The world in a glance.

Trump names former SEC head Jay Clayton as US intelligence chief

President has faced backlash in Congress over his pick of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence

World Cup travel boost hasn't materialized for U.S. businesses — yet

The expected travel boom from the World Cup is looking like it will be a city-by-city, match-by-match test of pricing power.

The AI public market floodgates are opening

The huge sums that Wall Street is about to be asked for look like being only a down payment

A will isn’t enough: 3 ways to help your loved ones before you die

There are countless ways to mess up estate planning — even if you’re organized.

Trump vows to take ‘total control’ of Iran’s oil and gas markets

US president says American forces will also seize control of key export hub Kharg Island

Oracle’s stock is seeing its worst run in a quarter-century as this key AI debate rages on

While Oracle’s cloud-infrastructure business is growing rapidly, a massive $95 billion spending plan and a physical bottleneck in data-center deliveries are giving investors pause.

Elections advertising spend for 2026 expected to reach record high, outpacing presidential years

High-profile 2026 midterm races in California, Texas and other key states are driving higher spend earlier in the cycle, AdImpact found.

Trump says U.S. will take Iran’s oil-export hub Kharg Island. Here’s what his threat really means.

Oil prices climbed toward session highs Thursday after President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran and said the U.S. would take control of the country’s oil and gas…

Social Security insolvency is ‘entirely solvable,’ says commissioner under Biden

The solution is simple — but it won’t be easy.

ECB raises interest rates for first time since 2023

Central bank is first in G7 to increase borrowing costs in response to Middle East energy crisis

SpaceX soon-to-be millionaires are set to spend big on luxury homes, watches and private jet travel

SpaceX employees have to wait to sell their shares, but many are already planning how to spend their windfalls.

Beyond SpaceX: Here's where family offices see buying opportunities in the space economy

Personal investment firms of the ultra-rich are interested in space startups even without Elon Musk's name attached.

Jeff Bezos says AI will bring ‘golden ages’ not mass job losses

Amazon founder lays out vision for new $41bn AI lab Prometheus

Russia ‘not looking for conflict’, says Nato’s top US commander

General Grynkewich’s remarks come as Washington withdraws key assets from Europe

India protests to US after three sailors killed in tanker attack

New Delhi calls for ‘de-escalation’ in Gulf but appears to have little appetite for diplomatic confrontation with Washington

Planning to ‘flip’ SpaceX IPO shares? Be prepared to pay the price.

A large portion of IPO shares will be allocated to retail investors, but they face penalties if they sell too soon.

UK defence secretary resigns over spending plan

John Healey says Keir Starmer ‘unable’ and Treasury ‘unwilling’ to provide essential budget

Big Tech is preventing new stock-market highs as investors change the way they play AI, says this top strategist

Nomura’s Charlie McElligott says investors are finally waking up to the problems with a market that is too concentrated on AI leadership.

RIP Euro summer: Americans are trading Tuscany for Tacoma, thanks to soaring airfares

Surging airfares have made it harder for price-conscious travelers to justify summer vacations in Europe — and many are opting to travel within the U.S. instead.

ECB raises interest rates by quarter point to 2.25%

Central bank is first in G7 to increase borrowing costs in response to Middle East energy crisis

As artificial-intelligence capital expenditures rise, so do the risks for AI stocks, Goldman Sachs tells investors

Forecasts of $920 billion in AI-related capex in 2027 are likely too conservative.

Gold sinks to 6-month low as speculative investors exit

Bullion set for worst quarter in almost a decade as Iran war, expectations of US rate rises and SpaceX IPO weigh on price

My wife and I are 61. We have $2.2 million and $5,000 in Social Security benefits. Do we claim early?

“We need our assets and income to support us for the next 25 years.”

After more than a year, ‘Superman’ star Nicholas Hoult finally sells $2.2 million L.A. home at a big loss

The actor was forced to take a rather hefty loss on the sale of the Hollywood Hills home, which he purchased for $2.33 million in 2018.

Markets are pricing in a rate hike by the European Central Bank — which one top economist sees as a ‘mistake in the making’

The decision to raise interest rates would mark the central bank’s first in almost three years.

US and Iran exchange fresh wave of strikes

Oil price rises as Washington and Tehran send mixed signals over status of the Strait of Hormuz

Kathy Ruemmler helps search for her own replacement as Goldman’s top lawyer

Bank’s decision to back executive after she resigned from the role over ties to Jeffrey Epstein sparked internal divisions

Can Europe build a new fighter jet after Germany scraps joint venture?

Collapse of €100bn project with France leaves countries at a crossroads

Emirates to offer insurance to tempt passengers back to Dubai

Airline will fly people home if they are stranded, says carrier’s president Tim Clark

China cancels high-level meetings with EU

Abrupt scrapping of two sets of planned talks in Beijing comes as tensions grow between trade superpowers

EU countries weigh ‘tearing apart’ bloc’s diplomatic service

Chief diplomat Kaja Kallas and her EEAS are in capitals’ crosshairs over leadership and co-ordination issues

Iran war tightens ‘super-squeeze’ in metals markets

Copper and aluminium had been rallying before Middle East conflict hit supply

How SpaceX could pull millions of savers into Musk’s orbit

The world’s richest man is shooting for Mars. Ordinary people are coming along for the ride

We will need a new tax code for the wealth AI creates

The question isn’t whether mass underemployment arrives but whether we have a policy framework ready when it does

My plumber charged $160 to fix the cistern on my toilet — but created another problem. Do I pay again?

“The cistern on my toilet has been constantly refilling and making a hissing noise.”

US launches fresh wave of strikes on Iran

Tehran announces Strait of Hormuz will be closed ‘until further notice’ in response to American operation

When a World Cup team loses, its country’s stock market also goes down. Here’s the weird reason why.

Soccer’s premier tournament brings a hidden danger to your investment portfolio.

Oracle’s stock slides after earnings, as the steep price of AI spooks investors

Oracle blew past earnings expectations and grew its contract pipeline to $638 billion, but Wall Street is concerned about its rising AI costs.

Micron, Intel drag the tech sector into a new bearish phase. Will the correction last this time?

The selloff in the tech sector that has heightened investor anxiety over the past week graduated to a new phase on Wednesday: The pullback is over, and it’s now officially a…

Lockheed Martin cannot say when US allies will get Patriot missiles

Top executive says arms maker does not control allocation of PAC-3 interceptors, despite tripling production

Bitcoin bulls are still around. These charts show they just moved on to hotter markets.

Traders who once bet on crypto have not stopped gambling on the next big market story — they just are not finding that story in crypto itself.

Worried that big IPOs will torpedo the stock market? These factors suggest otherwise.

The stock market typically performs well leading up to and during periods when companies are issuing new stocks, according to Deutsche Bank.

‘It will not bring you happiness’: I have advice for your single, childless 62-year-old multimillionaire reader

“Go to Walmart and pay off someone’s layaway account.”

My plumber charged $160 to fix the cistern on my toilet — but created another problem. Do I pay again?

“The cistern on my toilet has been constantly refilling and making a hissing noise.”

Social Security is facing a 22% cliff — 4 ways to build an income stream Washington can’t touch

The countdown to insolvency is accelerating — and the rules of retirement planning just broke.

‘I feel like I’m living a lie’: My husband and I pretend we’re strapped for cash in front of friends. Is that bad?

“I’ve found that acting ‘normal’ means others treat me like one of the group.”

Thinking about insider trading on prediction markets? Kalshi wants to make an example of you.

Prediction-market companies are identifying hundreds of cases of suspected insider trading.

Trump suggests he may not renew trade deal with Mexico and Canada

‘We don’t need anything that they have,’ US president says of 2020 trilateral agreement

Trump’s pick to lead statistics agency disputes president’s faked data claims

Brett Matsumoto tells US lawmakers that Bureau of Labor Statistics’ reports are driven by science rather than politics

Amazon lines up another $17.5 billion for AI as its debt pile grows further

The tech giant has now raised over $80 billion in external financing this year alone, with no signs of slowing down.