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Trump takes the win as $13 billion Venezuela oil haul drops
Apple just dethroned Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company
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Trump just revealed the US sold over $13 billion in Venezuela oil
Apple just dethroned Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company
SK Hynix plunges as the global semiconductor selloff turns into a bloodbath
SpaceX just erased $1.2 trillion (that’s nearly Tesla’s entire value)
Ford just stormed into an Army truck race that could be worth billions
Jersey Mike’s IPO demand explodes past 10 times available shares
Tech wealth turns prehistoric fossils into the hottest status symbols
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Trump just revealed the US sold over $13 billion in Venezuela oil
President Donald Trump said Monday that the U.S. has collected more than $13 billion from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil since capturing former President Nicolás Maduro in a January military raid.
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Oil funds Venezuela operations: Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One the money is used to run Venezuela and has paid for that war many times over with billions collected.
Continuous KPMG auditing process: Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress the oil sales are audited by KPMG on every expenditure with money held in a Citibank account.
150 million barrels sold: Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an April interview the U.S. had sold around 150 million barrels of Venezuelan oil since January.
Disbursements for approved uses: Official Michael Kozak said around $3 billion was disbursed from the Treasury account for worker salaries, oil industry supplies and other approved uses.
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Apple just dethroned Nvidia as the world’s most valuable company
Apple passed Nvidia on Monday for the title of world’s most valuable company with the iPhone maker topping the AI chip firm at market close for the first time since April 2025.
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Close of day valuations: Nvidia shares fell 5% giving the chipmaker a valuation of $4.77 trillion while Apple shares rose 1% for a market cap of $4.95 trillion ahead of earnings.
Prior top spot timeline: Nvidia held the top spot as the most valuable company since June 2025 when it took the crown from Microsoft and briefly held a $5 trillion capitalization in October.
Year to date contrast: So far in 2026 Nvidia’s shares have only climbed 4% while Apple’s are up 24% as investors reward its reluctance to spend heavily on AI capital expenditures.
Upcoming earnings details: Apple will report fiscal third-quarter earnings on Thursday expected to reveal financial impacts from the AI-driven global memory chip shortage that forced Mac and iPad price raises in June.
SK Hynix plunges as the global semiconductor selloff turns into a bloodbath
South Korean semiconductor shares tumbled on Tuesday with SK Hynix closing 14.65% lower and Samsung Electronics losing more than 13%, extending a rout after weak Wall Street sessions.
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Major US chip declines: Nvidia ticked 1% lower while Intel sank 8%, AMD fell 10%, Micron dropped 11% and Sandisk lost 17% in the selloff.
Asia Pacific heavy losses: Tokyo Electron dropped 10.96%, Advantest slid over 10%, SoftBank Group fell 4.43% and Japan’s Kioxia plunged more than 18%.
Europe follows chip weakness: ASML shares fell more than 8% Monday after reports of Chinese immersion deep ultraviolet lithography machine production in its dominated area.
Investor AI cycle doubts: Analysts cited uncertainty over the AI investment cycle, leveraged ETFs adding volatility and broker reports on memory prices peaking in 2027 as selloff drivers.
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SpaceX just erased $1.2 trillion (that’s nearly Tesla’s entire value)
SpaceX erased more than $1.2 trillion in market cap since its June high of $225.64, nearly the full value of Tesla, after shares fell to $113.50 in 13 of 16 sessions Monday.
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Market cap plunge deepens: SpaceX shares shed more than 1% Monday ending at $113.50 and continued lower about 3% in early Tuesday trading after the prolonged selloff.
Options activity shows balance: Traders bought 106,000 calls versus 77,000 puts on Monday though the majority of the $442 million premium was tied to puts including popular long-shot contracts.
Large trades lean bullish: Four of five biggest premium trades were neutral or bullish including multimillion-dollar in-the-money put spread sales that require SpaceX to rally higher.
Lockup expiration looms ahead: First post-IPO earnings report next week allows sale of 20% of eligible locked-up stock totaling up to 911.5 million shares starting August 6.
Ford just stormed into an Army truck race that could be worth billions
Ford Motor Co. is pursuing what could be its biggest military contract in decades competing to build a new tactical truck for the U.S. Army based on F-Series Super Duty prototypes.
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Prototype contract secured Monday: The automaker secured a Department of War contract to develop three prototypes based on its F-Series Super Duty pickups as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Spokesperson emphasizes extreme durability: A Ford spokesperson said Super Duty trucks are engineered for extreme durability and demanding conditions making them an ideal platform for military use with global parts support.
Joins GM and BC Customs: Ford competes alongside General Motors which unveiled a similar prototype in 2024 now undergoing field testing and Utah-based BC Customs LLC which also received a prototype contract.
Largest since the Cold War: The program could represent Ford’s largest military vehicle opportunity since the Cold War as some governments already use Ford vehicles for military transport and security.
Jersey Mike’s IPO demand explodes past 10 times available shares
Jersey Mike’s Subs initial public offering attracted investor demand for more than 10 times the available shares ahead of pricing on Wednesday as the chain looks to raise as much as $1.09 billion.
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Offering size and price: The IPO consists of about 43.5 million shares for $21 to $25 each including approximately 29.7 million shares offered by backers including Blackstone and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Implied market valuation: At the top of the range Jersey Mike’s would have a market value of nearly $8 billion based on the outstanding shares listed in its SEC filing.
Locations and ownership: Jersey Mike’s has more than 3,300 locations in the US and Canada after Blackstone bought a majority stake in 2024 for about $8 billion including debt.
Trading debut details: Shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on July 30 under the symbol JMKE with Morgan Stanley Jefferies and JPMorgan leading the IPO.
Tech wealth turns prehistoric fossils into the hottest status symbols
Major auction houses racked up nearly $10 billion in sales in the first half of 2026 marking one of the strongest-ever starts as tech wealth from AI boom and IPOs drives record prices across categories.
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Sotheby’s and Christie’s records: Sotheby’s reported its best first half ever with $4.4 billion in sales up 58% while Christie’s had its best since 2021 with $4.5 billion up 71%.
Top lots break records: Eight lots sold for more than $50 million including a Jackson Pollock painting for $181 million and a Brancusi sculpture for $107.6 million previously owned by S.I. Newhouse.
Watches and dinosaur bones: Phillips reported $235 million in watch auctions with an F.P. Journe piece at $13.9 million while Sotheby’s sold T. rex fossil “Gus” for $50.1 million the most expensive ever.
Young tech collectors rise: 30% of Christie’s buyers were new with 47% millennials or younger and 85% of bids online as younger tech money redefines collectibles from cars to jackets.
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