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☆ Austin says it’s ‘unfortunate’ that Chinese defense chief declined meeting
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — China’s defense minister declined a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a meeting of defense leaders in Laos, a move the Pentagon chief said Wednesday was unfortunate. Multilateral gatherings of national security officials in Asia have been used in the past for meetings between U.S. and Chinese defense leaders, but China declined a meeting request by Austin during this week’s Southeast Asian Nations-Plus defense ministers meeting. It affects the region because the region really wants to see us, you know, two significant players in the region, two significant powers, talk to each other,” Austin told reporters. “I don’t think that it has any sort of implications for the future. Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Saturday to work with the incoming U.S. administration of Donald Trump as he held his final talks with departing President Joe Biden on conflicts from cybercrime to trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and Russia.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Lloyd Austin, Wednesday, “, ” Austin, ” Austin added.Austin, Dong Jun, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump, Joe Biden Organizations: Pentagon, Austin, Nations Locations: Laos, Asia, China, Singapore, Taiwan, cybercrime, South, Sea, Russia

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to reject three efforts led by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders that would have blocked certain offensive weapons sales to Israel. In a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote, Sanders argued that the resolutions "would not affect any of the systems Israel uses to defend itself from incoming attacks," focusing instead on offensive weapons. "As I have said many, many times: Israel had the absolute right to respond to that horrific Hamas attack, as any other country would. I don’t think anybody here in the United States Senate disagrees with that," he said in his floor speech. More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s offensive into the dense enclave since the attack, according to health officials in Gaza.

Persons: WASHINGTON, Sen, Bernie Sanders, Sanders, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ed Markey, Netanyahu, Martin Heinrich, Tammy Baldwin, “, Catherine Cortez Masto, ” Sen, Jacky Rosen, ”, Joni Ernst, Bill Cassidy, Israel’s Organizations: U.S, United States, Hamas, Democrats, Biden Locations: Israel, Gaza, U.S, United States, D, Iowa

The University of Mobile is mourning the sudden death of freshman basketball player Kaiden Francis this week. Francis, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, collapsed on campus Tuesday morning and died, university President Charles Smith said in a letter to students and faculty. "Yesterday morning Kaiden Francis, freshman point guard from Fort Lauderdale unexpectedly passed away after doing what he loved to do, working on his craft in the gym," Archey wrote. Classes at the university of almost 2,000 students were canceled Wednesday, and a vigil was held on campus Wednesday morning. "He was profoundly gifted and clearly loved by his teammates," Smith wrote.

Persons: Kaiden Francis, Francis, Charles Smith, Kaiden, Smith, Darnell Archey, Archey Organizations: University of Mobile, Facebook Locations: Fort Lauderdale , Florida, Fort Lauderdale

☆ Viral banana artwork has sold again — this time for $6.24 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Oscar Holland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But artist Maurizio Cattelan’s viral creation, titled “Comedian,” has proven a sound investment for one collector: One of the artwork’s three “editions” smashed estimates to sell for $6.24 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on Wednesday. The auction house had estimated the work to go for between $1 million to $1.5 million; bidding began at $800,000. Prior to the sale, Sotheby’s confirmed to CNN that neither the tape nor, thankfully, the banana are the originals. The Miami installation was eventually removed amid public safety concerns, but all three editions were sold at the fair. In interviews given since the Miami installation, Cattelan has described “Comedian” as a work of commentary.

Persons: Maurizio Cattelan’s, ”, , Oliver Barker, Sotheby’s, Justin Sun, ” Sun, “, ’, Marcel Duchamp’s, David Datuna, David Galperin, ” Galperin Organizations: CNN, Art Basel Miami Beach, Guggenheim, Art Newspaper, Leeum Museum of Art, Seoul National University Locations: New York, Miami, Americas, Seoul, South Korea, London, Paris, Milan, Hong Kong, Dubai, Taipei, Tokyo, Los Angeles

Trump’s pick for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was accused of sexual assault. Trump himself has faced various sexual misconduct allegations, which he has denied, though he was found liable last year for sexual abuse in a civil trial over an alleged incident in the 1990s that he also denies. Now, after having won the presidency again, he’s spending early political capital to confirm appointees who have faced sexual misconduct allegations of their own. The allegations against Trump’s picksGaetz’s years of controversies have been thrust back into the spotlight now that he’s up for a Cabinet post. “It’s a very scary time for young men in America when you can be guilty of something that you may not be guilty of,” Trump told reporters.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Gaetz, Hegseth, Kennedy, “, Trump, ”, Marc Short, Mike Pence’s, we’ve, Trump’s, hasn’t, Tim Parlatore, Bill Clinton’s, George H.W, Barack Obama’s, haven’t, Andy Puzder, Puzder, Patrick Shanahan, Shanahan, Ronny Jackson, Jackson, Brett Kavanaugh, Kavanaugh, ” Trump, reconsidering, JD Vance, Karoline Leavitt, Vance, MAGA, ” Leavitt Organizations: NBC News, NBC, “, Justice Department, Trump, Committee, Washington Post, Republican, You’re, Politico, Pentagon, White House, Department of Veterans Affairs, Supreme, Capitol, White Locations: groping, Florida, America, Hegseth, Washington

A banana duct-taped to a white wall — or an acclaimed piece of art, depending how you look at it — sold at a Sotheby's auction for $6.24 million on Wednesday. The artwork debuted at Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2019 and was initially estimated to sell around $1.5 million, according to Sotheby's. At one point, someone even took the banana off the wall and ate it. According to Sotheby's, Cattelan "single-handedly prompted the world to reconsider how we define art, and the value we seek in it." As Galperin put it, "There is no better forum to adjudicate the value of art and a single object than the platform of auction."

Persons: —, Maurizio Cattelan's, Nancy Durrant, Maurizio Cattelan, David Galperin, Sotheby's, rhapsodically, Durrant, Lucius Elliot, Durrant —, Elliot, Maurizio, Emmanuel Perrotin, Perrotin, Galperin Organizations: Art Basel Miami Beach, Art Basel, Americas, New, New York Post, Vogue Locations: New York

☆ FBI investigating whether burglaries targeting athletes are linked to a transnational crime ring
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Tom_Winter_Nbc_News.Jpg | Tom Winter | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The officials said Wednesday that they have not made any determination as to who exactly is responsible, and the investigation is ongoing. The report did not identify Mahomes, but the address listed matches public records for Super Bowl-winning the quarterback. Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 17, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. Twenty-thousand dollars was taken, according to a police report obtained by NBC affiliate KSHB of Kansas City. “We are aware of some of the other athletes in different states that have had their homes burglarized," the statement said.

Persons: Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Mahomes, Sarah Stier, Bobby Portis, Mike Conley Jr, Conley, ” Organizations: FBI, Kanas City Chiefs, Sheriff’s Office, Super Bowl, Kansas City Chiefs, NBC, Milwaukee Bucks, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Vikings, NBC News Locations: South America, Belton , Missouri, Cass, Foxborough, Leawood , Kansas, Kansas City, Medina , Minnesota

☆ Amelia Earhart: Sonar imagery resembling missing plane was a rock formation
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

After returning to the site on November 1, Deep Sea Vision — an ocean exploration company based in Charleston, South Carolina, that captured the original sonar image — has identified the object to be a natural rock formation. The hunt for Earhart’s plane continuesThe rock formation was more than 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) underwater. The team sent out the AUV directly above the site in early November, producing a high-resolution image of the rock formation. After the anxious wait, the image surprisingly revealed that the object was a natural rock formation, he said. When Deep Sea Vision first announced the anomaly, Jourdan cautioned against using sonar imagery to identify anything on the seafloor.

Persons: Amelia Earhart, Earhart, Electra, ”, Tony Romeo, “, ” Romeo, Romeo, shouldn’t, Nauticos, David Jourdan, Jourdan, ” Jourdan, ” Amelia Earhart, Fred Noonan, Dorothy Cochrane, Cochrane Organizations: CNN, Lockheed, US Air Force, Vision, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Locations: Charleston , South Carolina, Kennebunkport , Maine, Lae, Papua New Guinea, Howland

☆ ‘A lot of fear:’ Trump’s deportation proposals are already rattling workers
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

“People are afraid of walking the streets right now; there’s a lot of fear … a lot of fear,” Sanchez said. “Shrinking worker (supply) in a period in which those sectors need more workers and are having a hard time finding workers will clearly generate a slowdown,” Peri said. Although temporary farm visas — known as H-2A — do exist, there is no legal way to have year-round foreign workers. “We know [undocumented immigrants] are working, they’re not sitting at home,” he said. “The slowing in immigration that’s broadly anticipated will probably show up in tighter labor markets for lower-skilled workers,” he said in an interview.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Sam Sanchez, ”, Sanchez, ” Sanchez, Giovanni Peri, Peri, Ron Estrada, “, ” Estrada, farmworkers, Joe Sohm, Farmworker Justice’s Estrada, Carolinians, they’re, “ They’ve, Biden, Trump, Michael Feroli, Julia Pollak, Scott Olson, it’s, Joe Brusuelas, ” Karoline Leavitt, Vance, Joanne Eriaku, Eriaku, she’s Organizations: CNN, Chicago, Coast Hospitality Group, “, Global Migration, University of California, Davis, UCDavis, Migration Center . Business, Biden, Farmworker, North Carolina Growers Association, Congressional, CBO, JPMorgan, Republican National Convention, RSM, Trump, United Nations, UN, Social Locations: America, Mexico, Little, San Francisco, Chicago, ”, Milwaukee, Chicago’s Little, Springfield , Ohio, New York City, Uganda, Eriaku, Kenya, United States

☆ More than half of non-retired US adults expect to rely on Social Security in retirement
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Social Security is by far one of the most popular government programs in the United States because it is critical for so many retirees’ financial security. More than half of non-retired US adults (53%) overall said they expect they will need to use Social Security to pay for necessary expenses, according to a new survey from Bankrate. Social Security benefits only replace a portion of Americans’ pre-retirement income. Indeed, only 31% of the non-retired adults surveyed said they are not planning to rely on Social Security benefits in retirement, with just 14% saying they will “not (be) at all” reliant on them. Their “normal retirement age” is 67 for the purposes of collecting Social Security benefits.

Persons: That’s, one’s, ’, they’ll, ”, Mark Hamrick, Bankrate —, —, Trump, they’ve, haven’t Organizations: CNN, Social, Security, —, Social Security, Bankrate, Social Security Administration Locations: United States

☆ 73% of workers worry Social Security won't be able to pay retirement benefits. Here's what advisors say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Most Americans are concerned about what may happen to Social Security when its retirement trust fund crosses a projected 2033 depletion date, according to a new Bankrate survey. Nearly three-quarters, 73%, of non-retired adults and 71% retired adults say they worry they won't receive their benefits if the trust fund runs out. That includes 81% of working baby boomers and 82% of Gen Xers who are worried they may not receive their benefits at retirement age if the trust fund is depleted. Social Security relies on trust funds to supplement its monthly benefit payments that currently reach more than 72.5 million beneficiaries, including Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. Social Security's actuaries project the fund the program relies on to pay retirement benefits will be depleted in 2033.

Persons: Gen Xers, someone's, Mark Hamrick, Trump, Zers Organizations: Security, Bankrate, Finance, Social, actuaries Locations: millennials

☆ Matt Gaetz: Ethics committee told of second sexual encounter between Trump’s AG pick and 17-year-old, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Paula Reid | Sarah Ferris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

She also testified to both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, sources said. The House Ethics Committee revived its investigation of the Florida lawmaker once DOJ concluded its case and is facing mounting pressure to release its final report. Leppard said his client told the committee she did not believe Gaetz knew at the time that her friend was underage. He has said that both them testified that Gaetz paid them for “sexual favors.”Leppard also called on the House Ethics Committee to release the report on Gaetz, emphasizing the importance of transparency. Release the Gaetz Ethics report,” Leppard said.

Persons: Matt Gaetz, Gaetz, Donald Trump’s, Trump, Joel Leppard, Leppard, ” Leppard, CNN’s Casey Gannon Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Capitol, Republican, Committee Locations: Florida

☆ RFK Jr. once praised scathing description of Trump and his base as “idiots,” “Nazis” and “bootlickers”
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Andrew Kaczynski | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Asked in August whether he would ever serve in Trump’s cabinet, Kennedy said, “No.” but weeks later, he ended his campaign and endorsed Trump. Kennedy has since refrained from any public criticism of Trump, aligning himself with the former president on issues like government censorship and public health. Trump, left, greets Robert F. Kennedy Jr., at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23. “And you can see that every statement that Donald Trump makes is fear-based,” Kennedy said on his radio show in December 2016. “And, you know, he’s not like Hitler,” Kennedy said.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Donald Trump’s, ”, ” Kennedy, “, Trump, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Kennedy, Hitler, “ Hitler, President Trump, demagogues, Adriana Zehbrauskas, Trump’s, Francisco Franco, Mussolini, Huey Long, Father Coughlin, Donald Trump, Obama, barker, George Wallace, …, ’, ‘, Matt Taibbi’s, ’ ” Kennedy, Taibbi, he’s, He’ll, Michael Mann, “ Michael Mann, Erik McGregor, “ Trump, Andrew Wheeler Organizations: CNN, Health, Human Services, Trump, HHS, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health, Democratic Party, New York Times, Civil Rights Movement, Alabama Gov, ”, Pipeline, EPA Locations: Glendale , Arizona, White, America, Paris, Albany , New York

☆ Kenya drops over $2.5 billion of Adani deals after U.S. indictment
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Gautam Adani, billionaire and chairman of Adani Group, during an event at the Port of Haifa in Haifa, Israel, on Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023. Under the proposed deal worth nearly $2 billion, the Adani Group was to add a second runway at the Jomo Kenyatta international airport and upgrade the passenger terminal in exchange for a 30-year lease. Representatives from Adani Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Adani Group denied the allegations and said in a statement that it would seek "all possible legal recourse". Senior government officials, including Ruto, had repeatedly defended the deals despite allegations made in 2023 by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research - denied by the Adani Group - of improper governance practices at the company.

Persons: Gautam Adani, William Ruto, Ruto, Opiyo Wandayi, George Kamau Organizations: Adani, Port, Kenyan, Jomo Kenyatta, Adani Group, Hindenburg Research, Energy Locations: Port of Haifa, Haifa, Israel, United States, Kenyan

☆ Triller is hiring TikTok's former head of product to run its video app, as its other CEO hire falls through
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

AdvertisementTriller hired former TikTok product head Sean Kim to run its video app and a few other subsidiaries. Former T-Mobile marketing exec Kevin McGurn will no longer join as CEO of all of Triller Group. Triller, a media and marketing company that once positioned itself as a competitor to TikTok, announced it's hiring former TikTok product head Sean Kim to serve as CEO of its video app. Starting on December 2, he will oversee the Triller app, a short-video platform that functions similarly to TikTok, Instagram reels, and YouTube shorts. The Triller Group CEO title was meant to go to former T-Mobile marketing executive Kevin McGurn, as announced by the company in October.

Persons: Triller, Sean Kim, Kevin McGurn, TikTok, Kim, Julius, McGurn, it's, Donald Trump Organizations: Mobile, Triller, Holding, Triller Group, AGBA, Sony Music, Universal Music Group, SEC, Congress, YouTube Locations: Hong Kong, Triller

☆ National Geographic unveiled its Pictures of the Year. Here are 7 of the most stunning wildlife photos.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Priyanka Rajput | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

AdvertisementNational Geographic spotlighted the top 20 Pictures of the Year in its December 2024 issue. Photo editors at the magazine chose the top 20 photos from a selection of 2.3 million images. Every year, photographers at National Geographic travel around the world to share stories through their lenses. Then, at the end of the year, the magazine's photo editors select "the most stunning photos" taken by its photographers for its annual Pictures of the Year issue. AdvertisementThis year, 20 pictures were selected from a pool of 2.3 million photographs.

Organizations: National Geographic

☆ Pete Hegseth’s Metamorphosis: From Critic of War Crimes to Defender of the Accused
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Dave Philipps | Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Pete Hegseth was an earnest, young Army lieutenant in Iraq in 2005, he was cleareyed on how he viewed crimes committed by soldiers in war. Soldiers in his own infantry company in Iraq in 2006 had shot civilians, executed prisoners and tried to cover up the crimes. “Those are a no-brainer,” he told an audience at the University of Virginia after his deployment. He called the acts of those soldiers, who served in a sister platoon in his company, “atrocities” and added: “Of course that’s wrong. No one is here to defend that.”By the end of his Army career, though, he was repeatedly doing exactly that.

Persons: Pete Hegseth, ”, “, Donald J, Trump Organizations: University of Virginia, Army, Fox News Locations: Iraq

☆ This chart shows how crazy-fast the value of Elon Musk's xAI has risen in 16 months
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

AdvertisementElon Musk's AI startup xAI has been valued at a reported $50 billion, 16 months after its founding. One of his other companies, his artificial intelligence startup xAI, has catapulted from launch just 16 months ago into an AI company now worth a reported $50 billion. So how does that $50 billion compare to the competition? It took OpenAI, last valued at $157 billion in October, around 9 years to pass the $50 billion milestone, according to PitchBook. Musk said the process took 122 days — and the startup plans to double the amount of AI chips inside it in the coming months.

Persons: OpenAI, Elon Musk, —, It's, Grok, Musk Organizations: Elon, Perplexity, SpaceX, Twitter, Nvidia

☆ Atlas of cells offers a milestone leap in understanding of the human body
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New research based on the findings, published in several papers Wednesday in Nature and its sister journals, represents a “leap in understanding of the human body,” according to the Human Cell Atlas consortium. Regev compared scientific knowledge of cell biology before the Human Cell Atlas initiative with a “15th century map.”“Now, years later, the resolution of the map is a lot higher,” she said. The cell atlas aims to fill in a missing link between genes, diseases and treatment therapies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Human Cell Atlas community used the available data to reveal that the nose, eyes and mouth were most vulnerable to infection. “It was only clear through the Human Cell Atlas data that those cells were … entry points before the virus continued into the internal organs.

Persons: —, ”, Aviv, Daniel Montoro “, we’ve, Regev, “, Sarah Teichmann, Ken, Blain, Robert Hooke, ” Teichmann, Jeremy Farrar, ” Farrar Organizations: CNN, Human Cell Atlas, Genome, Cell, Google, Human, Human Cell, Cambridge Stem Cell, UK’s University of Cambridge, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Institut, la Vision, HCL, Lyon, World Health Organization Locations: Nature, Genentech, South San Francisco , California, Cambridge, England, Paris, Lyon English

☆ CFPB expands oversight of digital payments services including Apple Pay, Cash App and PayPal
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Hugh Son | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday issued a finalized version of a rule saying it will soon supervise nonbank firms that offer financial services likes payments and wallet apps. That would include popular services from Apple and Google , as well as payment firms like PayPal and Block . "Digital payments have gone from novelty to necessity and our oversight must reflect this reality," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. A year ago, the CFPB said it wanted to extend its oversight to tech and fintech companies that offer financial services but that have sidestepped more scrutiny by partnering with banks. The CFPB said the rule will take effect 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

Persons: Rohit Chopra, CFPB Organizations: Banking, Housing, Urban Affairs Committee, Consumer Financial, Tech, Apple, Google, PayPal, Federal Register

☆ Thai court gives death penalty to woman accused of cyanide serial killings
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Jessie Yeung | Kocha Olarn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Bangkok, Thailand CNN —A Thai court has handed down the death penalty to a woman accused of fatally poisoning at least a dozen people, the first ruling in a high-profile serial murder case that has gripped the nation. The court convicted her of charges including premeditated murder, robbery causing death and spiking food or other consumables resulting in death. In addition to the death sentence, she was also ordered to pay compensation for unrecovered stolen items. Thanicha told CNN on Thursday that Saratat denies the accusations against her and plans to appeal her conviction. No executions have taken place since, but courts have handed down the death sentence in several cases, including the high-profile murders of two British backpackers in 2019.

Persons: Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, NBT Connext, –, Siriporn, Sararat, Thanicha Eksuwanwat, Witoon, Thanicha, Saratat, ” Thanicha Organizations: Thailand CNN, CNN, Sararat Locations: Bangkok, Thailand

☆ There's still plenty of 'meat on the bone' in municipal bonds, Vanguard portfolio manager says
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

So that's why I say there's plenty of meat left on the bone for investing in credit munis," McFee said. Sector outlook Municipal bond funds buy and hold fixed income instruments issued by state and local governments or related entities. Over the past month, major index funds iShares National Muni Bond ETF (MUB) and Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond ETF (VTEB) have raked in about $2.2 billion of combined inflows, according to FactSet. The big iShares and Vanguard muni funds have each returned about 1.7%, year to date, compared with 1.6% for the iShares Core U.S. And Vanguard is not the only asset manager pushing new muni funds into the market.

Persons: weren't, Steve McFee, McFee, Goldman Sachs Organizations: Vanguard, Bond, McFee, AAA, Muni Bond ETF, Vanguard muni, iShares, Aggregate Bond

☆ Ron Insana: Bitcoin could be the mother of all manias as it soars toward $100,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Ron Insana | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

As bitcoin prepares to vault to $100,000, I can't help but wonder if cryptocurrency – not artificial intelligence – is the mother of all financial market manias. BTC.CM= YTD mountain Bitcoin in 2024 The first bitcoin, minted in 2009 , changed hands at about one-tenth of one cent. With bitcoin at nearly $100,000 on Thursday, the first buyers of the cryptocurrency would, no doubt, be worth scores of billions of dollars. The three defining features of money are: A medium of exchange A unit of account A store of value Bitcoin – or any cryptocurrency – is not widely used for transactions. The real question in my mind remains, does the world need bitcoin, or does it just want the flagship crypto?

Persons: bitcoin, cryptocurrency, SWIFT, there's, Donald Trump, Charles Mackay, Ron Insana Organizations: Louis Federal Reserve, U.S, U.S ., CNBC Locations: U.S, Dutch

☆ Auto worker wipeout: Why car companies are cutting thousands of jobs
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Benjamin Zhang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

This is due to unprofitable EV investments, Chinese market losses, and more domestic competition. Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis plan to slash thousands from their workforce in the coming months. AdvertisementBut despite that growth — and with EVs accounting for roughly 10% of US auto sales — companies not named Tesla have struggled to make their EV businesses profitable. German carmakers are losing out to Chinese EV upstarts like BYD. Analysts say inventory levels are improving at Stellantis and industry-wide as automakers react to a slower sales environment.

Persons: Ford, Josh Lefkowitz, EVs, That's, Tesla, Tim Levin, Daniel Pier, Stellantis, Price, Donald Trump Organizations: Ford, GM, Volkswagen Group, General Motors, Volkswagen, Silverado, Angeles Auto, EV, Cadillac, VW Group, Geely, VW, Competition Locations: Germany, Cadillac Lyriq, China, United States

☆ Wall Street overlooks modest Nvidia guidance, lift price targets ahead of strong Blackwell ramp
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Samantha Subin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Investors shouldn't let a smaller-than-expected guidance beat overshadow tailwinds from Nvidia's looming Blackwell graphics processing unit rollout come January. Citi's Atif Malik lifted the firm's price target to $175 and opened a positive catalyst ahead of the consumer electronics show in January. Wells Fargo's Aaron Rakers moved to a $185 price target, reflecting 27% upside from Wednesday's close. Meanwhile, JPMorgan's Harlan Sur lifted his price target to $170 a share, saying that margins should improve toward the mid-70s range in the second half of 2025 as Nvidia streamlines costs. What's next for the stock Despite strong Blackwell expectations, some analysts warn of potential near-term volatility.

Persons: Wall, Blackwell, NVDA, Jefferies, Blayne Curtis, Citi's Atif Malik, Wells, Aaron Rakers, Bernstein's Stacy Rasgon, JPMorgan's Harlan Sur, What's, America's Vivek Arya, Tom O'Malley, Baruah, Cantor, C.J, Muse, Morgan Stanley, Joseph Moore Organizations: tailwinds, Blackwell, Nvidia, America's, Barclays Locations: Nvidia's

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