U.S. retailer Costco has raised the price of its private-label synthetic engine oil and introduced purchase limits, a move seen as a sign of cost pressure across the engine oil supply chain. The increase is linked to higher base oil prices and supply strains, alongside longer-term demand for higher-performance lubricants. Rising engine oil costs could widen maintenance cost differences between electric vehicles and internal combustion cars, though analysts caution it may not sharply boost U.S. EV demand.

As AI hacking spreads, companies are not only increasing cybersecurity budgets but also changing spending priorities, benefiting some newer security technologies while sidelining parts of the traditional stack. Large firms are raising outlays for tools to monitor employee AI use, find vulnerabilities ahead of hackers and speed patching. Some are cutting spending on traditional vulnerability management, log collection and penetration testing. Gartner forecasts strong growth in the AI security market through 2028.