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Market Snapshot

📉 Banana Bits

• Japan’s real wages rose for the first time in 13 months.

• Gold slipped as the oil rally revived interest-rate fears.

• Khamenei’s son took power as Iran’s new leader amid regional strikes.

• Tanker disruptions from the Iran war cut Iraq’s oil output by about 60%.

• The U.S. jobless rate climbed to 4.4% after unexpected job cuts.

Market News

Suddenly Everything Looks Risky

U.S. stocks had a rough week as a weak jobs report collided with rising oil prices and escalating tensions in the Middle East, giving investors a triple shot of anxiety.

The S&P 500 fell ~1.3% on Friday, sealing its worst week in several months as traders rapidly dialed down risk. Financial shares led the decline, with BlackRock tumbling after it curbed withdrawals from a private-credit fund, sparking concerns about stress in the fast-growing lending sector.

Chipmakers also took a hit after Oracle Corporation and OpenAI scrapped plans to expand an artificial-intelligence data center in Texas, dimming some of the market’s AI enthusiasm.

At the same time, Crude Oil prices surged above $100 a barrel, posting one of their biggest weekly jumps on record and adding a fresh layer of inflation worries.

The spike came just as the labor market showed unexpected weakness: U.S. payrolls fell by 92,000 last month, and unemployment rose to 4.4%, a sharp surprise decline in hiring.

The data complicates the outlook for the Federal Reserve, which now faces an uncomfortable policy puzzle: support a weakening economy with rate cuts or keep borrowing costs high to prevent another wave of inflation fueled by expensive energy.

Peel Take: When jobs fall, oil jumps, and war headlines multiply, markets tend to reach for the panic button. The Fed now finds itself stuck between a slowing economy and stubborn inflation, and investors are realizing that’s not exactly a recipe for a calm week on Wall Street.

What's Ripe

Samsara Inc. (IOT) 19.5%

• Shares spiked 20% after the developer of internet-connected sensor systems beat analysts’ fourth-quarter profit expectations and issued upbeat guidance for the current fiscal year.

• The results signaled strong demand for connected devices and industrial monitoring technology, reassuring investors that spending on smart infrastructure and IoT systems remains resilient.

• The company said it expects solid growth in the year ahead, driven by expanding adoption of sensor-based platforms across industries such as manufacturing, logistics, and smart buildings.

• Peel Take: Turns out the Internet of Things is still very much a thing, and investors are clearly sensing it.

Marvell Technology Inc. (MRVL) 18.4%

• Shares jumped 18% after the chipmaker beat analysts’ fourth-quarter earnings estimates and delivered strong guidance, pointing to continued robust demand for artificial-intelligence chips. The upbeat results reassured investors that spending on AI infrastructure remains strong despite broader market volatility.

• The company also projected that revenue growth will accelerate sequentially throughout fiscal year 2027, signaling confidence that demand for its AI hardware will continue to expand as tech firms and data-center operators ramp up investments in AI computing capacity.

• Peel Take: Apparently, the AI boom is still very much alive; at least for chipmakers, whose earnings are starting to look less like forecasts and more like victory laps.

What's Rotten

Gap Inc. (GAP) 14.4%

• Shares dropped 14% after the clothing retailer missed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter earnings estimates and reported weaker-than-expected sales, with continued struggles at its Athleta activewear division weighing on results.

• The disappointing results overshadowed performance in other segments and raised concerns about the brand’s ability to regain momentum in an increasingly competitive athleisure market.

• Executives pointed to sluggish demand and merchandising missteps at Athleta, which has struggled to keep pace with rivals and shifting consumer preferences.

• Peel Take: Apparently, leggings aren’t recession-proof, especially when shoppers decide their old ones are still doing just fine

BlackRock Inc. (BLK) 7.1%

• Asset-management stocks fell after BlackRock limited withdrawals from one of its private-credit funds following a surge in redemption requests, raising concerns about liquidity in the rapidly growing private-credit market.

• The move rattled investors across the alternative-assets industry, raising questions about how easily funds can handle large investor exits during periods of market stress.

• The selling spread across the sector. BlackRock fell 7.2%, while Ares Management dropped 6%. KKR & Co. declined 4.5%, and Blackstone Inc. also slid 4.5%, as investors trimmed exposure to private-market heavyweights.

• Peel Take: Private credit has been marketed as the calm, steady corner of finance, but when investors start rushing for the exit, even the “quiet” part of Wall Street gets loud.

🧠 Technical Trip

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🦈Deal Deep Dive

M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions

• Blue Owl is leading a $750M debt package for Vista’s Nexthink buyout.

• Cerebras tapped Morgan Stanley as it gears up for another IPO attempt.

• Philippines port giant ICTSI is still hunting deals despite Middle East tensions.

• The Iran conflict is slowing M&A as bankers hit pause on transactions.

📊The Daily Poll

Previous Poll:

Higher oil prices mean rate cuts in Asia are

Delayed: 19.6% // Less likely: 32.2% // Still coming: 23.2% // Now uncertain: 25.0%

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Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

In order to complete a reading assignment on time, Terry planned to read 90 pages per day. However, she read only 75 pages per day at first, leaving 690 pages to be read during the last 6 days before the assignment was to be completed. How many days in all did Terry have to complete the assignment on time?

Answer: 16

Today

Club X has more than 10 but fewer than 40 members. Sometimes the members sit at tables with 3 members at one table and 4 members at each of the other tables, and sometimes they sit at tables with 3 members at one table and 5 members at each of the other tables. If they sit at tables with 6 members at each table except one and fewer than 6 members at that one table, how many members will be at the table that has fewer than 6 members?

How Would You Rate Today's Peel?

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

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