French regulator says Nvidia antitrust probe nearing end July 9

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[1] French competition authority's Nvidia probe nearing end (https://www.reuters.com/world/french-competit ...)[2] French antitrust watchdog orders Meta to resume talks with media groups over publishing fees (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/technology/fr ...)[3] French Competition Authority Nears End of Nvidia Antitrust Probe - Global Banking & Finance Review (https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/frenc ...)[4] French competition authority's Nvidia probe nearing end - Yahoo Finance (https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles ...)

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Aug 30 2026, 11:20

Apple commits $60B to Texas manufacturing ahead of CEO handoff

Apple is committing $60 billion to Texas manufacturing as part of a $600 billion, four-year U.S. supply chain program, a move to protect margins from tariff volatility weeks before John Ternus succeeds Tim Cook as CEO on Sept. 1. "This marks our largest-ever American manufacturing program commitment," Cook said on Apple's fiscal Q3 earnings call. "It's also an important step forward in our work to build an end-to-end silicon supply chain here in the U.S." The Houston facility, which opened its Advanced Manufacturing Center on Aug. 13, will begin producing the Mac mini this year and already ships advanced AI servers. Apple also signed a long-term agreement with Broadcom expected to exceed $30 billion for custom silicon and wireless components. Apple's Q3 gross margin of 50.1 percent included 2 percentage points from tariff refunds, and diluted EPS grew 29 percent year over year to $2.02, including $0.11 from refunds. Management guided Q4 gross margin to 47 percent to 48 percent, including a one-point refund benefit, while describing the current memory price surge as a "100-year flood." **Tariff Insurance in Action** The Supreme Court ruled in February 2026 that certain tariffs were unlawful, triggering refunds Apple is reinvesting into the U.S. supply chain. But the ruling doesn't eliminate the risk of new tariffs under different statutes, which is why Cook accelerated domestic manufacturing. The Houston build-out moved fast: Apple invested hundreds of millions of dollars in less than nine months, stood up a factory, and shipped the first advanced AI servers. "We are moving at an incredible pace because we want to build more than great products. We want to build the future of American manufacturing," Cook said at the center's opening. The 20,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center offers free training to small- and medium-sized businesses, covering machine-learning-driven quality control and advanced automation. Curriculum topics range from classroom sessions on final assembly principles and printed circuit board design to interactive workshops using the site's production equipment. The center builds on the Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit, which has trained nearly 1,000 workers since opening in August 2025. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick called the opening "an important step in Apple delivering on its promise to bring its manufacturing back to America." The domestic push distinguishes Apple from rivals such as Samsung, which continues to rely on Asian manufacturing hubs for most of its device production. Apple still won't assemble iPhones in the U.S. — the cost would force meaningfully higher prices — but shifting more of the supply chain to American sources helps the company manage future changes in trade policy. **What Ternus Inherits** The supply chain resilience gives Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, more room to focus on product development. Analysts expect Apple to grow earnings at a low double-digit rate over the long term. The near-term pressure point is memory costs. Management described the surge in memory pricing as a "100-year flood," which will pressure Q4 margins. But the domestic supply chain investments serve as long-term tariff insurance, helping keep earnings and margins more stable in the event of future policy changes. Apple shares trade at $319.70 with a market cap of $4.6 trillion. The stock has delivered a 2,000%-plus return since Cook took over in 2011. Broadcom, Apple's silicon partner, trades at $368.79. The investment also carries implications for the broader U.S. manufacturing sector. Apple's commitment to domestic production, combined with its training programs for small- and medium-sized businesses, could help build a more skilled American manufacturing workforce. The company's push into AI server production in Houston positions it to compete more directly in the data center infrastructure market, where demand for advanced computing capacity continues to grow. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Aug 30 2026, 10:19

S&P 500 falls 0.25% as Warsh reprices September Fed hike odds

The S&P 500 fell 0.25% to 7,711.76 after Warsh's Jackson Hole speech lifted September rate-hike odds to 58% from 35%. "The VIX is low because a Fed that is vigilant on inflation without having to hike aggressively is seen as positive for the economy to bring inflation down, bolstering the bull case for stocks," Ben Emons, managing director at Highline Asset Management, said. Consumer discretionary gained 1.69% and communication services rose 1.56%, while technology lost 1.29% and industrials fell 0.96%. The 2-year Treasury yield jumped more than 10 basis points to about 4.35%, the dollar index rose 0.4% to 99.57, and the Cboe Volatility Index touched 14.1, its lowest reading of the year. Every employment and inflation report between now and the Sept. 15-16 Federal Open Market Committee meeting either builds on what Warsh started Friday or unwinds it. August payrolls and August CPI are the two prints that determine whether the 58% probability becomes a done deal. ## Warsh Told Jackson Hole Rates Are Not Restrictive Enough Warsh said the Fed still has work to do unless inflation moves toward 2% convincingly. Financial conditions do not look restrictive, he said, and the market heard that as confirmation the pause may already be over. Fed funds futures started repricing before he finished speaking. September hike odds had been sitting near 35% heading into the speech. They came out the other side at roughly 58%, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool. The 2-year yield jumped more than 10 basis points to about 4.35%, its highest level in a month, while the 30-year held flat at 5.19%. That bear flattener shows traders pricing in short-term Fed tightening while betting it will keep long-term inflation in check. ## Consumer Discretionary Had the Best Day on the Board Amazon climbed 3.97% after Evercore ISI raised its price target to $355 from $315, citing survey evidence that Alexa AI tools are driving purchases inside the retail business. Domino's Pizza ran 5.40%, Lululemon advanced 5.05%, Expedia picked up 3.30%, and eBay added 3.59%. The buying was spread across restaurants, retail, travel and media, and it held all afternoon. Energy added 0.59% as SLB gained 4.22%. Communication services rose 1.56% as Alphabet climbed 1.7% and Apple picked up 1.6%. Financials added 0.34% — a more aggressive Fed is not a recession call, and banks can work with higher rates. Technology took the worst of it. Marvell dropped 10.28% after its guidance raised questions about the timing of AI revenue tied to Google. Nvidia fell 4.6% one session after jumping nearly 9% on its earnings beat. Lumentum lost 6.39%, Lam Research gave back 5.24%, and Coherent fell 5.48%. Industrials lost 0.96% with Comfort Systems USA down 5.96%. PayPal was the single worst name in the index, down 12.71% after Advent and Stripe walked away from deal talks. The index settled on the weak side of a short-term pivot at 7,727.86. A sustained move above it could put the index in position to challenge the record high at 7,816.70. Below the pivot, the swing bottom at 7,639.01 and the 50-day moving average at 7,562.87 are the next levels traders will test. Friday showed the S&P 500 has places to go when the rate trade hits technology. Consumer names, energy stocks and the megacap anchors absorbed selling that would have broken a narrower index. The question next week is whether new buyers show up to widen that support or whether the same handful of names have to keep doing all the work. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Aug 30 2026, 10:19

Barclays warns record El Niño could lift palm oil, rubber 40%

Barclays projects palm oil, coconut oil and rubber could climb 30 to 40 percent within 18 months as a record El Niño disrupts global supply. "Rising confidence in a historic El Niño increases the likelihood of significant disruptions across agricultural, energy and industrial commodity markets," Craig Rye, sustainable investing research analyst at Barclays, said in a note Friday. Rye cited multi-model forecasts from the International Research Institute for Climate and Society showing the El Niño index could peak near 3.2 degrees Celsius between late 2026 and early 2027 — roughly 15 percent stronger than the 2015-16 Super El Niño. Robusta coffee may rise 20 to 30 percent, rice 10 to 20 percent, while aluminum and copper could gain up to 20 percent and thermal coal 20 to 40 percent over the same horizon. The forecast lands as the Quantix Commodity Index Total Return — tracking 24 dollar-denominated futures across energy, agriculture, livestock, industrial metals and precious metals — has surged 22.5 percent since late June to a record high. LME copper has posted nine consecutive weekly gains into the $14,200-$14,500 per tonne range, with Chile flood outages and Papua New Guinea drought already disrupting mine-to-port logistics. ## El Niño Index Seen Peaking Near 3.2°C Rye identified weather-sensitive agricultural commodities as the highest near-term risk. Palm oil, coconut oil and rubber — concentrated in Southeast Asia — face drought and abnormal rainfall patterns that could push prices up 30 to 40 percent. Robusta coffee, primarily grown in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations, may advance 20 to 30 percent. Rice prices could rise 10 to 20 percent as drought threatens crops and water supplies across Southeast Asia and parts of Central America. The event would be about 15 percent stronger than the 2015-16 Super El Niño, which was the strongest on record. Historical El Niño events have been associated with widespread drought, flooding and extreme temperatures across major agricultural producing regions. ## Supply Shock Spreads to Industrial Metals Rye warned the agricultural disruption would transmit into industrial commodities. Aluminum and copper could gain as much as 20 percent over 18 months, while thermal coal may surge 20 to 40 percent. The transmission path: drought cuts hydropower generation, raising electricity demand and prices, which increases aluminum smelting costs. Meanwhile, extreme weather directly disrupts mine operations and port logistics, constraining copper supply. Physical markets are already showing signs of tightness. Chile flood outages have halted some copper mine operations, and drought in Papua New Guinea has starved the Ok Tedi river shipping route. LME copper has risen for nine consecutive weeks into record territory around $14,200-$14,500 per tonne. Zinc hit a four-year high as LME inventories fell roughly 65 percent year-to-date, and wheat futures reached a three-year high near $7.60-$7.83 per bushel as Black Sea export disruptions compounded. Rye identified Bunge and Archer-Daniels-Midland as potential agricultural beneficiaries. Norsk Hydro, South32 and Rio Tinto could benefit from higher aluminum prices, while Freeport-McMoRan, Hudbay Minerals, First Quantum Minerals and Southern Copper offer exposure to the bank's bullish copper scenario. The Barclays warning is not isolated. UBS this week urged clients to "position for a commodity upcycle," and veteran commodities strategist Jeff Currie said "the illusion of abundance is likely behind us." Years of underinvestment, declining inventories, adverse weather and China's restrictions on critical-material exports are converging into what analysts describe as an emerging supply shock. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.