Elon Musk is consolidating his space and artificial intelligence businesses into a single entity ahead of a planned initial public offering later in 2026. SpaceX announced on February 2, 2026, that it has acquired xAI, Musk’s AI startup, integrating assets including the Grok chatbot, Starlink satellite internet, and social media platform X.

The merger aims to accelerate development of space-based data centers, a vision Musk has long promoted. The combined company positions Musk to leverage synergies between orbital infrastructure and AI computing, potentially reshaping both industries ahead of its market debut.

Hyperliquid is advancing into prediction markets with “outcome trading” via Hyperliquid Improvement Proposal 4 (HIP-4), enabling fully collateralized, bounded-range contracts on its HyperCore infrastructure. The feature, now in testnet, aims to support event-based markets without leverage or liquidations, using the USDH stablecoin for settlement.

Prediction markets recorded $12.4 billion in volume last month, per Dune Analytics. Myriad co-founder Farokh Sarmad said Hyperliquid’s move could expand the total addressable market and unlock novel use cases. The HIP-4 proposal, first published in September 2025, may eventually allow permissionless market deployment pending user feedback.

The announcement coincides with rising regulatory scrutiny—Polymarket faces bans in Hungary, Portugal, Nevada, and Tennessee over whether such platforms constitute gambling. Despite this, Coinbase recently launched Kalshi-powered prediction markets nationwide. Hyperliquid’s HYPE token rose 11% in 24 hours to $32.83 following the news.

Elon Musk announced on February 2, 2026, that he is merging SpaceX with his artificial intelligence company, xAI, in a move that could reshape the strategic direction of both private firms.

The merger aims to integrate advanced AI capabilities into SpaceX’s aerospace and satellite operations, potentially accelerating development of autonomous systems for space missions. Neither company has disclosed financial terms or regulatory timelines, but the deal would combine two of Musk’s most ambitious ventures under a unified structure. SpaceX, valued at over $250 billion in its latest funding round, and xAI, which launched in 2023 to compete with OpenAI and Google DeepMind, have operated independently until now.

SpaceX has acquired Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI, forming a combined entity valued at $1.25 trillion, the company announced on February 2, 2026. The merger aims to develop space-based data centers to address terrestrial power and cooling constraints driven by AI’s soaring energy demands.

Musk, CEO of both companies, stated in a memo that Earth-based infrastructure cannot sustainably meet AI’s electricity needs without harming communities and the environment—a reference to local backlash over xAI’s Memphis data centers. SpaceX, which derives up to 80% of its revenue from Starlink satellite launches, will now have a steady internal demand for satellite deployment. xAI is reportedly burning $1 billion monthly and previously acquired social media platform X, with Musk citing a $113 billion valuation for that combined entity. Tesla and SpaceX each invested $2 billion in xAI prior to the merger. An anticipated SpaceX IPO, possibly as early as June 2026, may be impacted, though Musk did not address it publicly.

U.S. and global equity indices declined as of the 5:30 p.m. ET market close on Monday, February 2, 2026, reflecting broad-based selling pressure across major exchanges.

The drop followed heightened volatility amid renewed concerns over global growth and monetary policy uncertainty. While specific index levels were not detailed in the report, the synchronized move lower suggests investor caution ahead of key economic data releases later in the week.

OpenAI launched a desktop application for its Codex AI coding tool on February 2, 2026, aiming to regain momentum in the competitive AI-powered software development market. The app enables users to manage multiple AI agents simultaneously and perform tasks like data collection and analysis through code generation.

The move comes as OpenAI trails rivals such as Anthropic, whose Claude Code tool reportedly reached $1 billion in annualized revenue within six months of launch. OpenAI emphasized improved usability to broaden adoption of Codex’s advanced features. While experts note AI coding tools cannot yet replace human developers, they significantly boost productivity. CEO Sam Altman highlighted the models’ relentless execution, stating, “They don’t run out of dopamine—they just keep trying.”

The U.S. dollar advanced Monday (February 2, 2026), extending gains from Friday after President Trump nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve chair. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) rose 0.7% to 97.65 in New York trading—the first back-to-back daily gains since January 16.

Warsh’s nomination triggered a sell-off in precious metals and risk assets late last week, boosting the dollar. While seen as dovish on interest rates, Warsh has previously criticized the Fed’s balance sheet expansion. However, Wells Fargo analysts led by Tom Porcelli argued that a major balance sheet reduction under Warsh is unlikely due to the entrenched “ample reserves” framework. Meanwhile, the U.S. January jobs report was delayed due to a partial government shutdown. In Europe, EUR/USD fell 0.5% to 1.1785, while GBP/USD dipped to 1.3658.

Teradyne Inc. (TER) reported higher fourth-quarter profit on February 2, 2026, driven by robust demand for semiconductor test equipment amid sustained chip industry investment.

Net income rose to $218 million, or $1.02 per share, from $195 million, or $0.89 per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 7% year-over-year to $942 million, slightly above analyst estimates. The company cited strength in its Semiconductor Test segment, which posted $635 million in sales, up 9% annually. Teradyne also announced a new $1 billion share repurchase authorization and raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.11 per share.

New Jersey Resources Corp. (NJR) reported a decline in fiscal first-quarter net income to $62.4 million, or $0.78 per share, from $73.9 million, or $0.93 per share, in the same period last year, citing reduced gross margins in its natural gas utility segment. The results missed analyst expectations of $0.85 per share.

The company attributed the drop primarily to lower decoupling revenues and higher operating expenses at New Jersey Natural Gas, its regulated utility subsidiary. Despite the earnings dip, NJR reaffirmed its full-year adjusted earnings guidance of $3.15 to $3.35 per share, supported by growth in its clean energy and midstream segments. Shares of NJR fell 2.3% in after-hours trading following the earnings release on February 2, 2026.

Fabrinet (NYSE: FN) reported higher fiscal second-quarter profit on February 2, 2026, driven by robust demand for optical components used in AI and cloud infrastructure. The Thailand-based contract manufacturer posted net income of $138.5 million, or $3.72 per diluted share, up from $112.1 million, or $2.94 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 21% year-over-year to $942.3 million, exceeding analyst expectations. The company attributed growth to strong execution and increased volumes in its communications segment, particularly for high-speed transceivers. Fabrinet also raised its fiscal 2026 revenue guidance, now expecting full-year sales between $3.65 billion and $3.75 billion, up from prior guidance of $3.55 billion to $3.65 billion.

Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ: WWD) reported first-quarter 2026 earnings that exceeded analyst expectations, driven by stronger-than-anticipated margins and operational efficiency. The aerospace and industrial components manufacturer posted adjusted EPS of $1.42, surpassing consensus estimates by $0.18.

Revenue for the quarter ended December 31, 2025, rose 7% year-over-year to $982 million, primarily fueled by robust demand in its aerospace segment. The company also raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $5.60–$5.80, up from $5.40–$5.70 previously. CEO Thomas A. Gendron cited “solid execution and resilient end-market demand” as key contributors to the improved outlook.

Ashland Inc. (ASH) reported a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $12 million, or 26 cents per share, on Monday, February 2, 2026. Adjusted earnings came in at 26 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks consensus estimate of 23 cents.

The Wilmington, Delaware-based chemical company generated $386 million in revenue, below the expected $408.3 million. Ashland reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance between $1.84 billion and $1.91 billion. Shares closed at $61.56 on Monday, down 3% over the past 12 months but up nearly 5% year-to-date.

OpenAI has quietly evaluated AI inference chips from AMD, Cerebras, and Groq since last year, seeking alternatives to Nvidia amid dissatisfaction with response latency in certain applications, particularly software development and system integration, according to multiple sources cited by Reuters on February 2, 2026.

The shift reflects OpenAI’s growing focus on inference—the process of generating real-time responses from trained AI models—as a critical performance bottleneck. While Nvidia dominates AI training hardware, its GPUs rely on external memory, which can increase latency compared to architectures with embedded SRAM, such as those from Cerebras. OpenAI aims to allocate roughly 10% of its inference workload to non-Nvidia hardware. Despite this, the company confirms Nvidia still powers the vast majority of its inference clusters. Meanwhile, Nvidia continues investment talks with OpenAI, though the proposed $100 billion deal remains delayed. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang denies tensions, asserting its chips offer superior cost and performance for large-scale inference.

SpaceX (SPAX.PVT) will acquire xAI (XAAI.PVT) in a merger consolidating two of Elon Musk’s flagship private ventures, the company confirmed on February 2, 2026. Musk cited space-based AI and orbital data centers as key drivers, arguing terrestrial infrastructure cannot meet AI’s growing power demands.

The combined entity aims to integrate AI, rockets, Starlink, and direct-to-device communications under one vertically integrated platform. Tesla recently invested $2 billion in xAI preferred stock and shares engineering resources across all three Musk-led companies. SpaceX is preparing an IPO that could raise up to $50 billion and value the firm at $1.5 trillion, though terms may shift post-merger. Bloomberg first reported the deal earlier Monday.

Alphabet (GOOGL) is set to report fourth-quarter results after market close on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, with options pricing implying a potential move of more than 5% from Monday’s close near $345. That suggests a post-earnings trading range between approximately $328 and $362.

The stock has already surged 25% since its October 2025 earnings beat, which marked its first quarter exceeding $100 billion in revenue. Analysts project Q4 revenue of $111.37 billion (up 15% year-over-year) and adjusted EPS of $3.09 (up over 20%). HSBC highlights investor focus on Google Cloud’s AI capacity, search growth, AI Mode adoption, 2026 capex plans, and Apple’s integration of Gemini into Siri. Of 15 analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, 12 rate GOOGL a “buy,” with an average price target of $350.

Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust was closed on February 2, 2026, by Illinois regulators due to “unsafe and unsound conditions” and an impaired capital position, marking the first U.S. bank failure of the year. The FDIC was named receiver and struck a deal with Detroit-based First Independence Bank, which reopened the institution on February 5, assuming substantially all $212 million in deposits and purchasing $251 million of its $261 million in assets.

The FDIC estimates the failure will cost its Deposit Insurance Fund $19.7 million, though the final tally depends on the sale of retained assets. Metropolitan, founded in 2005 as a boutique Universal Bank focused on small- to medium-sized businesses, operated from Chicago’s River North neighborhood. This marks the second consecutive year a Chicago bank has been the nation’s first to fail, following Pulaski Savings Bank’s collapse in January 2025.

Robinhood Markets (HOOD-US) shares tumbled 9.6% on February 2, 2026, amid growing investor concerns over weakening cryptocurrency markets and cooling retail trading activity. The drop outpaced rival Coinbase (COIN-US), despite Coinbase’s higher crypto exposure, suggesting broader worries about declining retail investor sentiment across speculative assets like meme stocks, gold, and silver.

Crypto prices fell roughly 7% over the weekend, adding pressure on Robinhood, which derived 21% of its revenue from crypto in Q3 and held crypto assets representing 15% of its total custodied assets. Mizuho analyst Daniel J. O’Regan noted the stock broke below its 200-day moving average last week, accelerating losses to a seven-month low—down about 44% from its October 2025 peak. While Mizuho’s Dan Dolev highlighted Robinhood’s recent UK launch of zero-fee stock and ISA accounts with 2% cashback through April 2026 as a potential catalyst, near-term headwinds from retail risk aversion remain acute.

DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) reported higher fourth-quarter 2025 revenue on February 2, 2026, driven by strong patient volume and pricing improvements in its kidney care segment. The company posted sales of $3.32 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year, surpassing analyst estimates.

Net income attributable to shareholders rose to $218 million, or $2.35 per share, compared to $192 million, or $2.01 per share, in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA reached $625 million, reflecting a 5.1% increase. CEO Javier Rodriguez cited operational efficiencies and strategic investments in value-based care as key contributors to the performance. The company also raised its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance range.

MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG) reported a net loss of $12.3 million, or $0.04 per share, for Q4 2025, compared to net income of $168.5 million, or $0.54 per share, in the same period a year earlier. The decline follows a 12% year-over-year drop in new insurance written to $7.9 billion.

The company cited higher incurred losses and lower premium yields as key drivers of the downturn. For full-year 2025, MGIC posted net income of $448.1 million, down from $702.4 million in 2024. Its combined ratio worsened to 72.3% in Q4 from 59.1% a year prior, reflecting elevated claim expenses.

Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) reported higher fourth-quarter 2025 net income, driven by improved leasing performance and increased occupancy across its U.S. portfolio. The results exceeded analyst expectations, reflecting resilience in premium retail real estate despite broader consumer spending shifts.

Net income rose to $378.6 million, or $1.03 per share, from $329.1 million, or $0.89 per share, a year earlier. Funds from operations (FFO)—a key REIT metric—came in at $2.48 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.39. The company reported occupancy of 95.2%, up 120 basis points year-over-year. Simon also affirmed its 2026 FFO guidance range of $9.30 to $9.50 per share.