Economy

Google on Monday announced a partnership with Commonwealth Fusion Systems, or CFS, a private company spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which marks the tech giant′s first commercial commitment to fusion.

The company unveiled plans to buy 200 megawatts of clean fusion power from what CFS describes as the world’s first grid-scale fusion power plant, known as ARC, based in Chesterfield County, Virginia.

ARC is expected to come online and generate 400 megawatts of clean, zero-carbon power in the early 2030s, which is enough energy to power large industrial sites or roughly 150,000 homes, according to CFS. The agreement also gives Google the option to purchase power from additional ARC plants.

Google, which has invested in CFS since 2021, said it also increased its stake in the Devens, Massachusetts-based company.

Google and CFS did not disclose the financial terms.

“We’re excited to make this longer-term bet on a technology with transformative potential to meet the world’s energy demand, and support CFS in their effort to reach their scientific and engineering milestones needed to get there,” Michael Terrell, head of advanced energy at Google, said in a statement.

Fusion is a process that takes light atomic nuclei and heats them to over 100 million degrees Celsius. At these temperatures, the fuel becomes a plasma, which eventually causes the nuclei to fuse and release significant amounts of energy. The energy is then captured to create carbon-free electricity.

CFS is one of many firms racing to achieve commercial-scale fusion energy and Google has invested in others. Earlier this month, Google announced continued funding for TAE Technologies, a California-based fusion energy company.

Home Depot said Monday that it is buying GMS, a building-products distributor, for about $4.3 billion as the retailer moves to draw more sales from contractors and other home professionals.

Shares of Home Depot were roughly flat in early trading Monday. GMS shares jumped more than 11%.

As part of the deal, the Home Depot-owned subsidiary SRS Distribution will buy all outstanding shares of GMS for $110 per share, which adds up to about $4.3 billion and amounts to total enterprise value including net debt of about $5.5 billion, the company said.

Home Depot said it expects the acquisition to be completed by early 2026.

Home Depot’s announcement also concludes a potential bidding war between the big-box retailer and billionaire Brad Jacobs. Jacobs’ building-products distributor QXO had offered about $5 billion in cash to acquire GMS and said it would press forward with a hostile takeover if the company’s management rejected the proposal.

As Home Depot chases growth, it’s gone after a steadier and more lucrative piece of the home improvement business: electricians, roofers, home renovators and other professionals who tackle large projects year-round and need a lot of supplies. Home Depot said it’s speeding along that strategy with the GMS deal.

Home Depot bought SRS Distribution — the subsidiary that’s acquiring GMS — last year for $18.25 billion, in the largest acquisition in its history. Texas-based SRS sells supplies to professionals in the landscaping, roofing and pool businesses and it has bought up many other smaller suppliers as it’s grown.

Home Depot’s focus on selling to professionals is well-timed. Sales from do-it-yourself customers have slowed as higher mortgage rates have decreased housing turnover and dampened homeowners’ demand for larger projects because of higher borrowing costs.

The company said it expects total sales to grow by 2.8% for the full fiscal year and comparable sales, which take out the impact of one-time factors like store openings and calendar differences, to rise about 1%.

Home Depot said Monday that it is buying GMS, a building-products distributor, for about $4.3 billion as the retailer moves to draw more sales from contractors and other home professionals.

Shares of Home Depot were roughly flat in early trading Monday. GMS shares jumped more than 11%.

As part of the deal, the Home Depot-owned subsidiary SRS Distribution will buy all outstanding shares of GMS for $110 per share, which adds up to about $4.3 billion and amounts to total enterprise value including net debt of about $5.5 billion, the company said.

Home Depot said it expects the acquisition to be completed by early 2026.

Home Depot’s announcement also concludes a potential bidding war between the big-box retailer and billionaire Brad Jacobs. Jacobs’ building-products distributor QXO had offered about $5 billion in cash to acquire GMS and said it would press forward with a hostile takeover if the company’s management rejected the proposal.

As Home Depot chases growth, it’s gone after a steadier and more lucrative piece of the home improvement business: electricians, roofers, home renovators and other professionals who tackle large projects year-round and need a lot of supplies. Home Depot said it’s speeding along that strategy with the GMS deal.

Home Depot bought SRS Distribution — the subsidiary that’s acquiring GMS — last year for $18.25 billion, in the largest acquisition in its history. Texas-based SRS sells supplies to professionals in the landscaping, roofing and pool businesses and it has bought up many other smaller suppliers as it’s grown.

Home Depot’s focus on selling to professionals is well-timed. Sales from do-it-yourself customers have slowed as higher mortgage rates have decreased housing turnover and dampened homeowners’ demand for larger projects because of higher borrowing costs.

The company said it expects total sales to grow by 2.8% for the full fiscal year and comparable sales, which take out the impact of one-time factors like store openings and calendar differences, to rise about 1%.

It’s a bittersweet day for Windows users.

Microsoft is scrapping its iconic “blue screen of death,” known for appearing during unexpected restarts on Windows computers. The company revealed a new black iteration in a blog post on Thursday, saying that it is “streamlining the unexpected restart experience.”

The new black unexpected restart screen is slated to launch this summer on Windows 11 24H2 devices, the company said. Microsoft touted the updates as an “easier” and “faster” way to recover from restarts.

The software giant’s blue screen of death dates back to the early 1990s, according to longtime Microsoft developer Raymond Chen.

Microsoft also said it plans to update the user interface to match the Windows 11 design and cut downtime during restarts to two seconds for the majority of users.

“This change is part of a larger continued effort to reduce disruption in the event of an unexpected restart,” Microsoft wrote.

The iconic blue screen was seemingly everywhere in July 2024 after a faulty update from CrowdStrike crashed computer systems around the world.

Apple Thursday made changes to its App Store European policies, saying it believes the new rules will help the company avoid a fine of 500 million euro ($585 million) from the EU for violating the Digital Markets Act.

The new policies are a complicated system of fees and programs for app makers, with some developers now paying three separate fees for one download. Apple also is going to introduce a new set of rules for all app developers in Europe, which includes a fee called the “core technology commission” of 5% on all digital purchases made outside the App Store.

The changes Apple announced are not a complete departure from the company’s previous policy that drew the European Commission’s attention in the first place.

Apple said it did not want to make the changes but was forced to by the European Commission’s regulations, which threatened fines of up to 50 million euros per day. Apple said it believed its plan is in compliance with the DMA and that it will avoid fines.

“The European Commission is requiring Apple to make a series of additional changes to the App Store,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. “We disagree with this outcome and plan to appeal.”

A spokesperson for the European Commission did not say that Apple was no longer subject to the fine. He said in a statement that the EC is looking at Apple’s new terms to see if the company is in compliance.

“As part of this assessment the Commission considers it particularly important to obtain the views of market operators and interested third parties before deciding on next steps,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The saga in Brussels is the latest example of Apple fiercely defending its App Store policies, a key source of profit for the iPhone maker through fees of between 15% and 30% on downloads through its App Store.

It also shows that Apple is continuing to claim it is owed a commission when iPhone apps link to websites for digital purchases overseas despite a recent court ruling that barred the practice in the U.S.

Under the Digital Markets Act, Apple was required to allow app developers more choices for how they distribute and promote their apps. In particular, developers are no longer prohibited from telling their users about cheaper alternatives to Apple’s App Store, a practice called “steering” by regulators.

In early 2024, Apple announced its changes, including a 50 cent fee on off-platform app downloads.

Critics, including Sweden’s Spotify, pushed back on Apple’s proposed changes, saying that the tech firm chose an approach that violated the spirit of the rules, and that its fees and commissions challenge the viability of the alternative billing system. The European Commission investigated for a year, and it said on Thursday that it would again seek feedback from Apple’s critics.

“From the beginning, Apple has been clear that they didn’t like the idea of abiding by the DMA,” Spotify said last year.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, whose company successfully changed Apple’s steering rules in the U.S. earlier this year, accused Apple of “malicious compliance” in its approach to the DMA.

“Apple’s new Digital Markets Act malicious compliance scheme is blatantly unlawful in both Europe and the United States and makes a mockery of fair competition in digital markets,” Sweeney posted on social media on Thursday. “Apps with competing payments are not only taxed but commercially crippled in the App Store.”

The European Commission announced the 500 million euro fine in April. The commission at the time said that the tech company might still be able to make changes to avoid the fine.

Apple’s restrictions on steering in the United States were tossed earlier this year, following a court order in the long-running Epic Games case. A judge in California found that Apple had purposely misled the court about its steering concessions in the United States and instructed it to immediately stop asking charging a fee or commission on for external downloads.

The order is currently in effect in the United States as it is being appealed and has already shifted the economics of app development. As a result, companies like Amazon and Spotify in the U.S. can direct customers to their own websites and avoid Apple’s 15% to 30% commission.

In the U.S., Amazon’s iPhone Kindle app now shows an orange “Get Book” button that links to Amazon.com.

The Tennis Channel is extending its deal with the Women’s Tennis Association that will see the cable TV network and streaming service continue to broadcast more than 2,000 matches each season.

While terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, Tennis Channel CEO Jeff Blackburn told CNBC in an interview there was a “pretty big step up in our payments” to the WTA for the U.S. media rights, which includes international tournaments and the WTA Finals event. The new agreement lasts through 2032.

“Our goal and mission is to just cover pro tennis and the game of tennis like no one else, every day, every hour, all year round. There’s no offseason,” Blackburn said. “WTA plays a huge role in that and it was a big priority for me to make sure that we renewed our relationship and extend it as long term as we were able.”

The exclusive rights renewal comes as the Tennis Channel is in the midst of a transition on several fronts.

Last year, longtime Tennis Channel CEO Ken Solomon was ousted from the company. Blackburn stepped into the role in early May, following a 24-year career at Amazon, where he helped to build out Prime Video and expand the streaming service into sports, among other businesses.

Meanwhile, Sinclair, the owner of broadcast stations as well as the Tennis Channel, had recently considered offloading the network, CNBC previously reported. The parent company, however, is no longer exploring a sale of the Tennis Channel, particularly since Blackburn has taken the helm, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss nonpublic details.

In the backdrop, the Tennis Channel, like its network peers, is contending with the continued loss of customers from the pay-TV bundle. While live sports garner the biggest audiences — and leagues have reaped huge rights payouts as a result — media companies are focused on growing the profitability of their streaming businesses.

In 2014 the 24/7 tennis network took its first step into streaming with Tennis Channel Plus, and later in 2022 introduced Tennis Channel 2, a free, ad-supported streaming channel. While Blackburn said Tennis Channel 2 has been successful and attracted a younger audience, he is focused on beefing up the Tennis Channel’s recently launched direct-to-consumer streaming app.

The app, which launched in November 2024, costs $9.99 a month or $109.99 annually and offers the same programming as the pay-TV network. Media companies are increasingly offering the same live sports featured on pay-TV networks on their counterpart streaming alternatives — most notably with the launch of Disney’s flagship ESPN app later this year.

“What’s important about the partnership is that they’re committing to doing more with us,” said Marina Storti, CEO of WTA Ventures, the commercial arm of the WTA. “They’re committed to that increased exposure across all of their platforms. They’re committed to ensuring this kind of equal exposure for women and men, where they have the rights. And they’re making a significant commitment. There is a substantial increase in the rights fees, which is a big milestone for us as part of our plan and commitment to growing.”

The Tennis Channel’s agreement with the WTA covers a large swath of the WTA’s tournaments outside of North America through the season-closing WTA Finals.

The audience for WTA events on the Tennis Channel has been growing, particularly among the younger demographic. Viewership among 18- to 34-year-olds on the Tennis Channel has grown annually for each of the past two years, according to a news release.

The deal comes as American female tennis players have shot to the top of global rankings and women’s sports in general have seen a rise in popularity and investment funding.

Already in 2025, two American women have won two of the top majors: Madison Keys took the Australian Open in January, and Coco Gauff was crowned the winner of the French Open in June. Gauff and Keys will be among the participants at Wimbledon, which kicks off on Monday.

“Tennis is really the only major sport where the men’s and women’s game is on equal footing, and that’s really important,” said Blackburn. “I think for tennis it makes it unique. The growth of women’s sports overall? Maybe basketball and soccer will get there, but I think tennis is way ahead in terms of providing that for the fan.”

The Tennis Channel 2 free streaming option has earmarked every Tuesday as “Women’s Day” — showing only women’s match coverage — and Blackburn highlighted the network’s roster of heavy-hitting female talent, including former players and Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport, among others.

The deal extension also builds on WTA Ventures’ recent efforts to grow its commercial revenue and build the profiles of its athletes.

In 2023 the WTA formed a strategic partnership with private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, which invested $150 million for a 20% stake in the newly created WTA Ventures. The entity was formed to focus on growing commercial revenue through sponsorships and media rights deals, with the goal of tripling its revenue by 2029.

In 2024 WTA Ventures said it expected to increase revenue by 24% in its first full year.

The media rights extension marks the first renegotiation with the Tennis Channel under the WTA Ventures framework. The WTA’s long-standing media rights deal with streaming service DAZN expires at the end of next year, and talks have begun for new deals that would begin in 2027, said Storti.

WTA Ventures said its global audience surpassed 1 billion viewers on broadcast and streaming last season, and Storti said the U.S. is among one of the WTA’s biggest growth markets, along with China and Poland.

“We are a completely mass-market product that attracts hundreds of millions of fans across the world, and I would say we deliver a product that stands kind of shoulder to shoulder with the men counterpart,” Storti said.

The WTA has also recently emphasized improvements for players.

This year it’s has announced a paid maternity leave funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, as well as a new policy allowing players to protect their rankings during fertility treatments

Still, tennis is not without its issues of disparity. While the U.S. Open awarded equal prize money to men and women beginning in 1973, it was decades ahead of Wimbledon and other majors. And while equal prize money is given at the majors level, there’s still a considerable pay gap at lower-level tournaments.

The sport also drew criticism around the 2025 French Open when the majority of prime-time slots went to men’s matches.

Bumble shares rallied more than 26% on Wednesday after the dating app company revealed in a securities filing that it intends to slash 30% of its workforce, or about 240 roles.

The layoffs will result in $13 million to $18 million in charges for the company hitting in the third and fourth quarters of this year. Management estimates that the reductions will help the company save $40 million annually.

A Bumble spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC that the layoffs were “not made lightly.”

“Our focus now is on moving forward in a way that strengthens our core business, continues to serve our members effectively, and positions us for future growth,” they wrote.

Bumble said the cuts are part of a reconfiguration of its “operating structure to optimize execution on its strategic priorities.” The company plans to invest savings into new product and technology development.

Shares of the dating app company have plunged since their debut on the public markets in 2021. Its market value has plummeted from $7.7 billion to about $538 million as of Tuesday’s close.

Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who stepped down as CEO at the beginning of 2024, returned to the role earlier this year.

Along with the job cuts, Bumble updated its previously announced forecast for the current quarter.

The company now expects revenue to range between $244 million and $249 million, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization between $88 million and $93 million.

That’s up from the $235 million to $243 million in revenue and $79 million to $84 million in adjusted EBITDA forecast with Bumble’s first-quarter results last month.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday proposed easing a key capital rule that banks say has limited their ability to operate, drawing dissent from at least two officials who say the move could undermine important safeguards.

Known as the enhanced supplementary leverage ratio, the measure regulates the quantity and quality of capital banks should be keeping on their balance sheets. The rule emanated from a post-financial crisis effort to ensure the stability of the nation’s largest banks.

However, in recent years as bank reserves have built and concerns have grown over Treasury market liquidity, Wall Street executives and Fed officials have pushed to roll back the requirements. The regulations targeted treat all capital the same.

“This stark increase in the amount of relatively safe and low-risk assets on bank balance sheets over the past decade or so has resulted in the leverage ratio becoming more binding,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a statement. “Based on this experience, it is prudent for us to reconsider our original approach.”

The Fed board put the proposal open for a 60-day public comment window.

In its draft form, the measure would call for reducing the top-tier capital big banks must hold by 1.4%, or some $13 billion, for holding companies. Subsidiaries would see a larger drop, of $210 billion, which would still be held by the parent bank. The standard applies the same rules to so-called globally systemic important banks as well as their subsidiaries.

The rule would lower capital requirements to range of 3.5% to 4.5% from the current 5%, with subsidiaries put in the same range from a previous level of 6%.

Current Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller released statements supporting the changes.

“The proposal will help to build resilience in U.S. Treasury markets, reducing the likelihood of market dysfunction and the need for the Federal Reserve to intervene in a future stress event,” Bowman stated. “We should be proactive in addressing the unintended consequences of bank regulation, including the bindingness of the eSLR, while ensuring the framework continues to promote safety, soundness, and financial stability.”

On the whole, the plan seeks to loosen up banks to take on more lower-risk inventory such as Treasurys, which are now treated essentially the same as high-yield bonds for capital purposes. Fed regulators essentially are looking for the capital requirements to serve as a safety net rather than a bind on activity.

However, Governors Adriana Kugler and Michael Barr, the former vice chair of supervision, said they would oppose the move.

“Even if some further Treasury market intermediation were to occur in normal times, this proposal is unlikely to help in times of stress,” Barr said in a separate statement. “In short, firms will likely use the proposal to distribute capital to shareholders and engage in the highest return activities available to them, rather than to meaningfully increase Treasury intermediation.”

The leverage ratio has come under criticism for essentially penalizing banks for holding Treasurys. Official documents released Wednesday say the new regulations align with so-called Basel standards, which set standards for banks globally.

Chris Schwegmann is getting creative with how artificial intelligence is being used in law.

At Dallas-based boutique law firm Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann, he sometimes asks AI to channel Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts or Sherlock Holmes.

Schwegmann said after uploading opposing counsel’s briefs, he’ll ask legal technology platform Harvey to assume the role of a legal mind like Roberts to see how the chief justice would think about a particular problem.

Other times, he will turn to a fictional character like Holmes, unlocking a different frame of mind.

“Harvey, ChatGPT … they know who those folks are, and can approach the problem from that mindset,” he said. “Once we as lawyers get outside those lanes, when we are thinking more creatively involving other branches of science, literature, history, mythology, that sometimes generates some of the most interesting ideas that can then be put, using proper legal judgement, in a framework that works to solve a legal problem.”

It’s just one example of how smaller businesses are putting AI to work to punch above their weight, and new data shows there’s an opportunity for much more implementation in the future.

Only 24% of owners in the recent Small Business and Technology Survey from the National Federation of Independent Business said they are using AI, including ChatGPT, Canva and Copilot, in some capacity.

Notably, 98% of those using it said AI has so far not impacted the number of employees at their firms.

At his trial litigation firm of 50 attorneys, Schwegmann said AI is resolving work in days that would sometimes take weeks, and said the technology isn’t replacing workers at the firm.

It has freed up associate lawyers from doing “grunt work,” he said, and also means more senior-level partners have the time to mentor younger attorneys because everyone has more time.

The NFIB survey found AI use varied based on the size of the small business. For firms with employees in the single digits, uptake was at 21%. At firms with fifty or more workers, AI implementation was at nearly half of all respondents.

“The data show clearly that uptake for the smallest businesses lags substantially behind their larger competitors. … With a little attention from all the relevant stakeholders, a more equal playing field is possible,” the NFIB report said.

For future AI use, 63% of all small employers surveyed said the utilization of the technology in their industry in the next five years will be important to some degree; 12% said it will be extremely important and 15% said it will not be important at all.

Some of the most common uses in the survey were for communications, marketing and advertising, predictive analysis and customer service.

“We still have the need for the independent legal judgment of our associate lawyers and our partners — it hasn’t replaced them, it just augments their thinking,” Schwegmann said. “It makes them more creative and frees their time to do what lawyers do best, which is strategic thought and creative problem solving.”

The NFIB data echoes a recent survey from Reimagine Main Street, a project of Public Private Strategies Institute in partnership with PayPal.

Reimagine surveyed nearly 1,000 small businesses with annual revenue between $25,000 and $50,000 and also found that a quarter had already started integrating AI into daily workflows.

Schwegmann said at his firm, AI is helping to even the playing field.

“One of the things Harvey lets us do is review, understand and incorporate and respond much faster than we would prior to the use of these kinds of AI tools,” he said. “No longer does a party have an advantage because they can paper you to death.”

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sold 100,000 shares of the chipmaker’s stock on Friday and Monday, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The sales are worth nearly $15 million at Tuesday’s opening price.

The transactions are the first sale in Huang’s plan to sell as many as 600,000 shares of Nvidia through the end of 2025. It’s a plan that was announced in March, and it’d be worth $873 million at Tuesday’s opening price.

The Nvidia founder still owns more than 800 million Nvidia shares, according to Monday’s SEC filing. Huang has a net worth of about $126 billion, ranking him 12th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The 62-year-old chief executive sold about $700 million in Nvidia shares last year under a prearranged plan, too.

Nvidia stock is up more than 800% since December 2022 after OpenAI’s ChatGPT was first released to the public. That launch drew attention to Nvidia’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, which were needed to develop and power the artificial intelligence service.

The company’s chips remain in high demand with the majority of the AI chip market, and Nvidia has introduced two subsequent generations of its AI GPU technology.

Nvidia continues to grow. Its stock is up 9% this year, even as the company faces export control issues that could limit foreign markets for its AI chips.

In May, the company reported first-quarter earnings that showed the chipmaker’s revenue growing 69% on an annual basis to $44 billion during the quarter.