Author: Journalist

(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump and his family have taken a interest in just about every corner of the crypto industry. Most Read from Bloomberg There are nonfungible tokens and digital collectibles; a decentralized finance project; a proposed stablecoin; an effort at Bitcoin mining; and a pair of memecoins, one for the president and one for First Lady Melania Trump. Taken together, the various projects are approaching $1 billion in paper gains even after accounting for the latest round of trade war-induced market gyrations, according to Bloomberg calculations based on publicly available data. Donald Trump is already the richest person…

The chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, Charlie Nunn, has warned that a landmark legal ruling on motor finance commissions poses a significant threat to the UK economy and the consumer finance sector. Speaking at the Financial Times Global Banking Summit earlier this month, Nunn criticised the October Court of Appeal decision, which found that lenders cannot pay commissions to motor finance brokers without securing the customer’s fully informed consent. Charlie Nunn The ruling has created regulatory uncertainty, with expectations rising that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) may launch a multibillion-pound redress scheme to address breaches of now-banned discretionary commission…

Crypto Market Crash Triggers $1.5 Billion in Liquidations as Bitcoin Drops Below $95,000 The cryptocurrency market has seen a sharp decline over the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin falling to $94,100 before recovering to $97,800. The drop contributed to $1.5 billion in liquidations, affecting approximately 514,400 traders, according to Coinglass. Long positions accounted for $1.38 billion of the total liquidations, while short positions made up $136.7 million. Bitcoin liquidations totaled $163.4 million, with Ethereum accounting for $204.7 million. The broader market saw its capitalization shrink by 7.5%, reflecting significant losses across major cryptocurrencies. Ethereum dropped 8% below $3,800, while Ripple,…

Readers hoping to buy Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE:CBU) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. Typically, the ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date which is the date on which a company determines the shareholders eligible to receive a dividend. The ex-dividend date is important because any transaction on a stock needs to have been settled before the record date in order to be eligible for a dividend. In other words, investors can purchase Community Financial System’s shares before the 13th of December in order…

(Bloomberg) — US exchange-traded funds investing directly in Bitcoin and Ether are enjoying unprecedented demand, buoyed by President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to unfetter the crypto industry from regulatory shackles. Most Read from Bloomberg The groups of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs each posted record monthly net inflows in November, $6.5 billion and $1.1 billion respectively, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Friday’s daily Ether ETF subscriptions also hit an all-time peak. The interest in Ether, the largest token after Bitcoin, points to widening speculative appetite for crypto following Trump’s US election victory on Nov. 5. By some metrics, the clamor for…

(Bloomberg) — Asian stocks started the week with a cautious tone, as investors grappled with South Korea’s political upheaval and awaited fresh stimulus from China. Oil was steady after the Syrian government was toppled. Most Read from Bloomberg Korea’s equity benchmark dropped as much as 1.8% in opening trade, with Australian shares also slipping. Japanese stocks were flat. Futures pointed to a soft open in Hong Kong. The dollar and the yield on 10-year Treasuries were steady. Investors are readying themselves this week for a final flurry of central bank decisions across four continents, a key meeting of Chinese officials…

There’s been something of a sea change in the economic outlook for 2025, in the aftermath of last month’s election. The prospect of a second Trump administration, with his known preference for deregulation and tax cuts, has market watchers expecting a growth-friendly environment. Desh Peramunetilleke, Jefferies’ Global Head of Quantitative Strategy, notes that reduced regulation, combined with the potential for lower corporate tax rates, could significantly boost the biotech sector, with smaller biotech stocks poised to benefit the most. “Our recent analysis concluded with a near-term preference for smaller-cap biotech names in the US… Trump’s win brings new market dynamics into…

(Bloomberg) — South Korean stocks tumbled and the won approached its weakest level since 2009 following a weekend of political turmoil that left investors bracing for a period of heightened volatility. Most Read from Bloomberg The benchmark Kospi Index dropped as much as 2.3%, and the small-cap Kosdaq Index slumped more than 4% to its lowest since April 2020. The won fell about 1% against the dollar, heading toward levels reached in the immediate aftermath of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched imposition of martial law early last week. Investors face the risk of a prolonged stalemate after Saturday’s impeachment motion…

Total asset finance new business (primarily leasing and hire purchase) grew in October 2024 by 4% compared with the same month in 2023, according to figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA). In the ten months to October 2024, new business was also 4% higher than in the same period in 2023. New business in the commercial vehicle finance and plant and machinery finance sectors grew in October by 12% and 8% respectively, compared with the same month in 2023. The new car finance sector reported a fall in new business of 7% over the same period. Commenting…

Ant Group, China’s biggest operator of mobile payment systems, is promoting its finance chief Cyril Han Xinyi to the CEO post from next year to freshen its top management and drive the next phase of growth after more than 20 years in business. Han, the group’s current president and chief financial officer, will take over from Eric Jing Xiandong from March 1 with the responsibility for all business segments and daily management, according to a December 8 email to employees seen by the Post. Jing will remain as the group chairman. “In the decade since he joined Alipay in 2014,…