The A is for Apple

Hey Superheroes,

The weather is not the only thing getting a bit cooler. On Wednesday U.S. Inflation came in at 3.3% in the year end to May, down 0.1% from the month before. This cooler inflation rate prompted the US Federal Reserve to keep rates on hold and traders to boost bets on potential rate cuts in September and maybe December as well. 

All that optimistic activity led to new record highs on both the NASDAQ and S&P 500. 

Closer to home National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) hit a  9 year high share price. It is Australia’s largest business lender so its fortunes are tied heavily to the economy.

Another stock hitting a high note was Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) with the tech company releasing a slew of updates at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

Here are this week’s stories.

Welcome to the AI party, pal!

After spending the last 12 months staying silent with regards to the applications of AI and allowing their rivals to capture all the headlines, it was Apple CEO –  Tim Cook’s – turn to show the world what Apple had up its iSleeves.

Alongside the release of the new Vision Pro, Apple Watch OS and ChatGPT integration with Siri, there was something brand new announced – a personal intelligence system.

📝 Apple Intelligence

Apple’s answer to AI. 

This release will put the power of generative models into the heart of the Apple ecosystem. It can prioritise notifications, include writing tools and carry out tasks on your behalf. 

It also allows users to create personalised images in the photo library, including animation and sketches.

In a sense, it is being positioned to be your personal assistant. Like JARVIS in the Iron Man comics.

🔒 Is it safe?

There was plenty of emphasis placed during the presentation on the safety and privacy precautions that will be rolled out in tandem, whether on the devices themselves or on the Cloud using its new Private Cloud Compute function.

There was also a reiteration that user data is never going to be stored or sold to external parties.

📈 Impact on Apple shares

The impact of announcements from the WWDC on Apple and its market capitalisation was immediate.

By Wednesday, it retook the crown as the world’s most valuable company from Microsoft after its shares jumped nearly 11 percent across two trading sessions. This gave it a market valuation of US$3.29 trillion. 

The specifics about the AI capabilities that are going to be integrated into newer models of iPhones made it quite apparent that there will be a significant change to the upgrade cycle for these phones. 

Additionally, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) the main chip supplier for Apple’s devices also saw a surge in its share price as investors put the pieces together. After all, more iPhones would probably equal more computer chips.

🔦  Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:

• SHOW ME THE MONEY: Tesla Shareholders voted to approve Elon Musk’s US$48 billion pay award – reversing an early legal challenge that stopped it. 
• THANK EU: A slew of Chinese Electric Vehicle (EV) companies saw a massive boost this week including BYD, NIO and Li Motors as the EU introduced a 38% tariff on EV imports. It’s a victory as it is likely seen as modest compared to the 100% tariff imposed by the United States of America.
• REMEMBER ME?: Next week will see the first new listing of a Listed Investment Trust (LIT) on the ASX since July 2021 with the introduction of Pengana’s Global Private Credit Trust LIT (ASX:PCX). The Fund will grant exposure to a portfolio of over 2,000 loans.

That’s all for this week’s Spotlight! 

Keep up to date by following us on Instagram, @superheroau!