Business news today captures a market balancing AI ambition, geopolitical risk and old-economy dealmaking. Anthropic has quietly taken a major step toward a U.S. IPO, positioning the Claude maker to potentially beat OpenAI to Wall Street and underscoring how intensely investors are chasing the AI boom. At the same time, Barry Diller’s People Inc. is trying to take MGM Resorts private in an $18 billion bid, a reminder that traditional M&A remains active even as attention shifts to tech. But the broader backdrop is far less settled: Iran has suspended talks with the United States after Israel widened its offensive in Lebanon, adding fresh uncertainty for energy markets and global risk sentiment. In Europe, France’s latest boarding of a suspected Russian “shadow fleet” tanker signals tougher sanctions enforcement at sea. Meanwhile, in quieter corners of finance, Nuveen and SPDR funds kept income investors focused with another round of monthly ETF distributions.