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CNBC Finance

JPMorgan Chase unveils $50 billion buyback, Goldman Sachs raises dividend after Fed stress test

JPMorgan Chase on Wednesday unveiled a new $50 billion share repurchase program and raised its quarterly dividend after the Federal Reserve found the industry remained well capitalized under its annual stress test. The biggest U.S. bank by assets said it will increase its quarterly dividend 10% to $1.65 per share, subject to board approval, and authorized the buyback program effective July 1. "The Board's intended dividend increase is supported by our consistent investment in our business and strong financial performance," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a statement. "As always, we are prepared for a wide range of scenarios, including the hypothetical 2026 supervisory severely adverse scenario." Goldman Sachs likewise increased its quarterly payouts, saying that its dividend will rise 11% to $5 per share, citing the firm's strong earnings and capital position. Wells Fargo said it expects to raise its dividend by 11% to 50 cents per share, while Morgan Stanley boosted its payout 15% to $1.15 per share, while also reauthorizing a $20 billion buyback program. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement that the bank will make an announcement on the firm's dividend next month. The announcements followed the release of the Federal Reserve's annual stress test, which found that all 32 large banks remained above their minimum capital requirements even after a hypothetical recession generating more than $708 billion in projected losses across the industry. Unlike in previous years, however, the results will not affect banks' capital requirements. The Fed said earlier this year it would keep stress capital buffers unchanged through 2027 while it overhauls the testing methodology, meaning banks entered Wednesday with a clear understanding of their capital requirements. While analysts had expected the exercise to have little immediate impact, in a sign of confidence, banks opted to proceed with payout increases, despite the regulatory limbo. In a note ahead of the results, KBW described this year's stress test as "going through the motions," arguing that investors are more focused on the pending Basel III Endgame proposal expected later this year than on the Fed's annual exercise. 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.

JPMorgan Chase unveils $50 billion buyback, Goldman Sachs raises dividend after Fed stress test
Europe
The Guardian

Alan Greenspan, longtime head of the US federal reserve, dies aged 100

Alan Greenspan in 2012. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersView image in fullscreenAlan Greenspan in 2012. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/ReutersAlan GreenspanAlan Greenspan, longtime head of the US federal reserve, dies aged 100Greenspan served under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush Alan Greenspan, the influential economist who ​steered US ⁠monetary policy ⁠during ​his ‌five ‌terms as chair ‌of the Federal Reserve ‌under four presidents, ​has died aged 100. The central bank said its former chair “helped establish the credibility that remains one of the Federal Reserve’s most important assets” in a statement on Monday that announced Greenspan’s death. In a separate statement that she shared with NBC News, Andrea Mitchell – Greenspan’s wife and a correspondent of the network – said he died from complications of Parkinson’s disease. “He will be remembered for his brilliance and his kindness,” Mitchell’s statement to NBC said. Greenspan chaired the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, serving under the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush, Bill Clinton and George W Bush. He was widely credited with presiding over a period of growth and prosperity in the US while helming the Fed under three Republicans and a Democrat, gaining bipartisan political support in the process. But the country’s housing market collapsed shortly after he left office, ushering in a devastating financial crisis that plunged the national economy into the worst recession since the 1930s and the Great Depression – and prompting a re-evaluation of his legacy. “More than 30 years of deregulation and reliance on self-regulation by financial institutions, championed by former Federal Reserve [chair] Alan Greenspan and others … had stripped away key safeguards, which could have helped avoid catastrophe,” concluded the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission that investigated the collapse. Greenspan later acknowledged having “made a mistake” in believing US banks could effectively regulate themselves before the housing market’s collapse, which dealt a blow to his reputation as an economic “oracle” or “maestro”. But he defended himself against critics who sought to pin much of the blame for the US’s 2008 financial meltdown on him. In his 2013 book The Map and the Territory, Greenspan argued that traditional economic forecasting was no match for the irrational risk-taking that can feed catastrophic price bubbles. “Bubbles go up very slowly as euphoria builds,” Greenspan told the Associated Press in a 2013 interview. “Then fear hits, and it comes down very sharply. When I started to look at that, I was sort of intellectually shocked.” He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in economics – all from New York University – before spending three decades running an economic consulting firm.

Alan Greenspan, longtime head of the US federal reserve, dies aged 100
Europe
The Guardian

Datacentres are growing target of global climate-related legal cases, report finds

A Google datacentre in Santiago, Chile, where a project was successfully halted in 2020 on climate grounds. Photograph: Luis Bustamante/The GuardianView image in fullscreenA Google datacentre in Santiago, Chile, where a project was successfully halted in 2020 on climate grounds. Photograph: Luis Bustamante/The GuardianEnvironmental activismDatacentres are growing target of global climate-related legal cases, report findsLSE analysis highlights litigation linked to energy sources, water consumption and air pollution The proliferation of datacentres and AI is increasingly at the forefront of environmental litigation around the world, from the US and UK to Chile to Ireland, a report has found. In an analysis of about 3,600 climate-related lawsuits filed since 2015, the latest annual review of climate litigation by the London School of Economics (LSE) found a growing number of cases challenging the energy sources, water consumption and air pollution of datacentres, all of which have related climate implications. One of the first cases was filed in 2020 in Chile’s capital, Santiago, where Google was planning a huge datacentre in the Cerrillos area. A group of residents and the local council challenged permits given to Google, raising concerns about the impact of the development on the city’s already climate-stressed water supply. The lawsuit succeeded in halting the Cerrillos project, on the grounds that climate impacts had not been properly considered, but not the wider explosion of datacentres, which is draining Chile’s already drought-stricken wetlands. The LSE report identified Ireland as a hotspot for litigation against datacentres. The Irish government wants the sector to expand, even though it is already consuming more than a fifth of the nation’s electricity. In December, Ireland’s Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) said “large energy users” such as datacentres would be allowed to operate on fossil fuels for the next six years, after which they must run on at least 80% renewables. Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE), Friends of the Earth Ireland and ClientEarth are seeking a judicial review of the decision because they argue it will lock Ireland into high-emitting, expensive fossil gas for years to come. FIE has brought several other claims relating to datacentres in Ireland, including one against the Environmental Protection Agency over its approval of a project in South Dublin. There is also a growing legal backlash against datacentres in the US. In California, the city of Pittsburg must now require a datacentre to use renewable energy for power and recycled water to cool its servers. In Georgia and Pennsylvania, there is ongoing litigation against state regulators for approving new fossil fuel infrastructure linked to datacentres. Another case in Mississippi argues that Elon Musk’s xAI is breaching the Clean Air Act by running portable methane gas generators without the required permits. The case, brought by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, says these pose serious public health risks to nearby Black and minority communities. The US Department of Justice is trying to block the lawsuit, claiming the company’s work is essential to the economy. In the UK, campaigners took legal action against the government’s decision to force through construction of a “hyperscale” datacentre in Buckinghamshire. Foxglove, a tech justice non-profit organisation, and Global Action Plan, an environmental charity, represented by the law firm Leigh Day, said the decision ignored the project’s electricity and water demands and did not properly consider its climate impacts.

Datacentres are growing target of global climate-related legal cases, report finds
North America
CNBC Finance

Slate Auto says $24,950 electric truck will be profitable; targets positive cash flow next year

LOS ANGELES — Electric vehicle startup Slate Auto expects to defy challenging market conditions and avoid the losses its peers have seen by profitably selling a highly customizable EV that starts at just under $25,000. Slate CEO Peter Faricy said every vehicle produced by the Michigan-based EV startup — which is backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Los Angeles Dodgers controlling owner Mark Walter — will be gross margin positive. That will lead the company to positive free cash flow and earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization by 2027, he said. "It's an ambitious goal," Faricy told CNBC during an interview at the company's new design studio outside of Los Angeles. "No other automotive company has been able to do that before. So it's ambitious. It's going to take a lot of work. Nothing's guaranteed in life, but you have to have ambitious goals if you want to achieve big things. That's the big goal we're shooting for." Other recent EV startups have struggled financially. Automakers such as Lordstown Motors and Fisker Automotive went bankrupt, while Rivian Automotive and Lucid Motors have reported billions of dollars in annual losses and both recently announced layoffs. Faricy, former vice president of Amazon Marketplace who was appointed to lead the automaker in March, said the company can succeed where others have failed because of its simplistic product, customer-focused business strategy and break-even point of roughly 80,000 vehicles a year. The break-even point is just over half of the 150,000-unit production capacity the company plans to have at its assembly plant in Warsaw, Indiana. Slate is continuing to build out that facility while also producing prototype vehicles. "We have a different cost structure and a different business model than other automakers have," he said, citing the simplicity of Slate's vehicle and manufacturing process as well as the ability to customize the EVs. Slate's flagship product is a two-seat, $24,950 bare-bones electric pickup truck that's so basic the speakers are optional and it has crank windows. The truck can be converted into a five-passenger sport utility vehicle for an additional $5,000. The vehicles will feature a Slate-estimated EV range of 205 miles, 181 horsepower and 195 foot-pounds of torque. Its performance pales compared with much pricier electric pickups and SUVs but is in line with similarly priced vehicles. Slate was in stealth mode until the company revealed its flagship EV in April 2025. It said then that its initial starting price would be under $20,000, but that included up to $7,500 in federal tax incentives that were available at the time for purchasing an EV and have since been discontinued. The startup has raised more than $1.3 billion in capital through three financing rounds, two of which were led by Walter's TWG Global investment holding company after a Bezos-affiliated lead round. Faricy declined to discuss Slate's capital runway but confirmed the company is continuing to opportunistically raise funding as it prepares to produce vehicles for consumers later this year and ramp up production, with deliveries expected during the fourth quarter.

Slate Auto says $24,950 electric truck will be profitable; targets positive cash flow next year
Europe
BBC Business

Anthropic accuses Chinese rival Alibaba of illicitly extracting AI capabilities

US artificial intelligence (AI) giant Anthropic has accused Chinese e-commerce and technology firm Alibaba of "brazenly" and "illicitly" extracting its Claude AI model's capabilities. In a letter seen by the BBC, the San Francisco-based company said operators linked to Alibaba carried out almost 29 million exchanges with Claude using thousands of fraudulent accounts in what it called the largest extraction campaign of its kind. Anthropic urged Congress to penalise the companies behind attacks like this and to ramp up measures to prevent US tech from being stolen. The BBC has contacted Alibaba for comment and requested more details from Anthropic. Anthropic's letter, dated 10 June and addressed to US Senators Tim Scott and Elizabeth Warren, accused New York Stock Exchange-listed Alibaba of carrying out "the largest campaign to illicitly extract Claude's capabilities". According to Anthropic, the campaign was carried out through what are known as "distillation attacks", which extracted answers from a stronger AI model to train a weaker one. Alibaba-linked operators targeted Claude's most valuable capabilities, including its ability to tackle longer and more complex tasks and its approach to decision-making, Anthropic said. These type of attacks are carried out on an "industrial scale" to enable Chinese companies to harvest and repackage US AI capabilities as their own, the company said. The letter also cited other alleged attacks, which Anthropic said posed a threat to the US military. "Distillation attacks turn hundreds of billions of dollars in American investment and [research and development] into a massive subsidy for our geopolitical competitors," said Anthropic. It cited the US Department of Defense's claims that Alibaba and several major firms like car maker BYD and tech company Baidu are tied to the Chinese military. The companies have denied any such allegations, while Alibaba this week sued the US government in a bid to get its name removed from the Pentagon blacklist.

Anthropic accuses Chinese rival Alibaba of illicitly extracting AI capabilities
North America
CNBC Finance

Toyota gains on General Motors in new U.S. sales forecast: 'GM may be looking over their shoulder'

DETROIT – Toyota Motor is notably gaining on America's largest automaker, General Motors, in U.S. sales as hybrids get more popular and all-electric vehicles sputter. The Japanese automaker is expected to report a nearly 1% increase in U.S. sales through the first half of this year to 1.25 million vehicles, while GM is projected to be down 7.2% to 1.33 million, according to a new forecast released Wednesday by Cox Automotive. "At these rates, and what we're seeing right now in the selling rates, GM may be looking over their shoulder here when we get to the year's end, that Toyota could potentially overtake them as the top selling manufacturer here in the U.S. market," Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist and senior director of industry insights at Cox Automotive, said during a media event. Chesbrough said he isn't yet forecasting that Toyota would top GM, but he said the trends are "concerning for General Motors." The expected 83,255 difference in vehicle sales through the first half of the year would be the narrowest between the two automakers since Toyota topped GM in U.S. sales for the first time ever in 2021. That was in part the result of supply chain issues during the coronavirus pandemic. At that time, Toyota chair and company scion Akio Toyoda said he did a "happy dance" when learning of the win, but executives said the company didn't expect it to be sustainable. Other than that year, GM has been the top-selling automaker in the U.S. since 1931, according to industry data. Toyota's gains come as the automaker has continued to roll out new models, including all-electric vehicles, while continuing to double down on its hybrid vehicles, where it's been a leader for decades. GM, meanwhile, heavily invested in all-electric vehicles instead of hybrids, many times referring to them as a transitional technology. The Detroit automaker's sole hybrid is a Corvette, while it offers a full lineup of EVs for luxury brand Cadillac as well as many models for other brands. "The story is hybrids are having their moment," said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox director of industry insights, during the Wednesday event. Cox expects overall U.S. new vehicle sales to be down 3% through the first half of the year compared to last year, including a 0.5% decline during the second quarter. The firm forecasts EV sales down 23.3% during first half this year. Hybrid sales, meanwhile, are projected to be up about 10%. Honda, Volkswagen and Stellantis are expected to post sales gains for the second quarter, while Cox is forecasting the largest sales declines for Tesla, Ford Motor and GM.

Toyota gains on General Motors in new U.S. sales forecast: 'GM may be looking over their shoulder'
Europe
The Guardian

Elon Musk loses trillionaire status as SpaceX and Tesla stock drops

Elon Musk during President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, China in May. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/APView image in fullscreenElon Musk during President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, China in May. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/APElon MuskElon Musk loses trillionaire status as SpaceX and Tesla stock dropsFalling shares push tech mogul back down to billionaire ranks after SpaceX IPO made him world’s first trillionaire Elon Musk was no longer a trillionaire by the time markets closed on Wednesday. Plunging shares in Tesla and SpaceX dragged the tech magnate down to billionaire status. As of 4pm ET, Forbes listed Musk’s net worth as $970.2bn. Musk reached trillionaire status on 12 June after SpaceX’s historic initial public offering. The rocket, satellite and AI company’s debut on the stock market made Musk the first person with a net worth of more than $1tn. His fortune continued to hover around that gigantic figure in the weeks following the initial public offering (IPO). A global stock selloff this week led to sharp declines for major tech stocks and dealt a blow to Musk’s wealth, however, as investor concerns that the Federal Reserve will potentially raise interest rates and looming fears of an AI bubble rattled the market. Companies whose values were heavily linked to the AI boom, including Google’s parent, Alphabet, and chipmakers such as Samsung, were hit especially hard. The SpaceX IPO, the largest in history, immediately vaulted Musk’s wealth while also tying it to the company’s stock price. SpaceX raised $75bn from its record-breaking IPO and its stocks increased by 19%, from its initial price of $135 per share, within 24 hours of going public. On Wednesday, SpaceX’s stocks were listed at $154.35. Most of Musk’s wealth is tied up in stock and equity, and is not cash he can quickly spend. Still, his fortune is unprecedented, not just for its size but the speed at which it grew. Market fluctuations mean it is possible that Musk could regain his trillionaire status in the near future if either Tesla or SpaceX shares rebound. Although no longer a trillionaire, Musk is easily still the world’s richest person. The next wealthiest billionaire is the Google co-founder Larry Page, whose net worth is about $284bn, according to Forbes. Musk made more money than Page’s entire fortune this year alone, increasing his net worth by $338bn since January.

Elon Musk loses trillionaire status as SpaceX and Tesla stock drops
North America
Yahoo Finance

S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Futures Slip After Trump Warns Iran Of Fresh Strikes Over Hormuz Standoff: INTC, MLTX, SNDK, KEEL In Focus

U.S. stock futures fell in the overnight session late Sunday as renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran reignited concerns about the success of peace negotiations between the countries. President Donald Trump threatened fresh strikes on Iran after Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz over hostilities in Lebanon ahead of the first peace talks in Switzerland over the weekend. Dow futures fell 0.12%, S&P 500 futures declined about 0.21%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures traded 0.22% lower as of 9.24 p.m ET. Meanwhile, oil prices inched higher. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was trading down 0.31% amid ‘bullish’ sentiment at the time of writing. U.S. markets were closed on Friday in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day, commemorating the end of slavery in the country. On Thursday, all three benchmark indexes closed higher amid optimism about the peace deal and a jump in the technology sector. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite also ended the week in the green. The Nasdaq Composite led the climb on Thursday, adding nearly 500 points to close up 1.91% higher. The Dow closed up 0.14% while the S&P 500 was up 1.08% at close. Market sentiment weakened after Iran announced over the weekend that it was restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz again, citing continued Israeli military operations in Lebanon. Iran argued that Washington had failed to uphold commitments to curb hostilities in Lebanon. However, tensions rose after President Trump threatened fresh military action against Iran. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump said, “Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble. If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!” Earlier, Trump told Fox News that he warned Iranian officials that if the Strait was closed, “you won't have a country." The developments coincided with the first round of talks under the interim peace deal, held in Switzerland, where U.S. negotiators led by Vice President JD Vance met Iranian officials to discuss strategies aimed at preserving the ceasefire, ensuring the Strait of Hormuz remains open, and laying the groundwork for future negotiations on Iran's nuclear program and sanctions relief. The talks concluded on Sunday after having been called off earlier. Following the first day of talks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has reportedly said “discussions were held on the remaining clauses [of the MoU] that are necessary to begin final negotiations,” according to Al Jazeera. Meanwhile, a new AP-NORC poll from last week found that 65% of Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of Iran, while 53% believe U.S. military action against Tehran has gone too far, and only 34% approve of his approach to Israel.

S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Futures Slip After Trump Warns Iran Of Fresh Strikes Over Hormuz Standoff: INTC, MLTX, SNDK, KEEL In Focus
Europe
BBC Business

The legal fight to get equal pay for Germany's disabled workers

A test case before a German court could have implications for hundreds of thousands of disabled people in the country who currently work for less than the legal minimum wage. The legal action has been brought on behalf of 57-year-old Jürgen Linnemann, who has spent all his working life in a "Werkstatt für behinderte Menschen" – a workshop for disabled people. In English these would be called sheltered workshops, and in Germany some 300,000 disabled people work in them. The workshops produce a range of goods for companies and brands that are often known internationally, but the people who make them are paid less than the minimum wage, less than a worker in the mainstream economy would be paid for doing the same work. This is possible because disabled people in sheltered workshops are technically not employees. That means not only that the right to the minimum wage does not apply to them, but also that they do not enjoy other rights, such as the ability to join a trade union. Linnemann is asking the court to rule that people like him should be treated as employees and be paid the minimum wage. According to Hubert Hüppe, a former federal commissioner for the interests of disabled people, and a prominent critic of the workshop system, once you become part of what is a segregated system it's very hard to get out of it. "You go from a special kindergarten to a special school and then into one of these sheltered workshops," he says. This is what happened to Dirk Hähnel, now in his 50s, who spent most of his adult life in sheltered workshops near the central-western city of Paderborn. He was sent initially to a regular school, but before long was transferred against his wishes to a special school. "My parents were told that a special school was the best choice," he tells me. Later, when he was preparing to leave that institution, he was told his only option was to go to a workshop. "I didn't want to do that," he says. So he tried to find an apprenticeship instead. He remembers one devastating job interview. "I told my potential employer that I had epilepsy and he said, 'we don't employ idiots here'."

The legal fight to get equal pay for Germany's disabled workers