NEW YORK (AP) — Already feeling pinched since the start of the Iran war, consumers are likely to feel more pain ahead as oil prices pushed past $100 a barrel Thursday amid renewed fighting and military strikes that have left global oil supplies stranded in the Middle East. The elevated price marked
By Laila Kearney NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) – U.S. energy officials pushed for more independence and transparency in PJM Interconnection on Thursday as regulators weigh reforms to the country’s largest power grid, which faces the growing risk of blackouts as data center demand soars while few new e
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate climbed this week to its highest level in nearly 12 months, pushing up borrowing costs for prospective homebuyers at a time when rising oil prices are already squeezing household budgets. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.58% from 6.55%
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday will have governors and electricity companies join a voluntary pledge to shield U.S. consumers from higher utility bills from data centers — a sign of how the artificial intelligence build- out has become a lightning rod of controversy before the
By Mike Stone and Aishwarya Jain WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) – The world’s two biggest defense contractors, Lockheed Martin and RTX, said on Thursday they expect strong profits going forward because a wave of global conflicts from Iran to Ukraine has depleted Pentagon stockpiles that will need rep
July 23 (Reuters) – Databricks said on Thursday it would expand its partnership with Microsoft through the 2030s, a deal under which it will increase its use of the Azure platform and Microsoft’s custom chips. Databricks offers a platform that helps users ingest, analyze and build AI applications us
(Corrects to remove extraneous word in Bullet 1) July 23 (Reuters) – Anthropic is considering requiring rank-and-file employees to sell stock through preset trading plans after it goes public to avoid insider-trading concerns, The Information reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the mat
July 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division said it would streamline the merger review process, a move that could expedite clearance for some deals as the Trump administration takes a more business-friendly antitrust stance. Here are some details: • Companies have to file
NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) – Investor requests to withdraw from Blackstone’s flagship private credit fund have fallen at the beginning of the third quarter after a period of higher demand to redeem, the world’s largest alternative asset manager’s president said on Thursday. “It’s early in the quart
July 23 (Reuters) – Aerolineas Argentinas said on Thursday it will add 20 new aircraft to its fleet, marking the state airline’s largest revamp in a decade as it seeks to renew a quarter of its total fleet and 60% of its long-haul operations. • The 2027 to 2031 plan will be financed entirely with th
July 23 (Reuters) – U.S. energy shares rose in premarket trading on Thursday as Brent crude briefly touched $100 a barrel, extending a five-day rally after attacks on two Saudi oil tankers intensified Middle East tensions and heightened concerns over global oil supply disruptions. Houthi forces in Y
July 23 (Reuters) – U.S. equity holdings have surpassed real estate as a share of net financial wealth for the first time since World War Two, Goldman Sachs said, underscoring how stocks have become a dominant driver of household wealth and consumer spending.”Equity gains have been the dominant driv
By Manya Saini and Tatiana Bautzer July 23 (Reuters) – Lazard reported a 91% drop in second-quarter profit on Thursday, as a higher tax rate and a move to overhaul its financial advisory business weighed on results. The bank said it was cutting more than 80 managing director positions while hiring b
By Ragini Mathur and Avinash P July 23 (Reuters) – U.S. stock indexes were on track to open lower on Thursday as concerns over heavy AI spending resurfaced after the first batch of Big Tech earnings, while another jump in oil prices linked to the widening Middle East conflict further dampened sentim
July 23 (Reuters) – Asset and wealth manager Ameriprise Financial reported a rise in its second-quarter profit on Thursday, driven by a market rally that boosted the value of its fee-generating assets. Here are more details from the earnings report: • Ameriprise’s assets under management, administra
July 23 (Reuters) – Harley-Davidson reported lower second-quarter profit and revenue but raised its annual forecast on Thursday, as the legacy motorbike maker leaned on its wider turnaround plan to navigate higher costs of raw materials. The company has been focused on its “Back to the Bricks” turna
By Dan Burns July 23 (Reuters) – The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits for the first time unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest since the 1960s, indicating the U.S. job market continues on an even keel and leaving Federal Reserve officials to keep their focus on containing inflat
July 23 (Reuters) – Freeport-McMoRan beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, as higher copper prices offset lower production at its Grasberg mine in Indonesia. Shares of the company were up 1.4% in premarket trading. Average copper prices climbed 41.5% year-on-year in the s
By Saqib Iqbal Ahmed NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) – Short sellers targeting SpaceX shares are sitting on an estimated $15.5 billion in paper profit since the rockets-to-AI firm’s mid-June initial public offering, as its stock slipped below the IPO price, according to data through Tuesday from analyti
By Max A. Cherney and Stephen Nellis SAN FRANCISCO, July 23 (Reuters) – Advanced Micro Devices is set to launch a raft of AI hardware that will rival Nvidia on Thursday at an event at a downtown convention center in San Francisco. AMD is attempting to capture market share from Nvidia in the fast-gro
By Nicholas P. Brown and Juveria Tabassum NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) – Bill Peterson used to go to Whole Foods or Kroger for fruits, vegetables and milk. Now he swears by private-label chain Aldi, which sells those items at a fraction of the price. The Chicago home remodeler is gainfully employed,
By Laura Matthews NEW YORK, July 23 (Reuters) – Some U.S. investors who once relied on bonds to cushion equity selloffs are making more room for commodities, infrastructure, private credit and other inflation-sensitive assets to protect themselves against inflation. Inflation, heavy government borro
By Greg Bensinger and Dawn Chmielewski SAN FRANCISCO, July 23 (Reuters) – Jeff Bezos has identified a new, high-profile platform to help showcase the hundreds of billions of dollars Amazon has bet on artificial intelligence: Prime Video. The Amazon founder and executive chairman pushed Prime Video h
By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) – Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh may hope to stay mum about the Fed’s rate plans, but fresh oil and potential tariff shocks and a hawkish tilt among his colleagues are likely to test that resolve when U.S. central bankers gather next week. The
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) – Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren accused major AI companies of pushing the Trump administration to limit AI transparency rules in North America’s trade pact, arguing instead that regulators should have broader access to information about the companies’ models. Warr
By Mike Stone and Aishwarya Jain July 23 (Reuters) – RTX raised its 2026 sales and profit forecasts on Thursday, betting on sustained demand for commercial aircraft maintenance and military systems, as airlines keep older jets flying and governments replenish weapons stockpiles. The Arlington, Virgi
Before the war in Iran, roughly 15 million barrels of Persian Gulf oil were shipped each day through the Strait of Hormuz. Within a few years, much of that oil could bypass the strait. As Iran’s chokehold over the strait drags on and oil prices surge, countries across the Gulf are planning to spend
The Ukrainian attacks on the sprawling Russian warehouses produced stark images, with massive pillars of black smoke rising above fires that raged at facilities for Wildberries, the country’s biggest online retailer and its equivalent of Amazon. Kyiv’s drones first hit the sites over the weekend in
ZURICH, July 23 (Reuters) – Swiss skincare firm Galderma on Thursday reported a 24.6% jump in sales in the first half of 2026 and nudged up its full-year guidance, even as it flagged a potentially challenging second-half environment. First-half sales rose to $3.13 billion, driven by double-digit gro
July 23 (Reuters) – BMW is recalling 318,495 U.S. vehicles as an engine starter may overheat and catch fire, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Thursday. The recall affects certain models including Toyota Supra, 4 Series Convertible, 4 Series Coupe, 3 Series, X4, and
