Cryptocurrencies
Circle Internet Group shares fell after CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen announced plans to step down, putting leadership continuity in focus even as a new Volante Technologies collaboration opens another path for USDC adoption across bank payment systems.
Macro
Oil prices climbed as the Strait of Hormuz impasse continued, keeping inflation and interest-rate concerns elevated. Gold and Bitcoin retreated while stocks and bonds came under pressure as investors reassessed the outlook for Federal Reserve policy.
Innovation & Tech
AI dominated the week, but the broader market told a more complex story as investors weighed infrastructure spending, monetization, earnings quality, restructuring, trade, crypto, energy and borrowing costs.
Innovation & Tech
Akamai’s $11.6 billion, seven-year agreement with Anthropic sharply expands its cloud infrastructure business, with the potential commitment reaching roughly $20 billion as AI demand drives greater need for computing capacity.
Innovation & Tech
Zscaler fell about 9% after an unexpected sales leadership transition, even as broader cybersecurity demand is gaining attention from AI-related security risks. CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks and other vendors are expanding their focus on securing AI systems and agents.
Earnings
Costco's fiscal fourth quarter topped earnings and revenue expectations as comparable sales and digital demand remained strong. Slower paid-membership growth and higher costs remain areas to watch as the retailer prepares a $7.5 billion fiscal 2027 capital program.
Innovation & Tech
Microsoft is combining AI chat, coding and autonomous agents inside a redesigned Copilot, sharpening its focus on workplace AI as it seeks broader adoption and new consumption-based revenue.
Innovation & Tech
Datadog (DDOG) extended its strong 2026 run, with shares climbing about 7% as investors weighed rapid revenue growth, expanding AI workloads and bullish analyst coverage against an increasingly elevated valuation.
Business Trends
Starbucks (SBUX) is closing about 250 North American stores as it sharpens its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround. The move carries roughly $300 million in restructuring charges while the company continues remodeling cafes and plans longer-term expansion.
Business Trends
Everpure (P) surged after outlining a stronger growth outlook driven by AI infrastructure, hyperscale customers and an expanding data-management business. The outlook also prompted several Wall Street analysts to raise their price targets.
Innovation & Tech
Oracle (ORCL) fell about 5% after reports that it invoked force majeure protections tied to Project Jupiter, a major New Mexico AI data center, putting renewed attention on project delays, capital spending and the financial demands of its infrastructure expansion.
Price Action
MGM Resorts International (MGM) sank about 10% after Barry Diller’s People Inc. withdrew its $48.30-per-share acquisition proposal, removing a major takeover catalyst and shifting attention back to MGM’s standalone operations.