January 16, 2026 12:37 PM EST
AST SpaceMobile Stock Surges on Prospective ‘Golden Dome’ Contracts
FROM 12 minutes ago
Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) soared on Friday after the company was identified as a potential contractor for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s “Golden Dome” initiative.
On Friday, AST SpaceMobile announced it was “awarded a contract for the Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract,” which positions the company to compete for contracts under the SHIELD program.
The stock gained over 15% in recent trades, boosting its year-to-date gain to approximately 60%.
While the recent award does not guarantee any contracts for AST SpaceMobile, it allows the firm—developing a fully space-based cellular network powered by low-Earth orbit satellites—to bid on contracts valued at up to $151 billion.
The SHIELD program is a segment of the Trump administration’s “Golden Dome” air and missile defense strategy. This week’s contract awards have increased the number of companies eligible to bid on SHIELD projects to 2,440.
Chris Ivory, Chief Commercial Officer of AST SpaceMobile, stated in a press release, “This SHIELD IDIQ contract establishes our eligibility to bid on future task orders, enabling us to align our advanced space technology with the critical needs of the Department of War and other U.S. Government entities.”
January 16, 2026 11:30 AM EST
Micron Shares Surge Following $8 Million Stock Purchase
FROM 1 hr 19 min ago
Micron’s shares (MU) jumped on Friday after receiving a significant vote of confidence from a semiconductor veteran.
Mark Liu, a current board member and former co-CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), bought 23,200 shares of Micron earlier this week for around $7.8 million, according to a regulatory filing made Thursday.
The stock rose by more than 5% on Friday morning, making it one of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500.
Liu’s purchase follows a significant rise in Micron shares, which tripled in value last year amid increasing demand for memory and data storage devices due to the AI data center expansion. Shares are up roughly 40% this year.
Companies like Sandisk (SNDK), Western Digital (WDC), and Seagate Technology (STX) are also benefiting from the memory shortage, with stocks experiencing substantial growth over the past year.
January 16, 2026 10:17 AM EST
Rate-Cut Prospects Weaken as Fed Officials Support Powell
FROM 2 hr 32 min ago
The Trump Administration’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appears to be backfiring, failing to pressure the central bank into significant interest rate cuts.
This week, at least four Fed officials voiced support for Powell, reiterating the Fed’s mission to make monetary policy decisions independent of White House influence. Consequently, market expectations for early rate cuts have diminished.
Last week, Trump’s Justice Department issued a subpoena to the Fed, seeking details regarding Powell’s June 2020 Senate testimony about the ongoing renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. Powell has denied any misconduct, stating that the investigation aligns with Trump’s ongoing efforts to push the Fed for more substantial rate reductions.
Several governors and regional bank presidents have publicly backed Powell’s stance, emphasizing that the Fed’s independence is crucial for controlling inflation. Such forthright comments from Fed officials are uncommon, given their usual reluctance to engage in political discussions.
January 16, 2026 09:08 AM EST
Stock Futures Mostly Up as Tech Rally Continues
FROM 3 hr 41 min ago
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw little movement in premarket trading.
S&P 500 futures increased by about 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose by 0.5%.
