The Panama Canal Finds Itself at the Center of the World
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Bloomberg
11 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Ukraine Talks at 'Fast Pace-of-Play:' Ret. Adm. Hewitt
Retired Admiral Mike Hewitt, Co-Chair of the Ukraine Reconstruction Summit, discusses what to take away from the meetings President Trump had with President Zelensky & other European leaders in the White House. He also talks about the security guarantees President Trump got President Putin to agree on for Ukraine. Retired Admiral Mike Hewitt speaks with Tyler Kendall and Michael Shepard on the late edition of Bloomberg's 'Balance of Power.' (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500 slip as Wall Street seeks clarity on Fed rate-cut path, Ukraine talks
US stocks closed the session little changed on Monday as investors turned their focus to a high-stakes US-Ukraine meeting, kicking off a week dominated by a Federal Reserve speech that could define the outlook for interest rates. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell just below flatline, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined nearly 0.1%, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) eked out slight gains. Geopolitics were front of mind on Monday as Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies spoke with President Trump in Washington, D.C., with the Ukrainian president facing US pressure to accept a peace deal that favors Russia. The meeting follows Trump's encounter with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at their Alaska summit. But markets are also looking ahead to the main event this week, Jerome Powell's comments at the Jackson Hole symposium on Friday. His speech — likely to be Powell's last as Fed chair — will be closely followed for clues to the path of monetary policy, after inflation and retail data prompted Wall Street to temper rate cut hopes last week. The annual gathering of central bankers often brings signals of key shifts in Fed thinking, and its policymakers are facing a dilemma over what action to take. The release of minutes from the Fed's July meeting on Wednesday will set the stage for Jackson Hole in a week light on economic data. Meanwhile, second quarter earnings season is winding down, with Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Blink Charging (BLNK) reports on Monday's docket. With most of the reports in, the results have been mostly positive. Highly anticipated earnings from Walmart (WMT), Target (TGT), Home Depot (HD), and Lowe's (LOW) are due later in the week, likely to provide insights into consumer spending. Shares of Intel (INTC) fell after Bloomberg reported the Trump administration was contemplating a 10% stake in the chipmaker. Last week, shares jumped after reports that Trump was considering using funds from the CHIPS Act to invest in the company. Stocks little changed with Fed rate cut path, retail earnings in focus US stocks closed little changed on Monday as investors turned their focus on retail earnings due out this week and this Friday's upcoming talk from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyo, for clues about the central bank's rate policy. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell less than one point, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined slightly, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose less than 0.1%. Investors now turn their focus to a slew of retailers that will report earnings this week, giving Wall Street a glimpse of consumer health and how tariffs are impacting corporate bottom lines. Home Depot to report Q2 earnings as Wall Street eyes third straight quarter of US sales growth Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports: Read more here. Oil edges higher following Ukraine-US meeting Oil edged higher on Monday following a meeting between President Trump and his counterpart from Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) gained more than 1% to hover near $63.54, while Brent crude (BZ=F) also edged higher to above $66 per barrel. President Trump has said he wants Russia and Ukraine to end the war. Since meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin last Friday in Alaska, Trump has not called for any "secondary tariffs" on China for purchasing Russian oil. Following the meetings, traders do not see the prospect of a quick ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, a measure that would likely increase supply into the market. Yes, 'nepo babies' make more money — but not necessarily in the fields you'd expect Yahoo Finance's Emma Ockerman reports: Read more here. Bitcoin, ethereum slip as crypto markets pull back after hitting 2025 highs Bitcoin (BTC-USD) extended declines on Monday following last week's record highs as investors took profits from the latest crypto rally. The world's largest cryptocurrency sank as much as 2% to hover near $116,000 after surging past $123,500 last Thursday. Expectations of Fed rate cuts, coupled with heavy purchases from corporate treasuries, have driven the price of bitcoin up 23% year to date. Ether (ETH-USD), the second-largest crypto by market cap, also declined 3% to hover near $4,350 per token following a surge last week to its highest level of the year and approaching its record high just below $4,900. "The sharp pullback in cryptocurrencies comes as the market is getting deleveraged following the peaks recorded last week," said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at foreign exchange trading platform pointing to "an erosion of bullish momentum." Hasn pointed out that since last Thursday, more than $1.7 billion in long crypto futures positions have been liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. Read more here. Intel drops to session lows after report Trump administration wants 10% stake in chipmaker Intel (INTC) shares dropped nearly 4% to session lows on Monday after Bloomberg reported the White House is eyeing a 10% stake in the chipmaker. Last week, the stock popped after a report indicated President Trump's intent to invest in the company after meeting with CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has been at the job since March. Trump had previously publicly called for Lip-Bu Tan to resign, calling him "highly conflicted." Intel is undergoing a turnaround plan after years of lagging its peers in the chip and AI space. Goldman Sachs economics team: More job report weakness is coming Yahoo Finance's Francisco Velasquez reports: Read more here. Mega caps' stock market dominance 'may be done' The stock market has been all about large market capitalization companies for over a decade. Dating back to 2015, Bank of America Securities Head of US equity and Quantitive Strategy Savita Subramanian found that the largest 50 stocks in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) have outperformed the benchmark index by 73 percentage points. Subramanian points out the last notable run of similar outperformance for the 50 largest stocks in the index came in the late 1990s leading into the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Subramanian thinks a similar tide shift might be coming to markets now. "History would suggest there is more to go in cap-weighted dominance," Subramanian wrote in a note to clients. "But if the Fed's next move is a rate cut, and if the Regime indicator is shifting to a Recovery, we think the run may be closer to done." BofA's "regime indicator," which includes a variety of factors such as corporate earnings revisions, inflation data and economic growth projections, has started to point to the recovery phase. This combined with a Federal Reserve that markets believe will cut interest rates by at least half a percentage point before the end of year, is a positive setup for value stocks, Subramanian argues. And the largest stocks in the market right now are "anti value." "[Federal Reserve] easing has been accompanied by Mega caps lagging more than leading, and higher inflation should support a broadening of the S&P 500 beyond defensives/secular growth," Subramanian wrote. Private club operator Soho House going private in $2.7 billion deal Shares of Soho House (SHCO) jumped as much as 16% on Monday after news that the private members club operator is set to go private, Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports. Conley writes: Read the full story here. TeraWulf stock jumps as Google ups stake in bitcoin miner to 14% Bitcoin miner and data center operator TeraWulf (WULF) saw its stock jump nearly 11% after announcing that Google is taking a 14% stake in the company. In return for the equity stake, Google is providing a backstop as TeraWulf uses debt financing to expand a Lake Mariner data center campus in western New York, making it one of the largest campuses in the US. In connection with the project, TeraWulf announced a $400 million debt offering on Monday. The new data center capacity will be leased by AI cloud provider Fluidstack. The deal was first unveiled when the company released its second quarter earnings results last week. TeraWulf initially said Google would provide a $1.8 billion backstop in exchange for an 8% stake in the company during its earnings call, but that figure was upped to $3.2 billion on Monday. CEO Paul Prager said its Lake Mariner campus will be one of the "cornerstone assets for the future of AI infrastructure." TeraWulf is one of many bitcoin miners transitioning to provide AI infrastructure. Novo Nordisk gains after the bell as company offers discounted Ozempic Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) saw its US-listed shares gain more than 5% Monday after the open as the company said it would offer patients its diabetes drug Ozempic for less than half the price if they pay cash. The move makes the medication more affordable for patients who don't have insurance coverage, though the reduced price still amounts to $499, keeping it out of reach for many Americans. Also on Monday, GoodRx announced it will begin selling both of Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 drugs for $499 a month. Shares had climbed premarket Monday after the company said Friday it received approval from the FDA for its liver disease MASH. Also boosting shares, Novo Nordisk reportedly will not charge more for pill versions of its weight-loss injections, which are expected to launch in 2026. This would be a departure from drugmakers' typical practice of charging more for new medications. The moves come after President Trump has ramped up pressure on drugmakers to lower prices, though his tariffs could raise prices. Read more here. Stocks muted at the open US stocks stalled at the market open as investors awaited a high-stakes US-Ukraine meeting, kickstarting a week leading up to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's most important policy speech of the year in Jackson Hole on Friday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell just below the flat line, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was also roughly flat, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added nearly 0.1%. Trump wants to take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public. The plan has some problems. Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports: Read more here. Solar stocks rally as Trump administration releases new guidance on tax credits Solar stocks continued rallying in premarket trading on Monday after the Trump administration clarified new eligibility requirements for tax credits that weren't as burdensome as feared. Shares of residential solar company Sunrun (RUN) have gained 38% since Friday. SolarEdge shares rose 19%, and First Solar (FSLR) and Enphase Energy (ENPH) stocks are both up more than 10%. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Good morning. Here's what's happening today. Economic data: NAHB homebuilder sentiment (August) Earnings: Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Blink Charging (BLNK) Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed over the weekend and early this morning: Powell's dilemma heading into his final Jackson Hole speech Trump eyes Fannie and Freddie IPO, but the plan faces hurdles What to watch this week: Powell at Jackson Hole. Walmart earnings China's $11 trillion stock market is a headache for both Xi and Trump US warns that India is 'cozying up' to Russia Tesla almost halves UK lease fee as sales slump: Report Goldman: S&P 500 earnings have blown past forecasts Bond market's rate-cut bets hit decisive stretch with Powell Novo Nordisk stock rises after Wegovy gets new US approval US-listed shares in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) are gaining before the bell, as investors welcome a US boost for its flagship Wegovy. Novo is also reportedly planning to hold off from charging more at next year's launch of pill versions of its weight-loss injections, a departure from usual practice as President Trump puts pressure on pharma companies to cut US prices. Reuters reports: Shares in Novo Nordisk rose on Monday, after the Danish drugmaker got US approval for its weight-loss drug Wegovy to treat a serious liver condition. That was positive news for Novo which has lost more than one-third of its market value in recent weeks. ... Three weeks ago, investors wiped $70 billion off its market value, after Novo — which became Europe's most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021 — issued a profit warning and named a company veteran as new CEO. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for Wegovy to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, making it the first GLP-1 class therapy cleared for the progressive liver condition that affects around 5% of adults in the United States. Read more here. Powell at Jackson Hole, Walmart earnings: What to watch this week The investing world is gearing up for Jerome Powell's comments at Jackson Hole — the most important Fed monetary policy speech of the year, says Yahoo Finance's Myles Udland. The Fed chair's appearance dominates the week's calendar for markets, which also brings a clutch of retail giant earnings. Myles reports: Read more here. Goldman team likely to stay in Trump's crosshairs President Trump has recently offered a few choice words on the work from Goldman Sachs' economics team, led by long-time economist Jan Hatzius. The team is unlikely to garner some praise from Trump today. Here's what Hatzius and his team served up in a new note on Monday morning: "After the recent downward revisions to payrolls, our estimate of trend job growth is now clearly below even that . And while the picture could change again for better or worse, future revisions to job growth are more likely to be because the birth-death model is likely a bit too generous, changes in trend payroll growth can initially be partially misattributed to changes in seasonal factors, revisions to the raw payrolls data tended to be negative in past slowdowns, data from ADP raise doubts about officially reported payroll growth in healthcare, and the household survey is now overstating immigration and employment gains. Like the slowdown in activity growth this year, the slowdown in job growth appears to have arisen from more than just the direct effects of trade and immigration policy changes. We are particularly worried that 'catch-up hiring' in a few industries now appears over and job growth outside those industries has fallen to around zero. And while job openings remain at a decent level, they started to decline again earlier this year." Stocks little changed with Fed rate cut path, retail earnings in focus US stocks closed little changed on Monday as investors turned their focus on retail earnings due out this week and this Friday's upcoming talk from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyo, for clues about the central bank's rate policy. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell less than one point, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined slightly, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose less than 0.1%. Investors now turn their focus to a slew of retailers that will report earnings this week, giving Wall Street a glimpse of consumer health and how tariffs are impacting corporate bottom lines. US stocks closed little changed on Monday as investors turned their focus on retail earnings due out this week and this Friday's upcoming talk from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyo, for clues about the central bank's rate policy. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell less than one point, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) declined slightly, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose less than 0.1%. Investors now turn their focus to a slew of retailers that will report earnings this week, giving Wall Street a glimpse of consumer health and how tariffs are impacting corporate bottom lines. Home Depot to report Q2 earnings as Wall Street eyes third straight quarter of US sales growth Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports: Read more here. Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports: Read more here. Oil edges higher following Ukraine-US meeting Oil edged higher on Monday following a meeting between President Trump and his counterpart from Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) gained more than 1% to hover near $63.54, while Brent crude (BZ=F) also edged higher to above $66 per barrel. President Trump has said he wants Russia and Ukraine to end the war. Since meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin last Friday in Alaska, Trump has not called for any "secondary tariffs" on China for purchasing Russian oil. Following the meetings, traders do not see the prospect of a quick ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, a measure that would likely increase supply into the market. Oil edged higher on Monday following a meeting between President Trump and his counterpart from Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) gained more than 1% to hover near $63.54, while Brent crude (BZ=F) also edged higher to above $66 per barrel. President Trump has said he wants Russia and Ukraine to end the war. Since meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin last Friday in Alaska, Trump has not called for any "secondary tariffs" on China for purchasing Russian oil. Following the meetings, traders do not see the prospect of a quick ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, a measure that would likely increase supply into the market. Yes, 'nepo babies' make more money — but not necessarily in the fields you'd expect Yahoo Finance's Emma Ockerman reports: Read more here. Yahoo Finance's Emma Ockerman reports: Read more here. Bitcoin, ethereum slip as crypto markets pull back after hitting 2025 highs Bitcoin (BTC-USD) extended declines on Monday following last week's record highs as investors took profits from the latest crypto rally. The world's largest cryptocurrency sank as much as 2% to hover near $116,000 after surging past $123,500 last Thursday. Expectations of Fed rate cuts, coupled with heavy purchases from corporate treasuries, have driven the price of bitcoin up 23% year to date. Ether (ETH-USD), the second-largest crypto by market cap, also declined 3% to hover near $4,350 per token following a surge last week to its highest level of the year and approaching its record high just below $4,900. "The sharp pullback in cryptocurrencies comes as the market is getting deleveraged following the peaks recorded last week," said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at foreign exchange trading platform pointing to "an erosion of bullish momentum." Hasn pointed out that since last Thursday, more than $1.7 billion in long crypto futures positions have been liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. Read more here. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) extended declines on Monday following last week's record highs as investors took profits from the latest crypto rally. The world's largest cryptocurrency sank as much as 2% to hover near $116,000 after surging past $123,500 last Thursday. Expectations of Fed rate cuts, coupled with heavy purchases from corporate treasuries, have driven the price of bitcoin up 23% year to date. Ether (ETH-USD), the second-largest crypto by market cap, also declined 3% to hover near $4,350 per token following a surge last week to its highest level of the year and approaching its record high just below $4,900. "The sharp pullback in cryptocurrencies comes as the market is getting deleveraged following the peaks recorded last week," said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at foreign exchange trading platform pointing to "an erosion of bullish momentum." Hasn pointed out that since last Thursday, more than $1.7 billion in long crypto futures positions have been liquidated, according to CoinGlass data. Read more here. Intel drops to session lows after report Trump administration wants 10% stake in chipmaker Intel (INTC) shares dropped nearly 4% to session lows on Monday after Bloomberg reported the White House is eyeing a 10% stake in the chipmaker. Last week, the stock popped after a report indicated President Trump's intent to invest in the company after meeting with CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has been at the job since March. Trump had previously publicly called for Lip-Bu Tan to resign, calling him "highly conflicted." Intel is undergoing a turnaround plan after years of lagging its peers in the chip and AI space. Intel (INTC) shares dropped nearly 4% to session lows on Monday after Bloomberg reported the White House is eyeing a 10% stake in the chipmaker. Last week, the stock popped after a report indicated President Trump's intent to invest in the company after meeting with CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has been at the job since March. Trump had previously publicly called for Lip-Bu Tan to resign, calling him "highly conflicted." Intel is undergoing a turnaround plan after years of lagging its peers in the chip and AI space. Goldman Sachs economics team: More job report weakness is coming Yahoo Finance's Francisco Velasquez reports: Read more here. Yahoo Finance's Francisco Velasquez reports: Read more here. Mega caps' stock market dominance 'may be done' The stock market has been all about large market capitalization companies for over a decade. Dating back to 2015, Bank of America Securities Head of US equity and Quantitive Strategy Savita Subramanian found that the largest 50 stocks in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) have outperformed the benchmark index by 73 percentage points. Subramanian points out the last notable run of similar outperformance for the 50 largest stocks in the index came in the late 1990s leading into the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Subramanian thinks a similar tide shift might be coming to markets now. "History would suggest there is more to go in cap-weighted dominance," Subramanian wrote in a note to clients. "But if the Fed's next move is a rate cut, and if the Regime indicator is shifting to a Recovery, we think the run may be closer to done." BofA's "regime indicator," which includes a variety of factors such as corporate earnings revisions, inflation data and economic growth projections, has started to point to the recovery phase. This combined with a Federal Reserve that markets believe will cut interest rates by at least half a percentage point before the end of year, is a positive setup for value stocks, Subramanian argues. And the largest stocks in the market right now are "anti value." "[Federal Reserve] easing has been accompanied by Mega caps lagging more than leading, and higher inflation should support a broadening of the S&P 500 beyond defensives/secular growth," Subramanian wrote. The stock market has been all about large market capitalization companies for over a decade. Dating back to 2015, Bank of America Securities Head of US equity and Quantitive Strategy Savita Subramanian found that the largest 50 stocks in the S&P 500 (^GSPC) have outperformed the benchmark index by 73 percentage points. Subramanian points out the last notable run of similar outperformance for the 50 largest stocks in the index came in the late 1990s leading into the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Subramanian thinks a similar tide shift might be coming to markets now. "History would suggest there is more to go in cap-weighted dominance," Subramanian wrote in a note to clients. "But if the Fed's next move is a rate cut, and if the Regime indicator is shifting to a Recovery, we think the run may be closer to done." BofA's "regime indicator," which includes a variety of factors such as corporate earnings revisions, inflation data and economic growth projections, has started to point to the recovery phase. This combined with a Federal Reserve that markets believe will cut interest rates by at least half a percentage point before the end of year, is a positive setup for value stocks, Subramanian argues. And the largest stocks in the market right now are "anti value." "[Federal Reserve] easing has been accompanied by Mega caps lagging more than leading, and higher inflation should support a broadening of the S&P 500 beyond defensives/secular growth," Subramanian wrote. Private club operator Soho House going private in $2.7 billion deal Shares of Soho House (SHCO) jumped as much as 16% on Monday after news that the private members club operator is set to go private, Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports. Conley writes: Read the full story here. Shares of Soho House (SHCO) jumped as much as 16% on Monday after news that the private members club operator is set to go private, Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports. Conley writes: Read the full story here. TeraWulf stock jumps as Google ups stake in bitcoin miner to 14% Bitcoin miner and data center operator TeraWulf (WULF) saw its stock jump nearly 11% after announcing that Google is taking a 14% stake in the company. In return for the equity stake, Google is providing a backstop as TeraWulf uses debt financing to expand a Lake Mariner data center campus in western New York, making it one of the largest campuses in the US. In connection with the project, TeraWulf announced a $400 million debt offering on Monday. The new data center capacity will be leased by AI cloud provider Fluidstack. The deal was first unveiled when the company released its second quarter earnings results last week. TeraWulf initially said Google would provide a $1.8 billion backstop in exchange for an 8% stake in the company during its earnings call, but that figure was upped to $3.2 billion on Monday. CEO Paul Prager said its Lake Mariner campus will be one of the "cornerstone assets for the future of AI infrastructure." TeraWulf is one of many bitcoin miners transitioning to provide AI infrastructure. Bitcoin miner and data center operator TeraWulf (WULF) saw its stock jump nearly 11% after announcing that Google is taking a 14% stake in the company. In return for the equity stake, Google is providing a backstop as TeraWulf uses debt financing to expand a Lake Mariner data center campus in western New York, making it one of the largest campuses in the US. In connection with the project, TeraWulf announced a $400 million debt offering on Monday. The new data center capacity will be leased by AI cloud provider Fluidstack. The deal was first unveiled when the company released its second quarter earnings results last week. TeraWulf initially said Google would provide a $1.8 billion backstop in exchange for an 8% stake in the company during its earnings call, but that figure was upped to $3.2 billion on Monday. CEO Paul Prager said its Lake Mariner campus will be one of the "cornerstone assets for the future of AI infrastructure." TeraWulf is one of many bitcoin miners transitioning to provide AI infrastructure. Novo Nordisk gains after the bell as company offers discounted Ozempic Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) saw its US-listed shares gain more than 5% Monday after the open as the company said it would offer patients its diabetes drug Ozempic for less than half the price if they pay cash. The move makes the medication more affordable for patients who don't have insurance coverage, though the reduced price still amounts to $499, keeping it out of reach for many Americans. Also on Monday, GoodRx announced it will begin selling both of Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 drugs for $499 a month. Shares had climbed premarket Monday after the company said Friday it received approval from the FDA for its liver disease MASH. Also boosting shares, Novo Nordisk reportedly will not charge more for pill versions of its weight-loss injections, which are expected to launch in 2026. This would be a departure from drugmakers' typical practice of charging more for new medications. The moves come after President Trump has ramped up pressure on drugmakers to lower prices, though his tariffs could raise prices. Read more here. Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk (NVO) saw its US-listed shares gain more than 5% Monday after the open as the company said it would offer patients its diabetes drug Ozempic for less than half the price if they pay cash. The move makes the medication more affordable for patients who don't have insurance coverage, though the reduced price still amounts to $499, keeping it out of reach for many Americans. Also on Monday, GoodRx announced it will begin selling both of Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 drugs for $499 a month. Shares had climbed premarket Monday after the company said Friday it received approval from the FDA for its liver disease MASH. Also boosting shares, Novo Nordisk reportedly will not charge more for pill versions of its weight-loss injections, which are expected to launch in 2026. This would be a departure from drugmakers' typical practice of charging more for new medications. The moves come after President Trump has ramped up pressure on drugmakers to lower prices, though his tariffs could raise prices. Read more here. Stocks muted at the open US stocks stalled at the market open as investors awaited a high-stakes US-Ukraine meeting, kickstarting a week leading up to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's most important policy speech of the year in Jackson Hole on Friday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell just below the flat line, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was also roughly flat, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added nearly 0.1%. US stocks stalled at the market open as investors awaited a high-stakes US-Ukraine meeting, kickstarting a week leading up to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's most important policy speech of the year in Jackson Hole on Friday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell just below the flat line, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was also roughly flat, coming off a second straight winning week for the major gauges. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added nearly 0.1%. Trump wants to take Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac public. The plan has some problems. Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports: Read more here. Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports: Read more here. Solar stocks rally as Trump administration releases new guidance on tax credits Solar stocks continued rallying in premarket trading on Monday after the Trump administration clarified new eligibility requirements for tax credits that weren't as burdensome as feared. Shares of residential solar company Sunrun (RUN) have gained 38% since Friday. SolarEdge shares rose 19%, and First Solar (FSLR) and Enphase Energy (ENPH) stocks are both up more than 10%. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Solar stocks continued rallying in premarket trading on Monday after the Trump administration clarified new eligibility requirements for tax credits that weren't as burdensome as feared. Shares of residential solar company Sunrun (RUN) have gained 38% since Friday. SolarEdge shares rose 19%, and First Solar (FSLR) and Enphase Energy (ENPH) stocks are both up more than 10%. Bloomberg reports: Read more here. Good morning. Here's what's happening today. Economic data: NAHB homebuilder sentiment (August) Earnings: Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Blink Charging (BLNK) Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed over the weekend and early this morning: Powell's dilemma heading into his final Jackson Hole speech Trump eyes Fannie and Freddie IPO, but the plan faces hurdles What to watch this week: Powell at Jackson Hole. Walmart earnings China's $11 trillion stock market is a headache for both Xi and Trump US warns that India is 'cozying up' to Russia Tesla almost halves UK lease fee as sales slump: Report Goldman: S&P 500 earnings have blown past forecasts Bond market's rate-cut bets hit decisive stretch with Powell Economic data: NAHB homebuilder sentiment (August) Earnings: Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Blink Charging (BLNK) Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed over the weekend and early this morning: Powell's dilemma heading into his final Jackson Hole speech Trump eyes Fannie and Freddie IPO, but the plan faces hurdles What to watch this week: Powell at Jackson Hole. Walmart earnings China's $11 trillion stock market is a headache for both Xi and Trump US warns that India is 'cozying up' to Russia Tesla almost halves UK lease fee as sales slump: Report Goldman: S&P 500 earnings have blown past forecasts Bond market's rate-cut bets hit decisive stretch with Powell Novo Nordisk stock rises after Wegovy gets new US approval US-listed shares in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) are gaining before the bell, as investors welcome a US boost for its flagship Wegovy. Novo is also reportedly planning to hold off from charging more at next year's launch of pill versions of its weight-loss injections, a departure from usual practice as President Trump puts pressure on pharma companies to cut US prices. Reuters reports: Shares in Novo Nordisk rose on Monday, after the Danish drugmaker got US approval for its weight-loss drug Wegovy to treat a serious liver condition. That was positive news for Novo which has lost more than one-third of its market value in recent weeks. ... Three weeks ago, investors wiped $70 billion off its market value, after Novo — which became Europe's most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021 — issued a profit warning and named a company veteran as new CEO. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for Wegovy to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, making it the first GLP-1 class therapy cleared for the progressive liver condition that affects around 5% of adults in the United States. Read more here. US-listed shares in Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk (NVO) are gaining before the bell, as investors welcome a US boost for its flagship Wegovy. Novo is also reportedly planning to hold off from charging more at next year's launch of pill versions of its weight-loss injections, a departure from usual practice as President Trump puts pressure on pharma companies to cut US prices. Reuters reports: Shares in Novo Nordisk rose on Monday, after the Danish drugmaker got US approval for its weight-loss drug Wegovy to treat a serious liver condition. That was positive news for Novo which has lost more than one-third of its market value in recent weeks. ... Three weeks ago, investors wiped $70 billion off its market value, after Novo — which became Europe's most valuable listed company following the launch of Wegovy in 2021 — issued a profit warning and named a company veteran as new CEO. On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for Wegovy to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, making it the first GLP-1 class therapy cleared for the progressive liver condition that affects around 5% of adults in the United States. Read more here. Powell at Jackson Hole, Walmart earnings: What to watch this week The investing world is gearing up for Jerome Powell's comments at Jackson Hole — the most important Fed monetary policy speech of the year, says Yahoo Finance's Myles Udland. The Fed chair's appearance dominates the week's calendar for markets, which also brings a clutch of retail giant earnings. Myles reports: Read more here. The investing world is gearing up for Jerome Powell's comments at Jackson Hole — the most important Fed monetary policy speech of the year, says Yahoo Finance's Myles Udland. The Fed chair's appearance dominates the week's calendar for markets, which also brings a clutch of retail giant earnings. Myles reports: Read more here. Goldman team likely to stay in Trump's crosshairs President Trump has recently offered a few choice words on the work from Goldman Sachs' economics team, led by long-time economist Jan Hatzius. The team is unlikely to garner some praise from Trump today. Here's what Hatzius and his team served up in a new note on Monday morning: "After the recent downward revisions to payrolls, our estimate of trend job growth is now clearly below even that . And while the picture could change again for better or worse, future revisions to job growth are more likely to be because the birth-death model is likely a bit too generous, changes in trend payroll growth can initially be partially misattributed to changes in seasonal factors, revisions to the raw payrolls data tended to be negative in past slowdowns, data from ADP raise doubts about officially reported payroll growth in healthcare, and the household survey is now overstating immigration and employment gains. Like the slowdown in activity growth this year, the slowdown in job growth appears to have arisen from more than just the direct effects of trade and immigration policy changes. We are particularly worried that 'catch-up hiring' in a few industries now appears over and job growth outside those industries has fallen to around zero. And while job openings remain at a decent level, they started to decline again earlier this year." President Trump has recently offered a few choice words on the work from Goldman Sachs' economics team, led by long-time economist Jan Hatzius. The team is unlikely to garner some praise from Trump today. Here's what Hatzius and his team served up in a new note on Monday morning: "After the recent downward revisions to payrolls, our estimate of trend job growth is now clearly below even that . And while the picture could change again for better or worse, future revisions to job growth are more likely to be because the birth-death model is likely a bit too generous, changes in trend payroll growth can initially be partially misattributed to changes in seasonal factors, revisions to the raw payrolls data tended to be negative in past slowdowns, data from ADP raise doubts about officially reported payroll growth in healthcare, and the household survey is now overstating immigration and employment gains. Like the slowdown in activity growth this year, the slowdown in job growth appears to have arisen from more than just the direct effects of trade and immigration policy changes. We are particularly worried that 'catch-up hiring' in a few industries now appears over and job growth outside those industries has fallen to around zero. And while job openings remain at a decent level, they started to decline again earlier this year." Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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Trump vows to change how elections are run. The US Constitution doesn't give him that power
President Donald Trump on Monday vowed more changes to the way elections are conducted in the U.S., but based on the Constitution there is little to nothing he can do on his own. Relying on false information and conspiracy theories that he's regularly used to explain away his 2020 election loss, Trump pledged on his social media site that he would do away with both mail voting — which remains popular and is used by about one-third of all voters — and voting machines — some form of which are used in almost all of the country's thousands of election jurisdictions. These are the same systems that enabled Trump to win the 2024 election and Republicans to gain control of Congress. Trump's post marks an escalation even in his normally overheated election rhetoric. He issued a wide-ranging executive order earlier this year that, among other changes, would have required documented proof-of-citizenship before registering to vote. His Monday post promised another election executive order to 'help bring HONESTY to the 2026 Midterm elections.' The same post also pushed falsehoods about voting. He claimed the U.S. is the only country to use mail voting, when it's actually used by dozens, including Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Similar complaints to Trump's, when aired on conservative networks such as Newsmax and Fox News, have led to multimillion dollar defamation settlements, including one announced Monday, because they are full of false information and the outlets have not been able to present any evidence to support them. Trump's post came after the president told Fox News that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in their Friday meeting in Alaska, echoed his grievances about mail voting and the 2020 election. Trump continued his attack on mail voting and voting machines in the Oval Office on Monday, during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The announcement signals yet another way that Trump intends to stack the cards in his favor in the 2026 midterm elections, after he already has directed his attorney general to investigate a Democratic fundraising platform and urged states to redraw their congressional districts to help the GOP maintain its majority in the House of Representatives. Here's a breakdown of Trump's latest election post and why Congress is the one entity that can implement national election rules. Trump's post Trump for years has promoted false information about voting, and Monday was no exception. He claimed there is 'MASSIVE FRAUD' due to mail voting, when in fact voting fraud in the U.S. is rare. As an example, an Associated Press review after the 2020 election found fewer than 475 cases of potential fraud in the six battleground states where he disputed his loss, far too few to tip that election to Trump. Washington and Oregon, which conduct elections entirely by mail, have sued to challenge Trump's earlier executive order — which sought to require that all ballots must be received by Election Day and not just postmarked by then. The states argue that the president has no such authority, and they are seeking a declaration from a federal judge in Seattle that their postmark deadlines do not conflict with federal law setting the date of U.S. elections. Trump also alleged that voting machines are more expensive than 'Watermark Paper." That's a little-used system that has gained favor and investments among some voting conspiracy theorists who believe it would help prevent fraudulent ballots from being introduced into the vote count. Watermarks would not provide a way to count ballots, so they would not on their own replace vote tabulating machines. While some jurisdictions still have voters use electronic ballot-marking devices to cast their votes, the vast majority of voters in the U.S. already vote on paper ballots, creating an auditable record of votes that provides an extra safeguard for election security. In his post, Trump also claimed that states 'are merely an 'agent' for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes' and must do what the federal government 'as represented by the President of the United States' tells them to do. Election lawyers said that's a misrepresentation of the U.S. Constitution. It also flies in the face of what had been a core Republican Party value of prioritizing states' rights. Thousands of elections, none under presidential control Unlike in most countries, elections in the U.S. are run by the states. But it gets more complicated — each state then allows smaller jurisdictions, such as counties, cities or townships, to run their own elections. Election officials estimate there are as many as 10,000 different election jurisdictions across the country. A frequent complaint of Trump and other election conspiracy theorists is that the U.S. doesn't run its election like France, which hand counts presidential ballots and usually has a national result on election night. But that's because France is only running that single election, and every jurisdiction has the same ballot with no other races. A ballot in the U.S. might contain dozens of races, from president on down to city council and including state and local ballot measures. The Constitution makes the states the entities that determine the 'time, place and manner' of elections, but does allow Congress to 'make' or 'alter' rules for federal elections. Congress can change the way states run congressional and presidential elections but has no say in the way a state runs its own elections. The president is not mentioned at all in the Constitution's list of entities with powers over elections. 'The president has very limited to zero authority over things related to the conduct of elections,' said Rick Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Courts have agreed — no presidential involvement Parts of Trump's earlier executive order on elections were swiftly blocked by the courts, on the grounds that Congress, and not the president, sets federal election rules. It's unclear what Trump plans to do now, but the only path to change federal election rules is through Congress. Although Republicans control Congress, it's unclear that even his party would want to eliminate voting machines nationwide, possibly delaying vote tallies in their own races by weeks or months. Even if they did, legislation would likely be unable to pass because Democrats could filibuster it in the U.S. Senate. Mail voting had bipartisan support before Trump turned against it during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 election, but it's still widely used in Republican-leaning states, including several he won last November — Arizona, Florida and Utah. It's also how members of the military stationed overseas cast their ballots, and fully eliminating it would disenfranchise those GOP-leaning voters. The main significance of Trump's Monday statement is that it signals his continuing obsession with trying to change how elections are run. 'These kinds of claims could provide a kind of excuse for him to try to meddle,' Hasen said. 'Very concerned about that.' ___ Associated Press writer Eugene Johnson in Seattle contributed to this report.
