What Moved The Markets This Week 📈
Elon Musk Launches New Company, Amazon Prime Day Sales +6%, CPI Inflation Falls To 3%, Google Launches BardAI Internationally, Deflation In China, and DAL + JPM + BLK Earnings
Sunday Morning Markets
Trading Week 28, covering Monday, July 10 through Friday, July 14. Your weekly financial markets update, in less than 5 minutes.
The Week In Review ⏪
U.S. inflation continues to slow
CPI +0.2% MoM, +3.0% YoY (4.0% previous)
PPI +0.1% MoM, +0.1% YoY (1.1% previous)
Elon Musk launches new company, xAI
Google launches BardAI internationally
Microsoft inches closer to closing Activision acquisition
Amazon Prime Day sales +6% versus last year
Biden forgives $39B in student debt
Sweden’s path to NATO membership cleared
Deflation in China, PPI -5.4% YoY and falling
Judge rules XRP is not a security, win for crypto
Earnings from Delta, JPMorgan, Blackrock — see breakdowns below
US Markets 🇺🇸
Inflation eased for 12th straight month in June as the CPI Index rose just 0.2% during the month and 3% for the year, coming in below estimates. Excluding food and energy, Core CPI increased 0.2% and 4.8%, respectively.
Wholesale prices rise less than expected in another encouraging inflation report as the PPI Index increased just 0.1% during the month. The increase in core prices over the past year decelerated from 2.8% to 2.6%.
Amazon Prime Day saw a 6% increase in sales to $6.4B as heavy discounts lured customers who splurged on appliances and toys. Data firm Numerator said the average spend per order rose to $56.64 from $53.14 a year ago.
Microsoft confirms that new layoffs are coming on top of the 10,000 layoffs announced in January. Microsoft filed a notice Monday saying it would cut 276 people in its home state of Washington.
Microsoft can close its Activision merger after a federal judge ruled against the FTC’s injunction. The two companies have been looking to close their $68.7B deal for over a year. The FTC then appealed the decision Wednesday but lost again.
Disney could soon sell its TV assets as CEO, Bob Iger says the business ‘may not be core’ to the company. Their media assets include ABC, ESPN, and Hulu. Disney also announced that it was extending Iger’s contract through 2026.
Biden forgives $39 billion in student loans for more than 804,000 borrowers, nearly 1/10 the size of his original package. To be eligible, you’d need to have made either 20 or 25 years of monthly IDR payments.
Rest of World 🌏
Sweden’s path to NATO membership cleared after Turkey greenlights bid. Completing Sweden’s accession to NATO is a “historic step” that benefits all of the alliance’s members, said NATO’s secretary general.
Bank of Canada hikes interest rates by 0.25%, bringing the policy rate to 5.00% and causing the CAD to rally hard against the USD. The bank noted, “underlying price pressures appear to be more persistent than anticipated.”
G7 nations offer security guarantees for Ukraine after signing a declaration. “We will stand with Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression, for as long as it takes.”
China's deflationary pressure builds as consumer prices fell at their fastest pace in over seven years in June. The producer price index (PPI) fell for a ninth consecutive month in June, down 5.4% from a year earlier.
Tech ⚡
Elon Musk launches his new company xAI as he tries to “grow an AI in a good way.” He also described why he thinks China might be open to being part of an international framework for the technology.
Google launches BardAI internationally in Europe and Brazil, easing worries about overseas regulatory issues. “Clearly they've been able to reassure EU regulators about those (privacy) issues”. GOOG 0.00%↑ rallied 6% this week.
Meta Threads engagement has dropped since the app debut realed in over 100 million signups in five days. According to SensorTower and SimilarWeb, Threads has seen drops in DAUs and time spent on app since last weekend.
Roku partners with Shopify to allow its viewers to buy products from merchants through their TVs. The integration aims to help users make purchases without interrupting the streaming experience. ROKU 0.00%↑ rallied 17% this week.
Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky arrested after federal prosecutors unveiled seven charges alleging fraud and securities manipulation. The FTC also announced a $4.7 billion settlement against the exchange.
Judge rules XRP is not a security in SEC's case against Ripple. The judge also ruled that XRP is a security when sold to institutional investors, as it met the conditions set in the Howey Test. XRP rallied over 50% this week.
Earnings Reports 💰
See other breakdowns on our Twitter page.
Weekly Poll 🗳️
Week Ahead 📅
Monday
US - Empire State Manufacturing Index (JUL)🇺🇸
Tuesday
US - Retail Sales (JUN)🇺🇸
Canada - CPI Inflation (JUN)🇨🇦
Earnings Reports: Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Lockheed Martin, Charles Schwab💰
Wednesday
US - Building Permits (JUN)🇺🇸
UK - CPI Inflation (JUN)🇬🇧
Europe - CPI Inflation (JUN)🇪🇺
Australia - Employment Report (JUN)🇦🇺
Earnings Reports: Tesla, Netflix, ASML, IBM, Goldman Sachs, Volvo, United Airlines, Volvo, Nasdaq💰
Thursday
US - Jobless Claims 🇺🇸
US - Philly Fed Manufacturing Index (JUL)🇺🇸
US - Existing Home Sales (JUN)🇺🇸
Germany - PPI Inflation (JUN)🇩🇪
Earnings Reports: Taiwan Semiconductor, J&J, American Airlines, CapitalOne Financial💰
Friday
UK - Retail Sales (JUN)🇬🇧
Earnings Reports: American Express💰
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