Bracing for decision

Investors brace for Fed signal on rate cuts, Senate passes stablecoin bill in milestone for crypto, traders pile into bets on the NEXT Fed Chair, Trump: EU and Japan not offering fair trade deals, and Meta offered OpenAI staffers $100M bonuses...

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Market Briefing
June 18, 2025

Good morning.

The Fast Five → Investors brace for Fed signal on rate cuts, Senate passes stablecoin bill in milestone for crypto, traders pile into bets on the NEXT Fed Chair, Trump: EU and Japan not offering fair trade deals, and Meta offered OpenAI staffers $100M bonuses…

📌 Buffett. Griffin. Abramovich. Koch Brothers. Congress. They're all quietly investing in the same $20 stock Why? It sits in a sector that impacts $85 trillion in economic activity - that's 13x bigger than oil. And the AI revolution could send this stock soaring. Get the ticker here » (ad)

Calendar: (all times ET) - Full Calendar

  • Today:
    Initial jobless claims, 8:30A
    Fed interest-rate decision, 2:00P
    Jerome Powell press conf, 2:30P

  • Tomorrow:
    Market holiday (Juneteenth)

Your 5-minute briefing for Wednesday, June 18:

BEFORE THE OPEN

As of market close 6/17/2025.

Pre-Market:

US Investor % Bullish Sentiment:
↑ 36.67% for Week of JUN 12 2025

Previous week: 32.66%.

Market Wrap:

  • • Futures: Dow -7 pts (-0.02%), S&P +0.01%, Nasdaq +0.02%
    • Tue: Dow -299 pts (-0.70%), S&P -0.84%, Nasdaq -0.91%
    • Oil surged 4%, pressuring equities
    • Fed decision today; dot plot & Powell comments in focus
    • May housing starts, jobless claims due Wednesday
    • Trump threatens Iran with “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER” post

EARNINGS

Light earnings week. Here’s what we’re watching:

Buffett's Last Big Trade

Warren Buffett has just become the largest shareholder of one small-cap stock.

Most investors are still in the dark about this opportunity.

But a group of other smart billionaires are following him into this cash generating stock.

HEADLINES

The Federal Reserve’s first scheduled meeting under the new chief would come in June 2026.

The 68-30 vote marked a rare moment of bipartisanship in the deeply divided Senate.

  • Investors brace for Fed signal on 2025 rate cuts (more)

  • Indexes end lower as Israel-Iran fighting raises investor anxiety (more)

  • Fed policymakers meet as new data raises growth concerns (more)

  • Trump says EU not offering fair trade deal, Japan being 'tough' too (more)

  • Solar stocks plunge on Senate proposal to phase out tax credits (more)

  • US retail sales slumped in May as consumers pull back (more)

  • Dollar steady as investors monitor Israel-Iran conflict ahead of Fed (more)

  • Oil near five-month high on Middle-East tensions (more)

  • Trump will extend TikTok sale deadline for third time (more)

  • Musk's xAI to raise $5 billion in fresh debt, following modest demand (more)

  • Altman says Meta offered OpenAI staffers $100M bonuses (more)

  • Amazon CEO tells employees that AI will shrink its workforce (more)

  • Goldman leveraging revamp to boost Asia investment banking share (more)

DEALFLOW

M+A | Investments

  • Eli Lilly to acquire Verve Therapeutics for up to $1.3 billion

  • Renewable firm Boralex to invest $5 billion to double output

  • Ascension Health expands reach with $3.9 billion AmSurg deal

  • UniCredit CEO says to gradually exit Generali investment

VC

  • Mach Industries, a defense tech company, closed $100M in Series B funding

  • Pano AI, an AI wildfire detection provider, raised $44M in Series B funding

  • Sword Health, an AI care company, raised $40M in Series A funding at a $4B valuation

  • Hoppr, an AI imaging applications company, raised $31.5 M in Series A funding

  • Fiber Global, a sustainable building materials company, raised $20M in Series A funding

  • Digger, an infrastructure dev‑tool startup, raised $3.6M in Seed funding

  • Quilt Health, a digital health company, raised $6M in Seed funding

  • Applied Intuition, Inc., a vehicle intelligence company, closed a $600M Series F funding round at a $15B valuation

  • ABM Respiratory Care, a medical technology company, raised $14.8M in Series B funding

CRYPTO

  • Altcoins resume decline as haven appeal of digital assets fades (more)

  • Crypto is investing in Democrats to advance agenda in Congress (more)

  • Bitcoin downside risk lingers, upside hinges on holding above $102K (more)

BULLISH BITES

📈 The hidden $20 stock billionaires & Congress are buying. * 

🤖 Meta sacrifices a heap of money at the altar of AI.

📺 It’s Official: Streaming is now the king of TV.

💍 Venice locals plan to disrupt Jeff Bezos's wedding.

🛥 The ultra-rich turn Vietnam into a new hot spot for luxury yachts.

DAILY SHARES

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