News Without All The Nonsense (Sponsor)

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Fitch’s US Credit Downgrade Sparks Criticism Along With Unease (4 min read)

Fitch downgraded the US government debt from "AAA" to "AA+" due to concerns over large fiscal deficits and political disputes. The rating company projects the debt-to-GDP ratio in the US to reach 118% by 2025. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen criticized the move as arbitrary and outdated, while analysts questioned its impact on investors. The bond market remained steady, but stocks and other risk-sensitive assets declined.

World’s Shrinking AAA Debt Options Include Singapore, Norway (2 min read)

Fitch downgraded the US credit rating has raised concerns about shrinking top-tier grade countries. However, experts believe top economies like Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, and Canada that are rated “AAA” by top rating companies will be unaffected. Moody’s is now the only rating company to keep “AAA” grade for the US. While the downgrade might lead some investors to shift away from US assets, many remain confident in the US's ability to repay debts.

Ford’s U.S. sales rose nearly 6% in July, but its EVs are still lagging (2 min read)

Ford reported a 5.9% increase in US sales in July compared to the same time last year, driven by strong demand for its pickup trucks. However, electric vehicle (EV) deliveries slumped, with sales dropping over 28% due to a factory shutdown for upgrades. Ford sees EV sales slow until mid-September but still expects to produce over 70,000 EVs this year. The company’s overall sales continue to perform well and the strong results and profits are offsetting the EVs losses.

CVS beats on earnings and revenue as the company slashes costs (2 min read)

CVS’s cost-cutting effort has led to better-than-expected earnings and revenue in Q2 but its income still fell 37% from a year ago. After acquiring Signify Health and Oak Street Health, CVS has been focusing on healthcare services, which has generated almost as much revenue as its retail pharmacy and health insurance combined. The company’s plan to reduce costs, including its layoffs, was mostly seen as a positive. CVS stock jumped 4% after the quarterly release.

Teucrium Digs New Ground Using AI to Build Commodity ETFs (3 min read)

Teucrium created long/short agriculture and base metal strategy ETFs last year using artificial intelligence. Both ETFs license indexes are from AiLA Indices, a Singapore-based firm that has published live results of its AI-powered commodity strategies since 2017. The performance was relatively well, with the agriculture strategy returning 16.8% annually from 2017 - 2022, and the base metal strategy returning 15.7%. More on both strategies is available in the article.

Cybersecurity ETFs: AI’s Promise and Peril (4 min read)

AI is a double-edged sword for cybersecurity. Hackers use AI for advanced attacks, leading to increased cybersecurity efforts but lower profitability. However, it also means more corporate spending in the sector. As a result, many cybersecurity companies have seen substantial gains due to the industry's growth. This article takes a closer look at five “pure play” cybersecurity ETFs as AI presents both challenges and opportunities for the industry.

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