Citigroup has pushed its forecast for the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate cut to June 2027 after stronger US jobs data reduced concerns over the labor market, leaving Bitcoin and the crypto market facing the prospect of higher borrowing costs for longer.

Reuters reported that Citi had previously expected the Fed to cut rates in October and December 2026 and again in January 2027. The bank has replaced those calls with three reductions in June, September and December 2027 after August payrolls came in well above forecasts.

US employers added 162,000 jobs in August, compared with economists’ expectations of 53,000, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. The monthly payroll gain was the strongest since March, and the labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage point.

Earlier employment figures were revised higher as well. July payrolls were changed to a gain of 21,000 from a previously reported loss of 23,000, while the June figure was raised by 11,000.

Citi economists Andrew Hollenhorst and Veronica Clark said the figures suggested Fed officials would see employment conditions as broadly stable and focus more closely on inflation.

“The unemployment rate was unchanged and labor force participation rebounded noticeably,” they wrote.

Strong jobs data changed Fed expectations and hit Bitcoin

The jobs report quickly reached the crypto market as traders raised their expectations for tighter monetary policy.

Bitcoin fell below $80,000 following the August employment data, reversing from an intraday high around $81,370 as markets repriced the outlook for US interest rates. As crypto.news previously reported, BTC was trading near $79,600 after the release, down around 1.5% over 24 hours.

Rate futures at the time placed a 61% probability on a Fed hike at the Sept. 15 to 16 meeting, up from 52% before the employment figures were released, according to Reuters.

The Fed has since delivered that increase. Policymakers raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points on Sept. 16, taking the federal funds target range to 3.75% to 4%. It was the central bank’s first rate hike since July 2023.

New projections released with the decision showed that 16 of 18 Fed officials expected at least one more rate increase before the end of 2026.

Citi’s revised forecast now places the first expected cut roughly nine months after the September hike. The bank had previously been among the more dovish forecasters on Fed policy, with its earlier projections calling for three cuts between October 2026 and January 2027.

Higher rates remain a pressure point for Bitcoin and crypto

Bitcoin has repeatedly reacted to changes in US interest rate expectations this year as inflation, employment and energy prices changed the path investors expected the Fed to take.

A stronger labor market gives policymakers less reason to lower borrowing costs to support employment, while persistent inflation has kept attention on the other side of the Fed’s dual mandate.

Inflation has remained above the central bank’s 2% target for more than five years. Fed officials have consequently kept open the possibility of tighter policy if monthly inflation readings fail to show sufficient moderation.

That backdrop has already produced periods of pressure across crypto markets. Ahead of the September Fed meeting, the global crypto market lost more than 2% as the probability of a 25 basis point rate increase moved above 92%. Bitcoin fell below $76,000 during the move.

Treasury yields and the US dollar can compete with risk assets for capital when investors expect rates to remain elevated. Crypto assets do not generate interest simply from being held, while higher yields on government debt can give investors another place to park capital.

Market behavior since the Fed meeting, however, has not followed a simple higher rates equals lower Bitcoin pattern.

Bitcoin has recovered despite the Fed rate hike

Bitcoin briefly moved toward $75,000 after the Sept. 16 decision but later recovered, eventually climbing above $86,000 as ETF demand returned, Treasury yields eased and short sellers were forced to close bearish positions.

The cryptocurrency briefly touched $87,000 this week, its highest level since late January. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $433 million in net inflows on Sept. 18 after heavy withdrawals earlier in the week.

HashKey Group senior researcher Tim Sun said ETF inflows confirmed the rally instead of starting it, while the move through $82,000 triggered short covering that helped carry BTC higher.

BitGo Research has similarly argued that Bitcoin absorbed the Fed hike better than might have been expected. Research chief Greg Cipolaro pointed to Bitcoin’s recovery following both the Fed decision and the failed Senate cloture vote on the CLARITY Act.

The interpretation remains a market view rather than proof that Bitcoin has become insulated from monetary policy. BTC’s rebound coincided with several developments, including renewed ETF demand, falling Treasury yields, lower oil prices and short covering, making it difficult to attribute the move to one factor.

Citi’s new rate path therefore arrives as Bitcoin trades in a different environment from the one immediately following the August employment report. Markets have already absorbed one Fed hike, while policymakers have signaled that another increase remains possible before year end.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams have said they favor holding rates steady as long as inflation continues to moderate on a monthly basis. Waller and Fed Governor Michael Barr have left the door open to further increases if incoming figures fail to show continued progress on prices.

Citi now expects the first reduction in June 2027, followed by cuts in September and December, replacing the three reductions it had previously forecast between October 2026 and January 2027.

The Federal Reserve’s decision last week to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023 has stirred fears that the economy is moving into the later stages of the business cycle. Morgan Stanley sees something different: a “classic” mid-cycle environment that could increasingly favor large-cap, high-quality stocks as earnings season approaches.

“Stick with large cap quality stocks,” Morgan Stanley strategist Mike Wilson wrote in a Monday note reviewed by Business Insider.

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The bank identified 15 major stocks that fit its quality criteria and carry an “overweight” rating from its analysts, including chipmakers Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU), tech companies Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) and credit giants Visa (NYSE: V) and Mastercard (NYSE: MA).

The rest of the list spans several sectors, including consumer staples, retail, health care, technology, semiconductor equipment, software and travel.

Among them are Costco (NASDAQ: COST), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO), Lam Research (NASDAQ: LRCX), Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) and Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), along with the beaten-down UnitedHealth (NYSE: UNH) and ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW), which was caught up in the broader software selloff earlier this year.

To make the cut, companies had to rank among the 1,000 largest stocks by market value, have higher earnings estimates than three months ago, place in the top third of Morgan Stanley’s quality screen and carry an “overweight” rating from the bank’s analysts.

What changes in mid-cycle

The focus on earnings reflects Morgan Stanley’s broader view of where the market is headed. The bank believes that the bull market still has room to run, but the companies leading it could change as the economic cycle matures. Wilson has previously described a shift away from the early-cycle environment, when economically sensitive, higher-risk companies benefited as earnings rebounded from depressed levels.

In the mid-cycle phase, strong earnings growth becomes more important as higher interest rates weigh on stock valuations. Wilson has pointed to the current combination of strong earnings growth and declining valuations as a sign that this shift is already underway.

During mid-cycle, “quality starts to matter again,” Wilson said in an Aug. 3 episode of the Thoughts on the Market podcast. In a follow-up podcast on Sept. 18, he pointed to strengthening earnings expectations in software, financial services, insurance and health care services, suggesting those sectors could pick up some of the momentum enjoyed by semiconductors and other cyclical stocks earlier this year.

There are signs that shift may already be underway. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, a widely followed benchmark for the chip industry, has surged 75% this year but is down roughly 14% from its June high, according to Yahoo Finance data.

For investors, a shift in market leadership would put more weight on companies that can keep growing earnings and generating cash even as borrowing costs rise.

Read More: Vanguard reveals what’s coming for U.S. stocks — and it could be bad news for this group of investors

How long will the earnings boom last?

If earnings are becoming more important to stock returns, investors may need to be more selective about where they put their money. That comes after an especially strong second quarter, when S&P 500 earnings grew 28.9%, according to FactSet, marking the third straight quarter of growth above 25%.

Analysts tracked by FactSet expect earnings growth to remain strong in the third quarter, but Goldman Sachs sees that pace slowing next year.

In May, Goldman forecast S&P 500 earnings growth of 24% this year, slowing to 13% next year. The bank also expects companies benefiting from AI infrastructure spending to account for roughly half of this year’s earnings growth.

But Goldman has also made the case for looking beyond the stocks that have led those gains, supporting Morgan Stanley’s argument for a more selective approach. Chief U.S. equity strategist Ben Snider said it would be beneficial for investors “to diversify beyond AI-infrastructure stocks,” especially if an improved geopolitical outlook boosts consumer-facing stocks.

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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Morgan Stanley names its ‘overweight’ stocks to buy as earnings season approaches

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

Strategic Shift to Proprietary IP and Direct-to-Consumer Ecosystem

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we’ll show you why it’s our #1 pick. Tap here.

• Management is transitioning the business model into a strategic closed loop, integrating proprietary IPs with direct-to-customer (D2C) channels to reduce reliance on volatile third-party distribution.

• The company is deliberately prioritizing long-term IP asset value and perceived scarcity over short-term wholesale volume, viewing distribution as a reach tool rather than a loyalty driver.

• Performance attribution for the fiscal year highlights the successful scaling of the proprietary IP ‘SIINONO’, which reached a near CNY 100 million annualized scale in under 12 months.

• Operational priorities have shifted toward perfecting structural unit economics and D2C retail networks, which serve as both premium theaters for product presentation and incubators for new IP testing.

• Management attributes the current bottom-line loss to a one-time non-cash market valuation adjustment and necessary upfront investments in design and brick-and-mortar expansion.

• The ‘others’ IP category saw a 661% year-over-year surge, validating a diversified flywheel strategy intended to mitigate dependency on any single flagship IP.

Operational Refinement and Sustainable Profitability Mandate

• The near-term strategic mandate focuses on driving toward sustainable profitability by aligning cost structures with stabilized revenue through disciplined expense optimization.

• Management expects to close the gap between revenue and cost trends over time as they transition from aggressive deployment to maximizing same-machine efficiency in the Roboshop network.

• Future inventory management will leverage real-time data from D2C stores and Roboshops to build predictive demand models, reducing the mismatch between production and market sell-through.

• The company plans to capture peak tourist flows during the National Day Golden Week via the launch of a multilayered experiential cruise project at Hong Kong’s Central Pier.

• Guidance assumes a continued challenging retail environment, with management refusing to resort to aggressive clearing measures that might undermine brand premium.

Non-Operating Adjustments and Structural Headwinds

• A one-time non-operating loss was recorded due to market valuation adjustments, which management emphasized is non-cash and separate from core operations.

• A goodwill impairment charge of CNY 124.1 million was recognized related to the Fastone acquisition, driven by lower-than-expected performance amid macro headwinds.

• Channel inventory levels exceeded normal ranges due to a structural mismatch between the cooling macro environment and historical wholesale-led operating paces.

• The company initiated a $20 million ADS repurchase program in June 2026, signaling confidence in long-term asset value despite current market volatility.

Story Continues

Her inner circle includes roommate Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai, another standout), a driven scholarship student who calls herself “the Simone Biles of school” and whose eventual bond with Deborah echoes Whitley’s odd-couple friendship with her own Hillman roommate, Kim (Charnele Brown, who also guest stars). Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece), whose church-girl innocence belies big ambitions, completes the trio. Among Shaquille’s boys are Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche), whose aspirations of becoming a fashion designer don’t exactly thrill his strict African parents, and Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall), a formerly incarcerated student whose time in juvie continues to interfere with his life at Hillman. Amir is also the franchise’s first gay main character, an identity that Hall and the writers navigate with grace and ease.

It’s a reverent reinvention, one that the people behind the first Different World clearly support. (Jada Pinkett Smith, Joe Morton, Glynn Turman, and Jenifer Lewis are just a few of the other past stars who appear.) Without defaulting to the Very Special Episodes that worked better in primetime than they do in a binge-dropped streaming season, Pride engages with issues relevant to her young, Black characters, often letting themes develop across episodes. Allen’s groundbreaking storylines about apartheid protests, AIDS, and the censorship of rap lyrics have given way to ones that consider the stigma around learning disabilities, friction between African and Black American cultures, and HBCUs’ reliance on funding from an anti-DEI federal government. In one episode, a bomb threat forces students to realize the school they’d hoped would give them a four-year reprieve from racism is also uniquely vulnerable to it. Yet, true to its history, the show thoughtfully interweaves these topical beats into collegiate lives that revolve around schoolwork, romantic mess, friend-group drama, money troubles, dreams of the future.

Bitcoin has traded near $84,000 on Sept. 24 after rejecting the $87,000 area, while 100–1,000 BTC wallets accumulated 113,950 BTC and U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their net inflow streak to five sessions.

CoinGecko data showed Bitcoin at $83,863.54 during the latest check, down 3.8% over 24 hours but up 9.9% over seven days. Trading volume stood near $42.69 billion, while the asset’s market capitalization was approximately $1.685 trillion.

The pullback followed a run to $87,392 on Sept. 21, the highest print since Jan. 29, according to Bitfinex Alpha. In related crypto.news coverage of Bitcoin’s $83,600 Supertrend support test, BTC had already lost momentum after moving above $87,000 and falling back below $85,000.

Bitcoin price stays above Rekt Capital’s $82K support zone

Crypto analyst Rekt Capital said Bitcoin was meeting resistance around $86,700 after its breakout from the previous $60,000–$80,000 range. In a Sept. 23 post, the analyst described the resistance as “nothing too convincing for the time being,” while keeping attention on support below the market.

Rekt Capital said Bitcoin would need to remain above roughly $82,000, or successfully retest the area during a future dip, to stay positioned for bullish continuation. A later post placed the previous range high around $80,000 and said Bitcoin had not fully confirmed its breakout until that area had been tested as support. Both levels represent the analyst’s technical framework, not guaranteed price outcomes.

Meanwhile, on the one-hour chart, Bitcoin’s RSI stood at 39.38 while the Money Flow Index was 37.71. Both indicators remained below 50 after the pullback from the $86,000–$87,000 area, pointing to weaker short-term momentum without entering deeply oversold territory.

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A separate crypto.news market analysis placed four-hour Supertrend support near $83,593 after Bitcoin fell from roughly $87,279.

Bitfinex Alpha described $85,000–$86,500 as a high-volume buyer cost area after the move to $87,392. Its Sept. 23 report said Bitcoin had reached a price area that separated lasting recoveries from failed rebounds during previous cycles, while continued ETF and corporate purchases remained part of its framework.

Bitcoin whales have added 113,950 BTC since July

Santiment posted that wallets holding between 100 and 1,000 BTC increased their combined balance by 113,950 BTC from July 15 through Sept. 23. The cohort’s holdings rose 2.22% to approximately 5.24 million BTC during the period. Independent reports citing the same Santiment dataset carried matching figures.

🐳 Bitcoin’s 100-1,000 $BTC wallets are accumulating fast. Since July 15, they’ve added 113,950 BTC, growing their collective holdings by 2.22% to roughly 5.24M BTC.

🧠 This wallet tier has historically been one of Bitcoin’s most useful smart money groups to watch. Santiment’s… pic.twitter.com/tCntKfdPQg

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) September 23, 2026

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Santiment described the group as one of the wallet tiers that has tracked crypto market direction closely in its five-year analysis. The firm said accumulation by the cohort has often appeared before or during stronger price periods. Historical correlation, however, does not establish that changes in the group’s balances caused Bitcoin’s subsequent price moves.

Wallet data carries another limitation. An address does not represent a confirmed individual investor because one entity can control several wallets, while exchanges and custodians can move coins among addresses. The figures therefore document rising balances inside the 100–1,000 BTC cohort without proving that a known group of institutions or funds purchased the coins on the open market.

During the same period, Bitcoin recovered sharply from its July 1 low of $57,803, according to Bitfinex. The price reached $87,392 on Sept. 21 before retreating toward $84,000 this week.

U.S. Bitcoin ETF inflows have reached five straight sessions

SoSoValue-linked data reported $346.98 million in net inflows for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs on Sept. 23. BlackRock’s IBIT led with $166.29 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at $143.24 million. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT received $32.41 million, while ARK 21Shares’ ARKB took in $5.04 million.

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The Sept. 23 total extended the positive run to five trading sessions. The streak included $159.5 million on Sept. 17, $433 million on Sept. 18, approximately $999 million on Sept. 21 and $714.7 million on Sept. 22 before the latest $346.98 million reading. The five sessions brought combined net inflows to roughly $2.65 billion. Earlier crypto.news coverage examined Bitcoin ETF inflows during the move above $86,000.

Demand during the session extended beyond Bitcoin products. SoSoValue data showed U.S. spot Ether ETFs receiving $105 million on Sept. 23, led by BlackRock’s ETHA with $50.8 million and Fidelity’s FETH with $41.3 million. Grayscale’s ETH fund recorded approximately $4.1 million in net outflows.

Binance leverage has fallen faster than Bitcoin’s price

CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha said Binance Bitcoin open interest fell from roughly $5.4 billion to $4.9 billion between Sept. 21 and Sept. 23. The $500 million reduction removed approximately 9.3% of outstanding positions while Bitcoin pulled back around 3.4% from the $87,000 area.

Taha reported that cumulative volume delta fell from nearly $3 billion to $1.48 billion over the same period, a decline of roughly 51%. He interpreted the combination of lower price, open interest and CVD as evidence that leveraged traders had reduced risk after Bitcoin failed to hold the push toward $87,000. The interpretation does not identify the individual traders behind the positions.

A separate CryptoQuant update dated Sept. 23 showed Binance BTC funding near 0.001%, close to neutral. Its author said funding around zero indicates that derivatives positioning has become less one-sided than during periods of aggressive leveraged-long activity.

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Bitfinex, in its Bitcoin $85K buyer cost analysis, placed the next major cost area between $85,000 and $86,500, with the yearly open at $87,722 above it. The firm put the corporate treasury cohort’s average cost near $80,500 and said “a sustained move below $81,300,” particularly alongside ETF outflows, would challenge its reading of the breakout.

Disclosure: This article does not represent investment advice. The content and materials featured on this page are for educational purposes only.

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The Trump administration is reportedly weighing a new push to expand the use of dollar-backed stablecoins outside the United States, framing the move as a way to strengthen the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency. According to Bloomberg, the plan could involve government support for stablecoin initiatives through joint ventures with private-sector partners, potentially bringing multiple agencies into the effort.

Bloomberg reports that officials are considering partnerships that would encourage the growth of dollar-denominated stablecoins internationally. If successful, such an approach could also increase demand for US Treasuries—an asset commonly used to back or support dollar-based stablecoins.

Key takeaways

• Bloomberg reports the US is considering overseas promotion of dollar-backed stablecoins through joint ventures with private firms.
• The proposed initiative may involve several agencies, including the Treasury Department, the State Department, and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).
• A central rationale is to expand international usage of dollar stablecoins and, in turn, potentially boost demand for US Treasuries.
• The move comes as other regions develop their own cross-border digital payment systems and CBDC pilots.
• US officials have previously linked stablecoin growth to maintaining dollar dominance and supporting the US government debt market.

What Bloomberg says the administration is considering

Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the plans, reports that the US government may support stablecoin projects abroad by creating joint ventures with private-sector companies. While the report does not outline a formal timeline or specific program details, it describes the concept as an effort to expand the international footprint of dollar-denominated stablecoins.

The potential institutional scope is also notable. Bloomberg names the Treasury Department, the State Department, and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) as agencies that could participate in the effort.

The logic described in the report is closely tied to how dollar-backed stablecoins are structured. Since many such tokens are designed to maintain their value relative to the dollar, and because their reserves are often linked to Treasuries and other dollar-denominated instruments, expanding usage overseas could translate into more demand for reserve assets associated with the token ecosystem.

Why dollar dominance is the policy driver

This stablecoin proposal fits into a broader theme reflected in earlier remarks by senior US officials: that stablecoin adoption can reinforce the dollar’s international standing and strengthen US financial market demand.

In February 2025, venture capitalist David Sacks—who at the time served as White House crypto and AI czar—said stablecoins could “extend the dollar’s dominance internationally,” adding that the sector might generate “trillions of dollars” in additional demand for US government debt. While such figures are projections rather than confirmed outcomes, they illustrate the administration’s stated perspective on stablecoins as a component of dollar-centered economic influence.

Later, in July 2025, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent connected stablecoin regulation to reserve-currency goals. He said the GENIUS Act—legislation that created a federal framework for payment stablecoins—could strengthen the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, widen access to the “dollar economy,” and increase demand for US Treasuries.

Subsequently, the Treasury continued its implementation work. On Aug. 17, it issued a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on provisions covering the issuance, offering, and sale of payment stablecoins. Bessent described the rules as part of an effort to “cement” the dollar’s reserve-currency position.

Taken together, the overseas initiative described by Bloomberg appears to extend the administration’s domestic regulatory approach into an external growth strategy—an attempt to align stablecoin expansion with US strategic interests.

Global competition: CBDCs and cross-border digital rails

The timing of the reported stablecoin push also reflects a wider geopolitical and infrastructure trend: countries and regional institutions are building their own digital payment frameworks and experimenting with central bank digital currencies.

Cointelegraph previously reported that China’s digital yuan is used in Project mBridge, a platform designed for cross-border CBDC transactions. In Europe, the European Central Bank is preparing a 12-month digital euro pilot, expected to begin in the second half of 2027, according to Cointelegraph coverage.

While stablecoins and CBDCs are different instruments, both aim to facilitate digital value transfer across borders. In that context, an overseas effort centered on dollar-backed stablecoins can be seen as competing for the role of settlement and liquidity infrastructure in international payment flows.

What to watch next

Cointelegraph reports that it reached out to the US Treasury, the DFC, and several US-based stablecoin companies for comment but did not receive responses before publication. That leaves key questions unanswered, including whether the initiative is purely exploratory, what jurisdictions might be targeted first, and how any government involvement would be structured in practice.

Investors and builders should watch for concrete details—such as which agencies take the lead, what types of partnerships are contemplated, and whether the administration’s overseas goals come with measurable policy commitments tied to stablecoin reserve practices and cross-border compliance requirements.