Billions

• Big Tech giants including Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, and Oracle issued a combined $159 billion in debt during the first five months of the year to fund expansive AI projects. • According to Bank of America, Big Tech's share of the total US corporate bond market reached a record high of over 8% by the end of May. • This surge in borrowing is driven by the massive capital requirements of AI infrastructure, with SemiAnalysis estimating the AI debt market could swell to $7 trillion by 2029.

The NHS will divert billions of pounds from essential services to pay for new medicines, under the terms of the US-UK trade deal agreed in December, which could lead to more than 200,000 excess deaths, analysis has found.Ministers have defended the deal as a way of helping British drug exports avoid US tariffs and giving patients access to vital medication, but critics accuse the Labour party of caving into pressure from Donald Trump.Lucy Hough speaks to columnist Aditya Chakrabortty – watch on YouTube Continue reading...

• A new study suggests Earth may have been sending microbes to Venus for billions of years through asteroid impacts. • Researchers found that these microbes could survive the journey to Venus and end up in its clouds. • If life is detected on Venus in future missions, it may have originated from Earth rather than Venus itself.

• Amazon has announced a $13 billion investment dedicated to expanding its AI infrastructure and developing new data centers. • The funding aims to strengthen the company's leadership position in the competitive cloud computing and artificial intelligence sectors. • Industry experts note that the AI race has shifted from mere algorithm development to a battle for "hard infrastructure," including specialized chips and advanced servers.

• Major Asian stock indexes, including the Nikkei, Kospi, Hang Seng, Taiex, and Shanghai composite, experienced a massive sell-off on Friday. • The plunge was triggered by a rush to cash out on AI-related gains following significant losses on Wall Street. • This "bloodbath" wiped out billions in market value as traders reacted to volatility in the high-growth artificial intelligence sector.

• Global companies are investing billions of dollars into India's AI infrastructure, cloud computing, and data centers, reflecting strong confidence in the nation's digital expansion. • Despite this trend, HSBC Private Bank's latest Asia investment roadmap prioritizes high-conviction bets on China, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore over India. • This divergence highlights a gap between long-term infrastructure growth in India and the immediate strategic investment preferences of major global financial institutions.

Jim O’Neill, a former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, says government should spend more on major projectsThe man tapped by Andy Burnham to be his chief economic adviser has called for billions of pounds more borrowing to pay for investment in infrastructure, in a sign of how Burnham may seek to break from the policies pursued by Keir Starmer.Jim O’Neill, an economist and former minister, said he wanted the government to create an independent body for infrastructure spending along the lines of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which could be freed up to spend significantly more on major projects. Continue reading...