Finance
Home Depot Reports 1.7% Comparable-Sales Growth in Q2, Reaffirms Full-Year Guidance
The retailer's first results since CEO Ted Decker began a temporary medical leave beat analyst estimates on sales and earnings, while the CFO described U.S. housing conditions as "frozen."
Gold Trades Above $4,400 an Ounce, Still Below Its January Record, as Weak July Jobs Data Cuts September Fed Rate-Hike Odds
Spot gold has climbed back above $4,400 after a July payrolls report showed U.S. job losses, lowering market odds of a Federal Reserve rate increase, while central banks bought a record amount of gold in the second quarter.
Bloomberg Reports Stripe Has Agreed to Buy AI Model Router OpenRouter for More Than $7 Billion
Neither company has publicly confirmed the deal, which reports value at over five times the $1.3 billion valuation OpenRouter received in a May 2026 funding round.
U.S.-China Business Council Says Talks on Investment Board Agreed at May Summit Have Not Started
The U.S.-China Board of Investment, announced after the May 14 Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, has seen no formal consultations and is not expected among deliverables for Xi's September 24 Washington visit, while a separate tariff-relief mechanism moves ahead.
Texas Judge Defers Approval of 777 Partners' $2.5 Million Bankruptcy Loan; Rival Funding Offer Filed
The Miami investment firm, which listed at least $2.7 billion in funded debt when it filed for Chapter 11 on August 9, is also fighting over whether its case belongs in Texas or Florida.
Bloomberg Reports OpenAI's Annualized Revenue Run Rate Passed $40 Billion; IPO Date Still Unset
Bloomberg, citing an internal memo from president Greg Brockman, says OpenAI's revenue pace has roughly doubled since the end of 2025, while reporting since late June says the company's planned listing may slip past 2026.
Globant Cuts 2026 Revenue Outlook to $2.428–$2.462 Billion; Shares Fall After Aug. 13 Report
The software engineering firm reported Q2 revenue within its guided range but missed on earnings, lowered its full-year forecast, and saw its stock drop sharply the next trading day.
Reddit to Join S&P 500 on Aug. 18, Replacing AvalonBay; Shares Rose About 16% on the News
S&P Dow Jones Indices said Reddit will enter the benchmark index before trading opens August 18, taking the slot of AvalonBay Communities, which is closing its merger with Equity Residential.
Retail Sales Fell 0.6% in July; Consumer Sentiment Index Fell to 51.0 in Early August
The Census Bureau reported the first monthly drop in retail sales in nine months, and the University of Michigan's preliminary sentiment reading fell about 8% from July, as the two sides argue over whether the Iran war or underlying inflation is the main cause.
Maersk Raises 2026 Profit Outlook to $10.5-12.5 Billion After Q2 Earnings Beat Forecasts
The Danish shipping group reported second-quarter EBITDA of $3.0 billion and lifted its full-year guidance for the second time in 2026, with executives and analysts disagreeing over how much of the gain comes from Middle East disruption versus port congestion and Chinese exports.
Teledyne Agrees to Buy Varex Imaging for $18.90 a Share in Cash, a Deal Valued at About $1.1 Billion
The all-cash agreement, announced August 10, 2026, is about 52% above Varex's prior closing price and needs shareholder and antitrust approvals before an expected early-2027 close.
New York Regulator Approves Western Union's $500 Million Purchase of Intermex; California Suspends Its Own Approval Extension
Western Union and International Money Express said New York's financial regulator cleared the all-cash deal, while California's regulator withdrew an approval extension a day earlier, leaving the closing date unset.