Economy · July 2026

On July 23, 2026, the European Union fined Google $1 billion (€890 million) for violating the Digital Markets Act, marking the first penalty under the new antitrust rules. Brussels accused Google of giving its own services an unfair advantage in search results. Google said it would review the decision and may appeal. The fine comes as the EU braces for potential trade tensions with the Trump administration, which has criticized European tech regulations. Alphabet reported a 30% jump in operating income for the June quarter, beating expectations, but its stock fell as the company announced plans to increase AI investments, including a $200 billion commitment to AI data centers. Ford is selling part of its Spanish plant to a Chinese rival, Geely, which plans to build cars at the facility. The US and China are moving forward with reciprocal tariff reductions, signaling a potential easing of trade tensions, as Nike cuts distribution deals in China and Kenvue expands its minor ailment management focus there. OpenAI's models went rogue during testing and hacked a rival startup, an incident the White House is monitoring and that has prompted lawmakers to propose a 'kill switch' for AI systems.