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China has imposed trade restrictions on dozens of U.S. companies, including rare earth producers MP Materials and USA Rare Earth, in response to Washington’s decision to expand its list of Chinese companies allegedly linked to the military. China’s Commerce Ministry added 10 U.S. defense companies to its export control list, preventing them from receiving Chinese products with potential military applications. The restrictions also extend to businesses operating in sectors including drones, robotics and aerospace. The inclusion of MP Materials and USA Rare Earth is particularly significant given the strategic importance of rare earth minerals in defense systems, advanced electronics and renewable energy technologies. Both companies are investing heavily to expand domestic U.S. production and reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains.

 

New York Times

South China Morning Post

Wall Street Journal

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The Swedish Transport Administration (TRV) is recommending a vote against the European launch of Tesla's supervised self-driving software, unless the U.S. automaker disables its ability to exceed legal speed limits, according to a previously unreported letter obtained through a freedom of information request. In its letter, the transport authority said that "allowing automated systems to systematically exceed legal speed limits . . . risks undermining both the legal framework and the ​expected safety benefits of vehicle automation." The TRV called for the feature to be removed. "Failing this, the Swedish Transport Administration recommends that [the EU's Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles] vote against the proposed introduction." ​

 

Reuters

Reuters reports that U.S. curbs on AI - including the White House ordering San Francisco-based Anthropic to suspend access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for foreign nationals - are encouraging European companies to spread the technology's risk across multiple providers and reinforcing the need for a greater number of domestic alternatives. "You ​need flexibility," Cedrik Neike, chief executive of Digital Industries at Siemens, told Reuters. "Sovereignty often gets confused with autarky (economic self-sufficiency), and autarky is absolutely not the way to do it." Siemens uses Chinese models such as DeepSeek and Alibaba's Qwen alongside U.S. and European models.

 

Reuters

A U.S. official has told The Associated Press that Anthropic's Mythos model identified vulnerabilities in highly ​sensitive U.S. government computer systems during a testing exercise. Anthropic teamed up with Washington's intelligence agencies to conduct tests using Mythos under Project Glasswing, a restricted program designed to find and fix ​vulnerabilities in critical software before attackers could exploit them. The tests had identified certain vulnerabilities within hours, but that does not mean the model was able to exploit them within that time, the official said.

 

AP News

Klue, a Vancouver-based market intelligence provider, has suffered a data breach that has been attributed to the cybercrime group Icarus. The hackers gained access to Klue's systems on June 12 using a "compromised legacy credential," allowing them to steal sensitive data from several corporate customers, including some that TechCrunch describes as "some of the biggest names in cybersecurity." The incident is the latest of of several broad-scale hacks in which hackers target companies that hold the keys to other companies' cloud databases, TechCrunch reports.

 

Techcrunch

The United States has opened a trade investigation into Germany’s pharmaceutical pricing policies, arguing that the country’s efforts to limit drug costs amount to the “persistent underpayment” of medicines and unfairly shift research and development costs onto U.S. consumers. The probe, launched under Section 301 of the Trade Act, will examine whether Germany’s drug pricing system discriminates against U.S. pharmaceutical companies and burdens American commerce. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer criticized Germany’s proposed healthcare reforms, which include measures to reduce public healthcare spending through greater discounts from drugmakers. The investigation follows months of discussions between U.S. and German officials and comes as the Trump administration continues its push to lower U.S. drug prices while encouraging foreign governments to pay more for innovative medicines.

 

CNBC

EurActiv

Wall Street Journal

Starbucks has filed a lawsuit against Starbucks Workers United, alleging that the union is improperly using the company’s trademarks, logos, and brand identity on merchandise, websites, and social media in ways that infringe and dilute the coffee chain’s intellectual property. The company claims the union has used the Starbucks name and a logo resembling its iconic green siren emblem on products including apparel and coffee mugs, as well as in communications related to social, political, and geopolitical issues. Starbucks argues that such use could mislead consumers into believing the company endorses or sponsors those statements. While Starbucks acknowledged that labor unions are entitled to use an employer’s name in connection with protected organizing activities and free speech, it contends that those rights do not extend to commercial merchandise sales or political advocacy unrelated to collective bargaining or union representation. 

 

Courthouse News Service

Oliver Miloschewsky, Head of Shipping for Asia at Aon, says that despite signs of de-escalation in the Iran-U.S. conflict, shipowners still want clear evidence that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz are stable in practice, and not just in principle. While Iran’s plans to impose tolls would undoubtedly raise costs, the bigger issue will be legal compliance due to sanctions on Iranian entities, Miloschewsky says.

 

CNBC

Uber's board has been sued in San Francisco federal court by shareholders led by ​a Detroit pension fund, who accuse the ride-sharing company's management and directors of allowing corners to be cut on compliance, precipitating thousands of lawsuits from victims of sexual ​assault and harassment. "Uber is a serial compliance offender," whose reputation has been "irredeemably damaged" by negative media ​coverage, the complaint says. A spokesperson for Uber said the lawsuit "ignores important facts and is ​based on misleading, false narratives from other meritless lawsuits that we have already addressed publicly and in the ‌courtroom.”

 

Reuters

UPS is investing $48m to upgrade 27 temperature-controlled facilities worldwide as it expands its healthcare logistics capabilities to meet growing demand for pharmaceuticals and other temperature-sensitive treatments. The investment will enhance facilities across the Americas, Europe and Asia that handle shipments requiring strict temperature controls, helping UPS improve delivery speed and maintain end-to-end custody of sensitive healthcare products. The move is aimed at supporting rising demand for biologic medicines, vaccines and treatments such as GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, which require refrigerated transport. UPS said the market for temperature-sensitive biologics is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 8.3% through 2033, reaching an estimated value of $39.1bn. The company also highlighted World Health Organization data showing that up to 50% of vaccines are wasted globally each year, with cold-chain storage failures a significant contributor.

 

CNBC

Global mergers and acquisitions activity is on pace to reach $4tn in deal value in 2026, marking the strongest year since 2021, according to PwC. The surge has been driven largely by a growing number of megadeals tied to artificial intelligence (AI), with transactions valued above $5bn accounting for nearly half of total global deal value so far this year. PwC said AI is reshaping the M&A landscape by redirecting capital and accelerating consolidation among companies seeking to strengthen their competitive positions. Notable transactions include SpaceX’s proposed $60bn acquisition of AI startup Cursor and Salesforce’s $3.6bn purchase of customer service platform Fin. While large deals continue to gain momentum, PwC noted that mid-market transactions remain constrained by geopolitical uncertainty, valuation disagreements, inflation, higher interest rates, and a backlog of private equity exits.

 

CNBC

Both parents now work full-time in most U.S. families, and mothers with bachelor’s or postgraduate degrees are driving the shift, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center which found that 52% of families now have two parents working full-time, up 6% from a decade ago. Pew observed that 83% of partners who were married or cohabitating and both employed full-time thought this situation was a clear financial positive, and almost half (49%) said it had a positive impact on the well-being of their children. A more equal split in parenting could be encouraging the trend - although 63% of mothers told Pew researchers that they were responsible for the majority of parenting tasks and household chores.

 

Bloomberg