🇨🇳 China Limits Foreign Access to AI Models

China's Ministry of Commerce plans to restrict foreigners from accessing the country's frontier AI models. Officials have already met with Alibaba, ByteDance, and to discuss these measures, which will apply even to models with open weights.

The new rules also aim to limit foreign investments in AI and treat the disclosure of patented AI technologies as a national security crime.

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📈 AI Mentions Surge in Global Earnings Calls

Mentions of AI disruptions during H1 2026 earnings calls reached a record ~780, a 310% increase from ~190 in H2 2025.

In just the first half of the year, AI was referenced more than in the previous three years combined.

Additionally, 337 executives at S&P 500 firms mentioned AI during Q1 2026 earnings calls, more than double the five-year average of 164 and over triple the ten-year average of 103.

AI is reshaping corporate strategy and financial markets.

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Here we go again.

Trump says the Iran ceasefire is over and markets may now have another reason to de-risk.

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🇨🇳 China is reopening the door to Nvidia, but on its own terms

China is reportedly preparing to let more leading AI companies buy a limited number of Nvidia H200 chips, expanding a controlled reopening that began earlier this year.

The strategy is clear: use Nvidia's chips for frontier AI training while accelerating adoption of domestic processors like Huawei's Ascend for inference workloads.
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After U.S. export restrictions blocked Nvidia's most advanced chips, the company launched the export-compliant H20, which generated $4.6 billion in quarterly sales before facing tighter restrictions. Nvidia later took a $4.5 billion inventory charge and warned of an $8 billion revenue hit after losing access to much of China's AI market.
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Earlier this year, ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent were approved to purchase more than 400,000 H200 chips, but only alongside domestic alternatives.
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The long-term trend remains unchanged. China is using every reopening to secure the AI chips it still needs while investing billions to reduce its dependence on U.S. technology.

✔️ @venture

❕ Big Tech Drives Record $182 Billion Bond Issuance in 2026

Amazon, Alphabet, Nvidia, Meta, Oracle, and SpaceX have issued a record $182 billion in investment-grade bonds this year, a 1,300% jump from $13 billion last year.

These six firms now account for nearly 15% of total US corporate bond issuance year-to-date and over 50% of this year's market growth.

A record 7 bond deals of $25 billion+ have occurred, matching the total from 2019 to last year. Six are from these Big Tech firms, one from Salesforce.

✔️ @venture

💼 Why the monthly jobs report doesn't tell the full story

The monthly U.S. jobs report often moves markets within minutes. But the headline number doesn't always reflect the true health of the labor market.
A payroll "job" can be a full-time position, part-time work, or a temporary contract. The report counts jobs, not the quality, stability, or income they provide.
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That means strong job growth doesn't necessarily mean workers are better off. More people may be taking multiple jobs, switching employers frequently, or relying on temporary work instead of permanent employment.
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For investors, the takeaway is simple: the headline payroll figure is important, but understanding what kind of jobs are being created matters just as much.

✔️ @venture

🛍 Bill Gates' daughter's app is accused of taking credit for other people's sales

Phia, the shopping app co-founded by Phoebe Gates, allegedly inserted its own affiliate tracking code during checkout, allowing it to collect commissions even when it didn't bring the customer.

A Bloomberg investigation found the behavior across more than 50 retailers, including Walmart, Nike, and Zara. Impact.com has suspended Phia's account and is reviewing past transactions.
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Phia says it was a software bug that was fixed within a day after being reported.
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The case closely mirrors the allegations that PayPal's Honey faced last year.

✔️ @venture

$5,000 investments now worth more than $1 million:

🖱AMD: 11 years ago
🖱Nvidia: 11 years ago
🖱Tesla: 15 years ago
🖱Netflix: 19 years ago
🖱Apple: 21 years ago
🖱Monster Beverage: 22 years ago
🖱Amazon: 24 years ago
🖱O'Reilly Auto: 29 years ago
🖱Starbucks: 34 years ago
🖱Qualcomm: 34 years ago
🖱Oracle: 34 years ago
🖱Microsoft: 35 years ago
🖱Cisco: 35 years ago
🖱Costco: 37 years ago
🖱Nike: 41 years ago
🖱Walmart: 42 years ago

✔️ @venture