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Disney parks boss outlines investment strategy, with superfans at fore

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Disney parks boss outlines investment strategy, with superfans at fore

Artist concept art of the yeti animatronic from Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.

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It’s not every day that a live crowd goes wild for an animatronic yeti.

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But the audience at Disney’s D23 Expo isn’t just any old crowd, and its superfans are central to Disney’s strategic parks investments — some $60 billion planned over a decade.

“We are bringing the yeti back to life,” Thomas Mazloum, chairman of Disney Experiences, announced to 12,000 Disney parks fans Saturday night during the division’s showcase in Anaheim, California.

The resurrection he was referencing is within the Expedition Everest attraction at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Since 2006, the ride’s yeti has been stationary. At the time the figure was unveiled it was the largest and most complex audio-animatronic that Walt Disney Imagineering had ever built. But after only a few months, it broke.

Its location within the finished ride made it difficult to fix, so Imagineers placed the machine in “B-mode,” in which a strobe-light effect was used to give the illusion of movement. The broken animatronic has since become affectionately known as “Disco Yeti.” Now, it’s getting a second life.

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Mazloum, who became parks chief after Josh D’Amaro was appointed as Disney CEO, announced the yeti repair — as well as the return of fan-favorite characters Dreamfinder and Figment to Epcot in Florida and an overhaul of Tomorrowland in California — to some of Disney’s most ardent fans on Saturday.

It’s a signal of where the company plans to put its focus for the blockbuster Disney Experiences unit, made up of theme parks, cruise lines and consumer goods sales. As Disney expands its reach, it will need to lean on its most loyal attendees and biggest spenders to counter macroeconomic uncertainties and challenging travel trends.

“It may not sound like a big thing, but something like the yeti or Figment or really being serious about Tomorrowland, they mean a lot to people because they grew up with these stories,” Mazloum told CNBC.

“They’re small, they’re immediate, but they’re meaningful,” he added.

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A balancing act

Concept art for the Car’s Ridge Run Rally ride coming to Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.

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“I believe the results are at the end of doing something right at the beginning, and that is really putting the fans in the center of our attention,” he said. “That’s why, despite some, you know, other companies reporting different results, we’re doing extremely well in Florida. We’re doing very well here in California, because we’ve listened carefully and we’ve really responded to the right consumer at the right time.”

Last month, rival Comcast reported lags in theme park attendance, particularly in Orlando, Florida. And yet, at Disney, domestic park attendance was up 3% and guest spending rose 4%.

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The company attributed strong attendance to its Cool Kids Summer promotion, which features kid-focused character meet-and-greets, dance parties and air-conditioned hangout spots as well as free water park admission on check-in day for guests at Disney resorts.

Disney also recently refreshed and reimagined park attractions like Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Muppets-themed Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

Driving attendance with IP

Next up is the refurbishment of the Carousel of Progress, which is expected to be completed in late-spring 2027, and the opening of the Monsters, Inc.-themed Monstropolis land, also set for 2027.

In the meantime, Disney continues working on its Avengers Campus expansion, its new Villains Land, the retheming of Frontierland featuring the Cars franchise as well as the new Tropical Americas land, among other long-term projects.

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Artist concept art for the stage show coming to the Monstropolis land at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida.

Disney

Disney’s portfolio of IP has been the bedrock of its theme parks since the very first location opened its doors, and that library of content has only grown in recent decades. The company has a vast well of stories and characters to tap into in order to entice parkgoers.

While these new lands and rethemed attractions are designed for all future Disney park visitors, these additions predominantly act as a beacon to those that don’t travel as often to the company’s resorts and parks. They offer a fresh reason for out-of-state and international guests to book a trip.

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“The percentage of people that go to Shanghai Disneyland just to go to Zootopia Land is very, very high,” then-CEO Bob Iger said during the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report in February.

Rewarding loyal parkgoers

Equally important are the guests that frequent Disney’s parks more often. These attendees have some of the strongest emotional attachment to the parks and more purchasing opportunities when it comes to merchandise and concessions.

These parkgoers enjoy the new marquee expansions, but it’s not the only driver for their visits to the parks. Those who visit annually or several times during the year are deeply passionate about the live shows, character meet-and-greets, holiday food specials, seasonal festivals and parades and nighttime spectaculars that these parks provide.

Scene from World of Color – ONE, the new nighttime water show at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, CA, on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

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Medianews Group/orange County Register Via Getty Images | Medianews Group | Getty Images

On Saturday, Disney revealed the return of two fan-favorite nighttime spectaculars — “Remember Dreams Come True,” a fireworks show at Disneyland, and the original “World of Color” at California Adventure. The “Magic Happens” parade will also be making a comeback at Disneyland.

“This new set of announcements demonstrates that Disney is listening to what fans want,” said Gavin Doyle, founder of MickeyVisit.com. “The reaction in the room was cheering and thunderous applause. People feel like Disney hears what they have been asking for.”

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Gold appears set for a rebound as it regains safe-haven appeal after US-Iran war selloff

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Gold appears set for a rebound as it regains safe-haven appeal after US-Iran war selloff
Gold’s 9% recovery in August to around $4,400 an ounce indicates that the precious metal is regaining favour among institutional investors and central banks, positioning it for further gains as markets move beyond the initial shock of the US-Israeli war with Iran, Reuters reported.

The conflict’s outbreak in late February sent gold tumbling from a record $5,595 an ounce in January to below $4,000 in June, as investors sought liquidity and some central banks drew on their reserves to support domestic economies amid surging oil prices.

“It feels as though the handbrake has finally been released from gold,” said Ross Norman, an independent analyst.

Gold has broken through two key resistance levels this month, supported by lower oil prices and softer U.S. inflation data that reduced expectations for further interest-rate increases.

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“If oil doesn’t steal the show again, if the situation in the Middle East does not erupt and oil prices spike, then the path of least resistance for gold looks higher,” James Steel, chief precious metals analyst at HSBC, told Reuters.


Steel said the strength of gold’s rebound over the past two weeks suggested that central banks or sovereign wealth funds may have been active, although he stressed that this was an inference rather than confirmed information.
Institutional demand for large gold bars was another likely source of support, with premiums in Asian trading centres, including China, indicating renewed buying interest. China’s gold premium stood at $1.50 an ounce last week.“It is really, I think, the rebuilding of positions that large institutions had before the conflict with Iran,” Steel added further.

However, stalled efforts to end the Iran war, weak jewellery and coin demand and subdued inflows into interest-rate-sensitive gold-backed ETFs could limit further gains. According to the World Gold Council, these funds added only $7 billion in the first half of August, taking their assets under management to $582 billion.

Technical indicators also pose a challenge. The relative strength index suggests gold is nearing short-term “overbought” territory, while the 200-day moving average, currently at $4,504, remains a strong resistance level.

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Where to Watch Livestream as Prosecutors Are Expected to Rest Their Case

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Lindsay Clancy Trial Day 14: Where to Watch Livestream as

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three young children in January 2023, entered its 14th day of testimony Monday in Plymouth Superior Court, with Judge William Sullivan telling jurors that prosecutors are expected to formally rest their case during the session.

“It’s anticipated that the Commonwealth will close their portion of the evidence today,” Sullivan told jurors Monday morning, according to court reporting. “Then at that point, the defendant has the opportunity, if they want to, to present witnesses and evidence if they want to.”

The trial has generated intense public interest and has been livestreamed throughout its run, with coverage available through several Massachusetts news outlets including Boston 25 News, CBS Boston and ABC7, all of which have provided ongoing livestream access and real-time updates from inside the courtroom. Journalists and members of the public have packed the courtroom itself throughout the proceedings, while online audiences have closely followed developments as the case has unfolded.

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Clancy, 36, faces first-degree murder charges in the deaths of her three children — 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan — who died at the family’s Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023. Clancy has pleaded not guilty. Her attorneys do not dispute that she killed the children, but argue she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and believed she was hearing voices instructing her to take the children’s lives and her own.

Prosecutors have presented a different account, arguing that Clancy acted with intent and premeditation. According to prosecutors, Clancy arranged to have her husband, Patrick, leave the house to pick up takeout food and visit a pharmacy on the day of the killings, then strangled the children with resistance exercise bands while he was away. Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham has urged jurors to evaluate the case on its facts rather than as a broader referendum on mental health treatment, telling the court the trial should not be viewed as “a public debate about women’s mental health and how the medical system treats women.”

The trial’s 13th day of testimony, held Thursday, included Massachusetts State Police investigators walking jurors through forensic analysis of Clancy’s cellphone, part of the prosecution’s broader effort to establish a timeline and pattern of behavior leading up to the killings. During cross-examination that day, defense attorney Kevin Reddington highlighted internet search history from a family computer, including searches related to psychiatric medication and mental health terms conducted in the weeks before the killings, though ownership and authorship of some searches remained disputed between the two sides during testimony.

The trial’s proceedings the day before, on Wednesday, were described as particularly difficult, with jurors shown autopsy photographs and hearing graphic testimony regarding injuries suffered by Clancy’s two oldest children. That testimony reportedly prompted Clancy to become emotional in the courtroom, at one point telling the court, “I can’t do this,” according to reporting from the trial.

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A legal analyst who has followed the proceedings has suggested that Clancy’s emotional reactions during testimony could influence how jurors ultimately perceive her state of mind, both at the time of the killings and throughout the trial itself, a factor that may play into the jury’s eventual determination regarding her criminal responsibility.

Prosecutors have sought throughout the trial to demonstrate that Clancy had access to a range of mental health resources and treatment options but did not consistently follow medical guidance, including discontinuing certain prescribed medications. Several of Clancy’s treating medical providers have testified for the prosecution, telling jurors that Clancy never discussed having a specific plan to harm herself or her children during their sessions with her, and that she did not display outward signs consistent with psychosis or mania, despite having reported experiencing suicidal thoughts to some providers.

The defense, led by Reddington, has maintained since early in the case that Clancy had been prescribed as many as a dozen different medications following the birth of her third child and that resulting over-medication, which Reddington has previously described as “horrific,” significantly contributed to her mental state at the time of the killings. The defense has argued this amounted to postpartum psychosis severe enough that Clancy should not be held criminally responsible for her actions under Massachusetts law.

According to prosecutors’ account presented at Clancy’s initial arraignment, after the killings, Clancy attempted to take her own life by cutting her wrist and neck before jumping from a second-story window of the family home. She survived but sustained injuries that left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down. She has remained hospitalized, primarily at Tewksbury Hospital, throughout much of the period since her arrest and has appeared at various pretrial hearings via video conference due to her medical condition.

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Clancy’s case has drawn extensive pretrial litigation over the more than three years since the killings, including disputes over medical records, expert witness materials and reporting notes from a New Yorker journalist who had interviewed Patrick Clancy regarding his wife’s mental health prior to the killings. The trial itself was postponed multiple times before ultimately beginning this summer.

Clancy’s parents, Mike and Paula Musgrove of Wallingford, Connecticut, have continued to publicly support their daughter throughout the legal proceedings. “She’s a loving mother, always has been,” Paula Musgrove told reporters outside the courtroom during an earlier hearing, while her husband added, “We love our daughter very much, and we’re here just to support her any way we possibly can.”

With prosecutors expected to conclude their case Monday, attention now turns to whether the defense will call its own witnesses, including any mental health experts expected to testify regarding Clancy’s psychiatric state at the time of the killings. No timeline has been announced for how long the defense’s portion of the trial might take, and Judge Sullivan has not indicated when the case might ultimately go to the jury for deliberation.

This story involves themes of suicide, mental illness and violence toward children, which can be difficult to read about. If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, thoughts of suicide, or postpartum depression or psychosis, you can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org, available 24/7.

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Cerebras Systems Stock Jumps 15.67% as AI Chipmaker’s Wild Trading Swings Continue Since May IPO Debut

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Shares of Cerebras Systems Inc. surged 15.67%, or $34.31, to $253.29 as of 12:08 p.m. EDT Monday, extending a pattern of dramatic price swings that has defined the artificial intelligence chipmaker’s stock since its blockbuster public debut earlier this year.

Monday’s rally adds to what has already been one of the most volatile trading histories among recent major technology listings. Cerebras stock has moved through an extraordinarily wide range over the past several weeks alone, climbing from roughly $176.88 on July 20 to as high as $262.06 by Aug. 12, before pulling back sharply amid concerns tied to the company’s most recent earnings report and competitive pressures within the AI chip sector.

Cerebras made its Nasdaq debut on May 14 in what became the largest U.S. technology initial public offering since Snowflake’s 2020 listing. The company, which designs specialized wafer-scale semiconductors for AI training and inference, priced its shares at $185 apiece, above an already-raised range, raising approximately $5.55 billion by selling 30 million shares. Demand for the offering proved extraordinary: shares opened at $350 on their first day of trading, nearly double the IPO price, before touching an intraday high of $385 and ultimately closing that first session at $311.07, a gain of 68.2%. The debut valued the company at nearly $70 billion on a standard basis, or as much as $86 billion on a fully diluted basis that accounted for restricted shares, stock options and warrants, according to Bloomberg data at the time.

Since that dramatic opening, Cerebras shares have continued to whipsaw sharply in both directions, reflecting the market’s ongoing effort to price a company that combines rapid revenue growth with substantial ongoing losses. The company’s most recent quarterly report showed record second-quarter revenue of $209.9 million, exceeding consensus analyst expectations of roughly $193.6 million. Despite that revenue beat, shares fell as much as 12% to 17% in the sessions following the report, as investors focused instead on a narrowing but still substantial operating loss, heavy customer concentration risk, and broader questions about the durability of demand for the company’s specialized AI hardware relative to established competitors.

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Cerebras’ most significant rival remains Nvidia, the world’s most valuable publicly traded company and the dominant supplier of graphics processing units used across the AI industry. Cerebras has positioned its wafer-scale engine technology, which places an entire silicon wafer’s worth of computing power onto a single chip rather than relying on clusters of smaller GPUs, as offering meaningful speed and cost advantages over traditional GPU-based architectures, though the approach also carries tradeoffs, including significant power consumption and a cost of up to $3 million per computing node, according to technical descriptions of the company’s systems.

Despite the stock’s volatility, Cerebras has continued to expand its commercial partnerships within the broader AI industry. The company announced last week that its chips are now powering a new “Ultrafast” service tier within OpenAI’s application programming interface for GPT-5.6 Sol, with Cerebras saying its hardware helps the model run up to 14 times faster than standard configurations. Cerebras has also maintained a partnership with Amazon, and OpenAI previously launched one of its AI models running specifically on Cerebras’ chip infrastructure earlier this year, underscoring the company’s efforts to establish itself as a credible alternative supplier within the rapidly expanding AI infrastructure market.

Wall Street analyst sentiment toward Cerebras has remained largely positive despite the stock’s sharp swings. Citi has maintained a buy rating on the shares, while Craig-Hallum has similarly reaffirmed its own buy recommendation on the stock following the company’s recent earnings report. Investment firm Wedbush also remained bullish following the second-quarter results and raised its price target on the stock even as shares fell in the immediate aftermath of the earnings release, according to coverage of the report. Notable institutional investors have also continued showing interest in the stock; Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest reportedly purchased approximately $25 million worth of Cerebras shares in a single trading session while simultaneously trimming its position in Palantir Technologies, according to reporting on the fund’s portfolio activity.

Cerebras’ underlying financial profile continues to reflect a company in an aggressive, early-stage growth phase. The company reported total quarterly revenue of $180.11 million in an earlier period this summer, alongside a net loss of approximately $450.53 million and a basic loss per share of $2.98, figures that illustrate the substantial gap that remains between the company’s current revenue base and profitability. Cerebras has maintained a substantial cash position exceeding $6.7 billion, providing what analysts have described as significant financial runway to continue funding its aggressive expansion within the AI infrastructure market despite ongoing losses.

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The stock’s 52-week trading range illustrates just how dramatic Cerebras’ volatility has been since its public debut, with shares having traded as low as $160.81 and as high as $386.34 over the past year, according to trading data. That range reflects a stock that has, at various points, traded both well above and well below its already elevated first-day closing price, underscoring the market’s continued uncertainty about how to value a company combining rapid top-line growth, significant ongoing losses, and a business model built around challenging one of the world’s most dominant technology companies in Nvidia.

Cerebras was founded in 2015 by Sean Lie, Andrew Feldman, Gary Lauterbach, Michael James and Jean Philippe Fricker, and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Feldman, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, has continued to publicly defend the company’s long-term growth trajectory following the stock’s post-earnings decline, with at least one Wall Street analyst characterizing recent investor skepticism as “missing the forest for the trees” relative to the company’s broader positioning within the AI infrastructure buildout, according to commentary on the stock following its second-quarter results.

As Cerebras continues navigating its first several months as a public company, Monday’s sharp rally adds another chapter to what has already become one of the more closely watched and volatile trading stories among this year’s crop of high-profile AI-related public listings, with investors continuing to weigh the company’s rapid revenue growth and expanding partnership base against its substantial ongoing losses and intensifying competition within the broader AI semiconductor market.

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US stocks: US market slips as oil prices rise, retail results awaited

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US stocks: US market slips as oil prices rise, retail results awaited
Wall Street‘s three major indexes fell on Monday as investors waited for quarterly reports from large retailers to provide insights into U.S. consumer spending, ‌while oil prices rose ⁠as the ⁠U.S. and Iran appeared no closer to a deal.

Oil futures settled up more than $2 per barrel as investor pessimism about ​diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iran war fanned global supply worries. The gain in oil provided support for ​the energy index.

Investors, with July’s weak retail sales and jobs data fresh in their minds, were cautious as they waited for quarterly results from retailers. Home improvement company Home Depot is due to ​report on Tuesday, and retail bellwether Walmart on Thursday.

“Concerns about ⁠recent softer ‌data have the market being a bit tepid and waiting for retail ​earnings for direction,” ​said Phil Blancato, chief market strategist at Osaic Wealth, who added that volume ⁠is often weak in August, when many traders take vacations. “There’s a ​combination of summer doldrums and waiting for data on the consumer.”

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According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 lost 39.55 points, or 0.51%, to end at 7,746.21 points, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 76.87 points, or 0.31%, to 26,652.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 263.21 points, or 0.49%, to 53,469.20.


Most of the benchmark S&P 500’s 11 major industry sectors lost ground on the day with communications services, consumer staples and consumer discretionary among the weakest.
The S&P 500 ‌technology sector flitted between red and green during the session. Trading in technology has been volatile with investors anxious about whether hefty spending on artificial intelligence will ​pay off. Reuters ​reported on Friday that two ⁠people familiar with Anthropic’s financials said the company, which is preparing for its IPO, forecast 2028 revenue of roughly $190 billion to $200 billion.On Monday, gains in chip stocks were offset by declines in software ​with the PHLX semiconductor index rallying while the S&P 500 Software & Services index sank.

Investors are also waiting for results, due out next week, from leading AI chipmaker Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company.

In individual movers, U.S.-listed shares of Vista gained ground after Peter Thiel bought a 1% stake in the Latin American oil company.

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Michael Patrick Guest of Mississippi’s 3rd District Sells Stocks in Airbnb, Chevron, and e.l.f. Beauty

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Michael Patrick Guest of Mississippi’s 3rd District Sells Stocks in Airbnb, Chevron, and e.l.f. Beauty

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CXMT Shares Jump 12% in Shanghai as Chinese Memory Chipmaker’s Blockbuster Rally Continues to Climb Higher

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Wix Stock Jumps Nearly 10% as Battered Shares Rebound Ahead

SHANGHAI — Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies, known as CXMT, jumped 12%, or 6.62 yuan, to 61.80 yuan as of 3:00 p.m. local time Monday, extending an extraordinary rally that has continued largely uninterrupted since the Chinese memory chipmaker’s blockbuster debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s tech-focused STAR Market three weeks ago.

CXMT’s stock has surged dramatically since it began trading on July 27, when shares soared as much as 466% to 500% on their first day of trading alone, instantly making the Hefei-based company the most valuable listed entity on any mainland Chinese exchange. The company’s shares closed that opening session at 49 yuan, giving CXMT a market capitalization of roughly 3.3 trillion yuan, or approximately $487 billion at the time, a figure that vaulted the company past state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China as China’s most valuable listed company.

The rally has continued in the weeks since, with shares climbing further to close at 57.60 yuan the following Friday, pushing the company’s market capitalization to roughly 3.54 trillion yuan, or about $523 billion, according to figures reported at the time. Monday’s additional 12% gain to 61.80 yuan pushes the stock further into record territory, underscoring the sustained investor enthusiasm surrounding the company since its listing.

CXMT’s initial public offering itself was a landmark event for Chinese capital markets. The company raised 57.92 billion yuan, or roughly $8.6 billion, by pricing its shares at 8.66 yuan each, making it the largest IPO in Asia so far this year and mainland China’s second-largest public offering on record, trailing only the $22.1 billion combined Shanghai and Hong Kong listing of Agricultural Bank of China in 2010.

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Founded in 2016 in the eastern Chinese city of Hefei with state backing, CXMT specializes in designing, manufacturing and selling dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, chips, a category of semiconductor widely used in servers, personal computers, mobile devices and smart vehicles. The company’s major clients include Alibaba Group’s cloud computing division, Alibaba Cloud, along with ByteDance, Tencent Holdings, Lenovo, Xiaomi and several major smartphone manufacturers including Honor, Oppo and Vivo.

According to figures disclosed in the company’s IPO prospectus, CXMT held approximately 7.67% of the global DRAM market based on fourth-quarter 2025 sales data, a share that has continued growing as the company has expanded production. By comparison, the global DRAM market remains dominated by three much larger established players: South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, which the company’s prospectus placed at roughly 36% global market share, SK Hynix at approximately 29%, and U.S.-based Micron Technology at around 24%.

CXMT’s dramatic financial turnaround has helped fuel investor enthusiasm surrounding the stock. The company swung to an operating profit of 35.43 billion yuan in the first quarter, reversing a loss of 2.83 billion yuan during the same period a year earlier, a shift the company has attributed to continued growth in global computing demand tied to artificial intelligence and increased capacity allocation from major device manufacturers seeking memory chip supply.

CXMT’s rise has taken on particular significance given the broader geopolitical backdrop shaping China’s semiconductor industry. The company has emerged as a central symbol of Beijing’s broader push toward technological self-sufficiency, particularly in advanced chipmaking, as China continues to contend with U.S.-led export restrictions limiting its access to cutting-edge chipmaking equipment and technology. The company is also investing heavily in high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, a specialized and more advanced form of DRAM critical for the kind of advanced processors used in AI applications, including graphics processing units made by Nvidia. CXMT has said it aims to begin production at a dedicated HBM back-end packaging facility in Shanghai by the end of 2026.

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Adding further to investor interest surrounding the stock, reports emerged earlier this summer that Apple had begun testing CXMT’s DRAM chips for potential use in devices sold within China, a development that, if it results in a formal supply relationship, could mark a significant commercial validation of the Chinese chipmaker’s technology by one of the world’s largest device manufacturers.

Despite its meteoric post-IPO rise, CXMT’s market capitalization, while enormous by Chinese standards, remains smaller than those of its more established South Korean and American rivals. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix continue to carry substantially larger valuations reflecting their more mature and diversified chip businesses, and analysts have noted that CXMT still trails those companies by several years in terms of advanced manufacturing capability, particularly for next-generation HBM chips. SK Hynix, for instance, has said it expects to begin large-scale production of its next-generation HBM4 chips by the end of this year, a timeline analysts expect CXMT’s own advanced memory production to lag behind.

Market analysts remain divided over whether CXMT’s extraordinary valuation reflects a sustainable, long-term shift in global memory chip supply chains toward greater Chinese participation, or a shorter-term surge driven primarily by AI-related memory shortages and limited available trading float in the stock’s early weeks on the market. One market strategist noted that a roughly 470% first-day gain, while not entirely without precedent among smaller Chinese listings, was particularly notable given CXMT’s substantial size, suggesting that a combination of limited free float and pent-up market sentiment played a significant role in driving the stock’s initial surge.

Morningstar has separately noted that the broader strategic significance of AI-related semiconductor self-sufficiency for China’s national security priorities has likely contributed to sustained investor demand for CXMT shares beyond what might be explained by the company’s current financial fundamentals alone, reflecting the broader political and economic weight Beijing has placed on developing homegrown alternatives to foreign-dominated segments of the global chip supply chain.

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As CXMT’s rally continues into its fourth week of trading, the stock’s performance is likely to remain closely watched both as a barometer of investor sentiment toward China’s broader semiconductor self-sufficiency push and as a test case for how sustainably newly listed Chinese technology companies can maintain extraordinary post-IPO valuations once the initial wave of listing-driven enthusiasm begins to settle into more conventional trading patterns.

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Hollywood Pays Tribute to Hayden Panettiere as Police Say No Signs of Foul Play in Her Sudden Death at 36

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Hayden Panettiere

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Tributes continued pouring in from across Hollywood on Monday following the death of actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” as investigators said a preliminary probe into her death has found no evidence of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

Officers and emergency medical personnel responded to a report of an unresponsive woman at the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex in Greenville shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday, according to a statement from the Greenville Police Department. Life-saving measures were performed at the scene, but Panettiere was pronounced dead. Police said an acquaintance of the 36-year-old actress had placed the 911 call from the apartment complex. No cause of death has been released, and the Greenville County Coroner’s Office was expected to perform an autopsy as the investigation continues.

Panettiere’s representative confirmed her death Sunday night in a statement provided to ABC News. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her – and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” the statement read.

Panettiere’s death came just three years after she mourned the loss of her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, who died suddenly in 2023 at age 28. Jansen’s family said at the time that a medical examiner determined his death was caused by cardiomegaly, an enlarged heart, along with complications involving the aortic valve, and it remains unknown whether the condition had been diagnosed before his death. In a statement following his death, the family remembered him warmly. “Jansen’s heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit,” the family said, adding that “his charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered.”

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As word of Hayden Panettiere’s death spread Monday, tributes continued arriving from friends and former colleagues across the entertainment industry. Kelly Osbourne shared a deeply personal message on her Instagram Stories, reflecting on a shared understanding between the two women about growing up in the public eye. “We understood each other in a way few truly can — recognizing how difficult it is to grow up in the spotlight, and how isolating it can feel even when surrounded by so many people,” Osbourne wrote, adding, “My heart grieves for someone so special to this world and such a good friend to me. I will never forget you, Hayden, and I will always believe you deserved better. Rest in peace, sweet princess. You will never be forgotten.”

“Heroes” co-star Dania Ramirez, who appeared alongside Panettiere on the NBC series, reflected on the lasting impact of their friendship. “My heart aches so much right now. I love you and will always miss you,” Ramirez wrote on Instagram. “I take comfort in knowing that I am with you in life and in death because your love and energy has always transcended this dimension.” Ramirez also sent condolences to Panettiere’s daughter and loved ones, writing that “the ones that got to feel your gifts will forever feel blessed and grateful for you.”

Fellow “Heroes” co-star James Kyson, who recalled first meeting Panettiere when she was just 16, described her as an experienced performer with an “older soul” despite her youth. Kyson remembered her as “a fierce protector of animal rights” and a “‘cheerleader’ for kindness, justice, and people being treated fairly,” writing on Instagram, “May your soul Rest in Peace Hayden… and my deepest condolences & prayers for her family. Life can be so short… let’s send some love out to the world, our loved ones, and to those who need it most today.”

The outpouring of grief has been especially notable given how recently Panettiere had spoken publicly about feeling hopeful for the future. Just one month before her death, she told Fox News Digital she had a “laundry list” of goals still ahead of her while promoting her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” “I have a laundry list of things I would love to accomplish and create,” Panettiere said, adding that she felt “connected to myself” after years of documented struggles with addiction, postpartum depression and domestic abuse. “I feel like I’m taking good care of myself, checking in with myself,” she said, revealing she had been developing a new television project and hoped to move into directing. “I have a show that I’ve been working on and I would love to create that,” she said. “I would love to direct. I just want to share my secrets, my tricks, the things that I’ve learned in life and help others be their best selves.”

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In that same interview, Panettiere spoke candidly about her bond with her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, and reflected on her decision years earlier to allow Kaya to live primarily with her father. “I felt like I made the right call,” Panettiere said. “I’ve seen who she is and she’s an incredible human being. Something must have gone right.” She described staying close to her daughter despite the distance between them. “I travel a lot to Europe, and I spend a lot of time on FaceTime with her,” she said. “And Wlad and I have a good relationship.” Reflecting on how their bond had evolved as Kaya grew older, Panettiere added, “She’s 11 now, so time is flying. I feel like she’s becoming more and more curious about me, my life and who I am. We’re so similar. She is me. I understand her in a way that nobody else can.”

Weeks before her death, Panettiere had also spoken during a podcast appearance with Jay Shetty about feeling as though she had finally moved past years of personal turmoil. “I finally feel like I have shaken off all of this darkness and this negativity,” she told Shetty in May. “That means that I’ve closed one door and another door is opened … I can feel all the exciting possibilities. I feel like I have a lot more life to live.”

Panettiere began her career as an infant appearing in television commercials before landing a role on “One Life to Live” around age 4. She rose to widespread fame as Claire Bennet, the seemingly indestructible cheerleader at the center of NBC’s superhero drama “Heroes,” which ran from 2006 to 2010, before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes on “Nashville” from 2012 to 2018. Her film career included a breakout role alongside Denzel Washington in 2000’s “Remember the Titans,” as well as parts in “Bring It On: All or Nothing” and the “Scream” horror franchise.

As of Monday, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office had not released an official cause of death, and police said the investigation remains ongoing.

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Paramount seeks $1.88B bond from state AGs to cover WBD merger delay costs

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Paramount seeks $1.88B bond from state AGs to cover WBD merger delay costs

The Paramount Pictures logo is displayed on a water tower in Los Angeles, California, on August 6, 2026.

Michael Yanow | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Paramount Skydance will seek to force the states holding up its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to pay for the fees and costs associated with the delay, according to a new filing in the antitrust case Monday.

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Paramount is requesting a $1.88 billion bond that would be posted by the states behind the lawsuit. In July, a dozen state attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta filed to challenge the proposed $110 billion merger between Paramount and WBD.

The proposed deal would combine two storied film studios — Paramount and Warner Bros. — as well as put together a sprawling portfolio of pay TV networks in the U.S. and streaming platforms HBO Max and Paramount+.

The group of state attorneys general said in its initial filing that the merger would violate the Clayton Antitrust Act, which is the more-than-100-year-old law that prohibits anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions.

In a statement from a Paramount spokesperson, the company pointed to the Clayton Antitrust Act and other federal law that calls on the plaintiffs — or states in this case — being required “to post a bond covering the potential harm from halting a transaction to litigate.”

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“Here, every month of delay carries substantial and quantifiable financial consequences,” Paramount said in its statement.

A representative from Bonta’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Paramount has received regulatory approvals from the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as all other global jurisdictions needed to move forward with the merger. But last month, Paramount agreed to delay the proposed acquisition to as late as June 2027 while the state AGs’ case heads to trial.

Paramount long planned to have the deal closed by the end of September. The delay could prove costly for Paramount.

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Paramount agreed to a so-called ticking fee under the terms of the merger agreement, meaning that beginning Sept. 30 it would pay WBD shareholders an additional 25 cents per share, per quarter, until the deal closes. The amount could add up to roughly $650 million in cash value per quarter.

“By the time trial concludes and the parties submit their final briefs, Paramount will have paid Warner Bros. shareholders an unrecoverable $1.3 billion in ticking fees alone,” Paramount said in the filing. “Delay also threatens to nullify the regulatory approvals that Defendants have already spent months securing.”

“Absent security, even a complete victory on the merits would not restore a dollar of those extraordinary losses. That is precisely why federal law requires plaintiffs to provide security as a condition for receiving preliminary relief such as the court-approved order,” the filing says.

In Paramount’s statement, the company said that the $1.88 billion amount is a “straightforward calculation of the maximum potential ticking consideration and financing costs from this litigation.”

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However, the statement goes on to add that these are not the only costs associated with delaying the deal: “By virtue of what will be at least an eight-month delay in closing, there will be no integration and no ramped-up investment in content, production, and creative talent by the combined company. Of course, in addition, employees of both Paramount and WBD are also harmed by the uncertainties caused by the delay.”

In addition to California, the group of states suing to block the merger includes Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.

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