Daily Digest — 6 Jul 2026

Global markets opened the week with cautious optimism as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq extended gains, but the dominant story is the upcoming NATO summit where President Trump will meet Ukraine’s Zelenskyy and Syria’s al-Sharaa. That meeting, alongside Turkiye hosting its first NATO summit in 22 years, underscores shifting alliances. Gold surged 1.8% to $⁠4,200 and silver jumped 4.2% as safe-haven demand rose, while oil slipped 0.5% to $⁠68.36 despite ongoing tensions. Bitcoin climbed 1.3% to $⁠63,794, though a new analysis found Trump memecoin investors lost $⁠3.8 billion while Trump made $⁠636 million. Banks are now considering how to integrate stablecoins, per a CoinDesk report, even as U.S. wallets traded $⁠571 million on Polymarket political bets despite a ban. In the UK, Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis called on Andy Burnham to show a path to the 3.5% GDP defence target, while a report found nepotism and bias rife in police leadership. Ministers are also cracking down on political donations amid fresh scrutiny of Nigel Farage’s undeclared gifts. Elsewhere, Uber paused five of seven planned European launches, and EasyJet reached a takeover agreement in principle. In football, Norway stunned Brazil 2-1 in the World Cup last 16, and a shelter-in-place order delayed Mexico-England due to an electrical storm. Venezuela’s interim president marked Independence Day with a message of “no social unrest” weeks after deadly earthquakes, as one survivor’s harrowing rescue story emerged. Thousands also gathered in Tehran for the second day of Ali Khamenei’s funeral, while wildfires swept southern Europe.