This is CNBC's live blog covering Asia-Pacific markets. Asia-Pacific markets are set to open higher on Tuesday, tracking gains on Wall Street as U.S. benchmarks notched record highs following President-elect Donald Trump's choice for Treasury secretary. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.14% higher in its first hour of trade, after hitting a new all-time closing high on Monday . Japan's Nikkei 225 futures pointed to a stronger open for the market, with the futures contract in Chicago at 38,875 and its counterpart in Osaka at 38,830 compared to the previous close of 38,780.14. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index futures were at 19,245, higher than the HSI's last close of 19,150.99. Traders in Asia-Pacific will be monitoring the release of Japan's October services producer price index, and Singapore's manufacturing output for the same month. For the latter, Reuters' analysts expect a 2.2% year-on-year climb, compared to a 9.8% increase in September. In the U.S., a rally in stocks propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and the Russell 2000 index to reach new highs on Monday as investors cheered Trump's decision to nominate Scott Bessent, the founder of Key Square Group. The blue-chip Dow rose 440.06 points, or 0.99%, to 44,736.57. The broad S&P 500 gained 0.3% to end at 5,987.37. Both hit new all-time highs in the session, while the Dow also notched a fresh record close. The Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.27%, finishing the day at 19,054.84. —CNBC's Alex Harring and Hakyung Kim contributed to this report. Russell 2000 outperforms, hits new all-time high Small-cap stocks saw outsized gains on Monday, continuing the recent trend and notching a new record. The Russell 2000 climbed 2% in the session and notched a fresh all-time high, surpassing a prior record set in 2021. With that, the index is up about 6.5% compared to one week ago. By comparison, the S&P 500 ticked up just about 0.3% in the session. Its one-week gain sits at just around 1.5%. This outperformance can be attributed to expectations for the group to benefit under President-elect Trump. That is because of the Republican's preference for less regulation, which is a stance typically considered good for smaller firms. — Alex Harring CNBC Pro: Barclays says these global stocks are ripe for share buybacks — and analysts give one 45% upside European equity markets might look "gloomy" right now, but Barclays noted that one investment strategy has delivered "solid outperformance" over recent months. "Buyback strategies remain a bright spot for Europe, with strong volumes and returns. Amid a gloomy equity market, our buyback announcement basket (BCEUBUYB) has outperformed by 4.6% since Oct," the investment bank's strategists wrote in a Nov. 21 research note. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Amala Balakrishner CNBC Pro: Hedge fund bets on a key oil and gas supply chain stock, expecting 300% upside Shares of a critical player in the shallow water oil and gas drilling industry, have received renewed backing from a hedge fund, with potential projected returns of 300% to 400%. The investment case is strengthened by several fundamental market dynamics, including a lack of supply with future demand expected to rise, according to the hedge fund manager. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Ganesh Rao
More than 227,000 people were killed in the December 26, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and experts warn it could happen again. The pain is still fresh as Cut Sylvia recalls the last time she looked into her two-year-old daughter’s eyes. It was a normal morning in the Indonesian coastal city of Banda Aceh in north Sumatra when Sylvia and her husband began to see people fleeing in front of their home, warning of oncoming sea water. Holding her infant daughter, Siti, in her arms, it was a matter of minutes before Sylvia was overwhelmed by the waves inundating their home. “I cannot describe that moment when I saw her eyes, and she saw my eyes, and we were staring at each other,” Sylvia told Al Jazeera. “She was not even crying or saying anything. She was just staring at me. I knew that we would be separated,” she said. Siti was swept away, taken by the tsunami. After 15 minutes of feeling as though she was “in a washing machine”, Sylvia clambered on to the rooftop of a house where the enormity of what had just happened began to sink in. “I felt so sad, very sad. I cannot express with words what I felt when I knew my daughter was lost.” Sylvia’s husband, Budi Permana, was also washed away, finding safety at the top of a coconut tree – the height the sea waters had risen to. He later collapsed from exhaustion while searching for his family and was found by members of the Red Cross, who initially thought he was dead. Sylvia and Budi were reunited a week later in the city of Medan, 600km (370 miles) from their destroyed home in Banda Aceh. No trace of Siti has ever been found. Lacking closure over the fate of their young daughter, the couple’s grief remains fresh as they, and the world, mark the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami – the deadliest and most destructive in recorded human history. ‘They tend to just destroy everything’ Just before 8am local time on December 26, 2004, a magnitude 9.2 to 9.3 earthquake struck off the west coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh in northern Sumatra. An estimated 227,898 people were killed or declared missing across 14 countries in the tsunamis that followed. Indonesia was the hardest hit, followed by Sri Lanka and Thailand, while the furthest fatality from the epicentre was reported in the South African city of Port Elizabeth. With 131,000 people killed, it remains by a considerable margin the deadliest natural disaster in the history of Indonesia – the world’s second most disaster-prone country after the Philippines. While great advances have been made in tsunami research, sea defences, and the development of early warning systems in the two decades since the Indian Ocean disaster, experts warn that complacency is setting in as memories fade of the scale of the destruction in 2004. “The thing that’s misunderstood is that a tsunami is not an ultrarare hazard. It’s actually a relatively common hazard,” said David McGovern, a senior lecturer and tsunami expert at the London South Bank University, pointing to a deadly tsunami that battered Japan just seven years later in 2011, the result of the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded. “There are around two tsunamis on average a year that cause death or damage,” he told Al Jazeera. Concerns about complacency were high on the agenda as some of the world’s leading tsunami engineering experts gathered on December 6 in London at a symposium to mark the 20th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, as well as to take stock of the current state of tsunami research. In a twist of fate, a day earlier, while the attendees were eating dinner at a restaurant in central London, news of a powerful magnitude 7 earthquake off the United States West Coast filtered through to the group. The earthquake triggered a tsunami alert, impacting some 500 miles (800km) of the California and Oregon coastline. Though the alert was later rescinded, McGovern said the timing “felt strange, to say the least”. The alert only “reiterated the importance of the symposium and the message it was trying to deliver”, he said. McGovern, a key researcher at MAKEWAVES – a multi-institutional and multinational project founded by tsunami researchers – said a “heck of a lot” has been learned over two decades of research since the Indian Ocean tsunami, including simply how the waves deliver damage. “That’s something we didn’t know. And the reason we didn’t know was because tsunamis, in real life, are so destructive that when you do field surveys, the only information they really give you is the maximum values of the destruction,” he said. “They’re so destructive, they tend to just destroy everything.” The group’s latest project, announced in September, is the development of a prototype design for what would be a pioneering machine in tsunami wave generation technology – the Tsunami Twin Wave. When the prototype schematic is completed in 2026, the United Kingdom government-funded design will model for the first time the impact of multiple incoming and outgoing tsunami waves, not only showing how tsunamis cause damage as they come in, but also how they cause damage as they return to sea. This seemingly simple innovation will fill a “huge knowledge gap” in the field, McGovern said. Due in part to the misperception of tsunamis being a rare phenomenon, researchers at MAKEWAVES are “always fighting the lack of funding” for tsunami research, McGovern said. This relative apathy comes despite the heightened risk posed by tsunamis in the coming decades, as sea level rises caused by climate change look set to only exacerbate the issue. “My hope on the 20th anniversary is that we don’t forget this risk, we don’t assume it was a once in a millennium event, and we continue to prioritise one of the most deadly natural hazards humanity faces,” he said. ‘I didn’t know it would happen so quickly’ It is a question of when, not if, a devastating tsunami of the same scale as 2004 hits again, experts say. Predicting exactly when such an event will happen is impossible, but few have come closer than Phil Cummins. He has been described as the person who “essentially predicted” the 2004 tsunami. More than a year before the Indian Ocean tsunami struck – at an October 2003 meeting of the International Coordination Group for the Tsunami Warning System in the Pacific – Cummins, a seismologist, called for alert systems to be expanded to the Indian Ocean due to what he perceived to be the growing risk of a devastating wave. Referencing Dutch colonial-era records in Indonesia, he told the meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, that great 19th-century earthquakes caused by fault lines west of Sumatra had generated destructive ocean-spanning waves, and a recurrence of such an event was just a matter of time. Just months before the tsunami, in August 2004, Cummins reiterated his concerns in a PowerPoint presentation to experts in Japan and Hawaii. He again warned that a giant earthquake could occur in central Sumatra at any time, posing a grave danger to several countries from tsunamis. Not even Cummins realised just how prophetic his warning would be. “I was shocked,” said Cummins, an adjunct professor at the Australian National University. “I guess there were feelings of vindication, but also feelings of guilt, because I hadn’t been standing on the ramparts and screaming up and down. In retrospect, I should have done that, but I didn’t know it would happen so quickly,” he told Al Jazeera. While the tragedy that unfolded on December 26, 2004 proved Cummins’s prediction eerily accurate, he was wrong about one aspect – the earthquake’s epicentre was in north Sumatra, not central. In 2003, Cummins and his colleagues at Geoscience Australia had used a computer simulation to map a magnitude 8.8 to 9.2 underwater earthquake that hit off the coast of central Sumatra in 1833, causing a major tsunami. That simulation showed the earthquake’s epicentre was near the cities of Bengkulu and Padang – about 500km (310 miles) south of the 2004 tsunami’s epicentre. Cummins believed that this area was the “number one place” for a major earthquake and tsunami to recur. “That’s where everyone thought the next tsunami would be, Padang,” Cummins said. “The really odd thing is that it still hasn’t occurred. Everyone thought it was going to happen for sure, but here we are in 2024. It’s mysterious,” he said, adding that such an event occurring off the coast of Padang is “still a major concern”. “Twenty years have gone by, I worry that people have gotten more complacent, perhaps myself included, and I don’t know why it hasn’t happened,” he said. “From what we know, I’d say it’s still the number one place.” ‘People have become more complacent’ Despite major advances in earthquake alert systems and tsunami awareness and preparedness in coastal communities in countries such as Indonesia, Cummins warned that there is only so much that can be done to protect those living near the likely epicentre of future disasters. “We still haven’t solved the problem of what to do about communities right next to the earthquake that might be hit by a tsunami. That can happen in as little as 10 or maybe 30 minutes, it’s very little time to get a warning out and for people to react,” he said, pointing to the example of Padang. “Even though there is some awareness there, I don’t think there is any sense of urgency. I think people have become more complacent. It’s a very crowded coastal strip, a low-lying coastal strip. There’s a river that the population would have to get across. I think it’ll be very difficult to evacuate,” he said. Rina Suryani Oktari, a professor at Syiah Kuala University in Banda Aceh, has witnessed a similar complacency set in among coastal communities in northern Sumatra as time has passed. A coordinator for the Disaster Education and Management Research Cluster at the Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center, Oktari said cheap land prices have drawn many people back to high-risk coastal areas. “We are now better prepared, but there’s still a possibility that there will be a big number of victims if there’s another tsunami,” she told Al Jazeera. “Many people have come back to live in the coastal area. The population is now even higher than before the [2004] tsunami.” Cummins, for his part, cautioned that a new mega-tsunami could hit at any time, without warning. “A lot of people are going to die no matter what,” he said, adding, the “losses will be much greater” if communities are not well drilled. One couple who have not grown complacent are Budi and Sylvia, who still recount their loss of Siti as a cautionary tale for other Indonesians. Budi will never give up hope of finding his daughter, despite the two decades that have passed since she slipped from Sylvia’s arms. He said that for many years, while working for the Red Cross, and now Islamic Relief, he would visit orphanages, asking if they had any girls who had been found during the 2004 tsunami. Budi draws inspiration from the case of one Indonesian girl who was reunited with her family in 2014, 10 years after she was swept away during the tsunami as a four-year-old. “I hope that also happens with my daughter,” he said. “I hope.”
Rupert Murdoch's audacious bid to cement his eldest son's control over one of the world's most influential media empires has failed, a US report said Monday. The first family of news -- commanding a stable that includes Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and a host of British and Australian media -- had been the inspiration for the hit TV series "Succession." Like the fictional version, this real-life fight pitted the children of a powerful patriarch against each other for who should be the face and the voice of the empire after the old man dies. Murdoch, now 93, had long intended that his children inherit the empire, and jointly decide its direction. The eldest daughter, Prudence, has had little involvement in the family business, but at various times the other three -- Lachlan, James and Elisabeth -- have all been considered as successors. But in recent years Murdoch senior had reportedly grown concerned that Fox News -- the crown jewels of the collection -- might drift away from its lucrative right-wing moorings after his death, to reflect the more centrist views of James and Elisabeth. He had therefore sought to designate Lachlan -- who currently heads Fox News and News Corp -- as the controlling player in the wider business. That had required rewriting the terms of an irrevocable trust that passed power to the four siblings jointly, stripping three of them of voting power, while allowing them to continue to benefit financially. Rupert Murdoch had argued that giving control to Lachlan -- who is understood to share his father's worldview -- was in the financial interests of the whole brood. The family intrigue played out behind closed doors in a Nevada courtroom, where Murdoch senior and his four children were understood to have given several days' evidence in September. In a decision filed at the weekend, probate commissioner Edmund J. Gorman Jr. said the father and son had acted in "bad faith" in trying to rewrite the rules, The New York Times reported, citing a copy of the sealed court document. The plan to alter the trust's structure was a "carefully crafted charade" to "permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch's executive roles." "The effort was an attempt to stack the deck in Lachlan Murdoch's favor after Rupert Murdoch's passing so that his succession would be immutable," the Times cited the ruling as saying. "The play might have worked; but an evidentiary hearing, like a showdown in a game of poker, is where gamesmanship collides with the facts and at its conclusion, all the bluffs are called and the cards lie face up. "The court, after considering the facts of this case in the light of the law, sees the cards for what they are and concludes this raw deal will not, over the signature of this probate commissioner, prevail." Murdoch's lawyer, Adam Streisand, did not immediately reply to an AFP request for comment. The ruling is not final, and must now be ratified or rejected by a district judge. That ruling could be challenged, perhaps provoking another round of legal arguments. The complicated structure of the irrevocable trust reflects the colourful familial relationships that shaped Rupert Murdoch's life as he built the multibillion-dollar empire. The trust was reported to have been the result of a deal agreed with his second wife -- mother of Lachlan, Elisabeth and James -- who wanted to ensure her offspring would not be disenfranchised by children Murdoch had with his third wife, Wendi Deng. The Murdoch empire has transformed tabloid newspapers, cable TV and satellite broadcasting over the last few decades while facing accusations of stoking populism across the English-speaking world. Brexit in Britain and the rise of Donald Trump in the United States are credited at least partly to Murdoch and his outlets. hg/nroNone
CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) — Southern Illinois quarterback Michael Lindauer's coming-out party also was a dazzling farewell. The senior graduate assistant, pressed into duty as a player again when injuries left the Salukis in need of a quarterback, made his first career start — on Senior Day, no less — and threw for a school-record seven touchdowns in a 62-0 victory over Murray State on Saturday. “This was incredible,” Lindauer said. “The guys around me — thank the guys. The receivers were making plays, the O-line's blocking. When you get on a roll like that, stuff just starts happening.” The fifth-year senior, a transfer from Cincinnati, completed 20 of 33 passes for 283 yards. Keontez Lewis caught scoring passes of 4 and 64 yards. Bradley Clark had TDs of 35 and 23 yards. Nah’shawn Hezekiah had touchdowns of 19 and 35 yards on his two catches. And Jay Jones caught one pass for 1 yard — also a touchdown. Before the game, Lindauer had attempted 27 career passes. “Now, he's in the record book,” Salukis coach Nick Hill said. “It will be a hard record to beat, seven TDs in one game. ... What he's done ... just being so selfless and coming back and being a player. The team needed it. ... It’s a testament that if you stay committed, do the right things, have a great attitude, you’re going to get rewarded at some point, and he was rewarded in a big way today.” Southern Illinois finished the season 4-8 overall and 2-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference, but “to go out like that, that's a good way to go out,” Hill said. Lindauer was named the MVC offensive player of the week for his performance in his first and last career start. He plans to return in the spring, again as a graduate assistant coach, but this time with a resume to lean on. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-footballThe recent announcement of Gary Gensler ‘ s departure from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sent ripples through the blockchain industry. Gensler, who served as the SEC Chair, was known for his stringent approach to regulating the crypto market. His tenure saw the implementation of robust rulemaking to enhance the efficiency, resiliency, and integrity of the U.S. capital markets, as well as high-impact enforcement cases to hold wrongdoers accountable. Gensler’s exit marks a significant turning point for the blockchain industry, which has long been under the scrutiny of the SEC. Under his leadership, the SEC pursued an aggressive enforcement strategy that led to numerous lawsuits and significant costs for crypto companies. This approach, while aimed at protecting investors and ensuring market integrity, has been viewed by many in the crypto space as a hindrance to innovation and growth. Gensler’s approach to regulation was often seen as aggressive, especially by those within the crypto industry. He emphasized investor protection and was vocal about the risks associated with the burgeoning market. Under his watch, the SEC took action against several key players in the crypto space for various violations. Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025 ) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts. Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here. Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and i nvest in Africa’s finest startups here . However, Gensler’s strict regulatory stance also coincided with significant milestones for the industry. For instance, the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the spot price of Bitcoin was a notable achievement, providing investors with easier access to the cryptocurrency. The reaction to Gensler’s resignation has been mixed. Some view it as a loss of a regulatory figure who prioritized investor protection, while others see it as an opportunity for a more lenient regulatory environment. The market’s response was immediate, with cryptocurrencies like XRP and Bitcoin experiencing notable price surges following the announcement. The blockchain industry is now at a crossroads, with Gensler’s departure signaling a potential shift in regulatory stance. The next chair will face the challenge of balancing the need for investor protection with the industry’s call for a more conducive regulatory environment that fosters innovation. The crypto community has expressed hope that the new leadership will bring a fresh perspective to digital asset regulation and engage in meaningful dialogue with market participants. The impact of this leadership change on the blockchain industry cannot be overstated. A more collaborative approach between regulators and the crypto sector could lead to the development of a regulatory framework that not only protects consumers but also supports the advancement of blockchain technology. Such a framework could position the United States as a global leader in the digital asset space, attracting investment and fostering innovation. As the industry awaits the appointment of a new SEC Chair, there is a sense of cautious optimism. The blockchain community hopes for a regulatory environment that is clear, fair, and conducive to growth. The coming months will be crucial in determining the direction of U.S. crypto policy and its implications for the global blockchain ecosystem. Gary Gensler’s resignation from the SEC opens up a new chapter for the blockchain industry. It presents an opportunity for a reset in the relationship between regulators and the crypto market. The industry looks forward to a regulatory approach that encourages innovation while upholding the integrity of the markets. The legacy of Gensler’s tenure will continue to influence the SEC’s policies, but the future now holds the promise of a fresh start for the blockchain industry.Senate NASA bill focuses on commercial space stations, science mission overruns
Ellington Credit Prepares for Special Meeting and Issues Mirror Preferred Stock
World News | Latifa Bint Mohammed Unveils Groundbreaking Report on Dubai's Creative EconomyBayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Victor Boniface sustained a minor injury during Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Rwanda in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Monday, November 18. Boniface featured for 89 minutes before being replaced by Umar Sadiq. Despite his efforts, the forward struggled to make an impact, extending his goal drought for the Super Eagles in official matches. Since his national team debut in 2023, Boniface has appeared in eleven games without finding the back of the net. Speaking at Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s Bundesliga match against Heidenheim, Xabi Alonso confirmed that Boniface sustained a minor injury while on international duty with the Super Eagles. However, the former midfielder of Real Madrid and Liverpool was cautious about providing a recovery timeline. “He has a small injury in his thigh muscles,” Alonso was quoted as saying by Allgemeine Zeitung. “But it won’t be for six to eight weeks. We hope that he can play again this year. We now have to wait and see how he recovers.” The injury rules Boniface out of Bayer Leverkusen’s Bundesliga clash against FC Heidenheim at the BayArena on Saturday, as well as their crucial UEFA Champions League fixture against Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday. Boniface’s absence will be a significant blow to Leverkusen’s campaign, as the team is battling to retain their Bundesliga title while pushing for a spot in the UEFA Champions League quarter finals. The Nigerian forward has been a key player for Die Werkself, contributing eight goals and providing one assist in fifteen games across all competitions.A Turkish transportation app that connects users with taxis, e-bikes and electric scooters has named the attorney representing Mayor Eric Adams in his federal corruption case to its board of directors. The Istanbul-based Marti Technologies announced late last week that its board elected Alex Spiro as a director during its 2024 annual shareholder meeting. In New York, Spiro is representing Adams in a federal case alleging that the mayor accepted bribes from Turkish nationals in exchange for pressuring FDNY officials to fast-track the opening of a skyscraper known as the Turkish House, which holds a new Turkish consulate. Spiro did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday morning. In a press release, he said that he’s worked with “some of the greatest entrepreneurs and CEOs in the world,” but Marti’s CEO and his team “are among the best I’ve ever seen.” “I am pleased to support them and the company as we reach scale and achieve profitability in 2025,” he added. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against Adams in September, accusing him of accepting more than $100,000 worth of flight upgrades on Turkish Airlines, as well as lavish accommodations during his frequent visits to Istanbul. In return, prosecutors say, Adams asked fire officials to allow the Turkish House to open before before it could pass a fire inspection, agreed not to make statements about the Armenian Genocide on a 2022 memorial day and appointed a Turkish Airlines manager to his transition team. “You are a true friend of Turkey,” a Turkish official texted the then-Brooklyn Borough President after Adams allegedly told him the FDNY was drafting a letter to expedite the opening of the Turkish House, according to the indictment. “Yes even more a true friend of yours. You are my brother,” Adams allegedly responded. Earlier this week, Turkish-born businessman Erden Arkan agreed to plead guilty to a conspiracy charge in connection with the case against Adams. Prosecutors say Arkan — identified in Adams’ indictment as “Businessman-5” — illegally made campaign contributions under another name to get public matching funds, according to a letter the U.S. attorney’s office filed earlier this week. Adams has denied any wrongdoing, and Spiro has pledged to fiercely defend his client. The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Spiro’s election to Marti’s board. Spiro is known for his aggressive legal defense and roster of high-profile clients, including Brooklyn rappers Jay-Z and Bobby Shmurda, former Knicks player Charles Oakley, actor Alec Baldwin and tech mogul Elon Musk. “His experience with a broad range of clients across the fields of business and politics in the U.S., and, most notably, with leading global technology entrepreneurs, gives me confidence that he will contribute to our Company and mission,” Marti founder and CEO Oguz Alper Oktem said in a press release.