Appearing on CNBC, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was a fan of new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's decision to scrap the central bank's forward guidance.
A former hedge funder, Bessent said he used to profit by trading against the Federal Reserve's so-called "dot plot" expectations of where the bank's members thought rates were headed.
The comments could suggest that Bessent isn't putting a lot of stock into the rate hike forecasts embedded in the Fed's surprisingly hawkish "dots" that were published alongside its rate decision last week.
Bessent also expects 3% or higher GDP growth this year, and, while he doesn't expect a lot of progress on the budget deficit in 2026, he thinks it could come down to less that 4% (as a percentage of GDP) by the end of President Trump's term.
Bitcoin (BTC) his risen about 1% alongside the Bessent remarks to $62,800. Nasdaq 100 futures have moved to session highs, up 0.7%. The 10-year Treasury yield has slipped three basis points to 4.46%.
South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix has filed to raise nearly $30 billion by listing shares in the U.S., according to a Korean regulatory filing Wednesday.
In a similar fashion to U.S. memory chip maker Micron Technologies (MU), SK Hynix is a 10-bagger over the past year, with its market cap surging above the $1 trillion mark. The only other South Korean company with a market cap above $1 trillion is Samsung Electronics.
That $30 billion would place SK Hynix's capital raise on par with that of the 2019 Saudi Aramco U.S. IPO, which raised close to $26 billion.
For the crypto industry, it's yet another example showing investor interest and dollars being scooped up by the AI boom.
Metals continue to slide alongside bitcoin, as the debasement trade narrative that dominated markets in 2025 has largely faded in 2026, weighing on demand for traditional and alternative inflation hedges alike.
Gold and silver are both down more than 1% on Wednesday as they approach key support levels. Gold is trading just above $4,000 per ounce, down 6% year to date and 28% below its January record high. Meanwhile, silver is holding just above $60 per ounce, down 13% year to date and 50% below its January peak.
Micron Technology (MU) is set to report fiscal third-quarter results after the market closes on Wednesday, with investors focused on whether booming AI-related memory demand can support the stock's massive 250% year-to-date rally. According to AlphaStreet, Wall Street expects earnings of about $19.72 per share on revenue of $34.5 billion. Investors will be closely watching management's outlook for high-bandwidth memory demand, pricing trends and long-term customer commitments as they assess the durability of the AI spending boom.
Source
This article is syndicated for educational reading. For the latest updates, visit the original publisher.
Read on coindesk.com
