SoftBank Group's CEO says $5 trillion a year needed globally to meet AI demand

TOKYO (AP) – Worries about a bubble in artificial intelligence investments are absurd, SoftBank Group’s CEO Masayoshi Son said Tuesday, deriding such doubts as backward and akin to questioning the use of cars and planes. “To ask whether AI is a bubble is a foolish question,” Son told executives at an annual company event in Tokyo.

China's economy slows 4.3% annual growth, weakest since late 2022

HONG KONG (AP) – China’s economy slowed sharply to a 4.3% annualized pace of growth in the April-June quarter, the government said Wednesday, the weakest in over three years.

Writers Guild of America blocks Paramount's buyout of Warner

NEW YORK (AP) – The Writers Guild of America became the latest group to challenge Paramount’s $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday, filing a lawsuit that seeks to block the merger on the grounds it would cause “specific harm” to movie and TV writers working across the U.S.

Buffett omits gift to Bill Gates' foundation after Epstein ties disclosed

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Billionaire Warren Buffett omitted Bill Gates ′ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of the Microsoft co-founder’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He will donate about $6 billion to four foundations connected to his own family, but did not mention Gates in his announcement Tuesday.

Banks rake in big profits as Wall Street and US consumer stay strong

WASHINGTON (AP) – Five of the biggest U.S. banks reported record profits on Tuesday, boosted by their trading desks and a remarkably resilient American consumer amid persistent global economic uncertainty.

Editorials from The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian and others

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

Warsh says Fed has 'no tolerance' for high inflation but provides no hints

Warsh says Fed has ‘no tolerance’ for high inflation but provides no hints on next move

China's June exports surge 27% from a year earlier as AI boom drives strong demand

HONG KONG (AP) – China’s exports accelerated in June, jumping 27% from a year earlier thanks partly to the boom in artificial intelligence, the customs agency said Tuesday.

Trump backs away from plan to charge fees in the Strait of Hormuz

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday backtracked on plans to charge ships for using the Strait of Hormuz, saying Gulf countries would instead invest in the United States. Another wave of U.S. strikes on Iran, and Iranian attacks on shipping and American allies, left an interim peace deal in tatters.