Good morning. Right now we’re masking:

• One of many largest wildfires in California’s historical past

• How Microsoft unfold its bets past OpenAI

• The Financial institution of Mexico’s fee reduce

However first, US equities had their strongest acquire yesterday since 2022, after figures from the US labour division confirmed preliminary state unemployment claims, a proxy for lay-offs, have been decrease than anticipated in July.

The autumn in unemployment claims helped to assuage buyers’ fears that the world’s largest financial system was heading right into a downturn. The upbeat information has reverberated throughout international monetary markets this morning, with Asian and European indices having clawed again the majority of their losses since Monday’s sell-off.

Final week’s jobs report, displaying fewer jobs added to the US financial system than anticipated, had despatched markets right into a tailspin this week. Vix, an indicator of inventory market volatility, peaked on Monday. And analysts had begun debating whether or not the Federal Reserve was shifting too slowly to chop charges.

“I believe it’s going to take time for markets to normalise,” Kristina Hooper, chief international market strategist at Invesco instructed the FT. “However we’ve got to ask ourselves what triggered that sell-off, and I believe it was irrational. I don’t suppose it’s telling us that we’ve got an enormous recession coming,” she mentioned.

• Cut price buys: Massive buyers comparable to BlackRock and UBS are amongst these looking for low-cost shares after Monday’s sell-off, specializing in megacap tech teams.

• US politics: Latest market volatility is a warning to Kamala Harris that her marketing campaign can not depend on a rebounding financial system forward of November’s election.

Right here’s what I’m retaining tabs on right now and over the weekend:

• Financial information: Brazil publishes inflation information for July. Canada publishes employment information.

• Outcomes: Bridgestone, Hargreaves Lansdown and RTL report.

• Paris Olympics: The Video games will maintain medal ceremonies for athletes crushed by rivals later revealed to have been doping, forward of the closing ceremony on Sunday.

How properly did you retain up with the information this week? Take our quiz.

5 extra prime tales

1. US President Joe Biden, alongside the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, has made an pressing push to conclude ceasefire talks and a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, setting August 15 because the date at which negotiations should resume.

2. Perplexity AI has elevated its month-to-month revenues and utilization seven-fold because the begin of the 12 months, after closing a brand new $250mn spherical of funding. The AI-powered search engine answered roughly 250mn queries final month, in contrast with 500mn queries for the entire of 2023.

3. One of many largest wildfires in California’s historical past, up to now masking 450,000 acres, has burnt by way of swaths of forest earmarked for conservation below carbon credit score plans backed by firms together with oil refining and energy teams.

4. Mexico’s central financial institution reduce its benchmark rate of interest by 25 foundation factors yesterday, warning that the current turmoil in international monetary markets had hit the nation on prime of the extended “weak spot” within the financial system because the finish of final 12 months.

5. Coca-Cola is promoting €1bn of latest debt that it could use to assist pay potential expenses arising from a dispute with the US Inner Income Service, by which it might owe $16bn. The proceeds will add to the $7bn of recent borrowing by the corporate this 12 months.

The Massive Learn

Microsoft chief Satya Nadella’s wager on OpenAI in July 2019, lengthy earlier than its flagship ChatGPT grew to become a family title, has since created one of many trade’s most profitable partnerships. Final 12 months, a quashed coup towards co-founder Sam Altman solely served to remind buyers of how central the start-up had turn into to the tech large’s synthetic intelligence ambitions. However because the disaster, Nadella has been working to execute an AI technique unbiased of the start-up.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Latin American growth: Deep coverage fatigue within the US is hampering growth in Central and South America, Adam Tooze writes.

• Flipping burgers: Analysis on entry-level McDonald’s employees is shedding new mild on questions surrounding low-wage pay and inequality, writes Soumaya Keynes.

• Massive Tech verdict: Branding Google a monopoly opens the door for change, John Thornhill writes.

Chart of the day

The US’s trucking trade has begun to point out indicators of life after considered one of the deepest downturns in its historical past. Demand has picked up lately at the same time as costs stay suppressed by extra fleet capability, hovering fastened prices and elevated competitors for restricted freight hundreds.

Take a break from the information

The FT’s Simon Kuper explains why Olympic medals are normally a sign {that a} nation is doing vital issues proper, far past sport.

Extra contributions from Benjamin Wilhelm and Tee Zhuo