One of the most hyped token projects to come out of the heady days of 2017's crypto boom was the security project Quantstamp.
Driving the news: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a $3.5 million deal Friday with the firm behind that project to settle allegations that its initial coin offering was a violation of U.S. securities laws.
Shares for Facebook parent Meta spiked roughly 5% in after-hours trading Wednesday, after the tech giant handily beat Wall Street expectations on revenue, earnings and user growth for the second quarter of the year.
Why it matters: Meta also issued positive guidance for the third quarter, giving investors a dose of optimism amid an otherwise mixed earnings season for ad-supported digital platforms.
The Federal Reserve resumed its campaign of interest rate increases, pushing its target rate up another 0.25 percentage point to the highest level in 22 years.
Driving the news: The action pushes the overnight federal funds rate to a range of 5.25% to 5.5%, continuing the Fed's efforts to fight rapidly rising prices even amid signs inflation is receding.
Seven of the world's largest automakers are forming a new company to build a vast network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers across America, they announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: Their goal is to help potential EV buyers get over their "range anxiety" by tapping billions of dollars in federal subsidies to accelerate the rollout of fast-charging infrastructure.
Why it matters: The resilience of stock and housing prices — against a backdrop of epic monetary tightening — has created an unusual situation in which Americans' wealth is holding up fine, despite substantially higher interest rates.
The big picture: This upswing has been building all year as inflation cooled. It's visible across income groups — and across different national surveys measuring consumer attitudes.
Don't look now, but the stock market is within spitting distance of a new record high, after a rip-roaring rally that's pushed the S&P 500 up 19% this year.
State of play: As of the close of trading Tuesday, it's less than 5% from eclipsing its last high-water mark, which it reached on Jan. 3, 2022.
UPS workers are celebrating the deal their union reached with the company on Tuesday as the biggest win in a generation.
Why it matters: The tentative five-year agreement between UPS and the Teamsters union representing more than 340,000 workers averted what would've been the biggest strike in decades. It will likely embolden unionized workers around the country to dig in their heels and demand higher wages and better benefits.
