FSSAI bans Dabur from selling food products with misleading '100%' claims

According to data from the World Gold Council, demand for gold jewelry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) decreased by 28% year-on-year, reaching 5.6 tonnes in the second quarter of 2026 compared to 7.7 tonnes in the same period last year. This decline was attributed to the impact of regional geopolitical tensions and a decrease in tourist numbers.

Nevertheless, demand for gold jewelry in the UAE showed a quarterly growth of 21.7%. This was driven by the influence of record high precious metal prices observed in January.

The historical high price for the precious metal reached $5,589.38 per ounce on January 28, 2026. On that day, the price of gold jumped by more than $300 during the trading session, largely caused by escalating tensions between the US and Iran, as the US threatened a major strike against the country.

In contrast to jewelry, demand for gold bars and coins continued to rise. For the second quarter of 2026, demand for bars and coins increased by 30% year-on-year, reaching 5.3 tonnes, compared to 4.1% the previous year. Furthermore, according to the World Gold Council, the quarterly demand for gold coins and bars in the UAE grew by 32.5%.

Gold coins and bars remain a preferred investment instrument in the UAE due to a combination of cultural and financial factors. For expatriates from South Asia, Arabs, and other communities, gold is traditionally viewed as a value passed down through generations, closely linked to wedding traditions, festivals, and family savings.

From a financial perspective, gold coins and bars serve as a hedge against inflation and currency fluctuations, especially during periods of geopolitical uncertainty or stock market downturns. Many residents prefer physical gold over paper investments such as ETFs because it provides direct ownership, portability, and liquidity, allowing it to be relatively easily sold or used as collateral.

The precious metal price began to decline after the start of the Middle East war, as rising oil prices raised concerns about inflation in the US economy. On Monday evening, spot gold traded at $4,026 per ounce, which was 1.24% lower. In the UAE, 24K and 22K gold prices opened at AED 488.25 and AED 452.0 per gram, respectively.

Simon-Peter Massabni, Head of Business Development at xs.com, noted that the fundamental prospects for gold will be closely tied to the trajectory of inflation, US monetary policy, the direction of the dollar, and real bond yields. He believes that the long-term and medium-term forecast remains inclined towards a continuation of the upward trend for gold, although he anticipates strong corrective waves.

Massabni stated that new historical highs cannot be ruled out if current supportive fundamentals persist. He believes that the greater danger for investors may lie in underestimating the strength of the overall upward trend due to short-term corrections. At the same time, he sees little reason to chase gold growth with every rally. The best approach, in his opinion, is to wait for consolidation zones and re-entry, using technical levels to determine potential opportunities and effectively manage risks.

He added that gold is entering a turning point that could define the market's trajectory in the coming years. If the current movement proves to be merely a correction within a longer bull market, today's prices could ultimately be seen as a period of accumulation before another major surge. However, if gold successfully breaks key resistance levels and establishes stable trading above previous highs, a transition can be observed from a rally driven mainly by fear and hedging to a new phase characterized by a global revaluation of gold itself. Therefore, he does not believe that the history of gold ended after the last correction; rather, he sees it as an asset that still possesses strong structural drivers for further growth, provided there is disciplined risk management and confirmation of technical signals when navigating the next market phase.

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, reiterated the warning that cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) labs are not reliable for corporations. This statement was made in the quarterly letter sent to shareholders, after the company reported exceptional results in the second quarter.

In the referenced quarter of 2026, Palantir achieved a revenue of US$ 1.9 billion (equivalent to R$ 9.7 billion), representing a 93% increase compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, the company generated a profit of US$ 1.1 billion (R$ 5.6 billion). In his communication, Karp highlighted that the company generated 'more profit in a single quarter than all the revenue obtained in the same period last year.'

Accusation of 'Marxism'

In the same letter, Karp, who holds a doctorate in social theory, employed philosophical terminology to criticize large language model developers. He stated: 'There are Marxist tones and undertones in our business.' Additionally, he observed that 'others, including many who build large language models, intend, consciously or unconsciously, to capture the means of production of their supposed partners.'

During a conference with Wall Street analysts, Karp detailed this argument. He questioned whether companies were willing to 'buy a future' where their work helps their 'adversaries win, and all who win are a small group of people living in a tiny place who somehow believe that because they eat vegetables and do not support combatants, they deserve the entire means of production of this country.'

Continuing the conversation, he clearly described the business model of AI labs: 'You are paying for the right for them to migrate their intellectual property, their know-how, their expertise to their model, so that they can build a competitive business that does not need your business or your people.' Karp added that, in his view, this action occurs 'for reasons they believe are moral. They are superior to you. They deserve to colonize your company.'

The Palantir Model

Palantir provides analysis and AI software described as neutral regarding models, serving both governments and corporations. Its platform allows organizations to maintain control over their data, as well as over what Karp termed 'AI exhaustion,' encompassing the prompts, orchestration, and context generated by AI usage.

Karp's criticism resonates with a point raised by other executives, such as Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. The debate is set against a list of companies that have established partnerships or hired services from Anthropic and OpenAI, while these labs launched their own businesses in sectors such as healthcare, legal, design, and drug discovery.

Finally, it was mentioned that Palantir's senior management consists exclusively of men, and Karp used jargon considered common in defense technology companies during the meeting with analysts.