Bloomberg — 2026-07-23#

Lead Story#

The Magnificent Seven megacap technology cohort suffered a historic $767 billion wipeout, booking its steepest one-day plunge since April 2025. The massive selloff was sparked by Alphabet Inc.’s warning of spiraling artificial intelligence computing costs and a dire earnings miss from Tesla Inc. that shattered Wall Street’s confidence in the electric vehicle maker’s robotaxi pivot.

Markets & Economics#

• ECB Keeps Rates Steady to Gauge Iran War Impact on Inflation: The European Central Bank left borrowing costs unchanged on Thursday as President Christine Lagarde buys time to assess if the renewed Middle East conflict will reignite energy-driven price pressures.
• US Initial Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level Since 1969: First-time applications for US unemployment benefits unexpectedly dropped to a five-decade low, proving the American labor market remains stubbornly robust despite elevated rates.
• German Bond Yields Hit 15-Year High as Oil Spikes Before ECB: European sovereign debt took a beating, with German yields reaching levels unseen since 2011 on the back of surging energy costs and mounting inflation expectations.

Business & Industries#

• Nestle Agrees to Sell Water Unit Stake for About €3 Billion: Nestle SA is offloading a 50% stake in its bottled water business to Platinum Equity in a cash deal, executing on Chief Executive Officer Philipp Navratil’s mandate to prune underperforming divisions.
• Lockheed Shares Jump After Upgraded Forecast and Record Backlog: Aerospace giants Lockheed Martin Corp. and RTX Corp. both raised their full-year profit and sales forecasts as global rearmament efforts drive soaring weapons demand.
• Shale Producer Matador Buys Permian Assets in $1.3 Billion Deal: Matador Resources Co. is acquiring EnCap Investments LP’s Permian Basin assets to deepen its premium drilling inventory in the nation’s most prolific oil patch.

Policy & World#

• Houthis Open New Front in Iran War by Targeting Ships in Red Sea: Iran-backed militants attacked two Saudi Arabian tankers, pushing Brent crude past $100 a barrel and prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten a “massive” retaliatory strike.
• US Sets New Forced-Labor Duties as Trump Rebuilds Tariff Wall: Washington will collect new duties of 10% to 12.5% on major trading partners to replace broad tariffs blocked by the Supreme Court, drawing an immediate warning from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney that retaliatory measures are on the table.
• UK’s Burnham Cuts Business Rates for Pubs, Clubs and Live Venues: Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered sweeping tax relief to social venues across England and opened a decentralized Downing Street office in the North West to boldly project his devolution agenda.

Opinion & Analysis#

• London Homeowners Will Sweat on Burnham’s Land-Tax Plans: The new UK premier’s long-standing support for a land-value tax is poised to rattle the property market in London and the wealthy southeast, stirring echoes of David Lloyd George’s failed experiment a century ago.
• Public Trust in AI Depends on Expert, Independent Regulation: The tech industry’s pushback against regulation may ultimately backfire, as independent oversight is rapidly becoming the only viable path to maintaining consumer trust in artificial intelligence platforms.