Table of Contents

• U.S. Stocks

• X & xAI

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U.S. Stocks

U.S. markets dropped Friday as tech stocks slid and inflation fears grew, with the Dow falling 716 points and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq down nearly 2% and 2.7%, respectively. The week capped off another losing streak amid worries about President Trump’s upcoming tariffs and higher-than-expected inflation data. The University of Michigan’s survey showed long-term inflation expectations at a three-decade high, and February’s core PCE price index rose more than forecast, fueling fears of persistent price pressures. While some analysts see this as a short-term blip, investor anxiety over trade policy and consumer strain continues to weigh on sentiment.

X & xAI

Elon Musk has merged his artificial intelligence venture, xAI, with X (formerly Twitter), in a stock-based transaction valuing xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion. Musk framed the move as a step toward integrating AI development and distribution across both companies. xAI's Grok chatbot is already part of X’s platform, and the merger deepens their integration, combining talent, data, and reach. The companies share several investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding. Musk, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, recently took a role in the Trump administration and has continued expanding xAI’s infrastructure with projects like the Colossus supercomputer in Memphis.

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