MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks finished mixed ahead of jobs data due Wednesday.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields fell for the second consecutive session, following disappointing retail sales and ahead of the shutdown-delayed January jobs report.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar lingered near multiyear lows after tepid retail sales data.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures slipped as traders awaited updates on negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.
HEADLINES
Ford Discloses Additional $900 Million Tariff Hit
The Trump administration dealt Ford Motor a $900 million tariff blow to close out 2025.
Ford said Tuesday that U.S. officials alerted the company in December that a tariff-relief program announced in October would be retroactive going back to November, not all the way back to May as the automaker anticipated.
"We were notified very late in the year by the Trump administration of an unexpected change," Ford finance chief Sherry House said as she announced quarterly financial results.
Paramount Sweetens Warner Offer
Paramount has enhanced its hostile offer to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including agreeing to pay the $2.8 billion termination fee Warner would owe its chosen suitor, Netflix, should that deal collapse.
In a regulatory filing, Paramount also said it was adding a "ticking fee" of 25 cents per share, which it would pay to Warner shareholders for each quarter its deal hasn't closed, starting in January 2027.
"If we don't get regulatory approval by the end of this year, we will pay $650 million each quarter thereafter until we get approval," Gerry Cardinale, head of RedBird Capital Partners, which is backing Paramount's offer for Warner, told The Wall Street Journal. "We are putting additional money where our mouth is."
U.S. Retail Sales Unexpectedly Flat in December
U.S. retail sales were flat in December, a disappointing datapoint for economists who had expected growth despite concerns about a fragile consumer economy.
Sales at U.S. stores were roughly unchanged in December versus November at $735 billion, after rising by 0.6% in November, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal were anticipating a 0.4% increase.
Overall in 2025, total sales by retailers grew by 3.7%. In December, sales declines at car dealers, furniture and electronics stores were offset by sales growth at sellers of building materials, food and beverages and gasoline. The figures are seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for inflation.
Canada's Carney Tries to Resolve Trump's Demands Over New Bridge
OTTAWA-Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he is seeking to defuse a new row with the U.S. over President Trump's threat to block the opening of a new bridge connecting Michigan and Ontario.
Carney said he spoke on Tuesday to Trump after the president's Truth Social post suggesting the U.S. should take an ownership stake of at least 50% in the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, and complained that U.S. products, like steel, weren't used in the construction of the 1.5-mile corridor.
"I explained that Canada, of course, paid for the construction of the bridge," Carney told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting. He added that the state of Michigan already has an ownership stake, and that U.S. steel and U.S. labor were used in the bridge's construction.
Top Tesla Executive Leaves Carmaker
Tesla veteran Raj Jegannathan has left the company just a few months after the longtime IT executive was promoted to oversee sales and service for the company.
"As I move on, I do so with a full heart and excitement for what lies ahead," Jegannathan wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing his departure.
Jegannathan joined Tesla 13 years ago and rose through the ranks of its IT department. Last fall, his role was expanded to include sales and service for the electric-vehicle maker, following the departure of Musk's top lieutenant Omead Afshar and Tesla's longtime sales leader Troy Jones.
Target to Lay Off 500 Workers as New CEO Shakes Up Leadership Team
Target is laying off about 500 employees as its new chief executive, Michael Fiddelke, revamps its shopping experience in an attempt to reverse declining sales.
The company said it was consolidating the number of districts to streamline its store field structure and better empower store directors, prompting the layoffs. Roughly 100 eliminated roles will come from district offices and an additional 400 will come from Target's supply-chain sites. No store roles are affected.
Target said the restructuring would allow for more investment in additional in-store labor and guest-experience training, though it didn't specify how much it would increase in-store investments.
Fed's Interest-Rate Stance Well-Positioned, Dallas Fed President Says
Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said she believes the Federal Reserve's interest-rate stance is set well for the risks facing the economy, a sign she might be reluctant to support a return to cutting rates at the central bank's coming meetings.
Cuts last year reduced the fed-funds rate to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, a level the Fed reaffirmed at its most recent meeting last month. Speaking at a financial conference in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, Logan said that setting is about right for an economy facing both persistent inflation and a gradually cooling job market. The Fed's policy stance is likely near a level where it is neither boosting nor restraining economic activity, Logan said.
"Our policy is well-positioned to respond to risks to either of the FOMC's dual mandate objectives," Logan said, referring to the Federal Open Market Committee.
Coca-Cola Is Sticking With Its Pricing Plan, CEO Says
Coca-Cola is trying to hold the line on prices.
The beverage giant said it is marketing a range of products at different prices and sizes to respond to financially stretched consumers, but isn't planning a major shake-up of its pricing strategy.
"There's no big reset out there," said Chief Executive Officer James Quincey in an interview. "We can make bottles and cans in all sorts of different sizes. Part of the range is in affordability and an entry price point."
Spotify Shares Jump on Strong Earnings, Subscriber Growth
Spotify Technology shares soared Tuesday after the company reported continuing user growth and better-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter.
For the fourth quarter, Spotify's monthly active users grew to 751 million, up 11% from the same quarter a year ago and topping the company's prior guidance of 745 million. The Swedish audiostreaming giant's premium subscribers increased by 10% to 290 million, also beating the company's prior guidance by about one million.
TALKING POINT Wealth Management Stocks Take a Hit. Blame AI.
Wary investors have been on guard against disruptive artificial intelligence-and ready to dump shares when they perceive threats. On Tuesday, it was the wealth management sector's turn to get hammered.
Shares of Charles Schwab, LPL Financial, and other wealth management companies were pummeled. Schwab's stock was down 6.6% as of Tuesday afternoon. LPL, the nation's largest independent broker-dealer, dropped 7.9%. Shares of Raymond James Financial and Ameriprise Financial were down 8.6% and 6.4%, respectively.
Stocks overall were slightly down, with the S&P declining by 0.2%.
The selloff in wealth management stocks comes just a day after insurance stocks were pounded on Monday over concerns that a new AI app from Insurify could disrupt the insurance industry. Investors who hold shares of wealth management may have been on lookout for disruptive threats, and they appear to have latched onto an AI-related announcement on Tuesday morning from Altruist, a privately held company that provides technology and other services to independent financial advisors.
Altruist said it launched a new tax planning tool for its AI platform, called Hazel, which it says helps advisors create fully personalized tax strategies for clients "within minutes." The tax-planning tool does so by reading clients' financial documents, including pay stubs and account statements. Altruist launched Hazel in September 2025. Some advisors have given Hazel positive reviews online, saying its tools are saving them time and improving their productivity.
Altruist, which was founded in 2018, doesn't serve retail customers. But it does compete directly with Schwab and Fidelity within the multitrillion-dollar RIA custody sector, albeit as a smaller competitor. Schwab and Fidelity hold the vast majority of RIA assets. Altruist doesn't disclose assets, but it says it serves more than 5,700 advisors.
A spokesman for Altruist declined to comment on the stock selloff, but says that Altruist believes its AI tools are unique within the industry. Founder Jason Wenk said in his company's announcement that tax planning is an important, but time-consuming service for advisors' end clients. "Hazel's tax planning feature flips that dynamic," Wenk said. "It expands what a single advisor can handle, raises the bar on outcomes, and makes average advice a lot harder to justify."
--Andrew Welsch, Barron's
Expected Major Events for Wednesday
00:01/UK: Jan UK Nations and Regions Growth Tracker
09:00/ITA: Dec Industrial Production
12:00/US: 02/06 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey
13:30/US: Jan U.S. Employment Report
13:30/CAN: Dec Building permits
15:30/US: 02/06 EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report
19:00/US: Jan Monthly Treasury Statement of Receipts and Outlays of the U.S. Government
23:50/JPN: Jan Corporate Goods Price Index
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Wednesday
Avantor Inc $(AVTR)$ is expected to report $0.12 for 4Q.
Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc - Class A $(BXMT)$ is expected to report $0.30 for 4Q.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
February 10, 2026 16:35 ET (21:35 GMT)
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