As artificial intelligence reshapes workplaces across industries, one hiring executive says job seekers worried about AI replacing them may be focusing on the wrong challenge.

Instead of looking for candidates with years of AI experience, employers increasingly want workers who can prove they’re willing to learn, according to Sultan Khan, head of talent acquisition and human resources at San Francisco-based OpenArt AI.

“The willingness to learn is the biggest thing that we really need right now,” Khan told FOX Business. “The people that are open to learning are the ones that we’re seeing grab jobs really quickly in this current landscape.”

His comments come as employers increasingly seek workers with AI skills. According to PwC’s 2025 AI Jobs Barometer, the skills required for AI-exposed jobs are changing 66% faster than in other occupations, while workers with AI skills receive an average 56% wage premium compared with those in similar roles.

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Instead of looking for candidates with years of AI experience, employers increasingly want workers who can prove they’re willing to learn, Sultan Khan said. (Philip Dulian/dpa/Getty Images)

OpenArt, an AI-powered creative platform with more than 8 million monthly users, has grown its workforce by roughly 300% over the past seven to eight months, according to Khan, and is hiring across engineering, product, design, marketing and creative roles.

But Khan said resumes packed with years of AI experience aren’t necessarily what stand out.

“I think the biggest thing that helps make people stand out to me is when I see that they’ve done a lot of side projects or a lot of learning,” he said, pointing to applicants who complete AI courses, earn certifications or experiment with AI tools on their own.

Because generative AI remains relatively new, Khan said recruiters understand many applicants won’t have years of hands-on experience. Instead, he said, hiring managers are looking for people who show curiosity and adaptability.

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Khan said resumes packed with years of AI experience aren’t necessarily what stand out. (Angus Mordant/Bloomberg)

“The curiosity is another big thing,” Khan said. “The ones that are really eager and willing to learn how to adapt it into their current workflow are the ones that are getting tons of calls from recruiters.”

That mindset isn’t limited to software engineers.

While OpenArt is recruiting engineers and product managers, Khan said the company is also hiring creative directors, designers and video editors who want to incorporate AI into visual storytelling.

“AI isn’t the creative aspect of things,” Khan said. “It’s the human behind it. AI only does what you tell it to do.”

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Khan’s advice for recent college graduates is to start using AI before an employer asks you to. (Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Khan acknowledged concerns that AI could replace workers but argued the technology is more likely to change existing jobs than eliminate them.

“AI isn’t going to eliminate jobs,” he said. “It’s just going to transform jobs as a whole.”

His outlook echoes part of a broader trend identified by the World Economic Forum, which estimated in its 2025 Future of Jobs Report that technological advances, including AI, could create 170 million new jobs globally while displacing 92 million by 2030, resulting in a net gain of 78 million jobs. The report also found employers increasingly expect workers to build AI-related skills as adoption spreads.

For recent college graduates entering an uncertain labor market, Khan’s advice is straightforward: start using AI before an employer asks you to.

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He recommends researching the AI platforms commonly used in a chosen field, building projects with those tools and showcasing that work on resumes and LinkedIn profiles.

“The biggest takeaway is really to start learning how to adopt into the AI space rather than only putting it under a negative light,” Khan said.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the global aerospace company has begun early work on a possible new airplane design but is not yet ready to move forward.

Ortberg, who became president and CEO in August 2024, said Boeing is spending “time and money” evaluating its options and preparing to introduce a new design when the company is ready, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“We don’t have a firm configuration right now,” Ortberg said ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow near London. “We’re evaluating trade studies. You create a baseline, and you evaluate things against the baseline, and then you change.”

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Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg speaks during a media event at the company’s delivery center in Seattle on Jan. 7, 2026. (M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Before launching a new airplane, Boeing wants to improve its finances, develop the necessary technology and deliver aircraft that are already behind schedule, Ortberg said.

“Certainly, getting our financial house in order is a part of our being ready,” Ortberg said. “That’s going to take another couple years.”

Boeing is currently focused on delivering delayed models, including its long-awaited 777X wide-body jet, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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The Boeing Co. chalet is seen at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England, on July 20, 2026. (Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Orders are not our challenge,” Ortberg said. “Our challenge is getting these orders delivered.”

Boeing also kept the 777X in the U.S. rather than conducting demonstration flights at the Farnborough airshow while the aircraft awaits Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The FAA could approve Boeing’s 737 MAX 7 as soon as late July. Ortberg said he expects the larger MAX 10 to follow not long afterward, the outlet reported.

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The Boeing logo is displayed outside the company’s chalet at the Farnborough International Airshow in Farnborough, England, on July 20, 2026. (Betty Laura Zapata/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Ortberg said airline customers want Boeing to focus on improving production and reliability across its current lineup before introducing a new jet, according to CNBC.

Boeing and Airbus dominate the large commercial aircraft market, and a future Boeing airplane could help the company compete with Airbus’ A320 family, the outlet reported.

The comments come as Boeing adds to its order book. In May, President Donald Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping had agreed to order 200 Boeing jets during a high-level meeting in Beijing.

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Boeing could not immediately be reached by FOX Business for comment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed Monday morning, trading at 52,127.90, down 18.52 points, or 0.036%, as investors weighed easing oil prices against continued volatility in the technology sector heading into a heavy week of corporate earnings reports.

U.S. stocks broadly moved higher earlier in the session, with the S&P 500 adding 0.5% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbing nearly 0.8%, buoyed by a rebound in semiconductor stocks following a turbulent week that had seen sharp losses across the chip sector. Oil prices, meanwhile, eased somewhat after briefly touching $90 a barrel over the weekend amid an escalating exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran.

Markets navigate competing pressures

Monday’s relatively muted trading in the Dow reflected a broader market attempting to balance several simultaneous crosscurrents. On one hand, chip stocks were advancing ahead of a wave of anticipated earnings reports from major technology companies later this week, offering some relief following a period of sharp declines across the semiconductor sector. On the other, geopolitical tensions tied to the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran continued to weigh on broader sentiment, even as crude prices pulled back somewhat from their weekend peak.

Markets had closed lower Friday, dragged down by a steep selloff in megacap technology and semiconductor shares that extended a difficult stretch for those sectors. Despite that decline, all three major indexes still finished the week higher overall, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.63%, the Dow adding 0.23%, and the Nasdaq climbing 1.02%, even as the small-cap Russell 2000 slipped 0.42%.

Entering the heart of earnings season

With corporate earnings season now in full swing, market strategists have increasingly focused on how markets are reacting to results rather than simply whether companies are beating expectations. TheStreet Pro contributor James “Rev Shark” DePorre noted that markets are now entering what he described as the heart of earnings season, adding that the central question is whether recent volatility in chip and technology stocks has meaningfully shifted how investors respond to upcoming results.

“The big question is whether the recent carnage has changed expectations enough to change the response to the numbers,” DePorre said. “Will in-line reports be good enough, or does the sell-the-news dynamic that has been punishing some strong results remain in charge?”

DePorre pointed to a notable pattern already emerging this earnings season: more than 86% of S&P 500 companies that have reported results so far have beaten analyst expectations, yet markets have continued to sell off shares in many of those companies regardless. “Beats are not the primary issue,” he said. “Guidance and capex are.”

Geopolitical tensions continue to shape trading

Beyond the earnings-driven dynamics, the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran remained a significant factor influencing market sentiment. Oil prices had wavered following a new round of U.S. airstrikes against Iranian targets over the weekend, which also coincided with the announcement of another American service member’s death connected to the conflict.

Despite the continued military escalation, there were some signs of a potential diplomatic opening. According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, cited by Germany’s DPA news agency, Iran has received proposals from international mediators regarding a possible resumption of negotiations with the United States. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Iran would continue to defend itself “resolutely” even as those diplomatic channels remain open.

A volatile month for major indexes

Monday’s trading continues what has been an unusually volatile month for U.S. equity markets. The Dow reached an all-time high earlier in July before pulling back amid rotation out of artificial intelligence-linked names and rising oil prices, a pattern that has repeated itself several times over recent weeks as investors continue debating the sustainability of the AI investment boom that fueled much of this year’s earlier market gains.

Market strategists have described the recent turbulence in chip and technology stocks as reflecting a broader reassessment of AI-related valuations rather than a fundamental shift in the underlying economic outlook. One analyst previously described the pattern as a rotation out of a sector that had been extremely strong for months, combined with a broader revaluation of the AI trade itself, a dynamic that has continued to play out in fits and starts throughout the summer.

What comes next for markets

With Big Tech earnings reports from companies including Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta and Amazon expected in the coming days, market participants are looking to those results, and particularly the accompanying guidance on capital expenditure plans, as the next major catalyst likely to determine whether the recent rotation into and out of technology stocks continues or stabilizes.

At the same time, the trajectory of the U.S.-Iran conflict remains a key wildcard for oil prices and broader market sentiment. Should diplomatic talks referenced by Iranian officials gain traction in the coming days, that could provide some relief to energy markets; continued escalation, however, would likely keep crude prices elevated and add further uncertainty to an already turbulent trading environment heading into the back half of the summer.

Sweet collab serves up a taste of nostalgic Portrush summers

Two of Northern Ireland’s standout independent hospitality and food brands are joining forces for a limited-edition summer treat designed to make August stays in Portrush even sweeter.

Guests who book an overnight stay directly with Elephant Rock Boutique Hotel will receive a complimentary 50g bar of Melting Pot Fudge, the Belfast-born handmade fudge brand known for its bold personality, indulgent flavours and “Fudge it ’til you make it” attitude.

Elephant Rock will also be serving an Espresso Fudgetini – a bespoke cocktail created using Melting Pot Fudge, bringing together rich coffee, smooth sweetness and a playful coastal twist.

Elephant Rock, twice named Ulster’s Romantic Hotel of the Year, has become one of Portrush’s most distinctive places to stay, combining beautifully designed rooms, coastal charm, standout food and drink, and warm hospitality just moments from the sea.

With Portrush continuing to attract visitors for its beaches, restaurants, golf, coastal walks and access to the wider Causeway Coast, the hotel is perfectly placed for people looking to make the most of a Northern Ireland summer escape.

The award-winning Melting Pot Fudge has been building momentum with new retail listings, refreshed branding and a growing reputation for fudge that feels fun, modern and proudly local.

Jack McAdorey, General Manager, Melting Pot Fudge, said: “This is exactly the kind of collaboration we love. Elephant Rock is one of Northern Ireland’s most beautiful boutique hotels and Portrush in August is hard to beat. We wanted to give guests a little taste of Melting Pot Fudge when they arrive and then bring the brand to life in a fun way through the Espresso Fudgetini.

“For us, it’s about working with brilliant local partners who know how to create an experience people remember.”

Charlotte Dixon, Managing Director, Elephant Rock Boutique Hotel, said: “When I think of August in Portrush, I think of those nostalgic summer holidays by the sea, where a visit to a traditional sweet shop was always part of the experience.

“This collaboration feels like a lovely nod to that. Portrush has such a strong connection with people across Northern Ireland – it feels like almost everyone has a childhood memory of this place, from family picnics and days at the beach to seaside treats, sticks of rock, toffee and the little indulgences people remember from family getaways.

“Melting Pot Fudge brings that feeling into the hotel in a really fun, modern way. Our rooms, food, cocktails and location all come together to create happy memories for the guests who choose to stay with us. And of course, those memories can now be topped off with a delicious Espresso Fudgetini.”

The Melting Pot Fudge x Elephant Rock Boutique Hotel collaboration will run throughout August, with complimentary 50g bars available for direct booking guests and the Espresso Fudgetini available from the hotel bar for a limited time only.

Americans who are looking to buy a home for the first time are seeing some gradual improvement in affordability, though the market remains far more challenging than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic – particularly in some parts of the country.

A new analysis by Realtor.com finds that the cost of a typical starter home has risen from $256,000 in 2019 to $344,000, while the share of affordable listings priced under $350,000 has fallen from 55% to 37.6% in that period.

Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones told FOX Business that the market for starter homes has changed “dramatically” since the pandemic, with shifts driven by higher mortgage rates and inventory limitations.

“Factoring in mortgage rates, the income needed to qualify has risen from $43,000 to $78,000, a jump that incomes haven’t matched, and monthly payments are up more than 80% since 2019,” she said. “Altogether, buyers are paying more for less and the squeeze is most severe for the bottom tier of earners.”

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Starter homes are more scarce and higher priced than they were before the pandemic, though those metrics have improved in the last few years. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Those dynamics have contributed to a rise in the age of the average first-time homebuyer to 40 years old, with Jones noting that the share of first-time buyers was only 30% a year ago – though it recovered somewhat to 35% in May.

“The profile has shifted toward higher-income households who can qualify at current rates, because lower-income buyers have largely been priced out,” she said.

“More households are pooling resources, living with parents longer to save, or relocating to more affordable markets. The practical effect is that today’s starter home buyer increasingly resembles the move-up buyer of a decade ago,” Jones said.

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The average age of a first-time homebuyer has risen in recent years. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The report noted that there are 220,000 more starter homes for sale compared with 2022, with prices down 4.2% from that period, so there has been improvement in the last few years after the pandemic shock.

Jones said that most of that change is due to new construction – much of which has occurred in the South – while homeowners with relatively low mortgage rates are largely remaining in place due to their reluctance to take on a higher-rate mortgage after moving.

“Builders in Texas, Florida, and the Carolinas drove the South’s recovery by bringing supply to market just as demand moderated,” she said. “Lock-in is still very much in play nationally, with almost 70% of outstanding mortgages at 5% or below. Life-event-driven turnover is happening at the margins, keeping the market cranking, but hasn’t meaningfully unlocked existing inventory more broadly yet.”

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New home construction has helped ease affordability challenges in some parts of the country. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Jones said that while the national picture for the starter home market is slowly improving, the outlook across various regions of the country varies widely.

“The South is the clearest bright spot, with starter home prices down 3.5% from peak and 170,000 more sub-$350K listings, driven by aggressive Sun Belt construction. The West has also seen real price correction, down 7.3% from peak, though gains are concentrated in markets like Phoenix and Denver rather than California’s coast,” she said.

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“The Midwest remains the most affordable region but is losing that edge, with prices up 10% since 2022,” Jones noted. “The Northeast is the hardest story: prices up 12.6% since 2022, affordable listings down from 48% of inventory pre-pandemic to under 30% today.”

The Trump administration on Monday announced it will impose a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports, citing what officials called trade “discrimination” against American businesses.

The duties will target specific Canadian goods and are set to take effect on Aug. 19 under the Tariff Act of 1930.

Officials said Canada’s current tax policies unfairly target U.S. automakers, contributing to a significant decline in American vehicle exports while giving foreign competitors an advantage.

The U.S. will levy a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports beginning Aug. 19 (Al Drago/Getty Images / Getty Images)

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“I find that it is necessary and appropriate and in the public interest to impose an additional ad valorem duty of 50 percent on certain products of Canada,” the order said.

“The United States, U.S. businesses and workers, and U.S. commerce suffer from Canada’s discriminatory, unequal, and unreasonable tariff scheme.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates

Shares of Micron Technology climbed Monday morning, rising 3.42%, or $29.00, to $877.95, as the memory chipmaker’s stock rebounded following a turbulent stretch that had seen its shares fall sharply amid a broader selloff across the semiconductor sector.

The gain comes after a difficult few weeks for Micron, whose stock had declined roughly 22% to 30% from its post-earnings high, which had climbed above $1,200 following the company’s blockbuster fiscal third-quarter results in late June. Despite the recent pullback, Monday’s rebound suggests investor appetite for memory chip stocks may be stabilizing following weeks of intense volatility across the broader AI hardware sector.

Record earnings driven by AI memory demand

Micron’s recent stock swings have unfolded against a backdrop of extraordinary underlying business performance. The company reported record revenue of $41.4 billion for its fiscal 2026 third quarter, which ended May 28, marking a 346% increase compared with the same period a year earlier. That surge was fueled primarily by artificial intelligence-related memory demand across all four of the company’s business segments, with cloud memory contributing the largest share of revenue growth on the strength of booming sales of high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, chips.

The company’s profitability improved just as dramatically. Micron’s earnings rose 1,368% year over year to $24.67 per share during the quarter, while non-GAAP gross margin climbed to 85%, up sharply from 39% in the prior-year period. Micron’s own guidance suggests further revenue growth and continued margin expansion in the periods ahead, reflecting management’s confidence in sustained demand for the company’s memory products.

A supply crunch expected to persist for years

Much of Micron’s recent strength has stemmed from a global memory chip shortage that has allowed the company considerable pricing power across its product lines. The company has indicated that tight supply conditions for memory chips are expected to persist well beyond 2027, a forecast that has reinforced bullish sentiment among some investors even as the stock has experienced significant short-term volatility.

That supply-demand imbalance has been driven in large part by soaring AI infrastructure investment, with high-bandwidth memory chips serving as a critical component in the data center hardware stack powering artificial intelligence systems. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has previously identified memory as the single biggest bottleneck in AI infrastructure development, a characterization that has helped fuel investor interest in Micron and its primary memory chip rival, SK Hynix.

Strategic partnerships add to the bullish case

Beyond the underlying supply dynamics, Micron has also moved to deepen its position within the broader AI ecosystem through several notable partnerships. The company entered into a multiyear artificial intelligence partnership under which it will serve as the first-choice supplier of memory and storage for the advanced AI systems developed by Anthropic. As part of that arrangement, Micron will co-develop high-bandwidth memory and storage technologies alongside Anthropic while also making internal use of Claude, Anthropic’s AI model, and taking a strategic investment stake in Anthropic’s most recent financing round.

Micron has also expanded its footprint in the automotive sector, signing long-term supply agreements with Qualcomm, Visteon and other automotive ecosystem suppliers, further diversifying the company’s exposure across different segments of the broader AI and technology supply chain. Altogether, Micron has secured 16 long-term agreements collectively worth approximately $22 billion in future revenue, according to recent analyst estimates.

Wall Street remains largely bullish despite the volatility

Despite the sharp swings in Micron’s share price over recent weeks, Wall Street analysts have largely maintained a positive long-term outlook on the stock. Analysts tracking the company have continued to issue strong buy ratings, with some price targets implying substantial additional upside from current levels, even as the stock’s average analyst target has reportedly implied more than 80% potential upside following its recent decline.

Not all market participants share that optimism, however. Billionaire investor Michael Burry has disclosed a short position against Micron stock, reflecting a degree of skepticism among some market participants regarding how sustainable the current memory chip boom and Micron’s elevated valuation ultimately are. Additionally, the recent Nasdaq listing of SK Hynix, Micron’s chief HBM competitor, has drawn increased American investor attention to the broader memory chip competitive landscape, potentially creating capital rotation pressure between the two companies’ shares.

Broader chip sector context

Micron’s recent volatility has occurred alongside a broader selloff across memory and semiconductor stocks more generally, with the sector as a whole briefly falling into bear market territory amid concerns about oversupply as additional memory manufacturing capacity comes online and questions persist about the durability of near-term AI demand. Some analysts have cautioned that near-term volatility in the sector could continue even as the longer-term growth trajectory for AI-driven memory demand remains intact.

With Micron’s stock rebounding meaningfully Monday, investors appear to be reassessing the company’s near-term prospects following weeks of turbulence, even as the underlying business fundamentals, record revenue growth, expanding margins, and a persistent supply-demand imbalance in the memory chip market, continue to support a broadly optimistic long-term narrative around the company. Whether Monday’s gains mark a durable turning point or simply a temporary bounce within a still-volatile sector is likely to become clearer as Micron and its competitors continue reporting results and providing updated guidance in the weeks ahead.