DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Oil prices up on stronger Chinese data, Middle East conflict
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Oil prices rose on Friday, continuing upwards trend on the signs of improving economy in China and as negotiations to halt hostilities in the stand-off between Israel and Hamas yielded no results. In the previous session, oil prices edged up to a one-week high on data of rising crude oil imports in China in April and as investors saw the cooling U.S. job market as an indication of possible interest rate cuts. China's exports and imports returned to growth in April after contracting in the previous month, signaling an improvement in demand. "Ongoing signs of strength in demand in China should see commodity market remain well supported," ANZ Research said in a note. Daly did not say if she felt the U.S. central bank was likely or not to cut interest rates this year.

Persons: Brent, Mary Daly, Daly, Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden's Organizations: U.S, West Texas, ANZ Research, San Francisco Federal, Financial Locations: China, Israel, U.S, Rafah, Gaza, Cairo

☆ If it feels like NYC is richer, you're right. One in every 24 residents is a millionaire.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Shubhangi Goel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

New York City is now home to 349,500 millionaires. Meanwhile, rising living costs are forcing lower-earning residents out of the city. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementNew York City is the metro with the highest number of millionaires, according to a ranking released Tuesday by immigration consultancy Henley & Partners. Some wealthy residents moved out, but lots more moved in during the pandemic, bringing the Big Apple's millionaire count to 349,500 — more than any other city in the world,With a population of 8.2 million, this means that one in 24 New York residents is a millionaire.

Persons: — Organizations: Henley & Partners, Service, Big, Business Locations: York City, New York

☆ The alleged architect of a multibillion-dollar fraud that shook Wall Street heads to trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —In the spring of 2021, you might have heard about a small investment firm with an odd name, Archegos, that imploded practically overnight and left big Wall Street banks sweating over billions of dollars in losses. Put simply, prosecutors say Hwang had used financial instruments called “total return swaps” to gain exposure to the stocks without actually owning them. Over the course of a year, prosecutors say, Hwang grew his $1.5 billion portfolio into a $35 billion portfolio. Why the case mattersWhite-collar crime on Wall Street may seem like a distant problem for most Americans, and that may be true. And sometimes, as in the financial crisis of 2008, it was a bit of Wall Street tinkering in derivatives contracts that blew up in banks’ faces and collapsed the housing market.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Bill Hwang, Hwang, Matt Egan, Banks, Archegos, ” Hwang, Hwang didn’t, ”, isn’t, Dennis Kelleher Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Archegos, Management, Viacom, Discovery, Warner Bros, CNN, Term Capital Management, Credit Suisse, Employees, Bloomberg, Tiger Asia Management Locations: New York, Korean, York City, ’

☆ New York tops the list of the 50 richest cities in the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

New York's millionaire population is now larger than the entire populations of Orlando or Pittsburgh. The Bay Area's millionaire population has surged by 82% over the past decade, to 305,700. The U.S. is home to 11 of top 50 richest cities, according to the report. "Notably, U.S. cities have significantly outperformed other western cities over the past decade when its comes to overall wealth and millionaire growth." Here is the full ranking of the world's richest cities, according to Henley & Partners and New World Wealth:1.

Persons: Andrew Amoils, Amoils, Juerg Steffen, Robert Frank Organizations: Henley & Partners, Area, Federal Reserve, Research, New, London, Sydney Locations: York, California, Orlando, Pittsburgh . New York, Brazil, Italy, Canada, San Francisco, U.S, Tokyo, London, China, Beijing, Singapore, Los Angeles, New York, Area, France, Hong Kong

☆ Stocks are primed to tumble into a bear market as bullish investors have driven equities to 1929 extremes, famed fund manager says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The stock market looks poised to fall from its extreme heights, legendary investor John Hussman said. Hussman said the stock market is mirroring the extremes leading up the 1929 crash. The S&P 500 has broken a series of record highs this year, and has regained momentum in recent days after a lackluster month in April. AdvertisementHussman's firm is expecting the S&P 500 to underperform Treasury bonds by 9.3% a year for the next 12 years, based on his firm's internal metrics. Just 39% of investors said they were bullish on stocks over the next 6 months, according to the AAII's latest Investor Sentiment Survey.

Persons: John Hussman, Hussman, he's, — Organizations: Service, Investment Trust, Investor

☆ 'The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is a uniquely American construct,' analyst says. Here's why
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Most U.S. homebuyers taking out a mortgage opt for a 30-year fixed-rate — but they may not realize how unusual that offering is. "The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is a uniquely American construct," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate. True to its name, a 30-year fixed spreads out repayment over 30 years, with an interest rate that remains the same for the life of the loan. In 2022, 89% of homebuyers applied for a 30-year mortgage, according to government data analyzed by Homebuyer.com. "If we did not have the dominance of the fixed-rate mortgage in the U.S. residential mortgage market, we would see a much higher level of stress among existing homeowners," McBride said.

Persons: Greg McBride, Jacob Channel, McBride Organizations: homebuyers, Bankrate, LendingTree, Homebuyer.com, Finance Locations: U.S

☆ Inflation is scrambling Americans' perceptions of middle class life
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

For many in the middle class, inflation is at the heart of this feeling. That's making people feel locked out of many of the milestones long associated with middle-class life. 74% of middle class Americans have cut back on non-essential spending, according to Primerica's survey. 46% of middle-class Americans said they've dialed back or completely paused saving for the future and 38% said they didn't think they could afford an unexpected expense over $1000. Buying a home may be the greatest example of a tenet of middle-class life feeling out of reach for many, and that struggle is very real rather than merely negatively perceived.

Persons: —, Vincent, he'd, he's, Eoin Sheehan, Chris Collins, Collins, Jessica, they're, Kayla, Primerica, they've, Sheehan Organizations: Service, Business, Pew Research Center, Redfield & Wilton, Federal, Northwestern Mutual's Collins, Northwestern Mutual, Newsweek, National Association of Realtors Locations: Santa Barbara, California, Alabama, Primerica

☆ The AI boom reminds this expert of the dot-com bubble — with one dangerous difference
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewThe AI boom resembles the dot-com bubble — but there's one big difference that makes this craze far more dangerous, says one expert. "Many dot-com companies that drove the internet change went broke doing it. Many AI companies driving as big a change will go broke or lose half their value." "The giant AI pioneers won't go broke, but if AI losses drive their stock prices down, lots of investors will suffer," Gordon said. He's previously drawn a line between the dot-com bubble and the tech-stock boom.

Persons: —, Erik Gordon, Gordon, He's Organizations: Service, Business, University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, Nvidia, Microsoft, Big Tech

☆ Trump Media stock tumbles as the SEC charges its auditor with 'massive fraud'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Trump Media's stock price dropped on Friday after its auditor was accused of "massive fraud." The auditor BF Borgers did not comply with common accounting standards, the SEC said. BF Borgers CPA PC, which audited the financials of Trump Media, had "deliberate and systemic failures to comply" with public company accounting standards, the regulatory agency said. BF Borgers settled the SEC charges by paying a $12 million penalty, while Borgers, the owner, paid a separate $2 million penalty. "Trump Media looks forward to working with auditing partners in accordance with today's SEC order," a spokesperson for TMTG said.

Persons: BF, —, Benjamin Borgers, BF Borgers, Borgers, Ben Borgers, Gurbir Grewal, TMTG Organizations: Trump, SEC, Service, Trump Media, Securities and Exchange Commission Locations: SEC's

☆ The Perils of the Fed’s Vast Bond Holdings
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Jeff Sommer | More About Jeff Sommer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

But even after two years of quantitative tightening, the amount of bonds and securities that the Fed still retains is stupendous. Quantitative tightening is a perilous operation. Earlier attempts — notably, in 2019 — disrupted financial markets. The slow pace of quantitative tightening is partly responsible for the Fed’s inability to contribute to the national budget. That’s because the Fed has also raised interest rates, which move in the opposite direction of bond prices.

Persons: — Organizations: Fed, Treasury, Silicon Valley Bank Locations: United States

☆ There are 4 big factors to watch that could bring turmoil to financial markets, research firm says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Yuheng Zhan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Stocks and the economy look strong but there are four factors that could pose a problem, Capital Economics said. Geopolitical risks in the Middle East and high interest rates are big risks to markets. A depreciation of the Chinese yuan and soaring US debt are also the two factors investors need to watch. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Thirdly, with the rising value of the Chinese yuan, any depreciation could trigger currency market volatility elsewhere.

Persons: —, Ruben Gargallo Abargues, Jonas Goltermann, Wednesday's, Goltermann, Bill Gross Organizations: Economics, Service, Capital Economics, Brent Locations: Israel, Treasuries

☆ Yen gives up ground vs dollar following surge on suspected intervention
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

An attendant holds a sample of newly-designed Japanese 10,000 yen banknote, with three-dimensional holographic technology to prevent forgery, for a photograph at the National Printing Bureau Tokyo plant in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. The yen gave up ground in early trade on Thursday, reversing direction after a sudden surge against the dollar overnight that traders and analysts were quick to attribute to intervention by Japanese authorities. The dollar was 0.9% higher at 155.98 yen as of 0100 GMT, retracing about half of its late Wednesday surge from around 157.55 to exactly 153 over a period of about 30 minutes. "The 'sneak attack' element really is the MOF (Japan's Ministry of Finance) looking to punish speculators and send a warning about shorting the yen." That helped lift the dollar to a 34-year peak of 160.245 yen on Monday and also spurred a sharp reversal which official data suggested was due to Japanese intervention totalling about $35 billion.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Masato Kanda, Kyle Rodda, Sterling, Powell, Jack Mclntyre Organizations: National Printing Bureau, Federal Reserve, Reuters, Capital.com, Japan's Ministry of Finance, Bank of Japan, Brandywine Locations: National Printing Bureau Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, U.S, Melbourne

☆ Stock market today: Indexes mixed after Fed meeting as Powell calms nerves over possible hike
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Central bankers chose to keep interest rates steady, and Powell said a rate hike was "unlikely." Fed officials chose to keep interest rates unchanged, in line with the market's expectations. Investors have been fretting over higher interest rates as inflation came in hotter-than-expected throughout the first quarter. The odds of a Fed rate hike in June are less than 1%. Calling that out in the first paragraph is tantamount to saying that interest rate cuts are not coming soon."

Persons: Powell, —, Greg McBride, Bankrate, Charlie Ripley Organizations: Service, Federal Reserve, Nasdaq, Fed, Allianz Investment Management

☆ Gold subdued as traders ready for Fed rate verdict
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Gold prices struggled for momentum on Wednesday as investors refrained from taking big positions ahead of a U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision that could offer for more cues on its rate-cut timeline. U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% at $2,298.30 per ounce. The Fed is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25% to 5.5%. Gold is known as an inflation hedge but elevated interest rates reduce the appeal of holding the non-yielding asset. Among other metals, spot silver rose 0.2% to $26.32 per ounce and platinum inched up 0.2% to $935.10.

Persons: Edward Meir, Jerome Powell, Powell, Meir Organizations: U.S, Federal, Focus, Labor, Palladium

☆ The Fed could make a big change today. We’re not talking about interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Wednesday’s Federal Reserve policy decision will likely be pretty boring for investors — officials are widely expected to keep interest rates the same, just as they have since July 2023. They think that the Fed may curtail its quantitative tightening (QT) program — that’s the selling off of its assets to decrease money supply and increase interest rates — by as much as half. Those purchases ended up pushing down interest rates in certain parts of the economy, like housing and auto sales. That led to a “repo crisis”, where the interest rates for overnight loans between banks spiked unusually high. That’s because a taper should send bond prices higher, and interest rates lower.

Persons: there’s, Jamie Dimon, Jerome Powell doesn’t, Krishna Guha, Marco Casiraghi, ”, Bill Adams, Biden, reclassify, General Merrick Garland, Xochitl Hinojosa, “, Nancy Mace, Earl Blumenauer, ” Read, Zhao, Allison Morrow, ” Binance Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Fed, JPMorgan Chase, Comerica Bank, Bank of America, CNN, US Department of Justice, Federal Register, Congress, Associated Press, Republican, CZ, Binance, Bloomberg Locations: New York, South Carolina, Oregon, Seattle

☆ Federal Reserve interest rate verdict: Central bankers meet to decide on next move
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —The Federal Reserve is expected to announce Wednesday that it is keeping interest rates at a quarter-century high for the sixth-straight meeting. Other Fed officials have already introduced the possibility of a rate hike, in addition to the chance of no rate cuts this year. Williams later said that another rate hike is possible if economic data warrants it. That combination eerily resembled stagflation, which triggered a broad stocks selloff on Wall Street Thursday. The threshold for a rate hike is ‘extremely high’Another interest rate hike is back in the conversation, but at the moment, it’s still not likely the Fed will do that.

Persons: Jerome Powell, ” Powell, Powell, John Williams, Williams, Neel Kashkari, Austan Goolsbee, “, can’t, it’s, Goldman Sachs, Wall, ” Oren Klachkin Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal, Index, New York Fed, Bloomberg, Minneapolis, Chicago Fed, Commerce Department, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Nationwide, CNN Locations: New, Chicago, Wells Fargo

☆ Federal prosecutors are examining financial transactions at Block, owner of Cash App and Square
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Cash App, introduced in 2013, allows users to send and receive money instantaneously among themselves and to buy stocks and Bitcoin. As of December, Cash App had 56 million active transacting accounts and $248 billion in inflows during the previous four quarters, the company said. (Merchants are considered customers at Square, while users are considered customers at Cash App.) Cash App is not a bank, but it uses external banking partners to conduct various services. On March 29, Sutton Bank settled a consent order with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. that echoed the whistleblowers' allegations.

Persons: Jack Dorsey, Block, Venezuela —, Edward Siedle, Prosecutors, Cash, OFAC, Lawrence Summers, Sharon Rothstein, Summers, Rothstein, Lord Paul Deighton, Goldman Sachs, Deighton, Dorsey, Banks, Sutton, James Booker Organizations: Twitter, Southern, of, NBC, NBC News, Securities and Exchange Commission, Block, Foreign Assets Control, U.S . Treasury, Cash, OFAC, Goldman, Financial Market, Bank of Lithuania, Payments Lithuania UAB, PayPal, Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, Sutton Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, FDIC Locations: of New York, Cuba, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Ohio, Sutton

☆ Stock futures rise after Fed decides to hold rates steady: Live updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Stock futures advanced Wednesday night as investors looked ahead to more corporate earnings due Thursday and key labor data set for later in the week. S&P 500 futures climbed 0.3%. Restaurant delivery service DoorDash dropped 15% after reporting a wider loss per share than Wall Street forecast. Those moves followed a choppy day on Wall Street as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged. The Dow finished about 0.2% higher, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed the session lower by roughly 0.3%.

Persons: DoorDash, Jerome Powell, Eric Winograd, Winograd, Coinbase Organizations: Dow Jones Industrial, Nasdaq, Qualcomm, Federal, Dow, Apple, Moderna Locations: AllianceBernstein, Friday's

☆ Gold prices ease as dollar firms ahead of Fed policy meet
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

An Argor-Heraeus SA branded two hundred and fifty gram gold bar, center, sits in this arranged photograph at Solar Capital Gold Zrt. Gold prices were set for a third straight monthly gain, even as bullion prices eased on Tuesday as the dollar firmed ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting starting later in the day. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $2,329.69 per ounce, as of 0355 GMT. This week's important market events are the Federal Reserve's policy meeting from April 30-May 1 and the non-farm payrolls data due on Friday. The U.S. Fed is expected to hold its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25%-5.5% at this meeting.

Persons: Kyle Rodda, Capital.com, Bullion, Capital.com's Rodda, Jerome Powell Organizations: Heraeus SA, Solar, Federal, U.S, Fed Locations: Budapest, Hungary

☆ Personal CEO calls and $1 million pay packages: How tech companies recruit top AI talent amid a 'gold rush'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Kali Hays | Ellen Thomas | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

On top of that, she added that tech companies will give people in AI-related jobs bonuses for performance and plenty of equity compensation. About half of the people came from Big Tech companies. Gill said the new Kognitos hires who haven't come from Big Tech have jumped ship from other startups. Some AI talent are even striking it out on their own to start their own companies. He left his tech job to form an AI startup after seeing another large fundraise from another new AI company.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, Dan Portillo, Goldman Sachs, Jaclyn Rice Nelson, Nelson, that's, Claude chatbot that's, Binny Gill, Kognitos, Gill, he's, haven't, David Steinberg, Steinberg, AI's Nelson, There's, Greg Selker, Stanton Chase, Selker, hemming, hawing Organizations: Service, Business, Meta, Sweat Equity Ventures, OpenAI, Big Tech, Zeta Global Locations: Anthropic, ChatGPT

☆ All the data so far is showing inflation isn't going away, and is making things tough on the Fed
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Finally, consumers are dipping into savings to fund those purchases, creating a precarious scenario, if not now then down the road. With unemployment under 4%, it shouldn't be that surprising that prices aren't" going down, said Joseph LaVorgna, chief economist at SMBC Nikko Securities. So you might have a sticky inflation scenario." "If inflation remains higher, the Fed will be faced with the difficult choice of pushing the economy into a recession, abandoning its soft-landing scenario, or tolerating inflation higher than 2%," Sanders said. "To us, accepting higher inflation is the more prudent option."

Persons: Justin Sullivan, Joseph LaVorgna, LaVorgna, Donald Trump, Biden, Mike Sanders, Sanders Organizations: Getty, Federal Reserve, Commerce Department, Nikko Securities, National Economic Council, Madison Investments Locations: San Rafael , California, U.S

☆ US economy grew by just 1.6% in the first quarter, a much slower pace than expected
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN —The US economy cooled more than expected in the first quarter of the year, but remained healthy by historical standards. Gross domestic product, which measures all the services and goods produced in the economy, measured an annualized rate of 1.6% in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. It was the weakest pace of growth since the second quarter of 2022 when the economy contracted. What this means for interest ratesInflation slowed considerably last year, but the pace of its descent has stalled in recent months. For now, economic growth remains healthy, despite the weaker-than-expected first-quarter GDP reading, as employers continue to hire at a solid clip and workers still command robust wage gains.

Persons: ” Oren Klachkin Organizations: Washington CNN, Federal Reserve, Gross, Commerce Department, Consumer, Nationwide, CNN

☆ ‘A real wildcard’: World’s largest wealth fund issues inflation warning on hot commodity markets
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Sam Meredith | In Samuelmeredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The chief executive of the world's largest wealth fund says there are many wild cards in financial markets right now, but the "big worry" for investors is what a commodities rally could mean for the inflation outlook. Oil and copper prices have climbed around 13%, respectively, year-to-date, while gold has repeatedly notched fresh record highs in recent months. Asked whether he had any concerns about hot commodity markets, NBIM's Tangen replied, "Yes, the big worry is just what that could mean for inflation right?" He added, "So, if energy and raw material prices continue to move up, that is going to feed through to end-product prices, which are going to be higher. And that could be the real wildcard when it comes to inflation expectation."

Persons: Nicolai Tangen, CNBC's, NBIM's Tangen Organizations: Norges Bank Investment Management

☆ Why the Fed keeping rates higher for longer may not be such a bad thing
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

So the question is, are we going to have issues if rates remain higher for longer?" But financial markets, despite a recent 5.5% selloff for the S&P 500, have largely held up amid the higher-rate landscape. Higher rates can be a good signHistory tells differing stories about the consequences of a hawkish Fed, both for markets and the economy. Higher rates are generally a good thing so long as they're associated with growth. Futures market pricing implies a fed funds rate of 4.32% by December 2025, indicating a higher rate trajectory.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Mandel Ngan, Quincy Krosby, Krosby, Paul Volcker, David Kelly, Kelly, —, Goldman Sachs, Loretta Mester Organizations: Federal Reserve, Financial, Afp, Getty, LPL, Fed, Asset Management, Market, Cleveland Fed, European Union Locations: Washington , DC

☆ Investors are fearful. They shouldn’t be
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The economy has been extraordinarily resilient for the past few years — consistently proving the naysayers wrong, he says. For all of the market gloom last week, stocks are still near all-time highs, and this earnings season has been strong. Investors have been worrying about the Federal Reserve keeping rates higher for longer. I speak with many institutional investors, and I don’t see them folding in fear. Residual lubricant reduced the retention of the pad to the pedal,” the NHTSA wrote in the recall document.

Persons: ”, Philipp Carlsson, there’s, Carlsson, Szlezak, they’re, I’m, it’s, I’ve, we’re, TikTok, Brian Fung, Joe Biden, Tesla, Chris Isidore, Peter Valdes Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal Reserve, Boston Consulting, ByteDance, NHTSA Locations: New York, Europe, Ukraine, Israel, Washington

Search resuls for: "Financial Market"

25 mentions found