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“Uluslararası Dedikodu Örgütü’nün (IGO) bir üyesiyim.” İlber Ortaylı’nın mizahının ardındaki deha ne? Hangi sentez onu bu kadar ayrıksı kılıyor? Cevap Focus Point Podcast’te 👇 🎬 ytbe.app/go/7tBbsnGe #focustv #focuspoint #ilberortaylı #tarih #podcast #kültür

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🚕 Taxi Chaos 2 (REVIEW): Bastante caótico, mas...interessante! 🚦 Confira nossa análise (fornecido pela @OverloadComms): wdnbr.com/2026/02/taxi-chaos… • Distribuído pela @currentgamers e @Curveball_Games • Produzido pela Focuspoint Studios, @webcoregames (estúdio brasileiro) etc.

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Markets, Cryptos and Biz January 1, 2026 Sydney, Australia to Wall St, New York Digital Bush Telegraph ASX 200 futures down 31 points/0.4% to 8676 AUD -0.3% to US66.72¢ Bitcoin $87,591.22 -0.86% Wall St: Dow -0.6% S&P -0.7% Nasdaq -0.8% VIX 0.62 to 14.95 Gold -0.6% to $US4308.81 an ounce Brent oil -0.8% to $US60.85 a barrel Iron ore -0.3% to $US105.05 a tonne 10-year yield: US 4.17% Australia 4.73% Crypto BNB $863.61 -0.33% XRP $1.8383 -1.82% Dogecoin $0.1175 -4.56% News Silver stirs up the markets Precious metal sell-offs shake investors Donald Trump renews criticism of the Fed While major global currencies, led by the US dollar, are recovering very slowly after Christmas, the precious metals market has been rocked by a real thriller. Silver and other assets in the sector have plummeted. For XAGUSD, the fall was the largest since the beginning of 2021. The trigger was an increase in CME margin requirements for related futures contracts. This forced speculators to take profits and triggered a pullback. Silver saw a record rally in 2025. The 150% increase is significantly higher than that of gold and other assets in the sector. At the same time, the white metal is still far from the inflation-adjusted price record set in 1980. To return to that level, silver would have to cost $200 per ounce today. ETF stocks have grown by 150 million ounces this year, but are still far from the highs recorded in 2021. The ratio to gold also has room to fall. Speculators have used these arguments to justify the need for further purchases of XAGUSD. There is indeed serious competition between the US, Europe and Asia in the physical asset market. This is due to the risks of Washington imposing tariffs on silver imports after adding it to the list of critical minerals. However, the silver rally looks too rapid and resembles a bubble, and it is quite possible that it may have burst. After the CME raised margin requirements in February 2021, the white metal collapsed by 43% over 18 months. Other assets in the sector are following silver. Despite the post-Christmas sell-off, gold is heading for its second-best performance in a year in history. The first was in 1979. The XAUUSD pullback does not look like a burst bubble. The US economy risks slowing down in 2026, and the Fed may accelerate the cycle of monetary policy easing, especially under pressure from the White House. Donald Trump is back to his old ways. The US president said he would gladly fire Jerome Powell as Fed chairman. He said that Powell was too slow to cut interest rates. At the same time, the US administration does not rule out filing a lawsuit against the head of the central bank for incompetence due to excessive spending on renovating the Fed's headquarters. The White House wants to make room in the FOMC for the ‘doves’. This increases the risks of a weakening US dollar. News Tech Stock News Technology stocks, especially those tied to AI, again dominated the market. But leadership shifted to the shares of companies associated with data — from storage to the building, heating and cooling of data centers. Hyperscalers like Microsoft (MSFT) Corp., Amazon.com (AMZN) Inc., Alphabet (GOOG) Inc. and Meta Platforms (META) Inc. have pledged to spend more than $440 billion over the next 12 months to build out AI capabilities, benefiting firms such as Sandisk (SNDK) Corp., Western Digital (WDC) Corp. and Seagate Technology Holdings Plc (STX), which were three of the four best performing stocks in the S&P 500. News Flashback Yesterday The Lead Up December 2025 Dec 31 Sydney, Australia to Wall St, New York Digital Bush Telegraph Last Day Of The Year Edition! Markets ASX 200 futures down 6 points/0.1% to 8701 AUD 0.01% to US66.95¢ Bitcoin $88,370.39 1.37% Wall St: Dow -0.2% S&P -0.1% Nasdaq -0.2% VIX 0.16 to 14.36 Gold 0.4% to $US4348.71 an ounce Silver 8.2% to $US76.30/oz Brent oil -0.03% to $US61.92 a barrel Iron ore -0.1% to $US105.70 a tonne 10-year yield: US 4.12% Australia 4.74% News The Lead Up Cryptos Bitcoin $88,370.39 1.37% XRP $1.8738 1.15% BNB $860.21 1.11% Dogecoin $0.1229 0.07% News The Lead Up Shares Media Man Favs TKO $214.17 -1.94 -0.90% Alphabet Inc Class A $313.85 0.29 0.092% Netflix Inc $93.78 -0.37 -0.39% Paramount Skydance Corp $13.51 0.0100 0.074% Porsche Automobile Holding SE Unsponsored Germany ADR $4.64 0.040 0.87% Mercedes Benz Group ADR $17.67 0.13 0.74% Volvo ADR (Owner/Parent of Mack Trucks) $32.10 0.13 Today 0.42% Formula One Group Series A $89.26 0.42 0.47% Microsoft Corp $487.53 0.43 0.088% Meta Platforms Inc $666.01 7.32 1.11% Madison Square Garden Sports Corp $259.74 1.79 0.69% Imax Corp $37.24 -0.21 -0.56% News Corp Class A $26.39 0.14 0.53% CoStar Group Inc $67.86 0.26 0.38% eBay Inc $87.10 -0.64 -0.73% PayPal Holdings Inc $59.10 -0.39 -0.66% Wynn Resorts Ltd $120.33 -1.94 -1.59% Rio Tinto Ltd $146.77 -0.24 - 0.16% (ASX) BHP Group Ltd $60.92 0.53 0.88% Hancock & Gore Ltd $0.22 Mineral Resources Ltd $54.33 -0.13% Evolution Mining Ltd $8.41 -0.34 -3.91% Caterpillar Inc $577.39 -1.22 -0.21% Tesla Inc $454.43 -5.21 -1.13% Trump Media & Technology Group Corp $12.57 -0.59 -4.48% Gold.com Inc $33.45 0.030 0.090% Amazon.com Inc $232.53 0.46 0.20% News Lead Up 24 Hours Ago Dec 30 Sydney, Australia to Wall St, New York Digital Bush Telegraph Markets ASX 200 futures pointing down 6 points/0.1% to 8711 AUD -0.3% to US66.93¢ Bitcoin $87,218.84 -0.73% Wall St: Dow -0.5% S&P -0.4% Nasdaq -0.5% VIX 0.59 to 14.19 Gold -4.4% to $US4335.01 an ounce Silver -6.8% to $US71.94/oz Platinum -13.8% to $US2118.03/oz Brent oil 1.8% to $US61.75 a barrel Iron ore 1.3% to $US106.05 a tonne 10-year yield: US 4.11% Australia 4.75% Cryptos Bitcoin $87,218.84 -0.73% XRP $1.8529 -0.70% BNB $852.81 -0.71% Dogecoin $0.1231 -0.64% Stockmarket US Stock Market Overview (as of late December 2025) The US stock market is in a strong bull run heading into the final days of 2025, with major indices near all-time highs and on track for a robust year-end close. Trading volume has been light post-holidays, but sentiment remains positive amid resilient economic growth, AI-driven gains, and expectations of a "Santa Claus rally" (the seasonal uptrend in the last five trading days of the year and first two of the next). Key Index Levels (from the most recent close on December 26, 2025) S&P 500 — Closed at approximately 6,930 (down slightly that day but hit an intraday high near 6,946). Up nearly 18% year-to-date, with the index eyeing the psychological 7,000 milestone in the coming sessions. Dow Jones Industrial Average — Closed at around 48,711 (fractionally lower), up solidly for the year. Nasdaq Composite — Closed near 23,593, up about 22% YTD, led by tech and AI stocks Markets were closed on December 27 (weekend) and reopen on December 29 for the last few trading days of 2025. Expect thin liquidity and potential for modest moves as investors position for 2026. Broader Context 2025 has been a resilient year despite challenges like early tariff impacts, AI spending concerns, and Fed rate adjustments (benchmark now at 3.50%-3.75%). Tech and AI names (e.g., Nvidia crossing $5T market cap) have dominated, but there's been rotation into cyclicals, materials, and foreign equities. Precious metals like gold and silver are at historic highs amid safe-haven demand. Wall Street forecasts for 2026 are bullish, with many targeting S&P 500 levels between 7,100–8,100. However, history suggests potential pullbacks after strong years, so caution on overvaluation is advised. (Grok) News Dec 24 Precious metals rewarded for success The US dollar is falling as a safe-haven asset amid growing risk appetite. Gold is performing well, but other assets in the sector are looking even better. GDP growth of 4.3% in the third quarter did not help the US dollar. It would seem that the strength of the economy, the rise in Treasury bond yields and the decline in the likelihood of the Fed easing monetary policy in March to less than 50% should have cooled the hot heads of the EURUSD bulls. However, greed reigns supreme in the financial markets. The S&P 500 closed at a record high, which had a negative impact on the USD index. Donald Trump was encouraged by the success of the US economy, citing tariffs as the main reason. The president said that the new Fed chairman would cut rates if the market was performing well. Investors should be rewarded for their success. Support from the White House is helping US stock indices, improving global risk appetite and reducing demand for the dollar as a safe-haven asset. In such conditions, high-yield currencies feel most at home. The British pound reached a three-month high against the greenback, and the Australian dollar reached a 14-month high. After the Reserve Bank signalled the end of the monetary policy easing cycle, the futures market began to price in expectations of a cash rate hike in 2026. By Christmas, the start date for monetary tightening had shifted to June, which created a tailwind for AUDUSD. Investors in a Bloomberg survey see the Bank of England's neutral rate at 3.25% and estimate the chances of it falling to 3% in 2026 as fifty-fifty. They are more dovish than the BoE. At their December meeting, Andrew Bailey and his colleagues opted for caution, which supported GBPUSD. Meanwhile, gold has broken through the psychologically important level of $4,500 per ounce. JP Morgan forecasts XAUUSD to rise to 5,000 by the end of 2026 and estimates the scale of bullion purchases by central banks and retail investors at 585 tonnes per quarter. According to the bank, every 100 tonnes above the base 350 tonnes leads to a 2% increase in precious metal prices. Gold has already gained more than 70% in value in 2025 and is heading for its best performance since 1979. Other assets in the precious metals sector are growing even faster. Prices for silver, platinum and palladium have more than doubled this year. Along with strong investment demand, fears about the introduction of US import duties are playing into their hands. (FxPro) News Dec 29 A confident Euro and a vulnerable Yen Rapid GDP growth in the eurozone has helped EURUSD. USDJPY risks rising to 164. Christmas week turned out to be the worst for the US dollar since June. Falling Treasury yields and new S&P 500 records caused the USD index to retreat. The chances of the Fed easing monetary policy in March rose above 50% again, and there is active discussion in Forex about the new Fed chair. Historically, central bank chiefs have had a significant influence on the FOMC. Donald Trump's man could bring down interest rates and the greenback. However, the Fed is not a one-man show. Decisions are made collectively based on incoming data. The longer the pause in the monetary expansion cycle lasts, the higher the chances of a correction in the EURUSD to an upward trend. In this case, the yield differential between US and German bonds will remain wide. Money will flow from Europe to the United States, strengthening the dollar.   In the medium term, monetary policy divergence and a narrowing gap in GDP growth could play in favour of the euro. Financial Times experts expect the eurozone economy to expand by 1.2% in 2026 and 1.4% in 2027. In 2025, it will grow by 1.4%, significantly more than the 0.9% forecast at the end of 2024. Faster economic growth in the currency bloc has been one of the key drivers of the EURUSD's 13.5% rally this year. Another trump card for the euro has been the divergence in monetary policy. Financial Times experts believe that the ECB's deposit rate will remain at 2% until the end of 2026 and rise to 2.25% in 2027. The futures market expects two acts of monetary expansion from the Fed next year. The narrowing of the spread between US and German bond yields is a strong argument in favour of maintaining the upward trend in EURUSD. Meanwhile, the number of yen bears is growing after the Bank of Japan failed to bring about a serious correction in USDJPY by raising the overnight rate in December. BNP Paribas forecasts the pair to rise to 160 by the end of 2026, while JP Morgan forecasts 164. The strengthening of the greenback has caused gold to retreat from record highs. The precious metal is heading for its best annual performance since 1979. Since the beginning of the year, it has risen by more than 70%, partly due to capital inflows into ETFs. The reserves of the largest specialised exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, have increased by more than 20%. News Dec 29 Miners and Metals Nickel price jumps as Indonesia signals big production cut Nickel prices are at a seven-month high after Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer, signalled plans to cut supply of the metal in a Christmas gift for struggling Australian miners who have been shuttering projects. The rising prices came after Indonesian media reported Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia had confirmed plans for unspecified production cuts. A group representing Indonesian nickel miners this month said it expected Jakarta to enforce a 34 per cent cut in volumes next year. While the size of the cuts has not been finalised, the comments suggest the worst could be over for miners after a two-and-a-half year period in which prices for the metal were crushed by excess production in Indonesia. Nickel was a fashionable commodity for investors between 2017 and 2022 on expectations that demand would rise in line with the metal’s use in the batteries used in electric vehicles. Prices reached $US30,000 a tonne in late 2022, but a wave of Indonesian supply emerged in 2023 as new technology allowed low-grade material to be cheaply processed into top quality metal. The extra supply pushed nickel prices below $US20,000 since mid-2023, forcing Australian miners like BHP and Panoramic Resources to mothball their Western Australian mines, refineries and smelters. The price had slumped to $US14,110 a tonne at the London Metal Exchange on December 16, but has rallied to $US15,430 after reports of Indonesian production cuts. The price had not been above $US15,400 since May. The recovery could help BHP’s nickel assets just 14 months before a self-imposed deadline to decide whether they should be permanently closed. BHP mothballed the assets last year in the belief the supply surge was a structural change to nickel markets, and not merely a cyclical one. BHP announced at its August half-year results that it would attempt to sell the assets, but finding a buyer has proved difficult given the enormous rehabilitation obligations attached to them. If a buyer cannot be found, BHP will permanently shut the nickel division in February 2027. Another potential winner from a nickel price recovery would be businessman Duncan Saville, whose companies control the mothballed Savannah mine in WA. The mine closures have seen Australian exports slump from about 180,000 tonnes in 2017 to 81,000 tonnes this year. The Industry Department provided a gloomy outlook for the sector in a report published on December 19, predicting prices would stay low, and export volumes would fall further as IGO Limited prepared for the Nova-Bollinger nickel mine in WA to reach the end of its working life. Closure of Nova would leave Glencore’s Murrin Murrin operation as the last remaining major nickel mine in the country. Industry Department economists predicted Australia will ship just 49,000 tonnes of nickel in 2027; down 73 per cent in a decade. Batteries account for about 16 per cent of global nickel demand, with the stainless-steel sector still buying about 63 per cent of the world’s nickel. Fitch predicts nickel prices will average $US16,000 a tonne in 2026. Silver continues to soar Signs of recovery in nickel prices come as silver prices have soared. The precious metal was fetching $US28.83 an ounce on the final trading day of 2024, but soared to a record high $US79.27 on Boxing Day 2025. Financial markets have traditionally used gold prices to determine an appropriate price for silver, and the rally in silver prices is partly linked to the earlier rally in gold prices over the last 12 months. Very few mines are primarily focused on silver production, with the metal typically occurring as a byproduct at mines that are focused on copper, zinc or lead. Australia’s biggest silver producers include South32’s Cannington mine in Queensland, Glencore’s Mount Isa hub and BHP’s Olympic Dam. Iltani Resources, an ASX-listed miner exploring for silver, zinc, lead and indium near Herberton in Queensland, is one producer that has seen its share price jump more than 200 per cent alongside the silver rally. “It puts us in a really good position to hit 2026 with a really aggressive drill program,” said Iltani managing director Donald Garner. (AFR). *Full article and coverage via The Australian Financial Review News VC/Sports Biz/Tech News Jake & Logan Paul Announce $30M Venture Fund Backing AI, Robotics Startups Anti Fund, co-founded by YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and entrepreneur Geoffrey Woo, closed its oversubscribed $30 million Anti Fund I on December 3, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to more than $65 million. The firm named influencer and WWE star Logan Paul as a general partner, marking the first time the Paul brothers have become business partners. According to a press release, the venture capital firm concentrates its investments in artificial intelligence and robotics companies. Anti Fund focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, as well as select growth-stage industry leaders. The portfolio includes OpenAI, Anduril, Ramp, Cognition, Polymarket, Flock Safety, and Physical Intelligence. Investment Strategy Anti Fund employs what it calls an “extreme barbell strategy,” making first checks of $100,000 to $500,000 for 10% ownership in technical founders, while also deploying $10 million or more in growth investments into industry leaders. The fund’s limited partners include institutional investors Aquarian Holdings and Autilus Partners, as well as individual investors Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon. Focuspoint Private Capital Group served as the exclusive placement agent for the fund. Founder Background Woo holds a bachelor’s degree with honors and distinction in computer science from Stanford and has co-authored numerous U.S. patents and peer-reviewed scientific papers. Jake Paul built his career as a professional boxer and entrepreneur. Logan Paul founded PRIME, a beverage brand, and performs as a professional wrestler. “Jake, what I realized is that he is essentially an avatar of the American dream, and I think Logan, in a very similar parallel sense, also represents that,” Woo said in an interview with FOX Business. “When Jake named Anti Fund, I think we all share the same belief, that the people that create the future are the crazy ones that believe they can do it.” Business Philosophy The firm positions itself as founder-friendly, emphasizing what it calls the intersection of capital and attention. While capital remains a commodity, Anti Fund leverages the Paul brothers’ cultural influence to source founders and accelerate portfolio company growth. Jake Paul discussed his long-standing interest in venture capital, noting he met with companies including Google, Uber, and Twitter in Silicon Valley as a teenager.“ Not only are we investors, but we can disrupt Logan with PRIME, me with W, Betr is always in the top five in the App Store is absolutely crushing it,” Paul told FOX. “And these are companies that we’ve incubated ourselves, because if no one else is building it and we see a hole in the market, we can hire the best teams and grow and scale these companies in a major way.” Anti Fund has incubated and funded several of Jake Paul’s business ventures, including W and Betr Media. Rudy Sahay, founder and managing partner of Aquarian Holdings, said the fund closing “validates the confidence investors have in their strategy” and noted the firm “carved out a unique position at the intersection of frontier technologies and culture.” Best Quotes Cryptocurrency, Finance and World "Volatility is Satoshi’s gift to the faithful." - Michael Saylor "Bitcoin is a tool for freeing humanity from oligarchs and tyrants, dressed up as a get-rich-quick scheme." — Naval Ravikant "We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error." — Tyler Winklevoss "You can't stop things like Bitcoin. It will be everywhere, and the world will have to readjust. World governments will have to readjust." — John McAfee "Bitcoin is the most important invention in the history of the world since the Internet." — Roger Ver "Cryptocurrency is such a powerful concept that it can almost overturn governments." — Charles Lee "In the future, national currencies will become obsolete. Bitcoin will become the single global currency." — Jack Dorsey "The future of finance is crypto, whether it’s in payments, contracts, or savings." — Changpeng Zhao "Crypto offers freedom to the unbanked and hope to the underprivileged." — Elizabeth Stark "The new frontier of innovation is in decentralization. Blockchain leads the charge." — Don Tapscott "Digital currency is here to stay, and it’s only a matter of how long before governments embrace it." — Brad Garlinghouse Pop Culture Dream Matches: Fantasy Booking Santa vs Grinch Bulls vs Bears Crypto King vs Mr World Bank Citizens vs NWO Neo vs Agent Smith John McAfee vs You Know Who! TKO vs Naysayers Jake Paul, Polymarket and BETR vs Naysayers Pro Boxing vs Newspaper Reports VKM vs The World Paul Bros vs Mainstream Wokes Mr X vs Mr Bluesky News Lead Up 24 hours ago News Media Man Favs TKO $216.11 -1.33 -0.61% Alphabet Inc Class A $313.56 0.050 0.016% Netflix Inc $94.15 -0.32 -0.34% Paramount Skydance Corp $13.50 -0.090 -0.66% Porsche Automobile Holding SE Unsponsored Germany ADR $4.60 -0.040 0.86% Mercedes Benz Group ADR $17.54 0.11 0.63% News Awards Google Finance wins Media Man 'Business News Website Of The Month'; Runner-up: Yahoo! Finance The Australian Financial Review wins Media Man 'Newspaper Of The Year' award (2025) Sky News Australia wins Media Man 'Australian Based News Outlet Of The Year' award TKO Group wins Media Man 'Entertainment Promoter Of The Year' award Netflix wins Media Man 'Streaming Service Of The Year' award Mack Trucks wins Media Man 'Truck Brand Of The Year' award Caterpillar wis Media Man 'Heavy Equipment Brand Of The Year' award X and YouTube Tie for Media Man 'Platform Of The Year' award Media Man Int BTC mediamanint.com/btc.html Bulls And Bears mediamanint.com/bulls_and.ht… News mediamanint.com/news.html Best Quotes Of The Day mediamanint.com/best_quotes.… Biz mediamanint.com/biz.html Newsfeed mediamanint.com/newsfeed.htm… Media Man Group mediamanint.com/media_man.ht… Sponsors: Shop with crypto at Crypto Luxury Store mediamanint.com/articles/sho… Sponsors mediamanint.com/sponsorships… Media Man News Blog mediamannews.blogspot.com/ #Market #Markets #Stockmarket #Sharemarket #ASX #Futures #Index #Commodities #BTC #Bitcoin #Gold #GoldPrice #Oil #AI #Mining #Energy #Commodities #Ether #Tether #XRP #BNB #Solana #USDCoin #Dogecoin #DOGE #Block #Blockchain #VC #Mag7 #trends #trends #buzz #watercooler #Biz #BitcoinNewsMedia #Casino #News #PopCulture #Media #MediaMan #XMarkets #XCrypto #XBiz #HNY #Christmas #Santa #SantaClaus #SantaClausRally #Grinch #Xmas

Markets, Cryptos and Biz December 2025 Dec 31 Sydney, Australia to Wall St, New York Digital Bush Telegraph Last Day Of The Year Edition! Markets ASX 200 futures down 6 points/0.1% to 8701 AUD 0.01% to US66.95¢ Bitcoin $88,370.39 1.37% Wall St: Dow -0.2% S&P -0.1% Nasdaq -0.2% VIX 0.16 to 14.36 Gold 0.4% to $US4348.71 an ounce Silver 8.2% to $US76.30/oz Brent oil -0.03% to $US61.92 a barrel Iron ore -0.1% to $US105.70 a tonne 10-year yield: US 4.12% Australia 4.74% Cryptos Bitcoin $88,370.39 1.37% XRP $1.8738 1.15% BNB $860.21 1.11% Dogecoin $0.1229 0.07% Shares Media Man Favs TKO $214.17 -1.94 -0.90% Alphabet Inc Class A $313.85 0.29 0.092% Netflix Inc $93.78 -0.37 -0.39% Paramount Skydance Corp $13.51 0.0100 0.074% Porsche Automobile Holding SE Unsponsored Germany ADR $4.64 0.040 0.87% Mercedes Benz Group ADR $17.67 0.13 0.74% Volvo ADR (Owner/Parent of Mack Trucks) $32.10 0.13 Today 0.42% Formula One Group Series A $89.26 0.42 0.47% Microsoft Corp $487.53 0.43 0.088% Meta Platforms Inc $666.01 7.32 1.11% Madison Square Garden Sports Corp $259.74 1.79 0.69% Imax Corp $37.24 -0.21 -0.56% News Corp Class A $26.39 0.14 0.53% CoStar Group Inc $67.86 0.26 0.38% eBay Inc $87.10 -0.64 -0.73% PayPal Holdings Inc $59.10 -0.39 -0.66% Wynn Resorts Ltd $120.33 -1.94 -1.59% Rio Tinto Ltd $146.77 -0.24 - 0.16% (ASX) BHP Group Ltd $60.92 0.53 0.88% Hancock & Gore Ltd $0.22 Mineral Resources Ltd $54.33 -0.13% Evolution Mining Ltd $8.41 -0.34 -3.91% Caterpillar Inc $577.39 -1.22 -0.21% Tesla Inc $454.43 -5.21 -1.13% Trump Media & Technology Group Corp $12.57 -0.59 -4.48% Gold.com Inc $33.45 0.030 0.090% Amazon.com Inc $232.53 0.46 0.20% News Lead Up 12 Hours Ago Dec 30 Sydney, Australia to Wall St, New York Digital Bush Telegraph Markets ASX 200 futures pointing down 6 points/0.1% to 8711 AUD -0.3% to US66.93¢ Bitcoin $87,218.84 -0.73% Wall St: Dow -0.5% S&P -0.4% Nasdaq -0.5% VIX 0.59 to 14.19 Gold -4.4% to $US4335.01 an ounce Silver -6.8% to $US71.94/oz Platinum -13.8% to $US2118.03/oz Brent oil 1.8% to $US61.75 a barrel Iron ore 1.3% to $US106.05 a tonne 10-year yield: US 4.11% Australia 4.75% Cryptos Bitcoin $87,218.84 -0.73% XRP $1.8529 -0.70% BNB $852.81 -0.71% Dogecoin $0.1231 -0.64% Stockmarket US Stock Market Overview (as of late December 2025) The US stock market is in a strong bull run heading into the final days of 2025, with major indices near all-time highs and on track for a robust year-end close. Trading volume has been light post-holidays, but sentiment remains positive amid resilient economic growth, AI-driven gains, and expectations of a "Santa Claus rally" (the seasonal uptrend in the last five trading days of the year and first two of the next). Key Index Levels (from the most recent close on December 26, 2025) S&P 500 — Closed at approximately 6,930 (down slightly that day but hit an intraday high near 6,946). Up nearly 18% year-to-date, with the index eyeing the psychological 7,000 milestone in the coming sessions. Dow Jones Industrial Average — Closed at around 48,711 (fractionally lower), up solidly for the year. Nasdaq Composite — Closed near 23,593, up about 22% YTD, led by tech and AI stocks Markets were closed on December 27 (weekend) and reopen on December 29 for the last few trading days of 2025. Expect thin liquidity and potential for modest moves as investors position for 2026. Broader Context 2025 has been a resilient year despite challenges like early tariff impacts, AI spending concerns, and Fed rate adjustments (benchmark now at 3.50%-3.75%). Tech and AI names (e.g., Nvidia crossing $5T market cap) have dominated, but there's been rotation into cyclicals, materials, and foreign equities. Precious metals like gold and silver are at historic highs amid safe-haven demand. Wall Street forecasts for 2026 are bullish, with many targeting S&P 500 levels between 7,100–8,100. However, history suggests potential pullbacks after strong years, so caution on overvaluation is advised. (Grok) News Dec 24 Precious metals rewarded for success The US dollar is falling as a safe-haven asset amid growing risk appetite. Gold is performing well, but other assets in the sector are looking even better. GDP growth of 4.3% in the third quarter did not help the US dollar. It would seem that the strength of the economy, the rise in Treasury bond yields and the decline in the likelihood of the Fed easing monetary policy in March to less than 50% should have cooled the hot heads of the EURUSD bulls. However, greed reigns supreme in the financial markets. The S&P 500 closed at a record high, which had a negative impact on the USD index. Donald Trump was encouraged by the success of the US economy, citing tariffs as the main reason. The president said that the new Fed chairman would cut rates if the market was performing well. Investors should be rewarded for their success. Support from the White House is helping US stock indices, improving global risk appetite and reducing demand for the dollar as a safe-haven asset. In such conditions, high-yield currencies feel most at home. The British pound reached a three-month high against the greenback, and the Australian dollar reached a 14-month high. After the Reserve Bank signalled the end of the monetary policy easing cycle, the futures market began to price in expectations of a cash rate hike in 2026. By Christmas, the start date for monetary tightening had shifted to June, which created a tailwind for AUDUSD. Investors in a Bloomberg survey see the Bank of England's neutral rate at 3.25% and estimate the chances of it falling to 3% in 2026 as fifty-fifty. They are more dovish than the BoE. At their December meeting, Andrew Bailey and his colleagues opted for caution, which supported GBPUSD. Meanwhile, gold has broken through the psychologically important level of $4,500 per ounce. JP Morgan forecasts XAUUSD to rise to 5,000 by the end of 2026 and estimates the scale of bullion purchases by central banks and retail investors at 585 tonnes per quarter. According to the bank, every 100 tonnes above the base 350 tonnes leads to a 2% increase in precious metal prices. Gold has already gained more than 70% in value in 2025 and is heading for its best performance since 1979. Other assets in the precious metals sector are growing even faster. Prices for silver, platinum and palladium have more than doubled this year. Along with strong investment demand, fears about the introduction of US import duties are playing into their hands. (FxPro) News Dec 29 A confident Euro and a vulnerable Yen Rapid GDP growth in the eurozone has helped EURUSD. USDJPY risks rising to 164. Christmas week turned out to be the worst for the US dollar since June. Falling Treasury yields and new S&P 500 records caused the USD index to retreat. The chances of the Fed easing monetary policy in March rose above 50% again, and there is active discussion in Forex about the new Fed chair. Historically, central bank chiefs have had a significant influence on the FOMC. Donald Trump's man could bring down interest rates and the greenback. However, the Fed is not a one-man show. Decisions are made collectively based on incoming data. The longer the pause in the monetary expansion cycle lasts, the higher the chances of a correction in the EURUSD to an upward trend. In this case, the yield differential between US and German bonds will remain wide. Money will flow from Europe to the United States, strengthening the dollar.   In the medium term, monetary policy divergence and a narrowing gap in GDP growth could play in favour of the euro. Financial Times experts expect the eurozone economy to expand by 1.2% in 2026 and 1.4% in 2027. In 2025, it will grow by 1.4%, significantly more than the 0.9% forecast at the end of 2024. Faster economic growth in the currency bloc has been one of the key drivers of the EURUSD's 13.5% rally this year. Another trump card for the euro has been the divergence in monetary policy. Financial Times experts believe that the ECB's deposit rate will remain at 2% until the end of 2026 and rise to 2.25% in 2027. The futures market expects two acts of monetary expansion from the Fed next year. The narrowing of the spread between US and German bond yields is a strong argument in favour of maintaining the upward trend in EURUSD. Meanwhile, the number of yen bears is growing after the Bank of Japan failed to bring about a serious correction in USDJPY by raising the overnight rate in December. BNP Paribas forecasts the pair to rise to 160 by the end of 2026, while JP Morgan forecasts 164. The strengthening of the greenback has caused gold to retreat from record highs. The precious metal is heading for its best annual performance since 1979. Since the beginning of the year, it has risen by more than 70%, partly due to capital inflows into ETFs. The reserves of the largest specialised exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, have increased by more than 20%. News Dec 29 Miners and Metals Nickel price jumps as Indonesia signals big production cut Nickel prices are at a seven-month high after Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer, signalled plans to cut supply of the metal in a Christmas gift for struggling Australian miners who have been shuttering projects. The rising prices came after Indonesian media reported Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia had confirmed plans for unspecified production cuts. A group representing Indonesian nickel miners this month said it expected Jakarta to enforce a 34 per cent cut in volumes next year. While the size of the cuts has not been finalised, the comments suggest the worst could be over for miners after a two-and-a-half year period in which prices for the metal were crushed by excess production in Indonesia. Nickel was a fashionable commodity for investors between 2017 and 2022 on expectations that demand would rise in line with the metal’s use in the batteries used in electric vehicles. Prices reached $US30,000 a tonne in late 2022, but a wave of Indonesian supply emerged in 2023 as new technology allowed low-grade material to be cheaply processed into top quality metal. The extra supply pushed nickel prices below $US20,000 since mid-2023, forcing Australian miners like BHP and Panoramic Resources to mothball their Western Australian mines, refineries and smelters. The price had slumped to $US14,110 a tonne at the London Metal Exchange on December 16, but has rallied to $US15,430 after reports of Indonesian production cuts. The price had not been above $US15,400 since May. The recovery could help BHP’s nickel assets just 14 months before a self-imposed deadline to decide whether they should be permanently closed. BHP mothballed the assets last year in the belief the supply surge was a structural change to nickel markets, and not merely a cyclical one. BHP announced at its August half-year results that it would attempt to sell the assets, but finding a buyer has proved difficult given the enormous rehabilitation obligations attached to them. If a buyer cannot be found, BHP will permanently shut the nickel division in February 2027. Another potential winner from a nickel price recovery would be businessman Duncan Saville, whose companies control the mothballed Savannah mine in WA. The mine closures have seen Australian exports slump from about 180,000 tonnes in 2017 to 81,000 tonnes this year. The Industry Department provided a gloomy outlook for the sector in a report published on December 19, predicting prices would stay low, and export volumes would fall further as IGO Limited prepared for the Nova-Bollinger nickel mine in WA to reach the end of its working life. Closure of Nova would leave Glencore’s Murrin Murrin operation as the last remaining major nickel mine in the country. Industry Department economists predicted Australia will ship just 49,000 tonnes of nickel in 2027; down 73 per cent in a decade. Batteries account for about 16 per cent of global nickel demand, with the stainless-steel sector still buying about 63 per cent of the world’s nickel. Fitch predicts nickel prices will average $US16,000 a tonne in 2026. Silver continues to soar Signs of recovery in nickel prices come as silver prices have soared. The precious metal was fetching $US28.83 an ounce on the final trading day of 2024, but soared to a record high $US79.27 on Boxing Day 2025. Financial markets have traditionally used gold prices to determine an appropriate price for silver, and the rally in silver prices is partly linked to the earlier rally in gold prices over the last 12 months. Very few mines are primarily focused on silver production, with the metal typically occurring as a byproduct at mines that are focused on copper, zinc or lead. Australia’s biggest silver producers include South32’s Cannington mine in Queensland, Glencore’s Mount Isa hub and BHP’s Olympic Dam. Iltani Resources, an ASX-listed miner exploring for silver, zinc, lead and indium near Herberton in Queensland, is one producer that has seen its share price jump more than 200 per cent alongside the silver rally. “It puts us in a really good position to hit 2026 with a really aggressive drill program,” said Iltani managing director Donald Garner. (AFR). *Full article and coverage via The Australian Financial Review News VC/Sports Biz/Tech News Jake & Logan Paul Announce $30M Venture Fund Backing AI, Robotics Startups Anti Fund, co-founded by YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and entrepreneur Geoffrey Woo, closed its oversubscribed $30 million Anti Fund I on December 3, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to more than $65 million. The firm named influencer and WWE star Logan Paul as a general partner, marking the first time the Paul brothers have become business partners. According to a press release, the venture capital firm concentrates its investments in artificial intelligence and robotics companies. Anti Fund focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, as well as select growth-stage industry leaders. The portfolio includes OpenAI, Anduril, Ramp, Cognition, Polymarket, Flock Safety, and Physical Intelligence. Investment Strategy Anti Fund employs what it calls an “extreme barbell strategy,” making first checks of $100,000 to $500,000 for 10% ownership in technical founders, while also deploying $10 million or more in growth investments into industry leaders. The fund’s limited partners include institutional investors Aquarian Holdings and Autilus Partners, as well as individual investors Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon. Focuspoint Private Capital Group served as the exclusive placement agent for the fund. Founder Background Woo holds a bachelor’s degree with honors and distinction in computer science from Stanford and has co-authored numerous U.S. patents and peer-reviewed scientific papers. Jake Paul built his career as a professional boxer and entrepreneur. Logan Paul founded PRIME, a beverage brand, and performs as a professional wrestler. “Jake, what I realized is that he is essentially an avatar of the American dream, and I think Logan, in a very similar parallel sense, also represents that,” Woo said in an interview with FOX Business. “When Jake named Anti Fund, I think we all share the same belief, that the people that create the future are the crazy ones that believe they can do it.” Business Philosophy The firm positions itself as founder-friendly, emphasizing what it calls the intersection of capital and attention. While capital remains a commodity, Anti Fund leverages the Paul brothers’ cultural influence to source founders and accelerate portfolio company growth. Jake Paul discussed his long-standing interest in venture capital, noting he met with companies including Google, Uber, and Twitter in Silicon Valley as a teenager.“ Not only are we investors, but we can disrupt Logan with PRIME, me with W, Betr is always in the top five in the App Store is absolutely crushing it,” Paul told FOX. “And these are companies that we’ve incubated ourselves, because if no one else is building it and we see a hole in the market, we can hire the best teams and grow and scale these companies in a major way.” Anti Fund has incubated and funded several of Jake Paul’s business ventures, including W and Betr Media. Rudy Sahay, founder and managing partner of Aquarian Holdings, said the fund closing “validates the confidence investors have in their strategy” and noted the firm “carved out a unique position at the intersection of frontier technologies and culture.” Best Quotes Cryptocurrency, Finance and World "Volatility is Satoshi’s gift to the faithful." - Michael Saylor "Bitcoin is a tool for freeing humanity from oligarchs and tyrants, dressed up as a get-rich-quick scheme." — Naval Ravikant "We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error." — Tyler Winklevoss "You can't stop things like Bitcoin. It will be everywhere, and the world will have to readjust. World governments will have to readjust." — John McAfee "Bitcoin is the most important invention in the history of the world since the Internet." — Roger Ver "Cryptocurrency is such a powerful concept that it can almost overturn governments." — Charles Lee "In the future, national currencies will become obsolete. Bitcoin will become the single global currency." — Jack Dorsey "The future of finance is crypto, whether it’s in payments, contracts, or savings." — Changpeng Zhao "Crypto offers freedom to the unbanked and hope to the underprivileged." — Elizabeth Stark "The new frontier of innovation is in decentralization. Blockchain leads the charge." — Don Tapscott "Digital currency is here to stay, and it’s only a matter of how long before governments embrace it." — Brad Garlinghouse Pop Culture Dream Matches: Fantasy Booking Santa vs Grinch Bulls vs Bears Crypto King vs Mr World Bank Citizens vs NWO Neo vs Agent Smith John McAfee vs You Know Who! TKO vs Naysayers Jake Paul, Polymarket and BETR vs Naysayers Pro Boxing vs Newspaper Reports VKM vs The World Paul Bros vs Mainstream Wokes Mr X vs Mr Bluesky News Lead Up 12 hours ago News Media Man Favs TKO $216.11 -1.33 -0.61% Alphabet Inc Class A $313.56 0.050 0.016% Netflix Inc $94.15 -0.32 -0.34% Paramount Skydance Corp $13.50 -0.090 -0.66% Porsche Automobile Holding SE Unsponsored Germany ADR $4.60 -0.040 0.86% Mercedes Benz Group ADR $17.54 0.11 0.63% Media Man BTC mediamanint.com/btc.html Bulls And Bears mediamanint.com/bulls_and.ht… News mediamanint.com/news.html Best Quotes Of The Day mediamanint.com/best_quotes.… Biz mediamanint.com/biz.html Newsfeed mediamanint.com/newsfeed.htm… Media Man Group mediamanint.com/media_man.ht… Sponsors: Shop with crypto at Crypto Luxury Store mediamanint.com/articles/sho… Sponsors mediamanint.com/sponsorships… Media Man News Blog mediamannews.blogspot.com/ #Market #Markets #Stockmarket #Sharemarket #ASX #Futures #Index #Commodities #BTC #Bitcoin #Gold #GoldPrice #Oil #AI #Mining #Energy #Commodities #Ether #Tether #XRP #BNB #Solana #USDCoin #Dogecoin #DOGE #Block #Blockchain #VC #Mag7 #trends #trends #buzz #watercooler #Biz #BitcoinNewsMedia #Casino #News #PopCulture #Media #MediaMan #XMarkets #XCrypto #XBiz #HNY #Christmas #Santa #SantaClaus #SantaClausRally #Grinch #Xmas

Markets, Cryptos and Biz December 2025 Dec 30 Sydney, Australia to Wall St, New York Digital Bush Telegraph Markets ASX 200 futures pointing down 6 points/0.1% to 8711 AUD -0.3% to US66.93¢ Bitcoin $87,218.84 -0.73% Wall St: Dow -0.5% S&P -0.4% Nasdaq -0.5% VIX 0.59 to 14.19 Gold -4.4% to $US4335.01 an ounce Silver -6.8% to $US71.94/oz Platinum -13.8% to $US2118.03/oz Brent oil 1.8% to $US61.75 a barrel Iron ore 1.3% to $US106.05 a tonne 10-year yield: US 4.11% Australia 4.75% Cryptos Bitcoin $87,218.84 -0.73% XRP $1.8529 -0.70% BNB $852.81 -0.71% Dogecoin $0.1231 -0.64% Stockmarket US Stock Market Overview (as of late December 2025) The US stock market is in a strong bull run heading into the final days of 2025, with major indices near all-time highs and on track for a robust year-end close. Trading volume has been light post-holidays, but sentiment remains positive amid resilient economic growth, AI-driven gains, and expectations of a "Santa Claus rally" (the seasonal uptrend in the last five trading days of the year and first two of the next). Key Index Levels (from the most recent close on December 26, 2025) S&P 500 — Closed at approximately 6,930 (down slightly that day but hit an intraday high near 6,946). Up nearly 18% year-to-date, with the index eyeing the psychological 7,000 milestone in the coming sessions. Dow Jones Industrial Average — Closed at around 48,711 (fractionally lower), up solidly for the year. Nasdaq Composite — Closed near 23,593, up about 22% YTD, led by tech and AI stocks Markets were closed on December 27 (weekend) and reopen on December 29 for the last few trading days of 2025. Expect thin liquidity and potential for modest moves as investors position for 2026. Broader Context 2025 has been a resilient year despite challenges like early tariff impacts, AI spending concerns, and Fed rate adjustments (benchmark now at 3.50%-3.75%). Tech and AI names (e.g., Nvidia crossing $5T market cap) have dominated, but there's been rotation into cyclicals, materials, and foreign equities. Precious metals like gold and silver are at historic highs amid safe-haven demand. Wall Street forecasts for 2026 are bullish, with many targeting S&P 500 levels between 7,100–8,100. However, history suggests potential pullbacks after strong years, so caution on overvaluation is advised. (Grok) News Dec 24 Precious metals rewarded for success The US dollar is falling as a safe-haven asset amid growing risk appetite. Gold is performing well, but other assets in the sector are looking even better. GDP growth of 4.3% in the third quarter did not help the US dollar. It would seem that the strength of the economy, the rise in Treasury bond yields and the decline in the likelihood of the Fed easing monetary policy in March to less than 50% should have cooled the hot heads of the EURUSD bulls. However, greed reigns supreme in the financial markets. The S&P 500 closed at a record high, which had a negative impact on the USD index. Donald Trump was encouraged by the success of the US economy, citing tariffs as the main reason. The president said that the new Fed chairman would cut rates if the market was performing well. Investors should be rewarded for their success. Support from the White House is helping US stock indices, improving global risk appetite and reducing demand for the dollar as a safe-haven asset. In such conditions, high-yield currencies feel most at home. The British pound reached a three-month high against the greenback, and the Australian dollar reached a 14-month high. After the Reserve Bank signalled the end of the monetary policy easing cycle, the futures market began to price in expectations of a cash rate hike in 2026. By Christmas, the start date for monetary tightening had shifted to June, which created a tailwind for AUDUSD. Investors in a Bloomberg survey see the Bank of England's neutral rate at 3.25% and estimate the chances of it falling to 3% in 2026 as fifty-fifty. They are more dovish than the BoE. At their December meeting, Andrew Bailey and his colleagues opted for caution, which supported GBPUSD. Meanwhile, gold has broken through the psychologically important level of $4,500 per ounce. JP Morgan forecasts XAUUSD to rise to 5,000 by the end of 2026 and estimates the scale of bullion purchases by central banks and retail investors at 585 tonnes per quarter. According to the bank, every 100 tonnes above the base 350 tonnes leads to a 2% increase in precious metal prices. Gold has already gained more than 70% in value in 2025 and is heading for its best performance since 1979. Other assets in the precious metals sector are growing even faster. Prices for silver, platinum and palladium have more than doubled this year. Along with strong investment demand, fears about the introduction of US import duties are playing into their hands. (FxPro) News Dec 29 A confident Euro and a vulnerable Yen  Rapid GDP growth in the eurozone has helped EURUSD. USDJPY risks rising to 164. Christmas week turned out to be the worst for the US dollar since June. Falling Treasury yields and new S&P 500 records caused the USD index to retreat. The chances of the Fed easing monetary policy in March rose above 50% again, and there is active discussion in Forex about the new Fed chair. Historically, central bank chiefs have had a significant influence on the FOMC. Donald Trump's man could bring down interest rates and the greenback. However, the Fed is not a one-man show. Decisions are made collectively based on incoming data. The longer the pause in the monetary expansion cycle lasts, the higher the chances of a correction in the EURUSD to an upward trend. In this case, the yield differential between US and German bonds will remain wide. Money will flow from Europe to the United States, strengthening the dollar.   In the medium term, monetary policy divergence and a narrowing gap in GDP growth could play in favour of the euro. Financial Times experts expect the eurozone economy to expand by 1.2% in 2026 and 1.4% in 2027. In 2025, it will grow by 1.4%, significantly more than the 0.9% forecast at the end of 2024. Faster economic growth in the currency bloc has been one of the key drivers of the EURUSD's 13.5% rally this year. Another trump card for the euro has been the divergence in monetary policy. Financial Times experts believe that the ECB's deposit rate will remain at 2% until the end of 2026 and rise to 2.25% in 2027. The futures market expects two acts of monetary expansion from the Fed next year. The narrowing of the spread between US and German bond yields is a strong argument in favour of maintaining the upward trend in EURUSD. Meanwhile, the number of yen bears is growing after the Bank of Japan failed to bring about a serious correction in USDJPY by raising the overnight rate in December. BNP Paribas forecasts the pair to rise to 160 by the end of 2026, while JP Morgan forecasts 164. The strengthening of the greenback has caused gold to retreat from record highs. The precious metal is heading for its best annual performance since 1979. Since the beginning of the year, it has risen by more than 70%, partly due to capital inflows into ETFs. The reserves of the largest specialised exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, have increased by more than 20%. News Dec 29 Miners and Metals Nickel price jumps as Indonesia signals big production cut Nickel prices are at a seven-month high after Indonesia, the world’s biggest producer, signalled plans to cut supply of the metal in a Christmas gift for struggling Australian miners who have been shuttering projects. The rising prices came after Indonesian media reported Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia had confirmed plans for unspecified production cuts. A group representing Indonesian nickel miners this month said it expected Jakarta to enforce a 34 per cent cut in volumes next year. While the size of the cuts has not been finalised, the comments suggest the worst could be over for miners after a two-and-a-half year period in which prices for the metal were crushed by excess production in Indonesia. Nickel was a fashionable commodity for investors between 2017 and 2022 on expectations that demand would rise in line with the metal’s use in the batteries used in electric vehicles. Prices reached $US30,000 a tonne in late 2022, but a wave of Indonesian supply emerged in 2023 as new technology allowed low-grade material to be cheaply processed into top quality metal. The extra supply pushed nickel prices below $US20,000 since mid-2023, forcing Australian miners like BHP and Panoramic Resources to mothball their Western Australian mines, refineries and smelters. The price had slumped to $US14,110 a tonne at the London Metal Exchange on December 16, but has rallied to $US15,430 after reports of Indonesian production cuts. The price had not been above $US15,400 since May. The recovery could help BHP’s nickel assets just 14 months before a self-imposed deadline to decide whether they should be permanently closed. BHP mothballed the assets last year in the belief the supply surge was a structural change to nickel markets, and not merely a cyclical one. BHP announced at its August half-year results that it would attempt to sell the assets, but finding a buyer has proved difficult given the enormous rehabilitation obligations attached to them. If a buyer cannot be found, BHP will permanently shut the nickel division in February 2027. Another potential winner from a nickel price recovery would be businessman Duncan Saville, whose companies control the mothballed Savannah mine in WA. The mine closures have seen Australian exports slump from about 180,000 tonnes in 2017 to 81,000 tonnes this year. The Industry Department provided a gloomy outlook for the sector in a report published on December 19, predicting prices would stay low, and export volumes would fall further as IGO Limited prepared for the Nova-Bollinger nickel mine in WA to reach the end of its working life. Closure of Nova would leave Glencore’s Murrin Murrin operation as the last remaining major nickel mine in the country. Industry Department economists predicted Australia will ship just 49,000 tonnes of nickel in 2027; down 73 per cent in a decade. Batteries account for about 16 per cent of global nickel demand, with the stainless-steel sector still buying about 63 per cent of the world’s nickel. Fitch predicts nickel prices will average $US16,000 a tonne in 2026. Silver continues to soar Signs of recovery in nickel prices come as silver prices have soared. The precious metal was fetching $US28.83 an ounce on the final trading day of 2024, but soared to a record high $US79.27 on Boxing Day 2025. Financial markets have traditionally used gold prices to determine an appropriate price for silver, and the rally in silver prices is partly linked to the earlier rally in gold prices over the last 12 months. Very few mines are primarily focused on silver production, with the metal typically occurring as a byproduct at mines that are focused on copper, zinc or lead. Australia’s biggest silver producers include South32’s Cannington mine in Queensland, Glencore’s Mount Isa hub and BHP’s Olympic Dam. Iltani Resources, an ASX-listed miner exploring for silver, zinc, lead and indium near Herberton in Queensland, is one producer that has seen its share price jump more than 200 per cent alongside the silver rally. “It puts us in a really good position to hit 2026 with a really aggressive drill program,” said Iltani managing director Donald Garner. (AFR). *Full article and coverage via The Australian Financial Review News VC/Sports Biz/Tech News Jake & Logan Paul Announce $30M Venture Fund Backing AI, Robotics Startups Anti Fund, co-founded by YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul and entrepreneur Geoffrey Woo, closed its oversubscribed $30 million Anti Fund I on December 3, bringing the firm’s total assets under management to more than $65 million. The firm named influencer and WWE star Logan Paul as a general partner, marking the first time the Paul brothers have become business partners. According to a press release, the venture capital firm concentrates its investments in artificial intelligence and robotics companies. Anti Fund focuses on pre-seed and seed-stage ventures, as well as select growth-stage industry leaders. The portfolio includes OpenAI, Anduril, Ramp, Cognition, Polymarket, Flock Safety, and Physical Intelligence. Investment Strategy Anti Fund employs what it calls an “extreme barbell strategy,” making first checks of $100,000 to $500,000 for 10% ownership in technical founders, while also deploying $10 million or more in growth investments into industry leaders. The fund’s limited partners include institutional investors Aquarian Holdings and Autilus Partners, as well as individual investors Marc Andreessen and Chris Dixon. Focuspoint Private Capital Group served as the exclusive placement agent for the fund. Founder Background Woo holds a bachelor’s degree with honors and distinction in computer science from Stanford and has co-authored numerous U.S. patents and peer-reviewed scientific papers. Jake Paul built his career as a professional boxer and entrepreneur. Logan Paul founded PRIME, a beverage brand, and performs as a professional wrestler. “Jake, what I realized is that he is essentially an avatar of the American dream, and I think Logan, in a very similar parallel sense, also represents that,” Woo said in an interview with FOX Business. “When Jake named Anti Fund, I think we all share the same belief, that the people that create the future are the crazy ones that believe they can do it.” Business Philosophy The firm positions itself as founder-friendly, emphasizing what it calls the intersection of capital and attention. While capital remains a commodity, Anti Fund leverages the Paul brothers’ cultural influence to source founders and accelerate portfolio company growth. Jake Paul discussed his long-standing interest in venture capital, noting he met with companies including Google, Uber, and Twitter in Silicon Valley as a teenager.“ Not only are we investors, but we can disrupt Logan with PRIME, me with W, Betr is always in the top five in the App Store is absolutely crushing it,” Paul told FOX. “And these are companies that we’ve incubated ourselves, because if no one else is building it and we see a hole in the market, we can hire the best teams and grow and scale these companies in a major way.” Anti Fund has incubated and funded several of Jake Paul’s business ventures, including W and Betr Media. Rudy Sahay, founder and managing partner of Aquarian Holdings, said the fund closing “validates the confidence investors have in their strategy” and noted the firm “carved out a unique position at the intersection of frontier technologies and culture.” Best Quotes Cryptocurrency, Finance and World "Volatility is Satoshi’s gift to the faithful." - Michael Saylor "Bitcoin is a tool for freeing humanity from oligarchs and tyrants, dressed up as a get-rich-quick scheme." — Naval Ravikant "We have elected to put our money and faith in a mathematical framework that is free of politics and human error." — Tyler Winklevoss "You can't stop things like Bitcoin. It will be everywhere, and the world will have to readjust. World governments will have to readjust." — John McAfee "Bitcoin is the most important invention in the history of the world since the Internet." — Roger Ver "Cryptocurrency is such a powerful concept that it can almost overturn governments." — Charles Lee "In the future, national currencies will become obsolete. Bitcoin will become the single global currency." — Jack Dorsey "The future of finance is crypto, whether it’s in payments, contracts, or savings." — Changpeng Zhao "Crypto offers freedom to the unbanked and hope to the underprivileged." — Elizabeth Stark "The new frontier of innovation is in decentralization. Blockchain leads the charge." — Don Tapscott "Digital currency is here to stay, and it’s only a matter of how long before governments embrace it." — Brad Garlinghouse Pop Culture Dream Matches: Fantasy Booking Santa vs Grinch Bulls vs Bears Crypto King vs Mr World Bank Citizens vs NWO Neo vs Agent Smith John McAfee vs You Know Who! 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