📈 Trump Wants Intel’s CEO Out

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Good Morning & Happy Friday!

Markets may be ignoring Trump, but investors shouldn’t ignore rising volatility, from tariffs and crypto in 401(k)s to a sudden shake-up at Intel.

Plus, Duolingo rides high before GPT‑5 steals the spotlight, and we dig into meme mania, housing gridlock, and the quiet power of regret.

Grab your Flat White and let’s get into it. ☕️ 👇️ 

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Market News

📊 Global stock markets appear numb to Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. Here’s why
Global markets are increasingly shrugging off President Trump’s latest tariff salvo, reacting with a curious sense of desensitisation despite escalating protectionist threats, some tariffs now reaching as high as 100% on key sectors like chips and pharma.

Markets have remained surprisingly resilient, buoyed by AI optimism and record gains, even as concerns mount over inflation, global growth slowdown, and pressure on emerging economies like India. Analysts warn this calm may mask a dangerous complacency just as uncertainty deepens.

⚠️ Experts advise caution in adding private assets like crypto to 401(k)s
Financial experts are warning investors to tread carefully as the Trump administration opens the door for 401(k)s to include private assets like crypto. While the move could offer diversification and potentially higher returns, critics point to serious risks around liquidity, valuation, and increased regulatory scrutiny.

😅 Intel Stock Slips as Trump Says CEO 'Must Resign, Immediately'
Intel stock slid nearly 3% after Trump publicly called for CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s immediate resignation, accusing him of having close ties to Chinese firms. The move rattled investors and reignited national security concerns tied to U.S. tech leadership. Intel responded by standing behind Tan and emphasizing its commitment to domestic chip production.

📈 How Do Stocks Perform During Fed Easing Cycles?
Historically, the S&P 500 rose during two-thirds of Federal Reserve easing cycles, averaging a gain of about 30% and a median return of 13%. Excluding two major outliers, the dot‑com boom and the financial crisis, the average return during easing was around 19%. In the current cycle, the index is already up roughly 12%, suggesting there could be further upside in the remainder of 2025.

🐔 Duolingo stock soars after earnings, forfeits roughly half its gains after OpenAI GPT-5 demo
Duolingo stock spiked over 30% after a strong Q2 earnings report, but later gave up nearly half those gains following OpenAI’s unexpected GPT-5 demo. The language app posted 40% DAU growth, beat on revenue with $252.3M, and raised full-year guidance past $1B. Despite the AI overhang, shares still closed 13% higher and continued rising in Friday premarket.

Invest & Strategies

🧠 OpenAI Finally Launched GPT-5. Here's Everything You Need to Know
OpenAI just rolled out GPT‑5, now the default model for both free and paid ChatGPT users, hailed as smarter, more accurate, and much faster than before. It delivers a near‑expert level of understanding, “like talking to a PhD,” says OpenAI, and brings key upgrades in reasoning, coding, and safety. With its massive token capacity, more thoughtful responses, and enterprise-ready features, GPT‑5 marks a major step in how AI collaborates with users, though it stops short of claiming full AGI.

🪄 The Grand Illusion
Mark Newfield breaks down the illusion behind meme stocks like GameStop and Opendoor, arguing that their explosive gains are driven by narrative, not fundamentals. He cautions that timing-based trades are mostly luck, not skill, and that the same speculative frenzy from the dot-com era is alive and well today. The takeaway? The smartest move might be the boring one: discipline, diversification, and long-term habits over hype.

🏘️ It’s the Housing, Stupid
Nick Maggiulli argues that the real driver behind simultaneous surges in meme‑stock frenzy and record money‑market inflows isn’t investor bravado, it’s the broken housing market. With soaring prices and rates blocking homeownership, idle cash is being diverted into speculative bets and safe havens instead of real estate. He lays out three possible futures.

🥹 There’s no investing without regret
In a heartfelt letter, investor Vishal Khandelwal confronts regret as a constant companion in the investing journey, from missed opportunities to premature exits. He explores how regret aversion bias can lead to indecision, second-guessing, and emotional paralysis. But instead of resisting it, he’s learning to welcome regret as a teacher, one that humbles, sharpens process, and reminds us that perfect outcomes are never the goal, survival with discipline is.

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