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The Daily Briefing · Wednesday, August 26, 2026
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July PCE: Core at 3.3% Sets Warsh's Jackson Hole Script
Headline PCE for July is forecast at 3.6% year, over, year, one tenth below June's 3.7%, as elevated energy costs keep annual inflation well above target.
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Also today
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TSLA Jumps 5% on Nevada Robotaxi Approval
Nevada's Transportation Authority voted unanimously to issue 5,000 commercial robotaxi permits across Clark County, covering the Las Vegas metro area.
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Alibaba's $10.2B AI Placement Closes 3x Oversubscribed
Alibaba (BABA) raised HK$80 billion ($10.2 billion) in the largest, ever primary follow, on offering by a Hong Kong, listed company.
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Big Tech AI Capex Tracks $770B as Alphabet Burns Cash
Collective hyperscaler capex for 2026 now tracks $750, 770 billion, up 67% from 2025, with the majority directed at AI data center infrastructure
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Hormuz Shutdown: Worst Maritime Insurance Crisis Since 1980s
Tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed to 1% of pre, crisis levels, with no timeline for return to normal operations.
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China's Iran Defiance Tests Bessent's D, Day Threat
China's Commerce Ministry invoked its 2021 blocking statute, ordering refiners to disregard U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil buyers.
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Lilly Cements Obesity Lead as Retatrutide Sweeps Phase 3
Retatrutide met primary endpoints in all three Phase 3 trials, producing weight reductions approaching bariatric surgery benchmarks.
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More headlines
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Canada Declares Economic War, Hits U.S. With $100B Tariffs
Ottawa's $100 billion counter, tariff package matches Washington's 50% levies dollar, for, dollar across steel, dairy, appliances, and farm equipment
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Williams, Sonoma Q2 2026 EPS Beats by 7.3%
WSM Q2 2026 EPS of $1.93 beat the $1.80 consensus by 7.3%, the widest positive surprise among consumer names reported this week.
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CLARITY Act Cloture Vote Locked for Sept. 15
Senate Majority leadership confirmed September 15 as the cloture vote date for the CLARITY Act, the most comprehensive U.S. digital, asset bill to date.
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Pharma's $134B M&A Wave: Buyout Freeze Declared Over
AbbVie agreed June 22 to acquire Apogee Therapeutics for $10.9B, the company's largest deal since the 2019 Allergan acquisition.
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Bitcoin Reclaims $100K as ETF Inflows Hit 10, Month High
Bitcoin reclaimed $100,000 for the first time since May, posting a 28% August gain, its strongest monthly advance since the post, halving rally
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Gold Surges 10% in August to $2,634, Best Month Since January
Gold (GLD) gained 10% in August to $2,634/oz, its best single, month performance since January 2025
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Dollar at 3, Month Low as Warsh's Jackson Hole Debut Looms
DXY touched an intraday low of 98.46, its weakest level since May, recording a third weekly decline in four with a loss of nearly 1%.
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OPEC+ September Hike Hits Softening Crude Oil Price
OPEC+ adds a final 188,000 bpd in September, completing the full unwinding of voluntary output cuts introduced in late 2022.
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Oil Slides as Iran Sanctions Reprice Supply Risk
WTI crude dropped toward $72.51 a barrel and Brent to $79.44 as traders unwound geopolitical supply, shock premiums built over the prior week
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Beijing's Germanium Squeeze Throttles Taiwan Chip Supply
Beijing is selectively stalling customs clearances on germanium and quartz exports to Taiwan, stretching lead times by months across chip equipment, optical, and aerospace industries.
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SPCX Stock Slides Toward $135 IPO Price on Second Lockup
SPCX stock dropped about 5% on Aug. 20 as a second post, IPO lockup tranche made 319 million shares eligible for trading, roughly 7% of total insider holdings.
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U.S. New Home Sales Fall to January Low in July
July new home sales fell to a 607,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, the weakest reading since January and the steepest single, month decline of 2025.
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Jazz Pharma's Ziihera Earns FDA Nod for Gastric Cancer
The FDA approved Ziihera (zanidatamab, hrii) on its August 25 PDUFA date for first, line HER2, positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.
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DAX and Stoxx 600 Hold Records as Global Selloff Bites
STOXX Europe 600 steadied near its record 657 points on August 25 while the Hang Seng sank 492 points to 25,517 and the Nasdaq slid 0.76% to 25,980.
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Salesforce Q2: Is Agentforce Monetizing at Scale?
Salesforce guides Q2 FY2027 revenue to $11.27B, $11.35B, a 10.6% year, over, year gain; non, GAAP EPS target is $3.25, $3.27
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Intuit Q4 FY2026 Beats on AI, Driven Platform Gains
Q4 non, GAAP EPS grew 30%, plus from $2.75 a year ago, clearing the $3.59 consensus as AI, powered product tiers lifted per, customer revenue.
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From the startup desk
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Gatik Closes $200M Series D Led by QIA and KDT
Autonomous freight startup Gatik closes $200M Series D led by Qatar Investment Authority and Koch Disruptive Technologies, following its multi-year driverless truck deployment with PepsiCo across Texas, Phoenix, and Arkansas.
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Castelion Raises $1B Series C at $13B Valuation
Defense startup Castelion (US) closes a $1B Series C at a $13B valuation led by JPMorgan, Andreessen Horowitz, and Carlyle to mass-produce its Blackbeard low-cost hypersonic strike missile, backed by $500M+ in US military contracts.
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Higgsfield Raises $400M Series B at $5.4B Valuation
Higgsfield (US) raises $400M Series B led by DST Global at a $5.4B valuation — quadrupling its worth in 8 months — as its AI video platform reaches $700M in annualized revenue and 390 Fortune 500 customers.
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Video of the day
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Uncovering a Company's True Worth
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The Daily Briefing from Pomegra. Market news, educational content only. Nothing here is investment advice.
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