Yotta Data Services is building a $2 billion AI hub using 20,736 $NVDA NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs.

Under a $1 billion deal, Yotta will host one of APAC’s largest DGX Cloud clusters, providing massive compute for the IndiaAI Mission. The supercluster is set to go live by August.

$MP $UUUU $UAMY $USAR $LAC $CRML | U.S. officials have finalized a "price floor" system for critical minerals to de-risk private investment and counter Chinese dumping.

Led by State Dept official Jacob Helberg, the framework uses adjustable tariffs and the Pax Silica alliance.

If BlackRock were a country, it would be the 3rd largest “economy” in the world.
BlackRock manages nearly $14 trillion in Assets Under Management (AUM) — more than the GDP of most nations.

Comparison:
🇺🇸 USA — ~$27T GDP
🇨🇳 China — ~$17T GDP
🏦 BlackRock — $14T AUM
🇩🇪 Germany — ~$4.5T GDP
🇮🇳 India — ~$4T GDP

This puts into perspective how powerful global asset managers have become — influencing markets, industries, and capital flows worldwide.

Wednesday, Feb 18 2026, 12:00 UTC time

📋 US/Markets — ✅ Dollar stabilizes; Fed minutes awaited: U.S. futures and 10‑yr Treasury yields steady ahead of Fed minutes that may signal a higher bar for rate cuts as inflation lingers. Markets eye Fed guidance for policy timing. 

✅ US-China Trade — 🔖 U.S. exports to China weakening: Leader of a major U.S. seaport warns exports to China look dismal, underscoring softer trade flows and potential headwinds for US exporters and Asian supply chains. 

📌 UK — ✅ Inflation cools; BoE cut bets rise: Headline CPI eased to 3.0% in January (lowest in nearly a year), core inflation down, and producer inflation eased — boosting odds of a BoE rate cut in March and helping the FTSE 100 hit record highs. Sterling remains below $1.36. 

📋 Canada — ✅ Cooling inflation & housing softness: Inflation cooled a bit in January; existing home sales fell 5.8% in January with prices continuing to decline — mixed signals for BoC policy and domestic demand. 

🔖 Japan — ✅ Big export rebound; mixed partners: January exports surged 16.8% (biggest jump in 3 years) led by shipments to EU (+29.6%) and Asia, while exports to the U.S. fell ~5% Y/Y. Trade strength supports stocks; BOJ seen by IMF below neutral but hikes expected later. 

📌 New Zealand — ✅ RBNZ on hold; inflation to soften: RBNZ left rates unchanged, added future meetings to 2027 calendar. PPI (output and input) eased in Q4; kiwi weakened after decision but stocks rallied on bargain buying. 

📋 Australia — ✅ Wages & yields steady: Q4 annual wage growth ~3.4% with wages edging higher; leading index muted. AUD drifted lower; 10‑yr yields rebounded after wage data. 

🔖 Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania) — ✅ Inflation and yields easing: French inflation slows to 0.4% monthly and hits a 5‑year low. German housing permits rebound expected by 2025. Italian 10‑yr BTP yields at lowest since October; French 10‑yr OAT at multi‑month lows. Poland sees 10‑yr yields near 4‑year lows and improved consumer confidence; Romania revises inflation forecasts and eyes return to target by 2027. ECB policy impact seen limited if leadership changes. Euro drifts toward $1.18. 

📌 Switzerland/Europe markets — ✅ Stocks higher ahead: European stocks set for higher open; French stocks extend gains on cooling inflation backdrop. 

📋 Japan‑US economic ties — ✅ Investment & security focus: Japan trade minister says upcoming U.S. investment projects will strengthen economic security — signaling continued deepening of industrial ties. 

🔖 Energy & Geopolitics — ✅ Oil, LNG and US–Iran talks: Oil trims losses as traders weigh progress in U.S.–Iran talks; booming LNG exports draw policy debate in the U.S. on cost‑of‑living impacts. 

📌 Commodities & Safe Havens — ✅ Gold & silver muted: Gold holds losses while silver ticks up modestly ahead of Fed minutes; markets balanced between risk and policy uncertainty. 

Quick FX/Fixed income take: Dollar steady pre‑Fed; sterling gains from UK disinflation and BoE cut bets; euro softer toward $1.18; JPY supported by strong trade; global yields generally muted as inflation data cools in several advanced economies.

Wednesday, Feb 18 2026, 12:05 UTC time

📈 📋 US Mortgage Rates Snapshot
5-year ARM 5.29% (week to Feb 13): down 4 bps vs last week, down 13 bps vs prior period — lower short-term yields are easing borrowing costs.

🏠 ✅ Refinance Activity
MBA Deputy Chief Economist Kan: Lower rates “helped to revive some refinance activity.” Refinance index +7.1% (13-week), up 131.8% vs 1 year — clear pickup from higher-rate doldrums, though still volatile vs 4-week lags (-13.0%).

🛒 🔖 Purchase Market
Mortgage purchase index -2.7% (13-week), down 19.1% vs 4 weeks but +9.1% vs 1 year — purchase demand mixed: weaker on the month but improving year-on-year.

📊 📌 Fixed-Rate Mortgages
Fixed-rate mortgage index +2.5% (13-week), -15.6% vs 4 weeks, yet +53.0% vs 1 year — fixed-rate activity rising significantly year-over-year as some borrowers lock in amid rate shifts.

🔎 📋 Market Takeaway for FX & Rates Traders
- Softer short-term yields and revived refinance flows point to potential downward pressure on USD if trend persists. 
- Mixed signals from purchase indices suggest consumer sensitivity to rate moves; watch US data and Fed commentary for next directional cue. 
- Tactical: monitor mortgage indices alongside Treasury moves for rate-sensitive currency pairs (USD, CAD, AUD, EUR).

✅ Bottom Line
Lower rates are re-igniting refinance demand and boosting year-on-year mortgage activity, while purchase activity shows near-term softness. Policy and Treasury yields will drive next moves across FX and housing-sensitive assets.

#Gold miners vs S&P are set for a massive bull run

- Gold miners vs S&P are about to break out of a decade-old range
- 2011: Gold miners vs S&P were 3× higher

But this gold cycle is different

- Central banks are net buyers
- Stablecoin providers have emerged as a new demand source
- Trust in the US and USD is at a record low

I expect this gold bull market to be similar to the one in the 1970s

NVIDIA $NVDA has exited its equity stakes in $WRD WeRide, $APLD Applied Digital, and Arm Holdings $ARM as of its latest 13F filing.

The firm is reallocating capital into larger infrastructure nodes, disclosing new multi billion dollar positions in $INTC Intel and $NOK Nokia.

✈️ Notable movement of aircraft to US Bases in Europe => Middle East in the past 48 hrs:

48 x F-16
12 x F-22
18 x F-35A
6 x E-3G Sentry
1 x E-11A BACN
≈ 40 x KC-46A or KC-135 Tankers

Axios reports that there is evidence that US war with Iran is "imminent" and Israel is preparing for a scenario of "war within days," which is expected to include:

1. Weeks-long "full-fledged" war unlike the Venezuela operation, sources say
2. Joint US-Israeli campaign that is much broader in scope than 12-day war in June
3. US armada now consists of 2 aircraft carriers, 12 warships, hundreds of fighter jets, and multiple air defense systems
4. More than 150 US military cargo flights have moved weapons systems and ammunition to the Middle East
5. Another 50 fighter jets in 24 hours, including F-35s, F-22s, and F-16s

Oil prices are surging above $64/barrel on the news.

#GOLD #XAU/USD M15 #Indicator #Signal #Trading #GlobalOneAI

Gold volatility can move fast. Leverage magnifies it.

Trade commodities with up to 250x leverage ➡️ gains.trade/trading#XAU-USD

China is dumping Treasuries and buying #gold

Treasuries depend on policy, politics, and trust.

Gold depends on none of them.

Gold is once again becoming the preferred reserve asset

Striking similarities here #copper is basically repeating the #silver playbook from earlier last year.

the slow grinding upwards channel has lasted about 3 years now, and even though its been trending upwards the entire time, somehow ppl still get bored and move on because they have the attention span of a goldfish.

this channel eventually breaks out but we dont know exactly when, i suspect in the next 4-6 months or so but when it does, it will double FAST.

id rather be 6 months early then one day late because make no mistake, this price action IS the accumulation, when the real breakout happens there will not be any 2nd, 3rd or 4th chances to position accordingly, exactly like what happened in the silver parabola.

Institutional action on $ASPI

Interestingly, into the end of the year 2025 a couple big moves were made.

BlackRock increased its position by +1,328,425 shares (+24.33%).

Vanguard added +1,889,481 shares (+41.83%).

Expectations are a big year for $ASPI

ASP Isotopes ( $ASPI) subsidiary Quantum Leap Energy will establish global HQ in Austin and pursue HALEU enrichment + advanced isotope production tied to a proposed Amarillo “hypergrid” campus.

• #HALEU supply is the key bottleneck for SMRs & advanced reactors

• DOE estimates U.S. demand ~50t/year by 2035 → 500t by 2050

• Texas doubling down on pro-nuclear regulatory & industrial policy environment

• Partnerships span TerraPower, Fermi America, and global isotope markets

This is why the West is losing to China.

In the middle of a resource war in which China is in the lead, Glencore is forced to suspend its 300m investment in its copper smelter in Quebec and is planning to close it by 2027… because of emission targets.

For context:

- China dominates copper smelting with ~60%.
- The Horne smelter is one of the few remaining non-Chinese smelters.
- It represents ~15% of North America’s smelting capacity.
- It is the only smelter in Canada.

Copper is arguably the most important metal… no copper = no electricity.

We can mine all the copper ore we want, but it is useless if we have to ship the concentrate to China for smelting and refining to turn it into usable copper.

The West either needs to get its shit together or capitulate to China.

☢️28 reactors under construction in China

💰$27.4 billion approved in a single batch

⚡️138 gigawatts coming online by 2035

The West looked at those numbers and made a decision.

Compete or concede technology dominance for the next 50 years.

The US just set a target of 400 gigawatts by 2050.

Europe ended years of gridlock with the Franco-German nuclear compromise and the UK, Poland, Czech Republic, and Finland are all building.

But here is the bottleneck ...

Every advanced reactor in this race NuScale Power, Oklo Inc, TerraPower, X-energy runs on #HALEU fuel that only Russia could produce commercially until 2023.

Now there is 1 Western company licensed to make it.

#Nuclear #energy #uranium #China #Russia

🇷🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦The United States and Russia have reportedly agreed to lift sanctions against Moscow in exchange for deals worth $12 trillion — The Economist

Fears are growing among EU leaders that the US president could pressure Ukraine into making significant concessions by June in order to secure a trade agreement with Russia.

🚨 The Nuclear Race Is Not Even Close.

Reactors under construction (June 2025):

🇨🇳 #China: 28
🇮🇳 #India: 6
🇷🇺 #Russia: 4
🇪🇬 Egypt: 4
🇹🇷 Türkiye: 4

#Japan, Korea, UK, Ukraine building 2 each

China alone is building more reactors than the rest of the top countries combined.

This is not about climate headlines.
It’s about:

⚡ Base load power for AI and industry
🔋 Energy security
🌍 Geopolitical leverage

Nuclear is back.
But it’s not being built evenly.

If you want to understand what this means for the global energy balance and the next power cycle,

#energy #nuclear