Author: Anthony M. Orbison

By Pranav Kashyap (Reuters) -European shares retreated from record highs touched earlier on Friday, as caution prevailed ahead of a crucial U.S. data, although gains in Moncler and luxury stocks capped further downside in prices. The pan-European index held its ground at 526.32 points. The benchmark index hit an all-time high of 526.72 points earlier in the session, and is set to log its best week in more than a month, if gains hold. Investors might be questioning is there enough momentum to go higher after touching those record highs, said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com. “We may…

A decentralized finance (DeFi) project and an Ethereum (ETH) layer-2 blockchain are both surging after abruptly gaining support from Coinbase. In a new set of announcements, top US-based crypto exchange platform Coinbase says it’s adding DeFi platform Moonwell (WELL) and ZKsync (ZK), an Ethereum scaling solution, to its suite of products. According to Coinbase, customers can now buy, sell, covert, send, receive, or store WELL and ZK starting today. News of the listings sent both WELL and ZK flying, as the duo of assets saw respective gains of 31.22% and 4.21% on the day. WELL is trading for $0.0389 at…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Shigeru Ishiba will become the next prime minister of Japan after winning the presidency of the ruling Liberal Democratic party in a closely contested run-off vote on Friday.As president of the LDP the 67-year-old former defence and agriculture minister, who has challenged for the leadership of his party five times, will succeed Fumio Kishida after a parliamentary vote on October 1.Ishiba’s victory followed a highly unusual LDP leadership race contested by a record nine candidates. The competition was intensified by the party’s…

It’s been a bit more than a week since the Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate for the first time in two years. And . . . mortgage rates haven’t changed much. In fact, they’ve been rising. But only a little. Related: Here’s why stocks are soaring and the surprise autumn rally has room to runWhen the Fed cut its key federal funds rate from 5.25%-to-5.5% to 4.75% to 5% on Sept. 18, anyone involved in housing was as excited as could be. The national rate on a 30-year mortgage had already made a decisive move falling below 7% after surging to as…

Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. marked their fifth straight day of net inflows, with spot Ether ETFs also registering inflows for a second consecutive day. Data from SoSoValue shows that the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $105.84 million on Sept. 25, marking the fifth consecutive day of positive inflows. Over this period, the funds have accumulated more than $496.56 million. BlackRock‘s IBIT, the largest Bitcoin ETF, led the inflows for the second consecutive day with $98.9 million flowing into the fund, bringing its total net inflows to $21.2 billion. BItwise’s BITB drew in $2.1 million. These…

Thousands of U.K. Gen Z workers are likely trawling through job applications as we write, dismayed by a lack of transparency over pay in their current job and at the opacity of their prospective new employers. But all that may be about to change. Nearly half of U.K. employers plan to follow a common practice from across the Atlantic Ocean by introducing salary ranges to their job listings. Some 48% of employers surveyed by Mercer International Inc. said they would bring in salary information in the next two years, compared to just 17% now.  Employers have historically been reluctant to…

By Michelle Price, Carolina Mandl and Lananh Nguyen WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Many Wall Street executives have reservations about backing either candidate in the U.S. presidential election, worried that former President Donald Trump’s policies will hurt the economy but wary Vice President Kamala Harris will lean too far left. While multiple Wall Street heavy-hitters including Bill Ackman, John Paulson and George Soros have backed a candidate, many other senior executives are still weighing the economic policies central to the closely fought race and the ramifications for legal and democratic institutions, according to conversations with two dozen executives in recent weeks.…

Head of Macro Research Julien Bittel predicts that an Ethereum surge is still possible, and the asset can hit the $20,000 price mark. Bittel says that Ethereum’s current market structure resembles previous patterns seen in 2023, and following these patterns could result in a similar rally.Ethereum’s price action is exhibiting signs of consistent accumulation, according to data from TradingView. This accumulation is a positive sign, as mass accumulation is often the predecessor of a significant breakout. According to Bittel’s forecast, prices will rise parabolically and resume their historical pattern from last year. ETH is currently trading at $2,638.96 at press…

David Orrell/CNBC/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesDavid Tepper is growing even more bullish on Chinese stocks amid the nation’s new fiscal stimulus measures.The new measures include interest-rate cuts, liquidity support, and encouraging company stock buybacks.Tepper views China’s stock market as more attractive than the US stock market due to valuation differences.It’s a buy “everything” moment for Chinese stocks after the country launched a fiscal stimulus bazooka this week, according to billionaire investor David Tepper.In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Tepper outlined his bull case for China’s stock market, which has been practically left for dead in recent months as…

Social Security cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) were instated in 1975 to keep pace with inflation and help retirees maintain purchasing power. However, many people argue that the adjustments aren’t enough to keep pace with the rising cost of necessities such as housing, groceries, and utilities.Annual COLAs are calculated using the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures from the previous year to closely tie the adjustments to inflation. The September CPI — announced in October — is the last update factored into the calculations, making it a highly anticipated figure.Related: The average American faces one major 401(k) retirement dilemmaBob Powell, CFP and editor…