Wall Street shrugs off Trump tariffs to reset records

Good morning. Here's what happened overnight and what you need to know today.

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1.

Market tune: Investors on Wall Street brushed off Donald Trump’s latest tariff moves, encouraged by a bullish forecast from Delta Air Lines. The S&P 500 closed at a new record high again, rising 0.27%. Delta jumped 12% after it reinstated guidance to forecast third-quarter and full-year profits above estimates, also triggering jumps in United Airlines and American Airlines shares. Bitcoin reached a new all-time high above USD113,000, with institutional demand and bullish sentiment cited as drivers, as the Senate confirmed the new Comptroller of the Currency, Jonathan Gould, who supports lighter regulation and a friendlier approach to crypto. Meanwhile, Harmonic AI, co-founded by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, raised USD100 million at a valuation of USD875 million to develop “mathematical superintelligence.” And Bloomberg reported Citadel Securities acquired Morgan Stanley’s electronic equity options market-making business. (WSJ)(Bloomberg)(Reuters)

2.

Deeply silly: Trump appointed a former Liberal Party councillor in Sydney and self-described “alpha male” as ambassador to Malaysia. Australian-born Nick Adams was catapulted to MAGA fame in 2017 after being praised by the president on Twitter, but has not served in any US State Department role. In a short statement on Thursday evening, the White House revealed Adams had been appointed as US ambassador to Malaysia. Like in Australia, US ambassadors typically serve three-year terms. The naturalised US citizen is perhaps best known for his over-the-top presence on X, where he issues sycophantic praise of Trump. “Donald Trump has a more powerful serve than Andy Roddick, a better backhand than Roger Federer, and more swagger than Andre Agassi in his prime,” he posted in 2022. In a 2024 profile, The Washington Post described Adams' elevation in the MAGA world as simultaneously “extremely silly, deeply serious”. (Capital Brief)

3.

Cereal scoop: The Ferrero Group agreed to buy WK Kellogg for USD3.1 billion ($4.71 billion), its biggest acquisition since 2018. The Italian food group will pay USD23 per share in cash, a 40% premium to WK Kellogg’s 30-day average share price. The deal brings brands like Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Froot Loops under Ferrero’s ownership. WK Kellogg, spun off from Kellogg Co in 2023, has forecast second-quarter sales of up to USD615 million, down about 9% year on year, and held USD569 million in net debt as of March. The industry is under pressure from declining cereal sales, rising health consciousness driven in part by weight-loss drugs, and higher cocoa costs. WK Kellogg has underperformed since the spin-off. Its top shareholders, the WK Kellogg Foundation and the Gund family, support the deal. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025. WK Kellogg shares closed 30.6% higher. (Capital Brief)

4.

Macquarie backed: Bloomberg reported overnight that all of the staff have departed from WaveCrest Energy, a Macquarie-backed company near Houston launched in 2021 to develop liquefied natural gas import projects abroad. According to the report, which cites unnamed sources, the company continues to exist as an entity, but the 10 people previously employed there left in June. A Macquarie spokesperson reached by Bloomberg declined to comment. According to Macquarie’s website, WaveCrest was established as an independent subsidiary by Macquarie Capital to create LNG import infrastructure outside the US, including in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the cut in gas supply to much of Europe, the company provided technical support for new LNG import terminals built in Germany. According to Bloomberg, it also backed a proposed terminal in Teesside, UK, which never launched. Rob Bryngelson led the firm until announcing his departure last month. (Bloomberg)

5.

Out-of-Service: Six agents from the US Secret Service were suspended for failures tied to the attempted assassination of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Secret Service deputy director Matt Quinn told CBS News that the agents’ penalties ranged from 10 to 42 days of leave without pay or benefits. In July 2024, lone gunman Thomas Crooks opened fire on Trump during a rally, grazing Trump’s ear and killing an attendee before being shot dead. A second assassination attempt on Trump was foiled a few weeks later at the President’s golf club in Florida. The "Secret Service is totally accountable for Butler," he said. "Butler was an operational failure and we are focused today on ensuring that it never happens again." He added that the organisation will not “fire our way out of this.” It is unclear when the staff suspensions were formally issued, and media reports differ on whether they have already been served. (CBS News)(ABC News)(BBC)

6.

Jobs watch: Applications for US unemployment benefits fell for a fourth straight week to the lowest level in two months, even as continuing claims rose to their highest point since late 2021. Data from the US Labor Department shows initial claims decreased by 5,000 to 227,000 in the week ending 5 July, below the 235,000 forecast across market surveys. Continuing claims, which reflect the number of people receiving unemployment benefits, rose to 1.97 million in the week ending 28 June. The data were affected by seasonal factors, including the 4th July holiday and temporary summertime layoffs in auto manufacturing states. Meanwhile, Indeed and Glassdoor (both part of Japanese group Recruit) are cutting roughly 1,300 jobs as part of a broader move to combine operations and shift more focus toward AI, Bloomberg reported citing a memo from Recruit CEO Hisayuki Idekoba. The cuts will mostly affect people in the US. (Bloomberg)(WSJ)(Capital Brief)

7.

Israel-Palestine war: The World Food Agency launched a “comprehensive review” of its partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), following a controversial FT report that revealed BCG had modelled the costs of relocating Palestinians from Gaza. BCG also helped establish the Israel-and-US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to distribute aid in Gaza, but its efforts have been damaged by the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach GHF distribution sites. The charity Save the Children has also suspended its partnership with BCG over the controversies. On Thursday the EU struck a deal to substantially increase aid deliveries to Gaza, with Brussels demanding Israel end “abhorrent” attacks on civilians in the enclave and ease restrictions on aid. The news comes as an Israeli airstrike hit Palestinians near a medical centre in Gaza on Thursday, which local health authorities said killed 10 children and six adults. (FT)(FT)(Reuters)(EU)(Bloomberg)(Politico)

8.

Typhoon Danas: Chinese state media said that the levels of 25 rivers in southwestern China have exceeded safe levels, after over 10,000 people were evacuated as former typhoon Danas converged with monsoon rains. Ten southwestern rivers, including the Longyan, which flows through the densely populated region of Chongqing, could burst their embankments and levees at any time, state media warned, citing the water resources ministry. The NYT reports that the storm is forecast to drop as much as three inches of rain per hour through Friday as it moves to the south and southeast, including over Guangdong province, which has a population of about 127 million people. Violent wind gusts and torrential rains are expected to impact Hong Kong, where authorities have suspended schools for Friday and issued its second-highest rain warning for residents. (Reuters)(NYT)