#TrumpVisitsChina Air Force One has officially landed in China with President Trump, $TSLA CEO Elon Musk and $NVDA CEO Jensen Huang onboard.
Other CEOs reportedly joining the trip: • $AAPL CEO Tim Cook • $MU CEO Sanjay Mehrotra • $QCOM CEO Cristiano Amon • $GS CEO David Solomon • $BLK CEO Larry Fink • $BX CEO Stephen Schwarzman • $BA CEO Kelly Ortberg • $GE CEO Larry Culp
The first-quarter 2026 earnings season has started in the U.S. So far, 80% of the companies that have reported results have surpassed revenue forecasts, outperforming the five-year average of 70% and the ten-year average of 67%. Furthermore, 84% have reported earnings per share above expectations, higher than the five-year average of 78% and the ten-year average of 76%. Major tech companies are fueling profit growth through new share repurchase initiatives. The S&P 500 remains at all-time highs.
On Monday, May 11, the U.S. government will start refunding $166 billion in tariffs considered unlawful, China will release its consumer inflation figures, and data on U.S. existing home sales will be published.
On Tuesday, May 12, inflation statistics will be reported by Germany, Switzerland, the Eurozone, and Brazil. In the U.S., important releases include the ADP Employment numbers and the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
Wednesday, May 13, will feature the Eurozone’s GDP report, oil market updates from both the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC, as well as U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) data.
#GOLD Gold prices dropped further on Wednesday after stronger-than-expected US inflation data reduced expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts. Ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East and attention on the Trump and Chinese President summit also influenced the market.
🔹The ongoing U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran is expected to impact the two-day BRICS foreign ministers meeting starting Thursday in New Delhi, challenging the bloc’s ability to issue a unified statement.
BRICS, initially formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has since expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.
🔻Morgan Stanley has increased its yearly target for the S&P 500 index to 8,000 (up from 7,800), citing continued strong earnings from U.S. companies. This new target suggests an 8% upside from Tuesday's close at 7,400 points.
#TrumpVisitsChina He was welcomed by Chinese officials, military honor guards, and students waving both U.S. and Chinese flags as he stepped off Air Force One on Wednesday evening. He paused on the red carpet to smile and gesture as students chanted "welcome" in Mandarin before leaving in his limousine. Alongside Trump, CEOs from companies such as Nvidia are present to address business challenges, including regulatory issues related to H200 AI chips in China.
Oil markets face rising risks as Iran standoff continues
UBS reports that global oil inventories are approaching 10-year lows, with stockpiles dropping from 8.2 billion barrels in February to about 7.8 billion in April, and possibly reaching 7.6 billion by the end of May.
UBS warns that short-term relief from weaker demand, strategic reserve releases, and sanctions waivers is quickly disappearing, leaving global supply buffers nearly depleted. If the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, the bank warns of potential panic buying and extreme oil price volatility.
UBS adds that tighter oil markets could increase pressure on the Trump administration to negotiate with Iran and reopen the crucial shipping route.
Trump and Chinese President Summit Unlikely to Impact Iran Standoff
Citi Research says President Trump’s talks with Chinese President are not expected to resolve the U.S.-Iran impasse.
Citi projects ongoing, sporadic shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz over the next 4–8 weeks, cautioning that Iran could escalate tensions for leverage and revenue.
The bank remains bullish on oil prices, citing persistent supply pressures as a major influence on negotiations.
IMF head Kristalina Georgieva warned that if oil prices remain at $120–$130 per barrel until 2027, the global economy could enter a technical recession. She stated this would slow global growth to about 2%, which is close to recession levels. Ongoing high energy prices would also put serious pressure on global demand and economic stability.
Bitcoin is better money than gold. It has superior monetary properties.
#BitcoinVsGold In fact, Bitcoin beats gold on 25 different dimensions. 1. Portability: Move billions across borders with 12 or 24 words. Gold needs guards, vaults, trucks, customs, and prayers. 2. Divisibility: Bitcoin divides into 100 million sats per BTC. Gold is awkward to divide, verify, and spend in small amounts. 3. Verifiability: Anyone can verify Bitcoin supply and ownership with a node. Gold requires assays, trust, and specialists. 4. Scarcity certainty: Bitcoin has a hard cap of 21 million. Gold supply expands with mining, new discoveries, and potentially asteroid mining. 5. Supply auditability: Bitcoin’s total supply is publicly auditable in real time. Nobody knows the exact amount of above-ground gold. 6. Settlement speed: Bitcoin can settle globally in minutes. Gold settlement is slow, expensive, and institution-heavy. 7. Custody sovereignty: Bitcoin can be self-custodied without a vault. Gold self-custody is physically dangerous and logistically annoying. 8. Confiscation resistance: Properly secured Bitcoin can cross borders invisibly. Gold is obvious, heavy, and historically confiscatable. 9. Storage cost: Bitcoin can be stored for near-zero physical cost. Gold requires vaulting, insurance, security, and transportation. 10. Transport cost: Bitcoin travels at the speed of information. Gold travels at the speed of armored logistics. 11. Programmability: Bitcoin can integrate with multisig, time locks, Lightning, smart custody setups, and financial infrastructure. Gold is inert metal. 12. Global liquidity: Bitcoin trades 24/7 globally. Gold markets still rely heavily on traditional financial rails and business-hour settlement layers. 13. Settlement finality: Bitcoin can provide direct bearer settlement without trusted intermediaries. Gold often settles through paper claims. 14. Resistance to counterfeit: Bitcoin units are mathematically validated. Gold can be plated, diluted, faked, or rehypothecated. 15. No trusted issuer: Bitcoin has no central issuer, board, treasury, or refinery bottleneck. Gold custody often depends on institutions. 16. Easier inheritance: Bitcoin can be structured with multisig and recovery planning. Gold inheritance is physical, messy, and theft-prone. 17. Collateral efficiency: Bitcoin is easier to pledge, move, audit, and financialize digitally. Gold collateral is slower and more custodial. 18. Transparency: Bitcoin’s monetary policy and ledger are open. Gold’s market is opaque, with hidden reserves, paper claims, and unclear leverage. 19. Censorship resistance: Bitcoin can be sent peer-to-peer globally. Gold needs physical handoff or trusted transport. 20. Energy-to-scarcity conversion: Bitcoin turns energy into digitally verifiable scarcity. Gold turns energy into heavy rocks guarded by men with sunglasses. 21. Monetary upgradeability: Bitcoin can absorb software improvements at the network edges. Gold cannot become more useful without wrapping it in trust-based systems. 22. Unit consistency: Every bitcoin is perfectly fungible at the protocol level. Gold varies by purity, form, assay, and bar history. 23. Lower friction: Bitcoin is easier to buy, sell, send, receive, verify, split, secure, and integrate into modern finance. 24. Digital-native compatibility: Bitcoin fits an internet economy. Gold belongs to a world of vault receipts, musty central bankers, and men named Klaus guarding basements. 25. Personal sovereignty: Bitcoin lets one person hold immense wealth directly. Gold makes you become your own medieval castle. FOLLOW LIKE SHARE
🇺🇸 Three days. Two votes. One complete reset of how USA treats Crypto
🔹 May 14th: The Senate Banking Committee holds its markup session on the Clarity Act, the bill that defines SEC vs CFTC jurisdiction over digital assets
🔹 May 15th: Jerome Powell's term as Fed Chair officially ends. He will stay on as a Fed Governor
🔹 May 15th: Kevin Warsh is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate and take over as the new Fed Chair.