The EU AI Act’s most consequential enforcement provisions were postponed to December 2027 even as the August 2 deadline formally took effect.
Posted inMarkets
Dow Closes at Record 53,178 as Oil Falls on Iran Pause
Wall Street set records on August 3 as the Dow surged 693 points to 53,178.41, powered by a 5% drop in Brent crude on signals of Iran de-escalation.
Posted inEconomy
US Manufacturing PMI Reaches Four-Year High of 55.6% in July
The ISM’s July manufacturing index rose to 55.6%, a four-year high, as factory employment expanded for the first time in nearly three years.
Posted inGeopolitics
US Blacklists Mahan Air and Four Foreign Firms Over IRGC Support
OFAC sanctioned six entities across Iran, China, Russia and India for aiding the IRGC, including its “airline of choice” for moving troops and weapons.
Posted inWorld
Sudan Army Strikes Darfur Tribal Court, Killing at Least 35
A Sudan army drone struck a North Darfur customary court on August 2, killing at least 35 people, rights monitors said, in a war with no end in sight.
Posted inTech
California’s AI Watermarking Law Takes Effect for Major Generative AI Platforms
California’s AI Transparency Act became operative August 2, requiring large generative AI platforms to embed C2PA provenance in synthetic media and offer free AI-content detection tools.
Posted inMarkets
Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft Add $1.5 Trillion After AI Cloud Earnings Vindicate Capex
Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft’s cloud beats sent the S&P 500 to its best week since October 2023, adding $1.5 trillion in combined market value as investor anxiety over AI spending reversed.
Posted inEconomy
China’s Factory and Services Activity Both Contract in July for First Time This Year
China’s manufacturing PMI fell to 49.2 in July and non-manufacturing to 49.0, the first month this year that both measures have contracted simultaneously.
Posted inGeopolitics
Ukraine Hits Engels Bomber Base and Saratov Refinery in Deepest Overnight Raids
Ukrainian drones set fires at Russia’s Engels airbase and Saratov refinery overnight August 2, striking key military and energy infrastructure roughly 600 kilometres inside Russian territory.
Posted inWorld
Fighting Returns to Western Tigray in Worst Breach of 2022 Peace Deal
Armed clashes erupted near Sheraro on August 1 as Ethiopian federal troops and Tigray forces traded blame, in what one expert called the most serious incident since the Pretoria ceasefire.