What mattered this week: Stock-market rout that wasn’t, nationalized elections, Minnesota martyrs

Plus, the debut of weekly WTF Moments, featuring nipple rings, wrecked knees and a racist president

THE TOP FIVE:

Stock whiplash. One lesson from the week in stocks was that most ordinary investors don’t need to sweat every quiver in markets. Starting January 28, the S&P 500 closed down six trading days out of seven, with sizeable selloffs on two of those days. News sites proclaimed a “rout,” with a lot of speculation as to whether the artificial-intelligence bubble was bursting.

The “rout” reversed on February 6, with a big dip-buying gain that pushed the largely symbolic Dow Jones index above 50,000 for the first time. That left the broader market essentially flat for the week.

So far in 2026, the S&P 500 index has eked out a 1.3% gain while the tech-heavy NASDAQ is down by a tiny fraction. Smaller companies, represented by the Russell 2000 index, have been the standout so far, up 7.6%.

Tech is lagging so far in 2026.

The week’s ups and downs came from new worries that artificial intelligence could replace software sold to businesses by huge firms such as Salesforce and Microsoft. Amazon and Google also announced huge AI spending plans that could dent profits. But buyers pivoted to different sectors, such as consumer staples, energy and industrials. “Sharp declines in tech stocks masked a healthy market rotation, with most sectors, small caps, and equal-weighted indexes posting solid gains,” Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com wrote in a February 6 summary of the market.

The real rout: Bitcoin. The leading cryptocurrency has tanked since mid-January. At around $70,000, it’s 33% cheaper than when Trump took office. That matters because Trump promised to reward crypto bros with loose regulations and other pro-crypto policies. He even started a family crypto firm to cash in on the expected boom.

The Trump bump in Bitcoin is totally gone.

Trump’s support may have helped push Bitcoin to a record high above $125,000 in October. But it’s now in the deepest swoon since 2022, when fraudulent crypto firm FTX blew up. Crypto skeptics are gleeful. “Everyone who bought Bitcoin in the belief that Trump would make Bitcoin greater than ever has lost money, in many cases a lot of money,” Paul Krugman wrote on February 6. “ So this is another case of ETTD: everything Trump touches dies.”

[Billionaires can’t save journalism, or America]

Bitcoin isn’t dead yet, however. Bitcoin trading is opaque and some insiders speculate that “whales”—rich investors able to move markets—may be deliberately trying to create a liquidation event, to strain competitors or create favorable buying conditions for themselves. Crypto may also have lost its memey appeal as speculators gamble more on AI themes or something else. Still, the Kalshi betting site puts the odds of bitcoin rising back above $100,000 this year at 43%.

🚨🚨🚨WTF Moment 1: At the 2026 Grammy Awards, singer Chappell Roan wore a dress held in place by nothing more than nipple rings. I pass no judgment on what kind of fashion statement this is. My question is pragmatic: Isn’t this uncomfortable? Does anybody know? If you’ve ever hung stuff from your nipples, send thoughts on what it feels like.

Trump’s election threat. President Trump said on a February 2 podcast that the Republican party should “nationalize” elections and target “15 places” where he thinks they will have trouble winning in the November midterms. Trump loves to troll his critics and enemies and threatening to upend democracy is a reliable way to do it. Is he just mouthing off or should we worry about this?

[How to survive America in 2026]

Both. If Trump could rig any election in his favor, he would. Trump cannot legally change the way states and municipalities manage their elections, which is protected by the Constitution. That would require Congressional legislation, which isn’t going to happen, and would face litigation if it did. What Trump can do is use federal pressure or police and military force to prevent local officials from running fair elections. Would he really try that? He already has. That’s what the January 6, 2021 riots at the US Capitol were about. Trump is on an even looser leash now, with a Cabinet that seems unwilling to talk him out of anything.

Republicans are losing so much momentum that it seems likely Democrats will win control of the House in November. There are growing odds Dems could take the Senate as well, which seemed almost impossible a couple months ago. Virtually every close election of the last few months has gone against Trump’s party, as voters get sick of Trump’s goonish immigration raids and a stagnating labor market. The midterms are likely to be a high-pucker moment representing the biggest test to date of how far Trump is willing to go to keep and build power.

🚨🚨🚨WTF Moment 2: American skier Lindsey Vonn tore her left ACL in a January 30 skiing wipeout and she still plans to compete in the Olympic downhill and super-G events on February 8 and February 12. She says a brace will compensate for the wrecked knee. This is either superhuman determination or next-level insanity. It could be both. Vonn already had most of her right knee replaced, so maybe she figures she will finish this one final Olympics and trade in the left one for a replacement once it’s over.

[Who’s up and down in the K-shaped economy]

Minnesota martyrs. Bruce Springsteen dropped a protest song called “Streets of Minneapolis” about the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal immigration agents marauding through Twin Cities. It’s not as polished as Springsteen’s best music or as catchy as some of the classic protest songs. Springsteen himself called it “kind of soap-boxy.” But it elevates Pretti and Good to martyr status and celebrates thousands of ordinary citizens fending off what is basically an occupying force. Springsteen debuted the song in Minneapolis on January 30, and it might provide a little relief if you’re enraged by the revolting abuse of power that has taken place there. 👇👇👇

Trump’s approval rating has been tanking, and he’s now deeply negative on immigration, which was his strongest advantage while campaigning in 2024. Trump said recently that he intends a “softer touch” on immigration, while the Dept. of Homeland Security said it’s reducing the immigration force in Minnesota by 700. That will still leave 2,000 federal thugs in the state, able to do plenty of damage.

Epstein finale. The last big release of “Epstein files” by the Justice Dept. contained some surprises after all. They established stronger links than previously known between the dead sex offender and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former Trump ally Steven Bannon, billionaire Elon Musk, LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and others. Elite law firm Paul Weiss forced out its master-of-the-universe chairman, Brad Karp, over his connections with Epstein. Bill Gates’s ex-wife Melinda said the files reminded her of the “muck” she went through when she was married to the Microsoft co-founder, leaving everybody to wonder what muck that might be.

Trump, not surprisingly, didn’t show up much in the last batch of Epstein files. So, case closed? Sure! Voters should have high confidence the impartial Justice Dept. showed no favoritism toward Trump and scoured every last folder for any mention of him. We can finally put all the conspiracy theories to rest. 😄

🚨🚨🚨WTF Moment 3: Trump’s personal social media account posted a video depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Right, the old racist trope. South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a Trump ally who is black, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” That was apparently what it took for Trump to take down the video after 12 hours. White House spokesmodel Karoline Leavitt called opposition to the video “fake outrage.” The White House then blamed the video on a “staffer.” Trump isn’t a racist, see, he only employs racists.

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WHAT WILL MATTER NEXT WEEK:

Super Bowl megahype. The big newcomers to this year’s Super Bowl ad lineup will be spots for artificial intelligence assistants and anti-obesity GLP-1 drugs. Could this be a rerun of the 2022 “Crypto Bowl?” That game featured cryptocurrency ads by stars such as Tom Brady and Larry David. Crypto crashed later that year. ☹️

As for the game, Seattle is a 4.5-point favorite over New England, with Kalshi giving the Seahawks a 69% chance of winning. There will be insane amounts of prop bets on stuff such as who scores the first touchdown, the number of lead changes and what Bad Bunny’s first halftime song will be. But not by me? I have five squares in a pool and that’s it.

Job blues. The official jobs report due February 6 was delayed until February 11. Recent snippets of data suggest it will be disappoint and maybe show the job market shrinking. Private-sector hiring was weak in January, according to ADP. Another report showed the lowest number of job openings since November 2020. And layoffs for January were higher than usual. If the official job numbers do come in weak, that will give the Federal Reserve more reason to cut interest rates to stimulate the economy.

Inflation watch. Pricing data for February arrives Friday, February 13. Some economists think there could be a pickup from the current 2.7% as the increased cost of Trump’s tariffs works its way into retail prices.