Jeremy Nixon, co-founder of A.G.I. House, in San Francisco, May 24, 2026. Pope Leo XIV’s spiritual message on artificial intelligence arrived as Silicon Valley’s A.I. enthusiasts work on their own spirituality through technology. (Kelsey McClellan/The New York Times) By CADE METZ When Pope Leo XIV presented a 42,300-word open letter to the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on Monday, calling for protections against the rise of artificial intelligence, he was joined by Christopher

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq extended gains on Thursday, briefly hitting intraday record highs, after news reports ‌said the U.S. and Iran had reached a deal, while investors also digested key inflation data. The news was first reported by Axios, which said that negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program would be held during the 60-day truce period, but that the plan still needed the approval of President Donald Trump. “Traders are on a hair trigger with the back-and-forth on deal

The terrace area of Delta’s first-class lounge at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The markets are “telling you what they think about the durability and the differentiation of the Delta experience,” says Delta chief executive Ed Bastian. (Vincent Alban/The New York Times) By NIRAJ CHOKSHI The airline business is in turmoil. Spirit Airlines abruptly shut down this month. Jet fuel prices have risen around 50% because of the war with Iran. And some industry exe

The benchmark Standard & Poor’s 500 index will end ⁠2026 ⁠slightly higher than its current record levels, according to ⁠a Reuters poll of stock market forecasters, who pointed to risks from higher energy prices and inflation if the ​Middle East war drags on. The index will finish 2026 at 7,620, or 1.3% above its Tuesday close of 7,519.12, according to the median estimate of 47 market strategists, analysts ‌and portfolio managers polled from May 15 to ‌26. They forecast that t

People pass near a billboard showing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz over President Donald Trump’s face with a message reading “At the Breaking Point” in Tehran, May 2, 2026. A lot has to happen before the roughly 1,500 ships stranded in the Persian Gulf can start moving through the narrow and vital strait, which carried one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas before the war with Iran. (Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times) By JENNY GROSS When the Strait of Hormuz

After a long weekend in ⁠the United States and many other countries, markets returned ready to cheer signs that an Iran peace plan ​was near agreement, with world crude prices falling nearly 7% to below $100 per barrel on Monday. The peace plan under discussion would reportedly include a 60-day ceasefire extension and ‌an eventual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. ‌But doubts over how soon a final text could be agreed were exacerbated by news overnight of fresh U.S. military

The eBay headquarters in San José, Calif., Jan. 28, 2024. The company that pioneered the online marketplace has weathered highs and lows since the 1990s and in recent years has managed to find its footing again, but may now have a hostile takeover to navigate. (Ian Bates/The New York Times) By KIM BHASIN EBay, once Silicon Valley’s face of the e-commerce revolution, has found itself at a bizarre and unexpected crossroads. The company that pioneered the online marketplace has

Stocks surged and the U.S. dollar and oil prices ⁠slid ⁠on Monday as the prospect of a deal to end ⁠the Iran war buoyed risk appetite, although a lack of clarity over when the Strait of Hormuz would open kept enthusiasm in ​check. The nearly three-month-long conflict in the Middle East has driven energy prices sharply higher and reshaped the global rates outlook, as inflation concerns intensify following Tehran’s effective shutdown of the key strait. U.S. President Donald Tr

The Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Jan. 29, 2024. ​Meta told employees in April 2026 that it would carry out mass layoffs on May 20, as the Silicon Valley giant tries to transform into an AI-first company. (Ian C. Bates/The New York Times) By ELI TAN, KALLEY HUANG and MIKE ISAAC For the last month, employees at Meta have been on edge. In April, they were told that 8,000 of them, or 10% of the workforce, would be laid off on May 20 as Meta remade itself for the artif

Global equity funds recorded the ⁠first ⁠weekly outflow in nine ⁠weeks in the week through May 20, as investors ​turned cautious over inflation and a rise in long-term borrowing costs to nearly ‌two-decade highs. According to LSEG Lipper ‌data, investors liquidated a net $6.13 billion of global equity funds during ⁠the week, ⁠logging their first weekly net sales since mid-March, when they ​had withdrawn a net $21.87 billion. The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed to 5.201% o