Federal Reserve officials plan to reduce the staff of their banking supervision division by 30% by the end of next year, as revealed in an internal memo obtained by The Wall Street Journal. This reduction will result in approximately 350 employees remaining in the Fed's supervision and regulation division—down from a previously allowed staff of 500.
Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, the Fed's new top regulatory official, announced these cuts during a morning meeting. This decision follows Fed Chair Jerome Powell's earlier statement in May, in which he indicated that the central bank aims to reduce its overall staff by approximately 10%. The banking supervision division is responsible for overseeing and regulating thousands of bank holding companies and state-chartered banks.
In recent years, particularly under the Trump administration, banking regulators, including the Fed, have pledged to ease the regulatory burden on banks. This latest shift occurs in the wake of increased scrutiny following the regional banking crisis earlier in 2023.
Donald Trump's social media company is entering the prediction markets arena. Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. is set to launch prediction contracts on its Truth Social platform, enabling users to stake bets on various events, including political elections and inflation trends. The testing phase for the new service, dubbed Truth Predict, will commence "in the near future," as stated in the announcement.
This initiative builds on Trump Media's recent strategies to leverage its retail audience and aligns with record trading volumes observed on major marketplaces, such as Polymarket and Kalshi. The increasing demand from investors for betting on real-life events has encouraged companies such as CME Group Inc. and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. to explore opportunities in this sector.
Truth Predict will utilize Crypto.com Derivatives North America to facilitate prediction wagers, strengthening the partnership between the digital-asset exchange and Trump Media. In August, Trump Media agreed to establish a crypto treasury company tasked with acquiring and holding the CRO token, which is supported by Crypto.com’s blockchain.
Nvidia has become the first company globally to attain a market capitalization of $5 trillion. This American semiconductor powerhouse has swiftly transitioned from a specialized graphics-chip manufacturer to a leader in artificial intelligence, fueled by a fervor surrounding AI's potential that continues to escalate demand for its products and drive its stock to unprecedented heights.
Just months after reaching a valuation of $1 trillion in June 2023, Nvidia crossed the $4 trillion threshold only three months ago. On Wednesday morning, the chipmaker’s shares skyrocketed by as much as 5.6%, surpassing $212, driven by investor confidence in Nvidia's sales prospects in China, a region currently fraught with geopolitical tensions.
According to data from the World Bank, Nvidia's valuation now surpasses the GDP of every nation except for the United States and China, and even eclipses entire sectors within the S&P 500. Notably, AI-driven companies have contributed to a staggering 80% of the gains observed in the American stock market this year.