Both supermajors printed enormous cash flow in a disrupted energy market. Investors still rewarded execution, not just the crude-price windfall. Oil companies do not set the price of oil. The second quarter nevertheless showed how differently two companies can convert the same commodity shock into shareholder results. Exxon Mobil
Leopold Aschenbrenner’s AI fund reportedly sold its public-stock book to Citadel after steep losses. The lesson is bigger than one manager—and more useful than the memes. The irony was irresistible: a hedge fund named Situational Awareness had to sell its public equities after the situation changed. The
The S&P 500 barely moved. Underneath it, an energy shock, an AI reckoning and a sudden return of stock-picking redrew the leadership map. July ended with the S&P 500 almost exactly where it began. That is the least useful fact about the month. The index
Markets
Missiles travel in minutes; factories answer in years. Record backlogs at RTX, Lockheed and Northrop reveal the industrial constraint behind the fighting.
Markets
U.S.-Iran missile barrages resumed as weekly Hormuz vessel passages fell from 82 to 39. Brent itself settled at $86.88 per barrel.
Markets
The Employment Cost Index, XOM and CVX earnings, plus the full-session verdicts on Amazon and Apple will decide how July ends.
Markets
Stocks celebrated earnings while the 30-year yield reached 5.22%. Beneath 1.5% GDP, domestic demand stayed hot—and so did the inflation debate.
Markets
Microsoft soared, Meta fell and semiconductors snapped back. Wall Street is no longer rewarding AI spending equally—it wants the receipt.
Markets
AWS accelerated to 37%, retail margins expanded and capex rose again. The operating proof is real—even if the $5.75 EPS needs an asterisk.
Markets
MU rallied 18.4% and now outweighs every bank, oil major and Berkshire in VTV. The label says value; the engine is AI memory scarcity.
Markets
A reported Chinese air-defense deal and selective Russian support reveal the deeper contest: components, factories, minerals and energy determine endurance.
Markets
Executions at home, coercion at sea and a widening military buildup expose the credibility gap between Iran’s negotiations and its conduct—and the market risks inside it.