TechCrunch : How AI agents could destroy the economy

How AI agents could destroy the economy

On Sunday, an analyst group called Citrini Research published a remarkable piece illustrating how agentic AI could bring on mass economic destruction over the next two years. The scenario imagines a report from two years in the future, in which unemployment has doubled, and the total value of the stock market has fallen by more than a third. As the report puts it:

AI capabilities improved, companies needed fewer workers, white collar layoffs increased, displaced workers spent less, margin pressure pushed firms to invest more in AI, AI capabilities improved…

It was a negative feedback loop with no natural brake…The system turned out to be one long daisy chain of correlated bets on white-collar productivity growth.

It’s a new kind of bear case, focused not on Skynet-style misalignment but on the gradual unspooling of the economy itself. In particular, the Citrini scenario looks at the implications of integrating AI agents into the economy at large, and what it would mean when outside contractors get replaced by cheaper in-house AI. It’s similar to the Death of SaaS scenario, but Citrini goes further, implicating any business model that involves optimizing transactions between companies.

As you might expect, the report is causing quite a stir online. Not everyone is buying it — even Citrini describes it as more of a scenario than a prediction — but it’s not so easy to name the specific point where you think the scenario goes wrong.

Personally, I’m not sure companies are ready to hand off purchasing decisions to AI agents, no matter how smart they are. But in Citrini’s scenario, most of the impacted decisions have already been handed off to third-party contractors, so it’s not quite as implausible as it seems.

La Lettre de l'Expansion : EDF – Fontana's Internal PR Push

EDF – Fontana's Internal PR Push Nine months into his tenure, EDF CEO Bernard Fontana is working to improve his internal image after unpopular cost-cutting measures (€1bn general expenses reduction, alcohol ban). The communications team arranged a flattering profile in Challenges and an internal corporate film. HR chief Élisabeth Terrail organized a seminar with unions on February 3. Notably, Fontana and executive Cédric Lewandowski reconciled over a disputed nuclear fleet modulation report — Lewandowski acknowledged Fontana was right to delay publication — and an expanded version was released on February 16 alongside the PPE3 energy plan.
European Parliament – EPP vs. Urban Wastewater Directive EPP MEPs Tomislav Sokol and Peter Liese are pushing back on the urban wastewater treatment directive (UWWTD), which would cost pharma and cosmetics industries €1.8bn/year for 20 years under the polluter-pays principle. They plan a resolution to pause implementation, but face opposition from the S&D group and Greens. The CJEU ruled the industry lobbies' legal challenge inadmissible on February 18. The EPP also sees the environmental omnibus initiative as leverage to reshape green regulations.
Paris Municipal Elections – Dati's Blackout Rachida Dati is maintaining total opacity on her Paris mayoral candidate list, causing anxiety among LR allies. Two former Szpiner associates joined rival Pierre-Yves Bournazel's Renaissance-backed list. The PLM law reform gives Dati full control over the central list, sidelining LR's influence. Her polling has softened to 24-28% from a previous 32-38%.
Defense – Celeste Spy Satellite France's electromagnetic intelligence satellite project Celeste (successor to the three Ceres satellites deployed since 2021) is back on track. The DGA has engaged Airbus Group, Thales, and startup Unseenlabs, with a target launch by end of 2026 after years of delays and restarts.
Media – CNews/AIMV Controversy News agency AIMV (previously subcontracting for BFM TV) will supply coverage to Bolloré's CNews for municipal elections. Sud Ouest journalists are alarmed at a potential lasting partnership. The SNJ journalists' union has filed complaints with prosecutors and media regulator Arcom, alleging illegal labor practices.

>>> Read acroos from The Information article on Space X

SpaceX IPO – Key Takeaways from Starlink's Evolution
Revenue vs. Growth Trade-off: Starlink hit 10M subscribers (ahead of projections) but 2025 revenue came in at ~$16B vs. Morgan Stanley's $19B forecast. The gap reflects aggressive price cuts — a $50/month lite tier in the US, free terminals in some areas, and early price reductions in Europe after weaker-than-expected demand.
Margin Pressure: Hardware costs up to $600/unit are being subsidized or given away. Average revenue per user is trending well below the $170+/month Morgan Stanley assumed. Add rising spend on marketing (Super Bowl ad), retail distribution (Best Buy, physical stores), and customer support buildout — all weighing on the path to high free cash flow margins analysts had modeled.
Amazon's Leo Threat: Amazon is preparing to launch its competing satellite service later this year, leveraging Prime's massive customer base for consumer sales and AWS relationships for enterprise/government contracts. SpaceX appears to be racing to lock in market share before this happens, which explains the pricing aggression.
Regulatory Headwinds: India (no launch despite preorders since 2021), major African markets (Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa) remain blocked. These were supposed to be high-growth regions where satellite capacity could be monetized.
xAI Cash Burn Complicates the Picture: The merger with xAI, burning ~$1B/month, plus Musk's talk of space data centers and lunar factories, raises questions about capital allocation discipline heading into an IPO.
Bottom Line for an IPO investor: The subscriber growth story is strong, but the unit economics are deteriorating. The bull case assumed premium pricing and expanding margins — what's materializing looks more like a mass-market telecom land grab with rising costs, a well-capitalized competitor arriving, and key international markets still locked out. Valuation scrutiny on actual cash flow generation, not just subscriber counts, will be critical.

The Information : SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms

SpaceX’s Starlink Makes Land Grab as Amazon Threat Looms

The Takeaway
  • SpaceX has recently slashed Starlink prices in the U.S.
  • Starlink faces roadblocks in big potential markets in India, Africa
  • SpaceX is spending more on customer service, bricks-and-mortar stores

Since launching in 2020, SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has quickly eclipsed its rocket launch business to become its biggest source of revenue, and, investors hope, a significant cash generator in coming years.

But recent efforts to maintain user growth have increasingly turned Starlink into a competitor to mass-market telecom firms selling internet access, rather than the premium service SpaceX CEO Elon Musk initially envisioned. Starlink has cut hardware and subscription costs aggressively, juicing user growth while potentially weighing on margins.

The firm introduced a $50 a month low-cost tier in the U.S. last year and in some cases gives away internet-access terminals that cost up to $600 each to manufacture, according to two former SpaceX employees with direct knowledge of the figure. In Europe, Starlink cut prices even earlier after running into weaker than expected demand, according to two additional former SpaceX employees.

The latest price cuts come as the first serious potential rival to Starlink, Amazon’s Leo service, is gearing up to launch service in the U.S. and some other countries later this year. At the same time, Starlink has also been spending on improving its bare-bones customer service and opening its first bricks-and-mortar stores.

“Although Starlink is growing very fast in subscribers, they’re cutting the price like crazy to keep growth up,” said space consultant Tim Farrar of TMF Associates. “They’ve got all the people who live in the middle of nowhere, but now they have to start competing with AT&T and Comcast. That requires going a lot cheaper.”

Starlink’s cash-generating potential should be a big focus for investors ahead of a potential SpaceX initial public offering this summer. That’s particularly true now that the company has merged with xAI, which has been burning cash to the tune of $1 billion per month. And Musk is talking up costly endeavors such as putting data centers in space and building satellite factories on the moon.

Analysts have expected Starlink to become an increasingly important driver of the company’s overall free cash flow in the coming years, and for Starlink’s margins to eventually far exceed those of SpaceX’s launch business. But some of the assumptions underpinning initial expectations are looking increasingly questionable.

In a 2024 report that circulated widely among SpaceX investors, Morgan Stanley analysts made their projections assuming that SpaceX would bring in over $2,000 each year—or more than $170 a month—per individual Starlink user in 2024 and 2025, not including hardware or activation charges. (Morgan Stanley, historically Musk’s investment bank of choice, is among the banks that have started offering research coverage of private market companies in recent years.)

In that report, Morgan Stanley also projected that SpaceX’s overall revenue would reach $19 billion in 2025, driven primarily by growth in the number of Starlink subscribers, which the bank predicted would hit 6 million. While Starlink ended last year with 9.2 million subscribers, higher than the projections, SpaceX’s revenue fell short, coming in at around $16 billion. Starlink said it hit 10 million subscribers this month.

Inside Amazon, leaders have been closely watching the Starlink price cuts for consumers over the past few months, according to a person close to Amazon. They’ve interpreted the moves as a play to grab market share before Amazon’s launch of Leo.

Amazon plans to tap its large base of Prime members and other customers to sell consumer subscriptions, the person said, while leaning on existing Amazon Web Services relationships with companies and governments to boost enterprise sales and smooth local licensing approvals globally.

SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment.

Pricing Evolution

SpaceX initially envisioned Starlink as a premium service—Musk told staff it had to be fast enough for serious online gaming—that could command a significantly higher price than traditional wired internet. When the company launched Starlink in 2020 in the U.S., it charged a flat monthly rate of $99 for service, plus hundreds of dollars to buy hardware up-front.

But getting pricing right to drive adoption while using Starlink’s infrastructure as efficiently as possible is a complicated, worldwide undertaking.

Starlink works by surrounding the globe with thousands of orbiting satellites that beam down internet service to customers. That means when one of its satellites is traveling above a part of the world where it doesn’t sell subscriptions, SpaceX is leaving money on the table.

Expanding in as many countries as possible has always been a priority for SpaceX leadership. That requires wooing local regulators and sometimes navigating resistance from powerful telecom companies in order to launch. The company has grown to offer Starlink in more than 150 countries.

But SpaceX has had a tougher time winning over regulators than it initially expected in several large potential markets, according to three former staffers with knowledge of the effort.

That includes India, where SpaceX started taking Starlink preorders in 2021. The government quickly ordered SpaceX to stop taking preorders until it had received license to operate and to issue refunds for any already accepted. Starlink still hasn’t launched there. SpaceX also still hasn’t launched in some major African countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia and South Africa.

And in some regions outside the U.S. where Starlink has launched, initial demand was weaker than expected. SpaceX leadership initially believed the service needed to keep pricing consistent as it entered new markets like Europe, according to one of the former staffers. Otherwise, the thinking went, customers in certain markets would see others paying different rates elsewhere and would feel ripped off.

But Starlink saw lackluster growth in Europe, where it started to launch in 2021, according to two of the former staffers, in part because consumers are generally used to lower internet services prices than in the U.S. In 2022, the company began to slash prices in European countries, starting with cutting subscription prices to 50 euros (around $50 at the time) in France.

That same year, SpaceX hiked Starlink prices in the U.S., to $110 in 2022 and $120 in 2023. But more recently it has reversed course, introducing “lite” U.S. plans with slower speeds at rates as cheap as $50 per month, and offering even deeper discounts for plans in some parts of the country where it has excess capacity.


On the hardware side, SpaceX now sells its standard residential terminal for $349 in the U.S., down from $599 at its introduction in 2023, and frequently offers even deeper discounts or free terminals in certain areas where subscribers are particularly sparse.

Meanwhile, Amazon has not yet announced how much it will charge for hardware or subscriptions. But the company has not been afraid of subsidizing hardware such as its Alexa devices in the past, and it has described its satellite internet ambitions as a way to bring connectivity to more places around the world, which would boost its e-commerce and entertainment businesses.

“Starlink is accelerating their market penetration in advance of Amazon,” said Chris Quilty of research and investment firm Quilty Space. “But I don’t think the market sufficiently appreciates how the dynamics are going to change when Amazon comes online. Amazon is going to be a disruptive force.”

Support Issues

Besides cutting prices, there have been other shifts in SpaceX’s strategy to grow Starlink and hold onto customers. For most of Starlink’s existence, it has sold directly to consumers, mostly through its own website and with little marketing, an approach with relatively low costs. More recently, though, the company has been ramping up spending on marketing and distribution.

In 2023 it started selling hardware through retailers such as Best Buy and even listing terminals on the retail site of soon-to-be-rival Amazon last year, which requires giving up a portion of revenue to retailers. And late last year, SpaceX said it was opening four Starlink stores in the Midwest.

Notably, it aired a Starlink television ad during this year’s Super Bowl. That was the first spot during the game for any company led by Musk, who has previously said he hates advertising.

And for several years after SpaceX launched Starlink in 2020, customers could only reach support through an email address. As the service grew, the support team was understaffed compared to the number of complaints the company received, leading to wait times days or even weeks long for responses, according to a person who worked on the issue.

Since Starlink users tend to live in remote areas, the reliance on email support could be especially frustrating, the person said. In one instance, a customer whose Starlink hardware stopped working had to drive an hour each way to a coffee shop to check their email for several days in a row, the person said.

SpaceX added a customer support number that offers callbacks for urgent Starlink connection issues in late 2024, but still describes the service as in a “trial phase” and encourages customers to use email and a new support chatbot powered by xAI’s Grok model.

Starlink also launched a separate sales phone number powered by Grok earlier this month. The company featured the number in its Super Bowl ad.

WSJ : Gilead Sciences to Buy Arcellx in Deal Valued at $7.8 Billion

Gilead Sciences to Buy Arcellx in Deal Valued at $7.8 Billion
Gilead and Arcellx in 2022 struck a deal to co-develop and co-commercialize anito-cel

  • Gilead Sciences agreed to acquire the remaining 88.5% of Arcellx for $7.8 billion, a 79% premium.
  • Arcellx investors will receive $115 a share in cash and contingent value rights for an additional $5 a share.
  • The acquisition gives Gilead full control of anito-cel, an investigational CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma.

Gilead Sciences GILD 0.19%increase; green up pointing triangle has agreed to buy the rest of development partner Arcellx ACLX -3.64%decrease; red down pointing triangle in a deal that values the biotechnology company at about $7.8 billion at closing.

Gilead on Monday said it will pay an initial $115 a share in cash for the 88.5% of Arcellx it doesn’t already own, a 79% premium to Friday’s closing price of $64.11 for the Redwood City, Calif., company.

Shares of Arcellx were recently up nearly 78% at $113.85 in premarket trading.

Arcellx investors will also receive non-transferable contingent value rights worth an additional $5 a share based on future sales of Arcellx’s lead pipeline candidate anitocabtagene autoleucel, or anito-cel, an investigational CAR T-cell therapy for patients with the blood cancer multiple myeloma.

Foster City, Calif., biopharmaceutical company Gilead and Arcellx in 2022 struck a deal to co-develop and co-commercialize anito-cel.

As part of the agreement, Gilead made an upfront payment and invested $100 million in Arcellx, which was also eligible to receive up to $1.5 billion in development and milestone payments, along with royalties on sales of the anito-cel.

Gilead said the acquisition of Arcellx gives it full control of anito-cel, allowing for accelerated development and commercialization of the drug while eliminating the future payouts to Arcellx.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is reviewing Arcellx’s application seeking approval of anito-cel as a fourth-line treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, with a decision expected by the end of the year.

Gilead said it expects to complete the acquisition during the second quarter.

WSJ : Merck Creates Separate Cancer Business as Sales Pressure Looms

Merck Creates Separate Cancer Business as Sales Pressure Looms
The company is splitting its pharmaceuticals unit to bolster product launches before its cancer drug Keytruda loses patent protection

  • Merck is reorganizing its main pharmaceutical unit into two divisions to prepare for Keytruda’s U.S. patent expiration in 2028.
  • A new specialty, pharma and infectious diseases unit will aim for sales growth to offset expected Keytruda declines.
  • Brian Foard will lead the specialty, pharma and infectious diseases unit, and Jannie Oosthuizen will run the cancer business.

Merck MRK 0.33%increase; green up pointing triangle is shaking up the leadership of its main pharmaceutical unit as the U.S. drugmaker braces for sales pressure later this decade.

The Rahway, N.J.-based company said Monday it will split its human-health business into two divisions. One will house its cancer drugs, including the blockbuster Keytruda. The immunotherapy accounts for nearly half of total Merck sales but is due to lose U.S. patent protection in 2028, exposing it to lower-cost copycat competition.

The second new division—the specialty, pharma and infectious-diseases business unit—will sell noncancer products, including the HPV vaccine Gardasil, diabetes drug Januvia and newer products such as lung-disease treatment Winrevair.

Merck is counting on this unit to generate big sales growth to offset the expected Keytruda sales decline.

The moves, which were earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal, are the latest by the drugmaker in preparation for a drop in Keytruda sales. To replace the revenue, Merck has been pursuing multibillion-dollar acquisitions of biotechnology companies that promise to furnish new drugs such as Winrevair.

Merck said the reorganization is aimed at ensuring strong product launches across various disease areas as it tries to diversify its product lineup.

The company is planning more than 20 launches of new drugs or new uses for existing drugs in the next several years. They include a new kind of cholesterol pill that Merck hopes will become a big seller.

“We are sharpening our focus on delivering innovative medicines for patients and creating long-term value for our stakeholders,” Chief Executive Robert Davis said.

The company named Brian Foard as president of the new specialty, pharma and infectious-diseases unit, effective March 2. Foard, 52 years old, has been with French drugmaker Sanofi since 2017 and most recently served as head of Sanofi’s specialty-care unit.

In-house executive Jannie Oosthuizen will run the new cancer business plus Merck’s non-U.S. unit, MSD. Oosthuizen, 58, most recently served as president of Merck’s U.S. human-health business.

Oosthuizen and Foard will both report to Davis.

Joseph Romanelli, who has been leading Merck’s international human-health business, plans to retire, a Merck spokesman said. Merck also is moving Chirfi Guindo, 60, who had been Merck’s chief marketing officer of human health, to a new role, executive vice president of strategic access, policy and communications.

>>> La Lettre 23/02/2026 English

EDF – Fontana’s Internal PR Push
Nine months into his tenure, EDF CEO Bernard Fontana is working to improve his internal image after unpopular cost-cutting measures (€1bn general expenses reduction, alcohol ban). The communications team arranged a flattering profile in Challenges and an internal corporate film. HR chief Élisabeth Terrail organized a seminar with unions on February 3. Notably, Fontana and executive Cédric Lewandowski reconciled over a disputed nuclear fleet modulation report — Lewandowski acknowledged Fontana was right to delay publication — and an expanded version was released on February 16 alongside the PPE3 energy plan.
European Parliament – EPP vs. Urban Wastewater Directive
EPP MEPs Tomislav Sokol and Peter Liese are pushing back on the urban wastewater treatment directive (UWWTD), which would cost pharma and cosmetics industries €1.8bn/year for 20 years under the polluter-pays principle. They plan a resolution to pause implementation, but face opposition from the S&D group and Greens. The CJEU ruled the industry lobbies’ legal challenge inadmissible on February 18. The EPP also sees the environmental omnibus initiative as leverage to reshape green regulations.
Paris Municipal Elections – Dati’s Blackout
Rachida Dati is maintaining total opacity on her Paris mayoral candidate list, causing anxiety among LR allies. Two former Szpiner associates joined rival Pierre-Yves Bournazel’s Renaissance-backed list. The PLM law reform gives Dati full control over the central list, sidelining LR’s influence. Her polling has softened to 24-28% from a previous 32-38%.
Defense – Celeste Spy Satellite
France’s electromagnetic intelligence satellite project Celeste (successor to the three Ceres satellites deployed since 2021) is back on track. The DGA has engaged Airbus Group, Thales, and startup Unseenlabs, with a target launch by end of 2026 after years of delays and restarts.
Media – CNews/AIMV Controversy
News agency AIMV (previously subcontracting for BFM TV) will supply coverage to Bolloré’s CNews for municipal elections. Sud Ouest journalists are alarmed at a potential lasting partnership. The SNJ journalists’ union has filed complaints with prosecutors and media regulator Arcom, alleging illegal labor practices.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

La Lettre 23/02/2026

EDF – Bernard Fontana et sa communication interne
Neuf mois après sa prise de fonction, le PDG d’EDF Bernard Fontana tente de redorer son image en interne après des décisions impopulaires (réduction d’un milliard d’euros de frais généraux, interdiction de l’alcool). La direction de la communication, menée par Benoît Gausseron, a orchestré un portrait élogieux dans Challenges et un film corporate interne. La DRH Élisabeth Terrail a organisé un séminaire avec les syndicats le 3 février pour relancer le dialogue social. Par ailleurs, Fontana et Cédric Lewandowski se sont réconciliés sur le rapport de modulation du parc nucléaire — Lewandowski ayant fait son mea culpa — et le rapport enrichi a été publié le 16 février avec la PPE3.
Parlement européen – Le PPE contre la directive eaux usées
Le PPE, via les élus Tomislav Sokol et Peter Liese, cherche à alléger la facture de la directive sur les eaux urbaines résiduaires (UWWTD) pour les industries pharmaceutique et cosmétique (1,8 milliard €/an sur 20 ans). Ils envisagent une proposition de résolution pour demander une pause à la Commission européenne, mais risquent l’opposition des socialistes et des Verts. Le PPE mise aussi sur l’omnibus environnement pour influer sur les réglementations. La CJUE a jugé irrecevable la plainte des lobbys cosmétique et pharma le 18 février.
Paris – Municipales et Rachida Dati
Deux pro-Szpiner (Véronique Bucaille et Farida Kerboua) ont rejoint la liste de Pierre-Yves Bournazel (Horizons/Renaissance). Rachida Dati, candidate à la mairie, garde le black-out sur sa liste, créant de la fébrilité chez LR. La loi PLM lui donne les mains libres sur la liste centrale, marginalisant l’influence du parti.
Défense – Satellite espion Celeste
Le projet de satellite de renseignement électromagnétique Celeste, successeur des trois satellites Ceres, reprend forme. La DGA a sollicité Airbus Group, Thales et Unseenlabs, avec un lancement prévu fin 2026. Le programme a connu de multiples reports depuis 2021.
Médias – CNews et l’agence AIMV
L’agence AIMV (ex-sous-traitante de BFM TV) va fournir des reportages à CNews pour les municipales. Les journalistes de Sud Ouest s’inquiètent d’une collaboration durable avec la chaîne de Bolloré. Le SNJ a saisi les procureurs et l’Arcom, dénonçant des pratiques de marchandage et de prêt illicite de main-d’œuvre.

>>> What to look at today - 23rd of February 2026

The dollar and futures on the S&P 500 slid on Monday as uncertainty over trade policy damped sentiment toward US assets and raised the prospect of heightened volatility across global markets. Contracts on the US benchmark were down 0.7% while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.9%. The Japanese yen, Swiss franc and the euro led gains against the dollar as a broader gauge of the greenback declined after gaining last week. Bitcoin tumbled nearly 5% to fall below $65,000 while gold and silver climbed. The moves indicated investors were beginning to price in a higher risk premium for US assets. Hours after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping reciprocal tariffs on Friday, President Donald Trump imposed a new 10% global levy and vowed to use other powers to maintain his signature tariff policies. On Saturday, he said he would raise that new tariff to 15%, stoking fresh economic turbulence. A gauge of Asian equities climbed as much as 1% on Monday amid expectations the court ruling will be particularly beneficial for two of the region’s biggest economies — China and India — which had been hit the hardest by Trump’s tariffs onslaught. Morgan Stanley economists say the weighted average tariff rate for Asia will fall to 17% from 20%. Investors remained eager to learn more about Trump’s new game plan given the consequences it will likely have not just for the US and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, but also for global economies and corporates. Though there are other ways in which he can introduce import taxes, the court ruling invalidates a large portion of the tariffs that he has rolled out in his second term. A gauge of Hong Kong-listed Chinese stocks was the top gainer among key Asian indexes on Monday as mainland equity markets shut for holidays. The US court ruling comes just weeks before Trump’s planned visit to China. He lands in Beijing on March 31, the first trip by an American president since his last visit in 2017. Elsewhere in markets, oil fell as investors weighed the odds of a nuclear deal between the US and Iran. Equities also jumped in Taiwan as trading resumed after a weeklong holiday. The S&P 500 added 0.7% Friday, notching its best week since Jan. 9, with optimism over the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling offsetting worries over heightened tensions between the US and Iran. An ETF tracking emerging markets hit all-time highs. The dollar slipped 0.2%, trimming its weekly advance to 0.6%.  The yield on 10-year Treasuries rose two basis points to 4.08% in a volatile session Friday following mixed growth and inflation data before the tariff ruling added uncertainties over any potential budget shortfall. Cash trading of Treasuries in Asia was closed on Monday due to a holiday in Japan. The friction over tariffs spilled out Sunday as Europe’s trade chief said he’ll propose halting ratification of a deal struck with the US, while India postponed talks to finalize an interim trade deal. Senior US officials said Trump’s tariff defeat at the Supreme Court won’t unravel deals negotiated with US partners.  Those deals — which the administration made with partners including China, the European Union, Japan and South Korea — remain in place, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation.

Nikkei Closed Hang Seng +2.29% CSI Closed Shanghai Closed Shenzen Closed

Eur$ 1.1821 CNH 6.8899 CNY 6.9048 JPY 154.38 GBP 1.3520 CHF 0.7724 RUB 76.7916 TRY 43.8338 WTI$ 65.62 +1.29% Gold 5,160 +1.05% BTC 64,710 -4.26% ETH 1,857 -4.74%

S&P -0,66% Nasdaq -0.83% EuroStoxx -0.29% FTSE -0.23% Dax -0.49% SMI +0.07%

Macro :
- Bitcoin Falls Below $65,000 in Latest Bout of Tariff Uncertainty
- EU May Freeze US Trade Deal Approval on Trump Tariff ‘Chaos’
- Lagarde Says US Tariff Moves Risk Upsetting Equilibrium With EU
- Mayhem Rocks Mexico After Most-Wanted Cartel Boss Is Killed

Keep an eye on :
- ABVX FP : Abivax Says New Obefazimod Data Shows Drug’s Potential for IBS
- AIR FP : Airbus Offers German Production for Satellite Contract, FAZ Says
- BABA US : +3,60%
- ALM SM : Almirall FY Net Sales Match Estimates
- AMZN US : Hackers Used AI to Breach 600 Firewalls in Weeks, Amazon Says
- BAYN GY : Bayer Draws No-Nonsense Missouri Judge to Vet Roundup Deal Plan
- BEAN SW : Belimo FY Net Sales Meet Estimates
- BA US : NASA Delays Moon Mission to Fix Rocket, Rules Out March Launch
- CCL LN : Carnival Corporation and Carnival Plc to Unify, List on NYSE
- CVC NA : Private equity owners slash valuation of Swiss watchmaker Breitling
- EMEIS FP : Emeis Exits Accelerated Safeguard Plan Early on Court Approval
- ENEL IM : Enel Approves Start of Up to €1b Buyback Program
- ENEL IM : Enel Signed Agreements to Buy 830MW Wind, Solar Plant Portfolio
- FBIN US : Investor Ed Garden Builds Stake in Fortune Brands, Seeking New CEO -- WSJ
- IDR SM : Indra is negotiating the sale of its strategic consulting subsidiary to the Waterland fund
- IDR SM : Indra Weighs Sale of Consulting Arm to Waterland: Expansion
- JMAT LN : Honeywell Is Said to Cut Price for Johnson Matthey’s Catalyst
- KKR US : KKR Is Said to Agree to Buy School Firm XCL in $1.3 Billion Deal
- LI FP : Simon Property Group CEO Steps Down From Klépierre Board
- LUG CN : Lundin Gold in $670m Silver Stream-For-Equity Deal With LunR
- BMPS IM : Paschi Approves Preliminary List of Candidates for New Board
- MONY LN : MONY Group FY Adjusted Ebitda Beats Estimates
- NFLX US : DOJ Probes Netflix’s Power Over Filmmakers in Warner Deal Review
- NIO US : Chinese car brand Nio performed 165,898 Battery swaps in a single day - Electrek - +3,60%
- NVDA US : Google Is Exploring Ways to Use Its Financial Might to Take On Nvidia -- WSJ
- NVDA US : Nvidia Wants to Be the Brain of Consumer PCs Once Again - WSJ
- PGHN SW : Private Equity Owners Slash Valuation of Breitling: FT
- PGHN SW : Partners Group to Open Office in Kuwait
- PNL NA : PostNL 4Q Normalized Ebit Beats Estimates
- 1913 HK : Prada : +3.22%
- RDDT US : Why Reddit’s Stock Plunged 42% In Past Five Weeks - The Information
- RR/ LN : Rolls-Royce Urges UK Govt. to Support £3b Engine Project - Full FT Article
- RWE GY : Vestas Gets Firm Order for RWE’s 1,380 MW Vanguard West Project
- SKAGI IR : Islandsbanki Drops Plans to Take Over Insurance Company Skagi
- SON PL : Sonae Gets €500m in ESG-Linked Refinancing, Extends Maturities
- SpaceX IPO : NASA Delays Moon Mission to Fix Rocket, Rules Out March Launch
- STMPA FP : STMicro Starts Process to Find CEO Successor, Corriere Says
- UBI FP : Ubisoft Continues to Consider Asset Sales, CEO Tells Les Echos
- VNDA US : Vanda Gets FDA Approval For Bipolar, Schizophrenia Drug
- VWS DC : Vestas Gets Firm Order for RWE’s 1,380 MW Vanguard West Project
- VCP LN : Victoria Sees Earnings Below Previous Expectations
- DG FP : VINCI Enters Exclusive Talks For French Motorway Concession
- WBD US : What's Next in Warner War? Paramount Likely Raises Offer to $32

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 23rd of February 2026

>>> Up
* Alphabet Raised to Overweight at Wells Fargo; PT $387
* ASR Nederland Raised to Outperform at Mediobanca SpA
* Centrica PT Raised to 224 pence from 203 pence at JPMorgan
* CBRE Raised to Buy at UBS; PT $185
* Norsk Hydro Raised to Buy at Citi; PT 105 kroner
* Santander Raised to Outperform at RBC; PT 12.25 euros
* SGS Raised to Buy at Research Partners; PT 120 Swiss francs
* Sobi PT Raised to 500 kronor from 470 kronor at Jefferies
* TechnipFMC PT Raised to $69 from $56 at TD Cowen
* Unipol PT Raised to 25.70 euros from 24.80 euros at Berenberg

>>> Down
* Airbus Cut to Neutral at Rothschild & Co Redburn; PT 200 euros
* FM Mattsson AB Cut to Neutral at SB1 Markets; PT 80 kronor
* Hochtief Cut to Neutral at Grupo Santander; PT 324 euros
* Icade Cut to Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley; PT 25 euros
* Orange Cut to Neutral at Grupo Santander; PT 18.20 euros
* Rio Tinto Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT 7,400 pence
* Sulzer Cut to Hold at Research Partners; PT 200 Swiss francs
* Valiant Cut to Neutral at UBS; PT 168 Swiss francs
* Verve Group Cut to Hold at Nordea
* Xbrane Biopharma Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 8 kronor

>>> Initiation


>>> Call
* Centrica PT Raised to Street High at JPMorgan on Turnaround
* Icade Cut at Morgan Stanley on More Limited Self-Help Potential
* Norsk Hydro Upgraded at Citi, Now Cheaper Than Aluminum Peers
* Quilter Placed on JPMorgan Positive Catalyst Watch Over Buybacks
* Unipol PT Raised to Street High at Berenberg on Dividends