It was a long, hard-fought August, but the bulls came out on top again. Inflation’s continued progress and a slow market day allowed buyers to push prices back toward all-time highs to close out the month on a positive note. Let’s see what you missed. 👀

Today's issue covers Intel exploring a business shakeup, results from Goldman’s annual layoff process, and inflation’s continued downward progress. 📰

Here’s the S&P 500 heatmap. 11 of 11 sectors closed green, with consumer discretionary (+1.51%) leading and energy (+0.37%) lagging.

And here are the closing prices: 

Most bullish/bearish symbols on Stocktwits at the close: 📈 $APTO, $FCUV, $CRVS, $BBIO, $ESTC 📉 $ALAB, $GPMT, $JPM, $AMIX, $SXTC*

*If you’re a business and want to access this data via our API, email us.

The old-school semiconductor giant has been stuck in a downtrend while the rest of the space parties on, making it the target of activist investors who want management to create shareholder value…and fast. 😡

As a result, management finally responded by working with Morgan Stanley and other bankers to present the board of directors with ‘strategic options.’

CEO Pat Gelsinger’s longer-term plans have failed to convince investors that the company won’t be left out of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Activists still believe in splitting the company up and spinning off its foundry business.

Today’s news caused a 9% pop in the stock, but Stocktwits community sentiment remains in ‘bearish’ territory, highlighting continued skepticism among retail investors and traders. 😬

The annual review process has wrapped up at the investment bank, with Goldman laying off 1,300 to 1,800 workers (or 3-4% of its workforce).

Typically the company aims to trim 2% and 7% of its workforce annually, with that range fluctuating based on market conditions and the bank’s financial outlook. 🧭

With the stock trading at all-time highs and the Federal Reserve expected to pull off its “soft landing,” cuts toward the lower end of their typical range show that the bank isn’t expecting any major near-term risks.

Still, the Stocktwits community is not so sure, with sentiment sitting in neutral territory as prices attempt to make new all-time highs. 😐

The Fed’s preferred inflation metric continued its cooling trend during July, giving the bulls more ammunition to push stocks back toward all-time highs.

The headline personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index rose 0.20% MoM and 2.50% YoY, with the annual figure coming in 10bps better than expectations. Core inflation saw the same trend, rising 0.20% MoM and 2.60% YoY. 🔺

Meanwhile, personal income rose 0.30% MoM, 10bps better than estimates, while consumer spending rose 0.50%, matching analyst expectations. 💵

Services inflation remained stickier than goods inflation, but the continued downward progress should give the Fed the ammo it needs to cut during the September meeting.

Now the market’s only question is whether they’ll cut 25 or 50 bps, so investors will closely watch next week’s labor market data for clues. 👨‍💼

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✂️ Where are low-cost airlines cutting back now? New planes

❌ Brazil’s top court orders nationwide suspension of Elon Musk’s X

🤖 Influential tech journalism site AnandTech shuts down after 27 years

🧑‍⚖️ Alibaba shares rise after it completes three-year regulatory overhaul

🛢️ OPEC+ likely to proceed with planned output hike from October, sources say

🦺 OpenAI and Anthropic agree to let U.S. AI Safety Institute test and evaluate new models

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