The German car maker BMW announced rising profits as it managed to benefit from the post-pandemic rebound. The company gained from higher prices of luxury cars in combination with a strategy focused on more profitable models. The net profit for the second quarter of 2021 edged up to 4.8 billion euros, AP reported. BMW still warned that deficit of raw materials will have a negative impact on the company's output in the coming quarters.

The French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi announced it had agreed to acquire the US biotech company Translate Bio in a deal valued at 3.2 billion dollars. The move is part of Sanofi's strategy to move to the next generation mRNA technology after it suffered a bitter loss in the race for invention of Covid-19 vaccine, Reuters reported. Sanofi confirmed that under the deal it would acquire all outstanding shares of Translate Bio.

The 2021 second quarter profits of the energy giant British Petroleum outpaced expectations to reach as high as 2.8 billion dollars. The higher international prices of oil were the main factor behind the positive result, Reuters reported. The higher than expected profits provoked the giant to raise targets related to planned dividend payments and share buybacks.

The UK leading HSBC bank announced surging profits for the first six months of 2021 on the back of post-pandemic rebound both in Britain and in Hong Kong. The profits more than doubled in the envisaged period, BBC reported. HSBC said its pre-tax profit for the period spiked to £7.8bn. The UK bank said all regions brought profits in the period. The figures come as the global economy recovers from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Square, which is owned by the co-founder of Twitter Jack Dorsey, announced it agreed a 29 billion dollars deal to acquire the Australian digital payments platform Afterpay. The deal is very lucrative for Afterpay shareholders as it gives them a 30%premium over the last stock price, BBC reported.

The leading French insurer Axa announced robust growth in net income which accounted to a 180% rise in the first six months of 2021. The company rebounded from a peak in pandemic-related claims which led to it booking a 1.5 billion euros charge last year, Reuters reported. Axa, Europe's second-largest insurer after Allianz confirmed net profit at 3.99 billion euros in the first half, more than double the 1.43 billion euros a year earlier.

Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc have raised the prices of their Covid-19 vaccines in their latest European Union supply contracts, the Financial Times reported on 1 August.

According to estimates shared by research firm IDC, Apple shipped 12.9 million iPads in the second quarter of 2021. By comparison, IDC estimated that Samsung and Amazon shipped a combined 12.3 million tablets in the quarter, suggesting that Apple shipped more tablets than the two companies altogether in the quarter.

Data that are crucial for the safety of self-driving cars, and the way they are handled, will be important issues that the technology will have to deal with at some point down the line, predicted Volkswagen Group chief executive Herbert Diess.

French carmaker Renault announced it was optimistic about 2021 financial results and further noted it even expected to close a full-year with profits despite the acute semiconductor chip shortages that pressured the whole automotive industry. Renault reported first-half net profit of 354 million euros after suffering a loss of nearly 7.3 billion euros a year earlier amid long industry-wide production shutdowns during the pandemic, Reuters elaborated.