Investopedia Markets News (all except PF)

• Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation is too high, but noted the outlook has improved since the Fed's last meeting in June.
• Warsh declined to comment on what the Fed might do with monetary policy at future meetings.
• The next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee is at the end of July.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh doesn't want to talk about what the central bank will do next in its battle against inflation, but he did offer some thoughts on where the fight stands.

Consumer prices are rising too fast, but the outlook has improved since the Fed's most recent meeting in June, Warsh said at a Q&A session at the European Central Bank in Portugal on Wednesday.

Warsh declined to say whether the Fed would raise its key interest rate in the coming months to counteract high inflation. Instead, he reiterated that his policy, laid out at his first press conference as chair last month, was that the Fed would no longer offer "forward guidance" on its next moves, and restated his determination to bring inflation down to the Fed's 2% annual rate goal.

"Inflation risks have come down," Warsh said. "We're going to deliver price stability in the U.S., that's what this committee has signed up to do, and our objective is to do that. The tactics, the strategy, and the rest, that's still to come."

True to his word, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is not offering any forward guidance on the Fed's interest rate policy, leaving it up to financial market participants to guess whether the Fed will raise borrowing costs in the coming months.

Warsh's comments, by design, shed little light on whether the Fed will raise the federal funds rate at some point this year. The lack of forward guidance is a change from his predecessor, Jerome Powell, who often spoke publicly about the reasoning behind the Fed's decisions, and sometimes said what the Fed's next moves were likely to be.

As of Wednesday, financial markets were pricing in more than an 80% chance of at least a quarter-point rate hike before 2027, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.

In recent weeks, Fed officials have voiced concerns about risks as inflation indexes have risen at their fastest pace in three years. The Fed's main anti-inflation weapon is the fed funds rate, which they can raise in order to discourage borrowing and spending and allow supply and demand to rebalance in the economy. At its last meeting, the FOMC voted to keep the fed funds rate steady at a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, the same range it's been since last December.

However, since the Fed's last meeting, oil prices have plunged following the truce between the U.S. and Iran, pushing down gasoline prices and easing some of the upward pressure on inflation. A key question for Warsh and other Fed policymakers is whether inflation will resume the downward trajectory it was on in 2024, or whether other economic forces will keep it elevated and require a monetary policy response.

The outlook for the job market has also improved since then, taking some pressure off the other side of the Fed's dual mandate from Congress to keep prices stable and employment high. Forecasters expect a report on the job market Thursday to show the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.3%, relatively low by historical standards. Concerns about a weakening job market have diminished since the start of the year, when job creation had slowed to nearly a standstill amid employer uncertainty about trade policy.

Warsh also discussed the impact AI software was having on the economy and how it might transform the economy in the future. Warsh said the technology had the potential to make businesses more productive and ultimately allow economic growth to accelerate without stoking inflation. However, he said the timing of those developments was uncertain.

"We've all looked around and we've seen that prices are too high," he said.

The next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled for July 28 and 29. Financial markets expect the Fed to hold the fed funds rate steady, with about a 30% chance of a hike according to CME.

Bending Spoons shares surged nearly 40% in their Nasdaq debut

• Bending Spoons, the Italian owner of AOL and Vimeo, soared almost 40% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq Wednesday after it priced shares at $29.
• The company's private equity-like "playbook" involves acquiring digital apps and platforms, cutting costs and retooling acquired businesses, and investing profits in new acquisitions.

An initial public offering on Wednesday is giving investors a chance to own some old-school internet names with an AI twist. 

Bending Spoons (BSP), the Milan-based owner of iconic internet properties including AOL and Vimeo, priced shares at $29 ahead of its listing on the Nasdaq, which indicated a market value of more than $18 billion. The shares soared nearly 40% to $40.50 on Wednesday, giving the company a nearly $26 billion market capitalization.

The company is raising about $1 billion with the sale, with the potential for more if the deal's underwriters exercise their right to buy up to 5 million more shares. 

Bending Spoons is essentially a digital private equity firm. It acquires struggling or nascent digital properties; revamps them with "deep product, tech, and monetization work," according to co-founder and CEO Luca Ferrari; and reinvests earnings in new acquisitions. It has run that playbook on video streaming platform Vimeo, note-taking app Evernote, and file-sharing app WeTransfer.

The IPO market came back to life in 2025 after years of sluggish activity, and was expected to continue to improve in 2026. But despite a few splashy debuts like SpaceX's record-breaking listing last month, IPO activity could decline from last year by some measures.

The company has recently set its sights higher: It acquired former internet giant AOL, which still operates a web portal and email service, for $1.5 billion in January, its largest acquisition to date. 

Bending Spoons was born out of failure. In 2010, three college friends—Francesco Patarnello, Matteo Danieli, and Luca Ferrari—founded Evertale, an app that used AI to generate personal diary entries. By 2013, it was clear the business wasn't going to take off, so they liquidated it and started Bending Spoons with the $40,000 they had left over. The team went to work developing the three things to which they attribute their success: "people, proprietary technologies, and proprietary data," or what Bending Spoons calls its "Platform." 

The company has grown quickly. Revenue increased from $387 million in 2023 to $1.31 billion last year. First-quarter sales of $600 million put Bending Spoons on track to top $2 billion in 2026. 

Bending Spoons proudly says it has never sold a business, perhaps making it more of an old-web Berkshire Hathaway than a PE firm. "If you want to try to do the type of transformations that we do—where we literally rethink things from the ground up and we integrate them so deeply into our platform that every business we own works off the same technological operating system, the same core team—you can't sell them," Ferrari told CNBC on Wednesday. 

In true 2026 fashion, there's an AI angle. In its prospectus, the company boasted of embracing AI "before it was cool" with Evertale. "Our conviction in AI's potential didn't move the needle for that startup, but it has proven valuable at Bending Spoons," the prospectus says.

Bending Spoons says the share of code written by or with the help of AI increased to more than 90% in the first quarter of 2026 from less than 10% a year prior. It says that's boosted productivity and helped grow revenue per "Spooner"—otherwise known as an employee—from $1 million in 2023 to an annual run rate of $4 million in the first quarter of this year. 

"We want to be trailblazers of how you use AI to reinvent how you run a business," said Ferrari on Wednesday. 

Update—July 1, 2026: This story was updated after initial publication to include the stock's closing price.

• The U.S. economy likely added 115,000 jobs in June, a slowdown from 172,000 in May.
• A forecast close to expectations would signal the labor market staying roughly in balance between workers and employers.
• The low-hiring, low-firing trend has cleared the way for the Federal Reserve to potentially raise interest rates later in the year.

The labor market likely slowed down in June, but added a healthy number of jobs and extended its recovery from the 2025 hiring slump, forecasters say.

A report Thursday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is likely to show U.S. employers added 115,000 jobs in June, a slowdown from the 172,000 created in May, according to a survey of forecasters by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The unemployment rate is expected to stay at 4.3% for a fourth month, relatively low by historical standards.

A report in line with expectations would signal the job market is staying roughly in balance between employers and workers and relatively healthy, at least for those who already have work.

This is a continuation of the labor market's recent pattern of employers remaining reluctant to either hire or fire a lot of people. Overall employment levels have increased while hiring rates have remained low by historic standards because layoffs are also rare.

The job market has apparently stabilized after a shaky 2025, supporting other parts of the economy including consumer spending and overall economic growth.

"This is not a contradiction, it just means recent employment gains are being driven more by a historic drop in separations than by new hiring activity," Sneha Puri, economist at job site Indeed, wrote in a commentary. "Fewer people are losing or leaving their jobs, but not many more people are getting them."

The report could help confirm whether the job growth over the last three months has been a genuine turnaround or was overstated due to temporary factors, as some economists believe. The answer to that question would be important for the outlook for interest rates, since the stabilizing job market has taken pressure off the Federal Reserve to cut borrowing costs, as it did last year. Currently, financial markets expect the Fed to raise rates at some point this year to combat inflation, but those expectations could turn on a dime if the job market unexpectedly weakens.

"The Fed will likely need to see cooler job numbers in the second half of the year to avert a rate hike," Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary.

The June report could get a boost from the World Cup, which is being hosted in 11 U.S. cities. Forecasters at PNC Bank said they expected hiring to increase in the leisure and hospitality sector for that reason.

The U.S. economy was more resilient than expected in the first half of the year, but stubborn inflation and its effects could reverberate throughout the economy for the remainder of 2026.

In a series of stories, Investopedia writers sought to learn what forecasters expect for the second half with regard to inflation, the Federal Reserve and other parts of the economy.

Here's where to find all those stories in one place:

• Inflation: Inflation has been above the Fed's 2% annual goal for more than five years and has risen since the onset of the war in Iran. The war has pushed up gas prices, which have trickled through the economy. Those price pressures are being compounded by high interest rates on mortgages, credit cards and other borrowing costs, which are unlikely to let up in the second half, Diccon Hyatt reported.
• The Federal Reserve: The Fed's new chair has a plan for the central bank that could introduce more uncertainty, Polo Rocha wrote. For the first half of the year, the Fed's policy committee held its key interest rate steady. Markets expect the committee to change that with a rate hike in the second half. However, it may be hard to tell when the hike is coming, as Chair Kevin Warsh is expected to tamp down any signals of the interest rate path ahead.
• Gas Prices: Despite rising in the wake of the war, gas prices will likely get gradually cheaper as the year goes on, Hyatt found. Prices are expected to remain elevated through the Fourth of July weekend, but forecasters expect prices to average just over $3.50 per gallon by the beginning of 2027.
• Housing Market: Buying a home has been expensive in the years since the pandemic. That isn't expected to change much in the second half of 2026, Trina Paul found. Home prices have slowed their rise, but remain high. Mortgage rates are expected to be volatile and inflation pressures are leaving less money for potential homebuyers after they pay for necessities.
• Job Market: The job market has been in low-hiring, low-firing limbo for the first half of the year, and economists see little ahead that can shake up that holding pattern, Hyatt reported. If forecasts are correct, the job market will end 2026 in better shape than it finished last year.

For Investopedia's midyear stories about markets, click here.

• Shutterstock and Getty decided to abandon their $3.7 billion merger after hitting regulatory roadblocks.
• Getty said Tuesday that a U.K. regulator would have required it to sell Shutterstock's editorial division to get the deal approved, a step Getty's board was not willing to take.

Getty Images and Shutterstock are calling off their $3.7 billion merger after hitting regulatory roadblocks. Investors aren't cheering the news.

In a Tuesday regulatory filing, Getty (GETY) that the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority determined the new Getty would be required to sell off Shutterstock's (SSTK) editorial business to get the deal approved. Getty said its board decided not to sell the division and will abandon its merger plans.

Shutterstock shares plunged 29% to $9.90 Wednesday following the news, marking their lowest close since their 2012 debut. Getty shares dropped more than 10% to 77 cents.

Wednesday's tumble suggests investors are disappointed by the move and less confident in the companies individually than they were about the combined firm.

The companies first announced the deal in January 2025, calling the transaction a merger of equals that would see Shutterstock shareholders get the option to receive cash, shares of the new Getty, or a combination of the two. At the time, the companies said the deal would allow the combined company to invest more in new offerings like 3D imagery and generative AI tools. The U.S. Department of Justice cleared the deal to proceed back in February.

Since the day the deal was announced, both Getty and Shutterstock shares have lost around 70% of their value amid worries that the spread of AI image creation tools could reduce demand for stock photos in the long term. Getty also said Tuesday it will retain a financial advisor to advise the company on "strategic financing alternatives" the company could pursue since the deal has been dropped.

Getty declined to comment on the board's decision, and Shutterstock did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

This article has been updated since it was first published to reflect more recent prices.

News of the day for July 1, 2026

Stock futures are slightly lower this morning after closing out a strong second quarter with another day of solid gains; new Fed chair Kevin Warsh is scheduled to speak at a banking policy conference in Portugal; Anthropic said it has reached an agreement with the Trump administration to relaunch access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models after shutting them down last month; Nike shares are falling to a new 12-year low after warning that sales are still struggling; and shares of Shutterstock are plunging after a planned merger with Getty was called off. Here's what you need to know today.

Stock futures are pointing to a lower open as July trading gets underway, after major indexes posted their biggest quarterly gains in years. Futures tied to the benchmark S&P 500 were down 0.2% recently, while futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively. The major indexes surged on Tuesday for the second straight day, with the Dow closing at a record high, to cap off a strong second quarter for stocks. The S&P 500 gained 15% in the quarter, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 21%, their best performances since 2020. WTI crude oil futures were down about 1% at $69 per barrel as investors continue tracking the state of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while gold futures were little-changed at $4,040 an ounce. Bitcoin was trading at $58,500, after falling as low as $57,700 this morning to its lowest point since September 2024. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.50% from 4.47% at yesterday's close.

Investors will be keeping close tabs this morning on Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's comments during a panel discussion at an annual policy forum hosted by the European Central Bank. Warsh is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. ET alongside governors from the central banks of England and Canada, along with the president of the ECB. Last month, in his first press conference since taking the helm at the central bank, Warsh emphasized the Fed's commitment to taming inflation, which reinforced market expectations that higher interest rates could be on the horizon. Warsh has ambitious plans to reshape the Fed and has indicated there will be less communication from the Fed about where interest rates could be headed.

Anthropic announced late Tuesday that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. government to lift export restrictions on two of the AI firm's newest models for its Claude chatbot. The models in question, Fable 5 and Mythos 5, were cut off just days after being released last month after Amazon (AMZN) notified the Trump administration of a vulnerability that allowed the Fable model to be prompted to ignore some of its safeguards. Anthropic was told to halt access to any "foreign national," so the company shut the models down while assessing the report. Anthropic said Tuesday that going forward it will share new models with government partners before releasing them to the public, and expand their efforts to share information and research with the government. Anthropic last month filed confidentially with the SEC to go public, in what is expected to be among the biggest IPOs ever.

Nike (NKE) shares are down this morning after executives warned sales could “remain challenged” in the near term. The company has been working to turn around its business and return to consistent sales growth, particularly in China, where sales slumped 12% in Nike's fiscal fourth quarter. The athletic apparel giant posted earnings per share of $0.72 on a 1% year-over-year decline in revenue to $10.97 billion. Analysts had forecast EPS of $0.13 on $10.85 billion in revenue, but Nike said its earnings got a $0.52 per share boost from its expected tariff refund from the Trump administration. Nike shares were down 2% to around $40 recently, trading at levels not seen since September 2014.

Shutterstock (SSTK) shares are tumbling this morning after a planned merger with Getty Images (GETY) was called off. In a Tuesday regulatory filing, Getty said that the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority determined that the new Getty would be required to sell off Shutterstock's editorial business to get its approval. Getty said its board decided not to sell the division and will officially abandon the deal when a deadline comes up next week. Shutterstock shares plunged 33% to their lowest level since their 2012 debut. Getty shares were down slightly.

• Broadcom shares have pulled back from their highs in recent weeks amid worries about growing competition and after an outlook that failed to impress.
• Analysts at Jefferies and JPMorgan said in recent notes to clients that Broadcom's slide could be an opportunity to snap up shares at a discount, pointing to strong underlying demand trends.

Broadcom's stock has taken a hit lately. Some Wall Street bulls see an opportunity to buy the dip.

Shares of Broadcom (AVGO), which finished Tuesday's session up about 1% near $378, have slumped more than 20% from their highs in early June, amid worries about growing competition and an outlook that failed to impress investors hoping for a hike in its projections. That could leave the stock poised for a rebound, according to analysts at Jefferies and JPMorgan, pointing to strong underlying demand trends.

Analysts at Jefferies, who reiterated a "buy" rating and $550 target Monday, told clients they view Broadcom's slump as a "meaningful opportunity." The company's roadmap for custom AI chips "remains on track (if not ahead)," they wrote, supported by a pipeline of new chips that they expect to help broaden its customer base, and dismissed competition fears as having "pushed too far."

Worries about increasing competition for business from key customers like Google parent Alphabet have weighed on the chipmaker's stock lately.

JPMorgan analysts said recently that they "would be aggressive buyers" and think investors are underestimating Broadcom, citing its leadership in advanced chip and packaging design, as well as its "aggressive cadence" of new designs, among other things. JPMorgan has an "overweight" rating and $580 target for the stock, a bit above the Street consensus of $511 per Visible Alpha.

Wall Street analysts are broadly bullish on Broadcom, with all nine analysts tracked by Visible Alpha recommending buying the chipmaker's stock. Their mean target would suggest they see a full recovery to new highs in the next 12 months.

Even with the stock's recent pullback, Broadcom have climbed about 9% since the start of the year and are up 40% over the last 12 months.

The first half of 2026 had plenty for investors to digest, including drama in stocks, bonds and geopolitics. In a series of stories, Investopedia writers have wrapped up the first six months of the year—and sought to learn what might be some of the most influential factors over the next six.

Here's where to find all those stories in one place:

• Stocks: The second quarter was generally positive for stocks, with all three major U.S. indexes rising over the past three months—the benchmark S&P 500 added 15%, its best quarter since 2020—and in the green this year. Many market experts think strong corporate earnings can continue to sustain the stock market in the second half, Colin Laidley reports, though resilient inflation and the possibility of interest-rate hikes from the Federal Reserve have raised the specter of a bumpy ride.
• Bonds: A new Fed regime could mean new sources of volatility in bond markets. Kevin Warsh is now in the chair's seat at the U.S. central bank, and he plans to offer the public and media less information about the bank's thinking than did his predecessor. That, experts say, could mean more dramatic moves in Treasury prices and yields, writes Polo Rocha, as well as in related markets like those for mortgage rates, and increased attention to high-profile data releases like monthly jobs figures.
• Crypto: The first half wasn't particularly good for bitcoin, which has lost more than half of its value since last year's record highs, or for crypto stocks and related assets. Some investors continue to see affairs in Washington as a possible tailwind—a key piece of crypto legislation has hit speed bumps, but if they're removed it could reinvigorate some optimism—but the pullback in the sector has raised questions about whether crypto is now primarily viewed as a risk asset, a hedge, or just part of the bigger financial system. Crystal Kim's report explores the possibility that traders who enjoyed bitcoin's wild ride upward are now looking elsewhere for gains.
• Gold: Precious metals—both gold and silver—were powerhouse gainers in 2025. That hasn't been the case this year, with some investors likely taking profits and others looking for even more aggressive appreciation in AI and other stocks. News that the Fed might end up raising rates, which makes investors more inclined to consider interest-paying assets, hasn't helped. There's still bullishness around bullion, Crystal Kim writes, however, with a driving force the possibility of more buying by global central banks.
• IPOs: The response to SpaceX's June IPO, which raised more money than any other new offering ever, has been remarkable: The company debuted with a valuation above $1 trillion, then jumped quickly even further into the upper echelons of the world's most valuable companies. It has cooled somewhat since, however, which has raised questions about how to read investor demand for new stocks and new ways to play AI. Many experts expect that the balance of the year will mean fewer, but bigger, offerings, Kara Greenberg reports, with some companies pushing their own into 2027 or beyond.

For Investopedia's midyear stories about the economy, click here.

• Tesla shares climbed to close out what's been a volatile quarter amid concerns around a transformation of the company's business and speculation about a potential merger with SpaceX.
• Recent options pricing suggests traders see Tesla shares swinging up to 3% in either direction by the end of the holiday-shortened trading week.
• The electric vehicle maker is expected to give an update on its deliveries and production Thursday.

After a strong start to the week, could Tesla's stock be on its way to staging a broader recovery?

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) were up close to 2% in recent trading, after an 8% surge Monday, putting them on track to post gains for what's been a volatile quarter amid speculation about a potential merger with SpaceX (SPCX). Still, shares are down about 7% year-to-date and 16% off their December highs, as concerns around the timeline of Tesla's long-term transformation have weighed on shares.

Recent options pricing suggests that traders see Tesla shares swinging up to about 3% in either direction by the end of the holiday-shortened trading week. A move of that size from Tuesday's levels around $418 could see the stock climb as high as $440, their highest point in a month, or slip back to $396.

Positive news about Tesla's sales or updates around its driverless software and robotaxi program could help sustain the EV maker's recent rally.

Investors could get their latest look at Tesla's sales trajectory this week. The EV maker is expected to release production and deliveries data, the closest metric to sales that Tesla reports, ahead of the opening bell Thursday. Tesla is seen reporting second-quarter deliveries of 402,800 vehicles, along with production of about 479,300 vehicles, up about 5% and 17% year-over-year, respectively, per Visible Alpha estimates.

JPMorgan analysts, who hiked their price target to $475 from $145 earlier this month and have a neutral rating for the stock, said the stock could stand to get a boost from stronger sales, along with approvals of its self-driving software in more markets around the world and much-needed expansion of Tesla's robotaxi network.

Tesla's stock remains a divisive one on Wall Street as some analysts wait for more signs of success in the company's transformation. Of the eight analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, four have recommended buying the stock, compared to four neutral ratings. Their average price target of $431 would suggest upside of about 4% from Tuesday's levels, but would still leave the stock well off its December highs.

• The Comcast and NBCUniversal split sets up both companies to pursue transactions even if they aren't in the plans yet, according to a Deutsche Bank analyst.
• Paramount Skydance's megamerger with Warner Bros. Discovery and others like it eclipses the lack of volume with very large values.

This year is shaping up to be one for mega unions. We're not talking about the Taylor Swift-Travis Kelce nuptials—we mean big-time M&A.

Comcast (CMCSA) on Monday said it plans to spin off NBCUniversal, a split that has folks speculating about future deals for each new entity. That speculation has grounds in the ongoing transformation of the media and communications industry: In the first half of 2026, Netflix (NFLX) tried to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, which ultimately went to Paramount Skydance (PSKY); Fox (FOXA) said it was picking up Roku (ROKU); and Nexstar (NXST) closed its acquisition of Tegna. (Comcast also spun off Versant (VSNT) earlier this year.) In that context, more deals might make sense.

Mergers and acquisitions activity, much like IPOs, tends to rise when markets are good, the economy is expanding, and interest rates are low.

"The separation provides greater strategic flexibility to the respective new companies, including the ability to pursue acquisitions or business combinations," Bryan Kraft, a Deutsche Bank analyst, said of Comcast's plans in a report Tuesday.

To be sure, Comcast's co-CEO Brian Roberts said the split was "absolutely not" a step towards another strategic transaction. Still, they could consider "opportunities as they might arise," Deutsche Bank's Kraft said. Investors seemed to sense the possibility as well: Shares of Charter Communications (CHTR) and Liberty Broadband (LBRDA, LBRDK) both rose Monday at least in part in reaction to the Comcast news.

The respective sizes of Comcast and NBCUniversal as standalone companies would suggest big deals, which is also on-theme with 2026. M&A deals are adding up to big numbers; PwC says activity is on track to reach $4 trillion this year, the strongest since 2021. However, the number of deals is estimated to decline 13% from 2025 levels, according to PwC's mid-year outlook. In other words, "supersized" deals are obscuring less volume.

A Deloitte survey published this month and conducted in April showed that the majority of their 500 corporate executive and private equity dealmakers expected both transaction volumes and values to rise over the next 12 months.