Bloomberg is reporting, according to people familiar with the matter, that Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion.

US and Russian officials are working toward an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as early as next week, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

The US is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal, which is far from certain, the people said.

Putin is demanding that Ukraine cede its entire eastern Donbas area to Russia as well as Crimea, which his forces illegally annexed in 2014.

That would require Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to order a withdrawal of troops from parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions still held by Kyiv, handing Russia a victory that its army couldn’t achieve militarily since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Such an outcome would represent a major win for Putin, who has long sought direct negotiations with the US on terms for ending the war that he started, sidelining Ukraine and its European allies.

What are the odds Zelensky goes for this deal… and will Europe back it?

Zelenskiy risks being presented with a take-it-or-leave-it deal to accept the loss of Ukrainian territory, while Europe fears it would be left to monitor a ceasefire as Putin rebuilds his forces.

Russia would halt its offensive in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine along the current battlelines as part of the deal, the people said. They cautioned that the terms and plans of the accord were still in flux and could still change.

Oil prices immediately tumbled on the report…

The White House didn’t reply to a request to comment.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment.

Ukraine declined to comment on the proposals.

It’s still unclear if Putin would agree to take part in a trilateral meeting with Trump and Zelenskiy next week, even if he had already struck an agreement with the US president, the people added.

The Russian leader told reporters on Thursday that he didn’t object to meeting Zelenskiy under the right conditions, though he said they don’t exist now.

Via SchiffGold.com,

Along with Trump, market watchers are salivating for rate cuts. But rates should be higher, not lower – and in a free market, they would be.

In a free market, interest rates are determined by the supply and demand for credit. Savers provide capital (supply) while borrowers like businesses, consumers, and governments create demand. Rates would reflect the real cost of capital. They would balance risk, inflation expectations, and real economic conditions.

Instead, we trust a small handful of individuals with full implied mastery of an infinitely complex system with endless interdependent factors that even they admit they don’t fully understand. It’s absolute madness when this same system, left to its own devices, would self-correct on its own if we allowed it to. In that self-correcting system, rates would be drastically higher than they are now.

All central planning does is distort markets by trying to override the natural order in favor of the preferred reality of bankers, bureaucrats, politicians, and academics. While you can achieve a brief illusion of success, you can’t do that forever. Meanwhile, most people have too little understanding of the dynamics, and too short an attention span to realize what’s actually happening. That includes politicians.

The prevailing popular sentiment always seems to be that we can just make the economy great by declaring lower interest rates and printing money, and that monetary easing is both necessary and inevitable. But while investors focus on short-term gains, the underlying conditions almost never support rate cuts in today’s economy. 

Real interest rates are still low by historical standards, and the federal government continues to run huge fiscal deficits. Inflation is still a problem and consumer prices are going to keep going up. Lowering rates even more will make those problems worse.

As Peter Schiff said recently on Fox Business:

“We still have a lot of inflation in the pipeline from all the money the Fed’s been printing over the last, you know, couple of decades.”

Peter also mentioned the inflationary impact of Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which adds fuel to the fire the Fed has already lit and stoked:

“Plus we have the Big Beautiful Bill, that is highly inflationary, because of its massive increases in already big deficits. So I think there’s a lot of inflation that’s coming, and you’ve got the impact of tariffs that is lagging a bit, but it’s going to be there.”

As for Powell, in the face of political pressure and opposition in his own ranks, he at least seems to understand that inflation is still too high, staying steadfast that rates shouldn’t be lowered yet. But he even went as far as leaving the door open to hike them (albeit vaguely, as the Fed always does):

“And so now you have Powell saying I’m going to do ‘whatever it takes’ (to bring down inflation), and that is going to require rate hikes.”

Artificially low rates incentivize borrowing, discourage saving, and misallocate capital into speculative ventures. The asset bubbles and malinvestment can take years to unwind, which then leads to calls for even more intervention. That’s the cycle we’re seeing now, and the one we see over and over.

So while Powell is right for not cutting rates, he was already wrong to have dropped them as low as they already are. The bigger and much more important fact is that Powell’s job shouldn’t exist at all. In a free market, rates would be drastically higher, as they would have to go sky-high for the system to properly correct. If left to their own devices, the blatant unsustainability of the US debt would ring all the market’s alarm bells with regard to default, pushing up Treasury yields. 

Abysmal personal savings would drive rates higher still, as the average American has basically nothing in the bank, and has retirement accounts consisting of a social security ponzi and 401ks filled with stocks that only go up because the currency keeps becoming less valuable. 

Look at US household saving rates as just one basic example. They spiked right around the time everyone got handed a wad of free, freshly-printed money. Now, five years later, they’re even lower than they were before the spike.

US Personal Savings, 10-Year

Global demand for dollars and Treasuries help keep rates down, but as confidence in the dollar drops more and more, rates will have to keep going up to continue attracting that capital. Ultimately, the Fed can only mess with short-term rates, and trying to keep them artificially low  can only give the illusion of succeeding for so long.

The market’s desire for lower interest rates is understandable, especially in the face of sluggish growth, instability, and high borrowing costs. Ultimately, the solution is not more central planning or different leadership at the Fed, but abolishing central monetary planning altogether. Rather than waiting for the Fed to “get it right,” policymakers and economists should be asking whether the Fed should be setting rates at all. While more people are asking this question than probably at any other time in modern economic history, the established orthodoxy continues to refuse to regard it as anything but a total non-starter.

A free-market approach to interest rates would result in massively higher rates and promote sounder long-term decision-making, both by investors and by governments. But it would cause tremendous economic pain as the low rate-addicted economy figures out how to grapple with its paper-thin security blanket being ripped away. 

It’s hard to imagine a Fed Chair, or president, who would be willing to publicly encourage this kind of reset.

On Thursday President Trump named current CEA Chair Stephen Miran to serve as Fed governor for the remainder of outgoing Governor Kugler’s term. That term ends at the end of January, and the president indicated that the administration is continuing to search for a “permanent replacement.”

Like Peter Navarro, Miran has a PhD in economics from Harvard, and has also offered some unorthodox economic views, particularly about reforming the Fed. Almost all the substantive reforms he’s suggested would require Congressional action, something that does not appear to be immediately likely.

Separately, Bloomberg confirmed what we have been saying for months, namely that current Governor Waller is now the favorite in the race to succeed Powell as Fed chair. Waller is viewed as a widely respected policymaker who would represent continuity and whose nomination would very likely be cheered by markets, yet his recent Fed contrarian calls (he was one of two dissenters last week) have made him a darling in the eyes of the Trump admin. 

As JPM chief economist Michael Feroli reminds us, last year, Miran penned an opinion piece arguing for hawkish monetary policy, although as Feroli adds, he “very much doubts that remains his view today.” And while getting Miran approved by the Senate after it gets back from recess on September 5 but before the next FOMC meeting starts on September 16 would be a Herculean task, many thought that about getting OBBBA done before July 4.

Historically, new governors or Fed presidents have sometimes abstained from voting at their first FOMC meeting. But Feroli – and we – suspect that may not be the case now. So, according to the JPM analyst, in the off chance Miran is governor by the time of the next meeting, that could imply three dissents. That’s a lot of dissents.

For Powell the risk management considerations at the next meeting may go beyond balancing employment and inflation risks, and JPMorgan now sees the path of least resistance is to pull forward the next 25bp cut to the September meeting, while also continuing to look for three like-sized cuts at the subsequent three meetings before pausing indefinitely.

But what about the S&P printing new record highs every day? Well, as Feroli notes, “it’s not unprecedented for the Fed to ease when stocks are at or near all-time highs” although he caveats that “it’s rarer when stocks are at the highs and inflation is above target and inflecting higher.” So, an ease next meeting isn’t likely to be broadly welcomed by the Committee, according to JPMorgan.

At the last FOMC meeting, Powell framed the labor market risks in the context of the unemployment rate. Simplifying to that one dimension, a rate of 4.4% or higher could get a larger-sized cut at the next meeting, while a rate of 4.1% or lower could prompt a few dissents for a full employment, above-target inflation cut. 

More in the full JPM note available to pro subs.

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

Disney has settled a legal dispute with actress Gina Carano following her dismissal from “The Mandalorian,” according to both parties.

Carano announced on social media that she had “come to an agreement” with Disney and its subsidiary, Lucasfilm, resolving the lawsuit she filed last year over her termination.

“I am humbled and grateful to God for His love and grace in this outcome,” she stated on X.

“I am excited to flip the page and move onto the next chapter. My desires remain in the arts, which is where I hope you will join me.”

The actress and former MMA star also expressed her gratitude to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the owner of X, who helped fund her lawsuit. Carano said that Musk had backed her case without asking anything in return.

“I want to extend my deepest most heartfelt gratitude to Elon Musk, … a man I’ve never met, who did this Good Samaritan deed for me in funding my lawsuit,” she wrote.

A Lucasfilm spokesperson stated that the company will “look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future” after the case resolved, adding that she has always been a well-respected actress.

The terms of the settlement have not yet been disclosed. Disney did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Disney fired Carano in 2021 over a social media post it described at the time as “abhorrent and unacceptable” for allegedly “denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities.”

In a now-deleted post, Carano stated that “because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views.”

Carano played rebel ranger Cara Dune on two seasons of “The Mandalorian” before she was terminated from her role. The actress had argued the firing was discriminatory and filed a lawsuit last year.

Her lawyers argued that Disney and Lucasfilm had targeted Carano for “harassment, termination, and public defamation” because she expressed views that did not align with the company.

In July last year, U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett denied Disney’s bid to dismiss the case, ruling that “the court cannot conclude, as defendants urge it to, that plaintiff’s continued employment by defendants would inhibit or intrude upon defendants’ rights to expressive association.”

Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank’s turnaround plan has hit a wall, with the athletic apparel and footwear maker forecasting worse-than-expected adjusted EPS and revenue, both missing Bloomberg Consensus estimates. 

The struggling Baltimore-based brand, once expected to challenge Nike but now severely falling short, said it expects revenue this quarter to decline between 6% and 7%, compared with the nearly 3% drop projected by analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

The takeaway from Under Armour’s Q2 guidance is that its turnaround plan is losing momentum amid mounting macro headwinds, tariffs, and soft consumer demand:

• Revenue Drop: A projected 6–7% decline, more than double Wall Street’s expected 3% fall, points to weaker demand, especially in the North America market, despite efforts to reposition the brand with premium products.

• Margin Pressure: A sharp gross margin contraction of 340 to 360 bps from tariffs, supply chain costs, and unfavorable channel mix suggests cost pressures are outweighing pricing gains.

• Earnings Downturn: Adjusted EPS guidance of just 1 cent to 2 cents versus the 26-cent consensus is a massive shortfall, implying that higher costs and weaker sales will erode profitability. 

• Limited Profitability: Even excluding restructuring costs, projected operating income of $30 million to $40 million is modest for a brand trying to reestablish growth.

While the new tariffs are creating major headwinds, the more unexpected and ominous sign is that demand across its North American market is shrinking amid Plank’s turnaround plan. 

“Moving ahead, we’re focused on strengthening our brand positioning with premium products and increasing our average selling prices through innovative offerings, optimizing our top-volume programs, and creating a more compelling full, price-to-value proposition. Regardless of the backdrop, this is about building a fearless, thoughtful, and stronger Under Armour,” Plank wrote in a statement. 

Under Armour delivered mixed Q1 results, slightly better than last year in profitability but still showing soft top-line growth and ongoing demand issues in key markets. 

Summary of Q1 results (courtesy of Bloomberg): 

Adjusted EPS 2.0c vs. 1.0c y/y, estimate 2.5c (Bloomberg Consensus)

Loss per share 1.0c vs. loss/shr 70c y/y, estimate EPS 1.2c

Net revenue $1.13 billion, -4.2% y/y, estimate $1.13 billion

• Apparel revenue $747 million, -1.4% y/y, estimate $735.5 million

• Licensing revenue $24.4 million, +12% y/y, estimate $22.6 million

• Footwear revenue $266 million, -14% y/y, estimate $291.8 million

• North America revenue $670.3 million, -5.5% y/y, estimate $672.1 million

• Asia Pacific revenue $163.4 million, -10% y/y, estimate $155.7 million

• EMEA revenue $248.6 million, +9.6% y/y, estimate $244.5 million

• Latin America revenue $54.6 million, -15% y/y, estimate $57.5 million

Adjusted operating income $24.4 million vs. $8 million y/y, estimate $20.7 million

Inventory $1.14 billion, +2% y/y, estimate $1.1 billion

Total location count 442, +0.2% y/y, estimate 443 (2 estimates)

Operating income $3.32 million vs. loss $299.7 million y/y, estimate $6.04 million

Shares are down as much as 20% in premarket trading, set for the largest decline in three years. 

Elon Musk responded on X to a Bloomberg story about Tesla shutting down its in-house Dojo supercomputer program and reassigning remaining staff to other compute projects, following the departure of Dojo head Peter Bannon and an exodus of nearly two dozen employees to a new stealth startup called DensityAI.

“It doesn’t make sense for Tesla to divide its resources and scale two quite different AI chip designs. The Tesla AI5, AI6 and subsequent chips will be excellent for inference and at least pretty good for training. All effort is focused on that,” Musk wrote on X late Thursday night, responding to a user about the Bloomberg story that cited multiple sources. 

It doesn’t make sense for Tesla to divide its resources and scale two quite different AI chip designs.

The Tesla AI5, AI6 and subsequent chips will be excellent for inference and at least pretty good for training. All effort is focused on that.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 8, 2025

Musk continued, “In a supercomputer cluster, it would make sense to put many AI5/AI6 chips on a board, whether for inference or training, simply to reduce network cabling complexity & cost by a few orders of magnitude. One could call that Dojo 3, I suppose.”

“Elon Musk @elonmusk · 6h The difference in real-world performance between AI4 and AI5 is far more than any chip version I’ve ever heard of by a lot. It’s real good,” he added. 

The difference in real-world performance between AI4 and AI5 is far more than any chip version I’ve ever heard of by a lot.

It’s real good.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 8, 2025

The decision to wind down Dojo marks a strategic shift from developing in-house supercomputers for driverless-vehicle technology to increasing reliance on Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, and Samsung Electronics for chip manufacturing. 

Dojo was once positioned to be the center of processing video data from Tesla vehicles to improve Autopilot, Full Self-Driving, and the Optimus robot. It was seen as a potential $500 billion market value driver. But recent talent losses, EV price wars, sliding sales, and political backlash against Musk by unhinged Democrats and their dark-money funded NGO networks pressured the company. 

Musk had previously described Dojo as a “long shot”… 

Bloomberg described DensityAI as “poised to come out of stealth soon” and is developing AI chips and systems for data centers, robotics, AI agents, and automotive applications. Former Dojo heads founded the startup. 

In late July, Musk announced that Tesla’s AI6 chip will be manufactured at Samsung’s new, massive chip fabrication plant in Texas, strategically located near Tesla’s Model Y and Cybertruck production facilities. 

“Samsung’s giant new Texas fab will be dedicated to making Tesla’s next-generation AI6 chip. The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate,” Elon Musk wrote on X last month. 

Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency.

This is a critical point, as I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress. And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house 😃

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 28, 2025

. . . 

By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

California-based Lyten has signed a binding agreement to acquire nearly all remaining assets of failed European battery firm Northvolt, including its Swedish and German gigafactories and all remaining intellectual property. In the deal, announced on Thursday, the company confirmed it would take over Northvolt Ett, Northvolt Labs, and Northvolt Drei, including projects developed with more than $5 billion in capital investment.

According to Energy-Storage.news, the assets include 16GWh of operational lithium-ion capacity at Ett, with an additional 15GWh still under construction at Drei. Lyten plans to immediately restart production at Ett and the adjacent R&D complex, while continuing construction in Germany. Several Northvolt executives are expected to join Lyten as part of the transition, the Financial Times reported. 

Northvolt, once the EU’s flagship battery champion, filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. in late 2024 and in Sweden this March. Its collapse followed escalating delivery delays, cost overruns, and financing shortfalls. At its peak, the company had raised more than $10 billion and was considered central to Europe’s energy storage ambitions, according to Reuters.

This latest deal follows Lyten’s earlier acquisition of Northvolt’s Polish energy storage division, Northvolt Dwa, as well as the California-based lithium-metal battery firm Cuberg. The company now controls nearly all of Northvolt’s former assets. Per Energy-Storage.news, Lyten’s chief business officer Keith Norman said lithium-ion deliveries from Dwa will begin in Q4, with plans to later integrate lithium-sulfur chemistry based on demand.

Lyten is also in talks with Canadian officials to acquire Northvolt Six, a Quebec-based facility with integrated cell, cathode, and recycling lines. A $200 million funding round completed in July will help finance the acquisition, restart manufacturing, and support the company’s lithium-sulfur transition roadmap.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

In this engaging Triggernometry interview, Lord Toby Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, discusses the UK’s Online Safety Act and its implications for free speech.

He traces the Act’s origins to a moral panic over children’s exposure to harmful online content like self-harm sites and pornography, initially introduced under Theresa May’s government and expanded under Boris Johnson.

Young criticizes it as overly broad, leading to excessive content removal by platforms fearing massive fines or jail time for executives. He highlights how it has resulted in age-gating innocuous material, such as speeches on grooming gangs or historical blog posts, under the guise of child protection, while failing to include robust free speech safeguards.

Why Britain Arrests 30 People EVERY DAY For Speech

Watch the full episode with Lord Toby Young @toadmeister, right here on X. pic.twitter.com/qOcoC1siuX

— TRIGGERnometry (@triggerpod) August 6, 2025

Young argues this creates a chilling effect, with companies over-censoring to comply, and expresses concern that the Labour government, under figures like Peter Kyle, will strengthen it further rather than repeal it.

Young warns of broader threats to free expression, including over 30 daily arrests for speech offenses and a quarter-million non-crime hate incidents recorded in recent years, often for online posts challenging government narratives on immigration or gender issues.

He discusses risks to anonymity and encrypted apps like WhatsApp, potential blasphemy law revivals via anti-Islamophobia measures, and new employment laws that could ban “banter” in workplaces to prevent perceived harassment.

Emphasizing the Free Speech Union’s role in defending cases—primarily gender-critical women—he notes a surge in membership since Labour’s election, underscoring growing public unease.

Overall, Young portrays the UK as sliding toward authoritarian censorship, prioritizing “safety” over liberty and stifling open debate.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

To paraphrase Kermit The Frog, ‘It’s not easy making green” and under Trump 2.0, that has never been more true for the ‘average’ hedge fund manager dealing with 24/7 headline risk from the current resident of The White House.

For those who may not be in the seat, or have a clue as to just what the daily roller-coaster has been like for the last seven months and counting, Harris Kupperman, CIO of Praetorian Capital posted the following on X, which although a little tongue in cheek, is awfully close to the reality of anyone trying to trade this chaos. Brace yourself, as Kuppy says “Every fuckin’ day bro… every one!”:

6:00 – Wake up, check what Trump tariffed overnight. Cambodia up +200%, Paraguay -3% (they said thanks).

6:05 – Brew some coffee.

6:10 – Trump tweets that the laws are rigged, since he cannot tariff Arizona. Mentally scroll the portfolio for exposure…

6:15 – Check what happened in Asia and Europe. 6:22 – Trump announces that hot dogs will join the food pyramid. Bans hot dog exports. Fortunately our book dodged that one.

6:30 – Drink some coffee, talk to wife, pray Trump will spend the morning golfing so I can do some actual work… 

6:31 – Trump announces that oil at $65 is too high. Threatens anyone who isn’t producing more oil.

6:32 – Top 5 position announces earnings, want to join the earnings call at 7am, but Trump just scheduled a press conference then, and he’s looking unpredictable.

7:02 – Trump announces that Japan can now export golf balls tariff-free, in honor of Abe letting him cheat at golf. Join the earnings call instead.

7:06 – Futures plunge 65 handles in a single tick, frantically leave the earnings call and go back to whatever Trump is still yapping about in his press conference.

7:10 – Scroll through premarket quotes. NVDA and PLTR are both up 5% b/c it’s a day ending in ‘Y’ but SPZ are now down 80 handles.

7:15 – Trump changed his mind and SPZ are now up 25 handles as everyone rushes to cover their short. (I re-join the earnings call)

7:30 – Some broker I’ve never heard of just downgraded a top 5 position and it’s down 15% on 300 shares traded. I’m pretty confident it will close around there too. (I crack open a beer as I skim his downgrade report, realizing that nothing productive will happen today…)

8:00 – An LP calls to remind me of some ShitCoin he recommended that’s now up 1800% since he recommended it.

8:09 – 10-yr bonds gap down 17 bps, but all I can find is a tweet from Bessent about how great Main Street is doing.

8:15 – Some sell side asshole cold-calls me to see if I want a copy of his upgrade report on the AI sector. Tells me that “it’s going to be big and you don’t want to miss it.”

8:20 – Check my email, do 10 minutes of actual work.

8:30 – Trump threatens Brazil, I realize our BZ exposure is gonna get thumped on the open. (Crack open a 2nd beer)

8:33 – Reminisce about how productive I was, since Biden wouldn’t even wake up until noon.

8:40 – Chat with my CFO for 19 mins about some new compliance form we need to file.

8:59 – Trump Tweets about how stupid Powell is. Futures are back down 30 handles.

9:04 – Join a call 4 mins late with an endowment that wants an update, but 100% will never invest. “BTW – we need you to update the DDQ as we’ve changed our format”

9:29 – Casino is opening. Let’s see what happens.

9:32 – I’m bored. Go back to reading emails. Turns out the govt created another new form we ALSO need to fill out…

10:00 – We’re actually up 50bps.

10:03 – Now down 175bps. Trump just threatened to bomb Europe.

10:06 – Tweets he was just joking about Europe. But those guys need to get their shit together bc he might still bomb them.

10:08 – Ready for bourbon. Beer won’t cut it…

10:30 – EIA oil inventory shows yet another massive draw. Oil drops 5% anyway.

10:40 – Don Jr’s latest SPAC rallies 300% on rumors it may launch a new ShitCoin

10:45 – Friend calls to cry about how cheap all his names are. We both agree we were idiots to invest in businesses with earnings.

11:22 – Trump reminds everyone about how much Putin likes him.

11:40 – Realize I’m now too tweaked to sit in the office. Turn off the machines and go get lunch with a friend who’s also gonna bitch about how stupid markets have become.

12:05 – Hostess at restaurant pitches me some ShitCoin. Claims she’s up a few million on it

12:07 – Friend starts bitching about how stupid it is to be an investor under Trump, and how we all made money under Biden. I agree with him, but we both agree it would be even stupider under Kamala…

For more from Harris, visit Kuppy’s Korner blog at http://pracap.com