By Aditya Soni (Reuters) – Microsoft investors will have one big question when the tech giant reports earnings on Tuesday: has growth in its Azure cloud-computing business picked up enough to justify the billions of dollars being spent on artificial intelligence infrastructure? Widely seen as the front-runner in the race to make money from AI,…

By Howard Schneider WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Inflation is nearing the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and the central bank is expected to begin cutting interest rates as soon as September. While it may take a while for the pace of price increases to fall all the way to 2% – and policymakers will be sensitive to…

(Reuters) -McDonald’s reported a surprise drop in quarterly global comparable sales on Monday, as the burger giant struggled to hold back budget-strapped customers from opting for cheaper meals at home. Global sales fell 1% in the second quarter, its first decline in 13 quarters, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a 0.53% rise, according to…

(Reuters) -Abbott Laboratories’ shares fell nearly 7% premarket, while British peer Reckitt Benckiser slumped 9% on Monday, after the U.S. healthcare firm was ordered to pay $495 million in damages related to its formula for premature infants. A jury late on Friday found Abbott’s specialized formula for premature infants caused an Illinois girl to develop…

By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) – LinkedIn agreed to pay $6.625 million to settle a proposed class action accusing the Microsoft unit of overcharging advertisers by inflating how many people watched video ads on its platform. A preliminary settlement was filed late Thursday in San Jose, California federal court, and requires approval by U.S. Magistrate Judge…

By Harry Robertson LONDON (Reuters) -European shares and U.S. stock futures rebounded on Friday as markets stabilised after a week in which global equities have tumbled almost 2%, while the dollar regained ground against the yen. There was little major reaction to data showing the U.S. personal consumption expenditures index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure…

By Rich McKay (Reuters) – Winds and lightning strikes have sparked and fanned wildfires across the Pacific Northwest this week, including the largest fire in the United States, near the Oregon-Idaho border, which grew rapidly on Friday, fire officials said. The Durkee Fire near Huntington, Oregon, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Boise, Idaho,…

(Reuters) – Amazon MGM Studios has entered a multi-year film partnership with Scott Stuber, the former longtime head of films at Netflix, to finance and release movies from his new production company, it said on Friday. Stuber, who left Netflix in March to start his media company, will produce several films annually under United Artists…

(Reuters) -AMC Entertainment Holdings said on Monday it had reached an agreement with creditors that extends up to $2.45 billion of debt maturities from 2026 to 2029 and beyond. Under the terms of the deal, AMC will issue $1.2 billion of new secured term loans due 2029 in consideration for an open market purchase of…

By Jeff Mason and Jarrett Renshaw (Reuters) -Former Attorney General Eric Holder and his law firm, Covington & Burling LLP, will conduct vetting of potential running mates for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for the presidency, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Harris is running for the Democratic presidential nomination after President Joe…