Author: mercuryoregon.com

Apple will start a developer beta of Siri 2.0 in iOS 26.4 the week of Feb 23, adding smart agent actions across apps, and stronger privacy controls for iPhones.

The United States left the World Health Organization on Jan. 22, 2026, after a one year notice, prompting debate on dues and treaty procedures ahead of May vote.

Amazon set 2026 capex near $200B, sparking a tech pullback that erased about $1T from S&P 500 software value since Jan. 28. Dow closed over 50,000; Amazon fell.

Amazon shares fell about 8% after forecasting $200 billion in 2026 capital spending and posting Q4 results, with AWS revenue rising and cash flow easing in 2025.

U.S. employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, the highest January total since 2009, led by UPS and Amazon plans, Challenger said. Hiring plans hit lows.

In the first bellwether case, jurors awarded $8.5 million to a rider and found Uber liable under an agency theory while rejecting negligence and punitive damages.

Walmart opened its first owned case-ready beef facility in Olathe, Kansas, packaging Angus cuts from Sustainable Beef in North Platte, Nebraska for Midwest DCs.

Bitcoin slid to a 2024 range after its $126,000 peak in Oct. 2025, while Coinbase and other crypto stocks dropped more than 15% in a week, as volatility jumped.

Oracle plans to raise $45B-$50B in 2026 to expand AI cloud capacity, using equity and bonds. An analyst report cited 20,000-30,000 job cuts in Austin, Texas.

Statistics Canada says November exports fell while imports were steady, widening Canada’s trade deficit after gold shipments to Britain cooled and autos slid too.