06 Market

Trump is right to threaten tariffs over European digital tax extortion– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser July 1, 2026 0

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Often untethered to unfair foreign trade practices, President Donald Trump’s fetish for tariffs is foolish. Tariffs reduce prosperity and opportunity for the vast majority of the public in order to benefit far smaller numbers of Americans in specific industries. Still, tariffs have value when it comes to penalizing unfair economic activity by U.S. trade partners. Trump is thus right to now threaten new tariffs on the European Union and European nations over their threat to American technology companies.

In a social media post last Friday, Trump warned that European countries were discussing the “imminent” introduction of digital services taxes on U.S. technology giants. He added that any “country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the [U.S.].” While Trump’s 100% tariff rate is arbitrary, he is right to warn of robust action. Contrary to their claims of justified regulation, the European digital taxes in question serve a simple and wholly unjustified purpose: extorting American companies.

Oil price falls to levels not seen since before Iran war– www.bbc.co.uk

pgnewser June 25, 2026 0

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Representatives from the two sides met in Switzerland last weekend for talks to end the war, which resulted in the US partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz has risen significantly since the MOU was signed, according to maritime intelligence firm Kpler.

Its latest data suggests 284 vessels have made the transit from 18 June, the day after the deal was signed, although that is is still well below the pre-conflict average of some 138 crossings each day.

House Advances Bipartisan Bill to Make Tech Giants Pay AI Data Center Power Costs– www.westernjournal.com

pgnewser June 25, 2026 0

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Technology companies that propose to build data centers to provide the computing power for artificial intelligence would have to pay any costs to upgrade local power grids under a bill that took a step forward in the House on Wednesday

The Ratepayer Protection Act, H.R. 9340, would authorize states to charge companies building data centers the full cost of new power generation to support the electricity-gobbling centers and transmission upgrades.

The Subcommittee on Energy, a panel that is part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, moved the bill, which had bipartisan support, forward. The full committee will now consider it.

U.S. issues sweeping Iran oil sanctions waivers, unlocking billions in revenue for Tehran– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser June 25, 2026 0

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The U.S. has issued a sweeping rollback of sanctions on Iranian oil, allowing dollar-denominated trade for the first time in more than four decades, as Washington and Tehran press on with fragile talks toward a permanent peace deal.

The U.S. Treasury on Monday issued a wide-ranging 60-day exemption allowing Iran to produce and sell crude oil, petrochemical and petroleum products in U.S. dollars through Aug. 21.

Under the so-called General License X, vessels and entities previously subject to U.S. sanctions are also cleared for transactions. The waiver also theoretically reopens the door to U.S. imports of Iranian crude, a trade which has effectively collapsed since the 1990s under the weight of heavy sanctions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Getty Images accused AI of wholesale theft. It’s now an official ChatGPT image partner.– www.digitaltrends.com

pgnewser June 25, 2026 1

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The AI industry’s most fascinating stories often come from unlikely alliances, and this is certainly one of them. Getty Images, a company that has spent years raising concerns about how AI models are trained and how creative work is used, is now officially partnering with OpenAI.

The new agreement will allow Getty Images’ licensed content to appear across ChatGPT’s search and discovery experiences. That means users may begin seeing Getty’s professionally licensed photos and visual assets integrated into ChatGPT responses, adding more visual context to searches and AI-generated answers. Getty says the goal is to make AI-powered search more useful and trustworthy by relying on high-quality, licensed content rather than the murky sourcing practices that have sparked countless debates across the AI industry.

Inflation, AI Job Losses Weigh Down Economy – dc.report

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

Bank of America is predicting the Federal Reserve will issue rate hikes by the end of this year in response to rising inflation. They are predicting a three-quarter-point increase in the benchmark rate. General Motors replaced 1,000 workers with “collaborative robots” in one plant alone. Oracle revealed it replaced 21,000 workers with AI solutions so far this year. The loss of jobs through technology, rising inflation, and potential rate hikes portend a poor-performing economy leading up to the November 2026 Midterm elections.

Go Deeper

Meta Pauses Employee-Tracking Program Following Internal Data Leak– www.wired.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Meta is pausing a divisive employee tracking program after an internal security issue exposed potentially sensitive data collected through the initiative to other workers.

“We have carefully designed this program with privacy safeguards and while we have no indication at this time that any data was improperly accessed by Meta employees, we’re pausing it while we investigate,” says company spokesperson Tracy Clayton.

Meta rolled out the Model Compatibility Initiative (MCI) tool in April to US employees. The tool “collects computer inputs such as mouse movements, click locations and keystrokes, as well as screen content,” according to workers who have been petitioning against it over privacy, security, and personal liberty concerns. When MCI first launched, employees couldn’t opt out, but that changed to a limited degree after workers protested.

Meta executives have repeatedly defended the data-gathering project, saying it was necessary to train AI systems to operate computer software the way humans do and that employees were the best examples for the artificial intelligence to learn from.

Trump Admin Makes New Move to Beef Up American Manufacturing– www.dailysignal.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—In an effort to beef up America’s manufacturing and reduce reliance on foreign companies, the Export-Import Bank, a federal credit agency, is unveiling a new loan opportunity for manufacturers.

Specifically, the bank is now “offering lender guarantees of up to 90% on equipment loans and operating leases” to American small and medium-sized manufacturers, a move it says will accelerate “the reindustrialization of America.“

The bank, which was established in 1934, seeks to provide financing for American exporters to give them a competitive advantage.

The announcement of the initiative comes after the National Security Council—which advises the president on military and foreign policy—held a round table discussion Monday with the heads of EXIM, the Department of Commerce, and the Small Business Administration on the topic of reindustrialization.

“For too long, the United States has relied on foreign production of machine tools and manufacturing machines,” reads an EXIM document explaining the project.

The Social Security Crisis Is Even Worse Than We Thought– thefederalist.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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The Social Security Administration recently announced that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance trust fund will run out of money in late 2032. The government will no longer be able to pay retirees their full promised benefits at that time.

The new date is earlier than previously expected: The deadline has been moving steadily closer to the present as revenues fall short of the government’s projections. The Medicare trust fund will run out of money in 2033, as well.

This is a rapidly approaching crisis for retirees, prospective retirees, taxpayers, the government, the U.S. economy, and recipients of government welfare benefits. When the Social Security trust fund runs out of money six years from now (or earlier), the projected income from payroll taxes will cover only 78 percent of promised benefits. The government will have to borrow more money, reduce benefits, raise taxes, extend the retirement age, and/or cut other spending. Most of those options would be inflationary, recessionary, or both.

The draining of the Social Security trust fund is a short-term crisis that has arisen from a long-term problem, as is the case with so many of our nation’s current troubles.

Oil prices fall as investors mull Middle East developments– www.cnbc.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Commercial vessels and oil tankers preparing to transit through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most critical strategic waterways for global trade flows, maintain their wait in the Gulf of Oman, on June 17, 2026.

Oil fell Tuesday, reversing slight gains at the start of the session, as investors showed cautious optimism about an end to the conflict in the Middle East.

International benchmark Brent crude futures for August fell 1.57% to $76.68 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for August declined 1.53% to $72.73 per barrel.

EU bets on digital euro to cut US tech addiction– www.channelnewsasia.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) believes a digital euro is the answer to cutting its addiction to United States payment systems like Visa and Mastercard, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay, as the bloc seeks to favour European firms over others.

Brussels hopes it could provide an alternative local option for any payments in shops or online since people could easily pay, just like other systems, using a card, an app or via their banking app.

The EU will move one step closer on Tuesday (Jun 23) to creating a digital euro when EU lawmakers hold a long-awaited vote on the virtual currency.

California drivers sue gas stations for allegedly using AI to inflate prices | California– www.theguardian.com

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Gas ⁠station ​operators including BP, Circle K, Marathon, 7-Eleven, Walmart and Albertsons were sued on Monday by California drivers ⁠who accused them of using artificial intelligence to boost prices at the pump.

According to a proposed class action, the defendants ⁠violated California’s main antitrust law, the Cartwright Act, by using an AI-based tool that ​uses data from competing gas ‌stations to “coordinate high prices ‌and wring more money from the pockets of consumers”.

The lawsuit in the ‌Sacramento federal court said the scheme violated assembly bill 325, a California law that took effect on 1 January and was intended to crack down on algorithmic price fixing.

‘We Will Fight to Our Very Last Breath:’ Township Leaders Vow to Fight Nuclear AI Data Center– www.404media.co

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Board members of a small township in Michigan agreed to “fight to our very last breath” against an AI data center planned in their community. America’s nuclear scientists and the University of Michigan want to build a massive data center in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. If built, the data center will, among other things, run simulations to help America build nuclear weapons.

The residents of Ypsilanti Township overwhelmingly oppose the construction of the data center and voiced their opposition to the computer warehouse during a public board meeting on June 16. In a show of support that’s often rare from local leaders in communities with data centers, Ypsilanti Township’s board vowed to fight UofM and Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is partnering with the university, with everything they had.

Why More Data Centers Might Mean Cheaper Electricity | American Enterprise Institute– www.aei.org

pgnewser June 23, 2026 0

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Economics is full of counterintuitive insights. Rent control can make housing less affordable. Business failures can strengthen an economy. And, yes, higher demand can sometimes lower prices. That’s a possibility worth remembering in the ongoing debates over data centers and electricity bills.

It sure seems like we’re going to build a whole lot more data centers in this country—at least, that’s what Wall Street is expecting. JPMorgan just raised its forecast for data-center capacity growth to 138 gigawatts through 2030, up from 122 gigawatts in its forecast last November. The bank also said it expects $5.5 trillion in AI-related capex through 2030, up from its previous forecast of $5.1 trillion.

Stellantis’ China gamble could reshape America’s auto industry forever– www.theblaze.com

pgnewser June 18, 2026 0

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Chinese cars are a security risk.

That’s the message Washington has been sending the American consumer: Cheaper vehicles aren’t worth exposing sensitive data to theft. Hence the massive tariffs aimed at China.

The difference is that Stellantis is now openly telling investors that these partnerships are central to its long-term strategy.

But while America was focused on keeping brands like BYD and NIO out of local dealerships, the global auto industry quietly found another way in.

And Stellantis just made that strategy official.