Usa Financial News

 The Claman Countdown panelists Dolly Lenz and Jenny Lenz analyze top places Americans want to live.

Aragen on Monday said it has secured USD 100 million investment from private equity fund Quadria Capital. The investment will result in Quadria acquiring a minority stake in Aragen, at a valuation of around USD 1.4 billion, primarily through a fresh capital infusion, with a small portion from the sale of shares by existing investors, the company said in a statement.

Jagmeet Singh, leader of Canada's New Democratic Party (NDP) and a former ally of outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a sharp rebuke to US President-elect Donald Trump’s statements about annexing Canada. In a video message shared on X (formerly Twitter), he said: “Our country is not for sale. Not now, not ever,” condemning Trump’s long-standing rhetoric about making Canada the 51st US state.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump suggested he would use “economic force” to annex Canada at a press conference this week, marking an escalation in the string of threats and jibes he has made against the country since his election.

Indian stock markets have been on a bumpy ride over the past few months. While there were moments of recovery, the lack of stability has left many investors feeling uncertain and losing confidence. So, what’s really going on? ETMarkets spoke to Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at Wealthmills Securities to decode the current market scene. Excerpts: Markets have been on a downtrend lately, can you summarize the current market situation? Kranthi Bathini: We’ve observed a seesaw pattern in the markets recently. After a mild recovery in early January, markets failed to sustain above the 24,000 mark due to several factors:

The Biden administration is expected to propose a limit on nicotine in cigarettes, a move aimed at curbing smoking addiction. The proposal could be released as soon as Monday, according to the NBC News. It will not affect e-cigarettes or nicotine replacement products.

Fashion Faguette dropped a video of a jaw-droppingly handsome NRI student flaunting his tattoos and a new Internet sensation was born.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When a state-sponsored Chinese hacker breached the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, it allowed the Communist Party to access sensitive information with significant strategic implications. It’s the latest example of Beijing’s espionage campaign against the West, which runs deeper and is far more dangerous than the Soviet efforts of the 20th century.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. After landing in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, Donald Trump junior sought to take stock of local feelings around his father’s plans to take over the Arctic island. A hotel meeting room in the centre of town was the venue for this putative act of spontaneous and popular assembly.

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell below the $94,000 mark in early Friday trading, weighed down by rising bond yields and expectations for a strong US jobs report. During Asian trading hours, the dollar gained 0.5% against the yen, reaching 158.03 yen, and strengthened by over 1% against the British pound, which sank to a 14-month low amid a sell-off in gilts and concerns about the UK’s financial stability.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. From educational toys to healthy snacks, consumer brands are tapping into a fast-growing opportunity in children’s products, driven by modern parents’ willingness to invest in high-quality, safe, and innovative offerings. Brands such as Peak XV-backed toy maker Skillmatics, kids apparel-focused Includ, and entertainment firm Green Gold have seen their businesses grow due to interest in a fairly underserved category, the founders told Mint. Skillmatics’ global revenue touched nearly ₹500 crore in 2024 while its India business doubled in the same period compared to the previous year, its founder and chief executive Dhvanil Sheth said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The keenly fought 2000 US presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore was decided by the US Supreme Court, which stopped a manual count of votes initiated by Florida’s top court, terming it a violation of the country’s constitutional framework.

Dunkin' stores in Nebraska and New Mexico, and possibly other states, are finding no doughnuts. Stores have placed signs stating the unavailability of doughnuts. The issue has been attributed to a «manufacturing error,» as reported by Independent. Stores in Omaha, Lincoln, and Grand Island displayed signs informing customers of the situation, leaving many puzzled. A manager at an Omaha Dunkin' location confirmed the issue but couldn't elaborate beyond the official statement, citing company orders. She did indicate the problem is widespread. This is not the first time Dunkin' has experienced supply chain disruptions, with a similar doughnut shortage reported in 2021.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Almost everywhere, government-bond yields are rising fast. Those on ten-year American Treasury bonds are almost 5%.

Joe Biden spoke on with relatives of three Americans the US government is looking to bring home from Afghanistan but no agreement has been reached on a deal to get them back, family members said. Biden's call with family members of Ryan Corbett, George Glezmann and Mahmood Habibi took place in the waning days of his administration as officials try to negotiate a deal that could bring them home in exchange for Muhammad Rahim, one of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Corbett, who had lived in Afghanistan with his family at the time of the 2021 collapse of the US-backed government, was abducted by the Taliban in August 2022 while on a business trip and Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta, was taken by the Taliban's intelligence services in December 2022 while travelling through the country. Officials believe the Taliban is still holding both men as well as Habibi, an Afghan American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based telecommunications company and also went missing in 2022. The FBI has said that Habibi and his driver were taken along with 29 other employees of the company but that all except for Habibi and another person have since been freed.

Brent crude futures climbed $1.35, or 1.69%, to $81.11 a barrel by 2339 GMT after hitting an intraday high of $81.44, the highest since Aug. 27.

BSE Sensex was the eighth best-performing global index in 2023, but slipped to 13th rank in 2024. The analysis is based on 22 world equity benchmarks that cover the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The data is sourced from Reuters-Refinitiv. The weak performance of corporate India in the September quarter, geopolitical factors, elevated valuations, strengthening of the US dollar index and substantial FPI outflows (in October and November) led to a jump in volatility in the fourth quarter of 2024. As the markets enter 2025, the volatility is unlikely to abate soon due to high US bond yields and a stronger USD index. These factors will keep the US markets attractive and prevent FPIs from sustained buying in emerging markets (EMs), including India.

Here's breaking down the pre-market actions:

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Reports suggest that the Securities and Exchange Board of India will soon ease the way for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that intend to invest only in government securities. While these bonds saw inflows of about $14.5 billion via the “fully accessible route" in 2024, aided partly by their inclusion in the JP Morgan Emerging Market Index, more FPI money would have come in had US sovereign bond yields not surged after Donald Trump’s election win.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in the third quarter, regarded as having been below par, should not be seen in isolation but in the context of macroeconomic factors impacting spends, CEO and MD K Krithivasan told Beena Parmar & Surabhi Agarwal in an interview. He also spoke about early signs of revival, how the new US regime is expected to be more business friendly and competition from global capability centres (GCCs). Edited excerpts: How do you react to the December quarter being termed as the poorest Q3 performance in several years? We have to see context also… we know that for a long period now, we have been going through a phase where there is market uncertainty, less intent to spend on behalf of clients. If you had a previous few quarters which were super and then suddenly this drops, then you can say this is a bad performance. So, see (the last quarter) in the context of how the overall growth environment is. Taking it in isolation and saying that this is a worse performance (may not be right).

integrated dental products company with presence in India and overseas. It is rolling out an initial public offering of ₹698 crore comprising a fresh issue of ₹138 crore and an offer for sale of ₹560 crore that dilutes the promoter shareholding from 46.5% to 42.6%. Of the issue proceeds, ₹27.5 crore will be used to repay borrowings and ₹68.3 crore for funding capex. Business: Incorporated in 2004, the company manufactures a range of branded dental products ranging from crowns, bridges, and aligners to thermoforming sheets, intraoral scanners and paediatric dental products. It is the largest and most profitable vertically integrated and indigenous B2B2C dental aligner solutions company.