Norway $2.3 Trillion Fund Returns 9.4% in First Half

Norway's $2.3Tn sovereign wealth Fund, managed by Norges Bank Investment Management, posted a record first-half profit of 1.753Tn Norwegian Kroner ($184.70Bn) before foreign-exchange effects, helped by gains from its large holdings in US technology companies. Equities returned 13%, with fixed income delivering a 0.9% return and real estate investments gaining 5.9%.

Unlisted renewable energy infrastructure had a loss of 0.2%.

The fund owns about 1.5% of all listed stocks globally and has become one of the world's biggest investors in artificial Intelligence-Linked companies.

Nvidia Corp. remained the fund's biggest holding as of the end of the first half, followed by Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. Equities returned 13%, with fixed income delivering a 0.9% return and real estate investments gaining 5.9%.

The first-half performance follows a 15.1% return in 2025, the fund's second-best annual return since 2020.

Reference Sources

1. bloomberg - Norway $2.3 Trillion Fund Returns 9.4% in First Half
2. wsj - Norway Oil Fund Makes Record Profit, Buoyed by Asia Tech Stock Rally
3. bloomberg - Norway Oil Fund CEO Says He’s More Nervous After Record Returns
4. cnbc - 'Tougher times ahead': Don't expect blowout returns to continue, CEO of $2.3 trillion fund warns after record first half

Cisco Beats on Sales Outlook, Citing ‘Broad-Based’ Record Demand

Cisco Systems, the world's largest maker of networking equipment, has given a sales projection for the current quarter that far exceeded Wall Street's expectations, a sign of success for the company's efforts to supply a larger share of the AI data center market with its networking gear.

Revenue will be $18 billion to $18.2 billion in the fiscal first quarter, which runs through October, the company said in a statement Wednesday, well above analysts' estimates of $16.8 billion on average. Profit, excluding some items, will be $1.32 to $1.34, compared with projections of $1.17 a share on average.

The company, in a statement, attributed the strong sales to "broad-based, record-high demand for Cisco technology." The company has been restructuring in an attempt to score more contracts tied to the global Buildout of data centers that power artificial intelligence systems.

The new focus has helped the company land new clients, including ones overseeing government-led AI projects.

"We expect AI momentum to remain strong," Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Woo Jin Ho wrote in a note.

Despite its focus on supplying AI data centers, Cisco still depends on its older, traditional networking business for sales. In the fiscal fourth quarter, which ended in July, sales rose 18% from a year earlier to $17.3 billion.

Reference Sources

1. barrons - Cisco Earnings Expected to Be Strong Thanks to Continued AI Demand
2. bloomberg - Cisco Beats on Sales Outlook, Citing ‘Broad-Based’ Record Demand
3. cnbc - Cisco's stock drops despite earnings, revenue beat

South Korea finds Google, Apple violated in-app payment laws

South Korea's media watchdog, the Korea Media Communications Commission (KMCC), has concluded that US-based Tech giants Google and Apple violated related laws by abusing their dominance in their respective App Marketplaces.

The level of sanctions will be decided at a later date.

The two US tech companies are accused of bypassing the revision to the Telecommunications Business Act passed in 2021, which aims to prevent large App market operators from forcing App developers to use only their In-App payment systems. Following the revision, Google and Apple had allowed customers to purchase Apps through a third-party payment Gateway but imposed a transaction fee of around 26% on Non-In-App purchases - a move that drew criticism for effectively nullifying the law. In October 2023, South Korea's media watchdog had warned it would impose the highest fine possible on the two Tech giants but has yet to carry out such a punishment.

Reference Sources

1. bernama - S. Korea's Media Watchdog Says Google, Apple Violated Laws Regarding In-App Purchases
2. thesunmy - South Korea finds Google, Apple violated in-app payment laws

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.  

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Uploaded by Ian Huang