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After a positive jobs report for 2026, the CPI inflation report further confirms that this year is indeed on to a good start. Both the headline and core inflation levels indicate that PCE inflation is set to undershoot the Fed's projections, giving more room for a rate cut going forward.
Investors will get a better read on the health of consumers as Walmart reports its first quarterly results under its new CEO on Thursday.
Valuations have risen for many semiconductor-equipment producers — but some are still relatively cheap.
The core PCE inflation is expected to spike by 0.4% MoM in December, which would challenge the CPI disinflationary theme. The 2025 Q4 GDP is expected to slow to 3%, with a more significant slowdown in December, which could extend to Q1 2026.
Despite strong gains this year, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix shares are even less expensive than their U.S. counterparts.
New Fed governor Stephen Miran signals shift from data-dependent monetary policy as Kevin Warsh's nomination stalls amid political turmoil at the central bank.
By Kevin Flanagan Key Takeaways Kevin Warsh's nomination for Fed Chairman initially reassured bond markets by offering a known, crisis-tested Fed veteran with a reputation as an inflation hawk, reducing uncertainty at a critical juncture for monetary policy.
Investors are shooting first and asking questions later as the momentum trade gets swept up by concerns that AI could disrupt established industries like insurance and wealth management.
Insiders and retail investors are currently providing divergent signals about the market's direction, which should signal caution on equities. Corporate insiders and directors are selling stocks, and Warren Buffett built up a record cash hoard before exiting leadership at Berkshire Hathaway after 60 years at the helm.
AI is eroding business moats and accelerating competition across sectors. Digital and software businesses are seeing sharp valuation resets.
AI is suddenly driving big swings in stocks. It also could seep into central-bank policy decisions and the U.S. housing market.
Who needs interest-rate cuts when the labor market is looking healthy and inflation is cooling?
The S&P 500 faces heightened risk from a historically high FINRA margin balance ratio and the dominance of passive trading strategies. Elevated margin leverage and algorithmic trading create a momentum-driven market, amplifying volatility and the risk of sudden, forced selling.
January delivered the kind of mix investors and policymakers have been looking for: inflation cooled even as the labor market kept adding jobs. The US consumer price index rose 0.2% in January and was up 2.4% from a year earlier, while core inflation (which strips out food and energy) rose 0.
The pace of private equity and venture capital investment in application software slowed for at least three consecutive years amid rising concerns about the risks advances in AI could pose to software company growth. Alternative asset managers' exposure to the software sector was under the spotlight after an early-February sell-off of technology stocks.
For starters, the 'AI scare' is a catalyst exposing underlying market fragility. South Korea's KOSPI equities index surged another 8.2% this week, with major indices up 5.8% in Japan, 5.6% in Thailand, 4.9% in Turkey, 4.1% in Taiwan, 3.9% in Vietnam, 3.5% in Indonesia, 2.4% in Australia, and 1.9% in Brazil and Canada.
Japan's strengthened fiscal mandate is lifting global rate expectations and tightening marginal liquidity, creating a structural headwind for high-beta assets, including crypto. Strong US labor data alongside moderating inflation have reinforced expectations of no change at the March FOMC meeting, with the first rate cut window now pushed to summer.
U.S. job growth surprises to the upside. Japan election outcome boosts growth expectations.
Productivity gains by AI are now turning into fears of destruction for many firms, industries, and their components – look at tech and software, straight-up bleeding since October. Most of the assets that got beaten down last Friday attempted a rebound in this week's action.
Stock benchmarks are attempting a fresh rebound, powered by the soft CPI print. Markets were on quite a rout but are now pushing to recover.
Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) dropped 9.15% this week, closing at $16.09 on Friday.
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) had a rough week.
Howmet Aerospace delivered strong Q4 results, with 15% revenue growth and 29% EBITDA growth, but remains fairly valued after a 24% stock surge. HWM's premium valuation—29.1x EV/EBITDA—reflects broad-based demand, but near-term upside is limited unless operating leverage and double-digit growth materialize. Guidance for 2024 includes $9.1B sales, 30.1–30.5% margins, and $1.6B free cash flow, with incremental upside from the CAM acquisition if capital intensity remains low.
AMD's management gave guidance for strong data center growth over the next five years. AMD's stock is more expensive than its key competitor's.
Kiltearn Partners LLP increased its LKQ position by 264,600 shares; estimated transaction value is $7.98 million based on quarterly average price. The quarter-end value of the LKQ stake rose by $7.91 million, reflecting both the trade and stock price movement.
Duolingo is misunderstood in the current SaaSpocalypse selloff; AI agents do not threaten its business model or pricing. DUOL's moat lies in its data dominance, addictive engagement features, and AI-driven product expansion, not traditional SaaS seat-based pricing. AI has enhanced DUOL's offerings, doubling courses and enabling new features like Max, rather than undermining its value proposition.
ROKU's razor-and-blade model drives excellent user acquisition trends and robust platform monetization from the expanding advertising/subscription revenues. This strategy directly contributes to their outsized FQ4 '25 performance and the promising FY 2026 guidance, aided by the improving operating efficiencies. ROKU maintains $2.3B net cash, no debt, and 115% FCF conversion in FY2025, with management targeting over $1B FCF by 2028, reinforcing its future capital flexibility.
Its digital, interconnected ecosystem gives it an edge over legacy insurers. Top-line growth remains strong while the bottom line is improving.
Conventional processing chips like those Nvidia makes are nearing their performance limits. Making AI data centers more powerful requires improving the amount of digital data they can handle.
NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFSI) resulting from allegations that PennyMac may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.