CNBC Property Play: Building data centers on the moon
CNBC's Diana Olick sits down with David Steinbach, global chief investment officer at Hines, and Ross Centers, CEO of Ethos. They discuss why lunar data centers may become the next frontier in real estate, and how the space exploration boom mirrors the early railroad era.
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2 hours ago
- USA Today
Astronomer HR chief resigns after Coldplay 'Kiss Cam' viral video
The human relations chief of the data tech company Astronomer has reportedly resigned along with its former CEO following the Coldplay 'Kiss Cam' viral video. The New York firm said in a statement that Kristin Cabot resigned as chief people officer and is "no longer with Astronomer," according to CNBC and BBC. The reports come days after Andy Byron "tendered his resignation" as CEO, the company wrote on an X post July 19 adding that "the Board of Directors has accepted." As of Thursday, July 24, the pair are no longer listed in the company's leadership page. The viral moment shows a man and a woman embracing each other before quickly letting go and ducking out of view when a "Kiss Cam" put them in the spotlight at a July 16 Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The clip, with 124 million views on TikTok alone, shows the two holding each other before quickly letting go and ducking out of view when they spotted themselves on the Gilette Stadium Jumbotron screen. Neither Cabot or Byron have issued a public comment regarding their resignations. USA TODAY has reached out to Astronomer for comment. New CEO issues positive statement after controversy Co-founder Pete DeJoy, who assumed the role of interim CEO following Byron's resignation, commented on the controversies in a July 21 LinkedIn post titled "Moving Forward at Astronomer." He said the company has received more media attention in the wake of the kiss cam incident than most companies ever encounter. "The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name," DeJoy wrote. While Astronomer has not specified exactly why Byron or Cabot have resigned, the firm wrote that the company "is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability."
CNBC
5 hours ago
- CNBC
India expects 'preferential' tariffs in a trade deal with U.S., says India's commerce minister
India expects to secure "preferential" tariffs from the United States that are better than those achieved by its economic rivals, according to India's commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal. Goyal, who led the negotiations on the U.K.-India trade agreement, signaled a confident approach from New Delhi in ongoing trade talks with Washington. "India will get a preferential tariff compared to our peers and our competitors, because we were amongst the first to get into negotiations and our discussions, our engagement is truly very, very significant," Goyal told CNBC on Thursday. His comments were in response to a question about whether India could hope for better terms than the tariffs currently faced by Japan and Vietnam on some of their U.S. imports. Their exports face 15% and 20% duties, respectively. The minister said the negotiations were "progressing extremely well" towards a deal aimed at achieving the $500 billion bilateral trade target by 2030 , a goal previously set by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I have excellent relations with my good friend, [U.S.] Commerce Secretary, Mr Howard Lutnick," Goyal said. "The United States and India share a very special relationship, and I'm very confident we'll do a robust and good deal where both countries benefit and where businesses on both sides are happy." Lutnick is leading the U.S. trade negotiating team. The optimism was echoed by business leaders, who predicted that while a deal would be reached, India would negotiate from a position of strength. Keshav Murugesh, chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry UK Business Forum, told CNBC that Indian negotiators would handle talks "strictly on merits" and "India will not be a pushover." Murugesh, also the chief executive of business services firm WNS , suggested that both sides are sufficiently motivated, noting that President Trump "and his people want a good deal with India because, let's face it, India is the future." India's Goyal also said the push for a U.S. deal is part of a deliberate policy to partner with "developed nations who complement the India story," a move away from past agreements with countries seen as direct competitors. He cited India's decision to withdraw from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as an example of this, describing the pact as something that "would have otherwise been like a China-India FTA." His comments came on the day India and the United Kingdom finalized their free trade agreement. The bilateral deal, first announced in May , will see the U.K. benefit from lower tariffs on key exports such as whisky and cars, which will kick in over several years. Meanwhile, India will gain tariff-free access on 99% of imports from day one of the agreement. While expressing confidence in the U.S. talks, Goyal acknowledged sensitive issues remain. When asked if agriculture was a sticking point , he declined to comment specifically on the trade discussions but added that the sector was sensitive to India. "We are always very sensitive to the interests of our farmers, the interests of our MSMEs, and will ensure that our areas of concern are well protected," Goyal added. The issue is critical for Modi's government, as the vast agricultural sector employs a huge portion of India's population and represents a powerful political constituency. Protecting farmers from foreign competition is a long-standing government priority. Goyal added that the U.S. side understood India's position, saying, "the Trump administration, and my counterparts are equally cognizant and sensitive about our concerns." — CNBC's George Bextor contributed reporting.
CNBC
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- CNBC
Top Europe banks warn of euro strength, 'wait-and-see' market amid U.S. tariffs
Some of Europe's top banks have sounded alarm bells over the strength of the euro and outlined how U.S. tariffs have reshaped the investment landscape in the second quarter. Germany's largest lender Deutsche Bank on Thursday reported a second-quarter profit beat but noted, across the board, the effects of the relative strength of the euro against the U.S. dollar. Speaking to CNBC's Annette Weisbach, the lender's Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke said the currency appreciation is the "big thing that's kind of flowing through our numbers," which showed mixed results in Deutsche Bank's core investment banking subdivision. At BNP Paribas , continental Europe's largest bank by assets, the global markets unit saw a 26.8% year-on-year boom in the fixed income, currencies and commodities subdivision, despite a "more challenging environment than last year, impacted by tariff announcements, geopolitical uncertainties, and the dollar's depreciation vs. the euro." Zeroing in on foreign exchange rates, CFO Lars Machenil told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" that the euro strength meant "all the income generated outside of Europe was a bit impacted by that." Critically, banks with high U.S. activity can suffer the impact of the greenback's depreciation when converting dollar earnings into local currencies — particularly in the case of the recently strengthening euro. The European currency has added 13.46% against the greenback in the year to date, according to LSEG data, spurred on by volatility surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and their impact on the outlook of the world's largest economy. The latest activity from relevant central banks is supporting both currencies, with the U.S. Federal Reserving holding interest rates in June, while the European Central Bank on Thursday kept monetary policy unchanged . The 27-nation European Union and Washington are still locked in a race to agree a trade deal by Washington's Aug. 1 deadline, before Trump materializes a threat to impose a 30% levy on the bloc's exports to the U.S. The ongoing fog over the trade future of the two former transatlantic allies is reshaping the market and investment picture for market and corporate activity. Stateside, top lenders cashed in on their trading dominance and benefitted from Trump policies rattling markets for bonds, currencies, equities and commodities. In Europe, BNP Paribas' Machenil said the uncertainty led to a "wait-and-see" approach that the bank also cited for the stable quarterly performance of its global banking unit, which houses its operations in mergers & acquisitions and equity and debt capital markets. "It's not that [clients] are all retracting and saying we're going to stop financing," Machenil stressed. "It's a bit wait and see, waiting to see where the opportunities are. So the discussions and the pipeline are very active." Italy's second largest lender UniCredit — which on Wednesday posted a 25% year-on-year hike in second-quarter net profit — pointed to "macro volatility and U.S. tariff concerns, which temporarily shifted activity towards trading in Q2." Deutsche Bank's Von Moltke said that U.S. tariffs could translate into a "relatively steep" hike in currency conversions and an ultimate "headwind" for European exporters, while noting that the impact of the levies would be "very varied" for each corporate business. The European second-quarter earnings season has now fully kicked off, with two other major European banks, Britain's Barclays and Swiss lender UBS , due to report next week.
