A federal judge struck down a $100,000 fee President Donald Trump ordered for H-1B visa applications, providing a reprieve for US technology companies that rely on hiring skilled foreign workers. The president’s decree dramatically increasing the cost of the popular visa is an unlawful tax and must be vacated, US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin in Massachusetts said in a Monday ruling. The governmen...
A federal judge struck down a $100,000 fee President Donald Trump ordered for H-1B visa applications, providing a reprieve for US technology companies that rely on hiring skilled foreign workers. The president’s decree dramatically increasing the cost of the popular visa is an unlawful tax and must be vacated, US District Judge Leo T. Sorokin in Massachusetts said in a Monday ruling. The government is likely to appeal the decision, which is a blow for the Trump administration’s campaign to restrict immigration and boost demand for US workers.
Wall Street has spent two years asking technology companies to stop talking about what AI will do and start showing what it has already done. The data, when it finally arrives, tends to matter more than any product launch or analyst note. On June 7, Microsoft produced a number that is hard to ...
Wall Street has spent two years asking technology companies to stop talking about what AI will do and start showing what it has already done. The data, when it finally arrives, tends to matter more than any product launch or analyst note. On June 7, Microsoft produced a number that is hard to ...
In this article UAL GE BA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Technicians work on an engine at GE Aerospace's engine shop in Lafayette, Indiana. Leslie Josephs/CNBC RIO DE JANEIRO — Airplane engine makers have fallen short of what they promised airlines, major carriers' CEOs say, a problem vexing an industry that has struggled for years with aircraft shortages and more recently, a doub...
In this article UAL GE BA Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNT Technicians work on an engine at GE Aerospace's engine shop in Lafayette, Indiana. Leslie Josephs/CNBC RIO DE JANEIRO — Airplane engine makers have fallen short of what they promised airlines, major carriers' CEOs say, a problem vexing an industry that has struggled for years with aircraft shortages and more recently, a doubling of fuel prices. It's a paradox: Engine makers dazzled carriers with more fuel-efficient options for new planes from Boeing and Airbus. But production shortfalls and disappointing reliability with those engines are becoming costly problems, CEOs said in interviews at the industry's largest annual gathering here. Airline executives said they're being forced to remove engines and take them for maintenance into crowded shops earlier than expected, which is driving up costs and sucking up the fuel savings they were supposed to get from the engines. Airline leaders told CNBC this week that travel demand is still strong despite higher fares, so having aircraft on the ground means money left on the table, just as $100 billion higher fuel bill this year is slashing airline profit prospects. Alexis von Hoensbroech, CEO of Canada's WestJet, told CNBC in an interview ahead of the more than 370-airline International Air Transport Association's annual assembly that the new engines promising fuel savings of around 15% or more compared with earlier models were "engineering marvels." "However, as you push the limits, it sometimes comes at the cost of reliability, and what we all are seeing is that those engines have to go into unscheduled maintenance far more frequently than prior engine generations," he said. Newer models of aircraft engines burn hotter, allowing them to use less fuel. That's key since fuel is airlines' biggest cost after labor. But that can also mean they wear out faster, which can ground planes, though carriers keep some spare engines. Von Hoensbroech and other airl...
Governing body looking into ‘a breach of team protocols’ Incident in early hours of morning after Lord’s Test Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson are being investigated by the England and Wales Cricket Board for a “breach of team protocols” following the first Test win over New Zealand. The ECB confirmed in a statement Stokes and Atkinson “were in a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning when an i...
Governing body looking into ‘a breach of team protocols’ Incident in early hours of morning after Lord’s Test Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson are being investigated by the England and Wales Cricket Board for a “breach of team protocols” following the first Test win over New Zealand. The ECB confirmed in a statement Stokes and Atkinson “were in a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning when an incident took place”. More to follow … Continue reading...
Paris and Berlin conclude firms involved unable to agree on way forward in blow to Europe’s common defence push France and Germany have concluded that the companies involved in building a joint fighter jet will not be able to reach an agreement and have abandoned the project, officials in Berlin have said in a blow to Europe’s common defence efforts. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the ...
Paris and Berlin conclude firms involved unable to agree on way forward in blow to Europe’s common defence push France and Germany have concluded that the companies involved in building a joint fighter jet will not be able to reach an agreement and have abandoned the project, officials in Berlin have said in a blow to Europe’s common defence efforts. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the Germany chancellor, Friedrich Merz, had “reached the shared assessment that the companies will not be able to come together”, an official told Agence France-Presse. “They acknowledge this reality.” Continue reading...
Jim Cramer thinks investors may be creating their own problem. In a post on X on Thursday, the CNBC host argued that excitement surrounding Elon Musk‘s SpaceX and growing speculation about its eventual inclusion in the S&P 500 could be...
Jim Cramer thinks investors may be creating their own problem. In a post on X on Thursday, the CNBC host argued that excitement surrounding Elon Musk‘s SpaceX and growing speculation about its eventual inclusion in the S&P 500 could be...
$10,000 parked in the Fidelity Fundamental Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:FFEM) on the last trading day of 2025 was worth roughly $13,000 at the late-May peak near $43.45, before a recent week of selling trimmed it back to about $12,200 by the June 5 close at $40.73. That puts the headline number where it should be. ... Fidelity’s Emerging Markets ETF Is Stealthily Up 30% (and No One’s Watching)
$10,000 parked in the Fidelity Fundamental Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:FFEM) on the last trading day of 2025 was worth roughly $13,000 at the late-May peak near $43.45, before a recent week of selling trimmed it back to about $12,200 by the June 5 close at $40.73. That puts the headline number where it should be. ... Fidelity’s Emerging Markets ETF Is Stealthily Up 30% (and No One’s Watching)
(RTTNews) - After staying well below the flat line till about an hour past noon on Monday, European stocks recovered some lost ground after Iran announced the end of its military operation against Israel, raising hopes of a potential de-escalation in the wider U.S.-Iran war.
(RTTNews) - After staying well below the flat line till about an hour past noon on Monday, European stocks recovered some lost ground after Iran announced the end of its military operation against Israel, raising hopes of a potential de-escalation in the wider U.S.-Iran war.
EschCollection/DigitalVision via Getty Images In the last five years, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond has gone from 1.5% to 4.5%. As such, the price of the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Index ETF ( VGIT ) has gone from $68 to $58. Is now a good time to buy Treasury bonds via VGIT? FRED Seeking Alpha VGIT is an excellent vehicle for owning Treasuries. It has a very low expense ratio of...
EschCollection/DigitalVision via Getty Images In the last five years, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond has gone from 1.5% to 4.5%. As such, the price of the Vanguard Intermediate-Term Treasury Index ETF ( VGIT ) has gone from $68 to $58. Is now a good time to buy Treasury bonds via VGIT? FRED Seeking Alpha VGIT is an excellent vehicle for owning Treasuries. It has a very low expense ratio of just 3 basis points, and the ETF itself is extremely liquid. The fund seeks to track the performance of the Bloomberg U.S. Treasury 3-10 Year Index, i.e., the intermediate duration segment of the US government bond market. The fund pays monthly distributions and is essentially 100% invested in USA Government debt. Seeking Alpha Ratings Although I think oil prices will fall substantially over the next few years, I think inflation is still a problem for the United States, and indeed much of the world. America’s deficits need to be funded, and with the massive funding needs of the high-growth AI companies, as well as other G7 nations, there is competition in the market for money, and therefore interest rates should go higher. If 10-year interest rates are going higher still, then VGIT is a bad investment. Those holding this fund should sell and put the low risk allocation of funds into money market funds and funds that track float rating securities, which have lower duration and therefore lower interest rate risk. In effect, by lending short, you can capture the higher interests on offer. By lending at the intermediate duration, you will get hurt by higher interest rates. In other words, I’m quite bearish on VGIT and I will explain why below. In the last couple of weeks, it seems like bond markets have traded on the Iran war headlines. But last week it seems the optimism faded slightly for a deal between the US and Iran. A deal would let oil flow, and then oil prices would start to come down; this would soon help reduce inflation rates, meaning that interest rate doves would ...
A belated change of policy on nude digital images of children must be part of a wider reset Amid the flurry of resignations by ministers who said they had lost confidence in Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, Jess Phillips’s attack on his record on tech regulation stood out. “Over a year ago I presented solutions, long worked on by brilliant civil servants, that would end the ability for children in t...
A belated change of policy on nude digital images of children must be part of a wider reset Amid the flurry of resignations by ministers who said they had lost confidence in Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, Jess Phillips’s attack on his record on tech regulation stood out. “Over a year ago I presented solutions, long worked on by brilliant civil servants, that would end the ability for children in the UK to take naked images of themselves,” she wrote. The postponement of an announcement in March left her frustrated. In the end, all that Ms Phillips managed to secure was a pledge that the law might change sometime. Other campaigners echoed her frustration. Hannah Swirsky, head of policy at the Internet Watch Foundation, agreed that the government had been slow to act, despite the rise in offences involving self‑generated explicit imagery. Continue reading...
Gri-spb/iStock via Getty Images I really like Circle Internet Group ( CRCL ). They have a great product, USDC ( USDC-USD ). I've been rating it a Buy. I even went to Strong Buy once . CRCL 6M Price History (Seeking Alpha) The market seemed to agree. At first . The past couple of weeks it's down. New fears are in play. Strategy ( MSTR ) finally sold Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ). ZCash ( ZEC-USD ) discovered...
Gri-spb/iStock via Getty Images I really like Circle Internet Group ( CRCL ). They have a great product, USDC ( USDC-USD ). I've been rating it a Buy. I even went to Strong Buy once . CRCL 6M Price History (Seeking Alpha) The market seemed to agree. At first . The past couple of weeks it's down. New fears are in play. Strategy ( MSTR ) finally sold Bitcoin ( BTC-USD ). ZCash ( ZEC-USD ) discovered a massive exploit . Any impact to ZEC is unknown. Folks get spooked. Crypto-related stocks sell off. Do I think CRCL should be bogged down? No. USDC is not a speculative asset. It's the dollar on-chain. There is a payments use case here. I believe in Circle because I believe in this. USDC Key Stats (Q1 2026 Investor Presentation) For example, total USDC is stable. If it declined, that would hurt Circle. It would be less interest income. Some cryptos decline. USDC isn't declining. USDC Market Cap 1Y History (CoinMarketCap.com) I think recent months are stable. USDC's cap remains over $70B. A Fed rate cut could hurt. CRCL's earnings are volume and yield. If those are fine, CRCL should be too. Q1 2026 Earnings Presentation What do I mean to say? USDC is adaptable. It doesn't need certain parts of crypto to succeed. It can serve any and all parts. A good example is Hyperliquid. They have a native stable, USDH. They agreed to phase it out. USDC will replace it. It's validation from a big chain and exchange. Circle also launched a chain , Arc. USDC is the gas fee for this. ARC is the token. The white paper lays it out. How ARC fees works (ARC white paper ) Arc is built for agentic commerce . It's meant for large volumes. USDC fees make costs clear. It's very business-friendly. ARC Distribution (ARC white paper ) I haven't mentioned it in past articles. I was waiting. But now it's live. Circle has about a 25% stake in Arc through the token. So chain revenue doesn't all go to CRCL. Still, it's a smart approach. Circle was limited by interest income before. I think it's similar to ...
HJBC/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Accenture ( ACN ) said Monday it has agreed to acquire creator and social marketing agency Whalar from Whalar Group, expanding its capabilities in influencer marketing and creator-led advertising as brands devote a growing share of marketing budgets to social media platforms. Shares of Accenture ( ACN ) fell as much as 1.5% by early afternoon in New York, whi...
HJBC/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Accenture ( ACN ) said Monday it has agreed to acquire creator and social marketing agency Whalar from Whalar Group, expanding its capabilities in influencer marketing and creator-led advertising as brands devote a growing share of marketing budgets to social media platforms. Shares of Accenture ( ACN ) fell as much as 1.5% by early afternoon in New York, while the S&P 500 ( SP500 ) was little changed. The stock is down 44% in the past 12 months amid corporate caution toward discretionary spending as AI potentially changes the economics of the consulting industry. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. The transaction will fold Whalar into Accenture Song, the consulting firm's marketing, design and digital services unit. The move reflects growing demand from advertisers for creator-driven campaigns as social media increasingly influences consumer purchasing decisions and brand discovery. The creator economy has become one of the fastest-growing segments of the advertising industry. According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, U.S. spending on creator-focused advertising is expected to reach $43.9 billion in 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing categories in media. Founded more than a decade ago, Whalar specializes in connecting brands with content creators and influencers across major social media platforms. The company said it has managed more than $600 million in creator campaigns spanning over 40 countries and 15 languages. Whalar's clients use the agency for influencer campaigns, ongoing creator programs and measurement services designed to assess the effectiveness of social media marketing. Following the acquisition, more than 170 employees based in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and Spain will join Accenture Song. Whalar Group, which also owns businesses including Sixteenth, Foam, Moby Ventures, The Lighthouse and The Busine...
The Global Justice Report offers a hopeful bargain: tax extreme wealth and replace consumer excess with social and economic security for all Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival, the Guardian reported last week. In an age of ecological dread, that is a bracingly hopeful claim. The opti...
The Global Justice Report offers a hopeful bargain: tax extreme wealth and replace consumer excess with social and economic security for all Humanity can raise living standards, reduce inequality and keep global heating within a 2C rise, according to a sweeping vision for planetary survival, the Guardian reported last week. In an age of ecological dread, that is a bracingly hopeful claim. The optimism came courtesy of the Global Justice Report, produced by Thomas Piketty’s World Inequality Lab. It arrives against the grain of the times. Anti‑migrant demagoguery, fossil-fuel revivalism, attacks on multilateralism and billionaire capture all militate against the redistributive state capacity that the report requires. Yet Prof Piketty’s team insists that decarbonisation, “sufficiency” and equality can mean a good life for most people. Continue reading...
Apple’s WWDC 2026 event kicked off this morning at 10 a.m. PT at Apple Park, starting a week full of expected announcements around Siri, iOS 27, Apple Intelligence and more, along with developer events and demos. This year’s event is particularly notable for a couple things. It marks CEO Tim Cook’s last with the company, […]
Apple’s WWDC 2026 event kicked off this morning at 10 a.m. PT at Apple Park, starting a week full of expected announcements around Siri, iOS 27, Apple Intelligence and more, along with developer events and demos. This year’s event is particularly notable for a couple things. It marks CEO Tim Cook’s last with the company, […]