Michigan Reps. John Moolenaar and Debbie Dingell announced legislation Tuesday that would ban China-linked connected vehicles, plus related software and hardware, from the U.S. market. The proposal sets a Jan. 1, 2027 start for software restrictions and a Jan. 1, 2030 start for hardware limits, and also applies to Russia, North Korea and Iran.

The S&P 500 closed above 7,400 on Monday for the first time, returning to record highs even as the U.S.-Iran war continues into its third month and oil prices remain elevated. The index has rebounded about 17% from around 6,300 in a little over a month, supported by limited margin exposure to energy, strong profit concentration in big tech tied to AI, and a U.S. economy that is less oil-dependent than in past crises.

As President Donald Trump heads to China this week to meet Xi Jinping, the Iran war is hanging over the trip and the broader economic outlook. Even if the fighting stopped immediately, U.S. gasoline prices would likely stay elevated for months, complicating Trump's domestic politics and any request for Beijing's help. Markets have pushed higher, but analysts warn prolonged disruption could still pressure stocks, inflation expectations, and borrowing costs.

Options traders are intensifying bullish bets on Cisco ahead of its Wednesday earnings, after the legacy networking company's long shift toward software and cloud-based AI. The stock is up 15% over the past month, with over 75,000 calls traded by noon Central time Friday versus 16,000 puts, alongside implied volatility that touched 47.

Pharma and biotech names moved higher in early Monday trading as investors reacted to a hantavirus outbreak linked to the Dutch-flagged expedition ship MV Hondius. Moderna rose 7% premarket after citing preclinical hantavirus work, while Inovio gained 11% and Novavax added 5%. The WHO said the public health risk is low, and analysts cautioned the stock moves may be sentiment-driven rather than tied to meaningful revenue.

Circle Internet Group raised $222 million by preselling Arc, the native token for its new Arc blockchain, giving the network a $3 billion fully diluted valuation. Andreessen Horowitz led the round with a $75 million check, with participants including BlackRock, Apollo Funds and Intercontinental Exchange. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said the company is expanding beyond USDC issuance toward blockchain infrastructure and applications, including tools for AI agents to transact with USDC.

Netflix’s March price increase pushed its standard ad-free plan to $19.99 a month, while its ad-supported tier sits around $9. The shift underscores how streaming platforms are increasingly valuing subscribers by viewing time as ads turn engagement into measurable revenue. Multiple analyses cited in the report suggest heavy viewing on ad tiers can approach or exceed the revenue of premium, ad-free subscribers.

Kris Sampson said a call that appeared to come from her adult daughter used an audio clip that sounded like her crying, followed by a man demanding money via PayPal, and her daughter was found safe about 15 to 20 minutes after the first call. Imposter scams were the most reported fraud complaint last year, with cases up about 19% to roughly 1 million in 2025 and losses topping $3.5 billion. Experts say voice-cloning can work from very short samples—sometimes as little as three seconds—making even familiar numbers and voices less reliable.

Wall Street’s AI trade broadened this week as Intel and AMD each rose about 25%, Micron gained more than 35%, and Corning climbed roughly 20%, while Nvidia added 16% in 2026 after a 9% weekly rally. Investors are shifting attention from GPUs to CPUs, memory, and fiber as demand expands from chatbots toward AI agents. Bank of America projects the data-center CPU market could grow from $27 billion in 2025 to $60 billion in 2030, underscoring the scale of the buildout.