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The AI productivity paradox is sharpening into a genuine corporate crisis. An Atlanta Federal Reserve study found roughly ninety percent of executives say artificial intelligence has not yet moved the needle on productivity at their companies, even as capital expenditure on the technology continues to climb. Some firms are cutting headcount anyway, betting the gains are simply delayed.
Turning to energy, Chevron posted its highest quarterly profit in six years at the close of July twenty twenty six, and analyst firm Wood Mackenzie now estimates the global oil and gas industry is tracking toward a cash windfall of nearly five hundred billion dollars this year, largely driven by the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. President Trump himself said oil companies are making too much money, and three separate legislative proposals to tax those excess profits are now moving through Washington.
Meanwhile, enrollment in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has dropped by more than thirteen percent over the past twelve months, a decline far steeper than federal projections. New work requirements and expanded paperwork burdens tied to the administration's budget legislation are pushing eligible recipients off the rolls, raising fresh questions about the human cost of welfare reform at this pace and scale.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
