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Good morning! Catch up on the latest in trending news:
Slice of the pie: Lithium Americas (LAC) continues to rally this morning, as the Trump administration is said to be seeking an equity stake in the company. The news comes as the government reevaluates its $2.3B loan for Thacker Pass, the largest known lithium deposit in the U.S.
Bright outlook: Micron Technology (MU) edged higher as its outlook eclipsed estimates on strong AI data center demand. Its record FY revenue was driven “by the ramp of high-value data center products and broad-based DRAM pricing strength across end markets,” CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said.
Doubling down: Alibaba’s (BABA) shares are soaring after its CEO Eddie Wu revealed plans to ramp up AI spending past its prior $50B+ target. The company’s new partnership with Nvidia (NVDA) and the launch of its largest AI language model, Qwen3-Max, also added to gains.
President Donald Trump has said Ukraine, with support from the European Union, can take back all its territory lost to Russia. The sudden shift in Ukraine’s favor comes after Trump previously suggested that Kyiv should consider giving up territory to bring an end to the war.
What he said: “After getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia Military and Economic situation and, after seeing the Economic trouble it is causing Russia, I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump posted on Truth Social. Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory. ING economists noted that while this is a significant change of tone, markets are treating Trump’s comments with caution due to a lack of progress in peace negotiations.
In addition, Trump affirmed that the U.S. will continue to supply weapons to NATO for the alliance “to do what they want with them.” While addressing the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump said the U.S. is prepared to impose “a very strong round of powerful tariffs” if Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, but stopped short of announcing fresh sanctions. He also told the media that he believes NATO nations should shoot down Russian aircraft violating their airspace.
Energy watch: Ukrainian drone attacks have cut into Russian oil refining by nearly 20% on certain days and reduced Russia’s diesel exports towards their lowest levels since 2020. Of Russia’s 38 refineries, 16 have been hit since the start of August. While Russia – the world’s second-largest diesel exporter – has imposed export bans on gasoline for much of this year, its diesel sales abroad have remained unrestricted.
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What else is happening…
Fed’s Powell: No risk-free path when both sides of mandate at risk.
OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL) reveal first Stargate data center in Texas.
Meta (META) forms new super PAC to stave off AI regulations.
Boeing taps Palantir (PLTR) to bring AI into defense operations.
Stablecoin issuer Tether seeks $500B valuation in capital raise.
Disney (DIS) hikes prices for various streaming plans in the U.S.
Eli Lilly (LLY) building $6.5B Texas plant to produce weight loss pill.
Exxon (XOM) inks deal with Rosneft to help recoup Russian losses.
Trump cancels meeting with Democrat leaders as shutdown looms.
Typhoon Ragasa on track to make landfall in southern China.
Today’s Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.3%. Hong Kong +1.4%. China +0.8%. India -0.5%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.1%. Paris -0.3%. Frankfurt -0.2%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow flat. S&P +0.2%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude +0.9% to $63.97. Gold -0.5% to $3,796.20. Bitcoin -0.2% to $112,733.
Ten-year Treasury Yield unchanged at 4.12%.
On The Calendar
Companies reporting today include Uranium Energy (UEC) and Cintas (CTAS).
See the full earnings calendar on Seeking Alpha, as well as today’s economic calendar.
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