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Good morning. The job market is putting hard hats ahead of diplomas. Workers under 35 without college degrees are enjoying one of their strongest labor markets (opens in a new tab) in decades, while young college grads face one of their toughest as AI squeezes entry-level work and skilled trades stay scarce. Skilled trades are running short on workers as veterans retire and immigration slows, while restaurants and bars hired 59K people in August. The degree still helps, but the career ladder looks wobblier.
Top Idea
Uncle Sam Is Buying Into Quantum Just As Wall Street Piles In
Washington wants a seat at the quantum table. New funding deals tied to government equity stakes sent quantum stocks higher this week, bringing Washington closer to an industry once dominated by moonshot bets. The next quantum breakthrough could now pay off on Wall Street and inside Washington.
Federal validation: The Commerce Department finalized deals giving Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum, and Quantinuum $100M (opens in a new tab) each under the Chips and Science Act. The former two companies confirmed that Washington will receive minority equity stakes as part of the funding agreements. Google Quantum AI previously declined (opens in a new tab) the Commerce structure because an executive said “various conditions that came with the funding” would have slowed engineering progress.
- All three stocks rallied on the deals, adding fresh fuel to a quantum trade already riding a wave of investor excitement.
- Citi’s Fatima Boolani noted, “If the most powerful government in the world is putting its money where its mouth is, this is a matter of national importance.”
The Trade Now Comes With Strings
The funding gives smaller quantum names a stronger runway, while you still have to price in dilution, execution risk, and sector volatility. Rigetti’s award targets (opens in a new tab) superconducting quantum research, including miniaturized readout electronics, cryostat architecture, and fabrication for high-connectivity chip designs. D-Wave received matching terms, and the broader Defiance Quantum ETF moved only 1% as the funded names jumped.
- IonQ raised 2026 guidance after buying SkyWater Technology, giving it greater control over manufacturing capacity.
- IBM and GlobalFoundries are taking the foundry route, with the former joining the Commerce Department on a $2B quantum foundry and the latter securing $375M.
Quantum stakes: NIST sees (opens in a new tab) quantum reaching defense, materials, drug discovery, finance, and energy, but commercial reality still trails the promise. Rigetti remains down 26% this year and D-Wave 33% despite this week’s rally, showing how much skepticism remains. Washington can bankroll the quantum race, but commercial traction will decide who actually crosses the finish line.
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Large-Cap Recap
Boomers and GLP-1 Drugs Drive the Cosmetics Boom
The anti-aging trade is growing older and getting richer. Cosmetic procedures among patients 65 and older jumped 24% in 2025 as boomers spent more on facelifts, body lifts, and other restorative work. GLP-1 weight loss is bringing another wave of patients through the door for fat grafting and skin tightening. AbbVie, Galderma, and Establishment Labs offer different ways into a beauty market where longer-lasting fixes are taking business from quick touch-ups. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Copper Reaches Record Highs on Tariffs and Tight Supply
Copper is becoming the metal the new economy can’t build without. Record prices are exposing a supply crunch years in the making, just as AI data centers, power grids, and electrification demand more of it. Tariff fears are tightening the squeeze, sending Freeport-McMoRan, Vale, Rio Tinto, and BHP higher. With new mines slow to arrive and inventories outside the US running thin, the copper boom is increasingly a race to secure supply. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Novartis Faces Investor Skepticism After Pipeline Setbacks
Novartis is running out of room for pipeline mistakes. Three drug setbacks have rattled its growth story just as patents on older blockbusters near expiration, wiping ~$32B from its market value. Management still expects 5% to 6% annual sales growth through 2030, but that forecast now needs stronger clinical proof. The fallout has spread across biopharma, pulling down Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Sarepta Therapeutics, and Dyne Therapeutics as investors reassess similar drug programs. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Market Pulse
Intel Corp.
INTCThe chipmaker’s shares rose as a major High-NA EUV production milestone gave investors fresh evidence that its foundry comeback is gaining ground.
Wix.com Ltd.
WIXThe website builder faces a securities class action alleging it overstated its AI products’ performance while understating rising costs and competitive pressures.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp.
SPCXThe space company could attract billions in passive buying as its growing free float potentially lifts its weighting in the Nasdaq 100.
Markets & Economy
Canada retaliates as US trade talks stall: Canada imposed tariffs of 15% to 50% on about $20B of US goods after negotiations broke down. The escalating dispute is raising concerns about North American trade and the future stability of the USMCA. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Meta launches its long-awaited personal AI agent: Meta debuted Muse, a customizable assistant designed to run longer tasks and take actions through a built-in browser. Free and paid tiers give Meta another route to monetize AI beyond advertising. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Home insurance costs surge across the US: Nationwide rates rose nearly 47% from 2020 through 2025, with Colorado and Iowa seeing the steepest increases. Severe weather, rebuilding costs and pricier reinsurance are pushing premiums higher even outside traditional disaster zones. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Business & Tech
Lululemon cuts outlook as sales slide: Lululemon Athletica lowered its annual sales forecast after second-quarter revenue declined. Incoming CEO Heidi O'Neill faces mounting pressure to revive demand and recover market share lost to rivals like Alo and Vuori. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Robinhood buys stakes in two prediction market firms: Robinhood Markets took minority stakes in Crypto.com and OG.com in a multiyear deal to expand its event-contract offerings. Customers have traded more than 45B contracts since the feature launched. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
AT&T partners with Amazon for satellite broadband: AT&T signed an agreement to offer Amazon Leo satellite broadband to business customers nationwide. The deal gives Amazon’s unlaunched satellite network access to AT&T’s enterprise base before commercial rollout in 2026. [Read (opens in a new tab)]
Chart
Digit of the Day
Corporate America Scores $100B Tariff Payday But Investors Price It Out
Tariff refunds are giving corporate America a payday Wall Street refuses to celebrate. Roughly $100B (opens in a new tab) had reached the US Treasury for disbursement through July after the Supreme Court struck down the levies, handing import-heavy companies a cash boost. Nike, Starbucks, and Caterpillar are among the beneficiaries, but Wall Street isn’t mistaking refunded cash for healthier businesses.
- S&P 500 companies have received more than $10B in refunds (opens in a new tab), with most using the money to offset inflation instead of cutting prices.
- Earnings got a $15B polish as 88 companies discussed tariff refunds that made results look better than the businesses underneath.
Cash discount: Front Barnett’s Marshall Front captured the market’s shrug, saying, “Sure, it's free money but it's not likely to happen again.” Guggenheim’s Simeon Siegel went further, calling the refund “no different than the company winning a lottery ticket.” Wall Street is looking past the checks to fresh Canada tariffs, semiconductor costs, and whether earnings can hold up in 2027.
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