Luke Vargas

I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal.

Private credit markets are flashing warning signs after the industry's poster child, Blue Owl Capital, blocked everyday investors from withdrawing their money from one of its funds.

The move got the attention of Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, who's calling for more oversight.

Meanwhile, nervous investors sent shares in other private credit firms lower, reviving comparisons to the stress we saw in credit markets in 2007, just before the global financial crisis.

We're exclusively reporting that the White House wants to ban investors with more than 100 single-family homes from purchasing additional homes.

That's according to a memo sent to House and Senate committee leaders, with the Trump administration hoping to add the ban as an amendment to either of the landmark housing packages moving through Congress.

The proposal affects more investors than initially thought, with hundreds of investment firms set to lose their ability to buy single-family homes.

Here is your Morning Brief for Wednesday, February 18th.

I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to testify today in a landmark trial on social media addiction.

It's the first of several bellwether trials planned in California.

and revolves around a young woman's claim that platforms like Meta's Instagram foster addiction in adolescents.

Meta says that it's consistently put teen safety ahead of growth, and the company's lawyers say its products aren't addictive and aren't responsible for a plaintiff's mental health issues.

Meanwhile, Europe is dialing up the pressure on big tech.

The Spanish government this week asked prosecutors to investigate several social media platforms for potential crimes against minors relating to AI-generated images.

Ireland is now probing X, the UK's prime minister is cracking down on chatbots, and the EU wants TikTok to ditch its infinite scroll.

The companies have denied any wrongdoing.

And Japan's finance minister is defending the country's economic plans after the IMF urged it not to cut taxes and to refrain from fiscal loosening.

That warning follows Prime Minister Sanai Takeichi's pledge to suspend sales tax on food and beverages to address affordability concerns.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Index ended the day higher, with most other Asian markets closed for the Lunar New Year.