Roundup: G7 summit / Retail sales rise / CarMax earnings
Jun 17, 2026
AI discussions: At the 2026 G7 summit in France, leaders met with executives from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google to discuss the global impact of artificial intelligence. The talks focused on balancing AI regulation with innovation, especially around safety and cybersecurity. They also explored allowin
g trusted allies access to advanced U.S. AI systems for strategic use. CNBC has the full story.
Unexpected surge: U.S. retail sales rose strongly in May, increasing more than expected despite high gasoline prices. The gain was driven by broad-based consumer spending, with particularly strong increases at gas stations as fuel costs climbed. Even excluding volatile categories like gas, sales still showed solid growth, indicating resilient household demand. Bloomberg has the full story.
Beating expectations: CarMax reported first-quarter revenue that beat Wall Street expectations, driven by higher used-car prices and strong wholesale demand. Revenue rose about 6% year over year to roughly $8.01 billion, even as retail margins and profits per vehicle declined. Net income also fell slightly compared with a year earlier, reflecting pricing pressure and ongoing affordability challenges for consumers. Reuters has the full story.
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