Good morning.
Breaking: the US government is taking a 10% stake in USA Rare Earths (USAR). This marks the 7th company that Trump’s administration has taken equity in, and there’s a clear pattern.
This week will be HUGE for earnings, with over 300 companies reporting (including four members of the Magnificent Seven).
Buckle up. Today:
The US government buys a $1.6 billion stake in USA Rare Earths
Markets face an earnings storm this week, starting today
Gold just hit $5,100/oz, and Goldman’s new forecast is in
Let's get into it.
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📰 Market Headlines
Markets closed out the week mixed after a volatile stretch driven by Greenland tariff drama and renewed trade uncertainty.
Futures are down this morning to kick off the week.
The US government is taking a 10% stake in USA Rare Earths (USAR); shares jumped 20% on the news. The $1.6 billion deal is the fifth rare earths or critical metals company that the White House has taken a stake in, and the seventh company overall.
Trump has made it clear that the US is going heavy into nuclear. Remember: the White House has options for an 8% stake in Westinghouse (WAB), a nuclear company.
During Trump’s presidency, the White House has taken stakes in at least seven companies. See the full list here →
Four of the Magnificent 7 members are reporting earnings this week: Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), Tesla (TSLA), and Apple (AAPL). In fact, three of them all report Wednesday after markets close, so expect after-hours trading and pre-market Thursday morning to be extra volatile.
ASML, UnitedHealth Group (UNH), RTX (RTX), Boeing (BA), Texas Instruments (TXN), and around 300 other companies are also reporting this week.
Speaking of, earnings season is off to a solid start. Of the 33 S&P 500 companies reporting Q4 results so far, 79% beat EPS estimates. Analysts expect year-over-year profit growth of 8.3% to 14% this quarter, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit expansion.
BNY Wealth sees the rally broadening beyond the Magnificent Seven, with Materials, Industrials, and Energy finally pulling their weight.
Oppenheimer set the most bullish year-end target: S&P 500 at 8,100. UBS is calling for 7,700.
Gold and silver are STILL smashing through records: gold hit $5,100 per ounce and silver has passed $108 per ounce. Silver has outperformed gold so much that the gold–silver ratio is down from “pandemic highs of 127 to 50 at the start of 2026,” according to Live Mint.
Goldman Sachs just revised its prediction to $5,400 an ounce by end of year 2026. At this rate, gold might reach that price in just another 26 days of 2026 (not financial advice; mainly joking, slightly serious).
Manufacturing jobs keep sliding despite President Trump's tariff promises. The sector has shed 72,000 positions since last April, including 8,000 in December alone. Economists point to automation, ongoing China trade effects, and the simple fact that tariffs raise input costs for domestic manufacturers who rely on imported components.
Gen Z is raiding its retirement piggy bank. More than 60% of 18-to-29-year-olds have stopped or reduced retirement contributions in the past six months, compared to 46% of Gen X and 36% of boomers. Cost-of-living pressures and entry-level salaries are squeezing cash flow, but the math is brutal: starting at 25 versus 35 could mean the difference between $460K and $251K at retirement.
California is suing the Trump administration over the restart of the Sable oil pipeline, setting up another clash between state environmental policy and federal energy priorities.
🤖 AI/Future/Tech News
Microsoft handed over BitLocker encryption keys to the FBI for three laptops, reversing its 2016 backing of Apple's San Bernardino refusal.
TikTok users panicked over immigration status data collection, but the disclosure already existed for California privacy compliance.
Gmail's Saturday outage flooded inboxes with spam and misclassified warnings on known senders; Google resolved it by evening.
🪙 Crypto
BlackRock's Rick Rieder hit 60% odds on Polymarket to become the next Fed chair; the bitcoin bull believes BTC will replace gold.
The SEC dropped its lawsuit against Gemini Trust, the eighth crypto firm dismissed since President Trump's second term.
GameStop moved all 4,710 BTC to Coinbase Prime, sparking exit speculation and a potential $75 million–$85 million loss.
🚨 Trending on Reddit
Adobe (ADBE) chatter rose 150%, as investors debated AI’s impact on SaaS moats. Bears argued that cheaper software creation could pressure Adobe’s long-term value, while bulls said enterprise reliance and AI integration could strengthen its platform.
Google (GOOGL) chatter climbed 110%, driven by traders sharing research on market timing and stock-trading patterns sourced via Google and Investopedia, including day-of-week trends and pre-holiday behavior.
Micron Technology (MU) chatter increased 170%, with investors expressing regret over selling too early and anticipation building ahead of earnings. Many questioned how long the current rally can continue.
🚚 Market Movers
Amazon continues its pursuit of 30,000 job cuts, with layoffs hitting AWS, retail, Prime Video, and HR next week, representing 10% of corporate staff.
Ford and GM received conditional FDIC approval to create industrial banks offering savings accounts and direct auto loans as subprime delinquencies hit 7%.
Vimeo laid off most of its staff, including the entire video engineering team, just four months after Bending Spoons' $1.38 billion acquisition.
A lawsuit claims Meta can see WhatsApp chats despite end-to-end encryption promises.
Romano's Macaroni Grill plans a comeback with two to five new locations after dropping to just nine following its 2017 bankruptcy.
🎤 What do you think?
Will the White House take a stake in a nuclear company?
🎤️ What you said last time
🧠 The Missing (Market) Links
North America's perfume market is forecast to hit $11.7 billion by 2035 as imports jumped 26% to 208K tons in 2024. The US controls 95% of consumption.
You can retire at 65 with less than $1 million in 32 US states; West Virginia requires just $735,284, while Hawaii needs $976,405 for 25 years of expenses.
The US events industry contributed $876.7 billion to GDP in 2020, representing 4.2% of the economy as cities leverage cultural events to drive tourism.
Dark berries are predicted to dominate 2026's flavor trends, while cold foam expands into bubble teas with probiotic-rich cheese foams.
Brutal cold weather snapped US energy output and sent power prices swinging wildly across the country.
📜 Quote of the Day
In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable."
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Brandon & Blake of Invested Inc
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