services and extremist organisations to prepare attacks inside […]
Nvidia is discussing a financing guarantee of as much as $250 billion to support OpenAI’s proposed lease of computing capacity from a vast data centre development in Ohio, potentially extending the chipmaker’s role from technology supplier to financial backer of the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom. The talks centre on a planned 10-gigawatt complex being developed by SB Energy, the renewable energy and infrastructure arm controlled by SoftBank […]
Iran-affiliated hackers are exploiting internet-connected industrial controllers across US water, energy and government facilities, expanding their targets to equipment made by Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric and Siemens. A July 22 update to a joint federal cybersecurity advisory confirmed that the campaign has moved beyond Rockwell Automation’s Allen-Bradley controllers. The affected equipment now includes Schneider Electric BMX P34 and Modicon M340 programmable logic controllers, as well as Siemens […]
Matein Khalid As Centcom continues its nightly blitz on Iran, the so-called 60-day ceasefire has effectively ended. In truth, the fire never ceased. If Count Tolstoy lived in 2026, his magnum opus might well be renamed… War or Peace? Again. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) generals will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz while sanctions relief on Kharg Island oil sales remains a big ask. They know US […]
Cryptocurrency markets face renewed volatility as an Ethereum developer warns that expectations surrounding the United States’ CLARITY Act could trigger a deeper sell-off if lawmakers fail to deliver the regulatory breakthrough already anticipated by traders. Econar, a long-time Ethereum builder and commentator, said digital assets could stage only a limited rise as speculation about the legislation intensifies. Failure to pass the bill could then push prices below […]
Iran-linked cyber actors are targeting internet-connected industrial control systems used across US water, energy, manufacturing and public-service networks, prompting an expanded federal warning covering equipment made by Siemens, Schneider Electric and Rockwell Automation. The updated alert says attackers have gained access to programmable logic controllers, or PLCs, which manage physical processes inside critical infrastructure. Intruders have downloaded malicious project files, altered control logic and manipulated information shown […]
Bitcoin derivatives traders are rebuilding bullish positions, creating a multibillion-dollar liquidation risk if the cryptocurrency reverses sharply towards $58,200, while an accompanying warning about Ether falling to $1,700 has been overtaken by market prices. Bitcoin was trading near $65,400 on Friday, July 24, after reaching an intraday high of about $65,750 and falling as low as $64,636. A decline to $58,200 would therefore amount to a drop […]
The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has introduced Tabby as a payment option, allowing customers to divide service fees and administrative fines into monthly instalments. The facility covers eligible transactions of up to Dh20,000. Approved customers can spread their payments over periods ranging from four to 12 months, depending on the plan offered and Tabby’s assessment of their application. The ministry said the service was designed […]
