News 5 March 2026 - 6 March 2026

Etihad Orders 10 Boeing Jets, Raising Talk of Hard-to-Get 787 Slots
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Stock Market Today: Live Updates 16.07.2026

LIVEMarkets rolling coverageStarted: July 16, 2026, 4:00 AM EDTUpdated: July 16, 2026, 6:13 PM EDT Hayden Smith Weighs Pros and Cons of DIY Super on Australian Finance Podcast July 16, 2026, 6:02 PM EDT. Owen Rask and Pearler’s Hayden Smith break down if taking control of your own super makes sense or if you’re better off with big funds, in a chat on the Australian Finance Podcast. They go through self-managed super (SMSF), how brokerage fees work, and the difference between HIN and custodial models. The pair talk about where investors go wrong, like not understanding fees or making super
July 16, 2026
Intuit QuickBooks Index flags small-business job losses as U.S. payrolls report nears
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Intuit QuickBooks Index flags small-business job losses as U.S. payrolls report nears

Small businesses in the U.S. shed 45,300 jobs in February, according to Intuit Inc’s QuickBooks Small Business Index, released Wednesday. The data show employment declined 0.36% to 12,626,500 workers. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest loss, down 11,300 jobs. Average monthly “real” revenue per business slipped by 1.03% to $53,580, with utilities tumbling 5.88%. Markets are watching for new signals on the pace of hiring just ahead of the government’s February jobs report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to publish the data March 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
March 6, 2026
Eli Lilly’s $449 Zepbound play: new “Employer Connect” targets workplace coverage gap
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Eli Lilly’s $449 Zepbound play: new “Employer Connect” targets workplace coverage gap

Eli Lilly rolled out its “Employer Connect” platform Thursday, aiming to give U.S. employers a new way to expand access to the weight-loss drug Zepbound. The Zepbound KwikPen will be available through network pharmacies for $449—same price, all doses. Shares of Lilly slipped roughly 2% in late New York trading. “By enabling coverage outside traditional benefit designs, we lower barriers to treatment,” said Kevin Hern, senior VP at Lilly. Employers are under pressure to handle surging demand for GLP-1 obesity drugs—these treatments work by mimicking gut hormones to reduce hunger and stabilize blood sugar—while also keeping benefit expenses in check. Speaking with Fierce Healthcare, Hern said the goal is to “ease tensions” that have sidelined some employers, though workers’ final
March 6, 2026
Booking Holdings stock jumps as OpenAI backs away from ChatGPT travel checkouts
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Booking Holdings stock jumps as OpenAI backs away from ChatGPT travel checkouts

Shares of Booking Holdings Inc surged roughly 8% Thursday, sparked by a report that OpenAI is pulling back on plans for direct travel bookings through ChatGPT—a move that soothed fears among investors about AI chatbots cutting out online travel agencies. Expedia jumped over 12%, while Tripadvisor tacked on about 5%. The Information noted users are turning to ChatGPT for travel research but still aren’t closing transactions there, and Bernstein’s Richard Clarke called this a sign the threat of disintermediation is fading. This shift is catching attention as generative AI — the latest batch of conversational tools that draft, sum up, or suggest — is being eyed as a potential gatekeeper for travel queries and bookings. Whoever winds up holding that
March 6, 2026
AppLovin stock surges after exec flags “potential upside” in core gaming-ads growth
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AppLovin stock surges after exec flags “potential upside” in core gaming-ads growth

AppLovin stock surged Wednesday following comments from the company’s finance chief, who suggested growth in the core gaming-ads business might outpace its earlier targets—news that fueled the stock’s ongoing rebound. The remarks hit just as ad-tech stocks face some nerves. Investors are picking through which ad spend looks sticky and which is just AI hype, with AppLovin seen by many as a stand-in for the question: can “AI-powered” ad platforms keep delivering as budgets get squeezed?
March 6, 2026
Netflix buys Ben Affleck’s AI film-tech startup InterPositive as Hollywood warms to production tools
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Netflix buys Ben Affleck’s AI film-tech startup InterPositive as Hollywood warms to production tools

Netflix Inc on Thursday announced its purchase of InterPositive, the AI-driven filmmaking tech startup set up in 2022 by Ben Affleck. The streaming giant has tapped Affleck as a senior advisor. “Innovation should empower storytellers, not replace them,” said Elizabeth Stone, the company’s Chief Product and Technology Officer. This deal lands as the industry tiptoes back toward AI, after years of Hollywood warning that the technology could put jobs and intellectual property at risk. “We believe new tools should expand creative freedom, not constrain it or replace the work of writers, directors, actors, and crews,” Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said. Disney, for its part, agreed late last year to let OpenAI tap characters from Star Wars, Pixar and
March 5, 2026
Meta opens WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots in Europe after EU antitrust threat
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Meta opens WhatsApp to rival AI chatbots in Europe after EU antitrust threat

Meta Platforms plans to open WhatsApp in Europe to competing AI chatbots for the coming 12 months, following a warning from EU antitrust regulators who indicated possible intervention after allegations the company excluded rivals. The European Commission is considering interim measures—a stopgap step intended to head off major damage as its antitrust probe unfolds—in a dispute that’s turning into a key test of Brussels’ willingness to act quickly in AI. “We must protect effective competition in this vibrant field,” EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said last month.
March 5, 2026
Alphabet Stock Today: GOOG Cuts Google Play Fees as Epic Deal Rewrites Android Rules
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Alphabet Stock Today: GOOG Cuts Google Play Fees as Epic Deal Rewrites Android Rules

SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2026, 2:06 PM PST Google is slashing Play Store fees, expanding billing options, and opening the door for competing app stores to reach Android users—a sweeping overhaul that settles its long-running global standoff with Epic Games and paves the way for Fortnite’s worldwide return. “This gives app stores more ways to reach users and gives users more ways to easily and safely access the apps and games they love,” said Sameer Samat, president of Android Ecosystem at Google.
March 5, 2026
Microsoft Lands Codelco AI Mining Deal as Investors Demand Payoff From Big AI Spend
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Microsoft Lands Codelco AI Mining Deal as Investors Demand Payoff From Big AI Spend

Microsoft landed an 18-month memorandum of understanding with Chile’s Codelco on Thursday, setting up a framework to pilot artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, automation, and digital security across the mining giant’s operations. The agreement nudges Microsoft’s AI ambitions further into the industrial sector—territory that falls outside its core business of office software and cloud services. Timing here isn’t incidental. Microsoft wants to prove its AI expansion can land real-world deals, though the ramp-up keeps attracting questions about its electricity needs. Just a day before, the company, along with Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta, made a White House commitment to finance new power for data centers.
March 5, 2026
Tesla’s UK sales drop 37% as BYD gains ground, putting March in focus
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Tesla’s UK sales drop 37% as BYD gains ground, putting March in focus

Industry data showed Tesla registered 2,422 cars in the UK this February—a 37% slide year-on-year—even as BYD, the Chinese competitor, surged 83% on the same metric. But a Tesla spokesperson pushed back, saying, “Tesla monthly registration figures are not an accurate reflection of sales or orders taken,” emphasizing that quarterly numbers tell a more reliable story since UK deliveries come in large batches. The broader UK market moved in the opposite direction. According to SMMT, February saw new car registrations climb 7.2% to 90,100—marking the busiest February since 2004. BEV registrations inched up 2.8% to 21,840, but their market share slipped again, now at 24.2% for a second month. “All eyes are now on ‘new plate’ March,” SMMT chief executive
March 5, 2026
Amazon debuts ‘agentic AI’ healthcare tool to cut clinic call times and paperwork
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Amazon debuts ‘agentic AI’ healthcare tool to cut clinic call times and paperwork

Seattle — It’s 1:23 p.m. PST on March 5, 2026. Amazon.com, Inc. on Thursday rolled out Amazon Connect Health, a new AI-powered platform from its cloud division, Amazon Web Services. The product is designed to handle repetitive administrative tasks, like appointment scheduling and billing. AWS says it integrates directly with hospitals’ and clinics’ electronic health records, funneling more complex situations to human staff.
March 5, 2026
Palo Alto Networks widens industrial 5G security push with Siemens as AI factory build-out grows
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Palo Alto Networks widens industrial 5G security push with Siemens as AI factory build-out grows

Palo Alto Networks is stepping deeper into industrial security, teaming up with Siemens to debut a new cybersecurity suite targeting private 5G factory networks. Shares of Palo Alto climbed $4.68 during Thursday afternoon trading in the U.S. Private 5G is catching on fast in factories loaded with sensors, robots, and autonomous gear — all tied into networks running entirely on-site, not through traditional carriers. Siemens flagged that a breach in these environments can bring production to a halt or even put workers at risk. On top of that, the EU’s NIS2 directive is clamping down on cybersecurity requirements in 18 key industries.
March 5, 2026
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) lands TELUS equity deal for Canada satellite-to-phone service, adds Africa’s Axian
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AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) lands TELUS equity deal for Canada satellite-to-phone service, adds Africa’s Axian

AST SpaceMobile and TELUS Corp of Canada have struck a commercial deal to deliver space-powered cellular broadband across Canada’s remote regions, the companies said March 3. TELUS is also taking an equity stake in the U.S.-based satellite operator. The launch target is late 2026. The companies aim for the service to function with standard smartphones, no extra gear required. The timing is crucial here: operators want coverage they can market without adding more towers—particularly out in rural regions, at sea, and across the far north. The real draw is so-called direct-to-device service, which lets ordinary phones tap into satellites, no need for those specialized satellite handsets.
March 5, 2026
Shopify rolls out POS Hub and faster checkout tools as SHOP shares climb
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Shopify rolls out POS Hub and faster checkout tools as SHOP shares climb

Shopify Inc climbed roughly 3% on Thursday, building on gains from a sharp rally in Toronto the previous day. LSEG data showed the Canadian e-commerce company's stock recently changing hands at $133.76 in New York. Shopify, largely recognized for its e-commerce storefront tools, is now working to shore up the in-person shopping experience. Its point-of-sale product, Shopify POS, is grabbing a larger share of attention, especially as more of its merchants juggle both physical and online sales at checkout.
March 5, 2026
Caterpillar says it needs 38,000 more technicians as CONEXPO puts the labor crunch on display
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Caterpillar says it needs 38,000 more technicians as CONEXPO puts the labor crunch on display

Caterpillar has warned that its worldwide dealer network could require upwards of 38,000 new technicians before 2028 wraps up, highlighting mounting difficulties in recruiting and keeping enough skilled workers for heavy machinery. The hiring gap came to light this week, timed with CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas. Downtime hits hard these days—every idle loader or excavator racks up costs fast. Contractors burn through hours, and equipment makers miss out on those parts-and-service sales that usually stay steady when demand for new machines drops.
March 5, 2026
AbbVie closes $8 billion bond offering to refinance debt as shares slide
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AbbVie closes $8 billion bond offering to refinance debt as shares slide

AbbVie wrapped up its earlier $8 billion senior unsecured notes sale on March 4, according to a regulatory filing. Shares slipped roughly 2.6%, last seen trading at $229.98 in the afternoon. This deal is a cash move for AbbVie, aimed at wiping out near-term debt instead of letting its bank borrowing deadline creep closer. In a related filing for the offering, AbbVie projected net proceeds around $7.95 billion. Most of that amount will go toward paying off a term loan maturing in May; any leftover funds head to general corporate uses, possibly covering more debt.
March 5, 2026
Exxon Mobil’s rare Australia gasoline shipment shows how the Strait of Hormuz shock is rewriting fuel trade
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Exxon Mobil’s rare Australia gasoline shipment shows how the Strait of Hormuz shock is rewriting fuel trade

Exxon Mobil is set to move at least 300,000 barrels of gasoline out of the U.S. Gulf Coast, headed for Australia to meet its own import needs, according to four sources familiar with the situation. The company has secured two medium-range tankers—Largo Eagle and Nord Ventura—to take on cargo in Houston sometime between March 13 and 18, loading a combined 600,000 barrels. The last tracked gasoline shipment on this route, based on Kpler data, was from Marathon Petroleum’s Garyville facility back in December 2023. Shipping costs run close to $6 million per vessel, or about $20 for each barrel, and the final price tag “will depend heavily on the magnitude and duration of the conflict,” said James Noel-Beswick, an analyst
March 5, 2026
Western Digital flags hyperscaler orders through 2028 as AI video tests storage supply
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Western Digital flags hyperscaler orders through 2028 as AI video tests storage supply

Western Digital disclosed that major cloud clients have locked in hard drive orders running out to 2028—a level of long-term commitment unusual for what’s typically a cyclical sector. The stock slipped about 2% on Thursday. https://www.marketscreener.com/news/transcript-western-digital-corporation-presents-at-morgan-stanley-technology-media-telecom-conf-ce7e5cd2dd80f620 Why it matters now: Data-center budgets have pivoted toward artificial intelligence lately, with a wave of investment moving beyond just text into the much heavier realm of images and video—demanding far more storage. With the hard-drive market dominated by a handful of major players, buyers are moving quickly to secure inventory up front instead of scrambling to find it down the road.
March 5, 2026
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