PayPal Holdings, Inc.

On August 1, the fear index rose above the psychologically important mark of 20 points. Markets collapsed because of Donald Trump's new trade duties, as well as bad data&nbsp; on US non-farm payrolls - they were more than a quarter worse than expected. It all comes at the height of the US reporting season. It started better than analysts' expectations. Microsoft's results even set a record, with the company's value reaching $4 trillion. The paradox is that "surprises" have long been the rule: companies in the S&amp;P 500 index publish results above consensus almost every quarter, although analysts' forecasts remain understated time after time. Everything is so good that the question arises: when to cash out?

Surprises in the market as the norm: time to cash out?

Earlier, the US president advised the Russian side to "watch its words"

Trump told to move two nuclear subs in response to former Russian president's words

The US is India's largest trading partner


Trump imposes a 25% duty on imports from India starting Aug. 1


The dollar is coming out of a prolonged downward streak - July could be its first month of gains since December

The dollar has its best July since 2019. What will happen to the exchange rate next?

Tesla, Inc.

Delta Air Lines, Inc.

The Walt Disney Company

Unilever PLC

NIKE, Inc.

Tesla shareholders are well aware of the value of its owner, Ilon Musk's tweets. His public altercation with President Trump in June 2025<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/tesla-shares-slide-musk-steps-up-criticism-ally-trump-2025-06-05/"> cost</a> the company $150 billion in market capitalization in a single day. But this is not an isolated incident. In a world where social media has become an integral part of corporate communication, CEOs and spokespeople are increasingly daring to publicly declare their position on sensitive political issues. And any careless post in an official account can cost shareholders billions of dollars;

The political rhetoric of corporations: how do tweets affect stock price?


The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.

Michael Burry's Scion Asset Management (the same company that predicted the mortgage crisis of 2007-2008 and successfully played against the U.S. mortgage-backed securities market), judging by the official disclosure in May this year, <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2025/05/19/after-nearly-dumping-his-entire-portfolio-and-buyi/">sold</a> shares of all companies in its portfolio, except for one - cosmetics giant Estée Lauder. And the investor not only kept, but <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/big-short-investor-michael-burry-doubles-stake-cosmetics-maker-estee-lauder-2025-05-16/">doubled</a> his stake compared to December 2024 and now owns 200,000 shares of the company. What made Burry believe in a business whose net income fell sixfold in three years?

Heavy luxury is taking the internet by storm: why Michael Burry sold everything but Estée Lauder
 


GameStop Corp.

Opendoor Technologies Inc.

Kohl's Corporation

The US stock market is repeating the euphoria of four years ago associated with meme stocks. In 2021, the most famous of them were the securities of GameStop, a chain of video game stores, and AMC Entertainment movie theaters. Their quotations retail traders, negotiating in social networks, inflated dozens of times, depriving hedge funds of billions of dollars. But this was a prelude to a market crash in 2022. Memomania raises similar concerns now.

Memomania is back: how retail traders rocked the market


The year 2025 could be one of the busiest years for bond vigilantes in decades - since the beginning of the year, investors have already dictated their will to politicians in the US, UK and Japan several times. Have these "guardians" of the market become stronger, or do they have more reasons to fear?

On a short leash: How "bond vigilantes" impose their will on politicians

Circle Internet Group

The value of all crypto-assets <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-18/crypto-market-cap-tops-4-trillion-as-us-stablecoin-bill-passes?srnd=homepage-europe">crossed</a> $4 trillion dollars. Of that, 60% ($2.4 trillion) is accounted for by bitcoin. Arbat Capital Advisory Services Limited (UK) analyst Alexei Golubovich and Arbat Capital analyst Denis Chigarev believe that the GENIUS Act, passed in July in the U.S., is not only about stablecoins, but also about how to help the U.S. economy and increase the attraction of money into U.S. Treasuries;

How the new "Genius Law" on Stablecoins is leading to the creation of a shadow money supply


U.S. President Donald Trump is seriously engaged in restructuring the international trade system, and it seems that other countries, which he hits with import duties, have nowhere to go, because the U.S. market is the largest in the world. But to reduce their dependence on it and support their economies, they have begun to negotiate with each other, including on projects that have been under discussion for decades. As a result, trade may become freer - outside the US;

A ship without a captain: How countries make trade alliances without the U.S.

Eli Lilly and Company

Novo Nordisk A/S

China has entered the race in the market of weight loss drugs: several companies from China have presented their products that may become competitors to Ozempic, Mounjaro and other hits from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. The first of these received regulatory approval in June. In general, Chinese biotech has survived the prolonged "nuclear winter" and is now actively developing. What should an investor know about it?

The end of nuclear winter and tens of percent growth: how China is growing its pharma giants


Last week, the world's richest man, Ilon Musk, announced his new project: he is creating a new political party in the United States. In business, he has had nine projects, seven of them working. In politics there will be only the third, the first were the election of Trump as president and DOGE. And there the score is 1:1 so far.

USA