Helen Lofthouse, CEO of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), will step down in May 2026, according to an internal memo released February 11, 2026. The resignation follows a strategic review of leadership, with no immediate replacement announced. ASX.LN fell 2.3% in late trading on the news, reflecting market uncertainty about governance changes and trading volume stability.

The ASX has not provided a new timeline or interim leadership details pending confirmation from the board. Shareholders will be notified of the formal resignation notice and subsequent governance changes in the coming weeks.

Senate Banking Committee discussions at the White House on February 10, 2026, highlighted a key impasse over whether to ban stablecoin yields. Banking groups circulated a principles document opposing any form of financial or non-financial consideration tied to stablecoin ownership, seeking a general prohibition and regulatory enforcement tools to prevent deposit flight. The document also called for a regulator study on the deposit impact of stablecoin activity.

Crypto stakeholders, including Coinbase, Ripple, and the Blockchain Association, urged compromise, with Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger and CCI CEO Ji Kim expressing constructive engagement. The bill, the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, already cleared the House and has support in the Senate Agriculture Committee but faces headwinds from banking concerns and pending DHS funding issues. Additional sticking points include restrictions on executive crypto involvement due to former President Trump’s interests and staffing requirements for the CFTC.

Australia will introduce legislation on March 03, 2026, to levy an additional 15% tax on profits from superannuation balances exceeding A$3 million, effective July 2026. The measure, revived by the Labor government, targets about 90,000 Australians with balances in this bracket. It also imposes a 40% tax on balances over A$10 million and updates low-income superannuation tax offsets (LISTO) to prevent taxpayers from paying more on contributions than on their after-tax pay. The proposal, first introduced in 2023, faced Senate opposition and was scaled back in October 2025 amid concerns over taxing unrealized gains and inflation-adjusted thresholds.

MLCC (multilayer ceramic capacitors)现货价格自2025-02-01起在韩市单周劲升近20%，资金正评估是否将其作为承接存储芯片涨价潮后的下一个配置标的。

AI算力爆发与电动汽车普及叠加推升需求：AI服务器MLCC用量较传统服务器提升三倍以上，单机需求可达2.5万颗；搭载NVIDIA GB200架构的高阶机柜用量以十万颗计。村田制作所预计，AI服务器相关需求2026-2030年年增约30%，至2030年市场体量将达当前的3.3倍。

新能源汽车对MLCC需求为燃油车的10倍，推动车规产品向小型化与耐高压演进。市场呈现冰火两重天：日韩龙头在高阶利基市场持续满载；中低阶消费型市场因手机与笔电需求收敛陷入库存与利润挤压。在此背景下，三环集团、风华高科等本土厂商加速向车规与高压高端领域渗透，被视为结构性机会的潜在承接者。

RBC Capital Markets analysts report that the rapid expansion in U.S. tech companies’ AI infrastructure spending is largely driven by surging memory prices, not increased hardware purchases.

The firm estimates combined data center, chip, networking equipment, and related hardware spending for Amazon (AMZN-US), Google (GOOGL-US), Meta (META-US), and Microsoft (MSFT-US) will reach nearly $600B in 2026 to meet rising AI demand. Memory costs, including DRAM, HBM, and NAND, are pushing about 45% of 2026 cloud CAPEX growth.

From $107B in 2025 to $2.37T in 2026, memory spending would rise by $1.3T, with roughly $980B of the increase due to price hikes, not quantity. According to TrendForce,DRAM prices could double and NAND prices rise over 85% in 2026.

Excluding memory, CAPEX growth is expected to moderate to about 40% in 2026 from 80% in 2025. While AI investment fundamentals remain strong, memory prices are the largest uncertainty for 2027 CAPEX trends.

The FBI raided a Fulton County elections center on January 29, 2026, seizing voting records under a Title 52 warrant alleging violations of election integrity laws, per a court filing unsealed on February 10, 2026. The investigation, referred to the bureau by lawyer Kurt Olsen who represented Donald Trump in the 2020 election challenge, seeks to determine if alleged election deficiencies constituted criminal intent.

The warrant targets paper ballots, ballot images, and absentee ballot envelopes. Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. denounced the raid as part of “long-debunked” claims by Trump allies and seeks the return of seized materials. A US District Court judge ordered the FBI to post the redacted affidavit by day’s end and is reviewing the county’s motion to return the documents.

Separately, the federal government is suing Georgia and 23 states for current voter roll data, with some states resisting and courts dismissing similar requests in California and Oregon. The FBI also plans a Feb. 25 call with state election officials to prepare for the 2026 midterm elections, prompting concerns over potential legal and political escalation.

Citadel Securities, along with DTCC and Intercontinental Exchange, has invested in LayerZero’s heterogeneous blockchain, Zero, aiming to scale high-performance trading, clearing, and settlement for tokenized assets. The initiative targets the blockchain trilemma by enabling transactions across multiple chains without requiring uniform processing, supporting potentially up to 2 million transactions per second at a lower cost than Ethereum.

LayerZero claims Zero can handle about 100,000x the throughput of Ethereum and 500x that of Solana, with a planned fall 2026 launch in three permissionless environments: smart contracts, payments, and trading across asset classes. The ZRO governance token will coordinate the network and interoperate with over 165 other chains. The companies are evaluating whether Zero can support tokenized securities, collateral, and 24/7 market infrastructure.

Zero is described as permissionless to validate, build, and transact on, contrasting with existing walled-garden ledgers from companies like Google, Circle, and Stripe.

xAI, preparing for an upcoming IPO, is losing half of its founding team as key researchers depart amid heightened scrutiny and competition. In a深夜 post on X, Yuhuai Wu, one of the co-founders, announced his resignation, noting the era of "a small team equipped with AI can move mountains" is upon him.

Of the 12-person founding team, five have left in the past 18 months, including Kyle Kosic joining OpenAI, Christian Szegedy leaving for Google, Igor Babushkin founding a venture firm, and Greg Yang departing on health grounds. While departures appear voluntary, with SpaceX’s acquisition complete and an IPO on the horizon offering significant financial upside, internal tensions are rising.

Concerns include erratic behavior and疑似 internal tampering with Grok, the company’s flagship chat model, and recent changes to its image generation tools that have fueled a surge in deepfake pornography, prompting legal actions. With the IPO approaching and pressure to outpace Anthropic, retention of core AI talent is critical to the company’s success.

Deutsche Bank maintains upbeat AI-driven high-bandwidth memory (HBM) demand outlook despite weakness in Micron’s shares. The bank raised its price target to $500, implying about 34% upside from Tuesday’s closing at $373.25, as Micron remains one of the leading HBM suppliers alongside SK Hynix and Samsung.

Weathers notes AI workloads are expanding, with HBM demand expected to grow more than 30% annually through 2030, outpacing traditional DRAM’s over 15% CAGR. HBM’s higher silicon intensity and longer wafer requirements are creating supply constraints, enhancing pricing power and enabling longer-term contracts.

Micron faces pressure from Samsung’s impending HBM4 start, but the bank sees supply constraints extending through 2027–2028 and projects limited relief until next year. Weathers warns risingDRAM prices could trigger end-user demand destruction, though Micron’s upcoming Wolfe Research address on Wednesday will likely shape sentiment.

Oscar Health, Inc. (OSCAR) reported a wider fourth-quarter loss on February 11, 2026, with net income down to -$19.9 million, versus -$14.8 million in the same period of 2025. Revenue declined to $1.09 billion, a 3.4% drop from $1.13 billion in Q4 2025. The company cited continued pressure from lower utilization of health benefits and broader economic conditions. The stock closed at $52.30 on February 10, 2026, down 2.8% for the session.

Upexi, Inc. (UPXI) reported a second-quarter loss of $12.5 million, up 25% from $10 million in the same period of 2025. The company attributed the increase to higher-than-expected customer acquisition costs and a reduction in revenue from its SaaS platform. Revenue for Q2 was $28 million, a 12% decline from $31.5 million in Q2 2025. CEO Michael Chen said the company is implementing cost optimization and expanding its mid-market client base to stabilize results. The stock closed at $12.42 on February 10, 2026, down 4.2% for the day.

The China Securities Exchange (SSE) is expected to open Wednesday, February 12, with the Shanghai Composite index down about 1.2% at open, following continued weakness in mainland equity markets. The index closed the prior session at 3,428.83, down 0.8% from the previous day. The move follows a government-appointed board chair's statement signaling tighter regulation and reduced support for speculative trading. Volume is forecast to remain清淡, with a gauge of listed trading activity indicating a 15% drop from the prior week.

Bitcoin closed below $70,000 for the second time in as many sessions on Friday, Feb 11, 2026, falling roughly 2% to about $68,000. Analysts warn a 20% further decline to the $55,000–$60,000 range is possible, while the Compass Point model suggests a reasonable value is around $55,000.

Ether and XRP also declined sharply: Ethereum down over 4% and XRP down nearly 3%. The sell-off reflects a "credibility crisis" and heightened volatility, with risk sentiment easing and some digital assets facing margin calls.

The 2/6 low marked a retest of $60,000 and a brief return to $70,000. While the 200-day moving average is about $58,000 and the average cost around $56,000, they are converging, suggesting a less likely sustained break below key support levels.

Claude Erb’s Metcalfe’s Law-based valuation model estimates a reasonable value at $55,000, citing a historical P/E range of roughly 0.3–4.3. Although the ratio is approaching 1:1, further weakness in sentiment or macroeconomic conditions could drive prices below the model’s estimate.

TotalEnergies (TOT) is advancing its $27 billion four-part oil and gas complex in Iraq, with 80%–95% of key components now completed and the project ahead of schedule. Officials estimate the complex could come online as early as Q4 2026, potentially adding 150,000–200,000 barrels per day to Iraq’s production capacity. The project, built under a joint venture with local partners, is critical to TotalEnergies’ strategy to expand upstream operations in the Middle East.

Global electricity demand is climbing at the fastest pace in 15 years, projected to average 3.6% annual growth through 2030, per the IEA. Growth is driven by AI, advanced manufacturing, EVs, air conditioning, and data centers, with emerging economies accounting for about 80% of the incremental demand by 2030. Advanced economies, including the U.S., EU, Japan, and South Korea, are seeing their first decade of electricity demand growth since 2009–2013.

Demand outpaced grid capacity expansion in 2025, with global grid investments at about $400 billion per year and needing to rise by roughly 50% to meet 2030 needs. Over 2,500 GW of power projects are stalled in connection queues, and more than 1,600 GW could be integrated with grid-enhancing technologies and regulatory reforms. Rising equipment costs and supply chain constraints, plus aging infrastructure in key U.S. markets, suggest continued delays and a potential power crunch by 2030.

U.S. President Trump seeks further rate cuts under his nominee for Fed chair, Kevin Warsh, following his May swearing-in, but two officials with this year’s voting authority warn policy may stall. Cleveland and Dallas Fed presidents Beth Hammack and Lorie Logan said persistent inflation and the lag in easing effects suggest further rate reductions could harm economic growth. “Rather than attempt a fine-tune to the federal funds rate, I would prefer patience,” Hammack said, noting the Fed may keep rates unchanged for an extended period. Hammack and Logan, FOMC voting members, could block moves diverging from current Chair Jerome Powell or from Powell and Warsh. Powell’s term expires in May, and Warsh’s nomination is still awaiting congressional approval. Wall Street traders expect the Fed to keep policy unchanged at its March meeting, but a rate cut before May is about 50-50.

In 2025, the U.S. IPO market rebounded from multi-year weakness, recording 354 offerings—up 136 from 2024 and 206 from 2023—while SPACs neared 2020 levels. Total capital raised in non-SPAC IPOs reached $440B, outpacing 2024 by $140B and 2023 by $240B.

IT and industrial companies accounted for more than half of all IPOs, with notable financings including CoreWeave (CRWV-US) $15B, SailPoint (SAIL-US) $13.8B, Firefly Aerospace (FLY-US) $9.986B, and Medline (MDLN-US) $62.6B, the largest IPO of the year.

Performance metrics improved: median first-day return was 13%, average 22%, with 71% of IPOs posting gains. By industry, healthcare led with a 39% average pop; consumer lagged with one offering; energy underperformed with a -38.5% average; and IT posted a -33% average.

SPAC activity also rebounded, with 144 new listings in 2025—up 88 from 2024—of which 120 were actively seeking targets and 24 had announced transactions. Median SPAC fundraising reached $2B.

Looking ahead, 2026 is forecast to maintain momentum, with major AI and space firms such as SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic AI, Databricks, and Stripe among potential IPOs amid continued AI investment.

Auto battery manufacturers are pivoting production from electric vehicles to energy storage, leveraging rising demand from AI data centers to revive idle capacity. According to CRU data, 10 North American battery plants have initiated conversions, with 7 focusing on the energy storage market as electric vehicle sales decline.

Energy storage systems stabilize grids and power for homes and businesses by mitigating intermittency in wind and solar generation. Following cancellations of equivalent to 20 million EV batteries, major automakers are adapting: Ford is adjusting a Kentucky plant, and Kurt Kelty, GM’s battery business leader, is considering in-house production. Stellantis and Samsung SDI are shifting Indiana joint-venture lines to produce storage batteries, with the three major traditional automakers potentially supplying AI data centers.

AI-driven data center construction has spiked energy use and demand for uninterruptible power, driving growth for storage batteries. Tesla’s energy and grid storage business revenue rose 27% to $12.8 billion in 2025, compared to $2.8 billion in 2024, while its automotive segment declined 10%. Federal tax credits for EVs were pared, but the Inflation Reduction Act maintains production subsidies for batteries.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has refused to review Moderna's application for its influenza vaccine mRNA-1010, sending its shares down 8% in extended trading on February 10, 2026. The Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research cited the use of an already licensed seasonal flu vaccine as the comparator, stating the study lacks an "adequate and well-controlled" design reflecting the best-available standard of care. Moderna plans to request a meeting with the regulator to discuss the next steps. The company previously withdrew its application for a flu-COVID combination vaccine pending mRNA-1010 data and is pursuing approvals in the EU, Canada, and Australia, with potential approvals expected late 2026 or early 2027.

On February 11–12, 2026, CoinDesk’s Consensus Hong Kong 2026 will convene over 10,000 attendees and 350 speakers across five stages, focusing on tokenization, stablecoins, AI, and other blockchain applications amid recent crypto volatility.

Bitcoin fell from above $95,000 to near $60,000 before rebounding to about $70,000 within weeks, reflecting ongoing price swings. Policymakers including Hong Kong Chief Executive John KC Lee, legislator Johnny Ng, and SFC CEO Julia Leung will discuss drafting crypto-focused regulations in the SAR.

Industry leaders such as Animoca’s Yat Siu, Solana’s Lily Liu, and BitMine’s Tom Lee will outline current status and near-term trends. Speakers note that blockchains are increasingly becoming financial infrastructure, with institutions like Robinhood exploring ways to support institutional clients through blockchain.