Syz the moment

The move comes as Japan reportedly conducted an intervention to strengthen the yen on Thursday night. • The Bank of Japan kept its policy rate unchanged at 1% in an 8-1 vote on Friday, in line with market expectations, after raising rates to their highest level since 1995 last month. • Board member Naoki Takata dissented, calling for an immediate 25-basis-point hike, citing upside inflation risks and changing global financial conditions. • The BOJ said it will continue to raise rates if economic activity, inflation and financial conditions evolve as expected, adding that underlying inflation is now close to its 2% target. • In its latest outlook, the central bank lowered its FY2026 core CPI forecast to 2.5% from 2.8% and raised its FY2026 GDP growth forecast to 0.6% from 0.5%. FY2027 GDP growth forecast is raised to 0.8% from 0.7% 🏦BoJ Says: Significant downside risks to economy activity & significant upside risks to prices have decreased. In its outlook, the BOJ said that core inflation was likely to accelerate to a level “clearly above” 2% from the second half of its 2026 fiscal year, which runs from September to March. It cited wage increases being passed along into selling prices, the rise in crude oil prices and the recent depreciation of the yen. Inflation should then come down toward 2% as crude oil prices decline, it said. Japan’s core inflation for July came in at 1.6%, and has been below 2% for most of 2026. The decision comes as Tokyo reportedly conducted an intervention on Thursday night, in conjunction with U.S. authorities executing a “rate check,” a move usually seen as a precursor to intervention. Peter Schiff: "The BoJ’s decision to hold rates at 1%, with only the possibility of a quarter-point hike by year-end, ensures a weaker yen, rising inflation, and higher long-term interest rates, ultimately forcing the BoJ to hike much more in the future, with even more adverse consequences". Source: Augur Infinity

While it looks as a miss, let's keep in mind that underlying private domestic demand was strong, with real final sales to private domestic purchasers rising 3.9 percent in Q2 from 1.7 percent in Q1, showing solid private-sector momentum despite the "softer" headline GDP. More importantly, government spending fell. Source: Daniel Lacalle

Source: Yahoo Finance

“The higher cost of memory is pushing this number up from our prior estimate of about $200 billion.” “Even at that amount, we will still not have enough capacity to meet all the demand we have in 2026. I believe this dynamic will also be true in 2027.” “The demand we already have for 2028 is striking.” “We typically purchase servers and networking equipment a few months before putting them into service, so we have strong visibility into customer demand before we trigger the spend.” “If the demand isn’t there, we won’t spend the capital for servers and networking equipment.” Source: Wall ST Engine

The company just set a new record for the largest single-day-market-value increase in history. Source: Yahoo Finance

After a brutal 3-day, 17% selloff, the KOSPI soared as much as 18% on Friday, its largest single-day gain on record. The turnaround wasn't random. South Korea unveiled a major stabilization package, including ~$13.9 billion for strategic AI investments and tighter leverage rules for ETFs to reduce forced liquidations. At the same time, SK Hynix hit its 30% daily limit, helped by SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won's first-ever open-market purchase of the company's shares, while Samsung surged as much as 27%. Investors also believe the worst of this week's deleveraging may now be over, while stronger AI spending outlooks from US Big Tech boosted confidence across semiconductor stocks. Adding to the shift, Japan and South Korea reportedly coordinated currency support, signaling policymakers are willing to act aggressively to stop an AI-driven selloff from becoming a broader financial crisis. Source: Bloomberg, Global Markets Investor

The SNB earned 25.2 billion francs ($31.2 billion) from January through June, it said in a statement on Friday. That brings a year-end payout to the Swiss government back into focus after the first quarter resulted in a small loss. Source: Bloomberg

Stocks tumbled for a myriad of reasons Wednesday, but mostly because the bond market signaled the Federal Reserve could be falling behind on the inflation fight as the central bank chose to keep interest rates unchanged. The S&P 500 slid 1.52%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.74% to 24,442.94, ending the session more than 10% off its all-time high. The Fed kept to the sidelines in its latest rate decision, and the bond market responded with the 10-year Treasury yield jumping 7 basis points to above 4.67%. The 30-year Treasury yield soared 10 basis points to above 5.2%, hitting its highest level since 2007. Three officials wanted a hike, but the Fed still stood pat on rates. And Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh’s tough talk failed to convince the bond market.