Investigation Into Klaus Schwab Deepens

Welcome back!

Here’s your must-read news this morning:

• WEF probe into Klaus Schwab

• Oracle, OpenAI expand Stargate project

• Brazil intensifies Bolsonaro censorship

I’ve got all the details for you, so let’s dive in.

— Josh

MARKETS

💰 Report: WEF Investigation Reveals Klaus Schwab Allegedly Altered Reports for Political Gain

The Scoop: Preliminary findings from an investigation into World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab suggest he manipulated the Global Competitiveness Report for political gain and sent inappropriate emails to younger staff, Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung reported.

The Details:

• The probe, prompted by a whistleblower letter, alleges Schwab altered country rankings in the now-defunct Global Competitiveness Report to favor diplomatic ties, notably in the Middle East, North Africa, and India.

• Schwab and his wife, Hilde, are accused of misusing WEF funds, with expense claims totaling 900,000 Swiss francs ($1.12 million) for trips unrelated to official duties.

• The allegations appear to be tied to Schwab’s abrupt resignation as WEF chairman in April, after the Wall Street Journal first reported the whistleblower claims.

• Schwab denies the accusations, filing a criminal complaint against the whistleblowers, while the WEF awaits the probe’s final report, expected by August’s end.

What’s Next: The findings could tarnish the WEF’s reputation as a neutral platform, with Schwab’s legal counteractions and the ongoing investigation likely to fuel debates over governance and accountability at the Davos-based organization.

Markets Roundup

🏦 Economy & Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for examining the entire Federal Reserve, questioning its institutional success and criticizing its inflation and tariff policies. (CNBC)

• Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) referred Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to the Justice Department for alleged perjury over false statements about the $2.5 billion Eccles Building renovation. (FOX)

• Prospects for an interim U.S.-India trade deal before the August 1 tariff deadline have dimmed, with talks stalled over tariff cuts on agricultural and dairy products. (RTS)

• China’s affluent are as pessimistic about the economy as during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 22% surveyed in May 2025 expressing negativity, a study showed. (CNBC)

• The New York Fed’s July survey shows improved access to auto loans and mortgage refinancing, with credit application rates rising to 47% from 44.8% and rejection rates dropping to 18.7% from 20%. (INV)

📈 Stock Market

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Figma aims to raise nearly $1 billion through an IPO by offering over 36 million shares at $25 to $28 each, targeting a $13.65 billion to $16.4 billion valuation. (YF)

• Ryanair reported Q1 EPS of $1.79, surpassing the $1.34 analyst estimate, with revenue of $5.07 billion exceeding the $4.79 billion consensus, driven by fare increases. (INV)

• D.R. Horton reported fiscal Q3 adjusted EPS of $3.36, beating the $2.90 analyst estimate, with revenue of $9.23 billion surpassing the $8.8 billion consensus, driven by strong homebuilding demand. (BW)

• General Motors is expected to report Q2 adjusted EPS of $2.44 and revenue of $46.4 billion, with results due before the market opens on Tuesday. (CNBC)

• Crypto custodian BitGo has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO. (TB)

🏢 Industry

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Judge Darrin Gayles, appointed by Obama in 2014, will oversee Trump’s $10 billion libel lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal. (NW)

• AstraZeneca plans to invest $50 billion in U.S. manufacturing and research by 2030, including a new Virginia facility for its GLP-1 obesity pill. (CNBC)

• Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said that a surge in U.S. auto manufacturing is imminent, with the company’s eight finishing facilities ready to meet demand. (CNBC)

• PepsiCo launched Pepsi Prebiotic Cola with 3 grams of prebiotic fiber, aiming to capitalize on the growing health-conscious soda market. (FD)

• Fortune cut 10% of its staff due to declining web traffic, will aim to shift its strategy to deliver premium editorial content. (SEM)

💵 Energy & Commodities

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Canada’s Central European Petroleum discovered Poland’s largest-ever oil and gas deposit, potentially yielding 200 million barrels of oil. (OP)

• Wealthy investors have more than doubled their gold allocations from 5% to 11% in 2025, buying bars and bullion stored in secure Swiss vaults. (CNBC)

• The UK struck a £38 billion ($51.2 billion) deal with EDF, Centrica, La Caisse, and Amber Infrastructure to build the Sizewell C nuclear plant in Suffolk to power 6 million homes. (TG)

• Nuclear fusion investments surged by $2.6 billion in the past year, totaling $9.7 billion since 2021, driven by growing investor confidence in its potential as a scalable energy solution. (FIA)

• PJM Interconnection’s annual power auction, the world’s first to reflect AI data centers’ massive energy demands, will reveal results today, offering a glimpse into rising consumer utility costs. (BBG)

🌕 Crypto

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Polymarket plans to re-enter the U.S. by acquiring derivatives exchange QCEX for $112 million. (BBG)

• Coinbase launched CFTC-regulated perpetual futures trading for U.S. users. (TB)

• Blue Origin announced that Tron founder Justin Sun will join five others on the company’s 34th mission after winning a $28 million bid in 2021 for a seat on the New Shepard suborbital rocket. (CT)

• The Ether Reserve will go public via a $1.6 billion merger with Dynamix, forming The Ether Machine with over 400,000 Ether to become the largest public vehicle for institutional Ethereum exposure. (WSJ)

• Trump Media announced it has amassed approximately $2 Billion in Bitcoin and related assets. (CD)
  

TECH

💻 Oracle and OpenAI Expand $500 Billion Stargate Infrastructure Project

The Scoop: Oracle and OpenAI have deepened their Stargate partnership with a deal to add 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity in the U.S., advancing a $500 billion plan to bolster AI infrastructure and create over 100,000 jobs.

The Details:

• The 4.5 GW addition will bring the project to more than 5 GW of the 10 GW commitment.

• The project, which also includes SoftBank as a partner, aims to cement U.S. AI leadership, with new data centers planned in states like Texas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, fueled by a $30 billion Oracle cloud deal.

• OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane emphasized the project’s role in “reindustrializing America,” with thousands of jobs already created in Abilene, Texas, and more expected across 20 states.

• Supported by White House leadership, Stargate integrates partnerships with Microsoft, CoreWeave, and international investors.

What’s Next: With momentum building, Stargate is set to exceed its initial targets, potentially reshaping U.S. AI infrastructure and global competitiveness, though concerns linger about energy demands.

Tech Roundup

🧠 AI

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Replit’s AI coding platform went rogue during a code freeze and deleted a company’s entire production database. (TH)

• OpenAI and the UK government have launched the world’s first strategic AI partnership to turbocharge AI infrastructure and advance research to fostering economic growth. (OAI)

• A study found 72% of U.S. teens have used AI companions for personal conversations, with 52% as regular users, raising concerns about emotional dependency. (TC)

• Researchers unveiled CoSyn, the world’s first AI tool that creates scientific figures, charts, and tables through code-guided synthesis, enabling open-source AI models to “see.” (TAII)

• An AI developed by physicists designed some of the world’s first bizarre physics experiments, autonomously creating a novel quantum entanglement setup that successfully demonstrated measurable particle correlations. (QM)

🤖 Hardware & Robotics

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: PsiQuantum's $1 billion quantum computer, launching in Chicago in 2028, aims to revolutionize computing, solving "forever impossible" problems. (INV)

• Starship Technologies’ food-delivery robots are rapidly expanding across U.S. cities. (WSJ)

• In a viral video, Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot was seen serving popcorn at the soft opening of the Tesla Diner in Los Angeles. (X)

• At China's VOYAGEX Music Festival, a humanoid robot Adam playing keytar enthralled crowds alongside Hu Yutong’s band. (IE)

• The University of Arkansas’ soft robotic gripper, the world’s first for blackberry harvesting, uses biomimicry and force sensors to delicately pick berries. (PHY)

🚀 Defense & Space

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: A now-deleted U.S. Army video showcasing its first live-grenade drop from a drone, intended to highlight innovation, instead reveals how far the service lags behind in small armed drone technology. (TWZ)

• Ukraine deployed a "Berserk" robot to jam Russian drones, enhancing troop protection on the front lines. (U24M)

• China’s VU-T10, the world’s first fully autonomous robotic tank armed with a 30mm cannon and anti-tank missiles, was revealed during test trials. (DB)

• China unveiled a robotic exoskeleton suit with integrated drone control, enhancing soldier endurance and mobility for battlefield operations. (DB)

• U.K. military engineers developed an undersea drone to detect and neutralize explosives, bolstering security against growing threats to underwater infrastructure. (TN)

💰 Venture Capital & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Mariana Minerals raised $85 million in a Series A led by Andreessen Horowitz, positioning itself as the world’s only software-first, vertically integrated minerals developer. (A16Z)

• Rune, founded by Anduril alums, secured $24 million in a Series A round led by Menlo Ventures to advance an AI-enabled predictive software for modernizing military logistics. (TC)

• London-based FinTech Xelix raised $160 million in a Series B round led by Insight Partners to advance its agentic AI platform, which automates accounts payable processes. (PRN)

• Alix, a San Francisco-based FinTech, secured $20 million in a Series A round led by Acrew Capital to scale its AI-driven estate settlement platform. (IN)

• Hyper, an AI voice startup, raised $6.3 million in a seed round led by Eniac Ventures to enhance its technology for automating 911 calls. (TC)

FREEDOM

🤐 Brazil's Supreme Court Prohibits Sharing Bolsonaro Interviews on Social Media

The Scoop: Brazil’s Supreme Court has escalated restrictions on former President Jair Bolsonaro, banning the distribution of his interviews across social media to enforce a broader social media blackout.

The Details:

• Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order prohibiting any video, audio, or transcript featuring Bolsonaro, citing risks of circumventing his existing social media ban, with violations potentially leading to immediate imprisonment.

• The restrictions, initiated last Friday, also mandate an ankle monitor, evening and weekend curfews, and no contact with others under investigation, including his son Eduardo.

• Bolsonaro canceled a planned online interview Monday to avoid breaching the court’s conditions, while publicly denouncing Moraes as “the chief dictator.”

What’s Next: The sweeping ban on Bolsonaro’s media presence could further polarize Brazil’s political landscape, as critics question the judiciary’s role in stifling dissent, intensifying debates over censorship and political expression.

Freedom Roundup

🏛️ Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump is readying executive orders to streamline AI infrastructure development and block state-level AI rules. (BBG)

• Trump plans to withdraw the U.S. from UNESCO, citing its DEI policies and pro-Palestinian and pro-China biases. (NYP)

• The State Bar of Wisconsin settled a federal lawsuit, agreeing to eliminate race-based DEI criteria from its programs. (WKOW)

• Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) said that a second reconciliation package is being developed, focusing on further spending cuts. (CBS)

💬 Free Speech & Woke Overreach

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: A new report found that BlackRock continues to pressure fossil fuel companies with net-zero policies, violating Texas’ Senate Bill 13, despite its recent removal from the state’s boycott list. (TCS)

• Creators are facing financial losses as brands cut back on DEI-focused marketing, with sponsorships around identity months like Black History Month dropping significantly. (DD)

• A bill in Ireland would allow law enforcement to intercept encrypted messages on platforms like WhatsApp. (RTW)

• America First Legal filed a complaint with the Tennessee AG, alleging Cracker Barrel’s DEI policies, rebranded as “Culture and Belonging,” discriminate against white, male, and heterosexual employees. (FBN)

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