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Trade Gap Hits Record
The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record $901.5B, the biggest jump since 1960.
Ankit Sinha
February 20, 2026
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🎯 In this issue:
Banana Bits: Finance headlines that actually matter
Market Summary: Wall Street is in risk-on mode ahead of key inflation data
What’s Ripe / Rotten: The tastiest and most disgusting stocks today
Technical Trip: Interview Q&A from Morgan Stanley
Lesson from the Library: Go beyond basics — learn deferred taxes, NOLs, stock-compensation, and complex accounting used in real-world models.
Deal Deep Dive: M&A, IPO, and transaction breakdowns
The Daily Poll: See how you stack up
Market Snapshot
📉 Banana Bits
Japan’s business activity hit a record after Takaichi’s historic win.
The dollar is heading for its best week since October as bets on rate cuts fade.
The U.S. and Indonesia agreed on a key 19% tariff rate.
Japan’s CPI cooled to a two-year low, but hike bets are still building.
Oil jumped to a six-month high as Trump ramped up pressure on Iran.
The U.S. trade deficit widened to a record $901.5B, the biggest jump since 1960.
Market News
Wall Street is in Risk-On Mode Ahead of Key Inflation Data
Wall Street experienced another down day, snapping the winning streak that happened a couple of days ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 268 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 was down 0.3%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.3%.
The yield on the 2-year Treasury note rose to 3.47%, while the 10-year yield fell to 4.07%, as the U.S. trade balance deteriorated and layoffs cooled.
WTI crude oil futures rose 1.9% to $66.43. President Donald Trump suggested that the U.S. will decide in the next 10 days whether to strike Iran.
Alternative asset managers, including Blackstone, Ares Management, and Apollo Global Management, slid after Blue Owl Capital halted quarterly redemptions at one of its private-credit funds.
On Friday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release the personal consumption expenditures price index for December and its advance estimate on fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth.
What's Ripe
Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) 15.4%
OMC rose 15%. The marketing conglomerate recorded a nearly 28% jump in revenue in the fourth quarter, largely due to a blockbuster merger with Interpublic that closed in November.
Deere & Co. (DE) 11.6%
DE advanced 12% after the farm-equipment manufacturer posted fiscal first-quarter earnings that topped analysts’ estimates and raised fiscal-year profit guidance.
What's Rotten
Moleculin Biotech, Inc. (MBRX) 44.3%
MBRX shares cratered more than 40%, making it one of the sharpest decliners on the session amid heavy volume.
The move reflects continued volatility in pre-revenue biotech names, with investors wary of dilution risk and ongoing cash burn.
Klarna Group PLC (KLAR) 26.9%
KLAR sank 27% to $13.85, marking its lowest close on record. The buy now, pay later provider posted fourth-quarter earnings that narrowly edged past analysts’ forecasts.
However, Klarna issued conservative guidance for the current first quarter, and 2026 guidance broadly missed estimates.
🧠 Technical Trip
Interview Q&A from Morgan Stanley
👉 Want 1-on-1 recruiting help from Morgan Stanley bankers & 2,000+ top mentors? Apply to WSO Academy
📚 Lesson from the Library
🎥 Advanced Accounting: Mastering the Real Numbers Behind the Deals
Go beyond basics — learn deferred taxes, NOLs, stock-compensation, and complex accounting used in real-world models.
🦈Deal Dispatch
M&A, IPOs, And Other Notable Transactions
J&J is exploring a $20B-plus sale of its orthopedics unit.
CSX’s CEO signaled openness to a deal as rail rivals chase a mega-merger.
Glencore is reportedly close to selling its Kazzinc mining stake.
CVC tapped Goldman Sachs for a potential €1B marina business sale.
Ambani joined Adani and Tata with plans to invest $110B in AI.
📊The Daily Poll
Why did the US trade deficit hit $901B? |
Previous Poll:
Why are foreigners buying more U.S. stocks despite tariffs?
Dollar strength: 26.6% // Earnings power: 34.9% // Safe haven: 22.0% // Limited options: 16.5%
Banana Brain Teaser
Previous
In the first week of the year, Nancy saved $1. In each of the next 51 weeks, she saved $1 more than she had saved in the previous week. What was the total amount that Nancy saved during the 52 weeks?
Answer: $1,378
Today
If y is the smallest positive integer such that 3,150 multiplied by y is the square of an integer, then y must be?
We don’t have an analytical advantage, we just look in the right place.
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Happy Investing,
Chris, Vyom, Ankit, Mitchell, Fernanda, & Patrick