National debt hits historic $20 trillion mark (news: 12/09/17)

Today's press

• National debt hits historic $20 trillion mark

  The U.S. national debt reached $20 trillion for the first time ever last Friday after President Trump signed a bipartisan bill temporarily raising the nation's debt limit for three months.

• Pound Hits One-Year High as Rate-Hike Odds Rise

  The pound rose to a one-year high against the dollar after U.K. inflation accelerated more than forecast, prompting investors to bring forward expectations for an interest-rate increase by the Bank of England next year.

• S&P opens at record high as Irma weakens; Apple in focus

  (Reuters) - The S&P opened at a record high on Tuesday as Irma further weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, and ahead of the highly anticipated launch of the new iPhone.

• 'Very High Risk': UK Finance Watchdog Issues Statement on ICOs

  The U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the latest in a wave of regulators around the globe to issue a formal warning on initial coin offerings (ICOs).

• The world's largest sovereign wealth fund tops $1 trillion for the first time

   (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, totalled $1 trillion for the first time on Tuesday as booming global stock markets and a rising euro lifted the value of its assets.

• Ethereum Founder on ICOs: "We Are in a Bubble, A Lot of Projects Will Fail"

  When it comes to the cryptocurrency and blockchain worlds, few figures draw as much rapt attention as Vitalik Buterin. The founder of ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the revolutionary platform which has allowed for initial coin offerings (ICO) to dominate over the past year, commands a great deal of respect among industry followers, so much so that false reports of his death prompted major plunges in the digital currency marketplace. Now, Buterin has words of warning for investors in the ICO area: he suggests that ICOs are a bubble waiting to pop, and that the current trend of largescale token sales is not sustainable.