Baltic
Dry Index. 1958 +76
Brent Crude 69.52
Spot Gold 5092 Spot Silver 83.67
US 2 Year Yield 3.52 +0.07
US Federal Debt. 38.675 trillion US GDP 31.146 trillion.
Monetary inflation not only raises prices and destroys the value of the currency unit; it also acts as a giant system of expropriation.
Murray Rothbard
AS Japan’s stock casinos continue an election boom, in the USA AI is busy culling stocks likely to be the big losers under AI.
Adding to downward US stock casinos pressure, yesterday’s US jobs numbers take the pressure off the US central bank to cut their key interest rate any time soon. But see today’s inflation section.
But with Trump’s US military busy building up for an attack on Iran next week, does any of this really matter if crude oil prices explode next week
Japan stocks extend post-election rally with
Nikkei 225 breaching 58,000 for the first time
Published Wed, Feb 11 2026 6:54 PM EST
Japan’s Nikkei 225 on Thursday hit 58,000
for the first time in history, extending its post-election rally to fresh
highs, fueled by renewed confidence in domestic politics and the ruling
administration’s economic agenda.
The benchmark index subsequently pared
gains and was trading marginally higher at 57,663. The broader Topix advanced
0.68%.
Japanese stocks have notched several fresh
highs in recent days, fueled by the so-called “Takaichi
trade,” following Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide victory in the
Lower House, said market watchers.
Global investment firm GMO noted that
Takaichi’s snap-election landslide gives her an unusually strong, multi-year
mandate to execute policy, which they view as broadly supportive for Japan’s
markets and corporate sector.
While equities have rallied and bond
investors appear reassured, GMO notes intervention risks could rise if the yen
approaches 160 against the greenback.
Other markets in Asia also shrugged off a
stronger-than-expected U.S. payrolls data that has dampened expectations for
Federal Reserve rate cuts and sent U.S. stocks lower overnight.
South Korea’s Kospi jumped as much as 2.1%
to a record high of 5,466.9 points, before paring gains to trade 1.82% higher.
The small-cap Kosdaq traded relatively flat.
Singapore’s benchmark index crossed 5,000
for the first time.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.42%
in early trade.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.23%,
while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.12%.
Overnight in the U.S., the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped
a three-day win streak after a better-than-expected January
jobs report.
The blue-chip index lost 66.74 points, or
0.13%, and closed at 50,121.40. The S&P 500 was nearly flat
at 6,941.47. The Nasdaq
Composite dropped 0.16% to end at 23,066.47.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January
nonfarm payrolls report showed job growth of 130,000 in January. Economists
polled by Dow Jones had estimated gains at 55,000. Jobs growth in December was
downwardly revised to 48,000.
Strong labor market has reduced the odds
for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
The jobs report follows
weaker-than-expected consumer data released on Tuesday. That report
showed that consumer
spending in December was flat, missing the 0.4% monthly gain expected from
economists polled by Dow Jones.
Asia-Pacific
markets: Nikkei 225, Kospi, Hang Seng Index
Dow futures are little changed after index ends
three-day win streak: Live updates
Updated Wed, Feb 11 2026 6:59 PM EST
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial
Average were little changed Wednesday night after the blue-chip index’s
three-day win streak came to an end.
Dow futures slipped 22
points, or 0.04%. S&P 500
futures lost 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell
0.2%.
Cisco
Systems slid 7% in extended trading after the maker of networking
hardware such as switches and routers issued disappointing
guidance for the current quarter. McDonald’s dipped less than 1%
even after an earnings beat.
Those moves come after a downbeat trading
day on Wall Street, with the 30-stock Dow off by more than 66
points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq
Composite dipped about 0.2%. The S&P 500 ended the day
just a tick lower.
Stocks ended the session lower after
earlier rallying off the back of a barnburner of a jobs report. The January
nonfarm payrolls report showed sharp jobs growth of 130,000 last
month, far above what economists were expecting, and much higher than the
downwardly revised December gain. The unemployment rate ticked lower to 4.3%
from 4.4%.
The report was a relief for investors who
worried it would show a drop-off in the labor market, following a raft
of recent data that’s indicated slowing growth in a “no hire, no fire”
environment.
Yet the strong payrolls numbers also
muddy the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook, and could mean
fewer rate cuts than traders were hoping for if higher inflation also remains
an issue. That underscores the importance of Friday’s consumer price index,
which could show the central bank just what is needed for its dual mandate to
come into better balance.
“It’s going to put a lot of weight on
Friday’s CPI report, because if that comes in tame, at least the market can
understand that the inflation part of the Fed’s equation is cooling,” Tom Lee,
head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Wednesday.
“And of course, now, if the job market is
showing decent strength, it kind of relieves us from a macro perspective,
because at least we’re not seeing an economic downturn,” Lee continued.
More data on the labor market is due out
Thursday morning, with the latest weekly jobless claims figure. The existing
home sales report is also set to release.
Restaurant Brands International is among
the companies set to report Thursday before the open.
Stock
market today: Live updates
Wall Street Is Dumping Stocks Seen as Vulnerable
to AI
February 11, 2026 at 11:19 PM GMT
They’re dropping like flies. Businesses
and products seen as susceptible to sudden irrelevance courtesy of artificial
intelligence are—one by one—being
laid low by Wall Street.
Business software. Tax planning and wealth
management. Now real estate services. Companies in this latest sector saw their
stocks sink today as investors decided they’re next on the AI hit parade as a
new crop of applications and tools threatens to disrupt several industries.
Shares of CBRE Group and Jones
Lang LaSalle plunged 12% and Cushman & Wakefield dropped 14%. For CBRE
and Cushman & Wakefield, the moves marked the biggest drop since the
Covid-driven collapse of 2020.
The Wednesday selloff delivered another
slap to a commercial real estate industry that’s struggled to regain its
footing since the pandemic. It also pointed up the strange duality of the
current market moment. As pessimists await the
bursting of an AI bubble that might trigger a market meltdown,
investors are assessing the technology’s potential for near-term success—and
acting accordingly.
“We believe investors are rotating out of
high-fee, labor-intensive business models viewed as potentially vulnerable to
AI-driven disruption,” Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Jade
Rahmani wrote in a note to clients. And as with everything on Wall Street,
the phenomenon has a name: the “AI
scare trade.” —David
E. Rovella
Wall
Street Is Dumping Stocks Seen Vulnerable to AI: Evening Briefing Americas -
Bloomberg
In Iran war news, war next week?
US Air Force tankers just departed RAF Mildenhall
escorting six F-35A fighter jets to Middle East
Published: Wednesday, February 11, 2026,
at 13:44 UTC
MILDENHALL, United Kingdom – A
significant movement of U.S. air assets was observed over the last several
hours as at least three KC-135R Stratotankers departed RAF Mildenhall,
signaling a strategic reinforcement of American presence in the Middle East.
According to flight tracking data and
regional sources, the tankers are providing essential aerial refueling support
for a squadron of F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters. The formation is
reportedly en route to Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
The F-35A Lightning II aircraft have been
identified as belonging to the Vermont Air National Guard’s 158th Fighter Wing.
Using the callsigns “Tabor 41” through “Tabor 46,” this group of six stealth
fighters arrived at RAF Lakenheath (neighboring Mildenhall) as a transit stop
before pushing further east.
The three KC-135R Stratotankers (callsigns
“Gold 81,” “Gold 82,” and “Gold 83”) provided the “Coronet” escort across the
Atlantic and are now facilitating the final leg to Jordan.
As of today, February 11, 2026, this
second wave of F-35s is expected to integrate with existing assets at Muwaffaq
Salti Air Base within the next 24 to 48 hours.
US
Air Force tankers just departed RAF Mildenhall escorting six F-35A fighter jets
to Middle East
In other news, commodity news.
A U.S. recession would be the biggest “black swan”
risk for the cattle industry
Glenda-Lee
Vossler, SwiftCurrentOnline.com | Monday, Feb 09 2026, 9:28 AM
The Canada-U.S. cattle market basically
functions as one interconnected North American market.
As a result it's important to know what's
happening with our neighbors to the south.
New data shows a dramatic decline in the
United States cattle herd, with little indication of a major rebuild in 2026.
Brad Magnusson with Magnusson Consulting
was the keynote speaker at Innovation Credit Union’s recent cattle market
update.
Magnusson, a livestock economist with over
40 years of experience working with cattle producers in Canada, the U.S. and
other countries, told producers the recent numbers are unprecedented in his
career.
U.S. cattle inventories at record lows
The total U.S. cattle and calf inventory
is now just over 86 million head, down sharply from roughly 140 million in
1974.
Beef cow numbers dipped about 1 percent,
while dairy cows increased roughly 2 percent, likely due to milk pricing
dynamics.
Magnusson noted the beef replacement
heifer herd rose 0.9 percent, but that gain was largely offset by the decline
in beef cows and other segments of the herd, suggesting flat to slightly
negative overall herd growth.
Stats show cattle on feed (all sizes) were
down about 3.3 percent, the calf crop declined roughly 1.6 percent, while
heifers under 550 pounds were down just over 0.6 percent
Magnusson said this points to a lack of
herd rebuilding in what would normally be considered a rebuilding year in a
typical cattle cycle.
As well, dry conditions throughout major
cattle feeding states like Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska and parts of the Dakotas
could further constrain production.
Canadian cattle herd expected to shrink
again
While updated Statistics Canada figures
have yet to be released, Magnusson expects Canada’s cow herd to decline by
about one percent again this year.
Alberta continues to hold the largest
share of Canada’s cattle, with roughly 44 percent of the national herd,
followed by Saskatchewan at just under 29 percent. Manitoba has taken the
biggest hit falling from more than 630,000 head a decade ago to about 377,000
today.
Nationally, Canada’s total cattle herd
sits at about 3.47 million head, a figure Magnusson described as largely
static.
With tighter cattle numbers and feeding
costs, we've seen retail beef prices surge.
Magnusson highlighted a major divergence
in retail pricing between Canada and the United States.
In Saskatchewan, retail beef prices rose
by about 33 percent in 2025, compared with roughly 17 percent in the U.S.
He points out that price gap can influence
where packers choose to sell product.
"If you’re a packer, you’d rather
sell beef into Canada than the U.S.," Magnusson said, pointing to stronger
retail returns north of the border.
Exports remain heavily tied to U.S. market
Despite ongoing discussion about market
diversification, Magnusson said Canada remains overwhelmingly dependent on U.S.
buyers.
Roughly 82 percent of Canadian beef
exports continue to flow south of the border, with smaller volumes heading to
Japan, Mexico, South Korea and China.
Magnusson cautioned against assumptions
that China could replace the U.S. as a major buyer, noting Chinese beef
consumption preferences lean toward fish, chicken and pork.
Trade uncertainty, record U.S. grain
production and a continued decline in Canada’s cattle herd are key factors
producers should watch heading into 2026.
Magnusson said he is not aware of any
confirmed special trade agreements between the United States and South American
beef exporters, despite speculation in the industry.
He noted former U.S. president Donald
Trump has signalled interest in moving away from trilateral trade frameworks in
favour of bilateral agreements with countries including Canada, Mexico and
potentially South American nations.
Lower feed costs, combined with strong
beef prices, are making heavier cattle weights more profitable in both Canada
and the U.S.
More
Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession
Watch.
Given
our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,
inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Get
gold!!!
America’s national debt borrowing binge means interest payments will
rocket to $2 trillion a year by 2036, CBO says
February 11, 2026, 10:27
AM ET
The White House of 2036
will have a mammoth task on its hands: It will need to rustle up more than $2
trillion a year to pay the interest on its national debt burden, approximately
5% of the nation’s entire economy.
According to the latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO),
the U.S. government will continue to run a sizable and growing deficit over the
next decade. In 2026, the shortfall
will stand at about $1.8 trillion, or 5.8% of GDP. Come 2036, that will
have ballooned to $3.1 trillion, or roughly 7% of the American
economy.
Projections of increased
borrowing year after year—regardless of whichever party is in the White
House—means the U.S. will also increase
the burden of interest payments needed to service its debt. At the
moment, America’s national debt stands at $38.59 trillion, with Treasury
data showing the government has paid out $427 billion in interest this
fiscal year alone.
While the Treasury has grown used to servicing its debt to the tune of more
than a trillion dollars annually for the past few years, that figure will
double to $2.14 trillion by 2036, nearly double the yearly budget for spending
on defense. According to an analysis
released by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget in
December, $1
trillion per year in annual interest payments will be normal from here
on out.
----The biggest revenue drivers for the government over
the next decade will be individual income taxes and payroll taxes, bringing in
$4.2 trillion and $2.66 trillion come 2036, respectively.
While the income of the
U.S. government will grow steadily, so too will its outgoings. By 2036,
mandatory outlays such as Social Security and major health care programs such
as Medicaid and Medicare will total more than $7 trillion, vying for the
majority of the government’s funding before discretionary spending can be
allocated.
Much of this is the
result of America‘s aging population: According to the Population Reference
Bureau, the number of Americans age 65 or older will grow from 58 million in
the early 2020s to 82 million come 2050, representing a 42% increase. As such,
Social Security outgoings will go from $1.6 trillion in 2026 to $2.7 trillion
in 2036, and health care programs will grow from $1.9 trillion to $3.1
trillion. This means the combined increases in spending on health care programs
and net interest outlays alone come to near a quarter of the size of America’s
economy in 10 years’ time.
In other words, aging
boomers have voted themselves increasingly lavish benefits, putting them on
future generations’ proverbial credit card.
More
National
debt interest payments will rocket to $2 trillion a year by 2036, CBO says |
Fortune
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy Warns Shoppers Are 'Starting To See More Of That
Impact' As Trump's 10% Tariffs Begin Hitting Prices On Amazon
Mon, February 9, 2026 at
11:01 AM GMT
Price changes are
beginning to appear across Amazon's marketplace.
Shoppers are
"starting to see more of that impact" as tariff-related costs begin
to show up in prices, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy told CNBC last
month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
"This year, people
are thinking about lots of things, but top of mind for many of us, including
one of the world's largest retailers, is pricing pressure on consumers amid the
Trump administration's tariff agenda," he said.
Tariffs Begin To Filter Into Prices
Jassy told CNBC that Amazon and many third-party sellers moved early last
year to limit the effects of tariffs by buying inventory ahead of time. That
strategy helped keep prices lower for a period as sellers tried to manage
uncertainty around where tariffs would settle.
“A lot of our third-party
sellers did a lot of forward staging in our fulfillment network for the same
reasons," he said. As those supplies run out, tariff costs are beginning
to appear in prices.
"So you start to see
some of the tariffs creep into the prices, some of the items," Jassy said.
Sellers are responding in different ways, including passing higher costs on to
consumers through higher prices or absorbing those costs to drive demand. He added
that Amazon carries hundreds of millions of items from about 2 million sellers.
Why Price Pressure Is Hard To Avoid
Jassy said Amazon is working with distribution and selling partners to keep prices as
low as possible, especially during periods of economic uncertainty and changes
in trade.
That is our focus,"
he told CNBC. "It has always been our focus."
Retail economics leave
limited room to absorb rising costs, Jassy said. "At a certain point,
because retail is, as you know, a mid-single digit operating margin business,
if people's costs go up by 10%, there aren't a lot of places to absorb it,"
he said. "You don't have endless options."
Consumers Adjust As Uncertainty Continues
He said consumers have
remained resilient and continue to spend, but many are adjusting how they shop.
Jassy said shoppers are
trading down in price, looking for bargains, and showing more hesitation around
higher-priced discretionary items. He added that improvements in delivery speed
have led to more customers buying everyday essentials on Amazon.
"Amazon's consumers
overall, I think, have fared well," Jassy told CNBC. "But, you know,
we'll have to see what happens."
Technology
Update.
With events happening fast in the
development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this
section Updates as they get reported.
Graphene concrete is rewriting the rules of construction
10 February 2026
Concrete has
quietly become one of the planet’s biggest climate problems, yet it remains the
backbone of modern cities and infrastructure. A new class of graphene concrete
is starting to change that equation, promising structures that are stronger,
leaner on materials, and far less carbon intensive. Instead of tweaking cement
chemistry at the margins, engineers are using atom‑thin carbon sheets to
rethink how concrete behaves from the inside out.
By folding Graphene
into mixes at tiny doses, researchers and companies are reporting dramatic
gains in strength, durability, and even intelligence, with concrete that can
sense stress or conduct heat and electricity. Those performance jumps are
already moving from lab benches to real projects, suggesting that graphene
concrete is not a distant science experiment but a technology beginning to
rewrite how I think about designing and maintaining buildings, bridges, and
roads.
Why concrete needs a radical rethink
For all its
ubiquity, conventional concrete is a blunt instrument: it is heavy, brittle,
and responsible for a large slice of global emissions because of the energy
intensive process of making cement. Analysts have highlighted that making
cement, the principal ingredient in concrete, accounts for about 5 percent of
global greenhouse gas output, a staggering burden for a single material that
underpins everything from housing to highways, as detailed in reporting on
new green concrete. That climate cost is colliding with a wave of urbanization and
infrastructure renewal, which means simply pouring more of the same mix is no
longer tenable.
At the same time,
the performance limits of traditional concrete are increasingly obvious in a
world of harsher weather and heavier loads. Cracking, corrosion, and water
ingress shorten the life of bridges and buildings, driving up maintenance costs
and disrupting communities when repairs or replacements are needed. Analysts
tracking advanced materials argue that Graphene, which is at once strong and
light, can act as a powerful reinforcement for cementitious composites, with
some studies suggesting that optimized mixes could cut concrete related CO2
emissions by up to 30 percent, as highlighted in work on materials of the. In that context, graphene concrete is less a niche curiosity and more a
potential answer to a structural problem in how we build.
How graphene transforms the mix
The basic idea behind graphene concrete
is deceptively simple: add tiny amounts of Graphene or related nanomaterials to
a standard cement mix and let their extraordinary properties reshape the
microstructure. Graphene and GO (graphene oxide) can increase the compressive
strength of concrete by up to significant multiples, according to civil
engineering specialist Jitender Kumar Choudhary, who describes how these additives bridge
microcracks and densify the cement matrix. In one widely cited experiment, when
tested, the graphene enhanced concrete was found to have a 146-percent increase
in compressive strength compared to regular mixes, a result that points to the
scale of improvement possible with carefully dispersed nanosheets, as
documented in trials where When tested performance
was benchmarked.
Those gains are not just theoretical.
Scientists at the University of Exeter reported that their graphene infused
“green” concrete delivered higher strength and water resistance while using
less material, describing a new composite that is more sustainable and
environmentally friendly than conventional options, as shown in work
where Scientists created
innovative mixes. Other researchers have catalogued how tailored graphene
materials, including functionalized graphene oxide and graphene nanoplatelet
composites, can improve toughness, reduce permeability, and extend service
life, with one comprehensive review concluding that the incorporation of
graphene can significantly enhance durability, longevity, and reduced
maintenance costs in structural applications, as summarized in a state of the
art analysis of recent advances.
More
Graphene concrete is rewriting the rules of construction
Next, the
world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.
World Debt Clocks
(usdebtclock.org)
The natural tendency of government, once in charge of money, is
to inflate and to destroy the value of the currency.
Murray Rothbard
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