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Futures Rise, Nvidia Spikes After Trump Greenlights Selling Some Chips To China US equity futures are higher, led by Tech with the biggest overnight news being that Trump is allowing NVDA to resume its (less advanced) H2O chip sales to China; there had been chatter of a chips-for-rare earths pact to thaw US/China trade relations.  As of 8:00am ET, S&P futures rose 0.3%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.5%, with NVDA jumping another +5.3% in pre-market trading, while AMD +3.5%, MRVL +2.85, AVGO +1.4% also gained. The balance of Mag7 is mostly higher; semis are poised to be the best sub-group, and cyclicals are higher with banks with a mild bid into earnings this morning. Bond yields are lower as the curve bull flattens into CPI with JPM noting that some FICC client convos are pointing to a dovish CPI print. The USD is weaker and commodities are declining across all 3 complexes though precious, crude, and sugar remain bid. Today's focus is the unofficial kick off 25Q2 earnings and Banks have a low ...

Tariff-ic! Core Consumer Price Inflation Cooler Than Expected In June Will the dreaded tariff-flation show up this time? Or will the excuse factory be required to spin the Trump-policy-driven price hike expectations as coming next time? Expectations were for a modest acceleration in prices in June and headline Consumer Prices did just that rising 0.3% MoM (as expected) and +2.7% YoY (up from +2.4% prior and hotter than the +2.6% YoY expected)... Source: Bloomberg The MoM acceleration was driven by a flip from deflation to inflation for Energy prices... Source: Bloomberg New and Used Car prices are dropping!!! That's not supposed to happen... Source: Bloomberg The headline CPI YoY is the hottest since February but Core CPI printed cooler than expected (+0.1% MoM vs +0.2% MoM exp) with the YoY rise higher at +2.9% (as expected)... Source: Bloomberg Core Goods prices are accelerating on a YoY basis... Source: Bloomberg This is the 5th monthly 'miss' for Core CPI in a row - the sky is falling a...

DOGE Announces Billions Of Dollars In Federal Contracts Terminated Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said over the weekend that agencies have terminated more federal contracts worth as much as $2.8 billion. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) website is displayed on a phone, in this photo illustration. Oleksii Pydsosonnii/The Epoch Times In a post on social media platform X on July 12, DOGE, a task force established by President Donald Trump in January, said that “over the last week, agencies terminated 230 wasteful contracts,” resulting in savings of $407 million. That includes a contract from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a “Mexico sustainable landscapes consultant” and a Treasury Department contract for “mentoring, evaluation, learning specialist services in Haiti,” according to the DOGE post. The post included what appears to be screenshots of the programs' descriptions. Earlier thi...

JPMorgan Beats Top And Bottom Line On Solid Investment Banking, Trading Results Q2 earnings season has officially begun as the big banks start reporting results, and the first one as usual is JPMorgan, with no surprises after yet another top and bottom line beat. Here is a snapshot of what the largest US banks just reported: Adjusted EPS $4.96, beating estimates of $4.47 Adjusted revenue $45.68 billion, beating estimates of $44.05 billion, but down $5.3 billion from a year ago due to a slide in non-interest revenue.  Managed net interest income $23.31 billion, missing estimate $23.59 billion FICC sales & trading revenue $5.69 billion, beating estimates of $5.22 billion Equities sales & trading revenue $3.25 billion, beating estimate of $3.2 billion Investment banking revenue $2.68 billion, beating estimates of  $2.16 billion Advisory revenue $844 million, beating estimates of $672.2 million Equity underwriting rev. $465 million, beating estimates of $351.4 million Debt underwri...

Drone Attacks On Northern Iraqi Oil Field On The Rise Amid Iran Tensions On Monday an explosive-laden drone sought to target vital infrastructure in northern Iraq, in an area known to host final remnants of US troops and officials. The US has long been most closely involved with Iraqi Kurdistan. The drone carrying explosives was intercepted and brought down early Monday near Erbil International Airport in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, local officials said. A later, separate nighttime (Monday) attack targeted a key oil field in the region. Image source: Rudaw The region's Directorate General of Counter Terrorism stated that the drone targeting the airport was shot down at 2:20 a.m. local time (2320 GMT on Sunday). While no casualties or property damage resulted, and no group has taken responsibility for the incident so far, it suggests the possibility that Iran-allied Shia paramilitaries could be ready to cause havoc, following the 12-day Israel-Iran war last June, which the US al...

Nvidia, AMD Get Green Light To Restart Certain AI Chip Sales To China Update (0805ET): Bloomberg reports, "AMD received similar assurances from the US Commerce Department and plans to restart shipments of its MI308 chips to China once licenses for sales are approved."  This means both AMD and Nvidia will be able to resume shipments of certain AI chips to China, pending license approvals.  In premarket trading, shares of both AMD and Nvidia were trading 4.5% higher.  Earlier, Nvidia announced that its H20 AI chips would be approved for export to China under a U.S. export license... Read below. *   *   *    Nvidia shares rose as much as 5% in premarket trading in New York after the company announced in a blog post that exports of its H20 AI chips to China would be approved under a U.S. export license — a major reversal from the Trump administration's earlier stance aimed at curbing Beijing's AI ambitions. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited the White House last week, appeared ...

China's 373MPH Maglev Train Debuts, Slashing Travel Time Between Cities A Chinese-built maglev train, set to become the country's fastest ground transport vehicle, was publicly unveiled this week at the 17th Modern Railways exhibition in Beijing, according to South China Morning Post.  Developed by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC), the train can reach speeds of 600km/h (373mph) and is designed to drastically cut travel times and strengthen China's global lead in high-speed rail. The train features a sleek, aerodynamic nose to reduce drag, and a futuristic interior with a large digital display. The train is intended to function as a “point-to-point transport tool” between major cities, complementing existing high-speed rail. At full speed, it could cut the Beijing–Shanghai trip from 5.5 hours to about 2.5. “This model is equipped with a fully automated driving function … [which] requires integrating a variety of technologies such as 5G communication, AI video capture...

8 Chinese Nationals On Student Visas Charged In Computer 'Pop-Up' Scam Targeting Elders Authored by Frank Fang via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Eight Chinese nationals on student visas in the United States have been indicted for their alleged role in a scam targeting elderly Americans through fraudulent computer pop-ups, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced on July 11. The defendants, who came to the United States to attend college, are accused of defrauding more than 50 victims across 19 states out of more than $10 million. They were indicted by a federal grand jury in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. “These indictments highlight the relentless efforts of Homeland Security Investigations [HSI] to safeguard our elderly population from complex fraud operations,” Edward V. Owens, HSI Philadelphia special agent in charge, said in a statement. “Schemes like these cause significant emotional and financial harm to e...

China Q2 GDP Drops To 5.2% But Beats Expectations Thanks To Subsidies And Tariff Frontrunning China's GDP grew 5.2% on the year in the second quarter, just fractionally above expectations (as is usually the case when Beijing reports fake numbers) the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday, fueled by frontloaded exports ahead of even more tariffs and a flood of subsidies that supported the manufacturing sector. The figure beat the median forecast for 5.1% growth but was slower than the 5.4% expansion in the first quarter. Still, it keeps the country on track to meet the government's growth target of "around 5%" for the full year. Exports rose 5.8% for the quarter, off slightly the 5.9% growth pace in the first half of 2025, as the trade war with the U.S. fueled front-loading and export diversion to other countries. The U.S. jacked up tariffs on Chinese goods in April to as high as 145%, before temporarily lowering most of them following an agreement about a month later. A declin...

MP Materials Surges 10%, Apple To Announce $500 Million Partnership, Joining Pentagon As Investors Apple is reportedly set to join the Pentagon as an investor in MP Materials and announce a $500 million partnership with the company, according to a Fox Business report citing individuals familiar with the matter this morning. MP shares surged more than 10% on the news in a move that comes after a more than 100% gain over the last several months for the critical U.S. rare Earth mineral company.  The deal includes a commitment from Apple to purchase rare earth magnets produced at MP's facility in Texas, using domestically sourced materials. As part of the agreement, the two companies are also expected to develop a new recycling facility in Mountain Pass, California, to recover and repurpose rare earth elements from used electronics. In addition, Apple and MP plan to build a second manufacturing plant in Fort Worth, Texas, further solidifying a U.S.-based supply chain for these critical materials...

Syria Signs $800M Tartous Port Deal With Dubai-Based Company Via The Cradle Syria has signed an $800-million agreement with Dubai-based DP World to redevelop the Tartous Port, state media reported on Sunday. The deal was signed in Damascus in the presence of self-appointed Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa. The agreement grants DP World a 30-year term to operate and upgrade Tartous, one of Syria's most strategic coastal hubs. Syrian officials say the deal is part of a wider push to modernize the country's logistics infrastructure. Source: Arabian Business "This strategic move will bolster our port operations and logistics services," an unnamed Syrian official told SANA. Qutaiba Badawi, chairman of the General Authority for Land and Sea Ports, called the deal "a new phase of field and maritime work in Syria." DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the agreement would position Tartous as a global transport node.  "Syria possesses valuable assets,&qu...

The Unlikely, Tiny EU State Holding Up Europe's 18th Package Of Russia Sanctions The West has come to expect this from Hungary or even Slovakia, but tiny Malta as a key holdout preventing European action against Russia? European Union (EU) ambassadors have not yet reached an agreement on the bloc's 18th sanctions package against Moscow, largely due to Malta's stance on maintaining the current price cap on Russian oil, according to a senior EU official cited in several European reports. Earlier reports indicated that Greece, Cyprus, and Malta had initially resisted lowering the cap from $60 to $45 per barrel. While Greece and Cyprus did not oppose revisiting the oil price ceiling in a Sunday meeting, Malta remained firm in its position, arguing that its shipping industry, a vitally important sector to its national economy, would be deeply and negatively impacted by any changes. Source: Tug Malta As of now, Malta is the only country still holding out, with its permanent representative to the ...

The European Surprise - Why We Misread The Continent's Shifts Authored by Tamuz Itai via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Europe's political landscape continues to defy expectations, leaving analysts and policymakers scrambling to explain outcomes that, in hindsight, seem foreseeable. From the UK's Brexit vote to Giorgia Meloni's rise in Italy, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) surge in Germany, Dutch farmers' revolts, and Marine Le Pen's ascent in France, each development triggers a chorus of shocked “No one saw this coming.” Yet millions of Europeans did. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ahead of a bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at 10 Downing Street in London on March 2, 2025. Ben Whitley - WPA Pool/Getty Images The persistent surprise may stem from a flawed lens—dominated by English-language media filters, historical overcorrections, and shrinking on-the-ground reporting—that distorts our understanding. As these shifts ripple globally, misreadi...

NATO Turning Moldova Into 'Cannon Fodder' To Confront Russia: Kremlin Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) on Monday issued a rare statement accusing the West, under US leadership, of turning Moldova into a military outpost aimed at confronting Russia, akin to what has happened over several years with Ukraine. The SVR's provocative statement said Washington wants to use the country as "cannon fodder" in future hostilities, which is allegedly being fast-tracked by Western foreign policy decision-makers. The statement further alleged that NATO wants to turn tiny Moldova into a "military testing ground" by modernizing its railways to European specifications and constructing major logistics hubs for future Western military deployments. This also includes serious upgrades to airfields, to host military planes, according to Russian state media. Getty Images Russian intelligence also accused Moldovan President Maia Sandu of surrendering national interests to Western ...

In Panic Mode, Germany's CDU Retreats From Far-Left Judge Who Backs AfD Ban, Mandatory Vaccinations, & Late-Term Abortions Via Remix News, The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has long been known to sell out every last so-called value the party is supposed to represent, but it appears that backing controversial far-left candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf is now a bridge too far. The CDU/CSU has now decided that a special session on the election of Brosius-Gersdorf should now be removed from the Bundestag agenda. The reason? Civil war in the CDU/CSU is causing serious chaos in the party over her candidacy. However, the party is stating that the reason is not her stance on abortion, which she backs until the last moment of pregnancy, but instead allegations of plagiarism. During an ongoing meeting, sources within parliament revealed that the parliamentary group executive and Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) informed the SPD that plagiarism allegations against the candidate compromised her profess...

How The Epstein Debacle Has Overshadowed Historic Success At The DOJ Authored by Julie Kelly via 'Declassified', As I reported on X on Sunday, it appears Attorney General Pamela Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino have agreed to a truce. Bongino was prepared to imminently resign over Bondi's botched handling of the Jeffrey Epstein matter; President Trump told reporters on Sunday he had spoken with Bongino and indicated his longtime friend was “in good shape” without any plans to depart soon. If true, the development represents good news since the clash of wills pitted the White House against some of the president's most loyal influencers, prompting one of the biggest political crises in the administration to date. Trump appears to have successfully calmed the waters both behind the scenes and online. Unfortunately, not only did the Epstein matter create deep division in MAGAland, fixation on the topic sucked the oxygen out of the media sphere related to significant achievements...

Trump Wants Gaza Deal 'Straightened Out' Within The Next Week President Trump on Sunday said he hopes a ceasefire deal in Gaza can be finalized within this week, in comments made to reporters before boarding a flight to attend yesterday's FIFA Club World Cup Final. When asked about the ongoing crisis in Gaza, he responded, "We're talking, and hopefully we'll get that straightened out over the next week. Let's see what happens." While there had been anticipation in Israel for a deal announcement during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to Washington DC last week, recent days have seen the typical non-committal, ambiguous statements out of both Washington and Tel Aviv. The war looks to have no solutions, given the stated goals of Israel and the United States. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff expressed optimism Sunday, saying he was "hopeful" an agreement could be reached.  But as it stands the Netanyahu government is still insisting on the full disarmin...

"The Numbers Don't Lie": Most California Voters Say Special Interests Have Too Much Influence On Policy: Poll Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), A poll by the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies published on July 10 found that a majority of Californians believe special interest groups wield too much influence over policymaking in Sacramento. A voter drops off a ballot at an official ballot drop box on the final day of early voting ahead of Election Day at City Hall in San Francisco on Nov. 4, 2024. Loren Elliott/Getty Images More than 6,000 respondents were asked whether or not “special interest money has too much influence in Sacramento politics and decisionmaking.” Fifty-five percent of respondents strongly agreed, and 20 percent somewhat agreed. Only 2 percent disagreed. Republicans and Democrats were largely united on the issue. The poll found that 73 percent of Democrats and 81 percent of Republicans agreed with the statement. Among those...

Orange Juice Futures Squeeze On Trump's Brazil Tariff Threat  President Trump fired off a flurry of trade warning letters last week to countries including South Korea, Brazil, Europe, Mexico, and Canada. In one letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, Trump announced the potential for a new 50% tariff on imports from Brazil. The move has since sparked fears of supply disruptions and sent orange juice futures in New York soaring to a four-month high.  The most active contract jumped 8.655% to $3.1385 a pound on Monday, the highest since early March. Orange juice futures have been rallying since Trump's trade warning letter to the South American country last week, stoking fears of renewed supply disruptions. Prices previously surged as high as $5 a pound in late 2024, as U.S. orange juice production fell to decade lows. Prices then crashed earlier this year. OJ is on track for the largest monthly gain since January 1981.  The threat of disrupted OJ supplies comes as ...

Supreme Court Allows Trump To Fire Education Department Employees Authored by Matthew Vadum via The Epoch Times, The Supreme Court on July 14 allowed President Donald Trump to move forward with dismantling the Department of Education by firing almost 1,400 employees.  In a brief unsigned ruling, the justices blocked the order issued in May by U.S. District Judge Myong Joun, who had concluded that the Trump administration's “true intention is to effectively dismantle the Department” even though in his view it lacked the power to do so. The court did not explain its decision. Three justices - Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson - dissented from the ruling. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, in a 19-page opinion that was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Sotomayor called the court's decision “indefensible,” writing that it “hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out." "The majo...