The key headlines from global financial media overnight and this morning are as follows:
1. Investors Scramble for Havens Amid Global Turmoil as Silver Tops $100 for the First Time 2. BlackRock's Rieder Emerges as Top Contender for Fed Chair 3. Meta Temporarily Blocks Teen Users from Accessing AI Characters 4. Nestlé and Danone Drawn into Infant Formula Recall; France Reports Two Baby Deaths 5. Netherlands' Largest Pension Fund Sharply Cut US Treasury Exposure Last Year; Trend Appears Across Nordic Nations 6. Business Leaders at Davos Warn Europe: Get Your Act Together or Get Left Behind
Investors Scramble for Havens Amid Global Turmoil as Silver Tops $100 for the First Time Silver prices surged past $100 per ounce for the first time ever, fueled by a blistering rally driven by soaring safe-haven demand and frantic buying sprees in retail markets from Shanghai to New York. Spot silver skyrocketed by as much as 4.2% on Friday, touching $100.29 per ounce. After more than doubling in 2025, the precious metal has already climbed nearly 40% this year. Demand for various precious metals has surged during the first year of President Trump's return to the White House, as uncertainties surrounding trade, geopolitics, and monetary policy intensify. Fears of potential US tariffs on silver triggered a wave of shipments to New York, ultimately sparking an unprecedented short squeeze in the London market last October.
BlackRock's Rieder Emerges as Top Contender for Fed Chair BlackRock executive Rick Rieder has become a leading candidate in the race for Federal Reserve Chair, as President Trump nears a decision on whom to nominate to lead the world's most pivotal central bank. Rieder's probability of winning on the prediction website Polymarket soared from 6% earlier this week to 34% by Friday morning local time, amid speculation that the president would back a candidate with strong Wall Street ties to replace Fed Chair Powell, whose term ends in May. Trump has repeatedly clashed with Powell over the Fed's refusal to aggressively lower borrowing costs, and earlier this week he stated he would announce his nominee "soon."
Meta Temporarily Blocks Teen Users from Accessing AI Characters Meta Platforms will temporarily block teenage users from accessing its AI characters as the company updates its platform. In a blog post on Friday, Meta stated that users registered as teenagers based on their birthdate, or those identified as potentially underage by the company's age-estimation technology, will be unable to access AI characters "until the updated experience is ready." Meta wrote, "This means that when we deliver on our promise to give parents more supervision over their teen's AI experiences, these parental controls will apply to the latest version of AI characters."
Nestlé and Danone Drawn into Infant Formula Recall; France Reports Two Baby Deaths French authorities have received a report of a second infant death as a contaminated baby formula crisis widens, drawing in Nestlé, Danone, and Groupe Lactalis. The French Health Ministry said in a statement late Thursday that both infants had consumed recalled formula. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist told French broadcaster BFM TV on Friday that a causal link between the deaths and the products in question has not yet been established. The Bordeaux public prosecutor's office stated that one of the infants consumed recalled Nestlé Guigoz formula in early January. Test results showed the formula did not contain the Bacillus cereus bacteria linked to the recall; however, authorities are still awaiting results for cereulide toxin tests and autopsy findings.
Netherlands' Largest Pension Fund Sharply Cut US Treasury Exposure Last Year; Trend Appears Across Nordic Nations Europe's largest pension fund significantly reduced its exposure to the US Treasury market last year. Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP cut its holdings of US Treasuries by approximately €10 billion ($11.7 billion) to €19 billion over the six months ending last September. This data, based on the latest disclosures from the €538 billion fund and figures reported by Dutch public broadcaster NOS, further indicates that institutional investors in several Nordic countries are reducing their exposure to US government debt. Earlier, several Danish funds had made similar reductions. Tensions between Denmark and the US over Greenland have intensified. The Danish pension fund AkademikerPension (with assets of about $25 billion) stated on Tuesday that it would exit its $100 million US Treasury position, citing concerns over fiscal discipline, a weakening US dollar, and the Greenland tensions. Sweden's pension fund Alecta, citing US macroeconomic risks, has sold most of its US Treasury holdings since the beginning of 2025.
Business Leaders at Davos Warn Europe: Get Your Act Together or Get Left Behind Whether in pharmaceuticals, artificial intelligence, or defense, corporate executives attending the World Economic Forum in Davos this week issued a stark warning to Europe: get your internal affairs in order, or risk being left behind in the competitive race. These leaders pointed out that a range of issues—from excessive regulation and bureaucratic bloat to Europe's failure to effectively leverage its unified market of approximately 450 million people—are risking the continent's marginalization in many future industries. They called for Europe to form a united front and consolidate resources to enhance its overall competitiveness. The World Economic Forum in Davos brought together over 800 corporate executives from around the globe.
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