Huawei, Chinese AI Chipmakers Raise Prices as HBM Shortage Bites 
Can Europe shake its Russia links for good? 
China Buys 1 Million Tons of U.S. Soybeans Ahead of Xi Visit 
Nvidia-Groq AI Chip Deal Faces U.S. Antitrust Probe 
U.S. Accuses Chinese AI Firms of Extracting Model Capabilities 
Anthropic Drops $6 Billion Decart AI Acquisition Talks 
Canada Retaliatory Tariffs on U.S. Goods Take Effect 
China Inflation Accelerates in August as CPI, PPI Rise 
Oil Prices Climb as Iran Threatens Gulf Energy Infrastructure 
Columbia Student Mahmoud Khalil Fights Arrest as Deportation Case Moves to New Jersey 
Nvidia CEO Says AGI Has Arrived With OpenAI GPT-6 Astra 
6 simple questions to tell if a ‘finfluencer’ is more flash than cash 
Apple Unveils $1,999 Foldable iPhone Duo 
Every generation thinks they had it the toughest, but for Gen Z, they’re probably right 
The ghost of Robodebt – Federal Court rules billions of dollars in welfare debts must be recalculated 
Heritage, desire and diplomacy: why China still values scotch whisky 
Yes, government influences wages – but not just in the way you might think 
Add as a preferred source on Google
Seven & i Holdings Co, which operates the 7-Eleven convenience stores, will close an additional 14 Ito-Yokado supermarket stores in Japan and fully exit from the apparel business to focus on its convenience store business at home and abroad.
It will close 33 unprofitable or low-profit margin outlets in Japan by the end of February 2026. There were a total of 126 as of the end of February.
Ito-Yokado will also terminate its clothing business in the face of severe competition with specialized clothing retailers, though it will continue to sell other companies' clothing at its outlets.
The company will consolidate its back-office operations with other Seven & i group supermarket operators to reduce costs.
The Ito-Yokado unit posted a net loss for the second straight year in the year ended February 2022, as its clothing business struggled amid stiff competition with online shopping operators and specialized clothing retailers.
The supermarket operator has been under increasing pressure from ValueAct Capital, a US-based activist shareholder of the Japanese retailer, to focus on its 7-Eleven business.
ValueAct Capital insists that the steps would help to more than double its share price. In November, the retailer announced a sale of its Sogo & Seibu Co. department store for an enterprise value of about $1.8 billion to Fortress Investment Group.
To strengthen its convenience store business, Seven & i bought Speedway LLC, a US. convenience store chain and gas station network, for $21 billion in 2021.
Shares of Seven & I, which operates more than 83,000 stores globally, have climbed 16 percent this year and are now at a record since the holding company was listed in 2005. The stock rose 12 percent last year, on top of a 38 percent gain in 2021.
