Good morning investors! The S&P 500 rose to a fresh all-time intraday high on Tuesday despite dwindling oil reserves.
Today we cover:
Trade deficit widens
Paramount closes deal
Trump Account changes
📊 Economy and News
U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to $105.6 Billion in August
The U.S. trade deficit jumped 13.7% to $105.6 billion in August, the widest gap since March 2025, just before President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs took effect. Imports rose 4.3%, driven by AI-related goods and tariff effects, exceeding the $102 billion consensus estimate.
The year-to-date deficit still sits nearly 20% lower than a year earlier. Economists say the rise largely reflects strong domestic demand and will weigh on third-quarter GDP. Goldman Sachs cut its Q3 growth forecast to 3.1%, while the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow tracker slipped to 3.7%.
Global hits:
Canada trade surplus widens as exporters race to beat U.S. tariffs.
Brazil reports $7.7B trade surplus for September as it cuts 2026 trade surplus forecast despite strong September.
Hungary proposes wealth tax on assets over $3 million.
Saudi Aramco CEO: oil inventories at stress level with only 10% available;
Reminder: US power demand to hit record highs in 2027 amid AI consumption as US heating oil bills expected to rise 21% this winter.
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📈 Stocks
S&P 500 7,818.93 (+0.58%)
DJIA 51,521.28 (+0.49%)
NASDAQ 27,599.89 (+0.45%)
BRENT CRUDE 100.16 (+0.24%)
* Prices as of Oct 7th, 12:20 AM UTC
Paramount Completes $110B Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover, Launches Skydance (SKYD)
Paramount’s hard-fought $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed Tuesday, creating one of the largest media conglomerates in history. The new company is named Skydance and trades under the ticker SKYD. It unites two major film studios, roughly one-third of basic cable programming, and the HBO Max streaming service.
CEO David Ellison spent more than a year navigating repeated rejections, a bidding war with Netflix and Comcast, a hostile all-cash offer, lawsuits, and antitrust challenges from state attorneys general before securing final approvals and closing the deal.
For stock investors: The new SKYD ticker offers exposure to a scaled-up content and streaming powerhouse that could compete more aggressively with Netflix and Disney, though integration risks and heavy debt from the deal may pressure near-term returns.
Interesting: Anthropic is expanding its Claude Startups program, which gives members access to thousands of dollars’ worth of Anthropic’s Claude products and credits.
Kalshi is launching three features on its election contracts to provide traders with more transparency on how active its markets are.
Surprising: British Airways plans record 106-seat business class on Airbus A380 jumbo jets. In other news, Meta joins with group of companies to tame ‘chaos’ of doing business with AI bots. Lastly, Emmy Awards leave broadcast TV for Prime Video in 2027 under six-year deal.
💵 Personal Finance
Trump Accounts Go Automatic: 60 Million+ Kids Now Enrolled in Federal Savings Plan
The Treasury has automatically enrolled all eligible U.S. children in Trump Accounts, the new federal IRA-style investment vehicle that launched July 4. Over 60 million additional kids now have accounts ready to claim, up from fewer than 8 million opened under the previous opt-in system.
These tax-deferred accounts belong to the child and are managed by a parent or guardian until age 18. Kids born 2025–2028 qualify for a one-time $1,000 federal seed contribution. Family, friends, and employers can add up to $5,000 total per year (employer portion capped at $2,500). Money is invested by default in the low-cost State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, with a few other broad U.S. stock index funds available soon. Accounts are held at Robinhood.
Parents must still claim the account via the official app to manage it and accept outside contributions. At 18 the account converts to a traditional IRA; withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income (with some penalty exceptions for education, first home, etc.).
For stock investors: The automatic enrollment funnels long-term capital into low-cost S&P 500 and total-market ETFs, potentially boosting demand for passive U.S. equity funds and providing steady inflows that support broader market valuations over time.
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