Oil prices surged about 9% Monday to roughly $83 per barrel after President Trump claimed the U.S. was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran, adding to gains already driven by renewed hostilities over the weekend.
Why it matters: Higher oil prices typically feed into higher gasoline prices, potentially pushing the national average back toward $4 per gallon.
State attorneys general from a dozen states, including California, New York and Washington, filed a lawsuit to block Paramount Skydance's $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Why it matters: The lawsuit could derail or delay the closing of the deal, which could cost Paramount hundreds of millions of dollars.
Data centers have become a stand-in for broader anger at an AI future many Americans don't want but fear they'll have to pay for, according to new polling by a consulting firm that counsels leading AI labs and tech startups.
Why it matters: The findings by Milltown Partners, shared first with Axios, highlight how the public is still divided on data centers.
By the numbers: Nearly half of respondents support a temporary construction ban, while only 16% oppose one.
38% of respondents said they would support a data center being built near their home, while 34% would oppose it.
Between the lines: The split suggests many voters aren't categorically anti-data center, but they are wary of the pace and terms of the buildout.
The AI-driven price boom for memory chips and products will keep Sandisk and Micron Technology atop the sales leaderboard this earnings season, Wall Street says.
Why it matters: The massive sales rises these companies are expected to notch — as well as their guidance on coming quarters — could reassure investors with jitters about the durability of the AI boom.
Just to be clear, the 345% increase for Micron — which reports very late in the cycle — is for the as-yet unreported quarter, not the giant fiscal Q3 numbers reported late last month. The Q3 numbers, coincidentally, showed 345% growth for the top line as well.
Olive Garden is bringing back its popular Never Ending Pasta Pass for the first time since 2019, the chain announced Monday.
Why it matters: Restaurants are increasingly turning to subscriptions and limited-time value offers to build customer loyalty among budget-conscious diners.
AI is becoming the operating system for how companies think, sell and decide. We need to view this — and protect this — like the proprietary brains of our businesses.
Why it matters: Palantir's Alex Karp warned on CNBC that big AI companies could use your company's data to learn from you and, one day, squeeze you.
It's getting harder to keep up with new AI models, pricing wars and must-know advancements. Here's a smart way to make sense of American labs one-upping each other this week:
Your stance toward Washington will need to change FAST if Dems take back the House in November.
Why it matters for YOU: Don't treat this new era as a regulatory or divided government problem. It's a PR and potentially legal one, as you face a party eager for payback.
