The price of Bitcoin The price moved further away from the psychologically necessary $100,000 mark as investors booked profits from the token's gains after the US elections.

The largest cryptocurrency by market cap was last down greater than 2% at $92,277.19, in accordance with Coin Metrics. It previously fell to $91,433.54. The CoinDesk 20, an index measuring broader crypto market performance, fell nearly 6%.

Coinbase And Microstrategy were each around 3% lower.

“Bitcoin has been on a tear since Election Day… with very few pullbacks, but the $100,000 level remains a formidable psychological barrier,” Mati Greenspan, founding father of Quantum Economics, told CNBC by email. “While a breakout now would be an important bullish signal, a short pullback may be needed to gain momentum before the next attempt.”

As Bitcoin usually hits recent records this month, long-term holders are selling ever larger amounts on the spot market. That selling pressure has to date been absorbed by inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, which ended a five-day streak on Monday and recorded $438 million in outflows, in addition to large buying from MicroStrategy. CryptoQuant typically defines long-term holders as those that have held Bitcoin for 155 days or longer.

Traders took profits following Bitcoin's post-election rally fueled by optimism over President-elect Donald Trump's crypto-friendly political platform.

“Historically, when new all-time highs are reached, there is typically a period of consolidation before moving higher,” Brett Reeves of crypto infrastructure company BitGo told CNBC. “We know that new institutional money is flowing into the space and retail activity is increasing, both across ETFs and exchanges. Given the positive macroeconomic and regulatory news ahead, we could see a rapid pick-up in price activity.”

According to a brand new study from Bank of America, travel spending by American households continues to exceed pre-pandemic levels – a trend underpinned by enthusiasm for international travel.

“A significant part of the travel dynamic lies in vacations abroad,” wrote Taylor Bowley and Joe Wadford, economists on the Bank of America Institute, in a note Wednesday.

Overall, travel spending declined barely in comparison with 2023, but was still “much higher” than in 2019 – a rise of 10.6% per household, they wrote, citing Bank of America credit and debit card data from January to mid-August.

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International travel is “an area of ​​continued strength,” Bowley and Wadford said.

According to a recent Conference Board survey, about 17% of Americans said in June that they plan to vacation abroad in the subsequent six months, up from nearly 14% in 2018 and 2019.

“I expect demand to continue,” said Hayley Berg, chief economist at travel website Hopper.

Demand for international travel has skyrocketed over the past two years as health fears related to Covid-19 subsided and countries began to lift travel restrictions resulting from the pandemic.

With their pent-up desire to travel and their money reserves, Americans spent money eagerly.

Falling prices for international flights have contributed to the high demand this yr, Berg said.

“These lower prices will definitely create some additional demand for international [travel] more than what we have seen in recent years,” she said.

For example, average round-trip airfares to Europe – generally the most popular international destination for U.S. tourists – fell to about $950 this summer, down from over $1,000 in the previous two years, Berg said.

According to Hopper's ten-year data, European airfares in 2022 were the highest ever recorded.

A flight to Rome currently costs about $600 during the fall off-season, compared to the pandemic-era peak of about $1,300, Berg said.

(The fall shoulder season is the time of year between the summer high season and the winter shoulder season, usually September through November.)

The majority of Americans' spending between May and July was in Europe (43 percent), according to Bank of America. Canada and Mexico combined came in second with 21 percent.

The fastest-growing region, however, is Asia: spending on the continent rose 11 percent compared to 2023, compared to 3 percent in Europe, Bank of America said. Favorable exchange rates contributed to this relative strength, it said.

While spending on international travel remains high, most Americans still spend their holidays domestically: About 68% of all trips that originate in the United States take place within the borders of the United States, according to a current analysis from the management consultancy McKinsey.

However, “domestic demand has declined slightly as American travelers return abroad,” McKinsey wrote.

According to economists at Bank of America, it appears that higher-income households – those earning more than $125,000 a year – are driving the trend toward international travel.

Top-class luxury hotels have “outperformed” standard offerings this summer, suggesting that high earners “are more resilient and proceed to spend money on travel,” the Bank of America report said.

Although travelers, wary of costs, appear concerned in regards to the pandemic-related rise in inflation, most of them plan to proceed traveling, in response to McKinsey.

“Instead of canceling their trips, these consumers are adjusting their behavior by traveling outside of peak travel periods or booking trips further in advance,” McKinsey wrote.

Novo Nordisk And Eli Lilly currently dominate the booming marketplace for a category of medicine for weight reduction and diabetes.

But Eli Lilly may regularly gain a bonus over its Danish competitor within the battle for growing demand for these treatments, also referred to as GLP-1.

This became clear last week after the 2 corporations announced their respective second-quarter results.

“Lilly is pulling ahead in the metabolic duopoly,” Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, said in a research note on Thursday.

On August 7, Novo Nordisk revised down its full-year earnings forecast after the corporate reported that quarterly sales of its weight-loss injectable Wegovy were well below Wall Street expectations. The disappointing result was on account of higher-than-expected price concessions to pharmacy profit managers, who negotiate drug discounts with manufacturers on behalf of insurers, executives said on a conference call last week.

Revenues from the successful diabetes drug Ozempic also fell in need of expectations for this era. The company's shares plummeted.

Nevertheless, Novo Nordisk has barely raised its forecast for sales growth for the total 12 months.

Eli Lilly's quarterly report a day later was a really different story. The Indianapolis-based company's weight-loss drug Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro beat second-quarter expectations.

Eli Lilly raised its 2024 revenue forecast by $3 billion and increased its full-year earnings forecast on account of strong performance from Zepbound and Mounjaro, in addition to “improved clarity” regarding the corporate’s manufacturing expansions for those drugs.

Unlike Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly benefited from higher U.S. prices for Mounjaro within the quarter as use of savings card programs for the drug declined. Executives said they expect “stable pricing” for Mounjaro and Zepbound within the last two quarters of 2024.

Eli Lilly shares closed greater than 9% higher on Thursday.

Some analysts were particularly pleased with Eli Lilly's positive production numbers. Demand for weight-loss and diabetes drugs outstrips supply within the U.S., so corporations that may quickly deliver large quantities of a product to patients can gain a bonus on this area.

All doses of Mounjaro and Zepbound at the moment are listed as available within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's drug shortage database. Some doses of Wegovy at the moment are only available in limited quantities as Novo Nordisk invests billions in expanding its own production.

In a research note Thursday, Bank of America analysts raised their combined revenue forecast for Mounjaro and Zepbound to $19.7 billion in 2024, $31 billion in 2025 and $38.5 billion in 2026 as they “have become more familiar with supply dynamics.”

The analysts said there could still be temporary supply shortages of Mounjaro and Zepbound within the near future “as access improves and physicians become more comfortable with the availability of the products.” But they praised Eli Lilly's progress in expanding its manufacturing capability and provide.

For example, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said in a conference call on Thursday that the corporate has built six manufacturing plants, a few of that are already in operation, and hired hundreds of staff to extend production. The company acquired one other site earlier this 12 months.

Eli Lilly expects production of incretin drugs – one other term for weight reduction and diabetes treatments – to be 50% higher within the second half of 2024 than in the identical period last 12 months, he added.

Ricks said Eli Lilly's ability to extend production of Zepbound and Mounjaro gives the corporate confidence to compete with latest entrants in the load loss and diabetes drug market that won’t have the identical capability.

“I don’t know if it’s an obstacle, but it’s certainly work to scale production,” Ricks said.

“You're talking about making things on a billion-dollar scale, which takes time, is technically difficult and very capital intensive,” he continued. “So of course competitors will have to come. But there is still a long way to go for all these [other drugmakers] that the two leading companies have already gone large parts of it.”

Please send tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.

Medical technology company Stryker announced on Monday that it has agreed to acquire Care.ai, another deal in the field of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector.

Care.ai uses tools such as AI-powered sensors to help doctors monitor patients and workflows in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities. The company has 27 million US dollars by Crescent Cove Advisors in 2022.

Stryker offers medical and surgical devices, as well as a range of products in the orthopedics and neurotechnology sectors. The company said technologies like Care.ai's are “increasingly vital” as healthcare organizations grapple with challenges such as nursing shortages, burnout, administrative burdens and workplace safety concerns, according to a Release Monday.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and Stryker said the acquisition was subject to customary closing conditions.

Stryker shares were largely unchanged on Tuesday.

“Care.ai will help Stryker significantly advance our IT and digital vision in healthcare and supply our customers with intelligent and connected real-time decision support that improves the lives of caregivers and their patients,” said Andy Pierce, group president of MedSurg and Neurotechnology at Stryker, in the press release.

The technology offered by Care.ai will integrate “seamlessly” with Stryker's platforms and devices, the company added.

“Our commitment to simplifying and improving the lives of healthcare professionals and patients remains unwavering,” said Chakri Toleti, founder and CEO of Care.ai, in a Post on LinkedIn“Together, we are transforming healthcare and ensuring that the well-being of those who need care and those dedicated to caring for others always remains our top priority.”

Stryker declined to comment. Care.ai did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Read the full announcement Here.

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