Economic Overview - The jobs data for January showed an addition of 130,000 jobs, with the unemployment rate decreasing to 4.3%, both better than expected. However, previous months' job gains were revised down significantly, with 2025's total job additions revised from 584,000 to 181,000, indicating a weaker job market than previously thought [3][4][5]. - Inflation data revealed a Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2.4% for the headline number and 2.5% for core CPI, which remains above the Federal Reserve's 2% target, suggesting ongoing inflationary pressures despite a cooler-than-expected report [7][8]. Company Earnings and Stock Performance - Caterpillar (CAT) reported modest earnings growth, with a 3% increase, but has seen a significant rise of 21% since the earnings announcement, driven by capital expenditures from major tech companies [10][12]. - Alphabet is selling debt, including a 100-year bond, to finance its AI expansions, indicating a long-term commitment to AI despite current profitability concerns [13]. - Cisco (CSCO) experienced a 12% drop in stock price post-earnings, despite exceeding earnings guidance, due to margin and cost concerns, although it remains up 19% year-over-year [14]. - Applied Materials (AMAT) saw a 10% increase in stock price following strong earnings and guidance, benefiting from increased spending in the AI sector [15]. Market Trends and Future Outlook - The economic landscape is characterized by uncertainty, with AI investments becoming a significant part of capital expenditures, raising questions about the overall economic stability [9]. - Walmart (WMT) is positioned well in the current market, recently reaching a market cap of over $1 trillion, and is expected to provide insights into consumer spending and technological integration in its upcoming earnings report [28][30].

RADCOM Ltd. ( RDCM ) is a company that provides cloud-based software to help telecom operators monitor, manage, and improve their increasingly complex 5G networks. In my last update , I changed my rating onI focus on producing objective, data-driven research, mostly about small- to mid-cap companies, as these tend to be overlooked by many investors. From time to time, though, I also look at large-cap names, just to give a fuller sense of the broader equity markets.Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficia ...

Friday at last. Friday at last! For those who aren’t paying attention to the Winter Olympics, Italy leads the medal count with 17, Norway has the most gold medals with 7, and the U.S. is in third with 14. My country, Canada, has 7 medals, none of them gold. Not to worry, our men’s hockey team will rectify that soon enough. More News from Barchart As for the markets, they were all solidly in the red yesterday -- S&P 500 down 1.6%, Nasdaq Composite down 2%, and the Dow off by 1.3% -- as tech stocks, espe ...

Market Performance - European stocks exhibited a mixed performance for the third consecutive session, influenced by corporate earnings updates and regional economic data [1] - The pan-European Stoxx 600 index decreased by 0.13%, while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose by 0.42% and Germany's DAX increased by 0.25% [1] - France's CAC 40 closed down by 0.35%, and Switzerland's SMI gained 0.52% [1] Sector Performance - In the U.K. market, defense stocks saw gains, while banks experienced weakness [2] - Notable gainers included Relx, which soared by 10%, and Experian and 3i Group, which rose by 5.5% and 5.1%, respectively [2] - Rolls-Royce Holdings, Halma, Endeavour Mining, Melrose Industries, Tesco, Fresnillo, and BAE Systems gained between 2% and 4% [2] Company-Specific Updates - Entain declined by 4.7%, while Natwest Group, Croda International, HSBC Holdings, Barclays Group, Lloyds Banking Group, and others lost between 1% and 2.5% [3] - In Germany, companies like Deutsche Boerse, MTU Aero Engines, and BMW saw gains ranging from 1% to 5.2% [3] - Rheinmetall's stock rose sharply due to news of an automotive divestment and a €200 million NATO contract for 120mm ammunition [4] - In France, Safran's stock surged over 8% on strong revenue growth and an upward revision of future financial targets [5] - Capgemini increased by 5.6% due to strong full-year revenue growth, with other companies like Eurofins Scientific and Publicis Groupe also closing with strong gains [5] Economic Indicators - The euro area experienced steady GDP growth of 0.3% in the fourth quarter, matching the growth rate of the previous quarter [7] - Year-on-year GDP growth was recorded at 1.3%, slightly below the 1.4% seen in the prior quarter [7] - Employment in the euro area increased by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, with a yearly rise of 0.6% [7] - The euro area trade surplus decreased to €12.6 billion in December from €13.9 billion the previous year, with exports increasing by 3.4% [8] - Germany's wholesale prices rose by 1.2% year-on-year in January, consistent with the previous month's increase [9]

Market Overview - Wall Street is experiencing significant disruption concerns due to AI, leading to a sell-off in various sectors, particularly software companies, which has resulted in sharp losses in U.S. stocks this week [1][2]. Software Sector - The S&P 500 Software & Services index has lost approximately $2 trillion in value since its peak in October, with half of this loss occurring in the past two weeks due to fears that AI could disrupt traditional subscription and enterprise tools [2]. - Notable declines in the Nasdaq 100 include Atlassian down 47%, Intuit down 40%, and Workday down 33% [4]. - The U.S. software sector is facing its worst drawdown in over three years, impacting alternative asset managers with exposure to software-related loans, with firms like Ares, Blackstone, and KKR seeing declines between 13% and 24% this year [5]. Financial Brokerage, Data Analytics & Legal Services - The financial industry, especially brokerages and data analytics firms, has been negatively affected after Altruist introduced AI-enabled tax planning features, raising fears about the viability of their business models [6]. - Shares of brokers such as LPL Financial and Charles Schwab fell over 7%, while S&P Global's shares dropped more than 25% in February, marking its worst month since 2009 [7]. Real Estate Services - Commercial real estate and investment managers have suffered as investors shift away from high-fee, labor-intensive business models perceived as vulnerable to AI disruption, with CBRE Group and Jones Lang LaSalle each dropping about 12% [8]. Insurance Sector - Insurance stocks have experienced a significant decline, with the S&P 500 insurance index falling 3.9% on a single day, its largest drop since mid-October, following the release of an AI-powered comparison tool by Insurify [10]. - Shares of Willis Towers Watson have decreased by 15% this week, while Aon and Arthur J. Gallagher fell by 9% and 15%, respectively [11]. Trucking & Logistics - The trucking and logistics sector saw unexpected declines, with stocks like Landstar System and C.H. Robinson dropping sharply after Algorhythm Holdings reported a significant increase in freight volumes without a corresponding rise in operational headcount [13].

Quick Read Burry’s $912M Palantir put position is up 35% since Q3 2025 entry. Oracle stock fell 51% from its Q3 2025 peak, delivering gains on his short position. Nvidia puts with $110 strike expiring December 2027 remain underwater. A recent study identified one single habit that doubled Americans’ retirement savings and moved retirement from dream, to reality. Read more here. Michael Burry has been erratically going bearish on the market multiple times in the past few years, but this time, he ...

Beat the Market With Our Free Pre-Market NewsletterEnter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity NewsletterOracle reported strong results for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 (ending November 2025) in December of 2025, with total revenue reaching approximately 16.1 billion USD, up 14% year-over-year. Cloud revenue grew 34% to 8.0 billion USD, driven by Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) expanding 66% to 4.1 billion USD. GAAP earnings per share rose 91% to 2.10 USD, while ...

Core Viewpoint - The stock market is reacting negatively to software firms perceived as losers in the AI boom, with credit markets expected to face similar disruptions soon [1][2] Group 1: AI Disruption Impact - Tens of billions in corporate loans are projected to default over the next year, particularly affecting software and data services firms owned by private equity due to AI threats [1] - UBS analysts have updated their forecasts rapidly in response to accelerated AI disruption expectations from new models by Anthropic and OpenAI [2] - The market has been slow to react to the speed of AI disruption, necessitating a recalibration in credit evaluation methods [3] Group 2: Default Projections - UBS analysts estimate that borrowers of leveraged loans and private credit could see $75 billion to $120 billion in new defaults by the end of this year [4] - Default rates for leveraged loans and private credit are expected to increase by up to 2.5% and 4% respectively by late 2026, with these markets valued at $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion [4]

Group 1 - Elon Musk has been ranked No. 1 on Forbes' 2026 list of America's greatest living innovators, surpassing notable figures like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates [1][2] - Musk is recognized for his role in building or scaling five multibillion-dollar companies across various sectors, including Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, xAI, and The Boring Company [2][3] - Jeff Bezos is ranked No. 2 for his impact on retail and cloud computing, while Bill Gates and George Lucas follow in third and fourth place, respectively [3][4] Group 2 - Musk's current net worth is approximately $684 billion, making him the world's richest person according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index [5] - SpaceX is focusing on establishing a base on the moon as a priority before sending humans to Mars [5] - Blue Origin, led by Jeff Bezos, has paused its space tourism flights to concentrate on developing a lunar lander for NASA [6]

Group 1: Market Capitalization and Stock Performance - Netflix's market capitalization is currently $346.9 billion, down 38.6% from its 52-week high [2][1] - Oracle's market capitalization stands at $410.4 billion, having fallen 56.5% from its peak [2][1] - Both companies are significantly below the $1 trillion market cap threshold, which includes major players like Nvidia, Alphabet, and Apple [2] Group 2: Oracle's AI Investments and Financial Position - Oracle is raising capital to fund its AI initiatives, focusing on expanding its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and multicloud data centers [5][7] - The company plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion by 2026 through various financial instruments, including equity and bonds [7] - Oracle's long-term debt is $99.98 billion, while cash and cash equivalents are only $19.24 billion, raising concerns about its financial health [6][8] Group 3: Cash Flow and Investor Sentiment - Oracle reported negative free cash flow of $13.2 billion in Q2 of fiscal 2026, a decline from $9.5 billion in the same quarter the previous year [8] - The shift from being a high-margin cash generator to a capital-intensive operation has led to investor concerns regarding Oracle's heavy reliance on AI investments [8]