IBM's shares sharply declined by 25% on Tuesday, marking a steeper single-day drop than the 'Black Monday' crash of 1987. This decline occurred against IBM's admission that the company failed to keep pace with the shift in corporate spending structures, which are moving from software to data center infrastructure, leading to a significant profit decrease in the second quarter. This is considered the clearest sign of the growing influence of artificial intelligence on this sector.
According to CEO Arvind Krishna, clients began redirecting their capital expenditures at the end of June towards purchasing servers, memory, and data storage systems to secure access to infrastructure facing supply shortages before expected price increases. Krishna noted that while the company anticipated some supply chain impact, it did not forecast such a scale of capital expenditure reallocation. Furthermore, it was observed that several major deals failed to close as expected.
The company's weakness was largely tied to its mainframe business, which involves selling high-performance computers and software for processing millions of daily transactions in industries such as aviation and banking. It was also noted that enterprises have begun paying more attention to cybersecurity expenses following recent breakthroughs in AI-powered hacking capabilities. Anthropic's Mythos model raised business concerns due to its ability to detect vulnerabilities in existing encryption and software systems, forcing companies to strengthen their cyber defenses.
IBM forecasts only a 1% revenue growth, reaching $17.2 billion in the second quarter, which is below analysts' estimate of $17.86 billion, according to LSEG data. This will mark the weakest revenue growth in over a year. The company also projected an adjusted earnings per share of $2.93 against a forecast of $3.02. IBM provides IT consulting services to large corporations and governments, as well as selling enterprise software and mainframes. The company is making efforts to reduce dependence on the cyclical mainframe business by focusing on its software division, including the high-margin Red Hat business, which helps firms run applications on various cloud platforms.
Chris Bosham, a lead market analyst at IG Group, described the current situation as an 'ugly moment' for IBM and software stocks, adding that the key question will be the duration of the transition to infrastructure and cybersecurity. He suggested that a few months might be tolerable, but beyond that, serious questions will arise again regarding software stocks. It should be noted that IBM lost $69 billion from its market capitalization of $272.8 billion, while Microsoft, ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Intuit fell by 2–5%. To reassure investors, IBM highlighted its major investments in quantum computing, including over $10 billion for developing the first large-scale quantum computer by 2029. This technological progress regained attention after the US government supported companies like IBM in May to strengthen supply chains. However, IBM's efforts in quantum technologies and expansion of AI partnerships, including collaboration with OpenAI, are still in early stages and not substantial enough to significantly offset the weakness of the company's core software and infrastructure business. Second-quarter results are expected on July 22.
In Udupi, gardener Joseph Lobo cultivates the famous Miyaji mango, which can bring in income of up to 3 lakh per kilogram. Although he always wanted to farm, a family dispute over land prevented him from starting.
Instead of giving up, he decided to use his terrace, turning it into his dream garden. By acquiring new knowledge through YouTube videos and conducting numerous experiments, Joseph gradually filled his terrace with fruit trees, flowering plants, and vegetables, proving that realizing a hobby requires space, not vast fields.
Today, his rooftop hosts over 200 types of plants, including mummy fruits, chikoo, and mango, as well as 32 jasmine plants, three of which are grown using hydroponics. After successfully growing several rare fruits, he decided to try something even more unusual—the Miyaji mango, despite knowing the difficulty of growing it in India.
The Miyaji tree finally bore fruit after three and a half years. Initially, Joseph and his family simply enjoyed the mango they had waited so long for. The truth about the immense value of these fruits was only revealed after a guest visited his garden. According to the gardener, it was a reporter from a news publication who covered his terrace farm and learned about the mango's value.
The gardener fertilizes his plants with homemade fertilizer made from cow dung, sheep manure, yogurt, and food waste. To combat pests, he avoids chemicals, instead using neem oil. Despite the astonishing cost, Joseph does not intend to sell the mango, stating that it is intended for his family and friends. Instead, he shares grafted saplings with other gardeners.
Following the enactment of the renovation law, one of the most important issues is housing valuation, as the size of the compensation received by the owner directly depends on this assessment.
According to current regulations, real estate valuation must be carried out by a specialized appraisal organization that possesses the appropriate rights under the law. It is important that the appraiser has no vested interest in the final result, and that the methodology used is completely transparent and understandable to the homeowner.
A whole set of parameters is taken into account when determining the value. Among them are the object's location, its total and living area, the year the building was constructed, its current technical condition, the degree of landscaping, and the quality of the renovation. The legal status of the property, market prices for similar objects, as well as the level of local infrastructure development and the transport accessibility of the area are also considered.
In addition to receiving the final monetary amount, the homeowner has a legal right to study the valuation process itself and request all necessary clarifications. The official report must present not only the final value of the object but also a detailed explanation of how it was calculated, including a list of objects used for comparison, as well as the justification for all applied adjustments.
The Republic of Kyrgyzstan has temporarily banned the export of petroleum products to ensure the stable functioning of the domestic market.
According to the statement, this restriction applies to gasoline, diesel fuel, and other types of fuel. However, the decision does not affect crude oil, fuel oil, or heating fuel.
The decree states that the ban will remain in effect until the domestic market is saturated or a common oil market is formed within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
It is reported that this ban previously applied to shipments outside the customs territory of the EAEU. The Russian Federation was the main supplier of fuel to Kyrgyzstan. Currently, the Russian Federation is facing a fuel crisis due to the Ukrainian conflict.
