According to the American Gaming Association, the amount wagered on National Football League (NFL) games will rise by 8.5% this year, hitting a record $30 billion. CNBC highlights that this is relevant solely to lawful wagers. The extent of the illegal sports wagering market in the United States is not established. State attorneys general recently sent an open letter to the Justice Department,...

Cognac sales revenue worldwide dropped by 13.4% in the year ending July, amounting to €2.7 billion, according to the French industry group BNIC. In tangible terms, the quantity of supplies declined by a more moderate 4.2%, reaching 154.6 million bottles. BNIC observes that the decrease in value surpassed that in volume, as consumers are increasingly opting for younger and more affordable cognac...

The industry climate group Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) has suspended operations and proposed a vote on changing its format, Bloomberg reports. Over the past year, the NZBA, which was founded in 2021 and declares its goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 or earlier, has lost almost all of its members in North America and significantly weakened its position in Japan,...

Chinese officials are contemplating the approval of yuan-backed stablecoins (a broad term for cryptocurrencies supported by national currencies and high-quality securities), according to Reuters, which cites sources. Sources indicate that this month, the State Council of the People's Republic of China may review and potentially approve a strategy to enhance the global circulation of the yuan,...

Investment in oil and gas in Norway will reach its highest point this year and then decrease next year as significant projects are finished, according to data from Statistics Norway derived from surveys of industry stakeholders. Investments are projected to attain a historic high of 274.8 billion Norwegian kroner ($26.98 billion) in 2025, then decrease to 229.4 billion kroner in 2026. In May,...

The budget deficit for the US in July reached $291.143 billion, reflecting a 19.4% increase compared to the same month last year, according to the Finance Department of the country. Revenues rose by 2.5%, reaching $338.492 billion. The budget received $27.7 billion from customs duties, nearly four times the amount from last year ($7.1 billion). Expenses rose by 9.7% - reaching $629.635 billion,...

Armin Papperger, head of the arms firm Rheinmetall AG, informed the Financial Times that prices for tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery are expected to drop in the years ahead. This was his remark concerning concerns that increasing European budgets will result in inflation with minimal advantages for taxpayers. Papperger stated that the decrease in expenses will be realized via large-scale...

China is advising local firms against utilizing Nvidia Corp.'s H20 processors, particularly for government applications, according to Bloomberg, which references sources. Nvidia developed a tailored version of its AI chips (H20) for the Chinese market, considering Washington's previous limitations on semiconductor supplies to China. In April, US officials prohibited Nvidia from selling these...

According to preliminary estimates from the World Gold Council (WGC), global central banks raised the amount of gold in their gold and foreign currency reserves by 22 tons in June. WGC analyst Krishan Gopaul observes that purchases have steadily increased for three consecutive months, although the outcome for the first half of the year is below the figure from the same timeframe last year (around...