Wall Street is bracing for a bumpy start to 2026, but don't blame the market itself. The U.S. job market is expected to limp into the new year, weighed down by trade uncertainty, stricter immigration policies, and companies taking their sweet time figuring out how to monetize all those AI investments. The good news? JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) thinks things will pick up later in the year. So, you know, hold tight.

Meanwhile, U.S. policy shifts and a tightening global memory chip market are putting South Korea's semiconductor giants under the microscope. And speaking of scrutiny, Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) has accused President Donald Trump of compromising national security by accepting payments from Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)-linked projects in exchange for easing restrictions on advanced microchip sales to China. Bold claim, considering how much money is at stake in the chip wars.

Not to be outdone on the populist front, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is back with his automation tax proposal, arguing that companies like Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) are swapping humans for robots to dodge the costs of wages and benefits. His solution? Tax the robots. Because if we've learned anything from decades of economic policy debates, it's that taxing productivity always works out great.

China, for its part, is pushing hard to localize its semiconductor supply chain, mandating that new chip capacity use at least 50% domestic equipment. That's adding fresh pressure on foreign suppliers while turbocharging demand for homegrown tools. And California Governor Gavin Newsom is taking shots at President Trump over semiconductor tariffs, claiming they're making gaming more expensive as chipmakers mull price hikes. Because nothing says political messaging like standing up for gamers.

Software & IT Services: The Big Bets Keep Getting Bigger

Intel Corporation (INTC) announced it has completed the sale of more than 214 million shares of common stock to Nvidia (NVDA) in a $5 billion private placement. That's a lot of cash, and Intel needs every penny as it tries to claw its way back into relevance in the AI chip race. Speaking of Nvidia, the company is reportedly in advanced discussions for another talent-focused acquisition as it faces growing competition from Google's internal chip development efforts. When you're the king of AI chips, apparently the best defense is buying up everyone who might threaten your crown.

TikTok parent ByteDance is ramping up its AI spending in a big way, planning to allocate about 100 billion yuan (roughly $14 billion) to Nvidia (NVDA) chips in 2026. That's not a typo. Fourteen billion dollars. On chips. For one year. The AI infrastructure arms race is real, and ByteDance is clearly not messing around.

Elon Musk says X plans to significantly boost creator payouts to outcompete YouTube, the video platform owned by Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) (GOOGL). But the world's most subscribed YouTuber, MrBeast, is warning that matching Google's monetization machine will be a steep climb. Translation: X has deep pockets, but YouTube has a decade-plus head start and an advertising ecosystem that prints money.

Trump Media and Technology Group Corp. (DJT) announced plans to distribute a new digital token to its shareholders in partnership with Crypto.com. Because why wouldn't the company behind Truth Social get into crypto tokens? It's basically the 2025 version of offering commemorative plates.

Brand Engagement Network Inc. (BNAI) finalized a Vendor Services Project Agreement with a prominent global advertising agency, which presumably explains why the stock was moving on Monday. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms Inc. (META) is accelerating its push to build practical, revenue-generating AI tools as it looks to capitalize on years of heavy AI investment. Translation: Meta spent billions on AI research, and now Zuckerberg wants to see some actual revenue from all those fancy models.

Semiconductors: Earthquakes, Export Licenses, and Everything In Between

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) is having quite the week. First, a powerful earthquake near Taiwan raised fresh concerns about potential production disruptions. Then the company announced plans to raise prices for its advanced chips, seemingly unfazed by China's military drills near the island. And now TSMC has secured a one-year U.S. export license allowing it to import American chipmaking equipment into its China operations. So that's three major headlines for one company in about 72 hours.

Despite securing a massive $634 million legal victory against Apple Inc. (AAPL), Masimo Corp. (MASI) is flashing warning signals in its underlying fundamentals. Winning a patent case is great, but if your core business is struggling, a one-time legal windfall won't fix everything.

Speaking of Apple, the company reportedly scaled back production and promotion of its Vision Pro headset after sluggish sales underscored the company's struggle to turn its much-hyped mixed-reality device into a mass-market success. Turns out, most people don't want to spend $3,500 on a face computer. Who could have predicted that?

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (SSNLF) is signaling a potential turnaround in the high-stakes AI memory race after customers praised the competitiveness of its next-generation HBM4 chips. That's lifting investor confidence that the South Korean tech giant is regaining momentum as demand for artificial intelligence hardware accelerates. Samsung has been playing catch-up to SK Hynix in the AI memory market, so any positive customer feedback is a big deal.

Consumer Goods & Entertainment: Recalls, Rejections, and Remote Work

Mondelez International, Inc. (MDLZ) expanded a U.S. voluntary recall related to certain CHIPS AHOY! snacks over choking hazard concerns. Not the kind of headline any food company wants, but at least they're being proactive about it.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is reportedly likely to turn down Paramount Skydance's (PSKY) sweetened hostile bid even after billionaire Larry Ellison stepped in with a personal guarantee. The bid is reportedly worth $108.4 billion, which is a lot of money, but apparently not enough to make Warner Bros. Discovery interested. When Larry Ellison's personal guarantee isn't enough to get a deal done, you know the other side really isn't interested.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is permitting employees stranded in India due to visa delays to work remotely until early March. Visa processing slowdowns are becoming a recurring theme, and Amazon's solution is pragmatic: if employees can't get back to the U.S., let them work from wherever they are.

Automotive: EVs Are Still the Story

REE Automotive Ltd. (REE) signed a strategic, non-binding memorandum of understanding with Cascadia Motion, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of BorgWarner Inc. (BWA). The partnership aims to power next-generation EV drive systems, which sounds promising for REE's modular EV platform ambitions.

XPeng Inc. (XPEV), in collaboration with Peking University, announced that its autonomous driving research paper has been accepted by AAAI 2026. That's the kind of academic credibility that helps validate a company's self-driving technology claims. XPeng also reported strong December performance, delivering 37,508 vehicles, a 2% year-over-year increase. Not explosive growth, but steady progress in a competitive market.

Nio Inc. (NIO) reported a record 48,135 vehicle deliveries in December 2025, an increase of 54.6% year over year. That's genuinely impressive growth, and it suggests Nio is gaining traction in China's crowded EV market.

Alphabet Inc. (GOOG)-backed self-driving cab service Waymo was recently spotted testing its robotaxi in London, adding another market to its expansion efforts. The robotaxi race is heating up in Europe, and Waymo is clearly trying to establish a foothold before the competition gets too intense.

Stellantis NV (STLA)-backed Chinese automaker Zhejiang Leapmotor has raised over $530 million in funding from state-owned automaker FAW. The company is targeting 4 million annual sales in the next decade, which would represent massive growth from current levels. Whether that's realistic remains to be seen, but the funding gives Leapmotor some runway to find out.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) could struggle to follow up on a record third quarter, according to Deepwater Asset Management's Gene Munster, who is predicting fourth-quarter deliveries could be even weaker than consensus estimates. Munster argues that the real value now lies in Tesla's physical AI capabilities, not just vehicle deliveries. That's a convenient argument when delivery numbers are looking weak, but there's some truth to it: Tesla's long-term story is increasingly about autonomy and AI, not just selling electric cars.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shared that the EV giant's anticipated Cybercab will scale up production next year. Musk also donated more than 210,000 Tesla shares, worth almost $100 million, according to an SEC filing. Analyst Sawyer Merritt suggests the donation is part of year-end tax planning, which makes sense given the size of Musk's Tesla holdings.

Ford Motor Co. (F) is reportedly opposed to attending a Senate committee hearing on vehicle safety features like automatic emergency braking, led by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) next month. Ford's reluctance is understandable: these hearings tend to turn into public relations nightmares, especially when senators are looking to score political points.

Chinese EV giant BYD Co. Ltd. (BYDDY) (BYDDF) has shared its latest sales figures for December, showcasing strong overseas performance as it looks to bolster its European footprint. BYD reported a December sales dip domestically, but overseas deliveries surged 133%. That's a massive increase, and it reflects BYD's strategy of expanding aggressively into international markets as competition intensifies at home.

Artificial Intelligence: The Infrastructure Race Continues

SoftBank Group Corp. (SFTBF) (SFTBY) said it has agreed to acquire DigitalBridge Group Inc. (DBRG) in a cash deal valued at about $4 billion, marking a significant step in its push to scale global infrastructure for artificial intelligence. SoftBank is betting big on AI infrastructure, and this acquisition gives it a major footprint in data centers and digital infrastructure.

Core AI Holdings Inc. (CHAI) said it has signed and closed a definitive agreement to divest Siyata Mobile Inc. and its subsidiaries, effective immediately. The move is designed to streamline Core AI's focus on artificial intelligence ambitions rather than mobile devices.

South Korean telecom operator SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (SKM) announced the launch of A.X K1, the country's first hyperscale artificial intelligence model, featuring 519 billion parameters. SK Telecom is positioning the model as "AI for everyone across Korea," which is ambitious branding for what is essentially a localized large language model.

OpenAI is reportedly shifting its first AI hardware project to Foxconn Technology Group, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., as it accelerates plans to launch a Jony Ive-designed consumer device. The device is reportedly targeting a 2026 launch, which would mark OpenAI's first major push into consumer hardware. Whether the world needs another AI-powered gadget is debatable, but having Jony Ive design it certainly doesn't hurt.

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) has accelerated its artificial intelligence push with the acquisition of Manus AI, a fast-rising Chinese startup focused on autonomous agents. This follows Meta's earlier acquisition of Scale AI assets and represents an escalating rivalry with OpenAI in the agent space. Zuckerberg is clearly betting that AI agents—software that can autonomously perform tasks—will be a major part of the future, and he's willing to spend heavily to get there.

Applied Digital Corporation (APLD) will merge its cloud computing unit with Ekso Bionics Holdings, Inc. (EKSO) to form ChronoScale Corporation, an accelerated compute platform designed for AI workloads. The merger is an unusual pairing—Ekso Bionics is primarily known for medical exoskeletons, not data centers—but the deal reflects how companies are scrambling to position themselves for the AI infrastructure boom.

VivoPower International PLC (VVPR) announced that it has signed an exclusive heads of agreement to acquire an operating, hydro-powered data center site in Norway, positioning the asset as a cornerstone of its AI-focused digital strategy. Hydro-powered data centers are increasingly attractive because they offer cheap, clean energy, which is critical for running power-hungry AI workloads.

Elon Musk said his artificial intelligence startup xAI has acquired a third building as it races to scale computing power and challenge leading AI rivals. The property name reportedly takes a dig at Microsoft, which is classic Musk. xAI is ramping up fast, and Musk is making it clear he intends to compete directly with OpenAI, Anthropic, and the other big players in the AI space.

Aravind Srinivas, CEO of Perplexity AI, issued a contrarian warning about the future of artificial intelligence, saying on-device intelligence running on personal devices could disrupt the centralized data center model. If Srinivas is right, companies like Apple (AAPL) and Qualcomm are positioned to benefit, while the massive data center investments by cloud providers could face a reckoning. It's a bold prediction, and it raises what Srinivas calls a "$10 trillion question" about where AI infrastructure spending should be focused.