Stock market today: Wall Street slips as the 'Magnificent 7' weighs down the marketArgentina’s government is racing against time as it works with major banks and payment firms to advance Javier Milei’s dollarisation strategy even as pesos are in high demand. To do so, the government plans to take two key steps — launch the first dual-currency debit card, so that Argentines can make dollar payments despite ongoing exchange rate , and allow to provide dollar loans in sectors that are currently excluded from such financing. The initiatives aim to capitalise on the recent surge of dollar inflows stemming from the government’s tax amnesty. Over the past five months, Argentines more than US$20 billion in local banks. That flow of foreign cash, combined with a move by the government to limit the supply of local currency, has helped the peso strengthen more than 20 percent in parallel markets since it hit a record low in July. Now, with a stabilised peso, dollar usage is set to increase, including in everyday transactions, President Milei said last week. “From now on, every Argentine will be able to buy, sell and invoice in dollars, or in the currency he/she considers; except for the payment of taxes,” he said on national television on December 10. Officials are urging the country’s main payment processors to develop a mechanism to allow debit card purchases in dollars, according to three people who declined to share the names of the companies involved in the talks. Economy Minister Luis Caputo wants the card to launch in January, but the companies think it might take until March, the people said. Under the plan, Argentine consumers will be able to use the dollars they deposit into their accounts without going through the foreign exchange market first, contrary to the current system that only allows them to use pesos. In addition, the Argentine government is pushing banks to extend dollar loans to more sectors. Caputo Wednesday said he wants business loans and mortgages to be offered in the US currency. Current regulations only give access to dollars to those companies that generate revenues in foreign currency. He also pointed to ongoing conversations with real-estate companies to establish dollar-denominated mortgage programmes during his remarks on Wednesday. “We aim to remonetise the economy, both in pesos and dollars,” he said in a speech in September. “We want people to use their dollars because that reactivates the economy, generates more income and allows us to lower taxes.” Milei promised to shut down Argentina’s Central Bank during his presidential campaign and adopt the dollar as the country’s currency. Once in office, he changed strategy. The approach, dubbed endogenous dollarisation, involves restricting the supply of pesos, forcing Argentines to use their dollar holdings to pay for regular expenses. Some supermarkets, manufacturers and even bars have begun accepting payments in dollars, but financial institutions are still in the process of putting in place the necessary infrastructure to process such transactions. “Dollar transactions will continue to rise in 2025 and we have to keep developing new products to meet the demand,” said Camila Gallelli, a portfolio manager at Santander Asset Management in Buenos Aires. That is particularly challenging in the financial technology space as it requires approval from the Central Bank for a uniform virtual key, or CVU, in dollars. Fintech firms have asked the monetary institution to approve it, but the Central Bank wants to level the playing field between fintech firms and banks first, a spokesman said. “The challenge is to provide more transactions in dollars. It is a general request from the fintech industry but today we are not so close,” said Mariano Biocca, executive director at the Argentine fintech chamber. The Central Bank could give its approval in mid-2025, she said. “It will become an industry standard, because you can’t not have it,” Biocca said. For the time being, both banks and fintech firms are offering alternatives to saving in dollars, in an attempt to put those tax amnesty dollars to use. One of the largest Argentine fintechs, Ualá, has already received approval from CNV, a regulator, to launch a dollar fund that will pay an annual yield similar to US Treasuries, according to a person with direct knowledge. Santander Asset Management also launched a dollar fund, which is set to be followed by others in 2025. “We're sensing an exponential growth in our dollar funds,” said Santander Asset Management’s Gallelli, who already manages US$430 million in this fund and doubled his share this year. Still, analysts doubt that the steps will be sufficient to lay the foundations for the president’s dollarisation strategy. “Dollarisation is going to take time. It needs more structural reforms that will make Argentina a normal country again,” said Alejo Czerwonko, UBS Group AG’s chief investment officer for Americas emerging markets, in an interview. “Maximising this one-time flow of dollars that Argentina received may be useful to achieve the objectives and is welcome. But by itself it is not enough.” by Ignacio Olivera Doll, Bloomberg Ads Space Ads Space‘Nonsense’: Panamanian president dismisses Trump claims China controls Panama Canal
Shoppers at the Wood Village Walmart in Oregon, hoping to find groceries or holiday gifts, also learned that employees could soon be wearing body cameras. “I think if it helps with theft, then that makes sense. It wouldn’t bother me if they were wearing them,” shopper Jennifer Robinson said. The nation’s largest retailer is currently testing the technology at one store in Texas, and it could soon be seen in Walmart stores across the Pacific Northwest. “The retail industry continues to contend with increasing levels of shoplifting and violence, often due to the involvement of organized retail crime groups,” said David Johnston with the National Retail Federation. Walmart is not saying much except: “This is a pilot we are testing in one market, and we will evaluate the results before making any long-term decision.” CNBC reported that a company document instructs employees to “record an event if an interaction with a customer is escalating.” Earlier this year, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Marshalls began equipping some of their workers with body cameras. “Retailers have implemented a number of safety and security measures, including adding or increasing uniform security or law enforcement presence in stores,” Johnston added. Many stores are also locking up products that require a clerk to open shelves. Retailers reported a 93% increase in shoplifting incidents last year compared to before the pandemic, costing them more than $121 billion. Back in Wood Village, Alice Bailey hopes body cameras will improve the customer experience. “It kind of makes sense — so they can keep an eye on things because the people that are shoplifting and taking things, that’s trickling down to the people that’s actually paying for the stuff,” she said. “It’s always good to try something because everything else is not working.”Pelote added nine rebounds for the Catamounts (4-7). Cord Stansberry scored 14 points and added seven rebounds. Brandon Morgan shot 2 for 6 (1 for 4 from 3-point range) and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points. The Buffs were led in scoring by Elijah Bredwood, who finished with 23 points. McCaskill Rivers added 13 points for Milligan. Handje Tamba had 12 points and 12 rebounds. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
A three-goal second period Saturday sparked the Garnet Chargers to a 4-1 ECAC Hockey victory over Brown at Messa Rink. It’s the final game of 2024 for Union (5-4-0 ECACH, 15 points; 8-11-1 overall). The Garnet Chargers return to action Jan. 3, when they host Quinnipiac. “I thought we played with a similar simplicity to our game,” Union coach Tony Maci, referencing the team’s play in Friday’s 3-1 loss to Yale, said during the postgame interview on ESPN+. “We were able to bury the chances.” Union took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period on an Amanda Quan goal. The Bears (4-7-1, 16.5 points; 8-7-1) tied it just over eight minutes into the second period when Monique Lyons scored on a two-player advantage. Nearly four minutes later, Kiara Kenttala gave Union a 2-1 lead. That ignited things for the Garnet Chargers. Stephanie Bourque scored a power-play goal with 6:10 left in the second. Maddie Leaney made it a three-goal advantage with 1:29 remaining in the period. Union goalie Sophie Matsioukas stopped 30 shots. “She made a couple big saves,” Maci said. “Good to see that same consistency from her again.” Brown 0 1 0 — 1 Union 1 3 0 — 4 First Period — 1, Union, Quan 1 (Jones), 11:57. Penalties — Muralt, Bro (hooking-penalty shot), 10:49; Broz, Brow (tripping), 16:08. Second Period — 2, Brown, Lyons 7 (Norehad, Muralt), 8:07 (pp). 3, Union, Kenttala 2 (Suitor, Adams), 11:58, 4, Union, Bourque 5 (Friday, Davidson), 13:50 (pp). 5, Union, Leaney 4 (Engelbert, Friday), 18:31. Penalties — Mauracher, Uni (cross-checking), 3:49; Union bench, served by Engelbert (too many players), 6:18; Davidson, Uni (body checking), 7:48; Fantino, Bro (boarding), 13:08. Third Period — None. Penalties — Jones, Uni (hitting from behind), 6:49; Hebert, Uni (tripping), 14:14. Missed penalty shot — Union, Mauracher, 10:49 1st. Shots on Goal — Brown 8-11-12 — 31. Union 13-8-3 — 24. Power-play opportunities — Brown 1 of 5; Union 1 of 2. Goalies — Brown, Zupkofska 2-3-1 (24 shots-20 saves). Union, Matsoukas 7-9-0 (31-30). A — 219. Referees — Tasha Adams, Michael St. Lawrence. Linesmen — Jackie Spresser, Sarah Buckner.Bashir al-Assad gets asylum in Russia, rebels sweep through Syria
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TORONTO — Losses in the tech sector led Canada's main stock index and U.S. markets lower Friday, as investors made year-end adjustments to their holdings. The S&P/TSX composite index ended down 50.42 points at 24,796.40. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 333.59 points at 42,992.21. The S&P 500 index was down 66.75 points at 5,970.84, while the Nasdaq composite fell 298.33 points at 19,722.03. All of the markets saw larger losses earlier in the day before seeing some recovery in late trading. On the TSX, the information technology index saw the largest decline at 0.9 per cent, while utilities and industrials also fell. In the U.S., big tech names were down including Nvidia Corp., just over two per cent lower, and Microsoft Corp., down 1.7 per cent. The losses were likely more from end-of-year rebalancing than any particular outlook on the sector, said Mike Archibald, vice-president and portfolio manager with AGF Investments Inc. "Given how well stocks have done this year, there's certainly going to be some profit taking from larger pensions, institutions and other clients, to probably rebalance," he said. "I don't think there's anything too nefarious about the move today. It just happens to be, you know, a little bit of profit taking from some of the real big winners." The trend explains why the pressure can be especially seen in the magnificent seven tech stocks that have helped lead substantial gains for the year. Besides the big tech stocks, other more speculative bets like bitcoin and micro-cap stocks have also seen a retreat recently, showing a potential easing of risk appetite, said Archibald. "In the last couple of weeks we've seen a bit of a rollover in some of those assets, so we continue to watch those as they can be a bit of a tell for short-term trading patterns," he said. "So we'll see what that means as we move towards 2025." The Canadian dollar traded for 69.37 cents US, compared with 69.51 cents US on Tuesday. The February crude oil contract was up 98 cents at US$70.60 per barrel and the February natural gas contract was up six cents at US$3.38 per mmBTU. The February gold contract was down US$22 at US$2,631.90 an ounce and the March copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.12 a pound. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 27, 2024. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) Ian Bickis, The Canadian PressBLINCYTO® (BLINATUMOMAB) ADDED TO CHEMOTHERAPY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVES SURVIVAL IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED PEDIATRIC PATIENTS WITH B-CELL PRECURSOR ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA (B-ALL)