Read Sunday ☕️

Last Week’s Headlines

Economy & World News

• China's SMIC gets caught in U.S. export crosshairs. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) is under scrutiny again as the U.S. tightens chip export restrictions, especially related to Huawei-linked tech.

• China ramps up clean energy dominance. China now produces over 80% of the world’s solar panel manufacturing inputs and plans to double its polysilicon capacity by 2027, reinforcing its grip on the global energy transition.

• China hit with biggest producer price drop in nearly 2 years. Producer prices in China fell 3.6% year-over-year in June, the sharpest deflation since July 2023, while core inflation remained subdued at 0.7%.

• U.S. pressures African nations on deportations. The Trump administration has formally asked five African countries to accept deported migrants, a move that reflects a tougher stance on immigration diplomacy.

• Trump targets Brazil with aggressive trade threat. Trump warned of a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, escalating the use of tariffs as leverage over countries’ internal politics.

• Trump expands global tariff war. New tariffs hit Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Laos, and Myanmar starting August 1.

• Copper and pharma next in line. Trump also said he’ll impose a 50% tariff on copper and teased 200% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.

• IRS rewrites church-political boundaries. Churches can now endorse political candidates without losing their tax-exempt status, breaking a 70-year legal precedent.

• China’s drone parts fuel Russia’s war. An investigation revealed how Chinese suppliers are helping Russia’s drone strikes in Ukraine.

Public Markets

•  AI hiring war intensifies. Meta, Google, and Amazon are offering $250M+ comp packages to top AI engineers, escalating the talent war and drying up availability of elite ML talent.

  • Meta lures Apple AI leader with $200M+ package. Meta poached Ruoming Pang from Apple’s foundation models team as part of its superintelligence hiring spree, joining Nat Friedman, Daniel Gross, and Alexandr Wang.

• Perplexity launches AI browser ‘Comet’. The AI-powered web browser features a built-in assistant that can summarize content, interact with YouTube, and manage tasks, aiming to rival traditional browsers with smarter UX.

• Nvidia becomes world’s first $4 trillion company. Shares jumped on continued AI momentum, as the chipmaker cemented its dominance with a 90% market share in data center GPUs and strong leadership in AI semiconductor design.

• Linda Yaccarino exits as CEO of Musk’s X. The executive stepped down just over a year after being appointed by Elon Musk, with no clear successor or reason given for her departure.

• Tesla drops as Musk fuels political pivot. Elon Musk’s plan to launch a new party spooked investors already concerned about Tesla’s slowing momentum.

Real Estate & Private Equity

• Silver Lake eyes Dell buyback exit. The private equity firm is exploring options to exit its long-term Dell position via a possible secondary share sale.

• BlackRock taps private equity for ETF growth. The world’s largest asset manager plans to roll out semi-liquid private equity ETFs to retail investors by year-end, expanding access to alternatives.

• L&G and Blackstone strike $1.5 trillion credit pact. The two financial giants announced a strategic partnership to scale annuities and asset management, combining L&G’s insurance reach with Blackstone’s U.S. credit platform.

M&A, IPO’s, Bankruptcies

• Chobani to go public via IPO. The Greek yogurt maker filed for an IPO again, aiming to tap public markets after pausing plans in 2022.

• Reddit launches chat-enabled ads. The social media company is testing AI-enhanced ad formats that allow users to engage directly with brands via conversation—an effort to monetize engagement.

• Musk’s xAI raises $6 billion. Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, secured one of the largest funding rounds this year to further develop its Grok chatbot and compete with OpenAI and Anthropic.

• OpenAI quietly acquires Rockset. OpenAI bought the real-time data infrastructure startup to boost enterprise AI offerings and integrate deeper search and analytics into its GPT platform.

• Ferrero nears $3B deal for Kellogg’s cereal brands. The candy giant behind Ferrero Rocher and Nutella is close to acquiring WK Kellogg, which makes Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes.

• Starbucks China attracts $10B bid interest. Starbucks is evaluating offers for its China business amid rumors of partial or full sale, with bidders valuing the unit at up to $10 billion.

• SpaceX eyes $400B valuation. Elon Musk’s rocket company is planning a share sale that would make it the most valuable private U.S. company in history.

• Night vision in your eye. Dubai-based startup Xpaneco raised $250 million to build smart contact lenses with night vision, zoom, and health tracking.

• CoreWeave goes vertical in $9B deal. The AI infra firm is buying Core Scientific to gain control of 1+ gigawatt in data centers across the U.S.