US Jobs Day. Is China Dropping the Dollar? Tether Gets Gold.

 Baltic Dry Index. 1882 -13    Brent Crude 69.15

Spot Gold  5087                       Spot Silver 82.40

US 2 Year Yield 3.45 -0.03

US Federal Debt. 38.671 trillion US GDP 31.143 trillion.

"Gold is money. Everything else is credit." 

J.P. Morgan

With Japan’s stock casinos closed today and China getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year February 15-23, US retail sales disappointing, a delayed US jobs report due later today and a continued US military build up against Iran, who would want to be a US stock casino gambler today?

Will Trump use the Lunar New Year holiday and next Tuesday’s new moon as perfect timing for a US/Israeli attack on Iran?

Asia markets mostly rise as investors shrug off weak U.S. retail sales, assess China inflation

Published Tue, Feb 10 2026 7:01 PM EST

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher Wednesday, continuing their rally despite AI fears and weak economic data spooking U.S. investors.

The U.S. December retail sales report showed that consumer spending was flat, missing the 0.4% monthly gain that economists polled by Dow Jones were expecting.

In Asia, investors are assessing the latest data coming out from China.

The country’s consumer price index rose 0.2% in January from a year earlier, China’s National Bureau of Statistics data showed Wednesday. That’s below economists’ forecast of 0.4% increase in a Reuters poll, a sign of continued deflationary pressure in the absence of stronger stimulus.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 1.43%.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.6%, on pace for a third day of gains, while the small-cap Kosdaq was 0.55% higher.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.13%, while the mainland CSI 300 lost 0.26%.

Japan’s markets are closed for a public holiday.

Overnight in the U.S., the S&P 500 lost 0.33%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.59% as AI fears took hold on Wall Street. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1% to post a closing record of 50,188.14.

The index had scored its third consecutive intraday record earlier in the day, a move that comes after it surpassed the 50,000 level for the first time ever last week.

Asia markets mostly rise as investors shrug off weak U.S. retail sales, assess China inflation

The AI threat wrecked software stocks. Now financial stocks look next with LPL closing 8% lower

Published Tue, Feb 10 2026 2:10 PM EST Updated Tue, Feb 10 2026 4:35 PM EST

Shares of financial services firms tanked Tuesday after the launch of a new tax planning tool powered by artificial intelligence that promises to do the work “within minutes.”

LPL Financial closed 8.31% lower after tumbling 11% in midday trading, while Charles Schwab fell 7.42% and Raymond James Financial lost 8.75% amid fears that AI will disrupt their industry next. Morgan Stanley dropped 2.4%.

Tech platform Altruist announced the offering within its AI platform, Hazel, and said it “helps advisors create fully personalized tax strategies for clients by reading and interpreting their 1040s, paystubs, account statements, meeting notes, emails, and custodial and CRM data, and applying deep tax logic to the analysis.”

It appears investors are worried about AI replacing some of the profitable offerings of established financial advisor firms, or at the very least, eating away at their margins.

We saw this earlier this year with the software stocks after Anthropic’s latest AI model appeared able to be allow businesses to do legal work and build programs for which they would otherwise pay an expensive license.

The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF (IGV) is down by 19% this year as shares of companies like ServiceNow and LegalZoom cratered.

The iShares U.S. Broker-Dealers and Securities ETF was off by 3.13% on Tuesday.

The AI threat wrecked software stocks. Now financial stocks look next with LPL closing 8% lower

In other news, Tether switches to gold. When things go wrong in Italy.

Gold still represents the ultimate form of payment in the world. Fiat money in extremis is accepted by nobody. Gold is always accepted.

Alan Greenspan

Tether's gold stash tops $23 billion as buying outpaces nation states, Jefferies says

The Wall Street investment bank estimates the crypto firm holds at least 148 tonnes of physical gold holdings, joining top 30 global holders of bullion.

Feb 9, 2026, 7:28 a.m.

What to know:

• Tether bought an estimated 32 tonnes of physical gold in late 2025 and January 2026, Jefferies analysts said.
• The pace of buying trailed only Brazil and Poland, with firm's total holdings of now rival those of mid-sized sovereign nations, the report said.
• Tether held gold as reserves to back the value of its USDT stablecoin and gold-backed XAUT, while CEO Paolo Ardoino disclosed plans to shift up to 15% of the firm's investment portfolio to the bullion.

Tether, the crypto firm behind the world's most popular stablecoin USDT$0.9993, continued its gold hoarding over the past month, ranking within the top 30 global owners of the metal and surpassing several sovereign nations, according to a Sunday report from Wall Street investment bank Jefferies.

The stablecoin issuer’s gold reserves rose to an estimated 148 tonnes by Jan. 31, valued at roughly $23 billion, after buying about 26 tonnes in the last quarter of 2025 and adding another 6 tonnes in January, Jefferies analysts said.

Jefferies estimates show Tether’s quarterly gold buying exceeded that of most individual central banks, trailing only Poland and Brazil during that period.

At current levels, Tether’s holdings exceed those of countries such as Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, South Korea and Greece, placing the crypto firm among the top 30 holders of bullion worldwide and one of the largest non-sovereign buyers, the analysts said.

The 148 tonnes of bullion is held as reserves backing both its U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT and its gold-backed token XAUT. But the company may hold more gold than disclosed, the report added.

Because Tether is privately held, the figures represent a minimum estimate of its total gold exposure, with undisclosed additional purchases likely made on the company’s balance sheet.

According to the USDT's fourth quarter attestation, some $17 billion of gold was in the reserves, amounting to 126 tonnes as of year-end gold prices.

XAUT's supply grew to 712,000 tokens worth $3.2 billion by the end of January, an increase of 6 tonnes of gold backing the tokens. CEO Paolo Ardoino told CoinDesk in an October interview that the gold-back enjoyed strong retail demand mainly from emerging markets.

The accumulation coincided with a record-breaking rally in gold, topping $5,000 per ounces last month and advancing nearly 50% since September. The driving forces behind the move is central bank demand, rising long-term government bond yields and efforts by some investors to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar.

The company's buying spree may continue, Jefferies noted. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company plans to allocate 10%-15% of its investment portfolio to physical gold, formalizing a strategy that has already played out over several years.

Tether's investment portfolio was valued at $20 billion as of the end of last year, CoinDesk reported.

Tether's gold stash tops $23 billion as buying outpaces nation states, Jefferies says

Who's Mariah Carey? Italian journalists to strike after commentator's blunders at opening ceremony

9 February 2026

Misidentifying Mariah Carey. Mistaking the Olympics' top boss for the Italian president’s daughter. Confusing the location of the opening ceremony. These gaffes at the Milan Cortina Winter Games by a top Italian broadcaster's commentator so thoroughly embarrassed its staff that they're going on strike.

Journalists from RaiSport announced on Monday that they were adopting protest measures — including strikes after the Games end — following RaiSport director Paolo Petrecca’s blunder-strewn commentary on Friday.

The channel is part of Rai, the Italian state-owned network that is broadcasting free-to-air coverage of its home Games.

A spokesperson for the broadcaster told The Associated Press that Petrecca has been removed from the commentary team for the Feb. 22 closing ceremony after a meeting on Monday afternoon with Rai CEO Giampaolo Rossi.

One blunder after another

First among Petrecca's many mistakes, he welcomed viewers to the “Stadio Olimpico” (In English, “Olympic Stadium”), the name of a massive arena in Rome. In fact, he was standing inside the iconic San Siro, known across Italy as the home to legendary soccer clubs Inter Milan and AC Milan.

“The show continues with Mariah Carey,” he said as the camera locked onto Italian actress Matilda De Angelis, who is known throughout the country. Carey is more than 25 years older than her, and a global superstar. (De Angelis has since posted photos of the ceremony to Instagram with the caption: “Please, call me Mariah.”)

And when Italian President Sergio Mattarella walked into the stadium with International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry, Petrecca announced “Mattarella … and his daughter.”

The channel’s Comitato di Redazione — the internal union body that represents its journalists — issued a statement on Monday that all reporters and commentators would withhold their bylines until the end of the Winter Olympics, and that there would be three days of strikes after the Games.

“We have all been embarrassed, no one excluded, and through no fault of our own,” read the statement. “It is time to make our voices heard because we are facing the worst-ever figure of RaiSport in one of the most eagerly awaited events ever.”

Petrecca wasn't supposed to commentate on the opening ceremony, but decided to replace Auro Bulbarelli, who removed himself from the team after spoiling what was meant to be the surprise arrival of Mattarella aboard one of the city’s classic orange trams, driven by former motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi.

Among his other errors during Friday’s commentary was evidently failing to recognize Italy’s male and female volleyball teams. Both are world champions, and the women are also the reigning Olympic champions. Representatives from both carried the Olympic flame toward the end of the ceremony.

Petrecca named only one of the women, while referring to the remaining five champions as “other torchbearers.”

“Thanks to the commentators,” men’s captain Simone Giannelli commented on a post on Instagram, followed by three laughing-crying emojis.

Who's Mariah Carey? Italian journalists to strike after commentator's blunders at opening ceremony

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.

This is what happens when you weaponise the dollar, putting into question the safety of using the dollar reserve standard.

China asks banks to curb US Treasury exposure as bond market jitters grow

Tuesday, February 10, 2026 | 09:17 AM IST

Treasuries extended losses after Chinese regulators were said to have advised the nation’s financial institutions to rein in their holdings of US government bonds due to concerns over market volatility.

Yields on benchmark Treasuries climbed as much as four basis points to 4.25 per cent . In London, the yield was up 2 basis points at 4.22 per cent and the rate on the 30-year bond rose three basis points to 4.88 per cent . The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.2 per cent .

Chinese officials had urged banks to limit purchases of US government bonds, and instructed those with high exposure to pare their positions, according to sources. The officials didn’t give any specific target on size or timing and the directive doesn’t apply to China’s state holdings of Treasuries. The request may reinforce a recent global trend that has seen the likes of India and Brazil lower their exposure to the world’s biggest bond market amid growing doubts about the appeal of US assets. 

China-based investors’ holdings of Treasuries have halved to $682.6 billion, the lowest level since 2008, from a peak of $1.32 trillion reached in late 2013, according to official US data. Taken together with Chinese holdings of US agency bonds and equities, the Asian nation’s outstanding investment in American securities has remained relatively stable since late 2023. China is the third-largest foreign holder of Treasuries, after Japan and the UK.

China asks banks to curb US Treasury exposure as bond market jitters grow | World News - Business Standard

US Consumer Delinquencies at the Highest Since 2017

February 10, 2026 at 11:17 PM GMT

Delinquency rates on loans ranging from mortgages to credit cards rose to 4.8% of all outstanding US household debt in the fourth quarter, the highest level since 2017, driven by rising defaults among low-income and young borrowers.

While the overall share of loans in some stage of default is near pre-pandemic averages, the rise in delinquencies among the lowest earners adds to evidence of an increasingly bifurcated economy, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit released Tuesday showed.

The rise in defaults was driven by delinquencies in mortgage payments, with New York Fed researchers finding them particularly high in lower-income zip codes. Student-loan delinquencies, which have surged following the end of a pandemic pause in payment requirements and Donald Trump’s new effort to crack down on indebted student borrowers, have contributed to the rise in defaults.

The increased struggle among low-income and young borrowers unable to pay their loans is consistent with elevated unemployment rates among some parts of the US population. The jobless rate for workers 16 to 24 years old stood at 10.4% in December, near the highest levels since the depths of the pandemic.

US Delinquencies at Their Highest Since 2017: Evening Briefing Americas - Bloomberg

Disappointing holiday season: December retail sales were flat, falling well short of estimate

Published Tue, Feb 10 2026 8:33 AM EST Updated Tue, Feb 10 2026 11:05 AM EST

Consumer activity slowed sharply for the December holiday shopping season amid a spate of rough weather, tariff impact and persistently higher inflation, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Retail sales were flat on the month following a 0.6% increase in November, according to numbers adjusted for seasonality but not inflation. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected an increase of 0.4%. Excluding autos, sales also were unchanged, against the estimate for a 0.3% increase.

On an annual basis, sales rose 2.4%, a considerable step down from the 3.3% pace in November. Sales ex-autos were up 3.3% annually in December. A measure known as the “control group” of sales that excludes a number of items and feeds directly into gross domestic product calculations showed a 0.1% drop for the month.

The report puts a downbeat end to an otherwise solid year for shopping activity, with higher-end consumers spending briskly through much of 2025, though those on the lower end of the income spectrum were more cautious.

The shopping pace failed to keep up with inflation, as the consumer price index for December posted a 2.7% increase.

For December, multiple categories posted losses while only a few showed notable gains.

Miscellaneous retailers and furniture stores posted declines of 0.9%, while clothing and accessories stores were off 0.7%, and electronics and appliances saw a drop of 0.4%. Online outlets sales rose just 0.1%, while building materials and garden centers saw the strongest gain, up 1.2%.

“This is a K-shaped economy with strong spending from the top and much more cautious spending from middle- and lower-income consumers,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “Retail sales were flat in December, driven by soft spending on autos, home furnishings, appliances and clothing. These items were hard hit by tariffs in 2025 and consumers shifted their spending elsewhere.”

More

Disappointing holiday season: December retail sales were flat, falling well short of estimate

There can be no other criterion, no other standard than gold. Yes, gold which never changes, which can be shaped into ingots, bars, coins, which has no nationality and which is eternally and universally accepted as the unalterable fiduciary value par excellence.

Charles de Gaulle

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.

‘Impossible’: Taiwan pushes back against Washington’s 40% chip supply relocation goal

Published Mon, Feb 9 2026 11:05 PM EST

Taiwan has told Washington that its proposal to move 40% of the island’s semiconductor supply chain to the U.S. was “impossible,” Taipei’s top tariff trade negotiator said in an interview.

Speaking on a local television broadcast Sunday, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun said she had made it clear to Washington that the country’s semiconductor ecosystem, built over decades, could not simply be relocated.

Taiwan’s international expansion, including its investments in the U.S., is predicated on the notion that the industry remains’ rooted in Taiwan and continues to expand domestic investments, she said in Mandarin, translated by CNBC.

The comments push back against onshoring targets outlined by U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in a CNBC interview in January, shortly after the latest U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement. Lutnick said he wanted 40% of Taiwan’s entire chip supply chain to shift to the U.S. within President Donald Trump’s ongoing term.

Under the deal, the Taiwanese government promised $250 billion in direct investments by its tech companies, with an additional $250 billion in credit provided for them to expand their production capacity in the U.S.

Washington on its part lowered levies on most goods from Taiwan to 15% from 20%, waived tariffs on generic drugs and ingredients, aircraft components and natural resources unavailable domestically, and promised higher quotas for tariff-free exports of Taiwanese chips to the U.S. 

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s leading contract chipmaker and producer of the most advanced semiconductors, has already been working to better align with U.S. policy interests.

The company has committed more than $65 billion to U.S. manufacturing in recent years, with plans to expand that to $165 billion, as it produces chips for American clients Apple and Nvidia. The investments have also leveraged grants under the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act.

But according to Lutnick, Washington is also looking for hundreds of other smaller companies in the chip supply chain to come to the U.S.

“We’re going to build giant semiconductor industrial parks in America ... This is a $500 billion down payment on let’s bring those semiconductors home,” he said in January, adding that Taiwan-based chip companies that don’t build in the U.S are likely to face a 100% tariff Trump has threatened against the sector.

However, semiconductor analysts broadly agree with Cheng’s assessment that Washington’s most ambitious onshoring plans are unfeasible, citing the difficulties of relocating such an advanced supply chain.

Analysts and industry officials point to Taiwan’s deeply integrated semiconductor ecosystem, U.S. labor shortages and elevated costs as some of the key obstacles.

More

 'Impossible': Taiwan pushes back against Washington’s 40% chip supply relocation goal

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)

The gold standard makes the money's purchasing power independent of the changing, ambitions and doctrines of political parties and pressure groups. This is not a defect of the gold standard; it is its main excellence.

Ludwig von Mises