With the White House watching, Fed's Powell to hint yes or no on rate cuts

📊 Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures in holding pattern as Powell speech looms:

US stock futures pushed higher on Friday as Wall Street counted down to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's highly anticipated speech at Jackson Hole.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) rose 0.2% while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) inched up 0.1%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) hovered above the flat line, on the heels of a downbeat day for stocks.

Powell's speech at the Fed's symposium later on Friday has investors on edge. His remarks are set to not only shake up rate-cut bets but also shape monetary policy for years to come. Yahoo Finance reports.


🤝 Meta signs over $10 billion cloud deal with Google, source says:

Google (GOOGL.O) has struck a six-year cloud computing deal with Meta Platforms (META.O) worth more than $10 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, the search giant's second big agreement recently after one with OpenAI.

Under the agreement, Meta will use Google Cloud's servers, storage, networking and other services, the source, who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential, said.

Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The deal was first reported by the Information. The news comes after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's comments in July that the company would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build several massive AI data centers.

The company raised the bottom end of its annual capital expenditures forecast by $2 billion, to a range of $66 billion to $72 billion last month. Reuters reports.


💵 Dollar firms as traders pare rate cut bets ahead of Powell speech:

The U.S. dollar hovered near a two-week high against the euro and sterling on Friday as investors trimmed rate cut wagers ahead of an eagerly anticipated speech from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole symposium.

The euro and sterling touched their weakest levels since early August and were last down 0.1% each at $1.1597 and $1.34080, respectively. While indications of weakness in the U.S. labour market had bolstered hopes of an reduction in borrowing costs next month, expectations have been tempered since by economic data flashing inflationary risks and cautious comments from Fed policymakers.

Traders are currentlypricing in a 73% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut in September, down from 85.4% a week earlier, CME's FedWatch tool showed. Reuters reports.


💻 Nvidia in talks with U.S. to sell a more advanced chip to China, Jensen Huang says:

Nvidia is in talks with the U.S. government about shipping a new, more advanced chip to China, CEO Jensen Huang said on Friday.

Earlier this week, Reuters reported the U.S. tech giant is developing a new artificial intelligence chip for China, dubbed the B30A, that will be more powerful than the H20 — the only semiconductor Nvidia is allowed to sell in the country at present. The U.S. has grown concerned in the past few years that advanced American chips could be used in Chinese military applications.

A journalist asked Huang about the B30A during a trip to Taiwan. “Offering a new product to China for the data center, AI data centers, the follow on to H20, that’s not our decision to make. It’s up to of course the United States government. And we are in dialogue with them. But it’s too soon to know,” Huang said in response. CNBC reports.


🚀 Elon Musk asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to join xAI bid to buy OpenAI, filing shows:

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to help him finance a $97.4 billion takeover of OpenAI in early 2025, court filings on Thursday revealed.

The filing is part of a legal case between Musk and OpenAI that was initiated last year. The case is proceeding in a federal court in Northern California, and a judge recently said OpenAI can move ahead with counter claims against Musk, who co-founded OpenAI as a non-profit with Sam Altman and others in 2015.

When Musk floated his proposal to buy OpenAI in February, he was incensed that the company and Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, were pushing to transform the business into a for-profit entity. Altman and Musk, who were longtime friends, have become bitter adversaries since OpenAI’s emergence as a leader in generative AI with billions of dollars in funding from Microsoft. CNBC reports.


👟 Nike eyes China growth, with outdoor sports revamp at the center:

Nike's push into the booming outdoor recreation market — which will kick off on Monday with the launch of a new trail running shoe — will test whether it can turn a little-known sub-brand into a meaningful growth engine.

The sportswear giant plans to unveil a version of its Ultrafly trail running shoe - branded under its outdoor sub-brand, ACG - at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, an ultramarathon in France that begins on Monday, Nike spokesman Jay Paavonpera said. Yahoo Finance reports.


🚙 Tesla raises price of most-expensive Cybertruck by $15,000 in US:

Tesla has raised the price of its most-expensive Cybertruck pickup truck model by $15,000 in the United States despite softer-than-expected sales and recalls. The sharp increase follows a long-delayed rollout in which the pickup has struggled to meet Tesla's early promises, with sales so far trailing expectations.

The Cyberbeast variant, which now costs $114,990, comes with a new "Luxe Package" that includes Supervised Full Self-Driving and free access to its Supercharger network. Prices of other Cybertruck models were unchanged. The pricing of the model is well above CEO Elon Musk's 2019 pitch of a roughly $40,000 starting price. But when it was launched in late 2023, Tesla set the base model at $60,990, more than 50% higher than the earlier target.

Rival models such as Ford's F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet's Silverado EV generally offer lower entry prices on certain trims, fueling competition as Cybertruck prices climb.

Tesla has also been offering hefty discounts of around $10,000 on some Cybertruck units in inventory. MarketScreener reports.


🎥 Zoom Communications lifts annual forecasts on robust demand for AI tools:

Zoom Communications (ZM) raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts on Thursday, banking on hybrid work trends and the integration of artificial intelligence technology into its products, sending its shares up 5% before the bell on Friday.

The integration of AI across its product line and the broadening of its service portfolio have helped Zoom sustain growth in its core video-conferencing offering, while enabling it to enter and scale in new markets.

The company in June introduced its Virtual Agent 2.0, which can autonomously complete complex tasks such as processing returns, updating accounts or booking appointments, powered by agentic AI. Yahoo Finance reports.


🔋 Nio shares pop after releasing one of its most affordable SUVs yet:

Shares of Chinese electric carmaker Nio surged after the company unveiled one of its most affordable vehicles yet, underscoring the fierce price war in the domestic market.

Nio’s U.S.-listed shares rallied, climbing 9.27% to close at $5.54 on Thursday. In Hong Kong, shares rose as much as 10% in Friday morning trading. CNBC reports.

“Every trader has strengths and weakness. Some are good holders of winners, but may hold their losers a little too long. Others may cut their winners a little short, but are quick to take their losses. As long as you stick to your own style, you get the good and bad in your own approach.”

- Michael Marcus

Sourced in: 17 of the Best Trading Quotes of All-Time by Trading Heroes.

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