On Tuesday, global oil benchmarks inched higher, with Brent crude at $62.13 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $58.03, following a sharp rally the previous day. Prices were constrained as concerns over disruptions from Ukrainian attacks on Russian infrastructure clashed with forecasts of excess supply into early 2026. President Donald Trump confirmed the U.S. will retain or possibly sell seized Venezuelan oil tankers, while U.S. gasoline prices fell to their lowest December levels since 2021 amid an expected record holiday travel season.

On Monday, Invesco's Ben Gutteridge said the U.S. economy is losing momentum heading into 2026. The Commerce Department's Q3 GDP estimate of 3.3%, after 3.8% in Q2, was lifted by pre‑September 30 EV purchases, while the CBO projects a 1.0–2.0 percentage‑point Q4 hit and $7–14 billion in permanent losses. Invesco expects European equities to lead as ECB cuts are anticipated early next year and valuations remain lower.

On Monday, options activity in the U.S. Treasury market surged as traders built large March positions tied to the 10-year note, with one structure carrying about $80 million in premium and open interest climbing 300% to 171,153 contracts. These trades target a move in the 10-year yield toward roughly 4%, while the 10-year benchmark closed near 4.171% and other Treasury maturities also inched higher as fresh auctions approached. Market volatility stayed subdued, with a key Treasury volatility gauge dropping to its lowest level in more than four years.

Russia's Urals crude fell to about $34 a barrel on Friday, with Baltic loadings at $34.82 and Black Sea cargoes at $33.17, according to Argus Media. The slide widened the gap to Dated Brent near $61 as U.S. sanctions introduced in October made trade more difficult and pushed deeper export discounts.

On December 22, 2025, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said he wants the company to underpin a new internet layer for global money movement. Since its June 5 IPO, Circle launched the Arc Layer 1, partnered with BlackRock, Visa and AWS, and signed a multiyear Intuit deal. Q3 revenue and reserve income reached $740 million.

In 2025, U.S. auto loan delinquencies climbed to record levels, as borrowers struggled under $1.66 trillion in outstanding car debt and repossessions reached their highest point since the 2008 Great Recession. Although Federal Reserve rate cuts in September and October lowered average refinance rates from 8.35% in January to 7.62% in September, tighter credit standards have left many subprime borrowers unable to benefit. At the same time, the average new vehicle price rose to $48,699 in May, further pressuring households already paying historically high monthly car notes.

On Monday, the People's Bank of China kept the 1‑year loan prime rate at 3.00% and the 5‑year at 3.50%, marking a seventh consecutive meeting without change. November retail and industrial data underwhelmed, and housing indicators fell, while analysts flagged a soft yuan and debated stimulus options.

In November 2023, Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion criminal plea deal with US authorities, but later findings allege the exchange still allowed flagged accounts to process large crypto flows. An investigation into 13 Binance accounts reportedly uncovered $1.7 billion in crypto movements, including $144 million after the plea deal, with links to Iran, Hezbollah and wallets later frozen under anti-terrorism laws. Binance's legal team denies knowingly facilitating criminal activity and says relevant wallets were not designated for terror financing at the time.

Alphabet paused Waymo's driverless ride-hail in San Francisco after a widespread outage left multiple robotaxis immobilized. The blackout began Saturday afternoon, peaked two hours later, and affected about 130,000 customers; roughly 21,000 homes and businesses remained without power at press time. A substation fire caused extensive damage, and no timeline for full repairs was given.