The Stock Central

Trump's Tariffs and Their Long-Term Effects on Global Trade and Investments

Due to economic uncertainties, gold prices have hit new highs as investors turn to safe-haven assets. Futures rose 1.3% to $2,926 per ounce, driven by concerns over inflation, slower growth, and recent tariff threats from U.S. President Donald Trump. Over the weekend, Trump announced new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, escalating global trade tensions. This move aims to protect U.S. industries but has sparked concerns over economic instability. As a result, central banks, including China’s, are increasing their gold reserves. Analysts expect this trend to continue as geopolitical risks push investors toward gold.

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyous and prosperous Pongal! 🌾
May your life be filled with happiness, good health, and success as sweet as Pongal itself. Let this festival bring harmony, peace, and endless blessings to your home. 🌟 Happy Pongal! 🪔🎉

Bitcoin (BTC) Rockets to $108,000: Will XRP and DOGE Follow?

U.Today - The price of the main cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), set a new all-time high during today's trading session. Thus, having soared by more than 2% from the opening price, a new all-time high for BTC was set at $108,353, according to Binance. Now the quotes of the leading cryptocurrency have cooled down and rolled back below the new cherished mark, but to believe that this is the final stop seems rash, given how Bitcoin has performed in recent weeks.

Interestingly, while BTC is rising, the rest of the crypto market is in the red, and many of the alternative cryptocurrencies are suffering double-digit percentage declines as the day progresses. However, given the trends of this cycle, there are two altcoins that are likely to follow Bitcoin in the near future.

We are talking about XRP and Dogecoin (DOGE). Since Nov. 4, when BTC last traded below $70,000 and began its epic climb to six figures, XRP and DOGE prices have subsequently soared by 467% and 232%, respectively. This has made these alternative cryptocurrencies the market leaders, despite already "heavy" market capitalization numbers.

At the same time, Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) have seen their prices rise by around 70% each over the same period, which is a lot but is also disproportionately small compared to DOGE and XRP.

Whether Dogecoin and XRP continue to "catch up" with Bitcoin with its updates of historical highs every week and this time is an open question. However, we can assume that these will be the first options for market participants to make investment decisions when the BTC rally pauses.

CC: Investing

'Rich Dad Poor Dad' Author Names Best Assets for Your Money.

U.Today - In a recent tweet, Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the popular book on managing finance “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” investor and entrepreneur, raised the topic of Bitcoin, U.S. government spending and the Fed Reserve.

He also made an important warning to the financial markets as to how he sees their nearest future.

Best assets to park your money in per Kiyosaki
Kiyosaki got on his hobby-horse right from the start, saying that he does not trust the "US Givernment" (hinting at the excessive spending over the past few years), the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve. He added that he stopped trusting the government back in 1965, when he took notice that U.S. “silver coins were now alloys of cooper.”
Kiyosaki also reminded his readers about president Nixon removing the gold standard that had been used to back the U.S. dollar until then: “Nixon took the US dollar off the gold standard.”

It was then, the financial expert revealed, that he began to “save” gold, silver, and these days he is saving Bitcoin.

Today, he said, “the best assets for your money are real gold, silver, and Bitcoin.”

Crucial warning to financial markets
In his typical manner, Kiyosaki warned the financial community about the approaching crash, which is likely to be the biggest in history. He tweeted: “The world is about to crash financially.”
However, he believes that saving Bitcoin, physical gold and silver can save one’s wealth, and it is much safer to invest in those rather than saving fiat money and investing in assets based on fiat money.

Bitcoin to $350,000 in 2025, Kiyosaki believes
Earlier this week, Robert Kiyosaki made a bold prediction, saying that he expects the world’s flagship cryptocurrency Bitcoin to skyrocket to $350,000, largely thanks to the new U.S. president who supports crypto and intends to build a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for the U.S. in the next few years.

So far, he has recommended that the community should start accumulating Bitcoin in parts, buying Satoshis, since one single BTC back then was worth more than $106,000. After that BTC soared above $108,000. From Tuesday to Friday, Bitcoin plummeted by 15%, falling from $108,380 to $92,640 on the news of the Fed Reserve planning to reduce its dovish policy and make a much smaller interest rate cut next year. By now, Bitcoin has managed to recover 7%, rising to $99,150.

$2 Billion in Bitcoin (BTC) in 24 Hours: Open Interest Skyrockets.

U.Today - Although Bitcoin's recent price performance has garnered a lot of attention, the explosive increase in open interest (OI) is the true story. Bitcoin's open interest increased by about $2 billion in the last day, indicating increased trading activity and increased investor interest in the top cryptocurrency.

The total number of active contracts in the futures and options markets is represented by open interest. An increase in OI is usually associated with higher expectations of volatility and increased participation in derivatives markets. This significant increase in OI highlights the market's increased expectation for Bitcoin's next move as the cryptocurrency is currently trading at about $102,500.

Remarkably, funding rates are still low in spite of the increase in OI. This shows that the market sentiment is balanced with neither longs or shorts taking over. When the OI is so high, a neutral funding rate may indicate that traders are being cautious and are holding off on placing strong directional bets until there is a clear move. The chart also indicates that the recent spike in Bitcoin's price has been accompanied by strong trading volume.

This makes the argument for consistent momentum stronger. The idea that Bitcoin might once again dominate the market cycle is further supported by the fact that Ethereum (ETH) saw a minor decline in its own open interest during the same time frame. Immediate support at $97,000 and resistance at $105,000 are important levels for BTC and might determine the asset's movements in the foreseeable future.

A pullback toward the 50 EMA at $87,000 could result from a failure to hold support, while a break above the resistance could open the door for a test of $110,000. The rising price action and overall OI of Bitcoin point to a change in market dynamics, positioning the cryptocurrency to outperform other significant cryptocurrencies in the near future. To determine the strength of this trend, traders should keep a close eye on funding rates and volume spikes.

CC: Investing

Nvidia closes $700 million Run:ai acquisition after regulatory hurdles.

(Reuters) - Chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) has completed its acquisition of Israeli AI firm Run:ai, the startup said on Monday, following antitrust scrutiny over the buyout.

The European Commission granted unconditional approval to Nvidia's $700 million bid for Run:ai, which helps developers optimize infrastructure for AI, earlier in December after saying in October that the deal would require EU antitrust clearance.

The EU antitrust watchdog had warned that the deal threatened competition in the markets where the companies operate.

Its probe into the deal focused on practices that could strengthen Nvidia's control over the market for graphics processing units (GPUs), which are the sought-after chips often employed in AI-linked tasks.

Nvidia dominates the market for AI graphics processors and commands about 80% of its share.

However, the European Commission concluded earlier in December that Run:ai's acquisition, originally announced in April, would not raise competition concerns.

The U.S. Department of Justice is also investigating the chip giant's buyout of Run:ai on antitrust grounds, Politico had reported in August.

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have recently stepped up their scrutiny of tech giants' acquisitions of startups on concerns that such deals may shut down potential rivals.

Run:ai plans to make its software open-source, it said in a blog post.

"While Run:ai currently supports only Nvidia GPUs, open sourcing the software will enable it to extend its availability to the entire AI ecosystem," it said.

BlackRock releases educational Bitcoin video, indicates cryptocurrency acceptance.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), recognized as the world's biggest asset manager, controlling $11.5 trillion in assets, has made a significant move toward embracing cryptocurrencies. The company recently launched a three-minute educational video focused on Bitcoin, the leading digital currency. This move comes on the heels of BlackRock's recent advice to investors that they could consider allocating up to 2% of their portfolio to Bitcoin.

This suggests an increasing acceptance of cryptocurrencies within conventional financial portfolios. Bitcoin, in particular, has seen a substantial increase in its value this year, with a rise of over 150%.

In addition, BlackRock is the owner of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, further indicating its growing interest in and acceptance of the digital currency market.

Pony AI fetches $5.25 billion valuation as shares jump 15% in Nasdaq debut.

(Reuters) -Shares of Pony AI opened about 15% above their offer price in their market debut on Wednesday, giving the robotaxi company a valuation of $5.25 billion, in an indication of a positive investor approach to China-based firms.

The company's depositary shares opened at $15 in their Nasdaq debut, compared with the IPO price of $13.

The IPO comes after nearly two years of uncertainty sparked by Didi Global's delisting, which was followed by a long-standing audit dispute between Beijing and the U.S. that was eventually resolved in December 2022.

Pony AI Chief Executive Officer James Peng said President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House did not influence the timing of the listing.

"This listing (had) already been in preparation for some time," Peng told Reuters. "In terms of the potential impact from Trump … we have dealt with this kind of policy change all the time; it is nothing new. I think we are fully prepared."

However, the company faces other challenges, including public skepticism about autonomous vehicles, data privacy concerns, and competition from companies, including Elon Musk's Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), which has promised to roll out driverless ride-hailing services to the public in California and Texas next year.

Pony AI is initially concentrating its efforts on the Chinese market. Peng said he expected that by 2026, China would advance toward conducting large-scale nationwide tests of autonomous vehicles.

"We are constantly working with local authorities and talking to the central government as well," Peng said. "They will have more rules coming out to support large-scale development."

U.S. operations will remain "limited in scope" for the foreseeable future, the company said in a filing with regulators.

Other China-based companies, including EV maker Zeekr and self-driving tech firm WeRide, also went public in the U.S. earlier in the year amid a backdrop of the country's IPO market picking up recently, with investors showing renewed interest in promising tech startups.

Pony AI sold 20 million American depositary shares in the IPO, raising $260 million. It also raised an additional $153.4 million in concurrent private placement.

The Toyota (NYSE:TM) Motor-backed company's valuation has come down from $8.5 billion two years ago.

Analysts caution that widespread robotaxi adoption could take years due to safety and reliability challenges, although China has been quicker to approve trials than the U.S.

Pony AI remains unprofitable as it invests in expanding operations. Peng expects the company to offer robotaxi services in Singapore, South Korea, Luxembourg and the Middle East within the next few years via partnerships.

Goldman Sachs, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn), Huatai Securities and Tiger Brokers were the underwriters for the IPO.

By Richa Naidu

VEVEY, Switzerland (Reuters) - Nestle (NS:NEST) will boost advertising and marketing, trim costs by at least $2.8 billion by 2027 and carve out its water and premium drinks businesses into a standalone global unit as it looks to drive growth under its new chief, the company said on Tuesday

Shares in Nestle were down 2% on Tuesday.

CEO Laurent Freixe, a 40-year veteran of the world's biggest food company, took the reins in September replacing ousted Mark Schneider who had disappointed investors for several quarters with weak sales volume growth. Under Schneider, Nestle gutted its marketing and advertising budget and invested less in innovation during the cost-heavy COVID-19 pandemic.

The repercussions continue to weigh on the Swiss company's revenue after shoppers switched to cheaper, better advertised or more innovative brands, eating into Nestle's market share.

Nestle, owner of brands including Nescafe, KitKat and Milo, said on Tuesday it aims to achieve cost savings of at least 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.83 billion) by 2027, in addition to rolling savings of around 1.2 billion Swiss francs. The figure dwarfs the 800 million euros which smaller rival Unilever (LON:ULVR) earlier this year pledged to save.

It forecast medium-term organic sales growth to be more than 4% in a normal operating environment, and an underlying trading operation profit margin of 17%. That compares to organic sales growth of about 2% expected for the year ending Dec. 31.

The company will increase investment in advertising and marketing to 9% of total sales by 2025 to support growth, Nestle said at its capital markets day event in Vevey, Switzerland. The last time Nestle spent this proportion of its sales on marketing was in 2019.

By Richa Naidu

VEVEY, Switzerland (Reuters) - Nestle (NS:NEST) will boost advertising and marketing, trim costs by at least $2.8 billion by 2027 and carve out its water and premium drinks businesses into a standalone global unit as it looks to drive growth under its new chief, the company said on Tuesday

Shares in Nestle were down 2% on Tuesday.

CEO Laurent Freixe, a 40-year veteran of the world's biggest food company, took the reins in September replacing ousted Mark Schneider who had disappointed investors for several quarters with weak sales volume growth. Under Schneider, Nestle gutted its marketing and advertising budget and invested less in innovation during the cost-heavy COVID-19 pandemic.

The repercussions continue to weigh on the Swiss company's revenue after shoppers switched to cheaper, better advertised or more innovative brands, eating into Nestle's market share.

Nestle, owner of brands including Nescafe, KitKat and Milo, said on Tuesday it aims to achieve cost savings of at least 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.83 billion) by 2027, in addition to rolling savings of around 1.2 billion Swiss francs. The figure dwarfs the 800 million euros which smaller rival Unilever (LON:ULVR) earlier this year pledged to save.

It forecast medium-term organic sales growth to be more than 4% in a normal operating environment, and an underlying trading operation profit margin of 17%. That compares to organic sales growth of about 2% expected for the year ending Dec. 31.

The company will increase investment in advertising and marketing to 9% of total sales by 2025 to support growth, Nestle said at its capital markets day event in Vevey, Switzerland. The last time Nestle spent this proportion of its sales on marketing was in 2019.