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Anthropic has disclosed that its Claude AI models gained unauthorized access to three outside companies during an evaluation of its cyber-offensive tasks, days after rival OpenAI ⁠revealed a rogue agent had gone on a hacking spree at AI ​firm Hugging ‌Face. “Claude compromised the ​impacted ​organizations’ infrastructure using ​basic techniques, such as ​exploiting ‌weak passwords and ​unauthenticated ​endpoints,” Anthropic said. Two of the organizations were ​unaware of the activity ‌before being contacted, and Anthropic said that ​it was still trying to reach the third. “We discovered these incidents after a proactive review of our cybersecurity evaluation transcripts,” the company said in a statement.

 

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Elon Musk has dismissed as "Absurdly fake news" a Wall Street Journal report that executives at his electric ​vehicle company Tesla have been told to prepare for a separation of its China business ahead of a potential merger with ‌his space exploration firm SpaceX. Separately, a Tesla China representative said the report was “false information.” Tesla advisers have discussed options including a spinoff, sale or closure of the China business, according to another person familiar with the situation, the report said. Separating Tesla’s China operations would be a necessary move before any merger given SpaceX’s work as a major U.S. defense contractor.

 

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Zoox, Amazon's autonomous vehicle unit, has become the first company to receive U.S. federal approval to operate a commercial robotaxi service without steering wheels or pedals, paving the way to begin charging passengers in Las Vegas before expanding into other markets subject to state approvals. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has authorized Zoox to deploy up to 2,500 purpose-built autonomous vehicles annually over the next two years. The approval marks a significant milestone for the autonomous driving industry, with Zoox's bespoke robotaxi becoming the first vehicle of its kind to receive an exemption from federal safety rules requiring human controls. However, the exemption comes with enhanced regulatory oversight, including additional reporting requirements on crashes and vehicle behavior, while NHTSA retains the power to revoke the approval if safety concerns emerge. 

 

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The EU's comprehensive AI law launches on Sunday to ensure Europeans immediately know whether the online content they see is real or fake. Companies must make sure their AI systems, including chatbots, make it clear to users they are AI. When an image or text has been created using AI, it must be labeled as such - for example, by integrating watermarks and other markers to enable the easy detection of AI-generated content. Firms face large fines if they don't comply. An EU official said that since AI is "making it increasingly difficult for all of us to distinguish what is real from what is synthetic," the rules seek to "preserve citizens' ability to trust what they see, hear, and read." Karen Massin, who leads Google's Government Affairs & Public Policy team in Brussels, warned of "regulatory complexity" that could prove counterproductive, and "risks confusing the people these rules are meant to help."

 

Le Monde

Goldman Sachs quizzed Kathy Ruemmler - who stepped down ​as the bank's chief legal officer and general counsel at the end of June - in 2023, 2025 and 2026 about links to Jeffrey Epstein amid mounting scrutiny of the late convicted ​sex offender's ties, according to a transcript released by ‌the U.S. Congress House Oversight Committee. "I wouldn't characterize it as investigation, but there were reviews done and questions asked. And that occurred in 2023. That occurred again in 2025, in 2026, as there was increasing media scrutiny around ​anybody who had ever sat in the same room with Jeffrey Epstein," Ruemmler said, ​according to the transcript. Reuters says the hitherto unreported internal Goldman Sachs inquiries could raise further questions over the bank's decision to retain Ruemmler.

 

Reuters

Novo Nordisk must face ‌part of a lawsuit accusing it of defrauding shareholders about a key clinical trial for its weight loss and diabetes treatment CagriSema, a judge has said. The shareholders allege the company misled investors about the trial before releasing disappointing results that wiped billions of dollars off its market value. U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton, ​New Jersey, found that investors had plausibly alleged that some statements about CagriSema’s tolerability and the design of the late-stage trial may have been misleading. The ruling does not determine that Novo committed securities fraud; rather, it means the case can proceed into the next stage, where investors can seek evidence supporting their claims. A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said the company “believes that the allegations against it are meritless.”

 

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The Federal Trade Commission, alongside Utah and California, has filed a lawsuit against Hims & Hers Health, alleging deceptive practices regarding billing and unauthorized data sharing with advertisers including Meta and Snap. The complaint accuses the telehealth company of enrolling consumers in recurring subscription plans before they consult with medical providers and complicating the cancellation process. Hims & Hers has disputes the claims, saying the lawsuit misrepresents evidence and industry standards.

 

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Israeli manufacturers are finding it difficult to attract skilled foreign workers to maintain imported machinery amid heightened criticism of the country by some international governments after three years of war, which has strained business links with foreign companies and partners. Companies are increasingly saddled with imported machinery that has stopped functioning or can’t be installed, and they require foreigners to attend to it. Ron Tomer, the owner of Israeli pharmaceutical company Unipharm, which has invested in a €20m ($17m) European-produced machine, observes that unions with certain political affiliations have banned their members from traveling to Israel.

 

Bloomberg

KPMG Australia says it has made no decision on possible job cuts after the Australian Financial Review reported that ​the firm plans to eliminate about 1,000 positions or 10% ‌of its workforce in the wake of an audit misconduct scandal, with details of the roles to be eliminated being shared with selected partners this week. "We are reviewing our operating model, ⁠cost base and workforce needs. It is important to note that ​no decisions have been made regarding any specific measures or potential impact ​on roles," said a KPMG spokesperson, who added the firm was continuing to evaluate "a range of options to ensure the firm remains well positioned for the challenges ahead."

 

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Visa is cutting 2,600 jobs, around 7% of its global workforce, as the payments giant restructures to adapt to rapid changes in the industry driven by AI and new payment technologies. Most of the reductions will be in its technology and product teams, although cuts will affect the wider organization. Chief executive Ryan McInerney said AI is accelerating changes in how work is carried out at Visa and described the current technological shift as a "once-in-a-lifetime inflection point" for the payments industry. The restructuring comes as the sector adapts to emerging technologies such as stablecoins and agentic commerce, which could reshape traditional card payments.

 

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Yum Brands said a Cyclospora outbreak linked to Taco Bell weighed on the chain's sales in July, although customer demand has begun to recover as consumers recognize the issue affected the broader food industry rather than the brand alone. U.S. same-store sales at Taco Bell have fallen 2% in the third quarter through July 27th, but management said average sales have recovered by around 50% from their lowest point, while social media sentiment has returned to pre-crisis levels. Despite the outbreak, Yum reported mixed second-quarter results, with adjusted earnings per share of $1.62, ahead of expectations, on 12% revenue growth to $2.17bn, driven by new restaurant openings. Global same-store sales increased 3%, including 7% growth at Taco Bell and 2% at KFC, while Pizza Hut's same-store sales declined 1% ahead of its planned $2.7bn sale to LongRange Capital and Yum China. 

 

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The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% in the second quarter of 2026, slowing from 2.1% in the first quarter as higher energy prices, supply chain disruptions linked to the conflict with Iran, and persistently high interest rates weighed on activity. Despite those headwinds, the Commerce Department's initial GDP estimate showed consumer spending and business investment remained relatively resilient, supported in part by continued investment in artificial intelligence, although inflation-adjusted incomes and consumer spending have weakened. Economists said the economy continues to show resilience, but warned that higher oil prices, remaining tariffs on imports, and shrinking household savings could curb growth and fuel inflation later this year. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its latest meeting, while policymakers continue to balance inflation risks against economic growth, as strong corporate earnings and AI-related investment offset concerns about softer consumer demand.

 

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U.S. inflation slowed in June, with the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, rising 3.7% year over year, down from 4.1% in May, while monthly prices slipped 0.1%, the weakest reading since April 2020. Core PCE, which excludes food and energy, increased 3.3% annually and 0.1% from the previous month, reflecting a temporary decline in oil prices during a short-lived U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Economists cautioned that the easing is unlikely to last, as renewed conflict in the Middle East has pushed Brent crude back above $90 a barrel and U.S. gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, increasing the risk of renewed inflationary pressure. The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at 3.50%–3.75%, although three policymakers favored a rate hike, and markets expect borrowing costs to rise as early as September. Meanwhile, consumer spending rose 0.3% in June, personal income increased 0.2%, and the household saving rate fell to 2.7%, its lowest level since June 2022, raising concerns that consumer spending could weaken later this year as tax refund benefits fade.

 

Reuters

Hilleman Laboratories, ​a joint venture between Merck and the health research charity Wellcome, is preparing to manufacture doses of an experimental vaccine against the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola responsible for a fast-spreading outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The effort is backed by up to $8.5m in funding from the global partnership Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). "With Bundibugyo ​virus cases rising at worrying speed, the epidemic is fast becoming a humanitarian crisis,” CEPI chief executive Richard Hatchett said. “No vaccine is currently approved against the virus, so we are urgently advancing vaccine candidates ⁠into testing."

 

Reuters