The Daily

The total debt of the United States has surpassed $40 trillion for the first time in history, according to a Department of the Treasury update on Wednesday.

Ballooning debt, especially during President Donald Trump’s second term, which began in January last year, has been raising concerns about a looming fiscal crisis for some time,

 » Read more about: US debt hits $40 trillion: Who does Washington owe and why does it matter?  »

Artificial intelligence has emerged as a significant topic in Federal Reserve policy meetings, according to Bloomberg Economics. This development highlights the increasing influence of AI in discussions about monetary-policy transmission, including its potential impacts on inflation, productivity, and labor markets. While the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has not yet utilized AI to set policy,

 » Read more about: AI gains influence in Federal Reserve policy discussions: Bloomberg  »

 » Read more about: Bitcoin to $1.5M? Trump’s CLARITY Act and BTC Buying Support Puts Cathie Wood Prediction in Focus  »

 » Read more about: The price of gold today, August 20, 2026 — and the best places to buy  »

Webull Corporation (NASDAQ:BULL) shares are trading higher premarket on Thursday after the company reported strong second-quarter results. Earnings Snapshot The brokerage platform company posted …

 » Read more about: Options Trading Volume, Customer Retention, Strong Trading Activity – What Worked for Webull in Q2  »

President Donald Trump on Wednesday accused the Federal Reserve’s board of governors of keeping interest rates high for political reasons, while sparing newly installed Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh from his criticism.

“The problem is he has a board, and it’s a political board,” Trump told reporters.

 » Read more about: Trump attacks Fed board over high interest rates, praises Kevin Warsh  »

Social Security needs a long-term funding fix, but older Americans have a pretty clear idea about what they don’t want Congress to do. A new AARP survey found that 81% of Americans age 50 and older oppose cutting senior benefits, based on responses from more than 1,000 older adults.

That sends a strong message to lawmakers as they look for ways to shore up Social Security’s finances.

 » Read more about: 81% of Older Americans Oppose Social Security Cuts – AARP Says Congress Should Listen  »

Key Points

• The benchmark S&P 500 stock market index is approaching its highest-ever valuation, which could lead to a gradual increase in selling pressure.

• The ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, high inflation, and the upcoming midterm congressional elections could set the stage for a stock market correction.

 » Read more about: If a Stock Market Crash Is Coming, These 2 Growth Stocks Might Be Worth Selling  »

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected US President Donald Trump’s latest economic pressure campaign against Tehran, describing it as another attempt to revive policies that have previously failed to achieve Washington’s objectives.

Araghchi made the remarks on Thursday in response to Trump’s announcement of what the US president described as an unprecedented economic campaign aimed at isolating Iran.

 » Read more about: Trump’s economic war will bring US further defeat – Iran  »

Peter Tchir, head of macro strategy at Academy Securities, isn’t impressed. The US Treasury just doubled the size of its liquidity support buybacks for longer-dated government debt, and the man whose job is to parse these moves for institutional investors described the whole thing as “kind of mediocre.”

His bigger message: the Federal Reserve needs to start talking about cutting interest rates and explicitly remove hikes from the conversation.

 » Read more about: Federal Reserve should discuss rate cuts, says Academy Securities’ Tchir  »