Thursday's News Links

[CNBC] S&P 500 falls as Microsoft dive spoils Mag 7 earnings enthusiasm: Live updates

[CNBC] Oil prices rise more than 2% as Trump weighs strikes on Iran

[Reuters] Copper hits record high above $14,000 as speculators pile in

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] China’s Metals Mania Sends Copper Soaring Past $14,000 a Ton

[AP] US applications for jobless benefits, a proxy for layoffs, tick down to 209,000 last week.

[CNBC] Trade balance soared 94% in November and was higher than a year ago, despite tariff efforts

[Reuters] Morning Bid: Building AI sure does cost a lot, hope it's worth it

[AP] Democrats are poised to trigger government shutdown if White House won’t meet demands for ICE reform

[Axios] Gen Z is playing the economy like a casino

[AP] Trump facing growing cultural revolt against immigration crackdown

[Reuters] Britain and China hail reset in ties as Starmer seeks 'sophisticated' relationship

[AP] Starmer and Xi call for deeper UK-China ties as Trump shakes up global relations

[Politico] Europe’s future depends on whether it can embrace hard power, says Germany’s Merz

[Reuters] Iran rounds up thousands in mass arrest campaign after crushing unrest, sources say

[Bloomberg] Crypto’s ‘Digital Gold’ Myth Exposed as Traders Pivot to Metals

[Bloomberg] Americans Are More Worried About Health-Care Costs Than Gas or Groceries

[Bloomberg] US Trade Gap Widens From Smallest Since 2009 as Imports Rise

[Bloomberg] Why Xi Jinping Has Purged His Top Military Leaders

[Bloomberg] ‘Crisis of Confidence’ Grips Indonesia Stocks After MSCI Warning

[Bloomberg] China Signals Xi’s Purge Won’t Deter ‘Reunification’ With Taiwan

[NYT] The A.I. Boom’s Uncertain Payoff

[NYT] At World’s Busiest Port, China’s Unbalanced Economy Comes Into View

[WSJ] A Weaker Dollar Has Always Been Part of Trump’s Plan

[WSJ] Why Powell Won’t Say if He Is Staying on the Fed Board

[WSJ] The Housing Market Is Slumping—but Sales Over $10 Million Are Skyrocketing

[WSJ] China’s Local Governments Cut Growth Targets

[WSJ] A Battered Iran Is Still Able to Mount a Deadly Response to U.S. Strikes

[FT] Big tech’s $680bn buy-now-book-later problem

[FT] Copper leads scorching metals rally amid global uncertainty

[FT] Top chipmakers to boost capital spending amid AI-driven supply squeeze

[FT] Donald Trump’s ‘beautiful armada’ underlines US threat to Iran

[FT] US to pay monthly Venezuela ‘budget’ from oil proceeds via Qatar fund

[FT] Cuba has ‘15 to 20 days’ of oil left as Donald Trump turns the screws

[FT] Takaichi’s great election gamble

Wednesday Evening Links

[Yahoo/Bloomberg] Gold Climbs Above $5,400 as Traders Eye Dovish Fed Policy Shift 

[CNBC] S&P 500 futures slip as gold prices surge, traders weigh tech giants’ earnings: Live updates

[Yahoo Finance] Trump could announce Fed chair nominee 'in the next week or so,' Bessent says

[Axios] Younger Americans see U.S. dominance slipping to China

[CNBC] DoubleLine’s Jeffrey Gundlach sees no more Fed rate cuts under Jerome Powell

[CNN] Trump weighs major new strike on Iran as nuclear discussions show no progress

[NYT] Trump’s Political Drama With Powell Overshadows Fed Rate Decision

[NYT] Microsoft Continues to Spend Big on A.I. While Profit Jumps 60%

[NYT] Trump Threatens Iran With ‘Massive Armada’ and Presses a Set of Demands

[WSJ] The Perils of a Falling Trump Dollar

[WSJ] Microsoft’s Earnings Surge Is Overshadowed by Data-Center Spending

Wednesday Afternoon Links

[CNBC] S&P 500 hovers just under 7,000 as Fed stays on hold, Treasury yields tick higher: Live updates

[CNBC] Fed holds key interest rate steady as economic view improves

[CNBC] Here’s what changed in the new Fed statement

[Yahoo/Reuters] Bessent says US has strong dollar policy, 'absolutely not' intervening to support yen

[Yahoo/Reuters] Germany's Merz: US must not cast doubt on trade deal with EU

[Bloomberg] Key Takeaways From Fed Decision to Hold Rates Steady

[Bloomberg] Leveraged Firms Capitalize on Investor Demand for US Risky Loans

[WSJ] Fed Holds Rates Steady for First Time Since July

[WSJ] Bank of Canada Stands Pat on Rates, Warns of Heightened Uncertainty

[WSJ] Xi Jinping Is Stripping Down His Military Command and Starting Over

[FT] Scott Bessent says Trump administration is still pursuing ‘strong dollar policy’

[FT] Termites are slowly feasting away at the foundations of the dollar’s dominance

[FT] America’s shift to an insider economy

[FT] Illicit crypto flows surge to record $158bn