Saudi Billions, AI Cuts, Boomer Economy

• 📈 Market Indices Update

• 📢 Top 3 Market Stories

• 🔎 Rich & Powerful Are Buying

• 📊 One Chart

• 📊 Sector Spotlight

• 🚀 Biggest Market Movers

• 💡 Podcast of the Week

📈 Market Indices Update

• S&P 500: ↑ 0.7% to 5,871.1 – Tech stocks led gains, with $NVDA ( ▲ 4.16% ) and $AAPL ( ▼ 0.28% ) rallying after positive earnings. YTD +0.1% (!!!)

• Dow Jones: ↓ 0.6% to 42,181 – Declined due to losses in healthcare and industrial sectors. YTD -1%

• Nasdaq: ↑ 1.5% to 15,156.8 – Boosted by strong performances in major tech companies. YTD -1.6%

• Gold (Spot $/Oz): ↑ 0.4% to $3,024/oz – Increased as investors sought safe-haven assets amid market uncertainties.

• 10-Yr Treasury Yield: ↑ 0.94% to 4.50% – 10-Yr Yield gained as market uncertainty lowers.

• EUR/USD: 1.1192 (+0.9%) – Euro strengthened against the dollar on expectations of ECB policy tightening.

• USD/JPY: ¥147.44 (-0.62%) – Dollar gained slightly against the yen amid divergent monetary policy outlooks.

• Bitcoin: ↑ 2.71% to $104,638 – Bitcoin soars as Coinbase $COIN ( ▲ 2.53% ) joins S&P500

^{_{Data as of market close, 4:00pm ET}}

📢 Top 3 Market Stories You Should Care About

​1️⃣ Trump Secures $600B Saudi Investment & $142B Arms Deal During Middle East Visit (Source)

• $600 billion in commitments from Saudi Arabia span energy, defense, mining, and tech sectors.

• Includes the largest-ever U.S.-Saudi arms sale: $142 billion in defense deals.

• Trump aims to mediate conflicts (Gaza, Ukraine, Iran) and push normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. Removes sanctions on Syria implemented since 1979.

Market Reaction: Defense and energy stocks rallied on expectations of long-term U.S.-Gulf cooperation.

🔎 Why It Matters: This deal reshapes U.S. influence in the Middle East—boosting U.S. industrial exports and deepening geopolitical ties. It could realign alliances and unlock billions for U.S. defense contractors and oil majors.

2️⃣ Microsoft Lays Off 7,000 Amid $80B AI Bet (Source)

• Cutting 3% of global staff (~7,000 jobs) to reduce management layers and reinvest in core growth.

• Despite layoffs, Microsoft reported $25.8B in Q1 profit and is on track for a record fiscal year.

• Plans to spend up to $80B in FY25 on AI and cloud computing infrastructure.

🔎 Why It Matters: $MSFT ( ▲ 0.85% ) is trimming fat to double down on AI dominance. Is it a sign that humans will be replaced by AI, even at Microsoft?

3️⃣ U.S.–China Strike Tariff Truce After Months of Escalation (Source)

• 90-day suspension of new 34% reciprocal tariffs; a 10% baseline tariff remains in place.

• China will eliminate retaliatory tariffs and remove non-tariff barriers added since April 2025.

• U.S. to roll back April’s tariff hikes while maintaining earlier duties; both sides agreed to ongoing talks.

Market Reaction: Equities rose and volatility eased as fears of a prolonged trade war cooled.

🔎 What 5 Rich & Powerful Are Buying

📈 JPMorgan Chase – Walmart $WMT ( ▲ 0.99% ) 
→ Increased stake by $4.2B (+79.5%)
→ Supports its expanding fintech partnership with Walmart Marketplace
→ Signals strong conviction in Walmart’s e-commerce and digital payments growth

📈 Capital International Investors – NVIDIA $NVDA ( ▲ 4.16% ) 
→ Boosted holdings by $4.5B (+58.1%)
→ Reflects institutional confidence in NVIDIA’s AI and semiconductor leadership
→ Part of broader shift toward high-growth, next-gen tech infrastructure

📉 Capital World Investors – Broadcom $AVGO ( ▼ 0.13% ) 
→ Reduced stake by $9.3B (-21.3%)
→ May reflect profit-taking or portfolio rebalancing amid chip stock highs
→ Stands out as broader institutions remain bullish on semiconductors

📈 Kate Johnson – CEO, Lumen Technologies $LUMN ( ▼ 1.82% ) 
→ Bought 750,000 shares at $1.28/share (May 2), totaling $1M
→ Stock rose ~4% post-purchase
→ Strong insider signal backing Lumen’s fiber and cloud turnaround strategy

📊 BlackRock – Tech Rotation
→ Bought: MongoDB $MDB ( ▼ 1.1% ), ServiceNow $NOW ( ▼ 0.96% ) – Increasing exposure to AI/cloud software
→ Sold: Intel $INTC ( ▼ 4.61% ) , Cisco $CSCO ( ▼ 0.79% ) – Trimming legacy tech amid semiconductor slowdown

📉 Apple Inc. $AAPL ( ▼ 0.28% ) – Adjusted Share Buyback
→ Cut buyback program by $10B, still repurchasing ~$50B annually (announced May 5)
→ Stock dipped 3.7% following announcement
→ Reflects cautious capital allocation amid slowing iPhone demand

📊 One Chart That Explains Everything

💰 Top Takeaways

• Highest Bank Balance: Hawaii ($43,600)

• 📉 Lowest Median Bank Balance: Mississippi ($1,900)

• Median bank balances reflect not just income—but also cost of living, savings behavior, financial literacy, and economic stability.

📊 Sector Spotlight: The Longevity Economy – America’s $8.3T Silver Surge

By 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be over 65 — and they control over 50% of U.S. consumer spending. From healthcare to travel, aging boomers are driving massive shifts in demand.

Key Data Points

• $8.3 trillion/year: Total economic activity driven by Americans 50+

• $4.6 trillion/year: Direct consumer spending by 50+ adults

• Healthcare Spend: Over 65% of all U.S. health expenditures come from this group

• Travel Boom: 50+ segment accounts for 60% of U.S. leisure travel spending

• EdTech for Seniors: Demand for lifelong learning & digital literacy tools is growing rapidly

Who’s Capitalizing

• UnitedHealth $UNH ( ▼ 1.08% ) – Largest Medicare Advantage provider

• HCA Healthcare $HCA ( ▼ 0.16% ) – Geriatric-focused hospital growth

• Teladoc $TDOC ( ▼ 3.68% ) – Expanding senior-focused telehealth services

• Brookdale Senior Living $BKD ( ▼ 2.02% ) – Nation’s largest senior housing operator

🚀 Biggest Market Movers

📈 Top 3 Winners

$FSLR ( ▲ 0.72% ) -Wolfe Research upgraded to Outperform.
$SMCI ( ▲ 15.71% ) - Strong investor interest in AI infrastructure demand
$COIN ( ▲ 2.53% ) - Renewed investors’ confidence in crypto and joining the $SPX ( ▲ 0.1% ) (S&P500)

📉 Top 3 Losers

$UNH ( ▼ 1.08% ) - Significant decline following CEO Andrew Witty’s insider sale of 2M shares
$HUM ( ▲ 0.69% ) - Declined amid broader healthcare sector weakness and concerns over margin pressures in insurance
$MDLZ ( ▼ 0.94% ) - Fell due to inflationary pressures impacting consumer staples margins and cautious outlook

💡 Podcast of the Week:

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