📉 Gold Falls as Markets Bet on Trump-Xi Trade Deal

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Good Morning & Happy Monday!

t’s a big week for markets and tech, with Trump and Xi’s upcoming summit fueling optimism across stocks and gold, Big Tech earnings testing the AI boom. Plus, we’ve got insights on Buffett’s leadership, Google’s smartest bets, and a new way to live your money, not just save it.

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Market News

📈 Stocks Rally as Trump-Xi Summit Fuels Hopes for US-China Trade Breakthrough
President Trump and Xi Jinping will meet Thursday in South Korea, with U.S. officials saying a trade deal framework is nearly set. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expects China to resume soybean buys and delay rare earth export limits. Trump said he believes they’ll “come away with a deal.” Meanwhile, Trump signed new trade pacts in Southeast Asia.

👇️ Gold continues drop on renewed optimism around US-China trade talks
Gold prices slipped to around $4,065 in early Asian trading Monday as investors took profits after a record-breaking rally. Renewed optimism over the upcoming Trump–Xi summit and a stronger U.S. dollar curbed safe-haven demand. Meanwhile, soft U.S. inflation data boosted bets on a Fed rate cut, which could later lend support to gold.

⛽️ Big Tech to report earnings under specter of AI bubble
Big Tech’s earnings week has investors asking if the AI boom is turning into a bubble. Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta are set to post strong revenue gains, but critics like Sam Altman and Jeff Bezos warn valuations are racing ahead of reality. Despite plans to spend $400 billion on AI, only 5% of projects show real returns, an MIT study found. That could threaten the $6 trillion rally built on AI hype since ChatGPT’s debut.

🤖 The future of Tesla is really hard to build
Tesla is chasing an AI-powered, autonomous future, but the price tag keeps climbing. CEO Elon Musk says projects like Optimus and self-driving tech could “end poverty” and revolutionize life, yet costs are soaring while profits slip. R&D spending hit $1.6 billion, topping Tesla’s quarterly profit for the third straight time. With margins shrinking and capex set to surge, even loyal investors blinked, sending the stock lower after earnings.

⛏️ Rare Earths Aren’t Rare
Every few years, fears resurface about China’s grip on rare earths, but experts say the panic is overblown. While China once dominated, new global sources in Australia, Chile, and Brazil are emerging, and innovation has reduced dependence on Chinese supply. Economist Tim Worstall notes rare earths are “neither rare nor earths,” arguing that better U.S. regulation could unlock vast domestic reserves. In short, the world has options, and China’s monopoly isn’t what it used to be.

This week in Tech

📱 Trump and Xi will ‘consummate’ TikTok deal on Thursday
The U.S. and China have finalized a TikTok deal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed Sunday. The agreement, first outlined in Madrid, will be signed by Trump and Xi in Korea this week. Under Trump’s order, TikTok’s U.S. arm, including its algorithm and moderation, will be overseen by a new board led by Oracle with backing from Fox Corp, Andreessen Horowitz, and Silver Lake.

🚕 Nvidia is reportedly planning a robotaxi project to challenge Tesla
Nvidia is reportedly launching a $3 billion robotaxi project, led by senior director Ruchi Bhargava, according to 36Kr. The initiative will use an end-to-end AI system similar to Tesla’s FSD and leverage Nvidia’s Cosmos world model to simulate complex driving scenarios. Though still trailing Tesla and Waymo, Nvidia aims to build real-world autonomy expertise while using its Drive Thor chips and vast AI resources to close the gap.

🏢 Microsoft Teams Starts Telling Your Company If You’re Not At Work
Microsoft Teams is about to get a lot more revealing. A new Microsoft 365 update will let Teams automatically share your location whenever you’re connected to your company’s Wi-Fi, meaning your boss will know if you’re actually in the office or not. While Microsoft says it’s meant to boost productivity, critics warn it’s a privacy nightmare that could lead to some awkward conversations at work.

🧠 Seduction is the new spyware: US tech startups are now the target of "sex warfare"
U.S. counterintelligence officials warn of a surge in “sex warfare” tactics used by China and Russia to infiltrate American tech firms. Operatives reportedly target employees through seduction, marriage, or investment schemes to steal trade secrets, costing the U.S. up to $600 billion a year. Experts say the espionage extends beyond romance, with foreign investors quietly buying stakes in startups tied to the Department of Defense, exploiting legal loopholes to access critical technology.

Invest & Strategies

🔎 Google Has $754 Million Invested in These 3 Hot Growth Stocks
Alphabet’s top stock pick, AST Spacemobile, has surged nearly 4x this year, making it a standout in the tech giant’s portfolio. The company is building the first space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by smartphones, with U.S. service launching by year-end and expansion to Canada, Japan, and the U.K. in 2026. With Alphabet’s $418 million stake (about 19.6% of its portfolio).

🦉 Buffett on Leadership, Abel’s Ascent, and Apple’s $4 Trillion Comeback
Berkshire Beat highlights a revealing look at Warren Buffett’s 2017 partnership with 3G Capital’s Jorge Paulo Lemann, exploring how mutual trust bridged their contrasting leadership styles. Soon-to-be CEO Greg Abel discussed Berkshire’s potential role in powering hyperscaler data centers, stressing capital discipline. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone 17 launch smashed expectations, helping push its stock near a $4 trillion market cap, while Coca-Cola aims to make Fanta the face of Halloween, proving Buffett’s favorite brands still know how to grab attention.

💰️ From Hoarding to Living: Rethinking What Money Is For
“People want to live their money, not just accumulate it,” says Pete Dorsey, co-founder of AI-driven financial app Wing. The platform flips traditional planning by focusing on experiences over endless saving, blending AI insights with emotional intelligence to craft personalized goals like “Traveling the World” or “Living Like a Nomad.” The shift reflects a growing belief that wealth is for living, not hoarding, a mindset the financial industry is only now starting to embrace.