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AI, health insurance stocks drove a bumpy week for markets

NPR

By Ayesha Rascoe,

Maria Aspan

Published February 1, 2026 at 8:05 AM EST

Tariffs, gold and the AI bubble are just some of the reasons January was a bumpy ride for markets.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe is a White House correspondent for NPR. She is currently covering her third presidential administration. Rascoe's White House coverage has included a number of high profile foreign trips, including President Trump's 2019 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi, Vietnam, and President Obama's final NATO summit in Warsaw, Poland in 2016. As a part of the White House team, she's also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast.

See stories by Ayesha Rascoe

Maria Aspan

Maria Aspan is the financial correspondent for NPR. She reports on the world of finance broadly, and how it affects all of our lives.

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