Good afternoon! A Berlin startup called Vay is redefining what “driverless” means, and it is not what you think. Instead of full autonomy, Vay rents out cars that are remotely driven by real humans sitting in an office, guiding vehicles through city streets via cameras, steering wheels, and pedals. Once the car reaches you, control switches over and you drive like normal, then either park in a service zone or hand it back to another remote driver.
Vay operates about 100 Kia Niro SUVs in Las Vegas and says it has already completed tens of thousands of trips. The pitch is simple: more flexible than Uber and cheaper for errands, with pricing based on time driving versus time parked. It is a lower-cost alternative to robotaxis too, since the system uses cameras instead of expensive sensors, keeping humans in the loop while still feeling straight out of the future.
MARKETS
Stocks pushed higher to kick off the week as investors geared up for an earnings avalanche, with about one third of the S&P 500 reporting and several Magnificent 7 heavyweights stepping into the spotlight. The S&P is now creeping back toward record territory, because nothing says confidence like buying right before Big Tech report cards drop.
Meanwhile, money ran straight into safety trades. Gold blasted past $5,000, silver cleared $100, and natural gas ripped after Winter Storm Fern knocked out roughly a tenth of US production. Adding to the tension, Trump floated 100% tariffs on Canada over potential China ties, giving markets yet another geopolitical curveball to price in.
STOCKS
Winners & Losers
What’s up 📈
Brand Engagement Network skyrocketed 276.7% after announcing an AI joint venture with Valio Technologies $BNAI
Lands’ End surged 33.52% after forming a brand expansion joint venture with WHP Global $LE
Sarepta Therapeutics gained 7.71% on strong long-term data for its Duchenne drug Elevidys $SRPT
GameStop jumped 4.46% after Michael Burry revealed he has been building a position $GME
SSR Mining rose 3.08% as gold’s breakout lifted mining stocks $SSRM
Apple climbed 2.97% after rolling out a new AirTag with longer range and sharper tracking $AAPL
SkyWater Technology added 3.29% after agreeing to be acquired by IonQ in a $1.8 billion deal $SKYT
Freeport-McMoRan gained 1.26% alongside strength in gold and metals $FCX
Newmont advanced 1.3% as investors piled into gold miners $NEM
What’s down 📉
Evolution Metals & Technologies plunged 26.62% as rare earth names sold off on rising competition fears $EMET
Ramaco Resources dropped 20.31% in the rare earth miner selloff $METC
TMC The Metals Company slid 17.69% after federal backing for a rival weighed on sentiment $TMC
Revolution Medicines sank 16.87% after Merck walked away from takeover talks over price disagreements $RVMD
Booz Allen Hamilton fell 8.12% after the Treasury cut contracts tied to a tax data leak $BAH
Sweetgreen lost 7.12% as Winter Storm Fern disrupted restaurant traffic $SG
CAVA declined 5.68% on weather-related restaurant weakness $CAVA
Cracker Barrel dropped 4.07% as storms kept diners at home $CBRL
JetBlue fell 3.79% after canceling more than half its flights due to the storm $JBLU
AI
AI Infrastructure Stocks Rise After Nvidia Invests 2 Billion Dollars in CoreWeave
CoreWeave shares climbed after Nvidia announced a fresh 2 billion dollar investment to help build out massive AI data center capacity. The partnership deepens ties between the two companies as demand for high performance AI infrastructure keeps accelerating.
The deal and why it matters
CoreWeave plans to develop more than 5 gigawatts of AI data center power capacity by 2030, a buildout that would rival the electricity usage of millions of homes. Nvidia’s investment helps fund land, power procurement, and infrastructure while also giving CoreWeave early access to Nvidia’s latest platforms, including Rubin systems, Vera CPUs, and BlueField networking and storage tech.
This expands an already tight relationship. Nvidia previously placed multibillion dollar orders with CoreWeave for cloud capacity, and CoreWeave has signed enormous infrastructure agreements with companies like Meta and OpenAI. The result is a tightly woven ecosystem where chip supply, cloud capacity, and AI model demand all feed into each other.
The AI financing debate is heating up
Not everyone is celebrating. Some analysts worry that AI infrastructure spending is becoming circular, with companies funding each other to keep expansion going. CoreWeave in particular has relied heavily on debt to buy Nvidia chips and build facilities, then rents that capacity out to AI customers. That model works as long as demand keeps rising, but it leaves little room for error if spending slows.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang pushed back on those concerns, arguing that the industry is still in the early stages of the largest infrastructure buildout in history. Supporters say recent volatility in AI and tech stocks already acted as a reset, clearing excess speculation and setting the stage for more sustainable growth.
Bottom line
Nvidia’s new investment is both a vote of confidence in CoreWeave and another signal that AI infrastructure spending is not slowing down. Whether this turns into a durable industrial boom or a future overbuild will depend on how fast real world AI demand catches up to all this capacity.
NEWS
Market Movements
🥇 Gold Breaks $5,000 as Dollar Slides and Retail Piles In: Gold surged past $5,000 per ounce for the first time ever and kept climbing, topping $5,110 as a weaker US dollar and geopolitical tensions fueled safe-haven demand. Retail interest is spiking too, with gold and silver ETFs among the most mentioned tickers on trading forums, while silver also hit a record high. Goldman Sachs lifted its year-end gold forecast to $5,400. $GLD $SLV
🍎 Apple to Roll Out Smarter Siri in February, Chatbot Version This Summer: Apple is preparing to launch the long-delayed AI-upgraded Siri in the second half of February, with a more advanced chatbot-style version arriving in beta this summer. The new system will rely on Google’s Gemini models behind the scenes as Apple resets its AI strategy after internal setbacks. Investors are watching closely as Apple tries to catch up in the AI assistant race. $AAPL $GOOGL
🤖 Daily AI Use at Work Triples in Two Years: A Gallup survey found 12% of US workers now use AI every day on the job, up from just 4% in mid-2023. Tech workers lead the charge, but nearly half of all workers still say they never use AI at work, highlighting a widening adoption gap across industries. AI is becoming standard in some offices while barely touching others.
💾 Micron Slips After Samsung Moves First on HBM4 Supply: Micron shares edged lower after a report said Samsung is preparing to start production of next-generation HBM4 memory chips next month, with early supply headed to Nvidia. Investors reacted selectively as leadership in the AI memory race becomes more company-specific. Micron has said it expects to begin HBM4 shipments in the second quarter. $MU $NVDA
📈 Morgan Stanley Lifts Sandisk Target as NAND Demand Tightens: Sandisk moved higher after Morgan Stanley raised its price target to $483 and kept an overweight rating. Analysts say NAND fundamentals remain strong, driven by booming demand for enterprise solid-state drives used in AI data centers, which is tightening global supply. The rally has left many Wall Street targets scrambling to catch up. $SNDK
🪙 Bitcoin Bear Market Fears Grow as ETFs See Heavy Outflows: Bitcoin has been stuck below $90,000, and some analysts warn the next 30 days could determine whether a bear market is already underway. Headwinds include macro uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, and potential stock market volatility spilling into crypto. Bitcoin ETFs saw $1.3 billion in outflows last week, and sentiment gauges have slipped back into fear territory. $BTC
🏛️ Booz Allen Drops After Treasury Cancels Contracts: Booz Allen Hamilton fell after the US Treasury Department canceled all 31 of its contracts with the firm, worth about $21 million, citing failures to safeguard sensitive taxpayer data. The move follows a former employee’s conviction for leaking confidential tax information. The news is notable given Booz Allen’s heavy reliance on US government business. $BAH
📚 Barnes & Noble Plans Store Expansion as IPO Talks Heat Up: Barnes & Noble is planning to open 60 new stores in 2026 while its owner explores a potential multibillion-dollar IPO. The chain has staged a turnaround since its 2019 acquisition, leaning back into a local bookstore feel and benefiting from rising foot traffic and social media-driven book trends.
📊 Goldman Says Megacap Tech Valuations Are Near 2022 Lows: Goldman Sachs notes that megacap tech stocks now trade around 27 times forward earnings, a level closer to historical norms than peak bubble territory. The group’s premium versus the broader market has also narrowed, suggesting investors still have some skepticism about long-term AI profit expectations. Earnings this week could shift that narrative. $MSFT $META
🌍 Goldman Warns Extreme Growth Optimism Could Cap Cyclical Trades: Goldman says markets have aggressively priced in a global growth rebound for 2026, pushing sentiment indicators to rare highs. That level of optimism can act as a warning sign, as it leaves less room for upside surprises and raises the risk of disappointment in cyclical stocks. The bank still likes select cyclicals but sees a shrinking margin for error.
🎮 GameStop Jumps After Michael Burry Reveals New Stake: GameStop surged after Michael Burry disclosed he has been buying shares, saying he believes the stock is trading near tangible book value. His comments reignited retail interest, sending trading volumes and short-dated call option activity sharply higher. The move adds another high-profile name back into the meme stock spotlight. $GME
🚘 Tesla Earnings Preview Points to Lower Profits, Higher Spending: Analysts expect Tesla’s fourth-quarter earnings and revenue to decline year over year while capital expenditures continue to rise. Investors will focus on updates around robotaxis, full self-driving rollout, and next-generation chips, along with how much AI-related spending could climb in 2026. Margins remain under pressure as price cuts continue. $TSLA
🇪🇺 Europe Pushes “EuroStack” to Reduce Reliance on US Tech: European leaders are backing a broad initiative to build homegrown alternatives in AI, cloud, and software to strengthen digital sovereignty. The plan includes major investment programs, open-source collaboration, and support for European AI infrastructure, while leveraging strengths like ASML’s dominance in advanced chipmaking tools. $ASML
RARE EARTHS
US Government Invests 1.6 Billion Dollars in USA Rare Earth to Boost Domestic Supply Chain
America is digging deeper into the minerals arms race. The Trump administration is backing USA Rare Earth with a 1.3 billion dollar Commerce Department loan and 277 million dollars in direct funding, in exchange for shares and warrants that could give the government up to a 16 percent stake. The money will help build a magnet manufacturing plant in Oklahoma and develop the Round Top rare earth deposit in Texas, sending shares higher on the news.
Why rare earths suddenly matter a lot
Rare earth elements are key ingredients in everything from AI chips and electric vehicles to missiles and fighter jets. They are not truly rare, but they are expensive and environmentally messy to process, which is why much of the global refining capacity ended up in China. That concentration has turned minerals into a geopolitical pressure point, especially after China floated export restrictions during past trade tensions.
Washington has been trying to unwind that dependence, and this deal fits the pattern. The government already made a large equity investment in MP Materials last year, and officials signaled that more critical mineral deals are likely on the way as US demand for rare earth magnets keeps climbing.
Not every government backed miner becomes a winner
Investors might be tempted to follow Uncle Sam into the trade, but history is mixed. MP Materials has been a standout, rallying sharply over the past year and landing major commercial deals that helped validate its strategy. Other government supported names, like Lithium Americas and Trilogy Metals, saw big initial pops but failed to sustain momentum afterward.
The US is clearly willing to spend big to secure its own supply of strategic minerals. That is a tailwind for the sector, but picking winners will still come down to execution, timelines, and whether these projects can actually move from funding announcements to profitable production.
CALENDAR
On The Horizon
Tomorrow
On the economic side, investors will be watching the January Conference Board consumer confidence reading along with the November FHFA house price index for clues on how the consumer and housing market are holding up.
It is also a packed earnings day with results coming from LVMH, UnitedHealth, RTX, Boeing, Texas Instruments, NextEra Energy, Union Pacific, HCA Healthcare, Northrop Grumman, American Airlines, JetBlue, UPS, General Motors, Seagate, Logitech, and Kimberly Clark.
RESOURCES
The Federal Reserve Resource
Join our options subreddit ⚡️: https://www.reddit.com/r/optionstrading/
Join our discord community 💠: https://discord.gg/optionality
Wall Street Reads 💎 (Best Books):
Check out our latest issues 🎯: 0ptionality.com