Track market-moving stories before they get noisy

Ondo Finance, a project focused on tokenized real-world assets, has seen its native token ONDO maintain a bullish outlook while the protocol’s total value locked (TVL) surpassed $1 billion for the first time. Ongoing growth in its tokenized asset platform and increasing adoption across multiple networks are supporting continued investor interest in ONDO.

ONDO price movement and technical outlookAt the time of writing, ONDO trades at $0.3581, securing a 6.28% daily gain. The token reports a 24-hour trading volume of $153 million and a market capitalization of $1.73 billion.

Crypto analyst Crypto With Gopal observed that ONDO is consolidating within an ascending triangle pattern, marked by higher lows and narrowing price action. This tightening formation signals converging pressure from buyers and sellers, reflecting increased market tension as the price approaches decisive support and resistance levels.

The $0.28 to $0.30 band serves as the key support area, while resistance remains between $0.40 and $0.45. A strong rebound from support, combined with increased trading volume, could point to an upside move for ONDO.

Repeated higher lows and tighter price action suggest an imminent breakout for the ONDO price, with a move above $0.40–$0.45 potentially eyeing a rally toward $0.70. However, confirmation and volume are needed to validate any such move.

Should ONDO break through the upper boundary of the triangle formation, technical sentiment could favor a sustained rally. In the absence of a breakout, the token may continue its sideways trend.

Support RangeResistance RangeTarget if BreakoutCurrent Price$0.28–$0.30$0.40–$0.45$0.70$0.3581Ecosystem milestones and TVL growthOndo Finance, founded to bring institutional-grade tokenized assets to DeFi, highlighted that demand for tokenized financial products continues to accelerate. The recent milestone of $1 billion in TVL underlines growing trust in the platform.

The Ondo Stocks platform reported $27 billion in lifetime trading volume, supporting more than 440 tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This uptrend reflects increased user interest in on-chain financial instruments powered by blockchain technology.

Ondo-related ecosystem transfers have grown to $2.82 billion, delivering a 25% rise month-on-month. The supply of USDY, Ondo’s tokenized yield-bearing stablecoin, expanded to $2.15 billion across 12 networks. More than 200,000 holders now account for its distribution, following 20% growth over the last month.

The uptick coincides with an improving crypto market. Bitcoin’s positive momentum appears to provide foundational support for alternative tokens such as ONDO, which benefit from renewed investor optimism.

A successful ONDO breakout past the $0.40–$0.45 resistance range, powered by strong volume, could target a rally toward $0.70. Despite these tailwinds, traders are weighing whether fundamental growth in real-world asset (RWA) protocols can push ONDO out of consolidation.

Ondo Finance is a blockchain-based platform that specializes in tokenizing real-world assets, enabling institutions and individual investors to access and trade tokenized versions of traditional assets on-chain.

Mini dictionary: Total Value Locked (TVL) refers to the total value of digital assets deposited in a protocol or DeFi ecosystem. It acts as a key indicator of trust, adoption, and activity within blockchain-based financial products.

If ONDO fails to secure a breakout above resistance, it may remain rangebound. Ongoing network expansion and growing adoption of tokenized real-world assets lend support, but future performance remains subject to market conditions and trader sentiment.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

TLDR: World Liberty Financial failed to move Justin Sun’s lawsuit into private arbitration proceedings.  Sun alleges WLFI’s smart contract has a hidden backdoor to freeze or burn token holdings at will.  USD1 stablecoin reportedly shares the same freeze and burn controls Sun alleges exist in WLFI tokens.  Sun questions whether World Liberty holds enough capital to cover a judgment worth hundreds of millions.  World Liberty Financial faced a setback in California federal court after a judge ruled that Justin Sun’s individual claims against the project will stay in open court.

The ruling rejects World Liberty’s push to move the dispute into private arbitration and seal case documents. Sun, an early investor in the project, called the decision a major win for transparency.

Court Sides With Sun on Open Proceedings The California federal court decision addressed World Liberty’s request to force Sun’s claims into confidential arbitration. Sun’s legal team argued the case belongs in public view, and the judge agreed.

World Liberty also asked the court to send company-related claims to arbitration. The judge did not fully grant that request. Instead, the parties were ordered to determine which claims stay in court.

Sun described the outcome as evidence that token holders deserve visibility into how projects treat their investors.

He said World Liberty would not fight so hard to avoid scrutiny if its conduct were defensible. Sun has positioned the ruling as a step toward accountability in the dispute.

Today, my counsel appeared in California federal court to oppose World Liberty Financial's @worldlibertyfi efforts to force our dispute into secret arbitration proceedings and seal documents from public view. 

We argued forcefully that this case belongs in open court—and the…

— H.E. Justin Sun 👨‍🚀 🌞 (@justinsuntron) August 20, 2026

Sun was among World Liberty Financial’s earliest and largest backers, investing $45 million in WLFI tokens. He has said that investment helped push the project’s token sale past $550 million. His lawsuit against World Liberty seeks hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Backdoor Allegations Center on Token Control Sun’s complaint alleges World Liberty built hidden backdoor controls into the WLFI smart contract. Those controls reportedly let the team freeze, restrict, or burn any holder’s tokens without notice. Sun claims World Liberty used this power against his own token holdings.

He also alleges he faced threats of criminal referrals after trying to assert his legal rights. Following the filing, Sun obtained a court order blocking World Liberty from destroying his tokens. He said the order was necessary given the alleged threats and technical capability to act on them.

Sun further claims World Liberty built the same backdoor functions into its USD1 stablecoin. He urged USD1 users to understand that their assets could reportedly be frozen or destroyed. He pointed to the alleged treatment of WLFI holders as a warning sign for stablecoin users.

Sun said he is not the only person who believes they were harmed by World Liberty. He noted others have privately described similar concerns but remain hesitant to file suit. He attributed that hesitation to fear of retaliation, which he said the complaint documents.

Financial Stability and Leadership Questions Raised Sun raised concerns about whether World Liberty has enough capital to cover a judgment. He noted USD1’s reported $4 billion market cap represents user collateral, not company funds. That collateral cannot legally be used to satisfy a court judgment, he said.

Public reports cited in the discussion state World Liberty deposited roughly five billion WLFI tokens as collateral. The deposit reportedly went to Dolomite, a lending platform co-founded by World Liberty’s own chief technology officer. Analysts have compared the circular borrowing structure to leverage patterns seen at FTX.

Sun also referenced World Liberty co-founder Chase Herro’s earlier project, Dough Finance. That platform claimed a hack occurred, but an investor lawsuit alleged Herro personally moved the funds. Public reporting indicates most of those assets remain unaccounted for.

Sun said the combination of factors raises doubts about World Liberty’s ability to meet its obligations. He cited his own damages claim, potential claims from others, and the borrowing structure. Sun encouraged investors to conduct independent research before engaging further with the project.

Top executives from Coinbase and Ripple are intensifying efforts in Washington, seeking progress on stalled U.S. cryptocurrency legislation. The ongoing debate focuses on the CLARITY Act, with unresolved ethics provisions identified as the key stumbling block delaying advancement of the market-structure bill.

High-level talks with policymakersCoinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, representing two of the most influential companies in the digital asset sector, recently met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. These discussions explored potential actions by the White House to maintain bipartisan momentum for crypto reform as the legislative process faces political challenges.

The CLARITY Act is designed to clarify federal oversight of digital assets, aiming to establish defined responsibilities across regulatory agencies. However, language covering ethics requirements has surfaced as a contentious point among lawmakers.

Executives and officials have highlighted that the central divide lies in reconciling the ethical standards embedded in the bill, which remain sensitive for both parties and have become a major factor in delaying progress.

Both industry leaders and government representatives continue to search for wording that could secure bipartisan agreement. President Donald Trump has characterized the legislation as bipartisan and pressed Congress to approve it. Despite these calls, the specific compromise necessary to resolve outstanding concerns has not yet been agreed upon, and there is no immediate prospect of a fully negotiated deal.

Market impact and corporate positioningThe ongoing negotiations reflect a shift in the regulatory discussion: instead of arguments over the classification of digital tokens or market surveillance, the focus is now on political negotiation and legislative strategy. For large, U.S.-based crypto firms, a tangible path toward passing a market-structure law is seen as more significant than continued public advocacy on regulatory clarity.

Coinbase, a leading U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, has frequently argued that without dedicated regulations, businesses face unclear standards around enforcement and registration. Ripple, which operates the enterprise-focused payments network and is closely associated with the XRP token, has become a vocal participant in the policy debate. The company maintains that regulatory outcomes have a direct effect on both its core business and the broader digital asset industry.

Brad Garlinghouse has recently pointed out that nearly 67 million Americans hold crypto, demonstrating the growing mainstream importance of digital assets. This broadening user base is adding pressure for a resolution, but has not led to immediate political consensus regarding the bill’s ethics provisions.

The active engagement of major crypto companies with federal officials suggests growing momentum, rather than a guaranteed outcome for the CLARITY Act. A workable ethics compromise is seen as critical to reviving legislation considered crucial for increased institutional investment in U.S. crypto markets.

A renewed deadlock risks extending the policy ambiguity that has long influenced U.S. crypto company strategies and asset valuations, highlighting the industry’s reliance on developments in federal lawmaking.

The CLARITY Act continues to serve as a bellwether for institutional confidence in the regulatory landscape. Its fate may ultimately rest on whether lawmakers can reach a consensus on ethics, rather than technical concerns tied to digital asset oversight.

Mini dictionary: CLARITY Act, a proposed U.S. federal legislative measure seeking to define regulatory standards and responsibilities for the cryptocurrency and digital asset markets, with the aim of providing legal certainty for market participants.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

Upbit announced 4 new altcoin listings today. The exchange will open trading for Biconomy (BICO), Bubblemaps (BMT), Nillion (NIL), and ETHGas (GWEI). 

South Korea’s largest exchange set trading to begin at 1 p.m. Korea Standard Time (KST). All four tokens moved higher after the notice.

Upbit Listing Confirmation Sends 4 Altcoins Sharply HigherGWEI led the market reaction, rising 11.75% against the dollar on Kraken following the announcement. BMT gained 7.48%, while BICO climbed 7.35% on their respective Binance Tether (USDT) pairs over the same period.

NIL posted the smallest gain among the four tokens, up 5.11% at press time.

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Intraday Performance of BICO, NIL, BMT, and GWEI Following the Upbit Listing Notice. Source: TradingViewTrading activity climbed alongside the prices, and GWEI led again. According to CoinGecko, ETHGas’ trading volume jumped 197.70% to $11.1 million over 24 hours, the sharpest increase of the four.

BICO followed with $34.5 million, up 46.70%. BMT handled $12 million, a 25.70% gain, while NIL recorded $14.6 million, up 21.40%.

Meanwhile, the pattern here is familiar. Six new Upbit listings earlier this month lifted Cysic (CYS) by 32% and AIOZ Network (AIOZ) by 12.6%.

Upbit Applies Standard Opening RestrictionsThe exchange will list all four tokens against Bitcoin (BTC) and USDT. Upbit did not announce Korean won (KRW) trading pairs.

Deposits and withdrawals will open within two hours of the notice being published.

“Deposits and withdrawals are supported only through the networks specified in this announcement. Always check the network before depositing,” the exchange said.

Upbit is also applying its standard launch restrictions. Buy orders will be restricted for approximately five minutes after trading begins. 

Sell orders priced 10% or more below the previous day’s closing price will also be restricted during that period. For approximately two hours after launch, only limit orders will be available.

Whether the four hold these gains past 1 p.m. KST is the open question. Earlier Upbit debuts have often faded once the initial listing bid clears.

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@SergeyNazarov, co-founder of @chainlink, used a Thursday appearance before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission's Innovation Advisory Committee to deliver a pointed message to US regulators: the speed at which America moves its financial markets on-chain will determine whether the country holds its position at the top of global finance.

Nazarov argued that US equities' roughly 60% share of global equity value is not guaranteed as capital markets migrate to blockchain infrastructure. "If the global financial system moves on-chain," he told committee members, "you would want the US financial system to move on-chain at the same speed, or ideally faster, if you want to retain that approximate 60% market share. This is what we are discussing, and it determines America's position in the global financial system."

Regulatory Uncertainty Has Already Cost the US Drawing directly on his experience as an infrastructure provider, Nazarov told the committee that many founders have already left the US because of years of regulatory uncertainty. "For every Hayden or Shane who have the strength and the will to stay in the US and build innovative, high-quality applications," he said, "there are thousands for each one of them that left or closed down." He added that he has lived that cost personally alongside founders for over seven years, and that many of them are simply no longer building at all.

Chainlink's oracle network has processed over $25 trillion in transaction value, giving Nazarov direct visibility into where builders are choosing to operate. He did offer a note of optimism, praising the SEC and CFTC for now working in tandem rather than competing for jurisdictional turf, calling it "a massive improvement for the reputation of the US and trust in the markets."

Tokenization and the Race to Go On-Chain Nazarov said the next major phase of blockchain adoption will come from the tokenization of equities, with the value created on-chain naturally attracting corresponding financial products and markets around it. He pointed to two immediate advantages of blockchain-based market infrastructure: collateral management improving from two-day settlement cycles to round-the-clock operation, with greater transparency over collateral at every step; and stronger security through smart contracts and oracles, which he argued will become increasingly valuable as AI is used to attack and manipulate financial markets.

The broader tokenization market is already moving quickly. The tokenized RWA market has grown by more than 420% since the start of 2025, rising from around $5.8 billion to more than $30 billion, according to analytics platform RWA.xyz. Longer-term forecasts remain wide-ranging: McKinsey projects a $2 trillion market while BCG estimates $16 trillion by 2030.

Nazarov was appointed to the CFTC's Innovation Advisory Committee in February 2026, a body launched and sponsored by CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig. The committee brings together senior leaders from traditional finance, market infrastructure, and the digital asset industry to advise the Commission on how emerging technologies, including blockchain and AI, are transforming derivatives and commodity markets. Thursday's session marked the committee's first substantive public hearing since its formation.

Sources:
Crypto Times: Live CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee Meeting
Chainlink Official Press Release: Nazarov Appointed to CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee
CoinTelegraph via TradingView: Tokenized RWA Market Grows 420% Since 2025

Stellar’s XLM has gained new bullish momentum, surpassing trendline resistance and regaining a key support level as increased enterprise activity signals deeper adoption of the network for digital payments.

XLM price rebounds with bullish signalsXLM is currently trading at $0.1816, with a 24-hour trading volume reaching $268 million and its market capitalization standing at $6.32 billion. The token posted a 9.9% rise in the last 24 hours, positioning itself for a potential bullish reversal after a period of downward pressure.

Crypto analyst Alpha Crypto Signal identified renewed strength in XLM after it broke through its descending trendline resistance. Following several weeks of consolidation, this technical breakout is bolstered by rising trading activity and highlights the return of buying interest to the market.

The token’s move above a critical horizontal support level has attracted further attention to its short-term outlook. If the buying momentum persists, analysts suggest that the broader market structure could shift in favor of bulls.

The combination of a break above key trendline resistance and the recovery of horizontal support has pointed to renewed accumulation, with large holders showing increased interest in XLM’s upward trend.

However, the market’s bullish view will depend on buyers’ ability to defend this newly reclaimed support region. Holding above these levels could open the path to the next upside target near $0.26, while a fall below would likely indicate weakness.

Zebec Enterprise’s $4M USDC payroll drives growthEnterprise adoption of Stellar received a notable boost as Zebec Enterprise processed a $4 million annualized USDC payroll shortly after launching on the network. Zebec Enterprise is currently being used by nine clients to facilitate digital payroll payments, underscoring growing confidence in blockchain-based financial operations.

This development reflects ongoing infrastructure improvements, with Zebec integrating stablecoin payroll solutions into Stellar’s high-speed settlement system. The firm aims to simplify global payroll processes by leveraging fast and efficient digital assets, strengthening Stellar’s position in blockchain-powered payments.

As the trend of businesses opting for digital dollar solutions accelerates, Stellar’s ecosystem is increasingly regarded as a viable platform for real-world financial operations.

While traditional markets depend on broker networks, Wall Street is undergoing a fundamental shift toward Web3. Investors are starting to manage shares of top US companies, gold, and silver directly from their crypto wallets on platforms like 1stepSwap. By tokenizing real-world assets and providing instant price discovery, these solutions remove intermediaries entirely and widen access to mainstream financial instruments.

Broader recovery in the crypto market, with Bitcoin also showing upward momentum, is contributing to XLM’s positive price action. Should trading activity continue to climb and support levels remain intact, XLM could maintain its trajectory toward the next resistance at $0.26.

Growth in enterprise activity, driven by Zebec’s USDC payrolls, appears poised to support further adoption of Stellar and reinforce its utility in institutional finance.

The increase in corporate USDC activity on Stellar not only underlines network expansion but may further solidify its standing as a credible platform for digital financial transactions.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article does not constitute investment advice. Investors should be aware that cryptocurrencies carry high volatility and therefore risk, and should conduct their own research.

The energy sector accounts for just 3.3% of the S&P 500, or not even a tenth of the weight commanded in the index by tech stocks, but energy is punching above its weight in garnering headlines in 2026.

Undoubtedly, the war in Iran is a major catalyst behind energy stocks' attention-grabbing ways this year, but there's more to the story. Notably, the buzz around the energy patch isn't confined to the group's largest, most well-known constituents.

A big dividend yield isn't the only reason why MPLX stock is trending on Wall Street. Image source: Getty Images.

Midstream operators, including MPLX (MPLX -0.15%), are in the spotlight, too. Specific to MPLX, which holds dominant positioning in natural gas gathering and processing in the Permian Basin, the pipeline stock is starting to trend on Wall Street, and for multiple reasons at that.

MPLX is up by 4% over the past month, flirting with a 52-week high, and it recently released a solid second-quarter earnings report, so it's not surprising Wall Street is paying a bit more attention to this midstream company. Two examples: Goldman Sachs recently reiterated a "buy" rating on MPLX with a $63 price target. That was after Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on the stock and raised its price target to $63 from $59.

Of course, the pros are pros for various reasons, including the point that they don't focus on surface-level data. MPLX's 7.2% dividend yield is potentially attractive to investors of all stripes, but professionals are, quite literally, paid to dig deeper. They may have liked what they saw in MPLX's second-quarter numbers.

During that period, the midstream company returned $1.1 billion in capital to shareholders, which was easily covered by the $1.5 billion in distributable cash flow (DCF) MPLX generated. That results in a coverage ratio of 1.3x. There's room for improvement in that coverage ratio, but MPLX is pacing ahead of what the pros consider adequate dividend coverage.

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Another reason Wall Street may be cozying up to this energy stock is the clarity on spending. MPLX told investors it's upping 2026 spending plans by $500 million to $2.9 billion, adding that it "plans to invest over 90% of organic growth capital toward opportunities" to capitalize on booming demand for natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) infrastructure. That's a sign that MPLX is committed to growth, not just being a high-dividend play. Additionally, the operator's expenditures are skewed toward this year and 2027, implying that 2028 could mark an inflection point, with spending declining while the share price rises.

Plenty of love on Main Street, too MPLX's aforementioned dividend yield of 7.2% is substantially better than what investors find on the S&P 500, underscoring why the stock is favored by Main Street income investors, too. A recent string of midstream distribution increases may also be contributing to retail market participants' enthusiasm for this pipeline name.

MPLX last announced a dividend hike in October 2025, but when it reported quarterly results, it reiterated a call for 12.5% payout growth this year and in 2027. That's not just growth. It's inflation-thumping dividend growth, which is meaningful because the income from basic equity indexes barely offsets high consumer costs.

Then there's a point all long-term investors can get behind with MPLX. Supported by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and data center needs, U.S. natural gas demand is expected to increase 15% through 2030, potentially stoking upside for this energy income stock.

Hayden Adams, the founder and CEO of Uniswap Labs, walked into a Washington, D.C., conference room on August 20 and told a panel of federal regulators something they probably didn’t love hearing: their own enforcement strategy has been an accelerant for offshore crypto development.

At the inaugural meeting of the CFTC’s Innovation Advisory Committee, Adams argued that US regulatory pressure has pushed founders to set up shop in friendlier jurisdictions, giving international competitors the freedom to build faster and iterate without the constant threat of legal action.

From enforcement target to advisory panelist Adams was appointed to the CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee back in February 2026, a move that signaled at least some willingness from regulators to hear directly from DeFi builders rather than just prosecuting them.

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That willingness came after a rocky stretch. In April 2024, Uniswap Labs received a Wells notice from the SEC, the formal “we’re probably going to sue you” letter that keeps crypto founders up at night. That notice was ultimately dropped in March 2025, but not before generating months of uncertainty for the largest decentralized exchange by volume.

Separately, the CFTC itself hit Uniswap Labs with a $175,000 penalty in 2024 related to leveraged trading offerings. So Adams wasn’t speaking as a theoretical observer of regulatory overreach. He was speaking as someone who has been on the receiving end of it from both major US financial regulators.

The talent drain argument Adams didn’t name specific competitors or cite particular jurisdictions during his remarks, according to initial reports from the meeting. He also didn’t put forward concrete policy recommendations, suggesting the committee is still in its early, diagnostic phase rather than drafting proposals.

Broader regulatory context The enforcement-first approach that characterized the SEC under former Chair Gary Gensler created a chilling effect that extended well beyond the companies directly targeted. When Uniswap received its Wells notice, it wasn’t just Uniswap Labs that reacted. DeFi teams across the ecosystem recalibrated their legal strategies, and some accelerated plans to move operations outside the US.

The $175,000 CFTC fine against Uniswap Labs was relatively modest by regulatory standards. For context, that’s roughly what a mid-level software engineer in San Francisco earns in a year. But the signal it sent mattered more than the dollar amount: even decentralized protocols aren’t beyond the reach of US enforcement, and the rules you might be breaking aren’t always clear until after you’ve broken them.

What the committee does next The CFTC Innovation Advisory Committee now faces the challenge of translating industry feedback into actionable recommendations. Adams’s testimony establishes the baseline concern: the current regulatory environment is not competitive internationally.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.

US stablecoin issuers have entered a five-month preparation window before the GENIUS Act’s expected Jan. 18, 2027, effective date, which places licensing and operating controls at the center of market access.

Summary

Stablecoin issuers will generally need a federal or state license from Jan. 18, 2027. Patrick Gerhart said integrated compliance systems will present the hardest licensing challenge. US platforms face separate restrictions on distributing unapproved stablecoins from July 18, 2028. Treasury is considering customer and location checks that could affect offshore issuers and platforms. The US Treasury proposed new definitions on Aug. 17 covering when a company issues a payment stablecoin in the United States and when a digital asset platform offers one to a US customer.

Although the proposal clarifies which activities fall under the law, Patrick Gerhart, president of Telcoin Digital Asset Bank, told crypto.news that securing a license will require issuers to prove their compliance, reserves, and technology systems work together under daily operating conditions.

“The hardest part will be building the operating infrastructure behind the license,” Gerhart said. “A stablecoin issuer needs much more than a reserve account and a compliance policy on paper.”

President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law on July 18, 2025, establishing separate regulatory paths for federally supervised issuers and qualifying state-regulated companies. Under the law, only permitted issuers may issue payment stablecoins in the United States once the framework takes effect.

Its effective date is technically the earlier of Jan. 18, 2027, or 120 days after the responsible federal agencies complete their final regulations. Regulators missed a July 18, 2026, statutory deadline for finishing the rules, however, leaving issuers with less time to adapt before the expected January start.

Stablecoin licensing will require working controls Based on Telcoin’s chartering process, Gerhart said regulators will expect an issuer to show how it identifies customers, traces incoming funds, monitors transactions, manages reserves and handles redemptions.

Each function may require a separate policy, but the licensing test will involve how the controls operate as a single system. According to Gerhart, compliance, risk, technology, reserve management, and banking relationships cannot remain isolated workstreams.

“For issuers working toward 2027, I would expect the biggest challenge to be demonstrating that those controls actually work together operationally,” he said.

“They have to function as one operating model, and regulators will want to see that the institution is ready to manage that model at scale.”

Federal proposals support his assessment. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s draft framework covers reserve assets, redemptions, custody, liquidity, capital, audits, risk management, regulatory reporting and operational backstops. Application, examination, and wind-down procedures also form part of the proposed rules.

OCC-supervised issuers would have to maintain eligible reserves and redeem stablecoins at par. Nonbank companies seeking approval as federal qualified payment stablecoin issuers would follow a separate application process, while bank subsidiaries, qualifying state issuers, and foreign companies would face requirements suited to their regulatory status.

Comptroller Jonathan Gould reportedly expects the agency to finalize its rules by November after considering industry comments. Completion by then would give issuers only about two months before Jan. 18, although the rules remain subject to revision.

Meanwhile, a separate proposal from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control would treat permitted stablecoin issuers as financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act.

FinCEN and OFAC have proposed requirements for customer identification, due diligence, suspicious-activity reporting, and sanctions compliance. Issuers would also need the technical ability to block, freeze, or reject prohibited transactions and comply with lawful government orders.

Telcoin spent years preparing its banking model Telcoin’s experience provides Gerhart with a direct view of the work involved. Nebraska granted Telcoin Digital Asset Bank its final charter in November 2025 under the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act, which the state enacted in 2021 to create a regulated path for digital asset depositories.

The state described Telcoin’s charter as the first of its kind in the United States. Nebraska officials said the bank’s stablecoin reserves would primarily consist of US government bonds or deposits at FDIC-insured banks in the state.

Before granting final approval, Nebraska regulators required an operating structure covering capital, reporting, security, and customer safeguards. State rules impose surety bond and insurance requirements, as well as funding for three years of operating expenses.

Digital asset depositories must also maintain customer-complaint procedures and written plans for responding to data breaches or other cybersecurity incidents. Certain security events require immediate notice to the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance.

While developing its model, Telcoin worked with state regulators to explain how its technology operated and determine how existing banking requirements applied to the business, Gerhart said.

“We spent years working with Nebraska regulators and building the policies, procedures, reporting, and risk controls needed to operate a digital asset bank within a regulated banking framework,” he said.

Telcoin is building its services around eUSD, a bank-issued stablecoin designed to connect conventional dollar accounts with public blockchain networks. According to Gerhart, customers could move between bank-held dollars and an on-chain dollar asset without combining services from a separate bank, exchange, and stablecoin company.

For businesses, he said the model could support faster settlement and allow payments to be built into blockchain-based products. Consumers could access blockchain applications while retaining a relationship with a regulated bank.

Gerhart attributed another potential benefit to the banking controls governing reserves, custody, compliance, and redemptions. Blockchain supplies the transfer speed and programmability, he said, while the regulated institution provides a familiar operating structure.

US rules could favor prepared issuers The GENIUS Act allows issuers with no more than $10 billion in consolidated outstanding stablecoins to choose state-level supervision when the Treasury determines that the state’s rules are substantially similar to the federal framework.

Companies exceeding the threshold generally fall under federal supervision. The OCC will oversee federally qualified nonbank issuers, stablecoin subsidiaries of national banks and federal savings associations, along with certain state-qualified companies under its authority.

Gerhart said institutions that have already invested in banking and regulatory systems may enter the new regime with an advantage. Existing controls, reporting systems, and regulator relationships could take years for less-prepared competitors to reproduce.

Under his assessment, however, banks will not simply displace established nonbank stablecoin companies. Issuers will still need interoperability and practical uses alongside regulatory approval to win customers.

“The issuers that succeed will be the ones that can combine regulatory compliance with interoperability and real utility. Regulation opens the door to more participants, but the ability to integrate with existing financial infrastructure and actually serve customers will determine who gains traction.”

An earlier explanation of the law detailed additional issuer obligations, including one-to-one reserve backing, monthly attested disclosures and a ban on paying yield directly to stablecoin holders.

Eligible reserves include cash, insured bank deposits, short-term Treasury bills, Treasury-backed repurchase agreements and qualifying money market funds. Corporate debt, loans, precious metals and cryptocurrencies do not qualify as reserve assets under the framework.

Platforms face a separate 2028 access deadline From July 18, 2028, digital asset service providers generally cannot offer or sell a payment stablecoin to people in the United States unless an approved issuer issues it.

Treasury’s proposal treats exchanges, custodians, transfer providers and businesses offering financial services tied to digital asset issuance as service providers. Its US restrictions are intended to reach offshore activity when a platform offers or sells stablecoins to a person located in the country.

Under the proposed definitions, direct solicitation and US-facing advertising could count as an offer. A platform may also fall within the rule if it responds to an unsolicited request by agreeing to sell a stablecoin or telling potential customers how to bypass location restrictions.

Treasury is seeking feedback on whether platforms should use customer identification, account-opening data, geographic restrictions, device or network checks, contractual declarations and transaction monitoring to determine a customer’s location. IP address and identity-document checks are among the specific controls under consideration.

Foreign issuers would retain a route into the American market if the Treasury considers their home regulatory regime comparable, they register with the OCC, and they can comply with lawful orders and reciprocal arrangements.

Given the operational work involved, Gerhart said platforms should already be identifying every stablecoin they list, its issuer, the issuer’s home jurisdiction and the controls needed to limit customer access when required.

“The 2028 deadline gives platforms more time, but it is not something they should leave until 2028 to address,” he said.

Issuers should also begin reviewing reserve reconciliation, redemption procedures, KYC, anti-money laundering controls, sanctions systems, and regulatory reporting, according to Gerhart. Treasury will accept comments on its latest proposal for 60 days after the notice is published in the Federal Register.

, /PRNewswire/ -- Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) (along with its subsidiaries, "Charter")  today announced the expiration and final results of the previously announced (i) private offer by its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Charter Communications Operating, LLC ("CCO"), Charter Communications Operating Capital Corp. ("CCO Capital" and, together with CCO, collectively, the "CCO Issuers" or the "Company") and Time Warner Cable, LLC (the "TWC Issuer" and, together with CCO Issuers, the "Old Notes Issuers"), as applicable, to exchange (the "Pool 1 Offer") seven series of notes issued by the CCO Issuers or the TWC Issuer, as applicable (collectively, the "Pool 1 Notes"), for a combination of cash consideration and a new series of Senior Secured Notes due 2038 (the "New 2038 Notes") to be issued by the CCO Issuers and (ii) private offer by the CCO Issuers to exchange (the "Pool 2 Offer" and, together with the Pool 1 Offer, the "Exchange Offers") five series of notes (collectively, the "Pool 2 Notes" and, together with the Pool 1 Notes, the "Old Notes" and each series of Old Notes, a "series of Old Notes") for a combination of cash and a new series of Senior Secured Notes due 2041 (the "New 2041 Notes" and, together with the New 2038 Notes, the "New Notes" and each series of New Notes, a "series of New Notes") to be issued by the CCO Issuers.

As of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 20, 2026 (the "Expiration Date"), according to information provided by D.F. King & Co., Inc., the exchange agent and the information agent for the Exchange Offers, the aggregate principal amount of $84,396,000 of Pool 1 Notes had been validly tendered and not withdrawn in the Pool 1 Offer after the Early Tender Date (as defined below) but on or prior to the Expiration Date, representing 0.8% of the outstanding Pool 1 Notes, and the aggregate principal amount of $60,651,000 of Pool 2 Notes had been validly tendered and not withdrawn in the Pool 2 Offer after the Early Tender Date but on or prior to the Expiration Date, representing 0.6% of the outstanding Pool 2 Notes, each as detailed below.

Pool 1 Notes

Issuer(s)

Title of Security

Aggregate Principal
Amount Outstanding

CUSIP No./ ISIN(1)

Acceptance
Priority Level(2)

Sub-Cap(2)

Principal
Amount Tendered

CCO Issuers

3.500% senior secured
notes due 2042

$1,236,000,000

161175CE2 /
US161175CE27

1

N/A

$15,633,000

3.500% senior secured

notes due 2041

$1,479,000,000

161175BZ6 /

US161175BZ64

2

N/A

$22,770,000

 TWC Issuer

4.500% senior debentures

due 2042

$1,250,000,000

88732JBD9 /
US88732JBD90

3

$614,423,000

$0

CCO Issuers

5.375% senior secured

notes due 2047 

$2,265,000,000

161175BL7 /

US161175BL78

161175BD5 /

US161175BD52

4

N/A

$31,422,000

2.300% senior secured

notes due 2032

$1,000,000,000

161175BX1 /

US161175BX17

5

N/A

$10,345,000

2.800% senior secured

notes due 2031 

$1,590,000,000

 161175BU7 / 

US161175BU77

6

N/A

$626,000

2.250% senior secured

notes due 2029 

$1,250,000,000

161175CD4 /
US161175CD44

7

N/A

$3,600,000

___________________

(1)

No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP or ISIN numbers listed in the Offering Memorandum (as defined below). Such CUSIP and ISIN numbers are provided solely for the convenience of the holders of Pool 1 Notes.

(2)

Subject to the New 2038 Notes Cap (as defined below) and, solely with respect to the 4.500% senior debentures due 2042 issued by the TWC Issuer (the "4.500% Notes"), the 4.500% Notes Sub-Cap (as defined below) and proration, the principal amount of each series of Pool 1 Notes that is accepted for exchange in the Pool 1 Offer will be determined in accordance with the applicable Acceptance Priority Level (in numerical priority order with 1 being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and 7 being the lowest) specified in this column.

Pool 2 Notes

Issuer(s)

Title of Security

Aggregate Principal
Amount Outstanding

CUSIP No./ ISIN(1)

Acceptance
Priority Level(2)

Sub-Cap

Principal
Amount Tendered

CCO Issuers

3.700% senior secured

notes due 2051 

$2,050,000,000

161175BV5 /

US161175BV50

1

N/A

$5,548,000

3.900% senior secured

notes due 2052 

$2,400,000,000

161175CA0 /
US161175CA05

2

N/A

$11,006,000

4.800% senior secured
notes due 2050

$2,473,000,000

161175BT0 /
US161175BT05

3

N/A

$3,810,000

5.125% senior secured

notes due 2049

$1,244,000,000

161175BS2 /

US161175BS22

4

N/A

$6,935,000

5.250% senior secured

notes due 2053

$1,500,000,000

161175CK8 /

US161175CK86

5

N/A

$33,352,000

___________________

(1)

No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP or ISIN numbers listed in the Offering Memorandum (as defined below). Such CUSIP and ISIN numbers are provided solely for the convenience of the holders of Pool 2 Notes.

(2)

Subject to the New 2041 Notes Cap (as defined below) and proration, the principal amount of each series of Pool 2 Notes that is accepted for exchange in the Pool 2 Offer will be determined in accordance with the applicable Acceptance Priority Level (in numerical priority order with 1 being the highest Acceptance Priority Level and 5 being the lowest) specified in this column.

As previously announced, the maximum aggregate principal amount of New 2038 Notes that the CCO Issuers will issue in connection with the Exchange Offers is $2,000,000,000 (the "New 2038 Notes Cap"), the maximum aggregate principal amount of New 2041 Notes that the CCO Issuers will issue in connection with the Exchange Offers is $2,000,000,000 (the "New 2041 Notes Cap") and the maximum aggregate principal amount of 4.500% Notes that the Company will accept for exchange pursuant to the terms of the Pool 1 Offer is $614,423,000 (the "4.500% Notes Sub-Cap"). The maximum aggregate principal amount of Pool 1 Notes that the Company will accept for exchange pursuant to the terms of the Pool 1 Offer is an amount of Pool 1 Notes that results in the issuance of New 2038 Notes in an amount not exceeding the New 2038 Notes Cap. The maximum aggregate principal amount of Pool 2 Notes that the Company will accept for exchange pursuant to the terms of the Pool 2 Offer is an amount of Pool 2 Notes that results in the issuance of the New 2041 Notes in an amount not exceeding the New 2041 Notes Cap. The maximum aggregate principal amount of the 4.500% Notes that the Company will accept for exchange is the 4.500% Notes Sub-Cap. The aggregate principal amount of 4.500% Notes tendered as of the Early Tender Date is equal to the 4.500% Notes Sub-Cap and as such no additional 4.500% Notes tendered after the Early Tender Date will be accepted.

The complete terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers are set forth in the offering memorandum, dated July 23, 2026 (as amended and supplemented from time to time, the "Offering Memorandum").

Eligible Holders of Old Notes who validly tendered their Old Notes after 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 5, 2026 (the "Early Tender Date") on or prior to the Expiration Date, and whose Old Notes are accepted pursuant to the terms of the applicable Exchange Offers, will receive (i) the Total Exchange Consideration, which includes the Early Exchange Premium (as defined in the Offering Memorandum), and (ii) accrued and unpaid interest in cash from the last applicable interest payment date to, but excluding, the Final Settlement Date, the amount of any pre-issuance interest on the New Notes exchanged therefor for the period from, and including, August 12, 2026 (the "Early Settlement Date") to, but not including, the Final Settlement Date, plus amounts due in lieu of fractional amounts of New Notes.

The final settlement of the Exchange Offers for Old Notes validly tendered after the Early Tender Date and at or prior to the Expiration Date is expected to occur on August 24, 2026 (such date, the "Final Settlement Date"), subject to the satisfaction of the conditions of the Exchange Offers as set forth in the Offering Memorandum. Upon completion of the final settlement of the Exchange Offers, the Old Notes Issuers will have exchanged in total, (i) $2,749,089,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Pool 1 Notes for New 2038 Notes and cash, and (ii) $2,750,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Pool 2 Notes for New 2041 Notes and cash, in each case, as set forth in the Offering Memorandum.

The New Notes and related guarantees and the offering thereof have not been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), or any state or foreign securities laws. The New Notes and related guarantees may not be offered or sold in the United States or to any U.S. persons except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The Exchange Offers are only being made, and the New Notes and related guarantees are only being offered and will only be issued to holders of Old Notes who are (1) reasonably believed to be "qualified institutional buyers" ("QIBs") as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act ("Rule 144A") or (2) outside the United States to persons other than "U.S. persons" as defined in Rule 902 under the Securities Act in offshore transactions in compliance with Regulation S under the Securities Act ("Regulation S") (such holders, the "Eligible Holders"). Only Eligible Holders who have properly completed and returned the eligibility certification, which is available from the information agent, are authorized to receive and review the Offering Memorandum and to participate in the Exchange Offers. Additionally, in order to participate in the Exchange Offers, Eligible Holders located in Canada are required to complete, sign and submit to the information agent a Canadian Eligibility Form (which is available from the information agent). There is no separate letter of transmittal in connection with the Offering Memorandum.

This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein. The Exchange Offers are being made solely by the Offering Memorandum and only to such persons and in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law.

Barclays Capital Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as the joint lead dealer managers for the Exchange Offers, and BofA Securities, Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are serving as the co-dealer managers for the Exchange Offers. Questions regarding the Exchange Offers may be directed to Barclays Capital Inc., Liability Management Group at (800) 438-3242 (toll free) or (212) 528-7581 (collect), Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Liability Management Group at (800) 558-3745 (toll free) or (212) 723-6106 (collect) or Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Liability Management Group at (800) 624-1808 (toll free) or (212) 761-1057 (collect).

D.F. King & Co., Inc. acts as the exchange agent and information agent for the Exchange Offers. Documents relating to the Exchange Offers will only be distributed to holders of Old Notes who certify that they are Eligible Holders. Questions or requests for assistance related to the Exchange Offers or for additional copies of the Offering Memorandum, eligibility certification or Canadian beneficial holder form may be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at (888) 644-5854 (toll-free) or (646) 981-1289 (banks and brokers) or by email at [email protected]. You may also contact your broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Exchange Offers. The Offering Memorandum, eligibility certification and Canadian beneficial holder form can be accessed at the following link: www.dfking.com/charter.

About Charter

Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) is the leading broadband and video company in the nation and the fastest growing mobile provider in its footprint, with services available to more than 70 million homes and small to large businesses across 45 states through its Spectrum brand. Founded in 1993, Charter has evolved from providing cable TV to streaming, and from high-speed Internet to a converged broadband, WiFi and mobile experience. Over the Spectrum Fiber Broadband Network and supported by our 100% U.S.-based employees, the Company offers Seamless Connectivity and Entertainment with Spectrum Internet®, Mobile, TV and Voice products.

More information can be found at corporate.charter.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding, among other things, the Exchange Offers. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations as reflected in or suggested by these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or realize these plans, intentions or expectations. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions including, without limitation, the factors described under "Risk Factors" from time to time in Charter's filings with the SEC. Many of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "believe," "future," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned," "will," "may," "intend," "estimated," "aim," "on track," "target," "opportunity," "tentative," "positioning," "designed," "create," "predict," "project," "initiatives," "seek," "would," "could," "continue," "ongoing," "upside," "increases," "grow," "focused on" and "potential," among others.

All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company is under no duty or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release. 

SOURCE Charter Communications, Inc.

Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) Q2 2027 Earnings Call August 20, 2026 4:15 PM EDT

Company Participants

James Conroy - CEO & Director
William Sheehan - Executive VP & CFO
Michael Hartshorn - Group President, COO & Director

Conference Call Participants

Matthew Boss - JPMorgan Chase & Co, Research Division
Lorraine Maikis - BofA Securities, Research Division
Corey Tarlowe - Jefferies LLC, Research Division
Charles Grom - Gordon Haskett Research Advisors
Paul Lejuez - Citigroup Inc., Research Division
Michael Binetti - Evercore ISI Institutional Equities, Research Division
Alexandra Straton - Morgan Stanley, Research Division
Brooke Roach - Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division
Mark Altschwager - Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, Research Division
Irwin Boruchow - Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Research Division
Jay Sole - UBS Investment Bank, Research Division
Dana Telsey - Telsey Advisory Group LLC
Adrienne Yih-Tennant - Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division
Krisztina Katai - Deutsche Bank AG, Research Division
Aneesha Sherman - Bernstein Institutional Services LLC, Research Division
Marni Shapiro - The Retail Tracker
Robert Drbul - BTIG, LLC, Research Division

Presentation

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Ross Stores Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Release Conference Call. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

Before we get started, on behalf of Ross Stores, I would like to note that the comments made on this call will contain forward-looking statements regarding expectations about future growth and financial results, including sales and earnings forecasts, new store openings and other matters that are based on the company's current forecast of aspects of its future business. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical performance or current expectations. Risk factors are included in today's press release and in the company's fiscal 2025 Form 10-K and fiscal 2026 Form 10-Q and 8-Ks on file with the SEC.

Now I'd like to turn

Treasury intervention raises questions over dollar haven status
Swiss franc outperforms as safe-haven demand builds
Switzerland’s balance sheet reinforces haven case
USD/CHF technicals favour bearish bias
Swiss franc’s haven credentials strengthened
The Swiss franc’s credentials as the last true bastion of safe-haven status in the FX universe have been reinforced by events this week.

On Wednesday, the franc was the best-performing G10 currency by some distance following the US Treasury’s announcement that it would double the size of long-dated Treasury buybacks.

While USD/CHF bounced modestly on Thursday as we saw a retracement in the move in long-end Treasury yields, the broader message is pretty obvious. If policymakers in the US are becoming more willing to actively combat market forces when it doesn’t politically suit, the franc stands out as the one true developed-market currency haven given its fundamental strength.

Looking at the charts, the question is whether more interventionist policies like these could provide the catalyst for a broader resumption of the bearish USD/CHF trend seen over recent decades.

Treasury intervention risks grow
This week’s developments suggest tinkering at the long end of the Treasury curve by Treasury may evolve into something far more significant, potentially the tsunami of interventionist activity I described in a separate analysis piece yesterday.

After announcing that long-dated Treasury buybacks would be doubled to at least $4 billion per operation a day earlier, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent went further on Thursday, saying purchases could be increased beyond that level.

More importantly, Bessent was explicit that part of the objective was signalling that long-bond yields do not reflect underlying fundamentals. That is an extraordinary statement given the US fiscal position. It effectively amounts to Bessent saying he knows better than the market and is prepared to actively combat bearish forces when yields move to levels the government finds politically or fiscally uncomfortable.

Given the market reaction to the statement was to sell the long end, what was pitched as an operation to improve liquidity risks becoming something far more consequential for the US dollar. If Treasury is seen to be developing a broader suite of measures designed to push long-dated yields lower whenever market forces drive them higher, it risks eroding confidence in the dollar’s safe-haven credentials.

With US government debt already enormous and the cost of servicing it rising rapidly, the incentive to keep long-term borrowing costs contained is obvious.

Haven flows take over
Given the risk of more interventionist policies being used to artificially suppress bond yields, it is only natural that the investment community would seek out alternatives to the US dollar. Based on what we saw earlier this week, the Swiss franc was clearly among them.

Looking at the correlation matrix below, the five-day window suggests what had been a modestly positive relationship between USD/CHF, yield differentials and US Treasury yield movements has abruptly shifted over the past week.

Source: TradingView, FOREX.com

Instead, USD/CHF has maintained a strong inverse relationship with other safe havens such as gold, while its relationship with volatility measures such as VIX futures has strengthened sharply. That points to a market increasingly trading the pair through the lens of safe-haven demand rather than relative rates alone.

You could argue that the initial reaction suggests the franc could be a significant beneficiary if the dollar debasement narrative heard earlier this year, and through parts of 2025, begins to manifest itself again.

Fundamentals back the franc
The Swiss franc’s appeal is not just about reputation. The country’s underlying finances are simply a lot stronger than those of the US.

Switzerland is a major net creditor to the rest of the world, with its net international investment position sitting at around 111% of GDP in 2025. In simple terms, the Swiss own far more assets overseas than foreigners own in Switzerland.

Source: FRED, SNB, SECO, FOREX.com

The US is the complete opposite, with a net international investment position of roughly -71% of GDP. So while the dollar has the benefit of being the world’s reserve currency, the US still relies heavily on foreign investors to fund its debt. Countries such as Switzerland, with large pools of savings and overseas assets, are effectively on the other side of that trade.

Source: FRED, FOREX.com

The government debt numbers tell a similar story. Central government debt in Switzerland stood at just 22.3% of GDP in 2024, compared with 115.8% in the US.

That divide is key in the safe haven debate. Switzerland has low government debt, an extremely strong international investment position and the kind of savings base that naturally supports lower borrowing costs. Relative to the States, it’s like chalk and cheese.

USD/CHF bearish bias remains

Source: TradingView

You can clearly see the reaction to Treasury’s announcement on Wednesday with a mammoth bearish bar breaking the minor uptrend that had been in place since early July, along with horizontal support at 0.8013.

The move stalled just shy of uptrend support running from the January low before reversing on Thursday, reclaiming the 100-day moving average in the process before moving back towards former support at 0.8013.

Despite the recovery, until proven otherwise, the rebound looks something akin to a dead-cat bounce.

0.8013 is the immediate focal point overhead. If the price remains beneath that level, it could be used to initiate fresh shorts with a stop above for protection, targeting a retest of 0.7950, where the pair reversed from on Thursday.

Just beneath that sits the January uptrend, along with the key 200-day moving average and horizontal support at 0.7925, making the area from the uptrend down to 0.7925 the key support zone to watch underneath where the pair trades.

If we were to see a sustained break beneath the lower end of that zone, it could open the path for a much more pronounced bearish unwind, putting levels such as 0.7796 and 0.7750 in play initially.

Of course, if the pair were to extend its rebound back above 0.8013 and hold there, the option is there to initiate longs with a tight stop beneath 0.8013 for protection. Initial targets would be 0.8050, where the price bounced on numerous occasions over recent months prior to the breakdown, followed by former uptrend support around 0.8065 today.

The message from the oscillators favours selling into strength rather than buying dips. RSI (14) continues to set lower highs and lower lows and sits beneath the neutral 50 level at 39. That message is confirmed by MACD, which has crossed beneath its signal line, flipped negative and continues to trend lower.

Given the fundamental backdrop and technical picture, shorts are favoured over longs in the near term.

On-chain activity picks up across Kaspa's upgraded stackSeven weeks after Kaspa's Toccata hard fork went live on June 30, 2026, the new protocol machinery is showing measurable real-world use. Kaspalytics counts 1,196 covenant-creating transactions in the past 24 hours, with over 2,700 covenant outputs produced. Those outputs represent programmable spending rules running natively on Kaspa's Layer 1, one of the headline features of the upgrade.

Toccata's changes focus primarily on adding covenant-like programmability, transaction v1, script pricing, ZK verification, based-app primitives, and Silverscript tooling. The hard fork transforms Kaspa from a fast, payments-focused network into a programmable value settlement layer.

The zero-knowledge side is at an earlier stage. Just nine ZK precompile transactions were recorded in the same 24-hour window, split between Groth16 and R0Succinct proof verifications. The update introduced an OpZkPrecompile for trustless L1 ZK proof verification and partitioned sequencing commitments to scale based ZK applications. Low initial volumes are expected given how recently that infrastructure became available.

Igra L2 dominates network activityThe clearest adoption signal sits on layer 2. Igra, the EVM-compatible L2 anchored to Kaspa, logged around 54,000 transactions in 24 hours, dwarfing every other protocol on the network, with KRC inscriptions a distant second near 1,900. Igra Labs describes its network as an EVM-compatible programmable layer on Kaspa L1, with fast probabilistic finality and support for 3,000 TPS or more. An EVM-compatible Layer 2 on Kaspa adds a separate layer that can run Ethereum-style smart contracts while still leveraging Kaspa's fast and secure L1 for transaction processing and settlement.

Miner adoption of the post-Toccata software also looks clean. Some 86% of recent blocks come from node version 2.0.1, the post-Toccata release, suggesting the consensus change has settled without a lingering network split. As with any consensus change, failing to upgrade can cause a node to split off from the network , so the rapid migration to 2.0.1 points to a smooth transition across the mining community.

Taken together, the data paints a picture of an upgrade that has cleared its most critical technical hurdle, broad miner adoption, while the application layer is still in its early innings. Covenant activity and Igra's transaction volumes suggest developers and users are beginning to test what the new stack can do.

Sources:
Kaspa Toccata Hard Fork Guide, kaspanet/rusty-kaspa on GitHub
Kaspa's Biggest Upgrade Yet, Bitcoin Foundation
Kaspa Covenants++ Toccata Hard-Fork Outlook by Michael Sutton, Medium

Nebius Group (NBIS -1.69%) has been an incredible stock to own in 2026. It has risen by more than 220% year to date, and has recovered nearly all of the losses it sustained during July's tech-sector sell-off. Its rise recently has been swift, including a jump of more than 40% in the past few weeks.

The catalyst for that growth? Its second-quarter report. Nebius knocked it out of the park with its results, and management assured investors that its impressive growth rate will likely continue into the near future. And despite its recent rally, there's still plenty of room for the stock to run.

Image source: The Motley Fool.

Nebius's growth rate is among the fastest in the market Nebius operates a neocloud business, which means that it's focused on providing AI-first cloud computing services. The hyperscalers that lead the cloud infrastructure sector have booked a significant backlog of business, and they're trying to get their hands on as much computing power as possible to meet those obligations and turn backlogs into revenues. Some of Nebius's biggest clients are companies that are spending big to build computing infrastructure themselves.

Nebius is rapidly expanding its data center footprint, and has brought several new facilities online throughout 2026. This has led to tremendous growth. In Q2, its revenue rose by 454% year over year, and the rapid growth is not expected to dissipate anytime soon.

Today's Change

(

-1.69

%) $

-3.79

Current Price

$

220.11

Wall Street expects 446% growth in the third quarter and 526% in the fourth.  In 2027, analysts expect 250% growth. By the end of next year, the business will have transformed massively from where it was at the end of 2025.

With big revenue growth still to come, I'm confident that Nebius's stock can continue to do well in the future. It will be hard for most rivals to replicate this kind of growth.

The only red flag I see is Nebius' spending. It's pouring every penny it can get its hands on into its capital expense budget, and it isn't producing any profits. This shouldn't come as a surprise to investors, as Nebius wants to capture market share while it can, but it will eventually have to flip its focus from top-line growth to turning a profit. That won't be easy, and could lead to some headaches for investors when it occurs. But given that the AI build-out doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon, it may be years before investors start wanting Nebius to shift gears and prove that it can operate its data centers profitably.

There is plenty more upside ahead for Nebius, but investors should still keep an eye on its profitability and where it's trending as the AI build-out phase matures.

Nevada, get ready for the robotaxis.

The Nevada Transportation Authority unanimously approved three permits Thursday that will allow Tesla, Uber, and Waymo to operate commercial robotaxi services in Clark County, home to Las Vegas. Together, these permits would deploy up to 8,000 robotaxis across the county over the next 12 months.

Tesla’s permit allows it to deploy up to 5,000 robotaxis, while Waymo is allowed operate up to 1,000 autonomous vehicles over the next year. Uber was also approved for 1,000 robotaxis, which it will operate through partnerships with Hyundai subsidiary Motional and Zoox. Zoox already holds an autonomous vehicle network company permit that allows it to operate 100 robotaxis.

Whether these companies will be able to launch that many robotaxis is an unanswered question. Testimony from Tesla representatives and the other companies suggests the answer is no.

“The 5,000 has always been a ceiling for us,” said Eric Early, Tesla’s Cybercab chief engineer, during the meeting. “I don’t think we’ll be in a position by this time next year to deploy 5,000 vehicles, and it’s not [because of] the technology. … I think we would be extremely happy and satisfied if we could get ourselves up to 2,500, maybe maybe a bit higher than that in the next year.”

Even if these three companies roll out only half of those totals, Clark County — and Las Vegas specifically — is shaping up to be a major robotaxi battleground, with Tesla, Uber (via its autonomous vehicle partners Motional and Zoox), and Waymo all competing for the same riders.

That kind of fast, large-scale robotaxi deployment is poised to change the city — and specifically its workforce. Depending on who you ask, these companies will either deliver a whole new category of jobs designed to maintain, charge, and clean these vehicles or will wipe out an entire category of workers: human taxi and gig drivers.

Representatives from the Livery Operators Association and local taxi companies opposed the permits, arguing the approvals move too far, too fast.

“These applications raise two grave concerns,” said Kimberly Maxson-Rushton, a lawyer representing the Livery Operators Association, at the hearing. “One deals with the oversaturation of the commercial transportation industry as a whole in Nevada,” she said. “And the second one deals with the overcrowding of the roadways, and specifically the Golden Triangle.”

(The Golden Triangle, an area between the airport and Las Vegas Boulevard and the surrounding area, is where most of the AV testing has occurred to date. Motional is also testing in the downtown area as well as a shopping district known as Towne Square.)

Uber has tried to position itself as the Goldilocks option in this fight, advocating for a hybrid approach in which ride-hailing networks are made up of humans and robotaxis. The company has even lobbied for a system that would require robotaxis to operate on a ride-hailing network that also uses human drivers, a stance that puts it at odds with Waymo and doubles as a hedge against its own autonomous ambitions falling short of Tesla’s or Waymo’s.

Uber made a similar pitch during the NTA meeting, noting that a hybrid approach would allow cities to gradually integrate vehicles to meet peak demand rather than flooding the market all at once.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.

You can contact or verify outreach from Kirsten by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at kkorosec.07 on Signal.

In the latest close session, BlackRock (BLK - Free Report) was down 1.65% at $1,139.82. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.87%. Elsewhere, the Dow saw a downswing of 1.32%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq depreciated by 1%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the investment firm had gained 9.68% outpaced the Finance sector's gain of 1.32% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.48%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of BlackRock in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $14.24, indicating a 23.29% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $7.44 billion, reflecting a 14.35% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $55.63 per share and revenue of $28.56 billion, which would represent changes of +15.68% and +17.95%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for BlackRock. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. Right now, BlackRock possesses a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note BlackRock's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 20.83. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 12.47 of its industry.

Investors should also note that BLK has a PEG ratio of 1.31 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The average PEG ratio for the Financial - Investment Management industry stood at 1.18 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Financial - Investment Management industry is part of the Finance sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 68, placing it within the top 28% of over 250 industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR -0.70%) rebounded nicely after posting strong earnings. Its 33% gain over the past month puts it just into the green compared to a year ago. Although the artificial intelligence (AI) company is growing at a tremendous rate, valuations remain a core question in the bullish thesis.

Here's what investors should consider before entering the growth stock at current levels.

Image source: Getty Images.

AI sovereignty demand is heating up Nations do not want to rely on other nations for their AI tools. They want full control over their resources, and Palantir is at the center of this objective. Palantir CEO and co-founder Alex Karp told investors that AI sovereignty demand "has now been unleashed" and has made the company feel "very optimistic about the future."

Grand View Research projects a 20.5% CAGR for the sovereign AI market through 2033. However, the company outpaces that growth rate by a wide margin. For instance, the U.S. government is Palantir's largest customer. Palantir earned $809 million from the government in Q2, which was a 90% year-over-year improvement. It also represented 18% sequential growth and came to more than 40% of total revenue.

As the U.S. government invests more heavily in AI, sovereign intelligence will become more valuable. Other countries are following suit, with Palantir as the highly touted option for this technology. Since the government accounts for a large portion of Palantir's total business, continued investments in sovereign AI provide a meaningful tailwind for Palantir's long-term fundamentals.

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The commercial segment is growing even faster than government revenue Although the U.S. government is still Palantir's largest customer, its commercial segment is growing much faster. U.S. commercial revenue surged by 149% year over year and made up $764 million of total sales. The gap between U.S. commercial and government revenue is narrowing as more businesses embrace AI.

A 28% sequential growth rate indicates that momentum is continuing and translating into higher profits. Palantir's net income more than tripled year over year to reach $1.1 billion, resulting in a net profit margin above 50%. Guidance implies that revenue growth will continue. The midpoint of guidance is set at $2.162 billion, representing a 12% quarter-over-quarter increase.

That's just realized revenue. Palantir has been closing record deals left and right that offer multiyear revenue visibility. For instance, the company closed a record-setting $2.13 billion of U.S. commercial deals. Not all of that revenue was realized this quarter, but it will show up in future quarters.

Although Palantir trades at a high valuation, its status as a linchpin in AI for governments and enterprises can help it maintain current levels. The company is growing rapidly, and if you can keep a five- to 10-year horizon, it looks like a good deal.

The compensation agreement with miners BHP (BHP.AX), Vale (VALE3.SA) and Samarco for the Mariana dam collapse in 2015 has been joined by 19 new cities, ​including the one that was the epicenter of the disaster, a Brazilian ‌court said on Thursday.

As a result, the deal, signed and ratified in October 2024, now has the support of 45 of the 49 municipalities eligible to receive funds.

The 2015 dam collapse in an iron ​ore mine owned by Samarco, a joint venture between Vale and BHP, ​near the city of Mariana in southeastern Brazil, killed 19 people, left ⁠hundreds homeless, flooded forests and polluted the length of the Doce River.

The agreement ​established the payment of 170 billion reais ($32.74 billion) in compensation and reparation for one of ​the country's worst environmental disasters, with some 6 billion reais earmarked for affected cities.

But as of March 2025, only 26 cities had joined the deal, with many cities arguing the 170 billion-real amount ​was not enough to compensate for the vast damage. The initial resistance to ​signing it was also influenced by parallel legal action against BHP in London, which also seeks reparations ‌for ⁠the collapse that could yield an even higher compensation amount.

In November, London's High Court ruled BHP was responsible under Brazilian law for the dam collapse. A further trial to decide on any damages to be paid was expected to begin in April 2027.

The cities' ​participation in the ​agreement is viewed as ⁠important for Samarco, as it seeks to move beyond uncertainties stemming from the collapse.

"We consider this a historic victory for the ​city," Mariana Mayor Juliano Duarte said in a press conference. "We have ​several individuals ⁠and companies that are still involved in the UK lawsuit. We, as the city government, will continue to stand by these people."

The court said it remains available to accept ⁠any future ​adherence by the four cities that have yet ​to join the agreement: Ouro Preto, Governador Valadares and Resplendor, in Minas Gerais state, and Colatina, in Espirito ​Santo state.

($1 = 5.1925 reais)

OSI Systems NASDAQ: OSIS reported record fiscal 2026 revenue, earnings and operating cash flow, while fourth-quarter sales fell short of expectations after conflict-related delays in the Middle East pushed roughly $50 million of planned Security division deliveries beyond the company’s June 30 fiscal year-end.

Chief Financial Officer Alan Edrick said the delayed revenue represented deferred deliveries rather than lost orders. The affected projects remain in backlog and are expected to be completed on a later schedule, he said.

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For the fiscal year ended June 30, OSI reported record revenue of $1.79 billion, up 4% from the prior year, and record non-GAAP earnings per share of $10.35, up 11%. Fourth-quarter revenue was $484 million, down about 4% year over year, while non-GAAP EPS rose 17% to a record $3.78.

Backlog reaches record level The company ended fiscal 2026 with approximately $1.9 billion in backlog, its highest level to date. Edrick said full-year book-to-bill was “a little bit north of one,” while fourth-quarter book-to-bill was just below one. He described bookings as particularly strong in Optoelectronics and solid in Security and Healthcare.

President and CEO Ajay Mehra said demand remained strong across the company’s portfolio despite near-term disruptions in the Middle East. He said the Security division faced delivery headwinds during the quarter, while Optoelectronics posted broad-based growth and Healthcare improved.

“The security-related deliveries that were pushed out remain in backlog and are expected to be completed in future quarters,” Mehra said.

Management said the delayed deliveries were primarily to customers in the Middle East. Edrick said that, after the third-quarter report, the company had expected a significant portion of those orders to be delivered in the fourth quarter. OSI now expects a substantial portion, though not all, to be delivered in the second half of fiscal 2027.

Security awards and defense opportunities Since the fiscal year-end, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has awarded OSI two five-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts. One has a ceiling of approximately $200 million for relocatable Rapiscan passenger vehicle inspection systems, while the other has a ceiling of roughly $85 million for van-mounted mobile X-ray inspection systems.

The company has received delivery orders under both contracts, including a task order valued at about $21 million. Mehra said OSI is the sole awardee under both IDIQ contracts. Management expects a portion of the orders already in hand to contribute to fiscal 2027 revenue, but said the larger contribution is expected in fiscal 2028 and beyond.

Edrick noted that the ceiling values of the IDIQ contracts do not immediately enter backlog. Instead, firm delivery or task orders are added to backlog as they are received.

In the company’s radio-frequency business, OSI previously received an indefinitized contract action with a not-to-exceed value of approximately $235 million for production and integration of homeland defense over-the-horizon radar transmit subsystems. Edrick said roughly 80% of that award entered backlog in the fiscal third quarter and will be delivered over the next couple of years.

Mehra said OSI also participates in the SHIELD IDIQ vehicle supporting Golden Dome-related initiatives. He described customer engagement in the RF portfolio as the highest the company has seen for that product line and said the business is expected to experience strong growth into fiscal 2028.

Margins, cash flow and shareholder returns Fourth-quarter non-GAAP operating margin expanded 200 basis points to 17.7%. Security adjusted operating margin increased to 20.8% from 20.4%, while Optoelectronics margin rose to 14.7% from 13.6%. Healthcare adjusted operating margin increased to 10% from 1% in the prior-year quarter, supported by higher revenue and operating leverage.

Optoelectronics and Manufacturing generated 9% full-year revenue growth to $451 million, according to Mehra. Edrick said the business has been attracting a stronger customer profile and that management intends to pair fiscal 2027 revenue growth with further operating-margin expansion, though quarterly results may vary with product and customer mix.

Service revenue rose 13% for the full year to $441 million. While total service revenue was relatively flat in the fourth quarter, Edrick said Security service revenue increased 9% year over year excluding installation activity tied to Mexico contracts in the prior-year period. OSI expects strong double-digit service revenue growth in fiscal 2027.

Operating cash flow reached a record $182 million in the fourth quarter and $276 million for the year, helped by collections across the business. The company collected $159 million from its largest Mexico customer during the fourth quarter, reducing that customer’s accounts receivable balance to $190 million from $345 million at the end of the third quarter.

OSI ended the year with $360 million in cash, compared with $106 million a year earlier, and no borrowings under its lines of credit. During fiscal 2026, the company repurchased and retired 1.1 million shares. In the fourth quarter alone, it repurchased about 565,000 shares for $123.6 million, or an average of roughly $219 per share. The board authorized an additional 1 million shares for repurchase, leaving about 1.1 million shares available under the program.

Fiscal 2027 outlook OSI forecast fiscal 2027 revenue of $1.875 billion to $1.93 billion, representing growth of 5% to 8.1%, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $11.13 to $11.49, representing growth of 7.5% to 11%.

Management said the outlook incorporates a conservative approach to Middle East deliveries and future orders amid the conflict. It also includes only a portion of the CBP delivery orders already received rather than the full ceiling value of the agency’s IDIQ awards.

The company expects fiscal 2027 growth to be strongest in the second half. Edrick also said OSI expects strong operating and free cash flow during the year and anticipates free cash flow could exceed 100% of net income.

About OSI Systems (NASDAQ:OSIS)OSI Systems, Inc NASDAQ: OSIS is a publicly traded technology company founded in 1987 and headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The company designs, develops and manufactures advanced security and inspection systems, optoelectronic devices and medical imaging equipment. Over its history, OSI Systems has grown its product offerings through internal research and development as well as strategic acquisitions, expanding its capabilities in mission-critical sensing and inspection technologies.

OSI Systems operates three primary business segments.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].

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, /PRNewswire/ -- Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC) (Simmons or Company) announced today that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on Simmons' Class A common stock of $0.215 per share, which is payable on October 1, 2026, to shareholders of record as of September 15, 2026. The cash dividend rate represents an increase of 1 percent from the dividend paid for the same time period last year.

The annualized cash dividend rate of $0.86 for 2026 represents a ten-year compound annual growth rate of 6 percent and marks the 117th consecutive year that Simmons has paid cash dividends. According to research by Dividend Power, Simmons is one of only 27 U.S. publicly traded companies that have paid dividends for 100+ uninterrupted years. 2026 marks the 15th consecutive year that Simmons has increased its dividend, earning it Dividend Power's designation as a "Dividend Contender," a title exclusively for companies that have increased their dividend for 10 to 24 consecutive years. As of August 9, 2026, Dividend Power research noted that Simmons is one of only 322 companies out of nearly 6,000 companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ to achieve this distinction.

Simmons First National Corporation
Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC) is a Mid-South based financial holding company that has paid cash dividends to its shareholders for 117 consecutive years. Its principal subsidiary, Simmons Bank, operates 220 branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Founded in 1903, Simmons Bank offers comprehensive financial solutions delivered with a client-centric approach. Simmons Bank was recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Best Regional Banks and Credit Unions 2026 and by Forbes as one of America's Best-In-State Companies 2026. In 2025, Simmons Bank was recognized by Newsweek as one of America's Greatest Workplaces 2025 in Arkansas and one of America's Best Regional Banks 2025, and by U.S. News & World Report as one of the 2024-2025 Best Companies to Work For in the South. Additional information about Simmons Bank can be found on our website at simmonsbank.com, by following @Simmons_Bank on X or by visiting our newsroom.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements related to dividends that are not based on historical facts and constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. By nature, such forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions and involve inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. Among other risks, there can be no guarantee that the board of directors of Simmons will approve a quarterly dividend in future quarters, and the timing, payment, and amount of future dividends (if any) may differ significantly from past dividends. Additional information on other risk factors that could affect the forward-looking statements is included in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, the Company's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, and other reports that the Company has filed with or furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), all of which are available from the SEC on its website, www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, and Simmons undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this press release.

SOURCE Simmons First National Corporation

It's no secret that the rapid proliferation of AI data centers has been a boon for GE Vernova (GEV -2.17%). As management highlighted during last month's earnings conference call, the second quarter's $2.7 billion worth of data center power equipment orders brings its year-to-date data center orders up to $5 billion, more than doubling all of last year's data center-related revenue.

Look for similar growth ahead as well. The company's total backlog now stands at $176 billion, up from just $150 billion as of the end of 2025, despite doing over $20 billion worth of business in the meantime. The stock has reflected this growth too. GE Vernova shares are up 57% year to date, and are higher to the tune of 450% for the past two years... when the AI data center industry took a keener interest in meeting its own electricity needs with on-site power plants.

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The question is, does this big move mean there's no upside left to reap?

Tailwinds are blowing Don't misread the message. It's unlikely GEV shares will be performing as well in the foreseeable future as they have in the recent past. The cat's out of the bag, so to speak -- almost everyone understands just how important natural gas power turbines have become to the artificial intelligence data center industry. 

PwC expects AI data center-driven consumption of natural gas to more than quintuple between now and 2035. That expectation is largely what's reflected in this stock's recent run-up to a premium valuation of more than 40 times next year's consensus per-share profit of $24.87.

Image source: Getty Images.

Just don't pass up what's still an above-average prospect simply because most of that stock's biggest and best gains are in the rearview mirror. This company has plenty of upside ahead, even following its recent rally. Its current backlog represents nearly five years' worth of the company's current annualized revenue, and that backlog is sure to grow in the meantime.

For perspective, the International Energy Agency believes AI data centers' consumption of electricity will double from 2024's levels by 2030. The utility industry isn't in a position to meet that need. These technology companies are going to need to supply their own power with equipment like GE Vernova's.

Follow analysts' lead The tailwinds are undeniably blowing now, and will continue to do so. But does that alone make the stock a buy here and now at its lofty price? Arguably, yes. GEV has a long earnings growth runway ahead to justify its current valuation. Analysts with Morningstar expect this company's profits to reach $51.12 per share in 2030, roughly doubling next year's bottom line projection.

Data source: Morningstar. Chart by author.

This might help: Even with the stock's recent, sizable gains, the analyst community is still very much on board. Most of them still rate GEV stock as a strong buy, with a 12-month consensus price target of $1,247.66 that's more than 20% above this ticker's present price. That's not a bad way to start out a new longer-term position.

Further delays await the release of Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot. Production of Optimus robots will start "in the coming months" with commercial sales scheduled for the second half of 2027, according to a new note from JPMorgan Chase.

Earlier forecasts from Tesla planned for production to start this summer, with initial sales kicking off as early as the end of 2026. The new timeline came after JPMorgan analyst Rajat Gupta visited Tesla's Fremont, Calif., factory.

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Will SpaceX Follow In Tesla’s Footsteps? Kathy Donnelly Decodes The Post-IPO Chart

Is the SpaceX IPO a buy or a late bloomer in the making? Kathy Donnelly, trader and co-author of “The Lifecycle Trade”, analyzes the post-IPO volatility and compares the current chart to Tesla’s early trading days.

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Tesla (TSLA) stock was down 1.7% on Thursday, according to MarketSurge.

The official unveiling of the Tesla Optimus 3 robot will take place close to the start of production to ensure competitors wouldn't be able to copy its designs, according to Gupta. The cost, capabilities and scale of the following model, the Optimus 4, will be determined based on "Gen 3 field experience," he added.

Optimus Production Timeline
The Fremont factory began converting production lines to make Optimus robots earlier this year after Tesla discontinued its Model S and Model X.

Tesla has repeatedly delayed the start of production. In January 2025, Musk forecast "roughly 10,000 Optimus robots" would be built by the end of that year.

An Optimus 3 unveiling was later expected in Q1 2026, though it wasn't expected to be a fully finished product.

In March, Musk said production would start in the summer. By early July, production was scheduled for between late July and August. During Tesla's second-quarter earnings call in late July, Musk refrained from offering a concrete start date, saying production would begin "soon."

"I really want to emphasize here that the production scaling challenge is very substantial," Musk said during an investor call. "This is going to be the hardest product to scale manufacturing that we've ever made at Tesla because everything on the robot is new. And the difficulty of scaling the production ramp is proportionate to the newness of the parts in the robot."

When Musk and team failed to provide any concrete update on Optimus and robotaxis during Tesla's most recent earnings report, the stock tanked. Investors have built a significant portion of their valuations around the eventual success of Tesla's humanoid robot business. In March, Bank of America valued Tesla's future Optimus business at around $30 billion. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley believes Optimus will be worth up to $180 billion.

Tesla Stock
Tesla stock took a beating in late July when it plummeted 14.5% in a single day following a poorly received earnings call. Investors had been clamoring for progress on Optimus, robotaxis and self-driving software. Instead, Musk demurred, even as Tesla burned cash amid heavy capital spending that is expected to increase. The lack of any concrete timelines sent the stock tumbling close to 18% that week.

Shares haven't recovered since then. However, TSLA is on course for three straight weeks of gains, though it's only up a fraction as of Thursday afternoon.

Tesla stock is down about 23% this year.

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For all the excitement around artificial intelligence, investors have had surprisingly little visibility into one key question: how much revenue is AI actually generating? Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (NYSE:BABA) (OTC:BABAF) offered one of the clearest answers yet during its fiscal first quarter earnings call, revealing that AI-related products now account for 35% of Alibaba Cloud’s external revenue—a rare metric that shows AI is becoming a meaningful commercial business rather than simply a growth narrative.

Alibaba Puts a Number on AI MonetizationChief Executive Officer Eddie Wu said the annual revenue run rate from AI-related products exceeded RMB 49.5 billion ($7.34 billion), adding that AI’s share of Alibaba Cloud’s external revenue “rose to 35%” during the quarter.

Chief Financial Officer Toby Xu reinforced the point, saying AI-related product revenue delivered a “12th consecutive quarter of triple-digit growth.” Xu added that quarterly AI-related revenue reached RMB 12.4 billion ($1.84 billion), implying an annualized run rate of RMB 49.5 billion.

While technology companies have broadly touted growing demand for AI, few have disclosed what percentage of their cloud revenue is directly tied to AI products. Alibaba’s latest disclosure therefore offers investors a more tangible measure of how quickly AI is becoming embedded in its cloud business.

Read Next

Why the 35% Milestone MattersThree years of triple-digit growth is what turns a disclosure into a trend. It suggests AI spending at Alibaba Cloud has moved past pilot projects into budgeted, recurring work — the difference between customers testing a product and customers depending on one.

It also gives investors something they have largely lacked: a number to track. Alibaba is spending heavily on AI models and data center capacity, and until now the return on that spending has been described rather than measured. A percentage that either climbs or stalls next quarter is a test management has agreed to be graded on.

What Investors Should Watch NextThe next question is whether AI can continue expanding its share of Alibaba Cloud revenue while maintaining its exceptional growth rate.

If that percentage continues to climb in coming quarters, it would strengthen the case that AI is becoming the primary engine of Alibaba’s cloud business—and provide investors with one of the clearest indicators yet that the company’s AI investments are delivering measurable commercial returns.

Image via Shutterstock

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, /PRNewswire/ -- Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) (the "Company") today announced that it has completed its registered public offering of $1.25 billion aggregate principal amount of 5.550% senior unsecured notes due 2034 (the "Notes"). The Notes will mature on January 20, 2034, unless earlier redeemed or repurchased.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under its floating rate term loan facilities and any remaining net proceeds to repay or refinance other existing indebtedness.

BNP Paribas Securities Corp., BofA Securities, Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. acted as lead book-running managers for the offering.

The Notes were offered and sold pursuant to an automatic shelf registration statement (including a prospectus) that was filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2024, and became effective upon filing.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes or any other securities and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release relating to, among other things, the offering and sale of the Notes constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited, to: statements regarding terms of the offering of the Notes and the intended use of proceeds. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "committed," "could," "driving," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "may," "plan," "encouraged," "project," "shaping up," "position," "allows," "seek," "should," "will," "would," "considering," and similar expressions are intended to help identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect management's current expectations, are based on judgments, are inherently uncertain and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied in those forward-looking statements. Examples of these risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the following: the impact of the economic and geopolitical environment on key aspects of the Company's business, such as the demand for cruises, passenger spending, and operating costs; changes in operating costs; the unavailability or cost of air service; incidents or adverse publicity concerning the Company's ships, port facilities, land destinations and/or passengers or the cruise vacation industry in general; the effects of weather, climate events and/or natural disasters on the Company's business; risks related to the Company's sustainability activities; the impact of issues at shipyards, including ship delivery delays or ship construction cost increases; shipyard unavailability; unavailability of ports of call; vacation industry competition and increase in industry capacity; inability to manage the Company's cost and capital allocation strategies; the uncertainties of conducting business globally and expanding into new markets and new ventures, including potential acquisitions; issues with travel advisers that sell and market the Company's cruises; reliance on third-party service providers; potential unavailability of insurance coverage; disease outbreaks and increased concern about the risk of illness on the Company's ships or when travelling to or from the Company's ships, which could cause a decrease in demand, guest cancellations, and ship redeployments; the risks and costs related to cyber security attacks, data breaches, protecting the Company's systems and maintaining data integrity and security; uncertainties of a foreign legal system as the Company is not incorporated in the United States; the Company's ability to obtain sufficient financing or capital to fund its capital expenditures, operations, debt repayments and other financing needs; the Company's expectation and ability to pay a cash dividend on its common stock in the future; changes to the Company's dividend policy; growing anti-tourism sentiments and environmental concerns; changes in U.S. or other countries' foreign travel policy; impact of new or changing legislation and regulations (including environmental regulations) or governmental orders on the Company's business; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, fuel prices and interest rates; further impairments of the Company's goodwill, long-lived assets, equity investments and notes receivable; an inability to source crew or provisions and supplies from certain places; the Company's ability to recruit, develop and retain high quality personnel; and pending or threatened litigation, investigations and enforcement actions.

Forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as predictions of actual results. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements in this release, which are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Royal Caribbean Group

Royal Caribbean Group is a leading global vacation company spanning cruise, exclusive destinations, and land-based vacation experiences. The company operates 71 ships sailing to more than 1,000 destinations across all seven continents through its three wholly owned brands - Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea - and a 50% joint venture interest in TUI Cruises, which operates the Mein Schiff and Hapag-Lloyd brands.

SOURCE Royal Caribbean Group

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Board of Directors of American Express Company (NYSE: AXP) declared a dividend on the company’s 6.450% Fixed Rate Reset Noncumulative Preferred Shares, Series E, of $5,912.50 per share (which is equivalent to $5.91250 per related Depositary Share).

The dividend is payable on September 15, 2026, to shareholders of record on September 1, 2026.

ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS

American Express (NYSE: AXP) is a global payments and premium lifestyle brand powered by technology. Our colleagues around the world back our customers with differentiated products, services, and experiences that enrich lives and build business success.

Founded in 1850 and headquartered in New York, American Express’ brand is built on trust, security, service, and a rich history of delivering innovation and Membership value for our customers. We seek to provide the world’s best customer experience every day to a broad range of consumers, small and medium-sized businesses, and large corporations, and we build and manage relationships with millions of merchants across our global network.

For more information about American Express, visit americanexpress.com, americanexpress.com/en-us/newsroom/, and ir.americanexpress.com.

Source: American Express Company

Location: Global

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