This market can definitely absorb $4 trillion in IPOs this year

Speed running a recession to feed the President's never ending ego

Energy markets to equity traders:

NOEM TAKING QUESTIONS - DOES NOT APPEAR TO KNOW SHE WAS FIRED

Constant TACOing has lead to dangerous complacency

This is sort of academic. We'll be in a worldwide recession well before September.

By Barak Ravid (Axios) President Trump told Axios in an interview Thursday that he needs to be personally involved in selecting Iran's next leader — just as he was in Venezuela. Trump revealed this exclusively in an eight-minute phone call — his second conversation with us to explain his war planning. Why it matters: Trump confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of assassinated supreme leader Ali Khamenei, is the most likely successor — while making clear he finds that outcome unacceptable. For several days, the Iranian regime has postponed the announcement of the new supreme leader. But statements by Iranian politicians on Thursday suggested an announcement could be imminent. What he's saying: "They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy [Rodriguez] in Venezuela," Trump said. He added that he refuses to accept a new Iranian leader who would continue Khamenei's policies, which he said would force the U.S. back to war "in five years." "Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump said. The big picture: Trump's comments represent an extraordinary claim of American power over Iran's political future, adding to uncertainty over the massive U.S. military campaign he launched on Saturday. The backdrop: Mojtaba Khamenei — the 56-year-old son of the assassinated supreme leader — has emerged as the frontrunner to succeed his father, though no formal announcement has been made. A hardline cleric with deep ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Khamenei has never held public office. Israel bombed the Iranian building in Qom housing the clerical body responsible for selecting Iran's next supreme leader on Tuesday, seeking to disrupt the vote-counting. Between the lines: Trump compared the Iran succession to his intervention in Venezuela, where vice president Delcy Rodriguez took over after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January. In …

So Trump is demanding he gets to pick the next Iranian leader while we're in the middle of a shooting war with them. Elsewhere, he also just told Channel 12 news in Israel that Herzog must pardon Netanyahu immediately, mid-war.

Gilts, Bunds, USTs 2, 5 and 10 year yields last 10 days

Cocaine Bear

Gilts, Bunds, USTs are all getting whacked today, pretty indiscriminate selling. lumbering out of the woods at pace, the (Cocaine) Bear steepener is coming for your bond longs:

Not The Onion

Want to know what's up with Wonder War, Lanterns, Mister Miracle, Supergirl, the live-action Archie movie, and some news about a new Superman/Lois story from DC? Then here's a full hour of chat with @tomking.bsky.social about all that, and much more!

What is even happening there?? Are militias trying to storm the green zone 2004 style?

IG CDX starting to do Vince McMahon intrigued dot gif

Reporter: What’s your message to the families of the fallen?

Trump:

(via @acyn.bsky.social)

Trump lied. American soldiers died.

While operations are coordinated at a members-only, private beach club — in between fundraisers and parties.

Anthropic has framed the issue well: "you can use our models for anything other than domestic spying or autonomous weapons."

I am not sure how any of the other AI companies can comply without absolutely horrendous rep damage

Whether it’s the fallout this morning from the Block layoffs or, most recently, President Trump’s announcement to curtail Anthropic’s ties with the US government, the message surrounding AI has shifted and stands in stark contrast to last year’s.
In 2025, the narrative was defined...

1 of 2

Days where bank stocks were down over 5% -- covid, March 2022, SVB, Liberation Day, today:

I get that Japans different but 10 years is such a long timeframe that this is nearly meaningless

IT employment vibes about to hit their lowest point since the dotcom crash

Seems like that gives Apple a lot of pricing power.

Reupping for the US time zones. The more I think about this situation the funnier it is. The Banter Heuristic has taken up residence in the trade world and is totally in the zone.

From the report: "The figure above shows a set of day-specific estimated effects of the agent surge on employees working measured in percentage points. Each blue dot represents how many percentage points away the number of employees clocking in was from its expected value. Expectations are measured based on trends in other metro areas with similar trends in the years leading up to this period. The grey area describes a margin of error."

The DHS agent surge in Minnesota reduced employees working in the MSP metro by 2.8%, total hours worked by 1.9%, and open business locations by 1.7% through mid-February. Estimated impact: $106 million in lost wages.

new research from @aaronsojourner.org and @aaronrosenthal.bsky.social

It'll be interesting to see how long these founder CEOs get to rule without the board getting involved, but yeah this can't continue.

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How it started vs. How it’s going

02/18/2026 11:51:34[TWT] Diego Areas Munhoz @Dareasmunhoz News: @BrendanCarrFCC says CBS could have done "exact interview he wanted to air" with Talarico, but NOT in a station in Texas. He added rule applies only to primaries right now, NOT general election. Indicates candidates not facing primaries may go on talk shows at this stage Sent via Twitter Web App. View original tweet.

FCC making stuff up on the fly I see.

vice signaling serves as a very effective bonding mechanism for horrifying evil. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/w...

AIs can get so off track that having a human in the middle makes sense. Supposedly this will all eventually make sense.

I’d like to believe this but it’s pretty clearly no longer true