Major negative news hits the market.

On Friday, Trump raised alarm by declaring that the U.S. might launch another strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. Markets panicked instantly: Brent crude oil surged sharply, closing up 3.8% at $109.95—just shy of a new short-term high. Rising oil prices weighed heavily on equities—especially high-valuation tech and growth stocks. The Nasdaq plunged 2.15%, the U.S. semiconductor index dropped 4%, Micron fell 5.6%, Oracle slid 4.6%, and AMD tumbled 6%. Spooked by the sharp selloff, Trump backtracked on Saturday, claiming, “The nearly eight-month-long war with Iran will soon end, and gasoline prices will fall below pre-war levels.” The problem? Trump has made similar flip-flops countless times before. If it doesn’t stink, who still believes it? Another piece of bad news gained traction over the weekend: According to Reuters, after Anthropic disclosed its latest financial data, some investors expressed disappointment over the company’s slowing sequential growth—and are now considering lowering their valuation estimates for the firm. Three insiders revealed that, during an investor briefing held in San Francisco, some participants discussed valuing Anthropic at approximately $1.5 trillion—significantly down from the earlier expectation of $2 trillion. Markets are growing increasingly anxious about AI startups facing ever-costlier fundraising and mounting cash-burn pressure. This concern isn’t baseless: Anthropic is advancing a $60-billion chip-related financing plan, under which Blackstone—the global private equity giant—has agreed to subscribe to subordinated debt carrying a coupon as high as 10%. Subordinated debt ranks lower than senior debt in repayment priority—but principal and interest must still be repaid; otherwise, it triggers a debt default. Just this past June, Anthropic issued subordinated debt at an 8.5% interest rate. In only four months, that rate jumped by 1.5 percentage points. By comparison, the yield on U.S. 30-year Treasury bonds stands at 5.42%, while domestic principal-guaranteed wealth management products offering just 3% yields have virtually vanished from the market. Anthropic’s subordinated debt now yields 10%. Such an exceptionally high return implies that mainstream U.S. institutions view Anthropic’s subordinated debt as carrying substantial risk—and demand commensurately higher compensation. Soaring oil prices, coupled with Anthropic’s downward valuation revision and skyrocketing bond financing costs, directly triggered Friday’s sharp selloff in U.S. semiconductor and optical communications stocks—key hardware enablers of AI. Oil-driven inflation hurts valuations; Anthropic’s troubles run deeper—they threaten earnings and even the fundamental investment thesis.

After 63-year-old Abel took charge of Berkshire Hathaway, he invested $10 billion in Google on June 1 and fully exited Amazon. Does even the 'Oracle of Omaha' no longer believe in Amazon?

Folks, this massive transaction on June 1 lit up the entire investment community. Alphabet—the parent company of Google—announced the largest equity financing in its history: $80 billion, entirely earmarked for AI computing infrastructure. Backing this financing is none other than Berkshire Hathaway—the legendary firm from Omaha, USA—which committed $10 billion in a private placement. The mastermind behind this deal? Greg Abel—63 years old, handpicked by Warren Buffett as his successor. Many people simply scrolled past this as just another financial headline. But if you’re in cross-border e-commerce, I urge you to pause and reflect carefully—because Abel’s move—loading up on Google while completely exiting Amazon—holds critical insights every cross-border seller needs to understand. 1. First, let’s clarify exactly what Abel did: Since Buffett announced his retirement and Abel officially assumed leadership in May 2025, the new CEO had remained relatively low-key. But this time, he acted decisively—and his move carries real substance: • On June 1, he injected $10 billion into Google via private placement—$5 billion each in Class A and Class C shares. • Meanwhile, in Q1 this year, he fully liquidated Berkshire’s Amazon position—selling all 2.276 million shares. In short: heavy investment in Google, full exit from Amazon. Both are top-tier giants in the AI era—so why does this ‘disciple of the Oracle’ hold such starkly divergent views? The answer boils down to two words: cash flow. 2. Buying Google while selling Amazon is, at its core, a cash-flow calculation. Let’s start with Amazon. Its cloud business (AWS) continues to grow—but AI is an insatiable money pit, aggressively draining cash flow. Over the past 12 months, Amazon’s free cash flow plummeted from $25.9 billion to just $1.2 billion. Folks, that drop alone is painful to witness. Now consider Google. It, too, is pouring massive resources into AI—with capital expenditures projected at $180–190 billion in 2026. Yet its cash flow remains rock-solid: • Google Cloud revenue surged 63.3% year-on-year, surpassing $20 billion for the first time; • Revenue from Gemini-powered products soared nearly 800% year-on-year (yes—you read that right: 800%); • Search advertising remains stable, holding 89–93% of global market share; • Cloud backlog exceeds $46 billion—nearly doubling quarter-on-quarter. In one sentence, Abel’s logic is this: “If both companies burn cash on AI, I’ll invest in the one that can afford it—and keep generating profits while doing so.” That’s the wisdom of ‘old money’. It’s incredibly steady. Speaking of Amazon’s full exit—I need to share something candid with you all. I myself once held Amazon stock. My reasoning was simple: I run my business daily on Amazon—I know the platform inside out; its revenue keeps rising year after year—so buying it blindly seemed foolproof. But after holding it for a while, things felt increasingly off. Yes, revenue grew—but profits and cash flow were being devoured by AI investments, logistics expansion, and heavy asset spending. The stock price barely budged. Eventually, I sold it—keeping only a tiny residual position. At the time, I even wondered whether I lacked patience. Now, seeing Abel fully exit Amazon and pivot decisively into Google, I actually feel reassured—because my gut-level judgment aligned with the logic of the Oracle’s chosen successor. The only difference? He deploys tens of billions of dollars; I manage only a small retail portfolio.

Albemarle Corporation Stock 12-Month Price Target Cut to $150.17

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Analysts lowered Albemarle's 12-month price target to $150.17, maintaining a consensus Buy rating despite the slight reduction, implying 66% potential upside.

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