Author: Press Room

In case you missed it last month, hedge fund guy Bill Ackman (“Baby Buffett” — Forbes 2015) has become the latest masochist to bet that the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US dollar will break.This is a very thoughtful piece and I agree. We have a large notional short position against the Hong Kong dollar through the ownership of put options. The peg no longer makes sense for Hong Kong and it is only a matter of time before it breaks. https://t.co/efp62TuB03— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 24, 2022 Ackman’s lack of faith in pegging seems to be getting quite…

Lynn Harless, Justin Timberlake’s mother, sent TODAY style contributor Bobbie Thomas a text message following her return to the TODAY show more than a year after the death of her husband.”Dear Bobbie, it feels like you see me. It feels like you created this new segment for those of us who wake up every day and struggle to put on our happy faces, so the ones we love don’t see our anguish,” Harless wrote.Harless’ husband and Timberlake’s stepfather, Paul Harless, has been living with dementia for more than a decade. She joined Bobbie to share her experience caring for her…

CNN  —  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was reelected by his caucus Thursday to lead Democrats for a second term. It happened during a private meeting in the Capitol as the caucus also chose to keep most of the rest of existing leadership team intact, in the wake of a better-than-expected midterm election as Democrats retained majority control in the chamber. Only Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, who will be the president pro tempore and chair of the Appropriations Committee, will not serve on the leadership team anymore, after serving in the number three role for many years. As pro…

The story behind the dramatic exchange was told in Steven Spielberg’s 2015 historical drama “Bridge of Spies.”Another exchange saw Nicholas Daniloff, an American journalist who was imprisoned in Moscow in 1986, released that same year in a swap with Soviet physicist Gennadi Zakharov, who had been arrested on espionage charges in New York.Chapman, top row, center, was one of ten Russians arrested by the FBI in 2010 on espionage charges.US Marshals / APThe largest U.S.-Russian spy swap since the Cold War came in 2010 when 10 Russian agents, including Anna Chapman, were exchanged for four Russians accused of spying for…

Investors nervous about Blackstone’s real estate investment trust should view it as a long-term vehicle that’s well-positioned for the future, the firm’s president said Thursday.Blackstone has taken heat over the past week for limiting withdrawals from the $69 billion private REIT, the Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust (BREIT). That move followed redemption requests that exceeded previously set limits. The company’s stock has fallen 8% over the past five days amid a controversy that included a Barclays downgrade of the alternative investment firm.Blackstone President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray defended the positioning and structure, noting that investors knew BREIT had…

Defence investments in Europe are increasing but stockpiles are “almost empty” and critical defence capabilities are lacking, the European Union’s top diplomat said on Thursday.”The war in Ukraine has been a brutal wake-up call for many of us,” Josep Borrell told people gathered in Brussels for the release of the European Defence Agency (EDA)’s annual spending report.”For years we have been under-investing and this has meant that our stockpiles have been quickly depleted due to the fact that we are providing them to Ukraine,” he said. “When we provide military support to Ukraine, this military support doesn’t come from the…

One of the most annoying things about cryptocurrency is its persistent misrepresentation as an “anonymous” technology. It is very much not that.Cash is anonymous. Let’s say you drop a fiver, and someone picks it up and spends it. Not only will you not know who got it, you might not even realise it was gone.Crypto, on the other hand, leaves a trail. Often, this is recorded on a blockchain, which is public and immutable. Public! And immutable! To avoid creating this record, you need to go “off chain” and take the risk of trusting a private network. One like FTX.…

Instagram contentThis content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.Cardi B is a real Chanel lover. The rapper has a wardrobe full of pieces from the French label—including both vintage and current-season pieces. Remember when she paired Chanel’s surf-inspired dress from spring 2002 with $30 shoes? The ultimate high-low pairing. Taking to Instagram this week, she shared her latest Chanel outfit: It included a buttoned-up Chanel romper with a big, embroidered CC on it. But it was her kitschy bag that truly stole the show.In her hands, Cardi carried Chanel’s slot machine minaudière bag from its recent…

Investor, “Shark Tank” judge and CNBC contributor Kevin O’Leary said Thursday he’s lost all of the $15 million FTX paid him to act as a spokesman for the now-collapsed crypto exchange that some have called fraudulent.O’Leary and other celebrities, such as Tom Brady and Larry David, were sued by FTX investors who say the exchange’s ambassadors should have done more due diligence and exercised a greater level of care before promoting the crypto empire. The Canadian investor was grilled by CNBC’s “Squawk Box” hosts over his failure to properly assess the risks associated with investing and promoting FTX. O’Leary said…

The Keystone Pipeline has been shut down following a leak discovered near the border of Kansas and Nebraska. The shutdown of the major oil pipeline that carries crude from Canada triggered volatility in the energy market on Thursday, with oil prices briefly surging as much as 5% before retreating. Federal safety regulators are investigating the leak and have deployed to the site, a spokesperson for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration told CNN. Canada’s TC Energy (TRP) said it launched an emergency shutdown of the Keystone Pipeline System at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday after alarms were triggered and…