U.S. equities traded modestly lower late Thursday as rising oil prices, geopolitical tensions, and cautious Federal Reserve signals tempered momentum from the prior session’s AI-fueled advance. Stocks Ease in Late Trading as Oil Hits Six-Month High As of 3:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 19, just before Wall Street’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood
Blockfills, the crypto lender backed by trading giant Susquehanna, has incurred losses of around $75 million during the recent market downturn, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Blockfills is now looking for a buyer, one of the people said, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private. Asked about
Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, offered a blunt take on digital assets, arguing that cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin BTC$66,340.26 and stablecoins, have yet to prove real utility. Speaking at the 2026 Midwest Economic Outlook Summit in Fargo, North Dakota on Thursday, he contrasted the everyday utility of artificial intelligence (AI) tools
Anchorage Digital, the first crypto firm to get a U.S. banking charter, wants international banks to swap out correspondent banking relationships with a new service that offers U.S.-regulated stablecoin rails for non-U.S. institutions. The bank is launching what it calls “Stablecoin Solutions” to permit easy, cross-border movement of dollar-tied assets, combining “minting and redemption, custody,
US trade deficit data came in heavy for December. The Commerce Department said the monthly gap hit $70.3 billion. That was $17.3 billion higher than November. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected $55.5 billion. The number beat that by a wide margin. For the full year, the trade deficit reached $901.5 billion. That was down
Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, questioned the practical benefits of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins in cross-border transactions during a panel discussion. Kashkari described the statements made by crypto advocates on the subject as “empty rhetoric,” arguing that they have no real use case. During the panel, Kashkari illustrated the fundamental questions