Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving markets and making news.
Apple took center stage at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference Monday, and the stakes couldn't have been higher. Tim Cook, in what's expected to be his final WWDC as chief executive, unveiled a revamped Siri rebranded as Siri AI, a direct answer to critics who've questioned whether Apple has fallen behind in the artificial intelligence race.
Shifting to semiconductors, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has declined a Senate request to testify publicly on AI chip exports to China. Senator Elizabeth Warren called out the refusal directly, saying Huang should answer lawmakers' questions in the open. The move keeps pressure on Nvidia at a moment when export controls on advanced chips remain a live policy flashpoint.
And in a story that turns conventional political logic on its head, the Trump administration is threatening Brazil with tariffs over Amazon deforestation. This from a president who called carbon footprints a hoax at the United Nations just months ago and gutted renewable energy subsidies. The move signals that trade leverage, not climate conviction, is driving the policy calculus here.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
