Flash note

Interest rates pulled back after their July rise, while the US tech sector continues to underperform amid massive hyperscaler debt issuance

China's gold buying is reaching extraordinary levels, while the scariest number in the AI boom is the one that never shows up on a balance sheet. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

The Nasdaq led with its best week since April, supported by solid earnings, renewed AI enthusiasm, and hopes for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. labor market weakened sharply. Payrolls fell by 23,000 in July versus expectations for an 80,000 gain, while previous months were revised lower. Job openings also declined and ADP private payroll growth slowed to just 44,000. Unemployment nevertheless edged down to 4.1%. Rate-hike expectations declined: following the weak jobs report, the probability of a September Fed hike dropped to roughly 42% from 55%. U.S. business activity remained resilient. U.S. manufacturing PMI jumped to 55.6, its highest since May 2022.

Market, earnings and macro participation are widening at the same time.

Flash note

Central banks stood still, but bond markets did not

How the most celebrated fund in artificial intelligence sold its entire listed book to a competitor, and what the wreckage says about the rest of us.

Global equities advanced despite the week between 24-31 July despite some by sharp divergences. Big Tech earnings split investors between AI capex winners and losers, the Federal Reserve held rates amid its first multi-member dissent in decades, and oil extended its climb on escalating Middle East tensions. Korean and Taiwanese equities were rocked by extreme volatility as leveraged AI-related positioning unwound and then violently reversed, while resilient eurozone growth data and broad emerging-market strength helped underpin the wider advance. This report examines the key drivers behind the past week's market moves, with a focus on US mega-cap earnings dispersion, the Fed's policy signals, and the forces behind Asia's dramatic swings.

Apple just proved earnings don't need an AI narrative. Big Tech, meanwhile, has gone from paying shareholders to asking them for cash. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.