{"id":58678,"date":"2026-02-17T18:38:42","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/anthropic-unveils-autonomous-ai-agents-as-sherritt-halts-cuba-operations-and-nyc-proposes-historic-property-tax-hike\/58678\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T18:38:42","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:38:42","slug":"anthropic-unveils-autonomous-ai-agents-as-sherritt-halts-cuba-operations-and-nyc-proposes-historic-property-tax-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/anthropic-unveils-autonomous-ai-agents-as-sherritt-halts-cuba-operations-and-nyc-proposes-historic-property-tax-hike\/58678\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthropic Unveils Autonomous AI Agents as Sherritt Halts Cuba Operations and NYC Proposes Historic Property Tax Hike"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Anthropic<\/strong> launched <strong>Claude Sonnet 4.6<\/strong>, featuring advanced <strong>&quot;computer use&quot;<\/strong> capabilities that allow the AI to autonomously navigate operating systems and execute multi-step workflows.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sherritt International (<a href=\"\/stock\/S\">S<\/a>)<\/strong> announced a suspension of its nickel and cobalt operations in <strong>Cuba<\/strong> due to critical fuel shortages, causing its stock to plummet more than <strong>15%<\/strong> on the Toronto Stock Exchange.<\/li>\n<li><strong>NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/strong> proposed a <strong>9.5% property tax increase<\/strong>\u2014the first in over two decades\u2014to bridge a <strong>$5 billion<\/strong> budget gap, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from city fiscal watchdogs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New Zealand\u2019s Q4 Producer Price Index (PPI)<\/strong> showed a <strong>0.5% drop<\/strong> in input prices, signaling a significant cooling in manufacturing costs and potential deflationary pressure at the producer level.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Anthropic PBC<\/strong> released <strong>Claude Sonnet 4.6<\/strong> on Tuesday, marking a major milestone in the development of autonomous AI agents. The new model can independently use computers for complex tasks such as <strong>filling out web forms<\/strong>, <strong>coordinating data across multiple browser tabs<\/strong>, and <strong>executing multi-step coding projects<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This release intensifies the competition with Alphabet Inc. (<a href=\"\/stock\/GOOGL\">GOOGL<\/a>) and OpenAI, which is heavily backed by Microsoft (<a href=\"\/stock\/MSFT\">MSFT<\/a>). Anthropic claims the model offers <strong>stronger coding performance<\/strong> and <strong>improved defense<\/strong> against prompt-injection attacks, positioning it as a leader in enterprise-grade AI security.<\/p>\n<p>In the commodities sector, <strong>Sherritt International (<a href=\"\/stock\/S\">S<\/a>)<\/strong> is set to pause mining and processing at its <strong>Moa joint venture<\/strong> in Cuba within the next week. The company cited <strong>severe fuel supply constraints<\/strong> as the primary driver, following a breakdown in planned deliveries to the island.<\/p>\n<p>While the company\u2019s <strong>Alberta refinery<\/strong> has enough inventory to continue operations until <strong>mid-April<\/strong>, the suspension in Cuba represents a significant blow to production guidance. <em>Market analysts noted that the fuel crisis in Cuba has worsened following shifts in regional oil supply chains, directly impacting Sherritt&#39;s bottom line.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In municipal finance, <strong>New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/strong> unveiled a preliminary budget that includes a <strong>9.5% property tax hike<\/strong>. The proposal aims to close a <strong>$5 billion<\/strong> deficit but relies on <strong>optimistic revenue forecasts<\/strong> and the controversial use of city reserve funds.<\/p>\n<p>Governor <strong>Kathy Hochul<\/strong> has offered <strong>$1.5 billion<\/strong> in state aid to assist the city but maintained that the final decision on property taxes rests solely with the local administration. <em>The proposal has already met resistance from the City Council, with critics arguing that the hike could exacerbate the city&#39;s ongoing affordability crisis.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Finally, economic data from <strong>New Zealand<\/strong> revealed a cooling trend in producer costs during the fourth quarter. The <strong>PPI Output<\/strong> index rose a marginal <strong>0.1%<\/strong>, while <strong>PPI Input<\/strong> prices fell <strong>0.5%<\/strong>, a sharp reversal from the previous quarter&#39;s <strong>0.2%<\/strong> increase.<\/p>\n<p>These figures suggest that inflationary pressures are easing significantly for New Zealand businesses. <em>Economists suggest this data may provide the Reserve Bank of New Zealand with the necessary justification to maintain or accelerate its current cycle of interest rate cuts.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Anthropic launched Claude Sonnet 4.6, featuring advanced &quot;computer use&quot; capabilities that allow the AI to autonomously navigate operating 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