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Gold prices seemed to be mounting a comeback, but JPMorgan just made the rally harder to trust.Investors expected the shiny yellow metal to continue pushing higher into year’s end, buoyed by rate-cut hopes, central-bank buying, and safe-haven demand.Reuters reported that spot gold was up over 2% for the week, even as JPMorgan recently expected a much stronger year-end finish back in June.Now, the bank sees things differently. The bank said demand from key gold-buying sectors may not be as strong as it had expected, warning that risks now lean to the downside if hot U.S. data forces the Federal Reserve back toward rate hikes.Interestingly, Goldman Sachs, by contrast, still sees sovereign demand and emerging-market central-bank diversification keeping the long-term bull case alive, even after trimming its target. Nevertheless, JPMorgan’s new call raises the sharper question for investors: Is the rebound durable or already capped?

 Gold prices face new pressure from JPMorgan’s cautious forecast reset.OsakaWayne Studios

What JPMorgan changed in its gold forecastJPMorgan has just reset its gold price target in a big way.As recently as June 9, according to Reuters, the bank expected gold to continue climbing into the year’s end. Now, the bank sees gold reaching $4,300/oz in the third quarter and $4,500/oz in the fourth quarter, a path that is remarkably cautious compared with what investors had been working with.More Gold & Silver:Gold’s rebound has a problem. Here’s what happens nextSilver can’t escape a troubling new trendGoldman Sachs revisits its gold price target after Fed decisionThe big reason was demand.JPMorgan said buying from key sectors wouldn’t be as strong as it expected, limiting how far gold could run in the near term. The gold trade leaned heavily on central-bank demand, physical buying, and expectations that the Federal Reserve would eventually ease policy.Now that risk has shifted, according to the bank’s analysts.It says the risks to its forecast “skew to the downside” if hot U.S. data revives the possibility of earlier Fed rate hikes. It’s important to note that JPMorgan isn’t abandoning the long-term bull case. It still sees support from central-bank buying and physical demand in 2027. Nevertheless, the near-term message is clear: gold bulls just lost one of Wall Street’s more aggressive year-end road maps.Where Wall Street sees gold prices headingGoldman Sachs: $4,900/oz by end-2026. Goldman’s team identified robust sovereign demand and emerging-market central bank diversification in narrowing down their price target.Bank of America: $4,800/oz by Q4 2026. BofA cut its near-term outlook as investor demand slowed and Fed-related headwinds intensified.Morgan Stanley: $5,200/oz in H2 2026. Morgan Stanley argued that gold needs stronger ETF inflows to make that target much more realistic.UBS: $5,200/oz over the next 12 months.UBS feels gold could rebound as markets rethink Fed policy, dollar pressure, and central bank buying.Deutsche Bank: $4,800/oz by Q4 2026. Deutsche Bank cut its second-half gold view, seeing $4,300/oz in Q3 before a rebound to $4,800/oz in Q4, as Fed repricing and resilient U.S. macro data pressure investor demand.
Sources: Reuters, Kitco News, Business Insider, Investing.com, JPMorgan Global Research, and Kitco-cited notes from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.
Why Fed risk is back in the gold debateFed risk is back on the table, as it has moved from debating cuts to whether it may have to hike again.That shift began at the June 17 Fed meeting. The central bank kept rates in the 3.50%-3.75% range, but Reuters reported that 9 of 19 policymakers now see a rate hike this year, up from 0 in March. Six of those nine saw more than one quarter-point hike.Higher rates raise the opportunity cost of holding gold that pays no yield.Moreover, the inflation data gave the hawks cover. Reuters reported that the Fed’s preferred PCE price index rose 4.1% year over year in May, the first reading above 4% in three years, while the core PCE (excluding food and energy) rose 3.4%. Economists said the data kept a 2026 rate hike on the table.Consequently, the big banks have moved fast. BofA said it expected 3 rate hikes totaling 75 bps in 2026, with increases in September, October, and December. Reuters reported that Deutsche Bank also projected 2 hikes this year, in September and December.The jobs report complicated that view.June payrolls rose only 57,000, below the 110,000 expected, and April-May payrolls were revised lower by 74,000. That helped gold prices rebound as traders cut September hike odds to about 54%, down from 66% before the data, according to CME FedWatch, cited by TheStar.Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh added another layer. He said inflation risks and expectations had eased in recent weeks, but he also repeated the Fed’s commitment to its 2% target.That leaves investors watching the next CPI, PCE, wages, oil prices, and Fed language. Gold can rally if odds of a hike fade, but JPMorgan warns that one hot data run could quickly cap the move again.Related: Goldman Sachs delivers honest verdict on gold’s selloff

Financial institutions are racing to become the secure gateways for stablecoins as digital asset volume is projected to explode by 2030.

The Fed couldn’t fight what economists incorrectly deem inflation even if it wanted to.

“Part of me would prefer to leave more to those for whom the money could make a meaningful difference.”

Intel spent most of 2023 and 2024 as one of the most beaten-down chip stocks on Wall Street. Frank Lee, an HSBC semiconductor analyst, was among the skeptics. In late 2025 he had the company on reduce with a $24 price target and a straightforward message: time to bail out.On July 2, Lee published a $200 target. That is not a typo. Lee doubled his price target on Intel ($INTC) from $100 to $200, keeping a buy rating he initiated in April, Investing.com reported. His new call sits roughly $100 above where the average analyst on Wall Street has Intel valued. It is the most bullish forecast for the stock among major banks.Why Frank Lee just changed his mind about Intel FoundryLee was the first to tell you why he excluded Intel Foundry from his April model: external customers were not committed enough to assign a value. The foundry business is expensive to run and uncertain to fill. Three months later, he says enough has changed to bring it into the numbers.More Wall Street:Wall Street has a new problem, and it’s not the technologyWall Street’s biggest banks just landed the AI IPO of the yearWall Street’s top analysts just doubled down on 3 stocksCustomer engagement at Intel has picked up. Lee expects design commitments to start arriving in H2 2026. The companies building relationships with Intel’s foundry operation include Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia, Microsoft, and Amazon, according to TipRanks. Intel’s EMIB advanced packaging technology is another part of the story. Lee thinks it can take market share from competing foundries that are running into capacity limits of their own.His phrase for the opportunity he now sees: “too good to ignore.”The server CPU story behind HSBC’s $200 Intel callFoundry is not the only thing moving in Lee’s model. He also raised his server CPU growth forecasts for both 2026 and 2027, calling server CPUs the “key driver” of Intel’s earnings over the next two years. His 2027 data center and AI revenue estimate runs roughly 20% above Wall Street’s consensus for that year, which is where his overall target gets its distance from the pack.The broader analyst community is not anywhere near Lee’s level on Intel. The stock carries a hold consensus. Mizuho has a neutral rating. Cantor Fitzgerald is at $150. The average target across the analysts tracking Intel sits around $101, according to TipRanks data. Lee’s $200 is double that.That kind of gap between one analyst and consensus is uncommon in a large-cap name. It either reflects a view the market will eventually come around to, or it reflects assumptions that will get tested as Intel’s quarterly numbers arrive. Lee is not an outlier by accident. His Intel thesis has moved from reduce at $24, through a hold rating in early 2026, to buy at $95 in April, to buy at $200 in July, all in less than a year. Each step required him to update what he was willing to believe about Intel’s foundry ambitions. The July 2 step is the biggest yet.

Getting to $200 from where Intel was trading on July 2 would require another 62% gain in a stock that has already surged 481% over the past year.Santiago/Getty Images

Intel stock’s 481% surge and what HSBC’s $200 target means nextGetting to $200 from where Intel was trading on July 2 would require another 62% gain in a stock that has already surged 481% over the past year. The Philadelphia semiconductor index gained about 94% in the first half of 2026. Intel ran roughly five times faster than that benchmark.Intel’s recent financials gave Lee something to build on. Revenue beat estimates in the first quarter by a meaningful margin and the company is expected to turn profitable in 2026 for the first time in several years. Those results are part of what made Lee comfortable including Intel Foundry in his model after leaving it out in April. But InvestingPro data still flags the shares as potentially overvalued at current levels, a counterpoint worth keeping in mind.The risk behind HSBC’s $200 Intel stock price targetLee moved Intel Foundry from zero to a central part of his valuation in one step. His argument is that customer commitments are close enough to price in. If those commitments arrive on schedule, the model holds. If they slip, the jump from $100 to $200 loses its main support.Intel Foundry is expensive. Customer acquisition in semiconductor manufacturing runs slower than most businesses expect. Lee knew this in April and left the foundry out for that reason. He changed his mind in July. Whether the external customers he expects in H2 2026 actually show up is the central question for anyone considering Intel at current prices on the back of this note.Lee has a strong track record covering semiconductor stocks, with an average return well above 30% per recommendation. His April buy upgrade on Intel at $95 proved profitable within days. His new call at $200 takes the same thesis and adds the one piece of the business he previously said he could not value.Related: Intel CEO gives investors a reality check

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) has a new political headache on its hands in the UK.It has a strong defense too.The U.S. data-analytics company is facing fresh pressure over its £330 million contract to run the National Health Service’s federated data platform, a system designed to connect health-service data and help hospitals manage care, capacity and waiting lists.The political case against Palantir has been growing stronger as MPs, campaigners and some NHS personnel wonder whether a US business with defense and government links should sit at the heart of a key British health data system.But the simplest argument against Palantir has a serious drawback, says one former NHS data leader: there may not be a British alternative ready to step in.Tom Bartlett, who led the NHS data engineering team that developed the federated data platform, told The Telegraph that replacing Palantir by the contract’s next break point would be “very unrealistic,” arguing that an alternative would first have to be built.That matters for investors, since it’s no longer just about whether Britain wants Palantir out of the NHS.It’s about whether Britain can shed Palantir without hampering instruments that advocates say are already benefiting medical care.Palantir shares recently traded at $129.30, giving the company a market value of about $332.4 billion.Palantir stock faces a UK contract testThe NHS contract is a high-profile test of Palantir’s public sector business outside the U.S. England said that the contract for the federated data platform was given to a consortium led by Palantir Technologies UK in November 2023 after a competitive procurement procedure. The NHS says it plans to use the platform for direct treatment and population-health planning, not external research.Britain is pressured to exercise a break provision at the end of the initial term in early 2027, with Reuters reporting in June that the government is conducting a comprehensive assessment of the £330 million NHS data contract.This pressure is not unexpected.A U.K. parliamentary committee criticized Britain’s reliance on Palantir as an “unacceptable point of weakness,” highlighting the company’s growing footprint in the public sector and warning against vendor lock-in. The committee also asked the government to look at the break clause in the contract.So the NHS contract is more than just a single consumer issue.It is a test for Palantir of whether governments which seek sovereign control over data will still use its software after operational systems are already in place.Related: Palantir CEO gets painfully honest about AI’s biggest problemPalantir’s NHS contract has a replacement problemThe core question for investors is whether political pressure can become a contract risk.The answer may rely on the problem of substitution.But supporters of the NHS platform say Palantir is not easy to ditch as the technology is currently in use throughout areas of the health sector. NHS England’s own documents include federated data platform tools linked to cancer pathways, hospital operations and discharge delays.More Palantir:Palantir’s 2 deals answer a question investors keep askingMichael Burry pulls back on massive Palantir short betPalantir flashes a warning signal Wall Street can’t ignoreThe Telegraph said more than half of NHS trusts in England utilize the technology, with the latest NHS numbers suggesting the platform had helped deliver 110,000 extra surgeries since the seven-year contract began in 2023.The claim is a politically delicate one.NHS England and Palantir have claimed 110,000 more procedures and reductions to the waiting list, although Digital Health said the numbers do not separate out the platform from other factors that may have impacted performance. The British Medical Journal further claimed that NHS England has recognized that the federated data platform advantages were not supported by rigorous causal data.Key takeaways from the Palantir NHS fightPalantir runs the NHS federated data platform through a £330 million contract.Britain is reviewing the contract amid pressure to use a break clause.Critics argue the deal creates public-sector dependence on a U.S. technology company.A former NHS data leader told The Telegraph that replacing Palantir by the next break point is unrealistic.NHS England says Palantir won the contract through a competitive procurement process.Supporters say the platform is helping hospital operations and patient care.Critics say the claimed benefits need stronger evidence and better transparency.That’s a complex investor setup, but a crucial one.Critics of Palantir could say the NHS should not be so dependent on a single US provider. Palantir’s defenders can argue that pulling the business out too quickly could destabilize a technology hospitals already use.“There isn’t one at the moment,” Bartlett told The Telegraph, referring to a ready replacement.Palantir’s political risk cuts both waysWhat’s interesting about the Palantir dispute is that both sides have reasons investors need to hear.There is an evident political risk.If a future British government decides that Palantir is too contentious for the NHS, it risks reputational harm, contract uncertainty and the pressure on its wider public sector growth story.Andy Burnham has reportedly said he wants Palantir out of the NHS if he becomes prime minister, and campaign groups have called on him to strip the corporation of its role in health care.But there’s also a chance that the operational risk could play in Palantir’s advantage.If officials determine it will be years rather than months to replace Palantir, the business might have more leverage than the political headlines imply. That doesn’t remove the danger of a future transition, but it could lessen the possibility of a quick exit.That is the investor angst.Palantir’s involvement with sensitive public data could make it politically vulnerable. But it can be operationally hard to dislodge since big public services typically become dependent on the technology that connects their data.Palantir faces wider UK scrutinyPalantir’s cooperation with the U.K. public sector is under scrutiny outside the NHS.A local government lawyer reported that London’s mayor blocked a separate Metropolitan Police deal with Palantir earlier this year, and the business later said it would dispute the decision legally.This case is important because the argument is about a single health contract.Palantir has created a large industry supplying data platforms to governments, health systems, militaries and enterprises. That technique can work when institutions need software that can integrate complicated data in a timely fashion.But it also means periodic political exposure.As Palantir grows more embedded in public sector operations, it faces more criticism about data protection, vendor lock-in, and the political ideals of its customers.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp gestures during a World Economic Forum event.Bloomberg / Getty Images

The dispute over the NHS is not just about one British contract for investors.That’s a hint of a wider dilemma regarding Palantir’s growth: Can the business continue to earn sensitive government contracts while avoiding political backlash over data control?Britain may seek a home-grown option in the end.But the tricky thing is what Bartlett’s warning alludes to.One is to replace Palantir. Another is to have a backup system ready to go.That’s why the NHS conflict may be less detrimental to Palantir in the short term than the headlines suggest.It is a huge political danger for the company. But unless Britain can show it has a viable substitute, Palantir may still have the greatest case in the room: the technology is already there, and yanking it out swiftly could be harder than critics expect.Related: Michael Burry pulls back on massive Palantir short bet

Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” becomes her longest-charting hit on one of Billboard’s global rosters thanks to its sudden vitality this year.

TheStreet aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.Why we love this dealSpending time in the great outdoors can have a positive impact on your mental and physical health. This doesn’t require a strenuous nature hike through the forest. Instead, you can soak up the sun and enjoy the refreshing breeze just by stepping onto your front porch or apartment balcony. You don’t need anything special to make this happen, but you can create an outdoor oasis with a few patio upgrades, like a space-saving bistro set that’s well-suited for sipping your morning coffee or sharing a dinner for two. One selection we adore is the Costway 3-Piece Patio Folding Wooden Bistro Set at Target. Not only does it boast a modern and stylish appearance, but it’s also made from 100% solid wood and offers a foldable design that’s great for smaller spaces. Best of all, however, this charming patio furniture set is on sale for just $120 in two colors, including cozy cushions in your choice of cream or navy. Each colorway retails at various price points, but this limited-time deal offers at least 50% off the original retail price.Costway 3-Piece Patio Folding Wooden Bistro Set, $120 (was $240) at Target

Courtesy of Target

Shop at TargetWhy do shoppers love this patio furniture set?From the chic design that will elevate your outdoor space to the sturdy construction that will last for years to come, there’s a lot shoppers appreciate about this patio bistro set. Each of the three pieces, including two roomy chairs and a round table, is made from 100% solid acacia wood and folds flat for convenient storage after summer, making it a popular option for regular-sized and smaller spaces alike. Acacia wood is a preferred material for outdoor use because it’s durable and fade-resistant, though it will benefit from regular oilings for further longevity. Related: Walmart is selling an all-weather 3-piece patio set for just $66For a comfortable spot, no matter how long you sit, the ergonomic chairs recline 125 degrees and come with padded cushions. Unlike many dainty patio sets, these seats, measuring 22.5 inches long by 18.5 inches wide, are substantial, with a weight capacity of 360 pounds each. “I weigh over 200 pounds, and this feels very sturdy and well-designed,” reported one shopper. They explained, “I looked at a lot of different sets and chose this one because it has a larger seat diameter and a sleeker style.” The table is spacious too, with a diameter of 23.5 inches, so you’ll have ample room to lay out your weekend brunch or a tray of freshly grilled barbecue. Pros and cons of the $120 Costway folding patio bistro setPros:The patio furniture set is highly rated. Hundreds of shoppers back the quality of this outdoor bistro set with a perfect five-star rating.It’s made from real wood. Unlike many budget-friendly finds, this one is crafted from solid wood, not a cheaper synthetic version.It has timeless appeal. This bistro set has a trendy look, but it’s classic enough that it will continue to be stylish over the years.Cons:Real wood requires maintenance: The one downside to real wood is that you’ll need to polish the furniture with wax or oil to keep it looking sharp.Assembly is required: According to one reviewer, “It took a little work to assemble, but it wasn’t too difficult at all. “Shop more patio furniture dealsCostway 3-Piece Patio Rattan Bistro Furniture Set, $155 (was $260) at TargetCostway 5-Piece Outdoor Bar Stool and Table Set, $410 (was $1,010) at TargetCostway 3-Piece Outdoor Rattan Conversation Set, $180 (was $470) at TargetDon’t miss your chance to upgrade your outdoor space for less. We’ve seen similar deals sell out at Target, so don’t wait to snag the Costway 3-Piece Patio Folding Wooden Bistro Set for just $120 in your favorite color.

As yield-bearing stablecoins race toward a $50 billion market capitalization, the industry is optimizing for the wrong metric, argues Artem Tolkachev, chief RWA officer at Falcon Finance.

Some of the many battles with state gaming regulators aren’t going well for the industry at the moment, but it isn’t without its would-be government protectors.