Caroline Hepker

Newman's assessment comes as Salesforce delivered a lukewarm sales outlook that also failed to impress investors.

The software giant has become a poster child for what's been dubbed the AI scare trade.

Salesforce shares have dropped about 37% in the past year as investors fear that AI will make it easier to build competing products.

Friedrich Merz has made the case for building stronger ties with China in a change of tone for Germany's Chancellor.

During his trip to Beijing, the German leader signalled that he wants to deepen the German-Chinese relationship.

Before becoming Germany's Chancellor, Merz was known for being critical of China.

German investment in China reached a four-year high in 2025 amid worries about the unbalanced economic relationship between the two countries.

The German economy has been shedding 10,000 manufacturing jobs a month and it's experiencing what some economists call the second China shock.

But the country is also heavily dependent on critical minerals from China for its own manufacturing base.

And in more breaking news, the London Stock Exchange Group has reported its results.

Total income for the full year comes in at £8.99 billion, so meeting average analyst estimates.

The group is also starting a buyback programme of £3 billion over the next 12 months, and it has set new guidance for 2027 to 2029.

Investors have been focused on El Seg's resilience, though, as AI threats have come to the fore in the industry.

The earnings also come after it emerged that the activist hedge fund, Elliott Investment Management, had taken a significant stake in the firm.

Cuban forces say that they have killed a number of people who opened fire from an American registered speedboat.

The country's interior ministry said that the vessel, which had 10 people on board, approached the Cuban coast.

Four were killed in the confrontation, while six others were injured and are now understood to be in custody.

Cuban authorities claim the occupants were armed and intended to enter the country to fight against the government.

U.S.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that American officials are looking into the incident.