What Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang thinks about DeepSeek.

With Nvidia earnings coming soon, Huang said he thinks the Chinese AI startup will lead to more demand for AI computing.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that shortages of the weight-loss drug Wegovy and the diabetes medication Ozempic are over. The ruling is expected to bolster Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk as it competes against U.S. rival Eli Lilly. The FDA may eventually restrain the ability of so-called compounding pharmacies from making copies of the drugs, but the regulator said it won’t take immediate action in order "to avoid unnecessary disruption" to patients.
Active job seekers in the U.S. are feeling less confident about their chances of finding or keeping a job these days, according to the latest findings of LinkedIn’s Workforce Confidence survey.
Among employed and unemployed active job seekers, confidence to get or keep a job is at +15 (scored on a scale from -100 to +100) — near the lowest since the survey began during the pandemic. In April 2020, confidence among active job seekers was at a low of +9.

Job confidence usually spikes at the start of January thanks to New Year's optimism, but last month it was +20 among active job seekers, already down 11 points year-over-year from +31. These findings dovetail concerns that it's taking job hunters longer to secure their next role. The survey also found that over half of job searchers have been hunting for six months or more.
IRS officials this week said the agency expects to terminate 6,700 recent hires out of its roughly 100,000 employees, ceding to the Trump administration’s plans to shrink the federal government.
The cuts threaten to throw a wrench in the agency’s plans to ramp up tax enforcement and will likely delay refunds for complex filers.

While tax professionals and agency veterans agree companies and individuals won’t feel an immediate impact of the cuts during filing season, the ripple effect after April 15 is another matter, especially with a chunk of the workforce eligible to retire in several years.
Existing-home sales lost momentum in January 2025, sliding nearly 5% from December, but were up slightly from a year ago, the National Association of REALTORS® reports. The median home sale price was $396,900, up nearly 5% for the year and the highest January level on record.
“Persistently higher mortgage rates are not helping,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, told reporters this morning.

Mortgage rates have hovered around 7 percent for all of 2025, contributing to sluggish home sales. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose from a low of 6.2 percent in September to 7.0 percent as of Feb. 19, according to Bankrate’s survey of large lenders.
Meanwhile, inventory is expanding, creating opportunities for buyers. And homes are taking longer to sell. Properties typically remained on the market for 41 days in January -- the longest marketing time since before the pandemic and up from 35 days in December and 36 days in January 2024.
Federal regulators plan to drop charges against Coinbase for allegedly breaking securities laws, the crypto exchange said Friday. But commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission still need to vote on the matter next week, the company said. At issue in the charges levied by the former SEC chair is whether cryptocurrencies count as securities subject to rules that protect investors. The agency under the new administration says it intends to pursue fraud cases involving crypto.
Electric vehicle startup Rivian reported its first-ever quarterly profit Thursday but warned that uncertainty over tariffs, as well as federal EV incentives and loans, could impact its future. Notably, Rivian borrowed $6.6 billion from the government before the election to scale operations for its forthcoming R2 SUV — financing that could now be scrutinized by President Trump. The company's ability to become a major EV player hinges on the mass production of R2s, per InsideEVs.
Spirit Airlines Secures Private Takeover Deal in $795M Bankruptcy Exit
It received approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a private company through a comprehensive restructuring plan.
The plan involves converting $795 million of debt to equity and raising $350 million in new financing through equity shares, with control transferring to major bondholders, including:
- Citadel Advisors
- Pacific Investment Management Co., and
- UBS Asset Management
The airline expects to emerge from bankruptcy within weeks, after rejecting multiple merger attempts from Frontier Airlines.

👉 Key Points
» The restructuring plan voids existing equity shares and transfers ownership to Spirit's creditors
» A new $300 million revolving credit facility will be established
» Spirit will issue $840 million of new senior secured debt to existing bondholders
» Around 200 jobs will be cut, primarily in administrative and management positions
» The company filed for bankruptcy in November 2024. Its earlier proposed merger with JetBlue was also blocked by federal courts
» Spirit also rejected multiple merger bids from Frontier Airlines, including a recent merger proposal that offered $400 million in debt and a 19% stake
» The airline plans to enhance the passenger experience with free WiFi, complimentary refreshments, and a new premium economy product as a refreshed comeback
Consumers' outlook deteriorated markedly in February.
Consumer sentiment declined sharply In February, according to the University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers. There was a sharp decline in both their evaluation of current economic conditions (-13%) and of expected future conditions (-8%).
The overall index of consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since November of last year.
According to Joanne Hsu, Survey Director, all five index components fell in February, led by a 19% plunge in buying conditions for durable goods, largely reflecting concerns about the impact of pending or threatened tariffs on prices.
Consistent with this, expectations of year-ahead inflation rose to 4.3% in February, a full percentage point higher than in January. These recent numbers are much higher than those that prevailed in the pre-pandemic period. Inflation expectations for five years out also jumped in February. Inflation expectations are important because they can feed into wage and price setting, making it harder for the Federal Reserve to reduce inflation rates.
No surprise by now that sentiment readings are much lower among self-identified Democrats than Republicans, with this month's big drop dominated by Democrat respondents. Still, it is noteworthy, I think, that overall Republican sentiment remains steady at a level that is well below that prevailing before the pandemic.
A federal judge on Friday largely blocked sweeping executive orders from President Donald Trump that seek to end government support for programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion.
U.S. District Judge Adam Abelson in Baltimore granted a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from terminating or changing federal contracts they consider equity-related.
Abelson found that the orders likely carry constitutional violations, including against free-speech rights.
Trump signed an order on his first day in office directing federal agencies to terminate all “equity-related” grants or contracts. He signed a follow-up order requiring federal contractors to certify that they don’t promote DEI.
The White House didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment Friday evening.
The plaintiffs — including the city of Baltimore and higher education groups — sued the Trump administration earlier this month, arguing the executive orders are unconstitutional and a blatant overreach of presidential authority. They also allege the directives have a chilling effect on free speech.
“What’s happening is an overcorrection and pulling back on DEI statements,” attorney Aleshadye Getachew said during a nearly three-hour hearing Wednesday.
The Trump administration has argued that the president was targeting only DEI programs that violate federal civil rights laws. Attorneys for the government said the administration should be able to align federal spending with the president’s priorities.
“The government doesn’t have the obligation to subsidize plaintiffs’ exercise of speech,” said Justice Department attorney Pardis Gheibi.
Abelson, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, agreed with the plaintiffs that the executive orders discourage businesses, organizations and public entities from openly supporting diversity, equity and inclusion.
“The harm arises from the issuance of it as a public, vague, threatening executive order,” he said during the hearing.
Abelson’s ruling does allow for the attorney general to investigate and prepare a report on DEI practices by one of the orders, but it blocks enforcement.
In his written opinion, Abelson found reason to believe the orders are unconstitutionally vague, leaving federal contractors and grant recipients with “no reasonable way to know what, if anything, they can do to bring their grants into compliance.”
He described a hypothetical scenario where an elementary school received Department of Education funding for technology access and a teacher used a computer to teach about Jim Crow laws. Or if a road construction grant covered the cost of filling potholes in a low-income neighborhood instead of a wealthy neighborhood, “does that render it ‘equity-related’?” the judge asked.
Efforts to increase diversity have been under attack for years by Republicans who contend the measures threaten merit-based hiring, promotion and educational opportunities for white people. However, supporters say the programs help institutions meet the needs of increasingly diverse populations while addressing the lasting impacts of systemic racism.
Their purpose was to foster equitable environments in businesses and schools, especially for historically marginalized communities. Although researchers say DEI initiatives date back to the 1960s, more were launched and expanded in 2020 during increased calls for racial justice.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued in their complaint that Trump’s efforts to abruptly end such programs will cause widespread harm, not least because of the vague language in his executive orders.
“Ordinary citizens bear the brunt,” they wrote. “Plaintiffs and their members receive federal funds to support educators, academics, students, workers, and communities across the country. As federal agencies make arbitrary decisions about whether grants are ‘equity-related,’ Plaintiffs are left in limbo.”
The plaintiffs include the city of Baltimore, which receives federal funds for public safety, housing, the environment, infrastructure, and more, according to the complaint.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who won reelection last year, has championed efforts to increase opportunities for the city’s most vulnerable residents, including people of color. Scott became the subject of racist attacks online last year as some commenters labeled him a “DEI mayor,” and he recently coined the phrase “Definitely Earned It” to highlight the accomplishments of Black figures throughout history.
In addition to the mayor and the Baltimore City Council, the plaintiffs include the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, the American Association of University Professors, and the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, which represents restaurant workers across the country.
Their attorneys claim the groups are already suffering the effects of the executive orders as Trump encroaches on the powers of Congress and seeks to suppress views he doesn’t agree with.
“But the President simply does not wield that power,” they wrote in the complaint. “And contrary to his suggestions otherwise, his power is not limitless.”
A major cryptocurrency exchange says it was the victim of a sophisticated hack that stole about $1.5 billion worth of digital currency, marking one of the biggest online thefts of all time.
Bybit said Friday that a routine transfer of Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, between digital wallets was “manipulated” by an attacker who transferred the crypto to an unidentified address.
The company sought to reassure customers that their cryptocurrency holdings with the exchange were safe. The company added that news of the hack had led to a surge in withdrawal requests and there could be delays in processing them.
Bybit said a routine transfer of Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies, between digital wallets was “manipulated” by an attacker who transferred the crypto to an unidentified address.
Ben Zhou, Bybit’s CEO, said on social media that his company would remain solvent even if the hacked crypto wasn’t recovered.
“We can cover the loss,” he said.

Stealing cryptocurrencies is a favorite tactic of hackers. North Korean state hackers, in particular, have been linked to several high-dollar crypto thefts in recent years.
In December, the FBI, the Defense Department and the National Police Agency of Japan issued a joint statement blaming North Korean hackers for the theft of $308 million from a Japanese crypto firm

Target is facing another big DEI lawsuit.

The lawsuit comes as Target, along with other major corporations such as Walmart, McDonald’s, and Meta, have scaled back their DEI initiatives.

It comes after staffers from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, were at the Pentagon earlier in the week and received lists of such employees, U.S. officials said. They said those lists did not include uniformed military personnel, who are exempt. Probationary employees are generally those on the job for less than a year and who have yet to gain civil service protection.

“We anticipate reducing the Department’s civilian workforce by 5-8% to produce efficiencies and refocus the Department on the President’s priorities and restoring readiness in the force,” Darin Selnick, who is acting undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement.

President Donald Trump’s administration is firing thousands of federal workers who have fewer civil service protections. For example, roughly 2,000 employees were cut from the U.S. Forest Service, and 7,000 people are expected to be let go at the Internal Revenue Service.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has supported cuts, posting on X last week that the Pentagon needs “to cut the fat (HQ) and grow the muscle (warfighters.)”

The Defense Department is the largest government agency, with the Government Accountability Office finding in 2023 that it had more than 700,000 full-time civilian workers.

Hegseth also has directed the military services to identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year to redirect those savings to fund Trump’s priorities. It represents about 8% of the military’s budget.

Markets are showing clear signs of stagflation emerging in the economy.

Real yields have been declining, but the key development is the divergence between inflation expectations and falling nominal yields shown in the chart below.
Other indicators point in the same direction.
Notably, retail sales are now contracting at an annualized rate of over 10%—and that’s in nominal terms. In real terms, the decline is even more severe.
At the same time, the Fed’s preferred Supercore inflation index is rising at an annualized 9.5%.

This is a textbook stagflationary environment, unfolding as fiscal spending slows and global central bank assets continue to decline from their peaks.