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NEW YORK — U.S. stocks fell sharply Thursday morning as investors reacted to the first major earnings reports from the technology sector’s biggest names, with rising concerns over ballooning artificial intelligence spending outweighing otherwise solid quarterly results.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 51,696.00 as of 10:51 a.m. Eastern time, down 522.58 points, or 1.00%, on the day. The decline followed a nearly flat session Wednesday, when the Dow closed at 52,218.58, down just 6.06 points.

A rough morning across the board

Thursday’s selloff extended well beyond the Dow. The S&P 500 dropped roughly 1.08%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite tumbled about 2.1%, leading the broader market retreat as investors digested a wave of earnings reports from some of the market’s most closely watched companies.

What triggered the drop

The decline came after Alphabet and Tesla, two of the so-called “Magnificent Seven” megacap technology companies, both reported second-quarter results after Wednesday’s closing bell. Alphabet posted a fundamentally strong quarter, but the Google parent company’s decision to raise its capital expenditure outlook rattled investors who have grown increasingly focused on whether massive AI infrastructure spending is translating into proportional returns. Shares of Alphabet fell in the wake of the report despite the underlying strength of its results.

Tesla added to the cautious tone. Chief Executive Elon Musk told investors that 2026 would be a “massive capex year” for the company, emphasizing continued heavy investment in areas including its Optimus robotics program, robotaxi expansion and data center buildout, comments that further fed into broader market anxiety about the scale of spending commitments being made across the technology sector without clear near-term payoff.

A market already on edge over AI valuations

Thursday’s reaction reflects a broader tension that has been building in markets throughout the year: even as major technology companies continue posting strong headline results, investors have grown more skeptical about whether the enormous sums being poured into AI infrastructure will generate returns commensurate with the spending. That skepticism has made capital expenditure guidance, rather than quarterly revenue or profit figures alone, an increasingly important factor in how markets respond to Big Tech earnings.

The pattern was evident even before Thursday’s session. Markets had already shown signs of rotating away from momentum-driven AI trades in the days leading up to this week’s earnings reports, with semiconductor stocks posting losses amid a broader search for the next catalyst to sustain the AI trade that has powered much of the market’s gains over the past two years.

Oil prices and bond yields add pressure

Beyond the technology earnings, rising oil prices and climbing bond yields also weighed on sentiment Thursday. Crude prices have continued climbing this week, extending gains tied to prolonged military exchanges between the United States and Iran, with Brent crude futures settling above $94 per barrel Wednesday, their highest level in more than a month. The 10-year Treasury yield has also pushed higher, retesting levels last seen in May near the start of the Iran conflict, adding another layer of pressure on equity valuations.

A volatile stretch for markets

Thursday’s losses continue what has been a choppy week for U.S. stocks. The Dow fell 307.16 points, or 0.59%, on Monday amid renewed volatility tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict, before trading essentially flat on Wednesday as markets awaited the week’s marquee earnings reports. That back-and-forth pattern reflects a market caught between genuinely strong corporate performance in some sectors and growing unease about elevated valuations, aggressive AI-related capital spending, and geopolitical risk factors that have shown no sign of resolving quickly.

A different read from Wall Street veterans

Not all voices on Wall Street have expressed alarm about the market’s current trajectory. Stifel Financial Chairman and CEO Ron Kruszewski struck an optimistic tone in a recent television interview, describing ongoing concerns about the national deficit, dollar weakness and inflation as standard, recurring business challenges rather than signs of deeper structural trouble. At the same time, Kruszewski identified the rapid rise of artificial intelligence itself as a more significant risk factor for markets going forward, a view that aligns with the caution investors have shown this week around AI-related capital spending specifically.

What else is on deck this week

Alphabet and Tesla represent just the first two of the “Magnificent Seven” companies to report second-quarter results this earnings season, with additional major reports still ahead. Other companies scheduled to report in the coming days include IBM and Intel, both of which are expected to offer further data points on enterprise technology spending and semiconductor demand that could either reinforce or ease the concerns driving Thursday’s selloff.

What investors are watching next

With earnings season still in its early stages, market participants are likely to remain highly sensitive to any additional signals about AI-related capital spending plans from the remaining megacap technology companies still scheduled to report. Given how sharply markets reacted to Alphabet’s raised spending guidance despite an otherwise strong quarter, investors appear to be applying a higher bar for what counts as a good outcome this earnings season, one that increasingly requires companies to demonstrate a credible path toward monetizing their AI investments rather than simply continuing to increase spending.

For now, Thursday’s decline leaves the Dow down more than 500 points on the session, underscoring how quickly sentiment can shift even amid a backdrop of genuinely strong corporate earnings, when investors begin to question the sustainability of the spending driving those results in the first place.

Thousands of M&T Bank customers reported being locked out of their accounts Thursday morning, unable to access the bank’s mobile app or online banking platform in what appeared to be a widespread service disruption affecting users across multiple states.

Outage-tracking service Downdetector said user reports indicating problems with M&T Bank began climbing at 7:29 a.m. Eastern time, prompting the hashtag #MTBankDown to circulate on social media as affected customers sought answers. According to outage-monitoring service StatusGator, complaints had actually begun surging even earlier, around 5:45 a.m. Eastern, suggesting the disruption started well before it registered widely on public tracking platforms.

What customers are experiencing

Affected users reported being unable to log into either the M&T Bank mobile app or the bank’s website, with some encountering “Mobile Banking Unavailable” error messages on both Android and iPhone devices. Others described being unable to complete routine banking tasks, including checking account balances and transferring funds, after successfully logging in. As of Thursday afternoon, outage-tracking data showed complaint volume remaining elevated, with more than 500 user reports still active on Downdetector hours after the disruption first began.

M&T Bank had not issued an official statement confirming the cause of the outage as of Thursday afternoon, though the scale and consistency of user reports across multiple tracking platforms strongly suggested a genuine, widespread service issue rather than isolated, localized problems.

A bank with a history of similar issues

Thursday’s disruption is not the first time M&T Bank customers have experienced widespread digital banking outages. According to StatusGator’s incident history, the bank has faced several previous service disruptions over the past year, including a 22-minute login outage detected as recently as July 10, a nearly two-hour outage on July 9, and a more serious incident last September in which customers reported both mobile banking outages and missing direct deposits, prompting the bank to issue a public statement at the time confirming the technical issues and later announcing that services had been fully restored.

That pattern of recurring, if generally short-lived, service disruptions has made M&T Bank a relatively frequent presence on outage-tracking platforms compared with some other regional banks, even though most individual incidents have historically been resolved within a few hours.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank is a regional financial institution headquartered in Buffalo, New York, serving individual, business and institutional customers across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast United States with a broad range of banking products, including checking and savings accounts, mortgages, business lending and wealth management services. The bank is one of the larger regional lenders in its footprint, making any widespread disruption to its digital banking platforms a significant inconvenience for a substantial customer base that relies on mobile and online access for day-to-day banking needs.

How outage tracking works

Downdetector and similar services compile their data primarily from user-submitted reports rather than direct access to a company’s internal systems, meaning spikes in complaints reflect customer experience rather than a confirmed technical diagnosis from the bank itself. Outage-tracking platforms typically classify a service as experiencing a “likely” or “possible” outage once the volume of reports significantly exceeds the typical baseline for a given time of day, a threshold Thursday’s reports appeared to cross well before 8 a.m. Eastern.

What affected customers can do

For customers currently unable to access their accounts, outage-tracking services and consumer technology outlets have offered several general troubleshooting suggestions, including updating the M&T Bank mobile app to its latest version, clearing browser cache and cookies before attempting to log into online banking, and trying an alternative access point, such as an ATM, for time-sensitive banking needs. Customers experiencing more urgent issues, such as missing direct deposits or unauthorized account activity, are generally advised to contact the bank’s customer service line directly, since app-based troubleshooting is unlikely to resolve a server-side outage.

Customers can also check M&T Bank’s official online banking status page, when available, for any formal updates the bank may issue as its technical team investigates and resolves the underlying problem.

No timeline for resolution

As of Thursday afternoon, there was no indication of when the disruption might be resolved, and M&T Bank had not provided a public timeline or root-cause explanation for the outage. Based on the bank’s handling of previous incidents, including the multi-hour outage last September, a formal statement acknowledging the issue and confirming restoration of service would typically be expected only after the underlying technical problem has been identified and fixed, rather than during the early hours of an active disruption.

What to watch for

Customers looking for real-time updates on the status of their accounts are encouraged to monitor outage-tracking platforms directly or check M&T Bank’s official social media channels and website for any formal acknowledgment of the issue. Given the bank’s history of resolving similar disruptions within a matter of hours, Thursday’s outage may well follow a similar pattern, though the exact timeline remains uncertain until M&T Bank issues its own confirmation.

For now, the disruption adds M&T Bank to a growing list of financial institutions and consumer platforms that have experienced high-profile digital outages this year, underscoring how dependent everyday banking has become on mobile and online infrastructure, and how disruptive even a brief technical failure can be for customers trying to manage routine financial tasks.

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to the MaxLinear Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

It is now my pleasure to introduce Leslie Green, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Leslie Green
Investor Relations Contact Officer

Thank you, Paul. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us on today’s conference call to discuss MaxLinear’s Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results. Today’s call is being hosted by Dr. Kishore Seendripu, CEO; and Steve Litchfield, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer. After our prepared comments, we will take questions.

Our comments today include forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including statements relating to our guidance for the third quarter of 2026, including revenue, GAAP and non-GAAP gross margin, GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses, GAAP and non-GAAP interest and other expense, GAAP and non-GAAP income taxes and GAAP and non-GAAP diluted share count.

In addition, we will make forward-looking statements relating to trends, opportunities, execution of our business plan and potential growth and uncertainties in various product and geographic markets, including, without limitation, statements concerning the future financial and operating results, opportunities

CIMB Thai’s Q2FY2026 net profit surged over fivefold to 886.3 million baht, driven by lower credit losses and higher operating income. H1 net profit rose 47% to 1.49 billion baht. Loans grew 4.1%, deposits increased 2.6%, NPL ratio improved to 2.1%, with capital ratios remaining strong.

Key Points

Q2 FY2026 Performance:

• CIMB Thai’s net profit surged fivefold to 886.3 million baht, driven by higher operating income and a 76.3% drop in credit losses
• Net interest income rose 35.2%; operating expenses fell 4.5%

H1 FY2026 Results:

• Six-month net profit grew 47% to 1.49 billion baht
• NIM improved to 2%; credit losses dropped 30.4%

Balance Sheet Strength:

• Gross loans rose 4.1% to 242.2 billion baht; NPL ratio improved to 2.1%
• Capital adequacy ratio stood strong at 19.7%

Strong Second-Quarter Profit Growth

CIMB Thai Bank PCL, the majority-owned subsidiary of CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, reported a more than fivefold surge in net profit for the second quarter of FY2026, reaching 886.3 million Thai baht, up from 174.5 million baht a year earlier. The strong performance was driven by a 76.3% drop in expected credit losses to 104.9 million baht and a 21.1% rise in operating income to 2.63 billion baht. Net interest income climbed 35.2% to 1.37 billion baht, while net fee and service income grew 16.7% to 352.3 million baht. Operating expenses also eased 4.5%, reflecting improved cost discipline alongside stronger revenue generation.

Resilient First-Half Performance

For the six months ended June 30, 2026, CIMB Thai’s net profit rose 47% to 1.49 billion baht, compared with 1.01 billion baht previously. CEO Wut Thanittiraporn attributed this to higher operating income, tighter cost control, and reduced loan-loss provisions. Operating income increased 9.8%, while expenses fell slightly and expected credit losses dropped 30.4% year-on-year. The net interest margin improved marginally to 2%, from 1.9%, as lower funding costs offset weaker asset yields, underscoring the bank’s ability to sustain profitability despite a challenging rate environment.

Solid Balance Sheet and Capital Strength

CIMB Thai’s balance sheet remained healthy as at end-June 2026. Total gross loans rose 4.1% to 242.2 billion baht, while deposits increased 2.6% to 309.2 billion baht. Asset quality improved, with the gross NPL ratio easing to 2.1% from 2.2%, and the loan loss coverage ratio strengthening to 179.3%. Total allowances for expected credit losses stood at 8.9 billion baht, exceeding regulatory requirements by 1.5 billion baht. The bank’s capital position remained robust, with total capital funds of 59.4 billion baht and a BIS ratio of 19.7%, including 15.4% Tier 1 capital—reflecting strong resilience and a solid buffer against potential risks.

Source : CIMB Thai’s 2Q profit jumps over fivefold on operating income, lower credit losses

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It’s “Showtime” again in Chicago.

The Chicago Blackhawks announced Thursday that they have agreed to terms with free agent winger Patrick Kane on a two-year contract worth $16 million, carrying an $8 million average annual salary cap hit and a full no-move clause. The deal reunites Kane with the franchise where he became a superstar, three weeks into his free agency and roughly three years after the team traded him away to kick-start a rebuild.

Coming home to Chicago

Kane, 37, won three Stanley Cups with the Blackhawks, in 2010, 2013 and 2015, after Chicago selected him with the first overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft. He spent the first 16 seasons of his 19-year NHL career with the franchise, serving as the cornerstone of a dynastic run that saw the Blackhawks reach the playoffs nine straight seasons and advance to the conference finals five times.

Kane remains second all-time in points for the Blackhawks with 1,225, trailing only Hall of Famer Stan Mikita’s 1,467, and sits third in franchise history in both goals, with 446, and games played, with 1,161. His individual accolades with Chicago include the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2007-08, the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2013, and both the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the NHL Players’ Association’s player of the year in 2015-16, a season in which he led the league with 106 points.

What the team is saying

Blackhawks general manager Kyle Davidson, who originally traded Kane to the New York Rangers in 2023 to help launch Chicago’s rebuild, praised the winger’s return in a team statement. “Day in and day out for 16 seasons, Patrick captivated the city of Chicago with his dazzling skill, creating some of the most memorable moments in Blackhawks history as he helped bring our storied franchise back to the pinnacle of our sport,” Davidson said. “He’s shown on countless occasions that he knows what it takes to win at the highest levels, and we couldn’t be prouder for Patrick to once again call the United Center home and continue to shine in Chicago’s brightest lights.”

Davidson’s tone marks a notable shift from his earlier public stance on a potential Kane reunion. In 2024, Davidson said he did not “foresee us going back on” the decision to move on from Kane. More recently, however, Davidson signaled a change of heart, telling the radio show OverDrive on TSN 1050 Toronto that Chicago’s door remained open. “We’ll await his decision, but he knows our door is always open,” Davidson said. “He’s a Blackhawk at heart for life, even if he’s not wearing our jersey.”

A decision between two hometowns

Kane, who grew up in Buffalo, spent much of free agency weighing a return to Chicago against the possibility of signing with his hometown Buffalo Sabres. In the end, he chose Chicago, a decision Blackhawks star Connor Bedard had publicly campaigned for throughout the process.

Bedard, 21, was drafted first overall by Chicago just months after the team traded Kane away, meaning the two franchise-defining players never shared the ice together in Chicago. With Kane a free agent, Bedard made his case for a reunion directly. “I can’t imagine his first game back at the United Center, just the reaction he’d get and how much juice that would bring not only to our team but our fans as well,” Bedard said. “That would be incredible to get to play with him and learn from him.”

Bedard signed his own five-year, $75 million extension with the Blackhawks last week as a restricted free agent, cementing his long-term future with the franchise just before Kane’s return was finalized.

Filling a gap left by injury

Kane’s arrival carries added significance for Chicago given Bedard’s health status entering next season. Bedard underwent shoulder surgery this offseason and is expected to be sidelined into early November, leaving the Blackhawks without their top-line center for the start of the 2026-27 campaign. The team may look to Kane to help offset some of that lost offensive production early in the season, with the possibility of eventually pairing the two on the same line once Bedard returns to full health.

Kane’s recent form in Detroit

Before returning to Chicago, Kane spent the past three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings on a series of one-year contracts, worth $2.75 million in 2023-24, $4 million in 2024-25 and $3 million in 2025-26. He remained a productive player throughout that stretch, totaling 163 points across 189 games in Detroit, including 57 points, 16 goals and 41 assists, in 67 games last season. Despite Kane’s consistent production, the Red Wings missed the playoffs in each of his three seasons there, extending Detroit’s postseason drought to 10 straight years.

A career still adding to the record books

Kane enters his 20th NHL season ranked fourth among active players with 1,400 career points and sixth with 508 goals. Along the way, he scored his 500th NHL goal in January, broke Mike Modano’s record for career points by a U.S.-born player when he reached 1,375 points later that same month, and surpassed 1,400 points in April. He has also posted 138 points in 143 career Stanley Cup playoff games and was named one of the 100 Greatest Players in NHL history during the league’s centennial celebration in 2017.

Reflecting on his continued ability to perform at a high level, Kane said after last season ended, “I still think I have the ability to elevate my game at the most important times.”

With Kane now under contract through the 2027-28 season, the Blackhawks head into next season hoping his return can help accelerate a rebuild that has been underway since his 2023 departure, while Chicago has not made the playoffs since 2020. For Kane, the reunion offers a chance to return to the postseason for the first time since 2023, this time alongside a new generation of Blackhawks talent led by Bedard, in the arena where he first became a star nearly two decades ago.

Running a company leaves little room for downtime, yet founders and senior executives are under more visual scrutiny than most. Investor meetings, media appearances and constant video calls all put a smile under a spotlight that most professionals never had to think about a decade ago.

Cosmetic dentistry has responded to this shift, with several UK practices now specialising in subtle, natural-looking work designed to fit around demanding schedules rather than disrupt them. The goal for this audience is rarely a dramatic transformation, but a refined, long-lasting improvement that looks effortless rather than obviously “done”.

This list covers six UK cosmetic dentists worth knowing about for founders and professionals considering a smile upgrade, with an emphasis on subtlety, efficiency and results that hold up under constant public attention.

Bespoke Smile

Bespoke Smile has built a reputation as a premium, founder-led practice known for its focus on natural-looking results rather than the more dramatic, uniform look associated with older cosmetic dentistry trends. The clinic takes a patient-first approach, spending time understanding what a subtle upgrade should actually look like for each individual face and existing smile.

For busy founders and professionals, this matters as much as the treatment itself. Bespoke Smile offers advanced treatments designed around efficient scheduling, making it a practical option for people who cannot afford weeks of disruption around a demanding calendar. The focus throughout stays on long-lasting, understated upgrades rather than a visibly overhauled smile.

Established Central London Cosmetic Practices

Several long-standing cosmetic dental practices across central London offer comprehensive smile makeovers, ranging from whitening and bonding through to full veneer work. Many of these clinics have decades of experience and cater to a mix of local patients and international visitors seeking a full course of treatment during a single trip.

These practices tend to suit patients who want a wide range of options under one roof, though appointment availability can be more limited given the volume of patients they see.

Boutique Smile Design Studios

A newer category of boutique studios has emerged, focusing specifically on digital smile design and minimally invasive techniques. These studios typically use 3D imaging to preview results before any treatment begins, which appeals to detail-oriented professionals who want to see the outcome in advance.

The trade-off is usually price, since boutique studios often charge a premium for the personalised design process and one-to-one consultation time involved.

Multi-Location Dental Groups

Several dental groups with multiple UK locations have expanded their cosmetic offerings in recent years, making treatment more accessible outside London for founders based elsewhere in the country. These groups often standardise their processes across locations, which can mean more predictable pricing and scheduling.

The consistency comes at some cost to the highly individualised approach that boutique or founder-led practices tend to offer, which is worth weighing depending on personal priorities.

University-Affiliated Dental Hospitals

For patients seeking complex reconstructive or cosmetic work, university-affiliated dental hospitals offer access to specialists working at the more advanced end of the field, often at a lower cost than private clinics. Waiting times are typically longer, which makes this option less practical for anyone needing a quick turnaround.

This route suits professionals with more flexible schedules or those planning treatment well in advance of a specific event or milestone.

Choosing the Right Fit

According to the General Dental Council, patients considering cosmetic dental work should always confirm a practitioner’s registration and experience with the specific procedure being considered, regardless of how the practice is marketed.

This kind of due diligence matters even more for founders and executives, since a rushed choice made purely on convenience can end up costing more time to correct later than it saved at the outset.

More Coverage for Business Leaders

For more coverage of business leaders and the choices shaping their daily lives, BM Magazine’s leadership section regularly covers similar founder-focused lifestyle decisions.

These pieces often show how small, personal choices, from wellness routines to grooming, quietly support the bigger picture of how a founder is perceived by clients, investors and staff alike.

Conclusion

For founders and senior professionals, the right cosmetic dentist is less about the most dramatic transformation and more about a subtle, natural result that holds up under constant scrutiny and fits around an unpredictable schedule. Practices like Bespoke Smile that combine a patient-first approach with advanced, efficient treatment options are increasingly the preferred choice for this kind of client, though the right fit ultimately depends on individual priorities around cost, location and pace of treatment.