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Trump slaps new tariffs on drones, including from some key U.S. allies – National– globalnews.ca
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will impose tariffs on imports of drones and their components, including from some key U.S. allies, with the Trump administration saying the country was “too reliant” on foreign sources of drones.

A proclamation signed by Trump imposes a 100% ad valorem tariff on drones of a certain size or with certain capabilities that are particularly sensitive for national security purposes, the White House said, adding that a tariff of 25% will be imposed on drones that are smaller in size.

A 15% tariff will be imposed on drones and components from the European Union, Japan, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Switzerland, and Taiwan, and a 10% ad valorem tariff will be imposed on drones from the UK, the White House added.

Trump has made tariffs a central pillar of his foreign and trade policies despite legal setbacks and criticism from some analysts.

Paramount weighs moving CBS News out of NYC amid merger battle with AGs Letitia James, Rob Bonta: report | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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CBS News employs roughly 1200 people worldwide with a large portion based in the Big Apple.

Paramount CEO David Ellison is reportedly considering moving CBS News out of New York City as the company’s legal fight with its state attorney general over its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery heats up.

Sources close to Paramount told The New York Post that moving CBS would give Elison greater leverage against the California Attorney General led coalition of 12 states looking to block the merger.

CBS News employs roughly 1,200 people worldwide with a large portion based in the Big Apple. A massive relocation would no doubt have a major impact on jobs and the city’s media industry.

One media executive familiar with Paramount’s plans said Ellison could potentially move CBS News operations to Atlanta, where CNN is headquartered. The possible relocation is being considered as part of emergency plans if Paramount’s legal fight with state officials continues long past October.

The CBS Broadcast Center in Manhattan could also be sold for billions of dollars, according to a source close to the company.

Japan’s economy slows, missing growth forecasts | Business and Economy– www.aljazeera.com
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Japan’s economy has slowed in the second quarter of the year amid moribund consumption and capital spending, according to official figures.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.3 percent in the April-June period from the first quarter, data released by Japan’s Cabinet Office on Monday showed. It was the third consecutive expansion but was down from 0.5 percent growth in the previous quarter and missed the 0.5 percent growth analysts had forecast.

On an annualised basis, the world’s fourth-largest economy expanded 1.1 percent.

A survey of 37 economists conducted by the Japan Center for Economic Research, a think tank, had forecast an annualised expansion of 1.67 percent.

Private consumption was flat in real terms while capital expenditures fell 1.2 percent, or 4.6 percent on an annualised basis, offsetting strong exports, according to the data.

A Federal lawsuit against social media giant Meta has been settled. Meta has agreed to pay $16.7 billion in an agreement with multiple states Attorney Generals. California is one of the states, but Texas and other large states are not. The lawsuit charged Meta with facilitating childhood social media addiction.

California State AG Rob Bonta said of the settlement, “Today, we have secured a settlement with Meta that will make social media less dangerous for our kids and make a world of a difference for children and their families,” Bonta said in a statement. “Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months.”

Meta settles social media addiction case for $16.7 billion– www.cnbc.com
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Meta and a coalition of state attorneys general have settled a major federal case centering on allegations that the social media giant misrepresented the extent of child-related mental health harms caused by apps like Facebook and Instagram.

The settlement was revealed in a court filing released Wednesday that details several requirements Meta must make to its apps as part of a proposed “consent judgement.”

Those changes include daily usage limits and “nighttime blocks” for teenagers that use the company’s apps like Facebook and Instagram, “enhanced age assurance measures” that would prevent children from using the apps, and the creation of additional tools for parents and guardians.

Houthis claim strike on Saudi tanker in latest Red Sea escalation– www.euronews.com
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Yemen’s Houthis said on Monday that their forces hit a Saudi oil tanker in the Red Sea with a ballistic missile, as the Iran-backed group continues to pursue a maritime blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, another crucial artery for global shipping.

“The strike was accurate and direct, resulting in a fire breaking out aboard the vessel and causing a number of other ships that were present in the target area to flee,” the Houthis said in a statement.

“This targeting comes as part of the implementation of the Armed Forces’ decision to ban maritime navigation by the Saudi enemy.”

The Houthi claim came hours after a British maritime agency said a tanker struck by an “unknown projectile” caught fire off Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.

“The Company Security Officer reported a tanker has been struck by (an) unknown projectile causing a fire to the vessel on the main deck,” said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.

“All crew are safe and accounted for and no environmental impact has been reported,” it added.

U.S.-Canada talks fail; Carney says retaliatory tariffs start Sept. 8– www.cnbc.com
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The U.S. imposed 50% tariffs on some Canadian products on Saturday after trade talks between the two countries fell apart on Friday.

In response, Canada said it would impose its own retaliatory tariffs beginning on Sept. 8.

Negotiators for both sides had been working on a deal all week, at times signaling that an agreement was near. President Donald Trump had postponed the original deadline of Wednesday just hours ahead of it being imposed, saying that there was a soon-to-be finalized deal. Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s trade minister for the U.S., told reporters on Thursday that a deal was “very close.”

However, both sides blamed the other for not reaching a deal as the tariffs, impacting roughly $20 billion in Canadian exports, including wine, furniture, dairy products, cement, clothing, fishing rods, hockey equipment, went into effect on Saturday morning.

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, in a post on X early Saturday morning, that “Canada declined to finalize the trade deal under the terms agreed earlier this week.”

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement released on Friday that despite working toward a deal, “that progress has not been enough to meet our objectives for Canadians,” saying that “last-minute changes in the U.S. proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic, and called into question the reliability of any deal.”

Mideast live: Oil tanker struck by projectile in Strait of Hormuz off Oman– www.france24.com
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German GDP growth revised upwards, defying Iran war turmoil

German growth rose faster than previously thought in the second quarter thanks to strong exports, official data showed, as Europe’s biggest economy defied the turmoil unleashed by the Iran war.

Gross domestic product grew 0.3 percent from April to June compared with the first three months of the year, according to revised data from the statistics office Destatis. A first estimate in July had put growth at 0.2 percent.

What could new US sanctions on Iran entail?

The US says it is preparing to announce new sanctions on Iran. It’s been billed an “economic D-day” and is expected to add further pressure on the country’s economy that’s already been battered from previous sanctions and a US naval blockade.

The renewed economic pressure would not be the first time the US has used economic tools at its disposal to corner Iran.

US sanctions oil trader Wellbred over Iran links

The US imposed sanctions ​on Singapore-based Wellbred Capital and its trading firms in the ​United Arab Emirates and Switzerland, citing links with Iran, as it steps up measures to target Tehran’s global financial links.

The company ​had ties ‌to Iranian oil shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein ⁠Shamkhani, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said on its website ‌on Monday.

“Shamkhani built Wellbred as a company outside ⁠the network’s Iranian business, though Shamkhani is ultimately responsible for Wellbred’s operations,” it added in a statement ​outlining the measures targeting nearly 60 companies, individuals ‌and ships.

Six months of war: 20 dead in 68 incidents near Hormuz, IMO says

The Strait of Hormuz has been the main focus of the six-month war between Iran and the US and Israel, with many commercial vessels targeted in the vital conduit for oil and gas shipments.

In total, 68 incidents have been confirmed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in the Gulf and neighbouring bodies of water, the equivalent of one every 2.6 days.

Across all incidents, at least 20 seafarers or port workers were reported killed, 35 wounded and one missing, the UN maritime agency said.

About half of the incidents have involved tankers, 20 percent container ships and 15 percent bulk carriers.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) classified 47 of the incidents as attacks.

Liberia-flagged vessels have been most affected, being involved in 13 incidents, followed by 10 vessels each from Panama and the Marshall Islands.

Iran-flagged vessels were reported as being involved in four incidents.

Pakistan says army chief held talks with Iran focussed on preventing further escalation of Middle East conflict

Pakistan’s ​army chief ​Asim Munir held discussions with Iran that ​were ‌focussed ⁠on measures including the ‌prevention of a ⁠further escalation of the conflict and ​the reopening ‌of the Strait of Hormuz, ‌the Pakistani military said ​in a statement on Tuesday.

Munir discussed ​regional peace ​and ways ​to reach a negotiated ​settlement to disputes, the statement added.

Commodity vessel transits through Strait of Hormuz fall to three-month low, data shows

Only one ​commodity vessel transited ​the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the ​lowest ‌number since ⁠May 7, preliminary ‌shipping data showed on ⁠Tuesday.

One very large gas carrier entered ​the strait ‌from the Gulf of Oman on Monday, ‌initial data from ​shiptracker Kpler showed at 0251 GMT, compared with six ​vessels of ​all types ​on Sunday. The figures could ​change as some ships had switched off transponders on their ⁠way through.

Oil tanker struck by projectile off Oman

An oil tanker was struck and disabled by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman, causing damage but no casualties, a British maritime agency said early Tuesday.

“The Master of an oil tanker reports the vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile causing damage to the engine room and disabling the vessel,” with the crew reported as safe, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said.

The incident occurred nine nautical miles (16.7 kilometres) northeast of Ash Shishah in Oman, it said.

The online statement did not specify the vessel’s nationality or direction of travel.

Oil prices steady as investors weigh impact of expanded US sanctions against Iran

Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, after falling more than 2% in the previous session, as investors assessed the impact of harsher US secondary sanctions against Iran.

Brent crude futures were down 9 cents, or 0.1%, at $92.16 by 0104 ​GMT, while US ‌West Texas Intermediate crude was up 1 cent at $85.02 a barrel.

Both contracts fell ⁠more than 2% on Monday with US crude oil falling to a one-week low on profit taking after prices rallied over the previous two weeks.

 

Trump Announces New Development in Strait of Hormuz– townhall.com
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President Donald Trump says that there are no more mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as he warns that any “new mines” will result in a military response.

Both the U.S. and the Islamic Republic of Iran have said they are in charge of the strait, which has global significance for cargo transportation, but the U.S. currently has the upper hand by a wide margin, according to CNN.

The comments come as the president said earlier this month that there no longer talks occurring between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic, as the war now shifts to an economic focus.

Iran’s rial currency hits new record low as US prepares to announce more sanctions– abcnews.com
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TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s currency hit a record low Monday as Washington prepared to announce new sanctions it said would add further pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade.

The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on currency markets. Iran’s official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million rial to the dollar, but the market rate is what most Iranians pay.

The currency had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, as Iran faced double-digit inflation and negative growth, but has repeatedly hit new lows as nearly six months of war have taken an even greater toll.

Iranians find daily staples increasingly unaffordable. Since the war began, rice is up some 60% and prices of beef are more than 150% higher. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that GDP will contract more than 5%.

Still, economic pressure has not yet translated into political pressure. Iran retains a key strategic advantage: Its attacks and threats on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic in the vital waterway to a near halt, damaging the world economy and heaping pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of congressional elections.

The UAE Just Delivered a Crushing Blow to Iran’s Economy– townhall.com
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The United Arab Emirates suspended all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran after accusing Tehran of firing two ballistic missiles toward the Gulf state, an incident that triggered nationwide shelter warnings for the first time in weeks.

The decision could deal a severe blow to Iran’s already strained economy.

Most GOP politicians now talk negatively about data centers, data shows– www.washingtonpost.com
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Sen. Jon Husted once promoted data centers as all upside for his state of Ohio. “Data centers are essential to our digital lives,” the Republican said in 2024, praising a planned Google project that he claimed would establish “central Ohio as an important tech hub in America.”

 

Ottawa and Washington head for all-out trade war– www.cnbc.com
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The Canadian dollar fell on Monday morning after trade talks between Ottawa and Washington fell apart, leaving both sides facing higher prices on a wide array of imported goods.

The U.S. on Saturday slapped 50% tariffs on around $20 billion worth of imports from Canada, its second-biggest trading partner after Mexico. The affected goods span dairy, wine, wood products, ceramics and a slew of other areas.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would retaliate “dollar for dollar” with tariffs starting Sept. 8, targeting sectors such as steel, dairy, agricultural equipment, paper and electronics. Details will be released “in the coming days,” Carney added.

The Canadian dollar was 0.45% lower against the U.S. dollar at 6:10 a.m. ET. The loonie also dipped against the euro, British pound and Japanese yen.

“As a smaller, more open economy, Canada has more to lose from this, but Prime Minister Mark Carney seems to have opened the door to more fiscal stimulus to support affected business,” FX strategists at bank ING wrote in a Monday note.

Canada Strikes Back at President Trump With Major New Tariffs on US Goods– townhall.com
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Canada has escalated its trade dispute with the United States, announcing retaliatory tariffs after President Trump imposed 50 percent duties on roughly $20 billion in Canadian imports on Saturday.

“Today I’m announcing that Canada will match the United States tariffs dollar for dollar, rate for rate,” Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said. “Effective September 8, Canada will impose counter tariffs of up to 15, 25 or 50 percent on 27.6 billion in imports from the United States of America. For each product, our tariff would match the American tariff on the same type of Canadian good.”

China warns US of retaliation if Trump’s ‘Economic D-Day’ sanctions hit their Iran oil trade– timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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China has warned the US that it could retaliate if Washington significantly expands secondary sanctions on Chinese companies doing business with Iran

China has warned that it could take retaliatory measures if the United States significantly expands secondary sanctions targeting Chinese companies doing business with Iran, according to reporting by the Financial Times.The warning came after the Trump administration on Monday announced new sanctions targeting companies in Hong Kong and mainland China as part of a broader crackdown on Iran’s oil trade. The measures, however, did not target major Chinese financial institutions, FT reported.A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday that Beijing would take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its rights and interests, while reiterating China’s opposition to what it described as unilateral sanctions lacking a basis in international law or United Nations Security Council authorisation.The spokesperson also called for de-escalation and a return to dialogue and negotiations.

Mongolia positions itself as Asia’s next data centre hub– www.euronews.com
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Mongolia is positioning itself as a global data centre hub, signing agreements for 863 megawatts of data centre capacity on the sidelines of a United Nations conference on desertification that brought 197 delegations to Ulaanbaatar this month.

The move to attract data centre investment was the most concrete economic outcome of the 12-day COP17 conference of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, where delegates are discussing how to restore land degraded by climate change.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Togmid Dorjkhand, Mongolia has three main competitive advantages: cheap renewable energy, a cold climate that reduces cooling costs, and a vast land area and stable legal framework.

“We have a lot of energy generation potential, above the ground and under the ground and we have all kinds of deposits, uranium and coal and other resources,” Togmid told Euronews.

“And yes, we are a very cold country, eight months a year are very cold. Cold weather is important for the data centres because they need a lot of cooling, so the colder the weather the more you save on cooling.”

Israeli AI agents co Wonderful seeks to raise $500m– en.globes.co.il
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Israeli AI company Wonderful is going up a gear in its expansion. The company recently signed a series of contracts with banks, financial institutions and hospitals in Israel, and at the same time began to take its first steps in growing international markets such as India and Brazil. According to market estimates, the company’s ARR (annual recurring revenue) will continue to climb sharply and will approach $100 million this year.

Just three months ago, Wonderful completed a $165 million fund raising round, but “Globes” has leaned that it is already working on another, exceptionally large round. Wonderful has set out to raise $500 million, and seeks a valuation of $5 billion, double the valuation it received so recently.

It is believed that the new round, which is at the early stages, will, like the previous one, be led by US venture capital firm Insight Partners, although senior partners in the firm, among them Jeff Horing, are seeking other large venture capital funds that will lead the round with it.

The exceptional size of the round obliges the founders and investors to work hard to bring in a broad group of entities with deep pockets, so the official closing of the round is some way off.

Tel Aviv-based Wonderful, which made the “Globes” list of most promising startups this year, is one of the fastest growing technology companies in Israel. Its rapid growth is thanks to a steep rise in sales of its AI agents – AI-based software solutions capable of performing a broad range of complex tasks in an enterprise. The company’s systems are integrated into an enterprise’s daily work processes and run entire functions autonomously, from customer service and sales to financial management and administration to various operational processes. Wonderful also provides implementation services, assisting its customers in integration of its AI products, thereby increasing its sales with complementary products.

“We quickly realized that no company wanted just voice agents. They want chat agents, agents in email, in sales, in the back office, and wherever employees transfer information from system to system,” Wonderful CEO Bar Winkler told “Globes” in June.

Like Israeli companies Kela and Unframe, and US company Palantir, Wonderful understood that the key to accelerating sales lay in personalized service to the end customer. “The product itself isn’t worth much if you don’t connect it to dozens of systems in the organization and make sure it works well within the processes. If you want to work with the largest organizations in the world, you need a presence on the ground wherever you operate,” Winkler said.







The service model enables the company to grow rapidly, but it also forces it to raise huge amounts of capital to finance the hiring of local representatives and the setting up of service operations in the thirty countries in which it is active.

Head to head with Salesforce

Wonderful is not the only company developing AI agents for enterprises. It competes with giants such as Salesforce and unicorns like US company Sierra AI. But Wonderful is the fastest growing company in its field in markets outside of the US, among them Israel, Greece, Poland, Singapore, and India.

The company’s growth is also reflected in an expanding workforce. Just a year ago, it employed 90 people, and now its workforce numbers about 630, according to LinkedIn. The growth in annual revenue is also impressive. Last August the figure stood at only about $1 million; by the end of 2025 it climbed to $7 million, and in the first quarter of this year the annual rate was $18 million. Now, the ARR is $55 million, and, as mentioned, sources close to the company expect it to reach $100 million by the end of the year.

Wonderful was founded by Winkler and Roey Lalazar. So far, it has raised $290 million. In Israel, the company works with customer service at Bank Hapoalim, Discount Bank, Maccabi Health Services, Bezeq, Pazgas, Menora Mivtachim, and Libra.

No response was forthcoming from the company.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 12, 2026.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.