Stocks are sliding in a global sell-off led by tech, AI, and chips, with the Nasdaq hit hardest. Fresh off its June 12 IPO, SpaceX has already swung wildly—down about $400B in market cap at one point—with focus now on its upcoming index inclusion and the first window for retail investors to sell. AI geopolitics intensifies as US officials probe whether ASML EUV lithography tech reached China, plus Five Eyes issues dire warning about imminent AI cyber attacks, highlighting stratospherically high US–China and EU–China tensions. What could go wrong?
CHAPTERS
00:00 Tech Sell Off Begins
00:39 SpaceX IPO Whiplash
02:07 ASML Export Control Alarm
04:16 Europe China Trade Bind
05:43 UK Political Revolving Door
07:29 Cold War Chip Escalation
10:21 Rare Earths Flashpoint
11:40 China Domestic Strains
13:42 AI Cyberattack Threats
17:36 Closing Thoughts
IF YOU LIKED THIS, WATCH:
→ SpaceX Just Pulled Off the Most Dangerous IPO Trick Ever: https://youtu.be/zQuGPAJKQiE
→ SpaceX Only Worth $750 Billion, Not $2 Trillion: https://youtu.be/N3YWf7hWk5A
→ US China Secret Cold War Escalates: https://youtu.be/DD3BOZPOHdA
→ China Says It Doesn't Want Our AI Chips, So Why Are They Smuggling Them?: https://youtu.be/uKjWfRgDfRM
→ The Irreversible Cost of Selling Advanced AI Chips to China: https://youtu.be/UphXmFOYUU8
SOURCES & FURTHER READING
ASML, EUV Machines, and the US-China Chip War
• US Officials Warn ASML That China May Have Obtained Its Most Advanced Chip Tool: https://www.morningstar.com/news/dow-jones/202506191945/asml-shares-slip-on-report-of-us-concern-that-china-has-its-tech
• US Raises Alarm Over ASML's Top Lithography Machine Reaching China: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-tells-asml-it-is-concerned-china-may-have-top-chip-tool-bloomberg-news-2026-06-19/
• Washington Tells ASML It Fears China Has the Crown Jewel of Chip Tech: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-19/us-tells-asml-it-s-concerned-china-may-have-top-chip-tool
US-China Export Controls and Trade Retaliation
• Pentagon's Full List of Banned Chinese Military-Linked Companies: https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jun/08/2003945537/-1/-1/1/ENTITIES-IDENTIFIED-AS-CHINESE-MILITARY-COMPANIES-OPERATING-IN-THE-UNITED-STATES-IN-ACCORDANCE-WITH-SECTION-1260H.PDF
• China Sanctions 10 US Defense Firms: https://apnews.com/article/china-us-sanctions-military-defense-tech-dualuse-1aebe98718e127365859b0fb0b63d07b
• Critical Minerals Are Now Nearly Impossible to Source From China: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-business-group-says-some-critical-minerals-are-nearly-unobtainable-china-2026-06-10/
• EU-China Trade Deficit Hits Highest Level in Years: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=EU_trade_with_China_-_latest_developments
AI Cybersecurity and State-Sponsored Attacks
• Five Eyes Intelligence Agencies Issue Rare Public Warning on AI Cyberattacks: https://www.cyber.gov.au/about-us/view-all-content/news/five-eyes-cyber-security-agencies-statement
• How Nation-State Hackers Tunneled Into America Through Home Routers: https://www.wsj.com/tech/cybersecurity/how-hackers-found-a-back-door-into-the-american-living-room-c117cb9f?mod=hp_lead_pos10
• Hidden Audio Commands Can Hijack AI Voice Models With 96% Success Rate: https://spectrum.ieee.org/voice-ai-audio-attacks
• Full Research Paper: Imperceptible Audio Prompt Injection Against Large Audio-Language Models: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.14604v1
China's Domestic Economy and Political Fragmentation
• China's GDP Data Masks Growing Structural Weaknesses at Home: https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2026/vw202616_1/
• Youth Unemployment and the 'Lying Flat' Generation Reshaping China's Social Fabric: https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-college-grads-lying-flat-zombie-photos-youth-unemployment-2023-7
• The Structural Forces Shattering Britain's Two-Party Political System: https://www.wsj.com/world/uk/the-forces-that-broke-the-two-party-system-in-the-u-k-30137b8a?mod=hp_lead_pos1
","author_name":"Neeta Bidwai"}