Anthropic hits a $380B valuation as it heightens competition with OpenAI

Artificial intelligence company Anthropic says it is now valued at $380 billion. The maker of the chatbot Claude says its valuation grew after it raised a $30 billion round of funding led by Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and the U.S.-based investment firm Coatue, along with dozens of other major investors. The surge of investment cements Anthropic’s position alongside rival OpenAI and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in a trio of the world’s most valuable startups that investors will be watching closely this year to see if they will become publicly traded on Wall Street.

McDonald’s says focus on value is bringing back customers

McDonald’s focus on value is paying off. The fast food giant said Wednesday that its global same-store sales jumped 5.7% in the October-December period. That’s better than the 3.9% analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. McDonald’s fourth quarter revenue and earnings also beat analysts’ expectations. McDonald’s cut prices on some U.S. combo meals in September. The Extra Value Meal promotions came on top of discounts that began earlier in 2025 with the introduction of the McValue menu. McDonald’s also drove U.S. traffic in the fourth quarter with limited-time promotions, including its Monopoly game and a Grinch-themed meal.

Top Goldman Sachs lawyer to resign after Epstein ties revealed

NEW YORK (AP) — Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer Kathy Ruemmler is resigning after emails revealed she had a close relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. She described Epstein as “another older brother” and downplayed his sex crimes. Ruemmler had previously tried to distance herself from these emails. In a statement before her resignation, a Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Ruemmler “regrets ever knowing him.” Before joining Goldman in 2020, Ruemmler was White House counsel for President Barack Obama. During her private practice, she received expensive gifts from Epstein. Despite CEO David Solomon’s support in December, the controversy led to her resignation.

US applications for jobless benefits fall

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, remaining within the historically healthy range of the past few years. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending Feb. 7 fell by 5,000 to 227,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s basically in line with the 226,000 new applications that analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet had forecast. Filings for unemployment benefits are viewed as representative of U.S. layoffs and are close to a real-time indicator of the health of the job market.

EPA ends credits for vehicle feature ‘everyone hates’

DETROIT (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency says it is ending credits to automakers who install automatic start-stop ignition systems in their vehicles. The devices are intended to reduce emissions but EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said “everyone hates” them. It marks the latest Trump administration move to cut automotive industry efforts to clean up their cars and reduce transportation-driven emissions. Start-stop automatically shuts down a vehicle’s engine when a driver comes to a complete stop, and then automatically restarts the engine when the driver takes their foot off the brake pedal. The feature was intended to cut vehicle idling, fuel consumption and emissions. Burning gasoline and diesel fuel for transportation is a major contributor to planet-warming gases.

US stocks drop sharply as investors hunt for losers that will be hurt by AI

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks fell sharply as the market punished companies seen as potential losers from artificial-intelligence technology. The S&P 500 sank 1.6% for its second-worst day since Thanksgiving, though it’s still near its all-time high set late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.3% and the Nasdaq composite lost 2%. Cisco Systems was one of the heaviest weights on the market after warning of potentially higher expenses, while AppLovin tumbled as worries about AI competition continue to hit software companies. Treasury yields tumbled in the bond market ahead of Friday’s coming report on inflation at the U.S. consumer level.