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🎯 In this issue:

• Banana Bits: Finance headlines that actually matter

• Market Summary: Stocks rally as cr*pto surges despite Nvidia pause

• What’s Ripe / Rotten: The tastiest and most disgusting stocks today

• Technical Trip: Interview Q&A from Centerview Partners

• Lesson from the Library: Step onto the trading floor — learn how real desks move markets, manage risk, and stay ahead of the curve.

• Deal Deep Dive: M&A, IPO, and transaction breakdowns

• The Daily Poll: See how you stack up

Market Snapshot

📉 Banana Bits

• Government bonds are losing appeal as borrowing costs climb.

• Global debt has ballooned to $348T, with governments leading the tab.

• Cracks are emerging in Blackstone’s software-loan book.

• Falling mortgage rates are pulling Americans back into refinancing.

• Circle’s rally suggests cr*pto still has some life left.

• The bond rally is fading as investors rotate back into risk assets.

• Even solid earnings couldn’t lift stocks as Wall Street questions AI hype and credit risks.

Market News

Stocks Rally as Cr*pto Surges Despite Nvidia Pause

Stocks tried to keep the rally alive, but Nvidia poured a little cold water on the AI party. Futures dipped about 0.1%, basically the market equivalent of a shrug. Strong earnings weren’t enough; investors wanted a bigger AI fairy tale.

Nvidia beat expectations, but the sales outlook felt more “steady growth” than “to the moon.” Traders trimmed risk ahead of U.S.–Iran nuclear talks, with a March 1–6 deadline and military threats in the background.

Oil climbed toward $71 because geopolitics and higher crude prices are basically best friends. Markets closed firmly in risk-on mode, with stocks posting solid gains across the board. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq jumped 1.4%, and the Dow added 0.6%, while the MSCI World Index climbed 0.8%, showing the rally was global.

Tech once again did most of the heavy lifting; when the Nasdaq leads, the rest of the market usually follows. The dollar slipped 0.2%, giving risk assets a modest boost. Cr*pto stole the spotlight, with B*tcoin surging to about $69K and Ether jumping 12% to around $2,075, showing classic high-beta behavior as risk appetite returned.

Source 

In bonds, Treasury yields edged slightly higher, with the 10-year yield rising two basis points to 4.05%, but the move was calm enough not to disturb equities. Overseas yields were mostly steady. In commodities, oil slipped slightly to about $65.47 a barrel, suggesting no immediate supply concerns, while gold edged higher, reflecting some lingering caution.

Peel Take: The session felt like a clean risk-on day: stocks higher, the dollar weaker, cr*pto surging, and yields stable. The bullish trend remains intact, and today’s action suggested investors are still willing to buy dips, especially when tech and cr*pto lead the charge.

What's Ripe

Circle Internet Group Inc. (CRCL) 35.5%

• Circle Internet Group (CRCL) surged +35% after beating fourth-quarter earnings estimates, giving investors a long-overdue reason to step back into the stock.

• The rally comes after a brutal stretch; shares had collapsed about 77% from their June peak, weighed down by the broader cr*pto slump. Strong results from the stablecoin issuer helped flip sentiment quickly, especially as cr*pto prices bounced again.

• Peel Take: This looks like a classic "dead stock meets good news" rally — when expectations get crushed, even solid earnings can spark a huge move.

Axon Enterprise Inc. (AXON) 17.6%

• Axon Enterprise surged +18%, making it the best performer in the S&P 500, after delivering a blowout fourth quarter that smashed both earnings and revenue expectations.

• The maker of Taser stun guns said growth was driven by strong demand for its AI-powered law-enforcement software and services, showing that the AI boom isn’t just about chips; it’s spreading into real-world applications.

• Peel Take: Axon is turning into a quiet AI winner — less hype than Big Tech, but real customers and real revenue growth.

What's Rotten

Driven Brands Holdings Inc. (DRVN) 30.2%

• Shares of Driven Brands cratered 30% after the automotive services company delayed its earnings release due to accounting errors uncovered in recent financial statements.

• An internal audit found material errors in reports from 2023 and 2024, as well as the first three quarters of 2025, forcing the company to revisit its numbers and raising fresh questions about their reliability.

• Peel Take: Nothing scares investors faster than the words “material errors” and “delayed earnings.”

First Solar Inc. (FSLR) 13.6%

• A solar panel manufacturer slumped 14% after missing fourth-quarter earnings estimates and issuing weak revenue guidance, disappointing investors who were hoping for a stronger recovery in the sector.

• The soft outlook suggests demand remains uneven and margins are still under pressure, reinforcing concerns that the solar industry’s rebound is taking longer than expected.

• Peel Take: Solar stocks tend to trade on future optimism — and weak guidance pulls the plug fast.

🧠 Technical Trip

Interview Q&A from Centerview Partners

👉 Want 1-on-1 recruiting help from Centerview Partners bankers & 2,000+ top mentors? Apply to WSO Academy

📚 Lesson from the Library

🎥 Sales & Trading: Inside the Markets

Step onto the trading floor — learn how real desks move markets, manage risk, and stay ahead of the curve.

🎓 Check out the course

🦈 Deal Dispatch

M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions

• Toyota’s $19B share sale is helping banks clear long-held inventory.

• Shell is in talks with Adnoc and others over a stake sale in its Australia LNG unit.

• Angola’s Sonangol is pushing ahead with its IPO despite delays.

• Tencent is eyeing a stake in mobile game Block Blast.

📊The Daily Poll

Previous Poll:

Why did Panama end its China-linked port deal?

Western pivot: 26.8% // Trade strategy: 22.4% // Political reset: 25.4% // Risk cut: 25.4%

Student Success Corner

👉 Are you next? Find out with WSO Academy

Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

At his regular hourly rate, Don had estimated the labor cost of a repair job as $336, and he was paid that amount. However, the job took 4 hours longer than he had estimated, and he consequently earned $2 per hour less than his regular hourly rate. What time did Don estimate for the job, in hours?

Answer: 24

Today

60% of the members of a study group are women, and 45% of those women are lawyers. If one member of the study group is to be selected at random, what is the probability that the member selected is a woman lawyer?

How Would You Rate Today's Peel?

Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Fernanda, & Patrick

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