Reads
- U.S. Investment Restrictions on China Threaten Diplomatic Outreach
- Xi Gets Serious About Boosting Private Sector as Economy Slumps
- This Part of Bidenomics Needs More Economics
- Inflation Cools Sharply in June, Good News for Consumers and the Fed
- U.S. Takes Third Shot at Shoring Up Money-Market Funds
- Wall Street Results Expected to Take a Hit From Cost Pressures, Rate Struggle
- Fund Titans Are Betting on Everything Gaining Against the Dollar
- Relics of the Last Property Crash Are Starting to Wobble Again
- The Luxury Tower Built for New York’s Elite Still Sits Half Empty
- Ultra-Rich Are Betting the Next Big American Sport Is Cricket
- The A.I. Wars Heat Up as Elon Musk and Meta Enter the Ring
- How Netflix Plans Total Global Domination, One Korean Drama at a Time
- Bob Iger to Remain as Head of Disney Through 2026
- Hollywood Actors Set to Join Writers on Strike After Contract Expires
- Anchor Brewing, the Oldest Craft Brewer in the U.S., Will Close After 127 Years
- Saudi Arabia’s Wealth Fund Takes $11 Billion Investment Hit
- Wall Street’s Recession Warning Is Flashing. Some Wonder if it’s Wrong
- ‘Pivotal’ US CPI Report to Show Lowest Core Inflation Since 2021
- Measure It Differently, and Inflation Is Behind Us
- Detroit Marks 10th Anniversary of Bankruptcy With a Bond Sale
- Why Private Equity Is Chasing Plumbers and Lumber Yards
- Goldman Breaks Its Own Rule to Flag Results Much Worse Than Rivals
- Bank of America Fined $150 Million Over ‘Junk Fees’ and Fake Accounts
- Wall Street Is Fighting New York’s Ban on Non-Compete Agreements
- Negotiators See Global Deal on Taxing Big Tech Companies Within Reach
- What the Microsoft-Activision Ruling Means for the Future of Deal-Making
- ‘An Act of War’: Inside America’s Silicon Blockade Against China
- Why the Early Success of Threads May Crash Into Reality
- Illumina Hit With €432 Million EU Fine for Hasty Grail Deal
- The Energy Transition Is Underway. Fossil Fuel Workers Could Be Left Behind
- Shopify Fuels Meeting Purge By Shaming Employees With Cost Calculator
- Broadcom’s $61 Billion VMware Deal Wins Conditional EU Antitrust OK
- Disney Explores Strategic Options for India Business
- The Barbie-Oppenheimer Double Feature Is Really Happening, Data Shows
- AT&T and Verizon Knew About Toxic Lead Cables—and Did Little
Todays Open Interest Change
PREMIUM
Prepper
Economists and analysts are clearly divided about the latest inflation report card, but markets seem to think otherwise. The Consumer Price Index dropped to 3% Y/Y in June, down from a 4% headline rate in May, while core inflation - which excludes volatile food and energy prices - only grew by 0.2% M/M, after climbing by 0.4% or more for the past six months. Following the data release, the S&P 500 (SP500) and Nasdaq (COMP.IND) ended Wednesday's session at their highest levels in over a year as optimism builds about a soft landing for the U.S. economy.
The good: "The roots of a further decline in the rate of inflation are well established and should support a continuation of the bull market in stocks," wrote Investing Group Leader Lawrence Fuller. "While the core rate remains well above target, the roots of its decline are staring us in the face. The inflation hawks will do their best to find components of the price index that are not falling in line with the overall rate, but they will come up empty-handed." Inflation Keeps Declining And Stocks Keep Climbing (19 comments)
The bad: "Though positive, the CPI report isn't expected to change the outcome at the Federal Reserve's July 25-26 meeting," said SA analyst Justin Purohit. "By moving forward with continued increases, the Fed risks overshooting key components whose deceleration is expected to increase in the back half of the year. With these considerations in mind, I believe the Fed is on track for a policy mistake." June CPI Report: What It Means For Consumers And Markets (11 comments)
The ugly: "On the surface, the easy part of the inflation cycle appears to have been completed. The core measure of inflation is undoubtedly better than where they were, but the Fed isn't likely to take much comfort in one month of better data," added Mott Capital Management. "Core goods and services are still relatively high, even after modest improvement. It will put into question the fantasy the stock market has had now for some time that inflation is just going to vanish and melt away... and based on the data, the hard part for the markets is likely only beginning." The Inflation Battle Is Far From Over, Now The Hard Part Begins (24 comments)
Hollywood is gearing up for the first double strike of writers and actors since 1960 after contract negotiations between a union representing 160,000 actors and major studios failed. Actors are now set to join writers, who have already been on the picket lines for more than two months. The SAG-AFTRA voted to recommend a strike and its national board will make the final decision today. "After more than four weeks of bargaining, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers remains unwilling to offer a fair deal," said SAG-AFTRA. AMPTP represents major studios and streamers including Apple (AAPL), Disney (DIS) and Netflix (NFLX). (11 comments)
It's not easy for Bob Iger to retire. He'll remain at the helm of Disney (DIS) for two years longer than planned after the company extended the CEO's employment contract to December 2026 (Loop Capital called it). Iger has delayed many succession decisions in the past, but ultimately extended his tenure, and took investors by surprise when he returned to Disney last year to replace Bob Chapek. Current Chairman Mark Parker said the new contract extension would give Disney "ample time to position a new CEO for long-term success," with the House of Mouse continuing to evaluate internal and external candidates for the top spot. (111 comments)
The Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted measures to reduce the risk of investor runs on money market funds, a $5.5T industry, during times of market stress. The SEC had passed rules to prevent such runs after financial markets spiraled in 2008 and 2020, but these efforts failed to stop investors fleeing these funds. The latest measures increase minimum liquidity requirements to provide a bigger buffer in the event of rapid redemptions, among other changes. Trade group SIFMA is cautious about the changes, given additional costs on shareholders, but is relieved that the SEC didn't implement swing pricing. (2 comments)
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +1.5%. Hong Kong +2.6%. China +1.3%. India +0.3%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.4%. Paris +0.8%. Frankfurt +0.6%.
Futures at 7:00, Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.3%. Nasdaq +0.7%. Crude +0.2% to $75.88. Gold +0.2% to $1,964.70. Bitcoin -0.3% to $30,590.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -4 bps to 3.82%.
Today's Economic Calendar
8:30 Initial Jobless Claims
8:30 Producer Price Index
10:30 EIA Natural Gas Inventory
1:00 PM Results of $18B, 30-Year Bond Auction
2:00 PM Treasury Statement
4:30 PM Fed Balance Sheet
6:45 PM Fed's Waller Speaks on Economic and Policy Outlook
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
Microsoft (MSFT)-Activision (ATVI): FTC appeals ruling on $69B deal.
Broadcom's (AVGO) takeover of VMware (VMW) gets conditional EU nod.
Musk unveils xAI to 'understand reality' and 'true nature of universe.'
Microsoft (MSFT) says Chinese hackers accessed 25 organizations.
Deeper Dive: The music industry is growing louder with new ETF.
Viasat (VSAT) falls 10% after flagging deployment issue in satellite.
U.N. chief to Putin: Extend Black Sea grain deal for SWIFT access.
BP (BP), TotalEnergies (TTE) win in €12.6B offshore wind site auction.
BlackRock (BLK), KKR (KKR) near sale of ADNOC oil pipeline stake.
Google (GOOGL) expands access to AI bot Bard, with new image features.