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Databricks said on Tuesday it had secured a valuation of $62 billion after a $10 billion funding round led by Thrive Capital, highlighting the robust demand for artificial intelligence-focused startups. The data and analytics company will invest the funds in new AI products and acquisitions while expanding its international footprint. The massive fundraise highlights Silicon Valley's unprecedented appetite for companies capitalizing on the AI boom.

Retail sales jumped 0.7% last month after an upwardly revised 0.5% gain in October, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales, which are mostly goods and are not adjusted for inflation, advancing 0.5% after a previously reported 0.4% rise in October.

US President- elect Donald Trump firmly stated pretty recently that he had a ‘very good talk’ with the Prime Minister from Israel named Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the ongoing war situation in Gaza, reported Reuters. According to Reuters, while having a pretty recent press conference which was held at the Palm Beach located in Florida, Donald Trump again reiterated about his warning that if Hamas does not release hostages latest by the date of January 20, next year, the very day when he again resumes office then, ‘all hell is going to break out’. He also further added that if a ceasefire agreement is not reached by that very date, the upcoming situation ‘is not going to be pleasant’.

bank meetings this week largely trumped a rise in heavyweight chip-related shares. The Nikkei erased early gains to close down 0.03% at 39,457.49, while the broader Topix shed 0.3% to 2,738.33.

The U.S. Post Office, which has lost more than $100 billion since 2007, reported a net loss of $9.5 billion for its fiscal year ending September 30, a $3-billion bigger loss than last year, largely due to a year-over-year increase in non-cash workers’ compensation expense, as per a report on Reuters. When told of the agency's annual losses, Trump said the government should not subsidize the organization, according to the Washington Post.

Bashar al-Assad, four Syrian officials told Reuters. The ousting of Assad, who along with his late father, former President Hafez al-Assad, had forged a close alliance with Moscow, has thrown the future of Russia's bases — the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartous naval facility — into question. Satellite footage from Friday shows what appeared to be at least two Antonov AN-124s, among the world's largest cargo planes, at the Hmeimim base with their nose cones open, apparently preparing to load up.

California couple has been shot and killed while on vacation in Mexico, authorities have confirmed.The couple, identified by the Michoacan State Attorney General’s Office only as Gloria A., 50, and Rafael C., 53, were gunned down in the western state of Michoacan just before midnight Wednesday night.The married pair had been travelling in a pickup truck in the municipality of Angamacutiro when they were shot. The woman died at the scene, reports Reuters, while the man died in hospital a short time later.It was not immediately clear why or if the couple was specifically targeted.State prosecutors told Reuters that the woman, who had obtained U.S.

Elon Musk until Monday to respond to an offer to resolve a probe into the billionaire's $44-billion takeover of Twitter in 2022, Reuters reported quoting a source. The development, which signals the investigation may be nearing a conclusion, is the latest salvo in a year-long public feud between the top U.S. markets regulator and the world's richest man, as per a Reuters report. Musk on Thursday posted on X a copy of a letter sent by his lawyer to SEC Chair Gary Gensler saying the agency had given Musk 48 hours to agree to pay a penalty to settle the probe or face civil charges, and demanding to know whether Gensler was personally behind the development.

Peter Navarro, Trump's incoming senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, said the White House would not interfere with the Treasury Department's biannual review looking in to whether foreign trade partners are manipulating their currencies.

WASHINGTON: Two senior members of Taiwan's government are in the United States to meet people connected to President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, five sources told Reuters, in an effort by Taiwan to establish ties with the incoming administration. Lin Fei-fan and Hsu Szu-chien, both deputy secretaries-general of Taiwan's National Security Council and several of their staff have traveled to the Washington area for meetings through this week, the sources said on condition of anonymity.

Trump and his new Middle East envoy, billionaire Steve Witkoff, has partnered with a crypto platform that authorities and financial experts say has been used by criminals and Iran-backed militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah. World Liberty Financial Inc, founded by the Witkoff family two months before November's U.S. election with Trump as a financial beneficiary, presents concerns over ethics and conflicts of interest, say six specialists in U.S. government ethics. Among their biggest concerns is World Liberty's new partner: Tron crypto platform.

Gold prices edged down on Thursday, but held near a five-week peak, as risk appetite increased ahead of a European Central Bank monetary policy decision and investors awaited U.S. PPI data for signals on the Federal Reserve's interest rate outlook, Reuters reported. Spot gold fell 0.3 per cent to $2,709.89 per ounce as of 1210 (GMT). US gold futures fell 0.5 per cent to $2,742.50. Earlier in the session, bullion hit its highest since November 6, supported by bets that the Fed will cut interest rates again next week after Wednesday's consumer prices data, as per a report on Reuters. The report showed a 0.3 per cent rise, the largest gain since April after advancing 0.2 per cent for four straight months.

Indian rupee declined to its all-time low on Thursday, pressured by dollar bids in the non-deliverable forwards (NDF) market and from importers while intervention by the central bank kept a lid on losses, traders said. The rupee weakened to a low of 84.88 to the U.S. dollar, down 0.04% on the day. The currency was quoted at 84.8750 at 10:00 a.m. IST.

inflation data from the world's largest economy and India for further cues on interest rates. The benchmark 10-year yield ended at 6.7171%, compared with its previous close of 6.7073%.

Third Bridge global head of analysts Peter McNally discusses how the Boeing factory workers strike is impacting business on 'The Big Money Show.'

Iran has opened a direct line of communication with rebels in Syria's new leadership since its ally Bashar al-Assad was ousted, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, in an attempt to «prevent a hostile trajectory» between the countries. The lightning advance of a militia alliance spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, marked one of the biggest turning points for the Middle East in generations. Assad's fall as president removed a bastion from which Iran and Russia exercised influence across the Arab world. Hours after Assad's fall, Iran said it expected relations with Damascus to continue based on the two countries' «far-sighted and wise approach» and called for the establishment of an inclusive government representing all segments of Syrian society.

Google's new Willow quantum chip has achieved a remarkable milestone, solving a computational problem in just five minutes—a task that would take the world’s fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete. This breakthrough in quantum computing was demonstrated when Willow outperformed the Frontier supercomputer in a benchmark algorithm, marking a significant step forward for the company’s ambitions in quantum technology. The algorithm used to test Willow’s capabilities, designed purely for benchmarking rather than practical application, showcased the chip’s unprecedented speed. According to Google, Willow completed the task in minutes, a feat that would take 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years for Frontier, far exceeding the age of the universe. This performance is a vast improvement over Google’s earlier claims in 2019, when the company said it could solve a problem in minutes that would take 10,000 years for classical computers.

Catch LIVE updates of Syrian Crisis with MintSyria War Live: X account ‘War Monitor’ hailed ‘first day in the next era of the Levant’ after rpeorts of Assad fleeing and his decade long regime falling into the hands of rebels emerged. Syria War Live: Syrian rebels say it is prohibited to go near public institutions that will remain under the supervision of the ‘former PM’, reports War MonitorSyria War Live: People celebrate in joy as military informs that the Assad regime has felled.

TikTok users spent heavily to buy merchandise from a range of vendors on the ecommerce platform TikTok Shop so far this holiday shopping season, according to TikTok estimates and a Reuters analysis of spending patterns measured by data from Facteus. The patterns show that TikTok Shop, which launched in the US in September 2023, has likely gained market share in ecommerce at a critical moment. TikTok Shop serves as an ecommerce channel for major brands such as e.l.f. Cosmetics, Ninja Kitchen, among other products. TikTok Shop said in a press release in late November that its sales had reached $100 million on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, when bargain-hunting American consumers spent heavily online. Previously, it said the number of people purchasing goods on TikTok Shop each month had nearly tripled. Reuters could not independently verify its claims.

China's trade restrictions on strategic minerals are starting to hit Western companies where it hurts. Blaming Beijing's curbs on antimony exports announced in August, German chemicals and consumer goods heavyweight Henkel told customers last month it had declared force majeure and suspended deliveries of four types of adhesives and lubricants widely used by automakers, according to a Nov. 8 letter to clients reviewed by Reuters. Henkel uses the silvery metal to make its Bonderite and Teroson-branded products, core parts of the company's adhesive technologies division, which brought in 10.79 billion euros ($11.4 billion) in revenue last year.

Syrian rebels said they seized control of the southern city of Daraa on Saturday, the birthplace of a 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and the fourth city his forces have lost in a week. Rebel sources said the military agreed to make an orderly withdrawal from Daraa under a deal giving army officials safe passage to the capital Damascus, about 100 km (60 miles) north. Social media videos showed rebels on motorcycles and others mingling with residents on the streets. People fired shots into the air at the city's main square in celebration, according to the videos.