Black Friday can give negative impact on retailers
Black Friday, a name-only event, has passed, and retailers have moved holiday deals to early November or late October, making Black Friday sales data less accurate. This year, holiday shopping puts greater financial strain on many homes due to gas prices dropping, inflation slowing, credit card debt, and student loan repayments. To pick retail stocks,…
US holidays sales are expected to jump this years
The holiday shopping season begins on Friday with discounts and promotions from retailers, but companies worry about a spending slowdown that might hurt sales following Thanksgiving and during the holidays. A strong labor market and rising wages have helped shoppers survive, but they are under additional strain from shrinking savings, rising credit card debt, and…
Barclays may cut jobs to bolster profitability
Barclays may remove 2,000 workers, mainly in its back office, to save 1 billion pounds ($1.25 billion). Barclays executives, known as Venkat, are considering profitability-boosting recommendations. The main target for reduction is Barclays Execution Services (BX), part of a group-wide goal to decrease costs by up to 1 billion pounds over several years. BX consolidated…
Oil prices slipped on Thanksgiving
Oil prices fell in pre-U.S. Thanksgiving trading as investors awaited OPEC+ supply cutbacks and confirmation of a significant buildup in U.S. crude inventories. Brent futures and West Texas Intermediate futures fell by 95 cents and $76.85, respectively. Investors were wary ahead of Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting, which may debate tightening supply curbs due to weakening global…
Binance was subject to anti-money laundering and terrorist financing
Binance has been under Justice Department examination since 2018, and CFTC civil charges were filed in March for failing to implement an adequate anti-money laundering policy to detect and prevent terrorist financing. The company’s CEO, Zhao, has been found guilty of allegedly receiving Hamas transactions in February 2019. The resolution is a favorable one for…
Changpeng Zhao Binance CEO was pleaded guilty
Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has resigned and pleaded guilty to violating U.S. anti-money laundering rules in a $4.3 billion settlement. The agreement requires Binance to pay $1.81 billion within 15 months and forfeit $2.51 billion. Authorities alleged Binance violated anti-money laundering and sanctions laws by failing to report over 100,000 suspected transactions with terrorist groups…
Blackstone is liquidating its Diversified Multi-Strategy fund
Blackstone is liquidating its Blackstone Diversified Multi-Strategy fund, which exposed investors to trading tactics after assets plunged over 90% in four years. The fund, which makes up 0.5% of its hedge fund division, saw a 2% return drop from 2020 to last month. Since appointing new leadership in 2021, the fund has returned 4.5% to…
The Fed kept rates hold and tightening policy
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has emphasized the importance of being cautious in balancing high inflation and economic growth with tightening credit conditions and a belief that the economy is slowing. The Oct. 31-Nov. 1 meeting minutes are expected to emphasize this, as policymakers are unlikely to raise the target interest rate further but are…