US Politics & Business News
Markets steadied heading into the first Friday of Q4 2026, with futures trading higher after a volatile Thursday session across major U.S. indices. Stocks endured a wild ride Thursday, swinging between positive and negative territory through the morning before ultimately finishing the day in the green. The small-cap Russell 2000 led the major indices, closing…
U.S. defense stocks grabbed headlines this week as Washington pushed aggressively to rebuild missile stockpiles, expand production, and modernize the military with artificial intelligence. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the creation of an Autonomous Warfare Command, known as AutoWarCom, to speed up the military’s adoption of drones, robotics, and AI systems. “The pace of war…
A difficult entry-level labor market is pushing increasing numbers of young Americans to pursue entrepreneurship rather than traditional employment paths. With fewer companies hiring at the junior level, many recent graduates are finding that launching their own ventures feels more viable than endless job searching. The rise of digital tools, low-cost platforms, and social media…
Democrats are making a serious push to build a large enough House majority to neutralize potential rebellions from both progressive and moderate factions within the party. The strategy is designed to give Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries maximum leverage if he assumes the speaker’s gavel, reducing his dependence on any single bloc of lawmakers. “Another five-or-so-seat…
At a midterm campaign rally in Vandalia, Ohio, President Trump made a forceful case for data centers, framing the issue as a matter of national competitiveness against China. Trump warned that without these massive facilities, the United States risks falling behind in the global artificial intelligence race, which he has now taken to calling the…
KeyBanc upgraded Airbnb (ABNB) to Overweight from Sector Weight, assigning a $191 price target as analysts grow more confident in the company’s long-term trajectory. The firm told investors that Airbnb’s core growth “appears to be increasingly durable and product-led” while its hotels bookings business is emerging as a “credible second growth engine.” Daiwa upgraded Hewlett…
U.S. stock futures were mixed early Thursday as Micron Technology (MU) delivered blowout fiscal fourth-quarter results, reigniting enthusiasm around the AI and semiconductor trade. Nasdaq futures climbed 0.6% as of 4:00 a.m. ET, while S&P 500 futures were flat and Dow and Russell 2000 futures each dipped 0.4%. Micron (MU) posted record fiscal Q4 results…
RTX Corp. (NYSE: RTX) stands to benefit significantly from a sweeping defense appropriations agreement that allocates more than $6.3 billion for 13 critical munitions programs. The FY2026 defense spending package also provides conditional multiyear procurement authority for eight of those programs, giving major contractors like RTX a more stable production planning horizon. RTX has expanded…
Falling real wages, soaring energy costs, and stubborn inflation are combining in a pattern that increasingly resembles the economic misery of the 1970s. Friday’s Labor Department figures show American paychecks shrinking after inflation, while job creation last month fell to less than a third of what economists had expected. Average hourly earnings rose just 0.13…
Millions of older Americans on Social Security face a little-known government power that can strip up to 15% of their monthly benefits to repay defaulted federal student loans. The process, known as an offset, allows the Treasury Department to withhold Social Security retirement and disability payments until a defaulted loan is fully repaid or removed…