
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


News of the day for Sept. 21, 2026
The Dow Jones Industrial Average enters Monday on a three-week losing streak.Stock futures are rising as oil prices and government bond yields retreat; the AI trade is starting off the week hot, with a number of chipmakers gaining; crypto stocks are also rallying as bitcoin climbs to its highest point since January; Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are reportedly nearing a settlement to the suit several states filed to block their merger; and earnings from Costco and a Meta event are on tap this week. Here’s what you need to know today.
Stock Futures Rise as Oil, Bond Yields Pull BackStock futures are surging this morning after a volatile performance last week. Nasdaq futures were up 1.1% recently, while futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 added 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to post a modest gain last week, while the S&P 500 lost ground for the second straight week and the Dow extended its losing streak to three weeks. WTI crude oil futures were down nearly 3% at under $98 per barrel, after hitting a high last week near $107. The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences a range of consumer interest rates including mortgages, was at 4.95%, down from Friday’s close near 5%. Bitcoin was at $85,000, up from a low last week of around $75,000 and trading at its highest level since January. Gold futures were down 0.5% at $4,400 an ounce.
AI Stocks Extend RallyNasdaq futures are setting the pace for the major indexes this morning, as the AI trade looks set to start the week off on a strong note. Shares of Nvidia (NVDA), Intel (INTC), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron (MU), Sandisk (SNDK) and several others are rising after gaining to close out last week. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) and the iShares Philadelphia Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) were each up roughly 3% in recent premarket trading. Worries about a potential slowdown in AI development appear to have eased, after the AI trade was rocked early last week by comments from CEOs calling for a slowdown owing to safety concerns.
Crypto Stocks Surge as Bitcoin Hits Highest Point Since JanuaryThe price of bitcoin is sharply higher to start the week, and cryptocurrency-related stocks are along for the ride. Bitcoin was at $85,000 recently, trading at its highest levels since January, as the cryptocurrency extends a rally that started late last week. Strategy (MSTR), the largest single corporate holder of bitcoin, was up 6% before the bell after soaring 16% on Friday. Shares of Robinhood (HOOD), Coinbase (COIN), Circle (CRCL) and Mara Holdings (MARA) were each up about 5% recently. The sector rallied Friday after the SEC announced new rule changes for crypto, suggesting that the industry could get regulatory clarity even as crypto legislation stalls in Congress.
Paramount, State AGs Reportedly in Talks to Settle Antitrust SuitShares of Paramount Skydance (PSKY) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) are climbing this morning after The Wall Street Journal and New York Times reported over the weekend that the companies have been in talks with the attorneys general from several states that sued to block the merger about potential concessions they could make in order to settle the suit. The Journal reported that could come in the form of a $1.5 billion investment into California, along with guarantees to keep ownership of its studio lots in Hollywood and continue producing a set number of movies annually. The reports also said the sides are discussing ways to maintain the editorial independence of CNN after Paramount has been criticized for imposing changes across CBS News since its merger with David Ellison’s Skydance. Shares of both companies were up 7% recently.
Coming This Week: Costco Earnings, Meta Event, Trump-Xi SummitThis will be busy week of earnings reports, headlined by warehouse retail giant Costco Wholesale (COST), which is set to post results after the closing bell on Thursday. Reports are also due from Autozone (AZO) on Tuesday, General Mills (GIS) and Cracker Barrel (CBRL) on Wednesday, and Darden Restaurants (DRI) on Thursday. Meta Platforms (META) is set to hold its annual Connect event where analysts expect updates to the Facebook parent’s AI strategy. President Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying yesterday that his talks with vice premier He Lifeng on AI and trade went well ahead of the Trump-Xi summit.
The Fed ended months of speculation when it raised interest rates last week. With that round of uncertainty resolved, Wall Street may shift its focus back to more everyday matters, such as fuel and food sales—at least, partly.
Costco Wholesale could provide clues on how consumers are faring when it hands in its quarterly results. Drivers turned to the warehouse club as gas prices shot up, buying a record amount of its discounted fuel last quarter. Oil and gas prices are climbing again, though a surge in gas sales doesn’t always translate into more in-club spending, Costco has said.
Major food and dining companies are also slated to report, including General Mills, Cracker Barrel, and Darden Restaurants, which operates Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse. General Mills, known for Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs, warned of “significant consumer stress” earlier this year and cut its outlook. Still, some restaurant chains have had recent success with value-focused options.
Updates from other sectors are also on the docket. Meta Platforms may provide fresh insight on its AI strategy at a developer conference, while AutoZone’s results may shed light on how the trade war with Canada is impacting the vehicle and car part industry.
And don’t worry: There will be plenty for Fed watchers to feast on, too. Several events may appeal to those still thinking about the Fed’s first rate hike in three years: Five monetary policymakers are slated to speak at conferences over the course of the week.
Market RecapTwo of the three major stock indexes logged losses last week, with the Dow industrials posting a 1.7% five-day decline at 1.7% and the S&P 500 edging lower. Jitters spread through the tech trade after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for the AI industry to slow development and address safety issues, though the Nasdaq ended the week modestly higher. Continued fighting in the Middle East also weighed on stocks. For more, read Friday’s market recap here.
This Week’s Top EventsHere’s a look at major events in the week ahead. TradingView publishes a more detailed calendar, but clicking the link will take you off the Investopedia site.
Some experts argue Fed rate hikes can’t address the primary causes of inflation, Diccon Hyatt reports. Bond yields almost always rise in the wake of a Fed rate increase, Crystal Kim writes. The Medicare landscape will change in 2027, with Part B premiums rising and Part D subsidies sunsetting, Elizabeth Guevara reports. And New Census data revealed record household income last year.
Netflix shares have taken a hit lately. One group of experts sees the streaming giant’s stock falling even further.
Shares of Netflix (NFLX) dropped nearly 5% to close just below $72 Friday, extending their recent slide after analysts at Wells Fargo downgraded the stock. It was one of the leading decliners in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Wells Fargo cut its rating of Netflix to “underweight,” from neutral, and slashed its price target to $57 from $80, a new Street low well beneath the $97 consensus. Among the 14 other analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, 12 consider the stock a “buy,” with two neutral ratings.
Netflix’s recent engagement trends are “worrying,” Wells Fargo told clients in a Friday note, citing an 8% drop in viewership time per subscriber per day in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2023. Netflix “has lacked big original series & it’s showing,” the analysts wrote.
Wells Fargo said Netflix may need to undergo a “content spend reboot,” warning that the company’s efforts to expand into different kinds of entertainment such as games could come at the risk of “missing the watercooler originals.”
Concerns around slowing revenue growth have weighed on Netflix’s stock in recent months. With Friday’s slump, Netflix shares have lost nearly 25% of their value since the start of the year.
Warren Buffett is transitioning to another role at Berkshire Hathaway, the investment giant announced this morning.
Buffett, who turned 96 last month, will become chairman emeritus and remain a member of the board. Buffett’s son Howard, who has been on Berkshire’s (BRK.A, BRK.B) board since 1993, has been elected to replace his father as chairman.
“Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted,” Buffett wrote in a letter to shareholders. “Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me. He has given me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead.”
“The culture Warren built and the values he championed will remain at the heart of Berkshire, and Howard will be their guardian,” Berkshire CEO Greg Abel said in a release. Abel took over the top job from Buffett at the start of the year, ending Buffett’s 60-year tenure leading the conglomerate.
Under Buffett’s leadership, Berkshire shares posted average annual returns of nearly 20%, roughly doubling the gains of the S&P 500 over that period. The shares, which were little changed in recent trading, have added just 1% this year so far.
On Holding stock has struggled mightily this year. The company scored a win Friday—though it’s yet to revive the shares.
The Swiss sneaker company, known mostly for its running shoes, announced it was entering the football, or soccer, market with one of the sport’s biggest stars, Real Madrid and France forward Kylian Mbappé—a longtime Nike (NKE) athlete—as its spokesman.
The company said Mbappé “will work directly with On’s product teams, integrating his elite perspective into the development and testing of future football footwear and apparel.” The Swiss firm also said he will become a “global ambassador” for the company.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but The Athletic reported that Mbappé was given equity in On. Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer, also a former Nike spokesman, was similarly granted equity in the company in 2019.
On (ONON) also named retired Arsenal and Barcelona star Thierry Henry, like Mbappé a World Cup winner with France, as its Director of Football. The company said Henry “has been working behind the scenes with the brand on every aspect of its entry and product approach since late 2025.” Sydney Schertenleib, who plays for Barcelona and Switzerland, “will help shape products designed for the future of the women’s game,” On said.
On Holding shares were down slightly in morning trading after rising premarket on the news. They entered the day down more than 40% this year.
News of the day for Sept. 18, 2026
Major indexes snapped a three-day losing streak on Thursday as oil prices and government bond yields fell.Stock futures are pointing to a slightly higher open this morning as the market wraps up a volatile week of trading; the Nasdaq is on track to post weekly gains, while the S&P 500 and Dow enter the session down for the week; Warren Buffett is stepping aside as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway’s board; cryptocurrency stocks are rising alongside bitcoin; and the Apple 18 Pro and Pro Max, along with other new products, are available today. Here’s what you need to know today.
Stock Futures Rise at the End of Volatile WeekStock futures are slightly higher this morning as markets look to close out a volatile week on a positive note. Futures tracking the S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were recently up 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell fractionally. The major indexes surged Thursday thanks to a tech rally that helped markets bounce back from three days of losses. WTI crude oil futures were down 0.4% at $101.50 per barrel, losing ground for the second consecutive day. The yield on the 10-year Treasury ticked higher to 4.97% after sliding yesterday as investors reacted to the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates, as well as the prospect more rate hikes are coming. Gold futures were up 0.4% to roughly $4,415 an ounce, while bitcoin traded at $78,000, up from an overnight low of $76,200 (more on that below).
Nasdaq on Pace to Post Weekly GainsAfter surging yesterday, one of the three major stock indexes is on track to post weekly gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, which jumped 1.7% yesterday, enters today up 0.3% for the week, while the Dow and S&P 500 are down 1.5% and 0.3%, respectively. All three major indexes fell last week amid inflation data that essentially secured this week’s interest rate hike. This would mark the third straight week of losses for the Dow, and the second straight for the S&P 500. Since the start of the month, the Dow is down 2.6%, while the S&P 500 has shed 0.6% and the Nasdaq is up just 0.2%. So far, September has lived up to its reputation of being a the weakest month for the year for the stock market.
Warren Buffett Stepping Down as Berkshire ChairWarren Buffett is transitioning to another new role at Berkshire Hathaway, the investment giant announced this morning. Buffett will become Chairman Emeritus, remaining a member of the board, while his son Howard, who has been on Berkshire’s board since 1993, has been elected to replace him as Chairman. “Serving as your Chairman has been the privilege of a lifetime, and I have never taken your trust for granted,” the 96-year-old Buffett wrote in a letter to shareholders. “Father Time always wins. He has, however, been generous with me. He has given me the opportunity to see Berkshire reach a point where I am more confident than ever about what lies ahead.” Berkshire shares , which were little-changed in premarket trading, have gained just 1% since the start of the year, when Buffett handed over the CEO reins to Greg Abel.
Crypto Stocks Rise Alongside BitcoinA number of cryptocurrency-related stocks are on the rise Friday, tracking a rise in bitcoin. Shares of crypto exchanges Robinhood (HOOD) and Coinbase (COIN), stablecoin firm Circle (CRCL), and Strategy (MSTR), the largest single corporate holder of bitcoin, were all solidly higher ahead of the opening bell. The sector got a bit of relief yesterday as the Securities and Exchange Commission issued some new rules for the crypto industry. The news suggested that individual federal agencies are preparing to fill in the existing regulatory gaps while federal legislation remains stalled in Congress.
Apple Launches First New Products Under New CEOApple (AAPL) is launching new phones, watches and other products today. After being unveiled in last week’s annual launch event, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, and the AirPods 5 are all available in Apple stores. The other product Apple announced last week, the foldable iPhone Duo, doesn’t launch until Oct. 23, while the base iPhone 18 isn’t expected to be revealed until next spring. The performance of the new lineup serves as Apple’s first big test since CEO John Ternus took over at the start of the month. Apple shares were little changed premarket, and enter the day trading within 1% of their July record high.
Victory in the Federal Reserve’s war on inflation is just over two years away. Will it always be?
Officials at the Fed predicted inflation, as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, will finally fall to the central bank’s target of a 2% annual increase in 2029. That’s later than the Federal Open Market Committee’s projections in June.
Fed officials revised their forecasts on Wednesday after recent economic data showed inflation remains stubbornly high at 3.7% in July. With diesel prices surging to record highs because of the Iran war, inflation seems unlikely to subside on its own. The central bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter-point this week in a bid to blunt the steeper-than-usual consumer price increases.
Financial markets can expect interest rates to remain higher for longer as the Fed wages an extended campaign to bring down inflation.
The figure shows the median projection from Federal Open Market Committee participants. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has not taken part in the exercise so far in his tenure. It was the sixth time since 2021 that the Fed has pushed back the long-awaited date.
The Federal Reserve has a mandate from Congress to maintain “price stability” in the economy, and since 2012, has explicitly defined price stability as a 2% annual inflation rate.
Inflation Goal Is a Moving TargetInflation had stayed near or under the Fed’s 2% target in the years leading up to the pandemic. Then, in March 2021, government stimulus spending and the Fed’s easy-money policies cranked up demand in an economy still snarled by pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. It was a recipe for inflation to take off, and it did.
In March 2021, annual PCE inflation suddenly jumped to 2.7%, its highest in nearly a decade. That same month, Fed officials forecast the outburst would quickly subside, returning to the 2% target the very next year. Instead, it just kept rising. The next time officials projected inflation, in June 2021, they said it would stay above 2% until after 2023. In September, that date moved again to after 2024. And so on.
Although inflation has fallen from its recent peak in 2022, it’s hovered stubbornly above the ever-elusive 2% mark, as tariffs, the Iran war, and other setbacks have kept higher inflation gnawing at household budgets and the overall economy.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Warsh tackled a question about why the Fed has moved the anticipated date once again, and how that squared with the Fed’s statement that the rate hike would support a “timelier return.” Warsh, noting that he didn’t make a projection himself, said that call had been up to his colleagues, and he restated his determination to wrestle inflation down to 2%.
“Today’s action starts to show we’re serious about this, and we will deliver on the price stability objective,” he said.
Some experts thought moving the target date signals that the Fed is accepting a gradual cooling of inflation rather than planning to crank up interest rates rapidly to quash it. The Fed’s main policy tool, the fed funds rate, influences borrowing costs on all kinds of other loans. Raising it discourages spending and, in theory, allows supply and demand to rebalance.
“Is the Fed really willing to put enough pressure on the economy with rate hikes to pull inflation to target by hitting demand?” Byron Anderson, head of fixed income at Laffer Tengler Investments, wrote in a commentary. “We don’t get back to trend until 2029, which doesn’t say aggressive rate hikes.”
The housing market was already stalling. Now borrowing costs have jumped to their highest in more than a year.
The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.95% from 6.76% a week ago, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That’s the highest since late January 2025 and the biggest one-week jump since April 2025.
The surge in borrowing costs came after the yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed Tuesday to its highest since 2007. Mortgage rates largely track Treasury yields, which rise when investors are concerned about inflation. Yields rose over 5% as fighting in the Middle East pushed up oil prices and sent diesel to record prices.
Rising rates since the Iran war began in late February have already added hundreds of dollars to the typical mortgage payment on a newly purchased home, pushing buyers out of the market and slowing sales.
The latest jump will make things harder for buyers and sellers, Jake Krimmel, senior economist at Realtor.com, wrote in a commentary.
Mortgage rates help shape who can afford a home, and the housing market drives related industries like homebuilding.
The rise in rates is posing a further challenge to the housing market and industries like homebuilding already reeling from higher borrowing costs.
The increase hits buyers just as the season usually shifts bargaining power their way, Krimmel wrote. “For sellers, the question now is whether they respond by slashing prices or delisting their home altogether. With rates now five basis points from 7% [at 6.95%], the stall in fall is coming early this year.”
Freddie Mac’s survey is the most widely watched in financial markets, but other gauges show a similar climb.
Zillow data tracked by Investopedia shows the average 30-year rate rose to 7.23% Monday. (Zillow publishes rates daily and uses different criteria than Freddie Mac for the loans it follows.)
Where rates go from here is uncertain, Krimmel said. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped under the 5% mark after the Federal Reserve’s rate hike Wednesday gave the financial markets greater confidence that the central bank would use its main policy tool to fight inflation. Oil prices also fell on news that Saudi Arabia was restoring oil flows through a major pipeline damaged by the fighting.
“Geopolitics rather than the Fed’s outlook over the next few months may prove decisive for where mortgage rates land,” Krimmel wrote.
Update, Sept. 21, 2026: This article was updated with Monday’s mortgage rates. It was originally published Sept. 17.
Federal agencies are stepping up their support for digital assets after a major disappointment for the cryptocurrency industry in Congress earlier this week.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday handed the industry what is effectively a hall pass, in the form of a five-year conditional exemption of existing securities laws, that facilitates trading of tokenized stocks, or digital representations of public companies’ shares that can move on blockchains. Versions of this exist today, via Robinhood and others, though the vast majority are synthetic or derivative-based investment products and are circulated outside of the U.S.
The federal agency’s signal that it’s working to clear the regulatory path for crypto arrived swiftly—just 48 hours after the Clarity Act, a broad framework for digital assets, suffered a near-death blow to passage on Tuesday when the bill failed to garner enough votes to pass through Senate’s cloture vote, a procedural motion that could’ve moved it to a floor vote.
The Trump administration’s commitment to keep crypto moving forward in the absence of a clear legislative path for industry-specific rules appears to be keeping spirits up. Bitcoin got a small boost following the SEC’s move, leaving it around where it was prior to the cloture vote. Crypto-linked stocks including Coinbase (COIN), Robinhood (HOOD), and Circle (CRCL) were up at least 3% in recent trading.
SEC Chair Paul Atkins said in a video message published today that the agency is using “its statutory authority” in the wake of Congress’ inability to advance the Clarity Act “to ensure progress continues.”
The exemption, albeit temporary, allows venues where tokenized securities trade to operate without fear of punishment so long as they abide by certain conditions. For example, before a trading venue can allow a tokenized stock to trade, it has to give the issuing company 30 days notice and the “ability to object.”
Bullish comments from Arm Holdings’ chief executive last night are helping its stock rank among the Nasdaq’s top gainers today.
Arm’s (ARM) U.S.-listed shares are up 8% as tech stocks rally Thursday, a day after CEO Rene Haas told CNBC’s Jim Cramer that the firm is even “more confident today” it can meet the $2 billion sales target for its debut AI chip than it was when it announced the goal on its May earnings call.
Haas said demand for Arm’s products has “never been stronger,” and said the main constraint on its ability to grow revenue will be its ability to secure supply in the crowded AI chip market.
Arm has long made most of its money from designing chips used in smartphones and for other tech companies, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Alphabet (GOOGL). Amid a weakening smartphone market, the company announced plans back in March to start selling its own AI chip. At the time, the company said the new chip could drive $15 billion in sales by 2031.
With Thursday’s rally, Arm’s U.S.-listed shares have gained 140% this year. Still, they are down more than 40% since hitting an all-time high of $452.70 on June 18, as worries about the sustainability of spending on artificial intelligence have weighed on AI-tied stocks.
From the publisher's feed