New cybersecurity benchmark; Ford drops 6%; chatbot arms race.

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Major tech stocks to participate in cybersecurity initiative

The US government has announced plans to launch a Cyber Trust Mark standard, to designate which IoT devices it considers safe from cyberattacks. Brands including Amazon [AMZN], Google [GOOGL] and Logitech [LOGI] will participate in the scheme, which could be launched early next year. Meanwhile, officials are hoping to finish a proposal by the end of August for a programme to screen and possibly block investment in China’s semiconductor, quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI) sectors.

AT&T at thirty-year low over toxic cables

Shares of US telecom giant AT&T [T] on Monday closed down 6.7% — their lowest since February 1993 — after a Wall Street Journal investigation published on July 9 showed that telecoms companies had left more than 2,000 toxic lead cables across the US. Analysts have since flagged there might be liability questions related to this, and several stocks have had their ratings downgraded.

The Chatbots arms race

“One way to invest in AI is to purchase stock in companies that are developing and utilising AI technologies,” Alastair Moore, founding partner at venture builder The Building Blocks, told Opto earlier this year. The Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF [AIQ] offers investors exposure to companies that use AI in their products and services, with top holdings including Meta [META], Nvidia [NVDA], Tesla [TSLA], Salesforce [CRM] and Microsoft [MSFT].

Ford down on price cuts

Ford [F] closed down 6% Monday following announcements that it is making price cuts, including a 17% reduction on its F-150 Lightning trucks. Tesla, meanwhile, has said it intends to double the capacity of its factory outside Berlin, which would make it the largest auto plant in Germany. Elsewhere, the company is suing Australia’s Cap-XX [CPX.L], saying its supercapacitors infringe two US patents owned by a Tesla subsidiary.

The two stocks leading the fight against Alzheimer’s

Eli Lilly’s [LLY] experimental drug donanemab slows the onset of the effects of Alzheimer’s by approximately a third, but this figure goes up to 60% if the treatment begins before symptoms manifest, according to new data. Meanwhile, Acumen Pharmaceuticals [ABOS] has said that its new Alzheimer’s drug has passed an early safety test and will now move to a larger trial.