January 20, 2026 11:26 AM EST
As Prediction Markets Grow in Popularity, Some Fear ‘Insider Trading.’ What’s Next?
FROM 27 minutes ago
Someone profited handsomely after winning an unlikely short-term bet on Nicolás Maduro’s fate. The win kicked off a round of intense scrutiny of prediction markets.
How, the questions went, could they have known what would happen in Venezuela with such confidence? If they did know, did that amount to market manipulation? And if it did, how many more winners were trading on confidential information for their own gain?
The regulatory path ahead for prediction markets could get busier and more complex this year.
Gabby Jones / Bloomberg via Getty Images
That paranoia—or, more charitably, the curiosity—appears to be percolating. On social media, skeptics routinely peruse wagers and wonder aloud whether they might constitute something like “insider trading,” a term generally used for the illegal practice of buying or selling securities using privileged information. Legislators have also expressed interest in learning more.
So is something amiss on prediction markets, one of the fastest-growing segments of trader enthusiasm and activity? If it is, what should be done? The short answer: It’s complicated.
Read the full article here.
January 20, 2026 11:05 AM EST
America’s Biggest Tech Stocks Lead Tuesday’s Selloff as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Rattles Markets
FROM 49 minutes ago
The Magnificent Seven aren’t looking so magnificent to start the week.
All seven of the tech giants—Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT), and Tesla (TSLA)—saw their stocks slide to start the holiday-shortened trading week as rising geopolitical concerns fueled a broad market sell-off, with the shares down 1% to 2% each.
Stocks fell in early trading Tuesday after President Donald Trump over the weekend threatened higher tariffs on a number of European countries unless the U.S. is allowed to acquire Greenland.
President Donald Trump over the weekend threatened new tariffs on several European allies if the U.S. isn’t allowed to acquire Greenland.
Demetrius Freeman / The Washington Post / Getty Images
“Starting on February 1st, 2026, all of the above mentioned Countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, The United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Finland), will be charged a 10% Tariff on any and all goods sent to the United States of America. On June 1st, 2026, the Tariff will be increased to 25%. This Tariff will be due and payable until such time as a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland,” Trump said in a Saturday morning social media post.
Read the full article here.
January 20, 2026 10:17 AM EST
Average Time Americans Spent Saving for a Home Down Payment in 2025 Revealed
FROM 1 hr 37 min ago
For most Americans, saving enough for a down payment takes years. But today’s buyers are reaching that goal faster than they have in recent memory.
In 2025, the typical American needed seven years to save for a median home down payment, according to Realtor.com—down sharply from 12 years in 2022. Even so, that timeline is still nearly double what it was before the pandemic, when surging home prices put ownership further out of reach for many would-be buyers.
Housing experts recommend a down payment of at least 20% of home value. However, in the third quarter of 2025, average down payments were just 14.4% of the home price.
Israel Sebastian / Getty Images
“Although conditions have improved since 2022, today’s timeline shows that saving for a home takes meaningfully longer than it did before the pandemic, especially in high-cost markets,” Realtor.com chief economist Danielle Hale said in a release.
Read the full article here.
January 20, 2026 09:52 AM EST
Spotify Is the Latest Streamer to Hike Prices. Why You Should Watch Out for ‘Subscription Creep’
FROM 2 hr 1 min ago
Listening to music could be about to get a little bit more expensive for millions of people.
Spotify (SPOT) said last week that it plans to raise the prices of its paid subscription offerings in the U.S. by $1 to $2 starting next month. That will bring the cost of an individual plan up to $12.99 per month, $18.99 for a plan that includes two accounts, $21.99 for a family plan of up to six accounts, and $6.99 for eligible student accounts, Spotify said.
Aleksander Kalka / NurPhoto / Getty Images
It’s also not the only streaming company that’s raised prices recently. If you haven’t checked your subscriptions in a while, it could be a good time to see whether “subscription creep” may have pushed costs higher than you’d want, after a series of price hikes across the industry.
Read the full article here.
January 20, 2026 09:33 AM EST
What ‘Agentic Commerce’ Means—And How a Walmart Exec Thinks AI Could Help You Shop
FROM 2 hr 21 min ago
Some AI tools beg the question: Who asked for this?
In the rush to capitalize on artificial intelligence, companies have released a myriad of “agentic commerce” tools that aim to revolutionize shopping. (Agentic commerce refers to AI agents performing tasks, such as comparing prices or making purchases, on behalf of consumers.) More than a few lack consumer appeal, according to Daniel Danker, Walmart’s (WMT) executive vice president of AI acceleration, project and design.Â
Retailers are thinking about how AI may improve shopping.
Serene Lee / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
“We’ve all been playing with the technology to understand it better,” Danker said at a conference earlier this week, according to a transcript made available by AlphaSense. “A lot of things have been built that won’t necessarily work. A lot of things have been built that don’t necessarily reflect exactly what the customer wants.”
Read the full article here.
January 20, 2026 08:50 AM EST
Fastenal Stock Drops After Q4 Sales, Operating Income Margin Slightly Miss Estimates
FROM 3 hr 3 min ago
Shares of Fastenal (FAST) sank 6.5% in premarket trading after the industrial distributor reported fiscal 2025 fourth-quarter net sales and operating income margin that narrowly missed analysts’ estimates.
The Winona, Minn.-based firm, which bills itself as “a leader in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies,” posted net sales that rose 11% year-over-year to just below $2.03 billion and operating margin of 19.0%. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected just above $2.03 billion and 19.4%, respectively.
Fastenal’s profit of $0.26 per share matched consensus expectations.
The company said that “broader market conditions remain mixed, with ongoing challenges in industrial production.”Â
Fastenal shares entered Tuesday having risen about 15% over the past year.
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January 20, 2026 08:06 AM EST
Trump Is Set to Unveil Big Plans Addressing Housing Affordability This Week. Here’s What We Know
FROM 3 hr 47 min ago
Housing affordability has been a problem for the U.S. economy in recent years, and President Donald Trump is set to roll out what he describes as a series of “aggressive” reforms for the housing market this week.
Trump has said he will use his Wednesday speech at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to lay out his ideas for the housing market. Trump and his advisors have signaled that the plans could have big implications for mortgages and how Americans buy homes.
Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images
Here’s what we know about the plan so far.
Read the full article here.
January 20, 2026 07:46 AM EST
RAPT Therapeutics Stock Skyrockets as GSK Buys Biopharmaceutical Firm for $2.2BÂ
FROM 4 hr 7 min ago
Tuesday is looking like it’ll be a rough day for stocks. That does not appear to be the case for RAPT Therapeutics (RAPT) shareholders.
RAPT Therapeutics shares added nearly two-thirds of their value in premarket trading after drug giant GSK (GSK) said it had agreed to purchase the California-based biopharmaceutical firm for roughly $2.2 billion in stock.
GSK will pay RAPT Therapeutics shareholders $58.00 per share at closing—a 65% premium to Friday’s closing price of $35.10—and said its upfront investment is about $1.9 billion.
The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026, would give GSK global rights to experimental food-allergy drug ozureprubart, excluding mainland China, Macau, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
“Food allergies cause severe health impacts to patients with existing treatment requiring injections as frequently as every 2 weeks,” GSK Chief Scientific Officer Tony Wood said. “Ozureprubart offers the opportunity to bring sustained protection to patients with dosing every 12 weeks, and is consistent with our approach to acquire assets that address validated targets and where there is clear unmet medical need.”
RAPT Therapeutics shares entered Tuesday up roughly 265% over the past year.
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January 20, 2026 07:00 AM EST
Stock Futures Dive After Trump Threatens New Tariffs Over Greenland
FROM 4 hr 53 min ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average pointed down 1.3%.
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S&P 500 futures pointed down 1.6%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures sank 1.9%.
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