Weekend Reading Summary
Macro:
- Iran ceasefire agreement expires today. Only five vessels passed through the Strait on Saturday. CNBC
- Israel launches strikes against Lebanon. The U.S. is preparing a new Iranian sanctions package (USO, XLE). Bloomberg
- Middle Eastern oil producers are moving crude oil out of the Persian Gulf through incognito crossings & pipelines. Volumes are higher than market estimates of 4 mln per day. Bloomberg
- The U.S. is scheduled to impose 50% tariffs on cement, wine, and hockey sticks from Canada starting Wednesday as talks continue (EWC). Washington Post
Stock Specific:
- Alibaba (BABA) artificial intelligence models have reached 3 billion downloads, more than Meta (META) & Google (GOOG, GOOGL). Bloomberg
- The Trump administration does not want Apple (AAPL) to purchase memory chips from China (SKHY, MU, SNDK, WDC). WSJ
- Hurricane Lala impacted Hawaii with heavy rain and winds (GNRC, HA). NBC News
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he does not currently support Medicare for all legislation (UNH, CVS, MCK, CI, HUM, CNC, ALHC, MOH, ELV, THC, UHS, CYH, HCA, OSCR). NBC News
- Caterpillar (CAT) and Cummins (CMI) investing millions to expand electricity generator production amid data center demand. WSJ
- Ferrari's (RACE) first all-electric vehicle sold for $40 mln. Bloomberg
- Democratic Wisconsin Governor candidate David Crowley does not support a moratorium on data center construction. Republican candidate Tom Tiffany wants subsidies ended (CRDO, AVGO, CRWV, NBIS, NVDA, DLR). NOTUS
- Anthropic's valuation will depend on 2028 revenue forecast (XLK). Reuters
- Stripe aiming to acquire OpenRouter (XLK). Bloomberg
- Prescription drug prices fall this year, largest drop in 60 years (MRK, PFE, LLY, BMY, TEVA, MRNA, NVAX, GSK, AZN, BNTX). Washington Post
- Nvidia (NVDA) downsized plans to guarantee a $250 bln Ohio data center. WSJ
- BlackBerry's (BB) future depends on car and security software. FT
- Burger King (QSR) outpaced McDonald's (MCD) and Wendy's (WEN) in sales growth following Whopper upgrades. WSJ
- Troubled loans in private credit are increasing (BX, APO, ARES, CG, OWL, KKR, OBDC). FT
- Nestle (NSRGY) aiming to develop new products to serve people who use weight loss drugs. Reuters
- Alibaba (BABA) aiming to sell game developer unit Lingxi Games for more than $2 bln. Reuters
- UnitedHealthcare (UNH) will face IRS investigation over alleged tax avoidance. Stat News