Stocks

Masayoshi Son is pushing SoftBank to lock in the remaining $22.5 billion for OpenAI by year-end, reportedly using asset disposals and borrowing. The group has sold its $5.8 billion Nvidia stake, pared $4.8 billion in T-Mobile US, and expanded Arm-backed margin loans to lift unused capacity to $11.5 billion.

Bitcoin advocate and market analyst Matthew Kratter argues that BTC’s monetary traits make it a superior long‑term store of value to gold. He cautions holders against selling Bitcoin to buy gold even if the metal rises above $4,000 per ounce, and, according to TradingView, 2025 charts show a sharp divergence between BTC and gold.

Caterpillar Inc. fell 4.7% on Wednesday, its sharpest one‑day decline since April, and was down about 9.6% by Thursday after five sessions, pulling back from a record high near $627.50. Analysts said skepticism about AI‑driven trades is weighing on AI‑linked names, while Caterpillar points to a November Vertiv partnership focused on on‑site power and cooling for data centers.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced settlements with former FTX executives, with enforcement actions pending court approval. The measures bar them from serving as officers or directors of public companies, in some cases for up to ten years, and do not include monetary penalties. Caroline Ellison is expected to face a 10-year officer/director bar related to misused FTX customer funds.

Jim Cramer said OpenAI should raise at least $200B, citing a $300B obligation to Oracle, to shore up the data center trade. He warned the sector could slump without swift funding and floated a $1T valuation. U.S. stocks rose on December 19, with AI-linked names such as Oracle and Nvidia gaining.

Spot XRP ETFs have logged 25 consecutive trading days without net outflows since the Nov. 13 U.S. launch, reaching $1.070 billion in cumulative net inflows by Friday. Weekly additions of $82.04 million surpassed BTC and ETH products, which saw nearly $500 million and $650 million outflows, while Solana funds remained positive for 12 straight days.

VanEck filed a third amendment with the SEC for a spot Avalanche (AVAX) ETF, seeking a Nasdaq listing under the ticker VAVX. The filing sets a 0.30% management fee and names Coinbase Crypto Services for staking, Anchorage Digital Bank as primary custodian, and State Street for cash. It also references Coinbase Custody for secondary services.

On December 20, 2025, JPMorgan Chase's Dubravko Lakos said in a CNBC interview that the S&P 500 could climb to 8,000 in 2026 if the Federal Reserve eases more than one additional time. If the Fed delivers only one further cut, the bank's target is 7,000–7,500. Lakos added that rate reductions may support weaker parts of a "k-shaped" economy.

On December 20, 2025, performance data showed gold and silver-focused funds led 2025 rankings. Franklin Gold and Precious Metals Fund returned 184.33%, with multiple UK and EU strategies posting gains above 150%. Record gold above $4,300/oz and silver crossing $60/oz were cited as drivers, alongside easing-rate expectations and macro uncertainty.

On December 20 2025, the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a 2024 ruling and reinstated Elon Musk's $56 billion Tesla compensation plan from 2018, returning 303 million shares valued at about $150 billion. The decision leaves Tesla to determine the fate of a newer pay proposal that could have reached $1 trillion, while awarding $54.5 million in legal fees to the shareholder plaintiff's attorneys.