By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – U.S. job growth likely picked up in July, offering reassurance that the labor market remained resilient and allowing the Federal Reserve to maintain its focus on inflation. The Labor Department’s closely watched employment report on Friday is also expe
By Stella Qiu SYDNEY, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Asian shares held their breath on Friday ahead of U.S. jobs data that could prove pivotal for next month’s interest-rate decision by the Federal Reserve, while rising oil prices served as a reminder that Middle East tensions remain far from resolved. MSCI’s br
By Kevin Buckland TOKYO, Aug 7 (Reuters) – The dollar headed for a weekly gain against major peers on Friday as doubts about an Iran peace deal buoyed the U.S. currency’s safe-haven appeal. The greenback also drew support from higher Treasury yields after a Financial Times report citing sources clos
A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used fo
By Stephen Nellis and Eduardo Baptista Aug 7 (Reuters) – Chinese technology giant Alibaba plans to ask major users of the next version of its Qwen open-source AI model for a share of revenue they make from the hotly anticipated offering, according to two people familiar with the company’s plans. Lik
By Mohi Narayan and Helen Clark NEW DELHI, Aug 7 (Reuters) – Oil extended gains on Friday amid further concerns around the opening of the Strait of Hormuz as Iran, working with Oman, suggested banning vessels deemed hostile from the strait and heavily fining those which violated the proposed rules.
A judge approved a $106 million settlement Thursday that ends a yearslong legal battle over the deadly 2019 collapse of a Hard Rock Hotel that was under construction in New Orleans. The 18-story hotel project partially collapsed in October 2019, killing three people and damaging nearby property. A g
Meta says its AI model hacked another company, adding to worries about bots going rogue Meta on Thursday said that one of its artificial intelligence models accessed the internet on its own and hacked another company, the latest in a series of disclosures about AI models going rogue. In recent weeks
Meta said Thursday that one of its artificial intelligence models accessed the internet on its own and hacked another company, the latest in a series of disclosures about AI models going rogue. In recent weeks OpenAI and Anthropic also have described instances of AI models going beyond humans’ instr
By Akash Sriram Aug 6 (Reuters) – Lyft beat analysts’ revenue estimates for the second quarter on Thursday as a surge in riders and trips lifted bookings to a record, though heavier spending on promotions left net income short of expectations. The ride-hailing services provider has stepped up spendi
By Manya Saini Aug 6 (Reuters) – Insurance giant AIG beat analysts’ estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, as strong underwriting gains helped cushion an uptick in catastrophe-related claims. Insurers have had an upbeat first half as higher premiums and disciplined underwriting have better
By Aishwarya Jain and Doyinsola Oladipo Aug 6 (Reuters) – Vacation rental company Airbnb posted a rise in second-quarter revenue on Thursday, helped by strong global demand for travel and a boost from first time users during the FIFA World Cup hosted in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Travel companies,
Aug 6 (Reuters) – Instacart forecast third-quarter gross transaction value and core profit above analysts’ estimates on Thursday, as consumers increasingly embrace the convenience of online grocery deliveries and pursue deals in a tough spending environment. Faced with sticky inflation and broader m
WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) – The Trump administration is expected to spurn requests from some U.S. solar manufacturers for a speedier timeline to put in place a new price floor and tariff on imports of polysilicon products, a person familiar with the matter said. A new 15% tariff for the polysilico
NEW YORK (AP) — Stock in Elon Musk’s space company is rising even as many SpaceX insiders were freed up to sell for the first time. Investors in SpaceX have pushed the shares down sharply in recent days in anticipation of insiders possibly selling in the first of several so-called lockup expirations
An offshore wind company said Thursday that it reached a $1.2 billion settlement with the Trump administration to walk away from projects under development off New York, California and Louisiana. This latest agreement brings the total amount spent on such settlements to nearly $4 billion. RWE U.S. O
By Milana Vinn and Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank has hired a former top Bank of America technology banker as its global head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Ed Liu, whose departure from Bank of America was repo
CHICAGO (AP) — The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for a fifth consecutive week to its highest level in just over a year, marking the latest strain for prospective homebuyers who are facing steep borrowing costs. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.69%, mortgage buyer
By Abigail Summerville NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Functional beverage brand Javvy, known for its protein coffee powders, is exploring a sale that could value it at around $1 billion, as demand for protein-rich products grows among consumers, especially those taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, accordin
By Saeed Azhar NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Bank of America’s co-head of investment banking, Mike Joo, is leaving the firm for an external opportunity, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters, in one of the most high-profile departures at the second-biggest U.S. bank in recent months. BofA, whi
NEW YORK (AP) — The matching blazer and pants Dani McEwen wore to a job interview at an insurance company felt like a smart choice, until she noticed most of the employees had on T-shirts and jeans. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I probably looked like I was trying way too hard
British regulators on Thursday gave Paramount the greenlight for its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, with some new assurances from the company — clearing another hurdle for the mega merger while it still faces challenges elsewhere. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority cleared
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration said Thursday it plans to overhaul Head Start, tossing out many of the regulations that are the hallmark of the early education program for the nation’s poorest children. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, which overs
Aug 6 (Reuters) – U.S. workers again saw their slice of the U.S. economy slide to a record low in the second quarter amid an ongoing productivity boom that is producing output gains which are outpacing wage growth, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday. The so-called labor share of nom
WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) – U.S. wholesale inventories rose slightly less than initially thought in June amid a reduction in the stocks of nondurable goods, including petroleum, government data showed on Thursday. Stocks at wholesalers increased 0.2%, revised down from the 0.3% increase estimated
By Arathy Somasekhar and Pooja Menon HOUSTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) – ConocoPhillips said on Thursday CEO Ryan Lance will retire after 14 years, handing the job to CFO Andy O’Brien, as the oil and gas producer posted better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue. The departure comes after a tumultuous
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but layoffs remain in the historically healthy range of the past few years. U.S. filings for jobless aid in the week ending August 1 rose by 1,000 to 199,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s figure
Aug 6 (Reuters) – SpaceX shares fell on Thursday, as investors braced for a potential bout of insider stock sales that could heap fresh pressure on a company already enduring a bumpy ride since listing. The shares were last trading down 1.3% at $106.45. When a company goes public, certain shareholde
Aug 6 (Reuters) – The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened lower on Thursday, weighed by a drop in technology stocks as strong forecasts from Western Digital and Sandisk failed to impress, while investors also awaited details on a Middle East peace deal. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 77.7
By Fergal Smith TORONTO, Aug 6 (Reuters) – Canada’s services economy contracted for a second straight month in July as economic uncertainty depressed market demand and business sentiment, S&P Global’s Canada services PMI data showed on Thursday. The headline Business Activity Index rose to 49.1 last
