U.S. CPI: +2.9% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +2.9%); U.S. CORE CPI: +3.2% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +3.3%)

**Trump’s Inflation, Economic Claims Out of Touch—Risks GOP Midterms: Reuters** Reuters analysis published Feb. 10 finds former President Donald Trump’s talks about inflation and the cost of living are out of touch with reality, endangering the GOP’s upcoming midterm elections. Multiple Republican strategists and former administration economic officials warn Trump may be repeating the mistakes President Biden made during high inflation, eroding his and the party’s credibility on voters’ top economic concerns. Since last December, in five economic speeches, Trump has claimed nearly 20 times inflation is defeated and 30 times prices are falling—but public perception and actual data don’t support these claims. Inflation has hovered near 3% over the past year, while everyday costs keep rising: ground beef is up 18% year-over-year, ground coffee 29%. Reuters’ review of roughly five hours of his speeches found nearly half the time strayed from economic topics, shifting to immigra

**February 10th** Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin published an article this morning updating his framework for thinking about the intersection of Ethereum and artificial intelligence (AI). He emphasized that artificial general intelligence (AGI) should not be pursued via "blanket acceleration"—instead, the values of crypto and AI must be deeply integrated to build an AI future that advances human freedom, security, and decentralized cooperation. Buterin pushed back against the misconception that AI is a competition where "whoever achieves AGI first dominates." He argued that both Ethereum’s evolution and humanity’s approach to AGI hinge on choosing the right direction, not blindly speeding up technological progress. Core goals include: - Preventing AI from marginalizing humans or entrenching permanent disempowerment through unavoidable power structures; - Mitigating systemic risks from out-of-control AI or imbalanced offense-defense dynamics. ### Medium-Term Priority Di

Monday, February 10 The Nikkei 225 index surged more than 2,000 points on Monday, hitting the 56,000-point mark for the first time ever—pushing the value of Berkshire Hathaway’s Japanese assets (its stakes in five major trading houses) above $41 billion. Since 2019, Warren Buffett—who stepped down as Berkshire’s CEO—has placed a series of large bets on Japanese stocks. Monday’s sharp Tokyo rally lifted shares of those related firms, delivering a nearly $2 billion unrealized gain in one day. Per Berkshire Hathaway’s financial filings, the investment cost was approximately $13.8 billion, meaning the holding has nearly doubled in value.

On February 10, Goldman Sachs warned that hedge funds are ramping up short positions on U.S. stocks amid growing concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) could disrupt traditional business models. Data shows nominal short interest in individual U.S. stocks hit a new 2016 high last week. Goldman’s prime brokerage team noted in a client report that hedge funds’ short trade volume was roughly 2:1 relative to long trades between Jan. 30 and Feb. 5. Overall, hedge funds have been net sellers of U.S. stocks for four straight weeks, with outflows hitting their highest level since early April 2023. Market volatility is closely tied to AI’s rapid advancement. Reports note a concentrated sell-off was triggered after Anthropic rolled out a new tool automating tasks across multiple industries. In total, 164 stocks across sectors including software, financial services and asset management lost roughly $611 billion in market value last week. While U.S. stocks rebounded on dip buying Fr

As of February 10, alternative data shows the cryptocurrency Fear & Greed Index has dropped to 9—down from 14 yesterday. The weekly average stands at 17, indicating the market remains in the "extreme fear" zone. Note: The index ranges from 0 to 100 and includes these metrics: Volatility (25%), Market Trading Volume (25%), Social Media Hype (15%), Market Surveys (15%), Bitcoin Dominance (10%), Google Trends (10%).

On February 10, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller announced plans to launch a "limited-purpose account" by the end of this year. With broader crypto market regulation legislation stalled at the congressional level, the Fed will move forward with limited payment system access arrangements. Waller noted that a traditional Federal Reserve master account gives institutions direct access to the Fed’s payment system and the U.S. monetary system, while a "limited-purpose account" will come with significant restrictions—including no interest on balances and no access to discount window loans. The Fed previously sought public input on the plan, which exposed divisions between the crypto industry and community banks: the dispute centers on whether non-traditional financial institutions should be allowed to access certain functions of the U.S. payment system. Waller said the Fed still needs to "work through" relevant details but hopes to roll out the account this year if condition