Markets posted their fourth consecutive losing week, with the Russell 2000 slipping into correction territory — down more than 10% from its recent high.

Super Micro's (SMCI) co-founder is now at the center of a federal criminal case, and the stock got crushed as a result.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw (co-founder and board member), along with two others affiliated with Super Micro, with illegally diverting billions of dollars' worth of Nvidia-powered servers to China in violation of the Export Control Reform Act.

Liaw, who controls roughly $464 million in Super Micro shares, and contractor Ting-Wei Sun were arrested Thursday; a third defendant, Ruei-Tsan Chang, remains a fugitive.

Super Micro was not named as a defendant.

SMCI stock boasts a Ziggma score of 97, outpacing peers in growth and valuation.

Moreover, analysts forecast the server giant to gain 95% from current levels.

Washington has long been trying to plug the leak of advanced AI chips to China, particularly as U.S. firms like Anthropic and OpenAI face stiffening competition from Chinese AI labs like DeepSeek.

When a company's own co-founder is allegedly at the center of that pipeline, the reputational and regulatory fallout is severe.

Even if Super Micro avoids corporate liability, the cloud of uncertainty hanging over its leadership is enough to keep institutional investors on the sidelines for a while.

Proceed with extreme caution.

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Past performance isn't predictive; illustrative only. Investing risks principal; no securities offer. See important Disclaimers

Stocks tumbled in volatile trading on Friday as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran showed no signs of abating, oil prices surged, and macro anxieties mounted.

The selling intensified in the afternoon after Reuters reported that Iraq declared force majeure on all foreign-operated oilfields, citing an inability to ship crude through the Strait of Hormuz due to Iranian disruptions.

Brent crude topped $113 a barrel at its intraday high; it ultimately settled at $112.19, up over 3% on the day and nearly 9% for the week.

Friday also brought quadruple witching: the quarterly simultaneous expiration of stock options, index options, index futures, and single-stock futures, amplifying already elevated intraday volatility as investors unwound or repositioned derivatives.

Tech heavyweights bore the brunt, with Nvidia and Tesla each shedding roughly 3%. Utility stocks led sector declines, dropping more than 3.5%, as rising Treasury yields punished rate-sensitive names.

Adding to investor unease, the Federal Reserve's more hawkish tone from the prior week reinforced concerns that rate cuts are off the table for now.

Morgan Stanley's chief U.S. economist revised his 2026 outlook, projecting slower growth, higher inflation, and higher unemployment, and now expects rate cuts only in September and December, a far cry from current market pricing that was briefly flirting with the idea of rate hikes.

The S&P 500 is now trading at levels not seen since early September 2025, and is below its 200-day moving average, a technically significant and psychologically important threshold.

Envela surged 8.47% after a massive earnings beat, reporting EPS of $0.23 versus the $0.09 consensus estimate, alongside $80.5 million in revenue.

B. Riley Financial raised its price target from $14.00 to $18.00, citing strong operational leverage and increased institutional buying activity.

Mosaic fell nearly 10% following a significant downgrade by Bank of America Securities, which cut its rating from Buy to Neutral and lowered its price target to $30.

The move reflected broader cyclical weakness in the commodity and fertilizer markets, prompting investors to exit positions as the sector outlook deteriorates.

Micron fell 4.81% despite reporting a blowout earnings beat with revenue nearly tripling year-over-year to $23.86 billion: a paradoxical reaction driven by management's announcement of aggressive capital expenditure plans to expand capacity.

Investors interpreted the capex surge as a warning of future supply gluts, triggering an analyst downgrade and broad profit-taking.

✈️ Pentagon deploying thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East amid ongoing Iran-Israel exchanges, per The Wall Street Journal.

⚡ LNG exporters surge — Venture Global (+10%), NextDecade (+9%), and Cheniere Energy (+2%) close out a massive week on Middle East supply fears.

🛡️ HSBC upgrades Chevron to Buy with a $215 price target, citing lower Middle East exposure and a deep discount versus Exxon on 2026 EV/DACF.

📉 Russell 2000 slips into correction territory, falling more than 10% from its recent high — the first major U.S. benchmark to do so.

🏦 UBS Global Wealth Management reaffirms bullish year-end outlook for equities, urging investors to "stay invested" and diversify across asset classes.

FedEx delivered a decisive Q3 beat, reporting adjusted EPS of $5.25 against analyst expectations of $4.09, on $24 billion in revenue. The company also raised its full-year earnings guidance.

Bank of America reiterated its Buy rating and lifted its price target to $440, citing the strongest U.S. market share gains in 20 years, network integration momentum, and an upcoming freight spin-off as key catalysts.

Rivian and Uber unveiled a deal to deploy up to 500,000 robotaxis through 2031. Goldman Sachs and Canaccord were broadly positive, calling Rivian a "robotaxi power couple.”

Morgan Stanley maintained its Underweight rating, and Wells Fargo was unimpressed. Rivian shares declined roughly 8% on the day.

Mizuho upgraded Chipotle to Outperform from Neutral, lifting its price target to $40 — implying more than 20% upside from Thursday's close.

The firm now sees flat same-store sales (vs. a prior estimate of a decline), citing early signs of improving value offerings, marketing promotions, and menu innovation pointing toward Q2 acceleration.

⛏️ Lithium Argentina reports earnings — watch for updates on production volumes and EV battery material demand.

🛜 Ondas Holdings releases financial results covering wireless data networks and progress in commercializing autonomous drones.

🍔 Beyond Meat (BYND) reports — investors will focus on consumer demand trends, retail partnerships, and the path to profitability.

🏗️ U.S. Construction Spending data for January releases — will shed light on real estate development and infrastructure investment trends.

📊 Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1 2026 Estimate gets updated — currently tracking near 2.1%, this print will shape near-term growth expectations.

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