September 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
Chile's consumer prices rise 0.6 per cent in August and 4.1 per cent over twelve months
Chile's consumer price index rose 0.6 per cent in August, taking the increase so far this year to 3.6 per cent and the twelve-month rate to 4.1 per cent. Food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 1.4 per cent and transport 1.6 per cent. Information and communication fell 0.3 per cent.
China's August exports rise 25 per cent as the surplus hits 119.1 billion dollars
China's customs agency said August exports rose 25 per cent from a year earlier, led by demand for cars and high-technology goods. Imports grew 28.2 per cent after a 27.5 per cent increase in July. The trade surplus widened to 119.1 billion dollars from 112.5 billion dollars a month earlier. The figures landed before a planned late-September meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, whose date Beijing has not confirmed.
Chrome moves to a two-week release cycle as AI speeds up bug discovery
Google has cut Chrome's release cycle from four weeks to two, starting with Chrome 153 on desktop, iOS and Android. The stated reason is patch volume. 9to5Google lists Chrome 154 for 22 September.
Colombia inflation reaches a two-year high of 6.24 per cent in August
Colombia’s consumer prices rose 0.39 per cent in August and 6.24 per cent over twelve months, taking annual inflation to a two-year high. The 5.35 per cent increase since January and a 0.89 per cent monthly rise in recreation and culture show why the price pressure needs to be read beyond the headline annual rate.
DeepMind released AlphaGenome Atlas with predictions for 9 billion DNA letter changes
DeepMind opened AlphaGenome Atlas, about 1 petabyte of AlphaGenome predictions for every single-letter DNA change in the human genome, free for non-commercial use. The paper is a preprint that has not been peer reviewed. IEEE Spectrum reported the 8 September public release and a single-number impact score for each variant.
DeepSeek opens 150 senior backend roles as its infrastructure hits its limits
DeepSeek is recruiting about 150 senior backend engineers. Cui Tianyi, who leads the company's Harness team, said the existing infrastructure had been reaching its limits and must be extensively upgraded, maintained and rewritten. The hiring follows a June plan to at least double every department.
Euro-area services production falls 0.3 per cent in June
Services production fell 0.3 per cent month on month in the euro area and 0.2 per cent in the EU in June, although output in both areas remained 1.5 per cent above a year earlier. Growth in information and communication did not offset declines in real estate and professional services. Portugal posted one of the strongest monthly increases at 3.1 per cent.
Flammable grass boxed Port Hills native regrowth into a fire trap after the 2024 blaze
University of Canterbury researchers followed native woody plants for 17 months after the February 2024 fire on Christchurch's Port Hills. Broad-leaved Coprosma recovered best, with 16 of the 17 monitored plants resprouting. Highly flammable non-native grass re-established across the burnt ground faster than the natives. Paula Jameson says planting natives does little while those grasses stay around them, because fire keeps setting regeneration back. The Mt Ada site had already burned in 2017 and been replanted. The paper appeared in Forests.
German exports fall 0.8 per cent in July as shipments to the United States rise 19.1 per cent
Germany's statistical office said calendar and seasonally adjusted exports fell 0.8 per cent in July from June, to 138.2 billion euros. Imports dropped 5.7 per cent to 116.9 billion euros, leaving a trade surplus of 21.3 billion euros. Shipments to the United States rose 19.1 per cent to 14.4 billion euros. Exports to the European Union fell 1.6 per cent and exports to China fell 9.5 per cent. Reuters said economists had expected a 0.1 per cent rise.
Glacier-fed rivers in central Svalbard carried methane at up to 425 times atmospheric equilibrium
Gabrielle E. Kleber's team at UiT the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø analysed 148 river samples from 19 valley glaciers in central Svalbard. Methane peaked at 425 times atmospheric equilibrium. Nature Communications published the paper on 8 September 2026; land-terminating glaciers are scaled at 182 to 368 tonnes of methane in 2023.