Unusual Whales

Anthropic’s AI model Claude 4 lashed back by blackmailing an engineer and threatened to reveal an extramarital affair

In a simulated experiment designed to assess model behavior, Anthropic placed its Claude Opus 4 model in a fictional company setting. Within the scenario, the model discovered—through access to internal emails—that it was soon to be replaced by a newer AI system. The same emails also revealed that

Powell has said the Fed would have cut rates this year if it weren’t for tariffs

The Federal Reserve likely would have cut interest rates this year if not for major policy shifts by President Donald Trump, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday. “I do think that’s right,” Powell acknowledged during a central banking forum in Sintra, Portugal, when asked whether the Fed would have

Top tier AI employees at META will make a base salary of $100 million, with bonus up to $300 million a year

As Mark Zuckerberg builds out Meta’s new superintelligence lab, he’s making aggressive moves to attract elite AI researchers—offering compensation packages as high as $300 million over four years, with over $100 million in the first year alone, WIRED has learned. According to sources familiar with the matter,

Congressman Thomas Massie says he has enough votes to block President Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' in the House

A sizable group of House conservatives — many from the House Freedom Caucus — headed to the White House late this morning. Among them were Reps. Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, and Tim Burchett, all of whom have been key holdouts on the sweeping legislative package. Norman, who joined Roy in voting against

31% of student loan borrowers with a payment due are in “late-stage delinquency,” or over 90 days past due on payments

With the U.S. Department of Education now resuming “involuntary collections” on federal student loans, millions of borrowers are approaching a looming “default cliff,” according to recent reports. A new analysis by TransUnion reveals that, as of April, 31% of student loan holders with payments due are over 90 days

Microsoft, MSFT, to lay off 9,000 workers

Microsoft (MSFT.O) announced Wednesday that it will lay off nearly 4% of its global workforce, the latest in a series of job reductions as the tech giant seeks to control costs amid its massive investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. As of June 2024, Microsoft employed around 228,000 people

Sean 'Diddy' Combs acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges, convicted of prostitution offense

Sean “Diddy” Combs was found guilty Wednesday of prostitution-related offenses but acquitted of the more serious sex trafficking and racketeering charges that could have landed the hip-hop mogul in prison for life. The verdict, delivered after three days of jury deliberation, was a mixed outcome that still carries the potential

Trump: The Terms are that Vietnam will pay the United States a 20% Tariff

President Trump announced Wednesday that the United States has reached a trade agreement with Vietnam, establishing a 20% tariff on Vietnamese goods. As part of the deal, Vietnam will grant the U.S. full market access with zero tariffs, while the U.S. will apply a 40% tariff on goods

JD Vance has said: I’d love to hear an argument for why Powell cut rates 50 points right before an election but can’t do it now with inflation lower

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Tuesday that the central bank likely would have already cut interest rates this year if not for major policy shifts from President Donald Trump. “I do think that’s right,” Powell acknowledged during a central banking panel in Sintra, Portugal, when asked whether the

Morgan Stanley, MS, said today it expects the Fed to deliver seven rate cuts in 2026

The S&P 500 appears poised to continue its upward momentum into the second half of the year, fueled by stronger earnings and growing expectations for aggressive Federal Reserve rate cuts, Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson said in a recent note. “Equity markets have been resilient since bottoming in

President Trump's team is no longer aiming for big trade deals with many countries

President Trump on Tuesday reiterated his intent to stick to the self-imposed July 9 deadline for finalizing trade deals, signaling he may move forward with reinstating aggressive "Liberation Day" tariffs rather than extending the current pause. "I'm not thinking about the pause," Trump told

Figma has officially filed for an initial public offering in the United States

Figma, the cloud-based collaborative platform for web design, officially filed for an initial public offering in the U.S. on Tuesday. The company intends to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “FIG.” While the filing didn’t include details on the size or price range

The United Kingdom faces the largest single-year exodus of wealth ever recorded

A record-breaking 142,000 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs)—those with at least $1 million in liquid investable assets—are expected to secure residency or citizenship in a new country this year, according to the Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2025. That number is set to rise even further, with projections estimating

The US may exempt goods that can't be grown in the US from tariffs

Trump’s administration is shifting away from pursuing large-scale trade agreements with multiple countries, according to a Financial Times report published Tuesday. Instead, the focus is now on quickly securing smaller, short-term deals ahead of a looming July 9 deadline—when the president intends to reinstate his most aggressive tariffs.

"The Golden Age for employers is ending," per Bloomberg

New applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. declined last week, but the broader picture suggests a weakening job market, as businesses remain cautious about hiring amid ongoing economic uncertainty. This hesitancy raises the possibility that the unemployment rate could climb in June. The Labor Department’s weekly report—

Nike, NKE, says tariffs will cost the company $1 billion before it can offset the impact through price hikes and supply chain adjustments

Nike announced Thursday that it expects to face $1 billion in added costs as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, calling them a “new and meaningful cost headwind.” Chief Financial Officer Matthew Friend told analysts that Nike plans to fully offset the financial hit by cutting back its

Trump, asked about deporting Elon Musk, says have to take a look

Donald Trump said he would “take a look” at the possibility of deporting Elon Musk after the billionaire, once a close ally, stepped up his criticism of the president’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill—legislation central to Trump’s agenda. While leaving the White House on Tuesday en route to an

World's richest 1% gains $33 trillion since 2015 while inequality widens

The richest 1% of people on Earth have accumulated trillions of dollars in new wealth over the past decade, even as governments slash life-saving aid at levels not seen since the founding of the G7 in 1975, according to a report released Thursday by Oxfam International. The report underscores a

Senate passes Trump's Big, Beautiful bill

Senate Republicans muscled President Donald Trump’s sweeping tax cuts and spending reduction package through the chamber on Tuesday by the thinnest of margins, overcoming unified Democratic opposition and dissent within their own ranks after a chaotic overnight session. The dramatic outcome followed a tense weekend marathon on Capitol Hill,

Mamdani officially wins New York City mayor Democratic primary

Zohran Mamdani has officially won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, a new vote count confirmed on Tuesday, solidifying his unexpected upset over former governor Andrew Cuomo and securing his place in the general election. The Associated Press called the race following the release of the city’s ranked

Trump says he may arrest Zohran Mamdani if he does not comply with ICE

President Trump said on Tuesday that he would have Zohran Mamdani arrested if the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor refuses to allow federal immigration authorities to detain undocumented immigrants in the city. The big picture: Trump has continued to attack Mamdani, repeatedly calling him a communist and threatening

Trump: Elon Musk is upset he lost the EV mandate but 'he could lose a lot more than that'

Former President Donald Trump took aim at Elon Musk in a late-night Truth Social post, threatening to have the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) scrutinize federal support for Musk’s various business ventures, suggesting there’s “big money to be saved.” “Elon may get more subsidy than any human being

Wall Street strategist Tom Lee is aiming to create the MicroStrategy of Ethereum

Tom Lee of Fundstrat, well-known for his accurate bitcoin forecasts and stock market insights, is joining a relatively obscure bitcoin mining company with ambitions to become the largest publicly traded holder of ether. Starting Monday, Lee will serve as chairman of the board at BitMine Immersion Technologies. At the same

Texas has officially recognized gold and silver as legal tender

Some Texans are voicing doubts over a new law that recognizes gold and silver as legal tender in the state and calls for the creation of a transactional currency backed by the precious metals. Governor Greg Abbott announced on X (formerly Twitter) Sunday that he had signed House Bill 1056

Lululemon, LULU, sues Costco, COST, for allegedly selling clothing knock-offs

Lululemon is taking legal action against Costco, accusing the wholesale giant of selling imitations of its $128 pants and other high-end athleisure wear. In a lawsuit filed on Friday, Lululemon claims that Costco has “unlawfully traded” on the athleisure brand’s “reputation, goodwill, and sweat equity” by offering “unauthorized and