Jefferies backed into a more neutral rating on Rivian shares. Analyst Philippe Houchois downgraded shares of the electric vehicle maker to hold from buy. Houchois’ $16 price target reflects 7.6% upside from Tuesday’s close. “Rivian still needs to demonstrate sustainable positive gross margin and a more capital-efficient business model,” Houchois wrote in a Wednesday note to clients. Houchois pointed out that while the company’s first-quarter earnings numbers were helped by a change in accounting, there was sill progress in bringing down costs for the R1 models and overseeing cash. He also said the company has a brand equity story worth…
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Databricks co-founder and CEO Ali Ghodsi.DatabricksData analytics startup Databricks said Wednesday that it’s buying Neon, a cloud-based database software vendor, for about $1 billion.It’s the latest big deal for Databricks, which bought artificial intelligence model training startup MosaicML for $1.3 billion in 2023 and paid over $1 billion last year for data optimization startup Tabular.Neon has over 18,000 customers, Databricks said in a statement. Clients include OpenAI, Adobe, Boston Consulting Group, Replit and Vercel, according to Neon’s website.Many developers have flocked to Neon, which is open source and billed as an alternative to top cloud provider Amazon Web Services’ Aurora…
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025.Brian Snyder | ReutersThe plenary room of the Ritz Carlton Riyadh was packed to the brim on Tuesday as guests awaited the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Attendees of the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum included scores of the world’s most powerful CEOs, among them Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and BlackRock’s Larry Fink, to name a few.The event’s security corralled guests — billionaires and junior consultants alike — into the…
When Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, hosts President Trump at a lavish dinner at his palace in Doha on Wednesday evening, it will be the culmination of a successful charm offensive by the Gulf emirate that now appears likely to include the promise of a luxury jetliner to Mr. Trump — with no strings attached.The president, who has described the emir as a “great gentleman” and a “friend of mine,” is granting Qatar the honor of hosting one of the first foreign visits of his second term. As for the plane, the president says he would…
D3sign | Moment | Getty ImagesThe U.S. economy is still in a “strong position” despite “heightened uncertainty,” according to the Federal Reserve’s latest assessment.Yet there’s a looming economic risk the U.S. hasn’t meaningfully faced for decades — stagflation.”The risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation appear to have risen,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on May 7.Those two factors — along with slower economic growth — are the definition of stagflation.Stagflation is not here yet. The unemployment rate is low and inflation has come down, though it is still higher than the Fed’s 2% target, Powell noted last week.…
Chinese tech company Tencent is a gaming giant and the parent company of WeChat, the ubiquitous social messaging app in China.Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesTencent on Wednesday reported an annual rise in its top and bottom line in the first quarter fuelled by accelerated growth in its key gaming business.While revenue beat expectations, its net profit fell short. Here’s how Tencent did in the first quarter of 2025 versus LSEG estimates:Revenue: 180.02 billion Chinese yuan ($25 billion), versus 174.63 billion yuan expectedNet profit: 47.8 billion yuan, versus 52.2 billion yuan expectedRevenue rose 13% year-on-year, while net…
The leader of Syria’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group that headed a lightning rebel offensive snatching Damascus from government control, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, addresses a crowd at the capital’s landmark Umayyad Mosque on December 8, 2024.Abdulaziz Ketaz | Afp | Getty ImagesU.S. President Donald Trump met with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia before heading to Qatar on Wednesday, the White House said, one day after Washington announced the lifting of U.S. sanctions on the war-ravaged country.Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman oversaw the meeting, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joined by phone.”President Trump thanked President Erdogan…
The U.S. and China flags stand behind a microphone at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on April 9, 2009.Frederic J. Brown | AFP | Getty ImagesThis report is from this week’s CNBC’s The China Connection newsletter, which brings you insights and analysis on what’s driving the world’s second-largest economy. Each week, we’ll explore the biggest business stories in China, give a lowdown on market moves and help you set up for the week ahead. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.The big storyThe world got a taste of an effective U.S.-China trade embargo, and after a breakthrough on Monday with…
President Trump was more than 7,400 miles from Palm Beach, Fla., but he looked right at home.With its giant crystal chandeliers, polished marble, plush carpets and prominently displayed portraits of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Royal Court had the feel of a Mar-a-Lago East.On Tuesday, the first day of the president’s four-day Middle East swing, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, gave Mr. Trump the royal treatment.Mr. Trump was escorted through Saudi airspace by three F-15 fighter jets flanking each side of Air Force One. The presidential limousine was accompanied to the Royal…
Immigration officers at Gatwick’s border control. Stefan Rousseau – PA Images | PA Images | Getty Images British businesses are warning the U.K. government that plans to tighten immigration rules on foreign workers — and to instead train and recruit more British personnel — will lead to labor shortages in key sectors.The British government on Monday announced plans to cut migration to the U.K., tightening the rules on who can come to work, study and live in the country.The proposals raise English-language requirements for migrants, as well as the skills and level of education they need to obtain work visas.…
