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The AI arms race took another turn Friday as Chinese startup Moonshot unveiled its Kimi K three model, matching the performance of leading American systems at roughly half the cost. It's the second major open-source challenge out of Beijing this year, and Silicon Valley is paying close attention as the pricing pressure builds.
Shifting to financial services, Citizens Bank announced it will wind down its banking relationships with CoreCivic and GEO Group, the two largest private prison operators in the country. The move follows sustained pressure from advocacy groups and municipal governments, and it signals how politically charged ESG decisions have become for mid-tier regional lenders caught between competing stakeholder demands.
And on the operational side, United Airlines suffered a nationwide technology outage Saturday morning, grounding and delaying flights across the country during a peak summer travel weekend. The carrier said systems were restored and operations returning to normal, but the incident renews questions about aging airline infrastructure at a moment when passenger volumes are near record highs.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
