Geopolitical & Market Dynamics - Crude oil prices rose above $80 per barrel, with Brent crude gaining 1.1% to 1.7% and reaching nearly $84 per barrel amid Middle East tensions and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz [6][18][50] - The U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield stood at 4.68%, climbing 7 basis points in the U.S. session open [6][51] - Asian equities traded cautiously, with the Nikkei 225 and other regional indices falling due to disappointing tech earnings, while onshore Chinese stocks gained on strong July export and import data [9][53][54] - The Japanese yen weakened past the 158 level against the U.S. dollar, erasing half of the gains from recent joint interventions [5][10][55] Macroeconomic Indicators & Central Bank Policies - Bloomberg Economics anticipated U.S. non-farm payrolls to rise by 65,000 in July, while economists polled expected hiring to accelerate to over 80,000 with a steady unemployment rate of 4.2% [25][85] - U.S. investment-grade bonds related to AI saw $25 billion sold with peak demand attracting around $115 billion [37] - Saudi Arabia projected a budget shortfall of $44 billion for the full year of 2026, having already recorded $43 billion in the first half of the year due to rising logistics and defense costs [56] Corporate & Industry Developments - Deepseek resumed its second funding round, aiming to raise $8 billion at a valuation target of 500 billion yuan, up from 350 billion yuan in June, and announced significant price hikes for its AI models [38][39][41][42] - SoftBank met first-quarter profit estimates, posting an 8.5 million dollar gain on Intel shares and disclosing a margin loan backed by its OpenAI stake, with total investments in OpenAI expected to reach $65 billion by October [35][36][37]

Energy & Geopolitics - Brent crude is trading well above $80 per barrel following reports of an Iran-Oman deal to restrict U.S. and Israeli vessels [3] - Commodity strategists predict oil prices could rise toward $150 per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed [24] - Energy importers versus exporters present attractive yields exceeding 7% in local currencies [38] Financial Markets & Fixed Income - Alphabet issued $25 billion in investment-grade bonds, with Thursday's offering attracting about $15 billion in peak demand and raising its total debt issuance to $45 billion [56][57] - The 30-year U.S. Treasury pushed higher in yield to reach levels unseen in almost 20 years [21] - Jane Street is in talks to refinance $1 billion of debt, with financing potentially upsized to $5 billion in a major private credit deal [59] Artificial Intelligence & Technology - DeepSeek is resuming its second funding round, seeking a valuation of 500 billion Yuan (close to $8 billion) [60][61] - Moonshot AI's licensing agreement requires a 30% cut of revenue for users generating at least $20 million in sales [66] - Sequoia Capital invested $2.5 billion in Anthropic out of its core funds committed capital [51][52]

Macroeconomic Trends and Trade - China's overall government revenue to GDP dropped from 31% pre-COVID to 24% last year [47] - China's July exports increased by 23.9% in dollar terms, while imports rose by 27.5% [192] - The Philippines' second-quarter GDP grew by 2.3%, missing the consensus estimate of 2.9% and marking the slowest pace since 2009 excluding the COVID-19 era [151][152][155] Artificial Intelligence and Technology Industry - DeepSeek resumed its second funding round, seeking to raise close to $8 billion with a valuation target of ¥500 billion [26][29] - Alibaba is planning to charge major users and implement revenue-sharing models for its open-source AI models [35][141] - Unitary Robotics is seeking to raise over $900 million in a Shanghai IPO, pricing shares at ¥150 each [97][98] Corporate Earnings and Financial Performance - Pacific Basin reported an interim net profit of $105 million for the first half of the year, representing a fourfold increase compared to the same period last year [66] - SoftBank reported a first-quarter profit beat, though investors remain concerned about its loan-to-value ratio rising to between 18% and 20% [156][161] - DBS saw its second-quarter net income rise by 22% to $1.7 billion, driven by strong insurance and wealth management fees [103]