Warren Buffetts Last Move; The Abrupt Departure of European Central Bank’s Chair; and another Scandal at the Louvre

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire trimmed big tech stakes in Apple and Amazon as he closed out his CEO run, while European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde is reportedly planning an early exit moves that could reshuffle capital and political risk. OpenAI is scaling in India with Tata, locking 100MW (and eyeing 1GW) of AI-ready capacity, and the Louvre uncovered a $12M ticket-fraud ring that exposed institutional vulnerability. Big money, shifting leadership, and AI infrastructure racing ahead. All this and more in today’s Read It and Eat!

Markets Around The World

Markets as of 18th February 2026. Cells in RED mean that the value is down, cells in Green mean the value is up.

MAJOR HEADLINES

• Berkshire Hathaway’s Ditches Amazon for the New York Times

  
  

In his final quarter as CEO, Warren Buffett oversaw a subtle but telling reshaping of Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio. The filing shows Berkshire trimmed about 10.3 million shares of Apple, roughly 4% of its holding, continuing a multi-year unwinding of what was once its largest position. The company also reduced its stake in Amazon, signaling a broader reallocation away from ultra-concentrated mega-cap tech names that have dominated its book for much of this decade.

But the quarter was more than just trimming tech. According to the Yahoo Finance report, Berkshire accumulated a fresh position in The New York Times, a move that caught markets’ attention because it represents a pivot toward subscription-based, pricing-power assets with recurring cash flows. In contrast to high-growth software and e-commerce multiple compression risks, a stake in a century-old media brand gives Berkshire exposure to a business rooted in information, brand moat, and loyal demand. If the Times position continues to scale, it suggests a strategic rebalancing less reliance on blockbuster tech giants and more interest in durable, cash-driven franchises.

For markets, the repositioning matters because Berkshire’s moves reverberate far beyond its own balance sheet. Apple and Amazon have been among the market’s largest aggregate holders; trimming them not only lowers indexing pressure but signals that even value stalwarts see risks at current multiples. Meanwhile, the Times stake underscores a return to Buffett’s classic hunting grounds businesses with pricing power, differentiated content, and reliable subscriber loyalty even as the successor steers the conglomerate into its next chapter. Investors will be watching not just the positions themselves, but the pattern: diversified resilience over concentrated scale. Yahoo Finance

• The Abrupt Exit of the Head of the European Central Bank

Reports that Christine Lagarde intends to step down before the end of Emmanuel Macron’s term introduce an unusual succession dynamic at the European Central Bank. Leadership changes at the ECB matter beyond symbolism: the president’s views shape forward guidance, the communication approach to inflation anchoring, and crisis responses that affect bond markets across the euro area. An early exit accelerates the timetable for appointing a successor and raises the probability of interim policy drift during a sensitive political cycle in France.

Market implications are immediate. Investors will parse likely candidates for clues on the ECB’s next posture from rates and balance-sheet policy to fragmentation tools for weaker member states. A perceived shift toward a more hawkish or dovish successor could reprice sovereign spreads, bank funding costs, and euro-dollar dynamics. Central bankers and fiscal policymakers will also jockey to influence the nomination process, making the transition a political as well as economic event.

Operationally, the ECB must preserve credibility during the handover. That means transparent selection mechanics, clear interim guidance, and reassurance that strategic priorities such as inflation targeting and financial stability buffers remain intact. Any sign that the succession becomes politicized could roil markets, so the coming weeks will be a test of institutional insulation from political cycles. Reuters

• OpenAI Looks to India as a new Data Center Frontier

OpenAI has signed up Tata Group for 100 megawatts of AI-ready data-centre capacity in India as part of its Stargate build-out, with plans to scale to 1 gigawatt over time. The agreement names Tata’s HyperVault (Tata Consultancy Services’ data-centre business) as the launch partner and includes deployment of ChatGPT Enterprise across Tata’s workforce, signaling a package deal that blends infrastructure, software, and enterprise rollout. For OpenAI, India represents both a massive market opportunity and a strategic geographic diversification for compute capacity amid export controls and supply-chain constraints elsewhere.

The deal’s practical impact is twofold: it secures committed rackspace and power for model training and inference closer to one of the fastest-growing demand pools, and it anchors enterprise distribution through a trusted local partner. By locking in physical capacity and an anchor commercial relationship with a conglomerate that spans services, telco, and IT, OpenAI reduces latency, complies with local data-sovereignty norms, and accelerates enterprise adoption across Indian corporates and government entities.

Risks include regulatory scrutiny (data privacy, export controls), capital intensity (building to 1GW requires huge upfront capex), and geopolitical sensitivity as Western firms scale critical infrastructure in Asia. Success will hinge on execution: timely capacity expansion, power and cooling resilience, and local partnerships that can deliver enterprise sales and compliance. If OpenAI pulls it off, India could become a major second pole of AI compute and adoption. Techcrunch

• Louvre Ticket Fraud: $12 Million Lost to Organized Ring

Investigators say Paris’s iconic Louvre lost nearly $12 million over a decade to a sophisticated ticket-fraud operation involving reused tickets, bribed employees, and deliberate splitting of tour groups to avoid surcharges. The scheme was uncovered after suspicious reuse patterns prompted an internal probe; evidence points to coordinated behavior by guides and inside collaborators who engineered a steady stream of revenue leakage at scale rather than opportunistic theft.

Operationally, the scandal exposes systemic control gaps in admissions systems and revenue oversight. Museums and cultural institutions often juggle multiple distribution channels direct sales, third-party tour operators, and partner platforms creating complex reconciliation challenges. The Louvre case highlights the need for tighter digital ticket controls (single-use cryptographic tokens, mobile verification), stronger vendor due diligence, and more robust audit trails across point-of-sale and gate systems to prevent collusion.

Beyond the headline loss, the reputational hit matters: the Louvre is both a cultural symbol and a major tourism driver for France. Recovering funds, prosecuting culpable actors, and restoring visitor trust will require transparent remediation, technology upgrades, and contractual reforms with tour operators. For other institutions, the episode is a warning that even legacy organizations must modernize revenue controls to defend against coordinated fraud that exploits operational complexity. NYtimes 

Minor Headlines

• JPMorgan Chase to open over 160 new branches across 30 US states in 2026 Reuters 

• Meta's Zuckerberg denies at LA trial that Instagram targets kids Reuters

• Saudi Arabia’s Humain Invests $3 Billion Into Musk’s xAI Bloomberg

• African Nations Rush to Sell Dollar Bonds as Costs Drop Bloomberg

• Italy raises corporate tax on energy companies to fund bill cuts Reuters

• Retail traders bought the software dip at record pace Bloomberg

• Blue Owl permanently halts redemptions at private credit fund aimed at retail investors Financial Times

• Police arrest Prince Andrew over misconduct relating to Epstein Reuters