Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Meta Platforms ( META ) has completed an operational split from Manus and stopped data sharing between the two companies, taking a step toward unwinding the $2B acquisition opposed by China, Bloomberg News reporrted. The Facebook parent has effectively erected a firewall between itself and the Chinese-founded agentic AI service startup, the report added , citing p...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Meta Platforms ( META ) has completed an operational split from Manus and stopped data sharing between the two companies, taking a step toward unwinding the $2B acquisition opposed by China, Bloomberg News reporrted. The Facebook parent has effectively erected a firewall between itself and the Chinese-founded agentic AI service startup, the report added , citing people with knowledge of the matter. Meta has restricted Manus and its staff from accessing the tech giant's internal data systems since the start of the month. Meta employees, in turn, can no longer use Manus tools for internal projects, the report noted. The move comes as Manus' founders explore options to fulfill China's demand to undo the deal, including by raising about $1B to fund a buyback. Meta is “sunsetting” Manus, according to an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg News. Staff were told to migrate existing Manus projects onto Meta's systems and not to begin new work on the AI platform. Together, the actions taken to separate the two operations mark another step toward eventually hiving off Manus, the report added. Meta did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha's request for comment. Meta’s landmark acquisition of Manus drew criticism for handing over key technology to a geopolitical competitor, resulting in a review involving tech export controls. In April, China's National Development and Reform Commission issued a brief order prohibiting the acquisition and requiring Meta to unwind the deal. Manus' founders got their start in China but relocated their headquarters and key staff to Singapore in 2025. The deal was announced in December 2025. More on Meta Meta: The Market's Perception On AI CapEx Seems Misplaced Meta-Worse: Doubling Down On LLMs Nobody Wants Meta's Rerating Path Remains Clouded (Rating Downgrade) Canada proposes under-16 social media ban, putting Meta, X in crosshairs Trump believes AI companies will be 'giving back' stakes to public
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Meta Platforms ( META ) has completed an operational split from Manus and stopped data sharing between the two companies, taking a step toward unwinding the $2B acquisition opposed by China, Bloomberg News reporrted. The Facebook parent has effectively erected a firewall between itself and the Chinese-founded agentic AI service startup, the report added , citing p...
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News Meta Platforms ( META ) has completed an operational split from Manus and stopped data sharing between the two companies, taking a step toward unwinding the $2B acquisition opposed by China, Bloomberg News reporrted. The Facebook parent has effectively erected a firewall between itself and the Chinese-founded agentic AI service startup, the report added , citing people with knowledge of the matter. Meta has restricted Manus and its staff from accessing the tech giant's internal data systems since the start of the month. Meta employees, in turn, can no longer use Manus tools for internal projects, the report noted. The move comes as Manus' founders explore options to fulfill China's demand to undo the deal, including by raising about $1B to fund a buyback. Meta is “sunsetting” Manus, according to an internal memo viewed by Bloomberg News. Staff were told to migrate existing Manus projects onto Meta's systems and not to begin new work on the AI platform. Together, the actions taken to separate the two operations mark another step toward eventually hiving off Manus, the report added. Meta did not immediately respond to Seeking Alpha's request for comment. Meta’s landmark acquisition of Manus drew criticism for handing over key technology to a geopolitical competitor, resulting in a review involving tech export controls. In April, China's National Development and Reform Commission issued a brief order prohibiting the acquisition and requiring Meta to unwind the deal. Manus' founders got their start in China but relocated their headquarters and key staff to Singapore in 2025. The deal was announced in December 2025. More on Meta Meta: The Market's Perception On AI CapEx Seems Misplaced Meta-Worse: Doubling Down On LLMs Nobody Wants Meta's Rerating Path Remains Clouded (Rating Downgrade) Canada proposes under-16 social media ban, putting Meta, X in crosshairs Trump believes AI companies will be 'giving back' stakes to public
Micron Technology (NasdaqGS:MU) has selected Bechtel as the engineering, procurement, and construction partner for its planned semiconductor manufacturing complex in Clay, New York. The project is described as the largest in Micron's history and is intended to be a cornerstone facility for U.S. advanced memory manufacturing. The New York megafab is expected to support domestic chip supply chain re...
Micron Technology (NasdaqGS:MU) has selected Bechtel as the engineering, procurement, and construction partner for its planned semiconductor manufacturing complex in Clay, New York. The project is described as the largest in Micron's history and is intended to be a cornerstone facility for U.S. advanced memory manufacturing. The New York megafab is expected to support domestic chip supply chain resilience and create tens of thousands of jobs as AI related memory demand remains a key industry...
FilippoBacci Wall Street moved higher on Thursday as investors attempted to rebound from recent selling pressure while continuing to monitor escalating tensions in the Middle East after Washington announced it had completed a new round of strikes against Iran. The blue chip Dow ( DJI ) was +0.6%, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was +0.6%, and the tech focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) was +0.9...
FilippoBacci Wall Street moved higher on Thursday as investors attempted to rebound from recent selling pressure while continuing to monitor escalating tensions in the Middle East after Washington announced it had completed a new round of strikes against Iran. The blue chip Dow ( DJI ) was +0.6%, the benchmark S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was +0.6%, and the tech focused Nasdaq Composite ( COMP:IND ) was +0.9%, From a sector-by-sector perspective, nine of the 11 S&P segments pushed higher, with industrials at the helm. At the other end of the spectrum, communication services have been under the most pressure. The U.S. military began "launching additional self-defense strikes on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. ET against multiple targets in Iran at the Commander in Chief's direction," Centcom said. Centcom then confirmed it has "completed additional self-defense strikes against multiple targets in Iran, June 10." On the economic front, the headline PPI inflation came in hotter than expected, while the core PPI M/M increase eased . The initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose in the past week . “Thursday's elevated PPI print is yet another data point that could push the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates, as it's clear that all of the main measures of inflation are flashing red,” Clark Bellin, president and chief investment officer of Bellwether Wealth, stated. Treasury yields inched down. The U.S. 2 Year Treasury yield ( US2Y ) fell 2 basis points to 4.12%. At the same time, the U.S. 10 Year Treasury yield ( US10Y ) dipped by 4 basis points to 4.51%, and the U.S. 30 Year Treasury yield ( US30Y ) slid 3 basis points to 4.99%. As for stocks that were on the move, shares of Intel ( INTC ) advanced by 10.1%, while shares of Oracle ( ORCL ) fell 10.3%. Community sentiment survey: Are you planning to buy the upcoming SpaceX IPO? Vote on our community page . More on markets Top 10 most oversold S&P 500 stocks ETFs are ready for liftoff as SpaceX IPO fuels interest in space stocks Over 40% o...
Flight or fight? In looking at your investment portfolio, you have the choice of both. Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEMKT:PPA) offers broad exposure to defense contractors and aerospace manufacturing with lower historical volatility, while U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEMKT:JETS) provides a pure-play, more concentrated bet on global airline operators. Investors looking for exposure to flight-rela...
Flight or fight? In looking at your investment portfolio, you have the choice of both. Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEMKT:PPA) offers broad exposure to defense contractors and aerospace manufacturing with lower historical volatility, while U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEMKT:JETS) provides a pure-play, more concentrated bet on global airline operators. Investors looking for exposure to flight-related industries generally choose between two distinct paths: commercial travel or military defense. While both funds are housed primarily within the industrial sector, their underlying economic drivers differ significantly, ranging from consumer leisure demand and fuel costs to national security budgets and long-term government defense contracts. Continue reading
The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins Thursday and is expected to be the largest betting event ever . Wall Street thinks there's one big winner. In a report issued Thursday, Bernstein said DraftKings appears to be the clearest gambling beneficiary from the tournament. "Its edge is in its marketing rails: the multi-year NBCUniversal tie-in and Telemundo's exclusive Spanish-language rights hand DraftKings'...
The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins Thursday and is expected to be the largest betting event ever . Wall Street thinks there's one big winner. In a report issued Thursday, Bernstein said DraftKings appears to be the clearest gambling beneficiary from the tournament. "Its edge is in its marketing rails: the multi-year NBCUniversal tie-in and Telemundo's exclusive Spanish-language rights hand DraftKings' Spanish-language app a privileged funnel into the highest-intent, most soccer-avid betting demographic in the country," analyst Ian Moore wrote. Moore added that the World Cup will prove a boon to DraftKing's prediction markets business. Earlier this week, the Boston-based gambling platform said its predictions business saw $1.3 billion in annualized consumer volume in May, up 24% from April. That's small compared to the volumes processed by Kalshi and Polymarket, but moved DraftKings closer to becoming competitive in an area that has threatened its sportsbook business and weighed on its stock. DKNG 1Y mountain DraftKings 1-year chart. DraftKings understands the opportunity from the World Cup. "Combined with our unified platform strategy, which allows customers to access either sportsbook or sports predictions, depending on location, and includes a Spanish-language feature, we believe the tournament has the potential to be a meaningful driver of both new customer acquisition and strong engagement across our existing customer base," the company told CNBC. Three in five bettors in states where sports gambling is legal plan on wagering on the soccer tournament, and nearly one in five is expected to place their first bet ever, according to a Bank of America report using Paysafe data. Oppenheimer analyst Jed Kelly, who rates DraftKings a buy, wrote Thursday that the company's push into prediction markets via the World Cup will serve as a trial run to prepare the platform for a rush of volume in the fall to coincide with the NFL season. "We believe DKNG can leverage product/[cus...
Live cattle futures posted gains on Wednesday, with contracts up 42 cents to $2.07 on the day. Open interest suggested new buying interest, up 1,169 contracts. There were no deliveries issued against June futures on Wednesday. Cash trade saw some light $402 dressed trade in the north yet, though it...
Live cattle futures posted gains on Wednesday, with contracts up 42 cents to $2.07 on the day. Open interest suggested new buying interest, up 1,169 contracts. There were no deliveries issued against June futures on Wednesday. Cash trade saw some light $402 dressed trade in the north yet, though it...
Lean hog futures saw mixed trade late on Wednesday, with contracts up 70 cents to 75 cents lower. Open interest was 2,640 contracts. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $97.52 on Wednesday afternoon, up 4 cents from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was up 13...
Lean hog futures saw mixed trade late on Wednesday, with contracts up 70 cents to 75 cents lower. Open interest was 2,640 contracts. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $97.52 on Wednesday afternoon, up 4 cents from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was up 13...
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, with a market capitalization exceeding $2.5 trillion as of June 2026. The company started in the early years of the internet, survived the dot-com bust, and grew into a worldwide tech powerhouse. At the same time, Amazon expanded its digital footprint, ...
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, with a market capitalization exceeding $2.5 trillion as of June 2026. The company started in the early years of the internet, survived the dot-com bust, and grew into a worldwide tech powerhouse. At the same time, Amazon expanded its digital footprint, ...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) today is up +0.20%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is up +0.43%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is up +0.53%. June E-mini S&P futures (ESM26 ) are up +0.29%, and June E-mini Nasdaq futures...
The S&P 500 Index ($SPX ) (SPY ) today is up +0.20%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI ) (DIA ) is up +0.43%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX ) (QQQ ) is up +0.53%. June E-mini S&P futures (ESM26 ) are up +0.29%, and June E-mini Nasdaq futures...
VV Shots In the age of OpenAI's ( OPENAI ) ChatGPT, Anthropic's ( ANTHRO ) Claude, SpaceX's ( SPCX ) Grok, Google's ( GOOGL ) ( GOOG ) Gemini, and a reinvigorated Siri AI from Apple ( AAPL ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) has come under scrutiny for its Copilot artificial intelligence assistant falling behind. That may no longer be the case, BNP Paribas said. After hosting a meeting with Microsoft executives...
VV Shots In the age of OpenAI's ( OPENAI ) ChatGPT, Anthropic's ( ANTHRO ) Claude, SpaceX's ( SPCX ) Grok, Google's ( GOOGL ) ( GOOG ) Gemini, and a reinvigorated Siri AI from Apple ( AAPL ), Microsoft ( MSFT ) has come under scrutiny for its Copilot artificial intelligence assistant falling behind. That may no longer be the case, BNP Paribas said. After hosting a meeting with Microsoft executives, the French investment firm said that Copilot is “simply more capable” than it was 6 to 12 months ago and recent deals (such as the one with NHS England) prove that. “When coupled with positive commentary around rising customer usage, improvements to the core product, and a more mature [go-to-market] motion, our sense is that Microsoft could deliver FQ4 Copilot seats well above the current outlook for [25M or more],” BNP Paribas analyst Stefan Slowinski wrote in a note to clients. “Moreover, Microsoft emphasized the evolving Copilot pricing model from seats to some form of seats and consumption. While the company stopped short of announcing any changes to Copilot pricing, Microsoft repeatedly referenced the evolution of GitHub Copilot from a seat-based offering toward a seats + consumption model to better align monetization with the rising usage intensity as compute-heavy workflows began to emerge.” Slowinski has a Buy rating and a $555 price target on Microsoft. In addition to a better Copilot product, Microsoft's Azure unit can take some measures to keep cost inflation in check, given rising GPU rental prices, Slowinski pointed out. “However, the company appeared reluctant to pursue broad list-price increases, citing both customer relationship considerations, competitive dynamics (will AWS / GCP offer more compelling pricing in response?), and the permanence of these decisions,” Slowinski explained. “Finally, on capex, the company indicated there is no ‘line in the sand’ regarding a FCF threshold that would limit its AI infrastructure investment, referring to the current...
President Donald Trump nominated Brian Johnson , who served in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Trump's first term, as permanent director of the agency for the rest of his second administration. Johnson had served as deputy to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger in the first Trump administration. Since he left the CFPB in 2020, he has worked at Patomak Global Partners and was most recently a ...
President Donald Trump nominated Brian Johnson , who served in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Trump's first term, as permanent director of the agency for the rest of his second administration. Johnson had served as deputy to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger in the first Trump administration. Since he left the CFPB in 2020, he has worked at Patomak Global Partners and was most recently a senior executive at credit card issuer Capital One Financial ( COF ), the Associated Press reported. The nomination is for a term of five years, but the director typically changes with each administration. The CFPB has been largely inoperable since Trump's second term. Russell Vought, Trump's budget director, has been heading the agency on an acting basis. Much of its activity has been focused on rolling back prior rules. The bureau was formed in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis as an independent financial regulator with broad authority over consumer financial products and services. Republicans have argued that the CFPB has too much power, isn't accountable to Congress, and has placed too heavy a regulatory burden on consumer finance companies. While Johnson has been a critic of the CFPB's work, he hasn't gone as far as Vought, who has advocated shutting down the bureau. In 2023 testimony in the House, Johnson backed an overhaul of the agency and said that " properly structured and managed, (the CFPB) is capable of great good." Dear readers: We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on the CFPB Acting CFPB chief suspends supervision of companies: reports Judge blocks White House from cutting off CFPB funding U.S. judge throws out CFPB credit card fee cap
4kodiak/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Wall Street is already expecting an enormous AI ( AIQ ) ( AIEQ ) spending boom, but Goldman Sachs thinks even those forecasts may be too conservative. Consensus estimates imply hyperscaler ( ORCL ) ( MSFT ) ( GOOGL ) ( GOOG ) ( META ) ( AMZN ) capex will hit $757B this year, up 84% from 2025, before rising to $920B in 2027. That would still be a record, b...
4kodiak/iStock Unreleased via Getty Images Wall Street is already expecting an enormous AI ( AIQ ) ( AIEQ ) spending boom, but Goldman Sachs thinks even those forecasts may be too conservative. Consensus estimates imply hyperscaler ( ORCL ) ( MSFT ) ( GOOGL ) ( GOOG ) ( META ) ( AMZN ) capex will hit $757B this year, up 84% from 2025, before rising to $920B in 2027. That would still be a record, but it would also mark a major slowdown in growth to 22%. If AI infrastructure spending follows the kind of investment cycle seen during the railroad and auto buildouts, with incremental investment reaching 2% to 3% of gross domestic product, hyperscaler capex could climb closer to $1.1T in 2027, Goldman estimated in a recent note. In a more aggressive scenario, supported by hyperscaler cash flow and investment-grade credit market capacity, spending could reach roughly $1.4T. Goldman Sachs Research More on Oracle, Microsoft, etc. Oracle: Out-Of-Touch Valuation Microsoft Remains A Generational Buying Opportunity In The Agentic AI Era Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: No Reward For Oracle's Beat Oracle slumps after Q4; analysts mull gross margin pressure, capital raise plans Google talking to Samsung about manufacturing part of TPU: report