President Trump on Wednesday said he's "taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes," linking the move to housing affordability.
Why it matters: Real estate investors — including both large and small-scale operations — bought about 1 in 3 single-family homes sold in the second quarter of 2025, according to a report by market intelligence firm C.J. Patrick using BatchData figures.
Kalshi's CEO on Wednesday endorsed a prediction markets ban on insider trading by government officials, saying his company already disallows it.
Why it matters: Prediction markets have come under scrutiny after multiple recent examples of traders apparently making a fortune by betting on markets with inside information.
My dog is smart, but without an opposable thumb, he still can't open the door to let himself out. Humanoid robots have a similar problem.
Why it matters: Despite huge breakthroughs in artificial intelligence that enable these clever machines to learn from human feedback or their environment, their clawlike hands are still too clumsy for most jobs.
The final months of 2025 offered plenty of reasons for labor market alarmism. Job creation slowed to a near halt, the unemployment rate edged to its highest level in four years, and the business news wires were chockablock with AI-inflected layoff announcements.
But the job market looks more stable than those headlines would suggest.
The big picture: Private-sector data for December points to some stabilization in demand for workers — and certainly suggests that labor demand isn't falling off any kind of cliff.
Pundits and politicians are getting ahead of themselves in crowing about how U.S. companies, particularly in the energy sector, could profit from this past weekend's events in Venezuela.
The big picture: No one knows how this will play out, nor even if the Trump administration has a solid strategy beyond the grab-and-go on Nicolás Maduro.
The U.S. plans to directly control Venezuelan oil sales and revenue via U.S.-controlled accounts, but those moves will benefit the country's people as well, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday.
Why it matters: His comments are among the Trump administration's most expansive descriptions of its approach to Venezuela's oil sector since the toppling of President Nicolás Maduro.
24 Hour Fitness founder Mark Mastrov and private equity firm LongRange Capital have agreed to buy the gym chain he founded and sold more than 20 years ago.
Semafor, the three-year-old digital media company, has raised $30 million at a $330 million post-money valuation, the company confirmed Wednesday morning.
Why it matters: It's been a slow two years for digital media company raises thanks to a volatile ad market that made venture investors wary of the publishing sector.
Warner Bros. Discovery's board on Wednesday unanimously rejected Paramount Skydance's updated hostile takeover bid, arguing the offer submitted in late December "is inferior given significant costs, risks and uncertainties as compared to the Netflix merger."
Why it matters: Paramount's latest proposal addressed some of the board's previous concerns, but didn't raise the price of its all-cash offer higher than $30 per share.
The status of the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency is increasingly at risk, as central banks and investors continue to see America prioritizing its own interests, most recently in Venezuela.
Why it matters: It's an advantage to have the world's central banks keep their investments in your currency. Losing that would have broad implications for markets and the economy.
What do you get when you craminto the same room years of experience from inside the Pentagon, Defense Innovation Unit, Marine Corps, Air Force, SpaceX, Unity and Virgin Hyperloop? Gambit.
The big picture: The dual-use software company wants to make coordination across machines — aerial drones, ground robotics and more — smart and seamless, no matter the brand or builder.
"As a kid growing up in the '90s, very influenced by the Trinity scene in 'The Matrix' where she's like, 'Tank, I need a helicopter program,' how do you create the helicopter program?" CEO Josh Giegel told Axios.
Chains from Dunkin' to Subway are opening the year with protein-packed launches as the trend pushes deeper into everyday menus.
Why it matters: Protein is having a restaurant menu moment — and it's getting bigger. Now shorthand for "better-for-you" eating, it's reshaping menus as consumers dine out less, scrutinize value more and increasingly use GLP-1 drugs.
President Trump will meet Friday with U.S. oil executives at the White House as he presses the industry to invest in reviving Venezuela's production, multiple sources tell Axios.
Why it matters: Boosting output from the nation's dilapidated oil infrastructure will require massive outlays.
