Trending Market News

Databricks closed a $5 billion strategic funding round at a $190 billion valuation. The data and AI software company plans to use the capital to expand investments in products for AI agents.

• The funding round values Databricks at $190 billion, marking one of the highest valuations in the enterprise AI software sector
• Proceeds will be directed toward expanding the company's AI agent product offerings
• The substantial raise reflects continued investor appetite for AI infrastructure companies

Mike Ashley's Frasers Group acquired luxury department store chain Harvey Nichols out of administration on Thursday for an undisclosed sum. The deal includes Harvey Nichols' stores in London, Edinburgh, and Leeds, its online business, over 1,000 employees, and international franchise agreements, marking the end of 35 years of ownership by Hong Kong businessman Dickson Poon.

• Harvey Nichols, founded in 1831, has been loss-making for several years and is far from its peak in the 1990s and 2000s, representing another distressed British retail acquisition by Ashley
• Frasers said integration will require 'significant' restructuring, potentially including review and rationalization of the store portfolio, organizational structure, and cost base
• The acquisition adds a storied luxury retailer selling cosmetics, fashion, food and wine to Frasers' portfolio of premium retail brands, continuing Ashley's strategy of buying businesses at bargain prices

The Producer Price Index (PPI) was flat in July, missing expectations for a 0.2% increase, while core PPI rose just 0.2% versus the 0.3% forecast. This marks the latest sign that inflation pressures are easing after earlier gains driven by the Iran war and tariffs. The data reduced market expectations for a September Federal Reserve rate hike.

• Annual PPI increased 4.7% for all items and 4.2% for core, while goods prices fell 0.7% due to a 3.1% decrease in energy costs including a 5.7% drop in gasoline
• Stock futures rose and Treasury yields fell following the report, with traders lowering odds of a September rate hike and now pricing in October or December action
• The report follows similar CPI data showing consumer prices rose only 0.1% in July, with core annual inflation at 2.5%, back to pre-war levels

Private equity firm Thoma Bravo will acquire insurance marketplace Accelerant in an all-cash deal valued at over $4 billion, taking the company private just over a year after its July 2025 New York IPO. The transaction, expected to close in the first half of 2027, will allow Accelerant to operate away from public market pressures after its stock struggled below the $21 IPO price.

• Accelerant went public in July 2025 but its stock has traded well below its $21 per share IPO price, prompting the privatization decision
• Thoma Bravo manages over $172 billion in assets and has a track record in insurance technology, having acquired claims services firm for over $1.3 billion last year
• Largest investor Altamont Capital Partners and Accelerant's founders will retain equity ownership alongside Thoma Bravo in the transaction

Danish shipping giant Maersk reported second-quarter operating profit that exceeded expectations and raised its 2026 earnings guidance for the second time this year. The announcement sent Maersk shares surging 8% on Thursday. The positive results reflect stronger-than-anticipated performance in the company's shipping operations.

• Maersk has now raised its 2026 earnings outlook twice within the same year, signaling improving business conditions
• The company's shares jumped 8% following the earnings announcement and guidance revision
• Second-quarter operating profit came in above analyst expectations, though specific figures were not provided in this breaking news report

Online fast-fashion retailer Shein is planning its stock market debut in Hong Kong on August 28, after previously pursuing listings in New York and London. The Singapore-based company, founded in China in 2012, faces a significantly reduced valuation of $30-40 billion, down from nearly $100 billion in 2022, amid slowing growth and rising costs.

• Shein's valuation has plummeted from nearly $100 billion in 2022 to an expected $30-40 billion for the IPO
• The company recently swung to a $99 million quarterly loss after the U.S. removed an import duty exemption on small packages
• The IPO is expected to launch as soon as Wednesday next week following failed listing attempts in New York and London

Lenovo Group reported a 43% jump in quarterly revenue to $26.94 billion for the three months ending June 30, significantly beating analyst expectations of $22.3 billion. The strong performance was driven by AI-driven hardware demand, solid PC sales, and benefits from a global memory chip shortage.

• Revenue of $26.94 billion exceeded analyst expectations by approximately 21%, rising from the previous quarter
• Growth attributed to artificial intelligence hardware boom and strong PC sales amid chip shortage conditions
• Despite strong revenue growth, the company swung to a net loss for the quarter

Meta announced it removed over 756,000 Australian accounts believed to belong to users under 16 since the country's social media ban for minors took effect on December 10. The disclosure comes as Australia's internet regulator considers tougher enforcement action against platforms, with studies showing over 80% of under-16s still accessing social media three months after the ban. Australia has doubled maximum penalties to A$99 million for non-compliance with the world-first age restriction law.

• Meta deactivated 756,000 suspected underage accounts (462,000 from December to June, remainder afterward) using AI to analyze profiles for contextual clues like birthday celebrations and school grade mentions
• Despite the ban, independent studies show more than 8 in 10 Australian under-16s remained on social media in the first three months, prompting regulatory scrutiny
• Major platforms including Meta, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat will testify at a parliamentary inquiry on Friday, as Australia doubles maximum fines to A$99 million ($69.75 million) and expands regulator powers

Iran maintains its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz despite U.S. President Trump's claims of 'total control' over the waterway. Ship traffic through the strait has dropped to near 3-month lows, down 90% from pre-conflict levels of 130 ships daily. Iran demands sanctions relief, U.S. troop withdrawals, and war reparations before reopening the critical shipping channel.

• Daily ship traffic through Hormuz fell to around 13 vessels on Tuesday, the lowest since May 12 and 90% below the pre-conflict average of 130 ships per day
• Iran's conditions for reopening include ending the U.S. naval blockade, sanctions relief, American troop withdrawals, and war reparations following U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran on Feb. 28
• A top IRGC advisor stated Iran's strategy is to prolong the conflict to 'attain deterrence' and demonstrate that 'the American military is weaker than what we perceived'

Goldman Sachs estimates Japan has sufficient reserves to conduct several more currency interventions to support the yen, with approximately $1 trillion in dollar reserves available through cash holdings and Federal Reserve facilities. The bank notes that about $200 billion sits in liquid form, enough for multiple operations on the scale of July's historic intervention. Future intervention decisions will likely depend on the interest rate differential between Japanese and U.S. rates.

• Japan deployed an estimated $85 billion in the first two days of July's intervention, the largest two-day operation on record outside the 2011 Fukushima crisis, but the yen has since given back about half its gains toward the 160 per dollar level
• The yield differential between U.S. 10-year Treasuries (4.690%) and Japanese government bonds (2.839%) continues to drive yen weakness, with markets pricing a 65% chance of a 25-basis-point BOJ rate hike in September
• Access to the Fed's dollar liquidity facility allows Japan to raise cash against Treasury holdings without selling bonds on secondary markets, effectively making the full $1 trillion reserve available for intervention

Australia will provide A$2.5 billion ($1.76 billion) in funding to keep Rio Tinto's Tomago aluminium smelter operational beyond 2028 by securing more affordable and reliable power supply. The facility, Australia's largest electricity user employing over 1,200 people, faced potential closure due to the expiration of its current power contract and struggles with high energy costs during the transition to renewables.

• The financial package will be jointly funded by federal and New South Wales state governments to support 3 gigawatts of new electricity generation for the smelter
• Rio Tinto will invest at least A$1.1 billion in the facility, including A$100 million specifically for decarbonisation activities
• The smelter employs more than 1,000 full-time staff and 200 contractors, and was originally built to leverage cheap coal-fired power

Ford Motor plans to relocate production of some Lincoln models from China to the United States by 2030, responding to hefty import tariffs. The decision affects vehicles like the Lincoln Nautilus, which currently faces a 52.5% U.S. tariff when imported from China. Ford's CEO Jim Farley stated the move was necessary to strengthen domestic auto manufacturing in light of the administration's tariff policies.

• The Lincoln Nautilus, Ford's main vehicle imported from China, is currently subject to a 52.5% U.S. tariff on gasoline and electric vehicles from China
• Ford CEO Jim Farley said the production shift decision was made 'as soon as the policy of the administration was set,' indicating tariffs were the primary driver
• The move represents a strategic shift to strengthen Ford's domestic manufacturing base and gain what Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called a 'domestic manufacturing edge'

Coherent reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations and forecast strong first-quarter results, driven by robust demand for its data center and communications products used in AI infrastructure. The company's data center segment revenue surged 59% year-over-year to $1.62 billion, though its industrial business declined 16%.

• Q4 revenue reached $2.05 billion, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.99 billion, with data center and communications segment growing from $1.02 billion to $1.62 billion year-over-year
• Company forecasts Q1 revenue of $2.2-2.4 billion, above the $2.14 billion analyst consensus, citing 'exceptional customer demand' and expanding production capacity
• Nvidia invested $2 billion in Coherent to support R&D, manufacturing capacity, and operations, reinforcing the company's position in AI infrastructure supply chain

Braskem, Latin America's largest petrochemical firm, is in advanced talks for an out-of-court restructuring that could be filed this month as it struggles with over $10 billion in debt. The company, recently acquired by IG4 Capital, faces a depressed petrochemical market and weakened cash position, with an August 24 deadline looming when its 60-day emergency protection expires.

• Creditors rejected Braskem's initial offer of a five-year grace period for principal repayment and 2-1/2-year grace period for interest payments
• The proposed out-of-court framework would include a 90-day stay period to negotiate a comprehensive plan while protecting the company from creditor claims
• Braskem is expected to need three to five years to resolve its financial issues, compounded by depressed petrochemical prices and cash problems from a sinkhole incident in northeastern Brazil

General Motors and LG Energy Solution's Ultium Cells joint-venture battery plant in northeast Ohio will restart production next week after a seven-month shutdown caused by declining consumer demand for electric vehicles. The facility will bring back a majority of laid-off workers, with 1,400 total employees returning to manufacture battery cells.

• The Ohio plant ceased battery-cell production in January 2026 due to a drop in EV consumer demand
• GM and LG's Tennessee joint-venture plant has pivoted from EV batteries to energy storage system batteries
• Samsung SDI recently purchased GM's stake in a separate joint venture for an under-construction Indiana battery plant

American Airlines is restructuring senior management as CEO Robert Isom faces mounting pressure to close a significant profit gap with Delta and United Airlines. The carrier expects to break even in 2026 due to high fuel costs, while competitors project solid profits. The reorganization includes broadening leadership responsibilities and hiring a former Spirit Airlines executive, though Isom maintains the company has the 'right strategy' despite criticism from pilots and flight attendants.

• American expects to break even in 2026 as fuel costs erode revenue gains, while Delta and United anticipate solid profits despite the same fuel environment
• Pilots' union leader questioned management's capability to close the earnings gap, stating 'rising fuel costs are not holding our competitors back from innovation and profitability'
• Leadership changes include former Spirit COO John Bendoraitis joining to lead technical operations, expanded roles for commercial and customer officers, and the departure of Chief Communications Officer Ron DeFeo

Cisco Systems projected fiscal 2027 revenue between $72.2 billion and $73.4 billion, significantly exceeding Wall Street's estimate of $68.69 billion. The optimistic forecast is driven by strong demand for AI networking equipment from hyperscale cloud providers and enterprises building infrastructure for generative AI applications.

• Cisco received $4 billion in AI infrastructure orders from hyperscalers in Q4, bringing the total to $9.3 billion
• Fourth quarter revenue reached $17.25 billion, beating analyst estimates of $16.82 billion
• The company is benefiting from cloud providers and enterprises expanding infrastructure to handle generative AI demands

Cerebras Systems raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $880-890 million and increased its gross margin outlook, driven by strong demand for its AI chips used in data centers. The company is challenging Nvidia's market dominance with its dinner plate-sized wafer-scale engine chips designed for faster AI inference processing.

• Second-quarter revenue rose 74.3% to $180.11 million, with cloud and services revenue nearly quadrupling to $127.73 million as the company ramps up a $20 billion multi-year deal to provide AI compute to OpenAI
• The company has $25.4 billion in remaining performance obligations (future contract revenue) and plans to more than triple revenue in 2027
• Adjusted gross margin forecast raised to 41-43% from previous 38-41%, significantly above analyst estimates of 35.89%

The U.S. budget deficit reached $432.3 billion in July, the highest monthly level since March 2021, driven by surging Medicare costs and ongoing debt interest payments. The fiscal year-to-date deficit has climbed to nearly $1.8 trillion, exceeding the same period in 2025, as government spending continues to outpace revenues.

• July's deficit of $432.3 billion represents a 48% increase from the same month a year ago, with Medicare expenses jumping to $174 billion from $103 billion in June
• Net interest payments on the $39.9 trillion national debt have totaled $931 billion for the fiscal year, up $157 billion from the prior year, making debt financing the third-largest government expense
• The 10-month fiscal year deficit of nearly $1.8 trillion has already surpassed the same period in 2025, with Medicare ($955 billion) and Social Security leading annual expenditures

Lettuce prices dropped 16.4% in July 2024, the sharpest month-over-month decline on record, driven by consumer fears over a multistate cyclospora outbreak linked to iceberg lettuce from a Mexican processing facility. Despite the plunge, lettuce prices remain 7.5% higher than a year ago due to earlier increases from fertilizer and labor costs. Restaurant chains including Sweetgreen, Cava, and Chipotle reported sales declines as diners avoided leafy greens amid food safety concerns.

• The FDA identified iceberg lettuce from a Taylor Farms facility in Mexico as the likely source of the cyclospora outbreak, prompting a voluntary recall and sickening thousands of consumers.
• Dollar sales of bagged salad plunged 14% during the four weeks ending July 25 compared to the prior year, according to NielsenIQ data.
• Sweetgreen lowered its full-year outlook after experiencing traffic declines, while Cava and Chipotle reported short-term sales impacts despite not having contaminated lettuce supplies.