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Berkshire Hathaway Inc. significantly reduced its holdings in Apple Inc. by nearly 50% during a major sell-off in the second quarter, resulting in Warren Buffett’s cash reserves reaching a record $276.9 billion.

Overall, Berkshire sold $75.5 billion worth of stocks on a net basis in the second quarter, as reported by the Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate on Saturday. Operating earnings increased to $11.6 billion, up from $10 billion in the same period last year.

Berkshire has faced challenges in finding opportunities to invest its substantial cash reserves amidst a sluggish deal environment. During the firm’s annual shareholder meeting in May, Buffett mentioned he was not eager to spend unless they found opportunities with minimal risk and substantial profit potential.

Buffett’s stock sales occurred as the S&P 500 index hit a record high in mid-July, though it has declined over the past three weeks due to concerns that enthusiasm for artificial intelligence was overestimated. On Friday, weak labor data highlighted the risk of an economic downturn, causing the S&P to dip by 1.8%.

Regulatory filings also show that Berkshire reduced its stake in Bank of America Corp. during the second quarter, with the company now holding a $41.1 billion stake.

Berkshire repurchased about $345 million of its own shares in the quarter, the smallest amount since the company revised its buyback policy in 2018.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, reported a 6.5% drop in sales to China, totaling $14.7 billion in the third quarter, which missed Wall Street’s projection of $15.3 billion.

These results reignited concerns that Apple is losing market share in one of its most crucial international markets. Apple faces increased competition in the region, and the Chinese government has limited the use of foreign technology in some sectors. Additionally, China’s economic growth has slowed.

Apple attributed much of the sales decline to the impact of a strong dollar, asserting that its underlying business in China is healthier than before. Previously, executives indicated that the slowdown was more due to weak sales of products other than the iPhone.

Despite these challenges, Apple’s shares have risen this year, buoyed by investor optimism that new AI technology would boost sales. However, Bloomberg News reported on July 28 that Apple’s upcoming AI features would be delayed, missing the initial launch of its forthcoming iPhone and iPad software updates, but providing more time to address bugs.

Apple plans to start rolling out Apple Intelligence to customers as part of software updates expected by October, according to sources familiar with the situation.

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Tech News

Apple’s “Awe Dropping” Event: iPhone 17 Air and Everything to Expect This Tuesday

Apple’s biggest product launch in years is just 48 hours away, and the iPhone 17 Air could be the most radical iPhone redesign since the iPhone X. Here’s everything we know about Tuesday’s event.

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24 hours ago

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September 7, 2025

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Apple’s highly anticipated fall event is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9 at 10 AM PT (10:30 PM IST), promising what could be the company’s biggest product refresh in years.

Concept render of iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air showing their rear designs and camera setups

The iPhone 17 Lineup:

  • iPhone 17 Air: Ultra-thin at just 5.5mm thick, 6.6-inch 120Hz display, A19 chip
  • iPhone 17 Pro: Starting at $1,099 (up $100), 256GB base storage
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: Redesigned camera system
  • Standard iPhone 17: Expected pricing and specs
  • Major Software Updates:
  • Apple will announce the official release dates for its 2025 software lineup, all numbered with “26” to represent the September 2025-2026 season:
  • iOS 26: Features the new “Liquid Glass” user interface, redesigned Camera app, enhanced ChatGPT integration, improved Apple Intelligence capabilities
  • iPadOS 26: Introduces a completely new windowing system, Preview app for iPad, enhanced Files app with folder customization, Background Tasks for intensive operations
  • macOS Tahoe 26: New features and improvements for Mac users
  • watchOS 26: Updated features for Apple Watch
  • visionOS 26: Updates for Vision Pro headset
  • The iOS 26 public release is expected around September 15-16, with release candidates available immediately after the September 9 event.
watchOS 26
iPadOS 26
macOS 26
iOS 26

Other Expected Launches:

  • Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3
  • AirPods Pro 3 with health tracking
  • Possible Mac updates
iOS 26 Liquid Glass interface on iPhones showing translucent app icons and widgets
Apple Watch Series 11 render displaying time and fitness app with a floral background

Key Dates:

  • Event: September 9, 10 AM PT (10:30 PM IST)
  • Pre-orders: September 12, 5 AM PT
  • iOS 26 Release: September 15-16 (expected)
  • Hardware Release: September 19

The iPhone 17 Air represents Apple’s biggest design shift in years, prioritizing thinness over battery life with only a single rear camera.

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Red Sea Cable Cuts Cripple Microsoft Azure, Disrupt 17% of Global Internet Traffic

Multiple undersea fiber optic cables were cut in the Red Sea, disrupting Microsoft Azure services and slowing internet traffic across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe—affecting nearly 17% of global connectivity.

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September 7, 2025

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Multiple undersea fiber optic cables in the Red Sea were damaged, causing significant disruptions to Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and affecting internet connectivity across India, Pakistan, UAE, and other regions.

The impact:

  • Microsoft Azure users experiencing increased latency, especially for Asia-Europe traffic routes
  • Nearly 17% of global internet traffic flows through Red Sea cables
  • Key systems affected include SMW4, IMEWE, SEACOM/TGN-EA, AAE-1, and EIG cables
  • Failures occurred near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Microsoft’s response: “Undersea fiber cuts can take time to repair; as such, we will continuously monitor, rebalance, and optimize routing to reduce customer impact in the meantime.”

The broader concern: The Red Sea is one of the world’s most critical internet chokepoints. With ongoing regional conflicts, experts worry critical digital infrastructure could become deliberate targets.

Repair timeline: Subsea cable repairs typically take weeks due to the logistics of mobilizing cable repair ships and securing permits in politically sensitive waters.

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Tesla’s AI5 Chip Breakthrough: Musk Calls It “Epic,” Promises Life-Saving Technology

Elon Musk just announced Tesla completed design review for their AI5 chip and it’s going to be ‘epic’—while simultaneously recruiting engineers to join Tesla’s silicon team to work on ‘life-saving’ chips where ‘milliseconds matter.

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September 7, 2025

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Image: NurPhoto via Getty Images

Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced a major breakthrough today with the company’s AI5 chip design, calling it “epic” and predicting the upcoming AI6 could be “the best AI chip by far”.

In a social media post, Musk revealed: “Just had a great design review today with the Tesla AI5 chip design team! This is going to be an epic chip. And AI6 to follow has a shot at being the best AI chip by far.”

What makes this significant:

  • Tesla is consolidating from two chip architectures to one, focusing all silicon talent on a single incredible chip
  • Musk believes AI5 will be “the best inference chip for models with fewer than 250 billion parameters”
  • The chip offers “the lowest silicon cost and highest performance-to-power ratio”
  • AI6 is expected to advance these capabilities even further

The job recruitment angle: Musk is actively recruiting engineers, emphasizing they’d be working on chips that “save lives” where “milliseconds matter”—clearly referencing Tesla’s autonomous driving ambitions.

This comes after Tesla shut down its Dojo supercomputer project last month, with the company deciding to focus resources on a single chip architecture rather than splitting development.

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