Greg Abel, Warren Buffett's successor at Berkshire Hathaway ($BRK.B), has invested approximately $2.8 billion in Delta Air Lines ($DAL) despite surging fuel costs pressuring the sector — a direct reversal of Buffett's 2020 pandemic-era exit from all airline positions. On the same day, Appaloosa Management disclosed it had sold its entire positions in Delta, American Airlines ($AAL), and United Airlines ($UAL).
US April import prices surged 1.9% m/m on May 15 — nearly double the +1.0% consensus estimate — while Iran-nuclear-deal impasse kept the Strait of Hormuz shut and sent oil up 3%-plus. The S&P 500 closed at 7,408.50 (-1.24%) and the Nasdaq fell 1.54%. The 10-year Treasury yield surged 116 basis points to 4.54%, its highest level in nearly a year, and markets now price a 50% probability of a Fed rate hike before year-end.
South Korea's KOSPI crossed 8,000 for the first time in history on May 15, peaking at 8,046.78 before a circuit breaker was triggered as KOSPI 200 futures fell more than 5%. The index closed at 7,493.18, down 6.12%, as foreign investors dumped a net KRW 5 trillion in a single session. Retail investors' seven-day, KRW 30-trillion buying streak could not offset the outflow, while KB Securities raised its KOSPI target from 7,500 to 10,500.
Nintendo (7974.T) fell roughly 8% after the company raised Switch 2 prices and cut its annual console sales forecast, citing a deepening memory chip supply crisis. The twin headwinds — higher component costs from the AI-driven NAND/DRAM demand surge compounded by Iran-Hormuz supply-chain disruption — squeezed Nintendo's hardware economics ahead of the Switch 2 launch.
Telehealth platform Hims & Hers ($HIMS) fell roughly 15% after reporting a first-quarter net loss and issuing guidance that fell short of market expectations. The results reflect mounting pressure on the company's compounded GLP-1 drug business following FDA restrictions on compounded semaglutide, with investors focused on the pace of revenue diversification.
Mirae Asset Securities reported Q1 2026 net income of KRW 1.0019 trillion (+288% year-over-year) and operating income of KRW 1.3750 trillion (+297%), becoming the first Korean securities firm to surpass the KRW 1 trillion threshold on both metrics in a single quarter. An KRW 804 billion fair-value gain on SpaceX and other global holdings was the primary catalyst, while brokerage and wealth management both set all-time records. Total AUM grew KRW 176 trillion in under six months, reaching KRW 776 trillion.
eBay's board rejected GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen's unsolicited $56 billion offer of $125 per share in a cash-and-stock deal, calling it neither credible nor attractive in a formal letter from chairman Paul Pressler. Moody's labeled the deal credit negative for eBay due to the implied leverage surge, while Wall Street analysts questioned the strategic rationale. Cohen warned he may take the bid directly to eBay shareholders.
The University of Michigan's preliminary May 2026 consumer sentiment reading of 48.2 set a new all-time record low, breaking the prior trough of 50.0 from June 2022. Surging gasoline prices from Iran's Hormuz blockade are the primary catalyst, complicating the Fed's rate path while the S&P 500 posts six consecutive weeks of gains.
Inspire Brands — which owns Dunkin', Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Baskin Robbins, Sonic Drive-In, and Jimmy John's — has confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC. Roark Capital is targeting a valuation of roughly $20 billion, which would rank among the largest restaurant IPOs ever for a platform running 33,300-plus restaurants with $33.4 billion in annual system-wide sales.
Apple and Intel ($INTC) have reached a preliminary agreement for Intel's foundry (IFS) to manufacture chips for Apple devices, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 8. Intel shares jumped 17%, capping a week of double-digit gains alongside Micron and AMD as Wall Street narratively shifts AI spend from Nvidia toward CPU and memory names. The deal marks IFS's most significant external win since the foundry unit launched in 2021.
Rocket Lab's stock rose 34% on May 8 — its best day on record — after Q1 revenue of $200.4 million beat FactSet estimates across both segments and the company unveiled its largest launch contract ever. Backlog more than doubled year-over-year to $2.2 billion, and Q2 guidance of $225M–$240M surpassed the LSEG consensus by roughly 14%. SpaceX IPO anticipation and defense tailwinds are repricing the entire space sector.
The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on May 7 that Trump's 10% across-the-board import tariffs exceed presidential authority under the 1977 IEEPA. The decision injects legal uncertainty into the administration's tariff regime but does not automatically suspend collection while appeals proceed.