"War in Iran resulted in recession-level industry decline in the U.S. as consumer confidence collapsed in late February and March," the company said.
Stocks rebounded Thursday, with the S&P 500 gaining nearly 1% and the Nasdaq jumping over 1%, as investors dismissed concerns about U.S.-Iran conflict escalation. Meta Platforms plans to aggressively ramp up AI compute capacity, releasing its strongest model yet, Muse Park 1.1, with an API for developers. FedEx launched a dedicated healthcare unit, while Starbucks aims to use AI for in-house software tools.
Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf stated the defense tech company is not in a hurry to go public due to current market conditions and high valuations. He believes a successful IPO requires investor returns, and a hype cycle is a bad time to launch. Despite increased demand for defense tech, the IPO market remains tepid.
A trader placed a $24 million, three-part call spread on the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF, betting on the Nasdaq-100 index reaching an all-time high by the end of July. This high-conviction trade, despite recent market volatility, suggests a strong bullish outlook.
Salesforce downgraded by KeyBanc to 'hold' due to concerns over AI impact on its business model, but Jim Cramer remains cautiously optimistic, citing CEO Marc Benioff's defense of Agentforce's progress.
Federal Reserve policymakers are divided on future interest rate hikes, with traders on Kalshi showing a slight majority (54%) expecting a hike this year. The Fed's June meeting minutes revealed differing views among participants regarding the appropriate rate level by year-end.
Traders on prediction market platform Kalshi anticipate elevated gas prices for an extended period due to renewed US-Iran strikes and uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz. Odds for prices above $3.50 on election day have risen significantly.
