World Cup, AI stocks, SpaceX IPO

There is a special kind of fever surrounding the men’s soccer World Cup. And the 2026 edition of the tournament is creating a lot of excitement, as there are 48 teams instead of the usual 32, and three participating countries instead of the usual one.

The games will run from Vancouver to Mexico City from June 11 to July 19, marking the first time the games have been held in North America since 1994.

There will be winners and losers on and off the field. Goldman Sachs predicts that the main industries to benefit will include European and US consumer staples, American retail firms, and hotels. But the investment bank also warns that “while the World Cup is undoubtedly a major commercial event, it does not mean that the macroeconomic impact on the participating countries will be large or long-lasting.”

The World Cup could increase these levels of equality, according to Deutsche and Goldman

Deutsche Bank analysts believe that sports betting platforms will also benefit. But a battle may begin between traditional bookmakers and the ever-expanding speculation markets. This is the first World Cup where Polymarket and Kalshi have become significant forces in the sports betting space.

While billions are expected to tune in to the games, it’s not just football that will kick off next week…

Investors will be closely watching AI stocks after a volatile set of trading days. US tech giant Broadcom has sparked a global sell-off after issuing a disappointing forecast for its AI chip sales.

Expect more headlines from London Tech Week, which kicks off on Monday. Anthropic’s announcement of its long-awaited IPO, as well as any updates from OpenAI on its plans to go public, will be high on the agenda.

With billions watching soccer, all eyes will be on the stock market as one of the most anticipated IPOs of all time begins on Friday.

SpaceX will be hoping to shoot for the stars on Friday when it lists in what is planned to be a massive public sale of shares.

The way to go public in Elon Musk’s giant company has been as surprising as any World Cup finals – an unprecedented move at prices like exactly 135 dollars a share, the highest price of 1.7 billion dollars, a real check of the S&P in terms of entry requirements, and the pressure to reach an unprecedented number of retail investors. All of that goes hand in hand with its desire to colonize Mars.

So as countries begin to seek World Cup glory, investors are also eager to fill the market opportunities.

Monday: London Tech Week

Tuesday: SuperReturn Berlin

Wednesday: SuperReturn Berlin

Thursday: ECB monetary policy decision

Friday: SpaceX IPO

Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a small investment.