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Cuba predicts 1% growth in 2025 after dismal year, economy minister says

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuban Economy Minister Joaquín Alonso Vázquez on Monday forecast the Caribbean island’s economy would grow only 1% in 2025 after a dismal year marked by one of the country’s worst energy crisis in decades. The minister, speaking to a closed-door session of a parliament commission, did not provide an estimate for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year, though recent hints by officials suggest it may have contracted again after falling 1.9% in … Read more…

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Philip Morris to pay $1.2 million to settle probe into flavored tobacco ban violation

(Reuters) – Tobacco giant Philip Morris International’s subsidiary Swedish Match North America(SMNA) will pay $1.2 million to settle an investigation into violations of Washington D.C.’s flavored tobacco ban. The District of Columbia attorney general’s office said it had found evidence that SMNA facilitated online sales of “tens of thousands” of flavored Zyn nicotine pouches to D.C. consumers between October 1, 2022, when the ban was enacted, and June 30, 2024. PMI, which acquired a 90% … Read more…

US House panel finds BlackRock, other asset managers leery of joining climate initiative

By Isla Binnie and Ross Kerber NEW YORK / BOSTON (Reuters) – Top U.S. asset managers worried that signing up to an industry climate initiative could make them appear to be working too closely together and draw regulatory scrutiny, according to a report released Friday by a Republican-led U.S. Congressional Committee. The report is the latest released by the panel’s Republican majority as part of a probe they say has shown fund firms and activists … Read more…

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T-Mobile announces $14 billion share buyback program

(Reuters) -U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile said on Friday it would buy back as much as $14 billion worth of shares by 2025 end as part of its previously stated plan to return up to $50 billion over the next three years to shareholders. Telecom companies such as Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile are among the top dividend payers in the U.S. Earlier this month, AT&T said it plans to return more than $40 billion to shareholders … Read more…

Liquid AI closes $250 million early-stage funding round led by AMD

(Reuters) – Generative artificial intelligence startup Liquid AI said on Friday that it had closed a $250 million early-stage funding round led by chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, which is also its strategic partner. Consumer GenAI, which captured global attention in 2022 with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is at the center of the rapidly growing AI sector. This year also saw investors funnelling billions of dollars into GenAI startups. Liquid AI develops Liquid Foundation Models … Read more…

How Much Is Enough? – by Justin Vaughn

(Justin Vaughn, Editor, Options Trading Report) After a blistering pace in the first 11 months this year the sizzling hot S&P 500 is up a record 28%, beating all expectations of economists and market gurus. Can the markets continue the rest of the year and into 2025 at that rate? Recently released Jobs data sparked the market the past week, while also giving the Fed’s Mr. Powell more reasons for a rate cut this month. … Read more…

Elon Musk’s net worth tops $400 billion, Forbes billionaires list shows

(Reuters) – Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s net worth crossed $400 billion on Thursday, the Forbes real-time billionaires list showed, boosted by a nearly 71% surge in the automaker’s shares this year and the soaring valuation of his rocket company SpaceX. Musk is Tesla’s largest shareholder with about a 13% stake in the company. The EV maker’s shares rose to a record high of $424.9 on Wednesday, extending a rally that kicked off following the Nov. … Read more…

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Contact lens maker Bausch + Lomb says it is exploring sale

(Reuters) – Bausch + Lomb is exploring a potential sale among other options, it said on Thursday, in a move that would help Canadian parent Bausch Health exit the eye-care company. Bausch + Lomb also said its statement was in response to a request from the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) after a series of media reports on its likely sale triggered volatility in its shares. The Financial Times reported on Oct. 14 that private … Read more…

Trump invites China’s Xi to inauguration, experts call it political theater

By Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and other foreign leaders to his inauguration next month in Washington, a Trump transition spokesperson said on Thursday, but experts said that Xi was not likely to attend. Asked if Xi had responded, Karoline Leavitt told Fox News in an interview that was “to be determined”. She did not name the other world leaders who were also … Read more…

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Stifel expects S&P 500 to peak in early 2025 before falling

(Reuters) – Stifel expects the S&P 500 index to peak in the first half of 2025, then fall 10% to 15% in the second half of the year, the brokerage said on Thursday citing concerns about slower economic growth and sticky inflation. The brokerage expects the U.S. stocks benchmark to drop to mid-5,000s late next year, a bearish view on the market when compared to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which see the index end … Read more…