Aug 13, 2026

Stripe and Advent pursue PayPal as Jane Street suffers $15 billion July loss

Deal speculation and portfolio disclosures dominated late news, while infrastructure and trading losses raised company-specific risk questions.• PayPal/M&A: PayPal is in talks to sell itself to Stripe and Advent, people familiar said. A July $60.50-a-share proposal was rejected, and negotiations continue at a potentially higher price, with no deal assured.• Trading/Credit: Jane Street lost about $15 billion in July amid AI-stock turmoil and wrong-way China options bets, according to reports citing people familiar. Year-to-date net trading revenue still exceeds $40 billion.• Nvidia/Holdings: Nvidia disclosed stakes worth $30 billion in Intel and nearly $21 billion in SpaceX at June 30.• Berkshire/13F: Berkshire added 48.1 million Alphabet shares and 17.5 million Delta shares, reopened a D.R. Horton stake and exited Constellation Brands.• AI Infrastructure: Energy Transfer delayed a New Mexico pipeline intended to support an Oracle data center to Feb. 1, 2027.

Dollar hits May low after US retail sales post sharpest drop in over a year

Soft consumer data weakened the dollar and near-term Fed tightening bets, but the Treasury rally failed to hold as long yields resumed climbing. Drone makers rallied, while Nvidia’s financing ambition drew fresh caveats.• US Consumer: July retail sales fell 0.6% versus a 0.1% gain expected; control-group sales dropped 0.4%, their first decline this year.• Sentiment/FX: Michigan sentiment fell to 51 from 55.2, below the 54.5 forecast. The dollar touched its weakest level since May 29.• Rates: The two-year yield briefly fell below 4.10%, but long-maturity Treasuries reversed lower in price; September hike odds remained near 30%.• Drones: Unusual Machines rose as much as 28%, while Red Cat, AeroVironment and Kratos advanced following the import tariffs.• Nvidia/Finance: Nvidia’s $500 billion AI-financing target has no deadline or signed deals; guarantees may reach 25% of individual projects.

Oil rises after tanker attack damages vessel near Hormuz

Geopolitical supply risks intensified across energy, metals and agriculture, while premarket earnings reactions remained sharply negative in selected technology names.• Oil/Hormuz: Brent rose nearly 1% to about $88 after an unnamed tanker suffered minor drone damage while leaving the Persian Gulf. The UK naval agency did not attribute responsibility; Bessent separately promised tougher Iran measures next week.• Copper: The LME September-October spread exceeded $260 a ton, its widest backwardation since 2021, as inventories fell for a 42nd day. Three-month copper topped $14,100.• Agriculture: Ukraine said closed Odesa ports could halve seasonal farm exports to 30 million tons; no vessels have entered since early August.• Tech Premarket: Applied Materials extended its decline to 5% from roughly 3% after hours. Innventure plunged 46% after withdrawing Accelsius guidance.

Russian energy attacks widen supply risks as JD.com tumbles

Asian stock dispersion widened, while Russian supply disruptions kept energy risk elevated.• China Tech: JD.com fell more than 10% in Hong Kong after its first quarterly revenue decline since 2014. SMIC gained as much as 6.4% on an earnings beat and stronger margin guidance.• Russia/Energy: Bloomberg counted attacks on 10 of Russia’s 34 large refineries this month, prompting regional fuel rationing. A drone attack also sparked a fire at Ust-Luga port; officials did not identify damaged facilities.• Tankers: Signal Ocean said 62% of oil and product tankers crossed Hormuz with transponders off from July 14 to early August, up from about half previously.• Nintendo: Shares rose as much as 7.5% after Pokémon Pokopia sales exceeded 5 million.• Aviva: First-half operating profit rose 24% to £1.33 billion, beating estimates, although the insurer cut its health-profit outlook to £90 million.

Trump imposes drone tariffs as Uber and Pony AI plan 2,000 European robotaxis

Trade protection and autonomous-driving expansion led corporate news, while China added liquidity and BP secured a Venezuelan gas foothold.• Drones/Trade: Trump imposed 100% tariffs on large or military-sensitive drones and certain components, and 25% on smaller drones. Most duties begin in 21 days; qualifying allies face 10%-15%.• Robotaxis: Uber and Pony AI plan to deploy more than 2,000 robotaxis across Europe, expanding from Zagreb to four additional cities, with a Middle East rollout also planned.• BP/Venezuela: BP received a license to develop the offshore Loran Phase 2 gasfield with XRG and UCC. The field has an estimated 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas.• China/Liquidity: The PBOC made its first mid-month overnight reverse-repo operation, injecting a net 348 billion yuan into the banking system.

Workday surges on Silver Lake talks as Reddit gains on S&P 500 inclusion

Takeover speculation and index inclusion drove the sharpest single-name moves, while a costly long-bond auction tempered the rates rally and corporate updates remained mixed.• Workday/M&A: Workday jumped 18%, after reaching 30%, on a Reuters report that Silver Lake has held takeover talks for months. The discussions may not produce a deal.• Reddit: Shares rose more than 10% after hours after S&P Dow Jones said Reddit will join the S&P 500 before Aug. 18 trading.• Treasurys: The $25 billion 30-year auction cleared at 5.22%, the highest borrowing cost since 2001, although demand was solid at 2.39 times.• Tyson: Tyson will close Illinois and Utah beef facilities and seek to sell a Washington plant as cattle shortages deepen losses.• After-hours: Applied Materials fell about 3% despite above-consensus quarterly results and guidance, while Charter won final state approval for its $21.9 billion Cox purchase.

Stocks approach record after traders pare Fed rate-hike bets

Cooling inflation momentum strengthened the risk bid, while corporate catalysts produced sharp dispersion across networking, asset management and chips.• Markets/Rates: The S&P 500 approached a record as Treasury yields fell as much as nine basis points. Traders no longer fully priced a 2026 Fed hike.• Cisco: Shares slid 9% as investors focused on first-quarter gross-margin guidance of 65%-66%, below the latest quarter's 66.3%.• Goldman/ETFs: Goldman Sachs agreed to buy options-income ETF manager Neos Investments for up to $2.25 billion, adding about $32.5 billion of assets.• HPE/Juniper: A federal judge approved HPE’s Justice Department settlement for its $14 billion Juniper acquisition, rejecting state objections.• AMD/Debt: AMD is marketing up to $5 billion of bonds across four tranches, although Bloomberg said the final size remains undecided.• Semiconductors: The PHLX Semiconductor Index rose about 20% from its July 29 low, putting it on track to exit a 19-session bear market.

Producer prices undershoot forecasts as Accelerant agrees $4.4 billion Thoma Bravo sale

Softer wholesale inflation supported futures and Treasurys, while dealmaking and corporate outlooks drove sharp premarket dispersion.• Macro/Rates: July PPI was flat versus a 0.2% gain expected; annual growth slowed to 4.7% from 5.5%, below 4.9%. Initial claims rose to 209,000 versus 202,000 expected. Futures edged higher and yields retreated.• Accelerant/M&A: Thoma Bravo agreed to buy Accelerant for $20.25 per share, a 49% premium and roughly $4.4 billion equity value. Shares jumped 45% premarket.• Tapestry: Shares fell 9% premarket after the midpoint of fiscal-year guidance trailed Wall Street, despite quarterly adjusted EPS and revenue beats.• Russia/Energy: Ukraine said it struck a 200,000-barrel-a-day refinery; a Russian governor separately said the 120,000-barrel-a-day Orsk refinery shut fully and repairs could take six months. The strike claims were not independently verified.

Lenovo surges as Maersk raises guidance

Asian hardware and European transport earnings provided the strongest equity catalysts, while Japanese rate expectations tightened and UK growth remained resilient.• Lenovo: Fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 43% to a record $26.94 billion, beating $22.33 billion expectations. Hong Kong shares surged as much as 19%.• Maersk: The shipper raised underlying 2026 EBIT guidance to $4.5-$6.5 billion from $2-$4 billion after quarterly profit nearly doubled; shares gained 7%.• BOJ/Rates: Bloomberg reported that Japan’s government supports a September or October rate increase. Traders priced a 74% probability of a Sept. 18 move.• Adyen: The payments group raised constant-currency revenue-growth guidance to 21%-23% from 20%-22%, while first-half EBITDA slightly missed consensus.• UK/Growth: Second-quarter GDP grew 0.4% as expected, while June output rose 0.3% versus forecasts for a 0.1% contraction.

Mexico proposes lower auto tariffs as StubHub slides 14%

Trade-policy optionality favored automakers, while earnings disappointment hit StubHub and government support removed a shutdown risk for Rio Tinto.• Autos/Trade: Mexico proposed cutting US tariffs on noncompliant North American vehicles to 5%-10% from 25%, but talks remain preliminary and could run into 2027.• StubHub: Shares fell 14% after the company posted break-even EPS versus an 11-cent profit estimate, despite revenue rising 33% to $573.1 million.• Rio Tinto: Australian governments approved a A$2.5 billion, 10-year package to keep the Tomago aluminium smelter operating and fund its renewable-energy transition.• AI/M&A: Bloomberg reported Anthropic is in talks to buy chip-optimization and generative-video startup Decart AI for about $6 billion; no deal is finalized.

Nvidia unveils $500 billion chip-leasing pact as Cerebras slides on revenue miss

AI financing and after-hours earnings drove stock-specific moves, while a record July deficit added to Treasury supply concerns.• AI Financing: Nvidia unveiled a $500 billion chip-leasing partnership with Apollo, KKR, Brookfield, BlackRock and Goldman, guaranteeing at least 25% residual chip values.• Cisco: Fiscal first-quarter sales and EPS guidance topped estimates, and quarterly hyperscaler AI orders reached $4 billion. Shares initially rose 1% before turning lower.• Cerebras: Shares slid 17% after revenue missed estimates and hardware sales fell 23%, although cloud revenue nearly quadrupled and management raised its full-year outlook.• Fiscal/Rates: The July budget deficit hit a record $432 billion; the fiscal-year gap reached $1.8 trillion, 5% wider after calendar adjustments. The 10-year auction drew solid demand.• Apple/Siri: The WSJ reported Apple is discussing multiyear publisher licenses, potentially with a nine-figure budget, to supply current content for its AI-powered Siri.

US crude stockpiles surge as Wendy’s jumps on potential Peltz bid

Commodity supply surprises and takeover speculation drove the clearest moves, while leadership and legal developments pressured select stocks.• Oil/Inventories: EIA data showed crude stocks rose 17.4 million barrels versus an expected 600,000-barrel draw; SPR inventories fell 6.1 million to a four-decade low.• Wendy’s/M&A: The FT reported Trian is preparing a possible take-private bid; no offer is assured. Shares rose about 14%.• Corn/USDA: Corn jumped 2.9% after USDA cut its yield estimate to 180.7 bushels per acre from 183, below the 182.5 consensus.• Home Depot: CEO Ted Decker will take a medical leave expected to last months; two senior executives will split operating and financial oversight.• Trump Media: Shares fell more than 6% after press groups sued over paid, millisecond access to Trump’s potentially market-moving posts.

Stock futures rise after core inflation eases to 2.5%

Equity futures firmed on benign inflation and fresh AI-cloud strength, while M&A and Black Sea supply risks added company and commodity catalysts.• CPI/Markets: July CPI rose 0.1% monthly and 3.4% annually; core inflation eased to 2.5%. S&P 500 futures reached session highs, up 0.4%, while Treasury yields were initially little changed.• Nebius: AI-cloud revenue jumped 514% to $575 million, helping total revenue of $582 million beat the $557 million consensus.• Goldman/ETFs: Goldman Sachs agreed to pay up to $2.25 billion for Neos, adding about $32 billion of assets and expanding its options-based ETF franchise.• Black Sea/Wheat: Ukrainian drones damaged three grain terminals at Novorossiysk, heightening export risk for a region that supplies more than a quarter of global wheat.• OPEC/Oil: OPEC cut 2026 oil-demand growth to 580,000 barrels a day from 780,000, while July member output rose 1.66 million barrels a day.

IEA sees wider oil deficit as Tencent sales beat estimates

Oil supply risk firmed, while Asian technology earnings and European renewables results offered positive read-throughs for US-listed peers.• Oil/Hormuz: Brent rose 0.9% to $89.72 after Trump claimed “total control” of Hormuz while US-Iran negotiations remained stalled.• Oil/IEA: The IEA now sees a 1.8 million-barrel-a-day third-quarter supply shortfall, more than double its previous estimate, though it expects oversupply by year-end.• Tencent: June-quarter revenue reached 204.8 billion yuan, topping estimates, as WeChat ads and games held up; AI investment will double this year.• AI Hardware: Foxconn’s profit rose 35% and beat estimates, with AI servers exceeding half of revenue and rack shipments forecast to grow by high double digits sequentially.• Wind: Vestas jumped 18.5% after raising its full-year margin outlook to 7%-9% and announcing a €400 million buyback.

Ukraine halts tanker strikes as AstraZeneca ends Bristol Myers talks

Oil-infrastructure risk eased at the margin, while hawkish Fed commentary and a collapsed megadeal kept cross-asset risks active.• Oil/Majors: Ukraine halted drone strikes on tankers near Novorossiysk after JD Vance's request, protecting eligible non-Russian ships and CPC assets linked to Chevron and Exxon.• Pharma/M&A: The FT reported AstraZeneca ended talks to buy Bristol Myers in a roughly $400 billion, mostly stock deal after investor opposition; neither company commented.• Fed/Rates: Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the central bank may need to raise rates as energy costs worsen persistent inflation and strain poorer households.• Credit: Jane Street is repaying $5.5 billion of floating-rate loans and plans $14.6 billion of new secured notes; S&P rated the proposed debt BB.