Wall Street: Washington’s new lever in technological cold war

This revelation is uncomfortable at the markets: NVIDIA, AMD and their peers will donate to the federal state 15% of the revenues from their most advanced chips sold in China. It is neither a fine nor a classic tax: it more recalls the royalties that an empire once demanded from his vassals.

The objective displayed? Maintain Washington’s strategic advantage in the new technological cold war with Beijing. But the process says a lot: the state is no longer content to regulate exports, it enters directly into the sharing of profits. For chip giants, yielding to this requirement is the price to pay to stay on a market that they cannot afford to abandon.

Technological companies are now caught up in the cogs of economic diplomacy: their R&D road balance sheets and routes are dictated as much by national security imperatives as by the search for value for the shareholder. The raw materials markets highlight the fragility of supply chains still concentrated in a few hands.

Monday morning, Wall Street’s indices opened up very slightly, far from the euphoria of the rally of the past week.

This agreement comes on the eve of new sectoral customs duties, milestones of a redesign of trade relations wanted by the Trump administration. Its logic is clear: accepting higher prices and disturbed supply chains if it promotes industrial repatriation on American soil. The markets remain cautious. But operators know that prices are also a political staging tool. The calendar, just before the meeting between Donald Trump and the CEO of Intel, Lip-Bu Tan, illustrates this gray area where political ads and corporate seduction merge.

If semiconductors are the nervous system of modern industry, lithium is blood. The announcement of the production judgment by the Chinese giant CATL on a major site was enough to propel the values of the sector: Albemarle gains 13%, lithium Americas +8%. Chinese hegemony on the battery supply chain is such that one incident can shake up global valuations. For investors, this outbreak is a speculative boon but for decision -makers, it is an additional warning on the risks of strategic dependence.

The other focus of the markets is the federal reserve. The weakening of the job market and recent changes in its direction fuel betting on a accommodating turn: 60 points of basis of rate drop by December, if we are to believe the markets. The inflation figures expected on Tuesday will be decisive, before production prices indices and retail sales. All this comes in a climate of doubt about the reliability of the data, less than two weeks after the dismissal of the boss of the American statistical agency following a massive revision of employment figures.

As for results, in mid-August, investors are reassured: the half-yearly results do not have the bitterness of a recession. With 85 to 90% of large listed companies that have already published, the balance sheet is clear: profits greater than robust expectations and turnover. American societies are carrying out dance, proving that customs tariffs have not yet stifled the activity. The week will be punctuated by a few heavy goods vehicles: Cisco, Tencent, Applied Materials and Deere.

On the international front, Donald Trump will meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska on August 15 to negotiate the end of the war in Ukraine. Territorial concessions to Russia are envisaged, to the chagrin of kyiv and European capitals.

Finally, the crypto industry ignites after the establishment of a new favorable framework. Donald Trump has signed a decree opening the US retirement plans 401 (K), which represent nearly $ 9,000 billion in assets, to cryptocurrencies, in investment capital, unlisted real estate and other alternative investments, so far reserved for institutional investors. Supported by the Crypto industry and the Private Equity, this reform marks a political and financial turn, combining innovation and risk -taking, with major potential effects on the savings of millions of Americans.

The quotes of the day:

• Dollar Index: 98,473
• Or: 3 349 USD
• Crude oil (BRENT): 66,88 USD (WTI) 64,18 USD
• UNITED STATES 10 ans: 4,24 %
• BITCOIN: 119 740 USD

In business news:

• The CEO of Intel will go to the White House while speculation is rudder on a possible intervention by the government.

• Engine Capital acquires a participation in beforeor Inc. and advocates a sale or a restructuring.

• Paramount will pay 7.7 MDSUSD to TKO Group Holdings over seven years to become the exclusive broadcaster in the United States of UFC events from 2026, with the streaming broadcast of all matches on Paramount+ and certain matches on CBS without additional costs for viewers.
• HRC World will start to be listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange growth market on August 26, in parallel with its rating at the Copenhagen NASDAQ, in order to increase its visibility and support the growth of its activity of data centers.
• Micron Technology noted its turnover forecasts for the fourth quarter to 11.2 billion MDSUS and adjusted its profit forecasts per share to 2.85 dollars, thanks to the high demand for memory chips linked to AI, which increased the shares approximately 5 to 6% before the opening of the market.
• NVIDIA and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of revenues from sales of advanced IA fleas to China in exchange for export licenses, a rare agreement which should weigh on raw margins.

• The electronic division of Dupont de Nemours, Qtea Electronics, plans to issue 2.5 billion titles before its split scheduled for November 1, the product of this operation used to finance a distribution in Dupont and other obligations.

• Air India will suspect its direct flights between Delhi and Washington from September 1 due to a shortage of aircraft due to the planned upgrade of the Boeing and the closure of the Pakistani airspace.

• Biogen and Stoke Therapeutics administered the first dose to a patient as part of a phase 3 trial on Zorevunersen for Dravet syndrome, in order to assess the reduction in crises and cognitive results over a period of one year.
• Mastercard has teamed up with IFZA in Dubai and Global Tax Assistant to launch a registration platform for companies based on the United Arab Emirates to support the growth of SMEs on regional markets.
• Aecom was appointed project management consultant for phase 2 of the development project for mixed use The avenues Riyadh of Shomoul Holding in Saudi Arabia.

• A consortium including BHP Group, Chevron and several steelmakers launched a prefeisability study on large -scale carbon capture and storage centers in Asia, which should end at the end of 2026.

• Builders Firstsource will be listed on the NYSE Texas scholarship while retaining its main rating on the NYSE scholarship.
• Monday.com published a turnover of 299 Musd for the second quarter, exceeding estimates, and announced a turnover of 311 to 313 Musd for the third quarter, but its actions dropped by more than 18% before the market opened.

Analysts recommendations:

• Adobe : Melius Research LLC lowers its recommendation to “keep” to be sold “and reduces its price target from 400 to 310 dollars.
• Airbnb. : DBS Bank notes his recommendation for “suspended” to “buy” with a price target of 165 dollars.
• Coinbase Global. : CITIC SECURITIES CO LTD notes its recommendation to “buy” to “add” with a price target of 330 dollars.
• Eli Lilly and Company: DZ Bank AG Research notes his recommendation to “keep” to “buy” with a course of course brought back from 887 USD to 799 USD.
• Freeport-McMoran : Morgan Stanley notes his recommendation as “neutral” overcoming “with a course lens brought back from USD to 48 USD.
• Generac Holdings : Jefferies notes its recommendation to “underperform” to “keep” with a price of courses noted from 150 USD to 200 USD.
• The Trade Desk : HSBC lowers its recommendation to “buy” to “keep” with a course lens brought back from USD to 56 USD.
• Walt Disney Company (The): DBS Bank notes its recommendation for “coverage suspension” to “buy” with a price target of 135 USD.
• COGNEX CORPORATION: HSBC maintains its “Hold” recommendation with a price of courses noted from 31 to 47 USD.
• Coreweave : JP Morgan maintains its recommendation “overlap” and raises its price of price from 66 to 135 USD.
• ELANCO Animal Health Incorporated: Piper Sandler & Co maintains its neutral recommendation with a course of course noted from 12 to 18 USD.
• Epam Systems : Rothschild & Co Redburn maintains its neutral recommendation with a course lens brought back from 230 to 180 USD.
• Idexx Laboratories : Piper Sandler & Co maintains its neutral recommendation and raises its price as a course from 510 to 700 USD.
• Lululemon Athletica : Baird maintains its “outperformance” recommendation and reduces its price target from 340 to 260 USD.
• Lyft. : Susquehanna maintains her neutral recommendation and reduces her price target from 18 to 14 USD.
• Match Group : Baird maintains his “outperformance” note and raises his price of courses from 33 to 45 USD.
• Synopsys : Morgan Stanley maintains its “overcoming” recommendation and raises its price as a price from 540 USD to 715 USD.
• Tapestry : Evercore ISI maintains its “outperformance” recommendation and raises its price of courses from 97 to 130 USD.
• Unity Software : SPDB International Holdings LTD maintains its “buy” recommendation and raises its price target from 27 to 37 USD.