Fed Chair Warsh’s inaugural FOMC strips the easing bias; 9 of 18 members project a 2026 rate hike, dismantling the rate-cut thesis that anchored 2025 equity valuations — S&P -1.21%, 2Y yield to a 14-month high. Retail sales +0.9% handed Warsh hawkish cover; good news is now market-negative. US-Iran peace MOU opens Hormuz, WTI -5% to $75; IEA projects an 8 mb/d 2027 supply glut. AI hardware (AVGO +4.30%, GEV +6.77%) defied the selloff; META -5.44% on AI product executive departure.
MIB Daily: Good news is bad news — Warsh reprices 2Y to 4.21%, AVGO/GEV defy selloff; can $75 WTI hold when Iran supply returns?
MIB Daily: Semiconductors Declared Most Crowded in History, Then Imploded — Warsh’s Dot-Plot Could Do the Same to Rotation
BofA declared semiconductors the most crowded trade in history — MRVL -9.78%, AMD -7.30%, INTC -8.45% — while the Dow hit its 17th record on Financials and Industrials rotation. Kevin Warsh opens his inaugural FOMC with a rate hold expected but a hawkish dot-plot likely; May housing starts collapsed -15.4% to 1.177M (weakest since 2020) and import prices surged to 6.7% YoY. WTI -5.09% on Iran peace deal repricing. SpaceX acquired Cursor for $60B, crossing a $2.8T valuation to overtake Amazon.
MIB Daily: Iran’s oil move does what eight months of hawkishness couldn’t — WTI −4.2% to $81 reopens the easing path, PHLX Semi +7.9% confirms AI broadening, and Warsh’s dot-plot Wednesday is the verdict
US-Iran peace deal formalizes Hormuz reopening — WTI −4.2% to $81 unlocks the rate-path debate ahead of Wednesday’s Warsh FOMC. Computex 2026: PHLX Semi +7.9%, MU +11%, WDC +16%; HBM4 sold out through year-end. SPCX +19% Day 2 to $192; $2.5T market cap passes Apple. Fox acquires Roku for $22B; FOXA −16%. Empire State June 5.7 vs. 14.0 exp. — tariff front-running demand reversal confirmed. Housing 26th consecutive sub-50; 35% of builders cutting prices; Starts data due Tuesday.
MIB Weekly: Dow Cracked 50,000 and a $2.1T IPO Debuted in the Same Week — Long Semis, Short AI Cash-Burn; Iran Holds the Key to Warsh’s June 17 FOMC
Iran’s 14-point Hormuz draft MoU sent WTI from $91.78 to $84.24 by Friday, potentially deflating the energy surge that drove May CPI to a three-year high (4.2%) and locked out Fed cuts heading into Warsh’s June 17 inaugural FOMC — now with 47% hike odds. SpaceX debuted as the largest IPO in US history ($75B raised, +19.3%), while Intel’s Google foundry win and JPMorgan’s KLAC upgrade drove the semiconductor equipment complex +20–32% on the week.
MIB Daily: This Isn’t a Dip — MRVL -7.6%, Nasdaq -1.12%, 4.2% CPI Due Wednesday, Hormuz Shut: Defensives Over Tech Through June 17
AI mega-caps remain under distribution as SpaceX’s $75B IPO ($150B+ in orders) drains liquidity — MRVL -7.6%, AAPL -3.7%, Nasdaq -1.12%. Iran-Israel ceasefire cuts WTI -3% to $88.54 — but Hormuz stays blocked and Trump vowed a US response to the Apache downing. NFIB price plans hit 34% (4-year high); Wednesday’s CPI consensus is 4.2% YoY (3-year high) — make-or-break for Warsh’s June 17 FOMC debut. GSK bids $10.6B (40% premium) for Nuvalent’s oncology pipeline; 9 of 11 sectors advanced on defensive rotation.
MIB Daily: Intel Wins Google and NVIDIA in One Day (+11%) — Long Semis and Fiber; Wednesday’s 4.2% CPI and Warsh’s Debut Dare the 8-of-11 Red Market to Hold
Intel landed Google’s 3M+ TPU order and NVIDIA 18A foundry trials Monday, validating its three-year transformation and sending INTC +11%, MU +10%, KLAC/AMAT +9%. Apple reversed a 52-week intraday high to close -1.87% after WWDC revealed Siri AI as a Google Gemini reskin. Wednesday’s May CPI (headline YoY exp. 4.2%) is the last major datapoint before Warsh’s debut FOMC; Israel-Iran re-escalation and WTI near $94 add a stagflationary dimension. Corning (GLW +5.55%) secured Amazon’s AI fiber buildout.
MIB Daily: NFP 172K Locks Hike Odds at 50%+ Into Fed Blackout — AI Giants Turn to Equity Dilution as Tech Sector Breaks
May NFP 172,000 — double the 85,000 consensus — snapped the S&P’s nine-week winning streak (-2.64%) and pushed Fed hike odds above 50% for the first time in 2026; FOMC blackout begins Saturday. AI semis cratered 11–17% (MRVL -16.74%, MU -13.25%) as Computex euphoria reversed, wiping $1T+. Meta reportedly weighing tens of billions in equity dilution for AI capex; META -5.5%. SpaceX priced $75B IPO at $1.77T valuation, Nasdaq debut June 12. Jun 10 CPI is the last print before Warsh’s June 17 debut.
MIB Daily: MRVL +33%, S&P 7,600 on Huang’s Computex Crown — Hammack’s Hike Signal Makes Friday’s NFP the Market’s Next Binary
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang named Marvell “the next trillion-dollar company” at Computex — MRVL +33%, chip equipment up 5-7%, S&P 500 crossed 7,600 for the first time. Alphabet’s $80B equity offering to fund AI capex sent GOOGL -4%; Berkshire took a $10B stake. FTC broadened antitrust probe into Microsoft’s cloud/AI bundling (MSFT -4%). JOLTS April surged 731K above consensus as Cleveland Fed’s Hammack warned a rate hike “may soon be appropriate,” pushing 2026 hike odds to 34% with WTI above $93.
MIB Weekly: AI Infrastructure Goes Institutional ($51B Backlog, Contracts Signed) — Market Priced Iran Deal and No Hike; Neither Is Confirmed
Dell’s AI server blowout (+32.8%, $51.3B backlog) drove the Dow above 51,000 for the first time, confirming the AI infrastructure super-cycle as contracted structural demand. Iran’s Hormuz ceasefire sent WTI down 9% for the week — its largest monthly crude loss in six years — with Trump’s final determination still unsigned at Friday’s close. Q1 GDP 1.6%, corporate profits ‑0.4% QoQ, PCE 3.8%, and Bowman’s hawkish Fed pivot escalated June FOMC hike risk from noise to genuine debate.
MIB Daily: Record Day Six, Worst Profit Quarter in Six — PLTR +8.17%, ORCL +6.67%; PCE 3.8% Locks the Fed; Own Government AI, Fade the Grid
S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at all-time records for a sixth straight session — PLTR +8.17%, ORCL +6.67% on JPMorgan’s ‘fourth hyperscaler’ call, AMD +4.55% — while Q1 GDP was revised to 1.6% and corporate profits collapsed -0.4% vs. +5.7% consensus. April PCE held at 3.8% with personal income flat, widening the consumer spending gap. LLY +4.05%: CVS Caremark restored Zepbound and approved oral GLP-1 Foundayo. Anthropic closed $65B at $965B. FOMC split: Williams holds; Musalem warns AI can’t rescue the Fed.
MIB Daily: Oil Crashed on a “Fabrication,” Cook Still Wants to Hike, SNOW Surged 34% — Stagflation Verdict Thursday
Iran state media’s Hormuz peace framework crashed WTI 4.69% to $89.49 and lifted the Dow to record 50,670; the White House called it a “complete fabrication.” Fed Governor Cook issued 2026’s clearest hike signal — “I am prepared to raise rates” — with April PCE at 3.8% due Thursday. Snowflake surged 34% on record sequential growth and a $6B AWS deal; QCOM shed 6% after a near-30% weekly run. Thursday’s GDP, PCE, and durables are the year’s peak positioning risk.
MIB Daily: MU +19% / Nasdaq 30K / IRGC Airstrikes — Semiconductors Win, Energy Fades, PCE Thursday Decides
MU surged +19% after UBS tripled its price target to $1,625, lifting Nasdaq past 30,000 and S&P 500 to records. Overnight US airstrikes on IRGC targets imperiled the ceasefire, sending Brent near $100 and gasoline to $4.56/gal — a four-year high. Energy equities (CVX -3.5%, XOM -3.3%) fell despite the crude surge as markets priced Iranian supply re-entry. SpaceX received FTSE Russell fast-entry eligibility for its $1.75T IPO. Consumer Confidence slipped as two-thirds of consumers cut spending on inflation.
MIB Daily: Dow 50,580 ATH While Bonds Price October Hike — Warsh’s June FOMC Test, Inflation De-Anchoring at 3.9%, QCOM’s Automotive Pivot
Dow hit a new record (50,580) on US-Iran diplomatic progress; QCOM surged +11.6% on a Stellantis Snapdragon automotive chip deal. Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Fed Chair while Waller dropped the easing bias — markets now price a two-in-three October rate hike. UMich final May sentiment hit an all-time low of 44.8 with 5-year inflation expectations jumping to 3.9%. MRK +5.6% on Phase III lung cancer win with raised guidance; Walmart C-suite shakeup deepens with two senior departures.
MIB: Iranian Tanker Seizure, Fed Chair Hearing, and the $166B Tariff Refund Portal Open for Claims
US Navy seized Iranian tanker Touska in Gulf of Oman, spiking WTI +4.35% and snapping the Nasdaq’s historic 13-session streak. Russell 2000 hit a record close (+0.58%) as small-caps diverged sharply from mega-cap tech. Fed chair nominee Warsh faces Senate grilling Tuesday — Sen. Tillis blocks vote as Powell’s May 15 term looms. CBP opened a $166B tariff refund portal (IEEPA duties ruled unconstitutional). Amazon commits $25B more to Anthropic in 2026’s largest AI infrastructure deal.
MIB: Stagflation Confirmed — 92K Jobs Vanish, WTI Hits $88, and Trump Demands Iran’s Unconditional Surrender
Feb payrolls -92K (S&P -1.3%), worst miss in years — unemployment jumped to 4.4%. Trump demands Iran ‘unconditional surrender’; WTI surged to $88 as Hormuz stays shut (Day 7). GDPNow crashed to 2.1% from 3.0% in four days. MRVL +23.2% on AI data center blowout. Fed cuts repriced to July; markets now price two 2026 cuts.
