U.S. equity markets showed signs of stabilization during midday trading on Friday, February 13th, 2026, as investors weighed an encouraging inflation report against persistent anxieties regarding the sustainability of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. After a volatile week marked by sharp tech sell-offs, the major indexes are struggling for direction, reflecting a cautious "wait-and-see" approach ahead of the long holiday weekend.Midday Market Performance and MomentumAs of midday, the S&P 500 (/stock/G ...

This week, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL), the parent company of Google and YouTube, issued $32 billion in new debt over the course of 24 hours. It sold $20 billion in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds and another $12 billion in bonds denominated in sterling and Swiss francs. The sterling offering included a rare 100-year note. That might sound like an odd move by a company valued at nearly $3.9 trillion, with more than $126 billion in cash and short-term investments available. Will AI create the wo ...

Key TakeawaysU.S. Treasury eases Venezuela sanctions, granting general licenses to major energy firms including Chevron (CVX), BP (BP), and Shell (SHEL) to resume operations and negotiate new investments.White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro dismisses rumors of steel and aluminum tariff reductions, labeling the existing duties as "sacred" to the administration.Anthropic is reportedly preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) as soon as late 2026, recently adding former Microsoft and GM executive Chri ...

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is among the most profitable mega cap stocks to buy. On February 9, Doug Anmuth, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, reiterated his Buy rating on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) with a price target of $395. This reaffirmed price target reflects approximately 22% upside from the current price. Three days earlier, KeyBanc Capital Markets lifted the price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to $370 from $360 and maintained an Overweight rating. In its analysis, the firm highlighted the c ...

Sony - Sony has launched the WF-1000XM6 flagship wireless noise-cancelling earbuds, claiming a 25% improvement in noise reduction compared to the previous model, along with enhancements in call performance, connectivity, and comfort [1] - Sony has introduced a new Sand Pink color variant for its WH-1000XM6 headphones in India, which were originally launched in September last year in Black, Platinum Silver, and Midnight Blue [10] - During the PlayStation State of Play event on February 12, Sony revealed updates and release dates for several upcoming games, including a remake of the God of War Greek trilogy and a new John Wick title [3][5] - The February lineup for the PlayStation Plus game catalogue includes popular titles such as Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Disney Pixar Wall-E, with God of War Sons of Sparta now available for PS5 users [12] Google - Google has rolled out a new AI-driven feature in Google Docs that allows users to hear brief audio summaries of their documents, building on the Text-to-Speech tool introduced in August 2025 [2] - Google announced a significant upgrade to its reasoning mode, Gemini 3 Deep Think, designed to tackle complex scientific and engineering challenges, with the rollout beginning for Google AI Ultra subscribers [9] Nvidia - Nvidia has introduced a standalone GeForce Now app for devices running Amazon's Fire OS, allowing Fire TV Stick users to access the cloud gaming platform and stream games from their libraries [8] - Nvidia Corp. is expected to lease a data center being constructed with proceeds from a $3.8 billion junk-bond offering, intensifying borrowing activity linked to AI infrastructure [20] Apple - Apple has reiterated that there is no delay in launching the revamped Siri, with plans to release it in 2026, following a report suggesting a delay [7] - Apple is preparing to open its sixth store in India, marking its continued expansion in the region [16] Technology Sector - The technology sector is facing widespread layoffs, with over 30,000 workers affected globally, and 24,600 of these cuts occurring in the United States [15] - Microsoft AI CEO has warned that AI could replace a substantial portion of white-collar roles within the next 12 to 18 months [17] - NITI Aayog has called for a major restructuring of India's technology services sector around AI, indicating that the current labor-intensive approach may not remain competitive [18] AI Summit - The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is scheduled for February 16 to 20 in New Delhi, aiming to gather various stakeholders to examine the practical implementation of AI [19]

Group 1 - Increased volatility observed in artificial intelligence stocks as investors analyze capital spending increases by hyperscalers such as Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta [1] - Software stocks have faced significant declines, while companies like Palantir Technologies, Lumentum, and Ciena have shown resilience [1] - Nvidia's upcoming earnings report on February 25 is anticipated to influence market sentiment further [1] Group 2 - Google has entered into solar power purchase agreements with TotalEnergies for its Texas data centers, indicating a shift towards renewable energy [1] - The stock market is experiencing a divided sentiment, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq trading below key levels despite some stocks like Apple and Boeing being in buy areas [1] - Analyst favorites for earnings growth include several stocks, with Google being highlighted for its data center investments [1]

Key Takeaways AI capex fatigue and higher yields are driving rotation from growth into value and defensive sectors.Broader market breadth shows leadership expanding beyond mega-cap tech dominance.Staples, utilities, dividend and small-cap ETFs are gaining momentum amid the shift.Wall Street is currently witnessing the “Great Rotation,” with investors shunning hot technology stocks in favor of smaller companies and other defensive sectors. The combination of “AI capex fatigue,” a resilient U.S. economy, and ...

Key TakeawaysUS Inflation Eases: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.2% month-over-month in January, below estimates of 0.3%. Year-over-year, CPI cooled to 2.4% from 2.7% in December.Real Earnings Jump: Real average weekly earnings surged 1.9% year-over-year, a significant increase from the 1.1% rise in the previous month, as wage growth outpaced inflation.European Security in Focus: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for a stronger, more self-supporting European pillar within NATO and initiated conf ...

In this articleORCLGOOGLMSFTAMZNThis report is from this week's The Tech Download newsletter. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.The coreEarnings season has seen endless spending commitments from tech companies as they scramble to build out data center capacity amid the AI boom.Hyperscalers, including the likes of Amazon, Microsoft, Meta and Alphabet, announced capital expenditure could hit $700 billion on AI this year — that's more than the GDP of countries like the United Arab Emirates, Singapore a ...

Group 1 - Anthropic has completed a $30 billion Series G funding round, achieving a post-money valuation of $380 billion, making it the second-largest private financing in tech history [1] - The funding round was led by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC and hedge fund Coatue, along with several prominent investors including D.E. Shaw, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, and major tech companies like Microsoft and Nvidia [1] - Anthropic is preparing for an IPO in the second half of 2026, with annual revenue reaching $14 billion, 80% of which comes from enterprise clients [2][3] Group 2 - Google has announced a significant upgrade to its Gemini 3 Deep Think, which includes a new math research agent capable of solving open mathematical problems autonomously [4][5] - Gemini 3 Deep Think has achieved a Codeforces Elo rating of 3455, surpassing 99.992% of human programmers, and can tackle complex problems in advanced data structures and algorithms [7][8] - Google aims to challenge Anthropic's position in both academic and programming domains, emphasizing the importance of defining how AI should work [10][42] Group 3 - Anthropic's Claude Code has seen a rapid increase in revenue, with its annual revenue surpassing $2.5 billion, and has driven a surge in product development, likened to a "Cambrian explosion" in AI products [13][18] - The success of Claude Code is attributed to its ability to redefine AI's role from a mere conversational agent to an active problem-solving agent [20][21] - Investors are recognizing that if AI can automate complex tasks, the value proposition of traditional SaaS companies may diminish significantly [22] Group 4 - Google claims to have reduced the service unit cost of Gemini AI by 78%, making it a more cost-effective option for enterprises compared to Anthropic's offerings [39] - The competition between Anthropic and Google is not just about model performance but about who can define the operational framework of AI [42][54] - Both companies represent different strategic priorities: Anthropic focuses on context understanding and task execution, while Google emphasizes foundational reasoning and generalization capabilities [43][44]