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border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr><td><span style="display:none">In today’s edition, SoftBank bets big on Trump’s America — again. Plus, how long can the dollar rema͏‌  ͏‌  ͏‌  ͏‌  ͏‌  ͏‌ </span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="99%" align="left" valign="top" style="padding-top:10px"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#D8EEE2"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr><td width="10"> </td><td style="padding-top:10px"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr><td width="12"><img src="https://static.semafor.com/_app/static/images/spinning-earth.20870f74e29772523899.gif" alt="rotating globe" width="12" height="12"></td><td><div style="color:#53524C;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.75rem;line-height:14px;font-style:normal;margin-left:10px;text-transform:uppercase">December 17, 2024</div></td><td style="text-align:right"></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td style="padding-top:35px"><img src="https://static.semafor.com/_app/static/images/semafor-logo.8d23aae71cf96b98328e.png" width="188" height="31" alt="semafor"></td></tr><tr style="vertical-align:top"><td><h1 class="dmbt" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-weight:400;font-size:42px;color:#1F1D1A;text-transform:capitalize;margin:0;line-height:1.2">Business</h1></td><td align="right"><img width="36" height="37" src="https://static.semafor.com/_app/static/images/icon-business.c46f0d728f652f51618e.png" alt="business"></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top" style="padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px"><tbody><tr><td><span></span><div class="dmyboc" style="border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a;border-color:#9C9A92"></div><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top" style="padding-bottom:10px"><tbody><tr><td><a href="https://www.semafor.com/newsletters?utm_campaign=businessweb" clicktracking="off" class="dmbt" style="font-size:1.125rem;line-height:22px;vertical-align:top;text-decoration:none;font-family:Times New Roman, sans serif;color:#1f1d1a;position:relative"><span>Sign up for our free newsletters</span><span style="margin-left:3px">→</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td width="10"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr><td height="2"></td></tr></tbody></table><table width="" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr><td><img width="61" height="61" src="https://img.semafor.com/1551c1f02005a2d088208a6004d1921628666991-1600x1600.png?fit=crop&crop=center&h=183&w=183" alt="Liz Hoffman" style="display:flex"></td><td valign="bottom"><div class="dmwt" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.75rem;line-height:110%;color:#1F1D1A;margin-left:10px;letter-spacing:-0.01em">Liz Hoffman</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top" style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px"><tbody><tr><td><span></span><div class="dmyboc" style="border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a;border-color:#9C9A92"></div><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>Hi, and welcome back to Semafor Business.</strong></p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">Wall Street investors come in two flavors. The “macro” crowd makes bets on global trends, and the “micro” crowd digs deep into company strategies and CEO leanings.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">The global economy is a weird mix of both right now. It’s being driven by geopolitics and conflicts, hot and cold. But it’s also revolving around the whims of a single chief executive: Donald Trump has CEOs bending the knee, OPEC <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.ft.com/content/6e1a2bbb-09a5-405f-81c6-5f8c64315fd1" target="_blank" class="dmlc">backed into a corner</a>, and <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2elggj813o" target="_blank" class="dmlc">Justin Trudeau’s government in crisis</a>. If Trudeau is forced to resign, Canada would be the third major economy to see its government collapse, following Germany this week and France earlier this month (South Korea is on the ropes, too).</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">What does all this mean for business? CEOs and investors are hearing what they want to hear, assuming that Trump’s promises of lighter regulation are real and his threats of mass deportations and steep tariffs are bluster. They’re putting more faith in the moderating influence of Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent than hardliners like Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://chiefexecutive.net/ceo-optimism-continues-post-election-surge-in-december-poll/" target="_blank" class="dmlc">Here’s a survey</a> that shows CEOs are more optimistic. <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.conference-board.org/topics/CEO-Confidence" target="_blank" class="dmlc">Here’s one</a> that shows they’re more cautious. Who knows? I hate to keep carping on this, but we’re heading into the great dispersion. Contrarian bets will be punished or rewarded rather than just riding a tide of easy money and benign geopolitics.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">Today’s main story is about one big bet: A pledge by Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s CEO and one of the world’s true permabulls, to invest $100 billion into the US.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>Plus, my new colleague Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,</strong> who joined us last week from the Financial Times, makes his newsletter debut with One Good Text on the topic.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>And: </strong>We’ll soon bring you some self-reflection and predictions as the year closes. But there’s always time for scoops, so do send your holiday specials!</p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top" style="padding-top:20px"><tbody><tr><td><span></span><div class="dmyboc" style="border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a"></div><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="line-height:25px;padding:20px 0px"><span class="lmda" style="font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman">↓</span><span></span><span class="dmda" style="display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman">↓</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="dmybo" width="99%" style="border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black" id="a"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px"><table id="#a" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding-bottom:10px"><span></span><span class="dmyt dmybo" style="font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px">Buy/Sell</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px"><span></span><a href="#" style="display:block" clicktracking="off"><img style="display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px" alt="Marc Rowan, Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director, Apollo Global Management, LLC, takes part in a panel discussion of Credit Markets: What’s Next? during the 2014 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills" src="https://img.semafor.com/85c38abb7420d1c208d4d5e1d8458404b26930d0-1280x943.png?w=1140&h=840&q=95&auto=format" width="570" height="840"></a><figcaption style="font-family:Courier;font-size:0.75rem;font-weight:400;display:block;line-height:120%;padding:0px 0px 10px">Kevork Djansezian/File Photo/Reuters</figcaption><span></span><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>➚ BUY: Heir time. </strong>Apollo’s Marc Rowan’s flirtation with the Treasury Secretary job highlighted the need for the firm to settle on a successor, <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.wsj.com/finance/apollo-ceos-flirtation-with-politics-brings-new-urgency-to-succession-planning-5829ad83?mod=finance_lead_pos5" target="_blank" class="dmlc">WSJ reports</a>. Apollo already had one messy near-handoff, when co-founder Josh Harris left after a <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-433-billion-wall-street-giant-has-a-reputation-problem-its-josh-harriss-job-to-fix-it-11604116827" target="_blank" class="dmlc">media glowup</a> that had tipped him as the firm’s next CEO.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>➘ SELL: Airtime.</strong> ABC’s $15 million payout to Trump raises concerns of a press crackdown from the Oval Office — and capitulation inside newsrooms. Washington Post media watcher Erik Wemple <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/16/abc-news-trump-settlement-stephanopoulos/?itid=ap_erikwemple_2" target="_blank" class="dmlc">called</a> it a “low, low point.”</p></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%"><style data-emotion="css 1hu9vey">.css-1hu9vey{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;gap:4px;padding:10px;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:120%;color:#53524c;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hu9vey:hover{cursor:pointer;}</style><a 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Tape</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px"><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>TikTok <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/tiktok-ban-supreme-court-bytedance-ee62ecaa?mod=hp_lead_pos10" target="_blank" class="dmlc">appeals</a> to Supreme Court… </strong>while its CEO <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/5043098-tiktok-ceo-meets-with-trump-at-mar-a-lago/" target="_blank" class="dmlc">courts Trump</a>… Fed <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/federal-reserve-interest-rates-2025-1c5cc687?mod=hp_lead_pos2" target="_blank" class="dmlc">expected</a> to cut rates… but retail sales <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-retail-sales-beat-expectations-november-2024-12-17/" target="_blank" class="dmlc">come in hot</a>…Milei <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.ft.com/content/c92c1c71-99e7-49c1-b885-253033e26ea5" target="_blank" class="dmlc">drags</a> Argentina out of recession… Ozy Media co-founder <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://apnews.com/article/carlos-watson-ozy-media-trial-sentencing-08f18ac01494d0b5f0285db32ff5ecb9" target="_blank" class="dmlc">gets 10 years</a> in prison… Corporate <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-16/sam-altman-vs-elon-musk-trump-vs-jerome-powell-2025-feud-watch?srnd=homepage-americas" target="_blank" class="dmlc">beefs to watch</a> in 2025…</p></td></tr></tbody></table><div 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style="display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman">↓</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="dmybo" width="99%" style="border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black" id="c"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px"><table id="#c" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding-bottom:10px"><span></span><span class="dmyt dmybo" style="font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px">Liz Hoffman</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table width="100%" align="center" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="center" style="padding:0px 10px 0px 10px"><img width="61" height="61" src="https://img.semafor.com/1551c1f02005a2d088208a6004d1921628666991-1600x1600.png?fit=crop&crop=center&h=183&w=183"><br><div class="dmwt" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:10px;line-height:12px;color:#1F1D1A"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding:10px 0px 19px"><h2 class="dmyt" style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:2rem;line-height:110%;font-weight:400;margin:0 10px">SoftBank CEO pledges billions for Trump’s America, again</h2></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px"><span></span><a href="#" style="display:block" clicktracking="off"><img style="display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px" alt="US President-elect Donald Trump embraces CEO of SoftBank Masayoshi Son at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida" src="https://img.semafor.com/cae7b1ee720145ed3147931242462133986baecf-1280x914.png?rect=1,0,1279,914&w=1152&h=823&q=95&auto=format" width="576" height="823"></a><figcaption style="font-family:Courier;font-size:0.75rem;font-weight:400;display:block;line-height:120%;padding:0px 0px 10px">Bryan Snyder/Reuters</figcaption><span></span><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>THE NEWS</strong></p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">SoftBank will invest $100 billion in the US, Donald Trump announced yesterday at Mar-a-Lago with CEO Masayoshi Son at his side. That’s double the $50 billion Son pledged after Trump’s 2016 win, pumping billions of dollars in startup investments that fueled the late 2010s Silicon Valley bubble.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">“I say, ‘President Trump is a double-down president, so I’m going to have to double down,’” Son said at Monday’s press conference. “That’s my confidence level.” (Trump asked Son on the spot yesterday to double down again to $200 billion. Son said he would try.)</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>LIZ’S VIEW</strong></p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">SoftBank doesn’t have $100 billion on hand, but assembling giant pools of <em>other</em> people’s money is Son’s specialty. He got half of the Vision Fund’s $100 billion from Middle East governments and funded his dealmaking for years by mortgaging SoftBank’s stake in Alibaba to generate cash. The cornerstone of his telecom and technology empire — the 2006 purchase of Vodafone Japan — was done almost entirely with borrowed money. He has that in common with Trump, who has proudly dubbed himself the “King of debt.”</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">Semafor <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/10/21/2024/apollo-softbank-eyed-giant-ai-investment-fund" target="_blank" class="dmlc">reported</a> in October that SoftBank had discussed a partnership of at least $20 billion with Apollo to invest in data centers and other AI infrastructure. Those talks appear to have cooled, but expect Son to tap his global network to make good on his promise to Trump.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>KNOW MORE</strong></p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">Son was, in Trump’s <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-201800463/pdf/DCPD-201800463.pdf" target="_blank" class="dmlc">telling</a>, the first CEO to visit him after his 2016 win, but he has plenty of company this time around. Meta, Amazon, AI firm Perplexity and OpenAI founder Sam Altman have each pledged $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. And executives including Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew, and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai have or are expected to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said at Monday’s news conference. “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">Trump has been burned before by companies making big, job-creating promises. Foxconn’s planned $10 billion factory in Wisconsin, which was <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/us/politics/trump-wisconsin-foxconn-harley.html" target="_blank" class="dmlc">kicked off by a shovel-wielding Trump in 2018</a>, has been <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/21/foxconn-mostly-abandons-10-billion-wisconsin-project-touted-by-trump.html" target="_blank" class="dmlc">dramatically scaled back</a>. Son helped broker that deal and accompanied Trump to the ground-breaking.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top" style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px"><tbody><tr><td><span></span><div class="dmyboc" style="border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a"></div><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><p class="dmwt" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:120%;margin:0">Read what <a clicktracking="off" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2024/softbank-ceo-son-pledges-100b-in-us-projects-to-trump?utm_medium=business&utm_campaign=semaforstory&utm_source=nowcta" style="color:#243bb5;text-decoration:none">one of Son’s former top deputies thinks of his pledge.</a> →</p></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="height:10px"></div><p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%"><style data-emotion="css 1hu9vey">.css-1hu9vey{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;gap:4px;padding:10px;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:120%;color:#53524c;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hu9vey:hover{cursor:pointer;}</style><a 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#1F1D1A;border-radius:999px">Boardroom Battle</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px"><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>An activist investor’s nominee to the board of Air Products allegedly gave secret information to a friend about the 2014 sale of Covidien</strong>, where he was a director, according to federal legal filings. A man who admitted to insider trading ahead of the takeover said in court in 2019 that the information came from Dennis Reilley, who is now one of four people nominated by hedge fund Mantle Ridge for Air Products’ board, Semafor reported.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="100%" align="left" valign="top" style="padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px"><tbody><tr><td><span></span><div class="dmyboc" style="border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a"></div><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td valign="top"><p class="dmwt" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:120%;margin:0">Read <a clicktracking="off" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/12/15/2024/activist-air-products-board-nominee-is-said-to-be-source-of-decade-old-ma-leak-court-filing?utm_medium=business&utm_campaign=boardroombattle&utm_source=nowcta" style="color:#243bb5;text-decoration:none">the rest of the story here</a>. →</p></td></tr></tbody></table></p><div style="height:10px"></div><p></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%"><style data-emotion="css 1hu9vey">.css-1hu9vey{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;gap:4px;padding:10px;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:120%;color:#53524c;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hu9vey:hover{cursor:pointer;}</style><a 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#1F1D1A;border-radius:999px">Dollar Diplomacy</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px"><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>The US dollar is climbing. </strong>The greenback has regained almost all the ground it lost against a basket of global currencies since Donald Trump <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/113573130299319701" target="_blank" class="dmlc">threatened sanctions</a> on any countries that backed away from it.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">His comments were aimed at Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, a loose coalition known as the BRICS that, for more than a decade, has been taking steps to build a global financial system that doesn’t revolve around the dollar.</p><span></span><a href="#" style="display:block" clicktracking="off"><img style="display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px" alt="A chart showing changes in the US dollar index between January and December 2024" src="https://img.semafor.com/ac568bfc216c185dbd4ae4a2d254f2f79ab94f74-1760x1644.png?w=1140&h=1065&q=95&auto=format" width="570" height="1065"></a><span></span><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">It’s been a decade since the group launched its own development bank, a competitor to the World Bank, and collectively set up a $100 billion bailout fund. But talk of a <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/what-is-brics-currency-could-one-be-adopted-2023-08-23/" target="_blank" class="dmlc">common currency</a> hasn’t gone far, and most of its members are facing their own domestic economic problems that an alternative to the Western financial order would do little to help, said Joe Brusuelas, global economist at accounting and advisory firm RSM.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">“We’re 10 years into this idea and there’s still no there there,” Brusuelas said.</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">The dollar accounts for <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/geoeconomics-center/dollar-dominance-monitor/" target="_blank" class="dmlc">58% of foreign exchange reserves</a>, and while that’s down slightly in recent years, the slack has been picked up by allied currencies like the Japanese yen and British pound. Chinese renminbi has actually fallen to 2.1% of reserves from a peak of 2.8% in 2022 — despite Beijing <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/internationalization-of-the-renmibi-via-bilateral-swap-lines/" target="_blank" class="dmlc">shoveling its currency</a> into developing economies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America through central-bank swap lines.</p><span></span><a href="#" style="display:block" clicktracking="off"><img style="display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px" alt="A chart showing different central bank reserves by currency, with the US dollar leading" src="https://img.semafor.com/d3b08f6a876fba834c9614699ec7ada71bf3154d-1000x1102.jpg?w=1140&h=1256&q=95&auto=format" width="570" height="1256"></a><span></span><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em">“The dollar is a trusted instrument, if sometimes not well liked,” Brusuelas said. Hopes among emerging economies for an alternative are “more aspiration than reality.”</p><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><strong>ROOM FOR DISAGREEMENT: </strong>The IMF <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/06/11/dollar-dominance-in-the-international-reserve-system-an-update" target="_blank" class="dmlc">notes</a> that countries that might be dumping dollars are also likely not to report their holdings of foreign reserves to the organization, which <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://datahelp.imf.org/knowledgebase/articles/505329-what-is-the-definition-of-unallocated-reserves-in" target="_blank" class="dmlc">doesn’t have visibility</a> into about one quarter of all global currency reserves.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><div 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style="display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman">↓</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table class="dmybo" width="99%" style="border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black" id="f"><tbody><tr><td style="padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px"><table id="#f" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td align="center" style="padding-bottom:10px"><span></span><span class="dmyt dmybo" style="font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px">One Good Text</span><span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td style="font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px"><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"><em>Lionel Barber is the former editor of the Financial Times (and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson’s former boss). ‘Gambling Man,’ his <a clicktracking="off" style="color:#0E29B5" href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gambling-Man/Lionel-Barber/9781668070741" target="_blank" class="dmlc">book</a> on SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, will be published on Jan. 21 by Simon & Schuster.</em></p><span></span><a href="#" style="display:block" clicktracking="off"><img style="display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px" alt="Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson: You just wrote a book on Masa Son. What’s he hoping to get out of promising Trump to invest $100bn in the US - and is he good for the money? Lionel Barber: Like Trump, Son is a showman. He wants to be seen with a winner. Having blown billions on WeWork, he’s mounting a comeback around AI. Like fellow tech bro Elon Musk, he needs friends in high places. He’s good for billions (but maybe not $100bn)" src="https://img.semafor.com/148dfcc8702d0f6db813add68ca5cf0204fb7a5a-1086x1350.png?w=1140&h=1417&q=95&auto=format" width="570" height="1417"></a><span></span><p class="dmwt" style="margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em"></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%"><style data-emotion="css 1hu9vey">.css-1hu9vey{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;gap:4px;padding:10px;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:120%;color:#53524c;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hu9vey:hover{cursor:pointer;}</style><a 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And a scoop on a boardroom fight at Air Products. \"}],[\"$\",\"meta\",\"17\",{\"name\":\"twitter:image\",\"content\":\"https://static.semafor.com/_next/static/media/semafor-og-lg.30379187.png\"}],[\"$\",\"link\",\"18\",{\"rel\":\"apple-touch-icon\",\"href\":\"/apple-touch-icon.png\",\"sizes\":\"180x180\"}],[\"$\",\"link\",\"19\",{\"rel\":\"icon\",\"href\":\"/favicon-32x32.png\",\"type\":\"image/png\",\"sizes\":\"32x32\"}],[\"$\",\"link\",\"20\",{\"rel\":\"icon\",\"href\":\"/favicon-16x16.png\",\"type\":\"image/png\",\"sizes\":\"16x16\"}],[\"$\",\"link\",\"21\",{\"rel\":\"mask-icon\",\"href\":\"/safari-pinned-tab-icon.svg\",\"type\":\"image/png\",\"sizes\":\"16x16\",\"color\":\"#000000\"}]]\n"])</script><script>self.__next_f.push([1,"7:null\n29:T148da,"])</script><script>self.__next_f.push([1,"\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan style=\"display:none\"\u003eIn today’s edition, SoftBank bets big on Trump’s America — again. Plus, how long can the dollar rema͏‌\u0026nbsp; ͏‌\u0026nbsp; ͏‌\u0026nbsp; ͏‌\u0026nbsp; ͏‌\u0026nbsp; ͏‌\u0026nbsp;\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"99%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-top:10px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"background-color:#D8EEE2\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd width=\"10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd width=\"12\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://static.semafor.com/_app/static/images/spinning-earth.20870f74e29772523899.gif\" alt=\"rotating globe\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\"\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"color:#53524C;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.75rem;line-height:14px;font-style:normal;margin-left:10px;text-transform:uppercase\"\u003eDecember 17, 2024\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd style=\"text-align:right\"\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr style=\"vertical-align:top\"\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:35px\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https://static.semafor.com/_app/static/images/semafor-logo.8d23aae71cf96b98328e.png\" width=\"188\" height=\"31\" alt=\"semafor\"\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr style=\"vertical-align:top\"\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003ch1 class=\"dmbt\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;font-weight:400;font-size:42px;color:#1F1D1A;text-transform:capitalize;margin:0;line-height:1.2\"\u003eBusiness\u003c/h1\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"right\"\u003e\u003cimg width=\"36\" height=\"37\" src=\"https://static.semafor.com/_app/static/images/icon-business.c46f0d728f652f51618e.png\" alt=\"business\"\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmyboc\" style=\"border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a;border-color:#9C9A92\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.semafor.com/newsletters?utm_campaign=businessweb\" clicktracking=\"off\" class=\"dmbt\" style=\"font-size:1.125rem;line-height:22px;vertical-align:top;text-decoration:none;font-family:Times New Roman, sans serif;color:#1f1d1a;position:relative\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSign up for our free newsletters\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan style=\"margin-left:3px\"\u003e→\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd width=\"10\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd height=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable width=\"\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cimg width=\"61\" height=\"61\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/1551c1f02005a2d088208a6004d1921628666991-1600x1600.png?fit=crop\u0026amp;crop=center\u0026amp;h=183\u0026amp;w=183\" alt=\"Liz Hoffman\" style=\"display:flex\"\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd valign=\"bottom\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmwt\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.75rem;line-height:110%;color:#1F1D1A;margin-left:10px;letter-spacing:-0.01em\"\u003eLiz Hoffman\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmyboc\" style=\"border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a;border-color:#9C9A92\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHi, and welcome back to Semafor Business.\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eWall Street investors come in two flavors. The “macro” crowd makes bets on global trends, and the “micro” crowd digs deep into company strategies and CEO leanings.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eThe global economy is a weird mix of both right now. It’s being driven by geopolitics and conflicts, hot and cold. But it’s also revolving around the whims of a single chief executive: Donald Trump has CEOs bending the knee, OPEC \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.ft.com/content/6e1a2bbb-09a5-405f-81c6-5f8c64315fd1\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ebacked into a corner\u003c/a\u003e, and \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2elggj813o\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003eJustin Trudeau’s government in crisis\u003c/a\u003e. If Trudeau is forced to resign, Canada would be the third major economy to see its government collapse, following Germany this week and France earlier this month (South Korea is on the ropes, too).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eWhat does all this mean for business? CEOs and investors are hearing what they want to hear, assuming that Trump’s promises of lighter regulation are real and his threats of mass deportations and steep tariffs are bluster. They’re putting more faith in the moderating influence of Treasury Secretary nominee Scott Bessent than hardliners like Stephen Miller and Peter Navarro.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://chiefexecutive.net/ceo-optimism-continues-post-election-surge-in-december-poll/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003eHere’s a survey\u003c/a\u003e that shows CEOs are more optimistic. \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.conference-board.org/topics/CEO-Confidence\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003eHere’s one\u003c/a\u003e that shows they’re more cautious. Who knows? I hate to keep carping on this, but we’re heading into the great dispersion. Contrarian bets will be punished or rewarded rather than just riding a tide of easy money and benign geopolitics.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eToday’s main story is about one big bet: A pledge by Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s CEO and one of the world’s true permabulls, to invest $100 billion into the US.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePlus, my new colleague Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,\u003c/strong\u003e who joined us last week from the Financial Times, makes his newsletter debut with One Good Text on the topic.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px;padding:0;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAnd: \u003c/strong\u003eWe’ll soon bring you some self-reflection and predictions as the year closes. But there’s always time for scoops, so do send your holiday specials!\u003c/p\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-top:20px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmyboc\" style=\"border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"line-height:25px;padding:20px 0px\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lmda\" style=\"font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmda\" style=\"display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable class=\"dmybo\" width=\"99%\" style=\"border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black\" id=\"a\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable id=\"#a\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmyt dmybo\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px\"\u003eBuy/Sell\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"#\" style=\"display:block\" clicktracking=\"off\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px\" alt=\"Marc Rowan, Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director, Apollo Global Management, LLC, takes part in a panel discussion of Credit Markets: What’s Next? during the 2014 Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/85c38abb7420d1c208d4d5e1d8458404b26930d0-1280x943.png?w=1140\u0026amp;h=840\u0026amp;q=95\u0026amp;auto=format\" width=\"570\" height=\"840\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cfigcaption style=\"font-family:Courier;font-size:0.75rem;font-weight:400;display:block;line-height:120%;padding:0px 0px 10px\"\u003eKevork Djansezian/File Photo/Reuters\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e➚ BUY: Heir time. \u003c/strong\u003eApollo’s Marc Rowan’s flirtation with the Treasury Secretary job highlighted the need for the firm to settle on a successor, \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.wsj.com/finance/apollo-ceos-flirtation-with-politics-brings-new-urgency-to-succession-planning-5829ad83?mod=finance_lead_pos5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003eWSJ reports\u003c/a\u003e. Apollo already had one messy near-handoff, when co-founder Josh Harris left after a \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-433-billion-wall-street-giant-has-a-reputation-problem-its-josh-harriss-job-to-fix-it-11604116827\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003emedia glowup\u003c/a\u003e that had tipped him as the firm’s next CEO.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e➘ SELL: Airtime.\u003c/strong\u003e ABC’s $15 million payout to Trump raises concerns of a press crackdown from the Oval Office — and capitulation inside newsrooms. Washington Post media watcher Erik Wemple \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/12/16/abc-news-trump-settlement-stephanopoulos/?itid=ap_erikwemple_2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ecalled\u003c/a\u003e it a “low, low point.”\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%\"\u003e\u003cstyle data-emotion=\"css 1hu9vey\"\u003e.css-1hu9vey{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;gap:4px;padding:10px;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:120%;color:#53524c;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hu9vey:hover{cursor:pointer;}\u003c/style\u003e\u003ca 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7.98432 12.7405 7.51897 12.7405ZM7.51897 11.7866C7.80223 11.7866 8.06019 11.7148 8.29287 11.5712C8.53566 11.4277 8.72787 11.2328 8.8695 10.9866C9.02124 10.7405 9.09712 10.4738 9.09712 10.1866C9.09712 9.8892 9.02124 9.62253 8.8695 9.38663C8.72787 9.14048 8.53566 8.94561 8.29287 8.80202C8.06019 8.65843 7.80223 8.58663 7.51897 8.58663C7.24583 8.58663 6.98786 8.65843 6.74507 8.80202C6.50228 8.94561 6.30501 9.14048 6.15326 9.38663C6.01163 9.62253 5.94082 9.8892 5.94082 10.1866C5.94082 10.4738 6.01163 10.7405 6.15326 10.9866C6.29489 11.2225 6.4871 11.4174 6.72989 11.5712C6.97269 11.7148 7.23571 11.7866 7.51897 11.7866ZM12.481 6.89432C12.7643 6.89432 13.0223 6.82253 13.2549 6.67894C13.4977 6.53535 13.6899 6.34048 13.8316 6.09432C13.9833 5.84817 14.0592 5.5815 14.0592 5.29432C14.0592 5.0174 13.9884 4.75586 13.8467 4.50971C13.7051 4.26356 13.5129 4.06868 13.2701 3.92509C13.0374 3.77125 12.7744 3.69433 12.481 3.69433C12.1978 3.69433 11.9347 3.77125 11.692 3.92509C11.4492 4.06868 11.257 4.26356 11.1153 4.50971C10.9737 4.74561 10.9029 5.00715 10.9029 5.29432C10.9029 5.5815 10.9737 5.84817 11.1153 6.09432C11.2671 6.34048 11.4593 6.53535 11.692 6.67894C11.9347 6.82253 12.1978 6.89432 12.481 6.89432Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\u003e\u003c/path\u003e\u003c/svg\u003eCopy\u0026nbsp;link\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/button\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"line-height:25px;padding:20px 0px\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lmda\" style=\"font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmda\" style=\"display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable class=\"dmybo\" width=\"99%\" style=\"border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black\" id=\"b\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable id=\"#b\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmyt dmybo\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px\"\u003eThe Tape\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px\"\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTikTok \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/tiktok-ban-supreme-court-bytedance-ee62ecaa?mod=hp_lead_pos10\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003eappeals\u003c/a\u003e to Supreme Court… \u003c/strong\u003ewhile its CEO \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://thehill.com/homenews/5043098-tiktok-ceo-meets-with-trump-at-mar-a-lago/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ecourts Trump\u003c/a\u003e… Fed \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.wsj.com/economy/central-banking/federal-reserve-interest-rates-2025-1c5cc687?mod=hp_lead_pos2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003eexpected\u003c/a\u003e to cut rates… but retail sales \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-retail-sales-beat-expectations-november-2024-12-17/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ecome in hot\u003c/a\u003e…Milei \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.ft.com/content/c92c1c71-99e7-49c1-b885-253033e26ea5\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003edrags\u003c/a\u003e Argentina out of recession… Ozy Media co-founder \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://apnews.com/article/carlos-watson-ozy-media-trial-sentencing-08f18ac01494d0b5f0285db32ff5ecb9\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003egets 10 years\u003c/a\u003e in prison… Corporate \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-16/sam-altman-vs-elon-musk-trump-vs-jerome-powell-2025-feud-watch?srnd=homepage-americas\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ebeefs to watch\u003c/a\u003e in 2025…\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%\"\u003e\u003cstyle data-emotion=\"css 1hu9vey\"\u003e.css-1hu9vey{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;gap:4px;padding:10px;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:120%;color:#53524c;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hu9vey:hover{cursor:pointer;}\u003c/style\u003e\u003ca 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7.98432 12.7405 7.51897 12.7405ZM7.51897 11.7866C7.80223 11.7866 8.06019 11.7148 8.29287 11.5712C8.53566 11.4277 8.72787 11.2328 8.8695 10.9866C9.02124 10.7405 9.09712 10.4738 9.09712 10.1866C9.09712 9.8892 9.02124 9.62253 8.8695 9.38663C8.72787 9.14048 8.53566 8.94561 8.29287 8.80202C8.06019 8.65843 7.80223 8.58663 7.51897 8.58663C7.24583 8.58663 6.98786 8.65843 6.74507 8.80202C6.50228 8.94561 6.30501 9.14048 6.15326 9.38663C6.01163 9.62253 5.94082 9.8892 5.94082 10.1866C5.94082 10.4738 6.01163 10.7405 6.15326 10.9866C6.29489 11.2225 6.4871 11.4174 6.72989 11.5712C6.97269 11.7148 7.23571 11.7866 7.51897 11.7866ZM12.481 6.89432C12.7643 6.89432 13.0223 6.82253 13.2549 6.67894C13.4977 6.53535 13.6899 6.34048 13.8316 6.09432C13.9833 5.84817 14.0592 5.5815 14.0592 5.29432C14.0592 5.0174 13.9884 4.75586 13.8467 4.50971C13.7051 4.26356 13.5129 4.06868 13.2701 3.92509C13.0374 3.77125 12.7744 3.69433 12.481 3.69433C12.1978 3.69433 11.9347 3.77125 11.692 3.92509C11.4492 4.06868 11.257 4.26356 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Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable class=\"dmybo\" width=\"99%\" style=\"border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black\" id=\"c\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable id=\"#c\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmyt dmybo\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px\"\u003eLiz Hoffman\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable width=\"100%\" align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd valign=\"top\" align=\"center\" style=\"padding:0px 10px 0px 10px\"\u003e\u003cimg width=\"61\" height=\"61\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/1551c1f02005a2d088208a6004d1921628666991-1600x1600.png?fit=crop\u0026amp;crop=center\u0026amp;h=183\u0026amp;w=183\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmwt\" style=\"font-family:Helvetica;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:10px;line-height:12px;color:#1F1D1A\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding:10px 0px 19px\"\u003e\u003ch2 class=\"dmyt\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:2rem;line-height:110%;font-weight:400;margin:0 10px\"\u003eSoftBank CEO pledges billions for Trump’s America, again\u003c/h2\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"#\" style=\"display:block\" clicktracking=\"off\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px\" alt=\"US President-elect Donald Trump embraces CEO of SoftBank Masayoshi Son at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/cae7b1ee720145ed3147931242462133986baecf-1280x914.png?rect=1,0,1279,914\u0026amp;w=1152\u0026amp;h=823\u0026amp;q=95\u0026amp;auto=format\" width=\"576\" height=\"823\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cfigcaption style=\"font-family:Courier;font-size:0.75rem;font-weight:400;display:block;line-height:120%;padding:0px 0px 10px\"\u003eBryan Snyder/Reuters\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTHE NEWS\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eSoftBank will invest $100 billion in the US, Donald Trump announced yesterday at Mar-a-Lago with CEO Masayoshi Son at his side. That’s double the $50 billion Son pledged after Trump’s 2016 win, pumping billions of dollars in startup investments that fueled the late 2010s Silicon Valley bubble.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e“I say, ‘President Trump is a double-down president, so I’m going to have to double down,’” Son said at Monday’s press conference. “That’s my confidence level.” (Trump asked Son on the spot yesterday to double down again to $200 billion. Son said he would try.)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLIZ’S VIEW\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eSoftBank doesn’t have $100 billion on hand, but assembling giant pools of \u003cem\u003eother\u003c/em\u003e people’s money is Son’s specialty. He got half of the Vision Fund’s $100 billion from Middle East governments and funded his dealmaking for years by mortgaging SoftBank’s stake in Alibaba to generate cash. The cornerstone of his telecom and technology empire — the 2006 purchase of Vodafone Japan — was done almost entirely with borrowed money. He has that in common with Trump, who has proudly dubbed himself the “King of debt.”\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eSemafor \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.semafor.com/article/10/21/2024/apollo-softbank-eyed-giant-ai-investment-fund\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ereported\u003c/a\u003e in October that SoftBank had discussed a partnership of at least $20 billion with Apollo to invest in data centers and other AI infrastructure. Those talks appear to have cooled, but expect Son to tap his global network to make good on his promise to Trump.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKNOW MORE\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eSon was, in Trump’s \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-201800463/pdf/DCPD-201800463.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003etelling\u003c/a\u003e, the first CEO to visit him after his 2016 win, but he has plenty of company this time around. Meta, Amazon, AI firm Perplexity and OpenAI founder Sam Altman have each pledged $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee. And executives including Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew, and Alphabet’s Sundar Pichai have or are expected to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. “The first term, everybody was fighting me,” Trump said at Monday’s news conference. “In this term, everybody wants to be my friend.”\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eTrump has been burned before by companies making big, job-creating promises. Foxconn’s planned $10 billion factory in Wisconsin, which was \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/us/politics/trump-wisconsin-foxconn-harley.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ekicked off by a shovel-wielding Trump in 2018\u003c/a\u003e, has been \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/21/foxconn-mostly-abandons-10-billion-wisconsin-project-touted-by-trump.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003edramatically scaled back\u003c/a\u003e. Son helped broker that deal and accompanied Trump to the ground-breaking.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmyboc\" style=\"border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"font-family:Helvetica;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:120%;margin:0\"\u003eRead what \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" href=\"https://www.semafor.com/article/12/17/2024/softbank-ceo-son-pledges-100b-in-us-projects-to-trump?utm_medium=business\u0026amp;utm_campaign=semaforstory\u0026amp;utm_source=nowcta\" style=\"color:#243bb5;text-decoration:none\"\u003eone of Son’s former top deputies thinks of his pledge.\u003c/a\u003e\u0026nbsp;→\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"height:10px\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%\"\u003e\u003cstyle data-emotion=\"css 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12.402C8.40415 12.6277 7.98432 12.7405 7.51897 12.7405ZM7.51897 11.7866C7.80223 11.7866 8.06019 11.7148 8.29287 11.5712C8.53566 11.4277 8.72787 11.2328 8.8695 10.9866C9.02124 10.7405 9.09712 10.4738 9.09712 10.1866C9.09712 9.8892 9.02124 9.62253 8.8695 9.38663C8.72787 9.14048 8.53566 8.94561 8.29287 8.80202C8.06019 8.65843 7.80223 8.58663 7.51897 8.58663C7.24583 8.58663 6.98786 8.65843 6.74507 8.80202C6.50228 8.94561 6.30501 9.14048 6.15326 9.38663C6.01163 9.62253 5.94082 9.8892 5.94082 10.1866C5.94082 10.4738 6.01163 10.7405 6.15326 10.9866C6.29489 11.2225 6.4871 11.4174 6.72989 11.5712C6.97269 11.7148 7.23571 11.7866 7.51897 11.7866ZM12.481 6.89432C12.7643 6.89432 13.0223 6.82253 13.2549 6.67894C13.4977 6.53535 13.6899 6.34048 13.8316 6.09432C13.9833 5.84817 14.0592 5.5815 14.0592 5.29432C14.0592 5.0174 13.9884 4.75586 13.8467 4.50971C13.7051 4.26356 13.5129 4.06868 13.2701 3.92509C13.0374 3.77125 12.7744 3.69433 12.481 3.69433C12.1978 3.69433 11.9347 3.77125 11.692 3.92509C11.4492 4.06868 11.257 4.26356 11.1153 4.50971C10.9737 4.74561 10.9029 5.00715 10.9029 5.29432C10.9029 5.5815 10.9737 5.84817 11.1153 6.09432C11.2671 6.34048 11.4593 6.53535 11.692 6.67894C11.9347 6.82253 12.1978 6.89432 12.481 6.89432Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\u003e\u003c/path\u003e\u003c/svg\u003eCopy\u0026nbsp;link\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/button\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"line-height:25px;padding:20px 0px\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lmda\" style=\"font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmda\" style=\"display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable class=\"dmybo\" width=\"99%\" style=\"border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black\" id=\"d\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable id=\"#d\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmyt dmybo\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px\"\u003eBoardroom Battle\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px\"\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAn activist investor’s nominee to the board of Air Products allegedly gave secret information to a friend about the 2014 sale of Covidien\u003c/strong\u003e, where he was a director, according to federal legal filings. A man who admitted to insider trading ahead of the takeover said in court in 2019 that the information came from Dennis Reilley, who is now one of four people nominated by hedge fund Mantle Ridge for Air Products’ board, Semafor reported.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmyboc\" style=\"border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"font-family:Helvetica;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:120%;margin:0\"\u003eRead \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" href=\"https://www.semafor.com/article/12/15/2024/activist-air-products-board-nominee-is-said-to-be-source-of-decade-old-ma-leak-court-filing?utm_medium=business\u0026amp;utm_campaign=boardroombattle\u0026amp;utm_source=nowcta\" style=\"color:#243bb5;text-decoration:none\"\u003ethe rest of the story here\u003c/a\u003e.\u0026nbsp;→\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"height:10px\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%\"\u003e\u003cstyle data-emotion=\"css 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8.21227 6.24431 7.98663C6.62873 7.75074 7.05362 7.63279 7.51897 7.63279C7.77188 7.63279 8.01467 7.67381 8.24734 7.75586C8.49014 7.82766 8.72281 7.94048 8.94537 8.09432L10.3566 6.66356C10.2251 6.46868 10.1239 6.25843 10.0531 6.03279C9.99241 5.79689 9.96206 5.55074 9.96206 5.29432C9.96206 4.83279 10.0733 4.40715 10.2959 4.0174C10.5286 3.62766 10.8321 3.31997 11.2064 3.09432C11.5908 2.85843 12.0157 2.74048 12.481 2.74048C12.9464 2.74048 13.3662 2.85843 13.7405 3.09432C14.1249 3.31997 14.4284 3.62766 14.651 4.0174C14.8837 4.40715 15 4.83279 15 5.29432C15 5.75586 14.8837 6.1815 14.651 6.57125C14.4284 6.96099 14.1249 7.27381 13.7405 7.50971C13.3662 7.73535 12.9464 7.84817 12.481 7.84817C12.218 7.84817 11.9651 7.81227 11.7223 7.74048C11.4795 7.65843 11.2418 7.53535 11.0091 7.37125L9.61305 8.78663C9.75468 8.99176 9.8609 9.21227 9.93171 9.44817C10.0025 9.68407 10.0379 9.93022 10.0379 10.1866C10.0379 10.6482 9.9216 11.0738 9.68892 11.4636C9.46636 11.8533 9.16287 12.1661 8.77845 12.402C8.40415 12.6277 7.98432 12.7405 7.51897 12.7405ZM7.51897 11.7866C7.80223 11.7866 8.06019 11.7148 8.29287 11.5712C8.53566 11.4277 8.72787 11.2328 8.8695 10.9866C9.02124 10.7405 9.09712 10.4738 9.09712 10.1866C9.09712 9.8892 9.02124 9.62253 8.8695 9.38663C8.72787 9.14048 8.53566 8.94561 8.29287 8.80202C8.06019 8.65843 7.80223 8.58663 7.51897 8.58663C7.24583 8.58663 6.98786 8.65843 6.74507 8.80202C6.50228 8.94561 6.30501 9.14048 6.15326 9.38663C6.01163 9.62253 5.94082 9.8892 5.94082 10.1866C5.94082 10.4738 6.01163 10.7405 6.15326 10.9866C6.29489 11.2225 6.4871 11.4174 6.72989 11.5712C6.97269 11.7148 7.23571 11.7866 7.51897 11.7866ZM12.481 6.89432C12.7643 6.89432 13.0223 6.82253 13.2549 6.67894C13.4977 6.53535 13.6899 6.34048 13.8316 6.09432C13.9833 5.84817 14.0592 5.5815 14.0592 5.29432C14.0592 5.0174 13.9884 4.75586 13.8467 4.50971C13.7051 4.26356 13.5129 4.06868 13.2701 3.92509C13.0374 3.77125 12.7744 3.69433 12.481 3.69433C12.1978 3.69433 11.9347 3.77125 11.692 3.92509C11.4492 4.06868 11.257 4.26356 11.1153 4.50971C10.9737 4.74561 10.9029 5.00715 10.9029 5.29432C10.9029 5.5815 10.9737 5.84817 11.1153 6.09432C11.2671 6.34048 11.4593 6.53535 11.692 6.67894C11.9347 6.82253 12.1978 6.89432 12.481 6.89432Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\u003e\u003c/path\u003e\u003c/svg\u003eCopy\u0026nbsp;link\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/button\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"line-height:25px;padding:20px 0px\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lmda\" style=\"font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmda\" style=\"display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable class=\"dmybo\" width=\"99%\" style=\"border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black\" id=\"e\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable id=\"#e\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmyt dmybo\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px\"\u003eDollar Diplomacy\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px\"\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe US dollar is climbing. \u003c/strong\u003eThe greenback has regained almost all the ground it lost against a basket of global currencies since Donald Trump \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/113573130299319701\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ethreatened sanctions\u003c/a\u003e on any countries that backed away from it.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eHis comments were aimed at Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, a loose coalition known as the BRICS that, for more than a decade, has been taking steps to build a global financial system that doesn’t revolve around the dollar.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"#\" style=\"display:block\" clicktracking=\"off\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px\" alt=\"A chart showing changes in the US dollar index between January and December 2024\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/ac568bfc216c185dbd4ae4a2d254f2f79ab94f74-1760x1644.png?w=1140\u0026amp;h=1065\u0026amp;q=95\u0026amp;auto=format\" width=\"570\" height=\"1065\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eIt’s been a decade since the group launched its own development bank, a competitor to the World Bank, and collectively set up a $100 billion bailout fund. But talk of a \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/what-is-brics-currency-could-one-be-adopted-2023-08-23/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ecommon currency\u003c/a\u003e hasn’t gone far, and most of its members are facing their own domestic economic problems that an alternative to the Western financial order would do little to help, said Joe Brusuelas, global economist at accounting and advisory firm RSM.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e“We’re 10 years into this idea and there’s still no there there,” Brusuelas said.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eThe dollar accounts for \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/geoeconomics-center/dollar-dominance-monitor/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003e58% of foreign exchange reserves\u003c/a\u003e, and while that’s down slightly in recent years, the slack has been picked up by allied currencies like the Japanese yen and British pound. Chinese renminbi has actually fallen to 2.1% of reserves from a peak of 2.8% in 2022 — despite Beijing \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/internationalization-of-the-renmibi-via-bilateral-swap-lines/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003eshoveling its currency\u003c/a\u003e into developing economies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America through central-bank swap lines.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"#\" style=\"display:block\" clicktracking=\"off\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px\" alt=\"A chart showing different central bank reserves by currency, with the US dollar leading\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/d3b08f6a876fba834c9614699ec7ada71bf3154d-1000x1102.jpg?w=1140\u0026amp;h=1256\u0026amp;q=95\u0026amp;auto=format\" width=\"570\" height=\"1256\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e“The dollar is a trusted instrument, if sometimes not well liked,” Brusuelas said. Hopes among emerging economies for an alternative are “more aspiration than reality.”\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eROOM FOR DISAGREEMENT: \u003c/strong\u003eThe IMF \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/06/11/dollar-dominance-in-the-international-reserve-system-an-update\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003enotes\u003c/a\u003e that countries that might be dumping dollars are also likely not to report their holdings of foreign reserves to the organization, which \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://datahelp.imf.org/knowledgebase/articles/505329-what-is-the-definition-of-unallocated-reserves-in\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003edoesn’t have visibility\u003c/a\u003e into about one quarter of all global currency reserves.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%\"\u003e\u003cstyle data-emotion=\"css 1hu9vey\"\u003e.css-1hu9vey{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;gap:4px;padding:10px;-webkit-box-flex-wrap:nowrap;-webkit-flex-wrap:nowrap;-ms-flex-wrap:nowrap;flex-wrap:nowrap;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:0.8125rem;line-height:120%;color:#53524c;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1hu9vey:hover{cursor:pointer;}\u003c/style\u003e\u003ca 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12.6277 7.98432 12.7405 7.51897 12.7405ZM7.51897 11.7866C7.80223 11.7866 8.06019 11.7148 8.29287 11.5712C8.53566 11.4277 8.72787 11.2328 8.8695 10.9866C9.02124 10.7405 9.09712 10.4738 9.09712 10.1866C9.09712 9.8892 9.02124 9.62253 8.8695 9.38663C8.72787 9.14048 8.53566 8.94561 8.29287 8.80202C8.06019 8.65843 7.80223 8.58663 7.51897 8.58663C7.24583 8.58663 6.98786 8.65843 6.74507 8.80202C6.50228 8.94561 6.30501 9.14048 6.15326 9.38663C6.01163 9.62253 5.94082 9.8892 5.94082 10.1866C5.94082 10.4738 6.01163 10.7405 6.15326 10.9866C6.29489 11.2225 6.4871 11.4174 6.72989 11.5712C6.97269 11.7148 7.23571 11.7866 7.51897 11.7866ZM12.481 6.89432C12.7643 6.89432 13.0223 6.82253 13.2549 6.67894C13.4977 6.53535 13.6899 6.34048 13.8316 6.09432C13.9833 5.84817 14.0592 5.5815 14.0592 5.29432C14.0592 5.0174 13.9884 4.75586 13.8467 4.50971C13.7051 4.26356 13.5129 4.06868 13.2701 3.92509C13.0374 3.77125 12.7744 3.69433 12.481 3.69433C12.1978 3.69433 11.9347 3.77125 11.692 3.92509C11.4492 4.06868 11.257 4.26356 11.1153 4.50971C10.9737 4.74561 10.9029 5.00715 10.9029 5.29432C10.9029 5.5815 10.9737 5.84817 11.1153 6.09432C11.2671 6.34048 11.4593 6.53535 11.692 6.67894C11.9347 6.82253 12.1978 6.89432 12.481 6.89432Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\u003e\u003c/path\u003e\u003c/svg\u003eCopy\u0026nbsp;link\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/button\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"line-height:25px;padding:20px 0px\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lmda\" style=\"font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmda\" style=\"display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable class=\"dmybo\" width=\"99%\" style=\"border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black\" id=\"f\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable id=\"#f\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmyt dmybo\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px\"\u003eOne Good Text\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px\"\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eLionel Barber is the former editor of the Financial Times (and Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson’s former boss). ‘Gambling Man,’ his \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Gambling-Man/Lionel-Barber/9781668070741\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003ebook\u003c/a\u003e on SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son, will be published on Jan. 21 by Simon \u0026amp; Schuster.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"#\" style=\"display:block\" clicktracking=\"off\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px\" alt=\"Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson: You just wrote a book on Masa Son. What’s he hoping to get out of promising Trump to invest $100bn in the US - and is he good for the money? Lionel Barber: Like Trump, Son is a showman. He wants to be seen with a winner. Having blown billions on WeWork, he’s mounting a comeback around AI. Like fellow tech bro Elon Musk, he needs friends in high places. He’s good for billions (but maybe not $100bn)\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/148dfcc8702d0f6db813add68ca5cf0204fb7a5a-1086x1350.png?w=1140\u0026amp;h=1417\u0026amp;q=95\u0026amp;auto=format\" width=\"570\" height=\"1417\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;justify-content:center;width:100%\"\u003e\u003cstyle data-emotion=\"css 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align=\"left\" valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"line-height:25px;padding:20px 0px\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"lmda\" style=\"font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmda\" style=\"display:none;font-size:40px;font-family:Times New Roman\"\u003e↓\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable class=\"dmybo\" width=\"99%\" style=\"border:1px solid black;mso-border-right-alt:1px solid black\" id=\"g\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"padding-top:20px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctable id=\"#g\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"center\" style=\"padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"dmyt dmybo\" style=\"font-family:Times New Roman;width:fit-content;padding:4px 10px;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:21px;color:#1F1D1A;margin:0 8px;word-break:break-word;display:inline-block;border:1px solid #1F1D1A;border-radius:999px\"\u003eSemafor Spotlight\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd style=\"font-size:1.125rem;font-family:Times New Roman;line-height:32px;font-weight:400;color:#1F1D1A;padding:0px 10px 20px\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"#\" style=\"display:block\" clicktracking=\"off\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px\" alt=\"A graphic saying “A great read from Semafor Media”\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/84f3d36758c6f4f3887891c1dac27b0e9d1c55c5-1340x384.png?rect=1,0,1339,384\u0026amp;w=1140\u0026amp;h=327\u0026amp;q=95\u0026amp;auto=format\" width=\"570\" height=\"327\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"#\" style=\"display:block\" clicktracking=\"off\"\u003e\u003cimg style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto;padding-bottom:10px\" alt=\"Vice President Kamala Harris speaking\" src=\"https://img.semafor.com/a28367d21e481e5cdb63be28ef08c5d1d9a3033a-3413x2560.jpg?w=1140\u0026amp;h=855\u0026amp;q=95\u0026amp;auto=format\" width=\"570\" height=\"855\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003cfigcaption style=\"font-family:Courier;font-size:0.75rem;font-weight:400;display:block;line-height:120%;padding:0px 0px 10px\"\u003eKevin Lamarque/Reuters\u003c/figcaption\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAfter Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee, deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty turned to sports\u003c/strong\u003e to reach those who aren’t obsessed with politics,\u0026nbsp;he told Semafor’s Max Tani.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003eThe campaign’s \u003ca clicktracking=\"off\" style=\"color:#0E29B5\" href=\"https://www.semafor.com/article/12/15/2024/kamala-harris-digital-chief-on-democrats-losing-hold-of-culture?\u0026amp;utm_medium=flagship\u0026amp;utm_campaign=spotlight\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"dmlc\"\u003efailure to completely crack the sports sphere\u003c/a\u003e was, to Flaherty, ominous. “When it’s not cool to talk about politics,” he said, “you’re kind of afraid of the audience.” \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" style=\"margin:0px 0px 20px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Times New Roman;color:#1F1D1A;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;font-size:1.25rem;line-height:120%;letter-spacing:-0.02em\"\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\" width=\"100%\" align=\"left\" valign=\"top\" style=\"padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--[if !mso]\u003e\u003c! --\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"dmyboc\" style=\"border-top:1px dashed #1f1d1a\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c!--\u003c![endif]--\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd valign=\"top\"\u003e\u003cp class=\"dmwt\" 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