Good morning.
The Fast Five → China hits record $1tn trade surplus despite Trump tariffs, Buffett warns 'AI risks match nuclear weapons, strong retail sales showcase US economic resilience, Trump imposes 25% tariff on some computing chips, and gold, silver extend record-breaking rallies…
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Today:
Unemployment Claims, 8:30A
Tomorrow:
none watched
Your 5-minute briefing for Thursday, Jan 15:
BEFORE THE OPEN
As of market close 1/14/2026.
Pre-Market:
US Investor % Bullish Sentiment:
↑ 42.49% for Week of JAN 08 2026
Previous week: 42.04%
Market Wrap:
Futures near flat after two down days: Dow -67, S&P -0.1%, Nasdaq -0.1%
Trump signed a 25% semiconductor tariff with carveouts
Wed. stayed heavy S&P -0.5%, Nasdaq -1% as big tech slid
Banks also sank Wells -4.6% and BAC/Citi fell more than 3%
Iran and Powell noise kept risk sentiment shaky as oil whipsawed
Thursday brings GS, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock plus jobless claims
EARNINGS
Here’s what we’re watching this week:
Today: *Blackrock $BLK ( ▲ 1.84% ), *Goldman Sachs $GS ( ▲ 2.03% ), *Morgan Stanley $MS ( ▲ 1.27% )
The Grid Can’t Handle What’s Coming
AI companies have the chips… The servers… And the data centers under construction.
There's just one problem: Power. The grid is already maxed out.
There's only one solution… And the U.S. government is about to make a major investment to secure it. One analyst whose firm identified the last 3 government stakes BEFORE they surged 111%... 194%... and 211% believes he's found stake #4.
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HEADLINES
China announced record export numbers for 2025, a year when US President Donald Trump's tariffs and trade policy caused turmoil in the global economy.
"Even the people that are smartest about it say they don't know where it's going," Buffett said.
Wall Street ends lower, led by drop in Nasdaq, with tech, banks falling (more)
US will halt issuing immigrant visas for dozens of countries (more)
Trump imposes 25% tariff on some advanced computing chips (more)
Fresh inflation readings provide first signals for Fed's path ahead (more)
Xi welcomes stream of leaders shaken by Trump’s New World Order (more)
Strong retail sales in November showcase US economy's resilience (more)
Gold, silver extend record-breaking rallies as uncertainty persists (more)
Oil prices fall after Trump signals he could hold off on attacking Iran (more)
Retail traders pile into chipmakers as AI boom squeezes supplies (more)
Trump’s credit card threat casts shadow over Wall St’s profit parade (more)
Bilt unveils credit cards capped at 10% after Trump demands (more)
Nvidia slides as US green light of China exports comes with caveats (more)
Netflix, Paramount race to win regulators over on Warner deal (more)
OpenAI set to run another Super Bowl ad as competition heats up (more)
Boeing orders outpace Airbus’ for first time in a decade (more)
Saks' bankruptcy is a warning sign for department stores (more)
Blackstone real-estate fund stages comeback with best return in years (more)
DEALFLOW
M+A | Investments
Teledyne acquires DD-Scientific
Usercentrics acquires MCP Manager
Natural Fiber Welding receives investment from Provest Equity Partners and CTW Venture Partners
Amperon receives investment from Samsung Ventures
Coating Place receives growth capital investment from 1315 Capital
Pillr Health receives investment from Water Street Healthcare Partners
VC
Skild AI raises close to $1.4B in funding at over $14B valuation
Alpaca, a company specializing in brokerage infrastructure APIs, raised $150M in Series D funding
depthfirst, a company developing security solutions for businesses, raised $40M in Series A funding
Vista AI, a company specializing in automated MRI scanning software, raised $29.5M in Series B funding
Tive, a company specializing in supply chain visibility technology, raised $20M in funding
IO River, an Edge-level innovation platform for the CDN market, raised $20M in Series A funding
Flip, an AI solution that automates customer service calls for enterprise brands, raised $20M in Series A funding
SkyFi, an AI-first Earth intelligence platform, raised $12.7M in Series A funding
Monnai, an identity and risk data infrastructure company, raised $12M in funding
Vivere Oncotherapies, a company developing cancer therapies that activate the immune system, raised over $10M in funding
Ammobia, a developer of low-cost ammonia production technology, raised $7.5M in Deed funding
VoiceRun, an enterprise platform for Voice AI, raised $5.5M in Seed funding
Titl, a company supporting property title verification using AI and blockchain, raised $2.5M in Seed funding
CRYPTO
BULLISH BITES
🤷🏼♀️ Why the stock market keeps shrugging through political chaos.
👽 Meet the new biologists treating LLMs like aliens.
🛠 White-collar workers shouldn’t dismiss a blue-collar career change.
👬 Matthew McConaughey trademarks himself to fight AI misuse.
DAILY SHARES
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