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After its Nasdaq debut on Friday, SpaceX was the sixth most-valuable U.S. company, despite being a fraction the size by revenue of tech's megacaps. View More

In this articleNDAQSPCXFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT A video displays Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, after the company's initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on June 12, 2026.Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Shortly before the opening of Nasdaq trading on Friday, Elon Musk stepped in front of a cheerful crowd at SpaceX's company town in Texas. His rocket maker was about to hit the public market at a valuation of around $2 trillion, instantly becoming the sixth most-valuable U.S. company. Musk, weeks shy of his 55th birthday, told staffers that, in the early days of the company, he gave it "less than 10% chance of succeeding.""If people had told me this was going to happen, I was like, man, you must be smoking some really good crack," said Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002 and has grown it to 22,000 full-time employees. "Because I think this company is going to fail." Musk is now the world's first trillionaire after his company pulled off the largest IPO on record, raising $75 billion, an amount roughly triple size of the next-biggest U.S. offering, which was Alibaba's in 2014. There are 10 U.S. companies worth at least $1 trillion. Musk runs two of them. Whatever uncertainty Musk professed to have felt when SpaceX was getting off the ground, he showed none of that in the days leading up to the IPO. In an abbreviated roadshow, SpaceX priced its IPO at $135 and told investors to take it or leave it. There was no price range used to gauge demand and no haggling with prospective shareholders. That's despite SpaceX having a fraction the revenue of any of tech's megacaps and racking up a $4.9 billion loss last year, with total losses since its founding of over $41 billion. After the stock's close on Friday, SpaceX was worth $2.1 trillion, giving it a multiple of 112 times last year's revenue. "This was not a deal that was priced based on market forces," said Lloyd Greif, an investment banker with Greif & Co. in Los Angeles. "This was a deal based on what one man wanted. And when one man wants it, one man gets it, if that one man is Elon Musk." watch nowVIDEO5:3805:38Over 80% chance SpaceX merges with Tesla in a year: Wedbush's IvesFast Money Meanwhile, all of those mentions of trillions and the trillionaire added fuel to the discourse surrounding wealth disparity as consumers deal with crippling inflation due largely to the war in Iran. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist, wrote on social media that Musk's new status is a "call to action to take on the unprecedented income and wealth inequality that now exists." And California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, which is owned by SpaceX, that, "Americans are struggling to pay for groceries and gas while Elon Musk becomes a TRILLIONAIRE."Beyond the money, there are the AI concerns. Safe AI Now, a group of tech and faith leaders, erected an inflatable effigy of a shirtless Musk in Times Square seeking to draw attention to the company's poor AI safety track record. None of that dampened the mood on Wall Street, which has been desperate to see new offerings after a historically slow period of IPOs dating back to late 2021. In closing the day up 19% and consistently holding well above the offer price, SpaceX's IPO lifted confidence in potential deals later this year from artificial intelligence model giants OpenAI and Anthropic, which are each valued at close to $1 trillion on the private market. Former Nasdaq CEO Robert Greifeld said he "would definitely bet" that OpenAI and Anthropic will go public in 2026. Both companies announced this month that they confidentially filed IPO paperwork. Making Facebook's IPO look small More than 500 million SpaceX shares changed hands throughout the day on Friday, a number approaching Facebook's market debut in 2012, when roughly 580 million shares were traded. Facebook's IPO set a record at the time, raising $16 billion. At the end of its first day of trading, Facebook was worth about $100 billion, or one-twentieth SpaceX's current market cap. One big similarity between the two companies is that they're founder controlled. But even there, SpaceX is on another level. At the time of Facebook's IPO, CEO Mark Zuckerberg had the ability to control 56% of the voting power. For Musk at SpaceX, that number is above 82%. Musk is certainly not alone in seeing a financial windfall from SpaceX's IPO. The offering pushed Alphabet's stake past the $100 billion mark, after the company invested about $900 million in SpaceX in 2015. Valor Equity Partners, run by longtime Musk pal Antonio Gracias, is sitting on a stake worth over $80 billion, mostly owned by the firm's clients. In addition to the institutional investors, the IPO reportedly minted some 4,400 millionaires among the ranks of current and former SpaceX employees. watch nowVIDEO4:0304:03IPO window is open thanks to SpaceX, says former Nasdaq CEO Robert GreifeldClosing Bell The stock sale was led by Wall Street heavyweights Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, along with help from Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and a long roster of other big banks and boutique firms. Underwriters gained access to additional shares, or their greenshoe overallotment, on one colorful condition. "Only if the bankers all wore green shoes," venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, who invested in SpaceX in 2009, wrote in a post on X. Jurvetson included a photo of green and white Nike sneakers decorated with the company's logo.Throughout the morning, some of Musk's top investors and good friends joined CNBC to talk about the historic event. Gracias was one of the guests.The Valor founder and CEO said he met Musk more than 20 years ago through mutual friend David Sacks, a venture capitalist who until recently served as President Donald Trump's AI and crypto czar. Gracias said he invested in PayPal "in the old days," when Musk and Sacks were among the founding crew, and put early money into Tesla and SpaceX. In both cases, he said his firm worked "on hard problems to try and help these companies succeed."Gracias' relationship with Musk extends beyond business. He spent some time last year working with Musk as part of the Trump Administration's DOGE effort to slash the federal workforce, regulations and government spending. Gracias also previously sat on the boards of Tesla and other Musk companies. As for SpaceX, Gracias said he plans to hold onto the stock "as long as I possibly can."Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, whose firm invested in SpaceX in 2019, called Musk a "generational entrepreneur," likening his planned delivery of the Starship launch vehicle to the introduction of railroads. He said he was confident the company could be generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue in 2030.Maguire said Sequoia will distribute some shares to investors "if we feel like the valuation is way ahead of its skis," but said that, "as an individual, I'm going to hold my shares forever." 'Heavily dependent on Starship' Skeptics of SpaceX's lofty valuation questioned the logic of it all. The company counts on its Starlink satellite internet service for the bulk of its revenue and it's the only profitable part of the business. But investors don't pay historically high multiples for broadband service, no matter how good it is. The space launch division is burning cash and is counting on the Starship rocket to scale to much better economics than the Falcon fleet. And the AI unit, which came in through the acquisition of Musk's xAI, is currently a money pit that's pivoted to leasing out massive amounts of capacity to the likes of Anthropic and Google. Financial research firm CFRA gave SpaceX a sell rating and price target of $115, minutes after the company's Nasdaq debut. Analysts said SpaceX has "elevated valuation expectations," and living up to them would require proving the viability of Starship, expanding Starlink, generating returns from AI infrastructure, and eventually producing consistent free cash flows."Our primary concern is that SpaceX's long-term strategy remains heavily dependent on Starship," CFRA analyst Keith Snyder wrote in a note to clients, saying that the Starship rocket could be a "bottleneck" for various SpaceX initiatives.Then there's SpaceX's stated $28.5 trillion total addressable market across space, connectivity and AI. That figure doesn't include other literal moonshots like space tourism, asteroid mining or manufacturing in orbit. Nor does it include transportation to Mars.Aswath Damodaran, a New York University finance professor, told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Friday that seeing the addressable market figure SpaceX provided made him think the prospectus was written by Grok, the xAI chatbot, rather than a banker."This is a hallucination," Damodaran said. "I would be embarrassed to even put that number out." Maguire, a Musk permabull, said he stands by the projection."I would even argue it's an underestimate," he said. SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell celebrates with family and other SpaceX employees at the Nasdaq Marketsite in in New York after the SpaceX initial public offering on June 12, 2026.Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images While Musk is the face of SpaceX, getting to this point has a lot to do with the work of Gwynne Shotwell, the company's operating chief and one of its first employees. In an exclusive interview with CNBC ahead of the IPO, Shotwell responded to a question about whether her boss would ever combine SpaceX with Tesla. It's a potential transaction that's long been rumored about, even more since Musk merged SpaceX with xAI after previously doing the same with xAI and X. Shotwell, whose stake in SpaceX is now worth over $2 billion, didn't dismiss the possibility, but made clear that it's not on her priority list. "There's no question that there are synergies between Tesla and SpaceX in our futures," Shotwell told CNBC's Morgan Brennan at Starbase. "There's a convergence of what we're all trying to accomplish in the future, but right now I'm focused on keeping the lights on here, keeping rockets in production, flying rockets, flying people, getting to the International Space Station, and critically providing broadband to folks that don't have access."Musk, for his part, spent a fair amount of time on Friday appearing to relish the moment. As his company's IPO was dominating the news cycle, Musk was active on social media, mostly reposting messages, videos and photos from supporters touting his company's success. He didn't write much, but he did have one message he wanted to share on X."I love the incredible people of SpaceX beyond words," he wrote.WATCH: Cramer: Never has an IPO captivated Wall Street as much as SpaceX watch nowVIDEO2:1802:18Cramer: Never has an IPO captivated Wall Street as much as SpaceXMad Money with Jim Cramer Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

In 2018, Warren Buffett and Elon Musk indirectly debated a key question that persists for modern investors. View More

In this articleBRK.BGOOGLGOOGBRK.BFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT (This is the Warren Buffett Watch newsletter, news and analysis on all things Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. You can sign up here to receive it every Friday evening in your inbox.) MOATS VS. MOONSHOTS The critical Buffett-Musk debateNewly minted trillionaire Elon Musk knows a lot about rockets, electric cars, and posting messages on social media.In 2018, however, Warren Buffett questioned whether Musk knew as much as he should about "moats," the term Buffett had been using for years to describe an enduring competitive advantage, often a strong brand with a favorable "share of mind," that allows a company to remain reliably profitable over time. It started in early May during Tesla's quarterly earnings conference call.An investor asked Musk why Tesla was willing to open its extensive network of Superchargers to vehicles made by competitors: "I feel like the charging infrastructure you guys have built would take years and millions of dollars for another brand to replicate, so I'm just curious about the strategic thinking behind opening that up versus keeping it closed."Musk replied, "First of all, I think moats are lame. It's nice, sort of quaint in a vestigial way. If your only defense against invading armies is a moat, you will not last long. What matters is the pace of innovation. That is the fundamental determinant of competitiveness."At the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting a few days later, Buffett conceded, "Elon may turn things upside down in some areas," but quipped, "I don't think he'd want to take us on in candy."Musk then seemed to take up the challenge, posting he was "super super serious" about starting a candy company.Becky Quick asked Buffett about it all when he appeared live on CNBC two days after the meeting. watch nowVIDEO0:0000:00Buffett to Musk: Commodity products "need a moat"CNBC Interviews BECKY QUICK: Elon Musk was brought into the conversation this weekend at the shareholders meeting by a question — and I forget who asked it, one of the shareholders maybe — bringing up this idea — or maybe — maybe it was Andrew. But somebody brought up this idea of moats. Competitive advantages and moats.Elon Musk recently said that he thinks moats are stupid. People —WARREN BUFFETT: I wish he could give me his. (Laughter)BECKY QUICK: And that became a subject where Charlie weighed in and said, yes, he's right that actual moats around castles are stupid.But you guys got into a little bit where you were joking around, saying that you'd like to see him try and get into a candy store.He responded this weekend with some tweets, saying, "I'm starting a candy company & it's going to be amazing. I am super super serious. It just occurred to me that the plot of Willy Wonka is really messed up. Ok ok, just for the sake of argument, what do u wish for in candy? Cryptocandy. Then I'm going to build a moat & fill it with candy. Warren B will not be able to resist investing! Berkshire Hathaway kryptonite… I'm killin me lol"WARREN BUFFETT: Well —BECKY QUICK: What do you think about all of this?WARREN BUFFETT: Well, if you look at the leading candy bars, for example, for the last 50 years, I think you'll find Snickers on top. And then you've got M&M's. You've got two types. So they don't combine the peanuts with the other ones. But I think they're number two and four. And, you know — Hershey's in there at number three or something of the sort. Yeah.I can't take them on. (Laughter)I don't — I don't think Elon can take them on. You know? (Laughs)They have moats. When you go into a drug store, a 7-Eleven, or something and you say, I would like a Snickers bar, and the owner says, oh, I've got something — the Musk Bar — at 10 cents off the Snickers bar, you say, give me the Snickers.And if he doesn't give you the Snickers, you go across the street and buy the Snickers.Brands are moats, I mean, obviously.And if you try to — you know — this product is selling, you know, to hundreds of millions of people who want Coca-Cola. And if you say, I'll sell you something for two cents less, or I've got some celebrity's name on it —They actually — Richard Branson tried Virgin Cola in the United States about 15 or 20 years ago. And a million others have been tried.So I don't really have the same urge to produce automobiles that he apparently has to — (laughs) — produce candy. But I don't suggest that he take on Snickers. See's Candies display at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, NE on May 1, 2026.Yun Li | CNBC BECKY QUICK: You're taking me literally and stepping away from the real story here, which is kind of this war of words between you and Charlie and Elon. And I just want — do you even know Elon Musk?WARREN BUFFETT: I've never said anything to anyone about Elon. I mean, you know — you're baiting me a little bit to do it, but —BECKY QUICK: I am.WARREN BUFFETT: But I've never — you know, I — people like his car and everything, but —But somebody mentioned that now he's talking about financing. Something this morning about that. I thought I heard that earlier.BECKY QUICK: Yes. Well, actually, Warren — Andrew just read some headlines where it looked like they may be — Tesla — may be going back to market to pick up some additional financing. I'm not entirely sure.WARREN BUFFETT: Well that's —BECKY QUICK: All I heard was the — all I heard was the headline.WARREN BUFFETT: That's what I call a counter-revelation. I mean — (laughs) — you know, because I think it was just a few days ago they said they wouldn't need financing. It —But, you know, he's trying something to improve a product. And I salute him for that. And the American public will decide whether it's a success. And — it's not easy. You know? So a lot —It's probably easier to develop a new car than it is to compete with Snickers.But some products have terrific moats, you know. Probably Elmer's Glue does. You know, WD-40. I mean, there you go.You can — there's just certain things that you are not in — much inclined to be dissatisfied with and seek — and I would say that, incidentally, that the iPhone, you know, has a terrific moat.I mean, people that have an iPhone — or maybe have some other phone. But they want to continue with the product that they've got. They want the new version. It's just easier for them. They've learned how to do everything, and their life's built around it, and all of that, and —Moats are very useful.Costco has a moat in people's mind. I mean, you know —Amazon can raise the price of Prime, you know, 20 percent. And you can't do that unless you've built something within that image of the Amazon Prime, that's based on reality, that you're going to get a lot for your money and you're going to want to use it. And then you can raise prices $20.But if you're selling, you know, if you're selling some commodity product, you can't do that. You need a moat. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, speaks on a screen remotely from SpaceX headquarters in Starbase, Texas, speaks before the launch of SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York on June 12, 2026.Adam Jeffery | CNBC The debate the two men sparked eight years ago was even picked up by the Harvard Business Review and has continued online with posts and videos.'AI-powered' GEICO Gecko answers questions on podcastBuffett believes effective advertising can generate the strong brand identity that makes a moat effective.Berkshire's GEIKO insurance subsidiary is a good example with its ubiquitous Gecko.This week the company is promoting the character's first "live, unscripted conversation" as it appeared as a "real-time, AI-powered participant" on a video podcast hosted by the WNBA's Azzi Fudd, who plays guard for the Dallas Wings. GEICO GEICO has a multiyear partnership with Fudd, calling it a "cornerstone of its growing investment in women's sports."The company's release says it "developed the experience deliberately and with human oversight" and the Gecko's "character, voice and creative direction remain guided by the teams behind the brand." BUFFETT & BERKSHIRE AROUND THE INTERNET Some links may require a subscription:The Motley Fool on Yahoo Finance: Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel Is Venturing Into an Area of the Stock Market That Warren Buffett Largely Shied Away From. Here's Why Investors Might Play Along.Investopedia: Buffett's Recommended Portfolio Looks Very Different From 60/40—Here's How the Results CompareInsurance Business: GEICO fills last major leadership gap with CFO hireZacks: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on ItForbes: The Buffett Rule Investors Can Apply To The Next Wave Of Mega‑IPOs BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH Four weeks Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards Twelve months Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards BRK.A stock price: $732,100.00BRK.B stock price: $489.25BRK.B P/E (TTM): 14.57Berkshire market capitalization: $1,051,476,084,256Berkshire Cash as of March 31: $397.4 billion (Up 6.5% from Dec. 31)Excluding Rail Cash and Subtracting T-Bills Payable: $380.2 billion (Up 3.0% from Dec. 31)Berkshire repurchased $234 million of its shares in Q1 2026.(All figures are as of the date of publication, unless otherwise indicated) BERKSHIRE'S TOP EQUITY HOLDINGS - Jun. 12, 2026 Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly traded stocks in the U.S. and Japan, by market value, based on the latest closing prices. Zoom In IconArrows pointing outwards Holdings are as of March 31, 2026, as reported in Berkshire Hathaway's 13F filing on May 15, 2026, except for:Alphabet, which includes the $10 billion in shares that Berkshire agreed to buy directly from the company, as announced on June 1, 2026. Berkshire has not yet formally disclosed whether the transaction has been completed. The entry is a combination of Class A and Class C Alphabet shares. The market price is a weighted average of the prices of the two classes.Mitsubishi, which is as of April 30, 2026The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.Also, Buffett's annual letters to shareholders are highly recommended reading. There are collected here on Berkshire's website.-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe started a robotics company late last year called Mind Robotics that he says has has raised more than $1 billion. View More

In this articleRIVNFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Humanoid industrial robot are on display at the humanoid robot data training center in Shougang Park on March 27, 2025 in Beijing, China. VCG | China News Service | Getty Images PARK CITY, Utah — Rivian Automotive CEO RJ Scaringe envisions a day in the not-so-distant future when the electric vehicle maker's manufacturing employees will have a new type of colleague: humanoid robots."There's going to be thousands of people that are collaborating alongside these robots. They're going to be taking pictures, 'Hey, check this out! My co-worker's name is Phil, and he's a robot,'" Scaringe said during a media event for the launch of the Rivian R2 EV.The 43-year-old automotive enthusiast and tech entrepreneur started a robotics company last year called Mind Robotics. The company has raised more than $1 billion, according to Scaringe. Humanoid robots are designed to be shaped and move like people. Artificial intelligence algorithms power their abilities along with complex hardware like semiconductors. Proponents say they could be used in various settings, from factories to hospitality and even in the home, while others have raised concerns about the devices replacing human jobs.Scaringe said the company expects to reveal its first product in less than a year, with Rivian as a large minority shareholder and launch customer. Mind currently has roughly 20 open positions ranging from software and hardware engineers to data architects, according to its website. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, who founded Mind Robotics late last year, speaks with media on June 3, 2026 during a launch event for the R2 electric SUV in Utah.Michael Wayland / CNBC Scaringe, who is executive chair and acting CEO of Mind, told CNBC that the plan is to keep the robotics company separate from Rivian, as opposed to the automaker partially shifting to make humanoid robots, like Tesla CEO Elon Musk is doing with his company."We have a deep relationship, and that was actually how we structured it," Scaringe said during an interview. "A big part of structuring the business was to allow me to be able to spend time on both."The robotics strategy adds to a narrative of Scaringe doing things differently than Musk, despite obvious similarities in their companies. There have been enough comparisons that Rivian has even been called the "anti-Tesla" and Scaringe has been referred to as the "anti-Elon.""I'd say there's a lot of alignment there, and I think that's because, obviously, I'm biased, but I think they're right ... that autonomy is a super important technology," Scaringe said about Tesla and Rivian. "But in terms of the products, they, in many ways, couldn't be more different."So far Rivian and Mind are assisting each other, though, much like Musk's companies have also done during developmental phases. That includes Musk's xAI company merging with SpaceX before the company's record-setting initial public offering on Friday as well as SpaceX purchasing vehicles from Tesla.Scaringe said Rivian will be a "huge beneficiary" of Mind, which is using data from Rivian for training its AI models. Along with Rivian's equity stake, the automaker will be Mind's first customer for the robots. "We realized it was such a big opportunity that deserved to be its own company," said Scaringe. He said he believes there is a multitrillion-dollar total addressable market for industrial labor. A Tesla Optimus robot hands out candy in front of the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York, US, on Monday, Oct. 27, 2025. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Scaringe was visibly excited when speaking with media about the potential for AI and humanoid robotics, calling it "one of the most exciting times, perhaps in human history.""One hundred years from now, they're going to be inheriting the work that we do over our lifetimes, and so I just think we're so lucky that we get to be alive at the birth of AI," Scaringe said.Despite the optimism for humanoid robots, Scaringe said he expects the devices to work alongside humans rather than replace them completely for the foreseeable future, saying it takes a "long time" for vehicle assembly plants to become so-called "dark factories" which can be almost entirely run by robots."What I see happening is the simplest tasks will be taken on by robots. The more complex tasks that require higher levels of reasoning or more complex, more tactile levels of dexterity [will be done by humans]," he said.Scaringe said manufacturers are dealing with an "extreme lack of labor," from other automakers. Rivian currently has more than 30 open manufacturing and engineering jobs, according to the company's website.The need for such workers, as well as the rapid development of AI, Scaringe believes, will mean human employees will be working alongside a robot named "Phil" far sooner than they may expect."The rate at which this is moving is far faster than I'd say — like an order of magnitude faster — than the average person in society understands," he said. "That's going to be a particularly big challenge in the short-term to just have the average person … realize how fast the models are learning and how capable they are at doing almost everything."— CNBC's Arjun Kharpal contributed to this report. 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Switzerland votes on a population cap that could tighten immigration and put its EU free-movement agreement under pressure. View More

In this articleROP-CHNES.N-CHFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT A photo shows a poster depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping and reading "Breaking with Europe now of all times? NO on the SVP-Chaos-Initiative" in Thayngen, northern Switzerland, on June 1, 2026. Sebastien Bozon | Afp | Getty Images Switzerland, a wealthy country that has historically embraced free movement and foreign investment, is about to vote on whether to cap its population — and restrict immigration measures to do so.Sunday's referendum comes after the country's population increased 10% in the 10 years up to the end of 2025, when it stood at just over 9.1 million. For the first time, the country had more people over 65 than under 20. Net migration and the birth rate fell last year. Relatively low taxation has helped make Switzerland home to global conglomerates like consumer goods giant Nestle, pharmaceutical heavyweight Novartis and other multinational firms in finance, luxury goods and tech. It has one of the world's highest concentrations of billionaires and a much stronger GDP per capita rate than many other developed economies. At the end of 2024, 41% of the population had a "migration background," a term applied to immigrants and their Swiss-born children, per official data, which also shows 32.5% of the country's permanent residents are first-generation immigrants. An estimated 1.4 million EU citizens live in Switzerland, comprising around 16% of the country's population. Another 340,000 EU citizens cross the border daily to work there.A recent poll found that 52% of respondents would reject the population cap, while 45% were in favor. How would the population cap work? But if voters back the population curb proposal, the country's Federal Council and parliament will have to roll out measures to curb population growth until 2050.Immigration systems would be tightened if the population exceeded 9.5 million at any point over the next 24 years, with asylum and family reunification programs first in line to face cuts. Switzerland's freedom of movement initiative with the European Union would also potentially end, should the population rise above the 10-million threshold. Switzerland is part of the border-free Schengen travel zone, along with many large EU economies. The bloc and the country also have an agreement to allow free movement of each other's citizens, allowing them to live and work in each other's territories, provided they have a job or another source of income. Switzerland's right-wing SVP party is urging voters to "send a clear signal" to policymakers to curb what it calls "overwhelming" population growth. In a statement last week, the SVP said that voting for the population cap would still allow 40,000 people to move to Switzerland each year, but lawmaker Piero Marchesi said population growth had caused problems for public services, wages, the price of rent, education and the labor market. Companies headquartered in Switzerland have argued that putting significant caps on immigration would dent the country's competitive edge and weigh on its struggling economy, which has faced sluggish growth, a surging currency, disinflation and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff regime. Read moreThe Swiss franc just hit an 11-year high — and it’s stirring up trouble in SwitzerlandSwiss franc's safe haven status is proving to be a headache for the nationU.S. and Switzerland reach trade deal to lower tariffs to 15% Economiesuisse — a trade body that counts Amazon Web Services, Roche, Google and Johnson & Johnson among its 100,000 members — has opposed the population cap initiative. Chief Economist Rudolf Minsch said in an emailed statement to CNBC that Switzerland's prosperity depends on "openness, innovation and strong economic relations with Europe.""We understand that concerns about housing, infrastructure and population growth must be taken seriously, and these challenges require pragmatic political solutions," he said."Rigid immigration caps are not the right answer, particularly if they risk undermining the bilateral agreements with the European Union, which are of central importance to the Swiss economy."Minsch added that Switzerland's reliance on highly qualified foreign workers, especially in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, technology and healthcare. "Major restrictions on immigration would weaken innovation, growth and competitiveness, while making it harder for companies to attract international talent," he said. Speaking to CNBC's Carolin Roth at the Swiss Economic Forum last week, Nestle CEO Philipp Navratil described how attractive the country was to outside investors, adding: "It is important that these conditions in Switzerland are maintained.""We must not take this for granted; it was created through a lot of hard work and through a willingness to drive reforms," he added.He said his company had nine factories, three research centers in the country, and "our main share of research and development still takes place in Switzerland — this has been the case for 160 years.""Reliability is found in Switzerland, because quality exists in Switzerland, because talent exists in Switzerland, because Switzerland has created and established framework conditions that are simply attractive for a global company," he added. Representatives of the Swiss People's Party next to a banner reading in German: 'No 10 million Switzerland! sustainability initiative' in Bern on April 3, 2024.Fabrice Coffrini | Afp | Getty Images At the same conference, UBS CEO Sergio Ermotti said he worried about "extreme initiatives.""Switzerland has 30% of foreign-born people, almost like in Australia, twice as Germany," he said. "And that leads to certain frustration within society. But it's not a way to solve the problem."UBS is one of Switzerland's biggest employers, with around 33,500 of its employees based in the country. Joao B. Duarte, a professor of economics at Portugal's Nova School of Business and Economics, told CNBC in an email that a population cap could damage Switzerland's credibility in various ways. "If firms believe access to European labor may become more uncertain, investment decisions can shift well before the legal trigger is reached," he told CNBC. Duarte said the U.K.'s exit from the EU "offers a useful warning. Ending free movement did not create a smooth transition to domestic labor self-sufficiency. It created shortages, recruitment frictions and higher costs in sectors that had relied on flexible EU workers."He added that the EU is Switzerland's main trading partner, and free movement is tied to the broader bilateral framework that gives Swiss firms privileged access to European markets."If a 'yes' vote eventually forces Switzerland to terminate the free movement agreement, the strain would not be limited to migration policy. It could spill over into the entire Swiss-EU economic relationship," Duarte said.— CNBC's Carolin Roth contributed to this report. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

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A more balanced and predictable approach can help safeguard revenue, reduce disputes, enhance taxpayer confidence, and create a more efficient GST ecosystem for businesses. View More

As India’s good and services tax (GST) regime approaches its ninth anniversary, it is undoubtedly clear that it has been a landmark reform that has reshaped the country’s indirect tax landscape. From subsuming multiple taxes into a unified system to building a technology-led compliance framework, GST has significantly improved transparency and formalisation across sectors. A key pillar of this framework is the removal of the cascading effect and simplification of input tax credit (ITC). Simply put, ITC allows businesses to offset the tax paid on business purchases against the tax paid on sales, ensuring that tax is applied only to the value added at each stage of the supply chain, preventing cascading of taxes. Access to ITC has always been conditional. The law prescribes requirements, such as possession of a valid invoice, receipt of goods/services, and compliance by the supplier, alongside specific exclusions where credit is restricted. This conditional framework has constantly led to a tussle between taxpayers and authorities. The law requires that tax charged on a supply must be deposited with the government for the recipient to claim credit. In practice, this has led to situations where genuine recipients, who have received goods or services and paid the applicable tax, are denied ITC due to defaults by suppliers. This creates uncertainty, disrupts business planning, and often results in prolonged litigation. Over the years, the GST system has evolved to improve the process of credit verification. Earlier, businesses relied on GSTR-2A—a dynamic statement of supplier-reported invoices. While intended to promote transparency, it also led to frequent mismatches and reconciliation challenges, with differences triggering scrutiny. Recognising these issues, the system has since moved towards greater predictability with the introduction of GSTR-2B—a static, period-specific statement. This was a significant improvement, offering businesses visibility on eligible credit and reducing disputes on time differences. More recently, the rollout of the Invoice Management System (IMS) represents a shift towards real-time validation, strengthening the integrity of the credit chain, and placing greater responsibility on businesses to actively manage their credit positions. Encouragingly, recent judicial pronouncements signal a more balanced approach. Courts have increasingly held that ITC should not be denied to bona fide purchasers solely on account of supplier non-compliance, particularly where the underlying transaction is genuine and well documented. Live Events Another important aspect of ITC is the set of restrictions on credit availability—certain supplies are specifically ineligible for ITC, and notably, most of these restrictions have been carried forward from erstwhile tax regimes. However, with changing times and evolving business systems, there is a pressing need to review whether certain restrictions continue to serve their intended purpose or if they only constrain legitimate business activity. For instance, restrictions on credits relating to employee welfare, such as health insurance, food, and well-being expenses, merit reconsideration. In today’s business environment, particularly in sectors such as manufacturing, technology, and digital services, operations are increasingly round-the-clock, with employees expected to support 24×7 business continuity across geographies and time zones. In such a scenario, expenditure incurred on employee health, safety, and welfare is no longer an option but a critical component of business operations. Similarly, credits blocked on construction-related activities, particularly for commercial infrastructure, also need reconsideration. Large-scale investments in data centres and digital infrastructure are critical to India’s growth story. Similarly, sectors such as airports, ports, data centres, and semiconductors—identified as strategic priorities—require significant upfront capital expenditure. Denial of ITC on such investments increases project costs and can dilute the intended policy push towards these focus sectors. Allowing credit in these areas, would not only improve project viability but also align the GST framework with larger economic objectives—whether it is Digital India , Make in India, or the push towards emerging technology ecosystems. As GST enters its tenth year, the focus is gradually shifting from stricter controls to creating a more predictable and business-friendly credit ecosystem. A few priorities can help shape the next phase of reform: Compliance ease ·Technology-driven tools, such as IMS and GSTR-2B, should be leveraged to provide greater certainty and upfront visibility regarding credit eligibility. Tax liability confirmation in GSTR-3B based on the GSTR-1/1A submitted by suppliers, which ensures that the recipient can rest assured that the taxes have been deposited by the supplier. Addressing accumulation due to inversion of duties ·Another area of focus would be inverted duty structures, which result in accumulation of ITC and significant working capital blockages, particularly for manufacturers. This issue has assumed greater significance in light of the path-breaking GST 2.0 rate rationalisation exercise. While the rationalisation measures were intended to simplify rate structure, they may in certain cases have inadvertently widened input-output tax rate mismatches. Of the 14 sectors covered under the Production Linked Incentive scheme, nearly half—including the EV segment within the automobile industry—could face such an inversion challenge, particularly where cross-product utilisation of credits is not feasible. In the absence of corrective measures, such sectors are likely to experience sustained working capital blockages, which may dilute intended benefits of industrial and manufacturing-focused policy initiatives, constraining future investments. Working capital optimisation ITC continues to remain one of its most critical pillars of the GST framework, supporting working capital efficiency and ensuring tax neutrality across the value chain. Addressing ITC restrictions can unlock working capital in a meaningful way. For instance, enabling utilisation of ITC for reverse charge liabilities instead of mandating cash payments can ease immediate cash flow pressures; allowing cross-utilisation of CGST credits across states can address the mismatch between credit accumulation in one location and cash outflows in another. Further, permitting refunds of unutilised credits, including those relating to capital goods, exports, or year-end balances, and allowing flexible instruments such as bank guarantees for pre-deposits can release funds otherwise locked in the system and improve operational efficiency. With the ongoing geopolitical situation and India increasingly emerging as a preferred destination for global investments, it is imperative for the government to further strengthen the GST framework. Providing greater certainty and flexibility in ITC, particularly by easing certain restrictions, can act as a direct stimulus for industry by unlocking working capital and improving investment viability. In a nutshell, the completion of nine years of GST implementation is not just an opportunity to reflect but to also chart the course ahead. A more balanced and predictable approach can help safeguard revenue, reduce disputes, enhance taxpayer confidence, and create a more efficient GST ecosystem for businesses. The author is Partner & Indirect Tax Leader, Deloitte India. Views are personal .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!

The question should no longer be about whether to adopt managed services but about how to use and leverage them to transform functions. View More

Today India Inc. is at an inflection point where growth is increasingly powered by a vast array and environment consisting of external partners. Third-party vendors today are not just suppliers; they could be technology providers, innovation partners, and, as we have come to know in many a case, even an extension of the enterprise itself. Yet as organisations expand their third-party ecosystem to speed up and realise their digital transformation objectives, they are also exposing themselves to risks in many ways that in today’s digital-first world are becoming challenging to control through traditional approaches. At the same time, organisations are under constant pressure to modernise their operations, manage costs, adopt artificial intelligence (AI), and stay compliant with rapidly evolving regulations—whether it here in India or globally. Managing these priorities internally today can more often than not prove to be resource-intensive. It is, therefore, not a surprise that organisations are evaluating and rethinking how critical functions, for example, like third-party risk management, are delivered. The shift is apparent and clear, as stated in KPMG International’s Managed Services Outlook 2026, released recently. Managed services, once viewed as a cost lever, today have moved firmly into the strategic core of enterprise decision-making. As many as 99% of organisations consider managed services a strategic priority, with almost half putting them at the very top of their investment lists. This is in a way redefining the term of outsourcing, moving from transactional support to a transformation engine. The gradual shift is being driven by the fact that there exists a widening gap between innovation and execution. While teams across organisations are aligned on the need to adopt AI and drive consistent transformation, they are often held back by challenges and constraints around legacy systems, processes, and at times talent shortages. This is where managed services is increasingly being seen as a bridge that helps close this gap, thereby helping organisations develop new capabilities across operations, minus the delays associated with building them in-house. The aforementioned study shows that 87% of organisations have already integrated managed services into their digital transformation strategies. This level of integration reflects a deeper shift: organisations are no longer outsourcing isolated functions but are instead redesigning and revisiting their operating models to deliver outcomes through a combination of internal teams and external managed service providers. Live Events AI is now being viewed as a powerful catalyst in this transition, with managed services being looked at as a key tool for delivering AI on scale and adoption of AI. What this shows is AI today is not just a technology layer but needs a different operating model, one that can manage data, ensure security and compliance, and help with optimising performance. Managed services can provide this infrastructure backbone. Today the value that managed services brings to the table extends itself far beyond efficiency gains. Organisations are looking at it to drive growth, and innovation, more importantly, in areas that have become core and central to competitiveness in today’s complex and ever-changing business environment. The managed services model helps users access capabilities and skills in specialised areas, modern platforms, and analytics that sometimes are challenging to scale and build internally. In a world where speed and agility define success, this becomes a decisive factor. Another aspect is also the way organisations approach risks. The traditional methods of third-party risk management have been found to be fragmented, reactive, and literally all over the place where multiple vendors are hired by different functions, leading to a lack of integration. As ecosystems expand, the lack of integration and fragmentation leads to blind spots. Managed services help bring synchronisation, allowing for a more coordinated and integrated approach, be it standardising methods or using AI and automation to move from one-time screening to periodic checks and to continuous monitoring. Equally important is moving from cost-driven outsourcing to outcome-driven partnerships . Organisations today want to see value and better service quality, leading to faster resilience, further leading to faster innovation. This is leading to a redesign of relationships from vendor contracts to strategic collaboration with accountability. For India, the implications are significant. As a growing and expanding international hub for digital services, organisations and companies in India are functioning and operating within deeply interconnected global value chains. Managing these ecosystems in a systematic, organised, and secure fashion can become a key differentiator. Going forward, organisations must view managed services not as an adjunct but as a key structural element of how operations are shaped and delivered. Lastly, for India Inc., the message is clear. The question should no longer be about whether to adopt managed services but about how to use and leverage them to transform functions. In today’s interconnected world, resilience is no longer built within the organisation alone but across the whole ecosystem. And the managed services partner ecosystem is fast becoming the foundation of that resilience. The author is Partner and Head, Managed Services, Advisory, KPMG in India. Views are personal. .Pbanner{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;background-color:#ec1c40;margin-top:20px;padding:5px 10px;border-radius:4px;color:#fff;line-height:10px;} .Pbannertext{display:flex;align-items:center;font-size:16px;font-weight:600;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannertext img{height:20px;margin:0 6px} .Pbannerbutton a{display:flex;align-items:center;background-color:#fff;color:#ec1c40;text-decoration:none;font-weight:600;padding:4px 8px;border-radius:6px;font-size:15px;font-family:'Montserrat';} .Pbannerbutton img{height:20px;margin-right:6px} .Pbannerbutton a:hover{background-color:#f7f7f7} Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!

The Wall Street Journal reported that a coalition of state attorneys general have opened an investigation into OpenAI. View More

OpenAI Ceo Sam Altman speaks to journalists after meeting with US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 3, 2026. Brendan Smialowski | AFP | Getty Images OpenAI on Friday said it intends to "engage constructively" with state attorneys general and will take their concerns "seriously," a spokesperson told CNBC. The company's statement landed after The Wall Street Journal reported that a coalition of state attorneys general opened an investigation into the artificial intelligence company. OpenAI was reportedly served with a subpoena seeking information about its approach to advertising, consumer and health data, minor and senior users and models, among other activities. "AI is a new and powerful technology, and we work every day to safely bring its benefits to people in a responsible way," the spokesperson said. OpenAI rocketed into the mainstream in 2022 following the launch of its chatbot ChatGPT, which now supports more than 1 billion monthly active users. The company has ballooned into one of the most valuable private companies on the planet, reaching a valuation of $850 billion earlier this year. OpenAI is now gearing up for an IPO that could land as soon as this year, announcing on Monday that it confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission. But along with the company's meteoric rise has come mounting legal woes over purported harms caused by its technology. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sued OpenAI earlier this month, alleging that the company knowingly released an unsafe product, namely ChatGPT, that could harm users. Uthmeier said during a press conference at the time that he expected other states to take similar action. The company is being sued by seven families of the victims of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, which took place in Canada in February. The families allege that the attacker used ChatGPT to plan the attack, and that the company did not do anything to stop it.OpenAI is also facing a number of wrongful death lawsuits, which allege that ChatGPT drove users to experience harmful delusions and, in some cases, to commit suicide. "Today's ChatGPT includes a more protective experience for minors and people experiencing difficult situations, with safeguards that direct them to real-world resources and trusted human contacts," OpenAI's spokesperson said Friday.If you are having suicidal thoughts or are in distress, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor.WATCH: OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor: Heartened everyone is taking AI regulation seriously watch nowVIDEO4:5104:51OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor: Heartened everyone is taking AI regulation seriouslyPower Lunch Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

CNBC's Jim Cramer said it's not too late to buy SpaceX if investors view the company as a long-term bet on space exploration. View More

In this articleSPCXFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT watch nowVIDEO1:3901:39If SpaceX comes down, you should buy more: Jim CramerMad Money with Jim Cramer CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday that it's not too late for investors to buy SpaceX after its blockbuster debut— but only if they're willing to view the stock as a long-term bet on the future rather than a traditional investment."Is it too late to get into SpaceX?" the "Mad Money" host said. "If you're willing to look at this as a different kind of stock, not a short or even medium term investment ... then you've got my blessing."SpaceX debuted on the Nasdaq on Friday, opening at $150 per share but surging as high as $176. Elon Musk's rocket company closed the session with a market cap of $2.1 trillion. The powerful rally quickly reignited concerns that the stock's valuation may have outrun its current financial performance. Cramer, however, said that investors are not buying SpaceX solely for what it earns today."This is a long-term call on space exploration," Cramer said.Rather than focusing on current losses and cash outflows, Cramer argued that many investors are buying into Elon Musk's long-term vision and a pipeline of projects that may take years to fully materialize."I think they've considered the risk and recognized that there could be losses as far as the eye can see," he said.That willingness to look beyond near-term financial results helps explain the stock's strong debut, according to Cramer. While skeptics have questioned the company's valuation, he said shareholders are focused on the possibility that SpaceX's future opportunities could be far larger than what is currently reflected in its business.For investors who share that outlook, Cramer said pullbacks should be viewed as opportunities rather than reasons to abandon the stock."If it comes down, then you should buy more because the upside is conceivably unfathomable," he said.Cramer also praised the handling of the IPO by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, saying the two leading banks on the deal struck a balance between institutional and retail demand, while avoiding the kind of chaotic first-day surge that can create problems later. Cramer's Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club, owns shares of Goldman."The stock opened at a reasonable price versus the IPO price, not so high that it would encourage flipping but not that low as to foment panic," he said. "That's amazing." VIDEO7:0807:08Media is in secular decline, not going to invest in it: Jim Cramer Jim Cramer's Guide to InvestingClick here to read Jim Cramer's Guide to Investing at no cost to help you build long-term wealth and invest smarter Sign up now for the CNBC Investing Club to follow Jim Cramer's every move in the market.DisclaimerQuestions for Cramer? Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBCWant to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up! Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - InstagramQuestions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

The DOJ approval is an important milestone for the roughly $110 billion deal, though it could still face legal challenges from state attorneys general. View More

In this articlePSKYWBDFollow your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNT Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison speaks on stage during the Paramount Pictures presentation at CinemaCon at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, April 16, 2026.Valerie Macon | AFP | Getty Images The U.S. Department of Justice has signed off on Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, clearing the merger of federal antitrust concerns. "The Division has completed its analysis of the proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. and determined based on the evidence received in its investigation that the transaction is not likely to result in harm to competition or American consumers," the department said in its determination. A Paramount spokesperson said in a statement the company was "grateful for the Department of Justice's thorough review of this transaction, as well as the work of the other agencies that have completed their reviews and provided clearance to date. "This deal is pro-competitive, resulting in a stronger company better positioned to compete against dominant technology platforms in an industry increasingly defined by intense competition for audiences, talent, technology, and investment," the spokesperson said. "We remain focused on completing the transaction as soon as possible and delivering its benefits to consumers, creators and the entertainment industry as a whole."It's an important milestone for the roughly $110 billion deal, though it could still face legal challenges from state attorneys general. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been among the officials reviewing the proposal, and the deal "remains under investigation by the California Department of Justice," his office said in a statement Friday.Paramount's stock was up about 3% in after-hours trading. Politico first reported the government approval. Paramount CEO David Ellison told investors during the company's April earnings call that the deal was on track to close by September, after which point a so-called ticking fee kicks in, making the deal more expensive. The proposed merger has already received WBD shareholder approval. In late February, Paramount offered $31 per share to acquire all of WBD's assets, which includes cable TV networks like CNN and TBS, the Warner Bros. film studio and streaming platform HBO Max. The proposal came following multiple offers and upended a deal with Netflix for that company to acquire WBD's streaming and film assets. Paramount is still awaiting regulatory approval from European officials. Earlier this week the European Union's regulator arm began reviewing the proposed deal and set a July 14 deadline for vetting, according to a notice on its website. On Wednesday Paramount said in a regulatory filing that the deal received approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.