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Bitcoin continues to face downward pressure as investor concerns mount. This ongoing decline in the cryptocurrency's value can be attributed to factors like fears around a potential government shutdown and slowing economic growth. On Tuesday, BTC-USD fell over 3%, dipping below $104,000 per token, now more than 17% off its peak earlier in October. A major influence on this decline is attributed to "whale selling," where large holders have been offloading substantial amounts of bitcoin in recent weeks. Fundstrat's Sean Farrell emphasized the impact of these whales, stating they are significantly affecting prices. Recent activity shows billions in bitcoin moving from private wallets to exchanges, likely for sale, creating further market weakness. According to Compass Point's Ed Engel, net sales from long-term holders have exceeded 1 million bitcoin since June's end. This marks a transfer of wealth to new market participants. Engel notes that while selling from long-term holders is common in bull markets, the engagement levels from retail spot buyers are lower compared to previous cycles. Additionally, inflows into bitcoin ETFs have slowed recently, indicating potential waning interest among investors. Despite some support above $95,000, few short-term catalysts are present to drive an upward trend. The anticipated "Uptober" rally didn't materialize, the first such miss since 2018, reminiscent of the 37% decline that followed in November that year. The manufacturing sector's contraction for the eighth consecutive month and Fed Chair Powell's non-committal stance on a December rate cut may also be fueling investor caution. Liquidity concerns loom large with the ongoing government shutdown, as spending from the Treasury General Account remains stalled. Such liquidity constraints are expected to delay the anticipated market support from TGA drawdowns, which were slated to benefit risk assets toward the year-end. Though current market conditions appear challenging, strategists remain hopeful. Ending the shutdown could act as a positive catalyst, boosting bitcoin prices toward the close of the year. Fundstrat maintains an optimistic outlook, projecting bitcoin to possibly reach a price target between $150,000 and $200,000 by year-end, despite the anticipated interim volatility. #Cryptocurrency #Finance #Investing https://lnkd.in/eZHWi-xf

Spotify's video podcast consumption is on a remarkable rise, with the platform now boasting nearly half a million shows. The streaming giant's latest figures reveal that more than 390 million users have engaged with video podcasts, marking a staggering 54% increase from last year. This impressive growth trajectory comes in the wake of Spotify's expansion in June 2024, when it opened the doors for non-hosted podcasters to upload their content. User engagement has surged as Spotify introduced features like comments, Q&As, and polls, enhancing the interactive experience. Time spent with video content on the platform has more than doubled year-over-year, strongly driven by the popularity of video podcasts. Notably, since January, there has been an 80% increase in video podcast consumption, fueled by the Spotify Partner Program. This initiative empowers creators to monetize their content through innovative methods like audience-driven payouts, providing a direct link between creator success and user interaction. In an exciting move to broaden its audience, Spotify has teamed up with Netflix. Starting in 2026, this partnership will see Spotify’s video podcasts distributed to a larger audience in the United States, with plans to extend to other regions. While some investors have questioned the benefits of off-platform distribution, incoming co-CEO Alex Norstrom reassures that this step aligns with Spotify’s vision of being a creator-centric distribution hub. By helping creators syndicate their content widely, Spotify believes it will enhance both reach and engagement, benefiting all parties involved. Looking forward, co-CEO Gustav Soderstrom highlighted that the Netflix collaboration, alongside Spotify’s presence on YouTube, opens up new revenue streams. This aligns with Spotify’s ubiquity strategy, aiming to broaden its reach while offering a robust creator experience. The move has already shown promising results as increased YouTube visibility significantly boosted awareness and engagement for Spotify’s podcasts. With these strategic partnerships and platform enhancements, Spotify is well-positioned to continue its growth in the video podcast space, strengthening its role as a leader in content distribution. #StreamingInnovation #PodcastingBoom #DigitalMedia https://lnkd.in/e8V6rNVK

Merck has secured a significant financial boost of $700 million from Blackstone Life Sciences to propel the development of its promising experimental cancer therapy, sac-TMT. This agreement underscores Merck's commitment to advancing innovative treatments, as it navigates the evolving landscape of oncological therapies and prepares for potential competition to its blockbuster drug, Keytruda. Sac-TMT is an antibody-drug conjugate aimed at delivering anti-cancer drugs directly to malignant cells, minimizing harm to healthy tissues—a critical advantage over traditional chemotherapy. Currently, this therapy is being tested in 15 late-stage global trials across six tumor types, including breast, endometrial, and lung cancers. This strategic partnership with Blackstone reflects Merck's proactive approach in fortifying its product pipeline and sustaining its position in the competitive pharmaceutical industry. Merck's CFO, Caroline Litchfield, emphasized the company's commitment to investing wisely in future growth while adhering to sound financial strategies. The collaboration offers Blackstone Life Sciences the incentive of earning low-to-mid single-digit royalties on net sales of sac-TMT, contingent upon receiving regulatory approval in the United States. Importantly, Merck will retain full control over the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of sac-TMT, ensuring the company maintains its strategic direction. Sac-TMT targets the trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2, a protein prevalent on various cancer cells. Merck reports that antibody-drug conjugates targeting this protein have demonstrated promising anti-tumor activity in clinical studies. Developed in collaboration with Sichuan Kelun-Biotech Biopharmaceutical, sac-TMT holds the potential to significantly impact cancer treatment protocols. This collaboration with Blackstone highlights an important step in Merck's strategic growth and innovation efforts, reflecting its dedication to delivering breakthrough therapies for patients worldwide. By focusing on targeted therapies like sac-TMT, Merck is poised to make a substantial impact in the oncology arena. #PharmaceuticalInnovation #OncologyResearch #HealthcareAdvancements https://lnkd.in/em7T6Rra

Ferrari NV reported outstanding financial results for Q3 2025, showcasing the power and resilience of its luxury automotive brand. The Maranello-based company recorded a substantial profit of $446.5 million, equivalent to $2.50 per share. This robust performance can be attributed to its innovative engineering, exclusive brand appeal, and strong market demand for high-performance luxury sports cars. With revenue reaching $2.06 billion, Ferrari continues to set high benchmarks in the automotive industry, leveraging its unique position as a symbol of luxury, excellence, and speed. These results highlight Ferrari's ability to navigate complex market dynamics while simultaneously expanding its global footprint. Ferrari's success story is also driven by its strategic initiatives aimed at expanding its product lineup and enhancing customer engagement. The unwavering focus on customer experience and bespoke offerings has helped Ferrari maintain its market leader status in the luxury segment, reinforcing its brand value and consumer loyalty. Looking ahead, Ferrari remains committed to accelerating its growth trajectory with continuous investments in innovation and sustainable technology. The brand is poised to further solidify its dominance and embark on a new era of automotive excellence, promising even more exhilarating experiences for its passionate clientele. #Ferrari #LuxuryCars #AutomotiveIndustry https://lnkd.in/e6pm4Q_b

Asian shares displayed a mixed performance this Tuesday as Wall Street continued its upward trend, buoyed by optimism surrounding AI advancements. Japan's Nikkei 225 experienced a slight decline, dropping 0.5% to 52,163.84, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 decreased by 0.9% to 8,818.00. South Korea's Kospi faced a more significant drop, falling by 2.0% to 4,138.88. In stark contrast, Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.2% to 26,209.39, whereas the Shanghai Composite dipped slightly by 0.2% to 3,969.05. Meanwhile, on Wall Street, the S&P 500 saw an increase of 0.2% to reach 6,851.97 despite a general downward trend in most stocks within the index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of 226.19 points, settling at 47,336.68. Conversely, the Nasdaq composite posted a gain of 0.5%, advancing to 23,834.72. This positive movement was largely driven by noteworthy gains in AI-focused companies such as Nvidia and Amazon, which experienced upticks following significant announcements. Nvidia's shares rose by 2.2%, contributing to a remarkable year-to-date gain of 54.1%. Amazon also saw a rally of 4% after unveiling a $38 billion contract with OpenAI. Additionally, IREN, known for its work in AI cloud services, surged 11.5% subsequent to Microsoft's announcement of a $9.7 billion deal. Meanwhile, Palantir Technologies witnessed a 3.3% increase, accumulating a year-to-date gain of 165%. Despite these gains, scrutiny is mounting about the rising costs associated with AI stocks and the broader U.S. market. The companies in the S&P 500 are set to demonstrate a robust growth rate of nearly 11% compared to the previous year, with four out of every five exceeding analysts' predictions for this reporting season, according to FactSet. On the downside, Kimberly-Clark's shares plunged 14.6% after announcing its intention to acquire Kenvue in a transaction valued at $48.7 billion, while Kenvue's shares surged 12.3%. #AsianMarkets #AIStocks #WallStreetInvestments https://lnkd.in/eyNefeKf

FTSE Russell has taken a significant step forward by publishing its market index data on blockchain networks through Chainlink, a leading decentralized oracle service. This marks the first time that the prestigious firm's equity, FX, and digital asset benchmarks are available on multiple blockchains via DataLink, a Chainlink service seamlessly connecting traditional financial data to over 2,000 applications across more than 50 networks. Fiona Bassett, CEO of FTSE Russell, emphasized that utilizing Chainlink's infrastructure to bring index data on-chain will securely distribute underlying data from the company's benchmarks to ensure accessibility to trusted and quality data that powers the world of traditional finance. This move enables institutions and developers to access and integrate globally respected financial indices across various chains and networks safely. The integration of FTSE Russell's global indices into the blockchain ecosystem will give developers the tools to securely reference and utilize this data, driving innovation and efficiency in financial applications. Ram Kumar, a core contributor at OpenLedger, highlighted that this endeavor transforms traditional reference indices into programmable, verifiable financial primitives. This collaboration bridges the gap between traditional finance, TradFi, standards and decentralized finance, DeFi, infrastructure, enhancing the legitimacy of on-chain financial services. Kumar also pointed out that having these data sets on-chain empowers institutions to launch innovative financial products like tokenized index products and structured notes, leveraging real-time, on-chain price feeds provided by a trusted $18 trillion benchmark provider. This not only broadens the potential applications of blockchain in finance but also fosters closer integration between traditional banking and decentralized technologies. #BlockchainIntegration #FinTechInnovation #DeFiEvolution https://lnkd.in/euNP4fJA

McDonald's is poised to release its third-quarter earnings report this Wednesday before market hours. The fast-food giant previously reported strong performance with revenues reaching $6.84 billion last quarter, a 5.4% growth compared to the previous year and surpassing revenue expectations by 2.3%. Notably, McDonald's outperformed analysts' same-store sales and revenue estimates, showcasing a robust financial period. Looking ahead to the upcoming report, analysts predict McDonald's will continue its positive trajectory with expected revenue growth of 3.1%, totaling $7.09 billion. This growth aligns closely with the company's 2.7% increase in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are anticipated to reach $3.33 per share, reflecting stable financial management. Throughout the past month, analysts have maintained their estimates, signaling confidence in McDonald's ability to perform steadily. However, it’s worth noting that McDonald's has not always met Wall Street's revenue expectations, missing estimates four times within the last two years. Comparatively, peers in the fast-food sector have demonstrated substantial growth. Restaurant Brands International reported a 6.9% year-on-year revenue increase, exceeding expectations by 2.4%. Domino’s also showed positive results with a 6.2% revenue rise, slightly topping estimates by 0.9%. Despite these gains, the broader fast-food segment has faced challenges, with share prices declining by an average of 6% over the past month. Macroeconomic factors, such as debates over economic health, potential tariffs, and corporate tax implications, have contributed to the uncertainty in 2025. While some fast-food stocks performed well, the overall sector has struggled. McDonald's stock price has remained steady, with an average analyst price target of $330.10, as it approaches earnings against its current share price of $296.79. #McDonalds #EarningsReport #FastFoodIndustry https://lnkd.in/erbPEXjt

Payment technology firm Marqeta, NASDAQ:MQ, is set to release its Q3 2025 earnings report on Wednesday. In the previous quarter, the company achieved revenues of $150.4 million, marking a 20.1% year-over-year growth and surpassing analyst expectations by 6.9%. For its upcoming report, analysts project Marqeta’s revenue at $148.8 million, which signifies a 16.3% year-on-year increase. This would represent a deceleration compared to the 17.5% growth observed in the same quarter of the previous year. Notably, in the past two years, Marqeta has consistently outpaced Wall Street’s revenue projections, with an average beat of 4.7%. Other players within the finance and HR software sphere have also divulged their third-quarter earnings. Asure Software posted revenue growth of 23.7%, surpassing forecasts by 1.6%, resulting in an 8.3% rise in its stock price post-announcement. Meanwhile, Paychex reported a 16.8% revenue growth, aligning with consensus estimates, but saw a 3.5% decline in stock value. Despite these developments, investor sentiment in the finance and HR software segment has generally been bearish, with an average stock price decline of 1.2% over the past month. Marqeta’s shares have been hit harder, losing 10.1% during the same timeframe. Analysts have pegged Marqeta’s average price target at $6.20, overshadowing its current trading value of $4.53. #Fintech #EarningsReport #InvestorInsights https://lnkd.in/e8wNdNFB

Beijing has committed to reinforcing Hong Kong's position as a global financial powerhouse, as revealed at the Global Financial Leaders Investment Summit. Senior officials from Chinese regulatory bodies outlined a range of measures designed to amplify Hong Kong's integration into the mainland's broader financial strategy. Zhou Liang, vice-minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, NFRA,, emphasized the deepening financial collaboration between China and Hong Kong. This includes leveraging Hong Kong's strategic role as a superconnector to bolster financial activities such as bond and securities issuance by mainland insurers in the city. The NFRA is also geared towards assisting Chinese businesses in their international expansion by offering support through Hong Kong's financial framework. Moreover, Hong Kong's potential as a testing ground for the internationalisation of digital currency and electronic payment systems is set to be strengthened. This not only aligns with global financial technology trends but also supports Hong Kong's pioneering spirit in advancing digital finance. Li Ming, vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, highlighted significant regulatory improvements aimed at facilitating cross-border financial activities. The initiatives include more streamlined filing procedures for Chinese firms planning international listings and broadening the stock selection in the mainland-Hong Kong Stock Connect programmes. These strategic efforts underscore Beijing's vision of Hong Kong not just as a regional financial hub, but as an integral player on the global stage. By enhancing Hong Kong's financial infrastructure, Beijing aims to secure China's long-term economic growth and increase its influence in global financial markets. The alignment of regulatory measures and financial partnerships signifies a robust, forward-thinking approach to Hong Kong's evolving role in both regional and global contexts, maintaining its competitive edge in the dynamic world of international finance. #HongKongFinance #GlobalFinancialHub #ChinaEconomy https://lnkd.in/eYx97pr8

Corn futures have seen gains of 2 to 4 cents across most contracts, reflecting robust export performance. The CmdtyView national average Cash Corn price rose by 3 1/4 cents to reach $3.95 3/4. Recent data reveal a notable surge in corn export shipments, with a total of 1.669 million metric tons shipped during the week ending on October 30, marking a 34.31% increase from the previous week and more than double the figures for the same week last year. Leading the pack in destinations, Mexico imported 512,336 MT, followed by South Korea and Japan, receiving 282,975 MT and 208,955 MT, respectively. With the 2025/26 marketing year underway, exports have reached an impressive 12.257 million metric tons since September 1, signifying a 63.99% growth compared to the same period last year. In terms of production, StoneX has revised its 2025 US corn yield estimate to 186 bushels per acre, slightly up from the previous month's estimate of 185.9 bpa. This upswing comes as industry stakeholders anticipate the forthcoming NASS Crop Production report set for release on November 14. Moreover, Brazil's AgRural reports that the planting of the first corn crop is 60% complete as of last Thursday, maintaining a pace just 1 percentage point ahead of the previous year. This progress is pivotal as global markets continue to observe Brazil's agricultural dynamics closely. Specific closing figures paint a positive picture as well: December 2025, Dec 25, Corn closed at $4.34 1/4, up by 2 3/4 cents. Nearby Cash closed at $3.95 3/4, with an uptick of 3 1/4 cents. March 2026, Mar 26, Corn closed at $4.46 3/4, marking a rise of 2 3/4 cents, and May 2026, May 26, Corn finished at $4.55 3/4, up by 3 1/2 cents. As the numbers suggest, the upward trend in corn futures is fueled by strong export demand and positive domestic production estimates. This momentum could have significant implications for stakeholders throughout the corn supply chain as we move further into the marketing year. #CornFutures #Commodities #AgricultureTrends https://lnkd.in/ewngMRQd