What’s News in Markets: Tech Winners and Losers, Fed Fallout, Taco Bell Rebound

What’s News in Markets: Tech Winners and Losers, Fed Fallout, Taco Bell Rebound

Between Microsoft, Meta, Apple and Amazon, who emerged from a big week for tech earnings unscathed? And how did Jersey Mike’s stock trade post-IPO? Plus, why did Universal Music Group lose a quarter of its value? Host Shradha Dinesh discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter [https://www.wsj.com/newsletters/markets-am?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Chaos in Energy Markets Boosts Big Oil Earnings

P.M. Edition for July 31. ExxonMobil and Chevron had a blockbuster quarter [https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/exxonmobil-xom-chevron-cvx-2q-earnings-report-2026-stock-77ca6092?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] after the Iran war disrupted energy markets. Journal reporter Collin Eaton [https://www.wsj.com/news/author/collin-eaton?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] discusses the historic refining margins they’re enjoying. Plus, America’s lettuce growers are facing a steep decline in sales [https://www.wsj.com/business/hospitality/california-lettuce-growers-skip-harvest-plow-their-crops-back-into-the-ground-f2020d89?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] because of the cyclospora outbreak. As WSJ’s Amira McKee [https://www.wsj.com/news/author/amira-mckee?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] explains, that’s forcing some to make some tough choices about what to do with their current crops. And Apple saw a record decline in market cap after the iPhone maker’s disappointing outlook [https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-aapl-q3-earnings-report-2026-stock-a2eed24e?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. Alex Ossola hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter [https://www.wsj.com/newsletters/whats-news?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What’s News in Earnings: Can AI Investments Help Private Credit’s Recovery?

Bonus Episode for July 31. Investment firms like Blackstone, KKR and Blue Owl [https://www.wsj.com/tech/investment-giants-shake-off-upheaval-in-private-credit-industry-6f7dc90c?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] have been battered over the past year by a client exodus from private-credit funds [https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/an-exodus-of-money-endangers-wall-streets-private-credit-craze-d0fbb8af?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. WSJ lead financial reporter AnnaMaria Andriotis [https://www.wsj.com/news/author/annamaria-andriotis?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] discusses the state of the industry’s recovery from a surge in redemption requests from rattled investors and whether these firms’ investments in AI [https://www.wsj.com/finance/investing/blackstone-bx-q2-earnings-report-stock-2026-99916051?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] can help them recover from blows to the software sector. WSJ reporter Matt Wirz [https://www.wsj.com/news/author/matt-wirz?mod=WSJ_WNPOD], who covers credit, hosts this special bonus episode of What's News in Earnings, where we dig into companies’ earnings reports and analyst calls to find out what’s going on under the hood of the American economy. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter [https://www.wsj.com/newsletters/markets-am?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Token Costs Have Execs Rethinking AI Rollouts

A.M. Edition for July 31. Earnings from AI hyperscalers this week showed rising demand [https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/amazon-earnings-q2-2026-amzn-stock-3daf95f7?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] for their cloud services, with Amazon’s CEO forecasting corporate AI use was still in its ‘early stages.’ But as EY’s Dan Diasio tells us, rising token costs [https://www.wsj.com/business/china-us-ai-model-costs-53a12e96?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] are leading many businesses to question their broader AI approach. Plus, the U.S. says Hamas has agreed to a broad plan to disarm [https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-says-hamas-has-agreed-to-broad-plan-to-disarm-71a446c2?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] in exchange for an eventual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. And WSJ reporter Margherita Stancati [https://www.wsj.com/news/author/margherita-stancati?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]describes how the arrival of thousands of migrants into the Spanish territory of Ceuta [https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/thousands-of-migrants-pour-across-border-into-a-tiny-spanish-territory-0af0d1a3?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] from neighboring Morocco is piling political pressure on the center-left government in Madrid. Luke Vargas hosts. Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter [https://www.wsj.com/newsletters/whats-news?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Why the U.S. Economy Slowed in the Second Quarter

P.M. Edition for July 30. The U.S. economy grew just 1.5% [https://www.wsj.com/economy/u-s-economic-growth-slowed-to-1-5-in-second-quarter-003c464f?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] last quarter, lower than the previous quarter and falling short of economists’ expectations. WSJ economics reporter Harriet Torry [https://www.wsj.com/news/author/harriet-torry?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] explains why the details in the report, particularly around consumer spending, suggest things aren’t as bad as the headline number makes it seem. Plus, the buzzy AI-focused hedge fund Situational Awareness, founded by AI whiz kid Leopold Aschenbrenner, sold most of its stock portfolio [https://www.wsj.com/finance/citadel-buys-situational-awarenesss-stock-portfolio-after-big-losses-in-ai-5117159b?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] to investment firm Citadel. We hear from WSJ special writer Greg Zuckerman [https://www.wsj.com/news/author/gregory-zuckerman?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] about why this happened and where the company goes from here. And a big rally in tech companies sent U.S. stocks soaring today [https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-today-dow-sp-500-nasdaq-07-30-2026?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. Alex Ossola hosts. See the new fronts [https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/see-the-new-fronts-of-the-iran-war-erupting-across-the-middle-east-dda24313?mod=WSJ_WNPOD] in the Iran war.  Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter [https://www.wsj.com/newsletters/whats-news?mod=WSJ_WNPOD]. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.