Markets

A Chinese travel blogger on Xiaohongshu, “Pushing My Wife to See the World,” reported the theft of their entire trailer caravan in San Sebastián, Spain. The loss is estimated at nearly 500,000 RMB ($69,000 USD) and included all belongings, even life-sustaining medication for the blogger’s disabled wife. Witnesses saw individuals hitching the trailer to a French-plated vehicle. RV theft is reportedly an organized crime in the region with a low recovery rate. The blogger warns other travelers to be cautious in Europe.

Kanye West’s Shanghai stadium concert has been met with widespread criticism due to organizational issues and perceived poor performance quality. Attendees are complaining about the late start, West’s early exit due to “personal reasons,” and an extended instrumental interlude, resulting in a short performance. The high ticket prices are seen as unjustified. Social media is flooded with negative comments, with the hashtag “Kanye Loses Credibility After Shanghai Stunt” trending.

Battery Mineral Resources (BTRMF) filed its Q1 2025 financials on SEDAR+ (July 11, 2025) and anticipates trading to resume around July 15, 2025, pending cease trade order revocation. Keith Spano was appointed to the Board of Directors and as Head of the Audit Committee, replacing Joe Tuso in that role (Tuso remains a Director). Spano brings financial and audit experience from Yorktown Partners. The company focuses on copper production and has projects including the Punitaqui Mining Complex in Chile.

Pantene’s “3 Minute Miracle” shampoo is trending in China due to consumer confusion over whether the name is a trademark or a product claim. Local media revealed the name is primarily a registered trademark, although customer service asserts data supports the “3 minutes to repair three months of accumulated damage” claim. Third-party experiments showed improvement in damaged hair after three minutes. However, product descriptions include a disclaimer that results may vary, sparking debate on branding versus marketing.

The AI browser landscape is evolving, with Perplexity introducing Comet, an “AI Agent powered” browser. Comet aims to shift browsing from information access to understanding and application, transforming disparate tabs into a unified intelligent environment. It features a “Comet Assistant” for contextual awareness and agent execution, enabling complex tasks. Comet’s radical “environmental reconstruction” approach, priced at $200/month initially, faces challenges in user adoption due to its steep learning curve and departure from conventional browsing habits, despite its potential to redefine the human-information relationship.

Waters Corporation and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) have announced a definitive agreement to merge BD’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions business with Waters, creating a leading life science and diagnostics company. The deal, valued at $17.5 billion structured as a Reverse Morris Trust, is expected to double Waters’ addressable market to $40 billion and generate $345 million in annualized EBITDA synergies by 2030.The combined company anticipates approximately $6.5 billion in 2025 sales and mid-teens adjusted EPS growth over five years, with the transaction boosting adjusted EPS within the first year.

The Dangbei D6X Plus projector aims to be a “value king” in the 2025 bedroom projector market. It features 1200 CVIA lumens brightness, a flexible 225° gimbal, and an MT9669 chip. Key benefits include clear daytime viewing, easy portability, and a user-friendly experience with Dangbei’s OS 5.0. It caters to bedroom cinema enthusiasts, renters, and budget-conscious consumers with features like low blue light certification, PD fast charging support, and automatic screen alignment. It targets to offer a compelling combination of image quality, performance, and affordability.

Malaysia is implementing a licensing regime for U.S.-made high-performance AI chip exports and transshipments to prevent diversion, especially to China. Effective immediately, entities suspecting misuse must notify authorities 30 days prior to export and obtain permits. This addresses regulatory loopholes, with plans to add AI chips to the Strategic Items List. This follows U.S. efforts to tighten export controls on advanced NVIDIA GPUs to Malaysia and Thailand, requiring licenses to prevent re-export to China.

Elon Musk predicts AI will surpass individual human intelligence in two years and all of humanity’s collective intelligence in five. Currently, while superior to most, AI hasn’t exceeded the smartest individual or a powerful team (‘a company’). However, Musk estimates AI’s intelligence is growing tenfold annually, potentially increasing by 10,000 to 100,000 times in four years. This projection follows Musk’s previous warnings about AI’s rapid advancement and potential risks, alongside its benefits.

Himax Technologies and Rabboni are collaborating to launch bboni Ai, a multi-scenario endpoint AI sensing system for wearables. It combines Rabboni’s high-precision IMU motion sensors with Himax’s ultra-low power WiseEye2 AI processor, enabling real-time on-device AI processing. Applications span smart healthcare, sports technology, and education. Himax will launch the bboni Ai Developer Program in late-July 2025, offering APIs and SDKs. The system enhances data privacy, reduces latency, and enables real-time AI inference while minimizing power consumption.