The chair of the House Financial Services Committee, Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), is working on legislation with Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) that would create a legal framework for stablecoins, cryptocurrencies that function just like others, but without the price volatility.
Driving the news: This stablecoin legislation is likely to receive a vote in Waters' committee next week, putting it before Speaker Nancy Pelosi ahead of the House going on recess at the week's end, a source familiar with the matter tells Axios.
FaZe Clan, one of the largest global gaming companies, began trading publicly on the Nasdaq Wednesday, following its merger Tuesday with a blank check company called B.Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp.
Why it matters: It's one of the first gaming and entertainment companies targeted specifically toward Gen-Z consumers to go public.
Let's be frank, Wednesday is National Hot Dog Day and businesses nationwide are paying homage to the tube steak with deals and free food.
The big picture: Just as ice cream prices are up, the latest Consumer Price Index found June frankfurter prices were up 16.3% over last year and increased nearly 5% from the prior month.
State and local pension assets have plummeted in value during the broader market selloff, thrusting many government pension plans back into a precarious financial position, according to a new report.
Why it matters: The health of pension plans affects their ability to pay off promises they've made to retirees and affects the budgets of cities, counties, school districts and states that are on the hook to make pension contributions.
Benchmark prices for energy are falling in commodities markets, taking some of the fuel off of the inflationary fire that U.S. policymakers have been battling.
Driving the news: Both crude oil and wholesale gasoline prices have rolled over since June, signaling that the worst of the recently elevated energy costs might have passed.
Only 10% of companies have made, or plan to make, a public statement about abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, according to a survey of approximately 300 public, private and nonprofit entities released Tuesday by the Conference Board.
Why it matters: In recent years, businesses have increasingly taken stands on social issues — particularly around race and LGBTQ rights — but abortion so far has proven too controversial.
Netflix on Tuesday predicted that its streak of losing subscribers will end soon — suggesting the broader streaming slowdown may not be as bad as investors were expecting, although headwinds still persist.
Why it matters: The proliferation of streaming services is threatening Netflix's dominance, but its performance is still seen as a bellwether for the larger entertainment industry
Desires to be out in the world are butting up against labor shortages and soaring inflation, Yelp's latest economic report shows. So far, those desires are still winning.
Why it matters: What the pandemic took away is back in full-force as consumers make up for lost time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's program tracking COVID cases on cruise ships in the U.S. "is no longer in effect," per a CDC website update.
Why it matters: The COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships that became voluntary last January publicly displayed data on the number of reported virus cases aboard ships. Its end enables cruise lines to make their own COVID protocols.
In our increasingly loud, distracting world, we’re seldom bored. But just doing nothing has its perks.
Why it matters: Filling our brains with the constant flood of junk food from our phones — tweets, Facebook and Instagram posts, tabloid gossip — leaves little room for creative and original ideas, studies show.
