Pricing

Suppliers could factor water scarcity into charges as part of Ofwat proposal to reduce consumptionWater companies could be allowed to raise bills for customers during periods of drought under proposals being considered by the sector’s regulator for England and Wales.Suppliers would be permitted to factor “water scarcity” into bills as part of efforts to reduce consumption under Ofwat’s plans, which are being likened to surge pricing – the practice where private hire firms raise taxi fares at times of higher demand. Continue reading...

New law prohibits retailers from using personal data to charge different prices for identical productsNew Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill recently signed a new law prohibiting businesses from using shoppers’ personal information to charge different prices for identical products, making her state the third in the US to ban the practice.The Fair Price Protection Act passed by New Jersey’s legislature seeks to protect consumers from surveillance pricing, in which retailers can use data including online activity, location and purchasing history to arbitrarily change prices for individual shoppers. Continue reading...

• AI token prices are declining, with the Silicon Data LLM Token Expenditure Index dropping nearly 20% from its May peak. • This downward trend follows a period of rapid growth where prices nearly doubled between December and May. • The price drop fuels market concerns regarding the long-term profitability and pricing power of companies investing heavily in artificial intelligence.

• A KPMG study reveals that nearly one-third of C-suite executives are struggling to understand AI costs due to a shift toward usage-based pricing models. • To address these complexities and drive demand, major providers are investing in "forward-deployed engineering" to help clients build and deploy AI applications. • Amazon is investing $1 billion into an AWS Forward Deployed Engineering organization, while Microsoft is allocating $2.5 billion to its new Microsoft Frontier Company.

• Chinese startup Z.ai has launched ZCode, a new AI-powered coding tool designed to compete with established players like Cursor. • ZCode serves as the official development environment for GLM 5.2, an open-source model known for its high context window and strong performance in cybersecurity. • The tool aims to disrupt the market by undercutting the pricing of U.S.-based AI coding assistants, challenging the dominance of Silicon Valley Big Tech.

• A YouGov poll of 6,156 adults across six major European economies—France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Poland—reveals broad public support for carbon pricing. • The survey was commissioned by a coalition of civil society organizations, including E3G, WWF, and Carbon Market Watch, to advocate for a green industrial transition. • These findings challenge political calls to weaken the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) by demonstrating that citizens support climate action and industrial renewal.

• Semi-conductor stocks, including AMD, experienced a decline on June 26, 2026, driven by investor anxiety over chip demand. • The market downturn is linked to concerns that price hikes for major hardware products, specifically Apple and Xbox devices, may reduce overall consumer demand. • This volatility highlights the sensitivity of the semiconductor industry to the pricing strategies of its largest tech clients.

• U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced on Thursday that the U.S. has launched a trade investigation into Germany's pharmaceutical pricing policies. • The probe follows an April proposal by the German Ministry of Health to overhaul its statutory healthcare system to close a 20 billion euro ($23 billion) funding gap. • Washington is investigating whether Germany's plan to lower spending on drug products is unreasonable or discriminatory toward U.S. companies.

• Markets are preparing for the upcoming US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, focusing on inflation expectations and their impact on cross-asset repricing. • Analysis centers on the interplay between economic resilience, which supports earnings and growth, and persistent inflation that threatens to drive up yields. • Key assets under observation include Gold Spot, the US Dollar Index, S&P 500, and WTI Crude Oil futures to gauge investor positioning.

Consumer advocates decry Democrat Jared Polis for ‘choosing to side with dominant corporations’ over workersColorado’s governor vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have banned companies from using surveillance pricing to set workers’ wages and prices for consumer goods.The measure would have been the strongest in the nation against algorithmic pricing. While Maryland became the first state to approve a law banning surveillance pricing in grocery stores in April, Colorado’s proposed measure was more expansive. Continue reading...

• The European Central Bank (ECB) warned in its bi-annual Financial Stability Review on Wednesday that financial markets face the risk of a sudden and sharp correction. • The ECB noted that asset prices remain "stretched by historical standards" and that investors are currently underestimating significant downside risks. • Key threats cited include geopolitical tensions, specifically the war in Iran, as well as fiscal and macro-financial instabilities.

In today’s newsletter: Behind the packed stadiums and record revenues lies a growing tension​ of a sport thriving financially while the supporters who built it ​are increasingly ​left behindGood morning. The men’s football season is reaching the sharp end. This week, Arsenal were crowned Premier League champions and last night Aston Villa won the Uefa Europa League. The men’s Fifa World Cup is just around the corner.But fans in England are also at the sharp end: rising prices inside and outside grounds, kick-off times being altered on the whim of TV channels, and a creeping sense that some clubs are desperate to replace the “legacy fan” with a premium-paying “high-yield customer”.UK politics | Andy Burnham is backing Shabana Mahmood’s controversial changes to the immigration system, his allies have said, in a blow to those in Labour who hope to soften them.AI | The Electoral Commission has called for new legal controls over misinformation from AI chatbots, after a thinktank found they had made serious mistakes during the recent Scottish election.Ebola | Doses of a potential vaccine against the Bundibugyo virus that is causing an Ebola outbreak in central Africa will not be available for six to nine months, the World Health Organization said.Middle East | Israel’s far-right national security minister has sparked a diplomatic crisis by publishing footage of Israeli security forces abusing international activists who were detained as they tried to sail to Gaza with aid.UK news | Rainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the government has been told.In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, soccer writer Jonathan Wilson will explain how the tournament became a global phenomenon with cultural, social and political weight that extends far beyond each game. Sign up for the newsletter here. Continue reading...

• ServiceNow announced on May 8, 2026, a goal of $32 billion in revenue by 2030, introducing the 'Action Fabric' AI agent pricing layer. • The strategy counters SaaS market challenges by embedding advanced AI agents into its platform for automated workflows. • This move signals enterprise software's pivot toward AI orchestration, potentially reshaping IT service management.

• Market participants are repositioning portfolios toward companies with strong pricing power and defensive characteristics as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East persist. • Artificial intelligence-related equities continue attracting investor attention as a growth hedge against macroeconomic uncertainty. • The investment rotation reflects concerns about inflation persistence and the need for portfolio resilience in volatile market conditions.

Critics say Maryland’s new law banning rapidly change product costs based on consumer data is full of carveoutsMaryland has become the first state in the US to ban surveillance pricing in grocery stores.Maryland’s law bans grocers and third-party delivery services from using a person’s personal data to set higher prices. Wes Moore, the governor, signed the measure into law on Tuesday. “At a time when technology can predict what we need, when we need it, when we’ll pay for it and also – when we’ll pay more for it, and at a time when we’re watching how big companies are then using these analytics against us to make record profits, Maryland is not just pushing back. Maryland is pushing forward because we are going to protect our people,” Moore said at the bill signing ceremony. Continue reading...

• Oracle reported earnings that exceeded expectations, lifting its stock price, while Adobe continues to face investor skepticism over its AI strategy and competitive positioning amid broader tech sector repricing. • Morningstar downgraded Adobe's economic moat rating alongside Salesforce and ServiceNow, citing concerns that AI disruption could erode traditional software competitive advantages and justify lower valuation multiples. • The broader earnings season reveals a disconnect between traditional valuation metrics and AI disruption risks, prompting investors to reassess which software companies can sustain pricing power and market share in an AI-transformed landscape.

Major updates to the 340B Drug Pricing Program, announced week of March 8-14, introduce new compliance risks and responsibilities for provider organizations. Changes aim to refine eligibility and auditing amid ongoing legal battles. Hospitals must review contracts to avoid penalties. The reforms seek to enhance program integrity while supporting safety-net access to discounted drugs.