Good afternoon,
You know we have reached a strange moment in the cycle when the Attorney General accidentally calls the top. AG Pam Bondi went on a televised tear about the stock market yesterday during a Congressional hearing on the Epstein files, and the indices immediately decided to take a nose dive.
Traders are already coining it the "Bondi Top." It’s a joke, until it isn’t. When political figures start conflating legal grievances with market valuations on live TV, the algorithmic sentiment traders get spooked.
The result was a swift sell-off that wiped out gains for the week. It’s a good reminder that in a market priced for perfection, even the strangest catalyst can trigger a correction.
Getting started.
The Pulse
As of 02/12/2026 market close.
Markets
US equities took a hit yesterday as the "AI existential threat" narrative started pricing into broader sectors.
The S&P 500 dropped for the third consecutive day, slipping into negative territory for the year.
Sugar prices collapsed to post-Covid lows - the "Ozempic effect" on consumption is getting real.
Earnings
Prediction Markets
Everything’s possible. Again. (Polymarket)
Headline Hunt
AG Bondi claims the stock rally is a response to her Epstein questioning. (CNBC)
The US labor market is stabilizing, though housing remains stuck in neutral. (RT)
Tech IPOs are getting overshadowed by the looming $1T wave of debt sales. (CNBC)
Alphabet issued a 100-year bond, raising eyebrows about long-term AI credit risk. (CNBC)
Four EY partners resigned after violating independence rules. (FT)
Spotify says its developers haven't written raw code since December thanks to AI. (TC)
Polymarket opened a free grocery store in NYC. (BBG)
Hermès CEO Axel Dumas labeled Jeffrey Epstein a "financial predator." (RT)
The US is ending the immigration enforcement blitz in Minnesota. (BBG)
The Deal Room
M&A / Investments
Toyota Group is sticking to its guns, extending the $35B tender offer for Toyota Industries despite falling short of the shareholder vote threshold. Activist Elliott is fighting it.
Mercedes-Benz is offloading a stake in Daimler Truck worth $14.2B.
Blackstone and EQT are picking up waste manager Urbaser from Platinum Equity for $6.6B.
Mercuria bought back a 4.99% stake from Chinese state fund CNIC.
Venture Flow
Anthropic secured a massive $30B Series D at a $380B valuation. Investors include ICONIQ, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, and MGX.
Opaque Systems raised $24M Series B at a $300M valuation led by Walden Catalyst.
IPO / Direct Listings / Issuances / Block Trades
Palo Alto Networks ($113B market cap) is planning a dual listing in Israel.
SoftBank sold $3.5B worth of T-Mobile shares to fund its AI push.
PayPay (SoftBank-backed) filed for a US IPO to raise $2B at a $10B valuation.
The Debt Desk
SoftBank loaded up on another $27B in debt to fuel the OpenAI bet.
Tract Capital sold $3.8B in junk bonds to build a data center for Nvidia.
Chicago is selling $1B in high-yield munis.
Republic of Congo is planning a eurobond sale.
Fresh Capital
Japan and the US are deploying capital from Japan's massive $550B investment vehicle.
Crypto Corner
Coinbase swung to a $667M loss as revenue dragged.
Binance finalized its $1B SAFU reserve conversion.
Ark Invest bought Bullish stock for the ninth straight day.
Bitcoin treasuries added $3.5B in January.
Gen Z is flirting with crypto to pay for Valentine’s dates.
Today’s Meme Pick
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