Ten Stories Moving the Market

Ten Stories Moving the Market:

Samsung’s quarterly profit surged 19-fold, soaring past elevated expectations due to rocketing demand for memory chips needed in AI data centers; the world’s largest memory maker reported preliminary operating income of 89.4 trillion won ($58 billion) in the three months through June, dwarfing its performance for all of 2025 – Bloomberg. (Why you should care – NAND and DRAM prices were said to be up by 50% and 40% respectively during the second quarter)

The investment industry is urging Wall Street's top regulator to stick to its current practice of requiring quarterly reporting from publicly traded companies, according to the balance of public comment ​letters – Reuters. (Why you should care – quarterly earnings reports will help to maintain corporate transparency and financial market stability)

Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller has joined Chairman Kevin Warsh in calling for a revamp of the way the U.S. central bank communicates with investors; Waller said central bankers’ commitment to future actions in a bid to exert more control over longer-term borrowing costs led to “unnecessary” delays in raising interest rates following COVID – FT. (Why you should care – the U.S. economy is in far better shape than it was during the pandemic, removing the need for overly transparent policy communication)

Saudi Arabia made big reductions to its main crude oil price for buyers in Asia, selling barrels at a discount for the first time since it embarked on a price war in 2020, as a surge of global supply heightens competition to find buyers – Bloomberg. (Why you should care – the price cut should weigh on global prices and headline inflation growth)

U.S. services sector activity dipped in June ​as some of the boost from businesses rushing to place orders amid the Middle East war ‌ebbed, but employment rebounded after contracting for three straight months; the Institute for Supply Management said on Monday its nonmanufacturing purchasing managers index edged down to 54.0 last month from 54.5 in May – Reuters. (Why you should care – the data continue to point to steady economic growth)

Syntiant, a company making semiconductors and software for artificial intelligence, filed for an initial public offering; the company makes ultra-low-power chips and software that run AI computations on devices including earbuds, wearables and industrial systems – Bloomberg. (Why you should care – Microsoft and Intel both hold a greater than 5% stake in the company)

Some of the largest banks in the country have been exploring an acquisition that could allow them to get around one of the laws they hate most: the limits on fees they earn on debit-card transactions; a deal for a card network could allow bigger transaction fees – WSJ. (Why you should care – JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are in preliminary talks to acquire the STAR and Accel debit networks from fintech company Fiserv)

U.S. President Donald Trump said that Walmart would lower prices on many products, including ground beef, after a request from his administration; the retailer said ​customers would save on items including meat, produce and soda at its Walmart ‌and Sam's Club stores this summer – Reuters. (Why you should care – the White House will want to pull every lever it can to kill inflation growth heading into the November mid-term elections)

Peace efforts in the Middle East have helped bring energy prices down rapidly but haven’t restored the position the world was in before hostilities erupted, according to European Central Bank Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel; she warned that pipeline and supply-chain pressures are still elevated – Bloomberg. (Why you should care – Schnabel’s signaling she’s unlikely to support lowering interest rates anytime soon)

Germany plans to borrow more than €800bn by 2030, breaking with decades of fiscal restraint to bring defense spending to levels not seen since the cold war; next year alone, Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government plans to raise more than €200bn from markets, 12.5 per cent more than this year, according to the finance ministry – FT. (Why you should care – other NATO members are likely to take similar actions, boosting the outlooks for defense contractors)

Economic Calendar:

Germany – Industrial Production for May (2 a.m.)

France – Exports, Imports for May (2:45 a.m.)

BoE Financial Stability Report (5:30 a.m.)

BoE meeting minutes (5:30 a.m.)

BoE's Bailey (Governor) Speaks (6:30 a.m.)

U.S. – ADP Employment Change Weekly (8:15 a.m.)

U.S. – Exports, Imports for May (8:30 a.m.)

Canada – Exports, Imports for May (8:30 a.m.)

U.S. – IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism for July (10 a.m.)

U.S. – NY Fed Consumer Inflation Expectations for June (11 a.m.)

Treasury Auctions $90 Billion in 6-Week Bills (11:30 a.m.)

Treasury Auctions $52 Billion in 52-Week Bills (11:30 a.m.)

U.S. – EIA Short‑Term Energy Outlook (12 p.m.)

BoE's Mann (Board Member) Speaks (12:15 p.m.)

Treasury Auctions $58 Billion in 3-Year Notes (1 p.m.)

U.S. - American Petroleum Institute Crude Oil Inventory Data (4:30 p.m.)

Japan – Bank Lending for June (7:50 p.m.)

Reserve Bank of New Zealand Monetary Policy Announcement (10 p.m.)