{"id":66253,"date":"2026-08-10T07:08:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/apple-downgraded-on-product-setbacks-barrick-mining-surges-on-q2-beat-and-ipo-progress\/66253\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T07:08:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:08:16","slug":"apple-downgraded-on-product-setbacks-barrick-mining-surges-on-q2-beat-and-ipo-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/apple-downgraded-on-product-setbacks-barrick-mining-surges-on-q2-beat-and-ipo-progress\/66253\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Downgraded on Product Setbacks; Barrick Mining Surges on Q2 Beat and IPO Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>)<\/strong> shares fell <strong>1.2%<\/strong> after <strong>Jefferies<\/strong> downgraded the stock to <strong>&quot;Underperform,&quot;<\/strong> citing the cancellation of a high-margin <strong>&quot;all-glass&quot; iPhone<\/strong> model and rising memory costs.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Barrick Mining (<a href=\"\/stock\/ABX.TO\">ABX.TO<\/a>)<\/strong> reported a massive <strong>74% year-over-year surge<\/strong> in adjusted EPS to <strong>$0.82<\/strong>, beating analyst estimates and confirming its <strong>North American IPO<\/strong> remains on track for late 2026.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>)<\/strong> released the open weights for <strong>Muse Glimmer<\/strong>, a <strong>30-billion parameter<\/strong> AI model optimized for local agentic workflows on consumer hardware.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Turkey<\/strong> has begun restricting commercial shipping transit into the <strong>Black Sea<\/strong> following a series of drone attacks on merchant vessels, raising concerns over global food and energy security.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>German Foreign Ministry<\/strong> endorsed a new <strong>15-point Gaza peace plan<\/strong> as a critical opportunity for the disarmament of <strong>Hamas<\/strong>, despite public rejection of the roadmap by Israeli leadership.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tech &amp; AI: Apple Setbacks and Meta&#39;s Open-Source Push<\/h2>\n<p>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>) faced significant selling pressure Monday morning as <strong>Jefferies<\/strong> analysts led by Edison Lee cut the tech giant&#39;s rating from &quot;Hold&quot; to <strong>&quot;Underperform.&quot;<\/strong> The downgrade was triggered by supply-chain reports indicating Apple has scrapped its planned <strong>20th-anniversary all-glass iPhone<\/strong>, originally slated for 2027, due to persistent production yield issues. Jefferies lowered its price target to <strong>$263.66<\/strong>, warning that the cancellation removes a key driver for higher average selling prices (ASP) and margins.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, Meta Platforms (<a href=\"\/stock\/META\">META<\/a>) CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the release of <strong>Muse Glimmer<\/strong>, a dense <strong>30B parameter<\/strong> model designed to run locally on Macs and PCs. Zuckerberg emphasized Meta\u2019s commitment to open-source AI, stating that &quot;everyone should have access to superintelligence.&quot; The model is specifically optimized for <strong>agentic tasks<\/strong>, such as local coding and autonomous function calling, and will be followed shortly by the release of the <strong>Muse Spark 1.2<\/strong> foundation model weights.<\/p>\n<h2>Materials: Barrick Mining Delivers Record Q2 Results<\/h2>\n<p>Barrick Mining (<a href=\"\/stock\/ABX.TO\">ABX.TO<\/a>) delivered a standout second-quarter performance, reporting <strong>net earnings of $1.22 billion<\/strong>. The company\u2019s adjusted EPS of <strong>$0.82<\/strong> significantly outpaced the <strong>$0.47<\/strong> reported in the same period last year, driven by higher <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/gold\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"gold price today\">gold prices<\/a> and strong operational execution. Gold sales volume reached <strong>801,000 ounces<\/strong>, exceeding the estimated <strong>764,872 ounces<\/strong>, while the company successfully reduced its full-year capital expenditure guidance to a range of <strong>$3.80B to $4.20B<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The miner also announced a landmark agreement with Newmont (<a href=\"\/stock\/NEM\">NEM<\/a>) to resolve all outstanding disputes regarding their <strong>Nevada Gold Mines<\/strong> joint venture. As part of the deal, Newmont will pay Barrick <strong>$1.95 billion<\/strong> in cash and has formally consented to Barrick\u2019s planned <strong>IPO of its North American gold assets<\/strong>. This new entity, which will include the Tier One Nevada and Pueblo Viejo complexes, is scheduled to complete its listing by the end of 2026 with <strong>Mark Hill<\/strong> serving as CEO.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitics: Black Sea Tensions and Gaza Peace Efforts<\/h2>\n<p>Maritime security in the <strong>Black Sea<\/strong> has deteriorated sharply, prompting <strong>Turkey<\/strong> to restrict commercial traffic through the <strong>Dardanelles Strait<\/strong>. The move follows drone attacks that damaged Turkish-owned vessels near Russia\u2019s Novorossiysk port. While Turkish officials described the measures as &quot;temporary reviews&quot; for security, the restrictions threaten to disrupt critical grain and oil flows. Turkish Foreign Minister <strong>Hakan Fidan<\/strong> has called for a mutual moratorium on attacks against merchant shipping to prevent a wider regional crisis.<\/p>\n<p>In the Middle East, the <strong>German Government<\/strong> expressed support for a <strong>U.S.-backed 15-point Gaza plan<\/strong>, viewing it as a viable path toward the <strong>disarmament of Hamas<\/strong>. A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry acknowledged the complexity of the undertaking but urged progress despite Israeli Prime Minister <strong>Benjamin Netanyahu&#39;s<\/strong> recent rejection of the document. The proposed framework involves a phased Israeli withdrawal in exchange for the decommissioning of Hamas&#39;s heavy weaponry and the installation of an international stabilization force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Apple (AAPL) shares fell 1.2% after Jefferies downgraded the stock to &quot;Underperform,&quot; citing the cancellation of a high-margin 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