CBS: U.S. Treasury Secretary and Trump Once Had Heated Debate on Tariff Policy

According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that Intel is seeking to raise the size of its current stock offering from the previously planned $15 billion to around $20 billion, an increase of roughly one-third. The offering price is expected to be around $95 per share or higher, which would represent a roughly 6.5% discount to last Friday’s closing price. People familiar with the matter added that the offering has already received over $100 billion in subscription demand. If underwriters exercise the overallotment option, the final fundraising size could significantly exceed $20 billion. However, relevant discussions are still ongoing, and the offering size and pricing remain subject to change. JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup are participating in the offering. Intel’s shares fell 4.1% during regular trading hours on Monday, and were roughly flat in after-hours trading; the stock has still gained around 164% year-to-date. Bloomberg noted that this year’s largest U.S. stock financings have come mostly from companies benefiting from rising AI spending. Alphabet is raising up to $85 billion via public offerings and equity-linked transactions, while Oracle also plans to raise $20 billion through public offerings.

According to a Bloomberg report, people familiar with the matter revealed that OpenAI has completed an employee stock repurchase deal, helping current and former staff sell approximately $70 billion worth of the company’s shares as it prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO). Two sources familiar with the matter said the tender offer sees OpenAI itself repurchase employee shares, rather than bringing in external investors to buy them as was the case in previous transactions. The deal values OpenAI at $852 billion, matching the valuation from the company’s latest funding round. OpenAI declined to comment. In the past, OpenAI has offered employees opportunities to sell shares via investors including Thrive Capital and SoftBank Group. In March this year, the company raised $122 billion from major tech firms and venture capital institutions, and in June it announced it had confidentially filed documents related to its IPO. Meanwhile, OpenAI has been in fierce competition with Anthropic throughout this year. Bloomberg noted that Anthropic has recently gained strong momentum in the AI software sector, with a valuation higher than OpenAI’s, and may go public earlier than its rival.

Quarterly financial filings from Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) show that as of June 30, the company held 9,477.16 BTC with a fair value of approximately $557.1 million, a decrease of 65 BTC from the 9,542.16 BTC it held at the end of March. Due to declines in cryptocurrency prices, the company recorded related losses of roughly $360.6 million in the first half of this year. The company’s holdings of approximately 756.1 million Cronos (CRO) tokens remained unchanged, though their fair value dropped from $68 million at the end of 2025 to $40.6 million. Meanwhile, some of Trump Media’s Bitcoin has been used as collateral: 4,260.73 BTC for convertible notes, and an additional 2,077.34 BTC for Bitcoin options strategies. Earlier, Trump Media, Crypto.com, and Yorkville Acquisition jointly terminated the proposed business combination to form the Trump Media Group CRO Strategy. The entity had planned to build a large CRO treasury as a public company, with the parties citing "current market conditions and changes in business and stakeholder priorities" as reasons for the termination.

US President Trump said Monday he has only had one "brief" conversation with Federal Reserve Chair Walsh since Walsh took office, denying claims that the two communicate frequently. White House National Economic Council Director Hassett said last week the pair "often discuss economic issues," but other sources familiar with the matter said their calls are irregular and infrequent. Earlier reports noted that since Walsh was confirmed as Fed Chair in May, Trump has held multiple communications with him, with Trump asking Walsh about his forecasts and views on the economic outlook. Trump again reiterated his stance of wanting to lower interest rates, but said he "fully supports" Walsh, emphasizing that Federal Reserve policy is jointly decided by the Board of Governors. (Golden Ten)

Morgan Stanley announced the launch of the "U.S. Innovation Infrastructure Initiative", planning to drive approximately $1.5 trillion in capital raising, financing, advisory and related investment activities over the next decade to support the next phase of U.S. economic growth. The initiative will focus on strategic sectors including artificial intelligence, advanced computing, quantum technology, semiconductors, data infrastructure, cybersecurity, aerospace, defense and critical minerals, while promoting the development of digital, physical and energy infrastructure. Morgan Stanley stated that the initiative aims to support the building of enterprises, technologies and platforms critical to U.S. economic and national security, and integrate its capabilities in investment banking, capital markets, wealth management and investment management to support companies from startup to scale-up stages.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester stated that current inflation has not yet returned to the target level, and the Federal Reserve may need to implement multiple interest rate hikes. She noted that a 25-basis-point rate hike "would not have a significant impact on the economy," but declined to predict the exact number of rate hikes or the final interest rate level. Mester believes the current 3.50%-3.75% interest rate range has not imposed obvious constraints on the economy, and enterprises have not cut growth investment due to high rates, so "now is the time to take action." She added that the longer the wait, the harder it will be for inflation to return to the 2% target. Mester also emphasized that there are no obvious issues in the current job market, and July employment data will not alter her focus on inflation. She holds that the market can only assist the Federal Reserve, not replace it in taking action. Mester voted against keeping rates unchanged at the Fed's July policy meeting, and favored a 25-basis-point rate hike. (Jinshi)