Oracle Raises $25B in Bonds, Calms Fears of AI Debt Wave

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Oracle’s debt has been trading like junk for weeks amid worries that its investments in artificial intelligence won’t pay off for years, if at all.

Those concerns seemed to subside following the software giant’s record-breaking demand for a $25 billion bond sale on Monday.

Oracle’s announcement on Sunday that it would raise roughly $25 billion in equity in addition to debt this year, assuring investors that it wouldn’t put undue strain on its balance sheet as it finances significant investments in data centers, was the catalyst for the change.

Both the tech company’s stock and bonds saw gains for most of the session. Some investors expressed optimism that could extend to the larger credit market following the company’s fundraising.

US high-grade corporate bond sales could reach record levels this year, with Morgan Stanley strategists last year forecasting about $2.25 trillion of issuance. However, investor demand for securities is still high, partly due to the continued strength of corporate profits.

The bonds’ risk premiums are nearing multi-decade lows. More than $129 billion worth of Oracle bonds were ordered by investors, surpassing the previous record of $125 billion when Meta Platforms sold $30 billion in bonds in October. According to a statement released on Sunday, the company does not anticipate selling more debt in 2026. Oracle was predicted by some bond investors to sell between $40 billion and $60 billion worth of debt this year.

China Pulls Plug on Silver Speculation: UBS Fund Suspended All Day in Risk Clampdown

Posted on February 3, 2026February 3, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

China suspended trading of five commodity funds to reduce the underlying risks of investment mania in gold, silver, and oil, and to stop the mania of gold, silver, and oil investors.

The only public fund investing in silver futures in mainland China, UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund, a listed open-ended fund (LOF), will be suspended for the entire day on Friday, the second such halt since January 22.

The only public fund in China that makes direct investments in silver futures, the UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund, was suspended for the duration of the trading day. After several risk alerts and brief pauses since late 2025, this is its second full-day suspension since January 22.

The fund has traded at unsustainable premiums—around 36 percent over Shanghai Futures Exchange silver contracts—driven by speculative demand, social media hype, and limited alternatives for Chinese investors to gain exposure to silver.

Shorter one-hour suspensions (until 10:30 a.m.) were imposed on four oil LOFs. According to analysts quoted in reports, these halts are intended to preserve capital market stability, shield retail investors from potential “huge losses” if conditions abruptly reverse, and lower underlying systemic risks.

A significant increase in silver and gold prices, driven by geopolitical tensions and supply limitations (including China’s previous export restrictions), is among the background factors.

Chinese investors’ speculative demand, demonstrated by the premiums local prices have earned over international benchmarks, contributed to the increase in global prices. There have also been other indications of high demand. With warnings that the premium over Shanghai Futures Exchange contracts is “unsustainable,”

China’s sole pure-play silver fund temporarily stopped trading this week and turned away new clients. Citigroup Inc. stated earlier this week that “Chinese retail investors tend to be trend-following, like traders in US futures and derivatives markets.”

The bank projected that silver would reach $150 in three months and that strong buying would continue “due to robust short-term momentum.” Gold prices have risen alongside demand from exchange-traded funds backed by the metal. However, ETF withdrawals have not stopped silver’s recent sharp increases.

Gold’s Sharp Correction Pauses: Traders Weigh Exit From Overheated Rally

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Gold recovered some of its losses as traders assessed the sudden end of a record-breaking rally following yet another strong selloff during London trading hours.

The announcement that US President Donald Trump would appoint Kevin Warsh to head the Fed was the catalyst for Friday’s dramatic selloff. This news caused the dollar to rise and undermined confidence among investors who had wagered on Trump’s willingness to allow the currency to decline.

Chinese traders had consistently pushed prices higher; however, on Friday, this reversed, and gold and silver fell during the Asian session. That dynamic persisted, with pressure on precious metals as the Shanghai night market opened on Monday.

Silver fell by almost 6% after falling 16% earlier and recording an intraday decline on Friday. Even seasoned traders were taken aback by gold’s record highs.

Investors poured money into gold and silver in January amid concerns about geopolitical unrest, currency depreciation, and challenges to the Federal Reserve’s independence, intensifying an already intense rally. The rally was made more frothy by a surge of purchases from Chinese speculators.

According to Robert Gottlieb, a former precious metals trader at JPMorgan Chase and Co., “the trade was way too crowded,” and now an independent market analyst, adding that market liquidity would be hampered by a reluctance to take additional chances

Expectations of tighter monetary policy that would support the dollar and devalue bullion priced in US dollars have been raised by traders who view Warsh, who was later confirmed as the nominee, as the most formidable inflation fighter among the final contenders.

How China Pumped Gold, Silver to the Moon—Then Crashed Them Back to Earth

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Prices for everything from gold to copper and tin appeared to defy supply/demand fundamentals because of a surge of hot money from Chinese speculators, leaving traders in the metals market glued to screens.

The rally then turned into one of the most spectacular crashes in commodity market history in a matter of hours. Gold fell 9 percent on its worst day in over ten years, while silver saw its largest-ever 26 percent decline on Friday. After an abrupt surge above $14,500 per ton that quickly collapsed, copper traders were already in shock.

Many had warned that the metals markets were overstretched and ready for a correction after weeks of unrelenting surges. News that US President Donald Trump intended to nominate Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve was the catalyst for Friday’s crash, sending the dollar higher. Even so, the magnitude and speed of the decline were astounding, especially for a market as big and liquid as gold.

Unwilling to miss the Asian trading day, when many of the biggest moves have occurred, metals traders in the US and Europe have been working nonstop. They have even been frantically trading via long-distance flights. Executives watched in silence as the crisis developed while staring at their phones at the largest coin conference in the world, held in Germany last week.

However, in recent weeks, the gains have accelerated due to a surge in purchases by Chinese speculators, ranging from individual investors to large equity funds entering the commodities market. This has caused metals like copper and silver to reach all-time highs. Trend-following commodity trading advisors poured in as prices skyrocketed, intensifying the rally.

The increase in metals became a symbol of some investors’ growing mistrust of the US dollar as worries about the Fed’s independence and geopolitical conflicts from Iran to Venezuela dominated the news. Gold and silver fever swept consumers from China to Germany as the metals’ upward momentum attracted more buyers.

The scenes were reminiscent of 1979–1980, the only other period in modern history when the markets saw such sharp price swings.

President Trump Links Tariff Relief for India to Pledge to Stop Buying Russian Oil

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

President Donald Trump promised to remove punitive tariffs on India in exchange for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ceasing to purchase Russian oil. Trump announced on social media that he would lower the US levy on Indian goods from 25 percent to 18 percent after speaking with Modi over the phone.

According to officials familiar with the situation, the US president is also lifting an additional punitive 25 percent duty that was imposed in response to India’s purchases of crude from Russia. Trump wrote that India would “move forward to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the United States, to ZERO” and buy “over 500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Coal, energy, technology, agriculture, and numerous other goods

Modi announced on social media that “Made in India products will now have a reduced tariff of 18 percent,” confirming the agreement. He gave no additional information on oil or agricultural imports, which are two of New Delhi’s main points of contention.

India has not historically imported Russian crude, but after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, when trade flows were disrupted, and bargains became alluring, it became a significant buyer. Shipments have slowed but not stopped as a result of the Trump administration’s attempts to cut off Russia’s supplies to India.

Trump also declared in October that Modi had consented to stop buying Russian oil. However, Indian refiners kept buying cheap crude from Moscow in the absence of a solid trade agreement.

Bitcoin’s Feeble Bounce Fades as Options Bet on More Caution

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Bitcoin remained under pressure on Tuesday, stalling after a brief recovery from a 10-month low. The cryptocurrency was trading at about $78,500, one day after negative sentiment almost driven it to its lowest point since US President Donald Trump took office again, more than a year ago.

Although put options, which are contracts that guard against downside risk, have become less common, strike price concentrations suggest the market remains nervous. According to Deribit data, the highest concentrations of put options point to buy-side support at $75,000, making it a crucial support level. On Monday, the token fell as low as $74,541 before rising again. $70,000 is the next crucial support level.

The BTC options market is showing signs of stabilizing as extreme downside fear begins to mean-revert, but this would be void if the weekly close fell below $75,000.

Bitcoin rallied as much as 1 percent, breaking above $79,100 before losing those gains. According to the charting tool TradingView, the cryptocurrency’s implied volatility index stayed high at about 48.8, comparable to Monday’s level.

Elon Musk Merges SpaceX, xAI in Record $1.25 Trillion Transaction

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Elon Musk is merging SpaceX and xAI in a deal that values the combined company at $1.25 trillion in an attempt to finance his increasingly expensive aspirations in artificial intelligence and space exploration. Musk signed a statement on SpaceX’s website announcing the acquisition of xAI.

According to people familiar with the situation, the deal values xAI at $250 billion and SpaceX at $1 trillion. According to some of the people who spoke earlier, employees received a memo on Monday announcing the combined company’s valuation.

SpaceX announced that it had acquired xAI to “form the most ambitious, vertically-integrated innovation engine on (and off) Earth, with AI, rockets, space-based internet, direct-to-mobile device communications, and the world’s foremost real-time information and free speech platform.”

Two of the biggest, closely held corporations are joining forces in this deal. While SpaceX was scheduled to proceed with a share sale in December at a valuation of roughly $800 billion, XAI raised capital in January at a $230 billion.

According to Musk’s statement outlining the deal’s justification, the least expensive AI calculations in two to three years will be in space.

He wrote, “This cost-efficiency alone will enable innovative companies to advance in training their AI models and processing data at unprecedented speeds and scales, accelerating breakthroughs in our understanding of physics and invention of technologies to benefit humanity.”. According to a filing made on Friday, SpaceX is asking for authorization to launch up to a million satellites into Earth’s orbit for the project. Musk’s numerous business endeavors are further entangled in the offering. In late 2022, the billionaire bought Twitter, renamed it X, and combined the two websites.

OPEC+ on Track to Confirm March Output Freeze

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Delegates stated that OPEC+ is nearing approval of plans to halt production increases in March. Key members led by Saudi Arabia and Russia decided in November to halt a rapid revival of output for the first quarter.

Three delegates stated on Sunday that they anticipate the alliance will confirm the pause for March, reiterating their opinions from last week. The alliance has reiterated the policy at monthly meetings. They also stated that they don’t anticipate plans after the first quarter. Even though the possibility of US action against OPEC member Iran is driving up oil prices, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies are continuing on their current course.

Brent futures reached a four-month high of $71.89 per barrel last week following US President Donald Trump’s warning to Tehran to reach a nuclear agreement or risk military action

OPEC+ and its allies often respond cautiously when geopolitical risks rise, typically waiting for changes in actual supplies before acting. Eight OPEC+ nations swiftly boosted production last year in what appeared to be an effort to reclaim their market share worldwide.

Prices have been supported by unrest in Iran and disruptions in Kazakhstan, another alliance member, even though many analysts still anticipate a large supply glut

Gold Sinks to $4,650, Silver down at $75 amid Investors Exit

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Silver whipsawed in turbulent trading following a dramatic reversal of a record-breaking rally that went too far, too quickly, and gold fell after its largest decline in over ten years.

Spot gold fell as much as 6.3 percent on Monday.

Silver swung sharply, dropping as low as $75.10 an ounce before climbing as much as 3.2 percent and retreating once again. The previous session saw the white metal record its largest intraday loss to date. Even experienced traders were taken aback by the all-time highs reached by precious metals.

investors piled into gold and silver in January because of fresh worries about currency depreciation, geopolitical unrest, and the Federal Reserve’sindependence, intensifying an already intense rally. The rally was made frothy by a surge of purchases from Chinese speculators.

The market direction following Friday’s retreat will be largely determined by how much Chinese investors buy the dips.

Even after the market opened, the Shanghai benchmark price continued to decline, but it remained higher than the global price. Over the weekend, buyers flocked to the country’s biggest bullion marketplace in Shenzhen to stock up on gold jewelry and bars ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Warsh is seen by traders as the most formidable opponent of inflation among the remaining contenders, which raises hopes for a monetary policy that would support the dollar and devalue bullion priced in US dollars.

Bitcoin Crashes Below $75K as Weekend Liquidations Mount

Posted on February 2, 2026February 2, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Bitcoin fell below $75,000, roughly 42% from its 2025 peak, and returned to levels last seen following the “Liberation Day” tariff fallout.

What started as a severe crash in October has turned into something more destructive: a selloff characterized by a lack of buyers, momentum, and confidence rather than panic. In contrast to the October drawdown, there hasn’t been a clear spark, cascading liquidations, or systemic shock; instead, there has only been declining demand, thin liquidity, and an unconnected token.

Risk rallies, dollar depreciation, and geopolitical strain have not affected Bitcoin. Despite the recent sharp fluctuations in gold and silver, there was no rotation in cryptocurrency. In January, Bitcoin experienced its fourth consecutive monthly decline of almost 11%.

This is the longest losing streak since 2018, during the crash that followed the 2017 boom in initial coin offerings.