Oil crash and weak jobs data rattle markets

Oil prices hit pre-war lows and June payrolls came in far below expectations, giving markets a jittery start to July. Meanwhile, a study on AI consensus in banking and a Danish union's venture bet offer quieter counterpoints.

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Market jolts

Two big macro stories drove the day: oil prices collapsed and the jobs report disappointed, but stocks managed to grind higher.

#01www.aljazeera.comJul 3

Oil prices fall to levels not seen since start of US-Israel war on Iran

Brent crude fell below $71, down 38% from its post-war peak, as markets price in a possible end to the US-Israel war on Iran.

4 min readRead original

#02www.benzinga.comJul 3

Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Futures Gain Despite Weak June Jobs Data — CoreWeave, Nebius, Micr

Nonfarm payrolls added just 57,000 jobs in June, well below the 100,000 estimate, but futures still turned positive, a confusing signal for rate watchers.

3 min readRead original

#03www.rnz.co.nzJul 3

Lowering fuel prices sees consumer confidence rebound

New Zealand consumer confidence rebounded to pre-conflict levels on falling fuel prices, though it remains 16 points below its January peak.

AI and banking

A quirky study on AI consensus and a big prediction on active ETFs highlight how technology is reshaping finance from different angles.

#04natlawreview.comJul 3

Four AI Models, Zero Disagreement: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode Agree 100% on Singapore's Safest Banks

Four AI models unanimously ranked DBS, OCBC, and UOB as Singapore's safest banks but disagreed sharply on which digital bank has the best app, a neat demonstration of AI's limits on subjective metrics.