Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) – Toyota’s global production fell 12.9% in June to 795,862 vehicles, marking the fifth consecutive month of decline. The automaker faced certification issues in Japan and intense price competition in China, contributing to significant reductions both domestically and internationally. In other news, Toyota President Akio Toyoda stated he might not be re-elected if shareholder support continues to decline. At the last meeting, his support was 72%, down from 85% in 2023. Institutional investor support was especially low at 34%. Toyota shares rose 1% in pre-market trading.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSTR), CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) – Delta Air Lines will sue Microsoft and CrowdStrike for a global cyber failure that caused over 6,000 flight cancellations in July. The airline seeks compensation for financial impacts and slow service recovery. CrowdStrike shares fell 4.9% in pre-market trading.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) – Meta Platforms will launch AI Studio, a tool that allows users to create and share custom AI chatbots. In addition to enabling the creation of AI characters, this tool will help Instagram creators manage automatic interactions in DMs and story replies. Shares fell 0.1% in pre-market trading.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) – Apple revealed that its AI system, Apple Intelligence, was trained on Google TPU processors, offering an alternative to Nvidia for AI training. The company launched a preview version of Apple Intelligence, which includes new features for Siri and improvements in natural language processing and image generation. In pre-market trading, Apple rose 0.2% while Alphabet rose 0.1%.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) – Nvidia launched NIMs (Nvidia Inference Micro Services) to facilitate the use of generative AI by businesses, charging for this convenience. Announced by CEO Jensen Huang at the Siggraph conference, NIMs integrate with Nvidia AI Enterprise. Nvidia aims to expand AI use across various industries, highlighting benefits like enhanced image generation and the creation of virtual worlds. Examples include Getty Images generating high-resolution images from text and Shutterstock’s Edify creating 3D images. Apple Vision Pro allows creating virtual worlds and training robots. Nvidia shares fell 0.2%.

Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) – Adobe’s rival Canva acquired startup Leonardo.ai to integrate its image and video generation tools into its products. This acquisition, the second this year, is a strategy to compete with Adobe in creative software. Founded in 2022, Leonardo.ai has a team of 120 people and has created over a billion images.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE), Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR) – Hewlett Packard Enterprise is set to receive unconditional antitrust approval from the EU for its $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks. HPE seeks to expand its products and services, especially in artificial intelligence. The European Commission is expected to decide by August 1, and the UK regulator is also evaluating the deal.

WPP Plc (NYSE:WPP), BT Group (LSE:BT.A) – WPP is set to appoint Philip Jansen, former CEO of BT Group, as its new chairman, succeeding Roberto Quarta. The decision may be announced this week, as reported by the Financial Times. The change comes at a critical time for WPP, which faces financial challenges. WPP shares rose 0.6% in pre-market trading.

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), Permian Resources (NYSE:PR) – Occidental Petroleum will sell assets in the Delaware Basin to Permian Resources for $818 million to reduce debt. With these and other divestments, Occidental expects to raise $970 million this year. The sale includes 29,500 acres and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. OXY shares fell 0.1% in pre-market trading.

Loews (NYSE:L) – James Tisch will step down as CEO of Loews after nearly 25 years, with his son Benjamin Tisch taking over. James will become chairman on December 31. Loews reported a 2.5% increase in second-quarter profit, driven by insurance premiums and investment returns.

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) – Morgan Stanley selected Tesla, replacing Ford, as its top pick in the automotive industry, highlighting the growth potential of Tesla’s energy sector. Tesla is expected to excel in the electric vehicle credits market, despite challenges with profit margins and demand, while Ford posted disappointing financial results. In other news, Elon Musk stated that investors won’t understand Tesla without experiencing the Full Self-Driving (FSD) system. Bloomberg reported that analyst William Stein tested FSD and nearly had an accident due to system failures, highlighting that despite some advancements, FSD is not truly autonomous. Tesla shares rose 1.6% in pre-market trading.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) – Southwest Airlines is eliminating free seating to increase revenue, following investor pressure and declining profits. The new designated seating model, including extra space options, may alienate loyal customers and change the company’s identity but aims to improve profitability.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) – Berkshire Hathaway reduced its stake in Bank of America for the third time in July, totaling $3 billion, by selling shares worth $767 million between July 25 and 29. Despite this reduction, Berkshire still holds nearly 962 million shares of the bank, valued at $39.5 billion. The sale reflects a partial withdrawal from a bet that began in 2011.

Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) – A US judge ruled that Wells Fargo must face a lawsuit for allegedly misleading shareholders about its diversity hiring practices. The bank is accused of conducting false interviews for non-white and female candidates without intending to hire them.

Citigroup (NYSE:C), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) – Recently, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley sold preferred shares with yields of 7% and 6.625%, respectively. Citi raised $1.5 billion, while Morgan Stanley raised $1 billion. Both offerings valued above the initial issuance price, with Citi issuing $3.8 billion in preferred shares this year.

UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) – The Swiss financial regulator FINMA is meticulously evaluating how UBS selects risky Credit Suisse clients to avoid old Credit Suisse problems transferring to UBS post-merger. This supervision includes verifying UBS’s risk filters and compliance procedures’ effectiveness. UBS shares rose 0.1% in pre-market trading.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) – After the latest earnings report, Charles Schwab shares fell 11%, and analyst Patrick Moley downgraded his recommendation from “Buy” to “Neutral.” He reduced the price target from $80 to $64, citing uncertainties due to changes in the company’s banking operations.

BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) – Workers at the Escondida mine in Chile, represented by the union, were called to reject BHP’s latest contract offer and consider a strike. Voting will be from Monday to Thursday, and a strike could begin immediately, affecting copper production. The union seeks better benefits and conditions for workers. BHP shares fell 2.7% in pre-market trading.

BHP Group (NYSE:BHP), Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN), Filo Corp (TSX:FIL) – BHP and Lundin Mining will buy Filo Corp for $3.25 billion (C$ 4.5 billion), creating a 50/50 joint venture for the Filo del Sol and Josemaria projects on the Argentina-Chile border. The offer is C$ 33 per share, with a 12.2% premium.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Guardant Health’s colorectal cancer screening blood test. The test, called Shield, is the first of its kind approved in the US and covered by Medicare, aiming to improve early detection and survival rates of colorectal cancer.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV), AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) – These major pharmaceutical companies stated they do not expect significant impacts on their businesses after seeing the proposed US government prices for Medicare drugs, which will take effect in 2026. The companies consider the prices “okay” and in line with expectations.

J.M. Smucker (NYSE:SJM) – J.M. Smucker is considering selling Voortman Bakery, valuing the cookie and wafer brand at over $350 million. Smucker, which bought Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion, hired Goldman Sachs to find buyers. Voortman was acquired by Hostess in 2019 for about $320 million.