Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to IEA chief Fatih Birol, on July 16, global energy security will face a critical alert if oil transportation through the Strait of Hormuz is not restored within weeks. Speaking at an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations, Birol warned that current oil supply security remains a

According to BlockBeats citing BIT trading data, on July 17, U.S. stock semiconductor, optical communication, and storage stocks rebounded from lows during pre-market trading, with most narrowing losses. Storage shares led gains: Hynix (SKHY) rose 3.61%, SanDisk (SNDK) turned positive 0.70%, and

According to DIGITIMES, PC brand makers are accelerating efforts to secure long-term memory supplies from Yangtze Memory Technologies, with orders reportedly extending through the end of 2027. The report cites supply chain sources. The U.S. had previously considered placing Yangtze Memory on its

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic's Fable 5 AI model as 'editorially controlled' during remarks to employees, according to a CNBC report. Microsoft stocks fell 1.3% in overnight trading following the comments, which questioned the AI model's stringent guardrails that route certain

Stripe and private-equity firm Advent International submitted a $60.50-per-share bid for PayPal on July 15, 2026 — a transaction valued at more than $53 billion with roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing, according to CNBC and Reuters. PayPal's board reportedly considers the offer

According to CNBC, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella criticized Anthropic's Fable 5 AI model overnight, telling employees that the system appears "editorially controlled" and that some of its guardrails do not "make sense." Nadella, speaking to engineers working on Microsoft's Copilot AI software,

According to CNBC, SpaceX's Starship rocket launch was aborted on Thursday (July 16) due to engine ignition failure during a planned test flight from Starbase, Texas. Some of the rocket's Raptor engines failed to start, triggering an automatic launch abort at the last second, billionaire founder

According to Bloomberg, the European Commission has approved a proposal to reform the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) after 2030. The plan slows the annual reduction rate of carbon emission limits to 3.7% between 2031 and 2035, then further to 1.7% from 2036 onward. For industries covered by th

Alphabet shares fell 4% on Thursday following reports that Google delayed its Gemini 3.5 Pro artificial intelligence model. Bloomberg sources familiar with the matter stated the model is now months behind schedule due to coding performance falling short of internal expectations. The delay occurs

According to CNBC and Reuters, Stripe and Advent International bid $60.50 per share for PayPal on July 15, 2026, valuing the company at over $53 billion. PayPal's board reportedly views the offer as undervaluing the company and is expected to meet as soon as July 20, with Goldman Sachs and

According to Bloomberg, Barclays strategists on Thursday recommended positioning for a narrowing spread between the Bank of England policy rate and the European Central Bank deposit rate in December, as they expect the BoE to raise rates less than the ECB this year. In a report, fixed income strateg

Hongkong Transport Holdings (stock code 00554), parent company of Citybus, announced that ongoing Middle East crisis has driven diesel prices to surge over 100% since late February, rising from approximately $90 per barrel to over $200 per barrel, directly impacting its non-wholly owned subsidiary C

By the end of July 2026, global capital markets will enter the year’s most substantial earnings window. Google (Alphabet) will release its second-quarter results on July 22; Microsoft will publish its Q4 results for fiscal year 2026 on July 29; and Amazon will deliver its Q2 results on July 30. Combined, the three companies have a market cap of more than $7 trillion, and their AI infrastructure spending commitments over the past 12 months are approaching that of a mid-sized country’s annual GDP.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 4.3% on July 16, marking a 19% decline from its June 22 peak and approaching the 20% threshold for a technical bear market. All 30 component stocks declined, with the index recording a week-to-date loss of 8.43%, its worst weekly performance since last

According to Bloomberg, Chinese optical transceiver maker Eoptolink filed confidentially for a Hong Kong share sale today (July 17) that could raise between US$4 billion and US$5 billion. Morgan Stanley has joined Citic Securities and JP Morgan Chase as underwriters, though the offering size could s

According to Odaily, Goldman Sachs raised Robinhood's price target to $137 from $121, maintaining its 'Buy' rating.

According to Zhitong Finance, on July 17, northbound investors recorded a net outflow of 14.57 billion Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong stock market trading. Among these, Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect saw net inflows of 19.1 billion HKD, while Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect recorded net

Gate News message, monthly RWA trading volume on decentralized perpetual exchanges reached $110 billion in June, up 28.2% month-over-month and nearly 4.8 times the volume recorded in January. Public Equities represented the largest segment with $43.2 billion in trading volume during June.