Bull! Why is the AI Bull Market is Back? The market previously sold off because investors feared that AI spending was rising faster than the profits it generated. The latest earnings season has started to answer that concern: demand remains strong across almost every layer of the AI supply chain, while AI investment is increasingly translating into revenue. 1. Cloud: AI is finally being monetised Amazon, Microsoft and Alphabet reported accelerating cloud growth: * AWS revenue increased 37%, its fastest growth in 18 quarters. * Azure revenue rose 43%, while Microsoft 365 Copilot surpassed 30 million paid seats. * Google Cloud revenue surged 82%, supported by AI infrastructure and enterprise AI solutions. The market’s main concern was the enormous increase in AI capital expenditure. Higher c

14 August 2026 Softer producer inflation, falling oil prices and fading rate-hike expectations lifted technology stocks and pushed the S&P 500 to another record close, although a weak 30-year Treasury auction showed that long-term fiscal and interest-rate risks have not disappeared. S&P 500 rose 0.65% to 7,798.99 Dow Jones rose 0.13% to 53,839.99 Nasdaq rose 0.81% to 26,803.03 US 2-year Treasury yield fell approximately 6 basis points to 4.14% US 10-year Treasury yield fell approximately 5 basis points to 4.64% Market data: Reuters⁠ ⸻ News 1) US July PPI came in below expectations, while lower oil prices further reduced pressure for a September rate hike * The US Producer Price Index was unchanged month-on-month in July, below expectations for a 0.2% increase. June’s reading was r

【Voting Post】2027 Memory Outlook: HBM/DRAM Remain Tight, While NAND Supply Eases The memory market may begin to diverge in 2027. TrendForce expects NAND Flash to remain undersupplied throughout 2026, with an estimated supply deficit of 4–5%. However, as new capacity and more advanced NAND production ramp up, supply could begin exceeding demand in the second half of 2027—particularly if smartphone and notebook demand remains weak. This does not mean NAND demand is collapsing. AI data centres continue to drive strong demand for enterprise SSDs and high-capacity storage. The concern is that supply may eventually grow faster than demand, reducing NAND manufacturers’ pricing power. Investment implications: • SK Hynix $SK hynix(SKHY)$  remains best positio

Markets Pause Near Record Highs Ahead of CPI — Is 3.4% the Pass Mark? U.S. stocks are pausing near record highs ahead of today’s July CPI report. The market expects headline inflation to ease to 3.4% year-on-year, with core inflation at 2.5%. But with expectations for a September rate hike now near 50-50, the details—not just the headline number—could determine whether the rally continues. Previous Data: Numbers and Impact * June CPI: Headline -0.4% MoM / +3.5% YoY; core 0.0% / +2.6% Impact: Lower gasoline and shelter inflation reduced rate-hike fears and supported bonds and technology stocks. * June PCE: Headline -0.1% MoM / +3.7% YoY; core +0.1% / +3.3% Impact: Monthly inflation cooled, but elevated annual PCE kept the Fed cautious. * June JOLTS: Job openings fell to 7.36 million Impact:

11 August 2026 Renewed deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices and US Treasury yields higher, while concerns over Nvidia’s financing model and Intel’s share offering weighed on technology stocks. All three major US indices closed slightly lower. S&P 500 fell 0.06% to 7,753.12 Dow Jones fell 0.11% to 53,976.04 Nasdaq fell 0.32% to 26,605.36 US 2-year Treasury yield rose approximately 4 basis points to around 4.24% US 10-year Treasury yield rose approximately 6 basis points to around 4.70% ⸻ News 1. US-Iran tensions escalate as the outlook for the Strait of Hormuz remains uncertain; oil jumps about 5% * Iran had demanded compensation from the US and Israel for war-related damages, making it one of the conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. * Trump responded by instru

Payrolls Fell 23,000, Yet Stocks Hit a Record — Can Wednesday’s CPI Keep the Rally Going? The U.S. unexpectedly lost 23,000 jobs in July, but the S&P 500 still closed at a record high. Why? Investors interpreted weaker employment as reducing the likelihood of another Federal Reserve rate hike. Wednesday’s July CPI will now determine whether that “bad news is good news” rally can continue. Recent Economic Data: Cooling Inflation, Weakening Jobs July 14 — June CPI * Headline CPI: -0.4% MoM, +3.5% YoY * Core CPI: 0.0% MoM, +2.6% YoY * Gasoline: -9.7% MoM * Shelter: +0.1% MoM Inflation cooled sharply, although much of the improvement came from lower energy prices. July 30 — June PCE * Headline PCE: -0.1% MoM, +3.7% YoY * Core PCE: +0.1% MoM, +3.3% YoY * Real consumer spending: +0.4% The Fe

10 August 2026 Weak US employment data lowered expectations for a rate hike, driving a rebound in US equities and Treasuries last Friday. Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway’s strong earnings and AAOI’s results boosted interest in optical networking stocks. However, renewed uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz negotiations and an attack on a Saudi Aramco refinery raised energy-supply risks. S&P 500 rose 0.62% Dow Jones rose 0.28% Nasdaq rose 1.30% US 2-year Treasury yield fell approximately 5 basis points to around 4.20% US 10-year Treasury yield fell approximately 2 basis points to around 4.64% All three major US indices advanced last Friday, mainly because US nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly fell by 23,000 in July, significantly weaker than expectations for an increase of 80,00

Record Earnings—So Why Did Memory Stocks Fall Together? Recently, $SNDK$，$WDC$，$MU$，$SKHY$，$STX$ all experienced sharp pullbacks. Strictly speaking, Micron, SK hynix, and Sandisk are producers of DRAM, HBM, or NAND memory chips, while Western Digital and Seagate mainly focus on enterprise hard disk drives. However, under the broader AI data-center investment theme, the market often treats all five companies as part of the same “AI storage trade.” This selloff does not mean that demand for AI storage has suddenly disappeared. Instead, it appears to be a broad repricing of the sector as elevated valuations, high expectations, and excessive leverage cooled simultaneously. 1. Macro Environment: Lower Rate Pressure, but Capital Rotated Out of Memory Stocks U.S. nonfarm payrolls unexpectedl

#Reward: Tech Stocks — Buy the Dip or Run for the Exit? My answer: I would buy the dip selectively—but I would not blindly chase every AI stock. This does not necessarily mean that the AI story is ending. Now the market has moved from asking, “Is AI real?” to asking, “Which companies can convert AI spending into sustainable revenue, profit and cash flow?” AI investment is finally producing measurable returns The latest results from the major cloud companies provide strong evidence that AI capital expenditure is beginning to generate real commercial returns. Microsoft reported quarterly Microsoft Cloud revenue of $59.3 billion, up 27% year on year, while Azure and other cloud-services revenue increased 43%. More importantly, its commercial remaining performance obligations reached $678