Bank of America has announced a $250 billion initiative to finance US infrastructure projects. The bank said the money will flow to data centers, energy systems, semiconductors and transportation. The plan comes as companies race to build new power-hungry data centers for artificial intelligence and as Washington pushes for more domestic manufacturing. Bank of America will lend, invest and arrange financing over the coming years. Executives said the effort targets projects that create jobs and strengthen supply chains. The announcement is one of the largest corporate commitments of its kind.
US consumer prices rose 3.4% in July from a year earlier, a slight cooling from the previous month and a touch below economists' forecasts. Wholesale inflation also eased as the energy price shock tied to the Iran war faded. The data offers some relief to the Federal Reserve, which had been weighing whether to raise interest rates again. While prices remain above the Fed's 2% target, the July report suggests inflation is no longer accelerating. Markets reacted by trimming bets on a near-term rate increase. Economists say the report gives policymakers room to hold rates steady and wait for more data, though a renewed jump in oil prices could change the picture quickly. Housing costs and services prices stayed elevated, keeping the Fed cautious.
Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics maker, reported a 35% rise in second-quarter profit, beating analyst forecasts. The company said strong demand for AI servers and data center equipment drove the gains and predicted that AI would keep fueling growth for the rest of the year. Foxconn, best known for assembling Apple's iPhone, has expanded aggressively into AI infrastructure, building servers and advanced chip packaging capacity. Executives said AI products now make up a growing share of revenue and will keep climbing as cloud providers spend more. The results are the latest sign that spending on AI hardware is reshaping the electronics industry, with consumer devices flat while AI orders boom. Shares rose after the announcement as investors welcomed the outlook.
President Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 15 percent tariff on imported polysilicon and products made with the material, along with minimum import prices for polysilicon, ingots, wafers, solar cells and solar modules. The measure follows a Section 232 investigation that found polysilicon imports threaten U.S. national security. Minimum prices include $21 per kilogram for polysilicon and $100 per kilogram for ingots and wafers. The tariffs take effect December 4, 2026. China produces most of the world's polysilicon, a key input for semiconductors and solar panels. The administration says the move will support domestic production, while importers warn it will raise costs for chipmakers and solar installers.
The Trump administration will impose a minimum import price and new tariffs on polysilicon, a refined material used to make semiconductors and solar panels. The rules add duties on products made with the material and aim to protect U.S. producers from low-priced Chinese supply. Polysilicon prices have fallen for years as Chinese factories flooded the market, and U.S. officials say the cheap imports threaten domestic supply chains. Industry groups warn that higher input costs will push up prices for chips and solar panels at a time when AI data centers are consuming record numbers of processors and power demand is growing. Manufacturers are seeking exemptions, and analysts say the final cost depends on how quickly U.S. plants can expand output.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday imposing a 15% tariff on imported products made from polysilicon, a key material used in semiconductor chips and solar panels. The order also sets minimum import prices on polysilicon and related products, and follows a national security investigation into overseas production. Chinese companies control about 96% of global polysilicon production. The measures take effect in December. The administration said it will offer incentives to boost domestic production. The move is the latest step in the trade battle over technology supply chains between the US and China.
SoftBank Group has secured a $10 billion margin loan backed by its stake in OpenAI, the company said Thursday alongside its quarterly earnings. The two-year loan was arranged by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Mizuho, Apollo Global and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking. The cash will help SoftBank pay another $10 billion for OpenAI shares by October, the final part of a $30 billion commitment. By then, SoftBank will have invested about $64 billion in OpenAI for a roughly 13% stake. The move adds to the Japanese group's debt load as chief executive Masayoshi Son races to build AI data centers and robotics ventures.
The US economy lost 23,000 jobs in July, the Labor Department reported Friday, a surprise setback for the labor market. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1 percent, but estimates for the previous two months were revised down sharply. Economists had expected modest gains, and markets moved quickly after the release, with traders raising bets on an interest rate cut. Losses were concentrated in retail, manufacturing and government services. The report lands weeks before the November midterm elections and gives Republicans a new line of attack on the administration's economic record. Federal Reserve officials are watching the data closely as they weigh a possible rate cut in September.
U.S. private employers added just 44,000 jobs in July, ADP reported, well below the roughly 100,000 that economists had forecast. The soft reading is one of the weakest of the year and suggests the labor market is cooling faster than expected. ADP's report covers private-sector payrolls only, and the official Labor Department jobs report is due later this week. Wage growth for job-stayers cooled to 4.6 percent from a year earlier. The data adds weight to expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at its next policy meeting, as inflation cools and hiring slows.
SpaceX shares fell more than 13 percent after the company released its first earnings report since its June initial public offering. Investors focused on heavy spending and cautious guidance. Starlink subscriber growth slowed from earlier quarters, and the company said spending on AI infrastructure and new satellite production lines weighed on profits. Executives said launch costs and Starship development will keep margins under pressure. Some analysts called the sell-off overdone, while others said SpaceX needs to show a clearer path to higher profits. The stock had already fallen well below its post-IPO high before the report. Investors will watch the next quarterly report closely.