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WTO Upgrades Goods Trade Forecast as AI Boom Offsets Middle East Disruption

October 8, 2026
AI News
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The World Trade Organization has raised its 2026 merchandise trade growth forecast to 3.9% from 1.9%, as trade in AI-enabling goods such as chips and servers jumped 67% and supplied almost half of goods trade growth. It cut the services outlook to 3.3% because the Middle East conflict hit transport and travel. We explain the numbers, the energy and fertiliser shock, the regional winners and losers, the risks, and what it means for UK businesses.

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China Weighs Allowing ByteDance, Alibaba to Buy New Nvidia Chips

September 27, 2026
AI News
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On 27 September 2026, The Information reported that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology asked Alibaba, ByteDance and other companies how many of Nvidia’s new RTX Pro 5500 workstation chips they want and what they would use them for, and told some of them it intends to approve the purchases. This article explains the chip, the H200 rationing process it follows, the RTX Pro 6000D orders Beijing blocked in 2025, what Nvidia now earns in China, Alibaba’s Zhenwu V900 and Huawei’s Ascend roadmap, the US export questions the report leaves open, and the signals to watch next.

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China, US Agree to $30 Billion Tariff Cut, Beijing Says

September 26, 2026
AI News
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China says it agreed a $30 billion reciprocal tariff cut with the United States during Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, alongside a trade council, a truce extension and a standing AI dialogue. The White House lists the goods on each side but calls the package recommendations, and neither government has published rates or a start date. This article compares the two accounts, measures the deal against 2025 trade and sets out what to watch before the truce expires on 10 January 2027.

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ECB Lifts Rates for Second Time as Iran War Drives Inflation

September 13, 2026
AI News
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The European Central Bank raised its deposit rate to 2.50% on 10 September 2026, its second hike of the year, as Iran war energy prices pushed euro area inflation to 3.3%. We set out the new ECB interest rates, the staff projections, what markets now price, and why Christine Lagarde named AI financing as a driver of global bond yields.

What is an Always On USB port and how can you tell if one is or is not

May 23, 2026
Industry News
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A detailed guide to always-on USB ports: what they do, how to identify them on laptops and desktops, and how to configure power behavior correctly.

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Is it worth upgrading to a high-tech smart grill? Users aren’t so sure

May 23, 2026
Industry News
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A deep 3000+ word analysis of whether smart grills are worth the upgrade, including costs, reliability trade-offs, user complaints, and who should buy now.

AI agents go rogue: Artificial intelligence industry in China

Minor edits to AI skills can make agents go rogue

May 23, 2026
Artificial Intelligence
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A deep technical analysis of how small semantic edits in SKILL.md files can steer autonomous agents toward unsafe tools and how to harden the full skill supply chain.