Syz the moment

Korea's speculative AI rally remains one of the key drivers of the broader AI trade, making this relationship well worth watching. Source: TME

Producer prices slowed to 1.8% YoY in June from 2.2% in May, below the June CPI of 2.3%, and fell 0.3% MoM. Crucially, German producers charged 2.2% less for consumer goods YoY, led by food prices down 4.5% YoY; a positive signal for retail inflation. Source: HolgerZ, Bloomberg

Senior Trump administration officials accused Canada of engaging in unfair trade practices, saying its provinces had halted the purchase of US alcohol, slapped tariffs on US cars and discriminated against American cheese. “At the outset of the president’s trade policy, which he implemented earlier last year, there were only two countries that retaliated against the United States: the People’s Republic of China and Canada,” said a senior administration official. Trump’s move on Monday risks re-inflaming a global trade skirmish that had eased after the US Supreme Court earlier this year knocked down the president’s global emergency tariffs. Canada is the US’s second-biggest trading partner, with trade between the two amounting to $716bn last year. Source. FT

While the index is well below its 50-day moving average, it still sits comfortably above the 100-day moving average. The 200-day moving average coincides with the longer-term uptrend, creating an important technical support zone. Until positioning is further reset, expect elevated volatility and erratic price action. Source: TME

A Nikkei investigation found that Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle have $1.65 trillion of off-balance-sheet obligations, exceeding the $1.35 trillion of debt they officially report. These commitments—GPU contracts, data center leases, and joint ventures—remain largely invisible under current accounting rules until facilities become operational. Meta alone reportedly has $420 billion in hidden obligations, while Oracle's exposure has exploded over the past four years. The key risk? Investors focusing on earnings may be seeing only part of the picture. As AI infrastructure comes online, these commitments will gradually move onto balance sheets. If AI demand falls short of expectations, expensive assets could face write-downs, with losses ultimately flowing to shareholders and the private credit investors who financed the AI buildout. Source: Hedgie

Global nuclear reactor capacity is projected to grow 44% over the next decade. Every new 1 GW reactor requires: ~400 tonnes of uranium for its initial core load. ~160 tonnes per year thereafter to keep operating. Here's the catch: The first core loads alone for the reactors currently planned would consume uranium equivalent to nearly 90% of today's annual global mine production. That's before a single kilowatt-hour of electricity is produced. The market isn't just facing rising annual demand. It must first fill an enormous pipeline of initial fuel requirements. This is why many investors believe the structural bull case for uranium is still in its early stages. Source: Bloomberg, Lukas Ekwueme @ekwufinance

That's the same danger zone Japan has spent months trying to escape. Since April, policymakers have thrown almost everything at the yen: • ¥11.73 trillion ($73.5B) in record FX intervention. • A BOJ rate hike to 1%, the highest since 1995. • Signals that GPIF, the world's largest pension fund, could shift more capital back into Japanese assets. Each move strengthened the yen... briefly. Each move ultimately failed. Now USD/JPY is right back where it started. This isn't just a currency story. A weaker yen makes every barrel of imported oil and every shipment of food more expensive, adding inflationary pressure while squeezing household purchasing power. Exporters may benefit, but Japanese consumers pay the price. When direct intervention, higher interest rates, and portfolio reallocation all fail to change the trend, markets are sending a clear message. Japan isn't just fighting a weak currency anymore. It's fighting the limits of its own policy tools. Source: Bull Theory

Bloomberg, Barchart