By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) – The stock market faces its first major test of the year in the coming week, with investors counting on the U.S. jobs report to show a stable but not overheated economy that underpins expectations for equity gains in 2025. Stocks wobbled at the end of December and the start of January, cooling off after a torrid run. The benchmark S&P 500 closed 2024 with a 23% rise and … Read more…

By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Elon Musk’s SpaceX said on Friday its upcoming Starship test flight would include the rocket’s first attempt to deploy payloads in space by releasing 10 model Starlink satellites, a key demonstration for Starship’s potential in the satellite launch market. “While in space, Starship will deploy 10 Starlink simulators, similar in size and weight to next-generation Starlink satellites as the first exercise of a satellite deploy mission,” SpaceX said in a … Read more…

(This Dec. 23 story has been corrected to fix the spelling of ‘Jonah Crane’ in paragraphs 15 and 18) By Hannah Lang (Reuters) – The cryptocurrency industry is pushing President-elect Donald Trump’s team to kick start his promised crypto policy overhaul when he takes office next month with executive orders that would help push tokens mainstream, according to industry officials. Trump plans to issue a flurry of executive orders and directives on everything from immigration … Read more…

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Thursday that Chinese warplanes and warships had carried out the first “combat patrol” around the island of the New Year, after Taiwan President Lai Ching-te again expressed willingness to talk to Beijing. China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, sends its military into the skies and waters near the island on an almost daily basis, and holds what Taiwan calls “joint combat readiness patrols” several … Read more…

By Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes slipped in the last trading session of 2024 as Treasury yields rose, but the benchmark S&P 500 remained on course to notch its biggest two-year rally in more than two decades. The index has surged more than 50% in the past two years and is trading near record highs, while the Dow and the Nasdaq are also set for their second consecutive … Read more…

By Nathan Layne WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (Reuters) – Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had a great meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at his Florida resort and voiced optimism that they would find common ground despite their past clashes. Bowser met Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home for about 45 minutes on Monday, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office said on Tuesday. The meeting was arranged at Bowser’s request, the spokesperson said. The three-term Democratic … Read more…