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States sue over sale of 23andMe data

Dozens of states are suing to block the sale of genetic data by bankrupt company 23andMe without customer consent. The states claim the data could be stored long after the customer dies and the sale of it would violate the states’ individual privacy policies.

Boeing shares fall on deadly crash

Boeing shares fell more than 5% on Thursday following the deadly crash of Air India Flight 171. The tragic incident marks the first time that the Dreamliner 787 model from the airplane manufacturer was involved in a major crash.

Franklin Resources CEO: Digital assets are the future

Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Resources (No. 453 on the Fortune 500), argues that the blockchain is “the future” in a new op-ed for Fortune. “We expect our industry will evolve more in the next five years than in the last 50,” Johnson writes.

Israel attacks Iran, hitting nuclear sites

Israel attacked Iran’s capital in strikes that targeted the country’s nuclear program and killed at least two top military officers, raising the potential for an all-out war between the two Middle East adversaries. Iran has responded with more than 100 drones so far.

China delays chip merger amid trade war

China's antitrust regulator is delaying a $35 billion U.S. semiconductor industry merger between Synopsys, a chip design tools maker, and the engineering software developer Ansys, the Financial Times reports. The move comes after President Trump tightened chip export controls in a move that exacerbated trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

Trump says he may 'have to force' a rate cut

Trump called Fed chair Jay Powell a “numbskull” for not cutting interest rates and said the White House might “have to force something” if the central bank does not reduce borrowing costs. Trump did not specify what he meant by “force.”

Oil prices surge on Israel strikes

Crude oil futures jumped as much as 13% Thursday evening after Israel launched airstrikes against Iran, sparking worries about supply from the oil-rich Middle East. At risk is the oil supply from both Iran and other regional players that could be drawn into the conflict.

Meta invests $14.3 billion in Scale AI

Meta plans to invest $14.3 billion in the startup Scale AI, which works with data to train artificial intelligence systems, to add muscle to its AI division. Scale AI’s 28-year-old CEO Alexandr Wang will join Meta in a leadership role in what Meta is calling its Superintelligence lab. 

S&P 500 futures sunk 1.2% before the opening bell this morning, falling below the 6,000 mark. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% yesterday. The index is up 2.8% YTD. Globally, investors were down on the Israel-Iran attack: All the major Asian indexes fell, with the Nikkei dropping 0.9%. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.9% in early trading, while other European markets followed it down.

Convera on the weak USD: “A double hit of disappointing trade news and heightened Fed rate cut expectations fueled a broad-based selloff in the dollar this week. The greenback fell against all G10 currencies, with the Bloomberg Dollar Index sliding as much as 0.8% yesterday, one of its weakest levels in three years… Soft inflation data has reinforced expectations of further easing. Core CPI rose just 0.1% month-over-month, while PPI remained muted at +0.1% for May, pushing traders to price in additional rate cuts ahead of the Fed’s June 18 meeting. Despite this, the dollar still holds a yield advantage against its peers, leading some to argue that the sharp decline may be overdone. However, we suspect that recent speculations over the next Fed chair have likely amplified the bearish move. Whether Bessent or another Trump appointee takes the helm, a more dovish stance seems inevitable, reinforcing the case that downward pressure on the dollar could prove more lasting than anticipated,” per Antonio Ruggiero.

UBS on Fed rate cuts: “US consumer price inflation in May came out softer than expected, with both the headline and core measures of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising 0.1% month over month. Core services inflation, which excludes energy prices, continues to trend lower, helped by moderating shelter inflation. But we expect to see more noticeable price increases in the months ahead as inventories built before the new tariffs hit are used up and more of the cost is passed through into retail prices. While our base case is for the Fed to resume policy easing in September, our view remains that the US central bank will need to see weaker labor market data in order to do so. This means that further interest rate cuts could be delayed if payroll growth remains solid while tariffs are pushing up inflation,” per Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi et al.

Deutsche Bank on Israel attack and oil prices: “The news has led to significant fears about an escalation and a wider regional conflict. For instance, Iran’s armed forces spokesperson said that Israel and the US will receive a ‘harsh blow’ in response, and Iran’s Supreme Leader said Israel ‘should expect a severe punishment.’ In turn, oil prices have surged on the news, with Brent crude up +9.00% this morning to $75.60/bbl. If sustained, that would be the biggest daily jump in oil prices since May 2020, as the global economy was recovering from the Covid lockdowns. And that’s slightly down from the overnight peak, when prices reached $78.50/bbl,” per Jim Reid.