Articles about Spending

Company chaired by Trump ally Larry Ellison seeks to reassure investors that bet on AI infrastructure will pay offOracle is cutting thousands of jobs as the US technology company seeks to reassure investors that its bet on AI infrastructure will pay off.The $420bn firm, headquartered in Austin, Texas, started letting employees go on Tuesday, with thousands of Oracle’s 160,000-strong workforce expected to leave. Continue reading...

• Innovation Council Action, a new pro-AI political organization championed by tech investor and White House AI advisor David Sacks, plans to spend over $100 million in the 2026 midterms to shape U.S. tech policy. • The group is closely aligned with President Donald Trump's agenda and will support candidates favoring deregulation while opposing those pushing for stricter AI rules. • The organization has developed a scorecard ranking lawmakers based on their alignment with Trump's AI agenda, which will guide political spending decisions in the coming months.

• Every Magnificent 7 stock has fallen into double-digit losses from 52-week highs, with Microsoft down roughly 32% from its October peak, marking its worst start to a year in history, as the group enters correction territory. • Oil prices surged following Operation Epic Fury beginning February 28, reigniting inflation expectations and shifting rate outlook; markets now price in greater likelihood of rate hikes by year-end rather than cuts. • Excitement around AI infrastructure spending has waned amid concerns over combined capital expenditures for Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta expected to exceed $650 billion in 2026, up 60% from 2025.

Industry groups say delay to defence investment plan (DIP) leaving UK behind in global race for fundingDefence manufacturers are going bust while others have been left in “paralysis” and “bleeding cash” as they wait for a long-delayed UK military spending plan for the next decade, MPs have heard.Industry groups said that a more than six-month delay to the defence investment plan (DIP) has also left the UK behind Germany and the US in attracting cash from global investors. Continue reading...

• A new report reveals that rising healthcare costs are forcing approximately 1 in 3 US adults to reduce basic spending on essentials like utilities, transportation, and prescription medications. • The financial strain is most severe among uninsured Americans, with about 62% reporting they have made trade-offs to afford medical costs, while nearly 3 in 10 insured Americans also report cutting back. • The impact spans income levels: approximately half of households earning $48,000 to $180,000 have delayed major life decisions because of healthcare costs, and one-third of those earning $180,000 to $240,000 report similar delays.

Cryptocurrency’s biggest Pac spent more than $10m for their candidates, only to be defeated by those who are anti-cryptoSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe cryptocurrency industry spent big and lost often in this week’s Illinois primaries.As the industry prepares to make massive donations in the 2026 midterm elections to replicate its success in 2024, the Illinois losses mark an early setback for firms that are trying to establish themselves as power players in American politics. Continue reading...

• CMS actuaries forecast U.S. health spending at $5.3 trillion in 2024, outpacing economic growth to hit 20% of GDP by 2033. • Projections highlight unsustainable trajectory for national health expenditures. • Policymakers face pressure to address cost drivers in insurance, drugs, and services.

• The US national debt exceeded $39 trillion on Wednesday, a record milestone reached just weeks into the US-Israeli war in Iran, driven by competing priorities including tax cuts, defense spending, and immigration enforcement. • White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett estimated the Iran war has cost more than $12 billion so far, with the federal debt having grown from $37 trillion two months ago to $38 trillion five months ago, now reaching $39 trillion. • The Government Accountability Office warns rising debt increases borrowing costs for mortgages and cars, reduces business investment and wages, and makes goods and services more expensive for Americans.

$11.3bn more than enough to fund EPA or National Cancer Institute, where administration sought to slash budgetsSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe US spent $11.3bn on just the first week of its military assault on Iran. This huge expenditure dwarves the annual budgets of many of the public health and scientific agencies the Trump administration has sought to cut, raising stark questions about the country’s priorities.In the six days that followed the US and Israel’s joint attack on Iran on 28 February, $11.3bn was spent on American taxpayer-funded bombs that hit the country and caused hundreds of deaths, the Pentagon has told lawmakers. This figure does not capture the full cost of the conflict, such as deployment of forces, and will now be far higher given the ongoing nature of the war. Continue reading...

• Nvidia is projecting a trillion-dollar chip market while the AI industry shifts focus from training giant models to inference, robotics, and real-world deployment at GTC 2026 in San Jose. • CEO Jensen Huang spotlighted new systems and platforms aimed at industrial use cases and physical AI applications, signaling that commercial viability increasingly depends on inference economics and enterprise adoption. • The market shift reflects where spending is heading: training remains critical, but applied AI and infrastructure orchestration are becoming more investable than generic model-building pitches.

• IDC forecasts global security spending will hit $308 billion in 2026, up from prior years, with the U.S. leading at $150 billion fueled by financial services, healthcare, and government sectors. • Software will account for over 50% of spending, including identity and access management, endpoint security, and analytics, growing 14% year-over-year amid AI-powered threats. • Fastest-growing categories like CNAPP and data security software address AI workloads and non-human identities, as companies prioritize integrated architectures for resilience.

• The global security market is projected to grow 11.8% in 2026, with the United States leading worldwide spending at $150 billion, driven by investments from Financial Services, Healthcare, and Government sectors. • Software will account for over half of security spending, with Identity and Access Management, Endpoint Security, and Security Analytics comprising more than 50% of global Security Software expenditures, growing at 14% year-over-year. • AI-driven threats and sophisticated cyberattacks are prompting companies to prioritize integrated, intelligence-driven security architectures for better visibility and automated responses, amid geopolitical tensions.

• U.S. Senate passed its 2026 spending bill including the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act to advance pediatric cancer combination therapies. • Bill features Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act streamlining out-of-state Medicaid/CHIP provider approvals for children and five-year reauthorization of FDA Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher Program. • Allocates $7.35 billion to National Cancer Institute, up $128 million from 2025, with $30 million for Childhood Cancer STAR Act and $50 million for Childhood Cancer Data Initiative.

• The U.S. Senate passed its 2026 spending bill containing multiple landmark pediatric cancer provisions, including the Mikaela Naylon Give Kids a Chance Act to advance combination therapy research and the Accelerating Kids Access to Care Act to streamline Medicaid provider approvals. • The bill allocates $7.35 billion for the National Cancer Institute (a $128 million increase from 2025), with $30 million designated for the Childhood Cancer STAR Act and $50 million for the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative, plus $12.6 million for the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program. • These provisions represent a significant recovery for the pediatric cancer community after 2025's devastating federal funding cuts, including removal of key provisions from the previous year's spending bill and a 15% cap on NIH grant indirect cost reimbursements.