up 12.90% in June alone. We went into June with a 100% “RISK OFF’ portfolio, and every position came good with the June 20 options expiration. That takes our trailing one-year return to a mind-bending 98.01%. The harder I work, the luckier I get.

according to Fed governor Jay Powell. Uncertainty about tariffs and inflation appears to be taking its toll on the economy. Members of the Federal Reserve’s monetary-policy committee yesterday lowered their projections for annualized growth in America’s gross domestic product to just 1.4% for 2025 on Wednesday.

Microsoft plans to lay off several thousand employees within weeks. It’s the latest knock-on effect of investment in artificial intelligence, where efficiencies come from increased AI capabilities, and there is a need to offset spending on the technology. Microsoft will cut thousands of jobs in its sales department and other teams from July.  Microsoft plans to invest $80 billion in its current fiscal year to build out data centers that train models and run AI applications. The latest cuts come on top of a reduction of around 6,000 jobs in May across product and software developer roles. Microsoft had around 228,000 full-time employees at the end of June last year.

A US official told top global semiconductor makers that he wanted to revoke waivers they have used to access American equipment in China. Such a move is expected to escalate trade tensions. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index, a closely watched benchmark, fell as much as 2% after the report was published.

TerraPower, the nuclear startup founded and backed by Bill Gates, announced a new $650 million funding round this week. The investment will help the company build its first commercial power plant. Like other nuclear startups, TerraPower has been riding a wave of interest from hyperscalers, data center developers, and, now, chip designers. Nvidia’s venture arm, NVentures, participated in the round, marking its first energy investment. Buy Nuscale Power (SMR) on dips.