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Meta has opened its AI model to commercial use, the big four is under scrutiny as $1.6 billion in spending reductions loom for consultants and lawyers, retail sales in America increased for the third consecutive month, and McKinsey, the renowned consultancy firm announced a strategic partnership with artificial intelligence startup Cohere.
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Before The Bell

Markets
Earnings and Data
Morgan Stanley fell short of Q2 profit expectations as Investment Banking Division revenues remained flat, and trading revenues declined year-over-year (CNBC)
Bank of America exceeded Q2 profit expectations, benefiting from increased earnings from customers' loan payments. Additionally, its investment banking and trading divisions performed better than anticipated. As a result, the bank's stock surged by over 4% (RT)
Lockheed Martin surpassed Q2 estimates, benefiting from heightened global geopolitical tensions and increased military expenditures. Furthermore, the company reported a record sales backlog of $158 billion (PRN)
News Summary
The big four is under scrutiny as $1.6 billion in spending reductions loom for consultants and lawyers (AFR)
Spark announces it will become the first telecommunications company in New Zealand to offer a pure 5G connection without any slower, laggier 4G links in the chain (NZHerald)
The first-generation iPhone fetches an astounding $300,000 at auction, a staggering 380 times its original price (NZHerald)
Microsoft's shares achieved a record closing value following the company's announcement of pricing for its new Microsoft 365 artificial intelligence subscription service (CNBC)
In June, retail sales in America increased for the third consecutive month, supported by easing inflation and a robust labour market (WSJ)
The US military is urgently working to ascertain the fate of a soldier who defected to North Korea (RT)
China is currently experiencing a record heatwave, while South Korea grapples with an increasing death toll due to floods (RT)
Meta has opened its AI model to commercial use, causing significant disruption in the emerging AI market (RT)
McKinsey, the renowned consultancy firm, announced a strategic partnership with artificial intelligence startup Cohere. The collaboration aims to deliver AI solutions to McKinsey's enterprise clients (RT)
Morgan Stanley is relocating over 200 technology developers from mainland China due to the country's increased restrictions on access to onshore data repositories (BBG)
Deal Flow
Investments / M&A
India's Tata Group selects the United Kingdom as the location for a $5 billion gigafactory for Jaguar Land Rover (RT)
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, the energy giant with plans to expand its chemical operations through several ambitious deals, has increased its takeover proposal for Covestro AG to approximately €11 billion (BBG)
The proposed $61 billion acquisition of VMware Inc. by Broadcom Inc. has received interim UK clearance (BBG)
Ares Management, a global alternative investment firm, is set to acquire Singaporean private equity company Crescent Point Capital, which manages assets worth $3.8 billion (RT)
Alani Nu, the energy drink manufacturer, is working with JP Morgan Chase & Co as it explores the possibility of a full or partial sale. The potential valuation for the company is expected to exceed $3 billion (RT)
VC & Fundraising
Equity Raises
Oddity Tech Ltd., a beauty and wellness company, along with its shareholders, successfully raised $424 million in an enlarged initial public offering (IPO) after pricing its shares above the initially targeted range (BBG)
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