Norway's foreign minister said the U.S. plan to expand sanctions on the International Criminal Court is deeply concerning.

Fitch warned France’s draft budget, which contains €43bn of fiscal adjustments to cut the deficit and ease market concern over public finances, could heighten sovereign bond-market volatility if it fails to win approval. Federico Bariga-Salazar, Fitch’s head of Western Europe sovereign ratings, called Finance Minister Roland Lescure’s plan to reduce the deficit to 5% of GDP by 2027 “substantive” and said its large scale means failure to implement it could produce a pronounced shock.

The U.S. federal government said on the 8th it will suspend Microsoft and several other technology firms from participating in the permanent labor certification (PERM) program, the first step for H-1B visa holders seeking U.S. permanent residency. Nine universities, including Harvard and Stanford, are under investigation for alleged J-1 visa fraud. Vice President Vance, announcing the Microsoft action at a White House briefing, said the company "committed fraud" and must hire American workers, saying companies cannot fire U.S. staff and replace them with precarious foreign workers.