Welcome to Markets Desk, your midday read on what's moving.
Covestro is turning a corner. The German specialty chemicals group swung to a net profit of one hundred twenty million euros in the first half of two thousand twenty six, a sharp reversal from a loss of two hundred nineteen million euros a year ago. Management lifted its full-year EBITDA outlook, signaling confidence that the worst of the cycle is behind them.
Shifting to tech, Micron is under pressure after Apple CEO Tim Cook signaled he wants to diversify the company's memory supply base. That's a direct threat to Micron's pricing power, and the street reacted accordingly, sending shares lower. Amazon is also feeling the pinch from elevated memory costs, suggesting the broader hyperscaler ecosystem is pushing back hard against supplier concentration.
And on the regulatory side, a notable voice is calling for an end to bank stress tests — one of the architects of the post-financial-crisis framework himself. Writing in the Financial Times, he argues the annual ritual has become more theater than substance, potentially giving the public a false sense of security about systemic risk rather than an accurate picture of bank resilience.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
