
Welcome back!
Hereās your must-read news this morning:
Iāve got all the details for you, so letās dive in.
ā Josh
MARKETS
Market Roundup
š¦ Economy
ā Editorās Pick: Investors are wagering on a robust āhotā U.S. economy heading into midterms. (FT)
U.S. consumer confidence plummeted to the lowest level since 2014. (AX)
The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady at its policy meeting this week. (BBG)
The U.S. economy may be experiencing a sustained increase in its potential growth rate, possibly reaching up to 2.4%. (WSJ)
š Hot Stock Picks
ā Editorās Pick: Wolfe Research announced its top internet stocks for 2026. (INV)
Morningstar ranked Clorox as the top Dividend Aristocrat to buy now for 2026, followed by nine others. (MS)
MarketBeat highlighted three gold mining stocks, including Newmont Gold, poised to benefit from gold futures. (MB)
Zacks highlighted Callaway Golf and two other stocks as top buys for the week. (ZIR)
š¢ Industry
ā Editorās Pick: Canada will allow imports of tens of thousands of low-tariff Chinese EVs, threatening auto jobs and national security. (WSJ)
John Deere will invest $70 million in a new excavator factory in Kernersville, North Carolina. (BZ)
Amazon is shuttering all its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh physical stores. (AP)
TikTok settled a lawsuit claiming its algorithms damaged a 20-year-old user's mental health hours before the trial was set to begin. (CNBC)
McDonald's brought back an iconic item from the 1980s. (FBN)
š¢ļø Energy & Commodities
ā Editorās Pick: Millions of Americans are facing winter storm fallout and more harsh weather ahead, while heating bills this season are projected to jump 9.2% from last year. (FBN)
The U.S. winter storm is intensifying strain on power grids, triggering emergencies and outages. (BBG)
The U.S. is working to issue a general license soon that would lift sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector. (RTS)
Spot gold jumped to a record high of $5,266.38/oz. (INV)
š Crypto
ā Editorās Pick: Tether launched USAT, a federally regulated, dollar-pegged stablecoin branded as "Made in America." (TB)
Public companies continued quietly accumulating Bitcoin in early 2026 despite flat prices. (CT)
Ethereum announced that ERC-8004, a proposal defining a standard for AI agents on the network, will go live this week. (CD)
Nearly 40% of U.S. merchants now accept crypto at checkout. (BW)
TECH
Tech Roundup
š§ Ā AI
āĀ Editorās Pick:Ā AI-powered apps like Aira Explorer are giving blind people new ways to visually perceive their appearance. (BBC)
China approved its first batch of Nvidia's H200 AI chips for import, covering several hundred thousand units. (RTS)
Mozilla is building an AI "rebel alliance" to take on industry heavyweights OpenAI and Anthropic. (CNBC)
C3.ai is in early-stage talks to merge with privately held Automation Anywhere. (TI)
OpenAI launched Prism, a free editor that integrates GPT-5.2 to help researchers draft scientific papers. (MTR)
š¤Ā Robots
āĀ Editorās Pick:Ā Figure AI has unveiled Helix-02, an upgraded AI model that delivers full-body autonomy to its humanoid robots. (IE)
Anno Robot secured over 500 global deals for its AI-powered coffee kiosk. (GCR)
DeWalt and August Robotics' new autonomous robot could drastically speed up data center construction up to 10x faster than manual crews. (FC)
A New Jersey homeowner went viral for using robot to clear snow-covered driveway. (HT)
šĀ Defense & Space
āĀ Editorās Pick:Ā Taiwan launched a U.S.-partnered Joint Firepower Coordination Centre to integrate American and indigenous missiles for stronger long-range precision strikes. (SCMP)
Anduril announced the AI Grand Prix, a global autonomous drone racing competition. (AND)
The Netherlands debuted SeaRush, a 3D-printed unmanned surface vessel (USV) prototype built in just five months. (NGD)
š°Venture Capital
āĀ Editorās Pick: Anthropic is set to raise about $20 billion, doubling its target and valuing the AI firm at roughly $350 billion. (FT)
Autonomous trucking startup Waabi raised $1 billion, including a $750 million oversubscribed Series C led by Khosla Ventures. (BBG)
Satellite startup Northwood Space raised $100 million in Series B funding co-led by Washington Harbour Partners and Andreessen Horowitz. (ST)
SoftBank is in talks to invest up to an additional $30 billion in OpenAI. (WSJ)
FREEDOM
Freedom Roundup
šļø Policy & Culture
ā Editorās Pick: TikTok is investigating reports that some users receive error prompts when trying to send the word "Epstein" in direct messages. (IBT)
Paramount+'s new Star Trek: Starfleet Academyāpanned by critics as wokeāis bombing on its own platform. (BN)
Trump accepted a spontaneous prayer for wisdom and protection from an Iowa man. (TWJ)
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DISCLAIMER: The CAPITAL newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The CAPITAL newsletter and its owner and operator, Josh Caplan, are not liable for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on this information. The CAPITAL newsletter is solely owned and independently operated by Josh Caplan, separate from any employer affiliations.




