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PayPal Receives $53 Billion Takeover Bid at $60.50/Share — Stripe and Advent Offer 28% Premium in Equal-Stake Joint Acquisition

Stripe and Advent International submitted a joint bid to acquire PayPal Holdings for $60.50 per share, valuing the payments company at more than $53 billion — a 28% premium to Tuesday's close — backed by roughly $50 billion in committed bank financing. The proposal calls for equal ownership between Stripe and Advent, with no plans to break up the company. PayPal has not responded to the offer. Shares jumped as much as 20% in premarket trading Wednesday.

June PPI Falls 0.3% Monthly — Biggest Producer Price Drop Since 2020, Slashing July Fed Hike Odds to 17%

The US Producer Price Index fell 0.3% in June, below the 0.0% consensus forecast, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, driven by a 1.4% drop in goods prices including declines in gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and grains. The result follows Tuesday's CPI report showing a 0.4% monthly decline and annual inflation of 3.5%, sharply below expectations. Together the two reports pushed the probability of a July Fed rate hike from 42% to 17%, according to CME FedWatch.

June CPI Falls 0.4% to 3.5% Annual Rate — Core Inflation Drops to 2.6%, Slashing Fed July Hike Odds to 17%

June CPI fell 0.4% month-over-month and 3.5% year-over-year, well below the 3.8% consensus, as gasoline prices collapsed in the wake of June's brief Hormuz ceasefire. Core CPI, which the Fed watches most closely, came in at 2.6% annually — a sharp deceleration from May's 2.9% and below the 2.8% estimate. CME FedWatch immediately repriced July hike odds from 42% to 17%, though September remains priced at roughly 60% for at least one increase.

AppLovin Drops 12.7% to $448 — BofA E-Commerce Pixel Slowdown Data and AI Trade Risk-Off Compound Insider Selling Overhang

AppLovin shares fell 12.7% to close at $447.93 on Monday, the worst performer in the S&P 500, as a Bank of America analysis found the company's e-commerce pixel installations slowed to roughly 750 new additions in June from 950 in May. The decline was compounded by a broad AI trade risk-off triggered by the Hormuz blockade escalation and persistent concern over CEO Adam Foroughi's approximately $51 million in June share sales. AppLovin reports Q2 earnings on August 5, guiding for $1.93 billion in revenue.

Warren Buffett Donates 12 Million Berkshire Class B Shares — Excludes Gates Foundation for First Time Since 2006 Amid Epstein Review

Warren Buffett announced his annual Berkshire Hathaway stock donation, directing 9 million Class B shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 1 million shares each to three family-linked foundations — marking the first year since 2006 that the Gates Foundation has been excluded. Buffett cited no public reason in his statement but the omission follows a Wall Street Journal report that he awaits completion of a WilmerHale review of the Gates Foundation's historical ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Berkshire's Class B shares are up 7.7% over the past month.

Brent Crude Rises 4% to $78.82 — US-Iran Weekend Airstrikes Reopen Strait of Hormuz Dispute and Shatter June Peace Deal

Brent crude rose more than 4% to touch $78.82 a barrel after US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes over the weekend, with Iran declaring the Strait of Hormuz closed and US Central Command asserting it remains open. The renewed conflict has all but shattered the June memorandum of understanding, with just six vessels tracked crossing the strait in a 12-hour window versus a pre-crisis baseline of 18 to 22 daily crossings. Energy stocks and airline equities face sharply divergent outlooks as oil risk premium rebuilds.

Fed Chair Warsh Prepares for Debut Congressional Testimony Tuesday — 70% Market Probability of September Rate Hike Hangs on His Words

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh testifies before the House Financial Services Committee tomorrow, Tuesday July 14, with the June CPI report landing 90 minutes before the hearing begins. Markets currently price a 70% probability of a September rate hike after his hawkish June FOMC debut, where nine of nineteen officials projected at least one increase before year-end. Warsh's stance on AI-driven disinflation versus persistent energy-fueled price pressures is the pivotal unknown for rates, equities, and crypto.

Semiconductor Stocks Fall Ahead of SK Hynix Debut — Micron Slides 2.3% as Rotation and Sell-the-News Risk Emerge

Chip stocks declined in Friday's early session ahead of SK Hynix's US trading debut, with Micron Technology slipping roughly 2.3% and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF falling modestly from Thursday's 2.5% gain. Analysts attribute the pullback to rotation — investors rebalancing out of existing chip positions to fund SKHYV allocations — alongside heightened sell-the-news risk after SpaceX's June IPO created a similar dynamic. The Nasdaq composite hovered near flat as markets await the new listing's opening print.

Arista Networks Hits All-Time High of $181.05 After 8.8% Rally — Q2 Earnings Set for August 4 With $11.5B Full-Year Guidance in Focus

Arista Networks closed at an all-time high of $181.05 on Wednesday after an 8.8% single-session rally, driven by BlackRock naming it one of its top 30 AI infrastructure stocks alongside validated deployments of its new 1.6-terabit 7060XE7 switching platforms with Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle. The stock carries $8.9 billion in multi-year purchase commitments and full-year AI revenue guidance of $3.5 billion. Second-quarter results are due August 4. The stock is up roughly 70% over the past 12 months.