Hamas Leader Assassinated in Iran

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. The assassination follows Israel's strike on a Hezbollah commander in Beirut a few hours earlier.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed Haniyeh's death after a missile attack.

Haniyeh was in Tehran for the swearing-in of Iran’s new president. Hamas accused Israel of the assassination.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated the U.S. would help defend Israel if attacked. He emphasized that war is not inevitable and diplomacy remains an option.

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Job Market: Signs of Slowdown

US job openings fell by 46,000 to 8.184 million in June. While consumer confidence rose to 100.3 in July, perceptions of job availability worsened.

Hires declined by 314,000, the largest drop in 16 months. Quits also decreased by 121,000. The largest increases in job openings were in accommodation, food services, and state and local government.

Meanwhile, layoffs decreased by 180,000 to 1.498 million, the lowest since November 2022.

However, the unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in June.

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Meta's $1.4 Billion Privacy Penalty

Meta (Facebook's parent company) faces a $1.4 billion fine after settling a privacy lawsuit with Texas. The state accused Meta of using facial recognition data without permission.

The lawsuit argued Meta illegally collected biometric data from users. Meta's "Tag Suggestions" feature captured billions of facial images. Meta has denied any wrongdoing but is eager to resolve the matter.

Previously, Meta faced a $650 million fine from Illinois over similar privacy violations.

In the first quarter of this year, the Meta reported a $12.37 billion profit, with revenues of $36.46 billion.

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Microsoft's AI Hype Disappoints

Microsoft reported $2.95 earnings per share, beating analyst forecasts. Its quarterly sales were $64.7 billion, up 15% from last year.

The company reported a 15% total revenue increase to $64.7 billion for the quarter. While PC sales boosted personal computing revenues by 14%.

However, Microsoft’s stock dropped by 7% due to lower than expected growth in Microsoft's AI division. Azure cloud computing grew by 29%, missing the 31% forecast. Intelligent Cloud sales were $28.5 billion, below estimates.

Microsoft's capital spending surged 77.6% to $19 billion, largely for cloud and AI. CFO Amy Hood mentioned that these investments will pay off over a 15-year period.

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