JPMorgan Posted Record Profits, but CEO Jamie Dimon Says the Next Crisis Will Be Worse Than Anyone Expects

Joel South  
Sat, June 20, 2026 at 5:30 AM PDT 3 min read
JPM-2.47%, NVDA+2.95%, BAC-0.58%

Quick Read

• JPMorgan (JPM) posted record Q1 net income of $16.5 billion, with markets revenue up 20% and investment banking fees jumping 28%.
• Bank of America (BAC) CEO Moynihan called the economy resilient, but JPMorgan's nonperforming exposure rose 11% and nonaccrual loans surged 53%.
• Dimon warned the next credit cycle will hit harder than expected, pointing to $5.1 trillion in leveraged finance as the key stress point.
• Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and JPMorgan Chase didn't make the cut.

Before SpaceX IPO, Investors in China Secretly Acquired Stakes

One previously unreported SpaceX investor has ties to Chinese military contractors. The information was revealed only after ProPublica went to court to obtain it.

by Justin Elliott and Joshua Kaplan

June 18, 2026, 5:00 am

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. 

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A businessman with ties to Chinese military contractors was among the overseas investors who acquired stakes in SpaceX while it was still a private company. An entity linked to the Qatari royal family also took a stake.

Trump tells Axios he no longer views Anthropic as a national security threat

President Donald Trump said he might have viewed artificial intelligence company Anthropic as a national security threat last week, but he no longer does, according to an interview with “The Axios Show” published on Friday.

Alternative for Germany revives Nazi-era attacks on Bauhaus

Modernist art institution fears AfD's ‘patriotic culture’ push nearly 100 years after closing under Hitler

Anne-Sylvaine Chassany 

in Dessau-Roßlau

The Bauhaus Foundation has warned that the far-right Alternative for Germany is reviving rhetoric reminiscent of the Nazi-era attacks on the art school, as it prepares for a possible legal battle if the party wins regional elections in the eastern state where the institution is based.

Spotting a grey whale in Vancouver isn't a good thing

Hanna Hett
Daily Hive, Vancouver, BC

Jun 20 2026, 9:00 am
Photo: Paul Kinman

You might have been lucky enough to have spotted a whale in and around the Vancouver area this year, with many Vancouverites reporting whale sightings — even in highly urbanized areas like Kits Beach.

NYC Democratic socialists look to ride Mamdani wave and expand ranks in Albany

By Walter Wuthmann and Brigid Bergin
Published Jun 20, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. ET

Eight New York City democratic socialists are looking to maintain momentum from Mayor Zohran Mamdani's election and shift the balance of political power in Albany.

The candidates include a public defender, a union organizer and a former PTA president, and all are running on a shared platform of fighting “against ICE, war and genocide, and Trump’s tax cuts.”

Iranian singer and team sentenced to lashes and work ban over audience-less concert

The National

Court claims Parastoo Ahmadi's 'vulgar' performance damaged 'public decency'

Lizzie Porter, Istanbul

June 19, 2026

A court has sentenced an Iranian singer and her team to 74 lashes as well as travel and work bans, prompting an outcry from human rights organisations and Iranians over continued curbs on women’s freedom.

The Strait is Closed Again, Says Tehran. Feeling Nauseous, Marketeers? Blame Trump’s Whiplash and Israel’s Provocacias

June 20, 2026

This back-and-forth is making me seasick, man 

As global shipping, oil markets, and diplomatic efforts to end the wider Middle East conflict are all directly impacted by the uncertainty over whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or not, Iran's latest announcement underscores how fragile the ceasefire deal remains, particularly as fighting linked to Israel and Hezbollah continues to escalate.

Trump ‘totally fabricated’ claim she begged him for a photo, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni says

June 19, 2026, 7:20 AM PDT / Updated June 19, 2026, 10:32 AM PDT

By Claudio Lavanga and Elmira Aliieva

ROME — This time, Giorgia Meloni was quick to fire back: “Italy and I never beg.” Clearly irked at President Donald Trump’s suggestion that she had “begged” him for a photo at the Group of Seven summit earlier this week, the Italian prime minister said this was “totally fabricated.”

Back to Square One: War Wins This Round, the Deal is Off

June 18, 2026

"Told you so, Donny boy!"

The hope for peace lasted only a few days before the Israelis and Iran's proxies shattered it completely. Staff members for U.S. Vice President JD Vance were already at Joint Base Andrews, prepared to fly to a critical diplomatic summit in Bürgenstock, Switzerland. They just needed to implement a peace deal with Iran that everyone knew was not in Israel's favor. For the first time in this joint American-Israeli venture, which has shocked the world with its bloodshed, Israel was seemingly abandoned by "The Boss." Then, Vance's trip was abruptly canceled.

Trump administration quietly shifts $352M in federal funds for White House ballroom

Story by Joseph Gedeon in Washington
• 2h ago • 3 min read
The Guardian

Donald Trump’s administration has quietly redirected $352m in federal funds designated for the Secret Service toward the president’s controversial White House ballroom project, despite repeated promises by Trump that the construction would be financed by private donations

AP Exclusive: Bernie Sanders unveils plan to give the public direct ownership of AI companies

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI
Updated 1:00 PM PDT, June 17, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — As artificial intelligence companies reshape the economy and race toward trillion-dollar valuations, Sen. Bernie Sanders is proposing a sweeping transfer of wealth and power from the industry to the American public. The legislation, shown first to The Associated Press, would create a sovereign wealth fund overseen by an independent commission and financed through a one-time 50% tax on the stock of the largest AI companies. Sanders estimates that the tax would create a nearly $7 trillion fund that would generate hundreds of billions of dollars annually in direct payments to Americans and programs such as health care, education and housing.

China Shock 2.0: Surging Chinese exports threaten Europe’s economy, raising concern at G7 summit

By PAUL WISEMAN, 

ELAINE KURTENBACH and 

DAVID MCHUGH
June 15, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — For eight years, the United States has waged economic war on China, slapping big taxes on Chinese products before they enter America.
But the campaign hasn’t dented China’s industrial prowess.
The world’s second biggest economy is exporting more products than ever. It’s just redirecting them away from the U.S. tariff wall and toward more open markets in Europe and elsewhere in Asia.

The Middle East Power Paradox

How the Iran War Will Transform 

America’s Military Role

Dana Stroul

July/August 2026 

Published on June 16, 2026

Throughout the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, Washington has relished the display of its conventional military superiority. President Donald Trump’s administration has boasted of its quantitative achievements: before the April 8 cease-fire, the United States alone flew more than 10,000 air sorties, hit over 130,000 targets, and intercepted 1,700 Iranian missiles and drones. According to U.S. Central Command, the campaign demolished more than 85 percent of the facilities that Tehran used to produce missiles and drones, sank the majority of Iran’s naval vessels, and eliminated 70 percent of its missile launch infrastructure.

CEOs of Anthropic and Google DeepMind call for U.S.-led AI coalition in meeting at G7

Published Wed, Jun 17 2026

1:29 PM EDT Updated 5 Hours Ago
Kai Nicol-Schwarz
Key Points

• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis called for a U.S.-led AI coalition at a closed-door meeting at the G7 summit on Wednesday.
• Around a dozen tech execs, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, joined heads of state to discuss opportunities and challenges around AI.
• Recent releases of powerful AI models with advanced cyber capabilities prompted fresh concerns from businesses and governments around digital security weaknesses.

After Months of War, Trump Says Iran Has Right to Nuclear Program

Hafiz Rashid

June 17, 2026/2:55 p.m. ET

Trump now says it’s just “common sense” for Iran to have a nuclear program

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

President Trump said Wednesday that Iran could have its own nuclear program.

“It is a little hard that when you say that somebody wants it, other people have it, other adjoining states have it, and you’re not letting them have it for purposes of electricity and things like that. It’s always a little tough. You have to use a little common sense,” Trump said at the G7 summit in France, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

French intelligence agency drops far-right AI war firm Palantir

by Joe Glenton 17 June 2026 in Analysis, Global Reading Time: 3 mins read

France’s internal security agency has ended its contract with AI war firm Palantir. Prime minister Sebastian Lecornu said French rival firm ChapVision would work with the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) moving forward.

AXIOS: U.S. and Iran sign deal ahead of schedule, sources say

Barak Ravid

The U.S. and Iran have remotely signed their memorandum of understanding to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and the agreement is now in effect, two U.S. officials told Axios.