Economy & Central Bank News — page 17

Amazon's AWS is establishing a dedicated AI-embedded engineering unit backed by a $1 billion investment to deploy with customers over short timelines.

Joby Aviation and Toyota Motor Corporation announced the start of the initial phase of a strategic manufacturing alliance aimed at developing joint production capabilities.

Canada posted a 0.5% rise in real GDP in April, outpacing expectations of 0.4% and marking a rebound from March’s decline, with gains spread across goods and services sectors

News agencies report Comcast’s plan to spin off NBCUniversal has prompted upgrades from Rosenblatt and Deutsche Bank, with Deutsche Bank signaling an attractive setup for the stock.

Warren Buffett has postponed his annual contribution to the Gates Foundation while a review of its associations with Jeffrey Epstein continues, according to reports from CNBC and Investing.com referencing WSJ coverage.

Australia's competition regulator sues Amazon, alleging Prime membership terms compel a monthly fee to avoid ads with no refunds option, prompting legal action and scrutiny of streaming ad practices

The collaboration between Uber and Waymo to run autonomous taxi services in Phoenix has ended, with Waymo vehicles still deployed for autonomous deliveries through DoorDash as part of ongoing operations.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve declined again, dropping to its lowest level since 1983 after a weekly draw of 5.5 million barrels, while oil markets priced in the tighter supply outlook.

The Supreme Court blocked President Trump from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for now, reinforcing central bank independence as her lawsuit proceeds.

China names twenty Japanese entities in a dual-use export control move, while authorities stress normal bilateral trade remains unaffected, limiting near-term spillover to the broader relationship

South Korea plans a sweeping AI and semiconductor investment program, a mega-plan reported to total roughly $651 billion and involve major tech firms, signaling a long-term boost for global supply chains

EDF signs an agreement to divest its North American power solutions business in the United States and Canada, with KKR committing to acquire following a competitive bidding process

OpenAI is restricting access to its latest AI models to trusted partners after a government request, with the firm noting it previewed the capabilities with authorities before the launch.

OpenAI delays public rollout of GPT-5.6 amid reports that the US administration is seeking early access to frontier AI models.

Polymarket’s annualized revenue reportedly surpassed $1 billion just weeks after launching its U.S. exchange, with World Cup trading and the end of the U.S. waitlist cited as key drivers.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz shows signs of revival a week after an interim U.S.-Iran agreement, but confidence remains fragile amid security concerns and broader regional statements.

Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume aims to cut up to 100,000 jobs worldwide over the coming years and trim investment by about 15% to just over €130 billion, Manager Magazin reported — a major escalation of a restructuring already targeting 50,000 German cuts by 2030. VW declined to comment.

Carlos Ghosn said shareholder calls for his return to Nissan reflect deep anger over failed turnaround efforts, citing an 80% share-price drop and halved sales since 2018, after a proposal to reinstate him failed; Nissan dismissed the "speculative remarks" and cited turnaround progress.

All 32 large US banks passed the Fed's 2026 stress test, staying above minimum capital levels despite a hypothetical recession generating over $708 billion in losses; with capital requirements frozen until 2027, JPMorgan led payouts by lifting its dividend and adding a $50 billion buyback.

Tokyo’s core consumer price index rose further in June, underscoring strengthening underlying inflation ahead of Japan’s upcoming central bank policy meeting.

Microsoft increases Xbox console prices citing rising component costs, with CNBC noting a broader pricing backdrop after Apple’s hikes on MacBooks and iPads

The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge shows annual PCE growth at 4.1% for May, with core inflation at 3.4%—the readings fueling expectations around future monetary policy moves.

Apple has increased prices for its MacBook and iPad lines as memory and storage costs rise, a move the company signaled may extend to other products.

Futures rose on hopes for fresh inflation data as Micron spurred gains, while investors await the Fed’s inflation outlook and any signals from new leadership change

Iran issued a formal warning against transiting the Hormuz Strait without authorization, describing an unauthorised route as unacceptable and dangerous and urging vessels to obtain Tehran's approval

Germany’s July GfK consumer climate rose modestly from May/June lows but remains well below neutral, with the index at -29.2 and expectations not met according to multiple outlets.

The administration has requested a large supplemental funding package covering Iran-related military spending and agricultural aid, according to reports from CNBC and Investing.com.

Qualcomm introduced a new AI-focused data center CPU, Dragonfly, and disclosed Meta as its first data-center customer, marking a strategic expansion beyond smartphones

Cerebras reported earnings, and the chief executive said investors misinterpreted the company’s margin guidance, while shares declined amid a staggered lock-up expiration.

Retail investors flock to an offshore platform offering early access to the SpaceX IPO, with reports noting heavy trading on SPCX and a share of activity on moomoo contributing to early-market interest