What Moved The Markets This Week

Jun 15, 2025

Sunday Morning Markets

Trading Week 24, covering Monday, Jun 9 through Friday, Jun 13. Your weekly financial markets update, in less than 5 minutes.

Core inflation rose just 0.1% in May, lower than forecast, easing concerns over rapid price hikes. Weakness in energy prices helped, but economists warn tariffs could spark inflation once inventory levels are depleted.
Bessent floats extending the tariff pause for countries in ‘good faith’ trade talks, suggesting the U.S. may shift its July 9 deadline for willing partners. The move comes as Trump touts a China deal with few details.
U.S. budget deficit surged to $316B in May, pushing the yearly shortfall up 14% as interest on $36.2T debt soars. Year-to-date, the deficit has hit $1.37 trillion despite rising tax revenue.
World Bank sees U.S. growth halving to 1.4%, citing Trump’s tariffs as a major drag on the global economy. A sharper slowdown looms if the planned tariff hikes take effect in July.
GM to pour $4B into U.S. plants to shift production from Mexico, responding to Trump’s tariffs and stalled trade talks. The move boosts U.S. jobs and domestic output while retooling a key Michigan EV plant.
Apple introduces ‘Liquid Glass’ design and iOS 26 at WWDC 2025. The overhaul includes major UI changes and updates across macOS and watchOS, but Apple’s AI upgrades were underwhelming.
Disney to pay Comcast $439 million to take control of Hulu, paving the way for full integration with Disney’s streaming platforms. In another media shakeup, Warner Bros will split into two companies by 2026.

Israel kills top Iranian generals in Tehran strikes, targeting nuclear sites and escalating Middle East tensions. Iran vows retaliation as oil prices surge and markets react to fears of wider conflict.
U.S. and China reach trade deal on tech and rare earths, claiming upfront supply of key minerals and magnets in exchange for U.S. concessions. The pact pauses tariffs and aims to ease tensions.
China's deflation continues for 4th straight month, as consumer prices slipped 0.1% and factory prices plunged 3.3% from a year earlier. Stimulus efforts have had minimal impact on growing domestic demand.
UK economy shrank 0.3% in April as tariffs crushed exports, marking the steepest drop since trade tensions escalated. Domestic tax hikes compounded the slowdown, ending a streak of modest growth.
Air India flight to London crashes moments after takeoff, plunging into a residential area with 242 aboard, with few survivors reported. The Boeing 787 disaster has triggered global investigations and safety concerns.
China’s exports to U.S. plunge 34.5% in May, the steepest drop in over five years as Trump’s tariffs hammered trade flows. Imports from the U.S. also fell by over 18%, shrinking China’s trade surplus by 41%.

Meta lands Scale AI's CEO in $14.3B deal, with Alexandr Wang joining to lead Meta's AI efforts. Meta will own a 49% non-voting stake in Scale AI, while Jason Droege will take over as Scale's CEO.
Disney, Universal sue Midjourney over copyrighted content, accusing it of mass IP infringement for generating unlicensed images of Star Wars and Simpsons characters.
OpenAI strikes cloud deal with Google despite rivalry, tapping its infrastructure to meet rising compute needs amid booming ChatGPT use. The partnership marks a major win for GCP in the escalating AI arms race.
Musk sets June 22 launch for Tesla robotaxi service, starting with a small driverless fleet in Austin using new “unsupervised” FSD software, years after missing his original 2020 promise.
OpenAI hits $10B in annual recurring revenue, fueled by ChatGPT’s rapid growth across consumer, business, and API products. Earlier this month, it reported 3 million paying businesses, up 50% since February.
Snap to launch lighter AR smartglasses called Specs in 2026, shifting from its Spectacles brand as it eyes consumers with a smaller, AI-enhanced device amid rising competition from Apple, Meta, and Google.
Shopify adds USDC payments with Coinbase and Stripe, enabling merchants to accept stablecoins globally via the Base network without new setup or fees. Payouts arrive in local currency or USDC by choice.