A $10 million Company Triggering a Trillion Dollar Sell Off; and the End of Presidential Approval Tracking

The AI trade has caused massive sell-offs to shipping, trucking, and logistics giants like C.H. Robinson and Universal Logistics after a small company unveiled a tool that could scale freight volumes without adding headcount. At the same time, polling giant Gallup quietly ended an 88-year tradition by halting presidential approval ratings, signaling a shift in how public sentiment will be measured and reported. In Cape Town, President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged renewed growth with a focus on roads, ports, and dams and markets rewarded him with a vote of confidence. And in asset management, Nuveen agreed to buy storied UK asset management firm Schroders for $13.5bn, creating a global behemoth. All that and more in today’s Read It And Eat!

Markets Around The World

Markets as of 11th February 2026. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.

MAJOR HEADLINES

• The Irrational AI Trade hit the Shipping Industry like a Freight Train 

Investors are starting to treat artificial intelligence as a disruption threat not just to software companies, but to the physical backbone of the economy logistics, shipping, and freight. Shares of C.H. Robinson and Universal Logistics plunged into double-digit losses after a small Florida-based company, Algorhythm Holdings $RIME unveiled an AI-driven freight tool that promises to dramatically scale shipping volumes without adding headcount. The reaction shows how fast markets are repricing “human-heavy” business models as automation spreads beyond code and into real-world operations.

The company's shares surged by as much as 79% on the news before closing up 29%. Until the third quarter of 2025, the company operated a karaoke machine business that it sold to Stingray Group (STGYF) before pivoting to AI-driven freight solutions. At the close, Algorhythm's market cap remained below $10 million. The swings across the logistics space — even on news as unexpected as Algorhythm's announcement — also pushed shares of industry giants like Maersk (MAERSK-B.CO) and UPS (UPS) lower, though by smaller percentages. Shares of another logistics company, Hub Group (HUBG), fell by around 6%.

This sell-off signals a deeper market shift: AI is no longer viewed as a sector-specific story, it’s being priced as a system-wide efficiency weapon. From freight to finance, any business that relies heavily on manual coordination, brokerage, or middlemen functions is now being reassessed. The market message is brutal but clear: if AI can flatten your cost structure, your valuation multiple is at risk. Yahoo Finance

• Gallup Ends 88-Year Tradition of Presidential Approval Tracking

After nearly nine decades of shaping how Americans and the world measure political popularity, Gallup announced it will stop publishing presidential approval and favorability ratings. The polling giant says the decision reflects a strategic shift in how it conducts public research and thought leadership, signaling a move away from the headline-grabbing political scorecards that have long dominated news cycles and public discourse.

Gallup’s presidential approval tracking dates back to Franklin D. Roosevelt and became one of the most cited indicators of political momentum, legitimacy, and public mood. Over time, approval ratings evolved from simple public sentiment measures into political weapons influencing campaign narratives, legislative strategy, donor confidence, and media framing. In recent years, hyper-polarization, distrust in polling, and fragmented media ecosystems have weakened the influence of any single polling authority.

This decision comes as President Trump has recently experienced some of the lowest approval ratings for a president in decades. While Trump has made no public threat to Gallup, he has threatened other pollsters multiple times in the recent past. In December 2024, he sued the Des Moines Register, its parent company Gannett, and pollster Anne Seltzer for her poll findings that Kamala Harris would win Iowa and in January, he verbally attacked The New York Times after a poll that found independent voters have turned against Trump. He currently has the lowest approval of any president in American history. CNN

• Markets Rally to Cyril’s Renewed Focus on Nationwide Growth

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has pledged to accelerate economic reforms and infrastructure investment as markets respond with one of their strongest rallies in years. In his state-of-the-nation address, Ramaphosa promised faster delivery on roads, ports, dams, and logistics upgrades, key bottlenecks that have historically constrained South Africa’s growth and scared off foreign capital. The speech reinforced investor hopes that the government is finally serious about fixing the country’s structural weaknesses.

Markets are reacting to more than just promises. Government debt is showing signs of stabilization, business confidence is rising, and foreign investors are slowly returning after years of political drift and operational dysfunction. Infrastructure improvements, particularly in ports and transport, are critical for South Africa’s export-heavy economy, where delays and inefficiencies have hurt mining, agriculture, and manufacturing competitiveness. The rally reflects optimism that incremental reforms may finally compound into real economic momentum.

Still, execution risk remains massive. South Africa’s reform story has burned investors before, with strong rhetoric often failing to translate into sustained policy delivery. The market surge now puts pressure on Ramaphosa’s administration to turn words into visible progress. If infrastructure delivery accelerates and governance improves, South Africa could shift from “permanent turnaround story” to credible growth recovery, a transition that markets are clearly betting on. Bloomberg

• US Asset Manager Purchase 200 Year Old UK Asset Manager Schroeders for $13.5bn

Asset manager Nuveen agreed to acquire Schroders in a $13.5 billion deal, creating one of the world’s largest active investment firms with nearly $2.5 trillion in assets under management. The acquisition ends more than 200 years of independence for Schroders, a historic pillar of the City of London’s old merchant banking era. The Schroders brand will remain, with London becoming the combined group’s main non-U.S. headquarters.

The deal reflects a powerful trend reshaping asset management: scale is becoming survival. Fee pressure from passive funds, ETFs, and AI-driven portfolio tools is crushing margins for traditional active managers. By combining operations, Nuveen and Schroders gain distribution power, operational efficiencies, and broader product reach across public markets, private credit, infrastructure, and alternatives. Bigger balance sheets also mean more firepower to invest in data, technology, and global client acquisition.

Strategically, the merger signals consolidation as the dominant response to industry disruption. As investors demand lower fees, better performance, and more specialized strategies, mid-sized asset managers are being squeezed. The Nuveen-Schroders deal is a warning shot to the rest of the industry: grow, merge, or risk becoming irrelevant in a world where capital increasingly flows to the biggest platforms and the cheapest vehicles. Bloomberg

Minor Headlines

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• Morgan Stanley Lifts CEO’s Pay 32% to $45 Million for 2025. The Block 

• AI Boom Pushes Taiwan to Upgrade 2026 Growth Outlook. Bloomberg

• Blackstone Leads Race to Unlock $7 Trillion of Cash in Japan. Bloomberg 

• Asia stock markets track losses on Wall Street as AI fears hit sentiment. CNBC

• Apple Cleared Of 4G Patent Infringement Claims In 3rd Trial. Law360

• Myprotein seals new licencing partnership with Greencore. cityAM

• Indonesia Shuts Down Tiffany Stores in Shock Crackdown Over Suspected Illegal Imports. Bloomberg

• Safran Keeps Its Distance as Airbus and Pratt Lock Horns Over Engine Supplies  Reuters

• Spotify developers have written zero code since December. TechCrunch