President Trump announced Wednesday night that some members of the military will receive a $1,776 "warrior dividend," while touting his tariffs and economic policies more broadly.
Why it matters: The president's move comes as the administration tackles an affordability problem that has been hurting Republicans in recent elections, and as Trump's approval ratings on his handling of the economy have reached a record low.
The U.S. will build "Trump-class" military vessels that the president on Monday suggested are new-age battleships, inching the country closer to construction of what the administration is advertising as "the Golden Fleet."
The big picture: President Trump has in his second term obsessed over seapower — long a sign of a country's strength. Here, he again inserts himself.
This holiday season, JPMorgan Chase appears to be having a change of heart on crypto.
Why it matters: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has long derided cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, famously calling it a "fraud," "stupid" and "worthless" — and even saying he'd fire any employees found trading it.
Erebor, a new digital bank co-founded by Anduril's Palmer Luckey, has quietly raised $350 million at a $4.35 billion post-money valuation, Axios has learned from multiple sources.
Why it matters: Investor excitement in the stablecoin banking startup is reaching AI levels.
It will be a challenging 2026 for American workers, even as overall growth remains solid. That, in a nutshell, is the Axios Macro Consensus.
The big picture: About 500 of you entered projections in the last several days. The median entrant saw the unemployment rate surging to 5%, with still-elevated inflation and continued GDP growth.
Private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus have agreed to acquire Clearwater Analytics, a Boise, Idaho-based investment and accounting software maker, for $8.4 billion (including assumed debt).
The big picture: It's a boomerang buyout for Permira and Warburg Pincus, which both invested in Clearwater in 2020 and helped take it public one year later.
Instacart said on Monday that it's discontinuing a recently exposed program that offered some customers different prices for the same items.
Why it matters: The controversial program called attention to the concept of dynamic pricing, in which businesses set variable price points for goods and services based on different factors.
Why it matters: TheWhite House faces growing pressure to address affordability as it heads into a critical midterm. The president is betting that his "big, beautiful" law will boost the economy while pinning any lingering pain on his predecessor.
Declines in tech stocks? Healthy movement. Local officials stopping data centers? Prevents overbuild. Valuations high? Well, they deserve to be.
Why it matters: Every risk for the AI trade is framed as a positive by Wall Street bulls who are adamant we are in the early stages of the AI revolution.
