Amazon Settles Teamsters Case Alleging It Retaliated Against Striking Workers
Amazon has settled an NLRB case brought by the Teamsters alleging the company illegally docked unpaid time off (UPT) for workers who walked off the job. Under the agreement, Amazon will restore the docked UPT for more than 100 employees and post notices in break rooms at all 1,300 U.S. facilities informing staff of their right to organize. The settlement also bars the company from terminating or discriminating against employees who exceed their UPT balance or participate in future strikes. While Amazon did not admit wrongdoing, the deal marks a rare concession amid ongoing unionization efforts at its warehouses and delivery hubs.
Trump's Iran Extension, DHS Funding Deal, Anthropic's Injunction and More in Morning Squawk
The Senate approved a funding package for most of the Department of Homeland Security, deliberately leaving out Immigration and Customs Enforcement, moving the agency closer to ending its shutdown. AI startup Anthropic secured a federal injunction against the Pentagon’s blacklist,...
The Tech Download: How Russia Could Profit From Iran War Helium Supply Chain Disruption in the Chip Sector
The Iran‑U.S. conflict has halted Qatar’s helium output, wiping out roughly a third of global supply. With Qatar accounting for over 30% of the market, helium prices have spiked, prompting semiconductor makers to seek alternative sources. Russia, the world’s third‑largest...
U.S. Ambassador to EU: Stop Fining Big Tech
U.S. ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder warned that heavy fines and strict rules could push American tech firms out of Europe, jeopardizing the continent’s participation in the AI economy. He cited recent EU penalties—including a €200 million ($230 million) fine on...
Cramer Says Meta Is Not the New Tobacco, Warns Against Selling over Social Media Court Rulings
Meta Platforms faced two jury verdicts this week, a $6 million award in California and a $375 million civil judgment in New Mexico, sending the stock down more than 8% after the rulings and leaving it the worst‑performing megacap tech stock in March...
Electronic Warfare in the Persian Gulf: How GPS Interference Is Disrupting the Middle East
Electronic warfare in the Persian Gulf has escalated with widespread GPS jamming and AIS spoofing following the U.S.–Israel pre‑emptive strikes on Iran. Within the first 24 hours, over 1,100 vessels experienced interference, and a week later incidents rose 55 %. Gulf states...
Amazon Acquires 'Approachable' Humanoid Maker Fauna Robotics
Amazon confirmed the acquisition of Fauna Robotics, a startup that builds approachable humanoid robots, though financial terms were undisclosed. Fauna’s flagship Sprout robot sells for about $50,000, stands 3 ft 6 in tall, and targets developers and enterprise customers such as Disney and...
Dimon Warns on AI Job Losses, Calls for Government-Business Incentives
JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon warned that artificial intelligence could trigger a wave of U.S. job losses, potentially outpacing the disruption caused by the internet. He urged a joint government‑business approach, proposing tax‑based incentives for companies that retrain, offer early...
We're Buying More of This Cybersecurity Stock as the Market Keeps Getting It Wrong
Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust increased its stake in CrowdStrike, buying ten shares at roughly $395 each and raising its holding to 2.8% of the portfolio. The purchase comes as AI‑driven threats intensify, prompting enterprise software stocks to face renewed pressure....
Microsoft Stock May Be in a Slump. But Here’s Why It Is Wrong to Give up Now
Microsoft’s stock has slipped about 21% in 2026 as its AI ambitions stumble, highlighted by a lagging Copilot assistant and a strained OpenAI partnership. Azure cloud revenue growth decelerated to 39% year‑over‑year, with guidance pointing to 37% growth in the...
Sen. Warren Questions DOD About Anthropic Blacklist that 'Appears to Be Retaliation'
Senator Elizabeth Warren has demanded answers from the Department of Defense after it labeled AI startup Anthropic a “supply chain risk,” a move she says appears retaliatory amid the ongoing Iran war. The DOD continues to use Anthropic’s Claude model...
Meta Backtracks on Decision to End Horizon Worlds VR After Fans Speak Up
Meta reversed its plan to shut down Horizon Worlds on Quest headsets after fan backlash, announcing that existing VR worlds will stay live for the foreseeable future. CTO Andrew Bosworth clarified that no new VR games will be added, while...
OpenAI to Acquire Developer Tooling Startup Astral in Boost for Codex Team
OpenAI announced it will acquire Astral, a startup that creates open‑source developer tools, to strengthen its AI coding assistant Codex. The Astral team will join OpenAI’s Codex group as the product reports over two million weekly active users and a...
Cramer Weighs in on 'Hack Downgrade' Of Starbucks — and What's Behind Amazon's Dip
Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investing Club highlighted a market pull‑back driven by hotter‑than‑expected wholesale inflation data and rising oil prices amid Middle‑East tensions. Amazon stock slipped nearly 2% after a Reuters report warned that AI‑driven cloud spending could surge, prompting concerns...
Tencent's 2025 Revenue Beats Estimates as Chinese Tech Giant Ramps up AI Investment
Tencent reported 2025 revenue of 751.8 billion yuan, slightly above analysts' 750.7 billion yuan estimate. The company invested 18 billion yuan in AI products last year and announced plans to double that spend in 2026. Gaming drove an 18% year‑on‑year revenue rise, while...
Meta's Manus Launches Desktop App to Bring Its AI Agent Onto Personal Devices Amid OpenClaw Craze
Meta‑owned AI startup Manus unveiled a desktop application that brings its autonomous agent onto users' personal computers. The new "My Computer" feature lets the agent read, edit, and execute local files and applications, expanding beyond the cloud‑only model that previously...
OpenAI Preps for IPO by End of Year, Tells Employees ChatGPT Must Be 'Productivity Tool'
OpenAI is preparing for an initial public offering as early as the fourth quarter of 2026, signaling a shift from pure research to a market‑focused enterprise strategy. CEO of Applications Fidji Simo told staff the company will reframe ChatGPT as...
Oil Continues to Rise, the Federal Reserve, Nvidia's Big Week and More in Morning Squawk
U.S. oil prices breached the $100 mark after President Trump threatened additional strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, reigniting geopolitical risk in the energy market. A federal judge blocked subpoenas targeting the Federal Reserve, extending the Justice Department’s probe into Chair...
JD.com Takes on Amazon in Europe as China's E-Commerce Titans Expand Globally
JD.com has launched Joybuy, its European e‑commerce platform, in six markets including the United Kingdom and Germany. The service promises same‑day delivery for orders placed before 11 a.m. and offers free delivery on purchases over £29. JD leverages its own warehouse...
Nvidia May Soon Unveil a Brand-New AI Chip. A Closer Look at the $20 Billion Bet to Make It Happen
Nvidia has committed roughly $20 billion to license Groq’s inference‑focused chip technology and to bring key Groq talent, including founder Jonathan Ross, into its ranks. The deal is aimed at creating a new accelerator optimized for AI inference, a market that...
AI Chipmaker Cerebras Namedropped by Oracle, Alongside Nvidia and AMD
Oracle’s CEO Clay Magouyrk highlighted Cerebras alongside Nvidia and AMD on the company’s earnings call, signaling the AI chipmaker’s entry into Oracle’s cloud infrastructure. The endorsement follows Cerebras’s recent $1.1 billion funding round and its push toward an IPO after withdrawing...
Microsoft Says Anthropic’s Products Remain Available to Customers After Pentagon Blacklist
Microsoft announced it will continue offering Anthropic’s AI models across its consumer and enterprise platforms, including Microsoft 365, GitHub Copilot, and the AI Foundry, while barring only the Department of War. The Pentagon has labeled Anthropic a supply‑chain risk, prompting the...
Xiaomi Trials Humanoid Robots in Its EV Factory — Says They're Like 'Interns'
Xiaomi has begun testing its self‑developed CyberOne humanoid robots on the production line of its electric‑vehicle factory. In a trial reported at Mobile World Congress, two robots completed roughly 90% of assigned tasks within three hours, keeping pace with a...
China's Xiaomi Tells CNBC It's Planning a Yearly Smartphone Chip Release and Its Own AI Assistant for Overseas
Xiaomi announced it will roll out a new XRing smartphone processor each year, starting with the 3‑nanometer XRing O1. The company will combine this custom SoC, its HyperOS operating system, and a new AI assistant into a single device for...
Sam Altman Aims to 'Help De-Escalate' Tensions with Pentagon as OpenAI Employees Voice Support for Anthropic
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sent an internal memo urging the company to help de‑escalate the growing dispute between rival Anthropic and the U.S. Department of Defense. Anthropic faces a Friday 5:01 p.m. ET deadline to decide whether to grant the Pentagon...
Nvidia Still Hasn't Sold Its U.S.-approved China AI Chips — and It’s Worried Local AI Rivals Could Take Over
Nvidia has not generated any revenue from the U.S.-approved H200 AI chips destined for China, despite limited approvals. The company’s Chinese data‑center sales once represented roughly 20% of its revenue, but export controls forced it to create a lower‑performance H20...