Bloomberg Businessweek

The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

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Coinbase Global Inc. showed how quickly a cooling crypto market can pressure even one of the industry’s most diversified exchanges.

Revenue in the fourth quarter tumbled a more-than-estimated 20% to $1.8 billion. The company swung to a net loss of $667 million compared with a $1.3 billion profit from the same period last year, as falling token prices drained trading activity across digital assets and forced Coinbase to mark down the value of its crypto holdings.

The results arrive as Bitcoin has fallen nearly 50% from October’s high, a retreat that has left many retail traders sitting on the sidelines and revived comparisons to earlier crypto downturns. Those cycles have often forced exchanges to retrench quickly, and early signs suggest this one may follow a similar pattern.

Rival exchange Gemini Space Station said last week that it plans to cut up to 25% of its workforce and scale back international operations, underscoring how rapidly weaker markets can translate into operational pressure. Kraken’s chief financial officer departed the exchange, which reported sequentially lower fourth-quarter revenue. Robinhood Markets Inc. said this week its revenue from crypto trading declined 38%.

Today's show features:

• Bloomberg New Equities Reporter Monique Mulima breaks down quarterly earnings from Coinbase
• Bloomberg News Senior Editor, Equities Americas Eric Weiner and Senior Editor Ed Harrison on continued Wall Street jitters due to concern over technology profits and the impact of AI on various sectors
• Bloomberg Economics US and Canada Economist Stuart Paul on a new report from his team breaking down the potential economic costs of various geopolitical ruptures
• Steve Moore, Co-Founder of Unleash Prosperity and a former Trump Economic Advisor, on the US economic and monetary policy outlook

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Sage Geosystems is a Houston-based geothermal energy startup founded in 2020 that develops next-generation, pressure-based geothermal technology for power generation and long-duration energy storage. Their systems create artificial underground reservoirs in hot, dry rock to harness both heat and pressure for efficient electricity production.

Cindy Taff, the CEO of Sage Geosystems, is focused on advancing the deployment of her firm's energy-storage solutions worldwide. She discusses the complexities of using the same tools to unlock clean energy as are used to drill for oil, and explains why she sees the so-called "shale revolution" as a harbinger of a forthcoming "geothermal revolution." Cindy speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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US payrolls rose in January by the most in more than a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, suggesting the labor market continued to stabilize at the start of 2026.
Employers added 130,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate declined to 4.3%, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data out Wednesday. That followed revisions to the prior year, which showed a marked slowdown in hiring. Job gains averaged just 15,000 a month last year, down from the initially reported 49,000 pace.

The report suggests the labor market is finding its footing after a year marked by rising unemployment and minimal hiring. While economists expect hiring to remain generally sluggish in 2026, more clarity around the impact of President Donald Trump’s economic policies and lower borrowing costs could encourage some employers to boost headcount.

The January data reinforces Federal Reserve officials’ inclination to keep interest rates on hold for now. Many traders appeared to push out their timeline for the next rate cut to July from June.
In leaving rates unchanged last month, Chair Jerome Powell cited signs of steadying in the job market.

“Coming off of a hiring recession in 2025, this is welcome news,” said Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union. “I think Fed Chair Powell was right — the labor market appears to be stabilizing.”

Today's show features:

• Constance Hunter, Chief Economist at the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit), on the late-arriving January nonfarm payrolls report
• Aaron Jagdfeld, Chairman, President and CEO of Generac, on earnings, the state of manufacturing in America, and US trade policy impact
• Bloomberg News White House Editor Jordan Fabian on President Donald Trump reportedly mulling an exit from the North American trade pact that he helped negotiate, the USMCA
• Lauren Sanfilippo, Senior Investment Strategist, for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank, on US consumer resilience and private sector growth

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United States Antimony Corporation, a leading producer and processor of antimony, zeolite, and other critical minerals, on Tuesday announced a new joint venture together with Americas Gold and Silver Corporation to construct a new state-of-the-art hydromet processing facility. The project will commence on lands being contributed to the joint venture located immediately adjacent to Americas active silver, copper, and antimony mines. US Antimony is the only fully integrated antimony company in the world outside of China and Russia, while Americas Gold and Silver is known for producing silver, copper, and other metals from high-grade operations in the US and Mexico.

The announcement comes a week after the US and its allies said they’re considering price floors as a way to shore up a domestic supply of key metals outside of China. Gary Evans, Chairman and CEO of US Antimony, and Paul Andre Huet, Chairman & CEO of Americas Gold & Silver Corporation, detail the project and its impact on national security with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.
 
An artificial intelligence tool aimed at creating tax strategies sparked a selloff in wealth-management stocks Tuesday as investors fear the business could be at risk from automated advice.

The innovation puts the wealth-management industry in the crosshairs of AI competition, the way it did for software stocks and private credit firms last week and insurance brokerage shares on Monday. Investors responded precisely the way they did before — by unloading the stocks. Raymond James Financial Inc. dropped 8.8% for its worst day since March 2020, while Charles Schwab Corp. sank 7.4%% and LPL Financial Holdings Inc. lost 8.3%, their worst sessions since April.

The move appeared to catch Wall Street off guard, as Charles Schwab is the only stock with a sell rating, and it has just one among the 24 analysts tracking the company.

The new tool, unveiled by closely held tech startup Altruist Corp. on Tuesday, helps financial advisers personalize strategies for clients and create pay stubs, account statements and other documents, the company said in a statement. Altruist’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Jason Wenk started his career at Morgan Stanley and Chief Operating Officer Mazi Bahadori worked at Pimco Investment Management, so the firm’s leadership has experience with how Wall Street and the investment community operate. 

• Today's show features:
• Bloomberg Intelligence Financials Analyst Neil Sipes breaks down quarterly earnings from Robinhood Markets and the hit to wealth-management stocks on AI fears
• Kathy Jones, Chief Fixed Income Strategist, Schwab Center for Financial Research, on the treasury trade and US monetary policy outlook
• Cheryl McKissack Daniel, Chair of the Board at McKissack & McKissack, on her family-run construction business, which dates back more than 120 years, and her appointment as the next Chair of the New York Building Congress
• Bloomberg Opinion Editor Mark Gongloff on key policy changes at the Environmental Protection Agency and new financing for a project aimed at installing small nuclear reactors underground

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Coursera, a leading global online learning platform, last week announced financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2025. The company's shareholder letter noted significant progress in "AI-native product innovation and data-driven decision making across the business." For full year 2025, Coursera reported revenue growth to $757 million, an increase of 9% year over year, and a record $78 million of Free Cash Flow, up 32% over the prior year.

Greg Hart, the company's CEO, discusses the key drivers behind the rise in Coursera's core subscription and course offerings, as well as the status of his firm's pending tie-up with Udemy, which was announced in December. Greg speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

Another rally in tech companies after an artificial intelligence-driven rout drove stocks higher ahead of economic data that will help shape the Federal Reserve outlook. Gold topped $5,000. The dollar fell.

Following a surge that added $1 trillion to the S&P 500’s value at the end of last week, the index kept rising to approach its all-time highs. The technology firms that were at the center of a bruising slide continued to bounce. A gauge of chipmakers climbed 1.4% while an ETF focused on software names extended a back-to-back advance to almost 7%. Oracle Corp. jumped 9.6%.

In order to finance its AI ambitions, Alphabet Inc. is set to raise $20 billion from a US dollar bond offering — more than the $15 billion expected — and is also pitching investors on what would be its first ever offerings in Switzerland and the UK. The latter would include a rare sale of 100-year bonds.

Traders are also gearing up for a busy week of economic data that include the two most-consequential snapshots — employment and inflation.

The jobs report - due Wednesday - is expected to show payrolls rose 69,000 in January. The unemployment rate is seen steady at 4.4%. The data will also include historical revisions that are anticipated to show a sizable downward adjustment to payrolls in the year through March 2025.

Today's show features:

• Stuart Kaiser, Head of US Equity Trading Strategy at Citi, on the tug-of-war between market momentum and seasonal trends
• Bloomberg News Health Reporter Madison Muller on Novo Nordisk suing Hims and Hers Health for making knock-offs of its obesity medicines
• Joyce Huang, Senior Client Portfolio Manager with American Century Investments, on the fixed income market and the key drivers for near-term equity market returns
• Denise Paulonis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sally Beauty Holdings, on quarterly earnings and the health of the consumer

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Since ChatGPT arrived on the scene some three years ago, analysts have been warning that entire industries, including software programming, legal services and film production, are at risk of being disrupted by artificial intelligence. But it took a wave of disappointing earnings reports, some improvements in AI models, and the release of a seemingly innocuous add-on from AI startup Anthropic to suddenly wake up investors en masse to the threat. The result has been the biggest stock selloff driven by the fear of AI displacement that markets have seen. And no stocks are hurting more than those of software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies.

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, the CEO of cloud-based accounting software provider Xero, explains why she believes the firm's small business tools will be enhanced by AI, not overtaken, as the firm builds its large language model (LLM) "on the back of" AI models. Sukhinder speaks with Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec on Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.

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Featuring some of our favorite conversations of the week from our daily radio show “Bloomberg Businessweek Daily.” 
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The people, companies and trends shaping the global economy.

Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.

Trump administration officials are exploring opening an antitrust investigation into US homebuilders as the White House sharpens its focus on tackling the country’s housing affordability crisis.

The Department of Justice could open the probe in the coming weeks, according to people familiar with the discussions. No decision has been made and the administration may abandon the effort without launching an investigation, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing non-public information.

One potential focus is on how information is shared through an industry trade group called Leading Builders of America, according to the people. Officials have grown concerned that the trade group — whose members include Lennar Corp. and DR Horton Inc. — could be used to restrict housing supply or coordinate pricing, the people said.

A White House representative referred a request for comment to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment. Representatives for the homebuilders and the trade group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The administration’s interest in homebuilders comes during a period where the cost of buying a home is at its most expensive in decades, with the Covid-era housing boom and subsequent interest rate hikes weighing heavily on buyers. It’s also a precarious time for the builders themselves, with the inventory of unsold homes hovering at high levels.

President Donald Trump put the industry on alert in October, when he used a social media post to compare big homebuilders to The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which wields immense control over the oil market.

Today's show features:

• Bloomberg News Real Estate Reporter Patrick Clark discussing on Trump administration officials mulling an antitrust probe into US homebuilders to tackle the country's housing affordability crisis
• Gregory Daco, Chief Economist at EY, on expectations for the upcoming January jobs report and the broader US economic outlook
• Mark Mahaney, Senior Managing Director and Head of Internet Research at Evercore ISI, on mega-cap tech firms’ AI spending splurge and recapping earnings from Alphabet, and Amazon
• Bloomberg News Executive Editor for Crypto, Payments and Digital Finance stacy-marie ishmael on this week’s large swings in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices

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