Latest news with #ChrisKelly
CBS News
21 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
Mon Valley leaders optimistic about U.S. Steel's future following Trump rally
Mon Valley leaders are sharing optimism about the future of U.S. Steel after President Trump's rally at the Mon Valley Works Irvin Plant in West Mifflin. Mr. Trump celebrated what he calls a partnership between U.S. Steel and Japan-based Nippon on Friday, sharing details about commitments in the partnership and increased tariffs on imported steel. Mr. Trump also announced that his administration will be raising tariffs on imported steel from 25% to 50%. "What this tariff is going to mean for these jobs here in Pittsburgh, Gary, Indiana, and Minnesota, we're back, we're back, and we're back with a vengeance," said West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly. "These steel workers deserve this." He called the tariff announcement unexpected. "Tariffs being put on China will stop them from dumping steel at a lower cost, and it will be cheaper to buy American steel here," Kelly said. Combined with the Nippon partnership, Mr. Trump says the tariffs will help U.S. Steel. At the rally, he revealed the partnership will include a commitment to maintain blast furnaces at full capacity for a decade, there would be no layoffs, and $2.2 billion would be invested in the Mon Valley." "With the technology Nippon is bringing in, we will make [steel] faster, we'll make it better, we'll make it stronger," Kelly said. He spoke with Nippon and U.S. Steel executives after the rally, he said. "I asked specifically, Mr. Mori and Mr. Burrit: Are we good? Did we get everything we want? And the answer was yes, plus some," Kelly said. Nippon executives have been in his office countless times over the past year. He says Nippon will be a good partner for U.S. Steel. "Honor in Japan is their lifeline. Everything they do is about honor and commitment," Kelly said. "They're a soft-spoken group."
Techday NZ
3 days ago
- Business
- Techday NZ
APJ region accelerates AI adoption as Dell rolls out new innovations
Artificial intelligence is moving at an incredibly fast speed in the Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) region, according to senior Dell Technologies executives who spoke at a media roundtable during the Dell Tech World conference in Las Vegas. As AI use cases proliferate and investment ramps up, the region is fast emerging as a global leader, both in adoption and ambition. "Asia Pacific is leading the way in generative AI spending, with 38% of AI investment in the region now focused on Gen AI, compared to just 33% in the rest of the world," said Peter Marrs, President of Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China at Dell. "Even North America sits at 29%," he added, highlighting the region's rapid pace. Dell is positioning itself at the heart of this growth through its AI Factory and a growing ecosystem of technology partners, universities and governments. "There's not an industry that's untouched by AI, but financial services, healthcare, energy, retail and manufacturing really stand out. We're at the forefront of helping customers across these sectors," he added. Transforming business through AI factories The Dell AI Factory, a framework designed to help organisations scale AI, has quickly gained traction. "It's been a year since we announced it, and we've moved from having tens or hundreds of customers globally to thousands," said Chris Kelly, Senior Vice President of Data Center Solutions APJC at Dell. "Not only are more customers deploying it, but they're achieving real, tangible ROI." According to Danny Elmarji, Vice President of Presales APJC at Dell, the AI Factory has resonated because it provides a practical pathway for organisations to adopt AI at scale. "CIOs are trying to understand how to tackle AI inside their business. Unlike past technology shifts, this is fundamentally a business-driven initiative," he explained. Elmarji pointed to significant momentum in financial services, where generative AI is being used to recommend customer actions, automate fraud detection and transform digital banking experiences. In manufacturing, AI is powering digital twin capabilities and revolutionising fault detection, while in healthcare, early detection tools and enhanced electronic medical records are improving patient outcomes. AI is also driving change in retail, with computer vision enabling smarter inventory management, and in education, where Dell is working with universities to personalise learning and foster innovation. "We're building connections between the IT world, research and industry," Kelly noted. "It's about moving beyond pilot projects and making AI meaningful for everyday users." From modular data centres to sovereign AI The roundtable also showcased a unique customer partnership with South Korean AI education platform Elice. CEO Jae Won Kim described how Elice faced soaring costs when trying to provide deep learning environments for students and businesses. "We had to reduce GPU cloud fees by more than 90%," he said. The solution was a portable modular data centre powered by Dell servers, now used for everything from AI digital textbooks for five million students to sovereign AI workloads that comply with government requirements. "There's very limited data centre capacity in Korea for high-density AI workloads," Kim explained. "The modular data centre lets us host hundreds of GPUs, with liquid cooling for the latest chips. It's not just about education anymore – we're talking about a hybrid solution that could be deployed in Japan, Australia or anywhere data centre construction lags demand." Marrs praised the partnership, saying, "You really thought big, and you went and made it happen." Kim's advice for others: "AI is not going away. It's better to start early. If you're worried about investment, modular is the best way to start small and start fast." Innovation and ecosystem challenges Dell's announcements at the conference included a raft of new infrastructure solutions designed to cut energy costs, boost data centre efficiency and accelerate AI deployments of any size. The company's latest cooling technology can reduce energy costs by up to 60%, while new servers with AMD and NVIDIA chips promise up to 35 times greater AI inferencing performance than previous generations. Yet, challenges remain. "The biggest hurdles are people and ecosystem," Marrs acknowledged. "We need to educate the next generation of AI talent and work with governments to create the right regulatory and compliance frameworks." Kelly added, "Access to data centre space, power and cooling is going to be crucial. Requirements are moving so fast that what seemed high density a year ago now looks standard." To address these gaps, Dell is nurturing partnerships with universities, local ISVs and industry bodies, running hundreds of AI innovation days and investing in hands-on labs. "We're enabling partners to experiment in safe environments and bring AI to life," said Elmarji. Dell executives are optimistic but realistic about the scale of change. "We're delivering AI at scale in the largest and most complex use cases, but also helping small startups get started," Kelly said. "You don't have to spend a fortune – start small and grow. If you don't act now, you're falling behind." For Kim, the journey with Dell is just beginning. "It was a huge investment for us, basically a startup. We poured all our money into GPUs. But I think it will be a good journey," he said.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mon Valley leaders react to President Trump's deal with Nippon Steel after years of work
Mon Valley leaders are reacting to the news that President Trump approved a merger of Japan-based Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel. RELATED COVERAGE >>> President Trump announces deal with Nippon Steel, keeps U.S. Steel headquarters in Pittsburgh 'Immediately overtaken with emotion and joy,' West Mifflin Mayor Chris Kelly said. 'I didn't know if I wanted to cry,' Clairton Mayor Richard Lattanzi said. Lattanzi worked for U.S. Steel for 30 years. 'I don't care republican, democrat. What a great thing for the Mon Valley and the whole United States.' Kelly tells Channel 11 he saw the President's post first and called his fellow mayors. 'It was like a celebration each time you told somebody. A lot of screaming, 'we did it, we did it,'' Kelly said. 'There's no feeling like you get when you see everything you worked for coming to reality.' President Trump's post on Truth Social came just before 3:30 Friday afternoon. He is calling it a 'partnership' to the tune of a more than $14 billion investment. RELATED COVERAGE >>> Political leaders, steelworkers react to President Trump's announcement of deal with Nippon Steel Trump added it'll create 70,000 jobs. Other republican lawmakers, including Sen. Dave McCormick, put that number at 11,000 jobs saved and at least 14,000 created. Sen. John Fetterman also praised the deal after vowing to block the original deal in 2023. U.S. Steel issued a statement saying in part: 'U.S. Steel will remain American, and we will grow bigger and stronger through a partnership with Nippon Steel that brings massive investment, new technologies and thousands of jobs over the next four years.' USW International President David McCall issued a statement saying: 'We cannot speculate about the impact of today's announcement without more information. Our concern remains that Nippon, a foreign corporation with a long and proven track record of violating our trade laws, will further erode domestic steelmaking capacity and jeopardize thousands of good, union jobs.' Kelly is calling this a steel renaissance. 'I think steel in Pittsburgh and the legacy of over 120 years of steel in Pittsburgh depended on this deal to go through,' Kelly said. 'It's as big as the 4th of July. There should be fireworks and everything,' Lattanzi said. President Trump is planning a rally for May 30th at U.S. Steel. , Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
ITV News
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- ITV News
Businesses prepare for 'major economic boost' as Isle of Man TT approaches
Video report by ITV Granada Reports' Isle of Man reporter Joshua Stokes Businesses on the Isle of Man 'reliant on the TT' are preparing for the return of the world-famous races. Several entrepreneurs across the island have spoken about how valuable the racing is to their businesses. More than 50,000 tourists from across the world are expected to travel to the island to witness the action. CEO of Duke Events, Peter Duke, believes the racing brings in 'well over £50 million' to the Manx economy. He said: "We're fairly dependent on it, we certainly suffered during the Covid lost years, that was really really difficult - but we survived, we're still here and we just want to make the TT experience better for everybody." Duke Events has a number of pop-up accommodation sites across the Isle of Man, housing hundreds of TT fans travelling across the world to witness the races. Mr Duke said there has been a steady increase in visitors from North America, particularly since the launch of the TT+ service, live streaming the racing across the globe. "40% of our guests are from North America now - they see it on TV and they love it!". A number of pop-up camping sites are built all around the Isle of Man to accommodate the tens of thousands of visitors. Credit: ITV Granada Reports Chris Kelly has a number of businesses on the island, but it is in catering where he makes his money during the TT period. "The TT is this business", he said. "Other smaller events in the year, the money just isn't in them. I mean there's a lot of businesses that just rely solely on the TT". Mr Kelly is preparing for his second year stationed in the fan park at the TT Grandstand, after a successful first outing in 2024. "Myself and my wife Tash ran it single-handedly, we did get a bit of help from family and friends, but it was an exhilarating experience". Red Arrows set to return to Isle of Man TT 2025 Chris Kelly prepares his churros truck, ahead of two weeks of racing. Credit: ITV Granada Reports Work is underway to build the TT fan park and paddock surrounding the Grandstand. The site is the largest so far, covering 120,000 square metres of space around Nobles Park - including race control, accommodation and car parking. Paul Phillips, Head of Motorsport at the Isle of Man Government, said: "It's a huge undertaking. It's in effect building a village or a town from scratch in a greenfield site." When asked how much the TT benefits the economy, Mr Phillips said: "The tentacles of TT economically go far wider than just visitors or visitor spend. "There's all of the jobs that it sustains all year round, whether that's in media, in infrastructure and logistics. "Most of the sports clubs turns into campsites generating lots of revenue effectively keeping them afloat. "Other organisations are able to create pop-up business that gives them a level of income that allows them to operate all year round." The Isle of Man TT starts on Monday 26 May and ends with the Senior TT race on Saturday 7 June. Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...
Free Malaysia Today
07-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
New CEO at Buffett's HomeServices says buyers, sellers can handle tariffs, changes
The National Association of Realtors' policy requires agents to list properties on their multiple listing services within one business day of marketing to the public. (EPA Images pic) OMAHA : The new chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway's HomeServices of America said worries about the impact of tariffs on mortgage rates are weighing on home buyers and sellers, but were unlikely to significantly dent sales of existing homes. 'When mortgage rates are fluctuating because the underlying economy is fluctuating, it causes buyers and sellers to stay on the fence,' Chris Kelly, who took over the largest US residential real estate brokerage on April 15, said in a recent interview. Higher borrowing costs contributed to a greater-than-expected 5.9% drop in March US sales of existing homes, to a seasonally adjusted 4.02 million unit annual rate, with more weakness likely as tariffs fan fears of a recession. 'The high degree of volatility we've seen in the last couple of months is giving buyers and sellers a little bit of pause. 'But there are still 4 million people who are going to make a move this year,' Kelly said. HomeServices is a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which is part of Warren Buffett's conglomerate, and owns or franchises more than 2,200 brokerage offices with over 82,000 agents. It lost money in 2024, largely from its US$250 million settlement of antitrust litigation accusing the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and brokerages of inflating commissions. HomeServices was the last defendant to settle the landmark case, though Berkshire Hathaway Energy faces related claims. The brokerage commission settlement ended the practice of having sellers pay commissions, typically 5% to 6%, to their agents, who would split them with buyers' agents. Splits would be communicated over private databases known as multiple listing services (MLS), which only agents would see. Sellers claimed this was secretive and inflated closing costs. The NAR's clear cooperation policy requires agents to list properties on their MLS within one business day of marketing the properties to the public. Supporters say it adds transparency and provides equal access to listings, while critics say it restricts sellers' ability to choose marketing strategies. 'That's where the current battlefront is: what happens if more properties are listed as exclusives, or marketed with more limited exposure. 'From our perspective, the vast majority of properties benefit from the widest exposure possible, which means putting it in the MLS,' Kelly said. He added that 'We always want the consumer to have a high degree of clarity on the fee and commission structure'. HomeServices has curbed its once aggressive appetite to buy brokerages to fuel growth, and Kelly said it will likely emphasise 'tuck-ins' of brokerages that might struggle to compete on their own. But he also said HomeServices has diverse revenue streams from mortgages, title and insurance, citing its stake in nationwide underwriter Title Resources Group, which can cushion the blow when one segment falters. Kelly, 49, joined HomeServices' network in 2007 when he left private law practice to become general counsel at Kansas- and Missouri-based ReeceNichols. He later moved to the parent company. Kelly reports to Berkshire vice-chairman Greg Abel, who is expected to succeed Buffett as chief executive.
