CNBC

📈 The euro zone economy eked out better-than-expected growth of 0.1% in the second quarter compared to the previous three months, flash data showed. Growth had been expected to flatline in the period. It comes as tariffs have been top of mind across economies around the world. Some levies have been in effect during the second quarter, and much of it was plagued by uncertainty about the tariff outlook as negotiations have been underway. Find out more about what the data tells us at CNBC International: https://lnkd.in/evekuXUv

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that India will pay a tariff of 25% beginning Aug. 1, in addition to a "penalty" for what he views as unfair trade policies and for India's purchase of military equipment and energy from Russia. The 25% tariff rate is modestly lower than what he imposed on India on "Liberation Day," when he announced a 26% rate on the key trading partner. "Remember, while India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their Tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the World, and they have the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any Country," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Palo Alto Networks will take over Israeli identity security provider CyberArk in a deal valued at roughly $25 billion. The California-based cybersecurity company will pay $45 a share for CyberArk, representing a 26% premium to its share price Friday. Shares of Palo Alto fell more than 7% before the bell Wednesday, building on a 5% loss from Tuesday. CyberArk's stock dipped 2%.

The U.S. economy grew at a much better than expected pace in the second quarter, powered by a turnaround in the trade balance and renewed consumer strength, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Gross domestic product, a sum of goods and services activity across the sprawling U.S. economy, jumped 3% for the April-through-June period, according to figures adjusted for seasonality and inflation. That topped the Dow Jones estimate for 2.3% and helped reverse a decline of 0.5% for the first quarter that came largely due to a huge drop in imports, which subtract from the total, as well as a weak consumer spending amid tariff concerns.

Why is it taking Revolut so long to launch its UK bank? The fintech was granted a UK bank license with restrictions. It's since been in a phase known as "mobilisation," which severely limits the company on the amount of customer deposits it can hold. The only way for Revolut to become a full-fledged, deposit-taking bank would be to exit this mobilisation phase and begin the process of migrating customers to its banking entity. But that's easier said than done. I explain why, in my latest for CNBC: https://lnkd.in/eeDukHUZ #revolut #fintech #uk #banks #banking #finance #money #tech

Hiring at private companies rebounded at a stronger than expected pace in July, indicating the labor market is holding its ground, ADP reported Wednesday. Payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 104,000 for the month, reversing a loss of 23,000 in June and topping the Dow Jones forecast from economists for an increase of 64,000. The June number was revised up from an initially reported loss of 33,000. Though the pace of hiring is well off where it stood last year, the June total was the best since March and consistent with a slowing but still fairly vibrant jobs picture.

While its megacap tech peers are bragging about building island-sized data centers filled with Nvidia chips to power artificial intelligence devices of the future, Apple remains largely on the sidelines. Wall Street is getting concerned. The iPhone maker is the second-worst performer this year among the so-called Magnificent Seven, with its stock down over 15% as of Tuesday's close. Tesla, down 20%, is the only other member of the group that's lost value in 2025.

🔥 Catastrophe bond sales are having a major moment Catastrophe bond sales are booming, underscoring the growing appeal of what was once considered a relatively niche corner of the insurance industry. The issuance of so-called catastrophe bonds, or CAT bonds, has soared to $18.2 billion so far this year, according to specialist data provider Artemis. bm. With five months to spare, that’s already more than the record of $17.7 billion set across the whole of 2024. “It is quite something. It’s really been an impressive year,” Steve Evans, owner and editor-in-chief at Artemis.bm, told CNBC by video call. The emergence of CAT bonds as an increasingly mainstream financial instrument comes at a time when the climate crisis is leading to an increase in both the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. ✍ Take a look at the full story below: https://lnkd.in/eZUvHuB3 #CATbonds #climate #insurance

Reminiscent of the GameStop and AMC rallies of 2021, stocks like Kohl's, GoPro and Krispy Kreme saw volatile trading in late July. It's the latest class of meme stocks, which are companies that experience sharp swings in their share prices that are not based on their underlying fundamentals. Meme stocks are typically cheap. Kohl's share price, for example, is down around 40% over the past year.

The Department of Justice in late-night court filings on Tuesday gave federal judges additional information as part of its efforts to get grand jury proceedings related to notorious sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell unsealed. The DOJ told the judges that it has now notified all but one of the victims mentioned in those grand jury transcripts. Manhattan District Judge Paul Engelmayer last week had pointedly noted that the DOJ may not have notified Epstein and Maxwell's victims before it first asked him and another judge to unseal those transcripts in the face of pressure on the Trump administration to release information about the investigations.