CNBC — 2026-05-08#

Lead Story#

Apple and Intel are reportedly closing in on a monumental deal for Intel to manufacture some iPhone chips, signaling a major shift in the semiconductor landscape and sending Intel shares surging 14%.

Markets & Economics#

The U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs in April, beating expectations of 55,000 but slowing from March’s unusually strong 185,000 additions, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. Reacting to the Jobs report April 2026, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee characterized the labor market as stable but raised alarms over inflation climbing rather than falling over the last three months. These sticky price pressures—exacerbated by a fresh record low in consumer sentiment linked to surging gas prices from the Iran conflict—suggest the Federal Reserve is rapidly running out of reasons to cut interest rates. Despite the geopolitical turbulence and the central bank’s increasingly hawkish posture, the S&P 500 crossed 7,400 for the first time. Traders are shrugging off the U.S. and Iran trading fire in the Strait of Hormuz, opting instead to lean into the new ‘NACHO’ (Not A Chance Hormuz Opens) trade and betting that AI momentum outweighs macro risks.

Business & Earnings#

A global memory chip shortage driven by the AI boom is creating massive winners and losers across the hardware sector. As Wall Street AI chip love moves from Nvidia to Intel, AMD and Micron, Micron shares skyrocketed nearly 38% this week to push its market cap past $840 billion. Conversely, the memory component crunch forced Nintendo to hike Switch 2 prices by $50 to $499.99 in the U.S., while Sony targets profit growth despite slowdown in PlayStation 5 sales caused by the exact same supply constraints. Outside of tech, Toyota fourth-quarter profit misses by wide margin as U.S. tariffs drive 49% slump, highlighting how geopolitical headwinds are severely squeezing automaker margins. In the defense and space sector, Rocket Lab (RKLB) Q1 earnings 2026 sent shares blasting 34% higher after the company posted $136.7 million in space systems revenue and secured its largest launch deal on record.

Investing & Commentary#

Famed ‘Big Short’ investor Michael Burry says the market today feels like ’the last months of the 1999-2000 bubble’, warning that stocks are being driven entirely by AI euphoria and moving completely independently of economic data. Taking the opposite side, Jim Cramer says ‘it’s not to late’ to own AI winners powering the market, advising investors to pay up for foundational data center stocks rather than miss out on a generational infrastructure shift. Reinforcing the physical scale of this massive buildout, the Nvidia CEO says AI partnership with Corning will ‘revitalize American manufacturing’, telling Cramer that domestic optical connectivity is the next critical bottleneck to solve in the AI supply chain.

Also Worth Watching#

• Affirm CEO says ’the American consumer is unbelievably resilient’: Max Levchin highlighted strong repayment trends and healthy shopping activity across travel and ticketing despite macroeconomic fears.
• Anthrophic’s Mythos: Experts warn cyber threat was already here: Cybersecurity researchers warned that the zero-day vulnerabilities discovered by Anthropic’s new model can already be exploited using older AI systems.
• AWS data center outage hits trading on Fanduel, Coinbase: A thermal issue at a Virginia facility caused hours-long disruptions and lost bets for major trading and crypto platforms.
• Tariffs: Trump threatens EU if no trade deal is signed by new deadline: President Trump gave the European Union until July 4 to eliminate tariffs on American goods or face an immediate, steep escalation.
• Gilt yields ease as UK PM Starmer says he won’t quit after election: U.K. borrowing costs stabilized after Prime Minister Keir Starmer rebuffed calls to resign following devastating local council election losses for the Labour Party.