Trump’s second term illuminates bullish path for gold in 2025

By Anushree Mukherjee (Reuters) – Gold prices look set for a record-breaking 2025 as heightened economic uncertainty and inflation concern under U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term boost demand, despite dollar strength and reduced Federal Reserve rate-cut expectations. The poll of 36 analysts and traders returned a median forecast of $2,756 per troy ounce of gold in 2025, up from $2,674 predicted in a poll three months ago. Spot gold prices hit a record high … Read more…

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Bitcoin drops to 11-day low amid tech selloff

LONDON (Reuters) – Bitcoin fell below $100,000 on Monday, hitting its lowest in 11 days, in a move analysts attributed to a wave of caution after the surging popularity of a Chinese artificial intelligence model sparked a selloff in Western AI-related stocks. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency struggled to make gains last week, as a rally that had seen it break above $100,000 after U.S. President Donald Trump’s election ran out of steam. At 1156 GMT, … Read more…

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Exclusive-Hamas has added up to 15,000 fighters since start of war, US figures show

By Erin Banco NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Palestinian militant group Hamas has recruited between 10,000 and 15,000 members since the start of its war with Israel, according to two congressional sources briefed on U.S. intelligence, suggesting the Iran-backed fighters could remain a persistent threat to Israel. The intelligence indicates a similar number of Hamas fighters have been killed during that period, the sources said. The latest official U.S. estimates have not been previously reported. … Read more…

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Amazon Prime Video shifts focus to live sports to boost profits, The Information reports

(Reuters) – Amazon’s Prime Video has shifted its strategic focus towards live sports and away from original television shows and movies, seeking to meet internal corporate profit targets, The Information reported on Friday. Amazon’s reported move marks a pivotal moment for the tech giant as it looks beyond its traditional focus on original content for generating revenue. Live sports events, with their real-time viewership, offer valuable opportunities for targeted ad placements, and has encouraged streaming … Read more…

Wall Street banks set to sell billions of dollars of X loans, WSJ reports

(Reuters) – Wall Street banks are preparing to sell a big portion of debt holdings in social media platform X, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. Bankers at Morgan Stanley have contacted investors ahead of next week’s planned sale of up to $3 billion in debt that lenders like Bank of America and Barclays granted Elon Musk in order to finalize his 2022 acquisition of the business that … Read more…

Trump signs order to create cryptocurrency working group

By Hannah Lang and Trevor Hunnicutt (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an order to create a cryptocurrency working group, fulfilling a campaign promise after he courted cash from digital asset companies pledging to be a “crypto president.” The crypto advisory council is expected to advise on digital asset policy, work with Congress on crypto legislation, help establish Trump’s promised bitcoin reserve and coordinate between agencies including the Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity … Read more…

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OpenAI unveils tool to automate web tasks as AI agents take center-stage

(Reuters) – Generative artificial intelligence heavyweight OpenAI on Thursday previewed an AI agent that can carry out tasks on the web for users, as it seeks to enhance its chatbot amid intensifying competition. The tool, called Operator, is powered by a model that allows it to interact with on-screen buttons, menus and text fields. “This capability marks the next step in AI development, allowing models to use the same tools humans rely on daily and … Read more…

Trump says he is not sure US should be spending anything on NATO

By Trevor Hunnicutt WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was not sure the United States should be spending anything on NATO, telling reporters the U.S. was protecting NATO members, but they were “not protecting us.” Trump earlier demanded that other members of the transatlantic alliance spend 5% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defense – a huge increase from the current 2% goal and a level that no NATO country, … Read more…

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CEOs ramp up deal outlook under Trump, EY survey shows

By Divya Chowdhury and Lisa Pauline Mattackal DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – Global chief executives see much more corporate dealmaking in 2025, with an increased number expecting to pursue mergers and acquisitions after U.S. President Donald Trump was elected to a second term in November, a survey showed. Some 56% of CEOs expect to actively pursue M&A activity in 2025, compared with just 37% in September, according to an EY-Parthenon CEO Outlook Survey in November and … Read more…

Brazil’s beef companies breathing easy over prospect of new Trump tariffs

By Ana Mano SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian beef companies do not expect to be hurt by potential new tariffs from President Donald Trump’s administration because of low inventories of cattle in the U.S. and a sizable tariff that already exists on these exports. Roberto Perosa, head of the Brazilian beef exporters association ABIEC, said in an interview on Wednesday that Brazilian beef exports outside a 65,000-ton annual quota already are slapped with a 26.4% … Read more…

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