Japan tech giant SoftBank Group sees better fortunes on surging AI stocks

Japan tech giant SoftBank Group sees better fortunes on surging AI stocks

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. posted a 421.8 billion yen ($2.9 billion) profit in the April-June quarter, rebounding from a loss a year earlier as its investments benefited from the craze for artificial intelligence.

Quarterly sales at Tokyo-based SoftBank Group, which invests heavily in AI companies like Nvidia and Open AI, rose 7% to 1.8 trillion yen ($12 billion), the company said Thursday.

SoftBank's loss in April-June 2024 was 174 billion yen.

The company's fortunes tend to fluctuate because it invests in a range of ventures through its Vision Funds, a move that carries risks.

Mayor introduces charter change motion to remove council members charged with crimes

Mayor Scott Gillingham believes the province should allow a forced leave of absence to be imposed on any city council member charged with a criminal offence.

Gillingham introduced a new “notice of motion” at Thursday’s city council meeting that calls for the change, days after Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt registered to run for re-election despite facing sexual assault charges.

Union leaders, the mayor and some councillors have publicly urged Wyatt to step aside from his council role to deal with the charges.

The mayor’s motion will be considered after the Oct. 28 municipal election.

Manitoba students able to opt out of classes with sensitive lessons on sex, drug use

Manitoba’s premier pledges to continue allowing parents to pull their kids from health class if content — be it related to human sexuality, substance use or otherwise — clashes with personal beliefs.

Wab Kinew said Tuesday the government’s overhaul of phys-ed and health curriculum in Manitoba schools won’t impact the ability for parents to opt-out of a lesson and deliver material as they see fit.

“As a parent, you are your child’s first and most important teacher and that will always be the case,” Kinew said, surrounded by hundreds of teenagers on the football field outside Kelvin High School during an announcement Tuesday.

More than 100 schools are taking part in a voluntary pilot project this fall. It’s the first systematic review of this curriculum in decades. The changes to kindergarten-to-Grade 12 courses will be mandated to all schools in September 2028.

Bluesman’s memoir focuses on life before music fame

He was born Colin Munn in Regina in 1964, but he’s best known by the name given to him onstage by his late friend Stevie Ray Vaughan in Ann Arbor, Mich., 20-plus years later — Colin James.

Jets land state-of-the-art dressing room after off-season of renovations

It’s not just the on-ice product that’s getting an overhaul this season for the Winnipeg Jets.

The hockey club has also undergone an extreme makeover when it comes to player facilities, including a new state-of-the-art dressing room that now rivals any around the league.

And if you don’t think that matters, you haven’t been paying attention.

“We’ve talked about doing everything first class,” head coach Scott Arniel told the Free Press on Tuesday. “We can’t do anything about the weather, but when people come here, we want them to know we look after them and we look after their families.”

The truth, the hyperbolic truth and nothing but the public accounts truth

The Manitoba public accounts — the final and definitive tabulation of government expenditures and revenues — have always been a difficult story to cover.

Difficult because the public accounts are complex, and explaining what the numbers mean and how they differ (but yet illuminate) the provincial budget is a gargantuan task.

However, the thing that really complicates the job of reporting the public accounts is the hyperbolic claims the government of the day makes about the numbers and what they mean.

In pursuit of the truth, let’s look at the numbers from the 2025-26 public accounts released this week, and some of the claims made by Premier Wab Kinew and Finance Minister Adrien Sala.