Finance
-
Tether extends $127.5 million in funding to crypto platform Drift as critics blast rival Circle for failing to freeze hacked funds
Tether has used its hundreds of billions in assets to become many things, including social media investors, data center lenders, and one of the largest holders of U.S. T-bills. But this week, Tether became something else: A crypto startup’s lender of last resort. The stablecoin giant put up $127.5 million in funding—some in loans, some
-
The $39 trillion national debt could break the all-important U.S. bond market, sparking a ‘vicious’ emergency, former Treasury secretary warns
The U.S. is caught in a spiraling debt crisis, and a major casualty might be demand for U.S. Treasuries—a critical support pillar for the economy and the government’s ability to spend money. The scale of U.S. borrowing is severely testing confidence in the country’s ability to keep financing itself. The federal debt has climbed to
-
Iran and White House say the Strait of Hormuz is ‘completely open.’ But it definitely isn’t—at least for now
Iran and the White House both declared the valuable Strait of Hormuz chokepoint “completely open” on April 17, and benchmark crude oil prices plunged below $90 per barrel for the first time since early March. But Iran is still asserting its control over the strait and President Donald Trump maintained that the U.S. blockade on
-
Iran has reopened the Strait of Hormuz—but experts say it now holds a card that works ‘almost like a nuclear deterrent’
Iran’s foreign minister declared the Strait of Hormuz “completely open” for commercial shipping on Friday, sending Brent crude down roughly $10 to around $89 a barrel within minutes and U.S. stocks to a fresh record high. President Donald Trump quickly claimed credit on Truth Social, writing that the Strait is “COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR
-
Tourism had a record-breaking 2025 everywhere but the U.S., report finds, as international visitor numbers plummet by the millions
Last year was a record-breaking one for international tourism, injecting trillions of dollars into the global economy and supporting millions of jobs. But while more people than ever took to weathered streets of European capitals or sun-soaked beaches on Pacific islands, the U.S. appears to have plummeted down travelers’ bucket lists. Global travel last year
-
Trump says Iran to suspend nuclear program, won’t get funds
President Donald Trump said Iran agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and will not receive any frozen funds from the US. Trump said in a phone interview on Friday that a deal to end the war, which the US and Israel began with Iran in late February, is mostly complete. Talks over a lasting
-
Iran says it fully reopens Strait of Hormuz as Trump says blockade will ‘remain in force’
Iran said Friday it fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, but President Donald Trump said the American blockade on Iranian ships and ports “will remain in full force” until Tehran reaches a deal with the U.S., including on its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that the crucial
-
Current price of oil as of April 17, 2026
At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today, oil was priced at $96.18 per barrel with Brent serving as the benchmark (we’ll explain different benchmarks later in this article). That’s a drop of 88 cents compared with yesterday morning and around $28 higher than the price one year ago. Oil price per barrel % Change Price of
-
If the economy feels even worse for you than the inflation data says, that might be because childcare isn’t deemed a ‘necessity’
Inflation isn’t in a great place right now: Despite “affordability” becoming the buzzword of D.C., prices are moving in the opposite direction to consumers’ wishes. The latest CPI report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows inflation jumped once again, up to 3.3% over the past 12 months. Much of this has come from increases
-
Exclusive: Senator presses DOJ and Treasury over status of Binance monitors after $1.7 billion in Iran-linked crypto flows
Congress continues to probe Iran’s use of Binance. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) sent out letters on Friday asking for details on the status of two monitors assigned to oversee the world’s largest crypto exchange and its compliance operations. “I am writing with concern over mounting allegations of dangerously lax anti-money laundering prevention by Binance,” said