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North America
CNBC Finance

As LIV Golf faces a Saudi funding cliff, CEO says to take PIF 'at their word'

LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil told CNBC Tuesday that as a funding cliff approaches, the organization has to trust Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund will back the golf venture through the rest of the season as it has promised. "I can say they've been terrific partners so far, and you have to take an incredible organization like PIF at their word," O'Neil said. "They've been very public about funding us through the season, so we are full steam ahead." PIF is set to pull its funding from the golf league at the end of 2026 schedule, CNBC reported in late April. PIF Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan also stepped down from his position as LIV Golf chairman. The organization began an investor roadshow last month, seeking to raise up to $350 million from stakeholders to continue its operations. But recent media reports suggested PIF could pull its money earlier than planned, raising doubts about whether the league could even finish out its season. When asked about those reports, O'Neil said the players, management and advisors are "locked in." Asked if he can guarantee that the four remaining tournaments on this year's schedule will take place, O'Neil said that what he "can guarantee is a heck of a return if you come invest in this business." He added that the organization now needs to be "disciplined and very, very value-creative" in order to be sustainable. "I think we have a very, very special opportunity to create tremendous value," O'Neil said. So far, O'Neil said, he's had five formal meetings to discuss interest in funding the organization, with 18 more planned for this week. He said the response has "been positive" and that he hopes to end the fundraising process this summer. "While we have incredible business momentum, what we don't have is a lot of time, so we're very urgently out there talking to those who are interested," he said. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

As LIV Golf faces a Saudi funding cliff, CEO says to take PIF 'at their word'
Europe
The Guardian

Trump claims US fuel prices ‘not very high’ as costs surge amid Iran war

Fuel prices are displayed at a gas station in Washington DC on 30 May 2026. Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/ShutterstockView image in fullscreenFuel prices are displayed at a gas station in Washington DC on 30 May 2026. Photograph: Bonnie Cash/UPI/ShutterstockUS economyTrump claims US fuel prices ‘not very high’ as costs surge amid Iran warNational average gas price stands at about $4.16 per gallon as Americans grapple with price hikes sparked by the war Donald Trump has claimed US fuel prices are “not very high, relatively speaking” as his administration grapples with affordability concerns after the surge in costs sparked by his war on Iran. The national average gas price stood at about $4.16 per gallon on Tuesday, according to AAA – $0.37 lower than a month ago, but still about $1 more expensive than the same time last year. The US president has faced sustained frustration over the sharp rise in fuel costs since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran in late February. While he has repeatedly sought to downplay the increase in prices, it comes as voters prepare to cast their votes in November’s crucial US midterm elections. Trump says fuel prices are ‘not very high’ amid Iran war - videoAddressing reporters on Tuesday morning, Trump said the administration was releasing “a lot of oil coming out of the Hormuz strait”, one of the most crucial passageways for global trade through which about 20% of the world’s oil passes. The strait has been all but closed since the start of the war. The president spoke from New York after attending Game 3 of the NBA finals, where he was loudly booed when shown on Madison Square Garden’s jumbotrons. Prices still remain far higher than what they were before the Iran war started. Oil and gas prices jumped sharply after the strait of Hormuz effectively closed earlier this year, as Iran threatened ships in the area and maritime insurers cancelled war risk cover. Trump also pointed out that gas prices remain lower than during the Biden administration, “and he wasn’t stopping the country from having a nuclear weapon”. Record-high gas prices in 2022 were exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, which tightened the world’s oil supply. The sharp uptick in energy prices largely drove inflation to 3.8% last month, the highest increase the country had recorded since 2023. Americans have started to feel the effects of high energy costs on many other aspects of everyday life, such as the price of groceries and air travel. Moody’s Analytics has estimated that the war and its resulting high energy prices have cost American households about $100bn. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release May inflation estimates on Wednesday morning, which economists expect to show that inflation remained high. The closely watched report will probably shape the outcome of the US Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for next week, where Kevin Warsh, the central bank’s new chair, and the rest of the central bank’s board of governors will decide whether to change rates, amid elevated inflation and a relatively strong labor market.

Trump claims US fuel prices ‘not very high’ as costs surge amid Iran war
Europe
BBC Business

How to enjoy the World Cup - and keep your boss on side

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup about to get under way, many fans in England and Scotland are honing their strategy to balance late kick-offs with work the next morning. Matches are happening across the US, Canada and Mexico, with England's group games starting at 2100 and 2200 BST and Scotland's even later at 2300 and 0200. Some football fans have already strategically booked annual leave around potential knockout fixtures. Others are hoping to negotiate flexible working - later starts or working from home after late-night matches. Scotland fan Cameron Rae has already booked the Monday after the Haiti game off work so he can attend a Tartan Army fan zone at his local town hall, complete with a bar and DJ running until 4am. Pubs will be allowed to stay open until 01:00 BST for England or Scotland matches in the knockout stages that kick off between 17:00 and 21:00 and until 02:00 for kick-offs between 21:00 and 22:00. Rae says: "I booked the Monday off a while ago. I work in a garage and we're open as normal, so I probably wouldn't get away with flexible working." Fellow Scotland fan Krys Kujawa, a business analyst, thinks he can survive the late-nights without needing days off work - just about. "Haiti is early Sunday morning so there's still all of Sunday to recover," he says. "Morocco is late Friday night so you can just stay up and sleep in on Saturday. Brazil is the difficult one - that's coffee-your-way-through-work territory." In Scotland, there will be a one-off national Bank Holiday on 15 June to celebrate the national team playing in its first World Cup since 1998. All NHS Scotland staff and Scottish government employees are entitled to the day off. Local councils can choose to opt in or out and private businesses are not legally obligated to close or grant the extra holiday. Kujawa says he would have "preferred the Bank Holiday after the Brazil match" as it's a "bit of a buzzkill" knowing you have to go to work the next morning. Unions and employment experts have warned businesses to prepare for a spike in so-called "World Cup sickies". BrightHR, which monitors absences across more than one million UK employees, predicts at least 1.5 million workers will call in sick during the tournament, resulting in more than 2.3 million additional sickness absences.

How to enjoy the World Cup - and keep your boss on side
North America
CNBC Finance

Rivian is betting on its R2 EV to turn the automaker into a household name like Tesla

The company founder moves quickly from the EV's suspension and software systems to different models of the R2 that will soon begin to reach American consumers, including a roughly $45,000 entry-level model that Rivian said Tuesday is being pulled ahead from late 2027 to next summer. But there's an anxiousness in Scaringe's voice as he talks to employees and media at the R2 launch event in western Utah and prepares to release the vehicle, starting Tuesday for current reservation holders, to the world. Scaringe founded the EV maker in 2009. He has grown Rivian into a company with a $22 billion market cap that ranked highest in Consumer Reports' most recent customer satisfaction survey, but lowest in predictive industry reliability due to consumer-reported problems with its early vehicles. That's unusual for an automotive brand. Typically, the more problems a brand has, the lower its customer satisfactions rank — but not Rivian. It's a testament to the brand Scaringe, a 43-year-old automotive enthusiast and tech entrepreneur, has built. That kind of customer satisfaction is also harder to maintain as a brand grows, which is Rivian's goal with the R2. The new SUV is meant to transform Rivian from a niche EV manufacturer that sells luxury vehicles — largely in California and states where electric vehicles sell well — to a more mainstream brand that can not only compete against U.S. EV leader Tesla but with broader mainstream automotive brands such as Jeep and Subaru. "Its goal is for it to be a high-volume product," Scaringe told CNBC. "Certainly, we're going to draw on some Tesla customers, but the market of non-Tesla customers is many, many times larger." Wall Street analysts have described the R2 as Rivian's make-or-break moment, comparable to Tesla moving from its pricey, first-generation EVs to the mainstream Model 3 and Model Y that currently dominate the U.S. market. "When you build a company from scratch, everything is make or break. There is no company if things don't work," he said. "Saying that it's 'make or break,' it's like, of course, it is." Shares of Rivian were down by about 5% during intraday trading Tuesday following the new timing announcement for the entry-level model as well as expert reviews being released for the R2, which were largely positive. Rivian is also hoping to achieve its main goal with the R2: profitability. The EV maker lost $3.6 billion last year, while only delivering 42,247 vehicles. After promising investors it would be profitable on an adjusted basis by 2027, Rivian earlier this year withdrew that target without disclosing a new time frame to achieve the milestone. That comes as its automotive segment lost about $6,000 per vehicle it delivered during the first quarter of this year.

Rivian is betting on its R2 EV to turn the automaker into a household name like Tesla
Europe
The Guardian

World’s largest banks pledged $906bn to fossil fuel companies in ‘unfathomable’ increase in 2025, report finds

Climate activists, including Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir, protest against Chase’s support of Total Energies' EACOP pipeline at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in Manhattan on 29 May 2026. Photograph: Gina M Randazzo/Zuma Press Wire/ShutterstockView image in fullscreenClimate activists, including Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir, protest against Chase’s support of Total Energies' EACOP pipeline at JPMorgan Chase headquarters in Manhattan on 29 May 2026. Photograph: Gina M Randazzo/Zuma Press Wire/ShutterstockFossil fuelsWorld’s largest banks pledged $906bn to fossil fuel companies in ‘unfathomable’ increase in 2025, report findsJPMorgan Chase leads 65 banks making decisions incompatible with restraining rising temperatures, researchers say The world’s largest banks committed $906bn in financing to the fossil fuel industry last year, an “unfathomable” increase in investment locking in years more of coal, oil and gas production as the world continues to overheat, a new report has found. The surge in new fossil fuel lending, up $64bn or nearly 8% on 2024, shows that the world’s largest 65 banks are making decisions incompatible with international agreements to restrain rising global temperatures, according to the coalition of environmental groups behind the new analysis. JPMorgan Chase is again the world’s leading financier of fossil fuels, according to the annual Banking on Climate Chaos report, after pushing $58bn to the sector last year – up 13% from 2024. Bank of America committed the second largest amount to fossil fuels last year, followed by Japanese banks MUFG and Mizuho Financial. Citigroup, another US bank, rounds out the top five, with Barclays, at number eight, the highest placed British bank. View image in fullscreenThe Bank of America Tower in New York on 11 October 2025. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images“Last year was the first year where we were hoping to see a continuous decrease in historical numbers, but we actually saw that increase and then that continues this year,” said Caleb Schwartz, a policy analyst at Rainforest Action Network, one of the groups behind the report. “So it’s a troubling trend.” Asked for comment about its fossil fuel lending, a JPMorgan Chase spokesperson said: “As one of the world’s largest financiers of energy, we support the full range of energy solutions and technologies, with a focus on reliability, affordability, security and long-term resilience. We believe our data reflects our activities more comprehensively and accurately than estimates by third parties.” In 2015, countries agreed in the Paris climate deal to strive to avert a breaching of 1.5C in global heating above preindustrial times, beyond which the world will suffer ever more ruinous heatwaves, floods, droughts and other climate-fueled disasters. View image in fullscreenThe Enbridge terminal and pipelines next to the Suncor energy refinery on 23 August 2023 in Alberta, Canada. Photograph: NurPhoto/Getty ImagesAvoiding such a threshold would require the near elimination of planet-heating emissions from fossil fuel production. Since the Paris agreement, however, the world’s largest banks have funnelled $8.7tn to the fossil fuel industry to dig and drill for more coal, oil and gas. Scientists now predict that the 1.5C limit will be breached imminently, with a recent string of record hot years set to be further surpassed this decade. In the wake of the US and Israel’s attack on Iran, which has escalated the global cost of oil and gas, several of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies have reported surging profits this year. “The fossil fuel incumbents are not going out with a whimper,” said Niko Lusiani, a climate and energy expert who edited this year’s report. “They are doubling down to expand an increasingly fragile, unreliable, risky energy system.”

World’s largest banks pledged $906bn to fossil fuel companies in ‘unfathomable’ increase in 2025, report finds
North America
CNBC Finance

JPMorgan Chase plans to deploy more powerful AI agents this year

JPMorgan Chase plans to deploy artificial intelligence agents later this year that can work autonomously for far longer than existing versions, marking another milestone in the corporate adoption of AI, CNBC has learned exclusively. AI agents are evolving from tools that complete single tasks to digital workers that manage workflows across multiple steps and disparate software programs, Derek Waldron, JPMorgan chief analytics officer, told CNBC in an interview. "We've entered now the era of long-running autonomous agents," Waldron said. That "means that agents don't just run for two or three minutes to carry out a goal or some instructions of a human, they can run for an hour or two." Long-running agents have already emerged over the past year as examples including Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenClaw went viral. JPMorgan's planned deployment, however, suggests the technology is close to clearing the security and governance hurdles that have slowed adoption inside large companies. JPMorgan, run by CEO Jamie Dimon since 2006, is the biggest U.S. bank by assets and has a nearly $20 billion annual technology budget. While much of the conversation around generative AI has focused on model intelligence, tech leaders are increasingly focused on a different question, said Waldron: How long can AI systems operate effectively before requiring human intervention? That concept, which Waldron called "intellectual coherence," has been helped by improvements in how AI models reason, enabling them to be more of a "team manager than an individual worker," he said. "Just like how people function, team managers can parse out a problem and delegate activities, and teams can run for a lot longer to do more complex things," Waldron said. Other recent advances that have helped agents do more complex jobs include the ability to write code, control web browsers and interact directly with desktop software, he said. While long-running agents aren't yet ready for corporate use because of security concerns, their arrival isn't far off, Waldron said: "We will have those in 2026." Eventually, AI agents will remain coherent for "multiple hours, then days, then weeks," he said. AI-driven productivity gains have been most visible in software development and back-office type operations, but Waldron said it is increasingly boosting revenue-generating roles.

JPMorgan Chase plans to deploy more powerful AI agents this year
Europe
The Guardian

US stadium and hotel workers threaten strikes ‘to make things fair’ during World Cup

Fifa signage seen at the LA Stadium, temporarily renamed from SoFi Stadium. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesView image in fullscreenFifa signage seen at the LA Stadium, temporarily renamed from SoFi Stadium. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesWorld Cup 2026US stadium and hotel workers threaten strikes ‘to make things fair’ during World CupLow wages and fears of ICE crackdowns have set workers on edge of strike as thousands set to arrive during World Cup Hospitality and food service workers in several US cities hosting World Cup games are warning of looming labor disputes and possible strikes as the largest single sport tournament in the world gets ready to kick off on 11 June. In Los Angeles, California, cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers and food attendants at the SoFi stadium reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday afternoon, but the union noted it had a contractual right to walk off the job if it determines that federal immigration enforcement is threatening worker safety during the World Cup. The US’s opening match, against Paraguay, is scheduled to take place at SoFi Stadium – rebranded as the Los Angeles Stadium for the tournament – on 12 June. About 2,000 workers at SoFi Stadium represented by Unite Here Local 11 had voted 96% in favor of a strike authorization before the agreement was reached on Tuesday. Workers are seeking a new union contract with wage increases and protections from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “We’re just trying to make things fair,” said Eva Miles, a bartender at SoFi stadium since it opened in 2021. “Without us, they don’t have a stadium. Are they going to cook? Are they going to pour those drinks? Are they going to serve these people?” Miles said she and her co-workers cannot afford to live near the stadium on the wages they are currently paid. She commutes two hours to work every day and said some co-workers have even longer journeys. “Let’s see them live on our wage, let’s see them raise a family,” added Miles. Workers are pushing for pay above $30 an hour. “I’ve been there since the beginning. I love meeting new people. I want my guests to be happy, and I want them to enjoy it and have a great experience. I know they spend a lot of money, and I know they’re spending a lot of money on this Fifa World Cup, so I don’t understand why we can’t get what we want and everybody be happy.” The unions ACLU of Southern California and LAANE have also filed a formal complaint with California privacy protection agency and the California department of justice, over Fifa’s accreditation policy that requires workers to divulge immigration information in order to work this summer’s World Cup. Enrique Fernández, the general vice-president for immigration, civil rights and diversity at Unite Here, noted many members of the union are immigrants who will be working at hospitality venues across World Cup host cities. Members of the union include immigrants from nearly 200 countries; the union traces its foundation back to the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, organized by immigrant founders of the union. “They experience the effects of anti-immigrant policy and rhetoric every day, and they don’t need the added stress of tracking ICE agents at their workplaces,” said Fernández. SoFi Stadium declined to comment, deferring to Legends Global, the concessionaire that employs the workers.

US stadium and hotel workers threaten strikes ‘to make things fair’ during World Cup
Europe
BBC Business

OpenAI plans stock market debut, intensifying investment race with Anthropic

OpenAI, the company behind popular chatbot ChatGPT, has become the latest artificial intelligence (AI) giant to reveal plans to sell shares to the public through a stock listing. Its decision had been expected for months, but the company's announcement comes exactly one week after rival AI firm Anthropic said it was planning to go public, too. OpenAI said on Monday it had made a confidential filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) at some point in the future. Its plans are the latest in a wave of heavy-weight IPOs, alongside Anthropic and billionaire Elon Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, which is set to debut on the Nasdaq on Friday. SpaceX is targeting a share price which would value the company at $1.75tn (£1.3tn). Announcing its IPO plans on Monday, OpenAI said: "We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company." The three firms all have a "vast need for cash", said Sunil Krishnan from Aviva Investors, and "no-one wants to be last" in the game to go public, he told the BBC's Today programme. He said that the firms are making huge investments in their AI infrastructure including on chips, and training their AI models, which all come at massive expense. OpenAI and Anthropic, the maker of the chatbot Claude, are focused on AI work and have been fierce rivals essentially since Dario Amodei co-founded the latter company five years ago. He did so after leaving OpenAI over disagreements with Sam Altman, the co-founder and chief executive of OpenAI. Today, the companies compete for users, corporate customers, investors, and have in recent months been jockeying with private valuations inching toward $1tn. OpenAI's most recent valuation from private investors came in at $852bn. Anthropic's most recent valuation hit $965bn.

OpenAI plans stock market debut, intensifying investment race with Anthropic
Europe
BBC Business

US adds BYD to list of firms with alleged Chinese military ties

The US has added several major firms from China including technology giant Alibaba and electric car maker BYD to a list of companies said to have ties with the Chinese military. The Department of Defense's list aims to alert American organisations to the risks of doing business with the Chinese firms, but their inclusion does not mean they are immediately sanctioned. The Chinese embassy in the US told the BBC that the list is "discriminatory" and said firms from China have strictly complied with the laws abroad. The BBC has contacted BYD and several firms on the list for comment. Alibaba's representatives said separately that there is no basis for their companies to have been listed. The list, known as Section 1260H, was announced in a post on the Federal Register on Monday and names some of China's top companies - a move that risks aggravating tensions between Washington and Beijing. The Pentagon list includes more than 80 "Chinese military companies" that are directly or indirectly engaged in providing commercial services for the US. Some of these businesses compete directly with major American companies in industries such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence. For instance BYD, which does not export its cars to the US, surpassed Tesla earlier this year to become the world's top EV maker. Beijing will likely view the move as a "form of economic containment", said policy analyst Stefanie Kam from the Nanyang Technological University. China could possibly retaliate with tit-for-tat sanctions, add American firms to a list of its own or respond with some form of diplomatic pushback, Kam said. Alibaba, BYD and tech giant Baidu were among companies accused of serving as a military-civil contributor to Chinese defence operations, according to the list. The US appears to have flagged these companies for their participation in state programmes rather than based on clear evidence of contracts with the Chinese military, Kam said.

US adds BYD to list of firms with alleged Chinese military ties