Stocks hovered near record highs on Friday as investors awaited a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska regarding Ukraine, as well as US retail data. Retail sales increased 0.5% in July, according to the Commerce Department, with spending at auto dealerships and promotions offered by Amazon and Walmart helping drive the gain.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US will not purchase Bitcoin for its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, instead relying on $15 billion to $20 billion in seized assets, but later left the door open to "budget-neutral" acquisitions. The reserve, created by President Donald Trump in March, will be built from forfeited Bitcoin that can no longer be sold, removing a potential $10 billion supply overhang from the market. While fresh sovereign buying could have signaled strong institutional support, the plan remains largely symbolic until new funding mechanisms emerge.

US stocks could decline if the Federal Reserve signals a dovish stance at the Jackson Hole economic symposium after a record rally, Bank of America strategists say. Investors have moved into risky assets, anticipating rate cuts, but a "buy the rumor, sell the fact" reaction could lead to a market drop, according to the strategists.

Hedge funds including Bridgewater Associates, Tiger Global Management and Discovery Capital have significantly increased their investments in major technology companies in the second quarter, driven by the growth of artificial intelligence. Bridgewater has more than doubled its investments in Nvidia and significantly increased holdings in Alphabet and Microsoft, while Tiger Global has added about 4 million shares of Amazon.

The Federal Reserve's overnight reverse repurchase agreement facility usage has dropped to $28.8 billion, the lowest level since April 2021, as the Treasury Department issues more short-term debt. This shift could lead to a reduction in bank reserve balances, a critical measure for market stability.

A Legionnaires' disease outbreak in Harlem has resulted in four deaths and 99 cases, with 17 people still hospitalized. The New York City Health Department has identified 12 cooling towers across 10 buildings that tested positive for Legionella bacteria, including at Harlem Hospital and the Marshak Science Building of the City College of New York. Eleven of the towers have been remediated, with the last one set for completion soon.

A mysterious phenomenon at 41st Street and Seventh Avenue in Times Square is causing people's hair to stand on end like it is charged with static electricity. The issue, observed as long ago as 2014, has puzzled experts and prompted investigations by New York City's power company, which found no stray voltage. Kelly Robinson of Electrostatic Answers and Rutgers University's Dave Maiullo speculate that a "charged-up" object or piece of equipment may be the cause, though they note that static electricity is unlikely to pose a significant danger.

Senior leaders often spend too much time in one-on-one meetings, which can lead to fragmented conversations, functional silos, misaligned decisions and unnecessary repetition, leadership expert Dan Rockwell writes. Rockwell recommends shifting to three-on-one meetings centered on shared goals to improve communication and reduce confusion, and suggests rotating who speaks first and documenting agreements.

Wholesale prices in the US surged by 0.9% in July, the sharpest monthly increase since March 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This jump was broad-based, with both goods like food and tires and business-to-business services posting notable gains. The latest data highlights how ongoing tariffs are impacting costs at the producer level, sparking concern that these increases could eventually be passed on to consumers.

ETF issuers are taking a page from private wealth playbooks, rolling out strategies that sidestep taxes on bond coupon payments by selling holdings just before their ex-dividend dates. The approach -- available only to high-net-worth clients -- converts taxable interest into unrealized capital gains, boosting after-tax returns. While ETFs have long used in-kind redemptions to avoid capital gains taxes, this pre-dividend rotation tactic now extends that advantage to fixed income, and could spread to other asset classes as issuers cater to investors seeking "frictionless" total returns.