Author: Journalist

US stocks have led the equity market in recent years and strategists at BlackRock’s Investment Institute don’t see that narrative changing in 2025. “Currently, across all the scenarios in the outlook, the platform is gravitating towards the US corporate strength scenario, which is another way of calling for US exceptionalism,” BlackRock Investment Institute chief investment strategist Wei Li said during a media roundtable on Wednesday. Li cited stronger earnings growth seen in the US this year and the expectation that earnings growth will continue to broaden outside of the “Magnificent Seven” names that have powered the stock market higher over…

Crypto stocks enjoyed a short-lived rally before reversing direction Thursday on the heels of a push from bitcoin (BTC-USD) to a record high above $100,000. That record was fueled by news from President-elect Donald Trump that he would nominate crypto-friendly Paul Atkins to lead the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Bitcoin traded as high as $103,500 early Thursday, but fell back below the $100,000 level later in the day. Coinbase (COIN) stock jumped as much as 5% Thursday morning, but ended the trading day down over 3%. Despite the loss, shares are up over 80% for the year. MicroStrategy…

US stocks floated lower on Thursday as investors waited for Friday’s crucial jobs report and bitcoin (BTC-USD) posted new all-time highs above the key $100,000 milestone. After all three major averages closed at records on Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slid about 0.2% while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell about 0.1%. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was just below the flat line. Investors are counting down to Friday’s monthly jobs report for a reality check on Jerome Powell’s upbeat take on the strength of the US economy. While the Federal Reserve Chair said that means policymakers can…

A tech rally boosted US stocks on Wednesday, with all three major indexes hitting new record closes, as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments that US economy is in “remarkably good shape.” The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed about 0.7%, or over 300 points, to close above 45,000 for the first time ever. Meanwhile the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added roughly 0.6% for a fresh closing high of 6,086.49. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) added 1.3%, clinching a record of its own at 19,735.12. Cloud and e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) hit intraday all-time highs on Wednesday, as did…

US stocks rose on Wednesday as techs helped set the stage for fresh record highs and investors waited to hear from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for clues to what’s next for interest rates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed 0.4%, or over 200 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.5% on the heels of an all-time closing high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained around 0.9%. Cloud and e-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) hit intraday all-time highs on Wednesday, as did iPhone maker Apple (AAPL). Salesforce (CRM) stock surged in early trading after the software maker’s quarterly revenue…

The US economy is on solid footing right now. Economists at Bank of America expect it to stay that way through next year. In a research note released to reporters on Monday, BofA’s economics team led by Claudio Irigoyen projected the US economy will grow at an annualized rate of 2.4% in 2025, higher than current forecasts for 2% growth, according to the latest Bloomberg consensus estimates. This comes despite uncertainties surrounding the economic policies of President-elect Donald Trump, including campaign promises of tariffs on imported goods, tax cuts for corporations, and curbs on immigration, which economists have viewed as…

Listen and subscribe to Opening Bid on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. The list of those on Wall Street calling for a big 24 months in crypto is growing. “We assume in our analysis [that] the price of bitcoin will reach $225,000 by the end of 2026,” Benchmark Company analyst Mark Palmer told Yahoo Finance executive editor Brian Sozzi during the Opening Bid podcast (see video above or listen below). Palmer is particularly bullish on Michael Saylor-led MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Mike Novogratz-led Galaxy Digital (GLXY.TO) as players in his bitcoin prediction. Palmer has been covering…

At COP29, the Singapore government pledged up to US$500 million as concessional capital, to match dollar-for-dollar concessional capital from other partners.The Australian government has approved a US$50 million ($67.24 million) investment into the Green Investments partnership (GIP) under Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (Fast-P) initiative, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Dec 3.The investment will support clean energy transition and sustainable infrastructure development across Southeast Asia, according to MAS, which launched Fast-P at COP28 in 2023.Australia’s investment, administered by Export Finance Australia (EFA), will help facilitate investment opportunities in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure projects across Southeast Asia…

MUMBAI (Reuters) -India’s federal finance ministry has sought relaxations in the new rules on gold loans proposed by the central bank, according to a post on its official social media handle. The department of financial services under the finance ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that the needs of small gold loan borrowers are not “adversely impacted”, a post on the ministry’s verified handle on social media platform X said. In April this year, the RBI had proposed tighter rules for monitoring and disbursement of gold loans, often used by low-income borrowers. The tighter rules came…

The United Kingdom’s stock market has recently faced challenges, with the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices experiencing declines amid weak trade data from China, highlighting global economic interdependencies. Despite these broader market fluctuations, penny stocks remain an intriguing area for investors seeking opportunities in smaller or emerging companies. While the term “penny stocks” may seem outdated, these investments can offer growth potential when backed by strong financials and sound fundamentals. Name Share Price Market Cap Financial Health Rating Croma Security Solutions Group (AIM:CSSG) £0.86 £11.84M ★★★★★★ Ultimate Products (LSE:ULTP) £0.772 £65.02M ★★★★★☆ LSL Property Services (LSE:LSL) £2.77 £285.64M ★★★★★☆…