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MEXICO CITY, Dec 19 - The proposed merger of Mexican budget carriers Volaris (VOLARA.MX), opens new tab and Viva Aerobus aims to put the new airline group in stronger conditions to negotiate its highest costs, acquiring and renting aircraft, executives from both firms said on Friday.
Reuters exclusively reported on Thursday that the two were nearing an agreement, which Volaris and Viva later confirmed
A significant opportunity lies in reducing aircraft ownership costs, which represent the largest expense - exceeding even fuel," Viva CEO Juan Carlos Zuazua told analysts on a conference call.
Notably, major global carriers operate with ownership costs up to 60% lower than their Latin American counterparts, including Viva and Volaris," he added.
Both airlines exclusively fly Airbus (AIR.PA), opens new tab planes, and operate similar routes.
While Volaris and Viva will continue to operate as separate brands, the new group - to trade as Grupo Mas Vuelos - would become Mexico's largest domestic carrier by far..
Shares of Volaris were on track for their best day ever, shooting up nearly 17% after the call.
Under the terms of the agreement, the companies will combine in a merger of equals. Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena conceded that his carrier represented about 60% of enterprise value while Viva brought in 40%, though Volaris' net debt was higher.
"So when you bridge from enterprise value to equity value, the relative equity contributions become much closer," he saiAnalysts repeatedly pressed the executives on the regulatory process ahead to clear the deal. Among Mexican carriers, the two represented a combined 69% of passengers carried in the year through October. They were trailed by flagship airline Aeromexico , which is likely to oppose the merger.
"We're confident in the merits of this transaction," Beltranena said. "(We) prefer right now not to speculate on the results or the potential outcomes, and conditions or remedies" stipulated by the regulator
Mexico's government this year dissolved its independent anti-competition regulator, Cofece, and put its powers in the hands of a new agency controlled by the economy ministry.#BNBChainEcosystemRally #CPIWatch #BTCVSGOLD #BinanceBlockchainWeek #USJobsData

MADRID, Dec 19 - Consumer lending in Spain has hit levels not seen since the eve of the global financial crisis, reflecting both the Spanish economy's strength and a shift in focus from mortgages to more profitable but riskier credit among the country's banks.
Lending in Spain plummeted after the 2008-2009 crisis, but consumers have been emboldened by the Spanish economy, which has grown at double the rate of the European Union average this year with expectations it will outpace the bloc again in 2026.
We still believe that there is more room for growth in consumer lending in a healthy way as the labour market is very solid," said Javier Gaztelu, deputy managing director and head of lending and payments at Sabadell (SABE.MC), opens new tab.
Sabadell's performing consumer loan book rose 19% year-on-year as of September, above a 5.6% mortgage loans increase.
Gaztelu said a jump in the workforce since the end of 2019 was driving lending, as an influx of foreign workers pushes Spain's population to a near 50 million record.
New consumer loans reached almost 4.5 billion euros in October, a 21.8% year-on-year rise and the highest monthly total since 2007, official data shows.
That stands in contrast to the wider euro zone - an ECB lending survey in October showed a moderate tightening for consumer credit because of concerns about the economic outlook.
Renta 4 analyst Nuria Alvarez said consumer credit would be a key driver for Spanish banking profitability in 2026, alongside corporate lending, asset management and insurance.
Unsecured consumer lending can be risky for lenders.
Bad debt ratios on these loans rose to slightly above 4% in October - almost twice as high as defaults on mortgages - but a far cry from the 8.3% peak in June 2009.
Bankinter (BKT.MC), opens new tab has this year reduced its exposure in some higher-risk consumer portfolios but Spain's fifth-biggest lender is an exception.
The appeal for banks is clear.
Returns on consumer lending averaged almost three times the 2.67% earned on mortgages in October, central bank data shows, with mortgage returns squeezed by falling interest rates.
Elvira de la Cruz, from mid-sized lender Unicaja (UNI.MC), opens new tab, told Reuters she expected consumer lending to "continue growing in the coming years", although at a lower pace.
Spanish banks' overall consumer loan books rose 7.2% year-on-year to 105.9 billion euros at end-June, just below their all-time high reached in July 2008.
Consumer credit accounts for 8.7% of overall lending, up from 8.3% last year and 5.8% before the crisis, a Reuters analysis shows.#USNonFarmPayrollReport #USJobsData #WriteToEarnUpgrade #WriteToEarnUpgrade #BTCVSGOLD #TrumpTariffs

BRUSSELS, Dec 18 - European Union leaders decided on Friday to borrow cash to loan 90 billion euros ($105 billion) to Ukraine to fund its defence against Russia for the next two years rather than use frozen Russian assets, sidestepping divisions over an unprecedented plan to finance Kyiv with Russian sovereign cash.
The leaders also gave the European Commission a mandate to keep working on a so-called
reparations loan based on Russian immobilised assets but that option proved unworkable for now, above all due to resistance from Belgium, where the bulk of the assets is held.
Today we approved a decision to provide 90 billion euros to Ukraine," EU summit chairman Antonio Costa told a press conference early on Friday morning after hours of talks among the leaders in Brussels. "As a matter of urgency, we will provide a loan backed by the European Union budget
The idea of EU borrowing initially seemed unworkable as it requires unanimity and Hungary's Russia-friendly Prime Minister Viktor Orban had opposed it. But Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic agreed to let the scheme go ahead as long as it did not impact them financially.
The EU leaders said Russian assets, totalling 210 billion euros in the EU, will remain frozen until Moscow pays war reparations to Ukraine. If Moscow ever takes such a step, Ukraine could then use the money to pay back the loan.
"This is good news for Ukraine and bad news for Russia and this was our intention," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said.
The stakes for finding money for Kyiv were high because without the EU's financial help, Ukraine would run out of money in the second quarter of next year and most likely lose the war to Russia, which the EU fears would bring closer the threat of Russian aggression against the bloc.
The decision follows hours of discussions among leaders on the technical details of an unprecedented loan based on the frozen Russian assets, which turned out to be too complex or politically demanding to resolve at this stage.
The main difficulty was providing Belgium, where 185 billion euros of the total Russian assets in Europe are held, with sufficient guarantees against financial and legal risks from potential Russian retaliation for the release of the money to Ukraine.#BinanceAlphaAlert #TrumpTariffs #BTCVSGOLD #USJobsData #BinanceAlphaAlert

Dec 19 - Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Friday, as technology stocks extended their rebound from an early-week selloff, while Nike tumbled after weak China sales weighed on its quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), opens new tab rose 87.38 points, or 0.21%, to 48,051.77. The S&P 500 (.SPX), opens new tab rose 20.66 points, or 0.33%, to 6,795.42, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), opens new tab rose 105.27 points, or 0.51%, to 23,111.63.

LONDON, Dec 19 - Central banks in big economies are signalling a change of stance as the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 30-year high on Friday.
A day earlier the European Central Bank all but confirmed it was done with monetary easing and the Bank of England cut rates in a narrow vote as dissenters cautioned about price pressures
Now all eyes are on how dovish the incoming next Federal Reserve will manage to be after some of the U.S. central bank's policymakers warned the world's biggest economy might already be running too hot.
The Swiss National Bank left its policy interest rate unchanged at 0% on December 11, the lowest among developed-market central banks, and said the recent agreement to reduce U.S. tariffs on Swiss goods had improved the economic outlook.
Even though Swiss inflation is at zero as the strong safe-haven franc lowers import costs, the bar for bringing rates into negative territory is high, and economists expect price growth to recover mildly next year and the SNB to stay on hold throughout 2026.
The Bank of Canada held its key rate at 2.25% last week, after 225 basis points of easing this cycle. Governor Tiff Macklem said the economy was proving resilient to U.S. trade measures.
The BOC is expected to keep rates on hold until 2027, after government spending and robust oil exports lifted third-quarter growth to 2.6% and the labour market
Sweden's Riksbank also expects previous monetary easing to begin lifting growth and with year-on-year inflation running just above its 2% target, it held rates at 1.75% on December 18 and analysts anticipate it will hike again in late 2026.
With unemployment stuck at a nine-year high, turning hawkish will be a tough choice for new Reserve Bank of New Zealand boss Anna Breman.
With a string of punchy rate cuts having helped propel inflation to the top end of the central bank's target range, however, money markets see New Zealand's cash rate nearing 3% by December 2026 from 2.25% currently
The European Central Bank has been firmly on hold at 2% since June and its latest pause on Thursday also came with upgrades to growth and inflation forecasts#USNonFarmPayrollReport #BTCVSGOLD #USJobsData #WriteToEarnUpgrade #CPIWatch

NEW YORK, Dec 18 - U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in the year to November, and expectations for a January rate cut from the Federal Reserve inched up slightly as the report was impacted by the extended government shutdown.
The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% year-on-year in November, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI advancing 3.1%
The BLS did not publish month-to-month CPI changes after the 43-day shutdown of the government prevented the collection of October data. The October CPI release was canceled because the price data could not be collected retroactively.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the so-called core CPI increased 2.6% after rising 3.0% in September..
BONDS: Treasury yields fell, with the yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year note down 2.2 basis points to 4.13%
FOREX: The dollar index wakened and was last down 0.12% to 98.25
The current sources of inflation are very visible, but not a large component of the consumer basket. Commodities, excluding food and energy, make up less than 20% of the CPI basket. Goods price deflation turned to inflation, but even that inflation hasn’t been as bad as feared. The Fed could look at the increase in the unemployment rate and the tame inflation reading as a reason to cut again. They’ll get some confirming or disconfirming evidence with the next releases before their January meeting.
These are good numbers, and basically the core rate moving to 2.6% on a year-over-year is really good news, and we saw the top line inflation year-over-year down to 2.7%. So this is good news for the Fed, good news for the markets, and this should begin to perhaps indicate the Fed is likely to be more generous going into the new year. In other words, these numbers, if they stick, will pave the way for not one, but possibly two, rate cuts sometime in the first quarter of 2026.”#USNonFarmPayrollReport #TrumpTariffs #WriteToEarnUpgrade #BinanceAlphaAlert #USJobsData

LONDON, Dec 18 - For European markets overshadowed by the United States since the summer, investors are hoping a spending bonanza in Germany - the European Union's biggest economy - moves the dial in 2026. But first, they need to see evidence it will deliver.
A Ukraine peace deal could boost sentiment too. European stocks have barely recovered the cash that has left since Russia's 2022 invasion of its neighbour
European shares outperformed U.S. stocks in the first half of 2025. The region united to boost defence spending, Germany shook up its borrowing rules, and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs dented investor confidence in American assets, generating a long-awaited MEGA, or "Make Europe Great Again
But as tariff fears have abated, European stocks, though continuing to rise, returned to their usual pattern of underperforming U.S. shares, while the euro remains below September's four-year high near $1.20.
European equities have seen just over $86 billion of inflows in 2025, but the pace has slowed to $23 billion in the last six months, according to EPFR data tracked by Barclays.
They are projected to do well again next year but are nonetheless likely to remain in the United States' shadow. Four of the six biggest U.S. and European investment banks expect Europe to lag, also due to U.S. markets' greater exposure to the AI boom
But it has been using some of that leeway on day-to-day spending rather than the kinds of additional infrastructure that would boost the economy and stock performance more durably.
Infrastructure spending will pick up in 2026, but Barclays economists say that, looking across this year and next, social spending is rising faster.
Germany's budgetary plans are "not as ambitious as we would have liked," said Ross Hutchison, head of euro zone market strategy at Zurich Insurance Group, which favours U.S. stocks over European.#USNonFarmPayrollReport #TrumpTariffs #BinanceBlockchainWeek #CPIWatch #BinanceAlphaAlert

Dec 18 - Gold prices were steady on Thursday, supported by dovish Federal Reserve signals but restrained by a resilient dollar ahead of key U.S. inflation data this week, while silver hovered near record highs.
Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,332.29 an ounce, as of 0256 GMT, after rising more than 1% late on Wednesday. U.S. gold futures also eased 0.2% to $4,364.70.
Spot silver rose 0.2% to $66.44 an ounce after hitting a record high of $66.88 in the previous session, and is up 129% so far this year, outpacing gold's 65% gain on firm industrial demand, steady investment interest and tightening inventories.
Some analysts expect silver to test the $70-per-ounce level next year, particularly if U.S. interest rate cuts continue to underpin appetite for precious metals.
Remarks by Waller indicate that the Fed could maintain its ongoing rate cut cycle ... So that's supporting both gold and silver right now," said Kelvin Wong, senior market analyst at OANDA, adding that some profit-taking could emerge at current levels.
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the central bank can still cut rates amid a cooling labor market and would "absolutely" defend its independence if challenged, as he awaits an interview with U.S. President Donald Trump for Powell's succession
earlier this week showed the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November, above a Reuters poll forecast of 4.4% and the highest since September 2021.
The Fed last week delivered its third and final quarter-point rate cut of the year, with markets now pricing in two additional 25-basis-point cuts in 2026.#USNonFarmPayrollReport #BinanceBlockchainWeek #CPIWatch #TrumpTariffs #BinanceAlphaAlert

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 - Billionaire investor Ray Dalio will help fund the Trump administration's investment accounts for certain children in Connecticut Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday as another firm vowed to match employee contributions.

Dalio's commitment is part of an effort to secure additional outside donors in every U.S. state. Twenty other U.S. states are considering adding state funds to the federally-seeded accounts, Bessent said at an event on the program for children born between 2025 and 2028.

The initiative was created this year under President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and has sparked a scramble by financial firms looking to participate. The U.S. Treasury will deposit $1,000 into investment accounts for all children born between 2025 and 2028.

Separately, investment firm BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab on Wednesday became the latest company to say they would match the U.S. government's $1,000 contribution for its employees.

Entrepreneur Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, have also said they would donate another $250 in the accounts of 25 million American children in a $6.25 billion philanthropic pledge backing the initiative.

Dalio, in a post on X, said he would donate about $75 million to match the Dells' $250 contribution for about 300,000 children in Connecticut, adding: "We are hopeful other philanthropists and leaders will join this effort by contributing to similar initiatives in their home states.

The Invest America accounts are expected to open on July 4, 2026, but details about how they will work are still unknown. It's also unclear how they could help boost savings for lower-income Americans.

The funds—required to be invested in an index fund that mirrors the performance of the broader stock market—become available at the age of 18 for education, job training, a first home or starting a business.#USNonFarmPayrollReport #CPIWatch #TrumpTariffs #BTCVSGOLD #BinanceAlphaAlert

kite is one of the simplest inventions ever created, yet it carries a quiet kind of magic. Made of light materials and guided by a single string, a kite transforms invisible wind into visible motion. It doesn’t need fuel, batteries, or engines—only patience, balance, and the willingness to look up.
A Conversation With the Sky
Flying a @GoKiteAI is not about control alone; it is a conversation. The wind speaks first, lifting the frame gently or tugging sharply at the line. The flyer responds by adjusting tension, angle, and timing. Too much force and the kite dives. Too little and it drifts down. When harmony is found, the kite steadies itself, hovering as if it belongs among the clouds.
Design That Defies Gravity
Though simple at heart, @GoKiteAI come in countless forms. Diamond kites rely on symmetry and balance. Delta kites cut cleanly through strong winds with their triangular wings. Box and cellular @GoKiteAI use air pressure to create structure, turning emptiness into strength. Every design reflects a different understanding of how air can be shaped into lift.
Roots Across Cultures
@GoKiteAI first appeared thousands of years ago, not as toys but as tools. They were used to measure distances, test weather conditions, and even send signals across battlefields. Over time, their purpose shifted from necessity to joy. Festivals around the world celebrate kites as symbols of freedom, hope, and renewal, filling the sky with color and movement.
The Quiet Lesson of a Kite
What a kite teaches is subtle. It rises not by fighting the wind, but by leaning into it. It cannot fly without resistance, yet too much resistance brings it down. In this way, a kite mirrors life itself—progress comes from balance, not force.
Why Kites Still Matter
In an age of screens and speed, @GoKiteAI invite slowness. They pull our eyes away from the ground and remind us that wonder does not require complexity. A child, a field, a breeze, and a piece of string are enough to create a moment of awe.
A kite may seem fragile, but once airborne, it commands the sky. And for as long as the wind blows, it will remain a timeless reminder that even the lightest things can rise@GoKiteAI #KİTE $KITE

the fast-moving world of decentralized finance, complexity often grows faster than trust. New protocols launch daily, promising efficiency, yield, and innovation, yet many users are left wondering how all the pieces fit together. @Lorenzo Protocol enters this space with a quieter ambition: to simplify participation while strengthening the foundation of on-chain finance.
Rather than chasing hype, @Lorenzo Protocol focuses on structure.
A Protocol Built Around Clarity
At its core, Lorenzo Protocol is designed to organize value flows in a way that feels intuitive rather than overwhelming. DeFi can often feel like a maze of contracts, bridges, and risks. Lorenzo approaches this problem by emphasizing transparency—clear mechanisms, understandable incentives, and systems that behave predictably even in volatile conditions.
This clarity matters. When users understand why a system works, they are more likely to trust it, use it responsibly, and grow alongside it.
Balancing Automation With Human Judgment
Automation is powerful, but blind automation can be dangerous. @Lorenzo Protocol blends smart contract efficiency with carefully designed constraints, aiming to reduce reckless behavior without limiting opportunity. Instead of encouraging constant speculation, the protocol nudges users toward sustainable participation.
In this sense, Lorenzo feels less like a casino and more like infrastructure—something meant to last, not just spike.
Designed for a Maturing DeFi Space
Decentralized finance is no longer an experiment; it’s an evolving ecosystem with real users and real consequences. @Lorenzo Protocol acknowledges this maturity. Its architecture reflects lessons learned from past cycles: liquidity that vanishes overnight, incentives that collapse under pressure, and systems that work perfectly—until they don’t.
By prioritizing resilience over short-term yield, @Lorenzo Protocol itself as a protocol built for long-term relevance rather than momentary attention.
Community as a Structural Element
@Lorenzo Protocol does not treat its community as an afterthought. Governance, feedback loops, and participation are woven into its structure, not layered on later. Users are not merely liquidity providers or token holders—they are contributors to how the protocol evolves.
This approach recognizes a simple truth: decentralized systems only succeed when the people using them feel ownership, not just exposure.
A Step Toward Financial Composability
One of Lorenzo Protocol’s quiet strengths lies in how it fits into the broader DeFi landscape. Instead of isolating itself, it is designed to interact smoothly with other protocols, tools, and layers. This composability allows developers and users to build on top of Lorenzo without friction, turning it into a building block rather than a closed ecosystem.
Looking Ahead
@Lorenzo Protocol is not trying to redefine finance overnight. Its vision is more patient than that. It aims to create systems that behave responsibly, even when markets don’t. In an environment driven by speed and speculation, this restraint may be its greatest strength.
If DeFi is growing up, @Lorenzo Protocol feels like part of that maturation—a reminder that progress is not just about moving faster, but about moving with intention.@Lorenzo Protocol #lorenzoprotocol $BANK

Falcon Finance was born on the forty-second floor of a glass tower, where the wind pressed against the windows like an impatient investor. Most financial firms moved cautiously, inching forward with spreadsheets and fear. Falcon Finance was different. It believed in altitude.
The company’s founder, Elias Corven, used to say, “Ground-level thinking only sees obstacles. From the sky, you see paths.” He named the firm after the falcon not for its speed alone, but for its vision—the ability to spot opportunity miles away while others stared at what was right in front of them.
In its early days, @Falcon Finance was mocked. Competitors called it reckless for funding unconventional startups, green infrastructure in overlooked regions, and technology no one yet understood. Analysts predicted failure. Investors whispered doubt.
Then came The Winter Dip.
Markets fell. Giants collapsed. Firms that had played it safe suddenly found themselves trapped on the ground, weighed down by outdated bets. @Falcon Finance , however, had already shifted its wings. Its long-term investments—patient, data-driven, and ethically anchored—began to rise.
At the heart of the firm was a team known internally as The Eyrie—analysts, engineers, and economists who worked like a single bird in flight. They didn’t just chase profit; they tracked patterns: climate, culture, technology, and human behavior. Every decision passed one question:
“Does this still fly five years from now?”
When the market recovered,@Falcon Finance didn’t just survive—it led. Its models became case studies. Its strategies reshaped portfolios across continents. But Elias refused to celebrate too loudly.
“Falcons don’t hover,” he reminded them. “They move.”
Years later, when Elias retired, a bronze falcon was placed in the lobby, wings half-open—not soaring, not resting. Beneath it were engraved the firm’s guiding words:
Vision before velocity.
Patience before profit.
Flight before fear.
And every morning, as the city rushed below, @Falcon Finance continued to rise—quiet, focused, and always watching the horizon.@Falcon Finance #FalconFinnance $FF