The Big 3Monday, February 2, 2026 A quick look at the top stories we’re following this week.S&P 500 Quarterly Earnings are beating expectations. With more than 160 large-cap companies reporting financial results so far this season, earnings are up 15.3% and sales are up 7.4%.Crypto stocks are down following a rough weekend for Bitcoin.The largest cryptocurrency hit $74,553, its lowest intraday level since April 7, 2025.Morgan Stanley predicts heightened Treasury volatility Under new Fed Chair. The investment bank anticipates that a Federal Reserve led by Kevin Warsh would create greater volatility due to the central bank’s reduced public communications.This week’s Company Earnings Announcements at a glancePalantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)--Monday, 2/2Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK)--Tuesday, ⅔PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP)--Tuesday, ⅔Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD)--Tuesday, ⅔Pfizer (PFE)--Tuesday, 2/3Alphabet Inc. (GOOG)--Wednesday, 2/4Eli Lilly and Company (LLY)--Wednesday, 2/4Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)--Thursday, 2/5Shell plc (SHEL)--Thursday, 2/5Toyota Motor Corporation (TM)--Friday, 2/6Phillip Morris International Inc. (PM)--Friday, 2/6

This week, it was finally revealed that Kevin Warsh would be tapped to succeed Jerome Powell as Chair of the Central Bank. In addition to being the youngest person ever to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, he is also the son in law of a billionaire GOP donor who attended school with President Trump in the 1960s. The beauty of this choice is truly in the eye of the beholder. We’ll reserve judgement – first, until he is actually confirmed by Congress; and second, if and when we see whether he cares to protect the Fed’s independence. For now, Jerome Powell remains embattled but firmly in control until his term expires on May 15. Indeed, this week marked the Fed’s first meeting since the Department of Justice announced its criminal investigation of Powell last month. Powell has characterized the investigation as part of President Trump’s ongoing effort to strongarm Fed policy-making. So is Powell caving to the pressure? As Erik Smolinski told us on this week’s episode of Ask Urvin, “It was overwhelmingly expected that there would be no interest rate change. And shocker, that's exactly where we're at.”Erik points out that the S&P showed little to no volatility following the Fed’s announcement. Despite the president’s pressure campaign to force lower rates, the markets seem unsurprised by the decision. “Looking ahead,” says Erik, “you can see that for the 18 March expiration, there’s about an 88.6% probability that we stay at 3.50-3.75%. The point is, this is where we're chilling for a little bit.”So if you’re wondering when another cut might be on the table… Erik also highlighted some pretty fascinating trends in the healthcare sector this week. “Health care has been hovering near six month highs comfortably, but today the whole sector had a fair gap down inside the trading day,” Erik pointed out. Using the AskUrvin chat app to drill down a little deeper, Erik pointed to particularly high volatility in the biotech industry.“That’s exactly how it goes with biotech,” says Erik. “It lives and dies by the news cycle.” “There’s opportunity in that,” says Erik. Of course, there is also peril. “There's a big focus in biotech on CalciMedica (CALC),” said Erik, “which dropped 72% – the old intraday, 72% move.”Yeah. So what happened there? We decided to Ask Urvin.

The Big 3January 26, 2026 A quick look at the top stories we’re following this week.USA Rare Earth shares jump 20% as the federal government invests. The Commerce Department announced a $1.3 billion loan and $277 million in federal funding. Silver and gold surge. The precious metals are leading markets on an early-week rebound following last week’s losses.The Federal Reserve meets on Wednesday. The Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady in the shadow of the DOJ investigation into Chair Powell.This week’s Company Earnings Announcements at a glanceSouthern Copper Corporation (SCCO)--Monday, 1/25UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)--Tuesday, 1/27RTX Corporation (RTX)--Tuesday, 1/27The Boeing Company (BA)--Tuesday, 1/27Microsoft Corporation (MSFT)--Wednesday, 1/28Meta Platforms, Inc. (META)--Wednesday, 1/28Tesla, Inc. (TSLA)--Wednesday, 1/28Apple, Inc. (AAPL)--Thursday, 1/29Visa, Inc. (V)--Thursday, 1/29Mastercard Incorporated (MA)--Thursday, 1/29Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)--Friday, 1/30Chevron Corporation (CVX)--Friday, 1/30American Express Company (AXP)--Friday, 1/30Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)--Friday, 1/30