Trending Market News

London's Court of Appeal granted Visa and Mastercard permission to challenge a prior ruling that found their default multilateral interchange fees charged to retailers violated European competition law. The original judgment, issued by the Competition Appeal Tribunal in lawsuits brought by hundreds of merchants, marked the first time these specific fees were found to breach antitrust rules. Both payment networks argue the fees play an important role in the digital payments ecosystem.

• The Competition Appeal Tribunal previously ruled that Visa and Mastercard's commercial card and inter-regional multilateral interchange fees infringed competition law in cases brought by hundreds of merchants
• This was the first time these specific types of interchange fees had been found to violate competition law
• Both companies defend the fees as providing benefits to consumers, businesses, and banks, while merchant lawyers expressed confidence in resisting the appeal

Uber will invest $500 million in Argentina over the next three years, according to Economy Minister Luis Caputo. The announcement was made following a meeting between Caputo, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, and Argentina's country manager. This represents a significant foreign investment commitment to the South American nation.

• The $500 million investment will be deployed over a three-year period in Argentina
• Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the commitment after what he described as an 'excellent' meeting with Uber's CEO and local leadership
• The investment signals Uber's continued expansion plans in Latin America's third-largest economy

Boeing's CFO announced that the company's commercial airplanes division expects flat or possibly positive margins in the current year, marking a potential turnaround after significant losses. The division lost $632 million in 2025 and $2.1 billion in 2024, making this forecast a sign of improving financial health.

• Boeing's commercial airplanes division recorded losses of $632 million in 2025 and $2.1 billion in 2024
• CFO Jay Malave projected flat or positive margins for the division in the current year at the Bank of America Global Industrials Conference
• The positive margin outlook would represent a significant operational improvement and potential return to profitability for Boeing's key commercial unit

OpenAI has signed a deal with Amazon's cloud unit to provide AI services to U.S. defense and government agencies for both classified and unclassified work, according to The Information. The partnership enables federal agencies to access OpenAI's AI models through Amazon's cloud infrastructure.

• The deal allows U.S. defense and government agencies to access OpenAI's AI technology via Amazon's cloud services
• Services will support both classified and unclassified government work
• The partnership represents OpenAI's expansion into the government and defense sector through Amazon's established cloud infrastructure

Pfizer announced that its experimental drug atirmociclib, combined with hormone therapy fulvestrant, reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 40% in breast cancer patients whose disease had spread after prior treatment. The mid-stage study focused on patients whose cancer returned soon after treatment with CDK4/6 drugs, a particularly difficult-to-treat group. The results support plans to expand testing to earlier disease stages and first-line treatment settings.

• More than 90% of patients began atirmociclib within three months of stopping their previous cancer treatment, demonstrating rapid treatment initiation
• The drug showed a manageable safety profile with only 6.4% of patients discontinuing treatment due to side effects
• A large late-stage study testing atirmociclib in newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer patients is already underway, with overall survival data from the current study still too early for conclusions

Medical device maker Stryker successfully contained a cyberattack that caused widespread disruption to its business operations. The attack impacted Windows-based devices including cellphones and laptops that could connect to company platforms. The company, which operates in 61 countries with 56,000 employees, is now focused on restoring customer-facing systems for ordering and shipping.

• The cyberattack affected staff devices running Microsoft Windows operating system that connected to Stryker's computer platforms
• No patient-related services or connected medical products were impacted by the incident
• Stryker did not disclose financial impact details and is coordinating with authorities and external cybersecurity experts for investigation

Delta Air Lines is maintaining its first-quarter guidance despite a $400 million fuel cost hit related to the Iran war. CEO Ed Bastian cited exceptionally strong travel demand, particularly from premium and corporate customers, which is offsetting higher fuel costs and weather-related disruptions. The airline expects to meet its original earnings guidance of 50 to 90 cents per share.

• Delta absorbed a $400 million fuel cost increase in Q4 due to the Iran conflict but is maintaining Q1 2026 EPS guidance of 50-90 cents through higher revenue growth
• The airline recorded eight of its top 10 sales days in history during the quarter, with five occurring in the last two weeks, and bookings are up 25% year-over-year
• Revenue strength is driven by higher-spending leisure travelers and corporate customers who continue to travel despite geopolitical tensions

Amazon is launching one-hour and three-hour delivery services across parts of the U.S., with three-hour delivery available in about 2,000 cities and one-hour delivery in hundreds of locations. The expansion marks Amazon's latest effort to accelerate shipping speeds beyond same-day delivery as competition intensifies from retailers like Walmart and quick-commerce services. Over 90,000 products including household essentials, clothing, and toys are eligible for the ultrafast delivery options.

• Prime members pay $4.99 for three-hour delivery and $9.99 for one-hour delivery, while non-Prime members pay $14.99 and $19.99 respectively
• Amazon has previously experimented with various ultrafast delivery programs, shutting down its standalone fast delivery service in 2021 and discontinuing a mall-retailer delivery service in 2024
• Competitors including Walmart (three-hour delivery to 95% of U.S. households), Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats are increasingly competing on delivery speed

U.S. officials are drafting settlement agreements to pay French oil major TotalEnergies approximately $1 billion due to the cancellation of federal water leases for wind farm projects off New York State and North Carolina. The New York Times reported this development on March 17, though Reuters could not immediately verify the information.

• The $1 billion settlement would compensate TotalEnergies for cancelled offshore wind farm leases in federal waters
• The affected projects were located off the coasts of New York State and North Carolina
• The settlement represents a significant financial obligation for the U.S. government related to renewable energy project cancellations

Treasury yields rose on Tuesday as investors assessed escalating Middle East tensions, surging oil prices, and prepared for the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy decision. The 10-year yield climbed more than 2 basis points to 4.239%, while the 30-year bond yield added almost 3 basis points to 4.887%. Geopolitical uncertainty and oil market disruptions are driving market volatility ahead of Wednesday's Fed meeting conclusion.

• Oil prices surged over 3%, with Brent crude rising 3.43% to $103.65 per barrel and U.S. crude up 3.85% to $97.08 per barrel, driven by Iranian attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz causing one of the largest global oil supply disruptions in history
• President Trump indicated uncertainty about his planned March trip to China with Xi Jinping, requesting a delay of 'a month or so' due to ongoing tensions with Iran
• The Federal Reserve's second policy meeting of 2026 is set to conclude Wednesday, with investors closely monitoring the decision amid heightened geopolitical and economic uncertainty

Tesla and LG Energy Solution signed a $4.3 billion deal to build a lithium iron phosphate battery manufacturing facility in Lansing, Michigan, with production expected to launch in 2027. The facility will produce batteries for Tesla's Megapack 3 energy storage systems made in Houston, establishing a domestic supply chain and reducing reliance on Chinese imports amid tariff pressures.

• The $4.3 billion facility will manufacture LFP prismatic battery cells in Michigan starting in 2027, with cells powering Tesla's Megapack 3 energy storage systems
• LG Energy Solution is one of the few U.S. producers of LFP batteries, a chemistry long dominated by Chinese rivals with minimal U.S. market presence
• The deal was announced as part of President Trump's Indo-Pacific Energy Security Summit and aims to create a robust domestic battery supply chain

Alibaba launched Wukong, an AI agent platform for enterprises designed to automate complex business tasks, on March 17. The platform is currently in invitation-only beta testing and represents Alibaba's move to compete in China's rapidly growing AI agent market following the recent OpenClaw trend in the country's tech sector.

• Wukong coordinates multiple AI agents to handle tasks including document editing, spreadsheet updates, meeting transcription, and research within a single interface
• The platform launch intensifies competition in China's AI agent market, which has been energized by the recent OpenClaw craze
• Access is currently limited to invitation-only beta testing as Alibaba develops the enterprise automation solution

OpenAI is planning a major strategic shift to refocus on coding and business users while scaling down side projects, according to the Wall Street Journal. Chief of Applications Fidji Simo previewed the changes at an all-hands meeting, with CEO Sam Altman and other executives actively determining which areas to deprioritize. Staff are expected to be notified about the changes in the coming weeks.

• Top executives including CEO Sam Altman and chief research officer Mark Chen are actively reviewing which areas to deprioritize as part of the strategy shift
• The company plans to refocus around two core areas: coding applications and business users
• Employees will be notified about the specific changes in the coming weeks, though OpenAI has not yet confirmed the reported plans

Beyond Meat announced it will delay filing its 2025 annual report due to material weaknesses in internal financial controls, specifically requiring additional time to review inventory balances including excess and obsolete inventory. The company also reported preliminary Q4 revenue of $61 million, missing Wall Street's $62.6 million estimate, and forecast full-year 2025 revenue below analyst expectations.

• The company expects to file its delayed Form 10-K by March 31 and is developing a remediation plan for its internal control procedures
• Q4 preliminary revenue of $61 million fell short of the $62.6 million analyst estimate, while full-year 2025 guidance of $275 million also trails the $276.5 million consensus
• Beyond Meat has not yet determined the potential impact of its inventory review on financial statements and plans to report full Q4 results on March 25

Nvidia announced Monday that it is expanding its autonomous vehicle development business to include Hyundai Motor, Nissan, Isuzu, and Chinese automakers BYD and Geely. The deals focus on Nvidia's Drive Hyperion platform for Level 4 autonomous vehicles capable of self-driving without human intervention in defined circumstances. CEO Jensen Huang stated that 'the ChatGPT moment of self-driving cars has arrived,' as the company seeks growth opportunities beyond its AI chip business.

• The Drive Hyperion platform enables development of Level 4 autonomous vehicles (robotaxis) that can drive without human monitoring under predefined conditions, though no consumer vehicles with this capability are currently for sale
• Autonomous vehicles represent a critical growth area for Nvidia outside of artificial intelligence, with the AV industry targeted as a multitrillion-dollar opportunity by Wall Street analysts and automotive executives
• Nvidia's existing customers include self-driving companies like Aurora and Waymo, plus automakers such as Toyota, Volvo, Stellantis, and Polestar, with Waymo currently leading the operational robotaxi market

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced on March 16 that it has deployed over 2,100 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs across U.S. and European sites to enhance AI computing capacity for drug and diagnostics development. The expansion, which began in 2023, gives Roche the largest GPU footprint in the pharmaceutical industry as companies race to use AI to reduce development timelines and costs.

• Roche deployed 2,176 Nvidia Blackwell graphics processing units, creating the largest GPU infrastructure in the pharmaceutical industry
• The AI expansion is part of a broader collaboration with Nvidia aimed at accelerating research and development operations, including modeling, data analysis, and clinical trial processes
• McKinsey estimates that agentic AI requiring minimal human intervention could increase clinical development productivity by 35% to 45% over the next five years

Uber and Nvidia announced a partnership to deploy robotaxis powered by Nvidia's autonomous driving technology, starting in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2027 and expanding to 28 cities globally by 2028. The collaboration uses Nvidia's DRIVE Hyperion platform and Alpamayo AI model, positioning Uber to compete in the autonomous ride-hailing market against Waymo and Tesla. This partnership reinforces Uber's strategy of building a multi-player ecosystem rather than developing proprietary autonomous technology.

• Deployment will begin in LA and San Francisco in 2027, scaling to 28 cities across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia by 2028
• Vehicles will use Nvidia's DRIVE Hyperion platform with Alpamayo AI for complex road scenarios, progressing from data collection to operator-supervised launches before reaching fully driverless Level 4 operations
• The partnership adds to Uber's existing collaborations with Lucid Group and Nuro, as it competes against Waymo's currently leading commercial service and Tesla's planned camera-based robotaxi offering

Dell reduced its workforce by approximately 10%, cutting 11,000 employees in fiscal 2026, bringing total headcount down to about 97,000 from 108,000 a year earlier. The AI server maker is limiting external hiring to reduce costs amid broader tech industry layoffs. Dell spent $569 million on severance payments during this period.

• Dell's workforce declined from approximately 108,000 to 97,000 employees as of January 31, representing an 11,000-person reduction
• The company spent $569 million on severance payments in fiscal 2026, down from $693 million the previous year
• Tech sector layoffs have intensified with 60 companies cutting over 38,000 jobs this year, including Meta planning reductions of 20% or more of its workforce

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals announced that its experimental obesity drug setmelanotide failed to meet the primary endpoint in a late-stage trial. The 52-week study tested whether the drug could significantly reduce body mass index compared to placebo in patients with obesity caused by rare genetic mutations affecting hunger and weight regulation pathways in the brain.

• The trial targeted patients with obesity linked to specific genetic mutations in four gene variants: POMC/PCSK1, LEPR, SRC1, and SH2B1
• Setmelanotide did not achieve meaningful BMI reduction compared to placebo over the 52-week study period
• The targeted genetic mutations disrupt a biological pathway in the brain that regulates hunger and body weight

Apple has acquired MotionVFX, a Polish video editing company that creates plugins and visual effects tools for Final Cut Pro. The acquisition will allow Apple to integrate these capabilities directly into its products rather than relying on third-party extensions, helping it compete better with Adobe's Premiere Pro and attract more subscribers to its creative software offerings.

• MotionVFX, founded in 2009, currently offers packages starting at $29 per month for editing tools compatible with Final Cut Pro
• The move supports Apple's Creator Studio bundle launched in January, priced at $12.99/month or $129/year, which competes with Adobe Creative Cloud
• Apple continues its strategy of small strategic acquisitions for talent and technology integration rather than pursuing large-scale deals