Samsung fell more than 6% and Alibaba sank after raising fresh capital for AI spending. Brent held above $93 as Washington rolled out its toughest Iran sanctions yet. Bitcoin stayed near $77,300 after its best week in years. Nvidia reports Wednesday before Kevin Warsh speaks Friday at Jackson Hole.
Monday opened with the cost of AI spending back in focus.
Samsung Electronics fell more than 6% after announcing plans to return up to 110 trillion won, or roughly $80 billion, to shareholders without giving a clear buyback or cancellation schedule. Alibaba also pressured Asia after pricing a HK$80 billion, or $10.2 billion, placement at an 8.4% discount to fund AI infrastructure.
The Kospi fell as much as 2.5%, while the MSCI Asia Pacific index slipped about 0.2%. U.S. futures also pointed lower.
Friday had provided some relief. The S&P 500 gained 0.43% to 7,674, the Dow rose 0.98% to 53,277, and the Nasdaq added 0.43% to 26,180 after flash PMI reached a 52-month high. The weekly picture was weaker. The S&P still lost about 1.4%, while tech fell more than 3% as long yields stayed elevated.
This week now runs through two events. Nvidia (NVDA) reports Wednesday alongside July PCE and the GDP estimate. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh delivers his first Jackson Hole keynote Friday.
The Signal
Samsung and Alibaba showed what AI funding costs shareholders today. Nvidia now has to prove the spending still earns enough to justify it.
AI's "All In" Moment
In the dot-com days, former Wall Street money manager Alexander Green bought Apple under $1. Netflix at $1.62. Amazon under $2. (Split adjusted.)
Now he's doing the same with AI.
And he says it's the biggest opportunity he's seen in 40 years.
Every few decades, a window opens that can change your financial life forever.
Washington moved from pressure to a full sanctions campaign.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the new Iran package as an “economic D-Day” aimed at cutting Tehran off from international finance. Oil still moved lower Monday, with WTI down about 1.3% to $85.93 and Brent off 1.2% near $93.22 as markets waited to see how much the sanctions actually change flows.
Iran dismissed the threat and said it would not submit.
The physical picture remains disputed. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the Navy helped move more than 15 million barrels through Hormuz on Tuesday. Ship trackers Kpler and Windward counted only about five vessels exiting that day.
Iran is allowing some Iraqi tankers through while threatening wider restrictions if Gulf states support Washington.
That gap matters more than the rhetoric. The Strait is still functioning under selective access rather than anything close to normal traffic.
Energy Signal
Washington says pressure is tightening. Tehran says it will hold the line. The real test remains how many barrels actually clear Hormuz.
Treasury's bond-market relief has mostly faded.
The 10-year yield closed Friday near 4.70%, while the 30-year finished around 5.27%. Both are close to where they traded before Treasury doubled long-bond buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation.
That is the setup Kevin Warsh inherits at Jackson Hole.
The Fed held rates at 3.50% to 3.75% in July, with three officials voting for a hike. Since then, softer jobs and inflation data have pushed September hike odds down to roughly 31%, from about 82% in mid-July.
Markets now expect Warsh to sound cautious rather than hawkish. That makes the speech more dangerous, not less. A surprise in either direction would hit a bond market already questioning whether Treasury interventions can keep long yields contained.
PCE and the latest GDP estimate arrive Wednesday before Nvidia reports.
Macro Signal
Markets have already priced a neutral Warsh. Friday matters because the consensus leaves little room for him to surprise without moving yields.
Ticker Revealed: Pre-IPO Access to the "Next Elon Musk" Company
We’ve found The Next Elon Musk… and what we believe to be the next Tesla.
It’s already racked up $26 billion in government contracts.
Peter Thiel just bet $1 Billion on it.
And you can get exposure — pre-IPO — through a 4-letter ticker symbol revealed in this free briefing.
The AI capital cycle is getting harder to ignore.
Alibaba raised $10.2 billion at a discount to fund AI infrastructure. Samsung promised up to $80 billion in shareholder returns while still funding its chip buildout. Both stocks fell.
Anthropic is pushing the same trade into public markets. The company is reportedly targeting an IPO valuation near $2 trillion, with a confidential filing possible this week and an October listing under discussion.
SpaceX (SPCX) is the warning label. The stock priced at $135 in June, surged to $225, then fell below $105 before recovering near $137 Friday. Its recent lockup expiration also failed to produce the selloff many expected.
That makes Nvidia the cleanest test of the week. Nvidia (NVDA) reports Wednesday alongside Salesforce (CRM), CrowdStrike (CRWD), and Marvell (MRVL). Investors want proof that AI demand is still growing fast enough to support the capital being raised across the sector.
Capital Signal
AI demand is still real. The question is whether the returns are arriving fast enough to justify dilution, debt and record valuations.
Bitcoin enters the week holding most of its breakout.
BTC traded near $77,300 after touching about $79,200 Friday. That capped a roughly 23% weekly gain, its strongest in years.
The flows were real. U.S.-listed Bitcoin and Ether ETFs brought in a combined $2.615 billion during the week ended August 21. Bitcoin funds accounted for $1.92 billion, while Ether products added $697 million and helped ETH reclaim $2,400.
That reversed the prior week's $392 million outflow.
The first leg was driven heavily by forced buying. Roughly $3 billion in shorts were liquidated near the peak. That liquidation pace has now fallen more than 60%, which means spot and ETF demand have to carry the move from here.
The policy story remains supportive. The CLARITY Act is scheduled for a Senate procedural vote on September 15.
Bitcoin's security community is also changing tactics. A volunteer project called Bitcoin Red Team has used AI models to scan much of Bitcoin's open-source code after recent wallet exploits raised fears that attackers are already using the same tools.
The Verdict
The squeeze started the move. ETF inflows extended it. Holding near $77,000 now depends on voluntary buyers staying in after the forced buying fades.
Louis: The "Strawberry Problem" Is Stalling the AI Revolution
Billion-dollar tech investor Louis Navellier calls it "AI's darkest secret." Until AI models solve the "Strawberry Problem," they'll never create new breakthroughs in medicine, energy, or quantum computing. The good news? One company is about to solve the crisis… unleashing a new $100 trillion opportunity.
This ad is sent on behalf of InvestorPlace Media at 1125 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201. If you're not interested in this opportunity, please click here.
This week is really about who pays for growth.
Samsung and Alibaba showed the shareholder cost of funding AI. Anthropic is asking public markets to value years of future growth at nearly $2 trillion. Nvidia has to show the demand underneath those numbers is still accelerating.
The bond market sets the price of that capital. Treasury's buybacks failed to keep the 30-year below 5.3%, and Warsh now has to explain where the Fed fits into that picture.
Bitcoin is riding the same liquidity backdrop. Its best week in years came with Treasury relief, policy optimism and record ETF demand rather than a crypto-specific breakthrough.
Wednesday brings Nvidia, PCE and GDP. Friday brings Warsh.
The first tells us whether AI spending still earns its price. The second tells us what that price of money should be.