On May 10, 2026, Alphabet briefly edged past Nvidia in market value during after-hours trading this week as its stock gained about 160% over the past 12 months. Alphabet ended the week at a $4.8 trillion market cap versus Nvidia's $5.2 trillion, after flipping positions following a Tuesday report tied to Google Cloud demand.

On May 9, 2026, the US announced new sanctions against companies and individuals in the Middle East and China over alleged support for Iran's war effort. The State Department said the action covers 11 entities and three individuals across Iran, China, Belarus, and the United Arab Emirates, including groups accused of supplying satellite imagery and materials linked to Iran's missile and UAV programs.

The IMF said on April 2, 2026 that the US Federal Reserve has limited room to cut interest rates in 2026, with inflation projected to return to the 2% target in the first half of 2027. It expects one rate reduction by end-2026, with the benchmark rate seen at 3.25% to 3.5% versus the current 3.5% to 3.75%.

On March 5, 2026, a US federal judge ordered the government to start refunding more than $130 billion in tariffs to thousands of American companies after Trump's broad duties were struck down. At the same time, Trump has activated new 10% tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which can increase to 15% for up to 150 days and have already prompted the EU to pause a trade deal.