Rio Tinto Group and Glencore Plc have held early stage talks about combining their businesses to create a behemoth to rival longstanding industry titan BHP Group. The discussions took place as recently as late last year but are not currently active, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing … Read more
Donald Trump’s team may have been batting around the idea of a gradual ratcheting up of import tariffs on much of the world, but bankers who finance the companies in his firing line are in a frenzy nonetheless. As the president-elect’s inauguration looms next week, some European businesses in threatened industries have accelerated borrowing plans … Read more
The price of bitcoin continues to dance. It dropped to $90K this Monday before rallying back to $101K by Friday. Can we blame this week’s price volatility on global warming? Eight U.S. states are now in the running to establish a strategic bitcoin reserve. So far, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio, Alabama, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and … Read more
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Emboldened by a friendlier incoming Trump administration and their success last year in weakening draft capital hikes, big U.S. banks plan to push to overhaul other U.S. capital rules, according to industry executives. Among the industry’s goals are to lock in a much weaker version of the “Basel Endgame” … Read more
The oil revenues of Iran, Russia and Venezuela have come into the crosshairs of President-elect Donald Trump, who is preparing a wide-ranging sanctions package that could have dramatic effects on energy markets. While plans are still in the early stages, advisers say the measures are being formulated to blunt three diplomatic thorns that have stuck … Read more
Are we on the brink of seeing gold break $3,000 an ounce? In this eye-opening discussion, Alan Hibbard from GoldSilver.com shares why 2025 could be a game-changing year for precious metals and what could stand in gold’s way. From Bitcoin’s rapidly growing influence to the possibility of global peace reducing the need for safe havens, … Read more
(Reuters) -U.S. central bankers project more limited interest-rate cuts in 2025 than the full percentage point of reductions they delivered in 2024, given slower progress toward their 2% inflation goal, a still-strong labor market, and a lot of uncertainty over the potential impact of tax cuts, tariffs and other economic policies in Donald Trump’s second … Read more
Gold climbed to the highest in a month after a surprise slowdown in US inflation revived expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Bullion traded at over $2,700 an ounce after the consumer price index — which excludes food and energy costs — rose 0.2% following four months of 0.3% gains. That signaled US … Read more
American consumers wrapped up the year in a spending mood, buying all sorts of merchandise from furniture to clothing and eating out at restaurants, according to the latest government snapshot. The figures, announced Thursday, marked a clear sign that consumers are still able and willing to shop, and the data bodes well for 2025 even … Read more
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. cruised past estimates as its equity traders delivered their best year on record. The firm’s fourth-quarter profits more than doubled to $4.1 billion, buoyed by strength in its investment bank, expansion of its money-management business and a surprise $472 million gain from balance-sheet bets.