Latest Developments

Europe
BBC Business

Trump Media to sell early access to key social posts

Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, is launching a paid service to give Wall Street firms high-speed access to its most influential posts. Launching on 1 August, instant updates will be delivered from key accounts, it said. US President Donald Trump currently has the most followers on the platform. The company behind the app hopes it will create a steady new source of money for the firm which is currently loss-making. It is likely to be aimed at financial traders who want to see market-moving news fast. Trump’s social media posts often cause sudden swings in global markets, especially when he writes about trade and tariffs. For firms, a delay of even seconds can be costly. Until now, banks and traders had to monitor the app manually. The new system will send posts directly to paying clients. "Markets already move on Truth Social posts", said Kevin McGurn, the interim boss of Trump Media, adding that the service will create a steady profit. The new commercial data feed, named Truth API, promises to deliver posts to paying institutional clients in "milliseconds". The company, which launched its social media app in 2022, said some firms have been copying its data for months without permission. McGurn warned that Trump Media will soon block these methods, forcing firms to buy the official feed instead. Trump could benefit substantially from the move. Since his family remains the majority shareholder in the company, the president stands to profit directly from selling expedited access to his own public statements. The BBC has contacted Trump Media and the White House for comment on whether or not the president's posts will be included in the paid feed. While other social media networks already sell data, the move highlights the unique overlap between Trump’s private businesses and his public role as president.

Trump Media to sell early access to key social posts
North America
CNBC Finance

Sen. Warren says Trump's CFPB overhaul has cost Americans $26.5 billion

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Thursday that the Trump administration's overhaul of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has cost Americans up to $26.5 billion so far, the latest Democratic critique of sweeping changes made to the agency. In a report shared first with CNBC, Warren said most of that figure comes from moves the CFPB has taken under acting director Russell Vought to roll back rules capping credit card and overdraft fees. The report comes as Vought faces a Senate oversight hearing Thursday on those and other actions, including dismissing enforcement actions and consent orders and an allegation that the agency recently removed 15 years of consumer data from the CFPB website. Since taking office last year, the Trump administration has slashed staffing, dropped or narrowed dozens of enforcement cases, and rolled back Biden-era rules to refocus the agency on what officials call its core mission. Republicans have defended the moves as necessary to rein in what they view as an overreaching regulator. Democrats led by Warren — who conceived and helped set up the agency after the 2008 financial crisis — have argued that the Trump administration has crippled a key consumer financial watchdog and exposed Americans to unfair or deceptive industry practices. The clash comes as the Senate weighs the nomination of Brian Johnson, a former CFPB deputy director turned Capital One executive, whom President Donald Trump tapped to lead the agency permanently. Warren's report attributes up to $15 billion in consumer costs to the CFPB's decision to abandon a rule capping most credit-card late fees at $8, a regulation the agency previously estimated would save consumers roughly $10 billion annually. It attributes another $7.5 billion to the repeal of the CFPB's overdraft fee rule, which would have limited many banks to charging $5 for overdrafts. The remainder of the estimate comes from the CFPB's decision to drop more than three dozen enforcement actions and settlements, some of which were set to send payments directly to consumers. That totaled roughly $4 billion, according to the report. Ahead of Thursday's hearing, Warren also sent Vought a letter cataloging what she described as unanswered congressional oversight requests during his tenure running the bureau. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis.

Sen. Warren says Trump's CFPB overhaul has cost Americans $26.5 billion
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Q1 Results Today Live: UltraTech, IOB, KVB, Shyam Metalics, Sobha, JP Power, Bluestone to announce Q1 results, RIL & ICICI Bank gain after Q1, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Axis Bank shares fall

businessman investment consultant analyzing company financial report balance sheet statement working with digital graphs. Concept picture for stock market, office, tax,and project. 3D illustration. istock photo for BL | Photo Credit: iStockphoto Reliance Industries stock rose 1% to Rs 1342 on the NSE. Its profit fell 22.4 per cent y-o-y to ₹20,946 crore Sensex depreciated 511.02 pts or 0.65% to 77,640.43 at 9.16 am after flat opening at 78,151.45; Nifty 50 fell 111.30 pts or 0.46% to 24,223. HDFC Bank's Q1 profit rises 5%, with CEO signaling growth acceleration and strategic focus on liquidity and deposit mobilization. Reliance Industries reports Q1 revenue growth of 25% to ₹3.11 lakh crore, driven by O2C recovery and Jio expansion. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Q1 Results Today Live: UltraTech, IOB, KVB, Shyam Metalics, Sobha, JP Power, Bluestone to announce Q1 results, RIL & ICICI Bank gain after Q1, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra, Axis Bank shares fall
Asia-Pacific
The Straits Times

Alibaba shares rise after unveiling upgraded flagship AI model

People visiting the Alibaba booth during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, on July 18. Alibaba said its Qwen3.8 Max model is second only to Anthropic’s Fable 5. Alibaba Group Holding shares rose as much as 5.4 per cent on July 20 after the company launched a preview version of its flagship Qwen3.8 Max model, describing it as second only to Anthropic’s Fable 5. The July 19 release came only days after start-up Moonshot AI unveiled a powerful new offering that has roiled markets and triggered concern in the US about China closing the gap on global leaders like Anthropic and OpenAI. Qwen3.8 Max has 2.4 trillion parameters, joining Moonshot’s Kimi K3 in the heavyweight class. With 2.8 trillion parameters, K3 rivals top offerings, and Alibaba is setting similarly high expectations. Developers can now access Qwen3.8 Max through Alibaba’s coding platforms, including Qoder. Alibaba plans to make the model open weight soon, expanding access beyond the preview release. Interest in these made-in-China artificial intelligence systems and models is so high that Moonshot was forced to pause taking on new subscriptions late on July 19 to manage overwhelming demand. While optimism around Alibaba is growing, other contenders in China’s hotly contested AI race have suffered a drop in the wake of the new Kimi release. Rival Zhipu declined nearly 30 per cent on July 17 and added a further 14 per cent to the losses on July 20, after being one of the star debut stocks in Hong Kong for much of 2026. Hangzhou-based Alibaba, China’s e-commerce leader and one of its biggest investors in AI, recently scored another victory after Beijing approved Apple Intelligence, the software suite for iPhones, iPads and other Apple gear, which will use Alibaba technology in the country. BLOOMBERG

Alibaba shares rise after unveiling upgraded flagship AI model
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Q1 Results Today Live: JSW Steel profit doubles, Havells India profit declines, Oberoi Realty, The Federal Bank, Central Bank of India profit up, Reliance & Tata Tech to announce Q1 results

Business people using pen,tablet,notebook are planning a marketing plan to improve the quality of their sales in the future. | Photo Credit: Jirapong Manustrong Sensex settled 964.58 pts or 1.25% higher at 78,151.45; and Nifty 50 climbed 261.55 pts or 1.09% to 24,334.30. Oberoi Realty reports a 29% profit increase to ₹544 crore and total income rises to ₹1,361.69 crore in Q1. Poonawalla Fincorp reported standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 2026 at Rs 307.71 crore compared to Rs 62.60 crore in the same quarter last year. JSW Steel board approved the participation of the Company in the proposed initial public offering (“IPO”) of JSW One Platforms Limited (“JOPL”) as a Promoter Selling Shareholder by offering for sale, such number of equity shares of face value of Rs. 10 each of JOPL aggregating up to Rs. 811 Crore held by the Company (“Sale Shares”) in JOPL. JSW Steel on Friday said its consolidated net profit more than doubled to Rs 4,696 crore in the quarter ended June 30, supported by increase in revenues. Oberoi Realty reported consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June 2026 at Rs 543.51 crore as against Rs 421.25 crore in the same quarter last year. Navkar Corporation reported net profit for the quarter ended June 2026 at Rs 12.28 crore, compared to Rs 2.45 crore in the same quarter last year. JSW Steel reported standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 2026 at Rs 2,826 crore as against Rs 2,217 crore in the same quarter last year. Globus Spirits reported standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 2026 at Rs 27.55 crore compared to Rs 18.52 crore in the same quarter last year. Havells India’s standalone net profit for the quarter ended June 2026 declined 15.3% to Rs 298.43 crore as against Rs 352.34 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue from operations in the first quarter stood at ₹6,518.19 crore as against ₹5,455.35 crore in the year-ago period

Q1 Results Today Live: JSW Steel profit doubles, Havells India profit declines, Oberoi Realty, The Federal Bank, Central Bank of India profit up, Reliance & Tata Tech to announce Q1 results
Europe
BBC Business

Thames Water lenders preparing legal challenge in event of Burnham nationalisation

Image source, EPABySimon JackBusiness editorPublished9 hours agoThe lenders to Thames Water are preparing a legal challenge in case a Burnham-led government attempts to nationalise the UK's biggest water company. Burnham - who takes over as PM on Monday - has previously said he wants to see "greater public control" of the water and energy sectors and has called for Thames Water to be nationalised. Its lenders had proposed a deal to write off nearly half of that and inject new cash in return for some leniency from future pollution fines, but this deal has previously been rejected by the government as being "weak" and bad for consumers and the environment. Sources close to the creditors have told the BBC that in the event of full nationalisation, they would pursue payment in full of the outstanding debts as has happened in previous cases, which could leave the government with a multi-billion-pound bill. Fears first emerged three years ago that Thames Water could collapse and on Thursday, the firm warned it has enough cash to last until the end of this year. Creditors insisted on Sunday that they were still working with officials and regulators to reach an agreement to rescue the company. A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the government was "prepared for any eventuality". "Thames Water customers have been let down for far too long, with 15 years of under-performance, increasing serious pollution, and customers left to pick up the bill," the spokesperson said. "The secretary of state has written to Ofwat to outline her early views that she is not convinced London and Valley Water's proposal is good enough for consumers or the environment." The lenders have offered to write off £9.4bn of Thames Water's near £20bn debt pile and put £3.35bn of cash into the company, but in return they want leniency from future pollution fines in order to turn the firm's fortunes around. Objecting to the proposal, Emma Reynolds said in June that she did not want a scenario where Thames Water customers had to "pick up the bill for the company's failures". At the time, she told reporters that the government "stands ready for all eventualities", including temporary nationalisation.

Thames Water lenders preparing legal challenge in event of Burnham nationalisation
Europe
BBC Business

White House teleprompter operator accused of making $100k off Trump speech bets

A White House teleprompter operator is being investigated over allegedly using inside information to place bets and make nearly $100,000 on US President Donald Trump's speeches. Gabriel Perez, who had worked at the White House since 2016, is accused of placing bets on words the president would use during major public addresses, including the State of the Union speech. The trades were made on Kalshi, a prediction markets platform where users can bet on real-world events. The firm confirmed it reported the activity to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulates the platform. Kalshi froze Perez's account before any profits could be withdrawn, according to reports. The platform told the BBC its analysts noticed unusual betting on "mention markets" - contracts where users predict whether a speaker will use common terms, such as specific countries, economic words, or campaign slogans, in March. "The words of political leaders like Presidents and Fed chairs cause billions of dollars of movement in FX markets, oil futures, [and] the stock market," Kalshi said. Using account data, the company found the user was a federal employee operating White House teleprompters. Robert DeNault, Kalshi's head of enforcement, said the firm flagged the trades and had handed evidence to regulators. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump was aware of the teleprompter operator and that staffer was now on unpaid leave, before adding Perez would no longer work at the White House. When contacted by the BBC to confirm it was investigating, the CFTC said it could not "confirm or deny" any probe.

White House teleprompter operator accused of making $100k off Trump speech bets
Europe
BBC Business

Chinese firm seeks compensation over British Steel nationalisation

Image source, PA MediaByRachel Clun, Business reporter and Meghan Owen, Business correspondentPublished1 hour agoThe former owner of British Steel has said it will pursue the British government for compensation after the loss-making firm was nationalised. The UK took control of the Scunthorpe steelworks a year ago after China's Jingye Group said it planned to close the site because it was not financially viable, and fully nationalised the plant on Thursday. In a statement on Sunday, Jingye said it will seek "full compensation through legal means to the very end" over the UK's move. A government spokesperson said draft compensation regulations due to be released in the autumn will set out a compensation process through which an independent assessor "would determine what, if any, is payable". Jingye bought the Lincolnshire steel plant in 2020, but in March last year the firm launched a consultation on its closure saying the plant was losing £700,000 a day. The government took control of British Steel operations in April 2025, but until this week it remained under Jingye's ownership which limited the government's ability to shape the firm's future. On Thursday the UK government said it was taking the firm into public hands in order to safeguard a "vital national capability", giving the government the power to decide the plant's future. The decision to nationalise British Steel has threatened to strain the relationship between London and Beijing just as Andy Burnham prepares to enter Downing Street as prime minister on Monday. China hit out at the nationalisation of British Steel on Friday, saying it "firmly opposes and is strongly dissatisfied with the British government's decision". China's commerce ministry said the move "seriously infringed" upon Jingye's rights and interests, and "severely undermined the confidence of Chinese companies investing in the UK". The statement added that Beijing would support Chinese firms to protect their rights, but did not detail what that might involve. A UK government spokesperson said on Friday that commercial negotiations with the Chinese steelmaker had failed to reach an agreement "that represented value to the taxpayer".

Chinese firm seeks compensation over British Steel nationalisation
Europe
The Guardian

US gas prices edge up again as US-Iran tensions heighten over strait of Hormuz

A driver pumps gas at an Exxon station on 10 July 2026 in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenA driver pumps gas at an Exxon station on 10 July 2026 in Austin, Texas. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesStrait of HormuzUS gas prices edge up again as US-Iran tensions heighten over strait of HormuzDiesel tops $5 a gallon as regular gas reaches almost $4, nearly a dollar and a quarter more than a year ago The average price of diesel fuel in the US has increased again to more than $5 a gallon, according to the AAA, and the average price of gas is almost $4, returning to their highs before the June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran. It’s a reminder to consumers and truckers of the costs of the Iran war and the unpredictable rhetoric from both Washington and Tehran. A year ago today, the AAA says, the average price for a gallon of diesel was $3.72, almost a dollar and a quarter less than it is now. Earlier this week, Iran declared the strait of Hormuz shut, after both Iran and the US claimed to be the guarantors of safe passage through the strategic waterway. Then the US announced it was imposing a blockade on all ship traffic to or from Iranian ports. Diesel price hikes, the AAA says, lead to rising costs across the board. “The impact is universal,” said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. “Everything gets to the retail consumer by diesel-burning truck.” The renewed diplomatic uncertainty and new US and Iranian airstrikes are driving prices higher both at the pump and on the international wholesale markets. The price of a barrel of oil stands at about $81. That’s still down from the highs during the most intense part of Trump’s war in Iran but wholesale prices recently have been driven by erratic news from the White House. On Monday, the president suddenly announced the US would take over the strait and charge 20% of the value of any cargo going though the waterway, but then dropped the plan. The AAA’s Sinclair said price hikes are happening because of the reality of production declines and the public commentary by the White House as well. Trump, he said, “puts in on [the] 20% [transit fee] and then it’s gone. So much of this is happening on whim that’s its really impossible. The markets respond to whim. This is a market subject to rumors and other kinds of activities rumor or imagined.”

US gas prices edge up again as US-Iran tensions heighten over strait of Hormuz