Verizon Communications Inc. will start notifying employees on Thursday that their positions are affected in the company’s largest-ever round of layoffs, The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting an email that CEO Dan Schulman sent to staff. The company intends to cut more than 13,000 jobs as part of Schulman’s plan to reduce Verizon’s cost base, according to the report. “Our current cost structure limits our ability to invest significantly in our customer value proposition,” the CEO said in the email, adding that the company must be reoriented “around delivering for and delighting our customers.”
Challenger: Job cuts soar 183% in October
Job cuts in the United States jumped 183% in October compared to the previous month, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. report published on Thursday. There were 153,074 cuts last month, compared to 54,064 in September, the highest October total since 2003. Annually, job cuts surged 175%. The tech sector was the biggest contributor at 33,281 job cuts, followed by retail at 2,431 and services at 1,990. In the year through October, employers announced 488,077 planned hires, 45% less than a year ago and the lowest number since 2011. “Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes. Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas Chief Revenue Officer Andy Challenger said.
Hamas and Hezbollah are rebuilding their infrastructure in coordination with Iran to revive the so-called axis of resistance, the Jerusalem Post reported on Thursday, citing Israeli security officials. According to the report, Hamas has been rebuilding its forces in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect, recruiting and training new operatives, gathering intelligence and preparing for escalation. The sources added that the militant group is working on plans to launch a surprise attack on Israeli military troops in the Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, Hezbollah is trying to restore infrastructure, recruiting new fighters, and smuggling weapons in southern Lebanon, in order to prepare for a new round of fighting with Israel, the sources claimed. Senior Israeli military commanders advocate an “aggressive” response to these violations of ceasefire agreements, but still remain cautious due to pressure from the United States, according to the report.
NN: Peace is a joke. Their is no peace with savages,
The Abu Dhabi Investment Council more than tripled the size of its position in a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund during the third quarter, shortly before the bull market in cryptocurrencies gave way to a brutal selloff. The firm, an independently-run unit of sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co., increased its holding in BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF to almost 8 million shares as of Sept. 30, according to a regulatory filing. The position, disclosed by a subsidiary of ADIC, was worth about $518 million at the time. It held 2.4 million shares three months earlier. Bitcoin rallied to a record $126,251 in early October, driven partly by massive inflows into exchange-traded funds like the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which is by far the world’s largest crypto ETF with more than $70 billion in assets. Then came a market crash sparked by liquidations of billions of dollars in leveraged bets that sent Bitcoin tumbling below $92,000. The disclosures offer a rare detailed look into the strategy being pursued by ADIC, which invests mostly in private assets in areas like buyouts, infrastructure and real estate. A representative for ADIC said it’s building a small allocation to Bitcoin as part of a long-term diversification strategy.
“We view Bitcoin as a store of value similar to gold, and as the world continues to move toward a more digital future, we see Bitcoin playing an increasingly important role alongside gold,” the ADIC spokesperson said in response to Bloomberg News queries. “Both assets contribute to diversifying our portfolio, and we expect to hold them as part of our near and long-term strategy.”
Mubadala separately disclosed that it owned 8.7 million shares valued at $567 million in the same Bitcoin ETF, known by its ticker symbol IBIT, at the end of the third quarter. That’s unchanged from its holding three months earlier. Details on the purchase prices weren’t immediately available. IBIT — which tracks the value of Bitcoin — has lost about a fifth of its value since Sept. 30, after advancing 6.2% in the third quarter. It traded at a volume-weighted average price of $64.52 during the third quarter, Bloomberg data show. ADIC wasn’t alone in adding to its position last quarter, with Harvard Management Co. also boosting its holdings in IBIT during that period.But investors have pulled back overall as markets turned. So far in November, about $3.1 billion has been yanked from a group of 12 spot US Bitcoin ETFs including IBIT, data compiled by Bloomberg show. IBIT suffered a record $523 million in outflows on Tuesday, after Bitcoin dipped below a key price point that meant the average investor in US ETFs tracking the token was sitting on losses.
Abu Dhabi’s moves into the sector hold particular significance given its vast financial resources. The city’s wealth funds oversee more than $1.7 trillion, and Mubadala has already been a key driver of the emirate’s emergence as a global crypto hub in recent years. Earlier this year, a technology investment firm jointly established by the $330 billion wealth fund bought a $2 billion stake in crypto exchange Binance. The fund, called MGX, did that deal using a so-called stablecoin issued by a company affiliated with the family of US President Donald Trump. ADIC adopts an endowment investment model, and focuses predominantly on private assets and, geographically, on North America. Its latest move indicates that global institutions — and even governments — are continuing to pile into crypto assets despite the sector’s notorious volatility. El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, an early crypto advocate, made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. The country added more than $100 million to its Bitcoin holdings this week. The Czech central bank last week announced its first-ever purchase of cryptocurrencies, as officials seek to determine if digital assets have a role to play in diversifying reserves. The $1 million investment will be kept separate from the central bank’s official foreign reserves, it said. And earlier in November, Kazakh central bank governor Timur Suleimenov told Bloomberg News that the country is building a national cryptocurrency reserve fund of as much as $1 billion, in part by using assets seized and repatriated from abroad.
NN: Private credit. AI implosion and massive Bitcoin losses are sucking the oxygen out of the room
Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday, with the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) tumbling by more than 3%, after private data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) reportedly showed yesterday that the oil inventories in the United States advanced by 4.4 million barrels in the week that ended November 14, bolstering investors’ fears of oversupply. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak also stated earlier today that his country’s oil output is expected to accelerate within the next few months. Traders also digested the latest sector review by the investment bank Jefferies Group LLC, which projected that three European oil companies, Galp, Repsol, and Eni, will deliver their upcoming earnings reports above the consensus. WTI for deliveries in December fell by 3.1% at 8:12 am ET to $58.85 per barrel. Meanwhile, Brent for January’s settlements dropped by 2.87% at 8:14 am ET, going for $62.88 per barrel.
NN: The fear of a oil glut is bogus. In fact we see critical shortages by mid January
Global Oil Demand Surged in September
The world’s oil demand jumped in September by 1.4 million barrel per day (bpd) compared to August and by 1.8 million bpd from a year earlier, driven by higher consumption in the United States and Indonesia, the monthly report by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Wednesday. At the same time, global crude oil exports rose by 1.3 million bpd in September from August and by 1.5 million bpd compared to September last year, according to the most recent data self-reported by 44 countries to JODI and shared by the Riyadh-based International Energy Forum (IEF). Global oil supply is rising this year after the OPEC+ group started unwinding in April a large part of its production cuts, while non-OPEC+ supply from the Americas is surging, too, thanks to increased output and exports from the United States, Brazil, Guyana, and Canada. Global crude and product inventories went up in September from August, the JODI data showed, confirming estimates and other figures that global stocks are rising. Crude inventories in the JODI reporting countries increased by 6.4 million barrels in September from a month earlier, while product inventories jumped by 23 million barrels, the data showed. The inventory buildup, including in the United States in recent weeks, is weighing on oil prices which dipped by about 2.5% early on Wednesday, with the U.S. benchmark WTI trading at $59 a barrel and Brent at $63 per barrel. The market can’t seem to shake off the fear of glut and prices have dropped in recent days even as the U.S. sanctions against Russia’s top producers and exporters, Rosneft and Lukoil, come into effect on Friday.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. President John Waldron said markets are primed for possible further declines and investors will be keeping close tabs on the upcoming key earnings report from technology leader Nvidia Corp.
“It strikes me the market could pull back further from here,” Waldron said in an interview on the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore on Wednesday. “I do think the technicals are kind of more biased for more protection, and more downside.” The S&P 500 is down more than 3% this month, on course for its worst month since March, while volatility has surged. A selloff in the world’s largest technology companies has reignited a debate on AI, and whether it is generating enough revenue or profit to justify the massive spending on infrastructure. “You’re seeing in the markets right now a pullback, which I think is healthy — markets have run quite a bit this year,” he said on Bloomberg Television. “Markets are heavily focused on this AI dynamic: are we going to get the returns on capital invested that the market expects, and is that priced in? That’s a big debate.” Nvidia’s earnings later Wednesday “will be a very important moment for the markets,” he added. Wall Street’s so-called fear gauge, the Cboe Volatility Index, topped 24 — above the key 20 level that causes concern for traders — and reached its highest in a month “What I feel comfortable in is taking a two, three, five-year view of the impact of AI,” Diamond said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “The likelihood is that we are going to have a significant correction,” he told the event earlier Wednesday.
Bitcoin’s recent weekly close below the 50-week moving average is a historically bearish late-cycle signal, prompting a 60%–70% probability that the cycle top is already in. A quick reclaim of ~$103,000 would reset the odds back to even, but a second weekly close below the 50-week MA would point strongly toward a confirmed top. If the top is indeed behind us, Bitcoin likely heads lower before eventually rallying to the 200-day moving average, a move that would set a lower high and reinforce the start of a broader downtrend. If the cycle is not over, however, the market should show a meaningful bounce within days.
Bitcoin dropped under $90,000, marking its weakest level since April. The drop came after weeks of uneven trading and followed a disclosure from MicroStrategy Incorporated, doing business as Strategy, that it purchased 8,178 Bitcoin for $835.6 million between November 10 and November 16. Bitcoin briefly touched $89,589.51 before recovering as trading swung with volatility. At 10:45 pm ET, the cryptocurrency was at $90,688.15, showing a 1.62% decline. Ethereum also slipped, slipping 0.32% to $3,019.63.
NN: The start of the end of Bitcoin. It was a great show while it lasted
Iran seized an oil tanker flying the flag of the Marshall Islands in the Strait of Hormuz, according to flight-tracking data examined by The Associated Press on Friday. Iranian forces intercepted the ship, the Talara, as it was sailing from Ajman, United Arab Emirates, to Singapore, according to a US official. Three small boats were involved in the attack, according to British private security company Ambrey. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure, but it coincides with Tehran’s growing threats to retaliate during a 12-day conflict with Israel in June during which the US attacked Iranian nuclear facilities.
Bitcoin dropped 5% early Friday, falling to $94,483, as a broader risk-off mood swept through global markets. The sharp decline extended losses, pushing the world’s largest cryptocurrency to lows not seen in six months. The drop reflects renewed investor caution as hopes for near-term Fed rate cuts fade and concerns over liquidity and tech valuations resurface. Minutes after hitting its intraday low, Bitcoin was down 4.59% to $95,053.54 by 7:48 am ET. Ethereum followed suit, dropping 4.36% to $3,088.78.
Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Dan Caine and other senior military leaders reportedly briefed President Trump on Wednesday at the White House regarding military options for the region, including potential land strikes against Venezuela. It also came shortly after the news broke that the U.S. military had conducted its 20th lethal strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat on Monday. The strike killed four “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean Sea, a Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Hill on Thursday. The U.S. military has killed at least 80 people since the counter narcotics campaign began in early September. The strikes have taken place in both the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific in what the administration argues is an effort to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. By signing up, I agree to the Terms of Use, have reviewed the Privacy Policy, and to receive personalized offers and communications via email, on-site notifications, and targeted advertising using my email address from The Hill, Nexstar Media Inc., and its affiliates In late January, the U.S. military announced that the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet will start a new operation, named “Southern Spear,” that will “operationalize a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters.” The military said in January that the operation would take place in the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom), which covers more than 30 countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean region. It’s unclear how Hegseth’s Thursday announcement compares to the news about “Southern Spear” from January. In early October, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon formed a new counternarcotics joint task force in order to “crush” drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea, while operating in the Southcom area. m“By forming a JTF around II MEF headquarters, we enhance our ability to detect, disrupt, and dismantle illicit trafficking networks faster and at greater depth – together with our U.S. and partner-nation counterparts,” Southcom Commander Adm. Alvin Holsey, who is retiring later this year, said in a statement at the time. The administration has built up a massive military presence in the Southcom area, sending warships, F-35 fighter planes, spy aircraft and other military assets as it turns up the pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom they characterized as an “illegitimate leader.” The U.S. has added more firepower in the region this week with the arrival of USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, and its strike group to Southcom on Tuesday. The carrier, which has over 4,000 sailors, carries F/A-18 Super Hornets fighter planes and long-range Tomahawk missiles.
NN: Trump is not dicking around. Like Noriega of Panama Maduro is not taking seriously enough the fact he he has a great big Bullseye on his back.
