Good morning investors!

If this is your first time reading, welcome to The Investor’s Edge — a thriving community of over 24,000 subscribers striving to be better investors with an edge in the market.

Every Wednesday we publish “The Mid-Week Wrap-Up” — your ticket to being well informed and staying ahead in the investment game!

This report is designed to help investors of all skill levels break down important stories/topics within the stock market. And best of all, we cut through all of the BS and give you exactly what you need to know in easy to digest, bite sized pieces of content.

This article is designed to truly give you that EDGE in the day ahead!

Grab your afternoon pick me up and let’s dive in.

Market Talk

Markets are mixed to start the week as investors try to digest all of the news this week.

3 Stories Moving the Market

These are some of the biggest stories so far this week that are having an influence on market action.

Tariffs Start to Bite as Inflation Ticks Up in June

Consumer prices rose 0.3% in June, pushing the annual CPI rate to 2.7%, its highest since February and above the Fed’s 2% target. Core CPI held at 2.9% YoY, showing continued stickiness despite lower month-over-month gains. Wholesale inflation (PPI) was flat for the month, adding mixed signals to the inflation picture. Markets responded calmly, while Trump reignited pressure on the Fed to slash rates.

🔑 Key Points

• Headline Inflation Accelerates: CPI rose 0.3% MoM and 2.7% YoY, hitting a four-month high and staying above the Fed’s 2% target.

• Core Inflation Remains Sticky: Core CPI rose 0.2% MoM, slightly below forecast, but the annual rate stayed elevated at 2.9%.

• Tariff-Sensitive Goods Mixed: Apparel and furnishings saw notable price gains, but vehicles and lodging softened, muddling the tariff effect.

• Wholesale Prices Offer Relief: PPI was flat for the month and slowed to 2.3% YoY, with core PPI easing to its lowest in nearly a year.

• Trump Pressures Fed Again: The president demanded a 300bp rate cut, but Fed officials signaled they’ll stay patient barring sustained inflation pressure.

👀 What You Need to Know

The June inflation report paints a conflicting picture as headline CPI rose, but core pressures are cooling, and wholesale prices remain tame. Tariffs may be nudging prices in select categories, but the pass-through looks uneven. With real wages slipping and inflation still above target, the Fed faces mounting political pressure but little market urgency. Investors should watch for shifts in real yields or inflation breakevens, which could move sharply if July or August data shows renewed acceleration.

Trump Mulls Firing Fed Chair Powell, Then Backpedals

After reportedly telling GOP lawmakers he plans to fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump publicly reversed course, saying he’s “not planning on doing it”, though he didn’t rule it out entirely. The episode unfolded just after a White House meeting on crypto regulation, where Trump allegedly showed members a draft termination letter. While Powell has said such a firing isn’t legally permitted, Trump has hinted he might try to justify it over allegations of fraud tied to a $2.5 billion Fed building renovation.

🔑 Key Points

• Oval Office Disclosure: Trump reportedly told House Republicans he would fire Powell and showed them a drafted termination letter.

• Denial Follows Whispers: Hours later, Trump denied plans to remove Powell, though added, “I don’t rule out anything.”

• Legal Boundaries: A recent Supreme Court ruling reaffirms that presidents cannot remove Fed chairs at will.

• Fraud Allegation Angle: Trump is floating “cause” related to Fed building overruns as justification, Powell has asked the IG to review the matter.

• Political Pressure Campaign: Trump and allies are intensifying efforts to push rate cuts, with Trump wanting up to 300bps in cuts this year.

👀 What You Need to Know

This isn’t the first time Trump has pressured the Fed, but it’s the closest the U.S. has come to an open constitutional clash over central bank independence. While Powell can likely withstand legal threats to his position, the political theater alone may rattle markets and further politicize Fed policy. Trump’s aggressive posture on rates, despite inflation lingering above target, adds risk of destabilizing expectations. Investors should watch the July FOMC meeting for signs that Powell may preemptively cut to avoid deeper political entanglement.

Banks Kick Off Q2 Earnings Season

Several major U.S. banks posted second-quarter earnings this week. Overall, it was another standout quarter as trading and markets-related businesses were strong across the board.

JPMorgan Chase $JPM ( ▲ 0.47% ) reported strong results driven by firm-wide revenue growth, higher NII, and solid performance across banking and markets.

• EPS: $5.24 vs. $5.00 est.

• Revenue: $45.7B vs. $44.9B est.

• Highlights: Deposits rose 9% YoY, while Markets revenue hit $8.9B; NII guidance raised to $95.5B.

Bank of America $BAC ( ▲ 0.64% ) posted a steady quarter with EPS ahead of expectations, supported by strong trading and stable consumer banking.

• EPS: $0.89 vs. $0.86 est.

• Revenue: $26.5B vs. $26.7B est.

• Highlights: Net income up 3% to $7.1B; NII grew 7%; deposits up 5% with improved credit quality.

Morgan Stanley $MS ( ▼ 0.05% ) beat estimates on strength in trading and wealth management, though investment banking revenue remained soft.

• EPS: $2.13 vs. $2.01 est.

• Revenue: $16.79B vs. $16.15B est.

• Highlights: Equities trading +23%, wealth revenue +14%, investment banking -5% YoY.

Goldman Sachs $GS ( ▲ 0.34% ) posted a strong quarter led by record equities trading and a rebound in advisory, exceeding estimates on both lines.

• EPS: $10.91 vs. $9.69 est.

• Revenue: $14.58B vs. $13.5B est.

• Highlights: GBM revenue +24%, equity trading +36%, IB fees +26%; ROE reached 12.8%.

BlackRock $BLK ( ▼ 0.16% ) delivered record assets under management and strong EPS, but long-term inflows slowed and performance fees declined.

• EPS: $12.05 vs. $10.36 est.

• Revenue: $5.42B vs. $5.41B est.

• Highlights: AUM hit $12.53T; tech revenue +26%; long-term net inflows -10% YoY.

In Other News

In this section we'll be curating a selection of news headlines we think you'll find interesting. If a topic catches your eye, click the provided links to read more about it.

• Trump intensifies trade war with threat of 30% tariffs on EU, Mexico

• Trump order to help open up retirement plans to private markets

• Trump Says Drug Tariffs Probable by Aug. 1, Downplays More Deals

• Nvidia says it will resume H20 AI chip sales to China ‘soon,’ following U.S. government assurances

• Google to invest $25 billion in data centers and AI infrastructure across largest U.S. electric grid

• AMD to resume MI308 AI chip exports to China

• MP Materials stock rips 20% higher after $500 million Apple deal for rare earth magnets

• Meta reportedly scores two more high-profile OpenAI researchers

• Meta acquires voice startup Play AI

• Prime Day event drove over $24B in US e-commerce sales, GenAI traffic was up 3,300%

• Musk says he does not support a merger between Tesla and xAI but backs investment

• SpaceX to invest $2 billion in Musk's xAI startup

• J&J Raises Full-Year Outlook After Beating Profit Expectations

• China’s Baidu to bring its driverless cars to Uber globally

• Oracle to Spend $3B in Germany, Netherlands on Cloud, AI Infrastructure

• ASML shares drop 11% after the chip giant says it can’t confirm that it will grow in 2026

• 'Crypto Week' pushes bitcoin to record high as lawmakers weigh 3 key bills in DC

• Trade Desk’s stock jumps on S&P 500 inclusion

• Coreweave stock pops after company announces $6 billion AI data center in Pennsylvania

• Prologis (PLD) Reports Q2 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

• Hims & Hers app downloads negative YoY in June

The Second Half

It has been a busy week of news and that continues into the end of the week - buckle up for some volatility.

Earnings Reports

With bank earnings kicking off the season earlier this week, our focus now turns to names like Taiwan Semi, Netflix, Pepsico and Abbott Labs to close out the week:

Here is the full calendar of earnings releases scheduled for the rest of the week:

Economic Reports

Retail sales will be the main focus to end the week, but we also get Initial jobless claims, consumer sentiment, and several housing reports.

Here is the full calendar of events scheduled for the remainder of the week:

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Thank you for reading this edition of the Mid-Week Wrap-Up.

Until next time investors!

Mark & Chris

The Investor’s Edge

Disclosure

This is not investing advice. It is very important that you do your own research and make investments based on your own personal circumstances, preferences, goals and risk tolerance.