US House panel finds BlackRock, other asset managers leery of joining climate initiative

By Isla Binnie and Ross Kerber NEW YORK / BOSTON (Reuters) – Top U.S. asset managers worried that signing up to an industry climate initiative could make them appear to be working too closely together and draw regulatory scrutiny, according to a report released Friday by a Republican-led U.S. Congressional Committee. The report is the latest released by the panel’s Republican majority as part of a probe they say has shown fund firms and activists … Read more…

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T-Mobile announces $14 billion share buyback program

(Reuters) -U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said on Friday it would buy back as much as $14 billion worth of shares by 2025 end as part of its previously stated plan to return up to $50 billion over the next three years to shareholders. Telecom companies such as Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are among the top dividend payers in the U.S. Earlier this month, AT&T said it plans to return more than $40 billion to shareholders … Read more…

Liquid AI closes $250 million early-stage funding round led by AMD

(Reuters) – Generative artificial intelligence startup Liquid AI said on Friday that it had closed a $250 million early-stage funding round led by chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, which is also its strategic partner. Consumer GenAI, which captured global attention in 2022 with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is at the center of the rapidly growing AI sector. This year also saw investors funnelling billions of dollars into GenAI startups. Liquid AI develops Liquid Foundation Models … Read more…

How Much Is Enough? – by Justin Vaughn

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) After a blistering pace in the first 11 months this year the sizzling hot S&P 500 is up a record 28%, beating all expectations of economists and market gurus. Can the markets continue the rest of the year and into 2025 at that rate? Recently released Jobs data sparked the market the past week, while also giving the Fed’s Mr. Powell more reasons for a rate cut this month. … Read more…

Elon Musk’s net worth tops $400 billion, Forbes billionaires list shows

(Reuters) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s net worth crossed $400 billion on Thursday, the Forbes real-time billionaires list showed, boosted by a nearly 71% surge in the automaker’s shares this year and the soaring valuation of his rocket company SpaceX. Musk is Tesla’s largest shareholder with about a 13% stake in the company. The EV maker’s shares rose to a record high of $424.9 on Wednesday, extending a rally that kicked off following the Nov. … Read more…

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Contact lens maker Bausch + Lomb says it is exploring sale

(Reuters) – Bausch + Lomb is exploring a potential sale among other options, it said on Thursday, in a move that would help Canadian parent Bausch Health exit the eye-care company. Bausch + Lomb also said its statement was in response to a request from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) after a series of media reports on its likely sale triggered volatility in its shares. The Financial Times reported on Oct. 14 that private … Read more…

Trump invites China’s Xi to inauguration, experts call it political theater

By Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders to his inauguration next month in Washington, a Trump transition spokesperson said on Thursday, but experts said that Xi was not likely to attend. Asked if Xi had responded, Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview that was “to be determined”. She did not name the other world leaders who were also … Read more…

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Stifel expects S&P 500 to peak in early 2025 before falling

(Reuters) – Stifel expects the S&P 500 index to peak in the first half of 2025, then fall 10% to 15% in the second half of the year, the brokerage said on Thursday citing concerns about slower economic growth and sticky inflation. The brokerage expects the U.S. stocks benchmark to drop to mid-5,000s late next year, a bearish view on the market when compared to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which see the index end … Read more…

Health insurer stocks fall as WSJ says lawmakers set to break up pharmacy-benefit managers

(Reuters) – Shares of health insurers such as UnitedHealth and CVS Health fell on Wednesday after a Wall Street Journal report said a bipartisan group of lawmakers was set to introduce legislation to break up pharmacy-benefit managers. The Senate bill, sponsored by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Josh Hawley, will force companies that own health insurers or pharmacy-benefit managers to divest their businesses operating pharmacies within three years, the report said. Pharmacy-benefit managers negotiate prescription … Read more…

MicroStrategy’s bitcoin-powered surge takes it closer to Nasdaq 100 doorstep

By Medha Singh (Reuters) – A meteoric rise in MicroStrategy’s shares has made the bitcoin hoarder a likely candidate for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index ahead of an annual reshuffle this week. The loss-making software company, an aggressive investor in the highly volatile cryptocurrency, has seen its shares soar nearly 500% this year, taking its market capitalization to $90 billion. The world’s largest cryptocurrency hit the $100,000 milestone for the first time last week and … Read more…