IBM faces securities fraud probe after 25% stock drop on revenue miss

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[1] IBM Investigation Alert: IBM Investors Seeking to Recover Losses in Securities Fraud Investigation are Notified to Contact BFA Law about Your Rights (https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/20 ...)[2] After a Brutal Sell-Off on Weak Preliminary Q2 Results, IBM Stock Is at a... (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/arti ...)[3] IBM Stock's Sudden Reversal: From 'Buy Now' to Under Investigation (https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/arti ...)[4] REGN Breaking News: Regeneron Inc. Sued for Securities Fraud after Revealing Failed Phase III Clinical Trial Resulting in 10% Stock Drop - Investors Notified to Contact BFA Law (https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2026/07/21/104 ...)[5] UTZ Investigation Alert: BFA Law Announces an Investigation into the Utz Brands $14.25 Announced Acquisition - Current Shareholders Urged to Act (https://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2026/07/22/104 ...)

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Jul 22 2026, 12:20

Nvidia and Google back Microagi in $55M humanoid robotics push

**Google and Nvidia are supplying computing power to German startup Microagi, betting humanoid robots will require massive cloud infrastructure to train and deploy.** Google and Nvidia are partnering with German data-robotics startup Microagi to provide cloud computing and AI models for humanoid factory robots, the companies said Wednesday, as Big Tech races to capture the infrastructure layer of physical AI. "The global push into robotics is going to require massive amounts of compute," Marianne Janik, Google Cloud's vice president for northern Europe, said in an interview. Google isn't receiving data from Microagi or its customers in return, she added. The deal gives Microagi, which raised a $55 million seed round, access to Nvidia GPUs and Google's AI models and cloud platforms. The startup collects real-world training footage across more than a dozen countries and consults with manufacturers on deploying robots in their factories. Google DeepMind already partners with robot hardware makers including Apptronik, Boston Dynamics and Agile Robots, but the Microagi deal shows Google's push to court European startups through its cloud business. The partnership comes as Chinese tech giants like Alibaba expand their European cloud footprint and several local robotics firms have come under Chinese investment. "Of course there's going to be competition," Janik said. "We can see it, we can sense it." **Europe's Humanoid Race Intensifies** Beyond Microagi, a cluster of European humanoid startups is racing to deploy robots in factories with far less capital than US rivals. London-based Humanoid AI, founded in 2024, has signed deployment deals with Schaeffler, Bosch and Siemens while operating with $74 million in funding — compared with the billion-dollar war chests of Figure and Apptronik in the US. Humanoid AI's chief product officer Sotirios Stasinopoulos, who spent over a decade in China at UBtech, said the company's wheeled HMND 01 robot can lift 15 kilograms and perform core tasks at about 80% of human speed. The company uses Nvidia GPUs for compute and Google's Gemini vision-language model in its four-layer AI architecture, which breaks factory tasks into deterministic workflows. "The goal is fleets, not units," Stasinopoulos said. "If you only want a robot to do one thing, you might as well get an old-school automation solution." **The Compute Bottleneck** Training and deploying humanoid robots at scale requires enormous computing resources. Nvidia's H100 and Blackwell GPUs are the primary hardware used for robot training, while cloud platforms from Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure compete to host inference workloads. TSMC, which manufactures Nvidia's chips, controls 73% of the global chip foundry market and is investing $265 billion in US fabrication plants, according to Counterpoint Research. For startups like Microagi and Humanoid AI, access to subsidized compute through partnerships with Google and Nvidia can reduce training costs by millions of dollars — a critical advantage when competing against well-funded US and Chinese rivals. Nvidia shares declined ahead of Alphabet's earnings report, reflecting market caution about Big Tech capital spending. The Microagi partnership is small relative to Nvidia's data center business, but it positions Google and Nvidia to capture the infrastructure layer of physical AI as humanoid robots move from prototypes to factory floors. European manufacturers adopting AI-powered robotics will need cloud compute, and Google's early partnerships with Microagi and Humanoid AI give it an edge over Amazon and Microsoft in the region. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Jul 22 2026, 12:18

Europe faces 80% gas storage miss as Asian demand tightens supply

Europe will likely miss its 80% gas storage target before winter as competition with Asian buyers intensifies following the U.S.-Iran war, Equinor's chief executive said, leaving the region exposed to sharper price swings. "We do not think that Europe will necessarily be able to fill up its stocks to more than 80% this autumn," Anders Opedal, chief executive of Europe's largest natural gas supplier, said in an interview Wednesday. Storage sites across the European Union are at 54% capacity, the second-lowest level in 15 years and well below the five-year average, according to Gas Infrastructure Europe data. The shortfall stems from a dual supply shock: the U.S.-Iran war has effectively halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting about a fifth of global liquefied natural gas that typically flows to Asia, while Russian pipeline gas remains phased out because of the war in Ukraine. The gap means Europe, which relies on LNG for about 30% of its import needs, will be more exposed to market price swings this winter than in previous years, Opedal said. Asian buyers are now drawing cargoes that earlier in the year were flowing into Europe, tightening global supply just as the continent enters its peak heating-demand season. Equinor, which reported its highest quarterly profit since early 2023 on Wednesday, serves as a bellwether for European energy markets. The Norwegian state-controlled producer posted adjusted pretax earnings of $11.48 billion for the April-to-June period, up from $6.54 billion a year earlier and broadly in line with the $11.37 billion analyst consensus. Its shares have gained 54% year-to-date, outperforming the 30% rise in European energy stocks. The company's average oil price realization jumped to $97.90 per barrel in the second quarter from $63 a year earlier, while its European gas price rose 32% to $15.79 per million British thermal units. Brent crude averaged $96.68 a barrel in the quarter, compared with $66.71 in the same period of 2025, after the U.S.-Iran conflict sent prices swinging between $70 and nearly $120. ## LNG Cargoes Redirect to Asia "The gas that was supposed to come from Qatar was supposed to go to Asia, and that means that LNG that earlier in the year came into Europe is now going to Asia," Opedal said, describing the intensifying competition for global supplies. The redirection marks a reversal from 2023 and 2024, when a glut of LNG cargoes — originally destined for Asian markets with weak demand — flooded into European storage and helped the region comfortably exceed its 80% fill target by November. The last time European storage levels were this low heading into the refill season was in 2021, when a prolonged winter and low Russian pipeline flows preceded a gas-price crisis that pushed benchmark Dutch TTF futures above 300 euros per megawatt-hour. That winter, storage exited the heating season at about 30% capacity, triggering emergency government interventions across the bloc. ## Equinor's Strategic Pivot Equinor maintained its full-year output growth target of 3% for 2026 and its $13 billion investment plan. The company's downstream division, which includes energy trading, posted a $777 million quarterly profit, exceeding both the $623 million analyst estimate and the unit's own $400 million quarterly guidance. The windfall from higher prices has prompted Equinor to double its share buyback program, returning more cash to shareholders, while simultaneously scaling back investments in renewable energy because of weak demand — a strategic shift that shows how the war-driven energy crisis is reshaping investment priorities among Europe's largest oil and gas producers. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Jul 22 2026, 12:17

EU hits JD.com with first subsidy charges over $2.5B Ceconomy deal

**The European Commission's first use of its Foreign Subsidies Regulation against a Chinese company threatens to derail JD.com's $2.5 billion expansion into Europe.** The European Commission on Wednesday issued formal subsidy charges against JD.com over its $2.5 billion acquisition of German electronics retailer Ceconomy, marking the first use of the bloc's Foreign Subsidies Regulation to challenge a cross-border deal. The charge sheet, known as a statement of grounds, outlines specific concerns that JD.com may have received preferential financing, tax incentives and grants from the Chinese government that helped it offer a higher price for Ceconomy, which owns the MediaMarkt and Saturn chains. "JD.com said the statement of grounds is a normal procedural step," the company said in a statement. "We remain confident the transaction supports Europe's broader objectives around innovation and competitiveness. We continue to expect a positive conclusion of the process in the second half of 2026." The charges follow a full-scale investigation the Commission opened in May and come after the July 1 introduction of a €3 customs duty on previously exempt low-value packages. The number of e-commerce parcels entering the bloc has surged to 5.8 billion in 2025 from 1.4 billion in 2022, as regulators step up scrutiny of Chinese retailers including Shein, Temu and AliExpress. The FSR, which took effect in 2023, gives the Commission powers to block acquisitions or demand remedies when foreign subsidies distort competition in the EU market. The charge sheet is similar to a statement of objections under standard EU merger rules, where companies must address specific regulatory concerns or risk a veto. If JD.com fails to offer sufficient remedies — such as divestitures or behavioral commitments — the Commission could block the deal entirely. The acquisition would give one of China's largest retailers a direct foothold in Europe's consumer electronics market through Ceconomy's 1,000-plus stores across 13 countries. The last time the EU used a new regulatory tool to challenge a Chinese acquisition was in 2019 under the EU Merger Regulation, when it blocked a proposed rail-equipment tie-up over competition concerns. The FSR's first application sets a precedent for how Brussels will police state-backed Chinese investment going forward, with implications for future deals by Alibaba, Tencent and other state-linked companies eyeing European targets. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.