Ex-JPMorgan Analyst Builds a 51%-a-Year Quant Powerhouse in Taiwan
UC Capital, Liu's proprietary trading firm, shot to sudden prominence last October when it revealed itself as the buyer of the baseball that marked Shohei Ohtani's historic feat of 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in one season. The $4.39 million purchase, and the secretive company's coming out of the shadows, were both carefully calculated moves.
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Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
DeepSeek Postpones New AI Model After Huawei Chip Hurdles
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has hit the brakes on its next big release. The company was gearing up to debut its new large language model, R2, but ran into trouble training it on Huawei chips, the Financial Times reported. It's the latest setback tied to U.S. export controls that keep Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) most powerful GPUs out of Chinese hands a gap that's proving hard to fill. Sources told The Information in June that the lack of top-tier Nvidia hardware was already weighing on R2's progress, and CEO Liang Wenfeng isn't happy with its current performance. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 5 Warning Signs with NVDA. For now, there's no release date. DeepSeek's most recent upgrade, R1-0528, is still making waves, with the company claiming it performs close to OpenAI's o3 and Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro. But the longer R2 lingers in development, the more pressure mounts in the high-stakes race to push AI models to the cutting edge. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
6 underrated players who could boost their teams in final push toward MLB playoffs
When it comes to the playoff chase, nobody is overlooking the importance of established stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge or Tarik Skubal. Those players have the weight of their teams' fortunes squarely on their shoulders, and everyone knows it. But in reality, it doesn't take huge names to make a huge impact. The stretch run, which features some tight races, could very well hinge on players who were not widely expected to be significant factors, at least not up until recently. With that in mind, six writers (three from and three from Yahoo Sports) got together and picked one player apiece whom they see as underrated candidates to be impact players down the stretch. Here are their selections. All statistics updated through Tuesday. Cristian Javier, SP, Astros The fact that the Astros are still neck-and-neck with the Mariners in the AL West race is pretty remarkable considering how many key players have been injured this season. The list of players on the injured list for the Astros includes, but is not limited to: Yordan Alvarez, Isaac Paredes, Josh Hader, Ronel Blanco, Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia. Fortunately, the Astros saw some good injury fortune with the return of Javier on Monday. Sidelined since May 21, 2024, after undergoing Tommy John surgery, Javier allowed two runs in five innings against the Red Sox on Monday — which came on a two-run home run from Alex Bregman — while striking out five batters. Notably, Javier's fastball sat at 93.4 mph, a mark he hasn't been at since his dominant 2022 season, when he had a 2.54 ERA and 194 strikeouts in 148 2/3 innings and helped pitch a combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series against the Phillies. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] We know that Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown are a heck of a 1-2 punch at the top of the Astros' rotation. But there are serious questions about who would slot in as a Game 3 starter for Houston, should the club secure a postseason berth. Perhaps just as important right now, the Astros need another quality starter to help fend off the Mariners and clinch yet another division title. —Brent Maguire, Andrew Vaughn, 1B, Brewers After a failed run with the White Sox, Vaughn has become one of the best hitters in baseball since he got to Milwaukee, a key part of the Brewers' recent success. Milwaukee, which is an incredible 39-11 since trading for Vaughn, will be without Jackson Chourio for the next few weeks as he recovers from a hamstring injury. As a result, the Brewers will need their new first baseman and his increased production even more down the stretch as the team looks to tie a bow on the NL Central title and make a run at baseball's No. 1 seed in the postseason. —Russell Dorsey, Yahoo Sports Ramón Laureano, OF, Padres It's easy to overlook Laureano on a Padres team loaded with star power, including newly acquired flamethrower Mason Miller. The 31-year-old outfielder didn't even get top billing in the deal with the Orioles that brought him to San Diego — that went to 2025 All-Star Ryan O'Hearn. But if Laureano can sustain his performance, he'll go down as one of the biggest positional upgrades any team made at the trade deadline, considering the black hole that was the Padres' left-field situation before he arrived. Through the end of July, only four teams got less production from their left fielders than the Padres (74 wRC+). In August? San Diego ranks fourth with a 159 wRC+ in left — including a 149 wRC+ from Laureano over 44 PAs at the position. —Thomas Harrigan, Kristian Campbell, 1B/2B, Red Sox First base has been a hot topic for the Red Sox for a while now. Triston Casas' season-ending ACL injury in early May sparked a series of shocking events, including Rafael Devers' refusal to play first base and subsequent trade to the Giants in an early-season blockbuster. Since Devers was dealt, Boston has been relying primarily on a platoon of Abraham Toro and Romy González at first base. That combo performed admirably at first, but Toro in particular — the larger side of the platoon as the switch-hitter who starts against right-handers — has struggled immensely recently, with a .481 OPS since July 8. Enter — or, perhaps more accurately, reenter — Kristian Campbell. Campbell began the season as one of baseball's top prospects, and the eight-year, $60 million extension he signed in April was indicative of Boston's confidence that he could be a key contributor in the short and long term. A terrific April at the plate suggested Campbell was indeed ready to make an impact, but then he went ice-cold for a lengthy stretch, necessitating a reset in Triple-A, where he has been since mid-June. Campbell continued to scuffle initially but has been heating up over the past month, hitting .370/.465/.575 in his past 20 games with Worcester. More importantly, he has been playing first base after appearing mostly at second in the spring, hinting that he could resurface as an option there for the big-league club. Whether he's a first baseman long-term doesn't really matter; right now, if Campbell can play first, he can fill a need for the Red Sox down the stretch. If he can make an impact the rest of the way, it'd be a cool redemption story after his demotion, especially if he can provide the kind of spark Boston needs to return to October. —Jordan Shusterman, Yahoo Sports Cade Horton, SP, Cubs The Cubs have been working overtime to hold their rotation together all year. Other teams have more high-profile pitchers on the injured list, but the Cubs are the ones still leading with ace Matthew Boyd, which one has to assume wasn't part of their original plan. Even as they get Javier Assad and Jameson Taillon back, we can't minimize the role Horton could play in the final weeks of the regular season. Horton didn't get off to a great start, but as he's figured out how to limit hard contact — now that it's clear he won't be averaging over a strikeout per inning at the MLB level in 2025 — he's really starting to come into his own. The 23-year-old came into his Wednesday night start against the Blue Jays with a 1.05 ERA since July 1 and a scoreless streak he'd run up to 23 1/3 innings. That scoreless streak hit 29 innings before he gave up a run in a 4-1 Chicago victory. At this point, the Cubs really can't burden themselves with what the Brewers are doing outside of their final five head-to-head games — there's basically no recourse for a miraculous hot streak. All they can do is to get themselves back in fighting form, playing their best baseball, and a good way to do that is to get your rotation back into a steady rhythm. Horton's certainly doing his part. —Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Trent Grisham, OF, Yankees October baseball is no longer a given for the 2025 Yankees, who, thanks to a late summer tumble, sit just one game up on the Cleveland Guardians for the final AL wild-card spot. That stark reality is most certainly not Grisham's fault. Disregarded in the minds of most as little more than a bench outfielder, the mustachioed lefty is enjoying a phenomenal season ahead of his first foray into free agency this winter. Call it good fortune, call it clutch, call it whatever you want, but one of the most notable features of Grisham's 2025 has been the timeliness of his long balls. Grisham has 25 homers, 20 of which have either tied the game or put the Yankees in front. By Win Probability Added — a WAR-like metric that also measures the timing of a player's contributions — Grisham has been the 13th-best hitter in the sport. Whenever the Bombers have needed a boost with a blast, Grisham has been there. I see no reason to expect that trend to stop now. —Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports
Newsweek
34 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Map Shows Alaska's Natural Resources That Trump Could Offer Putin
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Newsweek has mapped the coastal areas around Alaska that could be part of an incentive deal President Donald Trump offers Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war with Ukraine. Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that access to Alaska's natural resources—oil and gas—could be up for discussion when the leaders meet in Anchorage on Friday, as well as rare earth minerals in Ukraine and lifting some sanctions on Russia's aviation sector. A White House official told the Daily Telegraph that it would not comment on deliberative conversations that may or may not be happening. Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Danang, Vietnam, on November 17, 2017. U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' summit in Danang, Vietnam, on November 17, 2017. Why It Matters The Bering Strait separates Alaska from Russia where they are less than 3 miles apart. As well as being strategically important because of melting Arctic sea ice and expanding shipping routes, it could also be a gateway to considerable undiscovered oil reserves. Alaska's oil and gas exploration leases are concentrated on its North Slope facing the Arctic Ocean and in the Pacific-facing Cook Inlet connecting the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage. In the 1980s, U.S. energy companies drilled into the Bering Sea looking for untapped reserves, but all of those wells have been abandoned and the area is strictly regulated because of environmental concerns. There has been angry online reaction to the unconfirmed report that Alaska's resources could be part of a deal with Putin. What To Know Trump will meet with Putin on Friday in Anchorage, where discussions are expected to focus on ending the war in Ukraine which has been raging for 3 1/2 years. The Telegraph said that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials are working with Trump to finalize economic proposals aimed at incentivizing the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire. Among them are offering Russia opportunities to tap into the valuable natural resources in the Bering Strait that would bolster its interests in the Arctic region, which accounted for 80 percent of Russia's gas production in 2022. Discussions between the U.S. and Russia over cooperation in the Arctic started at the beginning of Trump's second term, with Bloomberg reporting in February that officials from both countries discussed economic cooperation in the region. Andreas Østhagen, research director of Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Newsweek that the proximity of Alaska's location to Russia for Friday's summit sent a strong signal about the Arctic's importance for both countries. He said some of the motivation from the Trump administration to work with Russia stemmed from the idea that U.S.-Russia cooperation could then drive a wedge between the strengthening alliance between Moscow and China in the Arctic. He said there are known quantities of oil and gas in the Chukchi Sea north of the Bering Strait where there was potential to initiate exploration for strategic oil fields, which would require Russian and American companies to collaborate in some fashion, Østhagen added. Berlin-based energy industry expert Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek that a potential Trump offer for Putin to exploit Alaskan resources was consistent with his Plan A, which offered the Russian president a chance to end the war with oil, gas, and mineral deals. The idea was to induce Putin not only to make a peace deal but to move away from China and back toward the West, but the plan has not worked, he said. Trump's newly approved arms for Ukraine and oil tariffs on India are Plan B, "but, if Putin makes a deal, I'm sure Trump will lavish Putin with investments and trade deals," O'Donnell added. The Telegraph also reported that the U.S. might offer the rare earth minerals in the Ukrainian territories Moscow partially occupied and lift export bans on parts and equipment needed to service Russian planes, many of which have fallen into disrepair. What People Are Saying Republicans Against Trump, on X: "The Telegraph reports that Trump plans to offer Putin access to Alaska's natural resources and sanctions relief if he agrees to a ceasefire Why reward an aggressor who has no interest in a real and lasting ceasefire? Outrageous!" Andreas Østhagen, research director of Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, told Newsweek: "if you want to push this idea of collaboration with Russia, in the Chukchi Sea there's potential to initiate exploration." Berlin-based energy industry expert Thomas O'Donnell told Newsweek: "Trump's whole premise is to entice Putin to stop the war in a way that draws him away from China and towards the West." What Happens Next The Kremlin said that the Russian delegation accompanying Putin will include Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev. The Kremlin said that the main topic on Friday will be a settlement of the war in Ukraine, but economic cooperation and global security will also be discussed.
