Crypto News: ‘Not normal’

Control tower staffing at Ronald Reagan National Airport was "not normal" on the night of the collision that killed 67 people, the Associated Press said, citing a report from the Federal Aviation Administration. The New York Times reported that a controller on duty Wednesday night was doing the job of two employees when a passenger jet hit a military helicopter, killing all aboard both aircraft in the worst US air disaster in decades. The accident took place as the American Airlines plane prepared to land at Ronald Reagan airport—a facility known for having the "busiest runway in America."

The news came as transportation officials began to lay out the scope of their investigation this afternoon. But earlier in the day, President Donald Trump was already trying to assign blame without evidence. As emergency personnel worked to remove the dead from the Potomac River, Trump sought to blame Democrats, his predecessor Joe Biden, Biden's transportation secretary and the pilots of the military helicopter for the crash. Ultimately, the 78-year-old Republican and some of his aides pointed to diversity, equity and inclusion policies, one of the main targets of his new administration.

The Federal Aviation Administration's air-traffic control workforce of more than 18,000 is largely White and male, according to an agency website. The consensus among safety experts however is that one of the main problems for years if not decades has been a shortage of pilots and air-traffic controllers, most recently in part due to the Covid-19 pandemic when hiring and training were disrupted. At the same time, there's been a huge resurgence in air travel since the pandemic, which has further strained the aviation system. —Jordan Parker Erb

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Stocks almost wiped out gains in the final stretch of Wall Street trading, with tech under pressure ahead of Apple's surprise earnings report this afternoon. The currencies of Mexico and Canada slumped after Trump yet again repeated his threat to impose 25% tariffs on imports from both countries. Both have pledged retaliation on America. An earlier rally in equities was fueled by signs that the main engine of the world's largest economy remains solid, which bodes well for Corporate America. Economically sensitive corners of Wall Street such as small caps largely outperformed.

Kash Patel, Trump's controversial pick to lead the FBI, faced lawmakers during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing today, and was put through the ringer for his far-right statements and associations. Patel, a longtime Trump loyalist with little of the experience required of previous agency directors, has been shrouded in controversy from the start, in part due to his veiled threats to weaponize the FBI to pursue Trump's political opponents. The 44-year-old, like other Trump nominees, spent much of the hearing denying or qualifying previous statements. Patel did say that "there should be no politics in the FBI." Tulsi Gabbard, nominated by Trump to oversee US intelligence and also with limited experience traditional for the post, had her confirmation hearing today, too. She faced questions regarding her past support for Edward Snowden, a 2017 meeting with deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and previous comments sympathetic to Russia.

Kash Patel during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Thursday. Photographer: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg

It was a big day in the antitrust world. According to documents reviewed by Bloomberg, the Federal Trade Commission is probing whether Uber and Lyft illegally coordinated to limit driver pay in New York City. The companies now must turn over information about an agreement with city officials over how drivers are compensated. And the US Justice Department sued to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, arguing the tie-up would harm competition. In a complaint filed Thursday, the US said the deal would consolidate the sector from three major players—HPE, Juniper and Cisco—down to two that would control 70% of the market. (HPE's CEO said the company would defend its planned acquisition.) The antitrust suit marks the first brought by the Justice Department under Trump.

UPS shares took a tumble after projecting annual revenue well below expectations. The company told investors that a long-awaited rebound in demand for its parcel services won't arrive this year, with package volumes falling from pandemic-era highs and consumers opting for cheaper services. It aims to adapt by shipping fewer and higher-margin packages and cutting back on less profitable deliveries. UPS also announced it reached an agreement with Amazon to lower volumes by more than 50% by the second half of 2026.

The European Central Bank cut rates for the fifth time since June, with the region's economy stalling and the 2% inflation target in reach. Officials reduced the deposit rate by a quarter-point to 2.75%—as predicted by all analysts in a Bloomberg poll. And while they continued to describe their current monetary-policy stance as "restrictive," the ECB could drop the label at its next meeting in March.

Blackstone is making its office comeback. The alternative asset manager is in talks to buy a 50-story skyscraper in Manhattan, a signal by the firm that maybe it believes the worst is over for New York City's beleaguered office market. A deal would be the first notable New York office transaction by Blackstone since it bought a 49% stake in One Manhattan West almost three years ago, a transaction that valued the building at $2.85 billion.