The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 against Donald Trump's attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, confirming that Fed governors can't be sacked on a presidential whim. Cook, accused of mortgage fraud she denies, keeps her seat while the underlying case grinds on in lower courts. This matters because central bank independence is the kind of boring-sounding thing that quietly underpins every mortgage rate, savings account and business loan in the country. Today's ruling says the Fed answers to law, not politics — for now, at least.

Comcast confirmed it's splitting into two public companies, separating broadband and mobile from the media empire that includes NBCUniversal, Peacock, Universal Studios and Sky. The split, expected within a year, is a straight-up admission that streaming has eaten the old cable playbook alive. It matters because it's the clearest sign yet that even the giants think bundling broadband with Hollywood doesn't make sense anymore. Expect more legacy media groups to quietly study this move and wonder if they're next.

Digital Realty agreed to buy Blackstone's 64% stake in three Northern Virginia data centres for around $3.5 billion, valuing the assets at $7.8 billion. The deal hands Digital Realty full control of facilities sitting in the world's busiest data centre market, right as AI and cloud demand keeps climbing. It matters because whoever controls the physical infrastructure behind AI is quietly becoming as important as whoever builds the models. Expect the land grab for data centre real estate to keep accelerating through the rest of the year.

Alphabet officially joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average, swapping in for Verizon and nudging the index further toward tech and AI exposure. The move is mostly symbolic given the Dow's price-weighted quirks, but symbolism matters here: it's a changing of the guard from old-school telecoms to the companies actually shaping where growth comes from next. For everyday investors, it's a reminder that the index you've always trusted to represent "the economy" looks very different than it did a decade ago.

Apple announced it will release critical security patches as soon as they're ready, rather than bundling them into major software updates, citing AI's role in accelerating cyberattacks. There's no evidence the latest vulnerabilities have been exploited, but Apple's own timeline says the danger window is shrinking fast. It matters because AI is making both attack and defence faster, and the company that used to take its time on updates is now racing the clock. Worth remembering next time that update notification pops up at an inconvenient hour.

French pharma group Ipsen agreed to acquire Kartos Therapeutics for up to $1.75 billion, with $450 million upfront and the rest tied to milestones. The deal brings Ipsen a late-stage treatment for a rare blood cancer that could reach patients by 2028. It matters because it's another sign that the biggest pharma growth bets right now are in oncology, where high prices meet genuinely scarce treatment options. For smaller biotech firms, deals like this are exactly the kind of payday that justifies years of expensive, unprofitable research.

A daily score of business conditions (scored out of 100), with a breakdown of what’s driving it.

Global business sentiment bounced back today, with our Daily Business Index climbing to 52.5, up from 49.5, as Wall Street staged a sharp recovery from last week's AI-stock scare. The Dow closed above 52,000 for the first time ever, helped by Alphabet's debut in the index and a Supreme Court ruling that protected the Federal Reserve's independence. Falling oil prices and a reassuring drop in US jobless claims added to the calmer mood, though smaller companies notably missed out on the rally enjoyed by tech giants.

A year ago, Canada's government scrapped its digital services tax targeting US tech giants like Google and Amazon, just hours after Donald Trump halted trade talks and threatened steeper tariffs over the policy. The climbdown showed how quickly trade leverage can reshape domestic tax policy when a bigger economy decides to push back hard. Today's Supreme Court ruling on Fed independence is a reminder that not every power struggle ends the same way — sometimes the institutions hold the line, sometimes they don't.

What it means: A spin-off is when a company splits part of its business into a separate, independently traded company, usually because the two halves no longer make strategic sense together. Comcast's move to separate NBCUniversal and Sky from its broadband business is a textbook example — both halves get to focus on what they're actually good at, without dragging each other down on the stock market.