U.S. Senator: If Powell Is Fired by Trump, It Will Trigger a Market Collapse

June 17 (Bloomberg) — Digital bank Revolut will launch services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after securing required licenses from the UAE Central Bank, marking its entry into the Middle East market. The UAE Central Bank has approved Revolut’s applications for two key licenses: a stored-value license and a retail payment services license. Revolut said that ahead of its official launch in the UAE, it will first build out local technology infrastructure, operational teams, and on-ground capabilities tailored to the market. Headquartered in London, Revolut is also planning further expansion across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, including potential entries into Turkey and Morocco. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that Revolut has held talks to acquire Turkish digital bank FUPS to launch local financial services there. Once live, Revolut’s UAE users will gain access to its global financial platform, featuring functions like holding and managing multiple currenci

June 17 — CNN reporter Bryan Mena notes that while Powell hasn’t been able to deliver the interest rate cut Trump demanded single-handedly, he’s made it clear the Federal Reserve (Fed) is abandoning business as usual. Powell has brought on two conservative policy veterans as interim advisors to the central bank: Paul Winfree and Daniel Haile. He’s also pointed to “a large number of redundant personnel” at the Fed, hinting at a potential major reshuffle of the roughly 3,000 employees based at the Fed’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. Powell launched a downsizing process last year to align with similar moves across the broader U.S. federal government. On the inflation front, Powell has proposed Fed officials rethink how they measure inflation, shifting focus to the “trimmed mean” inflation indicator. During his April confirmation hearing, he explained these metrics capture “the underlying inflation rate, not one-off price swings from geopolitical events or changes in beef prices.” Wit

On June 17, TrendForce’s latest report indicates that surging demand for AI semiconductors is driving progress in advanced packaging technologies, with Fan-Out Panel-Level Packaging (FOPLP) emerging as the industry’s new competitive battleground. TSMC is currently focused on the CoWoS packaging architecture and has standardized its use of a 310×310 millimeter panel format. 2026 is expected to be a critical validation period for related equipment and material suppliers, with pilot production targeted for 2027 and mass production set for the second half of 2028. Beyond CoWoS, TSMC’s next-phase focus is anticipated to shift to glass core substrates, where commercial-scale production is likely to launch after 2030.

June 17 — According to Al Jazeera, U.S. President Trump has rejected as false reports that a U.S.-Iran agreement would include a $300 billion reconstruction fund for Tehran. “We will not pay a penny,” Trump said. “We are neither investing nor setting up any such related fund.” Trump also stated he did not ask Gulf countries to invest in Iran, adding that while he did not request their participation, if they choose to do so, that is not a problem. He noted he believes the Gulf nations will hold off on taking action until they figure out what Iran is up to. The report was also sourced from FXStreet.

June 17 — Per data from BlockBeats, SpaceX (ticker: SPCX) posted an initial free float ratio of just 4.25% after its IPO, the lowest among major U.S. tech debuts on record. That figure is derived by dividing the number of shares issued in the IPO by total post-IPO common shares outstanding. SpaceX offered 555.56 million shares in its IPO, with total post-IPO common shares hitting 13.08 billion. If the full greenshoe (overallotment) option is exercised, that initial free float ratio would climb to roughly 4.86%. By comparison, other major U.S. tech IPOs had higher initial free floats: Google (2004) at 7.23%, Zoom (2019) at 8.14%, LinkedIn (2011) at 8.30%, Snowflake (2020) at 10.12%, Uber (2019) at 10.70%, Reddit (2024) at 13.84%, and Rivian (2021) at 17.62% — making SpaceX’s IPO’s initial free float the lowest of the group. A low initial free float translates to a limited number of tradable shares in SpaceX’s early secondary trading. Paired with the company’s high fully diluted valua

Serenity’s June 17 post cited a TrendForce report claiming AMD is actively locking in CW (continuous wave) laser supplies via multiple large procurement orders, a move that may only mark the start of a growing supply bottleneck. The Western supply chain has very limited independent capacity left, with only SIVE, AAOI, and potentially Macom holding minimal room for additional orders. This crunch intensified after Lumentum and Coherent locked up their relevant production capacity via long-term deals with Nvidia. For transparency, Serenity disclosed it holds stakes in both SIVE and AAOI. Serenity added that Lumentum itself is facing CW laser supply constraints, leading it to source from Japanese vendors including Sumitomo and Furukawa—firms already operating at near-full production capacity. TrendForce further noted AMD’s push is aimed at ensuring its future capacity won’t be restricted by Nvidia and other major cloud service providers (CSPs). Following Nvidia and AMD’s moves, other hyp