Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific.

Alphabet Inc. again raised already sky-high estimates for capital spending in 2026, telling investors that expenses may top $200 billion as it races to build the computing power necessary to fuel its artificial intelligence ambitions. The Google parent projected capital expenditures of $195 billion to $205 billion in 2026, up from a previous estimate of as much as $190 billion, above the roughly $186 billion that analysts had estimated. The higher guidance reflects the company's efforts to accelerate its expansion of AI computing capacity and book more revenue from cloud-computing clients.  

Tesla Inc.'s profit tumbled despite a strong quarter for its automotive business, pressuring Elon Musk's plan to refocus the electric vehicle maker on artificial intelligence and robots. Spending on the ambitious initiatives surged to $5.8 billion in the second quarter, resulting in Tesla's first cash burn in two years. The company still expects capital expenditures in excess of $25 billion this year, and executives are now predicting even larger outlays going forward.
"This is a massive capex year," Musk said late Wednesday on a conference call to discuss quarterly results. "We should be spending on capex as fast as we can — spend as fast as we can without it being too wasteful." We speak to Shay Boloor, Chief Market Strategist.

Plus -  Asian shares advanced as regional chipmakers gained on expectations they will benefit from billions of dollars flowing into the artificial intelligence buildout. Bloomberg TV hosts Haidi Stroud-Watts and Shery Ahn spoke to Vikas Pershad, Asian Equities Portfolio Manager at M&G Investments.