The European Commission fined Google the equivalent of about $1 billion Thursday for manipulating its search results to hurt competitors and blocking app developers from directing customers to cheaper deals outside its Play store.
Why it matters: The penalty lands a day before the White House is expected to impose a new round of tariffs and follows a warning to the EU from U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to stop imposing fees on U.S. tech companies.
The Trump administration announced a new round of tariffs up to 12.5% on 60 trading partners on Thursday, preventing a lapse in import taxes as a temporary tariff program nears expiration.
Why it matters: It shows the White House's determination to preserve its tariff agenda by turning to new trade laws as earlier authorities expire or face legal challenges.
The relentless run-up in Treasury yields reflects the globe's new economic reality: It takes a much richer reward to persuade investors to lend their money, especially for the longer run.
Why it matters: Unlike previous bond sell-offs driven by inflation fears, this one reflects a world in which governments and companies are scrambling for enormous amounts of capital to finance wide fiscal deficits, the AI infrastructure buildout and more.
The last timethis few Americans were filing for unemployment benefits, Creedence Clearwater Revival topped the music charts, while "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" was the star of the box office.
Driving the news: Only 187,000 people filed new claims for unemployment insurance benefits last week, pointing to an astoundingly low level of firings across the economy. It was the lowest since September 1969.
The labor force was much smaller then, too, so relative to the number of workers, this is easily the lowest number of jobless claims on record.
President Trump told Axios on Thursday that he's seriously considering restarting major combat operations in Iran — including strikes that would be bigger than the ones carried out during Operation Epic Fury.
Why it matters: In a brief interview, Trump acknowledged that such a decision would have consequences and stressed he hasn't made a determination yet.
AI use has spread across a broad range of occupations, but it has yet to become the job-automating force many workers fear, according to a new Google study of nearly 15 million interactions with Gemini.
Why it matters: The report offers a broad snapshot of real-world AI use, highlighting the gap between jobs that could be affected by AI, jobs where workers are using AI and tasks being automated.
A markets mystery has perplexed some analysts this year: Why are stocks sitting near all-time highs while the global economy is rocked by geopolitical conflict and inflation pressures?
Why it matters: The usual retort is that the stock market is not the economy, buta new report from Moody's offers a more nuanced explanation.
Markets have adjusted to the new economic world order — you just have to know where to look.
Federal Reserve chairman Kevin Warsh testified before Congress over two days last week, totaling more than five hours. Yet it was comments from several of his colleagues that gave the clearest picture of what the central bank is likely to do at next week's policy meeting.
Why it matters: It is a central paradox of Warsh's communications strategy. He is determined to get out of the business of giving markets and the public much guidance on future policy, which means the markets fill in the gaps based on comments from other officials.
Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether plans by Truth Social's parent company to sell Wall Street firms real-time access to President Trump's posts could violate federal securities laws, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Axios.
Why it matters: The letter escalates scrutiny of Trump Media & Technology Group's plan to monetize faster access for institutional investors to President Trump's market-moving social posts.
Long before companies like Waymo, Tesla or Uber announce robotaxi deployments, they're competing behind the scenes to lock up the best sites for AV maintenance depots and charging hubs.
Why it matters: Deploying a fleet in a new city is the easy part. Building out the necessary infrastructure to support it can take three years or more, and requires plenty of capital.
Look out below: The yen is hovering near its weakest level in almost 40 years, reflecting an increasingly lopsided global economy, where capital keeps flowing to the U.S.
Why it matters: The yen is being squeezed by both long-term and short-term forces.
China has poured billions of dollars into the stock market in recent days to snuff out a tech-led selloff, as it seeks to shore up confidence in the domestic economy.
Why it matters: It's a reminder that despite its prowess as an exporter of goods — and increasingly, AI technology — China remains dependent on exports for growth.
Tesla's second-quarter earnings report will provide insights into the state of the core business — but it's the company's future that investors will be focused on more than ever.
Why it matters: After the SpaceX IPO, investors are watching closely for any signs that Elon Musk plans to merge Tesla with SpaceX or keep it independent.
"The stock is increasingly being valued on robotaxi and humanoid developments rather than core auto fundamentals — with a potential SpaceX acquisition adding a premium to our valuation," wrote Tom Narayan, global autos lead equity analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
The Trump administration took a step Tuesday toward scrapping a 60-year-old rule that requires companies to report employee demographic data that civil rights lawyers say is critical to enforcing anti-discrimination laws.
Why it matters: It's part of an administration effort to overhaul decades of traditional civil rights enforcement — and a broader push against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts inside corporate America.
Used electric vehicles are flying off dealer lots as pinched car buyers hunt for budget-friendly options.
Why it matters: The soaring demand has led to a rare phenomenon — used EVs rising in value, rather than depreciating, according to Recurrent, a research firm specializing in the used EV market.
Boeing aims to produce 850 Patriot missile seekers this year, a marked bump up from previous rates, according to the head of its defense business.
Why it matters: The Trump administration has demanded speedier results from the American defense industry, simultaneously singling out companies on social media and inking deals to double, triple and quadruple output of specialty munitions.
OpenAI and Anthropic compete fiercely for customers. But in Washington, the two leading AI labs are aligning on one issue: warning policymakers about the risks of powerful Chinese open-weight AI models.
Why it matters: That shared position pits the top U.S. AI labs against researchers, startups and open-model advocates who argue broad access to AI is essential for competition and scientific progress.
