9to5 : Spotify’s newest feature makes playlists sound better

Spotify’s newest feature makes playlists sound better

There’s some serious competition happening right now between music streaming services to make transitions between songs sound better. Spotify’s new Smart Reorder feature continues that push.

Spotify is giving Premium subscribers the ability to intelligently reorder songs in a playlist based on two factors that will improve flow between songs: beats per minute and key.

Smart Reorder automatically taps into these music elements so tracks on a playlist with similar speed and sound can stay together and offer smoother transitions.

Here’s how the feature looks in action:
Spotify says it’s a simple two-step process:
  1. Tap Mix on one of your playlists and then tap Edit to find Smart Reorder.
  2. Tracks are now reordered with BPM and key so that your transitions sound better.

The feature builds on Spotify’s ability to add and adjust transition points in tracks from last fall.

Apple Music upgraded song transitions in a huge way with AutoMix as part of iOS 26 — no manual input required.

FT : Aston Martin chair Lawrence Stroll not considering sale of luxury carmaker,

Aston Martin chair Lawrence Stroll not considering sale of luxury carmaker, says CEO
Formula 1 naming rights deal raised concerns among investors about disposal by Canadian billionaire

Aston Martin chair Lawrence Stroll is not considering an exit from his investment in the UK luxury-car maker, its chief executive says, as the company haemorrhages cash and struggles to turn itself around.

In an interview, Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark defended the £50mn sale of its Formula 1 naming rights to AMR GP Holdings, the racing team’s holding company that is indirectly controlled by Stroll.

The deal, announced last week, had raised concerns among some investors that it paved the way for Stroll to sell the carmaker since he had secured perpetual rights to use the Aston Martin name for the racing team.

“I can’t speak for Lawrence directly but everything I’ve seen in the past 15 months demonstrates more commitment to this brand than probably any other shareholder in the history of this brand,” Hallmark said, adding that the sale of the F1 naming rights was “supportive and not an exit strategy at all”.

Last year, Aston Martin raised £52.5mn by selling 75mn new shares to Stroll’s consortium, which increased its stake in the group to 33 per cent from 28 per cent. Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, China’s Geely and Germany’s Mercedes-Benz also own stakes in the carmaker. 

After the company raised another £50mn by selling its F1 naming rights to AMR, some shareholders questioned whether the valuation was low. Aston Martin had paid about £20mn a year to AMR — equivalent to 40 per cent of the sale of the naming rights — to put the Aston Martin name on its race cars under a sponsorship deal. 

Chief financial officer Doug Lafferty said the valuation was “independently verified” and that it was “a good deal” for both parties, allowing the group to monetise an existing long-term agreement under which AMR can use the company name in F1 until 2055. 

Despite repeated funding support from Stroll, there has been consistent investor speculation over the Canadian billionaire’s intentions with Aston Martin in the longer term. The company also faces future funding needs with a cash liability of £73mn from 2026 onwards related to a deal with US electric-car maker Lucid to use its technology.

The sale of its F1 naming rights came as Aston Martin on Wednesday reported that its adjusted loss before tax and interest more than doubled from 2024 to £189mn in 2025, while its net debt increased 19 per cent to £1.4bn. The company issued a profit warning last week and confirmed plans to reduce its worldwide workforce by up to 20 per cent as it came under fresh pressure from higher US tariffs. 

For 2026, the carmaker projected that its wholesale volumes would probably remain flat at about 5,450 vehicles while its gross margin is expected to improve into the upper 30 per cent level compared with 29 per cent last year.

Since taking over as CEO in September 2024, Hallmark has promised to make the company more “boring” in operational terms to bring more stability and predictability to the business. But it has issued repeated profit warnings over the past year as it faced supply chain disruption and uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump’s trade war. 

Pointing to improvements in cost discipline, quality and delivery of its products, Hallmark said he was optimistic about a turnaround for the company.

But he warned: “The volatility is still so high . . . so we’re optimistic but we’re on standby for anything that happens.”

Under the US-UK trade deal that took effect last year, Trump agreed to cut a 27.5 per cent tariff on cars imported from the UK to 10 per cent for the first 100,000 vehicles each year. But the system has created uncertainty since the quota is based on a first-come, first-served basis. 

“The challenge with [the quota system] is that if there is a crisis, the lead time to put changes in place is so long that it creates another crisis,” Hallmark said. “But at the moment, there is not a lot of demonstrable progress in coming to a better resolution.”

FT : German lawmakers cut value of drones programme in blow to government

German lawmakers cut value of drones programme in blow to government
Members of parliament impose €1bn cap on deals with companies backed by Peter Thiel and Daniel Ek

German lawmakers have slashed the value of two flagship contracts to buy kamikaze drones from start-ups backed by tech billionaires Peter Thiel and Daniel Ek, striking a blow to Berlin’s plans to adopt unmanned weapons.

The Bundestag’s budget committee, which has the power to block or amend all significant arms deals, stressed the need for “moderation” in military spending as it cut the total expenditure on contracts with Stark and Helsing.

Berlin-based start-up Stark, backed by Thiel, had been set for a contract worth as much as €2.9bn, while Munich-based Helsing, whose backers include Spotify founder Ek, was in line for a deal valued at up to €1.46bn.

But the committee on Wednesday cut the maximum combined value of the two contracts by more than half, imposing a cap of €1bn per producer.

It also mandated the defence ministry to approve further drone purchases beyond an initial order, worth €269mn for each company.

A motion approved by the committee acknowledged the need for decisiveness and speed as Germany seeks to spend hundreds of billions of euros on overhauling its military in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“Security demands decisiveness. Budgetary management demands moderation,” the committee said. “Where military urgency meets commitments of billions, it is the task of parliament to combine speed with responsibility,” it added.

The discrepancy in the price between the two companies had caused unease among some members of parliament, who also had concerns about committing billions of euros in taxpayer funds to two young companies whose products have yet to be fully proved as effective in combat. 

One person familiar with the details of the contracts told the FT that the Virtus drones produced by Stark were twice as expensive as the HX-2 made by Helsing. A person close to Stark said the two companies’ systems could not be directly compared and had different performance parameters.

Green members of parliament have also voiced concerns about Thiel’s role as a shareholder, though Wednesday’s motion made no mention of him.

Defence minister Boris Pistorius and his officials have stressed the importance of procuring drones from more than one company to ensure that the military was not over-reliant on a single start-up.

Officials also plan to award a contract for armed drones to Rheinmetall in the coming weeks or months, the FT reported this week.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s decision, Pistorius said the deal was “extremely important”. He said Berlin needed to “intensify” work on drone technology and learn from the experience of Ukraine.

The move to limit the value of the drone contracts is likely to deepen tensions between the defence ministry and the budget committee. They have already clashed over several other deals this year.

Stark said the approval of its contract marked “a new era in German defence policy and demonstrates trust in innovative companies”.

Asked about the cap on its value, a spokesperson said: “We are ready at any time to deliver additional systems if required.”

Helsing declined to comment. The defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

TechCrunch : Self-driving tech startup Wayve raises $1.2B from Nvidia, Uber, and

Self-driving tech startup Wayve raises $1.2B from Nvidia, Uber, and three automakers

Wayve’s self-driving tech has attracted a diverse set of investors in the company’s latest $1.2 billion funding round, including three automakers, top venture and institutional firms, and returning backers Microsoft, Nvidia, and Uber. The total raise could reach $1.5 billion thanks to another $300 million from Uber contingent on deploying robotaxis, beginning in London.

Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of the U.K. startup, which is now valued at $8.6 billion. The funding round illustrates the eagerness among Big Tech, legacy automakers, and the investor community to profit from the burgeoning automated driving industry.

Wayve provides what founder and CEO Alex Kendall calls the “contrarian” option in automated driving — contrarian both in its approach to tech and its business model, he told TechCrunch in an interview Tuesday.

“I think the technology chessboard is set around where different companies have invested on the technology strategy, and now the commercial chessboard is being arranged,” Kendall said. “We took a very contrarian view on the technology side. We were the first to build end-to-end deep learning for autonomous driving, and we pioneered this approach. Now, when it comes to this phase of moving into commercialization, we’re also taking a contrarian business model approach.”

Wayve, which launched in 2017, uses a self-learning approach to its software. The company developed a software layer using an end-to-end neural network that doesn’t require high-definition maps and only uses data to teach the vehicle how to drive.

This data-driven learning approach underpins two products: an “eyes on” assisted-driving system and an “eyes off” fully automated-driving system that could be applied to robotaxis or consumer vehicles that can handle all of the driving in certain environments.

The company’s pitch to customers is the agnostic nature of its technology, which is not reliant on specific sensors or maps. The automated-driving software captures data from whatever sensors are on the vehicle and directs the system’s driving decisions. Wayve’s software can also run on whatever chip its OEM partners already have in their vehicles.


It should be noted, however, that Nvidia, which is also a backer, has had a close development relationship with Wayve since 2018. The startup’s Gen 3 platform, which was unveiled last fall, uses an in-vehicle compute autonomous vehicle development kit called Nvidia Drive AGX Thor. The Gen 3 platform will allow Wayve to offer eyes-off advanced driving-assistance systems and Level 4 — or fully driverless — features that will work on city streets and highways.

The company’s tech is somewhat similar to how Tesla has approached automated driving, although there are key differences in their business models.

Wayve doesn’t want to be the operator of its hands-free driving-assistance system or its “eyes-off” fully automated-driving system. (For comparison, Waymo is largely the operator of its robotaxis, although it does have partners.) Nor does Wayve want to build vehicles bundled with its own software, as Tesla does. Instead, it is selling its “embodied AI” to automakers and other tech companies like Uber.

Kendall argues that this is the business model with the largest addressable market, but he says it’s only viable because Wayve built an AI that generalizes across different hardware and environments.

“If you build an autonomy stack that’s specific to a sensor or compute architecture, [or] if you build it where it requires mapping or something like this, then you can’t take option three,” Kendall said, referring to the business model his company has chosen.

Nissan and Uber are both Wayve customers. Nissan said the startup’s self-driving software will be used to beef up the advanced driver-assistance system in its cars starting in 2027. Meanwhile, later this year, Uber plans to launch commercial trials in vehicles equipped with Wayve’s software.

Its relationship with Uber appears poised to stretch well beyond a pilot program, though. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi’s statement Tuesday hints at the scope of its partnership with and investment in Wayve.

“We are very proud to continue to deepen our partnership with Wayve, with plans to deploy together in more than 10 markets around the world. Wayve’s powerful end-to-end approach is purpose-built for scale, safety, and effectiveness, and we’re excited to work with them across multiple OEMs and geographies, which we’ll share more about soon.”

The round was led by Eclipse, Balderton, and SoftBank Vision Fund 2. New investors include the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Baillie Gifford, British Business Bank, Icehouse Ventures, Schroders Capital, and other global institutional investors, the company said.

Global automakers Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Stellantis — all of which plan to use Wayve’s technology — also participated. Nvidia, which participated in Wayve’s $1.05 billion Series C round, said last year it was evaluating a $500 million strategic investment in Wayve’s next raise. While Nvidia did participate, Kendall wouldn’t disclose the exact amount of its investment or whether it came close to that $500 million figure.

The Information : Why OpenAI’s Cerebras Chip Deal Matters; What Anthropic Wants

Why OpenAI’s Cerebras Chip Deal Matters; What Anthropic Wants to Know About Chinese Rivals

OpenAI executives have repeatedly signaled, both publicly and privately, that the only factor limiting the company’s revenue growth is access to computational resources. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar wrote an entire blog post on this topic earlier this year, and OpenAI executives highlighted the message again in a presentation to investors last week.

In the meeting, execs emphasized how the company has struck a variety of deals in recent months with cloud and chip providers including Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon Web Services, Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom to ensure it’ll have access to enough powerful servers to continue growing, according to a person with knowledge of the presentation. But in one way the most important deal may be OpenAI’s agreement to buy $10 billion worth of chips from a lesser known chip firm—Cerebras Systems—which OpenAI executives spent extra time highlighting last week, the person said.

It turns out the reason OpenAI struck the deal is highly technical but symbolizes OpenAI’s strategy for turning profitable: using different kinds of hardware in a way that reduces its costs.

Cerebras’ chips, for instance, aim to be faster and more efficient in running models, a process known as inference, than traditional AI chips such as Nvidia’s graphics processing units. Cerebras chips keep data on the processor itself through a type of computer memory known as Static Random-Access Memory, minimizing the need to shuttle data back and forth to separate high-bandwidth memory chips. As a result, the chips (in theory) process data faster for specific tasks involving AI apps.

Nvidia GPUs, in comparison, are much larger and take longer to process data, although they also have more flexibility to handle different types of operations well.

If Cerebras’s approach sounds familiar, that’s because another chip designer, Groq, uses a similar SRAM technology. But Nvidia signed a $20 billion deal in December to license tech from Groq and hire away its top talent, making it harder for other firms to work with the chip designer.

This all matters because OpenAI, as it revealed to investors last week, has sharply increased the amount of money it expects to burn between now and 2029 to $218 billion, including $140 billion on inference costs in that span. It needs to reassure investors it has some path to making money. The company is also working on developing its own inference-focused chip with Broadcom, which could also help bring down inference costs compared to using GPUs.

Of course, this is a lot to ask investors to believe in, especially for a company in a field as fast-changing as AI. And OpenAI already missed its margin projections last year, which doesn’t look great for future profitability goals.

But the company is going to need to convince investors that this is a viable strategy, especially since it’s going to have to keep fundraising to afford the unprecedented cash burn it has projected.

>>> La Lettre — February 26, 2026 — Summary

La Lettre — February 26, 2026 — Summary

1. Tikehau Capital Slow to Deploy Its Second Aero & Defense Fund
EN: Nearly two years after launch, Tikehau Capital’s Ace Aéro Partenaires 2 (AAP2) fund — with a €582M envelope — has deployed only 6% (€35M) as of end-September 2025. This is despite urgent financing needs in the European defense sector following government calls to mobilize €5B for armaments. The fund benefited from a €425M force de frappe after a first closing, including €110M from Tikehau itself. The firm has also suffered significant expert departures: Marwan Lahoud (ex-Airbus #2) left for Messier & Associés, Franck Crépin (ex-Airbus/Bombardier) was ousted, and Adrien Dassault (strategic relationships) departed in November 2025.
FR: Près de deux ans après son lancement, le fonds AAP2 de Tikehau Capital (€582M) n’a déployé que 6% de son enveloppe (€35M) à fin septembre 2025, malgré les besoins urgents de financement de la défense européenne. Le fonds a aussi perdu plusieurs experts clés du secteur aéro-défense, réduisant sa capacité opérationnelle.
🔎 HF Comment: Tikehau’s deployment lag vs. the massive European defense spending ramp is a notable signal. The talent exodus raises execution risk questions on AAP2. Worth monitoring whether Tikehau can capitalize on the defense capex wave or if competitors (Weinberg Capital, Bpifrance) capture the deal flow. The disconnect between political momentum for defense spending and Tikehau’s slow capital deployment could create opportunities for more agile players.

2. The Archbishop of Paris Courts Mayoral Candidates
EN: The Paris Archbishop received the main municipal election candidates on February 20 to discuss religious heritage preservation, Catholic education, and solidarity issues. All major candidates except Sophia Chikirou (LFI) attended. Key topics included the renovation of pre-1905 churches and controversies around subsidies to Lycée Stanislas.
FR: L’archevêché de Paris a reçu les principaux candidats aux municipales pour évoquer le patrimoine religieux, l’enseignement catholique et les solidarités. Tous sauf la candidate LFI étaient présents.
🔎 HF Comment: Limited direct market relevance, but signals the political dynamics around Paris municipal elections and the role of institutional influence networks.

3. DSA: France’s Counter-Attack After Washington’s Offensive
EN: French MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin is pressing the European Commission to protect EU officials from potential US sanctions linked to their work on the Digital Services Act (DSA). A US Congressional report, driven by Republican Jim Jordan, accuses the DSA of suppressing online free speech. Washington demanded tech giants hand over all correspondence with the Commission. Macron personally wrote to Trump in early February asking him to lift sanctions against Thierry Breton, the former EU commissioner who initiated the DSA. Judge Nicolas Guillou (ICC) is also facing US financial sanctions.
FR: La France pousse Bruxelles à protéger les fonctionnaires européens visés par d’éventuelles sanctions américaines liées au DSA. Macron a écrit à Trump pour défendre Thierry Breton. L’eurodéputée Yon-Courtin interpelle Von der Leyen sur la divulgation de données personnelles de fonctionnaires par Washington.
🔎 HF Comment: This is a critical escalation in US-EU tech regulation tensions. The DSA enforcement targeting Meta, X, TikTok has direct implications for Big Tech operating margins in Europe. If the EU backs down under US pressure, regulatory risk premiums on EU-exposed tech names could reprice. Conversely, retaliatory measures could create further compliance costs. Key watch for anyone long/short European-listed tech or US platforms with EU exposure.

4. Martin Garagnon’s Purge: Renaissance’s De-Macronization
EN: Gabriel Attal expelled Martin Garagnon from Renaissance on February 4. Garagnon, a party spokesperson designated by Macron during the 2024 legislative campaign, had become a prolific media presence. Former MP Florian Bachelier is contesting the exclusion legally. The affair highlights the internal power struggle within Renaissance as Attal seeks to control party messaging ahead of future elections.
FR: Gabriel Attal a exclu Martin Garagnon de Renaissance, accentuant la « démacronisation » du parti. L’affaire pourrait connaître une suite judiciaire, un ancien député contestant la procédure d’exclusion.
🔎 HF Comment: French political fragmentation continues. Renaissance’s internal tensions reduce governing coalition cohesion — relevant for anyone positioning on French sovereign spreads or assessing political risk for the 2027 presidential cycle.

5. Veolia Wins Annulment of Suez Victory in Western Île-de-France
EN: The Versailles administrative tribunal annulled on February 24 the procurement process by Aquavesc (a mixed syndicate managing water for 32 communes including Versailles) that had awarded a contract to Suez. The court found Aquavesc violated competition and publicity rules, potentially disadvantaging Veolia. Key issue: Aquavesc had signed conventions with Suez in October 2024 for decarbonated and emergency water supply at €0.86/m³ for 20 years, which the court deemed prejudicial to equal treatment of candidates.
FR: Le tribunal administratif de Versailles a annulé l’attribution du contrat d’eau potable de 32 communes à Suez via Aquavesc, estimant que les conditions favorisaient Suez au détriment de Veolia. Victoire significative pour Veolia dans la guerre de l’eau en Île-de-France.
🔎 HF Comment: Directly relevant for Veolia (VIE) and Suez positioning. This ruling strengthens Veolia’s competitive position in the Paris basin water market. Suez has been losing ground — also losing contracts in Béziers and on sanitation. The French water concession market is repricing in favor of Veolia. Watch for further contract challenges and potential impact on Suez’s French municipal revenue base.

6. Brave Search Engine Targeted by French Press Publishers
EN: The Alliance de la presse d’information générale (Apig), led by Le Figaro’s Marc Feuillée, is preparing a “counterfeiting” lawsuit against Brave browser/search engine before the Paris court. Brave (100M users, founded 2016 by Mozilla’s Brendan Eich) refuses to negotiate with French press for content usage. Publishers are also alarmed by Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, which are reducing traffic to news sites. Meanwhile, Microsoft was ordered on Feb 19 to pay €35,000 to publishers for abusive litigation practices, with LinkedIn also targeted.
FR: L’Apig prépare une action en contrefaçon contre le moteur de recherche Brave devant le tribunal de Paris. Les éditeurs combattent aussi les AI Overviews de Google qui réduisent le trafic vers les sites de presse. Microsoft a été condamné à verser €35 000 aux éditeurs.
🔎 HF Comment: The French press vs. tech platform copyright war is intensifying across Brave, Google, and Microsoft. This is part of the broader EU content licensing/AI training data monetization theme. Implications for Alphabet (AI Overviews traffic impact), Microsoft/LinkedIn (ongoing litigation costs), and the emerging legal framework around AI-generated summaries using copyrighted content. The French courts are establishing precedents that could be replicated across the EU — a structural headwind for AI search business models.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 25th of February 2026 V2(+)

>>> Up
* Alzchem Group Rated New Buy at Jefferies; PT 190 euros
* AMD PT Raised to $330 from $300 at KeyBanc
* AMD PT Raised to $358 from $328 at Evercore ISI
* Anglo American Raised to Buy at DZ Bank; PT 4,300 pence
* Commerzbank Raised to Market Perform at KBW; PT 38 euros
* Endesa Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas; PT 34 euros
* Exosens SAS PT Raised to 69 euros from 57 euros at Berenberg
* Home Depot PT Raised to $454 from $424 at Jefferies
* SFC Energy Raised to Buy at Berenberg; PT 17 euros

>>> Down
* Airtel Africa Cut to Underweight at ABSA Securities
* Beiersdorf Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 105 euros
* First Solar Cut to Neutral at Baird
* GBL Cut to Accumulate at KBC Securities; PT 93 euros
* Hims & Hers Health PT Cut to $25 from $48 at Barclays
* Paratus Energy Services Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities
* Severn Trent Cut to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreuxv (+)
* Standard Chartered Cut to Sell at Shore Capital; PT 1,490 pence (+)
* United Utilities Cut to Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux (+)

>>> Initiation
* AbbVie Rated New Outperform at RBC
* Alzchem Rated New Buy at Jefferies on Specialty-Driven Growth
* Bristol Myers Rated New Sector Perform at RBC
* Comer Industries Rated New Hold at Kepler Cheuvreux; PT 50 euros (+)
* Creo Medical Rated New Corporate at Shore Capital; PT 40 pence
* Eagle Eye Solutions Rated New Buy at Canaccord; PT 660 pence (+)
* Eli Lilly Rated New Outperform at RBC
* Merck & Co Rated New Outperform at RBC
* Pfizer Rated New Underperform at RBC

>>> Call
* Exosens PT Set to Street High at Berenberg on Defense Growth (+)
* UBS Now Sees Private Credit Defaults Reaching 15% in Worst Case
* OPmobility Beats on Margin as Citi Says ‘Best in Class’ (+)
* SFC Energy Raised to Buy at Berenberg on Underlying Profit
* Telecom Italia Revenue Beats, Outlook In-Line, JPMorgan Says
* Verallia’s Outlook Implies Consensus Downgrades, Citi Says

>>> What to look at today - 25th of February 2026

A rally in technology shares that lifted Wall Street benchmarks extended into Asia, as concern over the disruptive effects of artificial intelligence eased after weeks of turmoil. MSCI’s gauge for Asian equities climbed 1.4% to a record, with gauges in South Korea and Taiwan — bellwethers for AI investments — also hitting all-time highs. A rebound in the battered software stocks drove US benchmarks higher, ahead of key earnings from Nvidia Corp. later Wednesday. The dollar fell as much as 0.2% and US equity-index futures trimmed most of their earlier gains after President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address. Treasuries edged lower, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year rising two basis points to 4.05%. The yuan climbed and Asian currencies strengthened to a 16-month high, supported by a weaker greenback. The rebound in global stocks was helped by comments from Anthropic PBC, which said it plans to build partnerships — suggesting that its Claude chatbot will integrate with, rather than displace, existing businesses. The disruptive potential of the technology has roiled stocks across sectors for weeks in what’s become known as the “AI scare trade.”  Earlier this week, concerns over tariffs and geopolitics coupled with a report by Citrini Research and worries about the potential disruption caused by another tool from Anthropic were enough to send the stock market careening. Investors had been on edge as AI-driven selloffs swept across industries including software, insurance brokerage, wealth management and cybersecurity. Sentiment steadied somewhat on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index edged lower as Trump assailed the Supreme Court for striking down his global tariffs and gave no indication he would change course. Trump said he would move ahead with restoring his broad import taxes through other authorities. He expressed confidence foreign countries would honor their trade agreements and even predicted that the US would take in so much revenue that it would “substantially replace the modern day system of income tax.” 
Elsewhere, the yen fluctuated as Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government nominated two reflationist academics to join the Bank of Japan policy board on Wednesday. The nomination is likely to fuel speculation that Takaichi will be cautious about the central bank raising interest rates quickly. In other corners of the market, gold and silver — assets that have risen this year along with stocks — gained, and Bitcoin jumped about 2% to trade around $65,400. Still, the main risk event in the tech sector on Wednesday will be Nvidia’s earnings. The company is facing a high-stakes moment with its latest quarterly results, with the world waiting for fresh evidence that the AI spending boom remains on track. This week’s earnings will either “calm or exacerbate” AI fears, said David Laut at Kerux Financial. 

Nikkei +2.31% Hang Seng +0.75% CSI +1.24% Shanghai +1.20% Shenzen +1.31%

Eur$ 1.1793 CNH 6.8687 CNY 6.8724 JPY 155.90 GBP 1.3517 CHF 0.7730 RUB 76.3234 TRY 43.8563 WTI$ 66.11 +0.72% Gold 5,180 +0.76% BTC 65,560 +2.45% ETH 1,912 +3.18%

S&P +0.03% Nasdaq +0.05% EuroStoxx +0.16% FTSE +0.47% Dax +0.05% SMI -0.13%

Macro :
- Peter Thiel’s Money Manager Courts World’s Mega-Rich for US Bets
- Dan Loeb Says ‘Lost Art of Short Selling’ Is Making a Comeback
- Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties -- WSJ
- Trump Stages State of the Union Pep Rally as Economic Mood Sours
- UBS Now Sees Private Credit Defaults Reaching 15% in Worst Case
- Switzerland Is About to Put Cash in Its Constitution, Polls Show
- US Warned Kyiv Over Russian Oil Port Attack, Citing Economic Hit
- Boaz Weinstein Warns ‘Wheels Coming Off’ Private Credit Funds
- Austria Minister Says Ukraine Joining EU by 2027 Unrealistic: FT

Keep an eye on :
- ADEN SW : Adecco 4Q Revenue Meets Estimates
- AGS BB : Ageas FY Net Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- AIR FP : Ex-Airbus chief says Gn decision to work with France on fighter jet a ‘mistake’
- ALC SW : Alcon AG 4Q Core EPS Misses Estimates, Alcon Topline Strong, But Some ‘Puts and Takes’
- ALSYDB DC : AL Sydbank Sees 2026 Net Income DKK3.5B to DKK4B, Est. DKK3.74B
- ALSYDB DC : AL Sydbank Cuts 47 Positions After M&A, FinansWatch Says
- ATE FP : Alten FY Net Income Misses Estimates
- AAPL US : Apple’s Touch MacBook Pro to Have Dynamic Island, New Interface
- AML LN : Aston Martin FY Revenue Misses Estimates
- BA/ LN : BAE Systems Gets $500m Artillery, Ammo Carrier Pact for US Army
- BAYN GY : Bayer Accuses J&J of Misleading Ads for Its Prostate-Cancer Drug
- BBOX LN : Tritax Big Box REIT, IG Group Indicated to Join FTSE 100 Index
- BIC FP : BIC FY Adjusted Ebit Meets Estimates
- BVI FP : Bureau Veritas FY Adjusted Operating Profit Matches Estimates
- CAN LN : Favorable decision on the VAT applicableto pay TV, but no final ruling yet - L'informe
- CAVA US : Cava Jumps as 2026 Comp Sales Outlook Exceeds Expectations
- DASH US : DoorDash to Wind Down Deliveroo, Wolt Ops in Four Countries
- EZJ LN : Easyjet Indicated to Leave FTSE 100 Index
- EDP PL : EDP Renovaveis FY Net Income Misses Estimates
- LLY US : UK’s MHRA Approves Eli Lilly’s Inluriyo for Some Breast Cancers
- EOAN GY : E.On Sees 2026 Adjusted Ebitda EU9.4B to EU9.6B, Est. EU9.55B, EON Lifts Spending Plan by €5 Billion in Boost for Europe’s Grid
- EVN AV : EVN Still Sees 2025/26 FY Ebitda, Net Around Prior Year Level
- FME GY : Fresenius Extends Mandate of CEO Michael Sen by Five Years
- FRE GY : Fresenius SE Sees 2026 Organic Revenue +4% to +7%
- GBLB BB : Umicore Holder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert Offers Shares: Terms, GBL Sells Remaining Umicore Shares at €0.3b Total Proceeds
- GF SW : Georg Fischer FY Ebit Beats Estimates
- GSF NO : Grieg Seafood Sees 1Q Harvest 6,600 Metric Tons
- HEI GY : Heidelberg Materials Forecasts 2026 Results
- HAG GY : Hensoldt Extends CEO Oliver Dörre’s Contract Until 2031
- HSBA LN : HSBC FY Pretax Profit Beats Estimates
- HDLY NO : Huddly Offering of NOK75m Shares Prices at NOK20/Share
- IGG LN : Tritax Big Box REIT, IG Group Indicated to Join FTSE 100 Index
- ITP FP : Interparfums FY Operating Profit Matches Estimates
- IPS FP : Ipsos FY Adjusted Net Income Beats Estimates
- JST GY : JOST Werke Offers Up to 1.49m Shares Via Private Placement
- OR FP : L’Oreal, Dyson, Bausch + Lomb Sue for Tariff Refunds: Reuters
- LDO IM : Leonardo DRS Shares Surge as FY Revenue Guide Above Consensus
- LDO IM : Leonardo FY Ebita Beats Estimates
- LIN US : Linde Raises Dividend, Below Bloomberg Projection
- MC FP : Arnault Tightens Grip on LVMH as His Stake Crosses the 50% Mark
- MOS US : Mosaic 4Q Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates
- NDX1 GY : Nordex Sees 2026 Ebitda Margin 8% to 11%, Est. 8.41%
- NVDA US : Nvidia to Give Update on AI Industry With Results: Preview
- OPM FP : OPmobility FY Operating Profit Beats Estimates
- ORIOLA FH : Oriola 4Q Net Sales Beat Estimates
- PEN NO : Panoro Energy Offering of 20m Shares Prices at NOK23.35/Share
- PFE US : Pfizer’s Braftovi Combo Gets FDA OK for Colorectal Cancer
- PRS SM : Prisa Rejects Unsolicited Restructuring Proposal From Investor
- RMV LN : RightMove Indicated to Leave FTSE 100 Index
- ROVI SM : Rovi FY Ebitda Beats Estimates
- SPM IM : Saipem Order Intake Strong, Ebitda Guidance Beats
- SDZ SW : Sandoz Group FY Net Sales Meet Estimates
- SK FP : SEB FY Operating Result From Activity Beats Estimates, SEB to Cut Up to 2,100 Jobs in Plan to Renew Profitable Growth
- SSL IM : SS Lazio Says Company Is Not for Sale
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Sees Ebitda After Lease Up 5%-6% in 2026
- TIT IM : Telecom Italia Sets €400 Million Stock Buyback, Reverse Split
- TEMN SW : Temenos Sees 2026 Non-IFRS Ebit About +9%
- UMI BB : Umicore Holder Groupe Bruxelles Lambert Offers Shares: Terms
- VRLA FP : Verallia FY Adjusted Ebitda Misses Estimates, Verallia’s Outlook Implies Consensus Downgrades, Citi Says
- VoltaGrid IPO : VoltaGrid Weighing Public Listing or Sale, Riding the AI Wave
- VPK NA : Vopak FY Revenue Misses Estimates, Vopak Plans Distributions Program of ~€1.7b Through 2030
- WBD US : Warner Bros. Says Paramount Boosts Bid to $31/Shr in Cash
- WBD US : Paramount’s Newest Bid Could Open Door to Beating Netflix Deal, Warner Says - WSJ
- WHR US : Whirlpool Offering of Common Stock Prices at $69/Share
- WLN FP : Worldline Sells Indian Payment Activities to BillDesk
- YAR NO : Mosaic Sees Phosphate Interest Amid China Export Restrictions

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 25th of February 2026

>>> Up
* Alzchem Group Rated New Buy at Jefferies; PT 190 euros
* AMD PT Raised to $330 from $300 at KeyBanc
* AMD PT Raised to $358 from $328 at Evercore ISI
* Anglo American Raised to Buy at DZ Bank; PT 4,300 pence
* Commerzbank Raised to Market Perform at KBW; PT 38 euros
* Endesa Raised to Neutral at BNP Paribas; PT 34 euros
* Exosens SAS PT Raised to 69 euros from 57 euros at Berenberg
* Home Depot PT Raised to $454 from $424 at Jefferies
* SFC Energy Raised to Buy at Berenberg; PT 17 euros

>>> Down
* Airtel Africa Cut to Underweight at ABSA Securities
* Beiersdorf Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 105 euros
* First Solar Cut to Neutral at Baird
* Hims & Hers Health PT Cut to $25 from $48 at Barclays
* Paratus Energy Services Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities

>>> Initiation
* AbbVie Rated New Outperform at RBC
* Alzchem Rated New Buy at Jefferies on Specialty-Driven Growth
* Bristol Myers Rated New Sector Perform at RBC
* Creo Medical Rated New Corporate at Shore Capital; PT 40 pence
* Eli Lilly Rated New Outperform at RBC
* Merck & Co Rated New Outperform at RBC
* Pfizer Rated New Underperform at RBC

>>> Call
* UBS Now Sees Private Credit Defaults Reaching 15% in Worst Case
* SFC Energy Raised to Buy at Berenberg on Underlying Profit
* Telecom Italia Revenue Beats, Outlook In-Line, JPMorgan Says
* Verallia’s Outlook Implies Consensus Downgrades, Citi Says