Amazon is in talks to buy Decart for about $7 billion, roughly 1.75 times its May valuation. Korea's Kospi fell 3.65% as Samsung and SK hynix each lost more than 4%. Event markets set a $22.2 billion weekly record in the week ended Oct. 4, and Washington then moved to call them swaps.
The Bull Market Turns Four Near the Highest Borrowing Cost of Its Run
The S&P 500 has gained more than 110% since Oct. 12, 2022. It closed Friday at 7,811.54, about 1,000 trading days into the longest run since the 2009 to 2020 rally.
The 10-year Treasury yield ended last week near 5.24%, after touching levels last seen in 2002. The Fed raised rates in September for the first time since 2023.
S&P 500 futures were flat near 8 a.m. Brent crude traded near $106, back above Friday's settlement. It had briefly dropped more than 2% after President Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" that Moscow has not confirmed. Diesel stayed lower.
Investor Signal
Stocks have climbed alongside long-term rates as profits kept rising. Banks report Tuesday and Wednesday, and September consumer prices land Wednesday, so both halves of that bargain get tested this week. Goldman Sachs puts the risk premium in Brent at a little over $20 a barrel. Fuel remains a live input to the inflation reading.
Ex-CIA Analyst Warns: "Trump could create chaos with Russia and China.”
Donald Trump is preparing a move that could reshape global power — and spark massive gains for early investors.
Former CIA analyst Dr. Mark Skousen warns Trump’s hardline stance on China and Russia could ignite a global fight over critical minerals used in AI chips, EVs, and U.S. weapons systems.
When the government quietly took stakes in similar companies, stocks surged 200%–300%+ in weeks.
Now Skousen says the NEXT target is a tiny $5 American company — already backed by Tesla and $130M+ in U.S. grants.
Amazon Is in Talks to Buy Decart for About $7 Billion
Amazon (AMZN) is in talks to acquire Decart, an AI startup, at around $7 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Neither company has confirmed a deal.
That price would be about 1.75 times Decart's valuation of nearly $4 billion in May, per PitchBook data. Nvidia (NVDA) joined that round as a new investor.
Decart's software makes it easier for developers to switch between different AI chips. Amazon designs its own chips for Amazon Web Services, and AWS gave Decart early access to its Trainium3 chip in 2025.
Another buyer looked first. Anthropic explored a deal in August for potentially about $6 billion, Bloomberg reported. It decided in September not to pursue it after due diligence.
Investor Signal
At about 0.25% of Amazon's $2.82 trillion market value, the price matters for strategy more than earnings. Software that moves AI work between chips could make it easier for cloud customers to shift from Nvidia hardware to Amazon's own. On Monday, Broadcom (AVGO) chief Hock Tan said capital "might be the biggest constraint" on the AI buildout. A purchase this small relative to Amazon's size does not hinge on lenders. A signed agreement, and any regulatory review, will show whether the price holds.
Korea's Market Fell 3.65%. Its Currency Rose to a Two-Year High.
The Kospi dropped 3.65% to 6,384.24 on Monday, and the tech-heavy Kosdaq lost 4.83%. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each fell more than 4%, as foreign investors sold the two memory makers.
The won still strengthened to its best level in two years, helped by heavy dollar sales from local companies. That split suggests the selloff was about memory chips more than about Korea.
Seoul analysts cited several reasons. China's CXMT said it had made progress on a denser memory design. Buybacks at both companies have ended or are nearly done. Korea was shut Friday for a holiday, so Monday absorbed two sessions of global trading, including Thursday's chip selloff.
Investor Signal
Memory makers sell into the AI buildout, so they are among the first stocks to feel doubt about funding it. Tan's capital warning came the same day, from a supplier whose sales depend on that spending. ASML (ASML) reports Wednesday and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) on Thursday. Both will be asked about demand for advanced chips into 2027.
Porter Stansberry's Critical New Warning:
Trump Is Replacing The U.S. Dollar
"The last time America reset its money, it created 1,300 millionaires every day. This could be bigger."
Analysts Expect Nearly 30% Profit Growth. Banks Will Show Who Pays for 5% Rates.
The consensus calls for S&P 500 earnings to rise 29.6% from a year earlier, driven largely by AI data centers. It would be a third straight quarter above 25%, according to FactSet.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C) report before Tuesday's open. Analysts expect JPMorgan to earn about $5.93 a share. Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) follow Wednesday, the morning of the inflation report.
Rates reach banks through three channels. Higher yields lift loan income and deposit costs alike, and they cut the value of bonds banks hold. Fuel and borrowing costs strain households and small firms, which shows up first in loan-loss provisions.
Investor Signal
AI-driven profits set the average. Borrowers paying 5% show up lower in the release. Loan-loss provisions and card charge-offs at JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are the numbers to read first. With cash bonds shut Monday, Tuesday is the only cash Treasury session before banks and inflation land together Wednesday.
Most of Evernorth's SPAC Holders Took Their Cash. The Rest Hold Shares 61.5% Above the Cash-Out Price.
Evernorth, built to hold XRP, is expected to begin trading on Nasdaq Monday as XRPN. It closed its merger with Armada Acquisition Corp. II on Oct. 9 and says it holds about 473 million XRP.
Holders redeemed about 80% of eligible shares, roughly $195 million at $10.58 each, its SEC filing shows. Japan's SBI Holdings controls 39.9% of the voting shares. Ripple Labs holds 7.1%.
The deal valued XRP at about $2.37 at signing and $1.43 at closing, a drop of about 39.5%. Armada closed Friday at $17.09, about 61.5% above the redemption price.
Investor Signal
Amazon is in talks to pay up for a private AI asset. Most of Evernorth's public holders declined to pay up for XRP inside a company wrapper. Those who stayed are betting the stock is worth more than the tokens it holds. That premium cannot be measured until the full share count is published. Lockups for Ripple and the sponsor run six months.
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Event Markets Set a $22.2 Billion Weekly Record. Washington Wants to Call Them Swaps.
Kalshi and Polymarket handled a record $22.2 billion in the week ended Oct. 4, Bloomberg reported, citing Dune Analytics data. Over the Oct. 3 and 4 NFL weekend they set consecutive daily records, totaling $8.56 billion.
More than 80% of Kalshi's September volume involved sports, and parlay-style contracts made up about 65% of its trading in the record week, Bloomberg reported. At least 44 states say sports contracts break their gambling laws.
On Oct. 9, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission proposed defining event contracts tied to sports, politics, culture and weather as swaps. A companion interim rule keeps sportsbook and casino wagers outside that definition. The Federal Register is closed Monday, so neither can be published before Tuesday.
Investor Signal
Swap status would strengthen the industry's case that federal law, not state gambling rules, governs its contracts. Appeals courts have split on that question, and a federal proposal does not bind states, tribes or judges. The more volume comes from parlays, the harder the business is to separate from sportsbooks. Kalshi's Supreme Court filing, due Nov. 9, is the next test.
Amazon is in talks to pay well above a startup's last price. Seoul sold the chipmakers that supply the buildout, as a major supplier called capital its tightest limit. Most SPAC holders chose cash over a crypto premium. Event markets came off a record week as Washington moved to redefine them.
The buyers with cash are still bidding. This week's banks and inflation data show what money costs everyone else.
3 Stocks at a Major Turning Point
Something unusual is happening beneath the surface of three widely followed stocks.
In each case, the fundamentals are saying one thing... while institutional activity, management signals or the options market are saying something else.
That kind of disagreement can matter.
Because when the evidence stops lining up, the next move in the story often comes down to a handful of signals most investors never think to watch.
Our new FREE Market Tell Special Report breaks down three of these situations, and shows you exactly what we’re watching next.