Friday's News Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Stocks Extend Declines After Weak Economic Data: Markets Wrap

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Gold Set to Notch Eighth Weekly Advance on Solid Haven Demand

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Japan Yields Fall as Ueda Warns BOJ Can Step In to Smooth Market

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Markets Are Complacent on Euro as German Vote Raises Parity Risk

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] US Consumers Long-Run Inflation Views Rise to Highest Since 1995

[Yahoo/Reuters] US consumer sentiment plunges in February on tariff worries

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] US Business Activity Moderates as the Service Sector Cools

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] US Existing-Home Sales Drop Back Again With Mortgage Rates at 7%

[AP] Senate Republicans approve budget framework, pushing past Democratic objections after all-night vote

[Yahoo/Reuters] Analysis-Why Trump has thrown VAT into the trade stand-off

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Trump’s Tariff Wars Leave US Small Business With Nowhere to Hide

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Trump Tells GOP Governors Their Political Futures Depend on Him

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Mexico’s Economy Posts Biggest Quarterly Decline Since 2021

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] PBOC Injects Most Short-Term Funds This Month Amid Cash Crunch

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Japan’s Inflation Accelerates, Keeping BOJ on Rate Hike Path

[Reuters] BOJ isn't fretting much about rising bond yields - for now

[CNBC] How DeepSeek used distillation to train its artificial intelligence model, and what it means for companies such as OpenAI

[Bloomberg] China Raises Concern Over US Tariffs in First Call With Bessent

[Bloomberg] Wall Street Pushes Back on Tough Margin Rule for Zero-Day Options

[Bloomberg] China’s Liquidity Crunch Extends Even as PBOC Injects Cash

[NYT] When Germany Votes, It Will Be About the Economy

[WSJ] Musk Looks at Auditing the Federal Reserve

[WSJ] Trump Is Planning to Take Control of the Postal Service, Officials Say

[WSJ] BOJ’s Ueda Vows to Respond to Abnormal Bond Yield Rise

[WSJ] Russia Wants to Erase Ukraine’s Future—And Its Past

[WSJ] A Look at the Ukrainian Minerals That Trump Wants

[FT] Elon Musk sets up clash with Republican deficit hawks over ‘Doge dividend cheques’

[FT] Japan warns over threat from China’s chip material export controls

[FT] Eurozone activity stagnates as price pressures prove sticky

Thursday Evening Links

[Reuters] Wall St ends lower as weak Walmart guidance prompts consumer demand worries

[Yahoo/Reuters] Fed should hold policy rate steady for 'some time,' Kugler says

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Bessent Plans First Call With China Counterpart on Friday

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] ‘Mar-a-Lago Accord’ Chatter Is Getting Wall Street’s Attention

[Bloomberg] Wall Street’s New Money Is Shaking Up the Ranks of the Superwealthy

[Bloomberg] Why Germany’s Center Just Might Hold

[Bloomberg] China’s EV Price War Leaves Behind a Trail of Zombie Cars

[Bloomberg] Bird Flu Kills Dairy Workers’ Cats, Suggesting a Viral Change

[NYT] Trump Tests Fed’s Independence With Order Expanding Authority Over Agencies

[WSJ] U.S. Doubles Down on Demand That Ukraine Sign Minerals Deal

Thursday Afternoon Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Stocks Fall on Walmart’s Warning as Big Banks Sink: Markets Wrap

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Oil Extends Gain With Focus on Supply Uncertainty, Weaker Dollar

[AP] Walmart rolled through 2024, but uncertainty about consumers and tariffs seep into year ahead

[AP] Average US rate on a 30-year mortgage slips to 8-week low after fifth-straight weekly decli

[AP] A news conference between Zelenskyy and Trump’s Ukraine envoy is canceled amid growing tensions

[Yahoo/Reuters] Fed's Musalem flags risk of rising inflation expectations and stagflation

[Bloomberg] EU Trade Chief Says Ready to Work With US on Lower Tariffs

[Bloomberg] War-Hardened Ukrainians Remain Defiant In Face of Trump’s Blows

[Bloomberg] Mexico Moves to Ban Foreign Intervention After US Cartel Decree

[NYT] In China, Financial Stress Stalks Hospitals and Bankruptcies Soar

[WSJ] Gold Futures Hit New High on Economic, Geopolitical Uncertainty

[WSJ] Trump’s Turn to Russia Spooks U.S. Allies Who Fear a Weakened NATO