Ticker: Former Meta engineer testifies in safety trial

The day’s business news at a glance

A former engineering director at Meta who has testified before Congress about child safety on Instagram told jurors at a landmark trial that the company took a "don't ask, don't tell" approach on kids under 13 on its platforms. During his second day of testimony Wednesday, Arturo Bejar said Meta consistently prioritized profits over safety in designing its products.

The trial that began Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, pits Meta against the states of California, Colorado, Kentucky and New Jersey and is expected to last about six weeks. The company has rejected the claims and said evidence at the trial will show its commitment to safety.

Alarmed bond market gets Trump admin to act

Normally quiet, the bond market can occasionally send warning signals loud enough to hit stock markets worldwide and even grab the attention of U.S. presidents and other world leaders.

After the bond market's alarm bells rose in volume through the summer in the form of higher yields, the Trump administration announced on Wednesday a move that could help calm it down. The U.S. Treasury Department said it will more than double the amount of U.S. government bonds that it will buy back, and the move worked in getting longer-term yields lower, for now at least. The stakes are high because high yields drag on economies and bring downward pressure on stock markets.

Moderna surges after cancer shot passes test

Moderna shares more than doubled after announcing initial results from a study of an experimental cancer treatment. Moderna and Merck are developing an mRNA-based cancer vaccine designed to be tailored to individual patients based on unique mutations within their tumors.

They are pairing the drug, intismeran, with Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug made by Merck. The study compared using intismeran and Keytruda together on melanoma patients against using Keytruda alone. The companies said patients who received the combination lived longer without cancer returning or metastasizing than patients who got Keytruda alone. They said they plan to present full data at an upcoming international medical meeting.

'Many' Fed officials think high rates will be needed

Many Federal Reserve officials think the central bank will have to lift its key short-term interest rate in the coming months if inflation doesn't subside, minutes of the Fed's meeting last month showed. The minutes of the July 28-29 meeting, released Wednesday, don't provide specifics on how many of the 19 officials supported higher rates.

Inflation has since showed some signs of cooling, though gas prices have rebounded this month on renewed hostilities in the Middle East. Wall Street investors now expect the Fed to remain on hold at its next meeting in September and potentially lift rates in December, though that outlook could change.

United Arab Emirates suspends trade with Iran

The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade with Iran after it said it had come under renewed fire from the country. That will further isolate the Islamic Republic. The country is already suffering under U.S. sanctions and a blockade.

Incoming ballistic missile fire triggered nationwide warnings Tuesday night for UAE residents to seek shelter. It was the first time in weeks such an alarm had sounded. Early in the conflict, the UAE regularly came under intense fire from Iran, and most trade between the countries ground to a halt. It was not clear how much trade there was more recently.