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Blurb:

The Pentagon rarely labels an American technology company a “supply chain risk.” The designation is typically reserved for firms tied to foreign adversaries or companies that could expose sensitive government systems to compromise.

But in late February, the Trump administration applied that label to one of the most prominent artificial intelligence developers in the United States.

On Monday, Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI system, turned up the heat on the fight by filing a federal lawsuit against the Pentagon and several government agencies after the administration ordered agencies to stop using its technology across the federal system.

“Anthropic sued the Defense Department and other federal agencies on Monday over the Trump administration’s move to designate it a supply chain risk and eliminate its use across the government,” the report explains. “The company said the effort was ‘unprecedented and unlawful.’”

Blurb:

G7 nations said on Monday they were prepared to implement “necessary measures” in response to surging global oil prices but stopped short of committing to release emergency reserves, despite crude prices briefly surpassing $119 a barrel as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran continues.

“We are not there yet,” French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters in Brussels, after hosting a teleconference meeting of G7 finance ministers.

A final statement following the meeting said the ministers “will continue to closely monitor the situation and developments in the energy markets and will meet as needed to exchange information and to coordinate within the G7 and with international partners.”

“We stand ready to take necessary measures, including to support global supply of energy such as stockpile release,” it added.

Oil prices hit their highest levels since mid‑2022 on Monday, propelled by fears of prolonged shipping disruption and reduced output from some major producers wary of the conflict escalating. However, the market reversed late in the day, with benchmarks falling below $90 a barrel, after President Donald Trump told CBS News that the war was “pretty much” complete.

Blurb:

Yamaha, the Japanese company that manufactures both musical instruments and audio equipment as well as motorcycles and marine equipment, is leaving Gavin Newsom’s California after being headquartered in the state for 50 years. This is yet another major business to pull up stakes and flee the Golden State, where taxes are insane, crime is out of control, and the Democrats in Sacramento hate business.

Yamaha is moving to Georgia.

Here’s more:

After nearly 50 years in Orange County, Yamaha Motor Corp. USA is packing up its headquarters — trading Cypress, California for Kennesaw, Georgia in a sweeping corporate shift that will impact about 250 workers.

The motorcycle and motorsports giant says the move is part of major “structural reforms” meant to boost profits as costs climb — including pressure from tariffs imposed during the administration of President Donald Trump and shifting market conditions.

The relocation won’t happen overnight. Yamaha plans to start the exit in late 2026, with the transition stretching into 2028.

Company spokesman Bob Starr said consolidating operations in Georgia simply makes business sense.

“In terms of efficiency, to have us all together in Georgia — all the functions of the business — it makes a lot of sense,” Starr said.

The departure marks another corporate blow for Cypress.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump’s administration has launched a federal fraud investigation into New York’s Medicaid program, citing unusually high spending levels in the state.

The probe is being led by Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Oz announced the probe, revealing that the numbers behind New York’s Medicaid spending raise serious questions.

“Heart surgeons are trained to look at the numbers,” Oz said in a video posted on X.

“When something doesn’t add up, you don’t ignore it; you investigate.

“Right now, the numbers coming out of New York’s Medicaid program don’t add up.”

Blurb:

Restaurants in Mumbai are switching to electric induction stoves for staff meals and looking to tweak menus to conserve gas amid a shortage commercial LPG cylinders that threatens to disrupt their business.

While the government on Tuesday issued an order to regulate supply of natural gas to essential sectors, restaurants say there is no clarity on availability of the commercial cylinders.

As a consequence, as many as 50 per cent of eateries in Mumbai may have to temporarily shut shop, say executives of industry associations.

“We have started using electric induction stove to prepare staff meals, tea and rice based dishes. Some restaurants are looking to restrict their menus,” said Pranav Rungta, vice president of National Restaurant Association of India and owner of Nksha restaurant in Mumbai.

Blurb:

WOLFSBURG, Germany: Volkswagen said Tuesday (Mar 10) that it would cut 50,000 jobs in Germany by 2030 as its profit slid to its lowest level since 2016.

“In total, around 50,000 jobs are due to be cut by 2030 across the Volkswagen Group in Germany,” Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said in a letter to shareholders in the firm’s annual report.

The 10-brand group had already struck a deal with unions at the end of 2024 to cut 35,000 jobs by 2030, mostly at its namesake brand, as part of plans to save 15 billion euros a year.

The additional cuts would come from premium brands Audi and Porsche as well as Volkswagen’s software subsidiary Cariad, Blume added.

Blurb:

The open-source AI agent framework OpenClaw has recently gone viral worldwide, drawing significant attention from the tech industry. By enabling AI to move beyond generating content to actually executing tasks, the framework is widely seen as a key step toward the AI agent era. A growing number of Chinese technology companies are actively exploring similar approaches and rolling out related products.

Moonshot AI was among the first to launch Kimi Claw, a native integration with OpenClaw. The product emphasizes zero-code deployment and one-click setup, while also offering free computing power subsidies for OpenClaw calls, lowering the barrier for users. The move has attracted a large influx of users and helped accelerate the company’s overseas expansion, with the number of paying international users surging and overseas revenue surpassing domestic revenue for the first time.

Blurb:

Oil prices surged past $110 a barrel on Sunday evening, topping $100 for the first time in nearly four years, as the war in the Middle East entered its ninth day with no end in sight and the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed to tanker traffic.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly topped $110 soon after markets opened Sunday evening, while West Texas Intermediate rose to $109.05. Both benchmarks were trading around $60 a barrel in early January.

President Trump on Sunday night sought to reassure Americans that oil prices would come down in short order.

“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace. ONLY FOOLS WOULD THINK DIFFERENTLY!” Trump said on Truth Social.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump’s actions in Venezuela and Iran are the first time that any president has made any progress against China’s decades old effort to peacefully subvert the U.S.

It is no secret that China has two goals: to seize control of Taiwan and to become the lone global superpower by 2049, the centennial of the communist control over the country. China is our primary geopolitical rival, if not our mortal enemy.

Over the past few decades, China has successfully subverted the U.S. through globalization. The U.S. now depends on China for antibiotics, energy, technology hardware and vital rare earth minerals and their processing. China could shut off exports of these and other goods, and our economy, society and security would be crippled.

Yes, China would hurt itself by doing these things, but China is an iron-fisted totalitarian state where any social unrest would be much more easily (read brutally) addressed than in the U.S.

Blurb:

President Donald Trump said oil production is “beginning to flow” from Venezuela as Washington and Caracas work together to restore energy output following the capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, describing cooperation between the two countries as productive.

“Delcy Rodríguez, who is the President of Venezuela, is doing a great job, and working with U.S. Representatives very well,” Trump wrote.

Blurb:

REUTERS—A U.S. appeals court on Monday returned the lawsuits that led to most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs being struck down to the U.S. Court of International Trade, which could determine the process for refunding more than $130 billion to importers.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a one-page order granting the motion by importers to send the case back to the trade court, where it originated in early 2025.

The motion was opposed by the Trump administration, which said it wanted the case delayed for up to four months to give it time to consider its options.

Blurb:

Recent developments in the Middle East, including U.S. military actions against Iranian targets and reported damage to key export infrastructure like Kharg Island, have once again drawn attention to the vulnerability of global energy supplies.

Iran’s threats to fire on tankers trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz have created an insurance crisis for shippers, forcing oil prices to rise. At the same time, Iranian attacks on Qatar’s LNG infrastructure led the world’s second largest exporter to suspend production.

A new analysis from Enverus Intelligence Research finds that these events introduce a significant risk premium to oil prices, with Brent crude potentially facing an additional $10 to $15 per barrel if disruptions escalate. The firm’s baseline forecast had Brent at around $63, but prolonged instability in the region could push prices higher as markets price in supply concerns. Given that the Brent price had already risen by more than $9/bbl as of Tuesday, this seems a conservative projection unless the situation is quickly resolved.

Blurb:

The U.S.-Israel war with Iran could disrupt supplies of key semiconductor manufacturing materials, a South Korean ruling party lawmaker said on Thursday, as the conflict in the Middle East entered its sixth day.

South Korea’s chip industry, which supplies around two-thirds of global memory chips, is also concerned that a prolonged conflict in Iran will lead to higher energy costs and prices, Kim Young-bae said after meeting with executives from companies such as Samsung Electronics 005930.KS and trade groups.

Blurb:

It’s not exactly a secret that war can have a debilitating, caustic effect on the economy.

So when Operation Epic Fury commenced over the weekend — which saw joint U.S. and Israeli forces successfully kill Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as much of Tehran’s leadership infrastructure — it was only logical for people to assume that the markets would have a volatile and negative weekend.

According to The Wall Street Journal, those wringing their hands were only half right.

Blurb:

Because Iran has previously demonstrated its willingness to close the key trade route through the Strait of Hormuz, some media outlets are speculating that oil prices could soar to $100 a barrel or higher. They argue that this could cause a recession in the United States, which would spread across the global economy.

These fears are misplaced. Yes, the price of Brent Crude, the global benchmark, has climbed sharply to around $75 to $78 a barrel. But from the standpoint of economic activity, that is not a particularly troubling price. Several times in the past five years, Brent has traded above $90 a barrel without causing a recession in the U.S. or globally. World markets can weather oil prices in the $70s.

Blurb:

REUTERS—The United States will take action to mitigate rising energy prices due to a spike in the price of oil caused by the Iran conflict, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill, Rubio said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright would announce the plans on Tuesday.

“Starting tomorrow, you will see us rolling out those phases to try to mitigate against that … We anticipated this could be an issue,” Rubio said.

Blurb:

Like a good neighbor, The New York Times is there… to aid the Democrats in spreading anxiety about our war effort. The lefty newspaper is trying to whip out — get this — economics to lambast President Donald Trump and Israel’s historic military toppling of arguably the most murderous regime in the Middle East.

Instead of celebrating the long overdue elimination of the sadistic Ayatollah Khamenei and liberation of the Iranian people, Times energy reporter Rebecca Elliott whipped out this overly pedantic headline March 1: “Oil Prices Jump After Iran Attack, Pointing to Economic Risks.”

Blurb:

 

A Cheongung missile launcher is displayed during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX 2025) at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, on October 17, 2025.

South Korean defense stocks saw massive gains on Tuesday after the country’s markets returned from a public holiday, as the Iran war fuels interest in defense names globally.

Heavyweight Hanwha Aerospace, which is South Korea’s largest defense manufacturer, saw shares surge nearly 25%, before paring gains to about 13%, while Korea Aerospace Industries gained more than 12%, but cut those to 2.4%.

Shares in air defense systems maker LIG Nex1 soared 25%, while electronic warfare systems manufacturer Victek and anti-aircraft missile components’ maker Firstec saw shares rise more than 20% and 15%, respectively.