Evening digest: Trump honors Charlie Kirk, Figure’s blockbuster IPO, rising US Inflation
Thursday’s evening wrap covers major developments from politics, finance, and the economy.
President Trump’s announcement to honor conservative activist Charlie Kirk stirred debate, while Figure Technology’s stock soared in a blockbuster Nasdaq debut.
Infosys announced a $2 billion share buyback, and US inflation data showed an unexpected rise, complicating the Federal Reserve’s outlook.
A glance at the biggest stories capturing attention today.
Charlie Kirk named for Presidential Honor
US President Donald Trump announced he will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor.
The announcement came during a 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon on Thursday, just a day after Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University during a Turning Point USA event.
Trump called Kirk “a giant of his generation” and a “champion of liberty” whose “voice and courage” will continue to inspire millions, especially young people.
Kirk, 31, founded Turning Point USA, a prominent conservative youth organization, and was a close ally of Trump. The FBI has recovered the weapon used in the shooting and continues to search for the suspect, believed to be a college-aged male.
The date for the Medal of Freedom ceremony has yet to be announced, but Trump promised it will draw a “very big crowd.” Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika, and two children. Read full report here
Figure’s blockbuster debut on Wall Street
Figure Technology had quite the debut on the Nasdaq yesterday. The blockchain lending company raised nearly $800 million by selling shares at $25 each, but that was just the beginning.
By the end of trading, those shares had shot up 44% to around $44 – that’s the kind of first day investors dream about.
What makes Figure interesting is that they are not your typical lender. They use blockchain technology to speed up home equity loans, getting them done in 10 days instead of the usual month and a half.
Since starting up in 2018, they’ve pulled in over $190 million in revenue and actually turned a profit recently, which is more than a lot of tech companies can say.
They’re trading under “FIGR” now, with Goldman Sachs helping manage the whole thing. It’s one of the bigger crypto-related companies to go public this year, showing that Wall Street’s getting more comfortable with blockchain businesses. Read full report here
Infosys buying back $2 billion in shares
Indian tech giant Infosys just approved a massive $2 billion share buyback, their fifth one since going public.
They are planning to buy shares back at ₹1,840 to ₹1,900 each, which is actually 24% higher than what they’ve been trading for lately.
This move makes sense when you look at how their stock’s been performing. Infosys shares are down about 18.5% this year, doing worse than both the overall market and other tech companies.
By buying back shares, they’re trying to prop up the stock price and show investors they believe in their own company.
The analysts think it’s a smart play, especially since Infosys is sitting on over ₹40,000 crore in cash.
When companies buy back their own shares, there are fewer shares floating around, which usually pushes the price up.
US inflation ticks up to 2.9% in August
August brought some unwelcome news on the inflation front as prices rose 2.9% compared to last year, up from July’s 2.7%.
That’s the biggest jump America has seen since January, and it came in higher than economists were expecting.
The monthly increase was 0.4%, driven by more expensive food, cars (both used and new), and energy costs that went up for the first time in seven months.
The core inflation rate, which strips out food and energy prices, held steady at 3.1%.
This puts the Federal Reserve in a tough spot. Thee central bank is mulling over cutting interest rates, but with inflation creeping back up, they might need to pump the brakes on those plans.
The higher prices are partly due to ongoing trade issues and supply chain problems that just won’t go away. Read full report here
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