🤖OpenAI "Deep Research" Agent

☀️ Good morning. It's Monday, Feb. 3, and we're covering, Markets Slump As Trump Tariffs Ignite Trade War Fears, OpenAI Launches "Deep Research" AI Agent, Rubio Urges Panama To Address Chinese Influence Over Canal and much more. First time reading? Sign up to get this newsletter: Sign up here.

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MARKETS

Cryptocurrency Prices by Market Cap

• The global cryptocurrency market cap today is $3.1 Trillion, a 8.03% decrease in the last 24 hours.

• The total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $313.31B, which makes a 179.28% increase.

• The total volume in Defi is currently $20.21B, 6.45% of the total crypto market 24-hours.

• The volume of all stablecoins is now $289.28B, which is 92.33% of the total market 24-hour volume.

• Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 60.55%, an increase of 2.00% over the day.

Crypto Market Plunges As Traders React To Trump’s Tariff Threats

The cryptocurrency market saw a sharp decline on Monday following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs, which raised concerns about global trade tensions. Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, dropped 27%, while Bitcoin and smaller altcoins also faced significant losses. The market downturn was linked to fears of trade wars and the potential impact on global economies. His tariff threats led to a sell-off, with over $1 billion in bullish crypto positions liquidated. The total crypto market value dropped by $360 billion. (Read Deeper)

BUSINESS & FINANCE

Markets Slump As Trump Tariffs Ignite Trade War Fears

Global financial markets took a hit on Monday following President Trump's announcement of tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, escalating concerns over a potential trade war and its impact on global growth. Canada and Mexico vowed immediate retaliation, while China plans to challenge the tariffs at the WTO. Analysts warn of potential stagflation in the U.S., with reduced economic growth (-1.5%) and a hit to corporate earnings (-2.8% for S&P 500 companies).

Takeaway: Japan's Nikkei fell 2.3%, Australia's benchmark dropped over 2%, and Hong Kong stocks declined 1.9%. Pan-European STOXX 50 futures tumbled 2.7%. The U.S. dollar hit record highs against the Chinese yuan, Canadian dollar (since 2003), and Mexican peso (since 2022). The euro slid to its lowest level since November 2022. S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures dropped 1.6% and 2.2%, respectively. (Read Deeper)

SoftBank And OpenAI Launch Major AI Initiative In Japan

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are spearheading a push to transform Japan’s AI landscape. At the “Transforming Business through AI” event in Tokyo, they sought support from Japanese companies to build AI infrastructure, including data centers and power plants. Financial concerns about the Stargate Project led to a 2.5% drop in SoftBank shares and a rise in its credit risk measures.

Takeaway: SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX plan to invest $100 billion initially and at least $500 billion over four years to boost AI computing power in the U.S. Son urged Japan to embrace AI rapidly, warning against repeating the country's past failure to capitalize on the internet boom. (Read Deeper)

TECHNOLOGY & SCIENCE

OpenAI Launches "Deep Research" AI Agent

OpenAI has introduced a new AI tool called deep research, designed to help users conduct detailed and reliable investigations. It's intended for professionals in finance, science, policy, and engineering, as well as consumers researching big purchases. The deep research model achieved an accuracy of 26.6%. While this figure might seem modest. Currently available for ChatGPT Pro users with 100 queries per month, it will soon expand to Plus, Team, and Enterprise subscribers.

Takeaway: Unlike the standard ChatGPT interface, which typically offers quick answers or summaries, the deep research agent is engineered to sift through multiple websites, PDFs, images, and spreadsheets to provide a more comprehensive response. The tool uses a special version of the o3 "reasoning" model, trained to analyze complex information. OpenAI acknowledges risks like errors, unreliable information, and formatting mistakes. (Read Deeper)

SpaceX To Launch 21 Starlink Satellites From Florida

SpaceX is set to launch 21 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on February 3. The Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 21 satellites including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, is scheduled to lift off at 3:54 a.m. EST. After launch, the rocket’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the drone ship "Just Read the Instructions" in the Atlantic Ocean. The upper stage will deploy the satellites into low Earth orbit about 65 minutes later.

Takeaway: This marks SpaceX’s 21st launch and landing for this particular booster. In 2025, SpaceX has already completed 14 Falcon 9 missions, with nine dedicated to Starlink, adding to its growing constellation of nearly 7,000 satellites. (Read Deeper)

AROUND DE WORLD & POLITICS

Rubio Urges Panama To Address Chinese Influence Over Canal

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged Panama to reduce Chinese influence over the Panama Canal, warning that if Panama does not take action, the U.S. will take measures to protect its rights under the U.S.-Panama treaty. This demand follows President Donald Trump's comments about retaking control of the canal, which have sparked protests in Panama. Many Panamanians remember the era of U.S. control over the canal, which ended in 1999, and are strongly opposed to any return of U.S. dominance.

Takeaway: Rubio's visit is part of a broader U.S. push to limit China's growing influence in the region, especially around the canal, which is owned by Panama but has seen heavy Chinese investment in nearby ports. Despite the protests, some in Panama are concerned about the economic management of the canal, feeling that its profits are not benefiting the local population enough. (Read Deeper)

Trump Threatens To Cut Off Funding For South Africa Over Land Confiscation Claims

President Donald Trump announced that he would cut off future funding to South Africa, claiming the country is mistreating certain groups and confiscating land. He made the statement on Truth Social, demanding a full investigation into the situation. The specific reasons behind Trump's remarks remain unclear, and the South African embassy did not comment on the issue.

Takeaway: The U.S. provided nearly $440 million in assistance to South Africa in 2023. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa downplayed concerns about the relationship, while Trump’s previous claims regarding land takeovers and attacks on white farmers remain unproven. Elon Musk, a South African-born ally of Trump, also voiced concerns about anti-white rhetoric in South Africa. (Read Deeper)

ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

Beyoncé Wins Historic Best Album At 2025 Grammy Awards

At the 67th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Beyoncé finally won the coveted Best Album award for her eighth album, Cowboy Carter, which explores the Black roots of country music. This marks a historic moment as it was her first win for the main prize after being passed over four times in previous years. She dedicated the award to Linda Martell, a trailblazer for Black women in country music. This win makes Beyoncé the first Black woman to win Album of the Year since Lauryn Hill in 1999. (Read Deeper)

Arsenal Thrash Manchester City 5-1

Manchester City suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Arsenal, continuing their troubling decline in form. Despite briefly equalizing through Erling Haaland, City fell apart in the second half, conceding four goals. Manager Pep Guardiola looked powerless as Arsenal dominated, with the team's collapse raising concerns about their future. The injury to key midfielder Rodri earlier in the season is often cited as a turning point, but it doesn’t fully explain the team's disastrous performances. With a Champions League play-off against Real Madrid on the horizon, City’s recent form leaves them vulnerable to further defeat. (Read Deeper)

PODCAST(WHAT WE ARE LISTENING TO)

• In a recent episode of the Engadget Podcast, the team delves into the rapid rise of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that has significantly impacted the artificial intelligence landscape. Within a week, DeepSeek introduced its free and open-source R1 model, challenging established AI companies. (Listen)

EXTRA BREVITI

• Gold prices declined by nearly 1%, falling to $2,777.54 per ounce as a surging U.S. dollar outweighed demand for the metal as a safe-haven asset. (Read More)

• TensorFlow is an open-source software framework developed by the Google Brain Team in November 2015. (Read More)

• Musk Leads Trump’s Push to Shut Down USAID Amid Government Cost-Cutting Efforts. (Read More)

• Soldier Identified in DC Plane Crash, Investigation Reveals Helicopter May Have Been Too High. (Read More)