Last updated: August 27, 2026, 12:32 PM ET
Equities
US stock futures climbed Thursday morning as a blockbuster outlook from chip darling Nvidia Corp. lifted tech sentiment and key equity indexes, adding to investor optimism about the AI cycle. The chip behemoth's bullish forecast suggested the AI boom has more room to run, with shares surging 7% in premarket trading. Nasdaq futures were buoyed by the earnings, while software shares also surged premarket after results quieted investor pessimism on the sector. Nvidia's record quarter nonetheless left some investors worrying about return on investment across the AI complex, even as the company's $279 billion supply-chain gamble uses its financial muscle to win the supply battle, though with downsides.
The broader tech picture was more complicated. Alphabet Inc. has lost $692 billion in market value as AI questions rise, a sharp reversal for the Big Tech stock that investors once bet was the most-likely winner from the artificial intelligence boom. Analysts are now asking whether there would even be an AI revolution without Nvidia, given the company's dominance under Jensen Huang. Meanwhile, Aker shares jumped after its portfolio company Nscale signed a $45 billion contract to provide AI compute capacity at its Monarch site in West Virginia. In Asia, South African miners are rallying again, with a gauge of precious-metal mining stocks on track for its biggest monthly jump in at least two decades as gold and platinum prices recover from a steep slump.
Fixed Income & FX
Currency traders are increasing hedges for further gains on the dollar ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. Warsh has to pick a side in the bond-market battle over deficits, with the new Fed chair stepping into a contentious debate. The Kansas City Fed's Jeff Schmid, speaking at the first Jackson Hole of the Warsh era, previewed what everyone is talking about at the annual symposium on monetary policy. The Odd Lots podcast also returned from Jackson Hole, noting this year's edition might be one of the most interesting in years as it marks the first under the new Fed chair.
Think Treasurys are having a rough summer? It's even uglier abroad, with countries carrying large debt burdens—France, Italy, the U.K., and Japan—coming under the heaviest pressure in recent months. The "burn the bonds" stage of the debt cycle is here, according to one provocative call for France to cancel part of its public liabilities, with ideas expected to spread as governments grapple with high debt. AI debt is also testing investor tolerance, with price premiums a telltale sign, according to a top Europe bond banker at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Moderna is capitalizing on its stock jump with a $2 billion note offering that can be exchanged for shares, using proceeds to invest in its cancer vaccine business and repay debt. In India, billionaire Anil Agarwal's Vedanta Ltd. plans a third rupee bond this year, raising at least 10 billion rupees ($105 million) through local-currency bonds in the next few weeks.
Commodities
Oil pulled back on improved chances of a Strait of Hormuz reopening, as analysts remained cautiously positive that talks between Oman and Iran could reopen the critical waterway. However, actual flows through Hormuz are creeping higher as producers across the Middle East boost exports despite Iran's lingering threat to shipping, keeping global crude supplies ample. One investor is betting on turning El Niño into a windfall, even as analysts say they can't find the oil the U.S. claims is flowing through Hormuz. Wheat soared to its highest level in three years as the Black Sea crisis deepens, with Chicago contracts trading around 30% above their end-of-June low. China is expected to supply the bulk of India's fertilizer tender, shipping at least 1.2 million tons of a key fertilizer variety after Beijing loosened export controls. Gold's niche status in Western portfolios means even modest investor inflows could send prices higher, given the metal's small share of allocations.
Deals & Corporate News
Vista Global Holding Ltd. is exploring a Europe IPO that could raise more than $1 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter. AQR Capital Management is making an appraisal arbitrage bet on the $8.4 billion buyout of Clearwater Analytics Holdings Inc. by a group that included Permira and Warburg Pincus. Bain Capital is taking an equity stake in stock and options intermediary RQD* Clearing, joining a wave of new capital entering clearing and custody markets amid the options boom. EQT AB barely raised its tender offer for Kakaku.com Inc. and extended the offer period, prolonging a bidding war over the Japanese internet services firm. Enbridge has formed a $1.95 billion joint venture with private equity firms KKR and Apollo Global Management to fund a 2.7 billion Canadian dollar expansion of its natural gas pipeline system in British Columbia. Total Energies SE said it may be reimbursed about $1.3 billion for loans to the Arctic LNG 2 project as it completed its exit from the US-sanctioned LNG venture in Russia.
SK Telecom is creating an AI data-center company through a spinoff, with KKR and a consortium of South Korean firms investing $2.2 billion. Flashlight Capital is targeting Samsung in South Korea's first test of new shareholder rights rules, saying the corporate governance law emboldened it to make a takeover bid for a conglomerate affiliate. The US Army is making a $2 billion push into the nuclear power race, awarding contracts to five companies to build and operate first-of-a-kind nuclear microreactors at five bases across the country. Larry Page's family office is discreetly growing in Coconut Grove, with one of the world's richest people wielding his personal fortune in a very quiet way. UBS is nudging the Swiss capital debate toward a cheaper compromise, with Swiss lawmakers focusing on a possible solution that would make it less expensive for the bank to meet the government's $20 billion capital requirements.
Earnings & Retail
Dollar General lifted its outlook for the year as profit and sales climbed in the latest quarter, boosted by consumers' continued reliance on the company for low-cost goods. Dollar Tree, by contrast, issued an underwhelming outlook for the third quarter, expecting profit to come under pressure as the company reinvests tariff refunds back into its business. Burlington Stores recorded higher second-quarter sales and said it plans to use its tariff refunds to lower prices for shoppers. Best Buy raised its full-year outlook after Q2 sales growth, now forecasting adjusted earnings per share of $6.70 to $6.90, up from prior guidance of $6.30 to $6.60. Build-A-Bear cut its sales outlook and fired an executive after missed targets, now expecting $500 million to $525 million in annual sales, down from previous guidance of $530 million to $550 million. Hormel Foods, which owns Spam and Skippy peanut butter, lowered its sales outlook to $12.1 billion to $12.2 billion, compared with a prior range of $12.2 billion to $12.5 billion. Delivery Hero lifted its guidance on accelerated growth in its groceries quick-delivery business and stronger top-line metrics.
Banking & Financials
Toronto-Dominion Bank's earnings rose sharply in the latest quarter as the big lender continued to see strong growth in its Canadian banking and capital markets businesses. Royal Bank of Canada notched record income, with third-quarter income rising to 6.02 billion Canadian dollars, or C$4.23 a share, from C$5.41 billion, or C$3.75 a share, a year earlier. UK private equity carried interest payouts soared to £5.4 billion ahead of tax changes by the Labour government, suggesting a flurry of activity before the overhaul. HMRC reported a record capital gains tax haul of £24.2 billion for the 2024/25 tax year, an 89% increase on the previous year following Reeves' rate rise. Japan's regulator warned against single-stock leveraged ETFs, saying they can amplify volatility in the domestic market and aren't fit to be sold in the country. Macquarie warned that CEO uncertainty around Sashidhar Jagdishan's term is weighing on HDFC Bank Ltd.'s stock, with investors worried about succession issues at India's largest private-sector lender.
Policy & Regulation
California lawmakers passed a plug-in solar bill, joining nearly a dozen states that have voted to legalize use of the technology, which can help homeowners reduce rising electricity costs. Kalshi has partnered with the Weather Co. on climate trades, getting input from experts that operate a leading weather app to verify increasingly popular climate-prediction markets. Prediction markets and states have clashed, setting off a furious political battle over the future of Kalshi, Polymarket and others, drawing in the Trump administration, the president's son and nearly every state attorney general. Democrats are forcing a Senate vote on Israel's human rights practices, with Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland leading a group seeking answers about violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Qatari Prime Minister traveled to Tehran as the Iran war nears the six-month mark, with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani serving as a key mediator even as his country has blamed Tehran for hundreds of missile and drone attacks.
Economy & Trade
Vietnam's factories are thriving amid trade upheaval, with the trade surplus surging as tariffs shift production from China. Denmark raised its 2026 economic growth forecast for the fourth time, driven mainly by a bigger-than-expected boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's new weight-loss pill Wegovy. Russian sanctions are fueling a Canadian car theft epidemic, with Russia the largest destination for stolen Canadian cars as smugglers meet the demand of a booming black market. The housing market is highly seasonal, and autumn can't come soon enough for home sellers, according to analysis that understanding seasonality might be the key to getting the best deal.
Geopolitics & Defense
ICE agent Christian Castro was released from a Texas jail after Minnesota lost a court fight to have the agent extradited to answer charges related to an on-duty shooting that wounded an immigrant. ICE arrests are soaring across the U.S., while Meta agreed to make major changes to Instagram and Facebook. Saudi Arabia appears to be preparing for a new war with the Houthis, with analysts saying weeks of Houthi attacks on Saudi targets have brought the kingdom and the Iranian-backed militia to the brink of full-blown conflict. The Russia-Ukraine war is getting more ruthless and destructive but no closer to ending, with the CIA chief making a surprise trip to Moscow to deliver a warning. Where drones cannot see, the Ukraine war is a deadly game of cat and mouse, with Russian troops trying to infiltrate the vast, overgrown reservoir basin of a dam they blew up three years ago. Some in Canada want out of the F-35 deal with the U.S., with one premier saying buying American warplanes makes no sense in the face of President Trump's latest tariffs.
Legal & Investigations
Jes Staley told Congress it was incredible Epstein's abuse continued after jail, with the former JPMorgan banker who went on to be CEO of Barclays appearing before Congress in July. Arkin Group dropped its legal claim against a sanctioned oil trader, saying it was deceived by a client accused of posing as a CIA spy in the latest twist with Dutchman Niels Troost. Creditors say Enviva's former C-suite blew up the company by chasing bonus targets in the $2 billion brawl over a ruinous wood-pellet trade. When a respected biographer tried to use a Mapplethorpe photograph of Roy Cohn for a book cover, worries about retaliation from Cohn's protégé, President Trump, intervened.
Technology & Media
Meta's landmark settlement with states over teen use of social media may cost the company less than expected and may hurt rivals more. Mark Zuckerberg wants to make sure YouTube and TikTok share his pain, with the social media giant agreeing to change the way children interact with its apps, which could be trouble if competitors don't abide by the same rules. The Meta deal with 47 states over kids' safety is explained, with a new era for teenagers on Facebook and Instagram. Gen Z's secret AI lives are revealed in new research. A new study could be the missing link between reports that AI is leading employers to rethink roles and the dearth of evidence on job displacement, suggesting AI may be making workers more vulnerable.
Energy & Utilities
The Energy & Utilities Roundup covers insight on Harbour Energy, Eneos Holdings, China National Offshore Oil Corporation and more. The Auto & Transport Roundup finds insight on Qantas Airways, Hyundai Motor, Marco Polo Marine and more. The Thames Water saga undermines the case for more market solutions, with privatisation becoming associated with failures rather than its successes.
Healthcare & Pharma
The FDA approved a new drug for pancreatic cancer that could be the first of many, with companies testing dozens of similar drugs in cancers of the pancreas, lung, colon and more. There's also been a breakthrough in cancer treatment reported alongside the ICE and Meta news.
Obituaries & Culture
Ratko Mladic, the murderous "Butcher of Bosnia," died at 83, having been convicted in the killing of some 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica, Europe's deadliest massacre since World War II. In Japan, Yayoi Kusama is remembered as a visionary and a rebel, with artists, scholars and fans celebrating her as a cultural giant who helped bring Japanese art to the masses. The greatest story Dolly Parton ever wrote was herself, as she didn't see herself as a saint but identified as something we needed even more: a writer. Parton's cautious politics resulted in widespread affection, with bipartisan tributes demonstrating the success of the singer's long-running effort to stay out of party politics in a sharply divided country.
Weather & Environment
Survivors of the deadly Nepal flood recalled its devastating force, describing the terrifying speed and power of the "boulders, sand and thick sludge" that killed hundreds and wiped out villages on the border between Nepal and Tibet. Photos show a deadly flood that tore through Nepal and Tibet, with an ice avalanche starting high in the Himalayas that tumbled thousands of feet, releasing vast amounts of energy that pulverized the ice into significant flood water. Drought has left sports pitches across England unplayable, with rugby and football matches postponed as dry weather affects grassroots and amateur sports with fewer resources. Screwworm flies are steering clear of Agriculture Dept. traps, with no wild flies caught potentially meaning the outbreak is contained—or that current trapping methods are outdated.
Travel & Lifestyle
Five new hotels for your late summer getaway range from Cape Cod to Croatia. Pint-size microcars with enviable smiles per gallon are underpowered, noisy and sometimes smoky, but "the struggle is what makes it fun," one enthusiast said. The solar-powered Elf is worth a spin, with solar-powered pedals plus other sun-energy tech.
Politics
Trump's strength in primaries is clear, but the midterms pose a different test, with the president's pull with the party base clear and his resources vast, but his low approval ratings making him a liability with swing voters. Even Machiavelli wouldn't like Trump's America, as the country is hated but not feared.