| Photographer: Brett Carlsen/Bloomberg As another Donald Trump era dawns, cryptocurrencies are hot. Bitcoin rallied past $82,000 for the first time, boosted by the president-elect’s embrace of digital assets and the prospect of pro-crypto lawmakers in Congress. Dogecoin gained more than 50% in the past five days. Not wanting to miss out, former Millennium Management and Pimco executives are starting a digital-asset consultancy. US stock futures also advanced as Trump’s win continued to boost appetite for equities.
Trump is starting to fill key roles in his incoming administration. He picked former immigration chief Tom Homan as “border czar,” and will nominate New York congresswoman Elise Stefanik as US Ambassador to the UN. He’s also making demands that the next Senate Republican leader allow him to make recess appointments bypassing the chamber. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported Trump told Vladimir Putin last week not to escalate the war in Ukraine, something Russia called “pure fiction.”
“Trifecta” control. Republicans are close to securing sweeping power with control of both chambers of Congress, as well as the presidency. The party needs five more seats for a House majority, and there are 19 races still in play. Check our election tracker for the latest numbers. In markets, BlackRock and JPMorgan are among the big names warning the selloff in US bonds is probably far from over. Trump’s fiscal plans may rekindle inflation and increase the budget deficit, while traders have pared bets for how deeply the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Rough ride. Hedge funds betting against Tesla took on-paper hit of at least $5.2 billion as the stock shot up after the election. But some investors still believe the EV maker will eventually feel the negative impact of Trump’s embrace of fossil fuels. Elsewhere, China’s BYD is closing in on Ford on vehicle shipments after already besting Tesla on revenue. | 