MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks rose as traders jumped back into technology bets.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose as investors rediscovered their risk appetite.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar gave back some of its recent gains, but remained near 52-week highs.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures rose, recouping some of their losses for the quarter.
HEADLINES
Comcast Plans Company Split as Competition Escalates
Comcast plans to separate its media and connectivity businesses, dismantling an earlier bet on combined entertainment and distribution as it navigates intensifying competitive pressure.
The cable and entertainment company, home to "Saturday Night Live," "Law & Order" and Bravo, aims to complete a tax-free spinoff of NBCUniversal and Sky, establishing a pure-play media company. The stand-alone NBCUniversal will be led by Mike Cavanagh, who is currently Comcast's co-chief executive, while former Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelakis will return to run Comcast.
Shares in the company, which were down roughly 30% over the past year, rose about 7% in morning trading.
Supreme Court Blocks Trump From Firing Fed Governor Lisa Cook
WASHINGTON-The Supreme Court on Monday rejected President Trump's bid to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook with little legal scrutiny.
In a second decision, the court gave Trump free rein to fire officials at other independent agencies for any reason. The pair of rulings effectively delivers a split verdict on Trump's second-term effort to exert maximal control over the executive branch.
By a vote of 5-4, the court in the Cook case dealt a stinging blow to Trump's mission to remake the Fed, which he has repeatedly criticized for not lowering interest rates more aggressively. In a separate case involving the Federal Trade Commission, the court in a 6-3 ruling gave the president broad latitude to oust leaders of regulatory agencies that Congress sought to insulate from political pressure.
Rocket Lab Buys Satellite Operator Iridium in Bid to Challenge SpaceX
Rocket Lab agreed to buy Iridium Communications, a deal that would give it control over a satellite fleet and access to wireless resources it could use to compete with SpaceX.
The cash-and-stock deal values shares of Iridium at $54 each, suggesting an $8 billion enterprise value for the McLean, Va.-based company, Rocket Lab said Monday. Iridium's stock ended last week at $43.52 and has gained ground lately as investors bet on the value of its spectrum holdings.
SpaceX's satellite offerings are gaining traction among consumers and government customers, heaping pressure on competitors and prompting a wave of consolidation across the industry. Iridium has faced questions in recent months about the threat SpaceX poses to its business using satellites to connect specialized phones.
Martin Marietta Strikes $13.5 Billion Deal for Limestone Supplier
Martin Marietta Materials has struck a deal to combine with limestone supplier Lhoist North America in a transaction valued at $13.5 billion, including debt.
Martin Marietta said Monday it expects to use a mix of $7 billion in cash along with shares of its stock valued at $6.5 billion to fund the deal, confirming an earlier report from The Wall Street Journal.
Verizon, Britain's BT to Combine Overseas Operations
Verizon Communications and Britain's BT Group are merging their international operations in a deal aimed at allowing both telecom companies to focus more on their domestic businesses.
The companies said Monday that the new joint venture would serve north of 3,000 enterprise clients in more than 180 countries, and generate roughly $4 billion in combined annual revenue.
Under the deal, Verizon will pay BT $625 million to balance out disparities in value, ownership and tax burdens of the JV. The companies said teaming up would allow both sides to benefit from greater scale and being able to use each other's network infrastructure.
Construction-Products Supplier Carlisle Made Unsolicited Offers for Rival
Building-products maker Carlisle Cos. made more than one unsolicited offer to acquire roofing maker Owens Corning in what would be a well-over $10 billion deal, according to people familiar with the matter.
Owens Corning so far hasn't engaged substantially with Carlisle, which made the offers in recent months, they said. Carlisle is now contemplating its next move, the people added.
Satellite Pay-TV Provider Dish DBS Prepares for Bankruptcy Filing
Dish DBS, the satellite pay-TV provider under Charlie Ergen's EchoStar broadcast empire, is preparing to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as Tuesday, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Englewood, Colo., parent, also owner of Dish TV and Boost Mobile, has been struggling with heavy debt and subscriber losses for years. At the same time, the company has been locked in a battle with federal regulators over whether it has met its obligations to deploy its valuable wireless spectrum licenses.
Law firm White & Case and FTI Consulting have been brought on to advise Dish DBS, the people said.
U.S. and Iran Agree to Halt Days of Fighting Over Strait
The U.S. and Iran have agreed to end days of back-and-forth fighting around the Strait of Hormuz and resume peace talks, said officials from the U.S. and other countries involved in the negotiations.
The dangerous period of violence that began Thursday disrupted President Trump's attempt to end hostilities with Iran and negotiate a settlement that addresses Tehran's nuclear program. Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz fell during the tit-for-tat strikes, slowing the recovery of a waterway through which 20% of the world's crude oil once flowed. A U.S. official said vessels would now move freely.
The U.S. offered to hold talks with Iran at a summit in Doha, some of the officials said, while Trump wrote on social media Monday that Iran had requested the meeting and it would take place in the Qatari capital on Tuesday.
TALKING POINT Silicon Valley Is Obsessed With 'Trust Stacking,' and the IRS Doesn't Like It
A hot tax break beloved by company founders and angel investors is expanding so rapidly that it is drawing the ire of the Trump administration.
At issue is what is known as trust stacking, which multiplies the benefits of a tax break for investors in small companies by two, three, four or even more times. The Qualified Small Business Stock tax break, or QSBS, allows founders to exclude up to $15 million in capital gains from their taxable income. But people are trying to exclude $60 million and beyond by transferring shares to trusts in their relatives' names.
Treasury Department officials in this administration typically take a pro-taxpayer posture, but they have signaled a coming crackdown.
"Let me just warn you," said Kenneth Kies, the Treasury's top tax-policy official, in a speech last month. "We don't like stacking, OK?"
QSBS lets investors and founders avoid what would otherwise be as much as a 23.8% tax on the sale of shares. Created in 1993 and expanded since then, it enjoys bipartisan support because it is linked to the small businesses, entrepreneurship and early-stage investment that lawmakers want to promote.
These days, QSBS is frequently used in technology startups, where the goal is to get big. Last year's tax law sweetened the QSBS break further, raising the cap to $15 million from $10 million for stock acquired since July 4, 2025, and increasing the maximum size of companies that count as small businesses. Stock must be held for five years for the full exclusion.
- Ashlea Ebeling, Richard Rubin and Peter Santilli
Expected Major Events for Tuesday
04:30/JPN: May Preliminary Report on Petroleum Statistics
05:00/JPN: May Housing Starts
05:00/JPN: May Construction Orders
06:00/GER: May Foreign trade price indices
06:00/UK: 1Q Balance of Payments
06:00/UK: 1Q Business investment revised results
06:00/UK: 1Q UK quarterly national accounts
06:00/GER: May Retail Trade
06:45/FRA: May Housing starts
06:45/FRA: May Household consumption expenditure in manufactured goods
06:45/FRA: May PPI
06:45/FRA: Jun Provisional CPI
07:55/GER: Jun Labour market statistics (incl unemployment)
08:00/ITA: May PPI
08:00/GER: Jun Bavaria CPI
08:00/GER: Jun North Rhine Westphalia CPI
08:00/GER: Jun Saxony CPI
08:00/GER: Jun Brandenburg CPI
08:00/GER: Jun Hesse CPI
08:00/GER: Jun Baden-Wuerttemberg CPI
08:59/JPN: Jun Monthly Economic Report
09:00/ITA: Jun Provisional CPI
09:00/ITA: Jun Cities CPI
12:00/GER: Jun Provisional CPI
12:30/CAN: Jun Principal field crop areas
12:30/CAN: Apr GDP
12:55/US: 06/27 Johnson Redbook Retail Sales Index
13:00/US: Apr U.S. Monthly House Price Index
13:00/US: Apr S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Indices
13:45/US: Jun Chicago Business Barometer - ISM-Chicago Business Survey - Chicago PMI
14:00/US: Jun Consumer Confidence Index
14:00/US: May Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey
20:30/US: API Weekly Statistical Bulletin
23:50/JPN: 2Q Tankan Survey of Enterprises in Japan
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Expected Earnings for Tuesday
Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) is expected to report $3.16 for 1Q.
Fathom Holdings Inc (FTHM) is expected to report $-0.06 for 1Q.
Mega Matrix Inc (MPU) is expected to report for 1Q.
NIKE Inc (NKE) is expected to report $0.12 for 4Q.
National Beverage Corp (FIZZ) is expected to report $0.47 for 4Q.
Progress Software Corp (PRGS) is expected to report $0.39 for 2Q.
Scorpius Holdings Inc (SCPX) is expected to report for 4Q.
Scully Royalty Ltd (SRL) is expected to report for Full year.
WeShop Holdings Ltd (WSHP) is expected to report for 1Q.
Wins Finance Holdings Inc (WINSF) is expected to report for Interim.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.