Finance

The price of Bitcoin crossed the $80,000 threshold for the first time in three months, capping off a substantial weekly rally of over 20%. The momentum was largely driven by a recent U.S. Treasury announcement regarding expanded long-term bond buybacks, triggering what analysts describe as a dollar debasement trade. This trend was further amplified by heavy institutional inflows into spot exchange-traded funds and a massive wave of short-position liquidations.

Shares of Dick's Sporting Goods collapsed nearly 30% after the retail chain missed second-quarter performance expectations and lowered its underlying full-year profit outlook. Management cited challenging retail conditions within the athletic market alongside a weaker response to specific footwear launches. The steep decline directly dragged down related retail and sportswear peers.

A new report from the Conference Board revealed that U.S. consumer confidence fell noticeably in August, missing projections and highlighting ongoing cost-of-living pressures. The negative shift in consumer sentiment was accompanied by downbeat economic data showing a decline in new home sales. These indications of cooling household demand arrive just ahead of the Federal Reserve's highly anticipated Jackson Hole symposium.