Forex

BofA flags NOK/SEK sell trade as rate, growth gaps widen
Bank of America advises shorting the Norwegian-Swedish currency pair at 1.0124, targeting a 3.1% decline to 0.9812 amid diverging monetary policy and growth outlooks.

Pound gains 0.25% as dollar weakens on U.S. Treasury buyback signal
Sterling rose to $1.3640 after the U.S. Treasury announced a $2 billion long-end bond buyback to curb rising yields. Dollar index fell toward 98.65 as yields declined.

Google’s Gemma AI models reach 1 billion downloads in two years
Developer activity fuels rapid adoption of Google’s open-source AI models, with over 100,000 variants published and deployments across space, healthcare and research.

Alphabet adds personalized features to Google Search and News
New tools let users curate content sources and topics while publishers embed direct engagement buttons. Over 600,000 unique sources already selected.

Google integrates Antigravity coding agents into Gemini Enterprise
Antigravity’s autonomous coding tools now bundled with Google’s Gemini Enterprise, expanding agentic capabilities for IT and engineering teams under unified licensing.

Bumrungrad Q2 2026 profit rises 1.7% as international patient revenue grows 7.1%
Thailand’s largest private hospital operator posted a modest profit increase in Q2 2026, with international patient revenue offsetting a 2.2% decline in domestic admissions. EBITDA margin remained above 41% as expansion in the Middle East and U.S. drove growth.

Alphabet reports first revenue from TPU chips in Q2 cloud results
For the first time, Alphabet monetized its Tensor Processing Units through third-party cloud deployments, signaling entry into the AI chip market amid surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Swiss insurers' resilience improves as Finma cites higher solvency, profits
Swiss insurance sector's aggregate net profit surged 136% in 2025 to 24.4 billion francs, while solvency ratios rose significantly, Finma reports. Capital investment gains climbed 47.6% to 24.8 billion francs.

Bank of America flags euro upside, dollar downside in near-term FX outlook
BofA maintains most dollar forecasts but sees risks skewed toward euro strength and yen weakness, with revised targets for EUR/USD, USD/JPY and USD/CAD.

China warns U.S. against Iran sanctions escalation after Trump threat
Beijing cautions Washington that further sanctions on Tehran would undermine diplomatic solutions, as Trump threatens a 'trade war' over Iran's nuclear program.

Oil rises as U.S. ramps up sanctions pressure on Iran
Brent crude climbs above $83 a barrel as Washington intensifies measures targeting Tehran’s oil exports. Market focus shifts to supply risks amid geopolitical tensions.

Zelluna shares fall 4.5% after first-in-human dosing update
Norwegian biotech’s TCR-NK therapy candidate ZI-MA4-1 shows clean safety profile in Phase 1 trial; shares dip despite clinical progress.

Dollar weakens as U.S. Treasury buyback plan sparks investor skepticism
Greenback falls to three-month low amid concerns over fiscal policy and debt management. Bitcoin surges 17% weekly as gold rallies over 3%.

Australia passes law to tax tech giants failing to pay for local news
New levy targets major platforms like Google and Meta with a 2.5% ad revenue tax if they do not strike commercial deals with Australian publishers by reporting deadlines.

U.S. Treasury intervention lifts risk assets, weighs on dollar
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields fell 10 bps after an unscheduled announcement, easing pressure on equities and high-beta currencies. Analysts cite a new 'Bessent Put' as a tactical shift in Treasury oversight.

Poland’s industrial output rises 5.1% in July, below forecasts
Factory production growth slowed to 5.1% year-on-year in July, undershooting expectations of a 4.9% gain, as mining and manufacturing momentum eased from June.

Swiss insurers post 136% profit surge to CHF 24.4bn in 2025
Sector’s aggregate annual result jumps to record high as investment returns climb 47.6%. Life, non-life and reinsurance segments all post gains despite slight premium volume dip.

Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly battle for obesity pill market as J&J bets on cell therapy
Novo Nordisk leads oral GLP-1 obesity pill market but faces intensifying competition from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson invests $785 million in in-vivo CAR-T cell therapy, signaling next major pharmaceutical battleground.

U.S. Manufacturing PMI drops to 53.2, undershooting forecasts
Factory activity expansion slows as ISM reading falls short of 54.0 estimate, signaling softer industrial momentum. Dollar sentiment turns cautious.

Emerging market currencies hit fresh peaks as dollar weakens
MSCI's emerging market currency index extended an eight-week winning streak, while the South Korean won and Turkish lira led gains amid broad dollar softness and shifting global policy signals.

DeepSeek launches multimodal AI model to compete with Anthropic
DeepSeek introduces a new experimental model integrating vision capabilities, positioning it closer to Anthropic's advanced Opus-4.8 in multimodal agent performance.

U.S. crude oil inventories rise 4.4 million barrels, EIA data shows
Commercial stockpiles reach five-year average as gasoline inventories climb. WTI crude and Brent futures edge higher on the day.

Diesel cracks surge above $100/bbl as supply tightens sharply
Record-high diesel crack spreads signal a physical market far tighter than Brent futures suggest, with Middle East and Russian exports down over 50% amid regional conflicts.

Norse Atlantic Q2 2026 loss widens on fuel costs despite record unit revenue
Second-quarter revenue fell 35% to $132 million as passenger demand slumped, while a 24% rise in unit revenue was offset by a 57% jump in non-fuel unit costs and soaring jet fuel prices.

