Bitcoin surge: is a bull market coming?
Bitcoin [BTC] climbed to its highest level since June on Thursday, buoyed by a wave of short liquidations, with smaller cryptocurrencies such as ether [ETH] also rising. This may be partly attributable to a renewed focus on crypto legislation: on Tuesday, the SEC proposed creating two registration exemptions for token offerings, while on Wednesday US President Donald Trump met with crypto industry executives at the White House. “Investors should now be positioning for a move to $100,000 by year-end 2026”, Geoffrey Kendrick, Standard Chartered Bank’s head of crypto, told Forbes.
US debt’s worrying new record
Gross federal debt has reached a record $40tn in the US after rising by $3tn over the past year, its fastest-ever increase outside the pandemic era, the Financial Times reported, intensifying concerns over public finances. Debt held by the public has now topped $32tn, roughly equivalent to the size of the US economy, after the national debt doubled over the past decade.
Drones everywhere
Amazon [AMZN] plans to expand its Prime Air drone delivery service to nearly 500 US cities and towns by the end of 2026, up from 10 cities currently. The latest expansion will launch in Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Syracuse and Boise, with each site covering around 175 square miles and deliveries taking 30 to 60 minutes. Walmart [WMT] is also scaling its drone delivery service through partnerships with Wing and Zipline.
Biotechs hit post-pandemic high on Moderna news
Biotech stocks hit their highest level since February 2021 after Moderna [MRNA] and Merck [MRK] reported positive late-stage results for an individualised mRNA-based cancer therapy. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF [XBI] gained more than 4%, Seeking Alpha detailed, making healthcare the S&P 500’s best-performing sector as investors bet on renewed momentum in biotech innovation.
AI in the spotlight during China tech earnings
China’s technology giants have been spending hundreds of billions of yuan on artificial intelligence (AI). Gaming and social media giant Tencent [TCEHY], search engine firm Baidu [BIDU] and e-commerce heavyweight Alibaba Group [BABA] are expanding AI infrastructure, developing frontier models and integrating AI across their business. But, Aureon asks, are these investments bearing fruit?
Major payout from Korean chipmakers
Samsung Electronics [SSNLF] and SK Hynix [SKHY] are preparing record shareholder returns after their stocks tumbled on concerns over the sustainability of AI spending, according to Bloomberg. Samsung is reportedly considering a ₩100tn buyback programme, while SK Hynix has announced its own ₩40tn programme. The moves aim to return surging AI-driven memory profits to shareholders.
Physical AI’s ChatGPT moment
As AI moves into the real world, Ambarella [AMBA], Cognex [CGNX] and Teradyne [TER] offer three distinct ways to gain exposure to physical AI. Recent developments include NXP’s [NXPI] reported talks to acquire Ambarella, Cognex’s new Nvidia-powered [NVDA] vision platform and Teradyne’s 33% growth in robotics revenue. The humanoid robotics market could potentially reach $40bn by 2035; however, as Aureon outlines, physical AI remains an emerging theme and adoption could take time.
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