We understand that the five plus years of inflation above target cannot be cured in nine weeks, or by a single month of modest price decreases. This fed will not waver. Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh They're defending the decision to keep rates on hold, with three FOMC members calling for a hike or watching the China show on Yvonne Man with David Ingles.Good morning. We're counting down to the open of markets in Hong Kong, in Shanghai and in Shenzhen. Let's get to our top stories today.Stocks across the region. A ...

LATEST: ⚡️ Meta and BlackRock will partner to build a $14B, 1-gigawatt AI data center in El Paso, Texas. https://t.co/RZeLqySxY2 ...

🚨 LATEST: Meta gives a lackluster Q3 revenue forecast below Wall Street's estimate, deepening investor concerns over CEO Mark Zuckerberg's massive AI spending.Its shares are down 4%. https://t.co/XjFekzTQdY ...

Meta’s free cash flow has fallen to the lowest level since the third quarter of 2022, a result of its transformation from a social media app maker into an AI company https://t.co/2bjunhYxZG ...

Meta tried to give Wall Street a clearer answer to the $145 billion question. How does all this AI spending eventually make money. Mark Zuckerberg laid out a new enterprise strategy built [music] around APIs, business agents, productivity tools, and potentially selling compute.There is an ongoing shift from social media to AI. Zuckerberg doesn't want Meta to become just another cloud provider. He basically said, "Sure, Meta could rent out GPUs today, but the bigger prize is building AI products and services ...

Monetary Policy & Macroeconomic Trends - The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady in a 9-3 FOMC vote, maintaining the inflation target of 2% while job gains matched the workforce[7][8] - 30-year Treasury yields soared to 5.2% and the S&P 500 dropped 1.5%, pushing the Nasdaq 100 into correction territory[1][3][4] - Energy costs, surging oil prices with Brent topping $90 a barrel, and artificial intelligence spending continue to drive inflation concerns and potential future rate hikes[2][16][36] Big Tech Performance & AI Spending - Meta shares plunged around 10% post-market due to disappointing revenue, higher capital expenditure forecasts, and one-time severance and legal charges impacting operating margins[41][42][43] - Microsoft's Azure cloud computing unit grew 43% year-over-year in the fiscal year ending in June, with annual sales topping $100 million and quarterly sales reaching $41 billion[6][44][45] - Qualcomm reported a weak profit forecast for the current quarter driven by component shortages and rising costs[6] Energy Sector & Geopolitical Impacts - Daily oil production and delivery out of the Arabian Gulf region averaged 13 million barrels per day, operating at about two-thirds of pre-conflict levels[38] - U.S. and Saudi military actions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal are actively employing tanker capacity and pipelines to maintain global oil supplies[36][39][40]

Market Dynamics - Meta Platforms focuses on enterprise artificial intelligence opportunities extending beyond standard artificial intelligence agents [1] Strategic Positioning - Technology industry observers note Meta Platforms expands its enterprise artificial intelligence scope [1]

Macroeconomic & Market Trends - The S&P 500 closed lower by 1.5% and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 2%, entering correction territory down 11% from its all-time high [20][23] - The 30-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.2% to its highest level since 2007, reflecting significant yield curve steepening [2][22] - The Federal Reserve maintained rates while facing questions regarding credibility and persistent inflation concerns [1][6] Technology Sector & Hyper-scalers - Microsoft reported fourth-quarter revenue of 90 billion dollars, beating the 87 billion dollar estimate, driven by Azure cloud revenue growth of 43% [28][31][64] - Meta Platforms forecasted third-quarter revenue between 61 billion and 64 billion dollars, while maintaining high capital expenditures for artificial intelligence infrastructure [27][78] - Qualcomm projected fiscal year 2029 non-handset revenue to reach 40 billion dollars, up from previous 2024 projections of 22 billion dollars, as the company transitions toward the artificial intelligence ecosystem [25] - Arm Holdings reported expected revenue between 1.33 billion and 1.43 billion dollars, with smartphone demand acting as a quarterly drag [33] Consumer & Retail Sector - Starbucks reported same-store sales growth of 7.9% for the quarter, surpassing the 5.7% estimate, and anticipates 6.5% growth for the fourth quarter [35]

Meta and Microsoft Q2 earnings: markets punish one, reward the otherThe after-hours verdict was split. $META fell about 8% after EPS of $6.18 missed the $7.14 consensus, while (@Microsoft) $MSFT rose roughly 3% on a clean beat, $4.81 against $4.24 expected on $90B revenue.@Meta's revenue was fine at $60.8B, up 28%. The miss came from a $2.4B legal charge and $1.2B in severance, but the number doing the damage is capex: $31.1B in the quarter crushed free cash flow to $784M, with full-year spending guided at ...

Macroeconomic Policy and Market Trends - US Federal Reserve maintained unchanged interest rates due to persistent inflation pressures [1] - Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted over 1,100 points alongside steep declines in S&P 500 and Nasdaq driven by rising Treasury yields [2][3] - United States personal bankruptcy rates exhibited an upward trend amid high inflation and elevated interest rates [8] Corporate Financial Performance - Meta Platforms shares dropped nearly 10% following second quarter earnings misses and disappointing revenue outlooks [3] - Microsoft reported fourth quarter revenue of $90 billion driven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence growth [4] - Starbucks posted better-than-expected third-quarter sales and raised full-year guidance [4] - Ford Motor Company lifted its 2026 outlook following stronger-than-expected earnings [4] - Micron Technology stock surged 637% over the past year amid a memory chip super cycle [5] - Carvana shares fell 15% after 2026 earnings guidance missed Wall Street expectations [5] Industry Developments and Investments - Energy sector and private investors announced multi-billion dollar investments in Kentucky, including $100 billion for the Paducah gaseous diffusion plant site redevelopment [6] - Meta, Google, and BlackRock invested $265 million in apprenticeship programs for artificial intelligence data center electricians and carpenters [7]