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Berlin (dpa) – Younger people often assume they have no real risk of cancer until they reach retirement age, but this certainly isn't the case when it comes to testicular cancer, which primarily affects men between the ages of 20 and 40. Although it's one of the rarer types of cancer, certain men are at higher risk and those with a family history of the disease — such as where a father or brother has been diagnosed — are more likely to develop it. "Men with one or both testicles located in the abdominal cavity also have a higher risk, even after surgical treatment," explains urologist Axel Merseburger. The good news, Merseburger says, is that once detected, testicular cancer is curable in most cases. Men can take proactive steps to detect tumours early by performing a self-examination once a month. "Ideally, this should be done after a warm shower or bath, when the scrotal skin is more relaxed," advises Merseburger. To perform this self-examination, stand in front of a mirror and first check for any visible swelling or skin changes. Then, begin palpating. "Take one testicle at a time between the thumb and forefinger of both hands. Gently but thoroughly roll the testicle to examine its surface," Merseburger explains. A smooth surface with no hard areas is a good sign. The self-examination should also include checking the epididymis. "It is soft and curved, located at the top and back of the testicle," Merseburger says. If you notice this is thicker or harder, it’s important to consult a urologist promptly. "Even small, pea-sized lumps should be taken seriously," says Merseburger. Other warning signs include an enlarged or swollen testicle, a pulling sensation or a feeling of heaviness — especially if these symptoms persist. If a testicle feels unusually hard or soft, this should also be investigated. The following information is not intended for publication dpa/tmn rid yyzz n1 nhr/cja

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BERLIN (Reuters) -Shortages of materials for German manufacturers of electronic and optical products became more acute in October, driven by a tightening of global controls on rare earth components, the Ifo economic institute said on Wednesday. Rare earths, essential for producing semiconductors, sensors and other advanced components, have become increasingly subject to trade restrictions, particularly from China, which dominates global supply. Some 10.4% of companies in the sector in Germany reported supply bottlenecks in October, up from 7.0% in July and 3.8% in April, said the institute. "The control mechanisms and trade restrictions for rare earths are taking their toll," said Klaus Wohlrabe, head of Ifo surveys. "If this trend continues and worsens it will also have a negative impact on economic growth." In manufacturing as a whole, only 5.5% of companies reported supply problems, said Ifo. Germany's industry has faced severe supply chain disruptions and European policymakers are trying to reduce dependence on critical raw materials by diversifying supply chains and boosting domestic production of rare earths but this takes time. (Writing by Madeline Chambers, editing by Kirsti Knolle)

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By Niket Nishant (Reuters) -Nvidia was set to open above a $5 trillion market value on Wednesday, becoming the first company to reach the milestone after a powerful rally that has made the chip designer the centerpiece of the artificial intelligence boom. Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company jumped 2.8% in premarket trade after CEO Jensen Huang announced $500 billion in AI chip orders and plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. government. The milestone marks Nvidia's evolution from a niche graphics-chip maker into the backbone of the global AI industry, vaulting past peers Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet and turning Huang into a Silicon Valley icon. "In many ways, everything that could have gone right for the firm, has gone right over the last sort of 24 hours," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. The company's latest milestone comes just months after it hit a $4 trillion valuation in July, showing a breakneck pace of growth rarely seen in modern markets. Analysts have said its rise reflects investors' faith that AI spending will keep soaring across industries, even as some warn of drummed-up valuations. Nvidia's size now gives it outsized sway over global equities, with its heavy weighting in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 meaning moves in its stock can ripple through pension funds, ETFs and portfolios worldwide, said analysts and investors. However, its towering valuation also raises expectations, with each earnings report drawing intense scrutiny and even a hint of slowdown triggering sharp investor reaction. GEOPOLITICAL BARGAINING CHIP Nvidia's dominance has also put it squarely in the sights of global regulators. U.S. export curbs on its most advanced chips, meant to limit China’s access to cutting-edge AI hardware, have made the company a key piece of Washington's geopolitical strategy. The firm has scrambled to design modified products for overseas markets while managing compliance risks that could weigh on future sales. Huang's announcements, made at Nvidia's developer conference in Washington, reinforced investor confidence in the company's role at the center of the global AI boom. One of the supercomputers, built with Oracle, will house 100,000 of Nvidia's Blackwell chips. Nvidia's Blackwell chips have also been a sticking point in U.S.-China talks, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying on Wednesday he may raise the issue of the high-end chips in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday. Apple and Microsoft each crossed $4 trillion earlier, joining the ranks of tech giants reshaping global markets. Apple hit the mark on Tuesday on strong iPhone 17 sales, while Microsoft regained it after valuing its OpenAI stake at $135 billion. (Reporting by Niket Nishant, Rashika Singh and Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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(Reuters) -Nvidia on Wednesday was within striking distance of becoming the first company to cross the $5 trillion market value mark, after a stunning rally that has made the chip designer the crown jewel of the artificial intelligence boom. Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company jumped 2.8% in premarket trade after CEO Jensen Huang unveiled $500 billion in AI chip bookings and disclosed plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. government. Huang's announcements, made at Nvidia's developer conference in Washington, reinforced investor confidence in the company's role at the center of the global AI boom. One of the supercomputers, built with Oracle, will house 100,000 of Nvidia's Blackwell chips. Nvidia's rise toward a $5 trillion valuation comes as Apple and Microsoft each crossed $4 trillion, joining the ranks of tech giants reshaping global markets. Apple hit the mark on Tuesday on strong iPhone 17 sales, while Microsoft regained it after valuing its OpenAI stake at $135 billion. (Reporting by Niket Nishant and Rashika Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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(Reuters) -Norwegian telecom operator Telenor on Wednesday posted quarterly earnings slightly below market expectations and flagged a negative adjustment of 500 million Norwegian crowns ($49.8 million) related to rising 5G costs in Malaysia. Telenor's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 5.4% organically to 9.54 billion crowns in the third quarter, while analysts polled by it had expected 9.60 billion crowns on average. Shares in the company fell around 3% in early Oslo trading. Overall, the results were in line or a touch lower than the market consensus, with a solid performance in Telenor's core Nordic markets offsetting some concerns in Asia. In Asia, Telenor saw organic EBITDA growth of 4.1%, partially helped by growth in Bangladesh's Grameenphone in which the Norwegian group owns a majority. Grameenphone recorded quarterly revenue growth after four consecutive quarters of declining performance following the political turmoil that took place in Bangladesh last year. "Still, consumers in Bangladesh continue to be highly prudent in the wake of last year's macro-economic setback," CEO Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer said in the earnings statement. The Norwegian group has previously said that any recovery in Bangladesh was unlikely to gain momentum before next year. Meanwhile, 5G-related costs are increasing in Malaysia, Schilbred Fasmer said. Telenor is the top shareholder in the country's largest mobile network operator CelcomDigi together with Axiata, with a 33.1% stake each. "Based on the latest public information, we make a 0.5 billion crown negative adjustment to our share of results from CelcomDigi this quarter related to its associated 5G network company in Malaysia," the CEO said. Telenor also specified its forecasts for 2025, saying it expected 5-6% organic growth in adjusted EBITDA for the whole group and 8-9% growth in the Nordics. It also sees 2-3% organic growth in Nordic service revenues. ($1 = 10.0431 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Elviira Luoma in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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(Reuters) -Nvidia shares jumped 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday, putting the chipmaker on track to hit $5 trillion in market valuation as CEO Jensen Huang unveiled $500 billion in AI chip bookings and plans to build seven supercomputers for the U.S. government. (Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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RIYADH (Reuters) -OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said in Riyadh on Wednesday that this week's deal with Microsoft allows the company to continue raising capital in a much less complex manner. Friar also said that OpenAI's intention to collaborate with governments globally to deploy its technology could enhance the United States' soft power. (Reporting by Federico MaccioniWriting by Tala RamadanEditing by David Goodman)

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By Trevor Hunnicutt and Eduardo Baptista AIR FORCE ONE/GYEONGJU, South Korea (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he will speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Nvidia's state-of-the-art Blackwell artificial intelligence chip at their expected meeting on Thursday. Sales of the U.S. firm's high-end AI chips to China, which accounted for 13% of its revenue in the past financial year, have been a key sticking point in protracted trade talks between the world's two largest economies this year. Beijing has long been irked by Washington's export controls that ban Nvidia from selling its most advanced AI chips to China. The U.S. has justified these restrictions by alleging the Chinese military would use the chips to increase its capabilities. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump praised Nvidia's current flagship Blackwell model as the "super-duper chip" and said he might speak to Xi about it, without elaborating. "I think we may be talking about that with President Xi," Trump said, adding he was "very optimistic" about his meeting with Xi, the first since he returned to the White House. UNCERTAIN CHIP EXPORT CONTROLS The second Trump administration has swung back and forth on allowing Nvidia's advanced chips into China, vacillating on whether access would make its superpower rival more dependent on the U.S. technology or give its military and tech companies a competitive boost. In April, it ordered Nvidia to stop sales of the H20 chip, made specifically for the Chinese market, prompting the company to prepare a less powerful version that was nevertheless based on its newest Blackwell architecture. Washington lifted the H20 sales ban three months later as part of negotiations with China on rare earths exports. Trump also said in August he would allow Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government receiving a 15% cut of the company's sales of some advanced chips in that country, opening the door to allowing the firm to sell more powerful chips than the H20 model. But even after the revenue sharing deal, Nvidia said it has not sent any H20 chips to China, as the U.S. has yet to come up with rules on how to get the payment and China has discouraged domestic firms from purchasing the California-based company's chips. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is expected to meet Trump on Wednesday and discuss the Blackwell, said on Tuesday his company had not applied for U.S. export licenses to send its newest chips to China because of the Chinese position. "They've made it very clear that they don't want Nvidia to be there right now," he said during the company's developers' event, adding it needs access to the China market to fund U.S.-based research and development. "I hope that will change in the future because I think China is a very important market." Beijing has put pressure on Chinese firms to buy and further develop domestic chips in response to U.S. export controls targeting the sale of Nvidia chips to China. Despite that pressure, Chinese developers still want Nvidia's chips due to constrained supplies of products from domestic rivals such as Huawei, Reuters has previously reported. (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Eduardo Baptista; Writing by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Miyoung Kim, Stephen Coates and Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese technology group NEC will pay about $2.89 billion to acquire U.S.-based telecoms and broadband software company CSG Systems, it said on Wednesday. The acquisition, expected to close in 2026, will be financed through a combination of cash on hand and external debt, NEC said. It added that the new acquisition would complement the business of an existing U.S. software subsidiary, Netcracker, allowing them to promote mutual sales. In January Reuters reported that NEC was weighing an offer for CSG. (Reporting by Anton Bridge; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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(Reuters) -Dutch payments group Adyen beat market expectations for quarterly revenue on Wednesday as strong retail activity kept payment volumes high, but slightly narrowed its financial forecast through 2026. Third-quarter net revenue grew 23% from a year earlier on a constant currency basis to 598.4 million euros ($697.9 million). Analysts had expected 21.1% growth on average, according to a Visible Alpha consensus poll provided by Adyen. Adyen has often performed better than its peers because its diverse client base and worldwide reach leave it well-prepared to cope with shifts in consumer spending. Still, the financial technology firm faces pressure from U.S. tariffs and the end of the "de minimis" exemption for packages valued below $800, which has hurt online shopping platforms such as eBay, one of Adyen's biggest clients. As it nears the end of the period covered by its current financial targets, Adyen said it expected annual net revenue to grow in a percentage range between low and mid-twenties through 2026. Previously, it had guided for a percentage rise between low and high twenties. ($1 = 0.8575 euros) (Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)

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