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U.S. President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods in 30 days unless Canada removes what his administration describes as discriminatory trade barriers against U.S. products. The proposed tariffs would apply to most imports, including goods currently covered by the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), although energy, potash, critical minerals, fish and products already subject to national security tariffs would be exempt. The White House said the move is intended to address Canada's retaliatory trade measures and restrictions on sectors including dairy and automotive imports, rather than being linked to the Canadian wildfires Trump criticized over the weekend. The 30-day delay is expected to provide time for negotiations, with analysts viewing the announcement as a potential bargaining tool ahead of wider USMCA trade talks.

 

CNBC

Financial Times

Politico

Washington Post

 

According to a Gallup survey, the use of AI among U.S. employees has surged, with 52% reporting they use AI at least a few times a year, a significant increase from 27% two years ago. The survey highlights that AI is primarily used for drafting, revising, and information retrieval, with 51% of respondents using it for writing and editing. Nearly half - 47% - of employees reported that their organizations have integrated AI tools to enhance productivity and efficiency. However, skepticism persists: a Pew Research Center poll in February revealed that 31% of Americans expect AI to negatively impact them personally.

 

U.S. News

U.S. Center for AI Standards and Innovation Director Chris Fall has resigned just ​three months after being appointed to lead the federal ‌AI testing institute at the Department of Commerce. Arvind Raman, who leads ​the Commerce Department office that oversees the AI testing institute, ​will step into the vacated role temporarily. Commerce Department spokesperson Kristen Eichamer didn’t disclose why Fall resigned from his position.

 

Axios

CNBC

Reuters

A federal judge has ruled that Paramount Skydance must ​pause its $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery through August 3. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín in Oakland said a group of states including New York, Colorado and Massachusetts had made a "strong showing" that ​the merger would irreparably and unlawfully harm competition. "Today’s decision is an important victory for all those who would be hurt by ⁠this merger, and I look forward to continuing to fight this case," said New York Attorney General Letitia ​James. "We are confident the evidence will demonstrate that the State AGs' antitrust arguments are without merit as their alleged markets and claims of anticompetitive effects are without any basis in modern market ​realities," a Paramount spokesperson said.

 

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BBC News

A U.S. judge has approved Anthropic’s $1.5bn settlement of a major AI copyright lawsuit filed by a trio of authors - Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson - who accused the company of misusing their books to train its AI chatbot Claude. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in San Francisco granted final approval of the largest known ​settlement of a U.S. copyright case, rejecting arguments that it was too small. Judge William Alsup initially approved the ​deal last September. "We reached this settlement in 2025, after the court's landmark ruling that training AI on books is fair ​use under copyright law - which remains the law today," Anthropic deputy general counsel Aparna Sridhar said. "We are pleased that more than 91% of authors and publishers covered by the settlement have claimed their share of the payment, and we're looking forward ​to bringing this matter to a close."

 

Reuters

Silicon Republic

A jury is now deliberating in a sex discrimination lawsuit against Nike which was first filed in 2018. Plaintiff Heather Hender's attorney, Laura Salerno Owens, argued that Hender was “paid less and promoted more slowly because of her gender,” and is requesting $2m in punitive damages. Nike's attorney, Daniel Prince, claimed that Hender's former managers provided evidence of fair treatment regarding pay and promotions. Hender, who worked as an engineer at Nike from 2015 to 2020, described the company as a “boys' club.” Her witnesses included a labor economist who studied pay patterns at Nike and concluded the company had a gender pay gap of more than $11,000 per employee between 2015 and 2019.

 

OregonLive.com

A lawsuit by former JPMorgan Chase banker Chirayu Rana, who in graphic terms ​said his former supervisor Lorna Hajdini coerced him into sex, has been dismissed at Rana's request by a New York state judge, though it is expected to be refiled in federal court. Rana will pay some legal fees of JPMorgan ​and Hajdini as a condition of ​the dismissal, Justice Dakota Ramseur wrote. The dismissal does not affect Hajdini's defamation countersuit against Rana, which remains in the state court in Manhattan.

 

Reuters

Tesla is to boost production at its plant in Gruenheide, Germany, as the carmaker affirmed expectations for stronger demand there this year. “For the 2026 financial year, the company forecasts a significantly higher production volume compared with the previous year and expects a corresponding increase in capacity utilization,” Tesla Manufacturing Brandenburg SE said in its annual report for 2025.

 

Bloomberg

The EU is set to recommend a three-year delay on penalties for energy importers that do not comply with the bloc’s new methane emissions rules. The recommended delay would apply between 2027 and 2029, except for "cases of large-scale fraudulent breaches." Fossil fuel imports into the EU will have to comply with monitoring, reporting and verification requirements aimed at reducing methane emissions, with imports exceeding a methane-intensity threshold facing penalties by 2030. The U.S., Qatar and other gas-producing nations have warned the bloc that the regulation could jeopardize energy shipments.

 

Bloomberg

Financial Times

Escalating disruption to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz is expected to increase costs across the fast fashion industry, as synthetic fibres such as polyester, nylon and spandex are heavily dependent on petroleum. Petrochemical supply chain disruption has already pushed up polyester prices and reduced synthetic fibre production in China, raising concerns over higher input costs for low-cost apparel retailers. Brands with greater use of recycled materials, including Inditex and H&M, may be better positioned than competitors that rely more heavily on virgin synthetic fibres. Rising transport costs and tighter supplies of natural fibres such as cotton are also expected to pressure margins, with industry executives suggesting the financial impact on clothing retailers could become more pronounced over the next two years. 

 

Economic Times

Spain's victory over Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup earned its national soccer federation the tournament's $50m first-place prize, but tax experts say the Internal Revenue Service will claim a share of the earnings because the tournament was held in the United States. Although FIFA pays prize money to national federations rather than directly to players, coaches, or staff, any compensation distributed for work performed in the U.S. is generally subject to federal taxation. Tax professionals say international tax treaties may reduce or eliminate some liabilities for certain participants, but the rules vary by country, role, and type of income, creating a highly complex tax landscape. The tournament also highlights the impact of state income taxes. While some host states do not levy income tax, others, including New Jersey, where the final was played, do. Athletes and team personnel may therefore face additional "jock tax" obligations based on where they earned their income during the competition.

 

Market Watch

General Mills has recalled more than 735,000 frozen Pillsbury bread rolls after concerns that the products may contain glass, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration classifying the action as a Class II recall, meaning use of the products could cause temporary or medically reversible health effects. The recall covers certain Hard Roll Dough and Kaiser Roll Dough products with October 2026 "Best if Used By" dates that were distributed across 19 U.S. states. The recall affects approximately 735,840 rolls packaged in more than 4,300 cases. The action comes amid a series of recent U.S. food safety recalls, although General Mills had not commented on the issue at the time of publication.

 

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