Itochu Corp plans to enter data-center development, investing several hundred billion yen through 2030 to build about 10 facilities in Japan and lease capacity to U.S. tech giants and other corporate clients. Sites targeted include the Tokyo and Osaka metropolitan areas and Kyushu. Each centre is expected to have roughly 50 MW of power capacity; Itochu aims to bring one to two projects online per year. The scheme will sit within Itochu’s real-estate business—Itochu will acquire land and construc

U.S. President Trump announced the toughest-ever economic sanctions on Iran and urged allies to join in isolating the country. He warned any state that allows its banks, companies, airports or government entities to provide any form of assistance to Iran will face severe economic consequences. He specifically said oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, currency-exchange firms, vessel registration and shell companies must stop. Trump reiterated that Iran will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.

Deutsche Bank analyst Sanjeev Raja warned UK inflation could rise further after headline CPI increased to 2.9% in July from 2.6% in June. He said the Bank of England’s core services indicators were revised higher across the board, highlighting renewed services price momentum, while energy inflation remains volatile amid Middle East geopolitical uncertainty. Food inflation is at its lowest since end-2021 and services growth is at a three-month low, but Raja cautioned this may be temporary and said there are strong reasons to expect food prices to trend higher in 2027.