CNBC reports:

As Anthropic barrels toward a potential $2 trillion market cap on the Nasdaq, one research firm is valuing the artificial intelligence company at a mere $150 billion and says Wall Street is about to face an "unprecedented test of investor gullibility." In a report on Tuesday, independent financial research provider New Constructs called Anthropic's upcoming offering the "most ridiculous IPO of 2026."

To reach its desired valuation, the firm estimates Anthropic would need to record double the trailing year of profit for Nvidia, the world's most valuable tech company. Nvidia's net income over the past four quarters topped $190 billion. Meanwhile, Anthropic's revenue in 2025 was $4.6 billion as the company racked up a net loss of $42 billion, according to Reuters, which cited a leaked copy of the company's prospectus.
Anthropic's mounting operating losses coupled with emerging competition from a plethora of open-source models led New Constructs to conclude that, "We don't think Anthropic has a viable business...."


Anthropic didn't respond to a request for comment...
The New Constructs report also notes that Anthropic's assertion that AI could pose "a catastrophic or existential risk to humanity" is another reason why investors should avoid the IPO.

Reuters reported that Anthropic's IPO prospectus "highlights risks associated with its AI models, which it said could exhibit 'self-preserving behaviors,' including attempts to 'resist shutdown,' to 'conceal or manipulate information' and behavior 'resembling blackmail.'" Now Bloomberg writes that "investors considering Anthropic's planned mega-IPO are grappling with an unusual, and more than a little scary, conundrum: How to value a company that some fear could help wipe out the human race?"

Anthropic's valuation also drew some scrutiny from
a senior analyst at PitchBook.
"A $2 trillion price is about 435 times 2025 revenue, less than 44 times the annualized second-quarter revenue of more than $46 billion and just under 31 times the July run rate."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

"Gas cars are now a minority of the world's new car sales," reports Electrek.


Gasoline-only vehicles made up 49% of global new-vehicle sales in the first half of 2026, down from 73% in 2021, according to Mobility Global data first reported by Nikkei. It's the first time on record that they've been under half. But there's a catch: most of the cars taking their place still have a gas tank... [The share of gas-only vehicles] fell three points in a single year, from 52% to 49%. Battery-electric vehicles grew 12% to 6.87 million units and took 17% of the market, up three points. Conventional hybrids grew 10% to 7.27 million units, or 18%... [T]he rest is diesel, plug-in hybrids and a few minor fuels.

Nikkei ties the acceleration to oil. Fuel prices spiked with the conflict in the Middle East, and buyers went looking for lower running costs. The whole car market shrank about 5% in the first half, according to the IEA, so gas-only sales fell twice as fast as the market. Gas car sales dropped the most in China, down 26%, followed by Europe at 13%... Mobility Global has battery-electric sales up 32% in Europe to 1.81 million, up 81% in Southeast Asia to 350,000, and more than doubling in Oceania to 110,000... Yoshiaki Kawano, an associate director at Mobility Global, told Nikkei that few EV buyers go back to gasoline cars or hybrids. He expects demand based on "genuine consumer needs rather than subsidies" to grow as prices come down...

[Hybrids] outsold battery-electric vehicles in the first half, 7.27 million to 6.87 million... Only the 17% that's battery-electric burns no fuel at all. So about 83% of the new vehicles sold in the world this year still came with an engine.


The article notes that U.S. hybrid sales were up 23%, reaching a record 16.3% of vehicles sold in the second quarter of 2026, while the share of ICE vehicles went down.


Gas-only cars went from 73% to 49% of the market in less than five years, and nothing in the data suggests they're getting that share back. The last time gasoline wasn't on top was the early 1900s, when steam and electric cars outsold it in the US.

I hate seeing media headlines claiming that "EV sales are down" and that "EV growth has stalled." The data is clear: that's true in the US, but only in the US. The rest of the world is moving to electric vehicles, and it is not slowing down.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Michael van der Hoorn has added a photo to the pool:

Away from the crowds,
away from the noise,
away from the rush of life.


Escape.


Some find peace alone,
others in the company of another.


Escape.


No demands,
no expectations,
no need to be anywhere else.


Escape.


Just the sea,
the fading afternoon,
and a little space
to call our own.

petercousins47 has added a photo to the pool:

braart has added a photo to the pool:

The Bonegilla story began in the years following World War II, when millions of people seeking a new start and peace, departed for Australia. An army camp at Bonegilla was transformed into a migrant reception and training centre where new arrivals lived while they were processed and allocated jobs.

Fat Burns ☮ has added a photo to the pool:

Many thanks for your visits, faves and comments. Cheers.

The Lake Dunn Sculpture Trail is a 200 kilometre circuit that loops between Aramac, Lake Dunn and Jericho. Along its route you’ll find 40 sculptural installations showcasing Outback elements and life, from emu families to jackaroos.

These incredible artworks are the creations of local artist, Milynda Rogers who lives on a cattle property along the route. And it all began because she created a piece and didn’t have a place to put it. So, she simply popped it out by the road. Additional sculptures grew organically over time, and Rogers would place them at intervals along the route where she lives.
(Source: www.outbackqueensland.com.au/news/follow-the-art-the-lake...)
__________________________________________

© Chris Burns 2026

All rights reserved.

This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.

Suspension of provincial government escalates standoff with Khan’s PTI party a week after his supporters began marching to demand his release

Pakistan has declared a state of emergency in a province ⁠led by Imran ​Khan’s PTI party and suspended its government, a move a party spokesperson described as “more of a coup disguised as emergency”.

President Asif Ali Zardari ​declared the emergency in the north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, after the federal government said authorities there had failed to tackle Islamist militancy in the province bordering Afghanistan.

Continue reading...

Father of toddler killed in Erie mass shooting says reported gunman never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary

The man who killed eight people, before turning the gun on himself, in a mass shooting in a home in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Friday was a grandfather who had not shown signs that he was capable of such violence, according to people who knew the shooter.

A man whose toddler was among those killed said on Sunday that the man never seemed distressed or out of the ordinary, the Associated Press reports.

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The production marks the Hollywood director’s first play written for the stage, which he will also direct

Sacha Baron Cohen will headline Quentin Tarantino’s play The Popinjay Cavalier when it premieres on the West End in London in March 2027.

The production marks the Hollywood director’s first work written for the stage – which he will also direct.

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Laatst ging ik weer eens eten halen bij eenChinees restaurant, dat er al zeker 30 jaar zit. Daar aangekomen stond er een wat oudere vrouw voor me om een bestelling op te halen.

Plaats de cijfers 1 tot en met 9 zo in het diagram dat elk cijfer precies één keer voorkomt in elke rij, kolom, negen vetomrande 3x3 vakken én de vier grijze 3x3 vakken.