We’re finally through the first week of January — and 2026 is already throwing heat. In this episode of Retail Edge, we start with a market vibe check: despite geopolitical risk, oil shocks, and uncertainty around AI, stocks keep pushing higher — and the big story is market breadth expanding (mid-caps breaking out and the equal-weight S&P 500 joining the move). From there, we hit what the community’s talking about: Ripple leading crypto chatter as traders sniff out an altcoin rally, plus Applied Digital (APLD) staying hot after earnings and the rise of Data Vault AI after securing a deal with IBM tied to quantum-secure data. Then we go “D.C. to Wall Street” with the week’s biggest policy-driven movers: Venezuela + oil services: traders focus on the buildout of infrastructure and the oil services names/ETFs tied to it. Defense stocks: a whipsaw move after Trump comments on buybacks/comp, followed by a huge defense budget increase headline. Single-family housing headlines: talk of limiting institutional ownership sparks volatility across real estate names and even fuels debate around where companies like Opendoor fit. We wrap with the meme of the week (GameStop’s incentive comp playbook) and then head to CES in Vegas: robots, “physical AI,” drones, delivery bots, coffee-making robots, and voice/agentic AI — plus why chips, memory, and storage stayed front-and-center for investors. If you’re trying to figure out what retail traders are watching right now — this is the roadmap.
Chapters / Segments 00:00 — 2026 market vibe check: why it’s been tough to be bearish
00:55 — Breadth expanding: mid-caps + equal-weight S&P 500
02:05 — Crypto chatter: Ripple leads as altcoins rebound
03:25 — Tech buzz: APLD momentum + Data Vault AI + IBM deal
06:00 — Venezuela headlines: oil services names/ETF OIH in focus
08:25 — Defense whipsaw: tweets, reversal, and new highs (XAR / ITA)
11:05 — Housing policy shock: institutional single-family home headlines
14:20 — Opendoor wild card + what’s next (more clarity coming)
16:45 — Meme of the week: GameStop goes “full Elon” on comp structure
20:05 — CES takeaways: Vegas is experiences, not just casinos
23:15 — CES interviews: drones, delivery robots, coffee robots, voice AI
29:30 — CES investor talk: chips, Rubin platform buzz, storage winners
33:10 — Bubble talk: invest vs trade, momentum, and managing risk
35:10 — Wrap
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