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Companies Are Blaming AI for Record Layoffs, but Experts Question the Real Motive
- Market and economic conditions: 69,645 cuts
- Business closings: 66,733 cuts
- Corporate restructuring: 52,249 cuts
🚨 Big moves for the U.S. coal industry! President Trump just announced a nearly $700 million plan to support coal-fired power plants and boost exports. ⛏️⚡
🚨𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗡: Cash App just launched a new way to pay 👀
Not with a phone. Not with a card.
But with an NFC-powered accessory called the Cash App Wand.
The new device links directly to a user's Cash App Card and allows tap-to-pay anywhere Visa contactless payments are accepted.
Why launch a payment wand?
For Gen Z, payments are increasingly becoming part of personal identity and self-expression.
The first version comes as a pearlescent keychain that users can wear, clip, and carry everywhere.
According to Cash App:
• 1 in 5 American teens already has a Cash App Card
• 38% of Gen Z buy collectibles or limited-edition accessories every month
• More Tag designs are coming later this year
What's interesting is that Cash App isn't just launching a payment product.
It's experimenting with a new payment form factor.
The company says almost anything could eventually become a way to pay:
→ Keychains
→ Jewelry
→ Clothing
→ Other wearable accessories
As payments become increasingly invisible, Cash App is betting that some consumers want the exact opposite:
A payment experience that's visible, social, and part of their identity.
Anthropic is calling for a global pause on frontier AI development, warning that the technology is advancing faster than society’s ability to control it. The debate is growing sharper: how do we balance innovation, safety, and competition when AI is moving so quickly?
The bigger question is not just what AI can do, but how far we should let it go before the guardrails catch up.
A recent Supreme Court ruling over a fish oil-derived drug could ultimately reshape the landscape for generic drug pricing. The issue at hand is "skinny labeling," a pathway that allows generics to enter the market for unpatented uses more quickly and more cheaply. The U.S. unanimously rejected brand-name drugmaker Vascepa's claims of patent infringement of its brand-name drug, Vascepa, by generic drugmaker Hikma. The decision may help bolster market competition and lead to lower drug prices for U.S. patients and insurers.
Jane Street Group is in early-stage talks to construct a new data center to meet the growing demand for computing power in its trading operations, Bloomberg reports, citing anonymous sources. The firm is exploring partnerships with companies across the technology, crypto, and finance sectors. "We just can't get all the compute we want all in the same place," co-head of technology Ron Minsky said recently. Jane Street has invested heavily in artificial intelligence and has no shortage of capital.
S&P Global is keeping its rules for fast entry into major indices unchanged, posing a challenge for SpaceX ahead of its public market debut next week. Elon Musk's company is looking to upend the IPO process by involving retail investors and seeking early index inclusion. However, S&P rules stipulate companies must be traded for at least 12 months before inclusion in indices such as the S&P 500. Exceptions to entry criteria "should not be granted solely based on market capitalization," S&P Global said.
Shares of Lululemon slumped more than 10% in extended trading on Thursday after the company reduced its full-year sales and profit forecasts, citing weakening demand in North America. The company now expects fiscal 2026 sales of $11 billion to $11.15 billion, down from a prior forecast of $11.35 billion to $11.50 billion. Lululemon also said that "negative commentary in the media and on social channels" hurt sales, with interim CEO Meghan Frank pointing to the long-running proxy battle with founder Chip Wilson.
Economists predict a significant drop in hiring for May, signaling potential stagnation in the labor market amid rising layoffs and cautious hiring, CNBC reports. The monthly payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics out Friday is expected to show that employers added 80,000 jobs in May — a dip from 115,000 in April — and a steady unemployment rate of 4.3%. "We're continuing to hear and see the low-hire, low-fire sentiment," said one economist. The results may influence future Federal Reserve interest rate decisions.
Monterey Park, Calif., made history this week, becoming what is thought to be the first city in the U.S. to ban data centers, as residents passed a referendum measure by majority vote. The initiative was driven primarily by concerns over privacy and environmental issues. The local electorate's support for the ban is seen by some as a green light for other municipalities to adopt similar regulations. Advocates say it safeguards community interests from the influence of large technology firms, setting an important precedent.
Meta has repeatedly delayed the launch of its latest artificial intelligence model, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing anonymous sources. As of Tuesday, the Facebook parent had no release date scheduled, the sources said — even though it's been nearly two months since its AI chief told developers to expect the model "soon." This isn't the first time Meta has struggled to get its latest AI effort into users' hands: Last year, another one was reportedly delayed and then scrapped when engineers couldn't "significantly improve its capabilities."
As Wall Street counts down to SpaceX's initial public offering, banks behind the scenes have launched a race of their own — one where victory is measured in who gets top billing in the IPO prospectus, Bloomberg reports. After Goldman Sachs secured the lead spot, Morgan Stanley sent a note to clients clarifying that it, too, was co-lead and that the ordering was alphabetical. Meanwhile, Goldman's lobby soon featured silver rocket sculptures on black pedestals, one declaring it was "lead left bookrunner on the company’s IPO."
**✈️ American Airlines Suspends Select Routes This Summer Due to Soaring Jet Fuel Costs**
American Airlines is temporarily cutting some flights in August and September as the ongoing war with Iran continues to drive up jet fuel prices.
In a statement, the airline said it has adjusted service on “select routes” (reportedly six, many involving Los Angeles) and will offer impacted passengers alternative flights or full refunds. They emphasized these are **temporary** changes and not permanent route cuts, noting they still operate the largest U.S. network.
Why is this happening?
Jet fuel — which makes up ~30% of airline costs — has skyrocketed. A barrel recently averaged nearly **$142**, far above pre-war levels of around $99. Disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have tightened supplies, and many carriers worldwide are trimming schedules, raising fees, and cutting perks to cope.
Travelers are already facing higher fares and fewer options this summer. The ripple effects are hitting gas prices, food costs, and more.
🇺🇸 Jobless Claims Hit 4-Month High — But Here's Why You Shouldn't Panic (Yet)
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits just hit 225,000 — the highest level since February 📈
That's up 13,000 from the week before, and it beat what analysts expected (211,000).
BUT… let's keep some perspective 👇
✅ Layoffs are still historically low
✅ The unemployment rate sits at just 4.3%
✅ This is what economists call a "low-hire, low-fire" economy — people aren't getting fired, but they're also not getting hired easily
So what's going on? 🤔
🔥 The Iran war is shaking things up. Oil prices are up ~50%. Gas is now averaging **
🏦 The Fed is stuck. Rates are staying put. Some policymakers are even talking about a RATE HIKE because inflation won't cool down.
🤖 AI is changing the game. Companies like Verizon, UPS, Amazon, Disney, Starbucks & Walmart have all been cutting jobs.
📉 Hiring has been slowing for 2 years. Employers added fewer than 200K jobs last year vs. 1.5 million in 2024.
The bottom line? 🚨
The job market isn't crashing — but it's not thriving either. It's stuck. And with war, inflation, tariffs, and AI all colliding at once… the next few months are going to be interesting.
What are YOU seeing in your industry? Drop a comment 👇
Meta has been LYING to you about face recognition. 👀
They said they "sunsetted" face recognition in 2021. They deleted over a BILLION faceprints. They paid $650 MILLION in lawsuits. They told the public they were still "thinking through" whether to bring it back.
Meanwhile? They've been quietly shipping face-recognition code to MILLIONS of phones since January.
It's called NameTag — buried inside the Meta AI app (50M+ downloads) that powers Ray-Ban and Oakley smart glasses.
Here's what it does:
🤳 Captures faces through your glasses
🧬 Turns them into biometric "faceprints"
🔍 Matches them against a database on YOUR phone — fed by Meta's servers
🔔 Alerts you when it recognizes someone
Security researchers actually TESTED it. They uploaded a photo of a DEAD FRENCH PHILOSOPHER (Michel Foucault) into the app… and it said "Person recognized." ✅
The system is basically ready to go. They just haven't flipped the switch — YET.
When 70+ privacy groups demanded they kill it in April, Meta said: "Our competitors offer this, we do not. If we were to release it, we'd take a very thoughtful approach."
Translation: We already built it. We're just waiting for the right moment.
Internal docs show they planned to roll it out during a "dynamic political environment" — basically, when their critics would be too busy to notice.
This isn't about helping blind users recognize faces (that's the cover story). This is about turning every person wearing Ray-Ban Meta glasses into a walking surveillance camera — and storing that data on YOUR phone, synced with Meta's servers.
They deleted faceprints in 2021 because of backlash. Now they're rebuilding the same system in secret.
The question isn't whether Meta WILL turn this on.
It's whether you'll even know when they do. 🚩