Category: Flash News

On January 1st, the “halving” of Bitcoin, the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs in the United States, and Trump’s victory drove the market value of cryptocurrencies to soar. Data shows that the total market value of cryptocurrencies has risen from about $1.6 trillion at the beginning of the year to a peak of nearly $4 trillion. Among them, the price of Bitcoin has risen by 120.88% throughout the year, breaking through the $80000, $90000, and $100000 thresholds within a month after Trump’s victory, and then gradually falling back after reaching a peak of $108353, now hovering around $93700. Ethereum has risen 45.6% throughout the year.

On January 1st, data shows that as of December 30th, 2024, the total number of bond funds in the entire market has reached 3767, including 337 newly established bond funds within the year. The average yield obtained by all bond funds during the same period was 4.59%, which further increased by 1.5% and 3.64% compared to 2023 and 2022, respectively. Despite experiencing two pullbacks in August and September October, the strong upward trend in the first half of the year and the subsequent strengthening towards the end of the year have enabled 2024 to still emerge from the “bond bull” market. As of December 30th, a total of 3738 out of 3767 bond funds in the market have achieved positive returns, accounting for 99% of the total. Furthermore, 44 funds have a yield of over 10%, while 1331 bond funds have a yield of over 5%. As of December 30, 2024, the total net asset value of domestic bond ETFs exceeded 177.1 billion yuan, doubling from the end of 2023. (21st Century Business Herald)

On January 1st, Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the Schengen Area at midnight local time on January 1st, 2025, and border checks will no longer be conducted for land travel to and from the Schengen Area. In order to adapt to this change, the Romanian National Highway Infrastructure Company announced a series of measures and closed some border crossings. (CCTV News)

On January 1st, CBOT corn futures rose 1.44% to $4.58-3/4 per bushel, with a cumulative decline of 10.79% in 2024. CBOT wheat futures rose 0.46% to $5.51 per bushel, with a cumulative decline of 18.88% in 2024. CBOT soybean futures rose 1.89% to $10.10 per bushel, with a cumulative decline of 19.36% in 2024; Soybean meal futures rose 1.76% and fell 15.68% in 2024, while soybean oil futures rose 0.32% and fell 15.17% in 2024.

On January 1, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a report on December 31, 2024 local time, pointing out that heavy rainfall has worsened the situation of displaced families along the coast of Gaza. According to reports, dozens of tents have been flooded or damaged. In the past month, many families have been relocated inland, and about 500 families are still suffering from severe weather along the Gaza coast. The floods have highlighted the urgent need for additional resources to meet the urgent needs of these displaced families, but currently only seven dredging vehicles are available throughout the Gaza Strip.

On January 1, the trading period of the last day of 2024 was shortened due to the festival, and treasury bond bond futures trading was active, but it had little impact on the price. After the index was rebalanced at the end of 1pm New York time, the yield curve became steeper. The yield of 10-year treasury bond rose by nearly 5 basis points during the day to 4.58%, approaching 4.50% at the beginning of the day, the lowest level in more than a week.

On January 1st, according to the latest Gallup poll report cited by the Congressional Hill on December 31, 2024 local time, the majority of surveyed Americans are concerned about the outlook for 2025, and generally expect political conflicts, economic difficulties, and international disputes to dominate the coming year.

On January 1st, the Sudanese Ministry of Health issued a statement on December 31, 2024 local time, stating that a new round of cholera epidemic in the country is still spreading and has caused 1316 deaths. The latest cholera epidemiological report shows that the epidemic has spread to 82 areas in 11 states across Sudan, with a total of 49554 cholera infections and 1316 deaths. In addition, there have been 8692 cumulative cases of dengue fever infection nationwide, including 15 deaths. The statement also stated that the epidemic situation is severe in multiple areas of central and southern Sudan, and the health department needs to take more intervention measures.

On January 1st, according to data from the Ukrainian natural gas transportation system operator as of December 31st, 2024 local time, the application flow for transporting Russian natural gas through Ukraine on January 1st, 2025 was zero. TASS reported that this indicates that the possibility of reaching a solution for the continued transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine before the new year local time is decreasing.

On January 1st, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on December 31st local time, 66 people in the United States have been diagnosed with avian influenza virus. The CDC is closely monitoring warning signs related to avian influenza and whether the disease will develop into an epidemic. Dangerous signals include interpersonal transmission of epidemics and virus mutations.