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Dollar Rises on Fed Snub
The dollar climbed after Powell shrugged off hopes for a December rate cut.
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Your Daily Dose of Market & Career Clarity
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🎯 In this issue:
Banana Bits: Finance headlines that actually matter
Market Summary: Markets steady after Fed cools December cut hopes
What’s Ripe / Rotten: The tastiest and most disgusting stocks
Technical Trip: Interview Question with Blackstone
Deal Dispatch: M&A, IPOs, and other transactions
Market Snapshot
📉 Banana Bits
The Fed just slashed rates to their lowest level in three years; the easing era is officially back.
After all the buildup, Trump and Xi finally met for those long-awaited trade talks.
APAC’s private credit boom is real. The market’s on track to hit $92 billion by 2027.
Chinese financial firms are set to outgrow the broader market, earnings-wise.
Masayoshi Son just reclaimed his spot as Japan’s richest man.
The dollar climbed after Powell shrugged off hopes for a December rate cut.
The Fed’s balance sheet trimming ends December 1; the liquidity taps reopen.
The government shutdown packed a punch, costing the economy around $18 billion.
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Market Recap
A December Cut is not “Guaranteed”
The Wednesday Market was a lot for investors to take in.
Firstly, a gauge of megacups went for a run. Nvidia hit a $5 trillion valuation after its shares continued to rally. On the other hand, in the late hours, Alphabet Inc. reported solid sales.
Meta Platforms Inc. sees total expenses rising significantly in 2026, while Microsoft Corp.’s expansion in its Azure unit failed to inspire traders.
In the early afternoon, Fed officials delivered their second rate cut to support a softening labor market; however, Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled that a December rate cut is far from certain and cautioned investors against assuming it.
The news sent the Dollar to intra-highs with the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rising as much as 0.4%, its biggest advance since Oct. 9; two-year treasury yields also advanced 11 basis points to 3.6%.
Indexes had mixed reactions: the S&P 500 remained flat throughout the trading session, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.55%, and the Dow Jones declined 0.16%.
What's Ripe
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) 19.1%
STX climbed 19% after the data storage company topped Wall Street earnings estimates in its fiscal first quarter.
Forecast its profit and revenue for the current second quarter would also top expectations.
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) 11.6%
Jumped 11% after the maker of heavy construction equipment reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue.
What's Rotten
Stride Inc (LRN) 54.4%
LRN plunged 54% after the online education company’s revenue guidance for its fiscal second quarter and fiscal year missed analysts’ forecasts.
Fiserv Inc. (FI) 44.0 %
FI sank 44% after the financial-technology company said it expects full-year adjusted earnings of $8.50 to $8.60 a share, down from its previous outlook of $10.15 to $10.30.
BTIG analysts noted that sentiment was “already very weak” ahead of the report, and the guidance cut “will only make investor appetite more challenged.
🧠 Technical Trip
Interview Q&A from Blackstone
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🦈 Deal Dispatch
M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions
Groww’s parent Billionbrains is eyeing $752 million in its Mumbai IPO.
OpenAI might shoot for a $1 trillion valuation in its rumored IPO.
Andreessen Horowitz just backed legal AI startup Harvey at an $8B valuation.
Suriname plans to raise up to $1.5B as it returns to the debt markets.
JPMorgan and 20 others are teaming up on a $20B buyout deal for EA.
The issuer behind Trump Memecoin wants to buy a crowdfunding platform, naturally.
Investors think CoreWeave’s $9B bid might already be dead in the water.
Banana Brain Teaser
Previous
Leona bought a 1-year, $10,000 certificate of deposit that paid interest at an annual rate of 8% compounded semiannually. What was the total amount of interest paid on this certificate at maturity?
Answer: $816
Today
There are 4 more women than men on Centerville’s board of education. If there are 10 members on the board, how many are women?
Cash combined with courage in a time of crisis is priceless.
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Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Fernanda, & Patrick