Global Financial Headlines for May 15: Trump's Q1 Stock Trades Revealed, Fed Governor Milan Resigns, SpaceX IPO Filing Imminent

Deep News05-15 06:15

Key global financial news headlines from overnight and this morning include:

1. Trump executed 3,642 stock trades in Q1, breaking a decades-old blind trust precedent. 2. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Milan states he will resign upon or shortly before Kevin Warsh's swearing-in. 3. Report: SpaceX's IPO prospectus could be released as early as next week. 4. AI chipmaker Cerebras soars 75% on debut after completing the year's largest IPO. 5. Cracks emerge in Apple-OpenAI partnership, potential legal battle looms. 6. TD Securities: Brent crude could surge to $150 as global inventories decline.

Trump executed 3,642 stock trades in Q1, breaking a decades-old blind trust precedent. According to a 113-page Office of Government Ethics Form 278-T disclosure published this week, U.S. President Donald Trump conducted 3,642 stock trades in the first quarter of 2026. The filing indicates a significant shift in his portfolio from the bond-heavy allocation reported earlier in 2026. This trading volume averages approximately 60 trades per market day. This pace breaks a near-continuous decades-long practice of utilizing blind trusts, a tradition largely maintained since the Lyndon Johnson administration. The current 113-page disclosure lists individual stock purchases in companies including Nvidia, Microsoft, Broadcom, Amazon, and Apple. Each stock purchase ranged from $1 million to $5 million. The filing also details hundreds of separate sell transactions, with values ranging from $15,000 to $25 million each.

Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Milan states he will resign upon or shortly before Kevin Warsh's swearing-in. Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Milan has indicated he will resign from his position at the central bank once incoming Chairman Kevin Warsh is sworn in, or potentially even slightly earlier. Milan's move was anticipated, as his seat on the Federal Reserve Board is set to be taken by Warsh. In a letter outlining his resignation plans, Milan criticized the Fed's approach to measuring inflation, stating that failure to "correct these errors would result in unemployment rising unnecessarily high and fighting a phantom rather than real inflation."

Report: SpaceX's IPO prospectus could be released as early as next week. SpaceX, which secretly filed for an IPO in April, could publish its prospectus as early as next week, according to people familiar with the matter. Elon Musk's reusable rocket company is nearing the completion of what is expected to be a record-breaking stock offering. The company is targeting a formal launch of its investor roadshow for June 8, these sources said, requesting anonymity due to quiet period regulations preceding public offerings. A prospectus must be published at least 15 calendar days before a roadshow begins, but sources indicated SpaceX and its advisors are aiming for an earlier release to give investors ample time to review the data, though the timing remains subject to change. Following its merger with Musk's artificial intelligence firm xAI in February, the combined entity was valued at $1.25 trillion. This IPO is projected to be the largest in history. Citing informed sources, the company is targeting an offering size of approximately $70 to $75 billion, more than double the record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019.

AI chipmaker Cerebras soars 75% on debut after completing the year's largest IPO. Cerebras Systems Inc. shares surged 75% on their first day of trading, following the company's completion of the year's largest initial public offering, which raised $55.5 billion. This demonstrates robust investor appetite for artificial intelligence data centers and the chips that power them. As of 2:49 PM New York time on Thursday, the stock pared some gains to trade at $324, still well above its $185 IPO price, after a temporary halt due to volatility. Based in Sunnyvale, California, Cerebras's inaugural stock sale raised nearly 60% more than its initial target at launch and was priced above an upwardly revised marketing range issued on Monday. Based on the shares outstanding listed in its filing and its first-day trading price, Cerebras holds a market capitalization of $69.7 billion. When accounting for letter stock, options, and warrants on a fully diluted basis, the company's valuation is approximately $86 billion.

Cracks emerge in Apple-OpenAI partnership, potential legal battle looms. A two-year partnership between Apple Inc. and OpenAI has developed significant cracks, with the AI startup failing to realize expected benefits from the agreement and now preparing for potential legal action, according to people familiar with the situation. Sources indicate that OpenAI's lawyers are actively exploring various options with an external law firm and may formally take action in the near future. These individuals stated that OpenAI might initially send a notice to Apple alleging a breach of contract, rather than immediately filing a full-scale lawsuit. OpenAI has recently engaged the external law firm to assist with the matter.

TD Securities: Brent crude could surge to $150 as global inventories decline. Brent crude oil prices could potentially skyrocket to $150 per barrel as U.S. crude inventories draw down rapidly and refined product supplies tighten further, breaking the recent market calm, according to TD Securities. In a report, commodity strategist Ryan McKay noted that recent market sentiment has been relatively optimistic, with geopolitical risks limiting speculative fund flows. Concurrently, the arrival of cargoes purchased from the U.S. and other regions in April has alleviated pressure on spot markets in Europe and Asia. TD Securities estimates that implied inventory draws have averaged 1.3 million barrels per day since mid-March, accelerating to approximately 2.3 million barrels per day so far in May, potentially depleting accumulated stockpiles before September. If the issue is not resolved promptly, refiners in Asia and Europe may need to compete for spot cargoes once again.

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