Brent topped $100 for the first time in two months and closed the week up 11.39% after Houthi missiles struck two Saudi tankers. The larger repricing was in AI: Alphabet (-7.13%), Tesla (-14.52%) and Intel (-7.89% despite its best growth in fifteen years) were all punished for capital spending, while Apple (+3.53%) and IBM (+3.65%) were bid for having none. Polymarket’s 2026 hike odds jumped 21 points to 72% heading into Wednesday’s FOMC.
MIB Weekly: Intel Beat by 100% and Fell 7.89% as Capital Intensity Repriced — Brent Over $100, a Tariff Floor on 99.4% of Imports, Hike Odds at 72%, and Breadth Still Green
MIB Daily: MU +12%, SNDK +14% Rally as Fed Zeroes Out 2026 Cuts — Can AI Survive a Hawkish FOMC and Friday’s Tariff Deadline?
Memory chips ignite a broad market rally — Micron +12%, SanDisk +14% — pushing the Nasdaq 1.93% higher on 9-of-11 green sectors. But the backdrop turned hostile: Fed officials’ hawkish pre-blackout chorus erased 2026 rate-cut odds to zero and priced in 47% hike odds ahead of next week’s FOMC. Oil jumped to a five-week high on a tanker strike near the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also slapped 50% tariffs on Canada, with a global tariff overhaul looming as Friday’s stopgap expires.
MIB Daily: Twin Gulf Chokepoints Push Gas Past $4 as the Fed Holds the Line — AMD (+5%) Pulls Away From Oracle’s Cost Overruns (-4%)
Iran’s IRGC torched two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and declared it sealed — then Yemen’s Houthis opened a second front, blockading Saudi Arabia’s export lifeline. Gasoline just crossed $4/gallon, landing days before Fed Chair Warsh’s “no tolerance” inflation stance faces its July 28-29 test. A judge blocked Paramount Skydance’s $110B Warner Bros. Discovery deal. AMD surged 5% on a new Azure AI mega-deal; Oracle sank another 4% on data-center cost overruns. Stocks fell a third day, though chips rebounded.
MIB Weekly: SOX -20% Into a Bear Market as PANW Hits Records and Oil Jumps 15% — the Fed Still Won’t Blink Despite Cooling CPI
The Strait of Hormuz war escalated all week — a reinstated blockade, six nights of US strikes, and a Friday threat to close a second chokepoint — pushing oil up 15%. A parallel AI-capex credibility crisis pushed the semiconductor index into a bear market, even as PayPal surged 16-17% on a $53 billion takeover bid from Stripe and Advent. IBM crashed 25% (worst since 1987) while Goldman Sachs surged 9% to a record high, and the Fed stayed hawkish despite cooling inflation.
MIB Daily: Kimi K3 Cracks the AI-Capex Story as Oil Hits a 4-Week High and the Fed Turns Hawkish — Energy Wins as Chips Lose Into FOMC
Chip stocks cratered into a bear market as China’s Moonshot unveiled Kimi K3, an AI model rivaling US systems — erasing $3.3T in sector value since June. Oil hit a four-week high on a sixth night of US Iran strikes and a hit on Kuwait’s desalination plant. Cleveland Fed’s Hammack turned hawkish as China import prices posted their steepest jump since 2008. FAA restored Boeing’s MAX/787 self-certify authority. Coca-Cola’s fairlife halted output after a ransomware hit; SpaceX scrubbed Starship Flight 13.
MIB Daily: IBM’s Worst Day Since 1987 Confirms the AI-to-Cybersecurity Rotation — CPI Cools to 3.5%, But Wednesday’s PPI Decides If the Fed Agrees
June CPI cooled sharply to 3.5% y/y, crushing July Fed hike odds to 17% from 42%, as Chair Warsh’s first House testimony struck a hawkish note. Markets rallied broadly (S&P +0.39%, Nasdaq +1.10%) despite IBM’s historic 25% crash, its worst day since 1987, as enterprise clients pivot spend toward AI hardware — hammering software (Oracle -2.7%) while cybersecurity soared (CrowdStrike +12%). Goldman Sachs surged 9.16% on record trading. Oil jumped over 2% as Trump narrowed the Hormuz blockade to Iran-linked shipping.
MIB Daily: WTI +9%, Oracle’s 52-Week Low, and a Hawkish Fed — Tuesday’s CPI Decides Whether to Rotate Into Energy or Stay Defensive
Trump reinstated a Strait of Hormuz blockade on Iran, sending WTI up 9%, S&P 500 down 0.79%, Nasdaq 1.88%, and VIX up 14%. Fed’s Waller reopened rate-hike odds ahead of Tuesday’s CPI, lifting 10Y yields to 4.626%. Oracle (-6.47%) hit a 52-week low on a credit downgrade over OpenAI concentration risk, while SK Hynix cratered 15% in Seoul and SanDisk (-12.63%) led a NAND selloff. Gold fell 2.55% despite the escalation, dollar strength overriding safe-haven demand.
MIB Daily: Chips Crack and Oil Spikes on Hormuz Attacks — A Hawkish-Dovish Fed Split Meets Hot Inflation Data as Capital Rotates Into Energy and Healthcare
Chip stocks cratered despite Samsung’s blowout profit — Intel -9.66%, Nasdaq 100 -1.77% — as Reuters reported DeepSeek is building its own AI chip. NY Fed inflation expectations hit 3.7%, highest since 2023, lifting the 10-year 7bps and exposing a Hammack-hawkish, Williams-dovish Fed split before the July 28-29 FOMC. Oil spiked 5.3% after Iran struck tankers near Hormuz and Washington revoked Tehran’s export license. Healthcare’s rotation rally extended; Rivian sank 18% on a $1.5B raise, SpaceX slid 6.34% in its Nasdaq-100 debut.
MIB Weekly: The Fed Talked Tough, the Jobs Data Called Its Bluff — Rotate Out of Memory Chips as Dow Hits 52,900
The S&P 500 gained 1.76% this holiday-shortened week as the Dow notched three fresh records, but a violent AI-infrastructure whipsaw defined the tape: Monday’s snapback reversed into a two-day global semiconductor rout after Meta’s AI-cloud pivot (META +8.85% then -4.90%) triggered a KOSPI circuit breaker. The bigger story was labor: June nonfarm payrolls badly missed at 57K vs. 115K consensus, forcing markets to price out a near-term Fed hike even as Fed officials talked tough on inflation days earlier.
MIB Weekly: The Disinflation That Wasn’t — Iran Sent WTI to $69, Micron Proved AI Demand Is Real, and the Fed Went Unanimously Hawkish; Rotate Healthcare, Watch the July 1 Warsh Speech
Iran’s Hormuz normalization sent WTI down 8.6% to $70 and gold below $4,000 — extracting months of war-risk premium in five sessions — while the FOMC reached unanimous hawk consensus as Core PCE hit a 3-year high of 3.4% and Kashkari abandoned his rate-cut projection for a hike. Micron’s $41.5B revenue quarter proved AI memory demand is real and HBM is booked through 2027; the OpenAI IPO delay on Friday questioned whether AI monetization can sustain the infrastructure being built.
MIB Daily: AI Capex Cracks, FOMC Unanimously Hawkish — Enterprise Software Long, Memory Short, Iran Oil Binary at $69 Unresolved
OpenAI may delay its IPO to 2027 — WDC -13%, STX -12%, Nasdaq -1.09% — as markets rotated into enterprise software (MSFT +5.71%, PLTR +5.28%). Kashkari flipped to a 2026 hike, completing a unanimous FOMC hawk chorus; the trade deficit exploded to $105.8B vs. $85B, lifting September cut odds to 55%. LLY +7.13% on EU leukemia approval drove healthcare to a record weekly outperformance. Iran struck a Hormuz vessel but oil fell -2.73%. Trump threatened 100% tariffs on DST nations.
MIB Daily: Oil Kills the Inflation Premium (WTI $69.87, 10Y -9.6 bps) — Banks Cleared for $300B Buybacks, Oracle FCF Implodes, Thursday PCE Decides the Disinflation Trade
Iran’s nuclear deal drove WTI to $69.87 (-4.56%), splitting markets: consumer and defensives gained while ORCL -4.62% (10-K capex shock) and storage names bled pre-Micron. All 32 banks cleared the Fed stress test, unlocking $200–300B in buybacks. The 10-year yield fell 9.6 bps with VIX simultaneously -4.41% — disinflation, not recession. Lockheed won a $35B THAAD contract, bringing 24-hour missile defense awards to $43B. Gold -3.21% ($4,016) as Iran war premium unwound. Thursday: Core PCE, GDP Final, durable goods.
MIB Weekly: WTI -9% (Iran MoU), 2Y +9 bps (Warsh Hike Signal), SOX Record (Apple-Intel) — Which Inflation Arc Wins H2?
WTI crude fell 9% as the US and Iran confirmed a 60-day Hormuz ceasefire, deflating the energy inflation premium that locked the Fed out of cuts — but Warsh’s inaugural FOMC promptly reclaimed that space: 9 of 18 members projected a 2026 hike, pushing 2Y yields to a 14-month high. Against both forces, the SOX hit a record as Trump’s Apple–Intel foundry deal capped a week where AI hardware proved rate-cycle-agnostic.
MIB Daily: SOX +6% Record on Apple-Intel, Iran Unwinds Gold and Energy — Warsh Hikes, Housing Cracks, Bond Market Refuses to Celebrate
Trump confirmed Apple will build chips at Intel’s foundry, sending SOX up 6% to a record and INTC +10.6% — AI hardware is now rate-cycle-agnostic as Nasdaq gained 2.48% on the day Warsh signaled a 2026 rate hike. Gold plunged 3.51% and silver 7.05% as Iran MOU execution unwound two risk premiums simultaneously. Accenture collapsed 16-18% on a guidance cut, crystallizing AI’s bifurcation: hardware thrives while IT consulting implodes. Housing starts plunged 15.4% in May; Philly Prices Paid surged to 53.2.
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?
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: 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 50,000 on the Day Waller Declared Rate Cuts Dead — WMT’s Guidance Miss Confirms Tariff Squeeze Is Real; QCOM +18%, IBM +16% as AI Rotates to Auto and Quantum
Iran ceasefire optimism crashed WTI 5.7% to below $100 mid-week — lifting the Dow above 50,000 for the first time — but talks stalled Friday on uranium retention, keeping Brent above $100. The same Friday, Fed Governor Waller dropped the easing bias on Warsh’s swearing-in day, with Polymarket pricing a 43% October hike. NVDA validated the AI supercycle (+85% revenue YoY) while QCOM surged +18% on the Stellantis automotive deal and IBM +16% on the CHIPS Act quantum foundry. Walmart’s guidance miss (–7.27%) and UMich’s all-time record low (44.8) confirmed the tariff-and-fuel squeeze is now in corporate income statements.
MIB Daily: Bond Market Now Pricing US Fiscal Credibility, Not the Fed — 30Y 5.198%, Oil $111, NVDA Wednesday
30-year Treasury yield hit 5.198% — a 19-year high — sending equities to a third straight loss as markets reprice US fiscal credibility. Trump confirmed one hour from Iran strike; Gulf allies intervened as IEA warns emergency reserves nearly exhausted. Fed Governor Waller flagged rate-hike risk; April FOMC minutes (4-way dissent, most since 1992) release Wednesday 2 PM ET. SNDK +3.77% on 60% EPS beat and 233% data-center surge; NVDA Wednesday AMC.
MIB Weekly: Stagflation Confirmed, AI Capex Accelerating, Summit Resolved Nothing — Own Energy & AI Infrastructure, Sell Rate-Sensitive Duration Through the Fall Diplomatic Window
WTI crude surged +11.52% to $105.48 as US-Iran ceasefire talks collapsed — “garbage” per Trump Tuesday — while CPI 3.8% and PPI 6.0% pushed rate-hike odds from under 3% to over 50% in 72 hours and the 10Y to a one-year high of 4.601%. Kevin Warsh was sworn in as Fed Chair inheriting this stagflation stack. The Trump-Xi summit briefly drove records (S&P 7,500, Dow 50,000 Thursday) before crashing Friday on zero binding deals — tariffs, chips, and Taiwan all unresolved.
MIB: Stagflation Confirmed, $105 Oil, China Stalled — Warsh Has No Good Move; REITs, Chips, & Long-Tech Now Lose
Trump-Xi Day 2: zero binding deals on tariffs, semiconductors, or Taiwan; S&P -1.24%, 10Y +14 bps to 4.60%, stagflation pricing confirmed. WTI +4.26% to $105.48 on Hormuz collapse — ~10% weekly gain compounds the tariff-inflation stack. Warsh sworn in as Fed Chair with >50% 2026 rate-hike odds; June 16 FOMC is his first test. Chip leaders MU, INTC, AMD down 5–7% on NVDA pre-positioning and unresolved China export overhang. Ackman disclosed MSFT at 21x, exited GOOGL; MSFT +3.05% vs. Nasdaq -1.54%.
