Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images News Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he intends to stay on the central bank's Board of Governors until the Department of Justice investigation into his handling of building renovations is "well and truly over," he said Wednesday. He also said he hasn't yet decided on whether he'll stay on the board after the investigation is over. Powell's term as chair ends i...
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images News Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he intends to stay on the central bank's Board of Governors until the Department of Justice investigation into his handling of building renovations is "well and truly over," he said Wednesday. He also said he hasn't yet decided on whether he'll stay on the board after the investigation is over. Powell's term as chair ends in May, but his term as governor still has about two more years to go. If his successor has not been confirmed by the Senate after his chair term ends, Powell will continue to act as chair pro tem, he said. Dear readers: We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion. More on the Fed Federal Reserve keeps policy on hold for third straight meeting, as Iran war clouds outlook Fed policy outlook in focus as prediction markets bet on higher inflation Fed continues to see a quarter-point rate cut in 2026 - March dot plot
A residential project developed by China Merchants Shekou under construction in Wuchang district, Wuhan. Photo: VCG China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co. Ltd. reported profit fell to a nearly decade low, highlighting persistent strains in China’s property sector, where subdued demand and weaker asset values continue to weigh on developers. The state-owned developer said net profit fe...
A residential project developed by China Merchants Shekou under construction in Wuchang district, Wuhan. Photo: VCG China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Holdings Co. Ltd. reported profit fell to a nearly decade low, highlighting persistent strains in China’s property sector, where subdued demand and weaker asset values continue to weigh on developers. The state-owned developer said net profit fell 74.7% to about 1 billion yuan ($145 million) in 2025, pointing to a still-weak housing market where both sales volumes and prices remain under pressure despite policy support.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday issued an interpretation clarifying which types of cryptocurrencies are considered securities and how a “non-security” digital asset could meet certain conditions to become an investment contract. The SEC’s new interpretation – which the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission also joined – classifies crypto tokens into five categories: di...
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday issued an interpretation clarifying which types of cryptocurrencies are considered securities and how a “non-security” digital asset could meet certain conditions to become an investment contract. The SEC’s new interpretation – which the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission also joined – classifies crypto tokens into five categories: digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities, with the agency specifying that federal securities laws only apply to digital securities. The SEC also said that a “non-security” crypto asset could become subject to securities laws if an issuer offers it by promoting investment in a common enterprise from which a purchaser could expect to profit. Under its chair, Paul Atkins, the SEC has laid out sweeping plans to overhaul capital markets regulations to accommodate cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based trading. Atkins has previously said that most cryptocurrencies are not securities, a designation that requires registration with the SEC along with certain disclosures. The crypto sector has for years argued that existing US regulations are inappropriate for cryptocurrencies and has called for Congress and regulators to write new ones that clarify when a crypto token is a security, commodity or falls into another category, such as stablecoins. Also on Tuesday, Atkins laid out a safe harbor proposal for cryptocurrency companies that would make it easier to sell tokens and raise money. Atkins said the SEC should consider a “fit-for-purpose startup exemption”, which would allow crypto entrepreneurs to raise a certain amount of money or operate for a certain period of time while exempt from the agency’s rules. “It’s way past time for us to stop diagnosing the problem and start delivering the solution,” Atkins said in remarks at an event held by the Digital Chamber crypto trade group in Washington DC. Atkins said he anticipates the SEC wi...
Activist investor Jana Partners is pushing Six Flags Entertainment Corp. to pursue a sale and appoint a new chair, according to a letter sent to the company’s board Tuesday. Randall Williams, Bloomberg reporter, joins Dani Burger on "Bloomberg Deals." (Source: Bloomberg)
Activist investor Jana Partners is pushing Six Flags Entertainment Corp. to pursue a sale and appoint a new chair, according to a letter sent to the company’s board Tuesday. Randall Williams, Bloomberg reporter, joins Dani Burger on "Bloomberg Deals." (Source: Bloomberg)
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on Jan. 28, 2026. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he will keep serving as head of the central bank if his nominated successor, Kevin Warsh, is not confirmed by the time his term is up in May, as dictated by the law. Separately, Pow...
US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a press conference at the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, DC, on Jan. 28, 2026. Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he will keep serving as head of the central bank if his nominated successor, Kevin Warsh, is not confirmed by the time his term is up in May, as dictated by the law. Separately, Powell said he will not leave his Board of Governors position, which technically extends until early 2028, until the Department of Justice investigation of him is "well and truly over with transparency and finality." Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.
The rapid expansion of prediction markets is facing increasingly aggressive pushback from state officials pursuing a sprawling patchwork of lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders. The stakes in these legal battles were amped up on Tuesday after Arizona’s attorney general brought criminal charges against Kalshi, the largest prediction market platform in the US, accusing it of running an illegal gambl...
The rapid expansion of prediction markets is facing increasingly aggressive pushback from state officials pursuing a sprawling patchwork of lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders. The stakes in these legal battles were amped up on Tuesday after Arizona’s attorney general brought criminal charges against Kalshi, the largest prediction market platform in the US, accusing it of running an illegal gambling operation in the state. Prediction markets have exploded in popularity over the past year by offering novel financial contracts that make it possible to bet on the outcome of everything from the Super Bowl to the leadership struggles in Iran. While federal regulators have claimed oversight, and allowed the markets to grow, states, many of which rely on tax revenue from gambling companies, have stepped into the fold to take on prediction markets, which don’t pay state gambling taxes. The Arizona criminal charges come on top of more than a dozen other lawsuits currently moving forward in courts across the country. Kalshi co-founder Tarek Mansour pushed back against the new charges on Wednesday, calling them “a total overstep” in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “These charges have nothing to do with gambling or the merits,” Mansour said. “If it was about gambling or the merits, they would let the judicial process run its course in the federal courts.” The mounting court clashes underscore how states have emerged as the most potent source of resistance to prediction markets, moving into the vacuum left by the federal regulators and lawmakers. “As the federal government steps away from consumer protection, state AGs have stepped up,” Massachusetts attorney general Andrea Joy Campbell said in an email to Bloomberg this week. Campbell’s office won an injunction against Kalshi in January in a civil enforcement case. That has been fast-tracked to the state’s supreme court after Kalshi challenged it. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees Kalshi and othe...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped several companies achieve market capitalizations of more than $1 trillion in recent years. There is a good chance that the rapid adoption of this technology will help many more companies achieve a valuation like this in the future. After all, AI adoption is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years. Grand View Research expects AI to generate almost $3...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has helped several companies achieve market capitalizations of more than $1 trillion in recent years. There is a good chance that the rapid adoption of this technology will help many more companies achieve a valuation like this in the future. After all, AI adoption is expected to increase rapidly in the coming years. Grand View Research expects AI to generate almost $3.5 trillion in revenue in 2033, up from $391 billion last year. That's why it won't be surprising to see a company like Sandisk (SNDK +4.28%) achieve the trillion-dollar milestone. The share price of the flash storage company has surged by just over 1,200% over the past year. It currently has a market cap of $105 billion. Can it replicate such growth in the future and join the trillion-dollar club? Sandisk's earnings growth prospects suggest that it still has multibagger potential Sandisk stock's 12-fold jump in the past year is driven by the outstanding growth in the company's bottom line. The company reported a non-GAAP (adjusted) profit of $2.99 per share in fiscal 2025 (which ended in June last year), a major improvement over a loss of $3.46 per share in the preceding year. Its adjusted earnings have shot up by almost 150% in the first half of fiscal 2026 to $7.55 per share. Importantly, analysts believe Sandisk's earnings growth will step on the gas in the second half of the year, followed by significant increases over the next couple of years. Sandisk's guidance suggests the same. Its earnings-per-share (EPS) forecast of $13 for the current quarter would be a huge improvement over the $0.30-per-share loss it reported in the year-ago period. The exponential jump in Sandisk's bottom line is the result of an acute shortage of flash storage products, caused mainly by robust demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs). AI data centers have been turning to enterprise SSDs to meet their storage needs. That's because traditional hard-disk drives (HDDs), which are cheaper ...
Tencent Holdings Ltd ( TCEHY ) plans to more than double its investments in new AI products in 2026, which may strain financial resources and impact short-term profitability. The company is not a first mover in AI, which raises concerns about its ability to catch up with competitors in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Tencent Holdings Ltd ( TCEHY ) faces ongoing constraints in GPU availability a...
Tencent Holdings Ltd ( TCEHY ) plans to more than double its investments in new AI products in 2026, which may strain financial resources and impact short-term profitability. The company is not a first mover in AI, which raises concerns about its ability to catch up with competitors in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Tencent Holdings Ltd ( TCEHY ) faces ongoing constraints in GPU availability and AI talent, which could impact the pace of AI development. The company anticipates that revenue growth may outpace profit growth in 2026 due to increased investment in new AI products. The company successfully integrated AI into its core businesses, enhancing user engagement and operational efficiency, particularly in gaming and marketing services. The company's international games business surpassed $10 billion in annual revenue for the first time, driven by sustained growth of evergreen games. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript . Story Continues Q & A Highlights Q: How should we think about Tencent's profit margin and AI investment in 2026 given the ongoing constraints in GPU and AI talent? A: James Mitchell, Chief Strategy Officer, explained that revenue might grow faster than profit due to increased AI investments. Tencent is comfortable with this as AI products represent significant opportunities. The company has been aggressively hiring AI talent and provisioning more compute resources, focusing on HunYuan and new AI products. Q: How does Tencent assess ROI on AI investments and prioritize building versus renting in the AI stack? A: Chi Ping Lau, President, noted that AI investments in existing businesses have shown strong ROI. New AI products are seen as upfront investments with expected long-term returns. Tencent prefers buying over renting compute resources when possible, given supply chain constraints. Q: What is Tencent's strategy for AI agentic opportunities like OpenClaw, and how does it plan to...
watch now In this video ETH.CM= BTC.CM= Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email Crypto World Bitcoin faces pressure after hotter-than-expected inflation data: CNBC Crypto World On today's episode of CNBC Crypto World, crypto markets are on pace to outperform Wall Street despite a Wednesday pullback driven by hotter-than-expected...
watch now In this video ETH.CM= BTC.CM= Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via Email Crypto World Bitcoin faces pressure after hotter-than-expected inflation data: CNBC Crypto World On today's episode of CNBC Crypto World, crypto markets are on pace to outperform Wall Street despite a Wednesday pullback driven by hotter-than-expected wholesale data. Also, the SEC and CFTC issue joint guidance on the regulatory classification of crypto assets. Bam Azizi, CEO of Mesh, discusses what it takes to run a crypto business in a slowdown. 13:39 28 minutes ago MacKenzie Sigalos Jordan Smith Kaan Oguz
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Younger investors are more bullish than ever, but J.P. Morgan says many of them are doing it in a way that puts them at risk. In a survey of 1,000 U.K. retail investors, J.P. Morgan Personal Investing found Gen Z and millennials are the most bullish cohort heading into this year, with large shares ...
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Younger investors are more bullish than ever, but J.P. Morgan says many of them are doing it in a way that puts them at risk. In a survey of 1,000 U.K. retail investors, J.P. Morgan Personal Investing found Gen Z and millennials are the most bullish cohort heading into this year, with large shares planning to invest more than they typically do. But a significant slice of those younger investors now say they get ideas from "finfluencers" — what J.P. Morgan calls financial influencers — along with social media and online forums like Reddit, rather than from traditional research or professional advice. That's a shift the bank warns can leave them exposed to bad information, high‑risk bets and even scams. The concern isn't that young people are sitting out the market, it's the opposite. J.P. Morgan's survey shows confidence is rising across the board, and it's highest among younger investors. The 2026 Bull Run — Driven by Youth Two‑thirds of those polled expect positive returns in 2026, up from 58% last year. The youngest traders who are leading the charge: Gen Z (18-27): The most optimistic group, motivated by a belief in the global economy and the artificial intelligence boom. Millennials (28-43): This generation closely follows Gen Z, with 45% planning to invest more than their usual amount this year. Gen X (44-59): Passive income from dividends appeals more to Gen X investors than it does to millennials. Overall appetite for "medium risk" has jumped to 44% compared to 38% last year. The ‘Finfluencer' Danger Zone J.P. Morgan's concern isn't the amount being invested but where the advice is coming from. While older generations stick to traditional advisers and financial news, Gen Z is bypassing professional guidance in favor of social media and online forums, financial influencers and high-volatility assets like crypto and gold. "Engaging with online sources can be a u...
It may sound fanciful, but a Los Angeles-based company says it has conceived of a plan to fly out to a smallish, near-Earth asteroid, throw a large bag around it, and bring the body back to a "safe" gathering point near our planet. The company, TransAstra, said Wednesday that an unnamed customer has agreed to fund a study of its proposed "New Moon" mission to capture and relocate an asteroid appro...
It may sound fanciful, but a Los Angeles-based company says it has conceived of a plan to fly out to a smallish, near-Earth asteroid, throw a large bag around it, and bring the body back to a "safe" gathering point near our planet. The company, TransAstra, said Wednesday that an unnamed customer has agreed to fund a study of its proposed "New Moon" mission to capture and relocate an asteroid approximately the size of a house, with a mass of about 100 metric tons. "We envision it becoming a base for robotic research and development on materials processing and manufacturing," said Joel Sercel, chief executive officer of TransAstra. "Long term, instead of building space hardware on the ground and launching propellant up from the Earth, we could harvest it from raw materials in space." Read full article Comments
bashta What can President Trump do to help lower oil prices amid ongoing turmoil in the Middle East? We asked Seeking Alpha analysts Louis Gerard and Long Player for their thoughts. Louis Gerard : It is a bit ironic that the U.S. is producing at an all-time high of 13.8MM bpd, yet current geopolitical tensions have pushed Brent over $100/bbl. To answer the question, I will look beyond the drill bi...
bashta What can President Trump do to help lower oil prices amid ongoing turmoil in the Middle East? We asked Seeking Alpha analysts Louis Gerard and Long Player for their thoughts. Louis Gerard : It is a bit ironic that the U.S. is producing at an all-time high of 13.8MM bpd, yet current geopolitical tensions have pushed Brent over $100/bbl. To answer the question, I will look beyond the drill bit and see what President Trump can do on the midstream side of the industry to alleviate oil prices for consumers. I believe that the "drill, baby, drill" mantra cannot be applied considering the production backdrop, which tells us that the bottleneck is no longer at the wellhead. Trump's most effective move to lower prices might not be issuing more permits but effectively using the one-year-old National Energy Dominance Council to fast-track the last mile of midstream infrastructure, ensuring that Permian surges aren't trapped by pipeline constraints. Moreover, as the U.S. boosts its export capacity tangled with record production, it could, in a way, reduce the Hormuz Premium that is currently tethering prices and volatility. That's in tandem with the pre-existing surplus that was pressuring prices. If Trump can couple this with a tactical release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to break speculative positions, there is the possibility of a $70 range by H2, independent of OPEC+ production. Long Player : This is an interesting question that I was actually getting a lot of during the presidential campaign. People have to understand that we tried price controls back around the Nixon administration, and they failed miserably. Ever since then we have been a free market economy. That means that Congress is highly unlikely to pass any kind of price controls whatsoever. Given that, oil is a world market. We have long made money by importing discounted heavy oil, which our refining system can process, while exporting, net, the premium light oil. This helps our balance of paymen...
PaulMcKinnon/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The Bank of Canada on Wednesday held its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.25%, which is exactly what the market expected. The focus is now on the central bank’s assessment of the Iran War’s impact on the economy. Before the Iran War: A Hint of a Downward Bias The BoC’s assessment of the Canadian economy in the absence of the Strait of Hormuz blocka...
PaulMcKinnon/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The Bank of Canada on Wednesday held its policy interest rate unchanged at 2.25%, which is exactly what the market expected. The focus is now on the central bank’s assessment of the Iran War’s impact on the economy. Before the Iran War: A Hint of a Downward Bias The BoC’s assessment of the Canadian economy in the absence of the Strait of Hormuz blockage was actually hinting at a minor downward bias for the next interest rate move. Fourth-quarter GDP in Q4 was weaker than projected with an expectation of continued weakness in the “near term.” The labor market couldn’t maintain the strong growth seen late last year, as the Bank noted, “[e]mployment gains in the fourth quarter of 2025 were largely reversed in the first two months of 2026.” Meanwhile, inflation risks looked relatively contained as “CPI inflation excluding changes in indirect taxes as well as core inflation measures have also come down and are all close to 2%. Food inflation slowed in February but remains elevated.” The Bank was painting a picture of a weakening economy with cost-of-living pressures largely absent. In other words, if the central bank needed to move, it’s likely to cut rates to boost the real economy. “With recent data pointing to weaker economic activity and uncertainty elevated, risks to growth look tilted to the downside. At the same time, inflation risks have gone up due to higher energy prices.” The Current Stance: Looking Through Until Otherwise The outlook, however, was before the US engaged in Operation Epic Fury. Energy prices rose rapidly as the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz stopped due to the war. Facing a major inflation risk, the BoC stated that it will employ the standard central bank playbook: looking through the energy volatility. “With inflation close to target and the economy in excess supply, the risk that higher energy prices quickly spread to the prices of other goods and services looks contained. But the longer t...
Fast-growing companies can be exciting to invest in. Their valuations are modest, and they have a ton of upside, suggesting massive returns. Nowadays, spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and other tech-related areas has been through the roof, and there are plenty of stocks benefiting from that hype. Nebius Group (NBIS +2.43%) is a stock that belongs in that group. Over the past 12 months, it ...
Fast-growing companies can be exciting to invest in. Their valuations are modest, and they have a ton of upside, suggesting massive returns. Nowadays, spending on artificial intelligence (AI) and other tech-related areas has been through the roof, and there are plenty of stocks benefiting from that hype. Nebius Group (NBIS +2.43%) is a stock that belongs in that group. Over the past 12 months, it has skyrocketed around 370%, making it one of the hottest names in tech these days. It provides companies with AI cloud infrastructure to help "empower builders everywhere." It is investing heavily in data-center expansion, but that is a costly endeavor. And to do that, the company needs to raise cash. It recently announced a bond offering, which led to a decline in its share price. Nebius to raise $3.75 billion through convertible bonds Shares of Nebius fell by more than 10% on Tuesday, on news of its plans to raise $3.75 billion via convertible bonds. For Nebius investors, it highlights arguably the biggest risk with the business: it isn't generating enough cash to fund its expansion efforts. That raises the risk of dilution, which can have a significant negative impact on the share price. While the notes aren't due until 2031 and later, there is the potential for those notes to convert to stock before then. In 2025, Nebius generated positive cash flow from its operations totaling $385 million, which is great, but it's far short of what it needs. Last year, it spent a whopping $4.1 billion on capital expenditures. And as the tech company scales its operations to meet growing demand from hyperscalers, its expenditures may increase in the future. Expand NASDAQ : NBIS Nebius Group Today's Change ( 2.43 %) $ 2.83 Current Price $ 119.16 Key Data Points Market Cap $29B Day's Range $ 114.12 - $ 122.77 52wk Range $ 18.31 - $ 141.10 Volume 1.1M Avg Vol 14M Gross Margin -765.63 % The stock has potential, but it also carries significant risk Nebius has some exciting opportunities du...