Record heat is forcing banks that use aging Parmigiano wheels as loan collateral to boost cooling costs and risk spoilage, putting Italy’s $4.7 billion cheese economy at risk. The stress ripples to dairy farms, vineyards and the broader economy as climate‑driven temperature spikes shrink milk output and accelerate harvests.
Citi’s David Chew notes that despite the S&P 500’s fresh record, short positions haven’t fully covered. The lingering shorts suggest buying pressure remains limited, leaving room for further equity upside. Investors should watch positioning data for clues on the next market move.
Trump Media & Technology Group reported a net loss of $238.1 million for Q2 2026, versus $20 million a year earlier, on just $1.7 million of revenue. The loss was driven by $190 million of unrealized losses on crypto and other digital assets, even as the company’s total assets sit at $2.0 billion. Investors face a stark contrast between a bloated balance sheet and sinking profitability.
Seven months in, Greg Abel has deployed $19.8 billion of Berkshire’s $369 billion cash cache, ending three years of net selling. The Q2 moves include a $6.8 billion homebuilder acquisition, a $10 billion Alphabet stake, and a $4.5 billion stock buyback, a clear signal the conglomerate remains a steady bet under new leadership.
Intel priced its underwritten public offering at $95 per share, expanding the deal from $15 B to $20 B and granting underwriters an option for extra shares. The net proceeds, about $19.7 B after fees, will fund general corporate purposes, including capital expenditures for its AI and manufacturing roadmap. The offering closes Aug 12, 2026.
Nvidia announced financing platforms with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to pool over $500 billion of third‑party capital for AI infrastructure. By treating compute like real‑estate or toll roads, the deal lets lenders underwrite AI servers as revenue‑generating assets, expanding funding access for data‑center builders and boosting Nvidia’s ecosystem.
Waymo now runs driverless rides in 15 U.S. cities, logging about 500,000 paid trips a week. The surge has exposed a flood of edge‑case failures, from construction‑zone glitches that forced a temporary freeway ban to software patches that restore service, highlighting how scaling autonomous fleets can outpace their ability to handle rare but critical scenarios.
Atlassian’s shares have rocketed 166% from their 52‑week low, defying a broader SaaS downturn thanks to its new AI platform Rovo, which is delivering faster, more accurate workflow automation for enterprise customers. The surge prompted CEO Mike Cannon‑Brookes to announce a $250 million open‑market buyback, signalling confidence in the company’s AI‑driven growth.
The companies announced a $16.8B initial investment in Terafab, a massive semiconductor facility in Grimes County, Texas, planned to employ 3,000 and produce AI chips for Tesla robots and SpaceX data centers. The spend is more than four times Tesla’s annual net income of $3.8B, underscoring the scale of their AI hardware push.
You’re caught up.
That was all 9 stories in the 11 August issue.