The Finimize Daily Brief – Details, episodes & analysis

OpenAI made history with its $6.6 billion funding round, while Tesco – the UK’s top supermarket – showed resilience despite a tough environment.

Today’s stories:

• OpenAI Raised $6.6 Billion In One Of The Biggest-Ever Venture Capital Funding Rounds
• Grocer Tesco Lifted Its Profit Forecast For The Year After A Fresh And Tasty First Half

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This earnings season, investors are forecasting S&P 500 companies will deliver profit growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, while Tesla announced a weaker-than-expected quarterly update.

Today’s stories:

• Investors Are Expecting A Good Showing From S&P 500 Companies This Earnings Season
• Tesla Delivered Fewer Cars Than Expected, And Investors Hit The Brakes

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Demand for the most expensive Swiss watches picked up while “cheaper” timepieces fell behind, and India’s runaway stock market just propelled the country past China in a major benchmark index.

Today’s stories:

• Demand For Expensive Swiss Watches Ticked Up, But Shoppers Are Still Divided
• India Just Overtook China In One Of The World’s Biggest Stock Market Indexes

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Three big-name firms teamed up to build a fund focused on AI investments, and they’re set on raising $30 billion, while UK inflation stayed slightly above the Bank of England’s 2% target in August.

Today’s stories:

• BlackRock, Microsoft, And MGX Are Teaming Up On An AI Infrastructure Fund
• UK Inflation Held Still And Steady Last Month, ​​Just As Economists Predicted

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Intel announced major cost cuts and restructuring plans, while US retail sales defied pessimistic predictions by picking up in August.

Today’s stories:

• After A Sharp Stock Sell-Off, Intel’s Planning To Separate Its Manufacturing Business
• US Retail Sales Came In Strong, Suggesting The Economy’s Holding Its Own

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Americans have fallen behind on car and credit payments, scaring investors away from consumer lending stocks, while the world’s biggest mining firm predicted that the AI sector’s exponential expansion could aggravate an expected copper shortage.

Today’s stories:

• More And More Americans Have Been Defaulting On Their Debts
• BHP Raised The Copper Flag, Warning That AI Will Exacerbate A Shortage

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 UniCredit built up a stake in German rival Commerzbank, and the Italian bank has a merger on the mind, while China agreed to increase its retirement age for the first time in over four decades.

Today’s stories:

• UniCredit’s Been Building A Stake In Commerzbank, With Some Kind Of Union In Mind
• China’s Set To Bump Up Its Retirement Age For The First Time In More Than 40 Years

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OpenAI’s valuation is set to hit $150 billion, with tech giants said to be ready to line its coffers, while the European Central Bank cut interest rates to 3.5%.

Today’s stories:

• OpenAI Is Fundraising Again, At A Shiny New $150 Billion Valuation
• The European Central Bank Cut Interest Rates For The Second Time This Year

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US inflation cooled by slightly more than expected in August, while a popular type of ETF just launched in Europe for the first time.

Today’s stories:

• The Latest US Inflation Reading Showed The Lowest Level Since 2021
• A Popular Type Of ETF Just Launched In Europe – To Investors’ Delight

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Big Tech's been hogging the AI opportunities, leaving VC firms in limbo, while fresh data suggested that China’s headed toward a period of deflation.

Today’s stories:

• Big Tech’s Been Dominating Private Markets, Leaving VC Firms Out In The Cold
• Looks Like China’s On The Precipice Of Economy-Sinking Deflation

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