• Markets: Stocks started off the week strong yesterday, with the Dow hitting a new record as oil prices fell amid hopes for US–Iran diplomacy. Big Tech soared like an AI-generated image of an eagle. Amazon passed the $3 trillion market cap threshold for the first time.

LAND OF THE RISING YEN

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Uncle Sam is wading into the Japanese economy with the enthusiasm of an American tourist splurging in a Tokyo manga store. Japan confirmed yesterday that the US Treasury helped prop up the yen for the first time since 1998 by bulk buying the struggling currency, lifting its value against the dollar over the weekend.

It’s unknown how much yen the US purchased amid the Japanese government’s own yen-buying binge, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was photographed on Friday with a “to-do list” that had one item: buy $5-10 billion of yen. Yesterday, the treasury secretary also publicly called on the Federal Reserve to expand a facility that Japan can use to support its currency.

What’s in it for the US?

The yen-dollar exchange rate recently hit its lowest point in 40 years due to concerns about Japan’s swelling government debt, relatively low interest rates, and rising oil import costs amid the Iran war. That raises household costs in Japan, but it could also impact Americans:

• The US might’ve been worried that Japanese authorities would dump the country’s massive US government bond holdings to buy yen and stabilize the currency. Since bond prices move inversely to yields, a selloff would lower US Treasury bond prices, leading to higher borrowing costs.
• President Trump previously took issue with weak foreign currencies, which advantage international exporters over US producers.

Meanwhile, some experts think Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s closeness with the Trump administration made it more willing to help. Last year, the US stepped in to buy Argentinian pesos, as the currency flagged during the exchange rate reforms of President Javier Milei, a staunch Trump ally.

Is the yen saved? Analysts say that the yen spike might prove short-lived. They argue more sustainable currency strengthening would require Japan’s government to reduce debt and for its central bank to hike interest rates more aggressively. Higher rates in Japan would make it less attractive to borrow yen, then swap it for other currencies to buy higher-yielding foreign bonds—a common practice known as the carry trade that has contributed to the yen’s weakness.

Looking ahead…Bessent says the US “won’t hesitate” to buy more yen.—SK

      

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World

Tour de headlines

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🇮🇷 The US and Iran can’t agree on whether they’re talking. One day after President Trump said he’d called off a major strike in Iran because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to,” things were looking tense again. Iran insisted yesterday it was not in talks with the US but was merely discussing the short-term management of the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. But President Trump called that claim “unbelievably duplicitous” on Truth Social and said “we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused.” Later in the day, Trump told reporters it was Iran’s “last chance” to sign a deal. He also said Exxon and Chevron were making “too much money” amid the war’s disruptions.

🥬 Two deaths connected to cyclospora outbreak. Michigan health officials said yesterday that two people—both with underlying health conditions—had died from the recent outbreak of cyclospora, a parasite that causes severe diarrhea. These are the first deaths associated with this summer’s unusually large outbreak of the foodborne illness, which is rarely deadly. Federal officials have said lettuce grown in Mexico and supplied by Taylor Farms to Taco Bell restaurants is behind some of the spread of the parasite in several states, but there could also be other sources of the difficult-to-trace bacteria.

🚀 SpaceX reports its first earnings as a public company today. While it may not have the drama of a rocket launch, today’s earnings report by SpaceX will give investors a first look at how their bets on Elon Musk one day colonizing Mars are faring here on Earth. Though the company initially soared and generated enthusiasm from retail investors after its June 12 debut, it has since lost $500+ billion in market value. Posting earnings may not be the company’s biggest moment this week: On Thursday, its first lockup of shares expires, potentially flooding the market if employees and early investors cash out.—AR

DOUBLE DOSE

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The people who make sense of things for a living don’t know what to make of this one: Analysts were baffled yesterday by a Financial Times report that rival drugmakers AstraZeneca and Bristol Myers Squibb are in talks to pull off one of the largest mergers in Big Pharma history.

The merger might not come together but, if it does, the combined entity would become the world’s fourth-largest drugmaker by market capitalization, worth $400 billion, per FT. Neither company commented on the report.

That don’t impress investors much: AstraZeneca’s stock tumbled ~7% yesterday as shareholders booed the prospect of the UK’s second-most valuable public company merging with US-based Bristol Myers, which may have trouble on the horizon:

• The US drugmaker’s growth is expected to dip next year as patents on its top-performing medications expire.
• Meanwhile, AstraZeneca’s business is booming.

“Given the strength of AZ’s growth and innovation profile, we are a bit perplexed,” Jefferies analysts said of the potential merger.

One potential explanation: AstraZeneca may want more US business, which currently accounts for nearly half of its revenue. Also, its combined pipeline with Bristol Myers would likely create the industry’s biggest cancer drug portfolio, per Jefferies.

That could attract harsh antitrust scrutiny, but in the US, now’s the time—mergers have surged under the Trump administration.—ML

      

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SOMETHING TO MARVEL AT

Sony Pictures

Good luck to J. Jonah Jameson if he’s looking for something negative to say about this: Spider-Man: Brand New Day had the biggest domestic box office opening weekend in history with $360 million, narrowly eclipsing the mark set by Avengers: Endgame in 2019.

Collectively, the North American box office generated a record $430 million on the strength of the Tom Holland/Zendaya/Jon Bernthal movie Spider-Man and the other Tom Holland/Zendaya/Jon Bernthal movie The Odyssey (Matt Damon is also in it), which picked up $51 million in its third weekend.

The big win for Marvel comes as the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) had appeared to be on the decline:

• The six MCU movies in Phase 5, which ended last year and included disappointments like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, The Marvels, and Thunderbolts, earned $3.65 billion. Sounds like a lot, but that’s the weakest gross of any MCU phase.
• Rotten Tomatoes ranked all 38 MCU movies—the bottom five were all released post-Endgame.

This can’t be the end, right? When asked if Holland could return for a fifth Spider-Man movie, Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman told Variety: “I heard Tom say at some point that he wanted to continue, and we would love it if he did.”—DL

      

Reader poll

Matty’s work-life balance

Gen Z are bringing their parents to work

Niv Bavarsky

On Tuesdays, the Brew’s Matty Merritt brings you the news you need to make life a little easier during your 9-5, 5-9, or OOO.

It used to be that the closest your parents ever got to your job hunt was your exasperated “I’ll let you know if I hear anything” when they asked how an interview went. But some Gen Zers are now entering the workforce with their parents in tow:

• Of the 1,000 Gen Zers surveyed by resume service Zety, 20% said a parent had joined them on a job interview.
• And it doesn’t stop when they get the job. HR professionals told the Wall Street Journal they’re fielding calls from parents of young employees asking about performance reviews, benefit packages, or even calling in sick on their kids’ behalf.

Maybe don’t? Recruiters warn that this kind of parental involvement can be a huge red flag for potential employers. It’s much more appropriate to have your rich, well-connected parent quietly get you a summer internship.—MM

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News

What else is brewing

• Palantir raised its full-year guidance after reporting an “otherworldly” quarter in which its overall revenue grew 93% and its commercial revenue grew 149%.
• Two Republican senators said they’d stop blocking Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general after he agreed to formally nix the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” included in President Trump’s deal with the IRS.
• Twenty-five states sued to block President Trump’s new tariffs, saying they were just a replacement for the ones the Supreme Court struck down.
• Wildfires forced 60,000 people to evacuate the Spokane, WA-area, and destroyed at least 700 homes.
• Mauricio Pochettino has signed a new contract to continue as manager of the US men’s national soccer team. His deal was largely funded by billionaire Ken Griffin.
• Ariana Grande dropped out of an upcoming West End musical revival and said she’d be taking “a step back from visibility” after her tour ends.

recs

• Lower your water bill by changing how you shower.
• The dishes chefs won’t order at restaurants.
• Start planning your trip: UNESCO just added 26 new World Heritage sites.
• When willpower isn’t working, this little device keeps you off your phone.**

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Play

Brew Mini: John Huston gave us The Misfits. Today, Jack Murtagh gives us “Delinquents.” Play the Mini here.

Money trivia

With the yen in the news, here’s a trivia category on global currencies. We’ll give you a country, and you have to name the currency it uses.

1. Lithuania
2. Turkey
3. Sweden
4. Iran
5. Kenya
6. Vietnam

Answer

1. Euro
2. Turkish lira
3. Swedish krona
4. Iranian rial
5. Kenyan shilling
6. Vietnamese đồng

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: inversely, meaning “in the opposite direction.” Thanks to Julie from Austin, TX, for a suggestion that made us do the opposite of frowning. Submit another Word of the Day here.