Markets on Edge: Earnings, Insiders, and Bear Traps

Earnings Season in Full Swing

This is one of the busiest weeks of the reporting season. Over 1,400 companies report globally between August 6 and 12. Today alone, AIG, FISV, SRE, and OXY are among the names releasing Q2 results. Saturday brings the marquee event: BRK.A posts results. Markets will watch Warren Buffett's cash deployment closely. CSCO and DKNG report Thursday. DKNG heads into its print after its worst week in months. On the global stage, Nintendo reports today with investors focused on Switch 2 momentum.

Bears and Squeezes

Short sellers are active across AI, EVs, and retail. SoundHound AI has zero borrow availability at a 43% SI % FF and 13% cost to borrow. Lucid Group carries 51.9% APR to borrow with only 4% availability — a squeeze setup. Rocket Companies combines a short score of 63, 5.6 days-to-cover, and a 27% stock drop year-to-date. Analysts still see 35% upside. Options positioning is elevated heading into its earnings print.

Insiders Exit at the Top

Three insiders at SCHW filed $38M in combined sales this week. At LTH, the CEO, CFO, and a division president sold over $24M in a single session on July 31. Billionaire Carlos Slim filed $37M in PBF Energy sales across late July.

European & Macro Themes

European green bonds are rebounding, reclaiming share from US issuers. Glencore is exploring a secondary listing in Australia. The yen drew fresh intervention attention, with FT commentary noting the dollar's reserve currency status is weakening. South Korean stocks fell sharply overnight, dragged by AI-linked tech names following weakness on Wall Street.