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Imagine telling an AI agent how much risk you’re willing to take, your retirement goals and when your kids will start college — then letting it manage your portfolio while you sleep. That vision of agentic trading, in which artificial intelligence doesn’t just recommend investments but carries them out, is moving from concept to reality. Brokerages, startups and even retail investors are building AI agents that can help oversee portfolios and automate investing tasks once …

Visa, which runs the world’s largest payments network, plans to cut about 7% of its workforce as CEO Ryan McInerney moves to streamline the company and invest more in growth areas, according to a memo confirmed by CNBC. The company plans to eliminate roughly 2,600 positions, mostly in its technology and product operations, according to the memo. CNBC confirmed the contents of the memo, which was reported earlier by Bloomberg, with a person with direct …

Investors looking to wager on stocks such as SpaceX and Micron Technology now have a new tool: single-stock futures that trade for nearly 24 hours a day. CME Group on Monday launched cash-settled single-stock futures on 55 U.S. equities, along with micro-sized contracts on 22 names, marking the exchange’s push into a market designed to let investors take leveraged long or short positions around the clock. The contracts trade on CME’s Globex platform from Sunday …

The race to build artificial intelligence infrastructure at a trillion-dollar annual clip is eroding the free cash flow and increasing balance-sheet risk at so-called hyperscalers, warned Moody’s Ratings. In a research note released this week, Moody’s said that the spending surge is forcing even the world’s most cash-rich corporations like Alphabet and Microsoft to lean heavily on debt, stock sales and off-balance-sheet moves to fund their AI ambitions. “Previously, these companies relied on asset-light structures …

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox. The major auction houses racked up nearly $10 billion in sales in the first half, marking one of the strongest-ever starts to the year as the wealthy gained confidence from soaring financial stock markets. Sotheby’s reported its best first half ever, with $4.4 …

CHENGDU, China — Governments increasingly want to control artificial intelligence, as companies release more powerful open-source models, a new multilateral statement indicates. The 21 APEC member economies, which include the U.S. and China, released a “Chengdu statement” on AI that emphasized respect for “security, data protection and intellectual property rights,” while calling for supporting open-source development. The statement released Thursday also specified support for models and projects “that employ strong security assurance through development and …

Investors are increasingly preparing for the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates as oil prices climb. Fed funds futures are pricing in a roughly 82% likelihood that the central bank lifts borrowing costs at its September policy meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. A week ago, those odds sat below 53%. The central bank is still broadly expected to keep rates unchanged at the current 3.50% to 3.75% at its gathering next week. But even …

Wall Street is banking heavily on exchange-traded funds that give investors artificial intelligence exposure, according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The firm’s “Guide to ETFs,” which came out this month, finds it’s a top five theme by assets under management — even as volatility hit the group in the second quarter. “Many [themes] are morphing towards AI and the ecosystem surrounding AI,” Jon Maier, the firm’s chief ETF strategist, told CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week. …

Major U.S. stock indexes tumbled on Thursday as investors began to price in the consequences of a renewed and prolonged conflict in the Middle East.  While the U.S. has conducted strikes against Iran 12 nights in a row — sending both oil prices and Treasury yields higher — domestic equities had mostly brushed off the idea of the war between the two countries heating up again, staying flat while oil jumped.  That changed on Thursday, …

John Paulson, the hedge fund manager who made billions betting against the U.S. housing market before turning bullish on gold, said he believes the precious metal is only in the early stages of a long-term rally. “I do think we’re in the beginnings or the early stages of a long-term bull market for gold,” Paulson said on CNBC’s “The Exchange” Wednesday. “As people lose faith in paper currencies, gold as an alternative will continue to …