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Business briefly: Apple to hold product launch with Mac updates

February 16, 2026

Apple said on Monday that it’s holding a product launch on March 4, with the company preparing to announce several new devices in the coming weeks.

The iPhone maker invited media to gatherings in New York, Shanghai and London, saying it is holding an in-person “experience.” The invitation implies a more low-key showcase than the typical launches held at the company’s campus in Cupertino.

The invitation doesn’t specify whether a keynote will be streamed online, as has been typical since 2020 when Apple had to adjust its event strategy due to Covid. Bloomberg News will have coverage of the launch.

Apple has been planning to release several new products in the first half of 2026, including new MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, a low-cost MacBook in several colors and new iPad models, Bloomberg News has reported. Apple is also soon planning to release an iPhone 17e, an update to its mid-tier smartphone.

Ford open to Chinese EV tech in U.S.

Ford Motor Co.’s top executive spoke last week to senior Trump administration officials about a potential framework in which Chinese automakers could build cars in America while offering some protection for domestic companies, according to Bloomberg sources.

The idea discussed by Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley and Trump cabinet members last month involved Chinese carmakers partnering with US companies through joint ventures in which the American company holds a controlling stake, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. The ventures would be structured so that both the Chinese and US partners would share profits and technology in the JV, the people said.

No decision has been made on the matter and the discussion was characterized by the people as informal and preliminary. Such a setup would be a mirror image of what China required of western automakers three decades ago when they had to partner with Chinese carmakers in order to set up factories in that country.

The discussions come as China’s automakers move ever closer to America’s doorstep. Canada’s government recently announced a plan to allow some Chinese EVs into the country, while BYD Co. vehicles are becoming commonplace on streets in Mexico.

Banks to see new mortgage capital requirements

US lenders are poised to see new mortgage-loan requirements as the Federal Reserve comes closer to unveiling a long-awaited bank capital proposal tied to Basel III.

Michelle Bowman, the Fed’s top bank cop, said parts of that new measure related to residential real estate would consider increasing the “risk sensitivity” of capital requirements for mortgage loans on bank books. One approach would be to use loan-to-value ratios to determine the applicable risk weight for residential real estate exposures, rather than applying a uniform risk weight.

“This change could better align capital requirements with actual risk, support on-balance-sheet lending by banks, and potentially reverse the trend of migration of mortgage activity to nonbanks over the past 15 years,” Bowman said on Monday in prepared remarks at a American Bankers Association event in Florida.

Trump-era regulators have been working a new bank capital proposal that would be less burdensome on the biggest US banks than a Biden-era plan, Bloomberg News previously reported. That earlier proposal which included some stiffer mortgage capital requirements was never finalized amid fierce opposition from the bank industry.

Bowman said Monday regulators would also seek comment on the so-called risk weights tied to some mortgages.

Compiled from Bloomberg reports.

Orange County Register

News Details

Business briefly: Apple to hold product launch with Mac updates

Ford open to Chinese EV tech in U.S.

Banks to see new mortgage capital requirements

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