by potentially choking off key supplies and spiking the cost of power in Taiwan. Taiwan's chipmaking sector, which drives about a fifth of the economy, depends on imports of chemicals, components, and materials from abroad, including helium and sulfur. Any disruptions to Taiwan's electrical grid or supplies could affect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and have ripple effects on industries beyond tech, including consumer electronics and car-making.

as the AI boom spreads. Fog City now boasts the highest commercial rents in the nation. Demand is likely being driven by high-earning tech and AI workers competing for a limited pool of available units in a market where new supply growth has largely stalled.

Pending home sales in February increased by 1.8% from the prior month and declined 0.8% year over year, according to the National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales report. The report provides the real estate ecosystem—including agents, homebuyers, and sellers—with data on the level of home sales under contract. Month over month, pending home sales rose in the Midwest, South, and West, and declined in the Northeast. Year over year, pending home sales rose in the South and West and declined in the Northeast and Midwest.

Smartphone chip designer Qualcomm (QCOM) on Tuesday ​unveiled a $20 billion stock buyback program as ‌it looks to take advantage of a steep drop in its share price, which has been hit ​by a global memory supply crunch ​that is expected to slow handset manufacturing. Shares ⁠of the company rose more than 3% on ​Tuesday, after a year-to-date drop of over 24% ​as the widespread shortage of memory chips hit Qualcomm's customers, mainly smartphone makers.

This comes as Australia’s inflation stays above the central bank’s upper limit of 3%. While developments in the Middle East remain highly uncertain, they are likely to add to global and domestic inflation, it said. The decision on the hike, though, was passed by a narrow majority.