Seeking charter: Klarna has applied for a U.S. bank charter with regulators in Utah and the FDIC, aiming to establish a new FDIC-insured subsidiary called Klarna Bank USA. If approved, the move would let the buy-now-pay-later company shift away from relying on partner banks and bring its U.S. lending, payments and other services in-house under its own banking license. The company says this step would strengthen its operations, increase regulatory oversight and support expansion of its financial services in the U.S. CNBC has the full story.
Xbox division targeted: Microsoft is cutting about 4,800 jobs, with a large share coming from its Xbox division as part of a broad restructuring. The company is also spinning off or selling several game studios and reducing its game publishing footprint to focus on fewer core franchises. Xbox leadership says the business has been underperforming, with weak profit margins and slower-than-expected growth in services like Game Pass. The Wall Street Journal has the full story.
Growth cools, hiring rises: The U.S. service sector continued to expand in June, but growth slowed modestly as the ISM index dipped to 54.0 from 54.5 in May. The cooling was driven by weaker new orders after earlier front-loaded demand. Hiring, however, picked up after several months of softness, pointing to continued resilience in the labor market, and inflation pressures and supply constraints remain present, even as overall growth momentum moderates. Bloomberg has the full story.
Trump steps in
