Market snapshot: EUR/USD 1.1647, EUR/CZK 214.45, USD/CZK 20.99. WTI $62.43/bbl, Brent $65.80/bbl. Gold (troy ounce) $3,319. U.S. Treasury yields: 10y 4.29%, 30y 4.90%. Bitcoin $113,043, Ethereum $4,149. #Bitcoin #Ethereum #WTI #Brent #FiatNews

Macro calendar: No major data releases today. Key inflation reports due this week from Canada, the UK and the eurozone could influence central bank policy. Markets currently price about an 85% probability of a September rate cut. #inflation #economy #FiatNews

Bond markets: Yields fell for most sovereign debt globally today, though UK and Czech government bonds bucked the trend and did not decline. Overall move suggests a modest flight to safety across parts of the market. #FiatNews

Central Europe: Czech koruna slightly weaker — CZK/EUR 24.4753 (-0.057%), CZK/USD 20.9655 (+0.282%). HUF/EUR 395.5875 (+0.096%), PLN/EUR 4.2511 (-0.185%). Regional currencies show modest intra‑day moves. #CZK #FiatNews

Analysts are debating whether heavy corporate spending on AI infrastructure will deliver a sustainable competitive edge for Apple. Commentators noted that companies such as Microsoft, Meta and Amazon are investing heavily to lead in AI, but Greg Ip of the Wall Street Journal argues those outlays may not create lasting advantages and are weighing on free cash flow. Ip notes the spending boosts measured economic growth but “is significantly burdening cash flow,” and he highlights a widening gap between free cash flow and reported earnings. Ip compared the current wave of AI investment to the dot‑com era: some infrastructure investments had clear benefits, yet they also intensified competition and compressed margins. “Every time someone comes with a new model, and it seems hard to believe that anyone could create a sustainable competitive advantage,” he said. Dan Ives of Wedbush told CNBC Apple’s AI strategy is “basically invisible” and warned “Apple must do something.” He suggested a major acquisition such as Perplexity, closer cooperation with Google’s Gemini and new AI hires as possible moves, and has a $270 target on Apple shares. #AAPL #AI #FiatNews

Major cryptocurrencies reversed course after last week’s records, pulling the total crypto market below $4 trillion. Bitcoin fell as much as 2.2% to about $115,000, while Ether slid more than 4% at one point, dipping below $4,300, according to Bloomberg and CoinMarketCap data. Combined market capitalization dropped to $3.9 trillion. The pullback followed highs on August 14, when Bitcoin reached a record $125,514 and Ether neared its November 2021 peak. The recent rally was supported by an influx of institutional investment, with Michael Saylor’s firm Strategy—whose main asset is bitcoin—having accumulated more than $72 billion worth of the token. "Since reaching a new all-time high last week we have seen continued profit-taking," said Caroline Mauron, co‑founder of Orbit Markets, adding that "the momentum of the crypto finance boom appears to be losing strength." Japanese hotel operator Metaplanet, which had amassed about $2.2 billion in bitcoin, is down roughly 50% from its mid‑June peak. #Bitcoin #Ether #crypto #FiatNews

Tencent exceeded expectations with 15% revenue growth and a 17% rise in net profit, strengthening investor confidence in its AI monetization strategy. The company reported double-digit gains across key segments, including advertising. #Tencent #AI #FiatNews

Paul Krugman told Yahoo Finance that if President Trump selects the next Federal Reserve chair, that official could be subject to political influence from the White House. Krugman also noted views framing low rates as a "reward for good behavior." #Fed #Krugman #FiatNews

Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by billionaire twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, has publicly filed paperwork for a U.S. initial public offering, Reuters reported on Aug. 15. Terms were not disclosed in the filing; an earlier report on Aug. 13 said the company aims to raise about US$500m and had filed confidentially in June. Representatives of lead banks declined to comment and Gemini did not respond to requests for comment. #IPO #crypto #Gemini The offering’s syndicate is reported to be led by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, with Morgan Stanley and Cantor also involved. Once Gemini’s registration is made public, it could begin a share sale as soon as 15 days later, allowing a potential launch immediately after the U.S. Labor Day holiday. The company has been conducting “testing the water” meetings with potential investors. The filing comes amid a rebound in U.S. IPO activity and a recent flurry of digital-asset listings: stablecoin issuer Circle and exchange Bullish have both gone public this year, with Bullish raising an upsized US$1.1bn after pricing 30m primary shares at US$37. Circle priced a US$1.05bn Nasdaq IPO and quickly returned to the market with a 10m-share follow-on. Bitcoin has been trading near record highs around US$122,275, supporting heightened interest in crypto-related equity offerings. Founded in 2014, Gemini operates a platform for buying, selling and storing crypto tokens and acquired wealth management platform Bitria in 2022 to provide registered investment advisers tools for managing crypto assets. #FiatNews

U.S. stocks remain expensive, but the narrative of a definitive end to American exceptionalism has eased. Year-to-date the S&P 500 is up about 10%, while markets outside the U.S. have risen roughly twice as much. The performance gap that opened around March–April has tended to narrow since then, suggesting a temporary US market underperformance rather than a structural collapse. Looking at returns is informative, but valuation comparisons give a clearer picture of market standing. Developed markets ex‑USA trade at a price/earnings ratio of about 14.3, already noticeably above their 20‑year median. The U.S. is near a P/E of 23—well above historical norms—and emerging markets sit similarly above their standards. In dollar terms investors in the U.S. are paying roughly $23 for $1 of earnings versus up to $15.4 in Japan. Valuation differences can stem from varying risk‑free rates, risk premia and growth expectations. U.S. government bond yields are relatively high versus the rest of the world, so to justify higher equity prices U.S. risk premia and/or growth forecasts must outweigh that yield advantage. Current markets indicate they do, producing the present ‘‘valuation exceptionalism.’’ On fundamentals, U.S. potential output has long been roughly double that of Europe and Japan, a gap some estimates say could widen further due to AI and other technologies. In that sense American exceptionalism persists at a structural level; on the returns front 2025 has shown only a temporary stumble rather than a decisive shift away from U.S. market leadership. #USstocks #SP500 #valuation #AI #FiatNews