The Trump administration has suspended employment-based green card processing for Microsoft, Adobe and major IT outsourcing firms, and opened investigations into nine leading universities as it widens a visa enforcement push. The Labor Department previously launched an enforcement drive called “Project Firewall,” alongside a White House proclamation imposing a one-time $100,000 fee on new H-1B petitions for workers hired from abroad. The measures are aimed at combating alleged fraud and protecting U.S. jobs.

Devon Energy is selling its Eagle Ford shale assets to Crescent Energy for $4.2 billion, including about 90,000 net acres in South Texas that represent roughly 4% of Devon’s total production. The divestment follows Devon’s $58 billion merger with Coterra Energy as the company refocuses on its core position in the Permian Basin. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce debt.

Data center operator Applied Digital reported first-quarter results showing revenue rose by more than fourfold from a year earlier. Net loss widened over the same period as the company increased investment to meet rising demand for AI and high-performance computing services. The stock swung in after-hours trading on Wednesday and was up nearly 2% at one point.

AI companies are running virtual drug trials in an effort to improve the success rate of human clinical studies. Novartis’ once‑touted del-desiran missed its target in a late-stage trial, sending the stock down 11% in a single session and wiping out $30 billion in market value. Takeda’s head of research said the TYK2 target was identified through human genetics analysis, and machine learning was used to refine the structure of a once-daily oral pill.

A selloff in Europe’s bond market is making investors more cautious toward higher-risk sovereign debt. France and Italy have seen yields climb on worsening fiscal outlooks, while demand has shifted toward German bonds as a safe haven. France plans to issue a record €340 billion of bonds in 2027, and Italy’s debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to become the highest in the European Union. Analysts say the latest bond-market turbulence could push the euro down toward $1.10.

Anthropic’s IPO prospectus shows revenue rose to $4.6 billion in 2025, while its operating loss widened to $8.06 billion from $2.98 billion in 2024. The filing attributes the larger loss mainly to $7.3 billion in compute and infrastructure spending. At the same time, prices for AI services just below the frontier have been cut sharply, and an AI index has fallen more than 40% since June 30. SoftBank’s margin loan against its OpenAI stake is now less than 11% of the valuation it cited at the time.

HSBC is planning sweeping job cuts in its UK wealth management business, with about half of management and specialist roles set to go and reductions among financial advisers potentially reaching around 70%. The move is part of new Chief Executive Georges Elhedery’s AI-focused strategy since he took over in 2024, aimed at simplifying operations and improving efficiency through technology. The overhaul is expected to significantly reshape how the bank delivers wealth management services in the UK.

U.S. stocks finished higher on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending at record closing highs as oil prices steadied and Treasury yields eased. The calmer rate backdrop helped shift attention toward the third-quarter earnings season set to begin next week. Commerce Department data showed the trade deficit widened 13.7% as imports rose to a record, underscoring strong domestic demand but adding to inflation pressure. Expectations for a second consecutive Federal Reserve rate hike at this month’s policy meeting also cooled.

Executives at a London forum said the volume of oil inventories that can be tapped by the global market is shrinking, with more than 1 billion barrels released since the Middle East crisis and only 10% or less of the buffer remaining. The International Energy Agency is preparing a new release of 100 million barrels, but part of its record 400 million-barrel release has yet to fully reach the market. The combination is highlighting tighter supply conditions and making the market more fragile.