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Public Markets

Last updated: August 7, 2026, 4:19 PM ET

Equities

Major U.S. stock indexes gained after the July jobs report came in much cooler than expected, prompting traders to scale back their rate-hike expectations. Private-equity firms are pouncing on the hot IPO market as sluggish dealmaking has made it difficult to find buyers, and more firms are taking companies public. Take-Two Interactive logged higher sales in its fiscal first quarter but saw its loss widen due to the discontinued development of a title in its pipeline. Under Armour lowered its revenue outlook on soft demand, noting that traffic trends weakened as the latest quarter progressed, especially in North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Wendy’s withdrew its outlook and slashed its quarterly dividend as the company’s turnaround struggles to take hold. Whatnot, a fast-growing live-shopping platform, has nearly doubled its valuation to $20 billion in less than a year after new funding. The bond market is signaling rising risks as yields climb, meaning hardship for home buyers and higher hurdles for A.I. data centers and the stock market, though it is also a boon for retirees. Index funds that seem to invest the same way are performing very differently this year due to the impact of a few hot stocks. DraftKings CEO Jason Robins blasted prediction bets on earnings calls, saying he does not think it is good for bettors to place wagers on what executives say during company earnings reports. VideoAmp cut staff as AI agents take center stage in the company's strategic shift. Ford plans to produce a four-door version of the Mustang, a first for the automaker’s “pony car” that could broaden its consumer appeal. BlackRock’s Rick Rieder sees AI helping buoy GDP even as hiring slows, arguing that the surprise contraction in payrolls reflects a “productivity revolution” rather than economic weakness. Corporate America’s adoption of artificial intelligence tools is paying off, in a major relief to investors who had questioned massive investments in the technology by a concentrated number of companies.

Fixed Income

Treasury yields fell after the weak July jobs report, with the much weaker-than-expected data driving a sharp decline. US Treasuries rallied as the report showing employers unexpectedly cut jobs in July suggested labor market challenges that could impact the Federal Reserve’s willingness to raise interest rates. The US Treasury sparked a debate over auction cutbacks this week about the government’s auctions of notes and bonds. Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan triggered a rush for its $121 million muni-bond sale as investors seized a rare opportunity to get exposure to the island. Gainwell Technologies kicked off a $5.8 billion debt overhaul that would be the US software sector’s biggest of 2026, as the sector has underperformed the broader leveraged-loan market. Bonds on a New York megamall, once rated AAA, face a $350 million loss as Pyramid Management Group buys back the mortgage on the struggling Syracuse mall for cents on the dollar. Fitch Ratings is skeptical that tax cuts approved by Chile’s Congress will boost growth enough to offset the immediate drop in revenue, leaving the emphasis on fiscal spending reductions to halt the rising debt burden. Hyperscaler bond funding is getting pricier as the era of free money for AI-related debt buildouts ends, forcing companies to pay more.

Currencies & Commodities

The dollar fell to its lowest level since May after soft US labor data reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in the near term. The yen surged 1% against the dollar after the US jobs data, following earlier speculation that authorities could intervene again on the currency. Oil futures shook off early weakness and moved higher as the market awaits news on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with supply disruption concerns lingering. US natural gas futures picked up ground following losses in the previous session driven by the expanding inventory surplus. Iran’s oil exports have stalled and its Kharg Island terminal sits idle under a US blockade, as naval interdiction appears to be halting tankers from carrying Tehran’s crude. Ukraine’s grain exports could slump by more than half this season after Russian attacks disrupted Black Sea ports, threatening the country’s biggest source of export revenue. US President Donald Trump’s trade war with China created a “tortuous experience” that disrupted the flow of soybeans between the world’s two largest economies, a Chinese diplomat said. The Democratic Republic of Congo will investigate reports of excess uranium leaving the country in its exports of battery mineral cobalt, the government said. The UK housing market is in “suspended animation” as Lloyds’ data shows house prices were unchanged in July, with higher mortgage rates stretching affordability. Hungary is facing a “dramatic” economic impact from the drought across its agricultural heartland combined with a potentially lengthy nuclear production outage, said Prime Minister Peter Magyar. The worst trading outage ever in Brazilian financial markets was just the latest disruption over the past year to bedevil investors in Latin America’s biggest economy, putting B3’s near-monopoly in focus.

Policy & Regulation

The Trump administration restarted its battle to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, sending the Federal Reserve governor a letter saying it was “considering” removing her after being rebuffed by the Supreme Court in its first attempt. The Senate passed a sanctions bill targeting Russia and Iran, championed by Senator Lindsey Graham whose sudden death last month helped spur quick action. The US Senate confirmed Christopher Phelan, a former adviser to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, as chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. The FAA ordered inspections of 471 Boeing 737 MAX jets over possible cracks found in a structural reinforcement around one of the plane’s doors. The CFTC warned prediction markets against using American-style casino odds as the US regulator fends off legal challenges alleging the platforms are illicit sports betting venues. Passing the Clarity Act on digital assets is a matter of national security, as without US-set terms, crypto activity will migrate beyond American laws and law enforcement to lightly regulated foreign venues. Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis defends the Clarity Act for crypto, arguing it provides legal certainty for the cryptocurrency industry. A weak jobs report does not eliminate the prospects of an interest rate rise, as Fed officials remain chiefly focused on the trajectory of inflation after five years of overshooting the central bank’s 2% target. The Army opened test ranges to private industry to help break the munitions bottleneck, allowing companies to prove their weapons work in battlefield conditions and expediting the process of getting them to the military.

Private Equity

Last updated: August 7, 2026, 4:23 PM ET

Private Equity

Eir Partners invested in ClaimsBridge and supported its add-on acquisition of Dialysis PPO, planning to scale the healthcare platform through further M&A. Bernard Arnault installed Aymeric Le Clere as CEO of Financière Agache, the €3.1bn holding vehicle that anchors the family’s control of LVMH. Carlyle acquired a minority stake in Prime Capital Financial from Abry Partners, exiting the $50bn AUM wealth platform after three years of concentrated growth. Accel-KKR, Bain and Knox Lane are betting on clinical workforce services, while Nordic Capital executed an $800m take-private of BWXT’s nuclear medicine business.

Sector Investment

Last updated: August 7, 2026, 2:56 AM ET

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