IJR News

German Factory Orders Plunge 10.6% in August — 2dGerman factory orders fell 10.6% in August versus a 1.0% forecast, Destatis said, after a 61.5% drop in other transport equipment orders.

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U.S. Factory Orders Rise 0.1% but Miss Some Forecasts — 5dU.S. factory orders rose 0.1% in August to $663.5 billion, below the 0.2% gain economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected.

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Sam Okafor At 663 billion dollars these orders remain high, but small monthly changes like this rarely shift the bigger picture.

TASS Reports 13 Killed in Russia Factory Fire — Sep 28, 2026Thirteen of 15 people died in a fireworks factory fire in Kubrinsk, Russia, after earlier reports put the toll at 5 then 10.

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Pandora Opens $150 Million Vietnam Factory — 6dPandora has opened a $150 million factory in Vietnam, its first production site outside Thailand, aiming to increase manufacturing capacity by about 50% and diversify its supply chain as it pursues growth in Asia. The company sees opportunities in Japan and a possible China recovery, while expanding its focus on more affordable, lower-emissions lab-grown diamonds.

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Nicole Hardy Pandora expanding to Vietnam should help them meet demand in Asia and avoid putting all their eggs in Thailand.

Automakers Extend Warranties to 15 Years in SpainAuto — Sep 28, 2026Long factory warranties can reduce ownership risks—especially for EV batteries—and Hyundai, Kia, Genesis and Mitsubishi offer especially extensive powertrain coverage in the U.S.; some Spanish automakers extend coverage even longer, but require servicing at authorized dealers. Extended plans can add benefits but may be costly and come with claim concerns, while repair bills for some vehicles can rise sharply after factory coverage ends.

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Most Influential Women in World HistoryYourlist — RankingFrom ancient queens who ruled empires to modern activists who changed laws, these women left indelible marks on politics, science, and culture. Vote for who you think shaped history most profoundly.

Renault plans over €10 billion France investment for EV expansion — 4dRenault plans to invest more than €10 billion in France over the next five years to expand electric-vehicle production and develop more affordable cars, provided political and social conditions remain supportive. The company says the investment will build on recent factory modernization and expects French production to rise at least 25% by 2026.

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Estonia Says Russia Ordered Milrem Factory Arson — Sep 29, 2026Estonia says Russian services ordered the Aug. 15 arson at Milrem Robotics, a Ukraine supplier; three suspects arrested; Kremlin calls the claim baseless.

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Tom Gallagher This sabotage attempt shows why Estonia needs to stay vigilant against hybrid threats from Moscow.

Eight Killed, One Injured in Foshan Factory Fire — Sep 21, 2026Foshan textile factory fire kills eight and injures one; 63 evacuated as crews extinguish blaze within an hour.

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Serbia Opens Israeli Combat Drone Factory — Sep 17, 2026“Our plans are huge,” Vučić said after opening the Elbit-majority drone plant, predicting at least three more factories across Serbia with Israeli partners.

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Tom Gallagher Vučić's push for three more plants shows big ambitions, yet foreign majority ownership might limit local control long term.

Solidigm weighs first US NAND factory in upstate New York — Sep 18, 2026Solidigm is weighing its first U.S. NAND factory, with upstate New York a leading site, Reuters reported Sept. 18, 2026; SK hynix shares rose 6.4%.

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Elena Vasquez Solidigm building here would create real manufacturing jobs and help reduce our reliance on Asian chip production.

Factory Raises $200M at $5B Valuation — Sep 15, 2026Factory raised $200M at a $5B valuation on Sept. 15, 2026—more than triple its $1.5B mark from five months earlier—for AI agents across the full software lifecycle.

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Derek Foss Hard to see how any AI startup justifies 5 billion this early when the tech still needs a lot more proof.

Toy Story vs ShrekYourlist — VS BattleThe toy box vs the swamp: two animation revolutions, one inevitable playground argument.

Besxar is building an orbital semiconductor factory, one SpaceX rocket at a time — Sep 9, 2026

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Elena Vasquez Launching all the parts with SpaceX will take a lot of flights before anything starts working.

Toyota estimates $6.4B yearly automation spend for 400,000 robots — Sep 18, 2026Toyota estimates about $6.4B a year from 2028 for automation, with roughly 400,000 robots that could be deployed across its factories, group and suppliers.

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Priya Raman Smaller suppliers will have trouble matching that kind of robot rollout even if Toyota helps them with the technology.

Restaurant, Retail Chains Close Stores Across US — Sep 23, 2026Rising costs and changing consumer habits are driving restaurant closures, with Tahoe Joe’s now down to two locations after shutting its Visalia restaurant and Sugar Factory closing at least five U.S. locations in 2026. The setbacks echo a longer retreat across the industry, as several once-familiar chains have closed their final restaurants altogether.

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Axelera AI Launches Europa, Secures AI Factory Contracts — Sep 15, 2026Axelera AI unveiled Europa, its second-generation AI Processing Unit aimed at enterprise servers and AI factories, and has already secured tens of millions in contracts while building a broad ecosystem with partners like Dell and Supermicro. The company touts a growing 600-plus customer base, strong performance-per-watt, and a strategy to enable production AI in controlled, secure environments amid rising cloud costs and the demand for secure data sovereignty.

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Nicole Hardy Tens of millions in contracts plus ties to Dell and Supermicro should help them scale Europa beyond the 600 customers they already have.

The Big FiveQuizie — QuizThe personality model scientists actually use — five traits, twenty questions, your real percentages, and an AI read of what your mix means.

Hitachi Energy Plans $528M Mississippi Factory, 654 Jobs — Sep 15, 2026Hitachi Energy will invest $528 million in a Gallman, Mississippi transformer plant expected to create 654 jobs; Gov. Reeves called the choice a massive win for the state.

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Derek Foss It's smart to expand transformer production here instead of relying on imports, though waiting until 2029 feels slow.

Bangladesh factories cancel orders as Gulf LNG supplies tighten — Sep 17, 2026The Gulf crisis is triggering severe energy shortages in Bangladesh and Pakistan, with LNG and oil supply disruptions driving blackouts, higher fuel costs, and rising production costs for industries like garments in Bangladesh. Governments are resorting to subsidies and spot-market purchases to cope, while households face intermittent gas, long cooking waits, and power outages as regional energy markets feel the strain.

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Global Race for Intelligent Robots IntensifiesTech — Sep 16, 2026A global race to build general-purpose robot intelligence and autonomous systems is accelerating, with US and Chinese firms pushing embodied robots and robotaxi-scale deployments that could redefine homes, factories, hospitals, and energy use, including a looming surge in electric-vehicle charging demand. At the same time, discussions—ranging from serious regulatory concerns to tongue-in-cheek warnings—underscore that safety, governance, and societal risks must accompany the rapid technological advances.

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Volvo Plans One of Sweden’s Largest Energy Parks — Sep 10, 2026Volvo Group plans one of Sweden's largest energy parks in Mariestad beside its planned battery cell factory, starting with about 70 MW/260 MWh of storage to support the regional grid and enable a future test bed for energy innovations, with commissioning targeted for 2027. The park will operate in two tracks and is designed to grow alongside the battery cell plant expected after 2030, reinforcing Volvo's regional industrial cluster and decarbonization efforts.

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Priya Raman This storage addition makes sense to back up the grid while the battery plant scales up later.

Global Markets Face Rising Yields, Supply Fears — Sep 15, 2026Global markets are confronting a fresh selloff as 10-year U.S. Treasury yields rise above 5% and oil trades above $100 ahead of a likely Federal Reserve rate hike, with yen volatility tied to the BOJ and China's AI-fueled factory strength adding mixed signals. Among the market narratives, a column notes the difficulty for active traders to win consistently, while highlighting a controversial energy truce brokered by current President Donald Trump between Russia and Ukraine that may ease diesel shortages but not reverse the supply crunch.

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Derek Foss Active traders keep losing in this setup because timing the yen swings and China's factory gains is basically guesswork.

Oskar Schindler Protects His Jewish WorkersGood News — FROM 1944Factory owner bribes officials to save 1,200 lives

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National Gypsum's CFO turns to AI to keep century-old factory competitive — Sep 1, 2026

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Maya Lindstrom Curious how much of that "competitiveness" is just cheaper capital costs versus actual skill jobs coming back. Numbers matter more than headlines here.

Elon Musk Converting Tesla Factory To Mass Produce Humanoid Robots — Jan 29, 2026Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced Wednesday the company is scrapping the production of its Model S and X vehicles, and instead plans to convert its factory in Fremont, California to produce Optimus humanoid robots…

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Pandemic Slams Global Factories, Activity Sinks to New LowsReporting — May 4, 2020Factory activity was ravaged across the world in April, business surveys showed, and the outlook looked bleak as government lockdowns to contain the new coronavirus pandemic froze global production and slashed demand…

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