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Intelligence for the New World Economy
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Meta cashes in on its excesses
Meta is building a cloud computing business and plans to sell excess compute to its competitors.
Meta cashes in on its excesses
Meta is building a cloud computing business and plans to sell excess compute to its competitors.
View / Europe should build AI – and fear it, too
View / The decline of the impeachment voter, and other midterm lessons so far
The World at a Glance
Updated 6:58pm EDT
1
US Fed Chair Kevin Warsh signaled inflation remains too high for his liking, but declined to offer hints on future action from the central bank.
2Russia is starting to import gasoline from India, a sign of the severity of Moscow’s fuel shortages.
3The recent surge in commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz could give the US additional leverage in talks with Iran, analysts said.
4Global chaos isn’t spreading, but is highly localized to ‘a handful of highly repressive, war-torn states,’ a new report argued.
5Anthropic is rolling back spyware-like code it implemented to track whether users are affiliated with Chinese AI labs.
6US regulators allowed Philip Morris to advertise its Zyn oral nicotine pouches as less harmful than cigarettes, a marketing win for the tobacco giant.
Trump earned $1.4 billion from crypto in 2025
The US president’s earnings while in office have led to accusations of brazen corruption at the top of American politics.
LA is running $1.7 billion short for its ‘car-free’ Olympics
California lawmakers fear Washington won’t move transportation money in time.
Amazon’s rising carbon footprint ‘not a one-year story,’ CSO says
Despite the bump, the company remains confident it can hit its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the head of sustainability told Semafor.
El-Sayed unloads on media, Democratic criticism
The Michigan Senate candidate rising in the polls talks to Semafor.
Progressives grapple with old tweets
A candidate in Michigan is explaining why he deleted past posts expressing support for ‘defund the police.’
Bennet loses bid for Colorado governor as progressives keep momentum
Progressive Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., became the third incumbent to lose this year to a challenger to her left.
Ebola outbreak could cost Africa $3.6 billion
The UN’s worst-case scenario involved the outbreak spreading beyond DR Congo and Uganda.
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Politics
Warsh keeps his interest rate cards close
He told attendees of the European Central Bank Forum on Wednesday that attempts to get him to “break this rule” were “going to fail.”
Pedro Rocha/Reuters
Lawmakers want rideshare liability shield dropped
A bipartisan group objected to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Vince Fong, R-Calif., that would limit rideshare companies’ vicarious liability,
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The decline of the impeachment voter, and other midterm lessons so far
The first half of the 2026 primary season has seen progressives — and Trump — win big.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
El-Sayed unloads on media, Democratic criticism
The Michigan Senate candidate rising in the polls talks to Semafor.
Progressives grapple with old tweets
A candidate in Michigan is explaining why he deleted past posts expressing support for ‘defund the police.’
US expected not to extend USMCA agreement
Mexico City and Ottawa have tried repeatedly to reach an agreement with Washington to prolong the deal, under which $2 trillion is traded annually.
US students face new loan rules
The overhaul, which originated from Republicans’ tax law, will affect millions of borrowers.
US urges patience as Machado plots her return
The Venezuelan opposition leader’s efforts to return to her country have prompted angst within the Trump administration in recent days.
Republicans back Trump’s USMCA punt
President Donald Trump has been vocally critical of the agreement he struck in his first term.
LA is running $1.7 billion short for its ‘car-free’ Olympics
California lawmakers fear Washington won’t move transportation money in time.
Bennet loses bid for Colorado governor as progressives keep momentum
Progressive Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., became the third incumbent to lose this year to a challenger to her left.
Business
Win for Zyn nicotine pouches
US regulators allowed Philip Morris to advertise its Zyn oral nicotine pouches as less harmful than cigarettes.
Mike Segar/File Photo/Reuters
Warsh joins other central bankers in opposing forward guidance
The US Federal Reserve chair also signaled inflation remains too high for his liking, but declined to offer hints on what the central bank might do later this month.
US private employers added 98,000 jobs in June
The numbers indicate a pullback in hiring from May.
US stocks wrap up best quarter since 2020
Chip stocks in particular soared thanks to a global memory shortage stemming from the AI boom.
Susquehanna seeks $70M for insider trading
Susquehanna Investment Group sued 100 unnamed defendants who it says placed suspicious trades before Beijing last month targeted three online brokers popular with mainland Chinese investors trading foreign stocks.
Technology
Anthropic rolls back China tracking code
A cybersecurity newsletter reported that the Claude Code feature covertly tracked and transmitted information based on a user’s timezone and potential connection to certain Chinese tech companies.
Yves Herman/Reuters
Europe should build AI – and fear it, too
If Europe doesn’t change course on AI, it risks becoming an economic backwater, asset-stripped and descending into anarchy, according to the research project Europe 2031.
Bruna Casas/Reuters
Gavin Newsom treads the line
As politicians attempt to rein in the power of the tech companies, they’re increasingly relying on AI products.
Meta cashes in on its excesses
Meta is building a cloud computing business and plans to sell excess compute to its competitors.
US considers ending ban on supersonic flights
US regulators are considering lifting the 53-year-old ban due to the fact that supersonic aircraft may soon be available without the the deafening boom.
Australia toughens social media ban
The country doubled the maximum penalty imposed on social media companies that fail to comply with the ban on under-16 users, as evidence grew that children are circumventing restrictions.
Energy
Renewed oil flows give US leverage
The future of the Strait of Hormuz is hanging over the indirect talks in Qatar this week.
Stringer/File Photo/Reuters
Russia imports gas from India
The shipments mark a shift in the countries’ energy dynamic.
Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
Amazon’s rising carbon footprint ‘not a one-year story,’ CSO says
Despite the bump, the company remains confident it can hit its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040, the head of sustainability told Semafor.
Amazon’s Kara Hurst at a Semafor event in January 2026. Firebird Films/Semafor.
Gulf
Renewed oil flows give US leverage
The future of the Strait of Hormuz is hanging over the indirect talks in Qatar this week.
Stringer/File Photo/Reuters
UAE oil exports hit a high amid Iran war
The country took advantage of its exit from OPEC and skirted Iranian threats in the Strait of Hormuz.
Kuwaiti telecom Zain Group lands Syria mobile license
The group plans to invest more than $1.5 billion over the next decade to upgrade and operate a mobile network in Syria.
Qatar reviews workers’ rights
Qatar overhauled its labor laws, adding provisions that allow for part-time and freelance work to be regulated, and others that make it harder to launch strikes.
US advisory firm A&M looks to win rivals’ market share in Gulf
The consultancy sees Gulf revenue surging despite the headwinds of war and a spending slowdown.
China
Anthropic rolls back China tracking code
A cybersecurity newsletter reported that the Claude Code feature covertly tracked and transmitted information based on a user’s timezone and potential connection to certain Chinese tech companies.
Yves Herman/Reuters
How climate affects US-China competition
Extreme weather — and mitigation against it — will shape the future of competition between the US and China, two experts wrote in Foreign Affairs.
Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
European tech leaders more worried about US than China
“The sharp edge of the tech discussion here is actually aimed at the US,” Jacob Kirkegaard, at the Brussels think tank Bruegel, told Semafor.
Merz visits China in February. Andres Martinez Casares/Pool via Reuters
Africa
The danger of South Africa’s fragile anti-migrant protests
The country’s major cities saw anti-migrant demonstrations that were largely devoid of violence, but there were promises of more protests.
Rogan Ward/Reuters
Rising fuel costs boost African EV sales
In most African markets, Chinese EVs cost the same as their internal combustion engine alternatives, according to research firm BMI.
Monicah Mwangi/Reuters
Nairobi, Kigali sign fuel import agreements
Landlocked Rwanda relies almost entirely on overland transit of fuel from ports in Kenya and Tanzania.
World Bank lends $750 million to Kenya
The financing will help Kenya fund a $37 billion budget, a third of which is allocated to servicing the country’s nearly $100 billion debt.
Senegal lawmakers move to limit presidential powers
The move signifies a deepening political turmoil as the nation grapples with a debt crisis.
Ebola outbreak could cost Africa $3.6 billion
The UN’s worst-case scenario involved the outbreak spreading beyond DR Congo and Uganda.
Security
South Africa braces for wave of anti-migrant violence
Thousands of migrants are fleeing South Africa as the country braces for violence after an anti-immigrant group set a Tuesday deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave.
Ihsaan Haffejee/Reuters
Putin acknowledges ‘difficult period’ as Ukraine ramps up attacks
Kyiv struck a Russian defense plant and set fire to a major oil refinery as part of its efforts to weaken Moscow’s wartime economy.
Stringer/Reuters
Russia’s fuel crisis worsens
Fuel prices at Russia’s airports have spiked 17% in June.
Stringer/Reuters
Media
Daily Wire, under pressure, seeks strategic investors, targets IPO
The Daily Wire is in talks to take on at least $100 million in investment, with an eye on an initial public offering in a few years’ time.
REUTERS/Cheney Orr
OpenAI’s $100 billion ad bet
The tech giant rolled out new tools for creatives.
The Atlantic beefs up its video podcasts
One of America’s oldest magazines is investing in video after seeing notable growth in its audience.
David Droga on AI and the end of ‘mediocre’ human-made ads
As he sees it, the advertising industry is in the throes of a profound technological shift.
Conservatives make the case for right-wing ads at Cannes Lions
The Daily Wire and others are offering an overtly partisan alternative to advertising gatherings that often stay far away from politics.
CEO Signal
How Antonio Neri turned HPE into an unlikely AI stock
The veteran dealmaker says he’s ‘building the best networking business on the planet’.
Courtesy of HPE/Graph Massara/Semafor
Former IEA chief says world faces a ‘third oil shock’ despite US-Iran deal
Nobuo Tanaka says the Hormuz crisis has accelerated a seismic shift in the global energy order, but business leaders can learn from it.
Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
How a marathon-running CEO set the pace for Cigna
David Cordani says the insurer had to “actively listen” to rebuild trust with its customers.
Courtesy of Cigna/Graph Massara/Semafor
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