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BENGALURU (Reuters) -Alphabet Inc's Google will invest $10 billion to set up a 1-gigawatt data centre in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, a state minister said. A formal agreement between the state and the tech giant is due on Tuesday, the minister added. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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By Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics on Tuesday said it expects its biggest quarterly profit in over three years, as the global race to boost production of AI chips has tightened supply and driven up prices of conventional memory chips, the tech giant's mainstay. Strong demand for conventional memory chips used in artificial intelligence servers helped offset weaker sales of advanced AI chips of Samsung, which has been lagging rivals in the race to supply to Nvidia, analysts said. The world's leading memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 12.1 trillion won ($8.5 billion) for the July-September period, up 32% from a year earlier and well above a 10.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. That would mark its best quarterly profit in 13 quarters. Samsung shares rose as much as 2.9% after the announcement to 96,000 won, their highest level since January 2021, notching up a 79% gain so far this year. "The third-quarter earnings surprise came from the chip business," said Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities. Although progress in supplying advanced high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to major clients such as Nvidia was slower than expected, gains in commodity memory, supported by tight supplies, helped cushion the impact, analysts said. "Samsung is a big beneficiary of growing demand for commodity chips," said Sohn In-joon, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities. Sohn attributed the earnings beat to stronger-than-expected prices of commodity DRAM and NAND chips, stemming from demand for AI data center servers, and lower chip inventory by chipmakers that gave them bargaining power in pricing. Analysts said Samsung also benefited from narrower losses at its foundry unit, which makes logic chips, as utilisation rates helped ease fixed-cost pressures. The company said revenue would likely rise 8.7% to a record high of 86 trillion won from a year earlier, also helped by the weaker South Korean currency. Samsung is expected to release detailed results including a breakdown of earnings for each of its businesses on October 30. SHORTAGE STOKES CONVENTIONAL CHIP PRICES Analysts said memory makers' focus on investing in advanced chips in recent years may have limited the production of conventional chips, which extended a supply shortage and spurred price increases for conventional chips. Prices of some DRAM chips, widely used in servers, smartphones and PCs, jumped 171.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to TrendForce data. Analysts expect the commodity memory supply shortage to continue into 2026. Following OpenAI's success with ChatGPT, big tech companies have established longer-term plans to expand their spending on AI-related investments, including data centres and servers capable of handling the growing workloads from AI services. While recent chip supply deals with major tech companies, such as Tesla and OpenAI, eased investor concerns about Samsung, analysts cautioned that uncertainties remain, including potential U.S. tariffs that could hurt chip demand, an intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China, as well as China's tightened export controls on rare earth materials used in advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. Samsung has been the world's biggest memory chipmaker for three decades but it is facing increasing competition in advanced AI chips after losing its No. 1 DRAM market share to SK Hynix in the first quarter of this year. Its rivals, SK Hynix and Micron, have benefited from robust memory chip demand driven by AI, while Samsung's exposure to China, where advanced chip sales are restricted by the United States, has constrained its growth. Analysts expect Samsung’s HBM sales to gradually improve after the company made meaningful progress in supplying its latest 12-layer HBM3E chips to Nvidia following delays in recent quarters, though some said shipment volumes remain limited. Samsung is betting on next-generation HBM4 products to narrow the gap with SK Hynix. Morgan Stanley said in a report that Samsung is on track with next-generation HBM4 development, working closely with major U.S. customers. Commercial shipments and sales contributions are expected to begin in 2026. ($1 = 1,427.1000 won) (Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Chris Reese and Sonali Paul)

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By Heekyong Yang and Hyunjoo Jin SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics on Tuesday said it expects its biggest quarterly profit in over three years, as the global race to boost production of AI chips has tightened supply and driven up prices of conventional memory chips, the tech giant's mainstay. Strong demand for conventional memory chips used in artificial intelligence servers helped offset weaker sales of advanced AI chips of Samsung, which has been lagging rivals in the race to supply to Nvidia, analysts said. The world's leading memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 12.1 trillion won ($8.5 billion) for the July-September period, up 32% from a year earlier and well above a 10.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. That would mark its best quarterly profit in 13 quarters. Samsung shares rose as much as 2.9% after the announcement to 96,000 won, their highest level since January 2021, notching up a 79% gain so far this year. "The third-quarter earnings surprise came from the chip business," said Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities. Although progress in supplying advanced high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to major clients such as Nvidia was slower than expected, gains in commodity memory, supported by tight supplies, helped cushion the impact, analysts said. "Samsung is a big beneficiary of growing demand for commodity chips," said Sohn In-joon, an analyst at Heungkuk Securities. Sohn attributed the earnings beat to stronger-than-expected prices of commodity DRAM and NAND chips, stemming from demand for AI data center servers, and lower chip inventory by chipmakers that gave them bargaining power in pricing. Analysts said Samsung also benefited from narrower losses at its foundry unit, which makes logic chips, as utilisation rates helped ease fixed-cost pressures. The company said revenue would likely rise 8.7% to a record high of 86 trillion won from a year earlier, also helped by the weaker South Korean currency. Samsung is expected to release detailed results including a breakdown of earnings for each of its businesses on October 30. SHORTAGE STOKES CONVENTIONAL CHIP PRICES Analysts said memory makers' focus on investing in advanced chips in recent years may have limited the production of conventional chips, which extended a supply shortage and spurred price increases for conventional chips. Prices of some DRAM chips, widely used in servers, smartphones and PCs, jumped 171.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to TrendForce data. Analysts expect the commodity memory supply shortage to continue into 2026. Following OpenAI's success with ChatGPT, big tech companies have established longer-term plans to expand their spending on AI-related investments, including data centres and servers capable of handling the growing workloads from AI services. While recent chip supply deals with major tech companies, such as Tesla and OpenAI, eased investor concerns about Samsung, analysts cautioned that uncertainties remain, including potential U.S. tariffs that could hurt chip demand, an intensifying trade war between the U.S. and China, as well as China's tightened export controls on rare earth materials used in advanced chips and manufacturing equipment. Samsung has been the world's biggest memory chipmaker for three decades but it is facing increasing competition in advanced AI chips after losing its No. 1 DRAM market share to SK Hynix in the first quarter of this year. Its rivals, SK Hynix and Micron, have benefited from robust memory chip demand driven by AI, while Samsung's exposure to China, where advanced chip sales are restricted by the United States, has constrained its growth. Analysts expect Samsung’s HBM sales to gradually improve after the company made meaningful progress in supplying its latest 12-layer HBM3E chips to Nvidia following delays in recent quarters, though some said shipment volumes remain limited. Samsung is betting on next-generation HBM4 products to narrow the gap with SK Hynix. Morgan Stanley said in a report that Samsung is on track with next-generation HBM4 development, working closely with major U.S. customers. Commercial shipments and sales contributions are expected to begin in 2026. ($1 = 1,427.1000 won) (Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Editing by Chris Reese and Sonali Paul)

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By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Countries around the world lack the regulatory and ethical foundation to deal with the rapid advent of artificial intelligence, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday, urging civil society groups to "ring the alarm bells." Georgieva said the rapidly advancing technological revolution unleashed by AI was dominated by advanced economies, with the U.S. having the lion's share. Some emerging markets also had capability in the sector, including China, but developing countries were lagging far behind and less able to tap into the potential of the technological revolution. Speaking with civil society groups on the first day of the annual IMF and World Bank meetings, Georgieva said the IMF was "quite worried" that the gap between advanced economies and low-income countries on readiness for AI was growing and making it harder and harder for developing countries to catch up. Georgieva's comments came days after she warned that financial market valuations were heading toward levels last seen during the internet-related bullishness 25 years ago, based on AI hopes, but an abrupt shift in sentiment could drag down world growth, making life especially tough for developing countries. She said the IMF was urging developing countries and emerging markets to focus on the first prerequisite for success, which was expanding digital infrastructure and skills. She said the IMF had developed an AI preparedness index that assessed countries' readiness for the new technology in four areas – infrastructure, labor and skills, innovation, and regulation and ethics. "Where the world is falling shortest is on regulation and ethics," she said. "The regulatory ethical foundation for AI for our future is still to come into place." She urged civil society groups to "ring the alarm bells in your countries that staying still is falling behind." (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Porter and Andrea Ricci)

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By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss NEW YORK (Reuters) -Following the largest crypto liquidation in history last Friday, options market investors are bracing for more volatility and further declines in bitcoin and ether, aggressively positioning in trades that offer protection against another potential freefall. Market participants said the crypto sector on Friday saw more than $19 billion in liquidations across leveraged positions as panic selling and low liquidity triggered sharp swings. The plunge came after U.S. President Donald Trump announced late on Friday a 100% tariff on Chinese imports and threatened export controls on critical software.  Crypto analysts said this was the largest wipeout in a 24-hour period in the market's history, nine times larger than the February 2025 crash and 19 times bigger than the March 2020 meltdown and the FTX collapse in November 2022. Bitcoin fell as low as $104,782.88 during the October 10-11 period, down more than 14% from its high of $122,574.46 on Friday. It was last up 0.6% at $115,718.13. The world's largest cryptocurrency hit a record high above $126,000 on October 6. Ether, the second biggest digital currency, dropped 12.2% to a low of $3,436.29 on Friday. It last changed hands at $4,254, up 2.4% on the day.  Altcoins took an even bigger hit as HYPE (-54%), DOGE (-62%), and AVAX (-70%) all experienced steep drawdowns before recovering to post more modest losses. Trump over the weekend softened his rhetoric on China, however, noting that "it will all be fine" and the U.S. did not want to "hurt" China. That helped the crypto recovery. China on Sunday blamed the U.S. for the escalation, but did not roll out further countermeasures. "Last Friday, you saw volatility just jump across the board, not only for short-dated, but also for long-dated maturities. The sentiment around short-dated volatility is that more people are worried about downward turns," said Sean Dawson, head of research at Derive.xyz in Canberra. Data from Derive.xyz, a crypto options trading platform, showed heavy "put" buying from traders in bitcoin and ether, which suggested hedging against potential downside risks. In bitcoin, there were hefty purchases of puts conferring the right to sell bitcoin at strike prices of $115,000 and $95,000 for the October 31 expiry, according to Dawson. There was also a sharp reversal from call buying to call selling at the $125,000 strike for the October 17 expiry, suggesting a bearish short-term view.  Calls in the options market reflect expectations that the price will increase. For ether, Nick Forster, Derive.xyz co-founder, said traders focused on the $4,000 strike for the October 31 expiry and $3,600 strike for the October 17 expiry. He also noted substantial buying of $2,600 puts for the December 26 expiry. Those strikes, he said, are indicative of growing bearish sentiment through year-end. Despite the meltdown, Willy Woo, a leading onchain crypto analyst with more than a million on X, noted that bitcoin investor flows have been holding up well and may be the reason it fared better than expected against a sharp decline in stocks. In contrast, Woo said he saw a large drop in ether flows while Solana continued a decline. He believes that capital in altcoins is likely rotating into bitcoin rather than leaving the system. Altcoins, also known as alternative coins, refer to cryptocurrencies other than bitcoin, which are often treated as high-risk, high-reward investments. Some altcoins deliver massive returns, but many fail or lose liquidity. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is widely viewed as a "blue-chip" crypto asset, widely-held by institutions. "The good news is that this (crash) has cleaned out the excessive leverage and reset the risk in the market, for now," said Nic Puckrin, crypto analyst and co-founder of The Coin Bureau.  "However, bitcoin now faces another uphill battle to break past key resistance levels that will allow it to reach a meaningful new all-time high this year." ​ (Reporting by Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Additional reportinng by Michelle Price; Editing by Alden Bentley)

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London (PA Media/dpa) – Eating peppermints can increase alertness in people who are ill with the common cold, according to research. Scientists at Cardiff University looked at whether having a cold impaired mood and performance and if these effects could be removed by sucking peppermints. They monitored 81 students over 10 weeks and during that time 17 participants developed a mild upper respiratory tract illness. Six of the ill participants were given peppermints, six were given butterscotch, and five were not given sweets. Of the 64 healthy controls, 21 sucked peppermint, 22 were given placebo sweets, and 21 did not eat any sweets. The healthy controls and unwell participants were given tests for their mood, performance, and time reaction tasks. The study confirmed that having a cold was associated with slower reaction times, slower eye movements and reduced alertness. They found that sucking a peppermint increased alertness in both those with colds and those who were healthy. But there were no significant effects of sucking a peppermint on performance. They found that eating peppermints influenced malaise because it soothed the signals from body to the brain. "When people are sick with a mild upper respiratory tract illness, they will likely experience malaise – a general discomfort and a lack of wellbeing. This can impact performance and reduce our alertness," Dr Andy Smith, who led the research, said. "Vapours are known to have therapeutic benefits – and aromatics, such as mint, have been shown in previous research to have an impact on our wellbeing when ill and in perfect health. We thought it was plausible that peppermints might help reduce the malaise associated with the common cold and its symptoms," he said. The results confirmed that common cold illnesses are associated with slower psychomotor speed and reduced alertness, Smith said. "But sucking on a peppermint, compared to a butterscotch or nothing, during a cold can increase your alertness. These results show that, with the right understanding, simple things can be done to improve our wellbeing when unwell – and that includes eating a peppermint to help with a cold." The study "Effects Of Mild Upper Respiratory Tract Illnesses And Sucking Peppermints On Mood And Performance" is published in the World Journal Of Pharmacy And Pharmaceutical Sciences. The following information is not intended for publication pa dpa coh

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By James Pearson LONDON (Reuters) -British cyber incidents classed as "highly significant" have risen by 50% over a year ago, the head of the country's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will say on Tuesday.    A series of cyber attacks in recent months has knocked some of Britain's biggest brands, including Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), offline.    "Every leader, whether you're one person at your kitchen table  or the boss of thousands of people,  you must have a plan to defend against criminal cyberattacks," NCSC CEO Richard Horne is due to say at the launch of its annual review in London.    The NCSC, part of Britain's GCHQ spy agency, was asked to help with 429 cyber incidents in the 12 months to August, half of which were considered of "national significance".    Of those, Horne said, 18 were classed as "highly significant" because they had "serious impact on central government, UK essential services, a large proportion of the UK population, or the UK economy".    Ministers have written to companies, including the largest 350 on the FTSE Index, urging them to understand what support is available and to make cyber resilience a board-level responsibility, Britain's Department for Science, Innovation & Technology Press said in a statement.    The NCSC said it had dealt with 204 attacks in the three most serious categories in the year to August 2025, more than doubling from 89 the year before.    That has cast a light on the resilience of companies and particularly the smaller businesses in their supply chains, which may be more vulnerable to suddenly losing orders, and payments, if their clients are unable to operate.           JLR, which analysts estimated was losing around 50 million pounds per week from the shutdown, last week restarted some manufacturing after an almost six-week pause.     The luxury carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, was given a 1.5 billion pound loan guarantee by the British government in late September to help it support suppliers.    "If your IT infrastructure was crippled tomorrow  and all your screens went blank,  could you run your payroll systems, keep your machinery working, or stock your shelves? ," Horne said in his speech.    "If the answer is no, or more likely ‘don’t know’, act now".  (Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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-Global smartphone shipments grew 2.6% in the third quarter this year, fueled by strong consumer demand for premium and AI-enabled devices, according to preliminary data from the International Data Corporation on Monday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Demand for smartphones has been resilient despite economic uncertainty and tariff challenges, boosted by premium features, favorable pricing models and promotional trade-in deals that make the upgrading decision a "no-brainer" for most customers. KEY QUOTE "The smartphone industry continues its upward trajectory, posting solid growth – a remarkable achievement given persistent economic uncertainty and tumultuous tariff dynamics," said Nabila Popal, senior research director for Worldwide Client Devices, IDC. "Demand for Apple's new iPhone 17 lineup was robust, with pre-orders surpassing those of the previous generation. At the same time, Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 outperformed all earlier foldable models, creating renewed momentum for the foldables segment," said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president, Client Devices, IDC. BY THE NUMBERS Third-quarter shipments rose to 322.7 million units, with Apple delivering its best results ever in a three-month period ended September and Samsung achieving its strongest September-quarter growth on record, IDC said. Samsung maintained its top spot with 61.4 million units shipped in the quarter, while Apple saw nearly 3% growth in shipments with 58.6 million. WHAT'S NEXT IDC said it maintains a positive outlook for the rest of 2025, projecting strong year-end sales driven by aggressive promotions, expanding AI capabilities and ongoing device innovation. (Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

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SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics on Tuesday projected a 32% rise in third-quarter operating profit from a year earlier, beating analysts' estimates as demand for conventional memory chips helped offset the company's weaker high bandwidth memory chip sales. The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 12.1 trillion won for the July-September period, versus a 10.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. (Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Chris Reese)

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SEOUL (Reuters) -Samsung Electronics on Tuesday projected a 32% rise in third-quarter operating profit from a year earlier, beating analysts' estimates as demand for conventional memory chips helped offset the company's weaker high bandwidth memory chip sales. The world's largest memory chipmaker estimated an operating profit of 12.1 trillion won for the July-September period, versus a 10.1 trillion won LSEG SmartEstimate. Revenue would likely rise 8.7% to 86 trillion won from a year earlier, the filing showed. Samsung is expected to release detailed results including a breakdown of earnings for each of its businesses later this month. (Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Chris Reese and Sonali Paul)

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