Major U.S. airlines say credit card fee bill threatens travel rewards
The airlines claim that reducing swipe fees would make it financially unfeasible to maintain their rewards programs
Oil edges higher as Iran signals rejection of U.S. deal
Brent crude futures rise 0.7% to $65.08 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude climbs 0.5% to $62.83
Dollar hovers near six-week lows on trade war concerns
Dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six others, touches 98.58, the lowest since late April, and then rises 0.5%
U.S. LNG exports dip in May on plant outages and maintenance
U.S. ships 8.9 million metric tons of LNG in May, down from a record 9.3 million metric tons in April
Musk’s Neuralink raises $650 million as brain implant device enters clinical trials
Neuralink says five patients with severe paralysis are now using its device to control digital and physical devices with their thoughts
Coinbase breach linked to customer data leak in India
Coinbase says it recently discovered the incident and cut ties with the TaskUs personnel involved and other overseas agents
Apple challenges EU order to open ecosystem to rivals
Meta, Google, Spotify, and Garmin are among the companies that have requested access to Apple’s user data and systems
Musk’s xAI targets $113 billion valuation with $5 billion debt package
A larger investment round is expected to follow the secondary offering, in which xAI plans to offer new equity to outside investors
Air India CEO says Pakistan airspace ban is hitting airline hard financially
Closure of airspace leads to longer flights, higher operational costs for Air India
Rural demand powers India’s growth amid global uncertainty
Above-average monsoons, rising farm incomes, and strong wage growth drive rural consumption, outpacing overall economic expansion in Q4
Google to spend $500 million on compliance overhaul in antitrust case
Google will also form a SVP-level committee reporting directly to Pichai to address regulatory and compliance matters
U.S. life insurers shift $800 billion to offshore affiliates from 2019 to 2024
Offshore accounts in Bermuda and Cayman Islands help insurers free up capital, according to a Moody’s Ratings report
US asks Australia to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasizes that Australia will decide its defence priorities independently
Meta plans AI-powered ad creation and targeting by end of next year
Meta’s planned AI system lets brands submit a product image and budget, then generates full ad with targeting and budget recommendations
Starlink faces pushback over potential interference with South Africa’s SKA telescope
Scientists fear Starlink transmissions could blind them to faint celestial signals like shining a spotlight in someone’s eyes