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Surely it’s time for FIFA and Gianni Infantino to disappear from the news after the problem of the US-run World Cup. The latest suggestion is that FIFA is planning to sell part of its responsibilities
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One thing I never forget to carry when I’m out and about is a bottle of water, regardless of whether it’s summer or winter. However, a few days ago I did forget and it was
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Meta can simultaneously fuel its own AI ambitions and rent out its scarce computing capacity to bolster returns, CEO Mark Zuckerberg signaled earlier this week. The problem is: investors aren’t buying it. The Instagram owner is splurging billions to build compute — chips, servers, energy and data centers that power AI — leaving it with free cash flow of just $784mn in the second quarter to run and grow its business. That collapse, of 91% from a year ago, drove its stock down more than 9% on Thursday.Pressed by analysts for details on Meta’s plans, Zuckerberg framed compute as a scarce strategic asset that the company should keep and build around, rather than simply sell for short-term profit. But he acknowledged that the company had received a number of offers for its computing capacity from businesses that wanted to deploy their own AI plans “at a meaningful premium” over what it invested to build that capacity. That tension sits at the heart of Meta’s challenge in diversifying its revenue stream. Renting out compute could ease Meta’s cash-flow squeeze, but would also divert scarce resources from its own push to build AI models and services. Having built its fortune selling ads on Facebook and Instagram, the company is now trying to take on larger rivals including Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon that have deep ties to enterprises, an early and lucrative market for AI. Microsoft on Wednesday showed how its AI bets were paying off even as its free cash flow fell 23%. The Windows maker breezed past expectations for growth in its Azure cloud unit and Copilot assistant thanks to a huge base of corporate customers and its early AI build-out, sending its stock up over 13%. “We believe that there will continue to be a significantly higher margin on selling intelligence rather than selling compute directly, but we think that there’s a big opportunity obviously to sell compute as well,” he said, as he painted a picture of what Meta hopes to build with its AI spending spree. Zuckerberg argued that AI-powered personal assistants could become a mass-market product used by billions of consumers, while business agents could eventually help companies handle customer service, sales and marketing. But beyond broad references to subscriptions and enterprise services, he offered few specifics on how those businesses would justify Meta’s massive AI spending. Responding to a question from J P Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth, who noted that Meta was also purchasing capacity from third parties while selling compute, Zuckerberg said Meta was intentionally investing ahead of demand. “There is a lead time where we’re investing in building out these data centers now. They come online at some point in the future. You obviously are not getting value out of them until they’re online,” he said. “Meta is spending like a hyperscaler without a hyperscaler’s business model,” said Josh Gilbert, online investing platform eToro’s lead APAC analyst, referring to large cloud companies. “Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon can point their data centre dollars at cloud businesses that sell compute straight back out the door, but Meta doesn’t have the same outlet, so every dollar of build-out leans on the ads business.” Meta’s massive AI spending push has unnerved some investors, who are drawing parallels to the company’s costly pivot to the metaverse — a bet that racked up tens of billions of dollars in losses without becoming a large revenue generator.Its free cash flow slump in the April-June quarter was the steepest since late 2022, when the metaverse bet attracted similar investor scrutiny. Still, Meta raised the low end of its capital spending forecast by $5bn, lifting the range to between $130bn and $145bn.
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The Paraguana Refining Center in Western Venezuela once symbolized the country’s oil wealth and its ambition to turn vast crude reserves into fuels and export revenue. Today, the 955,000-barrel-per-day complex in Falcon state runs at a fraction of capacity, a decline decades in the making and unrelated to the strong earthquakes that struck Venezuela last month. In the months before the quakes, Reuters visited the area surrounding the Amuay and Cardon refineries that make up the Paraguana complex, along with one of Venezuela’s other two active refineries, and interviewed four dozen workers, contractors, residents and experts. One worker at the 645,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Amuay refinery said everything looks “ugly and rusty.” Open-air waste pits are nearly full. Residue seeps across pipelines and valve stations. Workers say years of underinvestment, equipment failures and shortages have left Paraguana struggling to produce the fuel Venezuelans need. The reporting revealed festering decay and little ongoing maintenance at all three facilities, underscoring the monumental challenges Venezuela faces in restoring its oil infrastructure to the benefit of its citizens, even as President Donald Trump promises $100bn in investments by foreign oil companies. Venezuela’s refineries are at once among its most dilapidated assets and the most critical to Venezuelan consumers. Yet these refineries are among the least likely to see foreign investment any time soon, industry executives and analysts told Reuters. Recovery from the two earthquakes, which killed more than 5,000 people and caused widespread destruction, has further complicated the refineries’ outlook, said Oswaldo Felizzola, a Venezuelan energy analyst. “Right now, the priority clearly seems to be rebuilding and dealing with all the devastation the earthquakes caused across the country,” he said. He said any major investments in refining would now likely be pushed into 2027 and beyond as the government focuses on oil production. Fully restoring refining capacity would require at least $20bn, Felizzola said, an estimate echoed by other industry experts Reuters interviewed. Some US and multinational oil companies have expressed interest in Venezuela this year after the US ousted socialist President Nicolas Maduro in a January 3 raid. But they have little incentive to rehabilitate local refineries when the US has its own refineries able to process Venezuela’s challenging heavy sour crude grades. That leaves the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez with little hope of raising money to restore refineries from foreign oil companies or the refineries themselves, which provide fuel for the domestic market at well below operating cost due to longstanding policies deepened by socialist governments. Conditions on the ground are dire. At the Amuay refinery, for example, a flexicoking unit that once turned heavy, low-value residue into better-quality low-sulfur fuel is idled and blackened, according to workers there and a recently retired engineer. The engineer said the plant had been stripped for parts and was unsalvageable. “If we needed a pump, we looked for it there; if we needed a pipe or an instrument, we looked there,” he said. Large oil companies remain wary of investing even in the more attractive sectors, such as crude and natural gas production. Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips both left Venezuela in 2007 after then-president Hugo Chavez expropriated their projects there. Many foreign oil companies have signed memoranda of understanding related to exploration and production projects, but negotiations with the government for the final contracts are progressing slowly after a reform of energy legislation. Asked about Venezuela’s refineries, a White House spokesperson said the US is not involved in rebuilding them and noted that Venezuela’s oil exports recently hit a seven-year high. Legislation approved last month, building on the country’s recently reformed hydrocarbons law, created a licensing system allowing private companies to operate refineries -- until now the sole domain of state-run PDVSA -- and sell the fuel they produce. But analysts said the model is not attractive enough to investors, in part because it also imposes a new tax of up to 5% on refiners’ gross income. Despite sitting on some of the world’s biggest crude reserves, PDVSA has struggled over the last decade to produce enough fuel to meet domestic demand now standing at some 250,000 bpd. The Paraguana complex has had no major repairs this year, refinery workers and contractors said, after China’s Jiazhan Shaelion reduced its operations there. The company, one of PDVSA’s main refining contractors, is finishing one pending project but has not been able to agree on a new contract with PDVSA, a Jiazhan employee said. As it extended US licenses this year to foreign firms aiming to expand or return to Venezuela, the Trump administration excluded companies from nations it considers adversaries, including Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and Cuba. Officials from PDVSA, the Venezuelan government and Jiazhan Shaelion’s Venezuela offices did not respond to comment requests. At PDVSA’s smaller refineries, the 187,000-bpd Puerto La Cruz and the 146,000-bpd El Palito, local contractors have since last year repeatedly repaired a poorly operating catalytic cracker and power supply to the facilities, five separate employees there said. The last major repair at El Palito was executed through early 2024 by Iranian state firms. Later work to secure enough power for the refinery to operate independently from the grid proved not enough to withstand an emergency when the quakes hit in June. A key power transmission line to the refinery failed, triggering its shutdown for about two weeks. The refinery restarted in mid-July, but will be halted for major maintenance in the coming weeks, including post-quake inspections. Some smaller repair projects had previously allowed El Palito and Amuay refineries to recover about 20,000 bpd of processing capacity each, PDVSA Refining Vice President Jovanny Martinez said at an April conference. The refining problems stand in contrast to crude-output gains. Since January, US control of oil sales proceeds has allowed crude production to bounce and exports to rise to about 1.2 million bpd from less than 800,000 bpd. But there has been little focus on refining. “In the current political environment, the US administration is going to be interested in seeing that oil exported,” said Eric Smith, associate director of Tulane University’s Energy Institute. Only when Venezuela becomes “stable and creditworthy” will larger projects get attention, including refinery upgrades, he said. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking to reporters in June, touted the ability of US refineries to process Venezuelan crude. “A large amount of that Venezuelan oil is floating into US refineries,” he said. “When these refineries were built, Venezuela was the largest exporter of crude in the world. Our refineries are tuned to use that Venezuelan oil.” One major obstacle to refinery repairs: cheap gasoline. Venezuela’s state-owned refineries supply state-controlled gas stations at prices set by its socialist government, resulting in some of the lowest gasoline prices on earth. Revenue from domestic fuel sales could provide a lifeline for Rodriguez’s government, but only if she takes the unpopular step of raising prices. That is unlikely to happen anytime soon, with social tensions already at a boiling point because of what many feel was an inadequate response to the quakes. — Reuters
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As the Iran war escalates again, Gulf Arab states are looking to China — not Washington — to use its economic leverage over Iran to open up the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea, testing how far Beijing is able and willing to pressurise Tehran. The Gulf push for a bigger Chinese role is driven by growing frustration, Gulf sources say. The war launched with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28 has hurt Iran but also restricted their vital energy exports and, to varying degrees, put them in the firing line. With Iran and its allies threatening the Bab el-Mandeb waterway in the Red Sea as well as Hormuz, Gulf states have sought Beijing’s help, conscious that the war has exposed the limits of American power, three regional sources say. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has held dozens of calls and meetings with counterparts seeking a new ceasefire, while special envoy Zhai Jun has held talks in Gulf Arab capitals as well as Iran. “China has maintained close communication with all parties, and has consistently worked to stop the fighting and promote peace,” its foreign ministry said in response to a request for comment.China’s position as both a major buyer of oil from across the Gulf and Iran’s biggest trading partner presents opportunities but also sensitivities. “There’s huge respect between the Gulf and China and they are a big trading partner, so any issue is raised in a very quiet manner,” one Gulf source said.Iran says it will maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, noting it was attacked during negotiations over the nuclear programme the US and Israel have vowed to destroy.Gulf governments ultimately hope that Beijing will steer Tehran toward a negotiated settlement, said the source, adding that China often moves slowly and cautiously. But they are aware that a prolonged war may also serve China’s interest by piling pressure on the United States.China has developed close trade and investment ties with the six states in the Gulf Cooperation Council — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — since a Gulf-China summit in 2022. Another summit is planned this year in Riyadh but not yet confirmed. But Beijing has refrained from publicly challenging Tehran’s threats to shipping, fuelling doubts about how far China is prepared to go to secure the Gulf and its exports.“The Chinese are trying to be more involved, they are trying to be more helpful,” a second Gulf source said. “But China has turned out not to be as influential as we thought — whether that is a lack of will or a lack of capacity is debatable. What seems to happen when America enters the fray is that superpower calculations dominate over everything else.”Henry Tugendhat, a China specialist at the Washington Institute, told Reuters Beijing’s overriding priority is preserving relationships across the region rather than risking diplomatic fallout by openly siding with either camp. Once Washington became directly involved, Beijing’s calculations extended beyond the Gulf itself to encompass its wider ties and rivalry with Washington.“Governments can buy Chinese technology, investment and drones, but what they cannot buy is Chinese leverage that operates independently of (its relations with) Washington,” a source with direct knowledge of China’s discussions said. China’s President Xi Jinping is expected in the United States for talks with President Donald Trump on September 24. China’s foreign ministry said Xi had put forward a four-point proposal to safeguard and promote peace and stability in the Middle East and also proposed backing countries in the region to advance development, security and cooperation.China has leveraged its deep economic ties to push into Middle East diplomacy, brokering a surprise diplomatic rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in 2023 that is now being put to the test. Beijing is pushing Pakistan to mediate between Washington and Tehran for a resumption of peace talks, three Pakistani sources told Reuters last week. China will continue to “play an active role in restoring peace and tranquillity in the Middle East Gulf region as soon as possible,” its foreign ministry said then. China has also held direct talks with Yemen’s Houthi movement to enable its tankers to sail through the southern Red Sea without being attacked after the Iran-aligned militia pledged to prevent access to Saudi ports, six sources with knowledge of the matter said this week. China’s transport ministry did not respond to a request to comment on that.Anna Borshchevskaya, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute said narrow bilateral arrangements that helped shield Chinese-linked shipping were the only visible outcome of its diplomatic efforts so far. “Beyond that, it’s hard to see what else China has been able — or willing — to achieve,” she said, arguing that the war had allowed China to protect its interests while increasing voter pressure on US and European leaders from energy price rises.China has benefited from a steep discount on Iranian oil resulting from international sanctions on Iran. Over the years, it has increased support for Iranian security through dual-use components, chip equipment and satellite navigation systems, while not overtly providing military aid since the war began. Since the Iran war broke out, Beijing has consistently denied media reports that it offered chip equipment, intelligence support or defence systems to Iran, saying that Beijing’s position was “above board and straightforward” and it “never added fuel to the fire.”Beijing’s response to the crisis reflects a longstanding strategy of avoiding binding security commitments far from its core interests in East Asia, analysts say. Unlike the United States, whose alliances rest on mutual defence obligations, China prefers partnerships built on trade, investment and arms sales — with any closer military involvement confined to its immediate vicinity, they add.The source with direct knowledge of China’s discussions said Beijing’s transactional understanding with the Houthis has largely kept Chinese-linked ships out of harm’s way, but not created pressure to end all attacks, acting in the same way as it did during Houthi attacks on ships in 2023-4.Unlike the United States, China has no defence commitments in the Gulf, no military mandate to safeguard regional waterways and little appetite to assume either, the source said.Beijing has said China is not prepared to use military force to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and does not believe other parties can do so. It instead calls for diplomacy and dialogue and for safety and free flow of international shipping routes. — Reuters
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Last week’s invasion by hundreds of Israeli extremists of the mosque compound on Mount Moriah in occupied East Jerusalem has been largely ignored by the region and the international community. This challenge to Muslim sovereignty
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There are some stories that refuse to fade, no matter how many centuries pass. Greek mythology is one of them, and this week we’re taking a look at some of the best films inspired by
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FIFA’s plan to create a $20bn subsidiary to run the World Cup and sell minority stakes to external investors has highlighted the balance of power within world soccer. While FIFA is the sport’s global governing body, much of football’s commercial strength lies elsewhere — particularly in Europe, where UEFA controls many of the game’s most valuable competitions. Here’s how the sport is organised. FIFA sits at the top of world soccer’s governing structure. Founded in 1904 and based in Zurich, it has 211 member associations, each with one vote at the FIFA Congress, the body’s supreme legislative authority. The Congress elects the FIFA president and approves major statutory changes, while the 37-member FIFA Council is the main decision-making body between Congress meetings.Every national football association also belongs to one of FIFA’s six continental confederations: UEFA in Europe, CONMEBOL in South America, CONCACAF in North and Central America and the Caribbean, the AFC in Asia, CAF in Africa and OFC in Oceania.National associations govern football within their own countries, while the confederations administer the game at regional level. FIFA organises global competitions, including the men’s and women’s World Cups, the Club World Cup and youth tournaments. It also oversees the international match calendar, which determines when clubs must release players for national-team duty.The governing body sets the global regulatory framework for international football through rules covering areas such as player eligibility, transfers and disciplinary matters in FIFA competitions, while distributing development funding through programmes such as FIFA Forward.Politically, FIFA’s structure gives every member association an equal vote, regardless of the size or wealth of its football industry. That makes coalition-building across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania central to FIFA elections and major policy decisions.The six confederations are not simply FIFA’s regional offices. They are independent governing bodies with their own congresses, executives, competitions and commercial programmes.They organise continental national-team tournaments, including the European Championship, Copa America, Africa Cup of Nations, Asian Cup, Gold Cup and OFC Nations Cup, while also running the leading club competitions in their respective regions.FIFA’s statutes recognise the confederations’ right to organise continental competitions, subject to FIFA’s regulations and the international match calendar.Although UEFA has only 55 of FIFA’s 211 member associations, it generates substantially more commercial revenue than any other confederation, organising many of football’s most valuable competitions. These include the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and the European Championship competitions that generate billions of euros through broadcasting rights, sponsorship and commercial partnerships. Europe is also home to many of the world’s biggest clubs, leagues, broadcasters and sponsors.That commercial strength extends UEFA’s influence beyond its own competitions. The confederation redistributes billions of euros through prize money, solidarity payments and development funding, reinforcing its importance to clubs, leagues and national associations across Europe.FIFA has the governing authority over world football, but UEFA oversees much of its economic engine. Although Europe’s 55 national associations account for just over a quarter of FIFA’s membership, the confederation organises the sport’s richest club and national-team competitions and represents many of its biggest leagues, clubs and broadcasters.That commercial weight gives UEFA significant influence whenever FIFA proposes changes affecting competitions, the international calendar or the commercial structure of the game.The relationship is one of mutual dependence: FIFA needs Europe’s participation to maximise the value of its flagship tournaments, while UEFA operates within FIFA’s global regulatory framework.
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Spain’s firefighters have given up the idea of bringing the wildfires blazing across large tracts in the vicinity of Madrid, covering an estimated area of more than 590 square kilometres, under control. One of the
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Mark Gongloff, Tribune News ServiceEver wonder about the financial implications of your life choices? Taking one job over another, spending Christmas with your nephew instead of working through it at your financial firm, that time
