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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.

 

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Samsung has said that 739 roles in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, have been affected by plans by Samsung Electronics America (SEA) - the South Korean tech giant's ​U.S. display, phone and other consumer electronics unit which does not include semiconductors - to move its headquarters to Texas. At SEA's office in Plano, Texas, around 100 workers, ​including in its mobile division, have been let go. Reuters says that the decision to shift SEA's headquarters is notable because staff in New ​Jersey only moved to new offices with much fanfare less than a year ago. Most people affected have received relocation offers, but others were let go, SEA said.

 

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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Icahn Enterprises has agreed to sell auto-service chain Pep Boys to Mavis Tire Express Services for approximately $700m in cash, while retaining ownership of certain real estate assets as well as the AAMCO Transmissions and Precision Tune Auto Care businesses. The deal will see Mavis add Pep Boys' network of more than 750 locations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico to its existing portfolio of over 3,600 owned and franchised service centers. Icahn Enterprises acquired Pep Boys for around $1bn in 2016, but the investment has faced challenges amid wider restructuring of its automotive businesses. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Mavis' presence in new and existing markets, particularly in the western U.S.

 

Wall Street Journal

The Conference Board's U.S. Leading Economic Index (LEI) fell 0.2% to 99.1 in June, reversing part of the gains recorded in April and May, as weaker consumer expectations and a decline in building permits weighed on the outlook. Despite the monthly decline, the LEI fell just 0.3% during the first half of 2026, an improvement from the 1.1% contraction recorded in the second half of 2025. Positive contributions from the yield spread and other financial indicators helped offset some of the weakness. The Conference Board said the index's six- and 12-month growth rates remained negative but stable, with slowing consumer spending continuing to pressure the outlook. However, strong business investment in artificial intelligence is expected to support economic activity as inflation continues to improve.

 

Wall Street Journal

Life insurers Delaware Life Insurance Co. and Clear Spring Life and Annuity Co., both owned by Group 1001 and controlled by Mark Walter, are facing a federal investigation into whether they properly disclosed billions of dollars in related-party private credit investments. According to regulatory filings, the companies received grand jury subpoenas as part of a parallel investigation by federal prosecutors and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, prompting internal reviews that resulted in a significant restatement of related-party investment disclosures. The review increased Delaware Life's reported related-party investments from about $1.4bn to more than $17bn, representing at least 39% of its invested assets. The insurer has launched a remediation plan to reduce affiliated investments and strengthen financial controls, while S&P Global Ratings revised its outlook from stable to negative but affirmed its A- financial strength rating. 

 

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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

Apple has targeted OpenAI employees who once worked for the company with personal legal warnings as it seeks evidence to support claims that the ChatGPT maker stole trade secrets.

 

Financial Times

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.

 

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Samsung Electronics has established a dedicated robotics division reporting directly to its chief executive as the company looks to accelerate the development and commercialization of robotics as a future growth engine. The new RX (Robotics eXperience) division will oversee the company's long-term robotics strategy, technology development and business execution, while expanding research capabilities globally. The company has appointed former Hyundai Motor Group robotics executive Lee Dongkun to lead its Robotics Strategy Team and plans to establish research hubs in the U.S., China and Japan. 

 

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Reuters

Escalating disruption to oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz is expected to increase costs across the fast fashion industry, as synthetic fibers such as polyester, nylon and spandex are heavily dependent on petroleum. Petrochemical supply chain disruption has already pushed up polyester prices and reduced synthetic fiber 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 fibers. Rising transport costs and tighter supplies of natural fibers 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

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, an ⁠intergovernmental anti-money laundering group, has said criminals are taking advantage of gaps in regulation to ​move billions in illicit proceeds through the ‌crypto sector. In its latest review into ​the role of virtual assets and ​illicit finance, the group said crypto-enabled crime ​had become more "complex and interconnected" in the past ​year, and national regulators, financial institutions and crypto companies face "significant and ongoing challenges" in detecting and stopping money-laundering ​flows coming from scam compounds and investment ​fraud networks.

 

Reuters

The IRS is increasing its scrutiny of charitable contribution deductions, with tax professionals reporting a rise in audits targeting non-cash donations involving potentially inflated valuations, including art, intellectual property, medical supplies, and privately held businesses. The renewed enforcement effort comes as the agency broadens its focus beyond syndicated conservation easements, a long-running tax shelter it has spent years challenging. Tax practitioners say the IRS has resumed opening new examinations after disruptions caused by workforce reductions and leadership turnover, with agents leveraging experience gained from conservation easement cases to review other charitable donation claims. The agency is frequently challenging technical compliance issues, such as appraisal requirements and filing deadlines, rather than disputing asset valuations directly. The Trump administration has also identified tax-exempt organizations as an enforcement priority, raising expectations of increased scrutiny of charitable transactions. Tax advisers say the IRS is placing greater emphasis on aggressive valuation practices across a wider range of tax credits and deductions as it seeks to curb perceived abuses.

 

Bloomberg Tax

Chinese regulators led by the Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) are considering tightening export controls on artificial intelligence and semiconductor technologies as U.S.-China rivalry intensifies in cutting-edge AI.

 

Financial Times

Business leaders in the U.K. are increasingly optimistic about AI's potential to enhance profitability, according to a Deloitte survey. Almost three-quarters (73%) of British CFOs believe AI will improve business performance, up from 59% last year. Around nine-in-ten (93%) of the 58 CFOs surveyed expect to increase AI investment in the coming year. Debapratim De, chief economist at Deloitte U.K., also noted that "concerns over geopolitics and domestic competitiveness remain elevated."

 

The Times of London

The American Heart Association (AHA) has said that drinking up to five 8-oz cups of coffee a day, or around 400mgs of caffeine, is safe for most adults and may reduce the risk of heart disease, heart failure, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes. The scientific statement, published in Circulation, reviewed dozens of studies and concluded that evidence supporting coffee’s safety and potential cardiovascular benefits has strengthened over time. The AHA said the greatest benefits appear to come from consuming two to four cups of coffee daily, while noting that individual responses to caffeine vary. Researchers also cautioned that adding large amounts of sugar, syrups, or high-fat creamers can offset potential health benefits, and advised consumers to avoid high-caffeine energy drinks, which have been linked to irregular heart rhythms and high blood pressure. 

 

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