Elon Musk's AI startup xAI has shed nine of its eleven original cofounders since 2023, with two more exiting this week. Musk's self-assessment: the company "was not built right first time around" and is now being rebuilt from scratch. He drew a comparison to Tesla's (TSLA) early days.

Very comforting… or very telling. Depends on which chapter he means.

— Brooks & Cas

The Best Actor Oscar race entered 2026 looking like a coronation for Timothée Chalamet and his memorable turn in Marty Supreme. Then he lost BAFTA to a performer not even nominated at the Oscars, and Michael B. Jordan arrived with a SAG win and a record-breaking nomination haul for Sinners.

Here’s one market where you don’t have to hold long-term to see if your hunch pays off. The Oscars air this Sunday, 7 PM ET. There’s still time to weigh in.

📉 | Insulet (PODD) recalled certain Omnipod 5 pods after a tubing defect prevented patients from receiving full insulin doses.

📉 | Ulta Beauty (ULTA) missed fourth-quarter earnings estimates.

📈 | Mara Holdings (MARA) rose on bitcoin's gain.

📉 | EverCommerce (EVCM) issued first-quarter guidance well below analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines.

📉 | Once Upon a Farm (OFRM) guided full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA far below what it posted in a single quarter last year.

The Rating: JPM analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas upgraded Linde to Overweight, citing the company's superior positioning relative to other materials companies in the current environment.

The Thesis: A tightening helium market, caused by the suspension of QatarEnergy LNG operations and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, benefits Linde's substantial storage reserves and inflation pass-through contracts.

The Follow-On: Zekauskas believes Linde can retrace its pre-conflict trading level. Resolution in the Iran conflict would ease current helium tightness, but that also means the opportunity may be time-limited.

📊 | Q4 US GDP was revised sharply lower to 0.7% annualized growth, while January core PCE inflation came in hot at 3.1%.

🛢️ | Brent crude topped $101 a barrel as Iran escalated attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and the US moved additional warships and Marines to the region.

🏘️ | The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage surged to 6.41% this week, its highest level since September.

🤖 | ServiceNow’s (NOW) CEO said AI agents could push unemployment among recent college graduates up to 30% in a few years.

🛡️ | Palantir (PLTR) CEO Alex Karp confirmed the company is still using Anthropic's Claude in its products despite the Pentagon's supply-chain risk designation.

Are you bullish or bearish on Dow Inc (DOW) over the next 12 months?

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨 🐂 Bullish

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨 🐻 Bearish