Trump says he will “demand” lower interest rates immediately
In a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday,...
In a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos yesterday, President Trump demanded that the US drop interest rates and that the rest of the world follow suit. US rates, of course, are controlled by the politically independent Federal Reserve, which makes policy decisions based on market forces, without the White House’s input. But Trump has long sought to test the boundaries of that system, setting up a clash with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Trump also called on Saudi Arabia to lower the price of oil.
CNN cuts 6% of staff as part of big overhaul. The cuts,...
CNN cuts 6% of staff as part of big overhaul. The cuts, which amount to ~200 employees, are the first step in a drastic shift toward digital growth. In a memo to staff, CNN CEO Mark Thompson said the company will launch a new streaming service and announce new job openings with the help of an investment from its parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery. The overhaul includes a shake-up of its TV lineup, with anchors Jake Tapper and Wolf Blitzer getting new time slots. Virtually every news network is facing declines in viewership and revenues as audiences flock from their television sets to the internet.
Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship was temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Seattle, who said it “boggled” his mind that any lawyer would claim it’s constitutional.
Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legally recognize same-sex marriages.
Dozens of subreddits have banned links to X after its owner and chairman, Elon Musk, performed a gesture that looked like a Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration this week.
ChatGPT briefly went down for thousands of users yesterday, preventing college students everywhere from turning in their essays on time.
S&P 500 seals record close as Trump demands lower oil prices and interest rates
Stocks ended mostly higher Thursday, with the S&P...
Stocks ended mostly higher Thursday, with the S&P 500 notching its first record finish since Dec. 6 — and its first of President Donald Trump's second term.
It didn't take much, after the large-cap benchmark ended just shy of a record in Wednesday's session. Stocks got a modest lift after Trump — speaking remotely in Davos, Switzerland, to powerful political and business leaders attending the World Economic Forum's annual meeting — called on OPEC to lower oil prices and made a demand for lower interest rates in the U.S. and around the world.
The Federal Reserve and other central banks aren't likely to hop to such a demand, while experts said it's possible Trump's remarks could help give OPEC an excuse to boost production. Perhaps more important to the market reaction, analysts said, is that Trump didn't significantly ramp up tariff threats, which may have provided some modest relief.
In the end, the S&P 500added 32.34 points, finished the day up 0.5%, and closing at 6,118.71, according to FactSet data, surpassing its previous record finish of 6,090.27.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 408.34 points, or 0.9%, ending at 44,565.07. That left it only 1% off its previous record close in early December, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The Nasdaq Composite gained 44.34 points, or 0.2%, closing at 20,053.68, which was 0.6% away from its record close on Dec. 16.
Latest data by the industry body American Petroleum Institute (API) showed...
Latest data by the industry body American Petroleum Institute (API) showed an increase of 1 million barrels of crude oil inventories in the US for the week ending January 17. This is the first increase in crude oil inventories after five weeks of continuous decline in inventories.
Official data from the US EIA (Energy Information Administration) is expected later on Thursday. EIA data will give a clear picture on the crude oil inventory levels in the US for the week ending January 17.
Market players are also analysing the potential impacts of the decision to impose tariffs on several nations by the US President, Donald Trump. They feel that such moves could impact the global economy. This in turn could impact the demand for commodities such as crude oil.
Italy Will Finalize Plan to Return to Nuclear Power by 2027
Italy looks to finalize by the end of 2027 plans...
Italy looks to finalize by the end of 2027 plans and legislation that would allow a return to nuclear power generation after more than four decades, Italian Energy Security Minister and Environment Minister, Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, told Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore in an interview published on Thursday.
Italy halted nuclear reactors after a referendum in 1987 following the Chornobyl disaster a year earlier. In 2011, Italians rejected again the use of nuclear power in yet another referendum.
But Italy’s current government led by Giorgia Meloni said last year that it plans to adopt legislation to return to nuclear power with the latest generation of small modular reactors (SMRs), as part of efforts to decarbonize industry.
