Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan said the near‑collapse of AI‑focused hedge fund Situational Awareness is a warning shot for markets awash in high valuations and leverage. The fund’s fire‑sale forced a pull‑back from AI stocks, prompting prime brokers to tighten underwriting and investors to reassess exposure.
Block trimmed its headcount by roughly 4,000 workers, about 40%, to lean on AI‑driven teams. The move coincided with Q4 results that posted adjusted EPS of 65 cents on $6.25 billion revenue, nudging past forecasts and sending the stock up as much as 24% in after‑hours.
In Q2 2026, Robinhood generated $156 million from event‑contract (prediction‑market) trading, outpacing its $129 million equity‑trading revenue. That lifted total net revenue to a record $1.31 billion, a 32% YoY rise and signals the platform’s shift toward gambling‑style products.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a CNBC interview that the K‑shaped economy is "dead," claiming lower‑income earners are finally catching up. Yet wage‑growth data and other metrics still show a sizable gap between the bottom and top quartiles, suggesting his optimism may be premature and could shape policy narratives.
The June 2026 labor‑force participation rate fell to 61.6%, the lowest since 1976. The Fed analysis shows 43% of the drop came from a BLS population‑control correction, 41% from a sharp dip among prime‑age workers, and the remaining 16% reflects an aging population. The trend could signal deeper labor‑market weakness.
July’s ISM manufacturing index jumped to 55.6, the strongest since May 2022, but the prices sub‑index lingered at 71.1, marking the 22nd month of rising costs. Executives say price volatility now feels worse than the pandemic, nudging the Fed toward a September rate hike.
Jeff Dean and three senior Google AI researchers left to found Discovery Loop, a public‑benefit AI startup funded by Alphabet, Radical Ventures and Khosla. The company will use massive compute to automate experimental loops, promising faster breakthroughs in science and AI itself.
Bending Spoons agreed to buy Airtable for $1.285 billion in cash, valuing the data‑platform at roughly $2.25 billion after cash. The deal, a 80% discount to Airtable’s last private‑market valuation, marks Bending Spoons’ first post‑IPO acquisition and signals a hunt for over‑valued SaaS assets. It gives Airtable deep capital to accelerate its AI‑native roadmap.
Citadel’s flagship Wellington fund posted a 5.9% July gain, its best month since 2022, after snapping up most of the public‑stock holdings from the collapsed Situational Awareness hedge fund at a steep discount. The tactical and equities funds also logged record months, pushing 2026 returns to double‑digit levels.
AQR Capital has turned tax‑loss harvesting into a $150 billion‑sized service that lets the ultra‑wealthy eliminate income‑tax liabilities on their portfolios. The model, now replicated by dozens of firms, forces the tax code into a new battleground and could reshape capital flows as regulators scramble to close the loophole.
The White House’s new voluntary AI vetting plan will only review ‘state‑of‑the‑art’ closed models from U.S. firms like OpenAI and Anthropic, while exempting open‑weight models, including those from Chinese developers. This carve‑out gives Chinese rivals a regulatory edge and reshapes the competitive balance of advanced AI.
Base Power closed a $1 billion Series D, valuing the company at $13 billion post‑money. The funding fuels its rollout of the 39 kWh “Base Core” battery and a subscription model that now installs roughly 100 units per day, turning homes into grid‑support assets amid soaring electricity demand.
You’re caught up.
That was all 12 stories in the 6 August issue.