💰 The AI Grim Reaper Is Making Rounds

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THE MAIN EVENT
The Labor Market Gets Leaner and Meaner 💪

The U.S. added 130,000 jobs in January, unemployment ticked down to 4.3%, and wages grew 3.7% year-over-year.

Wall Street was surprised. The Fed? Encouraged.

Rate cut expectations just got pushed out to June or July, signaling that central bankers now feel less pressure to step in and stimulate the economy.

But then came the plot twist.

Rewriting the Scoreboard

Alongside the new report, the government quietly slashed 2025 job growth by more than 400,000.

That brings last year’s total to just 181,000 new jobs, the weakest non-recession year of hiring since 2003.

And somehow... no one blinked.

We’ve just come to accept the idea that our most influential economic stats can swing by hundreds of thousands of jobs after the fact.

Never mind that these same numbers shape public policy, interest rate decisions, and investment flows.

Maybe we should fix that. In the meantime, we should probably take preliminary data with a whole shaker of salt. 🤷

So, What’s Actually Going On?

In a word: realignment.

Hiring is down in sectors like finance, tech, and white-collar work, where automation is rising and companies are doing more with less.

But healthcare? It’s booming.

Nearly all of January’s new jobs were added in healthcare or adjacent roles. Fortunately, that’s not just a one-off. It’s a structural trend driven by an aging population and the simple fact that AI can’t replace a nurse (yet).

In fact, demand for nurses and nurse practitioners is so high that hospitals are offering five-figure signing bonuses and generous PTO just to stay competitive.

Even construction, bolstered by demand for data centers, saw hiring growth. Although tighter immigration policy is slowing completion timelines, it’s also pushing up wages.

Fewer Jobs, Bigger Paychecks

Yes, job growth has slowed. But that doesn’t mean the economy is stalling.

In fact, it might be getting stronger, smarter, and more worker-friendly:

• Unemployment is low: At 4.3%, we’re still near historic lows.

• Participation is rising: More people are coming off the sidelines and into the workforce.

• Productivity is surging: GDP is accelerating even with fewer workers. That’s automation, AI, and better tools doing their thing.

• Real wages are growing: Wage growth is outpacing inflation (~2.7%) by roughly 1%, giving Americans more purchasing power.

Put simply, the labor market is evolving. Less about headcount, more about output.

We’re seeing a rotation toward sectors that are physical, service-based, and difficult to automate. Plenty of roles will disappear, but the ones that remain are gaining value.

Don’t fear efficiency. It doesn’t just help companies — it strengthens paychecks.

MARKET MOOD
AI Anxiety Wipes Out Weekly Gains 🔻

Winners

Sphere Entertainment ($SPHR) - Market Cap: $4.2B (Week-to-Date: +24.1%)

The Sphere is finally proving it is more than a viral Vegas attraction. The company smashed revenue expectations and turned an unexpected profit. “The Wizard of Oz” has now sold over 2 million tickets, and brands are paying up for takeovers of the glowing outer shell, known as the Exosphere.

Generac ($GNRC) - Market Cap: $12.7B (Week-to-Date: +17.5%)

Generac missed Q4 earnings, posted a net loss, and saw residential sales drop 23%. Yet the stock still rallied. Why? Data centers. The company is positioning itself as a key generator supplier to AI hyperscalers. Management expects commercial and industrial sales to jump 30% in 2026, and backed it up with a confident new $500M buyback.

Oracle ($ORCL) - Market Cap: $449.7B (Week-to-Date: +9.6%)

Oracle won contracts from both the Air Force and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week, giving its cloud business a shot in the arm. The CMS win shows Oracle can now compete for the most complex and sensitive federal workloads. It was enough to move the stock, but shares are still down 20% this year.

Losers

Hims & Hers Health ($HIMS) – Market Cap: $3.6B (Week-to-Date: -31.4%)

After introducing a $49 weight-loss pill, Hims & Hers is now facing a lawsuit from Novo Nordisk. Novo is seeking to block the sale of compounded GLP-1 copycats, citing patent infringement and safety concerns. Following regulatory scrutiny and legal threats, Hims quickly pulled the product.

Arthur J. Gallagher ($AJG) – Market Cap: $52.6B (Week-to-Date: -15.2%)

OpenAI added insurance-native apps to ChatGPT, and investors in AJG didn’t take it well. The new tools let users compare policies and potentially buy coverage directly through AI agents, fueling fears that traditional brokers are on the chopping block. As the world’s third-largest insurance brokerage, Gallagher took a front-row hit in the sector-wide selloff.

AppLovin ($APP) – Market Cap: $124.1B (Week-to-Date: -9.8%)

AppLovin crushed earnings — revenue up 66%, profits up 84% — and still sold off. Blame AI, again. Investors are worried the rise of AI-native ad platforms could compress margins or cut out existing players. There’s no concrete evidence of disruption yet, but volatility is high, and when fear takes over, logic doesn't always matter.

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CHART OF THE WEEK
Is Inflation Really 2.5%… Or 0.7%? 📊

Up for one more dunk on government data?

At 8:00 a.m. ET, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release January’s CPI report. Expectations are for 2.5% year-over-year inflation, down slightly from 2.7%.

According to Truflation, CPI is currently running at just 0.74%.

Here’s the key difference:

• BLS surveys ~80,000 items monthly, uses seasonal adjustments, and relies heavily on “Owner’s Equivalent Rent”. That is, they literally ask homeowners what they think their house would rent for.

• Truflation scrapes 15+ million live data points daily, pulling actual prices from Amazon, Walmart, Zillow, Redfin, and more.

In summary, the BLS takes one Polaroid per month.

Meanwhile, Truflation runs a 24/7 livestream in 4K, giving us a real-time estimate of inflation rather than the laggy, slow-moving measure the government relies on.

Sigh.

FAST FACTS
Ackman Goes Meta, Musk Goes Lunar 🌙

📱 Ackman bets big on Meta: Pershing Square dumped Hilton and piled into Meta, now 10% of its fund. Ackman says it’s AI upside without the AI sticker shock. [Read]

🚀 Musk trades Mars for the Moon: SpaceX now plans an uncrewed lunar landing in 2027 and a “self-growing city” soon after. Satellites, AI data centers, and catapults may follow. [Read]

🤖 AI spooks financial advisors: Altruist launched a tool that builds custom tax plans in minutes, sending LPL Financial, Schwab, and Raymond James shares tumbling. [Read]

🤝 Tariffs drop, tech flows in: The U.S. and Taiwan finalized a trade deal to cut tariffs to 15%, boost purchases of U.S. goods, and unlock $250B in new investments. [Read]

💳 Alphabet goes 100 years long: Google raised billions with a rare century bond, nearly 10x oversubscribed. Critics say it “looks a bit like a signal of a top.” [Read]

🏚️ Easy money loans go bust: Private lenders financed up to 90% of first-time home flippers’ projects at rates as low as 8%. Now, foreclosures are spiking. [Read]

🧾 How billionaires budget: DOJ filings reveal Leon Black’s finances down to the cent. 69 bank accounts, $70K on booze (in two months), and tax tricks only the ultrarich could love. [Read]

WORDS TO REMEMBER
Where the Real Compounding Begins 🧠

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