US-Israel War Hits Home for US Consumers

The consumer price index rose 3.8% from a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the US Department of Labor, the most since 2023. After adjusting for inflation, wages fell for the first time in three years.

The figures show how the war is finally hitting the US economy full force as energy costs surge—something likely to continue with the Strait of Hormuz shut and the Trump administration still struggling for a way out of the conflict.

The government data indicated gas prices rose almost 28% over the past two months. Grocery prices, rents and airfares also saw large increases from a month earlier. A sustained pickup, especially in the cost of essentials, could lead consumers to cut back on spending.

But even without the war’s collateral damage to prices, the numbers show inflation still would be rising. And while Americans—despite high inflation—have spent at surprising levels since the pandemic, executives are beginning to worry it all might be too much. Consumers are putting less away as they try to keep up, with the savings rate dropping in March to the lowest in three years.

In the near term, Americans can draw on savings or tap credit cards, said Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank. But the longer gas prices stay high, the more consumers will change their spending patterns to balance their budgets. And that could be bad news for the economy. —Jordan Parker Erb

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First software firms, then Wall Street. Now Anthropic is targeting lawyers. The company announced a dozen new tools for law firms, months after the startup helped spark a steep selloff in software stocks by quietly introducing a narrower set of features. One tool, called “commercial counsel,” is meant to take on work young lawyers would do, like reviewing vendor agreements. Another, ironically, is intended to help with studying for the bar exam.

Similar moves by Anthropic have rattled markets in recent months, reflecting broader concerns about which companies, services, professions and workers will eventually be rendered obsolete by artificial intelligence. In February, Anthropic introduced a tool for Claude Cowork to automate certain legal work, such as contract reviewing and legal briefings. That helped trigger a $1 trillion stock market rout.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has shelved a plan to raise property taxes, a measure he considered using to help close a two-year deficit. Earlier this year, Mamdani threatened to raise them by almost 10% as a way to lobby New York Governor Kathy Hochul for more funding.

And so on Tuesday, Hochul and Mamdani announced that the state would provide an additional $4 billion in new support for the city to help close that budget gap. A tax on second homes that was initiated by Hochul is still being considered as part of state budget negotiations. Details of how the so-called pied-à-terre tax could be implemented are still unclear.

US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary is said to be resigning after 13 months. Kyle Diamantas, a lawyer who previously served as the FDA’s top food official, is expected to take over in an acting capacity.

This latest administration departure comes after the White House signed off on plans to oust Makary. During his tenure, he regularly clashed with other government officials, and FDA insiders have described a culture rocked by staff disputes, leadership turmoil, industry backlash and an embattled leader.

EBay’s board turned down the offer due to “uncertainty” around the financing plan, the operational risks and GameStop’s governance, Chairman Paul Pressler said in a letter addressed to Cohen. Pressler also cited GameStop’s executive incentives and a takeover’s potential impact on eBay’s long-term growth.

Cohen last week offered $125 a share—consisting of 50% cash and 50% GameStop stock—to eBay shareholders. That was a 20% premium to the stock price the previous Friday’s close.

Harvard faculty are set to begin voting on a proposal to limit A grades in undergraduate courses to no more than 20% of the class plus four additional students. The proposal is the boldest attempt in decades to rein in grade inflation.

Roughly 60% of grades were an A in the academic year ending in mid-2025 at Harvard, more than double the rate in 2006. That fell to 53% in the fall semester after Harvard urged faculty to be more disciplined.

OpenAI’s Sam Altman testified he was “extremely uncomfortable” with Elon Musk’s insistence that he have complete control over a proposed for-profit subsidiary of OpenAI back in 2017. Altman told jurors Musk said he only wanted control of the entity in its early days, but that the billionaire was unwilling to sign a contract to that effect.

The testimony came at a trial over Musk’s claims that Altman and company president Greg Brockman sought to enrich themselves by abandoning the nonprofit’s altruistic mission and converting it into a for-profit business company with billions of dollars in investments from Microsoft.

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