Business & Markets — July 15, 2026

Wall Street banks post record profits. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo reported earnings up 39% year-over-year, driven by strong trading and investment banking activity.

Quartz · Read more →

ASML raises forecast again. The Dutch chip-equipment maker lifted its sales guidance for the second time in 2026 on strong AI chip demand, sending shares up 4% Wednesday.

CNBC attributed the upgraded outlook to customers racing to expand their capacity to produce chips used in artificial intelligence applications, suggesting equipment orders are running ahead of the company's earlier projections. It is the second time this year the Dutch firm has revised its sales expectations upward, and investors responded by bidding the stock higher in Wednesday trading.

CNBC Top News · Read more →

JPMorgan cuts jobs with AI. CEO Jamie Dimon disclosed the bank has cut 40% of jobs in some departments due to AI, after long downplaying AI-driven layoffs.

Fast Company · Read more →

Stripe and Advent bid for PayPal. The pair offered $60.50 per share, a 28% premium valuing PayPal above $53 billion. Shares rose 16% in premarket trading Wednesday.

The takeover approach was described in a CNBC report and has not been characterized as a completed agreement. The bid came jointly from Stripe and Advent International, and the per-share price would value the payments company at more than $53 billion, a 28% premium. Investors reacted before Wednesday's opening bell, sending the stock sharply higher in premarket trading.

CNBC Top News · Read more →

China growth misses forecasts. China's economy grew 4.3% year-over-year in Q2, below market expectations and Beijing's annual target, as weak domestic demand and the Iran war's oil shock weighed on activity.

Official data released Wednesday showed the second-quarter figure came in below both market forecasts and the government's annual target range. Reuters cited two main drags on activity: soft demand within China's domestic economy and an oil price shock tied to the war involving Iran. The shortfall marks a sharp slowdown for the world's second-largest economy at the midpoint of the year.

Reuters · Read more →