Key global financial headlines from last night and this morning include:

1. White House Considers Antitrust Investigation into Homebuilders As the White House intensifies its focus on addressing the U.S. housing affordability crisis, officials are considering launching an antitrust investigation into American residential construction companies. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that the U.S. Department of Justice could initiate a related investigation in the coming weeks. The sources, who requested anonymity due to discussing non-public information, stated that no final decision has been made, and the administration might ultimately decide against launching the probe.

2. Bitcoin Reclaims Ground Above $70,000, Nearly Erasing Thursday's Losses Bitcoin surged by as much as 13% on Friday, reaching $71,469, after earlier in the session coming close to falling below the $60,000 mark for the first time since October 2024. However, Bitcoin still recorded a cumulative weekly loss of over 15%. Thursday's sharp decline marked the most severe drop for cryptocurrencies since the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX exchange over three years ago. During that day, Bitcoin plummeted over 13% at one point, bringing its total decline from the October peak to more than 50%.

3. Apple Shifts Strategy, Plans to Open CarPlay to Third-Party Voice AI Assistants According to informed sources, Apple Inc. is preparing to allow voice-controlled artificial intelligence applications from other companies to operate within its CarPlay system. This move would, for the first time, enable users to pose questions to AI chatbots directly through their vehicle's interface. The sources indicated that the company is working to support these applications within CarPlay in the coming months. This change signifies a strategic shift for Apple, which previously restricted its popular in-car infotainment software to using only its own Siri assistant for voice control options.

4. Jensen Huang States $6.6 Trillion AI Capital Expenditure Build-Out is Sustainable Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told media on Friday that the technology industry's surge in capital expenditure for AI infrastructure is reasonable, appropriate, and sustainable. He stated, "The reason for this is that the cash flows of all these companies will begin to grow." Nvidia's stock price rose 7% during Friday's trading session. Huang's comments came as Nvidia's key clients—Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft—released their latest earnings reports over the past two weeks. These companies informed investors of their plans to significantly increase investment in AI infrastructure. These hyperscalers could collectively invest a total of $6.6 trillion in capital expenditures this year, a substantial portion of which is expected to be spent on Nvidia's chips.

5. Fed's Jefferson Expresses Cautious Optimism on Economic Outlook, Expects Labor Market Stabilization and Inflation Returning to Target Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson stated on Friday that he holds a "cautious optimism" regarding the economic outlook for 2026, anticipating economic growth to be slightly above trend, the labor market to stabilize, and inflation to fall back to the Fed's 2% target. In remarks prepared for a Brookings Institution event, Jefferson said the Fed's current policy is "well positioned" to respond to any changes in the economy, a statement consistent with expectations that the Fed has paused further interest rate cuts. Policymakers are awaiting more data on employment and inflation. Jefferson emphasized, "The current stance of policy is well positioned to address the two-way risks in our dual mandate. I believe that the magnitude and timing of any further adjustments in the policy rate should be determined by incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks."

6. Fed's Daly Sees Vulnerabilities in Labor Market, Room for Rate Cuts San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said on Friday that she believes one or two more interest rate cuts may be necessary to address weakness in the labor market, as workers are on shaky ground, with rising prices eroding their wages and new job opportunities being scarce. In an interview, Daly stated, "I think we have to be open-minded on rates, very open-minded." This was her first interview since the Fed's policy committee voted 10-2 last week to hold the benchmark rate steady in the 3.50%-3.75% range. "I supported that decision, but frankly, I think there is a case for cutting further," Daly said. She added that to cut rates, "you have to be really confident, like really confident, that the tariff effects are going to fade and that inflation is really on a downward path."