|  | Nasdaq | 23,031.21 | |
| | S&P | 6,932.30 | |
| | Dow | 50,115.67 | |
|  | 10-Year | 4.206% | |
| | Bitcoin | $70,530.88 | |
| | Strategy | $134.93 | |
| | Data is provided by |  |
*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 7:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Channeling the Patriots in their 2017 big game victory over the Falcons just in time for this year's Super Bowl, stocks made a stunning comeback yesterday after three days of losses. The S&P 500 had its best day since May, and the Dow Jones crossed 50,000 for the first time as investors tossed AI fears aside (more on those below). Bitcoin also began to bounce back, which helped bitcoin treasury firm Strategy regain ground.
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MONEY Hint: It's comparable to the value of all of Sweden's goods and services, or to the net worth of four-ish Warren Buffetts. Answer: Four of the largest tech companies in the world project that they'll spend roughly $650 billion combined on AI infrastructure in 2026, representing a historic ball-out for corporate capital expenditures, Bloomberg reported yesterday. Here's who's spending what: - Taking the cake, Amazon announced Thursday that it's planning to drop $200 billion on AI, chips, robotics, and satellites.
- A day earlier, Alphabet said its capital expenditures could reach $185 billion, blowing past estimates.
- Last week, Meta pegged its capex as high as $135 billion—an 87% jump from the year prior—driven by the company's goal of achieving AI superintelligence.
- Microsoft is expected to spend nearly $105 billion during its fiscal year ending in June.
Their collective splurge is estimated to be 60% higher than it was last year, when Big Tech was already busy juicing budgets for data centers and chips that cost tens of thousands of dollars each. This year's projected spend appears to rival only two other capex booms in US history: when telecom companies laid cable in the 1990s, and when railroad companies laid tracks in the 19th century. Both turned out to be bubbles. Everyone's debating whether this time is different… …and investors are more on edge than you when you're watching The Bear. - Amazon and Alphabet's stocks each lost a few points this week after sharing their hefty AI spending plans.
- The week prior, Microsoft (but not Meta) got battered when its capex updates spooked Wall Street so badly that it shed $357 billion in one day—the second-largest decline in market value for any stock, ever.
Meanwhile, the shovels are all right: Shares of semiconductor companies Nvidia, AMD, and Broadcom each surged more than 7% yesterday amid news of Big Tech's spending plans. Yesterday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC that eye-popping AI capex is appropriate and sustainable.—ML | | |
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WORLD  The Winter Olympics officially opened in Milan. Italian culture shined at Milan's San Siro Stadium in an elaborate opening ceremony for the Winter Games yesterday, while the lighting of the Olympic torch took place at multiple locations for the first time ever: Milan's iconic Arco della Pace and the Dolomite mountain ski town of Cortina d'Ampezzo. The ceremony featured more than 90 national teams competing over the coziness of their wintry drip—from Team USA's Ralph Lauren wool sweaters to Mongolia's silk-trimmed cashmere emblazoned with traditional horn motifs. And Mariah Carey performed the 1950s Italian hit "Volare," clad in a glittering ice queen 'fit by Fausto Puglisi and $15 million worth of diamonds.—SK
 Stellantis expects pivot from EVs to cost it $26 billion. The owner of Jeep and Chrysler said yesterday that reversing its move toward electric vehicles would result in a 22.2 billion euro ($26 billion) hit to its profit. The news sent its stock down ~27% in European trading. But it's not the only automaker to face big costs in order to hit the brakes on plans to make more EVs—which have not caught on as expected with consumers—in favor of making more popular hybrids and traditional gas models. Ford reported $19.5 billion in charges, and GM took a $6 billion hit.—AR
 Celebrity organic snackmaker pops 17% after IPO. Her resume already includes superspy and superhero, and now Jennifer Garner can add successful farmer to her list of credentials. Once Upon a Farm, which the actress joined as a co-founder in 2017, raised $197.9 million in an initial public offering. The stock then closed at $21.05 per share, above its IPO price of $18, giving the company a market value of $847 million. The seller of organic baby food and kids snacks, which refers to Garner as "Farmer Jen," has grown as consumers seek out less processed foods.—AR
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MEDIA The future is here, and so is Guy Fieri. That pretty much sums up the theme of this year's Super Bowl ads, which over-index on breakthrough technologies like AI and GLP-1 drugs, as well as celebrity appearances. Say "Whassup" to the future: Like dot-com businesses in 2000 and crypto exchanges in 2022, the AI industry is in a bubble spending big this year, with Anthropic, Google, Amazon, and Meta each running commercials to showcase their AI wares. Plus, the technology is getting some free advertising from Svedka Vodka, which created its ad using mostly AI. Lifestyles of the fit and famous: Health will also play a big role in this year's spots, and several companies are enlisting star power: - Actresses Octavia Spencer and Sofia Vergara will promote kidney health in an ad for pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim.
- Actor Kenan Thompson will advertise Wegovy weight loss pills in Novo Nordisk's first Super Bowl ad ever.
- Tennis legend Serena Williams will promote telehealth company Ro's GLP-1 options.
A-list advertising: From snacks to sportsbooks, just about every other commercial will feature a celebrity. Commercials for food delivery apps alone will star Matthew McConaughey, Bradley Cooper, Parker Posey, and George Clooney. As for Fieri, he'll be featured in a commercial for Bosch Power Tools.—BC | | |
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Together With TurboTax No fog or fuss here. When a local TurboTax expert takes care of your taxes, you get a 100% accuracy guarantee. And for a limited time, they're offering to do your taxes for $150 flat. There are no hidden fees, and all tax situations are included. Get matched with your expert and file by Feb. 28. Applies if a TurboTax expert didn't file for you last year. |
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ICYMI Here's everything that didn't make it into this week's newsletters but we immediately sent to the group chat.  With Justin Bieber, Sydney Sweeney, and other celebrities selling their own lines of underwear, The Hollywood Reporter asked, "Is underwear the new tequila?" Unless you check your banking app the morning after a night out and see a charge for 15 shots of underwear that you don't remember, the answer is no.
A finalist for the People's Choice Wildlife Photography Award is a picture of a deer with the rotting head of another deer stuck in his antlers. NBA insiders are calling it the perfect metaphor for this season's Milwaukee Bucks. The Louvre said that a royal crown stolen from the museum that was dumped on the floor last October was found crushed but "nearly intact." Crushed but nearly intact is how we all feel after we've been dumped. The NHL offered a cancer survivor a chance to win $1 million for a cancer research center in Tampa, but since he missed two nearly impossible shots into a puck-sized opening, the league only donated $200,000. It's like they heard people say that nothing can stop the positive momentum around hockey from Heated Rivalry and went, "Oh yeah? Watch this." A drawing of a foot by Michelangelo sold for $27.2 million. OnlyFans asked for its standard 20% commission before realizing the foot picture sold at Christie's auction house.—DL |
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Together With Kalshi Who will lift the Lombardi? The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are set to kick off the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, mere hours from now. Kalshi traders have something of a favorite between Drake "Drake Maye" Maye's Patriots and comeback kid Sam Darnold's Seahawks. See the odds and make your predictions. |
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COMMUNITY Last week, we asked: "What's a simple but delicious snack recipe everyone should know about?" Here are some of our favorite responses: - "A Ritz cracker with a dollop of sour cream and a hamburger dill [pickle] chip on top. Be careful—you and a friend can put away a whole sleeve of crackers before you know it!"—Betsy B. from Houston, TX
- "'Pane e sale' is Italian peasant food that takes stale bread, toasts it, drizzles it with olive oil, and salts it well. If you have an overripe tomato to squeeze onto it, even better."—Rose from Tenafly, NJ
- "Peanut butter balls: Mix equal amounts of peanut butter and honey, then stir in enough powdered dry milk or protein powder to make a very stiff dough. Roll into balls and store in the fridge."—Ingrid from Utah
- "While craving sweets and destitute of groceries in college, I discovered that mixing frozen blueberries with any milk of your choice makes a delectable, slushy snack." —Maddy from New York
- "Sliced mango and cucumber drizzled with lime juice and Tajin (and toothpicks to pick from bowl)."—Omar from Knoxville, TN
This week's question What is your favorite piece of home decor or furniture you've ever gotten? Sam's answer to get the juices flowing: "I once snagged a midcentury lacquered wood dresser for free off Facebook Marketplace. It has the substantial look of a bank building and the durability to last centuries, so hauling it up to my fourth-floor walk-up was totally worth it." Submit your response here. |
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NEWS - President Trump yesterday took down a video he posted to Truth Social on Thursday night, which depicted the Obamas as apes, following bipartisan backlash, including Republican Senator Tim Scott calling it "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House." The White House had initially defended the post, calling criticism of its racist imagery "fake outrage."
- Nuclear talks between the US and Iran ended with an agreement to keep talking.
- A suspect the Justice Department accused of being a "key participant" in the deadly 2012 attack on the US diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, has been taken into custody to face prosecution in the US.
- Uber was ordered to pay $8.5 million and held liable in a lawsuit accusing one of its drivers of raping a passenger, in the first of thousands of cases seeking to hold the company responsible for alleged misconduct by drivers.
- The FDA said it would restrict GLP-1 ingredients used to make copycat weight loss drugs, sending shares of telehealth company Hims & Hers, which recently announced plans to make a compounded pill, down in after-hours trading.
- The Justice Department is probing whether Netflix has engaged in anticompetitive tactics as it weighs whether to approve its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the Wall Street Journal reports.
- Skiing's governing body rejected the "wild rumor" that ski jumpers were using unusual anatomical enhancements to up their game.
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RECS  Play: Help Scotland Yard solve a murder from the comfort of your couch.**
Bet on it: 60 potential wagers for Super Bowl LX. Read: Books to enjoy during Black History Month. Experience the moorlands: You can stay in Catherine's bedroom from the new Wuthering Heights movie. Bringing a brooding companion is optional. Coffee lovers: Get your first bag free from Atlas Coffee Club, and treat yourself to world-class, roasted-to-order coffees from 50+ countries. Snag or gift this freshly brewed deal.* *A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission. |
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PLAY Brew Crossword: Whether or not you have any interest in the Super Bowl, we can absolutely guarantee that you're going to have a ball with this week's big puzzle. Play the Crossword here. Open House Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section that's going north for the winter. We'll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.  ZillowToday's home is right on the ocean in Glen Haven, Nova Scotia. Heated Rivalry Season 2 could do some amazing things with this 4,474-square-foot home. Amenities include: - 3 beds, 3.5 baths
- Wraparound deck
- Drum set mere inches from the basement bar
How much for the Canadian cottage? |
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SHARE THE BREW  Share the Brew, watch your referral count climb, and unlock brag-worthy swag. Your friends get smarter. You get rewarded. Win-win. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others:
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ANSWER C$2.3 million (~$1.6 million) Word of the Day Today's Word of the Day is: emblazoned, meaning "adorned with." Thanks to Emily from Philadelphia for the fashionable suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here. |
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