Tim Studt

The R&D World Index (RDWI) slid this week even as several companies rolled out big new R&D projects. For the week ending May 9, 2025, the index closed at 3,773.11, down 3.85% (–151.24 points). Sixteen of the 25 members fell. Eli Lilly & Co. was the biggest laggard (–10.81%) despite breaking ground on a huge…

Market volatility dominated the R&D landscape following President Trump’s tariff actions. The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending April 4, 2025, reflected the initial shock, closing down a significant -9.28% at 3,506.27, with significant losses across all 25 member companies. Auto companies have been especially hard hit. To date, losses range from –1.44%…

This past week, Boeing secured a multi-billion dollar contract for the Next Generation Air Dominance fighter program last week, while tech rivals Anthropic and DataBricks formed a $100 million partnership as R&D stocks broadly declined amid market uncertainty. Meanwhile, there were mixed signals for the AI market, and the R&D World Index (RDWI) for the…

This past week, some of the world’s biggest R&D players doubled down on growth — Johnson & Johnson pledged $55B in U.S. investments, and AstraZeneca announced a new global R&D center in China — while others tightened their belts. Audi and Siemens both revealed significant job cuts, underscoring the shifting priorities in a fast-paced market…

With tech shake-ups, automotive layoffs, and healthcare funding cuts all recent themes, the R&D World Index dipped nearly 4% last week. Specifically, the R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending March 14, 2025, closed at 3,951.90 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -3.76% (or -154.52 basis points). Five RDWI…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending March 7, 2025, closed at 4,106.42 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index dipped –1.37% (or -56.96 basis points). Seventeen RDWI members gained value last week from 0.08% (Stellantis NV) to 12.51% (Volkswagen AG). Eight RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.25%…

The R&D World Index saw a slight gain of 0.22% last week, closing at 4,163.38 points. Corporate actions focused heavily on new manufacturing investments, with Apple doubling its Advanced Manufacturing Fund and Eli Lilly announcing plans for four new U.S. drug manufacturing plants. Technology companies continued their push in advanced computing, with Amazon and Google…

The R&D World Index saw a slight gain last week amidst a landscape of innovation and cost-cutting within global industries. Pharma giants Eli Lilly and Merck announced a partnership with Purdue University to launch the Young Institute Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Consortium, aimed at bolstering domestic pharmaceutical production. However, automotive supplier Continental AG revealed further job cuts…

The R&D World Index saw gains this week, driven partly by a surge in Intel’s value amid significant developments across various sectors. Honda and Nissan have ended their merger talks, citing concerns over autonomy and decision-making, while GlaxoSmithKline consolidates its vaccine R&D in Cambridge, MA. Novartis is set to reacquire rights to a blood clot…

In early 2025, major aerospace, pharma, and high-tech players continue to revamp their portfolios and global footprints. The latest evidence? Honeywell’s decision to spin off its automation arm to Mitsubishi Chemical’s $3 billion pharma selloff. In other news, HP doubles down on Saudi Arabia with new manufacturing and R&D sites, Nippon Steel makes a partial…

Welcome to our weekly briefing on R&D headlines shaping technology, energy, manufacturing, and more. In this edition, we continue to explore how the Chinese startup DeepSeek is potentially rewriting AI training assumptions, the potential ripple effects on global energy demand, new tariffs upending automotive supply chains, plus highlights from the Idaho National Laboratory, Procter &…

Welcome to our weekly briefing on R&D headlines for January 27, 2025. In this edition, we cover the disruption from China’s DeepSeek reasoning AI model R1, which punches above its weight class. Ostensibly trained on a shoestring budget, it outperforms OpenAI’s o1 by some measures, according to DeepSeek’s technical report. The company also has publicly…

Welcome to our weekly briefing on R&D headlines that are shaping technology, healthcare, and industry. In this edition, we explore NVIDIA’s global expansion plans (plus a sharp rebuttal to new U.S. AI policy), Google’s ambitious Gemini user goals, a big-ticket pharma acquisition, tighter U.S. chip controls, and more. Keep reading for the latest developments and…

In this week’s R&D Market Pulse, the $29.1 billion Constellation-Calpine mega-merger promises to reshape U.S. energy, the Commerce Department awards a third CHIPS for America facility to Arizona State University, and new AI export restrictions put China on notice. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s xAI rolls out a consumer app, BlackRock withdraws from a major climate initiative,…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending January 3, 2025, closed at 3,862.49 for the 25 companies in the RDWI — down –0.72% (or -28.10 basis points). Five RDWI members gained value last week, led by AbbVie (+1.80%), while Roche Holdings AG rose the least (+0.31%). Meanwhile, twenty RDWI members dipped, ranging from…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending December 27, 2024, closed at 3,890.59, rising 1.77% (or 67.68 basis points). Automotive stocks, in particular, drove the uptick, with Honda surging by 20.39% after announcing a merger plan with Nissan. Meanwhile, tech giants showed mixed results, as IBM slid slightly (-0.26%) and Microsoft dropped -1.38%.…

Volkswagen AG, a member of the R&D World Index, announced a significant workforce reduction last week, agreeing with its labor union to cut over 35,000 jobs and billions of dollars in costs, concluding three months of intense negotiations and narrowly avoiding factory closures in Germany. In other news, Merck & Co. invested strategically in Chinese…

As 2024 nears its end, global R&D-driven industries are navigating a mix of policy shifts, strategic realignments, and accelerating innovation. A proposed policy change could transform how U.S. companies expense their R&D investments, while manufacturing floors are seeing surging AI integration with over a third of companies successfully deploying the technology. In automotive, GM is…

While some R&D sectors declined, others expanded. GM sold an EV battery plant and is the second biggest automaker withdrawing from China. At the same time, Nvidia expanded in Vietnam, Amazon built an AI-based supercomputer, and OpenAI joined Anduril to boost the U.S. military’s drone technology. The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending…

In a move signaling a more relaxed regulatory approach to the booming AI sector, UK regulators announced they would not investigate Google’s $2 billion investment in AI startup Anthropic. The move mirrors a similar decision regarding Amazon’s earlier $4 billion stake. This green light comes as Amazon doubles, bringing its total investment in Anthropic to…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending November 1, 2024, closed at 3,855.65 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -2.70% (or -107.16 basis points). Eight RDWI members gained value last week from 0.16% (Alibaba) to 8.36% (AbbVie). Seventeen RDWI members lost value the previous from -0.43% (Cisco) to…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending October 25, 2024, closed at 3962.81 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -1.49% (or -60.14 basis points). Seven RDWI members gained value last week from 0.27% (Toyota) to 5.88% (General Motors). Eighteen RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.27%…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending October 18, 2024, closed at 4.022.95 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was down -0.66% (or -26.77 basis points). Thirteen RDWI members gained value last week from 0.21% (Pfizer) to 4.63% (Cisco).  Twelve RDWI members lost value the previous week from -0.05% (Sanofi…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending October 11, 2024, closed at 4.049.72 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was up 1.11% (or 44.32 basis points). Fourteen RDWI members gained value last week from 0.06% (Microsoft) to 5.06% (Eli Lilly & Co.). Eleven RDWI members lost value last week from…

The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending October 4, 2024, closed at 4.005.40 for the 25 companies in the RDWI. The Index was up 0.62% (or 24.71 basis points). Eight RDWI members gained value last week from 1.07% (Eli Lilly & Co.) to 6.71% (Alibaba).  Seventeen RDWI members lost value the previous week…