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Nasdaq drops 1.5% as chip stock selloff overshadows TSMC's record profit
Edgen Stock·Jul 16 2026, 22:27Share to
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[1] Nasdaq Falls Sharply as Chip-Stock Slump Overshadows TSMC Record (https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/nasdaq-fal ...)[2] Chip Stocks Drag Down Nasdaq and S&P 500, Despite Strong Earnings (https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/business ...)[3] Markets News, July 16, 2026: Nasdaq Drops, Indexes Retreat as AI Spending Concerns Weigh on Chip Stocks (https://www.investopedia.com/stock-market-tod ...)[4] S&P 500, Nasdaq fall as chip stocks weaken; earnings and data in focus (https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/20 ...)[5] S&P 500, Nasdaq fall as chips extend losses; earnings and data in focus (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/topstories/s- ...)
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Jul 16 2026, 23:01
GBP/JPY retreats from 18-year high near 220 as resistance holds
GBP/JPY pulled back from an 18-year high near 220 on Thursday, failing to sustain gains above the psychological level as sellers defended the round number. The pair touched its highest level since 2008 before reversing course in the New York session. "The rejection at 220 reflects profit-taking after an extended rally, with the level acting as a natural ceiling for now," said Sarah Lin, markets reporter at Edgen. "The broader uptrend remains intact as long as the pair holds above 215." The pullback coincided with broad US dollar weakness after June producer prices fell 0.3% month over month, missing the consensus estimate of no change. Core PPI rose 0.2%, below the 0.4% forecast, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve may ease policy sooner than anticipated. The US Dollar Index slipped toward the 100.50 support zone, its lowest level in months. GBP/USD climbed above 1.3500 during the session, extending gains after Wednesday's softer-than-expected US consumer price data, though the pair's relative strength index moved into overbought territory, signaling a potential pullback. USD/JPY declined in tandem, adding to the yen's strength against the dollar and amplifying the cross-currents in GBP/JPY. The 220 level has been a key resistance zone for GBP/JPY, and the rejection from that area raises the risk of a short-term correction toward 215, where the pair last found support in early July. A break above 220 would open the path toward 225, a level not seen since the pair traded above 230 in 2008. Traders are now watching for a catalyst to determine the next leg, with the Bank of Japan's next policy decision and UK inflation data due in the coming weeks. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 16 2026, 22:58
Natera's Prospera wins Medicare coverage for 6 annual kidney tests
**Natera's Prospera portfolio secured expanded Medicare surveillance coverage, doubling allowable kidney tests in years 2-3 to 4 per year, effective Aug. 30.** The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, through its MolDx program, finalized local coverage determination L40060 for molecular testing of solid organ allograft rejection, strengthening reimbursement for Natera Inc.'s Prospera portfolio in the surveillance setting. The policy covers 6 tests in year one for kidney transplant patients and 4 per year in years two and three, up from the 2 per year the July 2025 draft had proposed across all indications. Heart transplant surveillance received 12 tests in year one and 4 per year in years two and three, while lung transplant testing — now including both bilateral and single lung — mirrors the heart schedule. "This new policy provides strong support for molecular testing in surveillance, thereby enabling clinicians to respond to rejection and help prevent irreversible damage to donor organs," Matt Mega, senior vice president of market access at Natera, said. The final determination improves substantially on the draft policy released in July 2025, which had limited kidney surveillance to 4 tests in year one and only 2 per year in years two and three across all organ types. Major medical societies — including the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, the American Society of Transplantation, and the International Society of Heart & Lung Transplantation — submitted comments supporting expanded test frequency. For-cause coverage, used when rejection is already suspected, remains unchanged under the new policy. The expanded reimbursement framework directly benefits Natera's competitive position in the $2 billion-plus transplant diagnostics market, where it competes with CareDx Inc. and Insight Molecular Diagnostics Inc. CareDx shares jumped on the news, while iMDx — whose GraftAssure portfolio also received favorable treatment in a separate but related MolDx policy — highlighted that the final rule removed the testing ceiling for years four and beyond, provided clinical utility is demonstrated. iMDx's GraftAssureCore test carries a Medicare reimbursement rate of $2,753 per result. **What the expanded coverage means for transplant centers** For hospitals and transplant centers evaluating whether to bring dd-cfDNA testing in-house, the higher allowable testing frequency strengthens the economic case. Natera's Prospera, a send-out test processed at the company's CLIA-certified laboratories in Austin, Texas, and San Carlos, California, now has clearer reimbursement parameters for long-term surveillance. The policy covers kidney, heart, and lung transplantation — the three highest-volume solid organ transplant categories in the U.S., where more than 40,000 transplants are performed annually. The competitive landscape is shifting as both Natera and iMDx pursue different strategies. Natera operates a centralized lab model, while iMDx is seeking FDA marketing authorization for its GraftAssureDx kit, which would allow transplant center laboratories to run tests locally and bill Medicare at the same rate. iMDx has described the strategy as a potential paradigm shift from centralized reference labs to hospital-based testing, though its kit remains under FDA review. Natera shares, which trade on the Nasdaq, have not yet reacted to the news in after-hours trading. The company's Prospera test is supported by more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, according to Natera. The final LCD takes effect Aug. 30, giving transplant centers roughly six weeks to adjust their testing protocols and billing practices. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
Jul 16 2026, 22:46
Microsoft builds Mythos-style AI tool to hunt software flaws
**Microsoft is developing an AI-powered vulnerability detection and repair tool modeled after Anthropic's Mythos, marking the next phase of its push to automate cybersecurity at scale.** The software giant is preparing a new product that uses multiple AI models to automatically scan for software flaws and generate corresponding security fixes, according to a person familiar with the plans. The tool draws inspiration from Anthropic's Mythos model, which has been credited with a surge in vulnerability discoveries across the industry. "This is the logical next step after MDASH showed what AI can do at scale," said Dustin Childs, head of threat awareness at Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative, referring to Microsoft's internal AI scanner that found 16 flaws in May's Patch Tuesday by itself. "The question is whether automated remediation can keep pace with automated discovery." The development comes as Microsoft ships its largest-ever security update. July's Patch Tuesday fixed 622 vulnerabilities, according to the company's count, more than tripling June's record tally of 206. Fifty-eight of the flaws were rated critical, and three were zero-days — two of which attackers were already exploiting in the wild. An additional 428 Chromium bugs were patched in the Edge browser. The scale of the update has strained enterprise security teams accustomed to triaging by severity score. The two exploited zero-days — CVE-2026-56155 in Active Directory Federation Services and CVE-2026-56164 in SharePoint Server — both carried mid-tier severity ratings, undermining the traditional CVSS-based prioritization model that many organizations still rely on. **AI's double-edged role in vulnerability discovery** Microsoft's Pavan Davuluri warned customers last week to expect "a higher volume of security updates" as AI tools accelerate bug hunting. The monthly count has climbed from 79 in March to 206 in June to 622 in July, a trajectory that mirrors the adoption of AI-assisted vulnerability research across the industry. Anthropic's Mythos model has been a primary driver. OpenAI separately demonstrated GPT-Red, an in-house AI agent that hunts flaws in its own models. The trend is forcing a recalibration of how vendors and security teams allocate resources. But the same tools that help defenders also aid attackers. Once a patch ships, adversaries can compare the updated code with the previous version, identify the patched vulnerability, and build an exploit within hours. The traditional practice of deferring patches for a week to test for compatibility issues is becoming untenable. **A rocky rollout tests enterprise readiness** The July update has not been smooth. Microsoft paused the rollout for some Dell devices with Intel chips after reports of sudden shutdowns, overheating, and battery drain. A fix is expected within days. For security teams, the incident underscores a broader challenge: larger updates increase testing workloads and the risk of compatibility issues, yet the shrinking window between disclosure and exploitation demands faster deployment. Microsoft has already advised organizations to shorten Windows update deferral periods to three days. Microsoft shares, trading at roughly 33 times forward earnings, have gained 18% this year as the company's AI investments drive revenue growth across Azure, Copilot, and security products. The new vulnerability detection tool, if successful, could further strengthen Microsoft's security portfolio — a business that generates more than $20 billion in annual revenue — while putting additional pressure on competing vulnerability management platforms from Tenable, Qualys, and Rapid7. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.