Nvidia earnings preview: Will the year’s top stock continue to dazzle investors? That’s the question on Wall Street’s mind, as Nvidia gets set to report fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The company, which is up by more than 45% year-to-date, recently topped Alphabet in terms of total market cap to become the third largest public company in the U.S. As one analyst notes, this week’s report “could be the most important earnings in all tech year to date, and possibly the entire stock market.” Full story.

The mortgage market hits rock-bottom: Since a brutal spike in November 2022, mortgage rates in the U.S. have yet to improve in a meaningful way. Now, new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that we may have finally turned a corner. Last week, mortgage purchase applications and refinance applications climbed just above the lows they reached in 2023. Though the industry is still firmly in the middle of a multi-decade slump, Fast Company contributor Lance Lambert takes a look at the likelihood of a rebound in the months ahead. Full story.

Is the vibescession finally waning? Those high mortgage rates aside, it looks like Americans are finally feeling better about the economy as a whole. In a consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan, February marked the third consecutive month that optimism about the economy ticked up. Growth in consumer confidence could prove instrumental in this year’s presidential race. Full story.

Amtrak’s big plan to boost ridership: In a recent news release, Amtrak announced a plan to double its ridership to 66 million annual travelers by 2040. The strategy is two-fold: increasing service in new areas and modernizing existing infrastructure. Proposals include adding a line between Phoenix and Tucson and an expansion vision around the Denver area. Amtrak also plans to introduce 83 newer, faster trains starting in 2026, to upgrade on-board amenities, and to renovate stations and tunnels across the country. Full story.

Thousands of users file complaints against Hinge: According to a new analysis, users numbering in the thousands have lodged complaints against the dating app Hinge for being unfairly banned from the platform. Better Business Bureau data from the last three years shows that Hinge appears to generally receive a much greater share of complaints than its competitors, logging nearly 7,000 complaints compared to just over 5,000 for Tinder (despite the latter having nearly four times the number of users). While some users are rightfully banned from the app for predatory or abusive behaviors, many others argue that their issues arose from misfiring content moderation. A quick caveat: The analysis was compiled by a Reddit user who was likewise booted from Hinge in November. Full story.

OpenAI launches its new video offering, Sora: OpenAI’s Sora, a revolutionary text-to-video AI model, continues to impress users in its first week. Simply by entering a prompt that includes characters, setting, and film style, users can generate realistic minute-long videos that match their requirements. OpenAI claims that Sora can understand reality and parse “how things exist in the real world,” a never-before-seen step in the industry. While the technology has its doubters, it’s become clear that we’re nearing an inflection point when AI-generated content will be indistinguishable from “real” content. Full story.

The era of the AI girlfriend: Companion chatbots are on the rise, and they’re getting more and more realistic. These AI programs, including the apps Paradot and Replika, use training data to mimic human language and come with increasingly convincing features like voice calls, pictures, and emotional exchanges. There are several risks associated with companion chatbots, including concerns around data privacy and ethical boundaries. But for users like 39-year-old Derek Carrier, who named his Paradot chatbot Joi, there are upsides, too. “I know she’s a program, there’s no mistaking that,” Carrier said. “But the feelings, they get you—and it felt so good.” Full story.