Update exports

exports/daily_summary.json

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 {
   "date": "2026-08-16",
-  "total_articles": 137,
+  "total_articles": 140,
   "sources": {
-    "yahoo_finance": 4,
+    "yahoo_finance": 7,
     "marketwatch": 6,
     "seeking_alpha": 4,
     "cnbc": 14,
@@ -16,15 +16,15 @@
   },
   "top_stocks": {
     "A": 67,
-    "S": 52,
+    "S": 53,
     "I": 50,
+    "AI": 40,
     "P": 39,
-    "AI": 38,
     "U": 26,
     "ASDAQ": 25,
-    "X": 20,
-    "US": 12,
-    "SEC": 12
+    "X": 21,
+    "US": 13,
+    "CEO": 12
   },
   "sample_titles": [
     "Morgan Stanley sends a blunt Tesla message to investors",

exports/financial_news_2026-08-16.csv

@@ -1,4 +1,38 @@
 id,title,content,summary,url,source,author,published_date,scraped_date,sentiment_score,sentiment_label,mentioned_stocks,mentioned_companies,mentioned_persons,category,subcategory,tags,word_count,read_time_minutes,is_duplicate,duplicate_of_id
+35492,Spending is leading to earnings: Wall Street strategists see payoff from Big Techs AI investment,"With stocks back at all-time highs, Wall Street strategists see signs that all that spending on AI is starting to pay off — at least for the megacap hyperscalers and their booming cloud businesses.
+""We are seeing signs that the spending is leading to earnings,"" Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist, told Yahoo Finance.
+JPMorgan analysts lifted their price target on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to 8,000 from 7,800 last week, citing not only strong earnings and upward guidance revisions but also strong demand for cloud, in which companies rent computing power and storage.
+Microsoft (MSFT), which saw record cloud revenue last quarter as its Azure business topped $100 billion in annual sales for the first time, anticipates further acceleration this quarter.
+Amazon's (AMZN) AWS growth hit 36.7% in the quarter, its fastest in 18 quarters, according to the company. Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) has also seen explosive growth in its cloud business. Even Meta (META) is weighing renting out some of its computing power.
+Although free cash flow is expected to remain negative in FY27 for most hyperscalers, the business they have lined up is growing faster than their spending, a sign that demand is starting to catch up with all that capital expenditure, said JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas.
+""This suggests that monetization may start ramping faster than spending, which should support stronger future revenue growth and further alleviate concerns about return on invested capital,"" the analyst said.
+Among the top four cloud service providers, cloud computing backlogs now exceed a whopping $2.3 trillion, up 16% from the first quarter, according to Bank of America research.
+All of those commitments will require more investments. Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are collectively projected to allocate roughly $725 billion to $760 billion to capital expenditures this year to help build AI.
+""I love cloud right now because I think the cloud capacity is ... the next bottleneck that has to be resolved in this AI data build-out after semiconductors and memory. "" Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, told Yahoo Finance.
+He said of his stock picks, ""If I had to rank them in order, it would probably be Google, Amazon, and then Microsoft,"" noting that Microsoft is last because of risk in its Office software segment, given the sector's overall slump.
+Even hiccups from router giant Cisco (CSCO) and chipmaker Cerebras (CRBS) last week weren't enough to derail the AI theme.
+""The market has this expectation for explosive growth. And very good is not good enough,"" Defiance ETFs chief investment officer Sylvia Jablonski told Yahoo Finance.
+Truist's Lerner said tech and AI will continue to be the trades to watch for the rest of the year. He advises his clients to stay Overweight in tech, though he sees other areas of the market that can help balance a portfolio, including Healthcare (XLV) and Financial Services (XLF).
+Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance.
+Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
+Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance",,https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spending-is-leading-to-earnings-wall-street-strategists-see-payoff-from-big-techs-ai-investment-151610093.html,yahoo_finance,,2026-08-16T15:16:10,2026-08-17T10:29:16,0.10229949874686715,positive,MSFT;AI;GOOGL;XLF;AWS;GOOG;GSPC;META;S;XLV,Even;Financial Services;Big Techs;Cisco;Bujas;Overweight;Tom Essaye;Sevens Report Research;Click;Yahoo Finance,Sylvia Jablonski;Financial Services;Yahoo Finance Spending;Ines Ferre;Big Techs;Tom Essaye;Sevens Report Research;Keith Lerner;Yahoo Finance;Dubravko Lakos,,,,513,2,False,
+35491,Meta to face massive social media addiction trial Tuesday,"Meta (META) will face off against attorneys general from several states in an Oakland, Calif., courtroom Tuesday as part of a major lawsuit alleging that the company violated child safety and consumer protection laws and harmed children's mental health.
+The trial, which begins on Tuesday and is being held in front of District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in US District Court for the Northern District of California, is part of a lawsuit filed by 29 states in 2023 and will serve as a kind of bellwether for future proceedings.
+California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are taking part in the trial, which is expected to include testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.
+In the suit, the plaintiffs claim that Meta ""developed and refined a set of psychologically manipulative platform features designed to maximize young users' time spent on its social media platforms,"" including infinite scroll, autoplay, likes, and more.
+The states also allege that Meta knew that its apps harmed users, including through increased instances of anxiety, depression, and suicide, but misled them by claiming its products are safe.
+The plaintiffs also claim that Meta has violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by knowingly allowing children under 13 on its platform and collecting their user data without parental consent.
+Meta has denied the allegations. The company also opposes the potential damages it faces in the case, which it says could be as high as $1.4 trillion. Meta's market capitalization is roughly $1.5 trillion.
+""The State AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated, and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate,"" a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
+""The AGs offer no proof anyone in their states was misled, claim benign features like having an additional Instagram account somehow harmed their residents, and attempt to penalize Meta for industry-wide challenges like age verification. Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout. We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court.""
+The case is one of thousands that Meta and social media companies are facing in the US over alleged harms to users.
+Earlier this month, a New Mexico District Court ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address teen mental health in the state. The company also must pay $375 million in civil penalties to the state.
+In March, a jury found both Meta and YouTube negligent in a lawsuit that accused the companies of designing their products in a way that led to a woman's ""dangerous dependency on [the social media companies' products], anxiety, depression, self-harm, and body dysmorphia,"" after she began using the platforms when she was 10.
+The companies were ordered to pay $6 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
+Social media companies are also facing increasing international backlash, with countries ranging from Australia to Turkey having imposed laws restricting children's use of the platforms.
+Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X at @DanielHowley.
+Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market.
+Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance",,https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/article/meta-to-face-massive-social-media-addiction-trial-tuesday-135141870.html,yahoo_finance,,2026-08-16T13:51:41,2026-08-17T10:29:16,0.07544186765615335,neutral,US;CEO;META;X;COPPA,Northern District;Turkey;Earlier;Click;Email Daniel Howley;Adam Mosseri;The State;Meta;We;District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers,Yahoo Finance Meta;The State;District Court;Northern District;District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers;New Jersey;Online Privacy Protection Act;Mark Zuckerberg;In March;Email Daniel Howley,,,,535,2,False,
 35387,A Sea Limited Co-Founder Still Holds 21.6 Million Shares After Selling. Heres How to Read It,"Key Points
 The COO liquidated 60,000 shares for ~$7.7 million across August 11 and August 12, 2026.
 The transaction reduced the total equity stake by 0.28% while representing a 13% reduction in indirect holdings.
@@ -861,6 +895,55 @@ Jane Street reportedly posted a roughly $15B loss last month after taking a hit
 Trump told a political rally in New York on
 President Trump this week urged Americans to prepare for higher fuel prices while the Middle East conflict continues as part of the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
 Trump told a political rally in New York on",,https://seekingalpha.com/news/4633590-trump-asks-americans-to-accept-high-pump-prices-as-iran-standoff-drags-on?utm_source=feed_news_all&utm_medium=referral&feed_item_type=news,seeking_alpha,,2026-08-16T10:19:58.587948,2026-08-16T10:19:58,0.09659090909090909,neutral,,Middle East;Iran;New York;Americans;President Trump;Trump,President Trump;Middle East;New York,,,uso;uco;uga;dbo;usl;sco;bno;gush;drip;usoi,80,1,False,
+35493,Key checks from Walmart and the big box stores: What to watch this week,"After a week centered on inflation concerns and questions about the Federal Reserve's next move, investors step into a relatively quiet five-day stretch, with big box stores and other major retailers' earnings reports and a slew of manufacturing data taking center stage.
+The S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed last week up 0.4%, the Nasdaq (^IXIC) was up 0.6%, and the Dow (^DJI) fell 0.6%.
+It's been a busy stretch for investors over the past few weeks. Breaking news and major geopolitical developments notwithstanding, a relatively quiet week might be just what the doctor ordered as summer winds to a close and the kids go back to school.
+While earnings reports from the big box stores will take up most room on the corporate calendar this week, kicking things off on Tuesday are results from Chinese tech conglomerate Baidu (BIDU), with AI cloud revenue in focus.
+Thursday will bring the bulk of the big box reports, with Walmart (WMT), Alibaba (BABA), Ross Stores (ROST), and Deere & Company (DE) all set to share their quarterly results, followed by BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) on Friday.
+On the economic data front, manufacturing readings will be front and center, with industrial production and manufacturing production numbers from the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday, followed by S&P Global's US manufacturing PMI reading on Friday. Also on the calendar are housing starts data on Tuesday, expected to show a major downward shift, and the release on Wednesday of the minutes from the Fed's last meeting.
+Stocks up, vibes down
+The vibes are in a tough spot, to say the least.
+US consumers grew more gloomy about the economy in August as sentiment declined amid the war, higher bond yields, and geopolitical uncertainty, according to a preliminary consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan.
+""Although the early-month weakening in sentiment was pervasive across various demographic groups, notably large reductions were seen among older consumers, lower-income consumers, and those without a college degree,"" said the survey's director, Joanne Hsu. ""These groups are all particularly vulnerable to any erosion of purchasing power stemming from inflation.""
+The readings come after consumer and wholesale inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) readings showed only moderate improvement. Only 8% of consumers expect income growth to outpace inflation over the next year, per the survey.
+That inflation data was enough for traders to back off bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates at its September meeting. Prior to those releases, bets had been largely split 50-50 after a far weaker-than-expected July jobs report. Now, the market is assigning roughly 70% odds that the Fed will stay on hold.
+In another bearish sign, retail sales data from the Department of Commerce, also released on Friday, showed sales fell 0.6% month over month, a disappointment compared with expectations that sales would grow 0.1%, as concerns linger about the true strength of the consumer.
+AI capex spending is running up against the physical economy
+Now that earnings season is nearly done, there are new — and even bigger — forecasts of how much money hyperscalers will throw at the AI data center build-out this year.
+Goldman Sachs estimates the number will reach $1 trillion globally in 2026. JPMorgan forecasts spending of $697 billion in the US. And Bank of America sees a ""path toward ~$1.2 trillion"" by 2027.
+But money's not going to get the job done — because the bottleneck isn't cash.
+Despite investment in new manufacturing capacity, chip shortages persist. Construction contractors have highlighted the lack of skilled labor to complete projects on their clients' desired timeline. Then there are the growing regulatory constraints stemming from public backlash against data centers, including a one-year moratorium in New York and an audit of power hookups in Texas.
+And power is perhaps the biggest bottleneck of all. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates a 19-gigawatt shortfall in power for AI data centers by 2035 if growth continues at its current pace.
+""When you put that all together, the ambitions of the data center companies to get the power that they need to train their algorithms,"" George Gianarikas, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity who covers power generation companies, said to Yahoo Finance, ""In our very strong view, it's not going to happen at the pace that they expect.""
+Wood Mackenzie recently reported that data center power generators are trying to mitigate anticipated rejections by filing multiple applications with different utilities. The energy analysis firm said utilities and grid operators may approve only 28% of the power requested, because of both those ""phantom"" applications and those submitted by less-experienced operators.
+The dollar is stuck between two forces
+The US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) is currently caught in a tug-of-war between oil prices and the Federal Reserve, Rabobank senior FX strategist Jane Foley pointed out in a note to clients on Thursday.
+It began when the dollar's old relationship with oil started breaking down.
+Historically, crude oil (CL=F, BZ=F) and the greenback have moved in opposite directions. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger currency weighs on the commodity because it costs buyers more to purchase it.
+That relationship began to shift in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and the US cemented its position as a major energy exporter, Foley stated. That shift became more significant as the war in Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
+Higher oil prices once represented an almost unambiguously negative shock for the US economy. But the war in Iran — which has triggered the largest energy supply crisis in history — has presented an opportunity for major US oil producers to ramp up production and take advantage of higher prices, bolstering the country's energy exports.
+""For as long as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is curtailed, the USD is likely to retain a safe haven premium, supported by the US's energy exporter status,"" Foley wrote.
+There is, however, a competing force acting on the greenback: the Federal Reserve. A much softer-than-expected July payrolls report and relatively benign July inflation data have pushed investors to pare back expectations for rate hikes, removing a key source of dollar support.
+This all comes, of course, just after the US Treasury staged a major intervention in the Japanese yen. Notably, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent chose to sell euros instead of dollars to buy yen as the White House attempts to keep a floor of support under the dollar.
+Economic and earnings calendar
+Monday
+Economic data: Empire manufacturing, August (10 expected, 15.6 previously); NAHB housing market index, August (33 expected, 34 previously)
+Earnings calendar: BHP Group (BHP)
+Tuesday
+Economic data: ADP weekly employment, Aug. 1 (+8,250 previously); New York Fed services, August (8.7 previously); Import price index, month-on-month, July (+0.1% expected, +0.3% previously); Import price index, year-on-year, July (+7.1% previously); Export price index, month-on-month, July (0% expected, -0.6% previously); Export price index, year-on-year, July (+10.2% previously); Housing starts, month-on-month, July (-5.8% expected, +19% previously); Industrial production, month-on-month, July (+0.3% expected, +0.1% previously); Manufacturing production, month-on-month, July (+0.2% expected, 0% previously);
+Earnings calendar: Keysight Technologies (KEYS), Baidu, Inc. (BIDU), Pony AI (PONY)
+Wednesday
+Economic data: MBA mortgage applications, week ended Aug. 14 (+3.6% previously); FOMC meeting minutes, July meeting
+Earnings calendar: The TJX Companies (TJX)
+Thursday
+Economic data: Philadelphia Fed business outlook, Aug. (25 expected, 41.4 previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended Aug. 15 (209,000 previously); Continuing claims, week ended Aug. 8 (1.777 million previously)
+Earnings calendar: Walmart (WMT), Alibaba Group (BABA), Deere & Company (DE), Ross Stores (ROST)
+Friday
+Economic data: S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, August preliminary meeting (53.8 expected, 53.9 previously); S&P Global US services PMI, August preliminary meeting (53.9 expected, 54.6 previously); S&P Global US composite PMI, August preliminary meeting (54.5 previously);
+Earnings calendar: Ubiquiti (UI), BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ)
+Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
+Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance",,https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/key-checks-from-walmart-and-the-big-box-stores-what-to-watch-this-week-100000135.html,yahoo_finance,,2026-08-16T10:00:00,2026-08-17T10:29:16,0.015779871757315374,neutral,USD;BABA;AI;FOMC;PPI;BJ;Y;UI;GSPC;PMI,Higher;Bureau;Despite;Alibaba Group;New York;Aug;Rabobank;Although;Group;While,"Alibaba Group;New York;Jane Foley;White House;Yahoo Finance;Goldman Sachs;George Gianarikas;Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent;Friday
+Economic;Ross Stores",,,,1325,6,False,
 35344,"Mortgage and refinance interest rates today, Sunday, August 16, 2026: Rates mostly lower than last week","Some offers on this page are from advertisers who pay us, which may affect which products we write about, but not our recommendations. See our Advertiser Disclosure.
 According to rates from the Zillow lender marketplace, mortgage rates are generally lower than last week. The current 30-year fixed rate rose by 3 basis points to 6.54%, the 15-year fixed rate fell by 15 basis points to 5.86%, and the 5/1 ARM fell by 13 basis points to 6.24%.
 Read more: Weekly survey of mortgage lenders with the lowest rates: Lower rates and stiff fees

exports/financial_news_2026-08-16.json

@@ -1,7 +1,114 @@
 {
-  "export_timestamp": "2026-08-17T02:56:25.383848",
-  "total_articles": 137,
+  "export_timestamp": "2026-08-17T10:29:17.894382",
+  "total_articles": 140,
   "articles": [
+    {
+      "id": 35492,
+      "title": "Spending is leading to earnings: Wall Street strategists see payoff from Big Techs AI investment",
+      "content": "With stocks back at all-time highs, Wall Street strategists see signs that all that spending on AI is starting to pay off — at least for the megacap hyperscalers and their booming cloud businesses.\n\"We are seeing signs that the spending is leading to earnings,\" Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist, told Yahoo Finance.\nJPMorgan analysts lifted their price target on the S&P 500 (^GSPC) to 8,000 from 7,800 last week, citing not only strong earnings and upward guidance revisions but also strong demand for cloud, in which companies rent computing power and storage.\nMicrosoft (MSFT), which saw record cloud revenue last quarter as its Azure business topped $100 billion in annual sales for the first time, anticipates further acceleration this quarter.\nAmazon's (AMZN) AWS growth hit 36.7% in the quarter, its fastest in 18 quarters, according to the company. Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) has also seen explosive growth in its cloud business. Even Meta (META) is weighing renting out some of its computing power.\nAlthough free cash flow is expected to remain negative in FY27 for most hyperscalers, the business they have lined up is growing faster than their spending, a sign that demand is starting to catch up with all that capital expenditure, said JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas.\n\"This suggests that monetization may start ramping faster than spending, which should support stronger future revenue growth and further alleviate concerns about return on invested capital,\" the analyst said.\nAmong the top four cloud service providers, cloud computing backlogs now exceed a whopping $2.3 trillion, up 16% from the first quarter, according to Bank of America research.\nAll of those commitments will require more investments. Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are collectively projected to allocate roughly $725 billion to $760 billion to capital expenditures this year to help build AI.\n\"I love cloud right now because I think the cloud capacity is ... the next bottleneck that has to be resolved in this AI data build-out after semiconductors and memory. \" Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, told Yahoo Finance.\nHe said of his stock picks, \"If I had to rank them in order, it would probably be Google, Amazon, and then Microsoft,\" noting that Microsoft is last because of risk in its Office software segment, given the sector's overall slump.\nEven hiccups from router giant Cisco (CSCO) and chipmaker Cerebras (CRBS) last week weren't enough to derail the AI theme.\n\"The market has this expectation for explosive growth. And very good is not good enough,\" Defiance ETFs chief investment officer Sylvia Jablonski told Yahoo Finance.\nTruist's Lerner said tech and AI will continue to be the trades to watch for the rest of the year. He advises his clients to stay Overweight in tech, though he sees other areas of the market that can help balance a portfolio, including Healthcare (XLV) and Financial Services (XLF).\nInes Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance.\nClick here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices\nRead the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance",
+      "summary": "",
+      "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spending-is-leading-to-earnings-wall-street-strategists-see-payoff-from-big-techs-ai-investment-151610093.html",
+      "source": "yahoo_finance",
+      "author": null,
+      "published_date": "2026-08-16T15:16:10",
+      "scraped_date": "2026-08-17T10:29:16",
+      "sentiment_score": 0.10229949874686715,
+      "sentiment_label": "positive",
+      "mentioned_stocks": [
+        "MSFT",
+        "AI",
+        "GOOGL",
+        "XLF",
+        "AWS",
+        "GOOG",
+        "GSPC",
+        "META",
+        "S",
+        "XLV"
+      ],
+      "mentioned_companies": [
+        "Even",
+        "Financial Services",
+        "Big Techs",
+        "Cisco",
+        "Bujas",
+        "Overweight",
+        "Tom Essaye",
+        "Sevens Report Research",
+        "Click",
+        "Yahoo Finance"
+      ],
+      "mentioned_persons": [
+        "Sylvia Jablonski",
+        "Financial Services",
+        "Yahoo Finance Spending",
+        "Ines Ferre",
+        "Big Techs",
+        "Tom Essaye",
+        "Sevens Report Research",
+        "Keith Lerner",
+        "Yahoo Finance",
+        "Dubravko Lakos"
+      ],
+      "category": null,
+      "subcategory": null,
+      "tags": [],
+      "word_count": 513,
+      "read_time_minutes": 2,
+      "is_duplicate": false,
+      "duplicate_of_id": null
+    },
+    {
+      "id": 35491,
+      "title": "Meta to face massive social media addiction trial Tuesday",
+      "content": "Meta (META) will face off against attorneys general from several states in an Oakland, Calif., courtroom Tuesday as part of a major lawsuit alleging that the company violated child safety and consumer protection laws and harmed children's mental health.\nThe trial, which begins on Tuesday and is being held in front of District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in US District Court for the Northern District of California, is part of a lawsuit filed by 29 states in 2023 and will serve as a kind of bellwether for future proceedings.\nCalifornia, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are taking part in the trial, which is expected to include testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.\nIn the suit, the plaintiffs claim that Meta \"developed and refined a set of psychologically manipulative platform features designed to maximize young users' time spent on its social media platforms,\" including infinite scroll, autoplay, likes, and more.\nThe states also allege that Meta knew that its apps harmed users, including through increased instances of anxiety, depression, and suicide, but misled them by claiming its products are safe.\nThe plaintiffs also claim that Meta has violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by knowingly allowing children under 13 on its platform and collecting their user data without parental consent.\nMeta has denied the allegations. The company also opposes the potential damages it faces in the case, which it says could be as high as $1.4 trillion. Meta's market capitalization is roughly $1.5 trillion.\n\"The State AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated, and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate,\" a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.\n\"The AGs offer no proof anyone in their states was misled, claim benign features like having an additional Instagram account somehow harmed their residents, and attempt to penalize Meta for industry-wide challenges like age verification. Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout. We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court.\"\nThe case is one of thousands that Meta and social media companies are facing in the US over alleged harms to users.\nEarlier this month, a New Mexico District Court ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address teen mental health in the state. The company also must pay $375 million in civil penalties to the state.\nIn March, a jury found both Meta and YouTube negligent in a lawsuit that accused the companies of designing their products in a way that led to a woman's \"dangerous dependency on [the social media companies' products], anxiety, depression, self-harm, and body dysmorphia,\" after she began using the platforms when she was 10.\nThe companies were ordered to pay $6 million in punitive and compensatory damages.\nSocial media companies are also facing increasing international backlash, with countries ranging from Australia to Turkey having imposed laws restricting children's use of the platforms.\nEmail Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X at @DanielHowley.\nClick here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market.\nRead the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance",
+      "summary": "",
+      "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/article/meta-to-face-massive-social-media-addiction-trial-tuesday-135141870.html",
+      "source": "yahoo_finance",
+      "author": null,
+      "published_date": "2026-08-16T13:51:41",
+      "scraped_date": "2026-08-17T10:29:16",
+      "sentiment_score": 0.07544186765615335,
+      "sentiment_label": "neutral",
+      "mentioned_stocks": [
+        "US",
+        "CEO",
+        "META",
+        "X",
+        "COPPA"
+      ],
+      "mentioned_companies": [
+        "Northern District",
+        "Turkey",
+        "Earlier",
+        "Click",
+        "Email Daniel Howley",
+        "Adam Mosseri",
+        "The State",
+        "Meta",
+        "We",
+        "District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers"
+      ],
+      "mentioned_persons": [
+        "Yahoo Finance Meta",
+        "The State",
+        "District Court",
+        "Northern District",
+        "District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers",
+        "New Jersey",
+        "Online Privacy Protection Act",
+        "Mark Zuckerberg",
+        "In March",
+        "Email Daniel Howley"
+      ],
+      "category": null,
+      "subcategory": null,
+      "tags": [],
+      "word_count": 535,
+      "read_time_minutes": 2,
+      "is_duplicate": false,
+      "duplicate_of_id": null
+    },
     {
       "id": 35387,
       "title": "A Sea Limited Co-Founder Still Holds 21.6 Million Shares After Selling. Heres How to Read It",
@@ -2083,6 +2190,62 @@
       "is_duplicate": false,
       "duplicate_of_id": null
     },
+    {
+      "id": 35493,
+      "title": "Key checks from Walmart and the big box stores: What to watch this week",
+      "content": "After a week centered on inflation concerns and questions about the Federal Reserve's next move, investors step into a relatively quiet five-day stretch, with big box stores and other major retailers' earnings reports and a slew of manufacturing data taking center stage.\nThe S&P 500 (^GSPC) closed last week up 0.4%, the Nasdaq (^IXIC) was up 0.6%, and the Dow (^DJI) fell 0.6%.\nIt's been a busy stretch for investors over the past few weeks. Breaking news and major geopolitical developments notwithstanding, a relatively quiet week might be just what the doctor ordered as summer winds to a close and the kids go back to school.\nWhile earnings reports from the big box stores will take up most room on the corporate calendar this week, kicking things off on Tuesday are results from Chinese tech conglomerate Baidu (BIDU), with AI cloud revenue in focus.\nThursday will bring the bulk of the big box reports, with Walmart (WMT), Alibaba (BABA), Ross Stores (ROST), and Deere & Company (DE) all set to share their quarterly results, followed by BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) on Friday.\nOn the economic data front, manufacturing readings will be front and center, with industrial production and manufacturing production numbers from the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday, followed by S&P Global's US manufacturing PMI reading on Friday. Also on the calendar are housing starts data on Tuesday, expected to show a major downward shift, and the release on Wednesday of the minutes from the Fed's last meeting.\nStocks up, vibes down\nThe vibes are in a tough spot, to say the least.\nUS consumers grew more gloomy about the economy in August as sentiment declined amid the war, higher bond yields, and geopolitical uncertainty, according to a preliminary consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan.\n\"Although the early-month weakening in sentiment was pervasive across various demographic groups, notably large reductions were seen among older consumers, lower-income consumers, and those without a college degree,\" said the survey's director, Joanne Hsu. \"These groups are all particularly vulnerable to any erosion of purchasing power stemming from inflation.\"\nThe readings come after consumer and wholesale inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) readings showed only moderate improvement. Only 8% of consumers expect income growth to outpace inflation over the next year, per the survey.\nThat inflation data was enough for traders to back off bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates at its September meeting. Prior to those releases, bets had been largely split 50-50 after a far weaker-than-expected July jobs report. Now, the market is assigning roughly 70% odds that the Fed will stay on hold.\nIn another bearish sign, retail sales data from the Department of Commerce, also released on Friday, showed sales fell 0.6% month over month, a disappointment compared with expectations that sales would grow 0.1%, as concerns linger about the true strength of the consumer.\nAI capex spending is running up against the physical economy\nNow that earnings season is nearly done, there are new — and even bigger — forecasts of how much money hyperscalers will throw at the AI data center build-out this year.\nGoldman Sachs estimates the number will reach $1 trillion globally in 2026. JPMorgan forecasts spending of $697 billion in the US. And Bank of America sees a \"path toward ~$1.2 trillion\" by 2027.\nBut money's not going to get the job done — because the bottleneck isn't cash.\nDespite investment in new manufacturing capacity, chip shortages persist. Construction contractors have highlighted the lack of skilled labor to complete projects on their clients' desired timeline. Then there are the growing regulatory constraints stemming from public backlash against data centers, including a one-year moratorium in New York and an audit of power hookups in Texas.\nAnd power is perhaps the biggest bottleneck of all. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates a 19-gigawatt shortfall in power for AI data centers by 2035 if growth continues at its current pace.\n\"When you put that all together, the ambitions of the data center companies to get the power that they need to train their algorithms,\" George Gianarikas, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity who covers power generation companies, said to Yahoo Finance, \"In our very strong view, it's not going to happen at the pace that they expect.\"\nWood Mackenzie recently reported that data center power generators are trying to mitigate anticipated rejections by filing multiple applications with different utilities. The energy analysis firm said utilities and grid operators may approve only 28% of the power requested, because of both those \"phantom\" applications and those submitted by less-experienced operators.\nThe dollar is stuck between two forces\nThe US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) is currently caught in a tug-of-war between oil prices and the Federal Reserve, Rabobank senior FX strategist Jane Foley pointed out in a note to clients on Thursday.\nIt began when the dollar's old relationship with oil started breaking down.\nHistorically, crude oil (CL=F, BZ=F) and the greenback have moved in opposite directions. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger currency weighs on the commodity because it costs buyers more to purchase it.\nThat relationship began to shift in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and the US cemented its position as a major energy exporter, Foley stated. That shift became more significant as the war in Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.\nHigher oil prices once represented an almost unambiguously negative shock for the US economy. But the war in Iran — which has triggered the largest energy supply crisis in history — has presented an opportunity for major US oil producers to ramp up production and take advantage of higher prices, bolstering the country's energy exports.\n\"For as long as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is curtailed, the USD is likely to retain a safe haven premium, supported by the US's energy exporter status,\" Foley wrote.\nThere is, however, a competing force acting on the greenback: the Federal Reserve. A much softer-than-expected July payrolls report and relatively benign July inflation data have pushed investors to pare back expectations for rate hikes, removing a key source of dollar support.\nThis all comes, of course, just after the US Treasury staged a major intervention in the Japanese yen. Notably, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent chose to sell euros instead of dollars to buy yen as the White House attempts to keep a floor of support under the dollar.\nEconomic and earnings calendar\nMonday\nEconomic data: Empire manufacturing, August (10 expected, 15.6 previously); NAHB housing market index, August (33 expected, 34 previously)\nEarnings calendar: BHP Group (BHP)\nTuesday\nEconomic data: ADP weekly employment, Aug. 1 (+8,250 previously); New York Fed services, August (8.7 previously); Import price index, month-on-month, July (+0.1% expected, +0.3% previously); Import price index, year-on-year, July (+7.1% previously); Export price index, month-on-month, July (0% expected, -0.6% previously); Export price index, year-on-year, July (+10.2% previously); Housing starts, month-on-month, July (-5.8% expected, +19% previously); Industrial production, month-on-month, July (+0.3% expected, +0.1% previously); Manufacturing production, month-on-month, July (+0.2% expected, 0% previously);\nEarnings calendar: Keysight Technologies (KEYS), Baidu, Inc. (BIDU), Pony AI (PONY)\nWednesday\nEconomic data: MBA mortgage applications, week ended Aug. 14 (+3.6% previously); FOMC meeting minutes, July meeting\nEarnings calendar: The TJX Companies (TJX)\nThursday\nEconomic data: Philadelphia Fed business outlook, Aug. (25 expected, 41.4 previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended Aug. 15 (209,000 previously); Continuing claims, week ended Aug. 8 (1.777 million previously)\nEarnings calendar: Walmart (WMT), Alibaba Group (BABA), Deere & Company (DE), Ross Stores (ROST)\nFriday\nEconomic data: S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, August preliminary meeting (53.8 expected, 53.9 previously); S&P Global US services PMI, August preliminary meeting (53.9 expected, 54.6 previously); S&P Global US composite PMI, August preliminary meeting (54.5 previously);\nEarnings calendar: Ubiquiti (UI), BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ)\nClick here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices\nRead the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance",
+      "summary": "",
+      "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/key-checks-from-walmart-and-the-big-box-stores-what-to-watch-this-week-100000135.html",
+      "source": "yahoo_finance",
+      "author": null,
+      "published_date": "2026-08-16T10:00:00",
+      "scraped_date": "2026-08-17T10:29:16",
+      "sentiment_score": 0.015779871757315374,
+      "sentiment_label": "neutral",
+      "mentioned_stocks": [
+        "USD",
+        "BABA",
+        "AI",
+        "FOMC",
+        "PPI",
+        "BJ",
+        "Y",
+        "UI",
+        "GSPC",
+        "PMI"
+      ],
+      "mentioned_companies": [
+        "Higher",
+        "Bureau",
+        "Despite",
+        "Alibaba Group",
+        "New York",
+        "Aug",
+        "Rabobank",
+        "Although",
+        "Group",
+        "While"
+      ],
+      "mentioned_persons": [
+        "Alibaba Group",
+        "New York",
+        "Jane Foley",
+        "White House",
+        "Yahoo Finance",
+        "Goldman Sachs",
+        "George Gianarikas",
+        "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent",
+        "Friday\nEconomic",
+        "Ross Stores"
+      ],
+      "category": null,
+      "subcategory": null,
+      "tags": [],
+      "word_count": 1325,
+      "read_time_minutes": 6,
+      "is_duplicate": false,
+      "duplicate_of_id": null
+    },
     {
       "id": 35344,
       "title": "Mortgage and refinance interest rates today, Sunday, August 16, 2026: Rates mostly lower than last week",

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-<financial_news export_timestamp="2026-08-17T02:56:25.441822" total_articles="137"><article><id>35387</id><title>A Sea Limited Co-Founder Still Holds 21.6 Million Shares After Selling. Heres How to Read It</title><content>Key Points
+<financial_news export_timestamp="2026-08-17T10:29:17.950823" total_articles="140"><article><id>35492</id><title>Spending is leading to earnings: Wall Street strategists see payoff from Big Techs AI investment</title><content>With stocks back at all-time highs, Wall Street strategists see signs that all that spending on AI is starting to pay off — at least for the megacap hyperscalers and their booming cloud businesses.
+"We are seeing signs that the spending is leading to earnings," Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist, told Yahoo Finance.
+JPMorgan analysts lifted their price target on the S&amp;P 500 (^GSPC) to 8,000 from 7,800 last week, citing not only strong earnings and upward guidance revisions but also strong demand for cloud, in which companies rent computing power and storage.
+Microsoft (MSFT), which saw record cloud revenue last quarter as its Azure business topped $100 billion in annual sales for the first time, anticipates further acceleration this quarter.
+Amazon's (AMZN) AWS growth hit 36.7% in the quarter, its fastest in 18 quarters, according to the company. Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) has also seen explosive growth in its cloud business. Even Meta (META) is weighing renting out some of its computing power.
+Although free cash flow is expected to remain negative in FY27 for most hyperscalers, the business they have lined up is growing faster than their spending, a sign that demand is starting to catch up with all that capital expenditure, said JPMorgan strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas.
+"This suggests that monetization may start ramping faster than spending, which should support stronger future revenue growth and further alleviate concerns about return on invested capital," the analyst said.
+Among the top four cloud service providers, cloud computing backlogs now exceed a whopping $2.3 trillion, up 16% from the first quarter, according to Bank of America research.
+All of those commitments will require more investments. Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta are collectively projected to allocate roughly $725 billion to $760 billion to capital expenditures this year to help build AI.
+"I love cloud right now because I think the cloud capacity is ... the next bottleneck that has to be resolved in this AI data build-out after semiconductors and memory. " Tom Essaye, founder of Sevens Report Research, told Yahoo Finance.
+He said of his stock picks, "If I had to rank them in order, it would probably be Google, Amazon, and then Microsoft," noting that Microsoft is last because of risk in its Office software segment, given the sector's overall slump.
+Even hiccups from router giant Cisco (CSCO) and chipmaker Cerebras (CRBS) last week weren't enough to derail the AI theme.
+"The market has this expectation for explosive growth. And very good is not good enough," Defiance ETFs chief investment officer Sylvia Jablonski told Yahoo Finance.
+Truist's Lerner said tech and AI will continue to be the trades to watch for the rest of the year. He advises his clients to stay Overweight in tech, though he sees other areas of the market that can help balance a portfolio, including Healthcare (XLV) and Financial Services (XLF).
+Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance.
+Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
+Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance</content><summary /><url>https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spending-is-leading-to-earnings-wall-street-strategists-see-payoff-from-big-techs-ai-investment-151610093.html</url><source>yahoo_finance</source><published_date>2026-08-16T15:16:10</published_date><scraped_date>2026-08-17T10:29:16</scraped_date><sentiment_score>0.10229949874686715</sentiment_score><sentiment_label>positive</sentiment_label><mentioned_stocks>MSFT;AI;GOOGL;XLF;AWS;GOOG;GSPC;META;S;XLV</mentioned_stocks><mentioned_companies>Even;Financial Services;Big Techs;Cisco;Bujas;Overweight;Tom Essaye;Sevens Report Research;Click;Yahoo Finance</mentioned_companies><mentioned_persons>Sylvia Jablonski;Financial Services;Yahoo Finance Spending;Ines Ferre;Big Techs;Tom Essaye;Sevens Report Research;Keith Lerner;Yahoo Finance;Dubravko Lakos</mentioned_persons><tags /><word_count>513</word_count><read_time_minutes>2</read_time_minutes><is_duplicate>False</is_duplicate></article><article><id>35491</id><title>Meta to face massive social media addiction trial Tuesday</title><content>Meta (META) will face off against attorneys general from several states in an Oakland, Calif., courtroom Tuesday as part of a major lawsuit alleging that the company violated child safety and consumer protection laws and harmed children's mental health.
+The trial, which begins on Tuesday and is being held in front of District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in US District Court for the Northern District of California, is part of a lawsuit filed by 29 states in 2023 and will serve as a kind of bellwether for future proceedings.
+California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey are taking part in the trial, which is expected to include testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri.
+In the suit, the plaintiffs claim that Meta "developed and refined a set of psychologically manipulative platform features designed to maximize young users' time spent on its social media platforms," including infinite scroll, autoplay, likes, and more.
+The states also allege that Meta knew that its apps harmed users, including through increased instances of anxiety, depression, and suicide, but misled them by claiming its products are safe.
+The plaintiffs also claim that Meta has violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by knowingly allowing children under 13 on its platform and collecting their user data without parental consent.
+Meta has denied the allegations. The company also opposes the potential damages it faces in the case, which it says could be as high as $1.4 trillion. Meta's market capitalization is roughly $1.5 trillion.
+"The State AGs may call this a landmark case, but their limited claims are unsubstantiated, and their financial demands are vastly disproportionate," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
+"The AGs offer no proof anyone in their states was misled, claim benign features like having an additional Instagram account somehow harmed their residents, and attempt to penalize Meta for industry-wide challenges like age verification. Rather than sticking to the facts or the law, the states have instead decided to chase an outlandish payout. We stand by our record of creating strong protections for teens, and look forward to making our case in court."
+The case is one of thousands that Meta and social media companies are facing in the US over alleged harms to users.
+Earlier this month, a New Mexico District Court ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address teen mental health in the state. The company also must pay $375 million in civil penalties to the state.
+In March, a jury found both Meta and YouTube negligent in a lawsuit that accused the companies of designing their products in a way that led to a woman's "dangerous dependency on [the social media companies' products], anxiety, depression, self-harm, and body dysmorphia," after she began using the platforms when she was 10.
+The companies were ordered to pay $6 million in punitive and compensatory damages.
+Social media companies are also facing increasing international backlash, with countries ranging from Australia to Turkey having imposed laws restricting children's use of the platforms.
+Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X at @DanielHowley.
+Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market.
+Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance</content><summary /><url>https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/article/meta-to-face-massive-social-media-addiction-trial-tuesday-135141870.html</url><source>yahoo_finance</source><published_date>2026-08-16T13:51:41</published_date><scraped_date>2026-08-17T10:29:16</scraped_date><sentiment_score>0.07544186765615335</sentiment_score><sentiment_label>neutral</sentiment_label><mentioned_stocks>US;CEO;META;X;COPPA</mentioned_stocks><mentioned_companies>Northern District;Turkey;Earlier;Click;Email Daniel Howley;Adam Mosseri;The State;Meta;We;District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers</mentioned_companies><mentioned_persons>Yahoo Finance Meta;The State;District Court;Northern District;District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers;New Jersey;Online Privacy Protection Act;Mark Zuckerberg;In March;Email Daniel Howley</mentioned_persons><tags /><word_count>535</word_count><read_time_minutes>2</read_time_minutes><is_duplicate>False</is_duplicate></article><article><id>35387</id><title>A Sea Limited Co-Founder Still Holds 21.6 Million Shares After Selling. Heres How to Read It</title><content>Key Points
 The COO liquidated 60,000 shares for ~$7.7 million across August 11 and August 12, 2026.
 The transaction reduced the total equity stake by 0.28% while representing a 13% reduction in indirect holdings.
 The sale was executed through a British Virgin Islands entity controlled by the reporting person.
@@ -823,7 +855,55 @@ The market provides a hedge for investors worried about some of the risks around
 Jane Street reportedly posted a roughly $15B loss last month after taking a hit from troubles at hedge fund Situational Awareness, which was forced to conduct a fire sale to Ken Griffin's Citadel following an AI-led selloff that rocked financial</content><summary /><url>https://seekingalpha.com/news/4633589-jane-street-lost-15b-post-situational-awareness-meltdown?utm_source=feed_news_all&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;feed_item_type=news</url><source>seeking_alpha</source><published_date>2026-08-16T10:19:58.588513</published_date><scraped_date>2026-08-16T10:19:58</scraped_date><sentiment_score>-0.08</sentiment_score><sentiment_label>neutral</sentiment_label><mentioned_stocks>AI;B</mentioned_stocks><mentioned_companies>Ken Griffin;Situational Awareness;Citadel;Jane Street;July</mentioned_companies><mentioned_persons>Jane Street;Ken Griffin;Situational Awareness</mentioned_persons><tags>thnq;aiq;botz;xt;mu;tsm;be;dtec;robt;tecb;ginn;wtai;chat;wise;xaix;sndk;crwv;openai</tags><word_count>80</word_count><read_time_minutes>1</read_time_minutes><is_duplicate>False</is_duplicate></article><article><id>35351</id><title>Trump asks Americans to accept high pump prices as Iran standoff drags on</title><content>President Trump this week urged Americans to prepare for higher fuel prices while the Middle East conflict continues as part of the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
 Trump told a political rally in New York on
 President Trump this week urged Americans to prepare for higher fuel prices while the Middle East conflict continues as part of the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
-Trump told a political rally in New York on</content><summary /><url>https://seekingalpha.com/news/4633590-trump-asks-americans-to-accept-high-pump-prices-as-iran-standoff-drags-on?utm_source=feed_news_all&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;feed_item_type=news</url><source>seeking_alpha</source><published_date>2026-08-16T10:19:58.587948</published_date><scraped_date>2026-08-16T10:19:58</scraped_date><sentiment_score>0.09659090909090909</sentiment_score><sentiment_label>neutral</sentiment_label><mentioned_stocks /><mentioned_companies>Middle East;Iran;New York;Americans;President Trump;Trump</mentioned_companies><mentioned_persons>President Trump;Middle East;New York</mentioned_persons><tags>uso;uco;uga;dbo;usl;sco;bno;gush;drip;usoi</tags><word_count>80</word_count><read_time_minutes>1</read_time_minutes><is_duplicate>False</is_duplicate></article><article><id>35344</id><title>Mortgage and refinance interest rates today, Sunday, August 16, 2026: Rates mostly lower than last week</title><content>Some offers on this page are from advertisers who pay us, which may affect which products we write about, but not our recommendations. See our Advertiser Disclosure.
+Trump told a political rally in New York on</content><summary /><url>https://seekingalpha.com/news/4633590-trump-asks-americans-to-accept-high-pump-prices-as-iran-standoff-drags-on?utm_source=feed_news_all&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;feed_item_type=news</url><source>seeking_alpha</source><published_date>2026-08-16T10:19:58.587948</published_date><scraped_date>2026-08-16T10:19:58</scraped_date><sentiment_score>0.09659090909090909</sentiment_score><sentiment_label>neutral</sentiment_label><mentioned_stocks /><mentioned_companies>Middle East;Iran;New York;Americans;President Trump;Trump</mentioned_companies><mentioned_persons>President Trump;Middle East;New York</mentioned_persons><tags>uso;uco;uga;dbo;usl;sco;bno;gush;drip;usoi</tags><word_count>80</word_count><read_time_minutes>1</read_time_minutes><is_duplicate>False</is_duplicate></article><article><id>35493</id><title>Key checks from Walmart and the big box stores: What to watch this week</title><content>After a week centered on inflation concerns and questions about the Federal Reserve's next move, investors step into a relatively quiet five-day stretch, with big box stores and other major retailers' earnings reports and a slew of manufacturing data taking center stage.
+The S&amp;P 500 (^GSPC) closed last week up 0.4%, the Nasdaq (^IXIC) was up 0.6%, and the Dow (^DJI) fell 0.6%.
+It's been a busy stretch for investors over the past few weeks. Breaking news and major geopolitical developments notwithstanding, a relatively quiet week might be just what the doctor ordered as summer winds to a close and the kids go back to school.
+While earnings reports from the big box stores will take up most room on the corporate calendar this week, kicking things off on Tuesday are results from Chinese tech conglomerate Baidu (BIDU), with AI cloud revenue in focus.
+Thursday will bring the bulk of the big box reports, with Walmart (WMT), Alibaba (BABA), Ross Stores (ROST), and Deere &amp; Company (DE) all set to share their quarterly results, followed by BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) on Friday.
+On the economic data front, manufacturing readings will be front and center, with industrial production and manufacturing production numbers from the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday, followed by S&amp;P Global's US manufacturing PMI reading on Friday. Also on the calendar are housing starts data on Tuesday, expected to show a major downward shift, and the release on Wednesday of the minutes from the Fed's last meeting.
+Stocks up, vibes down
+The vibes are in a tough spot, to say the least.
+US consumers grew more gloomy about the economy in August as sentiment declined amid the war, higher bond yields, and geopolitical uncertainty, according to a preliminary consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan.
+"Although the early-month weakening in sentiment was pervasive across various demographic groups, notably large reductions were seen among older consumers, lower-income consumers, and those without a college degree," said the survey's director, Joanne Hsu. "These groups are all particularly vulnerable to any erosion of purchasing power stemming from inflation."
+The readings come after consumer and wholesale inflation data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) readings showed only moderate improvement. Only 8% of consumers expect income growth to outpace inflation over the next year, per the survey.
+That inflation data was enough for traders to back off bets that the Federal Reserve will raise rates at its September meeting. Prior to those releases, bets had been largely split 50-50 after a far weaker-than-expected July jobs report. Now, the market is assigning roughly 70% odds that the Fed will stay on hold.
+In another bearish sign, retail sales data from the Department of Commerce, also released on Friday, showed sales fell 0.6% month over month, a disappointment compared with expectations that sales would grow 0.1%, as concerns linger about the true strength of the consumer.
+AI capex spending is running up against the physical economy
+Now that earnings season is nearly done, there are new — and even bigger — forecasts of how much money hyperscalers will throw at the AI data center build-out this year.
+Goldman Sachs estimates the number will reach $1 trillion globally in 2026. JPMorgan forecasts spending of $697 billion in the US. And Bank of America sees a "path toward ~$1.2 trillion" by 2027.
+But money's not going to get the job done — because the bottleneck isn't cash.
+Despite investment in new manufacturing capacity, chip shortages persist. Construction contractors have highlighted the lack of skilled labor to complete projects on their clients' desired timeline. Then there are the growing regulatory constraints stemming from public backlash against data centers, including a one-year moratorium in New York and an audit of power hookups in Texas.
+And power is perhaps the biggest bottleneck of all. Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates a 19-gigawatt shortfall in power for AI data centers by 2035 if growth continues at its current pace.
+"When you put that all together, the ambitions of the data center companies to get the power that they need to train their algorithms," George Gianarikas, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity who covers power generation companies, said to Yahoo Finance, "In our very strong view, it's not going to happen at the pace that they expect."
+Wood Mackenzie recently reported that data center power generators are trying to mitigate anticipated rejections by filing multiple applications with different utilities. The energy analysis firm said utilities and grid operators may approve only 28% of the power requested, because of both those "phantom" applications and those submitted by less-experienced operators.
+The dollar is stuck between two forces
+The US dollar (DX-Y.NYB) is currently caught in a tug-of-war between oil prices and the Federal Reserve, Rabobank senior FX strategist Jane Foley pointed out in a note to clients on Thursday.
+It began when the dollar's old relationship with oil started breaking down.
+Historically, crude oil (CL=F, BZ=F) and the greenback have moved in opposite directions. Oil is priced in dollars, so a stronger currency weighs on the commodity because it costs buyers more to purchase it.
+That relationship began to shift in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and the US cemented its position as a major energy exporter, Foley stated. That shift became more significant as the war in Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
+Higher oil prices once represented an almost unambiguously negative shock for the US economy. But the war in Iran — which has triggered the largest energy supply crisis in history — has presented an opportunity for major US oil producers to ramp up production and take advantage of higher prices, bolstering the country's energy exports.
+"For as long as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is curtailed, the USD is likely to retain a safe haven premium, supported by the US's energy exporter status," Foley wrote.
+There is, however, a competing force acting on the greenback: the Federal Reserve. A much softer-than-expected July payrolls report and relatively benign July inflation data have pushed investors to pare back expectations for rate hikes, removing a key source of dollar support.
+This all comes, of course, just after the US Treasury staged a major intervention in the Japanese yen. Notably, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent chose to sell euros instead of dollars to buy yen as the White House attempts to keep a floor of support under the dollar.
+Economic and earnings calendar
+Monday
+Economic data: Empire manufacturing, August (10 expected, 15.6 previously); NAHB housing market index, August (33 expected, 34 previously)
+Earnings calendar: BHP Group (BHP)
+Tuesday
+Economic data: ADP weekly employment, Aug. 1 (+8,250 previously); New York Fed services, August (8.7 previously); Import price index, month-on-month, July (+0.1% expected, +0.3% previously); Import price index, year-on-year, July (+7.1% previously); Export price index, month-on-month, July (0% expected, -0.6% previously); Export price index, year-on-year, July (+10.2% previously); Housing starts, month-on-month, July (-5.8% expected, +19% previously); Industrial production, month-on-month, July (+0.3% expected, +0.1% previously); Manufacturing production, month-on-month, July (+0.2% expected, 0% previously);
+Earnings calendar: Keysight Technologies (KEYS), Baidu, Inc. (BIDU), Pony AI (PONY)
+Wednesday
+Economic data: MBA mortgage applications, week ended Aug. 14 (+3.6% previously); FOMC meeting minutes, July meeting
+Earnings calendar: The TJX Companies (TJX)
+Thursday
+Economic data: Philadelphia Fed business outlook, Aug. (25 expected, 41.4 previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended Aug. 15 (209,000 previously); Continuing claims, week ended Aug. 8 (1.777 million previously)
+Earnings calendar: Walmart (WMT), Alibaba Group (BABA), Deere &amp; Company (DE), Ross Stores (ROST)
+Friday
+Economic data: S&amp;P Global US manufacturing PMI, August preliminary meeting (53.8 expected, 53.9 previously); S&amp;P Global US services PMI, August preliminary meeting (53.9 expected, 54.6 previously); S&amp;P Global US composite PMI, August preliminary meeting (54.5 previously);
+Earnings calendar: Ubiquiti (UI), BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings (BJ)
+Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest stock market news and events moving stock prices
+Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance</content><summary /><url>https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/article/key-checks-from-walmart-and-the-big-box-stores-what-to-watch-this-week-100000135.html</url><source>yahoo_finance</source><published_date>2026-08-16T10:00:00</published_date><scraped_date>2026-08-17T10:29:16</scraped_date><sentiment_score>0.015779871757315374</sentiment_score><sentiment_label>neutral</sentiment_label><mentioned_stocks>USD;BABA;AI;FOMC;PPI;BJ;Y;UI;GSPC;PMI</mentioned_stocks><mentioned_companies>Higher;Bureau;Despite;Alibaba Group;New York;Aug;Rabobank;Although;Group;While</mentioned_companies><mentioned_persons>Alibaba Group;New York;Jane Foley;White House;Yahoo Finance;Goldman Sachs;George Gianarikas;Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent;Friday
+Economic;Ross Stores</mentioned_persons><tags /><word_count>1325</word_count><read_time_minutes>6</read_time_minutes><is_duplicate>False</is_duplicate></article><article><id>35344</id><title>Mortgage and refinance interest rates today, Sunday, August 16, 2026: Rates mostly lower than last week</title><content>Some offers on this page are from advertisers who pay us, which may affect which products we write about, but not our recommendations. See our Advertiser Disclosure.
 According to rates from the Zillow lender marketplace, mortgage rates are generally lower than last week. The current 30-year fixed rate rose by 3 basis points to 6.54%, the 15-year fixed rate fell by 15 basis points to 5.86%, and the 5/1 ARM fell by 13 basis points to 6.24%.
 Read more: Weekly survey of mortgage lenders with the lowest rates: Lower rates and stiff fees
 Today's mortgage rates