Good morning.

It’s Friday, February 27. Ever wondered why this month feels like it shows up, does the bare minimum, and leaves early?

The original Roman calendar had 10 months. Then King Numa Pompilius decided the year needed to match the lunar cycle and added January and February. But Numa had a thing. Romans believed even numbers were unlucky, so he started shaving days off months just to avoid even numbers. The lunar year came out to 355 days. Not 354. Because 354 would’ve been unlucky. Obviously. With 12 months, all odd numbers would add up to an even total. He wanted the year to be odd. So one month had to take the fall and become even. He picked February. The month already used for rituals honoring the dead. The energy was consistent.

So February got stuck with 28 days. The calendar has been edited, upgraded, modernized, leap-yeared, space-aged. February stayed short. Tradition is undefeated.

Anyway. Happy Friday. Finish strong. Enjoy the weekend.

Today’s stories:

Stock futures slipped Thursday night after a tech-heavy session and ahead of Friday’s inflation data. Futures tied to the Dow Jones fell 0.5%. S&P 500 futures dropped 0.4%, and Nasdaq-100 futures slid 0.4%. Cautious, not chaotic.

After hours, Salesforce dropped over 2%, Microsoft slipped 1%, Zscaler sank nearly 10% on weak billings, and CoreWeave fell 8% on soft guidance.

Now it’s all about inflation. In this market, decimals matter.

_____

Mortgage rates have dipped below 6% for the first time since 2022, with the average 30-year fixed loan now sitting at 5.98%. Yes, it finally starts with a five again. After peaking around 7.8% in late 2023 — and living miles away from the pandemic’s absurd 2.5% era — this drop feels psychologically huge, even if financially it’s not a massive difference from last week. Experts say the “under 6%” number matters because buyers and homeowners are emotional creatures. Some people have been clinging to their old low rates like family heirlooms. Others refused to shop at all. A rate starting with five might be the push they needed. Rates have been easing since the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates, and last month the government ordered Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to buy $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities, which helps push borrowing costs down. Applications rose 2.8% recently — but mostly from homeowners refinancing. New purchase loans actually fell. So the housing market isn’t exactly thawing. It’s just slightly less frozen.

_____

Meta just dropped $100 billion on chips. Meta decided it needs 6 gigawatts of AI computing power and signed a deal with AMD worth more than $100 billion, which is a very casual way to say “we are not slowing down.” The agreement locks in AMD’s newest MI450 AI chips to power Meta’s data centers over the next five years. One gigawatt equals tens of billions in revenue for AMD, so naturally the stock jumped 7%. But here’s the fun part. AMD gave Meta warrants to buy up to 160 million shares — nearly 10% of the company — for one cent each, as long as certain milestones are hit. Yes, one cent. Silicon Valley does not do small gestures. Meta only gets the full stock reward if AMD hits $600 per share. It’s currently around $196. So now everyone is highly motivated. This is AMD’s big swing at Nvidia in the AI chip race, and with only a few mega-buyers in town, chipmakers are getting creative to lock customers in long term.

Netflix walks away from Warner Bros. Netflix just exited the Warner Bros. Discovery bidding war after WBD’s board decided Paramount Skydance’s revised offer was better. Paramount raised its all-cash bid to $31 per share to buy the entire company — including CNN, TBS, TNT and everything else — topping Netflix’s $27.75 per share offer for just the studio and streaming assets. Netflix had a few days to match the higher bid. It didn’t. Instead, it said the price required to compete was no longer “financially attractive.” Translation: we like Warner Bros, just not that much. Paramount sweetened the deal with a $7 billion breakup fee if regulators block the merger and agreed to cover the $2.8 billion fee WBD would owe Netflix. Very persuasive math. After the news, Netflix stock jumped 10%. Paramount rose 5%. Warner Bros. slipped 2%. Wall Street loves discipline. Netflix executives called the deal a “nice to have,” not a “must have.” Which is corporate speak for: we’re good.

Nvidia hit by AI budget worries. Nvidia reported strong quarterly results. Wall Street responded by knocking the stock down more than 5%. Because apparently “stellar” is no longer enough when you’re the poster child of the AI boom. Investors are less focused on last quarter and more obsessed with one question: how long can this AI spending party last? With sky-high valuations and massive capital spending, expectations are unrealistic and patience is thin. Other chip stocks slid too. Broadcom fell over 3%. TSMC dropped nearly 3%. When Nvidia sneezes, the chip aisle catches a cold. One big concern? Nvidia’s rumored $100 billion deal with OpenAI is still not finalized. In its regulatory filing, Nvidia basically said it’s “working on it” but there’s no guarantee a deal will happen. Not exactly comforting language. Investors wanted clear future guidance. Instead, they got cautious wording. And in this market, vague equals volatile. Some analysts say it’ll be a bumpy ride for the next few quarters, especially if big AI players start slowing spending. Others remain optimistic and think the OpenAI investment will happen. 

Samsung unveiled a new display feature on the Galaxy S26 Ultra that basically says: if you’re not holding this phone, you don’t get to see it. Instead of those dusty privacy screen stickers that make your phone look like it’s permanently on low battery mode, Samsung built the privacy directly into the display. It’s called Black Matrix, which sounds dramatic and is, in fact, dramatic. When privacy mode is on, the screen narrows the light so only you can see it straight on. Anyone trying to read your messages from the side gets darkness and disappointment. Even better, you can turn it on per app. Banking app? Private. Messages? Obviously. TikTok? That’s between you and your algorithm. There’s also a “maximum privacy” mode, which is basically anti-shoulder-surfing on steroids. It’s launching first on the S26 Ultra, because of course the most expensive phone gets the most anti-social feature.

_____

Apple is making the Mac Mini in Texas now. Apple is shifting some Mac Mini production from Asia to Houston later this year, because reshoring is trending and “Made in USA” plays well in headlines. Foxconn will assemble the Mini at a north Houston facility that already builds Apple’s AI servers, turning a massive warehouse into 220,000 square feet of manufacturing space for one of Apple’s smallest products. Let’s keep perspective: the Mac Mini is niche. It accounts for less than 5% of Mac sales and under 1% of Apple’s total revenue. Developers love it. Most consumers forget it exists. Production in Asia isn’t going away. The Texas line will mainly serve U.S. demand. So this is not a full supply-chain migration. It’s a strategic headline. The move is part of Apple’s $600 billion U.S. investment pledge made after pressure to boost domestic manufacturing — a promise that also comes with tariff exemptions. Apple tried building the Mac Pro in Texas before. That didn’t exactly scale. This time, the company says demand for the Mini looks stronger.

Gen Z revives the iPod. Gen Z has decided the iPod is cool again, and eBay sellers are thrilled. Searches for the iPod Classic jumped 25% last year, and the Nano rose 20%, even though Apple killed the product line in 2022. The click wheel is officially trending. For a generation drowning in notifications, the iPod feels clean. It plays music. That’s it. No texts. No TikTok. Streaming is still massive — 1.4 trillion songs were streamed in the U.S. last year — but the iPod crowd isn’t trying to compete with Spotify. They’re trying to escape their phones. Students are even using old iPods to get around school phone bans. Technically not a smartphone. Technically genius. Turns out, the ultimate digital detox might be a device we used in 2008.

Lamborghini just broke up with EVs. Lamborghini has officially scrapped its plans for a fully electric supercar, quietly shelving the Lanzador and admitting that in its world of wealthy thrill-seekers, silent speed simply doesn’t hit the same. Instead of going fully electric, the brand will move toward plug-in hybrids by 2030 while keeping its internal combustion engines alive “for as long as possible,” which is corporate language for: our customers still want the roar. CEO Stephan Winkelmann said demand for full EVs among Lamborghini buyers is basically flat, explaining that the emotional experience — the design, the raw performance, and especially the engine sound — is the whole point of owning one. In short, when you’re paying six figures for a car, you don’t want it whispering.

AI Wants Better Manners. Burger King is rolling out an AI assistant that listens to employees talk to customers and checks whether they’re being polite enough, because apparently flipping burgers wasn’t stressful enough. The new system, called BK Assistant, comes with a digital sidekick named Patty, who tracks “friendliness scores,” reminds workers about recipes and cleaning tasks, and gently — or not so gently — nudges them to hit upselling goals. Right now it’s being tested in about 500 U.S. locations, but the plan is to bring it to all 7,000 stores by the end of 2026. Patty can tell managers which items are low in stock and whether employees remembered to smile with their voice, and yes, it will notice if “please” and “thank you” are missing.

Construction on 2 World Trade Center in NYC is set to begin as soon as this spring, with American Express signing on as the anchor tenant and future headquarters. This tower will complete the long redevelopment of the 16-acre World Trade Center site, finally filling in the last major office piece of Lower Manhattan’s skyline. Governor Kathy Hochul called it a sign that New York remains a global business hub, especially as other states try to lure companies away. American Express, which has been based in Lower Manhattan for nearly 200 years, says the new skyscraper is an investment in its future and in the neighborhood. In short, another glass tower is rising, another corporate HQ is staying put, and Manhattan is still building.

_____

Universities are using Duolingo to test English. Yes, the same app that reminds you to practice Spanish at 11:47 p.m. is now being used by top universities to test foreign students’ English. Around 50 universities — including Imperial College London and several Russell Group schools — are using Duolingo’s English test before letting international students start degree programs. The test takes about an hour and adapts as you go. You might have to spot real words from fake ones like “disaction” or “herrilly,” describe a random photo, or talk about another photo while the clock judges you. It’s digital. It’s fast. It’s very 2026. Meanwhile, the UK government is planning a massive £816 million overhaul of official English testing for visas and immigration, and Duolingo isn’t on the approved migration list. But universities can set their own rules, so the green owl is still grading futures.

_____

TikTok of the day: watch here

Share Increadible Newsletter (increadible.com) with your friends and stay informed anxiety-free together