In the competition between the country’s leading luxury car makers, BMW Group India has overtaken Mercedes-Benz India India in the first quarter of 2026. However, the overall luxury car market has remained flat, with total registrations reaching 13,336 units from January to March 2026, compared to 13,322 units during the same period a year earlier.

Mercedes-Benz India has been the dominant brand for several years, but BMW has now climbed to the top spot for the January to March 2026 period. According to VAHAN data, 4,944 BMW cars were registered in Q1 of 2026, marking an 11% year-on-year growth. In contrast, Mercedes-Benz reported 4,863 registrations.

While Mercedes-Benz has led the luxury car market in India for many years, the gap between the two companies is narrowing. In Q1 of 2023, the difference was significant, with Mercedes selling 1,734 more cars than BMW.

Anthropic PBC said its revenue run rate has now topped $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025, and confirmed plans to work with Broadcom and Google to power its burgeoning operations.
The AI startup said that demand for its Claude services has accelerated this year, with more than 1,000 business customers spending over $1 million on an annual basis. That figure has more than doubled since February.
The collaboration with Broadcom and Google, which was first announced last month, will help Anthropic build "the capacity necessary to serve the remarkable growth we have seen in our customer base," chief financial officer Krishna Rao said in a statement. The annual run rate - a popular benchmark among tech startups - extrapolates the current sales level over a full year.

The latest numbers suggest that a high-profile dispute with the US government hasn't stymied growth. Anthropic is waging a legal fight over the Pentagon's decision to declare the company a supply-chain risk following a standoff over AI safety guardrails.

U.S. President Donald Trump's move allowing foreign-flagged cargo ships to move fuel and other goods between domestic ports has so far had little impact on American oil supply, according to trade data and analysts who noted that U.S. refiners and shippers are earning more profits sending fuel overseas.

Last month, Trump waived Jones Act limitations for 60 days starting March 17, hoping the move would help tame the surge in fuel prices caused by the Iran war by increasing shipments from the U.S. Gulf Coast to other coastal markets in the country.

So far, however, shipping data shows the move has not boosted U.S. oil flows between domestic ports. Instead, U.S. fuel exports hit a record high last month, as refiners shipped more fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Asia and Europe, and even reversed traditional flows to export from the U.S. East Coast to Europe.

Supply chain pressures heated up in March to levels last seen at the start of 2023, data released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Monday.

In its latest Global Supply Chain Pressure Index, the bank said that the measure rose to 0.68, a modest rise from the 0.54 seen in February. A reading of zero indicates normal levels of supply pressures, with a positive number denoting mounting pressure. March compares to the 1.09 reading last seen in January 2023, when supply chain pressures were abating.

The New York Fed did not provide any reason for the rise in the March reading, but it is almost certainly related to disruptions tied to the war in the Middle East that was started by the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.

Even with the rise in March, the most recent reading is well off the peak 4.49 reading seen in December 2021, when COVID-19-related pressures were bearing down on the economy. With pandemic factors taken out, the March reading compared to levels seen in the run-up to the health crisis.

Rivals OpenAI, Anthropic PBC, and Alphabet's Google have begun working together to try to clamp down on Chinese competitors extracting results from cutting-edge US artificial intelligence models to gain an edge in the global AI race.
The firms are sharing information through the Frontier Model Forum, an industry nonprofit that the three tech companies founded with Microsoft in 2023, to detect so-called adversarial distillation attempts that violate their terms of service, according to people familiar with the matter.
The rare collaboration underscores the severity of a concern raised by US AI companies that some users, especially in China, are creating imitation versions of their products that could undercut them on price and siphon away customers while posing a national security risk. US officials have estimated that unauthorized distillation costs Silicon Valley labs billions of dollars in annual profit, according to a person familiar with the findings who described them on condition of anonymity.

Egypt's non-oil private sector deteriorated at its sharpest pace in almost two years in March, as the Middle East war drove up costs and dampened client demand, a closely watched business survey showed on Sunday.

The headline S&P Global Egypt Purchasing Managers' Index fell for a fourth consecutive month, dropping to 48.0 in March from 48.9 in February — its lowest reading since April 2024.

The figure remained below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction, though it was broadly in line with the survey's long-run average of 48.2.

Output and new orders were the chief drags on the index, with both measures also hitting their lowest levels for nearly two years. Firms frequently blamed the Middle East conflict for dampening client demand, partly through intensifying price pressures.

Taiwan's Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, reported a 29.7% on-year rise in first-quarter revenue on strong demand for artificial intelligence products, though it cautioned about "volatile" global politics.

Revenue for Nvidia's biggest server maker and Apple's top iPhone assembler jumped to T$2.13 trillion ($66.60 billion), Foxconn said in a statement on Sunday.

That was slightly below the T$2.148 trillion LSEG SmartEstimate, which gives greater weight to forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

Strong AI demand led to robust revenue growth for its cloud and networking products division. Smart consumer electronics, which includes iPhones, posted "significant" growth thanks to new product launches, the company said.

March revenue alone rose 45.6% on-year to T$803.7 billion, a record for that month.

Tesla saw its car registrations in South Korea rise 330% to 11,134 vehicles in March from year earlier, market researcher Carisyou said on Monday.

Tesla has cut prices for some of its Model Y and Model 3 electric vehicles made in China, sparking price competition among EV makers in Korea.

Russia and Saudi Arabia will provide more than 60 per cent of the total production increments scheduled for May 2026, leading a collective move by eight OPEC+ nations to adjust voluntary output levels.

According to an Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries press release, the participating countries decided to implement a total production adjustment of 206 thousand barrels per day (kbd). The decision followed a virtual meeting of Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria, and Oman, held on April 5 to review global market conditions.

"In their collective commitment to support oil market stability, the eight participating countries decided to implement a production adjustment of 206 thousand barrels per day from the 1.65 million barrels per day additional voluntary adjustments announced in April 2023.

President Donald Trump is due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in May during his first visit to China in eight years, a closely watched trip that comes just a year after Washington rolled out sweeping and at times erratic global tariffs.

The confrontation between the world's two top economies has evolved from slapping tit-for-tat tariffs to managing tensions following numerous rounds of trade talks, as well as phone calls and a meeting between their presidents last year.

DEVELOPMENTS THIS YEAR
MARCH - U.S. launches new Section 301 unfair-trade probes into Chinese industries. China responds with reciprocal investigations. Plans for a summit between Trump and President Xi Jinping were underway but Trump delays Beijing visit to mid-May as the Iran war continues.

A cross-party group of U.S. politicians have proposed a law to impose further restrictions on exports of computer chipmaking equipment to China, affecting companies such as ASML and China's top chipmakers.

The draft MATCH Act announced late on Thursday is aimed at protecting the U.S. lead in artificial intelligence by preventing Chinese companies from obtaining chip manufacturing tools they cannot make themselves and ensuring that companies based in U.S.-allied nations face the same restrictions as their U.S. rivals.

The U.S. has previously introduced several rounds of export restrictions aimed at curbing China's chipmaking capability, but those were led by President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden rather than Congress.

Lawmakers said their focus was on restricting technologies where China relies on imports, such as immersion DUV lithography needed to create chip circuitry.

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday proposed to ban the import of Chinese equipment from a group of manufacturers after previously barring approvals of new models in 2022, the latest move by Washington to crack down on Chinese-made electronic gear.

The FCC had in 2021 added telecommunications and video surveillance equipment made by Huawei, ZTE, Hytera, Hikvision and Dahua to its so-called "Covered List" of companies posing U.S. national security risks.

In November 2022, the U.S. telecoms regulator decided not to authorize the import or sale of new models from those Chinese companies.

The FCC said on Friday it was seeking comment on whether to bar the continued import of equipment from the listed Chinese firms approved for sale in the U.S. before the 2022 order.

European Union finance ministers are calling for a tax on windfall profits of energy companies in reaction to rising fuel prices due to the Iran war, according to a letter from the ministers to the EU Commission seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Austria made the joint call in a letter dated Friday, saying such a measure would be a signal that "we stand united and are able to take action".

"It would also send a clear message that those who profit from the consequences of the war must do their part to ease the burden on the general public," they wrote.

Microsoft on Friday said it will invest 1.6 trillion yen ($10 billion) in Japan between 2026 and 2029 to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure and strengthen cybersecurity cooperation with the government.

The investment includes the training of 1 million engineers and developers by 2030, Microsoft said, which was unveiled during a visit to Tokyo by Vice Chair and President Brad Smith. In a statement, the company said the plan aligns with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's goal to boost growth through advanced, strategic technologies while safeguarding national security.

Microsoft will work with domestic firms including SoftBank and Sakura Internet to expand Japan-based AI computing capacity, allowing companies and government agencies to keep sensitive data within the country while accessing Microsoft Azure services, it said. It will also deepen cooperation with Japanese authorities on sharing intelligence related to cyber threats and crime prevention.

Tesla kicked off 2026 with its weakest quarterly deliveries in a year, missing Wall Street expectations as fading U.S. incentives and intensifying global competition strain its core electric vehicle business.

Shares of the Elon Musk-led company fell more than 4%, after losing about 15% so far this year.

The figures also pointed to a growing imbalance between output and demand. Tesla produced 50,363 more vehicles than it delivered during the quarter, the widest gap in at least four years, signaling a build-up in unsold inventory.

"I believe the inventory build is due to both the new normal of the EV (tax credit) expiration and growing threat of competition as well as the need for lower interest rates to drive consumer demand," said Camelthorn Investments adviser Shawn Campbell, who owns Tesla shares.

Elon Musk's SpaceX boosted its target IPO valuation above $2 trillion, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for what could become the largest stock market listing on record.

SpaceX and its advisers are floating the figure to prospective investors in its initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported, adding that deliberations are ongoing and details of the IPO could still change.

The startup submitted confidential IPO paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission recently and is targeting a market launch later this year.

The Starbase, Texas-headquartered firm could raise as much as $75 billion, according to the report, surpassing the 2019 IPO of Saudi Aramco, which remains the largest on record.

Tesla plans to expand in Japan to at least 60 stores as it seeks to become the country's biggest imported car brand by as early as next year, the head of its Japan business said on Friday.

Expanded store and service centre coverage and investment in training over the past two years have helped drive Tesla's sales growth in Japan, said country manager Richi Hashimoto, even as electric-vehicle adoption in the country remains modest.

The Elon Musk-led company's expansion in Japan comes as battery-powered car sales have slowed heavily in the U.S. and other key markets globally, increasing the importance of regions where electric vehicle penetration remains low.

"We want to aim to become the number one imported car brand, possibly as early as next year," Hashimoto said at an event to mark the launch of Model Y L in Japan, outlining the company's mid- to long-term goals in the country.

U.S. President Donald Trump adjusted his national security tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper imports on Thursday to cut duty rates on derivative products made with the metals, simplify compliance and avoid under-reporting of import values. In a proclamation signed by Trump, the United States will maintain a 50% import tariff on steel, aluminum and copper commodity imports under Section 232 of the Trade Act of 1974, but apply the rate to the prices paid by U.S. customers, according to a White House announcement and a senior Trump administration official. It was not immediately clear how the sales price and resulting tariff would be determined.

The official said some importers had been claiming artificially reduced import values to reduce their tariff costs. Other changes announced by the Trump administration official include:

* The U.S. will eliminate the prior 50% duty on derivative products made with steel, aluminum and copper if the product's content of the metals is below 15% by weight.

Samsung Electronics, benefiting from red-hot chip prices stoked by the AI boom, is expected to book a six-fold jump in operating profit for January-March - a quarterly record and just shy of what it earned for all of the past business year.

Bolstered by what it calls an "unprecedented supercycle" for memory chips, Samsung is projected to flag on Tuesday a profit of 40.5 trillion won ($26.9 billion) on a 50% climb in revenue, according to an LSEG SmartEstimate drawn from 29 analysts.

By comparison, last year, the world's biggest maker of memory chips logged 43.6 trillion won in operating income.

Some analysts are even more bullish, with Citi, for example, forecasting 51 trillion won.

SpaceX may soon lead the largest stock market listing on record with an IPO valuation of more than $1.75 trillion. The Elon Musk-led company had merged with his artificial intelligence startup xAI earlier this year — valuing the rocket company at $1 trillion and the developer of the Grok chatbot at $250 billion.

According to a Bloomberg report, the company has filed confidentially for a US initial public offering and appears to be on track for a June listing. Companies can receive feedback from the regulator and make changes before the information becomes public in such cases. The publication estimated last week that SpaceX may consider a fundraising target of about $75 billion — dwarfing the $29 billion IPO debut record currently held by Saudi Aramco

The public listing could come at a potential valuation of more than $1.75 trillion. This would also make SpaceX the first of what could become a trio of mega-IPOs — ahead of OpenAI and Anthropic PBC. Details of the offering, including the number of shares to be sold and the price range, are likely to be disclosed in a later filing.