Apple and Amazon earnings preview, Big Tech rally, Zeeker CEO on why he is against tariffs

Market Trends & Trade - US imposed a deadline for trade deals, South Korea secured a deal with a 15% levy, avoiding a higher 25% rate, while India failed to reach an agreement and will face a 25% levy on its imports [2][4] - President Trump imposed a 50% tariff on copper imports, causing prices to fall over 20%, marking the metal's largest single-day decline since 1989 [4][5] Company Earnings & Performance - Microsoft is set to become the second company to reach a $4 trillion market capitalization, with its stock soaring over 8% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and a 39% rise in sales for its Azure cloud computing unit [16][17] - Meta's Q2 results outperformed expectations, with revenue growing 22%, and the company offered a better-than-expected outlook for Q3, driven by AI investments and growth in the digital advertising market [19][20] - Amazon shares are up over 3% pre-market, with analysts expecting revenue to grow by 95% year-on-year to $1622 billion, focusing on the AI-powered growth of Amazon Web Services Cloud [8][9] - Ford reported Q2 earnings better than expected but took an $800 million hit due to tariffs, which could amount to $2 billion for the whole of 2025 [26] - Rolls-Royce reported a 50% increase in underlying operating profit in the first half, jumping to £173 billion (approximately $229 billion) from £115 billion a year earlier, with its market value almost doubling in 2025 [44][45] - Carvana reported a six-fold increase in net income and record quarterly sales of used vehicles, with shares jumping as much as 17% in after-hours trading [41][42] AI & Technology - Apple faces challenges including an estimated $20 billion a year hit to its services business due to the Justice Department's antitrust lawsuit against Google and struggles with its AI development [7] - Akre ASA, a Norwegian Industrial Conglomerate, saw its shares pop by more than 10% after announcing a partnership with OpenAI and Nscale Global Holdings to build a major AI facility in Northern Norway, investing $1 billion in phase one [37][38][39] Monetary Policy & Economy - The Fed kept rates steady for the fifth straight time, with the core PCE price index expected at 03%, while inflation stands at 27%, still above the Fed's 2% target [46][47]