Oil rises on fears of supply disruption as US-Venezuela tensions escalate
Brent crude futures rise 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $61.37; US WTI crude rises to $57.67 a barrel, up 23 cents, or 0.4%
Stocks slip ahead of central bank decisions, key data
Central banks including ECB, BOJ, BOE, Riksbank and Norges Bank due to meet
Nvidia considers increasing H200 chip output due to robust China demand, sources say
Alibaba and ByteDance contact Nvidia to place large orders for H200 chips, report
India frees up visas for Chinese professionals in key step to boost ties
India to issue Chinese business visas within a month, says officials; Curbs cost an estimated $15 billion in lost electronics output
Iran detains 18 crew members of foreign tanker seized in Gulf of Oman
Authorities say those held include the tanker’s captain, while Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reports the crew comprises nationals from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Gold clings to 7-week high as investors gauge Fed trajectory; silver near record peak
Gold edges up to $4,286/oz, heads for 2.1% weekly gain as silver hits record $64.31 per ounce
Global EV sales growth slows to weakest pace since early 2024 as China plateaus, US demand drops
Global electric vehicle sales growth slowed sharply in November, marking the weakest expansion since February 2024 as demand in China plateaued and...
Reddit sues Australia over social media ban, citing free speech threat
Reddit says law harms protected speech, fails legal threshold as Australian govt likens lawsuit to Big Tobacco case
Disney to invest $1bn in OpenAI, license Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar characters for Sora AI videos
Three-year partnership enables AI-generated content using Disney IP; unions voice concerns over compensation and creative rights
Oil prices up on US-Venezuela tensions, but set for weekly decline
Brent crude futures rise 29 cents, or 0.5%, to $61.57; US WTI rises to $57.91 a barrel, up 31 cents, or 0.5%
Asian stocks cautiously higher as tech sector rattled by Oracle
Japan leads gains as Softbank jumps 6%; Nasdaq futures lower as Oracle and Broadcom weigh; U.S. Dollar Index at two-month low
Dollar staggers to third straight weekly drop as investors ponder Fed outlook
Euro and sterling rise as dollar weakens; Markets diverse from policymakers on rate cuts for next year
Gold slips after a divided Fed cuts rates; silver hits record high
Spot gold dipped to $4,210.88 while U.S. February futures rose to $4,238.10 after briefly hitting a one-week high
Reddit begins testing verified profiles to boost transparency
New grey checkmark aims to help users verify people and businesses during official announcements where authentication is critical
Trump launches gold card program for expedited visas with a $1 million price tag
New Trumpcard.gov portal opens applications with a $15,000 fast-track processing fee to Homeland Security; Applicants must undergo vetting and make a $1 million “contribution” to qualify for the visa, which grants U.S. residence and work rights