Companies making the largest AI investments grew employment by roughly 10% more than otherwise similar companies that hadn’t yet adopted AI.

Forward markets are currently pricing in roughly 1.5 rate hikes by the end of Q1 2027.

Gold fell 13% to $4,022.90 a troy ounce over the past three months, marking its biggest quarterly decline since 2013. Silver dropped 20% to $59.48, its worst quarter since 2020.

The S&P 500 is up 14% and the Nasdaq has jumped 20%—the biggest quarterly rallies for both since the second quarter of 2020.

The dominance of the U.S. dollar, currently used in roughly 80% of international trade finance, has historically given Washington a big advantage in policing global business. Most international transactions denominated in U.S. dollars must be settled by American banks, giving Washington the ability to monitor them—and cut off users’ dollars if necessary, crippling their operations. But when U.S. adversaries use yuan to run their businesses, the transactions don’t enter the U.S.-led banking system, neutering Washington’s powers.

For 2026, the combined free cash flow at the five hyperscalers is expected to drop 91% to about $16 billion, while net income is projected to rise 25% to $506 billion. Current forecasts have free cash flow rebounding sharply to $185 billion in 2028 and then soaring to $387 billion in 2029. The consensus view for now is that capex growth will taper off after next year while revenue keeps surging, allowing free cash flow to rebound in a V-shaped recovery.

Citigroup established a blockchain-based venture for its wealthy and institutional clients to trade private-company shares.The venture uses authorized, tokenized depositary receipts issued by Citi, initially for foreign investors, with U.S. access planned.The infrastructure, operated by Switzerland-based SIX, aims to broaden access to private firms and can be adopted by other banks.

Earnings growth is expected to remain robust. Analysts expect companies to see a 22% surge in profits for the second quarter. For the full year, they expect a 23% jump.

SpaceX set a specific price of $135 per share for its initial public offering, bucking traditional IPO pricing methods. The company plans to sell 555,555,555 shares to raise nearly $75 billion, targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation. SpaceX was unprofitable in 2025, losing $4.9 billion on $18.7 billion in revenue.

Blackstone, Blue Owl and Cliffwater reverted to a 5% redemption cap after allowing bigger payouts in the first quarter.