Market Beats | Uber Partners With Lucid and Nuro to Launch 20,000 Robotaxis; US Retail Sales Rebound in June, Easing Consumer Spending Concerns; Harvard Bonds Look Cheap After Clash With Trump Administration; Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson Says Bull Market Is Forming Despite Short-Term Dip; Amazon Cuts Cloud Jobs Amid Rising AI Costs; Vanbarton Gets $250M Loan to Convert Former NYC Archdiocese HQ

—— Uber Partners With Lucid and Nuro to Launch 20,000 Robotaxis; US Retail Sales Rebound in June, Easing Consumer Spending Concerns; Harvard Bonds Look Cheap After Clash With Trump Administration; Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson Says Bull Market Is Forming Despite Short-Term Dip; Amazon Cuts Cloud Jobs Amid Rising AI Costs; Vanbarton Gets $250M Loan to Convert Former NYC Archdiocese HQ

1. Uber Partners With Lucid and Nuro to Launch 20,000 Robotaxis

Uber Technologies Inc. announced Thursday it is partnering with electric vehicle maker Lucid Group Inc. and autonomous driving startup Nuro to launch a fleet of self-driving cars.

Under the plan, Uber or its third-party affiliates will purchase and operate Lucid’s Gravity electric SUVs equipped with Nuro’s self-driving technology. The first vehicle is expected to debut in late 2026 in a major, yet unnamed, U.S. city. Over the next six years, Uber aims to deploy at least 20,000 robotaxis.

The ride-hailing company is also making separate multi-hundred-million-dollar investments in Lucid and Nuro. Lucid will receive $300 million to help upgrade its manufacturing line to support Nuro’s autonomous hardware integration.

Following the announcement, Lucid shares surged 34% to $3.07 — the stock’s biggest intraday jump in over two and a half years. Uber shares remained largely unchanged.

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2. US Retail Sales Rebound in June, Easing Consumer Spending Concerns

US retail sales bounced back in June, offering some reassurance about the state of consumer spending.

The value of retail purchases rose 0.6% last month, after declines in April and May, according to Commerce Department data released Thursday. The increase beat nearly all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. Excluding autos, sales climbed 0.5%.

Gains were seen in 10 of 13 major categories. Notably, motor vehicle sales unexpectedly rose following two months of declines, despite separate data showing falling vehicle prices and weaker unit sales in June.

The report provides a measure of relief amid growing concern over consumer pullback. While Americans have been pessimistic about the economy this year due to rising living costs and the threat of further tariffs, sentiment has shown signs of improvement recently.

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3. Harvard Bonds Look Cheap After Clash With Trump Administration

Harvard University’s ongoing conflict with the Trump administration has shaken up its tax-exempt municipal bonds, presenting new opportunities for investors.

Once highly prized for their safety and tax benefits — especially among wealthy Massachusetts investors — Harvard’s bonds used to trade at yields even lower than top-rated AAA debt. But earlier this year, that premium eroded after the Trump administration began threatening to revoke the university’s tax-exempt status and cut off federal funding.

As a result, bond prices declined and yields climbed — making Harvard’s debt appear relatively cheap.

Jeremy Holtz, a portfolio manager at Income Research + Management, said his firm has been buying in the “eds and meds” sector this year as prices fell. He noted that Ivy League schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale have seen their bond spreads widen by 30 to 40 basis points, depending on the issue.

“We typically refer to them as having fortress balance sheets,” Holtz said. “We still thought that they looked extremely attractive.”

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4. Morgan Stanley’s Mike Wilson Says Bull Market Is Forming Despite Short-Term Dip

Mike Wilson, Morgan Stanley’s chief US equity strategist and formerly one of Wall Street’s most prominent bears, now believes a new bull market is taking shape — but not before a short-term pullback.

Wilson predicts that the S&P 500 Index may fall 5% to 10% this quarter as President Donald Trump’s trade policies start to weigh on corporate balance sheets. However, he expects the decline to be temporary, presenting a strong buying opportunity for investors.

“This is what the beginning of a new bull market looks like,” Wilson said Thursday on Bloomberg Surveillance. “It’s just explosive — it doesn’t let people in. The rate of change is accelerating beyond what you expected.”

He added that any pullbacks will be “short and shallow” and said he would “absolutely” be buying the dip.

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5. Amazon Cuts Cloud Jobs Amid Rising AI Costs

Amazon.com Inc. is cutting jobs within its Amazon Web Services division, the latest tech giant to reduce headcount as artificial intelligence expenses grow.

The layoffs affect various teams within AWS, the world’s leading cloud provider. “After a thorough review of our organization, our priorities, and what we need to focus on going forward, we’ve made the difficult business decision to eliminate some roles across particular teams in AWS,” said company spokesperson Brad Glasser in a statement Thursday. “We’re committed to supporting the employees throughout their transition.”

CEO Andy Jassy previously said in June that Amazon’s workforce would likely shrink over the coming years as AI begins handling more tasks.

Earlier this month, Microsoft also announced job cuts affecting about 9,000 workers, marking its second major layoff round this year.

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6. Vanbarton Gets $250M Loan to Convert Former NYC Archdiocese HQ

Vanbarton Group secured a $250 million loan from Eldridge Real Estate Credit, a division of Eldridge Capital Management, to convert the former headquarters of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York into luxury residences.

The financing supported Vanbarton’s $103 million acquisition of 1011 First Avenue and will also fund construction. “This transaction marks our first office-to-residential conversion in New York, a strategy we intend to grow,” said Matthew Rosenfeld, head of US Real Estate Credit at Eldridge. “New York City is in need of quality new homes.”

Vanbarton plans to transform the 400,000-square-foot building into a 26-story tower with 420 apartments, including 105 affordable units, along with ground-floor retail and over 55,000 square feet of amenities.

Vanbarton has completed similar projects at 160 Water Street and 980 Avenue of the Americas, with more conversions underway.

The First Avenue building had served as the Archdiocese’s headquarters since 1973. Its offices moved this year to 488 Madison Avenue near St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

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7. Mercedes-Benz Q2 Sales Drop 9% as Tariffs Hit US and China Demand

Mercedes-Benz reported a 9% drop in global car sales for the second quarter of 2025, totaling 453,700 vehicles, as trade tensions and tariffs driven by President Donald Trump’s policies weighed on key markets. Sales declined 12% in the US and 19% in China, where import duties on American-made SUVs further dampened demand.

Although the numbers slightly exceeded company guidance and improved modestly over Q1, analysts say they underscore the growing toll of tariffs. Mercedes produces large SUV models like the GLE and GLS in Alabama and exports them to China — now subject to a 10% retaliatory tariff by Beijing.

The company also continues to struggle in the EV market, with EV sales down 24% year-on-year. Competition from local Chinese manufacturers like BYD is squeezing foreign brands.

However, Mercedes noted encouraging early interest in its upcoming CLA electric sedan, based on a new EV-first platform focused on maximizing range.

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