Market Beats | Meta Invests $14.3 Billion in Scale AI; US State Department to Cut 1,600 Jobs Amid Reorganization; Kenvue Weighs Sale of Skin-Care Brands; Musk’s Neuralink Shows Breakthrough; US Consumer Sentiment Posts Biggest Gain Since January 2024; Delta, United Suspend Tel Aviv Flights After Israeli Airspace Closure

—— Meta Invests $14.3 Billion in Scale AI; US State Department to Cut 1,600 Jobs Amid Reorganization; Kenvue Weighs Sale of Skin-Care Brands; Musk’s Neuralink Shows Breakthrough; US Consumer Sentiment Posts Biggest Gain Since January 2024; Delta, United Suspend Tel Aviv Flights After Israeli Airspace Closure

1. Meta Invests $14.3 Billion in Scale AI

Meta Platforms Inc. has finalized a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, acquiring a 49% nonvoting stake in the AI startup as part of a bold move to accelerate its development of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The investment, which values Scale at over $29 billion, also brings Scale CEO Alexandr Wang into Meta’s “superintelligence” unit — a team dedicated to building AI systems that can perform at human-level capacity.

Wang will remain on Scale’s board, but will now also work closely with Meta’s AGI efforts alongside CEO Mark Zuckerberg. This highly unusual deal gives Meta deep access to Scale’s AI infrastructure while allowing the startup to maintain independent operations.

The announcement comes as Meta intensifies its AI push amid growing pressure to compete with leaders like OpenAI and Google in the race to develop transformative AI technologies.

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2. US State Department to Cut 1,600 Jobs Amid Reorganization

The US State Department is preparing to lay off up to 1,600 US-based foreign service and civil service staff as part of a sweeping reorganization plan unveiled by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The move has drawn sharp criticism from diplomats and the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which warned it could severely undermine US diplomatic capacity.

AFSA, the foreign service union, said it was “firmly and unequivocally opposed” to the plan, highlighting that the State Department is already understaffed and under-resourced. Former senior officials also criticized the plan’s approach, with ex-ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt warning that many skilled diplomats — particularly those with expertise in languages and regional affairs — may be lost.

The reorganization follows the controversial dismantling of USAID, the US’s main foreign aid agency, and is aligned with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda. Rubio argued the changes are necessary to control ballooning costs and improve operational efficiency.

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3. Kenvue Weighs Sale of Skin-Care Brands

Kenvue Inc., the consumer-health company spun off from Johnson & Johnson, is considering selling several of its smaller skin-care and beauty brands, including Clean & Clear, Maui Moisture, and Neostrata, according to Reuters. The company intends to retain flagship brands like Neutrogena and Aveeno.

The potential divestitures come as Kenvue faces pressure from activist investors including Starboard Value LP and Toms Capital. These investors argue the company is undervalued compared to peers like L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, and Haleon, despite owning premium consumer-health brands.

Since its public listing in 2023, Kenvue’s stock has remained flat, underperforming the S&P 500’s 48% gain over the same period. The brand review could mark an effort to streamline its portfolio and improve shareholder returns.

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4. Musk’s Neuralink Shows Breakthrough

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is pushing the frontiers of vision restoration technology. According to an engineer, the company has used a brain implant called “Blindsight” to make a monkey “see” something that wasn’t physically there—marking a key step toward restoring sight for the blind.

Neuralink engineer Joseph O’Doherty said Friday at a conference that the device stimulates parts of the monkey’s brain associated with vision, causing the animal to perceive an object that doesn’t exist. In at least two-thirds of the tests, the monkey moved its eyes toward what researchers were trying to make it “see.”

These are the first public results of Neuralink’s testing of the Blindsight chip, which is designed to mimic the function of the human eye. It represents a leading-edge development in brain-machine interface (BMI) technology aimed at treating severe vision loss.

Though the results are promising, the device is not yet approved for human testing in the United States, and O’Doherty acknowledged the uncertain applicability of animal findings to humans.

Musk previously said the short-term goal is to restore vision for the blind, while the long-term vision includes enabling superhuman sight, such as infrared perception. Neuralink hopes to begin human trials of Blindsight later in 2025.

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5. US Consumer Sentiment Posts Biggest Gain Since January 2024

US consumer sentiment rose in June for the first time this year and posted the biggest increase since January 2024, as concerns over the economy eased and short-term inflation expectations showed significant improvement.

The University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index jumped 8.3 points from the prior month to 60.5, according to data released Friday. The figure exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

Consumers expect prices to rise at a 5.1% pace over the next year, down sharply from 6.6% in May. That marks the steepest monthly drop in short-term inflation expectations since October 2001. For the longer term—five to ten years—they expect a 4.1% annual increase, slightly below May’s 4.2%.

The rebound in sentiment reflects easing anxiety over President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policy. The survey showed a significant boost in expectations for the broader economy and the largest jump in personal financial outlooks in more than three years.

Still, consumer assessments of business conditions, personal finances, and buying conditions remain below levels seen at the end of last year.

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6. Delta, United Suspend Tel Aviv Flights After Israeli Airspace Closure

Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Airlines Holdings Inc. suspended flights to Tel Aviv following Israel’s bombing of Iran and the closure of Israel’s airspace.

Delta has halted flights through August 31 from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and will continue monitoring “the evolving security environment in the area,” the Atlanta-based carrier said in a statement on Friday.

The airline issued a travel waiver offering rebooking options for customers holding reservations to Tel Aviv from June 12 through August 31.

United didn’t specify when it would resume service between its Newark Liberty International Airport hub and Tel Aviv. It canceled an outbound flight from Newark on Thursday, and another flight already airborne returned to New Jersey.

The carrier also arranged for 26 crew members on layover in Tel Aviv to depart on an El Al Israel Airlines flight.

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7. Nvidia posts 69% revenue surge

Nvidia reported a 69% year-on-year jump in revenue to $44.1 billion for the quarter ending April 27, surpassing Wall Street’s forecast of $43.3 billion, even as it absorbs a major revenue hit from US export restrictions targeting China.

The chipmaker, central to the global AI infrastructure boom, expects revenue of about $45 billion for the current quarter, plus or minus 2%. That range puts its guidance slightly below the Bloomberg consensus estimate of $45.5 billion. Nvidia shares rose 5% in early Thursday trading.

The company is navigating the fallout from President Donald Trump’s renewed trade tensions with China, including export controls introduced in April that barred Nvidia from selling its AI chips specifically tailored for the Chinese market. Nvidia said those curbs led to a $4.5 billion charge last quarter and an additional $2.5 billion in missed sales. The company also expects to lose roughly $8 billion in Chinese revenue this quarter as a result.

CEO Jensen Huang said demand for Nvidia products remains “incredibly strong,” but he reiterated criticism of the US government’s export control measures on a call with analysts.

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