Theme news

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 6, 2026 - Market Research Intellect has published a new outlook for the Electric Classic Car Market, projecting rapid expansion as electrified powertrains move from niche restoration projects into more structured, professionally delivered conversion offerings. The report estimates the market at USD 2.6 billion in 2024 and forecasts growth to approximately USD 12.4 billion by 2033, reflecting a 20.3% CAGR from 2026 to 2033. For automotive suppliers, conversion specialists, and mobility investors, the projections highlight a tightening link between emissions compliance, premium customization demand, and an expanding ecosystem of parts, software integration, and aftersales support.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 6, 2026 - LG Electronics USA announced at CES 2026 that it will integrate Prime Video into the LG Automotive Content Platform (ACP), enabling automakers using LG ACP to offer Prime Video content in-vehicle beginning in the second quarter of 2026. The move positions LG's webOS-based ACP as a more complete entertainment layer for software-defined vehicles, where screen time, passenger experience, and app ecosystems are increasingly becoming differentiators in OEM platform selection. For automakers and Tier suppliers, the announcement signals continued convergence between consumer streaming services and automotive infotainment stacks, with implications for integration planning, regional app availability, and subscription-driven usage models.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 6, 2026 - Teledyne LeCroy has announced the addition of VESA DisplayPort Automotive Extension (AE) support to its quantumdata M42de DisplayPort 2.1 Analyzer/Generator, extending the platform's role in enabling functional safety, interoperability, and compliance testing for next-generation in-vehicle displays. Revealed at CES 2026, the update addresses growing validation requirements as automakers integrate increasing numbers of high-resolution displays into connected, autonomous, and electrified vehicles. For OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, the enhanced test capability provides a practical path to meeting stringent automotive safety and security expectations while accelerating development timelines.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 6, 2026 - Sonic Tools has introduced its NEXT MSS modular hand tool storage system, positioning the new cabinet platform as the next generation of professional workshop organization for automotive, aviation, and industrial environments. Building on more than a decade of adoption of the original MSS series, NEXT MSS expands modularity, installation flexibility, and digital planning capabilities to help workshops design scalable storage layouts aligned with modern operational demands. For shop owners and fleet operators, the launch highlights how modular infrastructure can support productivity, space optimization, and long-term asset management.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 6, 2026 - Jungle Driving, a purpose-driven teen driver education franchise, is closing out 2025 with accelerated growth and a clear operational roadmap for national expansion as it moves into 2026 under the leadership of CEO Zach Beutler. Following a full relaunch in 2025, the company has rebuilt its curriculum, technology stack, and franchise support model, positioning the brand to scale while maintaining a focus on safety outcomes and franchisee performance. For operators and investors in the education and training sector, the announcement highlights how a modernized, mission-led franchise can combine public safety goals with a disciplined growth strategy.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 1, 2026 - Platinum Equity says it has completed its acquisition of the Owens & Minor Products & Healthcare Services business, establishing the operation as a privately held standalone company focused on medical supply distribution for the acute care market in the United States.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 1, 2026 - First Financial Bancorp. (Nasdaq: FFBC) says it is scheduled to close its previously announced acquisition of Chicago-based BankFinancial Corporation today in an all-stock transaction that adds its first retail consumer-focused locations in the Chicago market.

Deal snapshot and strategic intent

The transaction brings BankFinancial's core deposit franchise and branch presence into First Financial's Midwest platform. First Financial said the acquisition adds 18 financial centers in the Chicago area, along with regional and national commercial loan, lease, and deposit lines of business. With the completion of the acquisition, First Financial said it will have $22 billion in assets and will broaden its consumer, commercial, specialty lending, and wealth management offering.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 1, 2026 - CGTN published a year-end review of China's 2025 national agenda, drawing on President Xi Jinping's inspection tours and key leadership meetings to outline the priorities shaping the country's next phase of modernization.

Policy Signal as China Moves Between Five-Year Plans

According to CGTN, China ended 2025 at a transition point: the 14th Five-Year Plan nearing completion and the 15th about to begin. The article frames inspection visits and central meetings led by Xi as a practical window into governance priorities and the direction of the next planning cycle. For businesses and institutional stakeholders, this kind of messaging matters less as a headline and more as a signal of what policy levers and administrative attention are likely to concentrate on.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 1, 2026 - Skyworth PV has signed a contract for a 10 MW distributed photovoltaic power plant in Ocre, in Italy's Abruzzo region, moving the project into a construction phase and reinforcing its expansion trajectory across key European clean energy markets.

Contract Milestone and European Expansion Context

Skyworth PV describes the Italy agreement as a new step in its global expansion, with the Ocre project positioned as a distributed photovoltaic power plant. The company also pointed to continued progress on a separate, standalone 10 MW project in Bordeaux, France, framing both developments as evidence of steady execution in Europe.

For developers, EPCs, and investors tracking distributed solar buildouts, the update signals a project-led approach to scaling: securing contracted projects, progressing them into build stages, and building repeatable delivery models in multiple European jurisdictions.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - January 1, 2026 - Supermicro has introduced a new 6U SuperBlade configuration powered by Intel Xeon 6900 series processors, targeting higher compute density and improved space and power efficiency for modern data center deployments.

Product Scope and Target Workloads

Supermicro, which positions itself as a total IT solution provider for AI, cloud, storage, and 5G/edge, announced the latest addition to its SuperBlade family: the SBI-622BA-1NE12-LCC. The company describes it as a high-density blade server that supports both air cooling and direct liquid cooling options, with the stated goal of maximizing performance per watt and per square foot.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 30, 2025 - CPGIO says it has expanded its digital retail footprint by launching on multiple major marketplaces, positioning the company to support consumer brands with broader omnichannel distribution across a mix of mass, specialty, and B2B wholesale platforms.

Multi-marketplace expansion and timing

The company reported successful launches across Nordstrom, Chewy, Lowe's, Faire, and Best Buy, with the rollout beginning in November 2025. For consumer brands, the announcement signals a continued push toward diversified third-party marketplace presence as a growth lever, particularly as retailers extend marketplace models beyond core categories. For service providers and operators, the business impact typically centers on onboarding speed, catalog and content compliance, inventory synchronization, and the ability to manage pricing and pack-out strategy consistently across channels.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 30, 2025 - ALS Northwest says it increased its financial investment in ALS research throughout 2025, expanding support for new approaches in treatment, prevention, and scientific understanding while joining a multi-organization funding initiative intended to strengthen the overall research pipeline.

Research investment strategy and portfolio focus

ALS Northwest framed its 2025 approach as a scaled-up commitment to research designed to accelerate innovation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The organization said its efforts span multiple stages of scientific discovery, with an emphasis on enabling new approaches that could move the field forward. For research stakeholders, the operational question is not only how much is invested, but how efficiently funding is converted into validated findings, new targets, and ultimately clinical progress.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 30, 2025 - Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) says New York State's comptroller has granted final approval for an extension of PSEG Long Island's operations services agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), locking in continued grid-operations responsibilities through the end of 2030.

Contract extension now fully cleared

PSEG said the LIPA Board of Trustees awarded PSEG Long Island a five-year extension of the existing contract on September 25, followed by approval from the New York State attorney general in October and final approval from the comptroller this week. The extension begins January 1, 2026, and runs through December 31, 2030. PSEG Long Island has operated the electric grid on behalf of LIPA since 2014, covering Long Island and the Rockaways.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 27, 2025 - United Airlines has rolled out a new set of mobile app capabilities designed to reduce airport friction, improve real-time transparency, and shift more travel support into self-service workflows during peak travel demand.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber is sharpening its focus on electric-vehicle OEM business in the automotive & mobility sector, confirming that its GEOLANDAR X-CV highway terrain tire is now factory-equipped on the newly updated Lexus RZ battery-electric SUV for the North American market. The 235/50R20 100V fitment positions Yokohama's SUV-focused GEOLANDAR line squarely in the premium BEV arena, supporting automakers' push for quieter, more efficient and more durable EV drivetrains.

Premium EV SUV fitment strengthens North American footprint

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber and Thailand's Rubber Authority (RAOT) have reached a new milestone in their long-term partnership to secure sustainable natural rubber, completing their tenth joint seminar to help smallholder farmers in Surat Thani improve rubber quality, productivity and working conditions across the supply chain.

Supporting smallholders at the heart of the rubber supply chain

The latest seminar, held in December 2025, brought together around 50 farming households from the Surat Thani region, one of Thailand's core natural rubber-producing areas and home to Yokohama Rubber's processing subsidiary Y.T. Rubber Co., Ltd. The program focused on practical measures to improve yield and quality at farm level, a critical factor for tire makers who depend on consistent, traceable natural rubber as a key raw material.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. is reshaping its senior leadership structure from January 1, 2026, sharpening its focus on tire production efficiency, advanced materials development, and growth in China and Asia across both tire and industrial product lines. The new appointments consolidate operational responsibility around key associates, signaling a push toward tighter coordination between manufacturing, R&D and regional business development.

Strengthening leadership around tire production and investment planning

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber is leveraging the global reach of the Gymkhana stunt-film franchise to spotlight its ADVAN flagship performance tires, with the latest episode "Gymkhana: Aussie Shred" showcasing ADVAN-equipped Subaru machinery and racking up more than 5.3 million views in its first week online.

ADVAN brand visibility in a high-impact global stunt platform

The new film, released on Hoonigan Media Machine's official YouTube channel on December 9, 2025, is the third consecutive Gymkhana installment to feature ADVAN tires as original equipment on the lead vehicle.
Co-produced by Hoonigan Media Machine, 321 Action Action and Subaru Motorsports USA, the series has become a global benchmark for extreme driving content, delivering sustained visibility for tire and performance brands among highly engaged enthusiasts.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber is deepening its sustainability strategy and raw materials risk management by supporting an international joint research project in Indonesia aimed at preventing rubber tree leaf fall diseases, a growing threat to global natural rubber production and the tire industry's long-term resilience.

Securing Natural Rubber at the Source in Indonesia

The company is cooperating in the multi-year project "Development of Complex Technologies for Prevention and Control of Rubber Tree Leaf Fall Diseases," which targets one of the most serious plant health challenges facing natural rubber plantations in Indonesia, the world's second-largest producer.
Leaf fall disease has become widespread in key growing regions, leading to significant yield losses and jeopardizing supply for industrial users, including tire manufacturers.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 26, 2025 - Yokohama Rubber has expanded its presence in the electric vehicle supply chain as Nissan chooses the AVID GT as original equipment for the new Nissan LEAF in the United States, underlining the growing role of EV-optimized tire technology in improving range, comfort and safety for mainstream electric cars.

EV-Optimized Tires for a Core Mass-Market Electric Vehicle

Yokohama Rubber has begun supplying its AVID GT in size 215/55R18 95H as factory equipment for the latest Nissan LEAF EV launched in the U.S. market in 2025. Positioned as a key electric model for drivers transitioning from internal combustion engines to battery-electric vehicles, the new LEAF benefits from a tire package specifically engineered to support higher curb weights, instant torque and demanding efficiency targets.