CNBC — 2026-07-15#

Lead Story#

The AI capital expenditure supercycle officially crowned its unexpected winners—Wall Street megabanks—as Morgan Stanley posted record revenue on a 69% equities trading surge, while legacy tech giant IBM suffered its worst day on record, plummeting 25% following a sharp pivot in enterprise spending from software to hardware.

Markets & Economics#

Wholesale inflation unexpectedly declined 0.3% in June, driven by a sharp drop in gasoline prices that offered continued relief on the price front. In Washington, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh defended his independence during Senate testimony, while New York Fed President John Williams stated that inflation has likely peaked, projecting a drop to 3.25% by year-end. Meanwhile, U.S. forces launched fresh strikes against Iran and reinstated a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, sending Brent crude above $85 a barrel. Overseas, China reported a sluggish 4.3% Q2 GDP growth, missing expectations and marking its weakest pace of expansion since 2022.

CNBC — Week of 2026-06-27 to 2026-07-03#

Story of the Week#

A shockingly weak June jobs report severely cooled fears of an overheating economy, essentially pricing out a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike and sparking a massive sector rotation. The U.S. economy added a mere 57,000 jobs while a staggering 720,000 workers exited the labor force, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging nearly 600 points to a record close of 52,900.07 as investors aggressively dumped high-flying semiconductors for cyclical laggards.