Trending Market News

Warner Bros Discovery shareholders are expected to vote in March on a proposed deal with Netflix, according to CNBC. The potential combination faces scrutiny from U.S. and European regulators who will assess competition impacts. Meanwhile, Paramount continues its hostile $108.4 billion bid for Warner Bros, which the board has rejected as inadequate.

• Warner Bros board unanimously rejected Paramount's $108.4 billion hostile offer, with Paramount extending its tender offer deadline to February 20 to convince investors
• A Netflix-Warner Bros deal would create the world's biggest streaming player with roughly half a billion subscribers and give Netflix access to major franchises like 'Friends' and 'Batman'
• The deal requires shareholder approval and faces potential regulatory scrutiny from U.S. and European competition authorities over concerns about reduced competition and consumer choice

Air India grounded a Boeing Dreamliner on February 2 after a pilot reported a possible defect with the aircraft's fuel control switch following a London-to-Bengaluru flight. The fuel control switches are at the center of an ongoing investigation into a deadly crash last year that killed 260 people in Gujarat. The airline has contacted Boeing and India's aviation regulator about the incident.

• The fuel control switches being investigated regulate fuel flow to engines and were implicated in last year's Air India Dreamliner crash that killed 260 people when switches flipped simultaneously, starving engines of fuel
• Air India operates 33 Dreamliners and had previously checked fuel control switches across its entire Boeing 787 fleet following a regulator directive, finding no issues at that time
• The airline is now working with Boeing 'on a priority basis' and has informed India's aviation regulator about the latest incident

CK Hutchison has initiated international arbitration proceedings against Panama after the country's Supreme Court annulled its licenses to operate two strategic ports at the Panama Canal entrances. The court ruling, which deemed the contracts unconstitutional due to exclusive privileges and tax exemptions, affects a broader $23-billion deal to sell CK Hutchison's global port assets to a consortium led by BlackRock and MSC, potentially including Chinese state-owned COSCO.

• The two Panama ports (Balboa and Cristobal) handle over 40% of U.S. container traffic worth roughly $270 billion annually, making them strategically critical despite representing only 5% of Hutchison Port Holdings' EBITDA
• The court decision has intensified U.S.-China tensions, with the U.S. welcoming the ruling as a 'win for America' while Beijing warned Panama of 'heavy prices' to pay for annulling the contract
• Some analysts suggest the global ports sale may be easier to complete without Panama included, though regulatory approval across nearly 50 jurisdictions could take at least two years, with parties considering breaking up the portfolio among the three bidders

French drugmaker Sanofi announced mixed results from late-stage trials of its experimental drug venglustat for rare genetic disorders. The oral treatment showed promise in improving neurological symptoms in type 3 Gaucher disease patients but failed to meet its primary endpoint in a separate Fabry disease trial.

• Venglustat demonstrated superior improvements in neurological symptoms like speech and limb coordination for type 3 Gaucher disease patients compared to enzyme replacement therapy
• The drug failed its main goal in the Fabry disease trial, reducing neuropathic and abdominal pain but not enough for statistical significance, possibly due to large placebo effects
• Sanofi plans to discuss next steps with regulators; if approved, venglustat would be the first oral drug targeting neurological symptoms in these conditions, though analysts have low market expectations

Oil prices fell over 4% on Monday after President Trump indicated that Iran was 'seriously talking' with the U.S., easing fears of a military strike that could disrupt Middle Eastern supply. The decline reversed recent gains that had pushed oil to a six-month high amid escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran over nuclear negotiations and domestic protests.

• Brent crude declined 4% to $66.47 per barrel while U.S. futures dropped 4.34% to $62.38, down from recent six-month highs driven by military strike fears
• Diplomatic communications through intermediaries are underway, with Iran's top security official confirming preparations for negotiations are in progress
• Additional Venezuelan crude from inventories and OPEC+ maintaining steady production levels are helping cap prices, while Trump remains sensitive to oil price increases ahead of midterm elections

Gold and silver extended their sell-off on Monday following Friday's historic rout, with gold falling around 6% to $4,538 per ounce after crashing nearly 10% on Friday. The pullback follows President Trump's nomination of Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair, strengthening the dollar and triggering profit-taking after precious metals hit record highs last week.

• Silver remained under severe pressure, down over 12% to $74.36 per ounce on Monday after logging a 30% nosedive Friday—its worst day since March 1980
• The dollar index strengthened about 0.8% since Thursday as Warsh, an advocate of tighter monetary policy, was nominated to succeed Jerome Powell when his term ends in May
• Despite the correction, both metals remain significantly higher year-to-date (gold up 8%, silver up 16%) after surging 65% and 145% respectively in 2024

Oracle announced plans to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in 2026 to expand cloud infrastructure capacity for its customers. The significant capital raise reflects growing demand for cloud services and Oracle's aggressive expansion strategy in the competitive cloud computing market.

• Oracle aims to raise between $45-$50 billion specifically in 2026 to build additional cloud infrastructure capacity
• The capital raise signals Oracle's commitment to scaling its cloud business to compete with major players like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud
• The funding will be used to expand data center capacity to meet growing customer demand for cloud infrastructure services

French IT company Capgemini announced it will sell its U.S. subsidiary Capgemini Government Solutions (CGS) after facing pressure from French lawmakers to explain a contract CGS signed with U.S. immigration enforcement agency ICE. The decision follows concerns over ICE tactics and Capgemini's inability to exercise appropriate control over CGS operations due to U.S. legal constraints on classified federal contracts.

• CGS accounts for only 0.4% of Capgemini's estimated 2025 revenue and less than 2% of its U.S. revenue
• French Finance Minister Roland Lescure and other lawmakers pressured Capgemini to shed light on the ICE contract following a fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota
• Capgemini cited inability to control certain aspects of CGS operations due to U.S. legal constraints on classified government contracts as reason for divestment

OPEC+ is expected to maintain its pause on oil output increases for March 2026 when eight member countries meet on February 1, according to sources. The decision comes as Brent crude prices reached six-month highs near $71 per barrel, driven by concerns over potential U.S. military strikes against OPEC member Iran and supply disruptions in Kazakhstan.

• Eight OPEC+ members (Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, and Oman) had previously raised production quotas by 2.9 million barrels per day from April-December 2025, then froze further increases for January-March 2026 due to weaker seasonal demand
• Brent crude closed near $70 per barrel on Friday, approaching the six-month high of $71.89 reached on Thursday, supported by geopolitical tensions and Kazakhstan supply disruptions at the Tengiz oilfield
• U.S. President Trump is reportedly considering targeted strikes on Iranian security forces and leaders, though both nations have since signaled willingness for dialogue, with Iran emphasizing its defense capabilities remain non-negotiable

Ford has reportedly held discussions with Chinese EV maker Xiaomi about forming a joint venture to manufacture electric vehicles in the U.S., according to the Financial Times, though Ford denied the report calling it 'completely false'. The talks come amid growing U.S. political concern about Chinese automakers entering the American market and Ford's broader struggles with its EV strategy.

• U.S. lawmakers are raising national security concerns about Ford's potential Chinese partnerships, with Representative John Moolenaar warning that 'China has already shown it will weaponize the auto supply chain' in a letter about Ford's separate BYD discussions
• Ford announced a $19.5 billion writedown in December 2025 and scrapped several EV models as North American automakers scale back their EV push amid struggles competing with Chinese rivals
• The potential Xiaomi partnership faces political headwinds as lawmakers question Ford's $3 billion battery manufacturing facility using technology from Chinese company CATL

Waymo, Alphabet's self-driving car unit, is seeking to raise approximately $16 billion in a financing round that would value the company at nearly $110 billion, according to a Bloomberg News report citing sources familiar with the matter. The substantial valuation reflects investor confidence in the autonomous vehicle sector.

• The proposed $110 billion valuation would make Waymo one of the most valuable private automotive technology companies
• Waymo is seeking to raise $16 billion in new financing to fund expansion of its driverless taxi operations
• Reuters could not immediately verify the Bloomberg report independently

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announced on January 31, 2026, that the company plans to make its largest-ever investment in OpenAI, refuting a Wall Street Journal report claiming he was unhappy with the AI firm. While denying the investment would reach $100 billion, Huang emphasized Nvidia's commitment to OpenAI amid the company's ongoing funding round seeking up to $100 billion at an $830 billion valuation.

• Huang called reports of his displeasure with OpenAI 'nonsense' and praised CEO Sam Altman, stating the investment would be Nvidia's largest ever but not the $100 billion figure previously discussed
• The WSJ had reported that Nvidia's initial plan to invest up to $100 billion had stalled due to concerns about OpenAI's business discipline and competition from Google and Anthropic
• Amazon is also in talks to invest tens of billions in OpenAI, with the figure potentially reaching significant levels as OpenAI pursues a $100 billion funding round

Toyota is recalling 161,268 vehicles in the United States due to a malfunction with the rear-view camera display when the vehicle is in reverse. The recall was announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Saturday, January 31.

• The recall affects over 161,000 Toyota vehicles sold in the U.S. market
• The defect specifically impacts the rear-view camera display functionality when drivers shift into reverse gear
• NHTSA issued the recall announcement, indicating a potential safety concern for affected vehicle owners

Bankrupt retailer Saks Global is terminating its 'Saks on Amazon' e-commerce partnership to focus on its own growth channels. The partnership, which stemmed from Amazon's $475 million investment in 2024, had struggled with limited luxury brand participation and faced legal disputes over collateral agreements. The decision allows Saks to redirect traffic to Saks.com while avoiding brand dilution concerns from its high-end partners.

• The partnership required Saks to pay Amazon at least $900 million over eight years, but saw limited participation from luxury brands concerned about mass-market association
• Amazon's lawyer alleged at bankruptcy proceedings that Saks improperly pledged its flagship Fifth Avenue store as collateral for a $1.75 billion loan, claiming the property was already collateralized for Amazon payments
• Saks plans to wind down the Amazon storefront to concentrate on driving traffic to Saks.com, with luxury brand partners expected to use bankruptcy negotiations to further challenge the deal

A federal judge in San Francisco rejected a bid by consumers to impose over $2 billion in additional penalties on Google for past data collection practices involving users who had disabled privacy tracking features. The ruling follows a September jury verdict that found Google liable and awarded approximately $425 million in damages to a class of 98 million users across 174 million devices, though it falls far short of the $31 billion originally sought by plaintiffs.

• Judge Richard Seeborg denied the plaintiffs' request for $2.36 billion in disgorgement of alleged profits and rejected a permanent injunction against Google's data collection practices, citing insufficient evidence of 'prospective, irreparable harm' and inadequately supported profit estimates
• The September jury verdict awarded roughly $425 million in damages to the class action plaintiffs, representing less than 1.4% of the $31 billion they originally sought
• Google plans to appeal the September verdict while denying wrongdoing, and successfully avoided class decertification covering 98 million users and 174 million devices; plaintiffs claim Google has not changed its privacy disclosures or data collection practices despite the verdict

The United States is encouraging India to purchase Venezuelan oil to replace Russian crude imports, reversing its earlier stance that led to 25% tariffs on countries buying Venezuelan oil in March 2025. This shift follows the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3 and Washington's subsequent control over Venezuela's oil industry. India has pledged to significantly reduce Russian oil purchases, which surged after Russia's 2022 Ukraine invasion, as part of efforts to secure a U.S. trade deal.

• India plans to cut Russian oil imports from approximately 1.2 million barrels per day in January to potentially 500,000-600,000 bpd, with projected declines to 1 million bpd in February and 800,000 bpd in March
• The Trump administration previously imposed 25% tariffs on India for purchasing both Venezuelan and Russian oil, but is now directing Venezuelan crude to India after capturing Venezuela's president and taking control of its oil industry
• Several major Indian refiners including Hindustan Petroleum, Mangalore Refinery, and HPCL-Mittal Energy have already stopped buying Russian oil, while others are diversifying to Middle Eastern, African, and South American sources

SpaceX generated approximately $8 billion in profit on $15-16 billion in revenue last year, according to sources familiar with the company's financials. The strong results have led banks to estimate the company could raise over $50 billion at a valuation exceeding $1.5 trillion in an anticipated IPO later this year. Starlink, the satellite-based internet system, accounts for 50-80% of total revenue.

• The $8 billion profit figure represents EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), a key measure of operating performance
• Starlink is the primary revenue driver, generating between 50% and 80% of SpaceX's total revenue
• SpaceX is reportedly in talks with Elon Musk's AI company xAI about a potential merger ahead of the IPO

Peloton Interactive has reduced its workforce by 11%, cutting approximately 286 employees out of more than 2,600 total staff as of June 30, 2025. The layoffs, announced by CEO Peter Stern, primarily affect engineers in technology and enterprise-related roles as part of ongoing cost-cutting and turnaround efforts. The move comes just before the company's scheduled quarterly earnings report next week.

• The layoffs represent approximately 286 positions based on Peloton's reported workforce of more than 2,600 employees as of June 30, 2025
• CEO Peter Stern, who assumed leadership in 2024, informed staff of the cuts on Friday, with engineering teams bearing the brunt of reductions
• The workforce reduction is part of broader turnaround efforts and comes ahead of Peloton's quarterly earnings report scheduled for next week

A federal jury convicted former Google engineer Linwei Ding on charges of stealing AI trade secrets for Chinese tech companies, marking the first AI-related economic espionage conviction in U.S. history. Between May 2022 and April 2023, Ding uploaded over 2,000 pages of confidential Google AI technology documents to his personal cloud account. He faces up to 10 years per theft count and 15 years per espionage count.

• Ding was found guilty on seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets, stealing information about Google's Tensor Processing Unit chips, GPU systems, and custom SmartNIC network cards
• The stolen materials were uploaded to Ding's personal Google Cloud account while he was affiliated with two China-based tech companies and founding his own tech startup
• Defense argued Google failed to adequately protect the information since thousands of employees had access to the documents, claiming 'Google chose openness over security'

Eli Lilly announced plans to build a $3.5 billion pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, marking its fourth new U.S. site as drugmakers expand domestic production to avoid potential import tariffs under President Trump. The facility will produce injectable weight-loss medications including the next-generation obesity drug retatrutide, with construction beginning in 2026 and operations starting in 2031.

• The project will create at least 850 new jobs and represents the largest life sciences investment in Pennsylvania history
• Lilly has committed over $27 billion total investment across four new U.S. manufacturing sites as it races against Novo Nordisk to meet surging demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs
• Multiple pharma giants including Pfizer and Merck are pledging billions in U.S. production expansion to avoid Trump administration tariff threats on pharmaceutical imports