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19 Aug 2025

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How Jacinda Ardern’s ‘groundbreaking’ climate law has become ‘a shell’
The Zero Carbon Act promised to lock climate ambition into law. But with key policies repealed, delayed or watered down, the once 'world-leading' legislation has become a husk of its former self.

MetaComp completes first cross-border payment using carbon stablecoin
MetaComp has completed the first cross-border payment using its CNT Carbon Stablecoin, enabling same-day EUR to CNH settlement with embedded carbon credits.

Stormzy 'proud' of his Cambridge University students
The artist launched a scholarship in 2018 to fund black UK students to study at the university.

Calls grow for KiwiSaver diversification as Bitcoin yields soar
Calls rise for KiwiSaver diversification as Bitcoin's 76-fold return over 10 years dwarfs typical fund growth, urging advisers to embrace digital assets.

Move over, ChatGPT: Perplexity bids $34.5 billion for Google Chrome
As a federal antitrust investigation into Google’s Chrome browser wraps up, rivals are striking: Perplexity has launched an unsolicited bid to buy Chrome for a whopping $34.5 billion, according to reports. Bloomberg reported the proposed deal, confirmed by a Perplexity representative, as did The Wall Street Journal. But there’s a hitch: Perplexity doesn’t have $34.5 billion to fund the deal with. In fact, the WSJ estimates its own valuation at just $18 billion. This means Perplexity would have to come up with another source of cash, and it appears that it has done just that. Perplexity chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko told Bloomberg that “multiple large investment firms have agreed to finance the deal.” Google Chrome is built upon Chromium, the open-source foundation that powers virtually all of Chrome’s rival browsers, including Microsoft Edge, its closest rival on Windows. In the United States, Chrome holds 51.05 percent of all user sessions, Statcounter reports. According to the WSJ, Perplexity agreed to maintain Chromium and keep Google as the default search engine within Chrome, at least for now. Last August, a federal judge found Google’s search and advertising business to be an illegal monopoly. In November of 2024, the Department of Justice proposed a dramatic remedy–that Google should sell Chrome. And with that, the vultures started circling: ChatGPT expressed interest in buying Chrome. In April, Perplexity and Yahoo also expressed interest in buying Chrome. Google, in an attempt to curry favor with the government, killed off its DEI initiatives and chief executive Sundar Pichai tried to glad-hand President Trump at his inauguration. So far, those efforts haven’t worked. Google also said that it’ll appeal the ruling. Now, it’s up to Google to accept or reject the deal–or to force Perplexity’s rivals to put their money where their mouths are. One thing is clear: Google’s Chrome is a hot property, even if it isn’t clear how any bidder will rake in enough revenue from a (mostly) free browser to recoup its payment.

BlackRock's GIP to take stake in Eni's carbon capture business

'Disaster waiting to happen': Fears carbon farming increases risk of wild fire
The increasing number of farms being planted in trees for carbon farming is raising fears about the spread of pests and fire risk.

The U.S. government may take a stake in Intel
The U.S. government is discussing whether it will take a stake in beleaguered chipmaker Intel Corp. as a way to bail it out of its financial struggles, according to a report. Bloomberg reported that the two sides were in discussions, but nothing has been decided: not when or even if it could happen, nor the amount of equity Intel would give up or what terms would be attached to the agreement. What does appear to be clear, however, is that the U.S. government is at least talking about taking a direct stake in Intel, which would be a first for the company. In May, the Saudi national AI company Humain — a company funded by the sovereign wealth fund of Saudia Arabia — formed a joint venture with rival AMD with no direct investment. Saudi Arabia formed a Public Investment Fund (PIF) for those investments. Mubadala Investment Company, one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, made an initial investment of $622 million in AMD in 2007 but has since sold its entire stake. The U.S. does not have a direct equivalent to the PIF, though President Trump proposed forming one in February. It’s not clear whether such a fund could be authorized and put to use in this scenario. Bloomberg pointed out that the U.S. Department of Defense took a $400 million preferred equity stake in MP Materials Corp., a producer of rare earths — a deal that would make the Pentagon the company’s largest shareholder and set a precedent for how the government could interact with private companies. Regardless, the talks apparently are a direct consequence of a meeting between Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan and Trump at the White House. Trump had called for Tan to step down, citing Tan’s role as a venture capitalist and his relationships with numerous Chinese companies, some with alleged links to the Chinese government. Doing business with China has always been a sensitive issue for U.S. companies, though Nvidia and AMD both agreed to hand over 15 percent of their revenues from AI chips sold to Chinese companies to allow both to do business there. A day after meeting with Tan, however, Trump praised Tan on Truth Social, calling him and his rise an “amazing story.” Intel’s struggles are well known, as the company has weathered layoffs of thousands of employees over the past nine months or so. Intel has cancelled overseas projects and delayed the development of a fab in Ohio, which was supposed to have been funded in part by the U.S. Chips and Science Act. Craig Barrett, Intel’s former CEO, has also called for a bailout — though by Intel’s customers, not the government. Updated at 2:34 PM with additional detail.