Canada and France, which both oppose US President Donald Trump’s claim to Greenland, opened consulates in the Danish autonomous territory’s capital on Friday, in a show of support for the local government. Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island for security reasons. Trump last month backed off thre...
Canada and France, which both oppose US President Donald Trump’s claim to Greenland, opened consulates in the Danish autonomous territory’s capital on Friday, in a show of support for the local government. Since returning to the White House last year, Trump has insisted that Washington needs to control the strategic, mineral-rich Arctic island for security reasons. Trump last month backed off threats to seize Greenland after saying he had struck a “framework” deal with Nato chief Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence. Advertisement A US-Denmark-Greenland working group has been established to discuss Washington’s security concerns in the Arctic, but details have not been made public. While Denmark and Greenland have said they share Trump’s security concerns, they have insisted that sovereignty and territorial integrity are a “red line” in the discussions. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand (right) speaks to the media at the new Canadian consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, on Friday. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP Canada and France formally opened consulates in the Greenlandic capital on Friday.
The AI infrastructure play is set to benefit from a massive ramp in hyperscaler spending. The combined 2026 capital spending commitments made by Amazon.com and Alphabet over the last couple of days total up to $385 billion. It's an incredible figure that dwarfs even the mammoth combined $222 billion in 2025. While those stocks both declined in response to the news, the AI infrastructure companies ...
The AI infrastructure play is set to benefit from a massive ramp in hyperscaler spending. The combined 2026 capital spending commitments made by Amazon.com and Alphabet over the last couple of days total up to $385 billion. It's an incredible figure that dwarfs even the mammoth combined $222 billion in 2025. While those stocks both declined in response to the news, the AI infrastructure companies did much better, including GE Vernova (GEV +5.67%), which rose by more than 5% in late trading. An AI spending boom It's no secret that the market is far from convinced by Oracle's exposure to OpenAI. For reference, they have a $300 billion deal under which Oracle will build out infrastructure to sell computing power to OpenAI. Not least because OpenAI needs a huge amount of funding to support it through a cash burn that could total $115 billion by 2030, according to reports. Similarly, Microsoft stock has suffered this year due to 45% of its Azure backlog's exposure to OpenAI, but, as shows below, GE Vernova continues to power higher. Why GE Vernova keeps outperforming The reason is the same as the one for the stock being up again today: insatiable demand for power to fund data centers. That's feeding through into a step-change in demand for GE Vernova's gas turbines and its electrification equipment from hyperscalers, after the company was previously heavily reliant on notoriously conservative utilities. Demand is so strong that GE Vernova is even selling slot reservation agreements to customers who want to ensure they will receive gas turbines in the future. As such, management expects mid-teens revenue growth from 2025 to 2028 with earnings more than doubling in the period. The spending commitments of Alphabet and Amazon in recent days have encouraged investors to feel confident about GE Vernobva's guidance, and that's why the stock continues to do well.
The top five stocks by market cap in the 30-stock Dow are Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Walmart. As it stands under the Dow’s methodology of giving more weight to higher priced stocks, the top five are Goldman Sachs, Caterpillar, Microsoft, Home Depot and Amgen.
The top five stocks by market cap in the 30-stock Dow are Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Walmart. As it stands under the Dow’s methodology of giving more weight to higher priced stocks, the top five are Goldman Sachs, Caterpillar, Microsoft, Home Depot and Amgen.
Trump's harsh immigration tactics are taking a political hit toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images North America President Trump's harsh immigration tactics are taking a political hit as new polls show a majority of Americans feel federal agents have "gone too far" in enforcing immigration laws. It's not just Democrats who are concerned, but also independent voters who are expected to play a major...
Trump's harsh immigration tactics are taking a political hit toggle caption Alex Wong/Getty Images North America President Trump's harsh immigration tactics are taking a political hit as new polls show a majority of Americans feel federal agents have "gone too far" in enforcing immigration laws. It's not just Democrats who are concerned, but also independent voters who are expected to play a major role in the upcoming midterm elections. "The base loves it, but it's an issue for the independent voters who decide elections in this country," said Alex Conant, a veteran Republican strategist. "Independents want a strong border and they want to deport criminals, but they're really uneasy with having masked federal agents going around in neighborhoods, deporting anyone that they see — as the Democrats are portraying it." Sponsor Message After months of aggressive enforcement, Trump's signature issue that twice got him elected is now turning into a liability ahead of this year's midterm elections. The outcry over what many saw as militant tactics hit a fever pitch after the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by immigration officers in Minnesota. A new NPR/Marist poll shows that six in 10 Americans disapprove of the job federal immigration agents are doing. Even typically loyal Republican supporters have called on the Trump administration to make changes and rebuild trust with law enforcement. "They, being the White House, need to recalibrate on what needs to be done to make sure that that respect is going to be re-instilled," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told conservative radio host Mark Davis. Trump shook up the leadership of the Minneapolis operation, and directed his team to withdraw 700 federal officers. "I learned that, maybe we can use a little bit of a softer touch," Trump said in an interview with NBC's Tom Llamas. "But you still have to be tough. We're dealing with really hard criminals." It's a bit unclear what a "softer touch" actually means. Press Secretary Karo...
What Happened? Shares of fabless chip and software maker Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) jumped 7.6% in the afternoon session after Wall Street digested the significant revenue potential from recent AI capital expenditure plans announced by key customer Google. Google announced plans to spend between $175 billion and $185 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, marking one of history's largest AI buildouts. ...
What Happened? Shares of fabless chip and software maker Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) jumped 7.6% in the afternoon session after Wall Street digested the significant revenue potential from recent AI capital expenditure plans announced by key customer Google. Google announced plans to spend between $175 billion and $185 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, marking one of history's largest AI buildouts. Broadcom had secured $21 billion in orders from Google for its custom TPU AI accelerators. Broadcom itself had guided for its own AI revenue to reach $8.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, which represented 100% growth from the previous year. In response to the developments, Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to Outperform, highlighting increased confidence in Google's program and Broadcom's role as a key supplier. Jefferies also reiterated its Buy rating, citing the company's strong position in AI and networking markets. Is now the time to buy Broadcom? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free. What Is The Market Telling Us Broadcom’s shares are very volatile and have had 23 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock dropped 4% on the news that uncertainty increased over when key companies can resume large-scale sales of high-end artificial-intelligence chips to China. The U.S. government reportedly extended its review of export license applications for AI hardware, such as Nvidia's H200 chips, on national security grounds. This delay created uncertainty for chipmakers and reportedly led some Chinese customers to postpone orders until clearer guidance was issued. While there were earlier signals that some shipments could restart, the extended review process stalled progress, weighing on the stock of major exporters who saw China as a sig...
What Happened? Shares of leading designer of graphics chips Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumped 7.8% in the afternoon session after CEO Jensen Huang declared that the $660 billion tech industry investment in AI infrastructure is sustainable and justified. Addressing concerns over aggressive spending by "hyperscalers" like Meta and Microsoft, Huang argued that these massive capital expenditures are support...
What Happened? Shares of leading designer of graphics chips Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumped 7.8% in the afternoon session after CEO Jensen Huang declared that the $660 billion tech industry investment in AI infrastructure is sustainable and justified. Addressing concerns over aggressive spending by "hyperscalers" like Meta and Microsoft, Huang argued that these massive capital expenditures are supported by rising cash flows and "sky-high" demand. He framed the current expansion as the largest infrastructure buildout in history, where massive investments in computing power are essential to fuel the next generation of digital services and corporate profitability. The rally was further supported by evidence of high hardware utilization and clear monetization pathways. Huang noted that even older chips remain fully rented out, while AI labs like OpenAI see revenue grow exponentially compared to their compute capacity. Is now the time to buy Nvidia? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free. What Is The Market Telling Us Nvidia’s shares are quite volatile and have had 15 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 17 days ago when the stock dropped 3.8% on the news that rising geopolitical tensions between the US and Europe over control of Greenland sparked a broad, risk-off mood in asset markets. The sell-off was fueled by President Trump's push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, reviving fears of trade confrontations and new tariffs against European allies. The tech-heavy Nasdaq index saw significant declines, with the "Magnificent Seven" technology stocks, Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Tesla, all sliding to start the week. This widespread downturn among major tech players weighed heavily on the overall market as investors reacted to the escala...
Key Points Original Medicare premiums and deductibles have gone up in 2026. Seniors on any of the 10 negotiated prescription drugs may pay less now. There's still time to switch your Medicare Advantage plan for 2026. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › A month into 2026, many of the major Medicare changes for the year have already gone into effect. But it's easy t...
Key Points Original Medicare premiums and deductibles have gone up in 2026. Seniors on any of the 10 negotiated prescription drugs may pay less now. There's still time to switch your Medicare Advantage plan for 2026. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › A month into 2026, many of the major Medicare changes for the year have already gone into effect. But it's easy to miss key updates when you're busy recovering from the holidays and working toward your New Year's resolution. Here's a look at four of the most important Medicare updates that retirees need to be aware of in February 2026, just in case you missed them. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now, when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » 1. Higher premiums and deductibles Original Medicare has seen price increases in 2026. Part A coverage is still premium-free for most Americans, but the deductible has risen from $1,676 in 2025 to $1,736 in 2026. The Part B premium has risen from $185.00 in 2025 to $202.90 in 2026, and its deductible has jumped from $257 to $283 -- an increase of $26. High earners may pay more than this. 2. Negotiated prices for 10 prescription drugs Seniors with a Medicare Part D plan for prescription drug coverage could save money this year thanks to negotiated rates taking effect on the following prescription drugs: Januvia Fiasp, Fiasp FlexTouch, Fiasp PenFill, NovoLog, NovoLog FlexPen, NovoLog PenFill Farxiga Enbrel Jardiance Stelara Xarelto Eliquis Entresto Imbruvica The out-of-pocket maximum for Part D plans in 2026 is $2,100, up from $2,000 in 2025. Remember to budget for this when trying to estimate your retirement healthcare expenses this year. 3. Ongoing Medicare Advantage open enrollment period Seniors who are already on a Medicare Advantage plan have until March 31, 2026 to elect new coverage. This could be a different Medicare Advantage plan or a switch back t...
What Happened? Shares of fabless chip and software maker Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) jumped 7.6% in the afternoon session after Wall Street digested the significant revenue potential from recent AI capital expenditure plans announced by key customer Google. Google announced plans to spend between $175 billion and $185 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, marking one of history's largest AI buildouts....
What Happened? Shares of fabless chip and software maker Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) jumped 7.6% in the afternoon session after Wall Street digested the significant revenue potential from recent AI capital expenditure plans announced by key customer Google. Google announced plans to spend between $175 billion and $185 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026, marking one of history's largest AI buildouts. Broadcom had secured $21 billion in orders from Google for its custom TPU AI accelerators. Broadcom itself had guided for its own AI revenue to reach $8.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, which represented 100% growth from the previous year. In response to the developments, Wolfe Research upgraded the stock to Outperform, highlighting increased confidence in Google's program and Broadcom's role as a key supplier. Jefferies also reiterated its Buy rating, citing the company's strong position in AI and networking markets. Is now the time to buy Broadcom? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free. What Is The Market Telling Us Broadcom’s shares are very volatile and have had 23 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 2 days ago when the stock dropped 4% on the news that uncertainty increased over when key companies can resume large-scale sales of high-end artificial-intelligence chips to China. The U.S. government reportedly extended its review of export license applications for AI hardware, such as Nvidia's H200 chips, on national security grounds. This delay created uncertainty for chipmakers and reportedly led some Chinese customers to postpone orders until clearer guidance was issued. While there were earlier signals that some shipments could restart, the extended review process stalled progress, weighing on the stock of major exporters who saw China as a si...
babyrhino The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI ) surged to a fresh all-time high on Friday, breaking above the noteworthy 50,000 level for the first time in its history. The index advanced by more than 1,000 points and is now hovering around 50,090, marking its strongest reading on record. The move reflects continued investor rotation into large-cap industrial and cyclical stocks, as c...
babyrhino The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI ) surged to a fresh all-time high on Friday, breaking above the noteworthy 50,000 level for the first time in its history. The index advanced by more than 1,000 points and is now hovering around 50,090, marking its strongest reading on record. The move reflects continued investor rotation into large-cap industrial and cyclical stocks, as capital flows favor established names tied to economic activity. The Dow is now up roughly 4% year-to-date and nearly 7% over the past three months, highlighting sustained upside momentum even as broader market uncertainty remains a topic of debate. With the benchmark pressing further into uncharted territory, Seeking Alpha examined which Dow components currently receive the strongest assessments under its Quant Rating framework. Below is a full ranking of all 30 Dow stocks based on their Seeking Alpha Quant Ratings. Verizon ( VZ ), Quant Rating of 3.48. Apple ( AAPL ), Quant Rating of 3.48. Walmart ( WMT ), Quant Rating of 3.48. Intel ( INTC ), Quant Rating of 3.47. Cisco Systems ( CSCO ), Quant Rating of 3.47. Goldman Sachs ( GS ), Quant Rating of 3.46. Microsoft ( MSFT ), Quant Rating of 3.46. Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ), Quant Rating of 3.45. Amazon ( AMZN ), Quant Rating of 3.44. Caterpillar ( CAT ), Quant Rating of 3.42. Chevron ( CVX ), Quant Rating of 3.39. Amgen ( AMGN ), Quant Rating of 3.37. Walt Disney ( DIS ), Quant Rating of 3.34. Merck ( MRK ), Quant Rating of 3.34. Salesforce ( CRM ), Quant Rating of 3.31. Travelers Companies ( TRV ), Quant Rating of 3.30. Coca-Cola ( KO ), Quant Rating of 3.29. American Express ( AXP ), Quant Rating of 3.28. IBM ( IBM ), Quant Rating of 3.26. UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ), Quant Rating of 3.24. Procter & Gamble ( PG ), Quant Rating of 3.22. Dow ( DOW ), Quant Rating of 3.14. Home Depot ( HD ), Quant Rating of 3.11. McDonald's ( MCD ), Quant Rating of 3.10. JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ), Quant Rating of 3.08. Honeywell ( HON ), Quant Rat...
More than 900 employees at Alphabet Inc. ’s Google have signed a petition demanding that the company sever ties with the US Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. The petition cites Google contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the two DHS agencies that have led the deportation effort. Fatal...
More than 900 employees at Alphabet Inc. ’s Google have signed a petition demanding that the company sever ties with the US Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts. The petition cites Google contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the two DHS agencies that have led the deportation effort. Fatal shootings of two US citizens in Minneapolis in recent weeks have accelerated opposition to the administration’s push to deport undocumented immigrants. A spokesperson for Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. More than 1,700 tech workers have already signed a separate petition started in early January, calling for tech companies to sever contracts with ICE and for Big Tech leaders to call the White House to demand that ICE leave cities. Palantir Technologies Inc. , which makes software for the agency, has become a lightning rod for criticism about the role of lucrative surveillance tech in ICE enforcement and deportation raids, becoming the focus of multiple street protests. Read More: New York Pension Funds Scrutinize Palantir Over ICE Contract The Google workers who signed the petition span 16 product areas — with about 30% coming from Google Cloud — and allege that the company’s technology is being used to power “state violence and repression.” The petition highlights the use of Google Cloud in border surveillance and the role of generative AI in “operational efficiency” for agencies the workers claim are responsible for recent civilian deaths and humanitarian crises. The criticism mirrors a wave of protests against tech giants due to work with immigration officials during President Donald Trump ’s first term. In 2019, protesters interrupted a speech by Salesforce Inc. ’s Marc Benioff at that company’s annual conference. Employee activism has cropped up again in Trump’s second term, albeit at a more muted tone owing to a worsened tech job market. A...
The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF may look similar at a glance, but they are built on very different return drivers. This comparison explains why that matters once markets move beyond a single leadership trend. State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT:SPY) and Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:MGK) differ most in sector tilts and risk, with MGK le...
The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF may look similar at a glance, but they are built on very different return drivers. This comparison explains why that matters once markets move beyond a single leadership trend. State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT:SPY) and Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (NYSEMKT:MGK) differ most in sector tilts and risk, with MGK leaning heavily into technology and growth while SPY offers broader diversification and a slightly higher yield. SPY is designed for broad exposure to the U.S. large-cap market, tracking the S&P 500 Index across all major sectors. MGK, in contrast, targets the largest U.S. growth companies, resulting in a concentrated technology tilt. This comparison highlights how these choices play out in cost, returns, risk, and portfolio composition. Snapshot (cost & size) Metric SPY MGK Issuer SPDR Vanguard Expense ratio 0.09% 0.07% 1-yr return (as of 2026-02-05) 13.46% 10.41% Dividend yield 1.1% 0.4% AUM $708.92 billion $32.5 billion Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year weekly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Both ETFs are low cost, but MGK is slightly more affordable on expenses. SPY’s higher yield may appeal to those seeking more income from their core equity holding. Performance & risk comparison Metric SPY MGK Max drawdown (5 y) (24.49%) (36.01%) Growth of $1,000 over 5 years $1,770 $1,842 What's inside MGK focuses on just 69 holdings and is driven by technology (55% of assets), with communication services and consumer cyclical stocks making up much of the rest. Top positions are heavily weighted toward NVIDIA Corp (NVDA +8.01%), Apple Inc (AAPL +0.87%), and Microsoft Corp (MSFT +2.00%), which together account for over a third of the fund. With an 18-year track record, MGK’s approach is to mirror the CRSP US Mega Cap Growth Index, resulting in notable concentration and a higher growth b...
Next stop: Quantitative Tightening? Alina Rudya/Bell Collective/DigitalVision via Getty Images On January 27 , 2026, while speaking to reporters, Trump said the value of the dollar was "great" when asked if he thought it had declined too much. Just three days later, he announced the nomination of Kevin Warsh, a known hawk and QE skeptic , as the next Chairman of the board of governors of the Feder...
Next stop: Quantitative Tightening? Alina Rudya/Bell Collective/DigitalVision via Getty Images On January 27 , 2026, while speaking to reporters, Trump said the value of the dollar was "great" when asked if he thought it had declined too much. Just three days later, he announced the nomination of Kevin Warsh, a known hawk and QE skeptic , as the next Chairman of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve. The nomination of a hawkish new Chairman took place three weeks after J. Powell went public with a critical message calling a DOJ probe a "pretext" for political pressure on interest rates and emphasized Fed independence. If you are puzzled by the actions of the current US administration, you are not alone. I think the market itself is equally puzzled. I believe the correction we are currently seeing in Tech names and risk assets is mostly caused by the prospect of a hawkish Fed governor that may never return to fully accommodating monetary policy. That fear is compounded by the idea that a US recession may be looming in the future. Personally, I argue it is unlikely Warsh will be able to stop the “train” of currency debasement - a term coined by analyst Lyn Alden . Why I Think The Market Is (Mostly) Scared About Warsh I made a bold prediction at the end of last year, arguing 2026 may come as a surprise and turn into a very bullish year. Obviously, one-year forecasts must be taken with more than a pinch of salt. But my bullishness can be extended to longer time frames, and it is driven by two elements: The idea that currency debasement in all its forms (fiscal deficits, public debt, QE, low rates, and more recently “Trumpnomics”) is inevitable and accelerating. The idea that AI is a transformative technology and will have a significant impact on global productivity. I will discuss more about the second element in my next section, arguing the state of the US economy is very much tied to AI. For what concerns currency debasement, however, the nomination of Kevin W...