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The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time in three years, unanimously approving a quarter-point increase that lifted the federal-funds rate target range to 3.75%-4%. The move begins to reverse some of the rate cuts delivered last year, and the vast majority of Fed officials projected one additional increase this year as the central bank seeks to return inflation to its 2% target. The shift follows a period in which the Fed has made little progress on inflation since mid-2025, despite cutting rates three times late last year amid concerns about a weakening labor market. The inflation outlook has since been complicated by an energy-price shock stemming from the Iran war, while a surge in AI-related investment has supported economic growth, financial markets, and demand for capital. Following the announcement, President Donald Trump, who has consistently urged the Fed to cut rates, said he told Kevin Warsh, the central bank's chair to "do what you want," adding that Fed officials are "very political. They’re doing the wrong thing [...] They are people put on by politicians.”

 

The Hill

CNBC

Washington Post

Wall Street Journal

Wayve has appointed former Waymo finance chief Elisa de Martel as CFO as the self-driving technology startup prepares to move from development and testing toward wider commercial deployment. Ms. De Martel, who served as Waymo’s CFO from 2022 until January 2026 and previously held senior financial roles at Carbon and Apple, will oversee financial strategy, capital allocation, reporting, governance, treasury, and tax, while supporting commercial, investor, and strategic partnership deals. She succeeds Max Warburton, who will become a strategic adviser to Wayve’s leadership team.

 

TechCrunch

President Donald Trump has warned that allowing Canada to become an associate member of the European Union could constitute a “hostile act,” threatening to impose significant additional tariffs or restrict U.S. trade with Europe if he believes the move is made with “bad intention.” His comments followed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s pledge to pursue closer ties with Canada, potentially making it the EU’s first associate member. The warning comes amid escalating U.S.-Canada trade tensions. Trump has ordered restrictions on imports of Canadian dairy products, alcoholic beverages, and motorcycles, while adjusting existing 50% tariffs on other Canadian goods. Trade negotiations between Washington and Ottawa nearly produced an agreement in late August but collapsed at the last minute. Canadian and European officials have meanwhile been discussing associate membership as a way to deepen ties, although both sides have said full Canadian membership in the EU is not an option.

 

CNBC

Euronews

Politico

Wall Street Journal

U.S. retail sales rose 1.2% in August to $773.9bn, rebounding from a 0.5% decline in July, and comfortably exceeding the 0.8% increase expected by economists polled by the Wall Street Journal. The figures point to renewed consumer strength despite Americans continuing to face high gasoline prices, with sales in the closely watched control-group categories that feed into GDP calculations increasing by around 1.4%. Spending gains were broad-based across several discretionary areas. Sales at nonstore retailers increased 2.6%, while electronics and appliance stores recorded growth of 1.6%. Bank of America data also indicated that total credit and debit card spending per household rose 0.9% month over month on a seasonally adjusted basis, following a 0.2% decline in July. Analysts had anticipated some recovery after July’s weaker figures, which were partly attributed to the timing of Prime Day and associated promotions shifting into June. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said that import prices rose 0.7% in August, having declined by 0.3% for two straight months. On an annual basis, they were up 7%.

 

AP News

Bloomberg

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

U.S. business inventories increased 0.8% in July, accelerating from a 0.1% rise in June, and significantly exceeding the 0.3% increase expected by economists. Inventories were also 3.8% higher than a year earlier, as retailers and wholesalers restocked following five consecutive quarters of inventory reductions amid robust domestic demand. Retail inventories rebounded 0.8% in July after falling 0.2% in June, while motor vehicle inventories also increased 0.8%. Retail inventories excluding autos, which are included in GDP calculations, rose 0.8% following a 0.5% decline in June. Wholesale inventories climbed 1.3%, while manufacturers’ inventories increased 0.4%. Business sales, meanwhile, rose 0.3% in July after declining 1% in June. At July’s sales pace, businesses would need 1.3 months to clear their inventories, unchanged from the previous month.

 

Reuters

Amazon has increased minimum starting pay for its U.S. full-time core operations employees by $1 to $20 an hour ahead of the peak holiday shopping season. Average pay for these workers, who sort, pack, and transport orders, has reached nearly $24 an hour, with total compensation exceeding $32 an hour including benefits. The company is also introducing grocery discounts of up to 20% for U.S. employees and rolling out access to banking services through First Tech Federal Credit Union, as it seeks to strengthen its pay and benefits package.

 

The Hill

CBS News

Reuters

Wall Street Journal

U.S. ⁠Attorney General ⁠Todd Blanche has said the Department of ‌Justice ⁠would ⁠investigate "anybody associated" with artificial intelligence (AI) if they ​violated the law. "As far as ​AI is concerned, there's ⁠a lot ⁠of ⁠criminal laws," ​Blanche told reporters at the ​White ⁠House. "So if anybody associated with AI ⁠violates criminal law, we'll investigate that." Blanche ⁠added that he did not believe the role of the DOJ was to regulate AI. In an interview with Bloomberg on the day of the White House briefing, Blanche said the department will act only if there are clear violations of the law. “I’m not going to do regulation by prosecution and investigate or prosecute AI companies when there’s not a statute that they’re violating,” he said. “If we’re going to charge somebody with violating the laws and take away their liberty and put them in prison, it should be because they violated the law.”

 

Bloomberg

U.S. News

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has found that Cisco Systems likely created a hostile work environment for Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim employees. The federal enforcement agency's conclusion followed reports of harassment, including derogatory messages shared in an internal forum, where pro-Palestinian activists were derided as animals and one worker told colleagues to “quit living.” The finding is not a binding ruling, and both sides said the EEOC has indicated that it won’t file a lawsuit. The New York Times says such findings tend to bolster employees’ cases if they decide to go to court on their own. Legal Aid at Work believes this is the first EEOC finding against a major U.S. tech company involving discrimination against workers engaged in pro-Palestinian advocacy. 

 

The Jerusalem Post

New York Times

Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay $385m to resolve allegations regarding the operation of a manufacturing plant linked to contaminated powdered baby formula, which is suspected of causing infant deaths. The contamination led to the temporary closure of the largest formula facility in the U.S. in 2022, resulting in a recall of several brands, including Similac, and contributing to a nationwide shortage. Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said: “The settlement makes clear the safety of our children is not negotiable.” The Justice Department's civil complaint accused Abbott of knowingly producing formula in unsanitary conditions that posed significant risks to product safety. Although Abbott did not admit liability, it stated that testing found no connection between its formula and the reported illnesses. Nearly $349m of the settlement will go to the federal government, while $36m will support state Medicaid and WIC programs. Whistleblowers who reported the issues will receive $69m.

 

The Hill

Snap is expanding its augmented reality ambitions beyond consumers, partnering with Nvidia, Amazon Web Services, and Salesforce to bring its roughly $2,000 Specs AR glasses to enterprise customers. Chief executive Evan Spiegel said Snap wants businesses to view Specs as a computer rather than simply smart glasses, with potential applications including helping field technicians troubleshoot equipment using digital instructions and communicate with colleagues. The company hopes Nvidia’s open-source XR artificial intelligence (AI) platform, alongside Salesforce’s technology, will make it easier for businesses to integrate agentic AI capabilities into Specs. The enterprise push represents a significant expansion for Snap, which has historically found most of its success in the consumer market.

 

CNBC

Reuters

The House Ways and Means Committee has advanced three tax bills addressing digital assets, electronic filing fraud, and gambling losses. The Digital Asset Tax Certainty Act, approved 38-5, would establish a tax framework for digital assets, seek greater parity with traditional financial assets, and apply existing anti-abuse rules, although a provision covering crypto mining and staking was removed during the markup. The EFIN Verification Act would require tax software to confirm that Electronic Filing Identification Numbers are active and authorized before enabling electronic filing, with the aim of preventing fraudulent tax returns. The FULL HOUSE Act, also approved 38-5, would restore the deduction for gambling losses to 100% of winnings after it was reduced to 90%, although the article notes that the bills may not pass the full House and Senate before the current congressional term ends.

 

Accounting Today

PYMNTS

Spanish labor union FIST wants a court to cancel the redundancies of 2,062 staff who worked for a company that moderated content for Meta. Canadian tech firm Telus International, which operated in Spain as CCC Barcelona Digital Services, cut the roles  in a package agreed with main unions last year, citing the termination of its contract with the U.S. tech giant, the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Minority union FIST has now launched a lawsuit against Telus and Meta, claiming before a court in Barcelona that the layoffs were an “attack and a retaliation against the workers’ exercising of their basic rights.” According to the lawsuit, more than half of the affected workers had launched legal action for alleged “salary discrimination” based on language and origin: moderators’ wages varied according to their working language.

 

Catalan News

Demócrata

Straits Times

Starbucks is considering selling a majority stake in its Japan business in a potential deal that could value the operation at around $3bn, according to sources familiar with the matter. The coffee chain has sought proposals from several financial advisers, although the size of any stake sale has not been determined, and a formal process could begin in the fourth quarter. Japan is Starbucks’ largest company-operated market outside the U.S., with 1,883 stores representing nearly 9% of its global footprint as of September 2025. The potential sale forms part of Starbucks’ broader portfolio restructuring under chief executive Brian Niccol, who is seeking to improve profitability and revive the company’s core U.S. business. Starbucks ceded control of its China operations to Boyu Capital last year in a deal valuing that business at $4bn.

 

Reuters

Norwegian state-controlled telecoms operator Telenor has been charged by authorities with complicity in crimes against humanity and breaching sanctions in Myanmar following ‌a military coup in 2021. "Telenor Myanmar repeatedly handed over historical traffic data about ​customers to the military regime . . . at the same time as the regime was responsible for extensive abuses ​against parts of the civilian population," Norwegian police said. Telenor sold its ⁠business in Myanmar following the coup and completed its exit from the country in March 2022. The company said it was ​cooperating closely with the investigators.

 

Financial Times

Reuters

Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has said it plans to launch its first heavy-duty truck in Europe next year ​and eventually make trucks locally. Speaking at the IAA trade fair in Hanover, Stella Li, BYD's ​executive vice president and head of international ⁠business, said: "For the long term, we will produce everything we sell ​in Europe here locally . . . Once you move everything ​produced locally, it's okay. We become a European company." Local production in Europe would also help BYD avoid import ​tariffs on trucks. 

 

Reuters