Language:
Instant News and Commentaries
2026-09-08
16:02
Macron Urges EU to Legislate Ban on Social Media Use for Children Under 15

French President Emmanuel Macron, after failing to push through a domestic ban on social media use by children under 15, has recently urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to support legislation at the EU level.

In a letter dated August 29 to the EU executive body, Macron said issues including addictive designs, inadequate safeguards for adult accounts, and pornographic content were sufficient to justify the need for swift action at the EU level, and called for coordinated and unified legislation on the matter.

Countries including Greece, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Austria, Slovenia, Ireland and the Netherlands have all expressed interest in similar measures.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]
15:19
BIGBANG 2026-2027 WORLD TOUR < XX: COSMOS > IN HONG KONG Officially Announced

HONG KONG, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, the long-awaited BIGBANG 2026-2027 WORLD TOUR < XX: COSMOS > IN HONG KONG has been officially announced. Jointly organized by TME live and ELF ASIA, the legendary BIGBANG Tour in Hong Kong will be held at the Kai Tak Stadium from November 13th to 15th, 2026, an extravaganza of three nights in a row dedicated to its fans, during which the golden crowns will be lit up under the sky, witnessing the historic moment of the glorious return of the boy group.

BIGBANG 2026-2027 WORLD TOUR  < XX: COSMOS > IN HONG KONG
BIGBANG 2026-2027 WORLD TOUR < XX: COSMOS > IN HONG KONG

For pre-sale and on-sale arrangements, the specifics are as follows:

  • ️BIGBANG V.I.P MEMBERSHIP SURVEY: September 2, 11:00AM - September 8, 11:59PM
  • ️BIGBANG V.I.P MEMBERSHIP PRESALE: September 14, 11:00AM - 11:59PM
  • ️Visa Pre-sale:
    • Exclusive access for Visa Infinite Cardholders: September 15, 10:00AM - 1:00PM
    • Exclusive access for BOC Visa Cardholders: September 15, 2:00PM - 7:00PM
    • Exclusive access for All Visa Cardholders: September 15, 8:00PM - 11:00PM
  • ️TME, QQ Music, JOOX and Kugou Music Pre-sale: September 16, 11:00AM - 3:00PM
  • ️Trip.com and Klook Pre-sale: September 16, 5:00PM - 9:00PM
  • General On-sale: September 17, 12:00PM

The BIGBANG World Tour < XX: COSMOS > IN HONG KONG concert was brought by the outstanding collaboration between multiple partners. The event is jointly sponsored and supported by FWD Insurance, Visa, Trip.com Group, Klook and Samsung. Each brand, relying on its own platform advantages and resources, has deeply engaged in the whole process to combine its brand concept with music culture, and to present a high-level live performance for Hong Kong music fans. It's worth mentioning that Trip.com Group and Klook, as the official ticketing partners, utilizing their respective travel and local-life service platforms, did their best to make sure the V.I.P fans from all over the world have the opportunity to witness this legendary performance. Special thanks to the Kai Tak Stadium for its strong support for this Tour in Hong Kong. As a landmark of comprehensive sports and entertainment in Hong Kong featuring round-the-clock operation and top-notch audio-visual effects, the Kai Tak Stadium can accommodate approximately 50,000 spectators — precisely a venue where audiences can indulge in past memories while anticipating future events, with the upcoming BIGBANG and its golden crowns rising under the sky of November 2026.

ABOUT BIGBANG

BIGBANG is a boy group launched by YG Entertainment in 2006. Since the release of their debut single [Bigbang], the group has grown into a top-tier global act, producing numerous hit songs such as 'Lie', 'Last Farewell', 'Haru Haru', 'FANTASTIC BABY', and 'BANG BANG BANG'.

Dominating domestic and international music charts while sweeping grand prizes at major awards ceremonies, BIGBANG has earned recognition for the limitless capabilities of both the group and its individual members as musicians. In 2022, they released the digital single 'Still Life', reaffirming their commanding presence across the global music market.

Transcending K-pop to become a cultural icon spanning live performance, fashion, and popular culture as a whole, BIGBANG has proven their worldwide influence by selling out world tours across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Reuniting to mark their 20th debut anniversary, the group announced their legendary comeback on the stage of the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the United States. Drawing an explosive response from the local crowd, BIGBANG proved that they still have what it takes. In August, they successfully kicked off their new world tour in Goyang and set to engage with fans worldwide through 36 performances across 19 cities. On August 19, their 20th debut anniversary, BIGBANG released their new digital single [BiiiG], their first new song in 4 years, receiving passionate love from all over the world.

About TME live

TME live is a diversified business brand centered on live performances, created by Tencent Music Entertainment Group, a leading music entertainment service provider in China. TME live creates an all-around music entertainment performance experience by combining online and offline performances, utilizing an innovative performance model and extremely fast, ultra-high-definition digital audio-visual technology.

Information Provided by PR Newswire [Disclaimer]
10:26
IRON, the World's First Advanced General-Purpose Humanoid Robot, Walks off the Production Lines as XPENG's Humanoid Robot Manufacturing Facility Is Officially Commissioned

  • XPENG has officially commissioned its humanoid robot production lines and completed the production-lines manufacturing of the world's first advanced humanoid robot, which autonomously walked off the lines, marking a critical leap from R&D prototyping to production-lines manufacturing.
  • XPENG's humanoid robot production lines feature core process automation exceeding 80%, setting a new manufacturing benchmark with a precision, flexible, and intelligent production line.
  • XPENG extends its automotive-grade manufacturing capabilities to robotics, marking a critical step toward mass production.

GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- XPeng Inc. ("XPENG" or the "Company," NYSE: XPEV; HKEX: 9868), a leading global Physical AI company, today announced that its humanoid robot production lines are now in operation, and the world's first advanced general‑purpose humanoid robot made its debut by autonomously walking off the lines after completing production. This achievement signifies a key leap from R&D prototyping to line manufacturing and an important advance toward volume production.

Press Kit Link: https://wetransfer.com/downloads/64c97a585428373656af84cd175c55e820260908011306/cf28c8fe399b5db33258de769e27cca220260908011306/5cd228

XPENG's robot production lines are the world's first automated production lines for advanced humanoid robots, deeply integrating the mature automotive-grade quality systems of the smart electric vehicle industry with precision manufacturing for humanoid robot. Built to automotive-grade quality standards, it establishes a quality system for mass production of advanced humanoid robots. Designed for scale from day one, with over 80% of core processes automated, the lines deliver a high-precision, highly flexible, and intelligent manufacturing system, ensuring consistent critical-process quality and laying the foundation for scaled production and rapid capacity expansion.

He Xiaopeng, Chairman & CEO of XPENG, said: "The robot production lines were created from scratch with no precedent to follow. Today's step is small, but XPENG is building the production lines for an entirely new product category. Looking ahead, XPENG will continue to explore faster production rhythms and greater scale in robot manufacturing, charting a new path toward a leading robot manufacturing industry in China and globally."

As a key pillar of XPENG's Physical AI strategy, XPENG's next-generation IRON is an advanced humanoid robot combining highly human-like form and movement with AI-driven intelligence, designed to meet the highest safety standards. It is being developed as an advanced general-purpose humanoid robot platform, capable of supporting a broad range of applications and continuously improving through self-reinforcement in the real world.

XPENG IRON features an industry-leading human-like form and design, with a proprietary fully enclosed flexible lattice structure designed to balance aesthetics and safety. With 76 degrees of freedom (DOF) across the body and 21 in each hand, IRON delivers industry-leading levels of dexterity and mobility. On the intelligence side, XPENG IRON is powered by three Turing AI chips delivering up to 2,250 TOPS of effective computing power. This computing power enables XPENG to deploy its Physical AI foundation model directly on the robot, enabling IRON to autonomously perform complex tasks without remote operation, while ensuring low-latency inference and enhanced data security.

Mr. He said, "We aim to build a new type of robot with full generalization capabilities that can truly become part of everyday life, create a better life for people, and ultimately become a companion in their lives." And he put on a staff badge for IRON, symbolizing that it has officially become a member of the XPENG team.

Looking ahead, XPENG robots are scheduled to enter mass production by the end of this year, with initial commercial-scenario rollouts beginning in XPENG's own stores and campuses. Official market launch and delivery in China and overseas markets are planned for 2027.

XPENG remains committed to its physical-AI and globalization strategy, continuously building three growth curves: automotive, robotics, and globalization. The rollout of the first advanced general-purpose humanoid robot and the activation of the production lines mark another important milestone in the ongoing implementation of XPENG's physical-AI strategy. Given the high technical barriers and limited high-quality supply in the advanced general-purpose humanoid robot segment, the gross margin per unit is expected to be significantly higher than that of new energy vehicles. As XPENG's robotics business accelerates into scaled manufacturing and commercialization, its value as the Company's second growth curve is rapidly becoming visible.

On August 24, XPENG's robotics business has entered into share purchase agreements with multiple investors, raising over US$900 million at a post-money valuation of over US$6.3 billion, which marks the largest single-round private capital raise in China's embodied AI industry to date. This is a strong endorsement from the capital markets of XPENG Group's leading position, technology roadmap, scaled manufacturing capabilities, and long-term commercial value in the physical AI domain.

From a unified physical AI foundation model, to different intelligent embodiments, to scaled manufacturing, XPENG is progressively connecting the full chain from model base and product R&D to industrialized deployment, bringing AI out of the digital world into the real world, and into the broader physical world.

About XPENG

XPENG is a global leader in physical AI, dedicated to bringing artificial intelligence into the physical world and redefining future mobility and smart living. The company has built a full-stack self-developed physical AI technology system covering Turing AI chips, physical world foundation models, and highly integrated software and hardware applications. Based on its unified technology foundation, XPENG has developed products including smart electric vehicles, Robotaxi, and humanoid robots, driving the scaled deployment of physical AI. Headquartered in Guangzhou, China, XPENG has dual primary listings on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. With an international R&D, manufacturing, sales, and service system, XPENG brings smarter, safer, and better lifestyles to users worldwide through continuous technological innovation and an open physical AI ecosystem. For more information, please visit XPENG's official website at https://www.xpeng.com/.

Information Provided by PR Newswire [Disclaimer]
09:42
CXMT Exploring Co-op Opportunities with Global Premium Clients in Open Manner

On reports that CXMT (688825.SH) is cooperating with Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), CXMT responded that the company is exploring cooperation opportunities with global premium clients in an open manner.

CXMT said its products already possess the capability to compete with international mainstream manufacturers in terms of performance, quality and supply stability.

CXMT has already established deep cooperation with clients including Alibaba Cloud, ByteDance, TENCENT (00700.HK), LENOVO GROUP (00992.HK), Transsion, HONOR, OPPO and vivo, information showed.

CXMT recently also announced that its self-developed next-generation low-power memory LPDDR6 has achieved mass production, with the first batch to be installed in the Xiaomi 18 Fold.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]
09:15
Large Pre-IPO Funds Such as Anthropic and OpenAI May Sell Holdings Early to Free Up Capital

The rally in AI stocks may not be over yet, but the coming weeks could bring additional pressure on recently underperforming shares.

A team of strategists at Evercore ISI led by Julian Emanuel said factors that would end the bull market have yet to come. However, seasonal tax considerations combined with potential IPOs by OpenAI and Anthropic could squeeze some stocks.

The Evercore team noted that the market may be inclined to view a June listing by SpaceX as marking the peak of the technology boom, similar to how the AOL-Time Warner merger in January 2001 was seen as a signal of the dot-com bubble peak. However, the firm believed a SpaceX IPO would be more comparable to Netscape's 1995 listing, when the internet was at a stage similar to AI today.

Stocks on Evercore's screened list ranked by market cap include Tesla (TSLA.US), IBM (IBM.US), American Express (AXP.US), McDonald’s (MCD.US), S&P Global (SPGI.US), Lowe’s (LOW.US), AppLovin (APP.US), HCA Healthcare (HCA.US), Boston Scientific (BSX.US), Medline (MDLN.US), Rocket Cos (RKT.US), Martin Marietta Materials(MLM.US), Zoetis(ZTS.US), Las Vegas Sands(LVS.US), Fiserv(FISV.US), Coupang(CPNG.US), Otis Worldwide(OTIS.US), NRG Energy(NRG.US), AST SpaceMobile(ASTS.US), Markel(MKL.US), First Solar(FSLR.US), Fidelity National Information Services(FIS.US), Equifax(EFX.US), Lennar(LEN.US), Fair Isaac Group(FICO.US), FedEx Freight(FDXF.US), Tyson Foods(TSN.US), Flutter Entertainment(FLUT.US), Rollins(ROL.US), The Carlyle Group(CG.US), Somnigroup International(SGI.US), RB Global(RBA.US), Talen Energy(TLN.US), Albemarle(ALB.US), McCormick & Co. (MKC.US), QXO (QXO.US), Lennox International (LII.US), Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS.US), Fidelity National Financial (FNF.US) and DraftKings (DKNG.US).
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]
08:35
Apple Reportedly to Launch USD2,000 Foldable iPhone

Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) will hold a product launch event on Wednesday (9th) U.S. time. The market expects the company's new CEO John Ternus may unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and the highly anticipated foldable iPhone, reportedly named iPhone Ultra.

The upcoming iPhone 18 Pro will be available in deep cherry color, with new light blue and dark gray options added, according to a Macworld report.

Industry estimates suggested the foldable iPhone will have a starting price of about USD2,000, while higher-storage versions could rise to USD3,000. The current iPhone 17 base model is priced at USD799.

The cheaper iPhone 18 and 18 Air models will not debut at this launch event, report said. The iPhone 17 and 17 Air will continue to be sold until their successor models are launched in early 2027. Updates to Apple Watch and AirPods are also anticipated.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]
2026-09-07
18:08
European Stocks Mixed in Early Trade as Jaguar Offers Voluntary Redundancy Scheme to UK Staff, Reportedly Planning to Cut Up to 4,000 Jobs Over 2 Yrs; US Mkt Closed for Holiday

Markets were laser-focused on the US August CPI data due this week and developments in the situations involving Iran and Ukraine. Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) was anticipated to hold its autumn launch event on September 9, US time, with the iPhone 18 likely to debut on the same day.

Major European bourses traded narrowly mixed in early Monday trading. The pan-European STOXX 600 dipped 0.1% to 649.32. The UK's FTSE 100 lost 3 points, or 0.3%, to 10,827. France's CAC added 5 points, or 0.06%, to 8,284. Germany's DAX faded 83 points, or 0.3%, to 25,963. Italy's FTSE MIB hiked 25 points, or 0.5%, to 52,126. Spain's IBEX 35 lowered 40 points, or 0.2%, to 20,010.

Jaguar Land Rover, a unit of India's Tata Motors, announced a voluntary redundancy scheme for thousands of employees in the UK. The company reportedly plans to cut up to 4,000 jobs over the next two years. When queried by CNBC about the scale of the job cuts, a Jaguar spokesperson declined to comment.

However, the spokesperson confirmed that the company has informed unions and employees about the launch of the voluntary redundancy scheme, offering the option to both general staff and management employees. The company aims to save GBP1.7 billion over the next two years and lower its break-even point to 300,000 vehicles. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles fell 1.3% in late trading in India.

US and Canadian markets are closed today for the Labor Day holiday.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]
17:22
Australian Data Center Operator: US Tech Giants Interested in Building Data Centers in Australia

According to Australian data center operator AirTrunk Operating Pty Ltd., US tech giants are attracted by Australia's green power grid and proximity to Asia, while also facing growing backlash in the US domestic market, Bloomberg reported.

AirTrunk Vice President of Energy and Utilities Sabooh Whitelaw said that companies including Google, Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), Meta Platforms, Inc. (META.US), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US) have shown stronger-than-expected interest in Australia over the past six to eight months.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]
17:14
CATHAY PAC AIR, Google Partner to Research and Trial AI-Powered Contrail Avoidance

CATHAY PAC AIR (00293.HK) and Google announced a partnership to advance research on contrails and their contribution to aviation’s climate impact.

Cathay Pacific is Google’s first commercial airline partner in Asia-Pacific to trial its AI-powered contrail mitigation technology, and the first airline globally to test contrail avoidance on ultra-long-haul flights.

The companies have started trials to evaluate the operational feasibility and constraints of contrail avoidance across Cathay Pacific’s extensive global network. The trials will contribute valuable new data to global contrail research and advance understanding of contrail formation and avoidance in the Asia-Pacific region, a geography that has been underrepresented in previous trials.

An operational trial began in late 2025, with more than 100 flights targeted across Cathay Pacific's network. Over 80 flights followed contrail-avoidance routes, and Google estimates that these flights achieved roughly 40% reduction in the warming impact of contrails.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]
16:10
LI AUTO-W Says In-house Batteries to Be Fully Adopted Across All Vehicle Models, Aims to Control Core Tech Barriers Mirroring Apple, Huawei and Tesla

LI AUTO-W (02015.HK) announced progress on the rollout of its in-house batteries across its full vehicle lineup. LI AUTO-W began the in-house development of its Mach chips in 2022 and will continue investing to advance chip iterations.

The development of the in-house Mach chip does not change the fact that NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) remains a world-leading chip brand; similarly, the development of in-house batteries does not affect CATL (03750.HK) being a leading battery brand, LI AUTO-W said.

In the era of embodied intelligent vehicles, batteries and chips are the most critical technology barriers, while electric powertrain technologies, intelligent driving models and strong product capabilities will become the company's core competitiveness.

LI AUTO-W hopes to follow top enterprises such as Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), Huawei and Tesla, Inc. (TSLA.US) in keeping future-oriented core technology barriers in its own hands, which the company described as its strategic focus.

As orders for the new-generation Li MEGA in recent days exceeded the company's expectations, CATL's reserve of 5C ternary lithium batteries is expected to be depleted soon. Users locking in orders from 3 p.m. on September 7 onward will switch to LI AUTO-W's in-house developed 5C ternary lithium batteries, with deliveries expected to begin in November.

LI AUTO-W will launch the 2026 Li i6 in 4Q26, equipped with the company's in-house developed 5C batteries and in-house developed Mach chips. User reservations will open by the end of September, with deliveries to commence in early November.
~

AASTOCKS Financial News
Website: www.aastocks.com

Information Provided by AAStocks Financial News [Disclaimer]