Casino operator Bally’s issued a going-concern warning in its second-quarter earnings report, citing a deepening liquidity crunch. As of end-June, the company owned and operated 20 casinos globally, spanning the United Kingdom and 11 U.S. states. Shares have fallen more than 35.9% over the five trading days following the disclosure, and are down more than 46.8% since the start of 2026.

The US IPO market has raised $145.5bn in 2026, topping the full-year 2021 record of $142.4bn. SpaceX’s $75bn offering in June accounted for more than half of the total. SK hynix raised $26.5bn in the largest-ever US listing by a foreign company, while the Renaissance IPO Index is up 18.8% this year, beating the S&P 500. Anthropic and OpenAI have filed confidentially, keeping the pipeline active.

U.S. stocks closed modestly higher as easing Treasury yields lifted risk appetite and a sharp jump in Moderna powered the healthcare sector. The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average all posted small gains. Federal Reserve meeting minutes showed “several” officials were prepared to raise rates, and “many” said a hike would be needed if inflation fails to fall to the central bank’s 2% target. Marvell Technology rose after saying it will help develop Google’s in-demand custom chips and has offered the company the right to buy a potential $12.2 billion stake.

U.S. spot Solana ETFs posted $1.58 million in daily net inflows on Aug. 18, bringing cumulative net inflows to $1.16 billion and total net assets to $923.57 million. The products logged $30.13 million in total value traded for the day. Analysts are also turning more bullish on SOL, with attention on whether it can break above the $100 level. Some projections cited potential targets of $295 and even $400.

ZeroStack (ZSTK) said on Wednesday it has reached a definitive agreement to accept a $1 billion strategic contribution in Memecore tokens. The announcement lifted the stock sharply higher in afternoon trading.

Australian Strategic Materials (ASM) said its acquisition scheme has become effective, with shareholders set to receive 0.053 New Energy Fuels CDIs (or shares) and $0.13 cash per ASM share, while optionholders will receive $0.50 cash per option. ASM securities will be suspended from ASX trading after the close of 19 August 2026, with payment expected on 28 August 2026. Over the past 12 months, ASM shares have risen 109%, compared with a 1% rise in the All Ordinaries Index.

The US Treasury said it will at least double the maximum size of its long-dated bond buyback operations to at least $4 billion per operation starting September 9, pushing the dollar index DXY00 down to a 2.5-month low and ending the session off 0.80%. EUR/USD rose to a 2.5-month high, while USD/JPY fell 0.80%. Minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting leaned slightly hawkish, but failed to reverse the dollar’s decline.

Japan’s 30-year government bond yield climbed to an intraday 19-year high of 5.33% on Tuesday, underscoring market unease about fiscal policy. In the U.S., a $1.8 trillion fiscal-year deficit has pushed total government debt to nearly $40 trillion, while private investors’ share of Treasury holdings has risen to 73%. Japan, which imports about 90% of its energy, posted 1.1% year-on-year GDP growth in the second quarter versus an expected 2.0%. The short-term policy rate remains 1.0%, and the yen has fallen to a 40-year low against the U.S. dollar.