Caroline Hepka

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who was speaking as China grapples with how best to respond to US assertions of dominance in the Americas and control of strategically vital assets through what has been dubbed the Dunrow Doctrine.

These developments come as the US president has called on Congress to increase defence spending by $500 billion a year to build what he called the Dream Military.

In what appears to be a contradictory string of announcements, Donald Trump also threatened to exclude some of the companies most likely to benefit from the increase.

The president later signed an executive order requiring major U.S.

defense contractors to end stock buybacks, stop issuing dividends and cap executive pay at $5 million a year until they invest more in factories and research.

The announcement initially sent shares of major defense contractors tumbling before climbing back in post-market trading on hopes for an increase in the U.S.

military budget.

Now, to corporate news, Samsung says that quarterly profits tripled in the final three months of 2025.

South Korea's largest company reported a preliminary operating profit of $20 trillion, which is $13.8 billion, after global demand for AI servers sharply lifted memory chip prices.

Samsung's shares more than doubled in value last year and surged again this month as the firm diverts production away from everyday technology markets.

to build high-end chips for AI giants such as Nvidia.

I'm Caroline Hepka.

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