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TSX futures rise ahead of Fed chair Powell's testimony

July 9 (Reuters) - Futures linked to Canada's main stock index rose on the back of metal prices on Tuesday, while investors awaited U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony on monetary policy later in the day.

The S&P/TSX 60 futures were up 0.25% by 06:28 a.m. ET (1028 GMT).

The Toronto Stock Exchange's materials sector was set to re

Oil futures , dipped as fears over supply disruption eased after Hurricane Beryl, which hit major refineries along with the U.S. Gulf Coast, caused minimal impact.

Markets will be heavily focussed on Powell's two-day monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, starting at 10 a.m. ET (1400 GMT), which can help investors gauge the Fed's rate-cut path.

Following last week's softer jobs data, market participants are now pricing in a 77% chance of a rate cut by the U.S. central bank in September.

The main macro event for the markets this week will be the U.S. consumer prices data due on Thursday, which can help assess the trajectory of inflation in the world' biggest economy.

Wall Street futures were also up on Tuesday after the S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab and Nasdaq (.IXIC), opens new tab touched record closing highs in the previous session.

In Canada, fears of the economy slipping into recession advanced after the latest data showed that the unemployment rate rose to a 29-month high in June.

Traders are now pricing in a 65% chance of another cut by the Bank of Canada, which already trimmed interest rates last month.

In corporate news, Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO), opens new tab said it is demobilizing some staff at its Sunrise oil sands project in northern Alberta as a precaution due to the evolving wildfire situation in the area.

Argentina's government reform bill officially takes effect: granting the president special powers in areas such as administration
On the 8th, the Argentine government promulgated the "Foundations and Starting Points for Argentine Freedom" comprehensive bill and a package of fiscal measures, marking the official entry into force of the government reform bill. According to the official gazette of the Argentine government, Argentine President Milley, Chief Cabinet Minister Guillermo Francos and Economy Minister Luis Caputo jointly signed Decrees No. 592 and No. 593 to promulgate these two new reform measures. The comprehensive bill declared Argentina to enter a one-year public emergency in the administrative, economic, financial and energy fields, and granted the president special powers in these fields. It also includes the relaxation of economic regulations, labor reforms and the implementation of a large-scale investment incentive system. The package of fiscal measures involves anti-money laundering, tax deferral, tariffs, re-imposition of high-salary income tax and reduction of personal property taxes. On June 28, after six months of negotiations, the two reform bills were finally passed by the Argentine Congress.
Samsung expects profits to jump by more than 1,400%
Samsung Electronics expects its profits for the three months to June 2024 to jump 15-fold compared to the same period last year. An artificial intelligence (AI) boom has lifted the prices of advanced chips, driving up the firm's forecast for the second quarter. The South Korean tech giant is the world's largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions. The announcement pushed Samsung shares up more than 2% during early trading hours in Seoul. The firm also reported a more than 10-fold jump in its profits for the first three months of this year. In this quarter, it said it is expecting its profit to rise to 10.4tn won ($7.54bn; £5.9bn), from 670bn won last year. That surpasses analysts' forecasts of 8.8tn won, according to LSEG SmartEstimate. "Right now we are seeing skyrocketing demand for AI chips in data centers and smartphones," said Marc Einstein, chief analyst at Tokyo-based research and advisory firm ITR Corporation. Optimism about AI is one reason for the broader market rally over the last year, which pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq in the United States to new records on Wednesday. The market value of chip-making giant Nvidia surged past $3tn last month, briefly holding the top spot as the world's most valuable company. "The AI boom which massively boosted Nvidia is also boosting Samsung's earnings and indeed those of the entire sector," Mr Einstein added. Samsung Electronics is the flagship unit of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group. Next week, the tech company faces a possible three-day strike, which is expected to start on Monday. A union of workers is demanding a more transparent system for bonuses and time off.
iPhone 16 Pro leak just confirmed a huge camera upgrade
The tetraprism lens with 5x optical zoom currently exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max could be headed to both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, narrowing the gap between Apple's premium flagships. That's according to a new report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who cites a recent earnings call with Apple lens supplier Largan. In the call, a spokesperson from Largan said "some flagship specifications will be extended to other models" in the second half of 2024, presumably in reference to the upcoming iPhone Pro models. "Apple is Largan’s largest customer, and Largan is also Apple’s largest lens supplier," Kuo said. "Therefore, the quote likely refers to the fact that the new iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will have a tetraprism camera in 2H24 (while only the iPhone 15 Pro Max had this camera in 2H23).” The report goes on to say that the tetraprism camera for the iPhone 16 Pro series won't be all that different from the one in the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While the lack of an upgrade is disappointing, it's not necessarily a bad thing as these kinds of lenses are already top-of-the-line. They represent a major increase over prior models’ zoom capabilities, and they're capable of offering more depth while still fitting into super-slim smartphones. That being said, Apple does appear to be revamping the main camera and ultra-wide camera on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Evidence continues to mount that both iPhone 16 Pro models will share the same 5x optical zoom camera. Earlier this week, DigitTimes in Asia (via 9to5Mac) reported that Apple is set to ramp up orders for tetraprism lenses as it expands their use in its upcoming iPhone series. Industry sources told the outlet that Largan and Genius Electronic Optical were tapped as the primary suppliers. Apple would be wise to streamline its Pro-level iPhones with the same camera setup; then all customers have to consider with their choice of a new iPhone is the size and price. Of course, this should all be taken with a grain of sand for now until we hear more from Apple. It's still a while yet before Apple's usual September time window for iPhone launches. In the meantime, be sure to check out all the rumors so far in our iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max hubs.
Poland and Ukraine sign bilateral security agreement
On July 8, Ukrainian President Zelensky, who was visiting Poland, and Polish Prime Minister Tusk signed a bilateral security agreement in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The agreement clearly states that Poland will provide support to Ukraine in air defense, energy security and reconstruction. After signing the agreement, Tusk said that the agreement includes actual bilateral commitments, not "empty promises." Previously, the United States, Britain, France, Germany and other countries as well as the European Union signed similar agreements with Ukraine.
Could a $600 billion funding gap crush the AI industry?
On July 5, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates appeared on the Next Big Idea podcast to discuss his vision for Superhuman artificial intelligence and technological progress. At the same time, it said that the enthusiasm of the AI market is far more than the Internet bubble. Gates believes that the current threshold for entry in the AI field is very low, and the entire market is in a fever period, AI startups can easily get hundreds of millions of dollars in financing, and even have raised $6 billion (about 43.734 billion yuan) in cash for a company. "Never before has so much capital poured into a new area, and the entire AI market has fallen into a 'frenzy' in terms of market capitalization and valuation, which dwarfs the frenzy of the Internet and automotive periods in history." Gates said. At this stage, the rapid development of the artificial intelligence industry is a veritable gold industry, and Nvidia's market value is therefore soaring, and the total market value reached 3.34 trillion US dollars on June 18 local time, surpassing Microsoft and Apple in one fell fell, becoming the world's most valuable listed enterprise. But in fact, doubts about the field of artificial intelligence have also risen one after another and have never stopped.