Follow along as MarketWatch tracks what is a pivotal Federal Reserve interest-rate committee meeting. Will the committee decide to hold rates steady or could the influential officials pushing for a rate hike win the day?

Key Takeaways The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key interest rate flat Wednesday, but a hike would not come as a complete surprise either.Fed officials are weighing whether to raise interest rates to push inflation down to the central bank’s goal of a 2% annual rate.

Any rise in borrowing costs in the run-up to the midterm elections would come at a precarious time for Republicans, with Americans so sour on the economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh said he anticipated another “good family fight” and economists expect dissents from the Fed's July meeting.

World shares were mixed while South Korea’s Kospi stock index dropped 6% Wednesday as doubts over massive investments in artificial intelligence once again led investors to dump chipmakers' shares. In early European trading,

South Korea’s Kospi share index dropped 8% on Wednesday on prolonged selling of chipmaking shares. The latest rout was led by a plunge in shares in chipmaker SK Hynix after its profit in the last quarter fell short of analysts’ forecasts even though it soared.

South Korea’s Kospi index plunged nearly 11% on Tuesday on heavy selling of computer chipmaking stocks that have been battered recently by bouts of sell-offs triggered by fears the boom in artificial intelligence may turn out to be a bubble.

South Korea's Kospi index has plunged nearly 11% on heavy selling of chipmaking stocks that have been battered recently by waves of fears that the boom in artificial intelligence may be a bubble

Meta's Q2 earnings report will deliver a major update for the market's AI narrative, as investors turn cautious on lofty capex spending outlooks.

Meta Platforms’ stock has fallen for nine consecutive sessions in its worst losing streak ever, setting an increasingly bearish tone ahead of the social media giant’s earnings report due after market hours on Wednesday.

As Meta Platforms prepares to report second-quarter earnings, the company is confronting a wall of artificial-intelligence pessimism that will be difficult to overcome. Meta is set to report earnings Wednesday afternoon,

Meta could deliver a record quarter for its core advertising business. But Wall Street will look past that for the latest on the company’s AI spending.

Shein, the online fast-fashion retailer, said its U.S. operations are under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and that it could face significant fines as a result, according to documents filed in connection with its planned Hong Kong IPO.

The fast-fashion giant says it’s cooperating with federal regulators as it pursues a Hong Kong IPO. New filings reveal a less-than-ideal picture for investors.

The company, which was founded in China, did not disclose what the FTC is investigating, or when the probe began.

Shein disclosed an FTC investigation into its U.S. operations in IPO-related documents, but the company has not said what the probe covers or when it began.

The provider of fuel-cell technology raised its fiscal 2026 revenue and adjusted earnings per share guidance, as it posted a profit of $196.3 million.

Bloom Energy delivered a blowout second quarter, topping Wall Street expectations on both revenue and earnings while raising its full-year guida

Bloom EnergyBE raised 2026 guidance well above views late Tuesday after crushing earnings and revenue estimates for the second quarter. Already a massive AI infrastructure winner, Bloom Energy stock jumped in extended trading.

Shares of Bloom Energy rose more than 10% in extended trading Tuesday after the fuel-cell maker reported quarterly sales that topped $1 billion, well above Wall Street’s estimates, and positioned itself as a winner in the race to power AI.

Australia is planning to build its first new oil refinery since 1965 after petrol stations ran dry earlier this year.

The Australian government this week announced plans to construct a new large-scale oil refinery in Western Australia. If approved, it would be the first refinery to be built since the 1960s. The federal government initially touted the idea of a government-backed oil refinery in April.

Plans for this country's first new oil refinery for more than six decades have been announced by the prime minister to shore up local fuel security.

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