Author: based.markets
Hong Kong and Shanghai Sign Digital Trade Finance Pact, Building Cross-Border Blockchain Rails
Memorandum establishes blockchain platform linking cargo data under Project Ensemble, marking Beijing's strategic push to digitally integrate its twin financial centers.
UK Watchdog Opens Data-Sharing Probe Into Hilton, Marriott, and IHG
Competition and Markets Authority investigates whether hotel giants exchanged sensitive pricing information through CoStar's STR analytics platform.
Oil Markets Defy Logic as Iran War Risk Premium Outweighs OPEC+ Supply
Analysts forecast crude prices could surge 5-15% despite cartel production increases, as geopolitical disruption risk overwhelms supply fundamentals.
Payrolls Data Becomes Fed’s Pivot Point as Rate Cut Debate Intensifies
With the Federal Reserve holding rates at 3.5-3.75%, Friday's employment report will test whether January's 130,000 job gain marks a labor market turning point or a statistical anomaly.
The Unraveling: Wall Street’s Market-Making War Reaches Tipping Point
As Citadel Securities pushes deeper into bank territory and JPMorgan fortifies its defenses, the once-symbiotic relationship between traditional lenders and electronic traders is fracturing into open competition for control of market infrastructure.
Trump Media Explores Truth Social Spin-Off as Stock Languishes 89% Below Peak
The social media platform could become an independent public company following a complex merger with fusion energy firm TAE Technologies.
PayPal Denies Stripe Acquisition Talks as Stock Plunges 6% Following Retraction
The payments giant confirmed it is not in discussions to be acquired, contradicting reports that sent shares soaring earlier this week and exposing deeper vulnerability amid leadership transition.
Victory Capital Launches $8.6 Billion Counterbid for Janus Henderson
San Antonio-based asset manager offers $57.04 per share in competing proposal, topping Trian's December deal by 16% and forcing bidding war for $484 billion AUM firm.
Paramount Misses Q4 Estimates Despite Record Streaming Growth, as Skydance Merger Looms
Media giant posts $7.98 billion in revenue but falls short of Wall Street targets, even as Paramount+ adds 5.6 million subscribers and narrows streaming losses by 42%.
Sudan’s Gum Arabic Trade Fuels Both Sides of War, Undermining Peace
The obscure resin that stabilizes Coca-Cola and M&Ms generates millions for the RSF and SAF militias, creating perverse incentives to prolong the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
London Court Awards Trafigura $700 Million in Nickel Fraud Case Against Indian Tycoon
Judge ruled Indian businessman Prateek Gupta orchestrated 'fraud on a grand scale,' marking one of the largest awards in commodities litigation and signaling tougher scrutiny of India's trading networks.
Blackstone’s Retail Private Equity Fund Posts 20% Return on AI Bet
The firm's $18 billion BXPE fund delivered 20% net gains in 2025, with nearly a third driven by SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic stakes unavailable to institutional portfolios.