The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release January’s Consumer Price Index on Friday, February 13, 2026, providing the first official look at inflation at the start of 2026. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect a 0.3% monthly increase and a 2.5% annual rise. That would be a slight improvement from December’s 2.6% for core consumer prices, with headline prices at 2.7% and food prices up 3.1% on an annual basis. Analysts at Bank of America anticipate core goods prices to accelerate in January, reflecting tariff pass-through and the typical January inflation bump.

Feb 12, 2026 - AI startup Anthropic (ANC) announced a $30 billion Series G funding round co-led by D. E. Shaw Ventures, ICONIQ and MGX, valuing the company at $380 billion. Additional participants included Sequoia Capital, Menlo Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Blackstone and BlackRock-affiliated funds. The round follows continued investor interest in AI, reflected in surging valuations for Anthropic and OpenAI (O) amid expected rapid adoption. Anthropic, backed by Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN), recently launched Claude Opus 4.6, expanding its enterprise and consumer toolkits.

Bitcoin plunged to a 4% session low at $65,079 as Standard Chartered slashed its 2026 price forecast to $100,000 from $150,000 and warned of a potential $50,000 range before stabilization amid weakening momentum and a tough macro backdrop. Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co. downgraded Coinbase to sell, cutting its price target to $120 and revenue and earnings forecasts through 2027. Coinbase shares fell about 8% to $140 after the outage on its website, with the company warning users may temporarily be unable to buy, sell, or transfer assets.

The broader crypto market has erased nearly $2 trillion in value since October, and Coinbase is forecast to report an estimated loss of 5 cents per share for Q4, versus 86 cents per share in earnings, reflecting a more than 80% year-over-year revenue decline. Analysts note retail inflows have remained flat, signaling a market where fading momentum, rather than fresh buying, now drives price action.

WP Engine has amended its lawsuit against Automattic (AMT) to allege the company planned to pursue royalty claims against up to 10 hosting competitors, including leveraging pressure on payment processor Stripe to cancel its contract. The dispute centers on a proposed 8% royalty of WP Engine’s monthly gross revenue for using the WordPress brand, which the company claims is arbitrarily set and violates the open-source community’s interests. WP Engine alleges Automattic abused its trademark and engaged in defamation and deceptive marketing, citing internal communications where Mullenweg threatened to “steal” WP Engine’s customers and use “nuclear war” language. The amended filing, unsealed after discovery, also notes Newfold already pays Automattic for its trademarks and that other hosting providers are in discussions. Automattic has not commented.

The BBC announced plans to cut over £500 million from its annual budget, aiming for a 10% reduction in operating costs over the next three years. With last-year costs at just over £6 billion, the savings will likely lead to job reductions and programming cuts. The corporation faces a £500 million funding gap driven by higher production costs and a 30% real-term decline in licence fee income since 2010, alongside a drop in fee payers—about 300,000 households last year. The licence fee will rise by £5.50 to £180 effective April 2026, and the BBC is preparing proposals for reform, considering options beyond subscriptions and advertising to preserve its universal service model.

Pending the BBC’s upcoming proposals are also a $10 billion defamation lawsuit by Donald Trump over a misleading edit in Panorama, scheduled for trial in February 2027, and internal leadership changes following the resignation of outgoing director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness.

Robinhood (HOOD) shares fell 9% after Q4 results missed analyst forecasts for total and crypto-specific revenue, sending its stock lower on Feb 12, 2026. CFO Shiv Verma defended the company’s pivot toward a diversified financial super app, emphasizing progress in winning active traders, capturing wallet share, and expanding globally and institutionally.

The company said crypto accounted for about 18% of revenue last year, with over 80% from outside crypto. Management remains bullish on digital assets despite a slide in retail trading growth. Analysts see a potential $60–$75 accumulation range as weakness from crypto weakness is expected to subside from Q2 2026 onward.

Strategic bets include tokenization of real-world assets, institutional ETF and derivatives exposure, and expansion via Bitstamp and TradePMR advisers. Verma stressed the company is shifting from volatile trading to banking, international markets, and institutional services, with a 10-year vision unchanged.

Real estate shares plunged amid investor bets that AI chatbots and tools could disintermediate estate agents, prompting a sell-off in Savills (-5.3% Feb 10), British Land (-2.4%), Landsec (-2.6%), and IWG (-4.8%). Similar volatility hit Wall Street, with Cushman & Wakefield down 14% and CBRE down 12% on the same date.

ARLA Propertymark President Megan Eighteen said AI is transforming the sector, automating valuations, marketing, and inquiry handling, creating margin pressure and long-term relevance concerns, especially in London. She stressed lettings remains a people business, with compliance, negotiation, tenant quality, and local insight irreplaceable by algorithms. Thriving firms will use AI to enhance services.

Analysts note while AI disruption is elevating portfolio volatility, the personal nature of real estate suggests fears may be overstated. AI tools like Altruist Corp’s tax assistant and a ChatGPT insurance price comparator have spiked selling in broader financial and tech sectors, including Relx (-34% in last 30 days) and Sage (-27%).

Comcast-owned Sky's negotiations to acquire ITV's Media and Entertainment unit, including channels and streaming platform ITVX, have slowed in recent weeks. The $2.18 billion (£1.6 billion) proposal aims to create a top-three UK streaming service to rival Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Disney+.

Complications in separating Studios, which produces ITV's major shows, and setting content and overhead valuations, have delayed agreement. The spin-off of cable assets into Versant, which has declined roughly 40% since its Jan 2026 debut, and shifting focus to the Warner Bros Discovery bidding war, are factors.

ITV cited public service broadcaster status and guaranteed rights to major sports events as key assets. The UK'semic growth in Q4 2025 and investor sentiment toward traditional assets also factor into the discussions. No timeline or certainty on terms were provided as of Feb 12, 2026.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) nears $65,000 on February 12, 2026, as a growing disconnect with gold (GC=F) signals waning traditional investor confidence. Gold is up 16% YTD versus Bitcoin’s -22% since January 1, 2026, and about -45% from its October 2025 all-time high of over $126,000. ETF outflows have risen since October, with Standard Chartered cutting its year-end price targets to $4,000 for ETH and $100,000 for BTC. Analysts note the Federal Reserve is expected to maintain rates until June, amid potential for prices to test below $50,000 before a rebound.

EU antitrust regulators are investigating Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) over potential manipulation of clearing prices in European search ad auctions, according to a letter to advertisers seen by Reuters. The European Commission indicated concerns that Google may be artificially increasing the clearing price to the detriment of advertisers.

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) softened its report’s attribution of a global cyberespionage campaign to a state-aligned group based in Asia, citing heightened risk of retaliation from China after the firm and clients faced software bans on national security grounds. The Unit 42 findings, which initially tied the TGR-STA-1030 group to China, were revised at executive direction to avoid drawing Beijing’s ire, per sources with knowledge of the matter.

The report, part of “The Shadow Campaigns,” detected the group in early 2025 and linked it to operations in 37 countries, including targeted activity in Czechia and Thailand around key diplomatic moments. Palo Alto issued a statement: “Attribution is irrelevant,” and its communications VP clarified the language change was not due to Chinese procurement rules, but to how best to inform and protect governments.

China’s Embassy condemned “all forms of cyberattacks” and urged characterization based on “sufficient evidence,” not “unfounded speculation.” Analysts note the trade-off for firms with on-the-ground operations: public attribution can attract attention but also invite reprisals.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) fell over 10% in extended trading after reporting fiscal second-quarter revenue and EPS that beat estimates, but gross margins contracted to 67.5% from 68.7% year-over-year as a global memory shortage drove up component costs. The company warned margins could slide to 65.5%–66.5% in the current quarter. CEO Chuck Robbins said the company is raising prices and renegotiating contracts with partners, and its scale should help it manage the industry-wide dynamic better than peers. The decline dragged CSCO into negative territory for the year, while shares have gained nearly 20% over the past 12 months.

The European Commission has launched a new antitrust probe into Google’s alleged illegal rigging of ad auction clearing prices, potentially breaching competition rules and exposing the company to fines up to 10% of global annual sales. A Feb. 9 letter, seen by Bloomberg, alleges the firm is “artificially increasing the clearing price” to the detriment of advertisers, with the regulator seeking input from market participants. The probe, still in its early stages, could be formally announced soon by Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera. If confirmed, it would add to ongoing EU investigations and the company’s €9.5 billion ($11.3 billion) fine tally, including issues under the Digital Markets Act, such as barriers to rival search engines, preferential treatment of in-house services, and alleged unfair demotion of news results.

Aurora Auto LLC (AUTO) has achieved commercial里程碑 by operating driverless semi-trucks nonstop on a 1,000-mile route between Fort Worth and Phoenix in Texas, completing the journey in about 15 hours—significantly faster than federally regulated human drivers. The efficiency gains, expected to cut transit times nearly in half, are projected to enhance freight economics for customers including Uber Freight, Werner, FedEx, and Schneider.

The company now operates 30 trucks, 10 of which are driverless, logging 250,000 driverless miles with a perfect safety record. Revenue reached $4 million in 2025, up from $1 million in Q4 2025 and zero in 2024, with a net loss of $816 million due to rapid scaling. Management expects the fleet to grow to 200+ by year-end, with a second-gen hardware platform and a new software release enabling 24/7 operations across southern U.S. geography and climate. Aurora is scheduled to deploy observer-less International Motors LT trucks in Q2 2026, expanding its driverless network across the Sun Belt.

The European Union has launched an antitrust investigation into Google's (GOOGL) alleged illegal rigging of search ad pricing, according to Bloomberg News. The probe, reported Feb 12, 2026, seeks to determine if Google has engaged in anti-competitive practices affecting its search advertising market. The investigation could have significant implications for Google's financial results and regulatory exposure if anti-trust violations are confirmed.

The proposed £25 million acquisition of The Standard's digital and commercial operations by The Independent is facing delays as The Standard's leadership shakes out. Tamar Riley stepped down as CEO after seven months, and Anna van Praagh, chief content officer, resigned, amid ongoing turmoil at the London free-sheet. Originally scheduled for March 1, the transfer is now likely to be postponed, with some sources indicating potential closure of The Standard's remaining digital operations if the deal falters. The Standard, which transitioned to a weekly edition in late 2024 and has maintained about 25 core staffers, has been hit by declining print readership, smartphone adoption, and a shift toward social media-driven celebrity content. Last year's restructuring led to over 150 job cuts, including more than 70 in editorial. Negotiations are continuing, with The Independent maintaining the deal will proceed despite the leadership changes.

The LSEG I/B/E/S survey shows European corporate outlook improving, with the average Q4 earnings contraction expected to narrow to 1.1% from 3.1% as blue-chip indices reach key highs. This follows a 60% improvement-to-estimate rate in the current earnings season, compared to the typical 54%. However, revenue outlooks deteriorated, projecting a 3.4% year-over-year decline for the STOXX 600 versus 3.2% last week. The Q4 contraction would remain the worst in the past seven quarters. The earlier slump followed Trump's 2023 tariff announcements, which depressed expectations from roughly 11% growth to as low as -4.2% in January.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Tuesday that the national average price of regular gasoline is at its lowest level since spring 2021, settling at $2.90. Prices have remained below $3 per gallon for 11 consecutive weeks, the first such stretch since May 2021.

State-level data from AAA shows Oklahoma with the cheapest average at about $2.50, followed by Arkansas, Kansas, and Mississippi. In contrast, California, Hawaii, and Washington are above $4 per gallon, with Oregon, Nevada, and Alaska also among the most expensive.

Variations reflect differences in fuel taxes—over 17% of the price in late 2025—proximity to refineries and pipelines, and special fuel blends like California’s required cleaner-burning gasoline.

Paramount Pictures CEO David Ellison met President Trump in the White House early last week, days before Trump stated on Wednesday he would not interfere in the bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery between Paramount and Netflix.

Paramount is pursuing a $30-per-share all-cash bid for WBD, seeking to block Netflix’s pending $7.5B acquisition of Warner Bros. and HBO. The Justice Department is reviewing the deal amid antitrust concerns and a subpoena, per The Wall Street Journal, while Netflix said it is not aware of any investigations beyond standard merger reviews.

The split of WBD into two publicly traded entities later this year means Discovery Global will own CNN and other channels, while HBO and the movie studio are targeted for Netflix’s potential acquisition.

Freddie Mac reports the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 6.09% in February, reversing a slight rise and matching the level from January 23, 2026, the lowest since. The 15-year fixed rate dropped to 5.44% from 5.50%. One year ago, the averages were 6.87% and 6.09%, respectively. The 10-year Treasury yield stood at 4.13% at midday, down from 4.21% a week ago.

Mortgage rates typically track the 10-year Treasury yield and are influenced by Fed policy. The Fed paused rate cuts in late 2025, with economists forecasting 30-year mortgage rates to remain near 6% through the coming months.