
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Top strategists largely expect another year of strong returns for the U.S.’ leading S&amp;P 500 stock index in 2025, according to early prognostications from major banks, a welcome bullish signal for investors already enjoying a historic bull market.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p><strong>Goldman Sachs:&nbsp;</strong>The investment bank predicted in a Monday note to clients the S&amp;P will end next year at&nbsp;<strong>6,500,</strong>&nbsp;a 10% gain from the index’s roughly 5,900 level Wednesday, not accounting for dividends. It’s a view “predicated on continued U.S. economic expansion” and bolstered by the forecasted 11% earnings per share growth for the 500-company index. Notably, the Goldman group led by David Kostin predicts 2025 will be the slimmest relative outperformance of the “magnificent seven” stocks of the U.S.’ seven largest companies since 2017, reversing a trend of extended market-beating returns from the group led by AI leader Nvidia and iPhone maker Apple.</p>



<p><strong>Morgan Stanley:&nbsp;</strong>The Goldman rival has a matching&nbsp;<strong>6,500</strong>&nbsp;12-month price target for the S&amp;P, the group led by Michael Wilson shared in a Monday note. Morgan Stanley has a balmier 13% EPS growth forecast than Goldman, but shared the potential for “wider than normal” risks to its forecast due to “the potential uncertainty that the recent election outcome introduces.” Wilson set a bull case target of 7,400 for the S&amp;P, implying a potential 26% advance, and a 4,600 bear case target, indicating a possible 28% correction.</p>



<p><strong>UBS:&nbsp;</strong>UBS Global Wealth Management has a&nbsp;<strong>6,600</strong>&nbsp;target for the S&amp;P by the end of 2025, indicating a slightly more bullish 12% gain. The election “likely pulled forward the timing” of the returns associated with optimism from President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, wrote Jason Draho, the group’s head of asset allocation, Americas, wrote to clients last week.</p>



<p><strong>BMO Capital Markets:&nbsp;</strong>The Canada-based firm has a&nbsp;<strong>6,700</strong>&nbsp;price target for the S&amp;P, predicting a 14% gain. “Earnings growth is actually understated” and “the train has left the station” with the prospect of further gains as the Federal Reserve further lowers interest rates, BMO’s chief investment strategist Brian Belski&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/11/18/bmos-brian-belski-explains-his-2025-year-end-target-of-6700.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;CNBC on Monday.</p>



<p><strong>Evercore ISI</strong>: The tech-focused boutique bank set a&nbsp;<strong>6,600</strong>&nbsp;target for the S&amp;P by the middle of 2025 following the election. The bull market is “still an infant,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-bull-market-is-still-an-infant-why-evercore-sees-the-s-p-500-at-6-600-by-mid-2025-c2e80aeb" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">wrote</a>&nbsp;strategists led by Julian Emanuel. Yet the recent stalling of the post-election stock rally – the S&amp;P is down 2% from last Monday’s record close – indicates the market is in a “digestion phase,” Emanuel&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf_d24Vm-ao" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">told</a>&nbsp;Bloomberg on Wednesday.</p>



<p><strong>Yardeni Research:&nbsp;</strong>The influential independent research firm led by has a balmy&nbsp;<strong>7,000</strong>&nbsp;target by the end of next year, implying a 19% gain. “Trump 2.0 represents a major regime change that’s bullish for the economy and stocks,” Yardeni wrote last week.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>This is the “highest concentration market in 100 years,” Kostin said in a Wednesday conference call with reporters. “But you look out longer term…the history of a high concentration market is it doesn&#8217;t persist. It eventually fades. You get a broadening of the market.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contra">Contra</h2>



<p>No surprise considering the often unpredictable nature of financial markets, price targets even from the most trusted names on Wall Street can prove imperfect. Last November, Goldman and Morgan Stanley&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2023/11/15/heres-where-wall-street-says-sp-500-will-head-next-year-dont-expect-record-highs/">projected</a>&nbsp;the S&amp;P to end 2024 at 4,700 and 4,500, respectively, both more than 20% below Wednesday’s price.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



<p>10,000. That’s where the bullish Yardeni predicts the S&amp;P could climb to 10,000 by the end of 2029, forecasting a strong 16% annualized return.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Up 23% year-to-date, the S&amp;P is on track to nearly match 2023’s 23% gain. This would be the first time the index rose at least 20% in consecutive years since 1995 to 1998 during the internet boom. The S&amp;P’s 53% gain dating back to the end of 2022 has it on pace for its best two-year gain since the late 1990s. Driving much of the S&amp;P’s recent success, which came in the face of a historically challenging high-rate environment, were big technology stocks, with the likes of Amazon, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla all gaining more than 150% since the end of 2022.</p>


In this photo illustration, A woman browses Yahoo Finance

Will 2025 Bring Similar Cheer For S&P 500? Here’s What Wall Street Expects.


<p><strong><em><abbr>In</abbr></em> 1882,</strong><em> </em>John D. Rockefeller, the world’s richest man, created the first full-service single-family office in the U.S. to manage and invest his fortune, said to be $1.4 billion ($31 billion in today’s dollars) at his death in 1937. Fast-forward 142 years, and many members of The Forbes 400 have a family office to help them manage their enormous fortunes.</p>



<p>But so do thousands of other American families who don’t belong to the billionaire class. At their core, family offices are a means to invest, preserve and pass on fortunes—not to build them de novo. They’re both a safety net and status symbol. “People are busy, and they want to know: ‘How are we doing? Is there anything to worry about?’ ” says Mark Rogozinski, president of Family Office Services for Chicago-based Cresset Asset Management.</p>



<p>Family offices are taking off for many reasons, including increasing wealth and aggressive marketing to the ordinary rich. Baby Boomers and their elders also have concerns about passing on their accumulated wealth (in aggregate, some $84 trillion) and have a desire to involve younger generations in philanthropy. On the other side, the family office providers have access to new technology that can better monitor investment performance and share financial data, making it easier for them to expand. The final impetus is tax savings—the 2017 tax overhaul, coupled with a tax court ruling that year involving the Lender family (of bagel fame), mean that investment expenses which are no longer deductible on individual tax returns can often be written off at the family office level.</p>



<p>It’s unclear how many single-family offices now operate in the U.S.—estimates range from 3,000 up to 7,000. But all agree that the number is growing. Deloitte conservatively estimates there will be 3,550 single-family offices in North America in 2025, up 61% from 2019. (For comparison,&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;counted 880 billionaires in the U.S. and Canada in 2024.)</p>



<p>It still requires at least $100 million in investable assets (and preferably $250 million) for a single-family office to make sense, but those with as little as $25 million, or even $10 million, can find a spot with a multifamily operator if they’re ready to pay for estate, tax and charitable planning and access to alternative investments like derivatives and venture capital.</p>



<p>A single-family office costs a minimum of $1 million annually (and usually more), but multi-family offices run from 0.5% to 2% of assets a year (generally, the bigger the portfolio, the lower the percentage). Sometimes there are transaction and performance fees as well. Concierge services, such as managing a client’s homes and security and travel, may cost extra. The fee structure is often negotiable and bespoke, just like the services. Some multifamily offices charge a fixed fee per year, starting at $50,000 and ranging up to $1 million for full service.</p>



<p>More and more people want (and can afford) such white-glove treatment. The Federal Reserve’s 2022 Survey of Consumer Finances found the richest 1% of Americans (that’s 1.3 million households) had a minimum net worth of&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBL99T999309" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">$11 million</a>, while the top 0.1% (<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBLTP1310" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">133,000</a>&nbsp;households) had a net worth of at least&nbsp;<a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WFRBLTP1311" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">$46 million</a>.</p>



<p>The original multifamily offices were born when a single rich family invited in a handful of others to defray costs. Cresset, founded seven years ago in Chicago by two private-equity veterans to manage their own families’ wealth, is one of a new breed of registered investment advisors expanding aggressively into the multifamily business. After merging in June with The Connable Office, a 130-year-old multifamily office, it’s up to $60 billion in assets under management.</p>



<p>One new multifamily player, New York City’s Beatrice Advisors, is the first owned by a Black woman. It was launched in June by Christina Lewis with assets from her own family and those of her rich friends. Her father, Forbes 400 member Reginald Lewis—a Baltimore-born, Harvard-trained deal lawyer—died in 1993 at 50 from an inoperable brain tumor. Christina was just 12 then, and describes her family as being “underadvised” at his death. Beatrice is investing heavily in technology, creating digital dashboards for its clients that display a family’s whole net worth, including their investment portfolio, business assets and even intellectual property. The aim, Lewis says, is “transitioning our knowledge to the client over time, so that the client is in the driver’s seat.”</p>



<p>In contrast to the Lewises, the Lipitz family has had decades to work out its wealth transition. Gene Lipitz, now 58, got into the family office game in 1997. His dad, Roger C. Lipitz, now 82, had sold the company he built—Meridian Healthcare, a chain of 45 nursing homes—for $205 million in 1993. Father and son began collaborating on investments informally, but Roger became increasingly involved in civic and charitable work and suggested they formalize that partnership, with the younger Lipitz taking the investing lead. Gene first hired a multifamily office in 1997 but was dissatisfied. Ultimately, in 1999, after selling his own tax- and risk-management company to Citicorp, Gene decided to create his own office; it now manages investments for three generations with three full-time employees, outsourcing such functions as accounting. The office’s mission statement is revised regularly. Failing to do that, Gene says, is “a great way to lose buy-in from the next generation.”</p>



<p>Even for people with decades of business experience, starting a single-family office can be daunting, beginning with the challenge of hiring qualified staff. That work, too, is often outsourced. Kay Shah, a director in the Family Office Division at StevenDouglas, a national boutique search firm, spends her days recruiting financial pros to serve in family offices, which typically have five to 15 employees, she says.</p>



<p>New cloud-based platforms help professional managers track portfolio holdings and performance across asset classes, but family offices controlled by older generations still tend to lag technologically. Josh Kanter, an attorney and wealth advisor in Salt Lake City, concluded, based on his own experience, that family offices need to become more tech-centric. After his father, famed tax lawyer and trust engineer Burton Kanter (an advisor to the billionaire Pritzker family), died in 2001, Josh took over managing the family’s office. He found keeping all generations up to date on practical details difficult. For example, he says, the family will pay for tuition and health care, but only if certain guidelines are followed. The problem was that there was no single place to find that sort of information, other than sorting through the more than 275,000 files in the family Dropbox or calling him directly to ask.</p>



<p>His solution was to start his own software company, Leafplanner. It acts as an overlay to existing financial software like Addepar, which tracks multiasset portfolio performance, or Arch, which organizes tax documents. Leafplanner can guide family members through the process of getting answers to specific questions on everything from investment decisions to charitable giving. It can be customized for an unlimited number of users, controlling access to what information each can see. Since launching in 2022, Leafplanner has installed the software for 145 other families, Kanter says. As for his own family, he says, they no longer have to ask, “What happens if Josh is the next one to get hit by a bus?”</p>


Group of business people, bank managers, bankers having meeting, discussion on global planning and financial research. Help, advisory, financial services, support and investment strategy concept

Why You No Longer Need To Be A Billionaire To Have Your Own Family Office


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Air quality in New Delhi dropped to its worst level this year on Monday—with pollutant levels reaching more than 150 times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended safe levels—as local authorities enacted an emergency response plan, including shutting down schools, halting the entry of nearly all trucks and a ban on all construction activities.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.iqair.com/in-en/india/delhi%5C" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">According to IQ Air</a>, New Delhi’s Air Quality Index, which measures the level of air pollution, surged past 1,700 on Monday—more than five times above the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">“hazardous” benchmark</a>&nbsp;where even healthy individuals are likely to experience adverse effects.</p>



<p>The pollution level was so severe on Monday that the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi—which uses the Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow chart—<a href="https://in.usembassy.gov/embassy-consulates/new-delhi/air-quality-data/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">rated the conditions</a>&nbsp;“Beyond the AQI” on its hourly tracker as it registered levels above 1,600.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="699" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-63705" style="width:644px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-2183914233-768x524.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><strong><em>India Gate is covered in a thick layer of pollution in New Delhi, India, on November 13, 2024 (Photo by Bilal Kuchay/NurPhoto via Getty Images).</em></strong></figcaption></figure></div>


<p>The national pollution control authority rated the conditions in Delhi as “severe plus” and&nbsp;<a href="https://caqm.nic.in/WriteReadData/LINKS/GRAP%20Stage%20IV%20Order%20dated%2017112024272e205d-f42e-4106-932a-0514c584dfd7.pdf" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ordered the enforcement</a>&nbsp;of stage 4 of a graded response action plan, which is the highest level emergency response and allows for the most stringent curbs on vehicles and construction work.</p>



<p>The Delhi Government ordered all schools to switch over to online classes and issued bans on key sources of pollution, including the entry of trucks carrying non-essential goods into the city, the operation of older diesel vehicles on the road and all construction activities.</p>



<p>The national capital city was blanketed by a thick layer of smog—a toxic mix of fog and smoke—that dropped&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/dense-smog-leaves-delhi-choking-as-aqi-in-severe-plus-category-visibility-down-to-100m-101731903642563.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">visibility levels</a>&nbsp;to around 100 meters.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Is Causing Delhi’s Pollution?</h2>



<p>Severe pollution levels have become a recurring problem for India’s capital and other major North Indian cities during the winter—when the dense fog-laden air mixes with toxic smoke and other pollutants. As with every year, the issue has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/video/bjp-distributes-masks-in-delhi-as-air-pollution-crisis-deepens-862172" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">triggered</a>&nbsp;a political&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/atishi-targets-centre-on-stubble-burning-amid-delhis-air-emergency-7045044" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">blame game</a>&nbsp;between the national government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Delhi government led by the rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).&nbsp;<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/farm-fires-continue-to-pollute-delhis-air-despite-decrease-in-incidents/articleshow/115062410.cms" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">According to</a>&nbsp;the national air quality monitoring agency SAFAR, nearly 40% of Delhi’s pollution can be attributed to the illegal burning of crop residues in neighboring states like Punjab and Haryana after harvest season. Efforts to crack down on farm fires have failed, as stubble burning is usually quicker and cheaper than manual or machine removal—which the government is trying to financially incentivize.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">News Peg</h2>



<p>The levels of PM 2.5 pollutants—airborne particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter, which can enter the lungs and cause several diseases—across the city peaked above 950 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday, according to IQAir’s tracker. According to the World Health Organization, the recommended annual average exposure to PM2.5 matter should not exceed 5 micrograms per cubic meter.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Big Number</h2>



<p>214. That is the total number of both arriving and departing flights, which have faced delays at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on Monday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flightaware.com/live/cancelled" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;FlightAware. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/DelhiAirport/status/1858389088614613391" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement on X</a>&nbsp;at noon, the Delhi Airport said its “low visibility procedures are still in progress and flight operations may get affected.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tangent</h2>



<p>NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, which tracks fires using satellite imagery, showed&nbsp;<a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;l:fires_all,earth;@74.6,32.1,5.7z" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">several active blazes</a>&nbsp;across the state of Punjab in the past 24 hours. Last month, a&nbsp;<a href="https://science.gsfc.nasa.gov/spso/bio/hiren.t.jethva" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Senior Research Scientist</a>&nbsp;at NASA, Hiren T Jethva,&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/hjethva05/status/1849578536128086531" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">speculated</a>&nbsp;on X that farmers in North India may be deliberately burning crop stubbles later in the afternoon to avoid having their flames tracked by the satellite overpass. It is unclear if this is true, but this hasn’t stopped authorities from reporting a large number of farm fires in the area. In the state of Punjab alone, 4,262 cases of farm fires were reported in the last two weeks,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/of-total-8404-farm-fire-cases-in-punjab-50-reported-in-past-2-weeks/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according to</a>&nbsp;the Tribune.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/delhi-news/dense-smog-leaves-delhi-choking-as-aqi-in-severe-plus-category-visibility-down-to-100m-101731903642563.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Dense smog leaves Delhi choking as AQI in ‘severe plus’ category, visibility down to 100m</a>&nbsp;(Hindustan Times)</p>


The Cart in the Fog

India’s Capital Chokes Under ‘Severe Plus’ Pollution—Emergency Measures Enacted Including School Shutdowns


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul are set to fight in a live boxing match streamed on Netflix Friday, in what would be Tyson’s first sanctioned match in nearly 20 years amid rising concerns about the 58-year-old’s age and safety.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The event is different from the regular pay-per-view format that is typical of boxing matches, as Netflix’s 282 million subscribers (as reported in its Q3 earnings call) will have access to the event.</p>



<p>The event was initially slated to stream in July but was delayed due to Tyson’s stomach ulcer flareup during a flight.</p>



<p>The match has the biggest age gap between boxers in professional boxing history according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/40049533/mike-tyson-vs-jake-paul-sanctioned-professional-fight" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ESPN</a>: Tyson is 58 and Paul is 27 years old, a 31-year difference.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Time Is The The Fight Between Mike Tyson And Jake Paul Fight?</strong></h2>



<p>The event at the AT&amp;T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, starts at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How To Watch The Tyson-Paul Fight?</h2>



<p>It’s airing exclusively on Netflix.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Are The Tyson-Paul Fight’s Betting Odds?</strong></h2>



<p>Paul is the favorite to win&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oddschecker.com/us/boxing-mma/boxing/jake-paul-v-mike-tyson" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">on most</a>&nbsp;betting sites, with payouts on a $10 wager ranging from $14.40 to $15.33. Payouts for a Tyson bet range from $27 to $28.75 on a $10 wager. Bets are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2024/11/07/mike-tyson-vs-jake-paul-betting/76117981007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">not allowed</a>&nbsp;in six states—New York, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Vermont, with some state officials saying the event was untraditional and more like an exhibition.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Time Is The The Fight Between Mike Tyson And Jake Paul Fight?</strong></h2>



<p>The event at the AT&amp;T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, starts at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How To Watch The Tyson-Paul Fight?</h2>



<p>It’s airing exclusively on Netflix.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>What Are The Tyson-Paul Fight’s Betting Odds?</strong></h2>



<p>Paul is the favorite to win&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oddschecker.com/us/boxing-mma/boxing/jake-paul-v-mike-tyson" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">on most</a>&nbsp;betting sites, with payouts on a $10 wager ranging from $14.40 to $15.33. Payouts for a Tyson bet range from $27 to $28.75 on a $10 wager. Bets are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2024/11/07/mike-tyson-vs-jake-paul-betting/76117981007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">not allowed</a>&nbsp;in six states—New York, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Vermont, with some state officials saying the event was untraditional and more like an exhibition.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Further Reading</strong></h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindseychoo/2024/10/17/netflix-earnings-streaming-beats-expectations-subscriber-growth/">Netflix Earnings: Stock Climbs As Streaming Giant Beats Expectations—But Subscriber Growth Slows</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>


LIVE On Netflix: Jake Paul Vs. Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson Vs. Jake Paul—When The Netflix Boxing Fight Starts, Betting Odds And More


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline"><a href="https://www.forbes.com/"></a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/search/"></a>Topline</h2>



<p>President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday named ex-Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as his director of national intelligence, praising her experience as a veteran and her “broad support in both Parties” when announcing her appointment, even as Gabbard has blasted Democrats since leaving the party and emerged as a controversial figure on foreign policy matters.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Gabbard—who served in the House representing Hawaii from 2013 to 2021 and briefly ran for president as a Democrat in 2020—<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/08/26/ex-democratic-candidate-tulsi-gabbard-endorses-trump/">endorsed</a>&nbsp;Trump in August and joined his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/08/27/trump-putting-rfk-jr-and-tulsi-gabbard-on-transition-team/">transition team</a>&nbsp;shortly after.</p>



<p>Gabbard left the Democratic Party in 2022 to become an independent, saying at the time that Democrats were an “elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness,” before&nbsp;<a href="https://nypost.com/2024/10/22/us-news/former-dem-rep-tulsi-gabbard-announces-shes-joined-republican-party-at-trump-rally/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">joining</a>&nbsp;the Republican Party this October.</p>



<p>Gabbard has long been a critic of U.S. foreign policy—recently criticizing U.S.&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1848480251023868237" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">aid</a>&nbsp;to Ukraine—and The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/us/politics/trump-tulsi-gabbard-director-national-intelligence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">New York Times reported</a>&nbsp;her selection as director of intelligence indicates Trump’s intention to give foreign policy roles to those “deeply skeptical of the effectiveness of U.S. military intervention abroad.”</p>



<p>She drew criticism in 2017 after she quietly visited Syria and met with President Bashar al-Assad,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/25/politics/tulsi-gabbard-lead-syria/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">saying</a>&nbsp;at the time she did so “because I felt that it’s important that if we profess to truly care about the Syrian people, about their suffering, then we’ve got to be able to meet with anyone that we need to if there is a possibility that we can achieve peace.”</p>



<p>Two years later, during her presidential run, Gabbard&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/10/tulsi-gabbard-assad-syria-1214882" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">refused</a>&nbsp;to call him a war criminal and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/06/politics/tulsi-gabbard-syria-assad/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>&nbsp;he was “not the enemy of the United States because Syria does not pose a direct threat to the United States.”</p>



<p>Gabbard also did not give a direct answer when asked if she would trust the U.S. intelligence community if she were elected,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/03/10/tulsi-gabbard-assad-syria-1214882" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">saying</a>, “We have, in our recent past, a situation where our own government told lies to the American people, and to the United Nations for that matter, to launch a war,” referencing the 2003 invasion of Iraq.</p>



<p>Gabbard was a member of the Hawaii National Guard and was deployed to Iraq in 2005, and said she endorsed Trump in part because she said he sees “war as a last resort” and “understands the grave responsibility that a president” bears for the lives of those serving their country.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-does-the-director-of-national-intelligence-do">What Does The Director Of National Intelligence Do?</h2>



<p>If confirmed by Congress, Gabbard would be responsible for overseeing the implementation of the National Intelligence Program and acting as the main adviser to Trump, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council on intelligence matters tied to national security. Gabbard would oversee 18 different spy agencies, The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/us/politics/trump-tulsi-gabbard-director-national-intelligence.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">New York Times reported</a>, and would also prepare a daily briefing for Trump—which he reportedly did not often read in his first term. John Ratcliffe—who Trump recently named as his pick for the director of the CIA—served as the director of intelligence during Trump’s first term.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>Gabbard, in a&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1856798431605657969" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweet</a>, thanked Trump “for the opportunity to serve as a member of your cabinet to defend the safety, security and freedom of the American people.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Since leaving the Democratic Party, Gabbard has been a frequent guest on conservative news outlets and vocally critical of Democrats,&nbsp;<a href="https://time.com/7096376/tulsi-gabbard-democrat-republican-political-evolution-history-trump/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">calling</a>&nbsp;Trump’s opponent Vice President Kamala Harris “anti-freedom … pro-censorship … pro-open borders … pro-war without even pretending to care about peace.” She was rumored to be in the running to be Trump’s running mate, and said in May she would “be honored” to do so. After endorsing Trump this year, she helped him prepare for his debate against Harris, which the Trump team said was in part because she “successfully dominated Kamala Harris on the debate stage in 2020.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-news-peg">News Peg</h2>



<p>Trump has been steadily announcing his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/11/13/trumps-cabinet-here-are-his-picks-for-key-roles-stephen-miller-elon-musk-pete-hegseth-and-more/">cabinet picks</a>&nbsp;since winning the election. Other notable appointments so far include billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the new “Department of Government Efficiency,” Pete Hegseth as secretary of defense and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., as attorney general.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>If confirmed, Gabbard will replace Avril Haines, who was sworn in under President Joe Biden in 2021 and became the first woman to lead the U.S. intelligence community.</p>


Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump Campaigns In Pennsylvania

What To Know About Tulsi Gabbard—Former Democrat Named Trump’s Director Of National Intelligence


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Republicans officially clinched control of the House of Representatives on Wednesday night, affirming GOP control of both chambers of Congress and the White House.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The Associated Press&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/senate-house-election-updates-11-7-2024" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">called</a>&nbsp;the contest for Republicans around 10:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, after Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., won reelection, giving Republicans the 218 seats needed to retain their majority.</p>



<p>Nine seats remain to be called—Democrats lead in five of those contests and Republicans are ahead in the other four.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-which-seats-have-flipped-in-the-house">Which Seats Have Flipped In The House?</h2>



<p>Republicans flipped a seat in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-colorado-house-evans-ea159f328a7a3b8745724bfb90ac5124" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Colorado</a>, two Pennsylvania districts (District 7 and District 8) and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-house-hertel-barrett-mcdonald-rivet-junge-83ce19c9cc64f23c6ee42fe0b3087892" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">a district in Michigan</a>. Democrats&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-call-riley-wins-new-york-u-s-house-district-718ce3a0d3914b89b2680f586290164d" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">flipped three seats</a>&nbsp;in New York (District 4, District 19 and District 22).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p><em>“</em>We still have a number of races outstanding, but we&#8217;re very optimistic about those and we are looking forward to governing in unified government beginning in January,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?539939-1/house-republican-agenda" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Tuesday</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-haven-t-all-the-votes-been-counted-yet">Why Haven&#8217;t All The Votes Been Counted Yet?</h2>



<p>Some states, particularly in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/us/elections/results-timing-presidential-race-calls.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">western U.S.</a>, take longer to tally ballots because of state election operations. California is known to take more time than the rest of the country to finalize its results. It’s the only state with&nbsp;<a href="https://electionresults.sos.ca.gov/unprocessed-ballots-status" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">millions</a>&nbsp;of remaining ballots uncounted as of Wednesday. California’s election officials need more time because the state has by far the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.census.gov/popclock/embed.php?component=populous" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">largest population</a>&nbsp;in the country. The state’s voting processes are more abundant and require more effort, such as its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/11/us/california-ballot-count-house-election.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">rule to give every registered voter a mail-in ballot</a>, which makes it easy for citizens to vote but requires more work (through hours of phone calls) to verify whether the ballot was filled out incorrectly.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>The House now holds enormous importance for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/11/06/election-2024-harris-concedes-election-says-we-must-accept-the-results/">President-elect Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;ability to legislate when he takes office after Republicans&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/11/06/republicans-win-senate-control-ending-democrats-narrow-majority/">won a majority</a>&nbsp;in the Senate on Tuesday. With the GOP winning control, it gives the party unified control of government. “We believe we can be the most consequential Congress of modern politics,” Johnson said at a Tuesday news conference. Republicans won a tight majority in the House in 2022, claiming 222 seats, including&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/us/elections/results-house.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">several competitive seats</a>&nbsp;in Arizona, California, New York, Virginia and Nebraska. Democrats secured a Senate majority in 2021, later solidifying that number in 2023. The period of a divided Congress since has been marred by Republican infighting and lessened productivity—partly due to Congress’ partisan split and partly because of the GOP’s narrow majority, which allows a tiny number of lawmakers to control the fate of legislation. In October 2023, Republicans and Democrats voted for the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/10/04/1203462629/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-matt-gaetz-congress-vote" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">first ouster</a>&nbsp;of the House speaker in history, driving out then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., an action led by hard-right Trump ally Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. The move was highly disruptive because of the extensive voting processes and the search for a new speaker. That year, the House also struggled to pass legislation, passing 27 bills after voting 724 times. That’s fewer bills passed than any other term since 2013, The New York Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/19/us/politics/house-republicans-laws-year.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">reported</a>, citing research from the Bipartisan Policy Center. Congress narrowly avoided several government shutdowns over the past two years. With this election, Republicans were predicted to take control of the House by a slim margin of 30 seats or less, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2024-election-forecast/house/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">FiveThirtyEight</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-which-house-results-were-historic">Which House Results Were Historic?</h2>



<p>Several races made history in this election. Democrat Sarah McBride was elected to a Delaware House seat, becoming the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/delaware-house-race-election-mcbride-whalen-4a80f4a9852240a890bb820c53ef882b" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first openly transgender Congress</a> member with the win. Republican Julie Fedorchak won North Dakota’s sole House seat, becoming the first woman elected to the House in North Dakota, and Democrat Julie Johnson became the first openly gay woman to represent Texas in the House. Democrat Yassamin Ansari <a href="https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/arizona/?r=3008" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">won</a> her seat in Arizona and became the first Iranian American elected to the U.S. House.</p>


President Donald Trump Holds Election Night Event At The White House

Republicans Win Control Of The House—Giving Trump Unified Government


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>Bitcoin prices eclipsed $90,000 for the first time Wednesday, the latest milestone for the world’s largest cryptocurrency in its massive post-election rally.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Bitcoin climbed to over $90,000 by about 9:30 a.m. EST, or 2:30 p.m. Greenwich Mean Time (prices for the constantly traded crypto market are most commonly referenced in GMT).</p>



<p>The digital asset quickly ripped further, trading at more than $91,000 by 10 a.m. EST.</p>



<p>Bitcoin is up more than 30% since election night, when it sat below $70,000.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



<p>$1.8 trillion. That’s the total market value of bitcoin, more than doubling since the end of 2023, <a href="https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a> to CoinMarketCap.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>Bitcoin crossed the $90,000 threshold just three days after surpassing $80,000 for the first time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>2024 was already a strong year for bitcoin prices, with the token up 7o% by the end of October. Much of those gains were concentrated early in the year as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), opening the door for new institutional capital into the digital asset. The post-election rally came as crypto traders celebrated the election of Donald Trump, who&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/10/investing/bitcoin-record-trump/index.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">championed</a>&nbsp;bitcoin and the broader crypto industry on the campaign trail.</p>


Over the shoulder view of young woman making financial plans and investment analysis via laptop and smartphone

Bitcoin Price Crosses $90,000 For First Time Ever Amid Trump Crypto Surge


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The moon will reach one of its closest points to Earth later this week, resulting in this year’s last supermoon, an unofficial astronomical event occurring up to four times annually, according to expert projections.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



<p>A supermoon occurs whenever a full moon coincides with the moon approaching its closest distance to the Earth—a point, known as perigee, that’s about 226,000 miles away—during its 27-day orbit, though&nbsp;<a href="https://science.nasa.gov/moon/supermoons/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">NASA</a>&nbsp;does not recognize it as an official astronomical term.</p>



<p>Fred Espenak, a former NASA astrophysicist,&nbsp;<a href="https://astropixels.com/ephemeris/moon/fullperigee2001.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">expects</a>&nbsp;the next full moon to reach perigee Friday night, though it’ll likely become a supermoon starting Thursday night as it comes within nearly 225,000 miles of the Earth.</p>



<p>There have been three other supermoons this year on Aug. 19, Sept. 18 and Oct. 17, which was the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tylerroush/2024/10/17/this-years-largest-supermoon-emerges-tonight-heres-what-to-know-about-the-hunters-moon/">largest supermoon</a>&nbsp;this year after a full moon came within 222,000 miles of the Earth.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">When Can I See The Supermoon?</h2>



<p>The moon will rise Thursday starting at 3:23 p.m. EST, though it won’t be full until Friday, when the moon rises around 3:56 p.m. and peaks around 9:29 p.m.,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weather.gov/box/sunmoon" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How Can I See The Supermoon?</h2>



<p>A supermoon will be visible anywhere on Earth regardless of light pollution, NASA said, though it’s easier to see in areas without cloud coverage. Several states in the eastern U.S. will likely be unable to see the moon on Thursday night, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut,&nbsp;<a href="https://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/conus.php" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to NOAA. On Friday night, some states in the western, upper central and northeastern U.S. will be overcast, including Idaho, Nevada, Montana, North Dakota, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Surprising Fact</h2>



<p>A full moon in November is known as the “beaver moon” because it marks the period when beavers take shelter for the winter,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.almanac.com/full-moon-november" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">according</a>&nbsp;to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. It also represented the time when hunters laid traps for beavers to acquire their winter pelts. The “beaver moon” follows October’s “hunter’s moon,” which signals the beginning of the hunting season, and the “harvest moon,” marking when harvesters can begin reaping their crops.</p>


Sandton City in the evening with the super blue moon

Last Supermoon Of 2024 Emerges This Week—Here’s What To Know About The ‘Beaver’ Moon


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The billionaire founder of Telegram is offering to pay for the in vitro fertilization process of medically eligible women who are interested in having a baby using his sperm at a fertility clinic in Moscow, the latest billionaire to speak openly about his desire to widely reproduce.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/pavel-durov/?list=rtb/">Pavel Durov</a>, worth an estimated $15.5 billion as of Tuesday, is offering to cover the cost of IVF treatment for interested, healthy women under the age of 38 who will use his sperm to have a baby using the Altra Vita IVF clinic, which claims it has the exclusive right to store and use his biomaterial.</p>



<p>The clinic&nbsp;<a href="https://altravita-ivf.com/free-ivf-with-pavel-durov-donated-sperm.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">describes</a>&nbsp;the offer as &#8220;a very generous contribution to society&#8221; from &#8220;one of the most famous and successful entrepreneurs of our time.&#8221;</p>



<p>In July,&nbsp;<a href="https://t.me/durov/339" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Durov said</a>&nbsp;he&#8217;s had more than 100 biological children in 12 countries via sperm bank donations he&#8217;s made over the last 15 years, and announced his plan to &#8220;open-source my DNA so that my biological children can find each other more easily.&#8221;</p>



<p>He said he was once told by someone at an IVF clinic it was his &#8220;civic duty&#8221; to donate sperm to help couples trying to conceive, and said he now wants to &#8220;destigmatize&#8221; the notion of sperm donation and encourage more healthy men to do so.</p>



<p>He also has five children with two ex-girlfriends.</p>



<p>Durov was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/08/26/officials-confirm-arrest-of-billionaire-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-in-france-heres-what-we-know/">arrested in France</a>&nbsp;in August and has been forbidden to leave the country as authorities investigate charges of enabling criminal activity on his messaging app, including claims he allowed drug trafficking, fraud and the sharing of child pornography.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Durov, 40, and his older brother developed Telegram, a secure messaging app with more than&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/08/26/officials-confirm-arrest-of-billionaire-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-in-france-heres-what-we-know/">950 million</a>&nbsp;users, in 2013. He left his home country of Russia—where Telegram was banned from 2018 to 2021—after refusing to provide encrypted data on users of the first social networking site he founded, called VKontakte. He became a French citizen in 2021 but lived in Dubai, where he was once the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/billionaires/world-billionaires/meet-pavel-durov-the-richest-and-youngest-billionaire-living-in-the-middle-east" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">youngest and richest</a>&nbsp;billionaire in the Middle East, until his August arrest.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/08/26/officials-confirm-arrest-of-billionaire-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-in-france-heres-what-we-know/">His arrest</a>&nbsp;is part of an investigation into Telegram’s content moderation practices and comes amid claims the app has not properly cooperated with law enforcement when the app is used for criminal activity, particularly child sex crimes. A month after his arrest,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/sep/23/telegram-illegal-content-pavel-durov-arrest" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Durov said</a>&nbsp;Telegram had removed “problematic content” and would take a more proactive approach going forward in complying with government requests.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Durov isn’t the only high-profile sperm donor who’s been open about his desire to widely reproduce. Last year, courts had to order Dutch crypto investor and YouTuber&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/04/29/dutch-court-orders-superdonor-to-stop-donating-sperm_6024754_4.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Jonathan Meijer</a>&nbsp;to stop donating sperm after he was suspected of fathering more than 550 children. Kyle Gordy, who was featured in the documentary &#8220;The Man with 1000 Kids,&#8221; told Netflix he thinks he has about 70 children via sperm donation. Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has 10 children with three different women, at least&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexzhavoronkov/2022/07/27/elon-musk-and-other-billionaires-make-their-babies-via-ivf-and-surrogatesis-it-a-future-of-reproduction/">five of which</a>&nbsp;were conceived using IVF. He has said that he believes in vitro fertilization is a more efficient way to have children, and has called a collapsing birth rate the &#8220;biggest danger civilization faces by far.” Billionaire and president-elect Donald Trump earlier this year said he would support public funding for in vitro fertilization or mandate it be covered by insurance, which could broaden the use of procedures that can currently cost tens of thousands of dollars.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forbes-valuation">Forbes Valuation</h2>



<p>Durov was ranked as the 141st richest person in the world Tuesday with a net worth of $15.5 billion.</p>


Telegram Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov

Billionaire Pavel Durov Offering Free IVF To Women Willing To Have His Baby


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday ruled in favor of oil giant Shell and overturned a landmark 2021 ruling by a lower court that ordered the company to sharply reduce its carbon emissions by the end of this decade, a major blow to activists pursuing legal measures to force companies to act on climate change.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>Shell had filed an appeal against the 2021 ruling, which ordered the company to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 45% compared to its 2019 levels by 2030; the ruling covered emissions both from its operations and the fossil fuels it sold.</p>



<p>In its&nbsp;<a href="https://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/details?id=ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2024:2099" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">verdict</a>, the Hague Court of Appeal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/Gerechtshoven/Gerechtshof-Den-Haag/Nieuws/Paginas/Hague-court-denies-claim-for-reduction-in-Shells-CO2-emissions.aspx" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ruled</a>&nbsp;that while Shell was obliged to reduce its carbon emissions, there is “insufficient consensus in climate science on a specific reduction percentage to which an individual company like Shell should adhere.”</p>



<p>The court noted the company is already working to reduce its so-called scope 1 and 2 emissions, which include emissions from its operations, but said it would be ineffective to force Shell to reduce its scope 3 emissions, which cover emissions from the fuel it sells.</p>



<p>The court said while Shell could, in theory, meet its Scope 3 target by ceasing or cutting trade in fossil fuels, other companies “would then take over that trade” and this “would consequently not result in a reduction in CO2 emissions.”</p>



<p>The court, however, acknowledged Shell has an obligation to limit its carbon emissions based on the “human right to protection against dangerous climate change.”</p>



<p>Tuesday’s ruling can be challenged before the Dutch Supreme Court, but it is unclear if the plaintiffs plan to do so.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">Crucial Quote</h2>



<p>Shell CEO Wael Sawan welcomed the ruling in a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.shell.com/news-and-insights/newsroom/news-and-media-releases/2024/shell-welcomes-dutch-court-of-appeal-ruling.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">statement</a>, saying: “We are pleased with the court’s decision, which we believe is the right one for the global energy transition, the Netherlands and our company…Our target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of Shell’s strategy and is transforming our business. This includes continuing our work to halve emissions from our operations by 2030.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chief-critic">Chief Critic</h2>



<p>The Friends of the Earth Netherlands, the environmental activist collective that backed the case against Shell, along with 17,000 Dutch citizens, was “shocked” by the ruling. The group’s Director Donald Pols&nbsp;<a href="https://www.foei.org/?p=39110&amp;preview=true&amp;_thumbnail_id=39115" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">said</a>: “We are shocked by today’s judgment. It is a setback for us, for the climate movement and for millions of people around the world who worry about their future…Large polluters are powerful. But united, we as people have the power to change them.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx240l9xq2yo" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Shell wins landmark climate case against green groups in Dutch appeal</a>&nbsp;(BBC)</p>


Shell Posts Quarterly Profits

Shell Wins Appeal Against Landmark Ruling That Ordered It To Slash 45% Of Its Emissions By 2030


<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



<p>The price of Bitcoin breached $82,000 for the first time ever early on Monday, continuing its post-election bull run as President-elect Donald Trump has promised to bolster the industry while several pro-crypto candidates won down-ballot races.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



<p>The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency hit an all-time high of $82,197 in early Monday trading, up more than 19.5% compared to last week.</p>



<p>Bitcoin breached the $80,000 mark for the first time on Sunday after a big weekend rally—breaking the election night high of $75,000.</p>



<p>The price of Ether—the second most valuable crypto token—has risen by an even biggest 28.7% over the past week to $3,165.</p>



<p>Other popular crypto tokens including Dogecoin, Solana’s SOL and Binance’s BNB have also surged in value in the past week—with volatile and popular meme coin DOGE’s price rising by 83%.</p>



<p>The crypto price boom has led to surge in the share price of related stocks like Coinbase—whose price has surged 50% in the past five days and is up another 15.6% in pre-market trading early on Monday to $312.92.</p>



<p>Trump is expected to usher in a new wave of crypto-friendly policies with ease after Republicans flipped control of the Senate Tuesday and are on the brink of maintaining their majority in the House.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-high-could-bitcoin-prices-by-the-end-of-this-year">How High Could Bitcoin Prices By The End Of This Year?</h2>



<p>While&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/11/04/heres-where-analysts-expect-bitcoin-prices-will-head-under-harris-and-trump/">estimates have varied</a>&nbsp;slightly, most analysts agreed a Trump win would lead to a boom in cryptocurrency prices. Bernstein analysts led by Gautam Chhugani said Bitcoin can rise to $80,000 to $90,000 over the next two months if the “pro-crypto candidate” Trump won. Last month, Standard Chartered analyst Geoff Kendrick wrote he expects Bitcoin to hit $125,000 by the end of the year in the event of a Trump win.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



<p>Trump has embraced the crypto industry as a counter to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s stricter regulatory approach under President Joe Biden, vowing to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet.” Trump’s pro-crypto stance marks a reverse course from his previous skepticism of the industry, which&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57392734" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">he called</a>&nbsp;a “scam” and a disaster waiting to happen in 2021. Trump has vowed “to keep 100% of all the bitcoin the U.S. government currently holds or acquires into the future,” he told an audience at a bitcoin conference in Nashville in July, and he has repeatedly promised to “fire” SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who has taken more than 100 regulatory actions against crypto during his tenure, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/06/trump-claims-presidential-win-here-is-what-he-promised-the-crypto-industry-ahead-of-the-election.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">CNBC</a>. Trump earned endorsements from crypto leaders, including billionaires Marc Andreessen, Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, while Vice President-elect, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is a longtime bitcoin investor. Trump and his campaign have also personally invested in digital currency—Trump’s joint fundraising committee began accepting donations via Coinbase in May, and he debuted his own family&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/09/16/trump-used-to-think-crypto-was-a-scam---now-hes-launching-his-own-crypto-platform-run-by-his-sons/">cryptocurrency platform</a>, World Liberty Financial, in September.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-news-peg">News Peg</h2>



<p>The crypto industry was the largest corporate donor in the 2024 election cycle, according to a report by the progressive consumer advocacy group,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.citizen.org/article/big-crypto-big-spending-2024/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Public Citizen</a>, which found donations from the industry accounted for 44% of all corporate money contributed as of August. The vast majority of the money was funneled through the super PAC Fairshake and two affiliated super PACs, Defend American Jobs, which backs Republicans, and the pro-Democrat Protect Progress. The groups—financed primarily by crypto companies Coinbase and Ripple—spent a combined $135 million supporting industry-friendly candidates in federal races, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/06/technology/crypto-industry-spending-election.html" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">The New York Times.</a>&nbsp;The investment appears to have paid off: as of Sunday, 268 pro-crypto candidates had been elected to the House and 19 in the Senate, according to the non-profit,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.standwithcrypto.org/races" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Stand With Crypto</a>, compared to 122 newly elected House members and 12 senators it deems “anti-crypto.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



<p>Aside from Trump, one of the biggest wins for the crypto industry came in the Ohio Senate race, where blockchain entrepreneur and GOP candidate Bernie Moreno defeated incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown served as the chair of the Senate Banking Committee and was a vocal opponent of efforts to loosen cryptocurrencies-related regulations. Coinbase CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong reacted to the result of the Ohio Senate race by&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/brian_armstrong/status/1854029871040835614" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">tweeting</a>, “Being anti-crypto is simply bad politics.”</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/11/04/heres-where-analysts-expect-bitcoin-prices-will-head-under-harris-and-trump/">Here’s Where Analysts Expect Bitcoin Prices Will Head Under Harris And Trump</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/09/16/trump-used-to-think-crypto-was-a-scam---now-hes-launching-his-own-crypto-platform-run-by-his-sons/">Trump Used To Think Crypto Was A &#8216;Scam&#8217; — Now He&#8217;s Launching His Own Crypto Platform Run By His Sons</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)</p>



<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/05/21/trump-campaign-now-accepts-crypto-donations/">Trump Campaign Now Accepts Crypto Donations</a> (Forbes)<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/"></a></p>


Key Speakers At The Bitcoin 2024 Conference

Bitcoin Crosses $82,000 For The First Time—Boosted By Trump’s Win


<p><strong>The FBI has been notified of evidence of hacking on the iPhones of two senior officials at one of the presidential campaigns. Sources say the agency is pursuing a lead related to a Chinese hacking group.</strong></p>



<p>The FBI is investigating whether China used its access to American telecoms networks to infect the iPhones of senior staff of a U.S. presidential campaign, according to a cybersecurity expert involved in protecting the officials’ devices.</p>



<p>Rocky Cole, the founder of mobile security startup iVerify, told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>&nbsp;his company’s software flagged anomalous behavior on two iPhones that belonged to senior officials for one of the presidential campaigns. He declined to specify which one.</p>



<p>Cole, a former NSA analyst and Google employee, said iVerify detected settings on staff iPhones were changed “in patterns that are not observed on healthy devices.” Previously, mobile malware developed by government hacking groups have changed settings in the same manner, he said. “That does not mean the devices were definitively compromised, but this information combined with who owned the devices and the timelines of the events were enough to merit a robust investigation, which is ongoing,” Cole told&nbsp;<em>Forbes</em>.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>“The Trump administration will need to hit the ground running on countering the recent uptick in cyber activity.”Chris Krebs, former CISA director</p>
</blockquote>



<p>The FBI confirmed to Cole that one of the impacted iPhones belonged to a target of a Chinese cyber espionage group referred to as Salt Typhoon, he said. According to reports in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/chinese-hackers-targeted-phones-of-trump-vance-and-harris-campaign-e04abbdf?mod=article_inline" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><em>Wall Street Journal</em></a><em>,&nbsp;</em>a number of telecoms giants including AT&amp;T and Verizon had their networks breached by Salt Typhoon, a unit believed to work on behalf of China’s state security service. The paper cited various sources with knowledge of the matter, who claimed the attackers targeted the communications of President Trump, his running mate JD Vance and individuals working on the president Kamala Harris campaign. Neither the Harris nor Trump campaigns responded to requests for comment.</p>



<p>“The timeline of the anomalous behavior aligned with Salt Typhoon&#8217;s behavior within the Verizon network,” said Cole. “We have to assume China would do more with their position on the Verizon infrastructure than simply listen to phone calls. It&#8217;s an attractive position for deeper exploitation of adjacent networks and devices. For that reason, there is an ongoing investigation to determine whether those devices were actually breached.” His company was tasked with protecting officials’ iPhones through its work with the Defending Digital Campaigns nonpartisan nonprofit, which provides candidates and staff with access to free cybersecurity tools.</p>



<p>If the FBI finds a candidate or one of their staff had their iPhones hacked, it would be a significant breach. Infecting a smartphone allows for wider access to information on a target compared to what would be compromised via telecoms networks. Such malware would potentially have access to the phone’s microphone, calls and texts, encrypted communications, such as messages sent over WhatsApp and Signal, and to more private information stored on health and dating apps, as well as detailed location information.</p>



<p>Apple declined to comment. Neither the FBI nor Verizon responded to requests for comment.</p>



<p>Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C., denied it was behind any attacks on the U.S. and had “no<strong><em>&nbsp;</em></strong>intention and will not interfere in the U.S. election,” adding, “In recent years, the U.S. has compiled and spread all kinds of disinformation about the so-called Chinese hacking threats. Such allegations are full of malicious speculations against China, which China firmly opposes.”</p>



<p>American officials and cyber experts believe China is a major cyber threat facing the U.S. Chris Krebs, former chief of the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said China should be a top priority for the incoming Trump administration. In November 2020, Trump fired Krebs on Twitter after the ex-CISA head declared that year’s election legitimate and safe from outside influence.</p>



<p>“Given China’s increasingly aggressive behavior in multiple domains, the Trump administration will need to hit the ground running on countering the recent uptick in cyber activity,” said Krebs. “They’ll also need to continue evaluating offensive cyber options… The stakes are crystal clear: China is preparing for war, are we?”</p>


Forbes

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