Podcasts about Dow Jones Industrial Average

Advisors on This Week's Show Kyle Tetting Dave Sandstrom John Sandstrom (with Max Hoelzl, Joel Dresang, engineered by Jason Scuglik) Week in Review (March 9-13, 2026) Significant Economic Indicators & Reports Monday No major announcements Tuesday The National Association of Realtors said the pace of existing home sales rose 1.7% in February, though it was still behind the year-ago rate and around the lowest in more than 30 years. The trade group called demand “muted” as lower mortgage rates and rising wages combined to make housing more affordable than it has been since March 2022. The median sales price rose to $398,000, up 0.3% from February 2025, the 32nd consecutive increase. Wednesday The broadest measure of inflation stayed steady in February. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% from February 2025, unadjusted for seasonality. That was the same rate as January and still above the Federal Reserve's long-term target of 2%. Shelter costs led the monthly uptick. Gas prices rose for the first time in three months — prior to subsequent spikes spurred by the Iran war. The core CPI, excluding volatile food and energy costs, was up 2.5% from the year before, also the same rate as January. Thursday The U.S. trade deficit narrowed by 25% in January to $54.5 billion. The Bureau of Economic Analysis said exports rose 5.5% from December, led by non-monetary gold and other precious metals, as well as computers and civilian aircraft. Imports shrank 0.7%, led by pharmaceuticals and automobiles. Since January 2025, the trade gap contracted by almost 58% as exports expanded 10% and imports fell 11%. The four-week moving average for initial unemployment claims fell for the third time in four weeks, suggesting employers continue to be reluctant to let workers leave. According to data from the Labor Department, the four-week number was 41% below the 59-year average. More than 2.2 million individuals were receiving jobless benefits in the latest week, up 3.5% from the week before and down less than 1% from the year before. The Commerce Department said housing starts and building permits in January continued to track below their pre-COVID levels. Although the annual pace of housing starts rose 7% from December and 9.5% from January 2025, it has been below the pre-pandemic level for nearly two years. Building permits fell both from the month before and the year before. Meanwhile, the pace of houses under construction fell again, sinking 26% below their record pace in late 2022. Friday The U.S. economy grew slower than previously estimated at the end of 2025. The gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 1.7% in the fourth quarter, down from a preliminary report of 2.4% and below the 4.4% pace in the third quarter. The Bureau of Economic Analysis blamed the downward revision on weaker consumer spending and private investments and greater declines in government spending and exports. Adjusted for Inflation, GDP grew 2.1% in 2025, the weakest since a 2.1% decline in 2020. In a possible sign of consumer restraint, personal spending fell slightly behind the pace of personal income in January, raising the personal savings rate to its highest level in six months. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a savings rate of 4.5% of disposable income, which has been below the pre-pandemic level of 7.5% for more than four years. The same report showed the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation staying above its long-range target of 2%. The personal consumption expenditure index was up 2.8% from the year before, vs. 2.9% in December. The last time it was below 2% was February 2021. Durable goods orders were unchanged in January as a plunge in demand for commercial aircraft offset scattered gains elsewhere. The Commerce Department reported that orders overall ran 9% higher than the year before. Excluding volatile transportation orders, demand rose 0.4% from the month before and was up 4.4% from January 2025. Core capital goods orders, a proxy for business investments, were unchanged for the month and up 2.9% from the year before. U.S. employers posted 6.9 million job openings in January, up marginally from December but below the pre-COVID level for the third month in a row. Postings were down 43% from their peak nearly five years ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Based on openings and unemployed job seekers, the supply of available labor has outpaced demand since July. That’s after more than four years of the balance favoring workers. The number and rate of workers voluntarily quitting – an indication of worker confidence – stayed below pre-pandemic levels for the 25th month in a row. The University of Michigan said consumer sentiment reversed course following the onset of war in Iran. Polling done before Feb. 28 showed improvements in consumer outlooks, the university said, but opinions plunged thereafter regardless of respondents’ incomes, ages or political affiliations. Overall, consumers had lower expectations for their personal finances and higher forecasts for inflation. Market Closings for the Week Nasdaq – 22105, down 282 points or 1.3% S&P 500 – 6632, down 108 points or 1.6% Dow Jones Industrial Average – 46560, down 942 points or 2.0% 10-year U.S. Treasury Note – 4.29%, up 0.15 point

This morning, we're breaking down the latest developments in the war with Iran, and the situation is becoming more alarming by the day. According to Karoline Leavitt, Trump is not ruling out the possibility of a draft, raising serious questions about how far this conflict could escalate. Meanwhile, talk of regime change appears to have gone nowhere, with the son of Ali Khamenei expected to take power, signaling an even more hardline future for the country. Back home, the fallout is already hitting Americans' wallets. Gas prices are climbing, markets are sliding, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is taking a hit as the economic consequences of the conflict ripple across the globe. So where does this go from here? How long could this war last, and how much more strain can the economy take? Today, we're joined by journalist John Heilemann to break it all down. This episode is sponsored by Graza. Take your food to the next level with Graza. Visit https://graza.co/LEMON and use promo code LEMON today for 20% off your first order! This episode is brought to you by Shopify. See less carts go abandoned and more sales go with Shopify and their Shop Pay button.Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at https://SHOPIFY.COM/lemon This episode is sponsored by FFRF. If you believe freedom means freedom FOR EVERYONE, join them. Visit https://FFRF.US/DON or text “DON” to 511511 This episode is brought to you by BiOptimizers. Go to https://bioptimizers.com/donlemon and use my exclusive code DON15 to get 15% off any order. Make 2026 the year you finally start sleeping great again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Markets moved lower this week as investors reacted to geopolitical tensions, rising oil prices, and renewed volatility in global markets. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell roughly 1,476 points, or about 3%, while the S&P 500 declined approximately 2% and the Nasdaq slipped about 1.2%. Year to date, the major indexes are modestly negative, with the Dow down around 1.2%, the S&P 500 lower by roughly 1.5%, and the Nasdaq down about 3.7%. Despite the pullback, the hosts noted that the overall decline remains relatively contained, with the S&P 500 only about 3.75% below its recent all-time intraday high. A major portion of the discussion focused on global developments and their impact on market sentiment. International markets saw significant volatility during the week, including a sharp drop in the South Korean stock index before a partial rebound. The conversation also turned to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and how rising oil prices could influence inflation expectations and interest rate policy. The hosts emphasized that conflicts in the region are not new for markets, noting that historically many markets have recovered and even advanced following periods of geopolitical uncertainty. While headlines and political narratives can drive short-term market reactions, the broader perspective highlighted the importance of maintaining discipline and focusing on longer-term market trends rather than reacting to daily news cycles. Oil Prices Rise Oil prices moved back into the spotlight this week as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East pushed energy prices higher and renewed concerns about inflation. Because gasoline prices are one of the most visible costs consumers face, rising energy prices can quickly influence both consumer sentiment and market expectations around interest rates. The hosts discussed how fluctuations in oil prices often drive short-term market reactions, even though markets have historically navigated periods of geopolitical tension and energy price volatility. In the second hour, the Money Wise guys discuss Equity Index Annuities. You don't want to miss the details! Tune in for the full discussion on your favorite podcast provider or at davidsoncap.com, where you can also learn more about the Money Wise guys or take advantage of a portfolio review and analysis with Davidson Capital Management.

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 417 March 5, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is hesitation. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on Fermi Inc, the GraniteShares 2x Long COIN Daily ETF, Petro Brasileiro, and the iShares Silver Trust ETF. And we discuss four new trades on UiPath, Inc, Red Cat Holdings, the United States Oil ETF, and Occidental Petroleum. This week’s podcast is being recorded on Thursday evening,  and will not reflect the closing prices on Friday. The equity markets are lower so far this week, with the Dow having moved lower than the S&P. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is 1,023 points lower, closing on Thursday at 47,954 points. The S&P 500 Index has lost 48 points, closing on Thursday at 6,830 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

Advisors on This Week's Show Kyle Tetting Tom Pappenfus (with Joel Dresang, engineered by Jason Scuglik) Week in Review (March 2-6, 2026) Significant Economic Indicators & Reports Monday A two-month expansion of the manufacturing sector slowed in February, just as it did the year before. The Institute for Supply Management said its survey-based manufacturing index signaled the second consecutive month of growth after 10 months of contraction. Prior to 2025, the index shrank 26 months in a row. The trade group said 21% of the manufacturing industry's gross domestic product contracted in February, following 20% in January. The index suggested the overall U.S. economy was growing at an annual rate of 1.7%. Tuesday No significant reports Wednesday The service sector of the U.S. economy expanded in February for the 20th month in a row and at the highest level since mid-2022. The Institute for Supply Management said the four most impactful index components rose together for the third month in a row, repeating a streak from a year ago. The ISM's survey of supply managers reported more uncertainty about trade policies following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found some tariffs illegal. But managers also suggested companies were learning to accommodate volatility in tariff rules. Thursday The Bureau of Labor Statistics said worker productivity rose at an annual pace of 2.8%  in the fourth quarter of 2025. The rate resulted from the annual pace of output rising 2.6% while hours worked decreased at a 0.2% pace. Productivity advanced 2.2% over the last four quarters, equal to the average since the end of 2019. That compared to 1.5% annual growth in the previous 12-year business cycle and an average of 2.2% since 1947. Labor costs rose 1.3% in the last year, and the share of output accrued to workers through compensation reached a record low in data going back to 1947. The Labor Department reported the four-week moving average for initial unemployment claims fell for the second time in three weeks. It remained 40% below its average since 1967. Total claims for the latest week declined 2.9% from the week before to just under 2.2 million. That was 1% lower than the year before. Friday Employers cut 92,000 jobs on net in February, the second decline in three months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged up to 4.4%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' monthly jobs report, combining payroll data and household surveys, offered mixed signals on a generally weaker labor market. On the plus side, the average hourly wage continued to outpace broad inflation, and the share of prime-age workers either employed or looking for jobs stayed near the highest level since 2001. On the other hand, a measure of underemployment remained above the pre-pandemic mark for the 26th month in a row, and — outside the pandemic — the employment of temporary-help workers dropped to the lowest count since 2012. Retail sales declined in January as seven of 13 categories reported lower revenue, the Commerce Department reported. Gas stations were among the decliners, reflecting lower gas prices in January. But sales at bars and restaurants, an indicator of consumer confidence, fell for the third time in four months. Consumer spending drives about 70% of the U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product. Adjusted for inflation, total retail sales dropped for at least the second month in a row. Inflation data for October and November are missing because of a federal government shutdown. Market Closings for the Week Nasdaq – 22388, down 281 points or 1.2% S&P 500 – 6740, down 109 points or 1.6% Dow Jones Industrial Average – 47502, down 1476 points or 3.0% 10-year U.S. Treasury Note – 4.13%, up 0.17 point

Dan talks with Steve Houlihan about the Dow Jones Industrial Average, employment trends, and geopolitical disruptions. He shares why he’s fairly optimistic for 2026, explains the psychology of investing, when to buy, and how Federal Reserve moves and global uncertainty impact the market.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stocks resumed their decline Thursday after a one-day respite as concerns over the Iran war flared up again with U.S. crude topping $80 per barrel.The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 784.67 points, or 1.61%, to 47,954.74. The S&P 500 fell 0.56% to 6,830.71, while the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.26% to 22,748.99. The stock sell-off was led by Boeing, Caterpillar and other names that stand to lose the most if the global economy slows.Oil prices jumped, with West Texas Intermediate crude futures surpassing $80 per barrel in the afternoon to hit its highest level since July 2024, after Iran said it hit an oil tanker with a missile. It settled up more than 8% at $81.01 a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude futures settled nearly 5% higher at $85.41 per barrel. SPI down 125 - Commodities under pressure.—Marcus Today – Daily Market InsightsMarcus Today provides clear, practical commentary for self-directed investors – covering markets, portfolios, education, and decision-making without the noise.If you'd like to go further:Start a free 14-day trial of Marcus Today http://bit.ly/mt-trial-podcastJoin Marcus Today Use code MTPODCAST for 10% off http://bit.ly/mt-join-podcast-offerMT20 – Managed ETF Portfolio A professionally managed portfolio run by Marcus Padley and the team, using ASX-listed ETFs with active market timing. http://bit.ly/mt20-podcastPrinciples – How We Think About Investing A short video series on timing, behaviour, and decision-making. No stock tips. http://bit.ly/mt-principles-podcast—Disclaimer This podcast is general information only and does not consider your personal circumstances. It is not personal financial advice.

Stocks rose on Wednesday, building on the momentum seen late in the previous session, as the surge in oil prices pulled back following developments in the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and fears about a U.S. economic growth scare faded.The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 238.14 points, or 0.49%, to close at 48,739.41. The 30-stock index snapped a three-day run of losses. The S&P 500 gained 0.78% and ended at 6,869.50, while the Nasdaq Composite moved 1.29% higher and settled at 22,807.48. Technology stocks supported the broader market, particularly those in the chips space. Micron Technology and Advanced Micro Devices each advanced more than 5%. Broadcom and Nvidia climbed more than 1% apiece. A couple of strong economic data releases bolstered sentiment among investors Wednesday. SPI up 95 - Gold recovers - Trade numbers later—Marcus Today – Daily Market InsightsMarcus Today provides clear, practical commentary for self-directed investors – covering markets, portfolios, education, and decision-making without the noise.If you'd like to go further:Start a free 14-day trial of Marcus Today http://bit.ly/mt-trial-podcastJoin Marcus Today Use code MTPODCAST for 10% off http://bit.ly/mt-join-podcast-offerMT20 – Managed ETF Portfolio A professionally managed portfolio run by Marcus Padley and the team, using ASX-listed ETFs with active market timing. http://bit.ly/mt20-podcastPrinciples – How We Think About Investing A short video series on timing, behaviour, and decision-making. No stock tips. http://bit.ly/mt-principles-podcast—Disclaimer This podcast is general information only and does not consider your personal circumstances. It is not personal financial advice.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 403.51 points, or 0.83%, and ended at 48,501.27. The S&P 500 slipped 0.94% to close at 6,816.63, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 1.02% to settle at 22,516.69. At their lows of the day, the S&P 500 lost 2.5%, and the Nasdaq was down about 2.7%. The 30-stock Dow was down more than 1,200 points, or around 2.6%, at its nadir.SPI down 124 - Commodities sold down hard - Gold down - Oil up but off highs - GDP today - EDV results.—Marcus Today – Daily Market InsightsMarcus Today provides clear, practical commentary for self-directed investors – covering markets, portfolios, education, and decision-making without the noise.If you'd like to go further:Start a free 14-day trial of Marcus Today http://bit.ly/mt-trial-podcastJoin Marcus Today Use code MTPODCAST for 10% off http://bit.ly/mt-join-podcast-offerMT20 – Managed ETF Portfolio A professionally managed portfolio run by Marcus Padley and the team, using ASX-listed ETFs with active market timing. http://bit.ly/mt20-podcastPrinciples – How We Think About Investing A short video series on timing, behaviour, and decision-making. No stock tips. http://bit.ly/mt-principles-podcast—Disclaimer This podcast is general information only and does not consider your personal circumstances. It is not personal financial advice.

Gene notes that the major indexes—particularly the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500—may be positioned for a potential pullback of roughly 7% to 10%. Be sure to listen to today's episode for Gene's full market analysis and insights.

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 416 February 28, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is learning versus sourcing. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on  the 2x Long VIX Futures ETF,  SELLAS Life Sciences Group, First Majestic Silver Corp, and BitMine Immersion Technologies. And we discuss four new trades on Fermi Inc, the GraniteShares 2x Long COIN Daily ETF, Petro Brasileiro, and the iShares Silver Trust ETF The equity markets finished a tough month, with the S&P finishing the month lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 648 points this week, closing on Friday at 48,977 points. The S&P 500 Index lost 30 points on the week, ending the week at 6,878 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

The Money Wise guys are back at it, kicking off the show with a review of last week's numbers from Wall Street. Markets experienced another week of volatility as investors continued sorting through a mix of economic signals and shifting narratives around artificial intelligence. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell roughly 648 points, or about 1.3%, while the S&P 500 declined approximately 0.4% and the Nasdaq dropped around 1%. February finished with mixed results across the major indexes. The Dow edged slightly higher for the month, up about 0.2%, while the S&P 500 declined roughly 0.9% and the Nasdaq fell 3.4%. Year to date, the Dow continues to lead the three major indexes, up about 1.9%, while the S&P 500 remains modestly positive and the Nasdaq has moved into negative territory for the year. A major topic of discussion this week centers on the market's continued tendency to react quickly to headlines surrounding artificial intelligence. Several technology and software companies experienced notable price swings as speculation about AI's long-term impact on different industries circulated through the market. Much of that volatility was amplified by a widely discussed research report projecting significant economic disruption caused by artificial intelligence in the coming years. While the report generated substantial attention, the guys note that many of the assumptions remain highly speculative. The broader takeaway from the discussion is that markets often react first and evaluate later, which can create short-term volatility even when underlying business fundamentals have not materially changed. Treasury Yields Dip Below 4% One development that received relatively little attention in the financial media this week was the drop in the 10-year Treasury yield below 4%. That move helped push mortgage rates back below the 6% level, a notable shift after a prolonged period of higher borrowing costs. Lower mortgage rates could begin to bring additional buyers back into the housing market, particularly as the spring home-buying season approaches. While interest rates remain elevated compared to the historically low levels seen a few years ago, even modest declines can influence housing activity and broader economic sentiment. In the second hour, the Money Wise guys give listeners a peek into what Wall Street Won't Tell You. You don't want to miss the details! Tune in for the full discussion on your favorite podcast provider or at davidsoncap.com, where you can also learn more about the Money Wise guys or take advantage of a portfolio review and analysis with Davidson Capital Management.

Today we had the very exciting and interesting opportunity to visit with Dr. Fiona Murray, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Co-Director of the Innovation Initiative at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fiona is an internationally recognized policy expert on innovation ecosystems and the transformation of investments in science and technology into deep-tech startup ventures that address global challenges. In addition to her roles at MIT, where she previously served as an Associate Dean for Innovation, she is Chair of the NATO Innovation Fund and an Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. She was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to innovation and entrepreneurship in the United Kingdom. Fiona also serves on the UK Ministry of Defence Innovation Advisory Panel and the European Innovation Council Joint Expert Group and sits on a number of boards. We were thrilled to host Fiona to explore global markets, innovation ecosystems, and the shifting geopolitical landscape shaping technology and capital flows. In our conversation, Fiona shares her perspective on the intersection of geopolitics and innovation and how geopolitical shocks increasingly shape technology development and commercialization. She outlines the post-2016 shift toward framing priority technologies through the lens of national and economic security, and the growing geopolitical constraints facing entrepreneurs. Drawing on discussions at the Munich Security Conference, Fiona highlights Europe's strong talent base alongside structural constraints, including smaller venture capital pools, fragmented markets, pension fund limitations, and bureaucratic procurement processes. We explore how defense and security startups think about U.S. versus European capital and transatlantic expansion, the growing importance of dual-use investment, and resilience as a business case. Fiona explains NATO's two-pronged innovation strategy and emphasizes the need for a “resilience premium” to support domestic and allied production. We discuss China's competitive innovation model, industrial policy lessons for the West, and the need to scale critical technologies to reduce supply chain dependence and rebuild manufacturing capacity across allied markets. Fiona also shares her perspective at MIT, where students are increasingly prioritizing defense, security, and resilience, alongside energy and climate reframed through critical minerals and system resilience, with AI integration across disciplines. We cover AI's role in lowering experimentation costs through simulation, large-company AI execution pitfalls, drone and autonomy lessons from Ukraine, and how to avoid overspending on AI. We close by asking where she sees innovation over the next decade, which she describes as “innovation at the extremes,” including fusion energy, Arctic navigation and mining, space commercialization, and other frontier environments. It was a fascinating discussion and we greatly appreciate Fiona for sharing her valuable time and insights. To start the show, Mike Bradley noted that this week is centered on Tuesday's State of the Union address and the policy implications that follow. On the bond market front, the 10-year remains steady, with traders' attention turning to Friday's PPI report. On the crude oil market front, WTI is trading at ~$66/bbl as markets weigh the potential for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal versus whether the U.S. follows through on its threat of limited military strikes. WTI price could fall to low-$60/bbl if a nuclear deal is reached or rise to $70/bbl on escalation. The DJIA and S&P 500 are both up marginally since the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's global tariffs last Friday. Technology stocks have staged a modest rebound after several weeks of underperformance. Energy has outperformed over the past week but has underperformed since last Friday's tariff announcement. E&Ps will dominate

Stripe, the programmable financial services company, has signed agreements with investors to provide liquidity to current and former Stripe employees through a tender offer at a $159B (€135B) valuation. While the majority of funds for the tender offer are being provided by investors including Thrive Capital, Coatue, a16z, and others, Stripe will also use a portion of its own capital to repurchase shares. Stripe also published its 2025 annual letter to the Stripe community, detailing a strong year for businesses on Stripe and the internet economy overall. Businesses running on Stripe generated $1.9 trillion in total volume, up 34% from 2024, and equivalent to roughly 1.6% of global GDP. Beyond payments, Stripe's Revenue suite (comprising Stripe Billing, Invoicing, Tax, and more) is on track to hit an annual run rate of $1 billion this year. In the letter, cofounders Patrick and John Collison wrote: "Our programmable financial services now power more than 5 million businesses directly or via platforms, including all of the top AI companies, many of the largest blue-chip companies (90% of the Dow Jones Industrial Average), most of the biggest tech companies (80% of the Nasdaq 100), and a significant fraction of freshly minted startups (25% of all Delaware corporations are now created with Stripe Atlas) […] Stripe remained robustly profitable, allowing us to continue investing heavily in product development (with more than 350 product updates last year) as well as acquisitions. […] All in all, 2025 was a strong year for the internet economy, and we're delighted to see so many of Stripe's customers do so well." Kareem Zaki, partner at Thrive Capital, said: "After a decade of partnership and seeing their work up close, we believe Stripe has built the premiere financial infrastructure stack for the internet economy, relied on by the fastest growing companies for payments, billing, fraud prevention, tax, and more. While their core business has never been stronger, we believe their most transformative chapters are being written right now. We believe Stripe's lead will only expand across the future of money movement due to their leadership in agentic commerce, stablecoins, and more." New businesses on Stripe are scaling at record speed The 2025 cohort of new businesses on Stripe is the highest performing in the company's history. More new companies joined Stripe in 2025 than ever before, with more than half (57%) based outside the US. Businesses in the 2025 cohort grew around 50% faster than the 2024 cohort. The number of companies reaching $10 million ARR within 3 months of launch was double the 2024 count. Companies incorporated via Stripe Atlas are also monetising sooner: in 2025, 20% of Atlas startups charged their first customer within 30 days, up from 8% in 2020. Businesses on Stripe are increasingly global by default Over the last few years, the country-by-country expansion model has melted away. The "domestic market" for a new generation of internet businesses is the internet itself. Nearly every recognisable AI product launched globally by default, including ChatGPT, Claude, Replit, Lovable, Base44, Vercel, Cursor, Midjourney, and many more. Among Stripe businesses with mostly international revenue, 30% of that revenue comes from countries that are neither their home market nor one of the top 10 global economies. "This isn't merely about incremental revenue from a 'long tail' of international users. In many cases, the 'long tail' is much of the dog," the Collisons wrote. Building the economic infrastructure for AI Agentic commerce has moved into a phase of building and real-world experimentation. As with the early internet, the future success of agentic commerce is contingent on universal interoperability. To that end, Stripe has been working with a broad set of partners across AI labs, retailers, and leading ecommerce platforms to lay the groundwork for this generational shift: With OpenAI, Stripe developed the Agentic Comm...

Gene notes that after setting record highs earlier this year, both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have stalled within a range. Despite the pause, both indices continue to hold firm uptrends.

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 415 February 20, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is the personal history. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on Cipher Mining, Core Scientific Inc, Carnival Cruise Lines, and NuScale Power Corp. And we discuss four new trades on the 2x Long VIX Futures ETF, SELLAS Life Sciences Group, First Majestic Silver Corp, and BitMine Immersion Technologies. The equity markets managed to finish the week a bit higher than last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average grew 125 points, closing at 49,625 points on Friday. The S&P 500 picked up 73 points, ending the week at 6,909 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

Markets moved higher this week while continuing to work through a longer-term consolidation phase that has defined much of the year so far. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3%, the S&P 500 rose 1.1%, and the Nasdaq advanced 1.5%. Year to date, the Dow leads at +3.3%, the S&P 500 is up 0.9%, and the Nasdaq remains down 1.5%. From a technical perspective, the S&P 500 continues to trade within the consolidation range discussed on recent programs. Resistance near 7,000 remains intact, while the 50-day moving average has acted as a recurring support level. By week's end, the index moved back above that average, reinforcing the pattern of sideways movement rather than sustained decline. The Money Wise guys emphasize that this type of consolidation following strong prior gains is typical in market cycles, allowing valuations to normalize and confidence to rebuild. Technology stocks, which drove much of the prior advance, are also becoming more attractively valued after multiple compressions, creating selective opportunities within the sector. Market Resilience During Policy Shifts A major development during the week was the Supreme Court ruling on tariffs tied to the April 2025 trade actions. The Court struck down the specific legal provision previously used, but markets absorbed the news calmly as the administration moved quickly to implement tariffs through other existing authorities. The guys note that the muted market response reflected investors' understanding that trade policy direction remains largely unchanged despite the legal shift. In the second hour, the Money Wise guys explore RIA vs. Broker. You don't want to miss the details! Tune in for the full discussion on your favorite podcast provider or at davidsoncap.com, where you can also learn more about the Money Wise guys or take advantage of a portfolio review and analysis with Davidson Capital Management.

Markets pushed higher Wednesday morning and ran straight into a key technical "traffic jam" as the 20-day and 50-day moving averages converged near the same level. Late-day selling pulled prices back toward the 50-DMA, and with futures slightly lower this morning, the big question is whether buyers step back in—or whether we start to see a more routine digestion of gains. The bigger tell right now may be the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow has notched nine consecutive months of gains, a streak that's historically rare over long market history. When runs like this extend, it doesn't automatically signal a crash—but it does increase the odds of corrective action. If a Dow pullback shows up, it can easily spill into the S&P 500 and NASDAQ through sentiment and positioning. Breadth is improving, with roughly 65% of S&P 500 stocks trading above their moving averages. That's supportive for trend health—yet it's also a double-edged sword. When participation rises broadly, markets can correct broadly as well, even if the primary trend remains intact. Bottom line: we're not talking about a major breakdown. But a 3–5% pullback would be completely normal given the Dow's extended run and the market's proximity to key moving averages. That's why this is a good window to take partial profits, rebalance risk, and maintain discipline. If/when a pullback arrives, it can create a more favorable entry point to put that capital back to work. Hosted by RIA Chief Investment Strategist, Lance Roberts, CIO Produced by Brent Clanton, Executive Producer --- Register for our next Candid Coffee, 2/21/26: https://streamyard.com/watch/Wq3Yvn9ny5GV --- Watch the Video version of this report on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/zor3I7w1wLA --- Articles mentioned in this report: "Market Sector Review: Extreme Market Bifurcation" https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/market-sector-review-extreme-market-bifurcation/ "Calm Market Waters Hide Fierce Undercurrents" https://realinvestmentadvice.com/resources/blog/calm-market-waters-hide-fierce-undercurrents/ --- Get more info & commentary: https://realinvestmentadvice.com/insights/real-investment-daily/ --- Visit our Site: https://www.realinvestmentadvice.com Contact Us: 1-855-RIA-PLAN --- Subscribe to SimpleVisor: https://www.simplevisor.com/register-new --- Connect with us on social: https://twitter.com/RealInvAdvice https://twitter.com/LanceRoberts https://www.facebook.com/RealInvestmentAdvice/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/realinvestmentadvice/ #StockMarket #SP500 #DowJones #TechnicalAnalysis #InvestingStrategy

David Trainer, founder and president at New Constructs, says the intensity of competition in the artificial-intelligence business is setting up a path for big winners and losers, and he says that it's nearly time "to see a lot of the companies in the AI race fall out." Trainer cits cash flows turning negative, and says that accounting tricks have hidden much of the problem by allowing companies to keep some debts off of balance sheets. When focusing on what he calls the real debt level of the companies, Trainer says "the cash flow for these companies is highly negative and it cannot be sustained." Further, Trainer notes that with so much money committed to the development of A.I., there is no guarantee that the companies that get in trouble will find a market waiting to take them over once the financial troubles hit. In "The Week That Is," Vijay Marolia, chief investment officer at Regal Point Capital, discusses how last week's software sell-off isn't changing his take on how "Software will eat the world," but it is a symptom of how the speed of development is amping up investor concerns about the A.I. revolution. He also discusses how and why the "Sell America" sentiment has been building, and why the Dow Jones Industrial Average — and not the Nasdaq Composite or the Standard & Poor's 500 — is leading the way for market gains early this year. David Bach, author, "The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich," celebrates the revised, 20th anniversary edition of the book and the countless people it has helped by getting them started small towards long-term lifelong savings and living goals. Bach — who last appeared on Money Life a decade ago with the 10th-anniversary edition of the book — discusses how time and technology have changed, but how they also have helped savers reach their goals more easily.

Gene breaks down the volatile start to 2026 and explains how the major indexes are signaling trends likely to persist throughout the year—most notably the continued relative strength of both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Dow Jones Transportation Average.

-- On the Show -- Dan Koh, Former White House Deputy Cabinet Secretary and former Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Biden, joins us to discuss his candidacy for Congress to represent Massachusetts' 6th district -- Forensic pathologist Michael Baden repeats his long standing claim that Jeffrey Epstein was strangled, while existing medical research shows hyoid bone fractures can occur in suicides -- House Democrats announce a shadow hearing in Palm Beach featuring survivor testimony that increases scrutiny of Donald Trump's past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein -- David announces his new book Pay Attention and argues that algorithms and the attention economy are reshaping how people think, consume media, and understand politics -- Donald Trump and his allies advance proposals and rhetoric that critics argue could restrict voting access and challenge unfavorable 2026 midterm election results -- Kristi Noem says officials must ensure the right people vote, reinforcing concerns that Trump aligned policies aim to narrow who participates in elections -- Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Donald Trump personally pushed hardest to block the release of Epstein related files, contradicting his public calls for transparency -- Peter Navarro incorrectly describes the Dow Jones Industrial Average in dollar terms, raising concerns about the economic competence of Donald Trump's advisers -- On the Bonus Show: Gallup to stop tracking presidential approval polling, European countries confirm Alexei Navalny was poisoned, Oatly banned from using "milk" in UK marketing, and much more...

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 414 February 13, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is the personal history. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on Opendoor Technologies, Ocular Therapeutix Inc, Ford Motor Company, and Bank of America. And we discuss four new trades on Cipher Mining, Core Scientific Inc, Carnival Cruise Lines, and NuScale Power Corp. The markets headed lower week over week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 614 points, closing the week at 49,500 points. The S&P 500 Index lost 96 points, ending the week at 6,836 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

Volatility returned to markets this week, reinforcing how quickly sentiment can shift in a headline-driven environment. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined about 615 points, or 1.2%, the S&P 500 fell roughly 96 points, or 1.4%, and the Nasdaq dropped approximately 485 points, or 2.1%. Year to date, the Dow remains up 3%, while the S&P 500 is essentially flat, down 0.1%, and the Nasdaq is down 3%. From a technical standpoint, the discussion revisits the consolidation pattern that has defined the S&P 500 since Thanksgiving 2025. The index continues to encounter resistance near the 7,000 level and support around its 50-day moving average. Although the S&P has briefly closed below that moving average at times, it has not remained there for long, reinforcing the sideways trading range that has persisted for months. The Money Wise guys also note that despite this consolidation, the S&P 500 has still advanced about 13.8% since November 2024, underscoring that recent volatility exists within a longer-term upward trend. Artificial Intelligence Headlines A significant portion of the episode focuses on the growing market tendency to react instantly to artificial intelligence headlines. The guys caution that AI is more likely to enhance existing industries than replace them outright, pushing back against narratives suggesting widespread obsolescence across sectors. Recent examples illustrate how algorithm-driven trading and unverified news can trigger sharp price moves before facts are confirmed. The broader takeaway echoes a long-standing Money Wise principle: markets often react first and evaluate later, making disciplined perspective and active decision-making essential in periods dominated by speculation and rapid information flow. In the second hour, the Money Wise guys share The Best Investment Advice Ever . You don't want to miss the details! Tune in for the full discussion on your favorite podcast provider or at davidsoncap.com, where you can also learn more about the Money Wise guys or take advantage of a portfolio review and analysis with Davidson Capital Management.

In this week's episode of the Rich Habits Radar, Robert Croak and Austin Hankwitz cover the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting 50K, January's top notch job numbers, and the rise of the AI agent ie OpenClaw.

Navigating Market Trends: Trade Like Einstein with Peter Tuchman – Feb 11 Recap Join Peter Tuchman, the 'Einstein of Wall Street,' as he provides an insightful recap of the market activities on Wednesday, February 11. Broadcasting from the New York Stock Exchange, Peter discusses the significant levels maintained by the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P, market positioning, and key factors influencing the market such as earnings season, interest rates, tariffs, and economic data. He emphasizes the importance of patience and historical perspective in navigating market uncertainties. Tune in to 'Trade Like Einstein' on Money News Network for expert guidance and market analysis. 00:00 Introduction to Trade Like Einstein 00:36 Market Overview and Key Indices 01:03 Mixed Emotions and Market Positioning 01:41 Upcoming Catalysts and Economic Data 02:27 Final Thoughts and Encouragement 02:57 Conclusion and Sign Off All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any financial decisions or investments.

Silver, Gold and Crypto (oh my) Hang on – Wild ride here Superbowl, Olympics- Wait until you hear about the CAPex spending! Shakeup in Dietville PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Interactive Brokers  Warm-Up - Silver, Gold and Crypto (oh my) - Need a stock for CTP - Hang on - Wild ride here - Superbowl, Olympics- Wait until you hear about the CAPex spending! - Shakeup in Dietville Markets - Massive moved during the week - - Bitcoin clipped $60k before rebounding - DJIA tops 50,000 for the first time - Wait until you hear about the CAPex spending! - CAT == 1,100 points on the DJIA in 2026 Superbowl and Superbowl ads - Game review - Any ad stick out? - $10M per ad this year - Half Time with Bad Bunny? - Anthropic busting on OpenAi Last Week! - Massive moved - quick calc showed that about $1T was wiped from market caps in the sell-off, particularly in tech names. - HOWEVER - Friday alone is estimated to have added $1.5T to market cap AI Ripping Through - Plenty of names getting cooked over AI announcements - First it was the software companies - Now there are names in legal and finance that got clocked - Today - Altruist.ai can do tax planning and that hurt companies in financial space Earnings Season Update - Reporting so far: 59% of S&P 500 companies have reported Q4 2025 results. - Beat rate: 76% have topped EPS estimates (vs. 5-yr average: 78% (slightly lower) vs. 10-yr average: 76% (in line) - Magnitude of beats (aggregate): earnings are 7.6% above estimates vs. 5-yr average: 7.7% (about the same) vs. 10-yr average: 7.0% (a bit better) - Nothing great,  like Goldilocks Earnings Highlights - Palantir (PLTR): Reported strong Q4 results early in the week , beating estimates with revenue ~$1.41B (vs. ~$1.33B expected) and EPS $0.25 (vs. $0.23). Guidance for 2026 was upbeat (~61% revenue growth). Shares rallied sharply initially (~7–11% post-earnings), but gave back some gains amid broader tech volatility (e.g., down ~11–22% in parts of the week from peaks). - AMD: Reported mid-week, beating EPS (~$1.53 vs. lower expectations) with solid data center growth (~39%). However, Q1 guidance disappointed relative to high expectations in the AI chip space. Shares sank dramatically — down ~15–17% the next day, with some reports noting up to 20%+ drops at points, contributing to broader chip sector pressure. - Alphabet (GOOGL/GOOG): Reported beating on revenue (~$113.8B) and EPS (~$2.82), with strong core performance. But capex guidance for 2026 ($175–$185B, roughly double prior levels) sparked AI spending worries. Shares dipped post-earnings (down ~0.5–5% initially, flat to lower the next day, with some volatility pulling it below key moving averages). - Amazon (AMZN): Reported after hours on February 5, with mixed results — EPS ~$1.95 (narrow miss vs. ~$1.97 expected), but solid overall. The big negative was a surprise $200B capex forecast for 2026 (well above expectations), tied to AI/cloud buildout. Shares plunged sharply — down ~7–10% in after-hours/extended trading, with Friday moves around -5–8% in some sessions. Recent Tech CAPEX announcements - Amazon (AMZN) — Guided to approximately $200 billion in capex for 2026 (a massive jump from ~$125–131 billion in 2025, with ~80% likely AI-related per analyst commentary). This was the largest single-company figure and a major surprise, contributing heavily to the week's "wild" reactions. - Alphabet (GOOGL/GOOG) — Guided to $175–185 billion in capex for 2026 (roughly double the $91 billion spent in 2025, far above analyst expectations of ~$115–119 billion). Emphasis was on AI compute capacity, servers, data centers, and networking to meet demand for Gemini and cloud services. - Meta Platforms (META) — Guidance from late January (but heavily discussed last week): $115–135 billion for 2026 (up significantly from ~$70–72 billion in 2025, potentially an ~87% increase). - Microsoft (MSFT) — No new full explicit 2026 guidance in early February (fiscal year runs July–June), but recent quarterly run-rate and analyst projections put it around $97–145 billion (with some sources citing ~$105 billion or higher based on Q2 spending trends and signals of continued growth from prior levels of ~$88 billion in FY2025). ------!!!!Combined 2026 capex projected at $635–665 billion (low/high ends) or up to $650–700 billion in some reports — a ~60–74% increase from their collective ~$381 billion in 2025. Market Reaction from all of this.... - Markets were a bit spooked on the Anthropic announcement earlier in the week - software sold off and set a sour mood - Microsoft dumped pretty hard as the amount of spend was higher than anticipated, especially with some slower growth in Azure. - Amazon took a beating on the increased spend they anticipate *(extra by $50B) - BUT: Friday markets rallied as there was realization that the $200B spend by Amazon would seep into the economy and fuel infrastructure spending along with chips, tech etc. Other Earnings of Interest -  Reddit reported fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday in which the social media company beat on the top and bottom lines. - The company said it expects first-quarter sales to come in the range of $595 million to $605 million, which is higher than Wall Street expectations of $577 million. - Reddit also announced a $1 billion share repurchase program. - Reddit gets about $250 million a year from OpenAi and Google to have your data for training their LLMs While we are on the subject - Friday, DJIA hit 50,000 - first time ever! - Up 1,200 point of which approx 350 was from caterpillar and 280 was from Goldman Sachs Hats off to WalMart - Walmart Inc. shares pushed its market capitalization past $1 trillion on Tuesday for the first time ever| - Big transformation over the pst year - Walmart has maintained its appeal to households looking for value, its online offerings are drawing new, wealthier shoppers seeking convenience. Google Bond Offering - Issuing several tranches of bonds, denominated in Stirling - one as long as 100 years - Would you buy that? - The Google parent is set to raise $20 billion from a US dollar bond offering on Monday — more than the $15 billion initially expected — and is also pitching investors on what would be its first ever offerings in Switzerland and the UK. - The latter would include a rare sale of 100-year bonds, the first time a tech company has tried such an offering since the dotcom frenzy of the late 1990s Fat Profits in Dietville - Really interesting sequence of events happening... - Hims launches compounded pill at prices as low as $49 per month - Analysts cite questions on efficacy, legality of pill - Hims' move shifts focus from Novo's strong Wegovy pill launch - Broader obesity market whipsawed as pricing pressure rises THEN.. - Hims and Hers Health shares dive 14% after hours on Friday (Down 25% on Monday) - FDA cites concerns over quality, safety, federal law - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it would take action against telehealth provider Hims & Hers, for its $49 weight-loss pill, including restricting access to the drug's ingredients and referring the company to the Department of Justice for potential violations of federal law. AND.... - Eli Lilly last Wednesday posted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue and 2026 guidance that blew past estimates, as demand for its blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro soars. - The pharmaceutical giant anticipates its 2026 revenue will come in between $80 billion and $83 billion. Analysts expected revenue of $77.62 billion, according to LSEG. - Meanwhile, NOVO had a really bad outlook that took the shares down 13% after the report. Japan Markets Soar - Japanese stocks jumped to a record high Monday, leading gains in the region after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a landmark election victory. - The ruling Liberal Democratic Party captured a two-thirds supermajority in the 465-seat lower house, public broadcaster NHK reported. - Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped past 57,000 for the first time before paring gains to close 3.9% higher at 56,363.94, while the Topix also notched a record high, closing at 3,783.94, up 2.3%. Employment Report? - Government shutdown is forcing them to postpone again (Which is dumb) - Number due this Wednesday - Maybe because of this:U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009. - At the same time, companies announced just 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, which is when Challenger, Gray & Christmas began tracking such data. - Also, job openings fell sharply in December to 6.54 million, to their lowest since September 2020. - Available jobs are down by more than 900,000 just since October. - NO! Ai and advancements in tech have noting to do with this! NO NO NO M&A - Texas Instruments Inc. has reached an agreement to buy Silicon Laboratories Inc. for about $7.5 billion, deepening its exposure to several markets for chips. - Silicon Labs investors will receive $231 in cash for each share of the company's common stock and the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027. - The transaction still needs to win approval by investors in Silicon Labs and shares of Silicon Labs surged by 51% to $206.48 after the announcement. Inflation - This helps - PepsiCo (PEP.O), opens new tab will cut prices on core brands such as Lay's and Doritos by up to 15% following a consumer backlash against several previous price hikes, the snacks and beverage maker said on Tuesday after it topped fourth-quarter results. Miran - Moving - Federal Reserve Governor Stephen Miran is leaving his post as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, CNBC has confirmed. - He joined the CEA in January 2025, but had been on leave from that post since last September when he filled the unexpired term of former Fed Governor Adriana Kugler.- He reamins on Fed board No Biggie???? - There are some astonishing cased being reported of Bad AI in the operating room - JNJ's TruDi Navigation System - Since AI was added to the device, the FDA has received unconfirmed reports of at least 100 malfunctions and adverse events. - At least 10 people were injured between late 2021 and November 2025, according to the reports. Most allegedly involved errors in which the TruDi Navigation System misinformed surgeons about the location of their instruments while they were using them inside patients' heads during operations. - Cerebrospinal fluid reportedly leaked from one patient's nose. In another reported case, a surgeon mistakenly punctured the base of a patient's skull. In two other cases, patients each allegedly suffered strokes after a major artery was accidentally injured. Cuba - The main airport has putt out a bulletin that they are out of Jet Fuel - Blackouts and lack of other fuels are creating big problems - No airlines have stopped running at this point, but many will as they cannot refuel - This is a bigger problem for cargo planes (supplies) that may not be able to risk flying to Cuba as they will not be able to get out. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN CUP 2025 Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt!     FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS   See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Today we had the exciting opportunity to host Bill Anderson, Senior Managing Director at Evercore and Global Head of the firm's Activism/Raid Defense team and Strategic M&A Advisory practice. Bill is a pioneer in activism defense and has advised more than 500 companies facing activists or strategic raids, including many of the largest proxy fights and defense situations of the past two decades. Prior to joining Evercore in 2016, Bill spent more than 15 years at Goldman Sachs as an M&A partner and leader of its defense team. Earlier in his career, he was an M&A attorney at Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett, clerked on the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, worked as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand, and served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Reserves. It was our pleasure to hear Bill's perspectives on the latest M&A activity, activism and hostile preparedness, board composition and alignment, and the evolving dynamics between companies, shareholders, and capital markets. In our conversation, we explore Bill's career path from classic M&A work into defense and special committees as markets changed, and how activism became a major driver of M&A. Bill shares his top takeaways from 2025 activity, noting the wide range of deal types and attributing the acceleration in deal flow to greater antitrust optimism, liquid financing, and strong buyer stock performance. We discuss why activism has become a core risk-management issue for public companies, how activists can build positions via derivatives and broker-dealer exposure with limited disclosure (and why 13F filings can be an important early-warning signal), and how shareholder bases have evolved with index funds now a dominant ownership block alongside the continued influence of ISS and Glass Lewis. We cover the difficulty of mobilizing retail votes and related regulatory/state-law considerations, the deal approval environment under Trump versus Biden (including CFIUS as a wildcard), why companies are more careful describing synergies, the impact of universal proxy, and the importance of diversity, tenure, and sector expertise in board refreshment. We touch on the drivers of positive acquirer stock reactions, how companies communicate value at deal announcement, activist dynamics in M&A and when activism becomes contentious, the importance of board alignment and cohesion, increased spin-off activity, and much more. We ended by asking Bill for his thoughts on how companies can attract long-only capital. Throughout the discussion, we reference several elements of Evercore's “2025 Year in Review Report.” It was a fascinating discussion and we appreciate Bill for sharing his time and insights. Mike Bradley kicked us off by noting that the 10-year U.S. bond yield plunged this week following an unexpectedly soft December Retail Sales report. Bond volatility could remain elevated with January CPI set for release on Friday. On the crude oil market front, WTI price appears to have temporarily settled into a $60-$65/bbl trading range, given there have been no major new geopolitical surprises over the past week. In natural gas, prompt natural gas price has completely roundtripped since the Arctic blast started and is now trading back at ~$3.15/MMBtu. U.S. gas storage is back near normal levels (around the 5-year average) and winter weather from here through the end of withdrawal season will determine how constructive the setup is for summer gas price. On the broader equity market front, the DJIA has been one of the real winners this past week (up ~2.5-3.0%), especially versus the S&P 500 (up ~0.5%). Cyclical sectors (Energy, Industrials, and Materials) continue to be the market leaders, while Tech/Telecom continue to lag. In energy equities, most large-caps (Oil Majors, Oil Services, and Refiners) have already reported Q4 results, and the next few weeks will be dominated by E&Ps reporting. E&P commentary will likely be do

Investors are awaiting the big jobs report on Wednesday and the consumer price index on Friday, Stocks moved higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting another all-time high, More on the next seminar Beyond the Noise: Navigating Wealth in Uncertain Times with EP Wealth Advisors CFPStephanie Richman and JD Nathan Rogers at the Don Tatzin Community Hall Lafayette Library March 11th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Investors are awaiting the big jobs report on Wednesday and the consumer price index on Friday, Stocks moved higher with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting another all-time high, More on the next seminar Beyond the Noise: Navigating Wealth in Uncertain Times with EP Wealth Advisors CFPStephanie Richman and JD Nathan Rogers at the Don Tatzin Community Hall Lafayette Library March 11th from 6:30pm to 8:30pmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The S and P 500 rose boosted by technology stocks, Nvidia and Broadcom were standouts, More on the next seminar Beyond the Noise: Navigating Wealth in Uncertain Times with EP Wealth Advisors CFPStephanie Richman and JD Nathan Rogers at the Don Tatzin Community Hall Lafayette Library March 11th from 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Last week saw dramatic moves in financial markets. Gold and silver, which rose very sharply last year and in January, suddenly lurched down before stabilizing. Bitcoin took a nosedive before achieving a significant, although partial, recovery on Friday. Mega-cap tech stocks posted huge earnings gains but announced even more lofty capital spending plans, contributing to a general selloff in the sector. And, at the end of the week, stocks saw a resounding rally, pushing the venerable Dow Jones Industrial Average over 50,000 for the first time ever.

A "6200% increase" in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. That's the margin between Kenny Polcari's first day on Wall Street and last week's historical milestone as the index crossed 50k. He joins Diane King Hall to provide his animated analysis of all things trading. He sees more opportunity and more jobs as AI adoption could create the "4th industrial revolution." However, he admits the tech sector could be "taking a break" after momentum lifted it to new highs. Kenny points to the broadening out in the markets, specifically outperformance in industrials and consumer staples. With that in mind, he sees the bull market mentality continuing but notes the potential for a "broad S&P drawdown in the first 6 months of the year."======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – / schwabnetwork Follow us on Facebook – / schwabnetwork Follow us on LinkedIn - / schwab-network About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Off the heels of last week's volatile swings in the market, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassing 50k for the first time, Bob Lang provides his investing roadmap for the rest of 2026. Bob points to names like Walmart (WMT) hitting all-time highs ahead of earnings as a potential sign for more rockiness ahead. "I do think volatility is going to be with us for some time," Bob adds. For opportunities, he looks to energy. Bob says demand remains strong for gas & oil while pointing to the geopolitical uncertainties taking place in Venezuela & Iran. For the metals trade, Bob thinks gold & silver have "gotten a little extended" saying he's taking a more cautious approach. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – / schwabnetwork Follow us on Facebook – / schwabnetwork Follow us on LinkedIn - / schwab-network About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

The S and P 500 rose boosted by technology stocks, Nvidia and Broadcom were standouts, More on the next seminar Beyond the Noise: Navigating Wealth in Uncertain Times with EP Wealth Advisors CFPStephanie Richman and JD Nathan Rogers at the Don Tatzin Community Hall Lafayette Library March 11th from 6:30pm to 8:30pmSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

APAC stocks began the week higher after last Friday's rally on Wall St, where the DJIA topped the 50k level for the first time.The Nikkei 225 also hit a fresh record high after PM Takaichi's landslide election victory and supermajority.China is reportedly urging banks to curb US Treasuries exposure amid market risk, Bloomberg reports, citing sources; guidance does not apply to China's state holdings of US Treasuries.European equity futures indicate a positive cash market open with Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.4% after the cash market closed higher by 1.2% on Friday.Highlights include Swiss Consumer Confidence (Jan), Norwegian GDP (Q4), Mexican Inflation (Jan), US Consumer Inflation Expectations (Jan), BoC Market Participants Survey. Speakers include ECB's Lane & Lagarde, Fed's Waller & Bostic, Earnings from Apollo, Becton Dickinson, Loews, On Semiconductor & Cleveland-Cliffs.Read the full report covering Equities, Forex, Fixed Income, Commodites and more on Newsquawk

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 413 February 6, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is the importance of history. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on Americas Gold and Silver Corp, Gossamer Bio Inc, TeraWulf Inc, and Super Micro Computer Inc. And we discuss four new trades on Cleanspark Inc, Ocular Therapeutix Inc, Ford Motor Company, and Bank of America. The US markets were mixed this week, with the Dow finishing the week 2.5% higher and the S&P finishing the week flat. The DOw Jones Industrial Average grew 1,223 points, closing at 50,115 points. The S&P 500 Index lost 6 points, ending the week at 6,932 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

Markets delivered mixed signals this week, reminding investors that headline performance rarely tells the full story. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 1,223 points, or 2.5%, while the S&P 500 edged lower by about 7 points, or 0.1%. The Nasdaq declined roughly 431 points, or 1.8%. On a year-to-date basis, the Dow is now up 4.3%, the S&P 500 is up 1.3%, and the Nasdaq is down 0.9%. From a technical standpoint, the conversation focuses on key market levels and investor behavior. The Dow closed above 50,000 for the first time in history, marking a notable milestone. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 briefly dipped below its 50-day moving average before rebounding sharply on Friday, supported by improved consumer sentiment. That late-week rally was significant, representing the S&P's strongest single-day gain since April of last year, following the tariff-driven volatility at that time. Despite the rebound, resistance near the 7,000 level remains intact. NASDAQ Pressure The Money Wise guys also examine why weakness in the Nasdaq drew so much attention. After rising roughly 50% from its intraday lows earlier in the year to its October high, the index has struggled to regain momentum, particularly as software stocks faced renewed pressure. The guys caution against chasing speculative narratives, including claims that assets like Bitcoin serve as reliable hedges. Instead, the discussion reinforces a long-standing Money Wise principle: cash and active portfolio management remain practical tools for managing uncertainty, while speculation often introduces more risk than protection. In the second hour, the Money Wise guys discuss Equity Index Annuities. You don't want to miss the details! Tune in for the full discussion on your favorite podcast provider or at davidsoncap.com, where you can also learn more about the Money Wise guys or take advantage of a portfolio review and analysis with Davidson Capital Management.

Against the backdrop of the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting 50,000, Jayme Colosimo discusses Capital Group's 2026 outlook. As the era of near-zero yields ends, bonds are now positioned to provide enhanced income and vital diversification within shifting interest rate environments. She also identifies emerging markets as a significant opportunity.======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day.Options involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Before trading, read the Options Disclosure Document. http://bit.ly/2v9tH6DSubscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has surged past the 50,000-point mark for the first time, with improving market sentiment and renewed buying after recent pullbacks.

Gene highlights that futures are trending higher this morning across the Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and S&P 500.

Investors rotated out of technology stocks into shares more broadly linked to improvements in the economy, Merck was the biggest gainer in the Dow up 3.5 percent, More on the next Pints and Portolios this Saturday February 7th from 12 noon to 2pm with EP Wealth Advisors and Partners CFP Travis McEuen and CMT Nathan Rogers as well as Rob Black in Pleasant Hill with exact location given once you register

Investors rotated out of technology stocks into shares more broadly linked to improvements in the economy, Merck was the biggest gainer in the Dow up 3.5 percent, More on the next Pints and Portolios this Saturday February 7th from 12 noon to 2pm with EP Wealth Advisors and Partners CFP Travis McEuen and CMT Nathan Rogers as well as Rob Black in Pleasant Hill with exact location given once you registerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 412 January 30, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is practice versus theory. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on SEALSQ Corp, Redwire Corp, Cleanspark Inc, and Intel Corp. And we discuss four new trades on Americas Gold and Silver Corp, Gossamer Bio Inc, TeraWulf Inc, and Super Micro Computer Inc. The markets finished the week with very small changes week over week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 206 points, closing on Friday at 48,892 points. The S&P 500 Index picked up 23 points, ending the week at 6,939 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

Rather than reacting to short-term market swings, this week on Money Wise took a closer look at the technical patterns shaping recent market activity. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by roughly 206 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 gained approximately 23 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq slipped about 39 points, or 0.2%. Despite modest weekly movement, year-to-date results remain positive, with the Dow up 1.7%, the S&P 500 up 1.4%, and the Nasdaq up 0.9%. From a technical perspective, the conversation focuses on what long-time listeners recognize as a market “pause.” Since Thanksgiving, the S&P 500 has traded within a narrow range of roughly 300 points, about a 4.5% channel from high to low. The 50-day moving average continues to act as a support level, with the index briefly dipping below it intraday before closing back above. At the same time, resistance near the 7,000 level has capped upside progress, creating a consolidation phase that is common in extended market cycles. Precious Metals in Focus The Money Wise guys also address growing attention around precious metals, particularly gold. Since Thanksgiving, gold as measured by the GLD ETF has risen nearly 20%, a move that has generated increased advertising and speculation. The hosts caution investors against emotionally driven decisions fueled by extreme forecasts, noting that gold does not consistently protect against inflation and has historically lagged equities over long periods. The broader takeaway remained consistent with Money Wise's long-standing message: understanding market structure, maintaining perspective, and avoiding reactionary decisions matters far more than chasing headlines or short-term performance narratives. In the second hour, the Money Wise guys give listeners a peek into what Wall Street Won't Tell You. You don't want to miss the details! Tune in for the full discussion on your favorite podcast provider or at davidsoncap.com, where you can also learn more about the Money Wise guys or take advantage of a portfolio review and analysis with Davidson Capital Management.

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 411 January 23, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is practice versus theory. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on Navitas Semiconductor Corp, ImmunityBio Inc, POET Technologies, and SoundHound AI. And we discuss four new trades on SEALSQ Corp, Redwire Corp, Cleanspark Inc, and Intel Corp. The stock market finished this shorter week lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 260 points, closing on Friday at 49,098 points. The S&P 500 Index lost 24 points, ending the week at 6,915 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

The Weekly Option trading podcast Episode 410 January 16, 2026 Welcome to The Weekly Option, a weekly program that offers practical trades and discussion for beginners and professionals alike. The topic of the week is defining risk. In this week's show, we will cover the trades from last week on Bitfarms Ltd, Rezolve AI, Energy Fuels, Inc, and EOS Energy Enterprises. And we discuss four new trades on Navitas Semiconductor Corp, ImmunityBio Inc, POET Technologies, and SoundHound AI. The stock market finished a week that was full of news with very small week over week changes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 144 points, closing at 49,359 points. The S&P 500 Index lost 26 points, ending the week at 6,940 points. It's always great to hear from listeners. If you have any questions about the trades presented here or about your own positions, feel free to email me. Email questions to me: eric@theweeklyoption.com Visit our YouTube Channel for The Weekly Option.com. PODCAST LINKS FOR EPISODE POST Listen on iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weekly-option/id1375267155 Listen on YouTube Music:  https://music.youtube.com/channel/UCTo2yTkZPhqvlE8PdZkyTZA Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6HoYh2XxVCWaidJP4dJiSD Listen on Audible by Amazon: https://www.audible.com/podcast/The-Weekly-Option/B08K57QL6S?language=en_US Listen on PodBean: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/r5aam-6a884/The-Weekly-Option-Podcast YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/u7JKJd Option Trading Basics: My Favorite Strategies: https://youtu.be/8UmPK5tuez0 How to Trade Stock Using Technical Analysis: https://youtu.be/wAATt0RpE0w Technical Analysis Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnpPLl3EB_RBC5kyrCnsHow TradingView Stock Charts For Analysis: https://www.tradingview.com/gopro/?share_your_love=TraderEric

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose while the Nasdaq came under pressure as investors moved away from technology stocks and Nvidia, Apple and Oracle pulled back, Certified Financial Planner Chad Burton on retirement strategies, More on the next seminar with EP Wealth Advisors CFP's Chad Burton and Ryan Ignacio at the Palo Alto Elks Lodge January 15th at 6:30pm covering important tax strategies and more

LOVE HOSTILE TAKEOVERS? Upgrades all around the AI trade again… January Effect Defense and Oil Related – Let’s Go! PLUS we are now on Spotify and Amazon Music/Podcasts! Click HERE for Show Notes and Links DHUnplugged is now streaming live - with listener chat. Click on link on the right sidebar. Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter Interactive Brokers  Warm-Up - CTP Cup - We have a winner! - Kitchen Cabinets rejoice! - Buffett is retired (kind of) - ALL TIME HIGHS - DJIA Leading so far in 2026 Markets - LOVE HOSTILE TAKEOVERS? - Upgrades all around the AI trade again... - January Effect - Defense and Oil Related! - Calling BS on Venezuela economic plans Doctor Copper - Copper surpassed $13,000 a ton for the first time due to a renewed rush to ship metal to the US. - The rally has been underpinned by the ongoing threat of import tariffs from President Donald Trump, causing US copper prices to trade at a premium to those on the London Metal Exchange. - The market has been driven by uncertainty over future US tariff policy, with analysts warning that the rest of the world could run short of copper due to low inventories outside the US. - Huge inventory build due to uncertainty Copper Chart Following up on that...Some Questions - Isn't the massive inventory build we are seeing due to uncertainly? - Lots bought before tariffs went into effect - then tariffs reduced... - Will there be a hangover from a the pull-forward like we have seen in the past? Best markets for 2025 Colombia: +80% South Korea (KOSPI): +76% Ghana: +79% Brazil (Bovespa): +34% Japan (Nikkei 225): +26% Europe STOXX 600: +19% China (Shanghai Composite): +18% U.S. S&P 500: +17% U.S. Nasdaq: +21% U.S. Dow Jones: +12% US Dollar - Basket USD is at 8 year LOW - Yen at key intervention level (again) - NO MANIPULATION HERE! -- -- Gold/Silver betting trend continues... - What happened to -> "a strong USD is in the best interests of the USA"? Monday Markets - For no apparent reason....(could it be the Venezuela news???) - Markets JUMPED - Oil and Defense stocks moved! - DJIA up ~ 600 Points ---These stocks were about 500 points of the 600: - GS Goldman Sachs Group Inc - CAT Caterpillar Inc - JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co - CVX Chevron Corp - V Visa Inc ---- GS is 1/2 the DJIA gains for 2026 Here we go... - Elon Musk's Grok is generating sexualized images of women and minors - users are taking pictures of others and telling Grok to "remove their clothes" or "put them in a thong bikini" - review of public requests sent to Grok over a single 10-minute-long period at midday U.S. Eastern Time last Friday tallied 102 attempts by X users to use Grok to digitally edit photographs of people so that they would appear to be wearing bikinis. - Politicians in France ask prosecutors to investigate; India demands answers - Experts have long warned Grok owner xAI about potential misuses of AI-generated content - Ministers in France have reported X to prosecutors and regulators over the disturbing images, saying in a statement on Friday the "sexual and sexist" content was "manifestly illegal." India's IT ministry said in a letter to X's local unit that the platform failed to prevent Grok's misuse by generating and circulating obscene and sexually explicit content. - Guardrails not very tight along the track - Surprised? TESLA - Sales awful - Stock holdingup - BYD Co. outsold Tesla Inc. in Europe's two largest electric-vehicle markets last year as the Chinese automaker continues its global expansion. - BYD registered more than twice as many new vehicles in December as Tesla did in Germany, and outperformed Tesla in the UK with 51,422 registrations compared to Tesla's 45,513. - BYD delivered 2.26 million EVs in 2025 to Tesla's 1.64 million, and has made strong inroads in the UK where Chinese brands have been attracting consumers with cheaper sticker prices. - NVDA announced it is expanding autonomous driving sector INTERACTIVE BROKERS Check this out and find out more at: http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ Silver and Gold - As we predicted - Gold and silver prices fell Wednesday after exchange operator CME Group again hiked the margins on precious metal futures. - CME Group said in a statement Tuesday that the decision was made “as per the normal review of market volatility to ensure adequate collateral coverage.” - That caused some to sell positions to bring margin requirement in check - - Should be temporary until metals find their margin equilibrium Bitcoin - Starting the year off right - Up 7% in 2026 after a very poor 2025 - Crypto moving as well - Safe haven trade, catch up trade or who-knows-what-the-hell trade? January Effect - The January Effect is a market phenomenon where stock prices—especially small-cap stocks—tend to rise more in January than in other months. - Tax-loss selling in December: Investors often sell losing positions at year-end to offset capital gains for tax purposes. - Reinvestment in January: After the new year, they buy back stocks, creating upward pressure. - Bonus and cash inflows: Year-end bonuses and new investment allocations often hit the market in January. - Small-caps up almost 3% YTD Impressive - Investors fortunate enough to own Berkshire since 1965, when Buffett took over, realized a return of about 6,100,000%, far above the S&P 500's approximately 46,000% return including dividends. - Buffett is now officially retired - said to be one (or the) greatest investors of our time - Buffett, 95, will remain chairman and plans to keep going every day to Berkshire's office in Omaha, Nebraska, about 2 miles (3.2 km) east of his home, and help Abel. - They still have not completely figured out who will run the equity portfolio after Todd Combs left to join JPM Kitchen Cabinet Relief - Steep tariffs on upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets and vanities have been delayed by the Trump administration. - It's the latest roller coaster of Trump's tariff wars since he returned to office last year. - The administration is also scaling back on a steep tariff proposed on Italian pasta that would have put the rate at 107%. Let's talk Venezuela - The idea that the US is just going to come in an turn everything rosy is dumb - overly simplistic thesis --- Sets up a bad global potential for overthrowing governments - where does it stop - The idea that US companies are going to go in there and drill and US is going to reimburse for costs? --- The country is allied with Russia and China - not US (at this time) - This is reminiscent of when we opened the doors to Cuba - we opened it up and no one benefited. Maybe this time will be different. - BUT Venezuela owns the largest proven oil reserves in the world, holding approximately 303 billion barrels as of the end of 2024, which is nearly 18–19% of global reserves. So, that is something. VZ Oil Production Drug Price Hikes - Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medications including vaccines against COVID, RSV and shingles and blockbuster cancer treatment Ibrance, even as the Trump administration pressures them for cuts - The number of price increases for 2026 is up from the same point last year, when drugmakers unveiled plans for raises on more than 250 drugs. The median of this year's price hikes is around 4% - in line with 2025. -Drugmakers also plan to cut the list prices on around nine drugs. That includes a more than 40% cut for Boehringer Ingelheim's diabetes drug Jardiance and three related treatments. Greenland - What are the odds????? (Prediction Markets are on it! https://forecasttrader.interactivebrokers.com/eventtrader/#/market-details?id=791099793%7C20290101%7C0%7C&detail=contract_details) - “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.” In Closing - The "AI NOT LESS PEOPLE WORKING" - Scam - “I would say that we're actually not hiring fewer people,” AMDs Lisa Su told CNBC's Jon Fortt on Tuesday from the CES conference in Las Vegas. “Frankly, we're growing very significantly as a company, so we actually are hiring lots of people, but we're hiring different people. We're hiring people who are AI forward.” Love the Show? Then how about a Donation? ANNOUNCING THE WINNER OF THE THE CLOSEST TO THE PIN 2025 Winners will be getting great stuff like the new "OFFICIAL" DHUnplugged Shirt! CTP CUP 2025 Participants: Jim Beaver Mike Kazmierczak Joe Metzger Ken Degel David Martin Dean Wormell Neil Larion Mary Lou Schwarzer Eric Harvey (2024 Winner) FED AND CRYPTO LIMERICKS See this week's stock picks HERE Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter Follow Andrew Horowitz on Twitter

Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com on the current markets, The S and P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average notched fresh all-time intraday records building on their strong starts to 2026, More on the next seminar with EP Wealth Advisors CFP's Chad Burton and Ryan Ignacio at the Palo Alto Elks Lodge January 15th at 6:30pm covering important tax strategies and more

Nicolás Maduro had a court appearance in New York yesterday. What does the future look like for Venezuela? Disagreement on "The View" regarding President Trump's actions in Venezuela. Cuba, Greenland, and Iran on alert? Americans make their 2026 predictions. Big change in the recommended vaccine schedule. The home of Vice President Vance attacked in Ohio. Will New York City survive Zohran Mamdani? Drug laws won't be enforced in Seattle. Hilton Hotels vs. ICE. Artificial intelligence: Abandon the First Amendment in order to save the First Amendment? Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) defiant in the face of fraud accusations. California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) discusses his hair catching fire. 00:00 Pat Gray UNLEASHED! 00:21 Sports Talk 02:48 Trump's Message about MAGA 05:50 Happy Three Kings Day! 08:49 Nicolás Maduro & Wife's Helicopter Landing 10:19 Maduro in Court Yesterday 11:29 Maduro's Charges 13:00 Whoopi Goldberg Reacts to Maduro Arrest 16:39 Scott Jennings on Venezuela Hypocrisy 18:18 Stephen Miller on Venezuela Oil 19:56 Dow Jones Industrial Average at an All-Time High 25:53 Trump Reiterates that 'We Need Greenland' 33:23 Fat Five 48:15 New Vaccine Recommendations 51:06 Break-In at JD Vance's Home 53:22 Zohran Mamdani Sets Up New Office? 57:01 Meet Mamdani's New Cabinet Member 1:06:12 Seattle is NOT Enforcing Laws! 1:07:09 Hilton Hotels Refuses Service to Trump Administration 1:12:17 The First Amendment in an AI World 1:17:07 Tim Walz is 'Big-Boy Mad' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices