What you need to know on Wall Street today
Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours.
US stocks slumped in early trading Thursday amid new reports that President Donald Trump was being investigated for obstruction of justice, while investors also digested unexpectedly hawkish guidance from the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it decided to raise interest rates, signaling that it believes the economy is healthy enough to withstand tighter financial conditions. Here's what you need to know:
- Fed raises interest rates, lays out plan to unwind its massive balance sheet
- The Fed boosts its outlook for the US economy
- Here's how the latest Fed rate hike will hit your wallet
- An ominous trend should caution the Fed against raising interest rates again anytime soon
- Here's the Fed's plan to unwind its massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet
- The Fed's plan to shrink its giant balance sheet fails to answer the market's most pressing question
- Janet Yellen is starting to warm to a policy the Fed once regarded as radical
- A predictor with a perfect track record on the American economy is moving closer to signaling a recession
On Wall Street, Wells Fargo may be in hot water again. A dad at JPMorgan filed a class-action charge alleging the bank reinforces "the stereotype that raising children is women's work." And Deutsche Bank is reorganizing its investment bank.
Morgan Stanley is going after a $500 billion opportunity. Super-rich millennials are defying the way their parents have been investing for decades. And hedge funds are crushing it with a bet on emerging markets.
There's one company pulling ahead in blockchain tech, according to Morgan Stanley. Meanwhile, bitcoin is tumbling.
In tech news:
- Snap is getting dangerously close to its IPO price
- There are four new markets Amazon could be ready to take over
- Google is betting big on European biotech drugs
- One analyst just downgraded Alphabet even though business is booming
- Google's stock is slipping after a rare downgrade
- Don't expect the market's hottest stocks to cool down anytime soon
In other news, Southwest Airlines is having a flash sale with one-way flights starting at $39. Elon Musk is working on a major deal to sell Tesla cars in India.
And a German grocery chain with the power to crush Whole Foods and Trader Joe's has officially invaded America.