Aug 7, 2026

Berkshire deploys cash as Iran attacks another UAE tanker

Capital deployment at Berkshire and another Hormuz strike led weekend risk, while Washington advanced temporary funding and banks reclaimed leveraged loans from private credit.• Berkshire: Berkshire invested a net $19.8 billion in equities, including $10 billion in Alphabet, and repurchased $4.5 billion of stock. Operating earnings rose 16.3%.• Hormuz/Oil: Iran struck a fourth Emirati vessel this week without causing casualties. Tehran said temporary shipping lanes were close, but not a full reopening; mediators said talks had stalled.• US Fiscal: The Senate passed a stopgap funding bill 90-6 through Dec. 11, excluding Trump’s requested Iran war funding. The House returns Aug. 31.• Private Credit: Banks captured $9.2 billion of loans from private credit through mid-July, as borrowers sought cheaper syndicated financing.

Source Foundry lands $400 million bet as Trump Media scraps Crypto.com deals

AI-capex, crypto de-risking and China listing maneuvering drove the new flow, while Australian iron-ore labor action and a big Trip.com fine added separate pressure points.• Semis: Situational Awareness added $400 million to Source Foundry, taking total backing to $500 million.• AI Tools: The startup wants cheaper chipmaking gear and software, putting ASML in its sights.• Crypto/Media: Trump Media and Crypto.com scrapped CRO treasury and Truth Social prediction-market plans after market conditions worsened.• China IPO: Moonshot converted its China unit into a joint-stock company and added state-backed investors for a Hong Kong listing bid.• Bulk/Travel: BHP workers began 24-hour strikes at Port Hedland, and Trip.com was fined Rmb5.18 billion for abusing market power.

S&P 500 closes at record as Trump renews bid to remove Fed Governor Cook

Risk appetite strengthened into the close, but renewed pressure on Fed independence and tougher sanctions powers added policy risk.• Markets/Chips: The S&P 500 gained 0.6% to a record, the Nasdaq rose 1.3%, and NVDA jumped 12%, adding $562 billion.• Fed Independence: Trump gave Governor Lisa Cook until Aug. 26 to answer mortgage allegations while considering her removal. Cook denies wrongdoing and plans to fight.• Russia Sanctions: The Senate voted 86-11 to authorize 100% tariffs on major buyers of Russian energy. House approval is still required, and presidential waivers remain.• SpaceX: SPCX’s gain accelerated to 16%, lifting its two-day advance to 23% and bringing shares near the $135 IPO price despite lockup expiration.• Defense: The Army plans to buy at least $400 million of AVAV’s AI-assisted anti-drone lasers.• AI Safety: OpenAI paused Astra work that lacked stricter safeguards after warning the model could reach critical autonomous cyber capabilities.

Dollar hits lowest since May as Adnoc confirms attacks on three vessels

Risk assets advanced as weak labor data reduced near-term tightening expectations, but fresh shipping attacks kept geopolitical inflation risk elevated.• Markets/Rates: US stocks rose, while the dollar index fell as much as 0.5%. Two- and 10-year Treasury yields dropped to 4.16% and 4.62%, and September hike odds fell to about 43%.• Hormuz/Oil: Adnoc said missiles and drones hit three vessels this week, bringing attacks on its ships to 15, with one death and 20 injuries. Brent traded near $83.75.• SpaceX: SPCX jumped 12%, extending Thursday’s rebound, though it remained below its IPO price.• Ukraine/Grains: Ukraine forecast agricultural exports would fall 54%, including a 53% drop in wheat shipments, after Russian strikes disrupted Odesa ports.

Treasury yields fall after US payrolls unexpectedly contract

The payroll shock pulled yields lower without derailing futures, while weak consumer guidance and constrained Iranian supply shaped premarket risk.• US Jobs: Payrolls fell 23,000 in July versus 80,000 expected. Unemployment dipped to 4.1% as participation declined, while wage growth slowed to 0.1%. Treasury yields fell and stock futures remained higher.• Iran/Oil: Shipping data showed no tanker loading at Kharg Island since July 31. The terminal handles about 90% of Iranian crude exports, though Brent slipped toward $82 amid continuing talks.• Restaurants: Wendy’s withdrew its 2026 outlook and halved its quarterly dividend to 7 cents after comparable sales missed estimates.• Apparel: Under Armour forecast a mid-single-digit annual sales decline as demand weakened across several regions.• Housing M&A: Dream Finders agreed to buy Beazer for $33.50 a share in cash, valuing its equity at about $915 million.

SK Hynix plans $38 billion expansion as global food prices hit three-year high

AI investment and food inflation risks dominated, while rate markets focused on Friday’s payrolls report.• Semiconductors: SK Hynix plans a 54 trillion won ($38 billion) expansion of Korean fabs in response to AI-driven memory demand.• Food/Inflation: The FAO food-price index rose 0.6% in July to a three-year high, led by grains, sugar and vegetable oils.• Rates: Swaps priced a greater-than-50% chance of a September Fed hike ahead of payrolls, with economists expecting 80,000 jobs.• Atlassian: CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes pledged to buy $250 million of TEAM shares, citing confidence in the company’s AI strategy.• China/Oil: Crude imports rebounded 22% from June to 8.45 million barrels a day, but remained below the year-earlier pace.

Atlassian surges on outlook as Meta faces $942 million child-safety order

After-hours software strength contrasted with fresh legal and aerospace risks, while China’s trade data and copper supported cyclical demand signals.• Atlassian: TEAM jumped as much as 39% after quarterly revenue rose 28% to $1.77 billion and first-quarter guidance exceeded consensus.• Meta: A New Mexico judge ordered META to pay $942 million, including a new $567 million fund, and adopt added protections for minors. Meta plans to appeal.• Boeing: The FAA directed inspections of 471 in-service 737 Max jets for possible cracks around a front-door structural component, effective Sept. 10.• China/Copper: July exports rose 23.9%, above forecasts, while imports gained 27.5%. LME copper advanced 0.6% to $14,193.50, putting it on track for a record close.• AI Infrastructure: Firmus raised $2 billion from Coatue, Nvidia, Blackstone vehicles and Jane Street to expand Asia-Pacific AI data centers.

Oil extends gains after Fars reports Iranian attacks in Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s reported attacks near Hormuz reinforced the inflationary risk-off tone, while after-hours earnings and a finalized solar tariff drove sharp company moves.• Oil/Rates: Fars reported that Iran attacked “hostile targets” in the strait after explosions near Qeshm Island. Brent settled 3.8% higher at $82.49, while the 10-year yield rose seven basis points to 4.68%.• SpaceX: Shares reversed the lockup pressure and gained 6.1% despite 912 million shares becoming eligible for sale.• Travel: Airbnb rallied 11% after raising revenue growth guidance to at least the mid-teens and its margin forecast to at least 35.5%.• Solar: Trump signed a 15% tariff and minimum import prices for solar components, effective Dec. 4.• Ad-Tech M&A: Nielsen agreed to buy DoubleVerify for $13.60 a share; DoubleVerify gained more than 10% after hours.

Oil jumps after Iran seeks to bar US ships from Hormuz

Geopolitical risk lifted energy, while sharp company-specific selloffs and a major chip investment drove a mixed US session.• Oil/Hormuz: Brent rose 3.5% above $82 after Fars reported that an Iran-Oman draft would bar US and Israeli ships and impose fees. Washington opposes restrictions, and Iran’s supreme leader has not clearly approved the plan.• Honeywell Aerospace: Shares fell about 20% after 2026 sales-growth guidance was cut to 4%-5% from 7%-9% because of supply constraints.• United Wholesale: Shares plunged a record 49% after a $452 million loss prompted the mortgage lender to suspend its dividend and secure a $2.05 billion equity investment.• Tesla/SpaceX: The companies plan a $16.8 billion first phase of a Texas semiconductor plant targeting one terawatt of annual compute capacity.

Lilly raises outlook as jobless claims underscore labor resilience

Stronger labor data and Lilly’s beat contrasted with new share supply at SpaceX and weak consumer demand before the open.• Eli Lilly: Shares rose 3%-4% after revenue jumped 48% to $22.97 billion, while annual sales guidance increased to $85-$87 billion.• Macro/Rates: Initial claims were 199,000 versus 205,000 expected, while second-quarter productivity rose 1.4% annualized and unit labor costs increased 1.3%.• SpaceX: A lockup expired on 911.5 million shares worth about $100 billion, more than doubling the freely tradable share count.• Celsius: Shares fell as much as 18% after revenue missed estimates and namesake-brand sales dropped 12%.• Papa John’s: The company cut its outlook and suspended its dividend as North American comparable sales fell 8.3%.• Nuclear: Oklo’s Groves test reactor reached self-sustaining criticality under an Energy Department pilot program.

Storage stocks tumble after strong results fail lofty AI expectations

AI-linked hardware led the risk-off tone, while turnaround plans drove sharp gains in European consumer and advertising shares.• AI/Storage: Western Digital fell more than 14% premarket and Sandisk dropped 7% despite strong results. Nasdaq futures slipped 0.35%, while South Korea’s Kospi sank 4.6% and SK Hynix lost 10%.• WPP: Shares surged 25% after second-quarter revenue less pass-through costs fell 2.8%, versus the 6.3% decline analysts expected, signaling progress on its turnaround.• Diageo: Shares jumped as much as 11% after the company targeted $1 billion of savings over three years and forecast low-to-mid-single-digit operating-profit growth.• Cybersecurity: China opened a formal national-security review of Palo Alto Networks products sold in the country, without providing further details.

Moderna wins flu-shot approval as China tax fears hit Hong Kong financials

Overnight news favored select health-care and European industrial names, while Chinese tax enforcement hit financials and Fed developments kept rate risk elevated.• Moderna: The FDA approved mFlusiva for adults aged 50-64 and granted accelerated approval for those 65 and older, reversing its initial refusal to review the application.• China Financials: AIA sank as much as 9.2%, Prudential 6.5% and HSBC more than 2% after reports of 20% taxes on gains from offshore policies.• Fed: Daly backed the July hold but said persistent inflation could require faster action. The WSJ separately reported that Trump repeatedly called Chair Warsh, raising independence concerns.• Siemens: Siemens lifted adjusted EPS guidance to €11.50 from €11.10 as data-center and software demand drove 42% free-cash-flow growth.