Starmer thanks NHS worker who looked after his brother
Golden Visas: the four European countries where you can still get citizenship by buying property
Four European countries still offering golden visas to property buyers
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
13 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Asian shares cautious on trade angst, oil falls
The increase, faster than traders and analysts foresaw, may contribute to a crude surplus later this year with firms such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. anticipating that prices sink near $60 a barrel in the fourth quarter. Synopsis Asian shares experienced slight declines as investors await progress on trade negotiations with the US, with a looming July 9 deadline. The US may impose higher tariffs on some countries starting August 1, while others might receive extensions for negotiations. OPEC+'s decision to increase oil production is expected to create a surplus, potentially lowering prices later in the year. Asian shares posted modest moves at the open as investors awaited progress on trade deals with the US ahead of the July 9 deadline imposed by President Donald Trump. ADVERTISEMENT Indexes in Japan, Australia and South Korea posted small declines after Trump administration officials signaled Aug. 1 as the date for higher levies to kick in and said some countries may get more time to negotiate deals. Oil fell 1.1% to $67.57 a barrel as OPEC+ said it will increase production. Treasuries were steady as cash trading resumed after the July 4 holiday. Investors are focusing on the outcomes of several trade negotiations for clues on the next turn in markets. Stocks have rebounded to a record since their plunge in April, when Trump introduced his sweeping levies and then announced a 90-day pause for countries to negotiate with the US. Major US trading partners hurried over the weekend to secure trade deals. 'This is a reflection of some uncertainty over the July 9 reciprocal tariff expiry deadline,' said Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG in Sydney. A tariff rate of 10%-15% on most if not all countries would be welcome by traders, whereas a rate greater than 20% 'would rattle markets to varying degrees depending on the extent of the increase,' he Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said country-by-country tariffs will take effect Aug. 1. Negotiations still remained ongoing ahead of the deadline, with European leaders pushing for a deal that would allow tariff relief on carmakers for increasing US investments. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated some countries may be offered a three-week extension to negotiate. ADVERTISEMENT 'We judge there is a risk that President Trump reinstates higher 'reciprocal' tariffs on major economies such as Japan and Europe,' Commonwealth Bank of Australia strategists including Joseph Capurso wrote in a note to China said it will impose some reciprocal curbs on medical-device procurement for companies based in the European Union, adding tensions between the two major trading partners just as Beijing seeks to shore up ties with the US. ADVERTISEMENT Meanwhile, the latest oil supply shockwave unleashed by OPEC+ is set to swell a surplus later this year, pressuring prices for producers the world over while answering Trump's calls for lower fuel increase, faster than traders and analysts foresaw, may contribute to a crude surplus later this year with firms such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. anticipating that prices sink near $60 a barrel in the fourth quarter. ADVERTISEMENT 'For now, the oil market remains tight, suggesting it can absorb additional barrels,' said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS AG in Zurich. 'But there are rising risks like ongoing trade tensions, implying that the market could look less tight over the coming 6-12 months, which would pose downside risks to prices.' (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel) Nikita Papers IPO opens on May 27, price band set at Rs 95-104 per share Nikita Papers IPO opens on May 27, price band set at Rs 95-104 per share Why gold prices could surpass $4,000: JP Morgan's bullish outlook explained Why gold prices could surpass $4,000: JP Morgan's bullish outlook explained Cyient shares fall over 9% after Q4 profit declines, core business underperforms Cyient shares fall over 9% after Q4 profit declines, core business underperforms L&T Technology Services shares slide 7% after Q4 profit dips L&T Technology Services shares slide 7% after Q4 profit dips Trump-Powell standoff puts U.S. Rate policy in crosshairs: Who will blink first? Trump-Powell standoff puts U.S. Rate policy in crosshairs: Who will blink first? SEBI warns of securities market frauds via YouTube, Facebook, X and more SEBI warns of securities market frauds via YouTube, Facebook, X and more API Trading for All: Pi42 CTO Satish Mishra on How Pi42 is Empowering Retail Traders API Trading for All: Pi42 CTO Satish Mishra on How Pi42 is Empowering Retail Traders Security, transparency, and innovation: What sets Pi42 apart in crypto trading Security, transparency, and innovation: What sets Pi42 apart in crypto trading Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Altcoins? How investors are structuring their crypto portfolios, Avinash Shekhar explains Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Altcoins? How investors are structuring their crypto portfolios, Avinash Shekhar explains The rise of Crypto Futures in India: Leverage, tax efficiency, and market maturity, Avinash Shekhar of Pi42 explains NEXT STORY
Sinar Daily
19 minutes ago
- Sinar Daily
BRICS nations slam Trump tariffs, condemn strikes on Iran
The 11 emerging nations -- including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- account for about half the world's population and 40 per cent of global economic output. 07 Jul 2025 09:27am US President Donald Trump stops to gesture at the US flag as he walks on the South Lawn from Marine One to the White House in Washington, DC on July 6, 2025, after spending the weekend at his residence in Bedminster, New Jersey. - (Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI / AFP) RIO DE JANEIRO - BRICS leaders at a summit on Sunday took aim at US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs and recent Israeli-US strikes on Iran. The 11 emerging nations -- including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- account for about half the world's population and 40 per cent of global economic output. The bloc is divided about much, but found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars -- even if they avoided naming him directly. Voicing "serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff" measures, BRICS members said the tariffs risked hurting the global economy, according to a summit joint statement. They also offered symbolic backing to fellow member Iran, condemning a series of military strikes on nuclear and other targets carried out by Israel and the United States. In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, before offering a months-long reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off. Trump has now warned he will impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach "deals" by Aug 1. In an apparent concession to US allies such as Brazil, India and Saudi Arabia, the summit declaration did not criticise the United States or its president by name at any point. BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday are expected to decry US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" trade tariffs, saying they are illegal and risk hurting the global economy. - (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP) - No show - Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to US and western European power. But as the group has expanded to include Iran, Saudi Arabia and others, it has struggled to reach meaningful consensus on issues from the Gaza war to challenging US global dominance. BRICS nations, for example, collectively called for a peaceful two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict -- despite Tehran's long-standing position that Israel should be destroyed. An Iranian diplomatic source said his government's "reservations" had been conveyed to Brazilian hosts. Still, Iran stopped short of rejecting the statement outright. In perhaps a further sign of the diplomatic sensitivities, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister skipped Sunday's discussions entirely, according to a Brazilian government source. Saudi Arabia is among the world's leading beneficiaries of high-tech US military exports and is a long-standing US partner. The political punch of this year's summit has been depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who skipped the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. The Chinese leader is not the only notable absentee. Russian President Vladimir Putin, charged with war crimes in Ukraine, also opted to stay away, participating via video link. He told counterparts that BRICS had become a key player in global governance. The summit also called for regulation governing artificial intelligence and said the technology could not be the preserve of only rich nations. The commercial AI sector is currently dominated by US tech giants, although China and other nations have rapidly developing capacity. - Facundo Fernández Barrio, Andrew Beatty / AFP More Like This
Boston Globe
29 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Robert Holton dies at 81; his potent chemo drug saved lives
He called the technique, which produced the medication in high amounts, the metal alkoxide process. He licensed his methodology to Bristol Myers Squibb, which became the first pharmaceutical company to manufacture Taxol. Generic versions are sold under the name paclitaxel. Advertisement 'There was a worldwide race underway to synthesize it,' Dr. Jeff Boyd, chief scientific officer for the Northwell Health Cancer Institute in Manhasset, N.Y., said in an interview. 'Many groups were working on it because what was needed was a cheap and readily obtainable source of the drug. He was the first to achieve total organic synthesis.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Dr. Holton completed the artificially made compound Dec. 9, 1993, beating dozens of competitors. Although scientists at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., announced that they had also succeeded in synthesizing the drug, Dr. Holton's team was the first to publish details of its methods in a scientific journal. Before Dr. Holton's achievement, not only did three yews per patient have to die — because the bark where the anticancer alkaloid was first isolated had to be fully stripped — but the forests where they grew also stood to lose the bulk of these conifers. Advertisement Yew trees as a source for cancer treatment first came to scientific attention in the early 1960s. The US government began an extensive search for powerful anticancer compounds lurking in the leaves, twigs, roots, and bark of plants nationwide. It wasn't until 1970, after nearly a decade of research, that two scientists at the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina isolated the potent alkaloid in the bark of a Washington state yew tree. Dr. Holton started his drug synthesis research in 1989. To avoid depleting the species of yew that is native to the western United States, especially the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Holton turned to the more abundant European variety as another source of the medication. Instead of utilizing the bark, he was able to isolate the alkaloid from twigs and needles, foregoing the need to kill the tree. Once he was able to fabricate the medication in a lab, it was no longer necessary to collect any part of the tree for drug production. 'I have always been drawn to difficult problems, and synthesizing Taxol was a big one,' Dr. Holton said in 2018 during remarks at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Inventors in Washington, D.C. He was elected an academy fellow that year. 'Seeing the drug's success in treating so many patients has been an incredibly gratifying experience.' The National Cancer Institute estimates that more than 1 million patients have been treated with Taxol. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1992 for ovarian cancer and, in 1994, for advanced breast cancer. The chemo agent is also used for the treatment of lung cancer and Kaposi's sarcoma, among other malignancies, Boyd said. Advertisement 'Dr. Holton's extraordinary contributions to science saved countless lives,' Richard McCullough, the president of Florida State University who is a chemist, said in a statement. 'Most scientists dream of having that kind of impact.' In 1994, The New York Times called Dr. Holton's synthesis of Taxol 'arguably the most important drug cobbled together by human hands.' The article also noted 'the cutthroat competition' to synthesize what everyone believed was destined to become a multibillion-dollar medication. In 1999, Bristol Myers Squibb earned $1.5 billion from sales of the drug. 'It's one of the most commonly used cancer drugs,' said Boyd, who is also the director of the Institute of Cancer Research at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in Manhasset. Through licensing deals, Florida State University has earned more than $350 million in royalties associated with Dr. Holton's methodology, according to the university. Of that total, about $140 million went to Dr. Holton. The university announced in 2018 that royalties stemming from the drug synthesis technology are 'the most royalty income from any university-licensed technology in the United States.' Robert Anthony Holton was born Jan. 26, 1944, in Fayetteville, N.C., the only child of Aaron T. Holton and Marion (Downing) Holton. His father, who served in World War II, was a decorated US Navy veteran and worked as a salesperson after the war. After his father died in 1959, when Robert was 15, he and his mother moved to Charlotte where he attended secondary school and where she worked as a high school mathematics teacher. In 1962, he enrolled at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill where he majored in chemistry and met his first wife, Juanita Bird. They moved in 1966 to Tallahassee, where he began work on a doctoral degree in chemistry at Florida State University. The couple divorced in the early 1980s. Advertisement After a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University, Dr. Holton taught chemistry at Purdue University and Virginia Tech. He returned to Florida State in 1985 as a faculty member. In 1999, Florida State named him a distinguished research professor, and in 2007 the Florida Academy of Sciences awarded him a medal for his scientific contributions. He was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame in 2015 and retired from the university in 2023. 'He was very creative and was also a scientist that focused on really hard problems in chemistry,' Sam Huckaba, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Florida State University, said in an interview. 'It took that kind of drive to crack the synthesis of Taxol.' He added that Dr. Holton's work brought national attention to Florida State's chemistry department, as did the research of his second wife, Dr. Marie Krafft, also a professor of chemistry. She died in 2014. Dr. Holton is survived by three sons: Robert and David Holton, from his first marriage, and Paul Holton, from his second. This article originally appeared in
