(Reuters) -A group of banks is in talks to lend another $38 billion for Oracle and data centre builder Vantage to fund further sites for OpenAI, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
(Reporting by Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
The U.S. dollar was heading for its worst weekly performance since late July on Friday.
Manuel Augusto Moreno | Moment | Getty Images
The U.S. dollar was heading for its worst weekly performance since late July on Friday as traders ramped up bets for further monetary easing from the Federal Reserve next month, while liquidity was thinned by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major peers, was last trading up 0.1% at 99.624, recovering some ground after five days of decline pushed it to its worst one-week loss since July 21.
U.S. Fed funds futures are pricing an implied 87% probability of a 25-basis-point cut at the Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting on December 10, compared to a 39% chance a week earlier, the CME Group’s FedWatch tool showed.
The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds was last up 0.8 basis point at 4.0037%, rebounding after five days of decline that saw the 4% threshold briefly crossed twice.
In Asia, the Japanese yen fluctuated between gain and loss after a period of decline.
It was last trading 0.1% weaker at 156.385 yen as labor market and inflation data firmed up the case for monetary easing in Asia’s second-biggest economy, against a backdrop of persistent weakness in the currency that have led to prospect of intervention from the Ministry of Finance.
The currency had briefly edged higher on news that consumer prices in Tokyo rose 2.8% in November, slightly faster than economists had expected and exceeding the Bank of Japan’s 2% target.
“With the labor market still tight and inflation excluding fresh food and energy set to remain above 3% for now, the Bank of Japan will resume its tightening cycle over the next couple of months,” analysts from Capital Economics wrote in a research report. “The upshot is that the case for tighter monetary policy remains intact.”
The yen is on track for a third month of decline as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sets out a 21.3 trillion yen ($135.40 billion) stimulus package, while the Bank of Japan has held off hiking interest rates even as inflation runs above target.
The euro stood at $1.1600, little changed so far in Asia, as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said Ukrainian and U.S. delegations are to meet this week to work out a formula discussed at talks in Geneva to end war with Russia and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.
Sterling was 0.1% weaker at $1.323 so far on the day, heading for its best weekly performance since early August, after Britain’s finance minister, Rachel Reeves, revealed plans to raise taxes by 26 billion pounds ($34 billion) on Wednesday.
Reeves fought back on Thursday against criticism of spending plans, which will fund extra welfare spending by raising the country’s tax burden to a post-World War Two high.
The Australian dollar fetched $0.6536, up 0.1% in early trade, after data showed private sector credit increased 0.7% in October compared with the previous month, accelerating slightly from the prior month’s print.
The offshore yuan traded at 7.074 yuan per U.S. dollar, steady in early Asian trade and on track for its best monthly performance since August.
The kiwi traded at $0.5725, edging 0.1% weaker at the end of its biggest one-week surge since late April.
Brent crude oil futures were little changed on Friday as investors eyed the progress of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks.
Imaginegolf | E+ | Getty Images
Brent crude oil futures were little changed on Friday as investors eyed the progress of the Russia-Ukraine peace talks and the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting on Sunday for clues on potential changes in supply which has been weighing on prices.
Front month Brent crude futures, which expire on Friday, was unchanged at $63.34 a barrel by 0134 GMT in thin trade after settling up 21 cents on Thursday. The more-active February contract was at $62.85, down 2 cents.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $59.00 a barrel, up 35 cents, or 0.60%. There was no settlement on Thursday due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.
Both contracts are headed for a fourth straight monthly loss, the longest losing streak since 2023, as rising global supply weigh on prices.
Investors are eyeing talks for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal led by Washington that may lift Western sanctions off Russian oil and lead to higher global supply that will depress prices.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that outline draft peace proposals discussed by the United States and Ukraine could become the basis of future agreements to end the conflict in Ukraine, but that if not Russia would fight on.
Putin added that Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff plans to visit Moscow early next week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday that Ukrainian and U.S. delegations are to meet this week to work out a formula discussed at talks in Geneva to bring peace and provide security guarantees for Kyiv.
“After several false dawns, participants are reluctant to position aggressively until concrete progress — or a breakdown materializes,” IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note.
On Sunday, OPEC+ is likely to leave oil output levels unchanged at its meetings and to agree on a mechanism to assess members’ maximum production capacity, two delegates from the group and a source familiar with OPEC+ talks told Reuters.
Brent and WTI are set to close this week with a more than 1% gain on hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, which could lift economic growth and oil demand.
A drop in the number of oil rigs operating in the U.S. to a four-year low this week has also supported prices.
Vince Nguyen, a 39-year-old entrepreneur based in Vietnam, spends a few hundreds almost every month traveling to other countries to play pickleball.
The sport, which began as a pastime after injuring himself in American football, has since become central to his lifestyle, as he plays it for two to four hours almost daily.
Since he picked up the sport two years ago, Nguyen has played leisurely in Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and Canada. Next month, he is planning to head to China for an upcoming tournament.
He says he forks out a few hundreds on round-trip flights to Taiwan or Malaysia for tournaments and leisure play with friends. Additionally, he pays the court fees, ranging from $4 to $8 for open play, and about $38 a night for hotels. In total, the trips cost him between $386 to $772.
However, he spends almost $1,000 when traveling to Canada, where flights and indoor courts are pricier than in Asia.
“I like to spend a week … playing a few times, checking out different courts, going to different restaurants,” he said.
Vince Nguyen (top right) at a pickleball tournament in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam.
Source: Vince Nguyen
Nguyen believes traveling to play pickleball makes a difference as “every country has a little bit different style” in playing the game, and he is not alone. He is one of the many millennials that are fueling a rising trend in travel: sports tourism.
According to Hilton’s 2026 Trends Report, which polled over 14,000 travelers across 14 countries, about 67% of millennials have planned a trip for events related to their interests, including sports, wellness and concerts.
In the U.S. alone, millennials are 80% more likely to plan a vacation for tennis and 87% for pickleball, according to a survey by online travel agency Priceline on travel trends in 2025.
And there are no signs of the sports tourism slowing down. The sports tourism industry is already a $707.29 billion market and is forecasted to nearly triple by 2032, according to Fortune Business Insights.
Europe leads the market with a valuation of $248.23 billion last year. Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific has been marked the fastest-growing region, anticipated to be worth $149.50 billion in 2025.
Sports tourism in Asia-Pacific is projected to have a compound annual growth rate of 17.85% from 2025 to 2032.
Another millenial, 35-year-old Nirbhay Handa who is based in Singapore, also travels abroad for tennis.
“I’ll go to a tennis camp in Phuket … when I travel to Dubai and Abu Dhabi I have a tennis coach that I just go and play with in the evenings after work,” he said. “I think this makes me better at work, because I’m in a better mood. I’m not irritated,” the entrepreneur said.
He takes about six tennis trips a year including ones for business, spending around $200 a week on sessions in Dubai.
Handa said that the sport is more than a hobby to him. “It just became very therapeutic, and it put me on to some good habits … not drinking till late on Friday … giving up social smoking completely,” he added.
He makes it a point to play a game of tennis when he’s abroad for leisure or business.
Tennis, which he deems “good for your soul,” not only helps him unwind but also fulfils his social life.
“It does a little bit of what going out to a pub would do for a lot of people, you know, which is meeting people, meeting your friends over a drink,” he said, but “I feel like I can do that at the tennis court.”
Mike Goldys, who lives in Florida, travels to surf overseas with a goal of playing in as many different surf parks as possible. The 39-year-old has logged 140 hours so far across 26 cities in 10 countries.
“Each surf park … is very unique for me. I … just can’t get enough of it, he said. “I want to keep checking them off and seeing what this one was like in this state.”
“I rarely go back to the same wave pool twice,” he added.
Goldys has spent $18,500 on surf sessions alone, budgeting $6000 to $10,000 per trip depending on flights and accommodation, he said. He also sets aside money for photography and videography to share on social platforms.
Mike Goldys surfing at the Atlantic Park Surf in Virginia Beach, USA.
Source: Andrew Tonra
As a social media strategist at a non-profit organization, he takes one to two weeks off for surfing trips — only tending to work matters for emergencies.
“When you pay to surf in a wave pool you’re guaranteed waves that they’re really powerful and like good shape… a way to accelerate progress,” he said. “[It’s] very quick for someone who doesn’t have the perfect waves all the time” near his residence in Florida.
At $170 an hour, surf parks aren’t cheap. But Goldys insist they’re worth it.
“As long as it doesn’t put you in a bad position afterwards financially,” he said.
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German spy drone maker Quantum Systems has tripled its valuation to €3bn, becoming one of the biggest defence start-ups in Europe as it reaps the benefits of a pivot into military sales.
The Bavaria-based company on Thursday closed an €180mn extension of a funding round led by Balderton Capital, with investors including US tech billionaire Peter Thiel. The fundraising brings the total amount raised by the company this year to €340mn.
It propels Quantum higher up the list of most valuable European drone start-ups. Investors have flocked to funding rounds of drone groups this year, with Munich-based kamikaze drone maker Helsing, backed by Spotify founder Daniel Ek, securing a €12bn valuation. Portuguese surveillance drone maker Tekever was valued at more than €1bn.
Quantum’s chief financial officer Jonas Jarosch told the Financial Times that sales at the company would double to more than €200mn this year as it mulls a possible IPO.
Jarosch said that the company was targeting annual revenues of up to €1bn within a few years and was “on a trajectory to become a neo-prime” akin to the big established players in defence and dual-use technologies.
“Our sales are lower than the traditional primes,” Jarosch said. “But in relative terms, in terms of profitability and growth rates, we are far outperforming the other traditional players out there.”
Quantum was co-founded in 2015 by former army officer Florian Seibel as a commercial drone company offering surveillance technology for purposes such as agriculture.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, it branched into defence. Seibel was forced to create a new company, Stark, after Quantum’s investors blocked the company from producing weaponised drones.
Today, about 95 per cent of its revenues come from military customers, including in the US and Australia.
Its contracts include a forthcoming deal to supply around 750 of its short-range Twister spy drones to the German armed forces, according to a document submitted to the Bundestag and seen by the FT.
The €85mn contract, which must still be approved by members of parliament, is small compared to the tens of billions being won by traditional “primes” such as tank maker Rheinmetall and missile maker Diehl.
But it shows how the German government’s vast military spending spree — which will see the country spend €650bn on defence by 2030 — is beginning to reach younger players. It will bolster Quantum’s revenue stream as it considers possible exit strategies for its investors.
The company is currently undergoing a process of “professionalisation”, according to two people familiar with the details, to bring its auditing and financial reporting in line with the standards that would be required of a publicly listed entity.
Jarosch said that no final decision had been reached but that an IPO was one of two options being considered along with a private sale. He added: “With a €3bn valuation . . . the number of exit scenarios does reduce.”
With the opening of its new high-tech vaccine manufacturing facility at Tullamarine, CSL Seqirus is turning the page.
The site near Melbourne Airport includes three buildings and will have a gross floor area of 28,400m2, larger than the playing surface of the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground. The facility has been electrified and incorporates on-site solar energy generation, heat and water recovery to preserve a healthier environment.
“This facility will build a platform for our next wave of innovation in vaccines and unique health challenges, setting a new standard of care,” said CSL Seqirus Managing Director Dave Ross, who will be on hand for the 2 December opening celebration.
Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that seasonal flu infects 1 billion people annually, causing severe illness in 3-5 million and 290,000-650,000 respiratory deaths.
Here are five facts about the new site, built to protect public health:
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Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh’s global operation reaches customers in approximately 200 countries and regions, supported by cultivated knowledge, technologies, and organizational capabilities nurtured over its 85-year history. In the financial year ended March 2025, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,527 billion yen (approx. 16.8 billion USD).
It is Ricoh’s mission and vision to empower individuals to find Fulfillment through Work by understanding and transforming how people work so we can unleash their potential and creativity to realize a sustainable future.
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Billions of dollars are flowing into US exchange traded funds designed primarily as tax-minimising vehicles, in a move that is drawing criticism from politicians and which some in the industry believe could attract the attention of tax authorities.
A number of fund firms have been creating ETFs that either lower the interest or dividend income that can be taxed, or alternatively reduce capital gains tax on investors’ pre-existing stock portfolios.
The latter type is proving the most contentious. Known as section 351 or ETF swap funds, they are designed specifically to help investors with large portfolios who would face a significant tax bill if they sold holdings that had risen in value. At least seven such funds managing $2.2bn have launched this year, with four more currently being seeded.
“Everybody is looking at this creatively, which is great, but it then also makes you wonder sometimes how far is too far,” said Brittany Christensen, head of business development at Tidal Financial Group, which manages $50bn of assets and has several 351 funds among its near-300 ETFs.
Some US politicians are already opposing these funds. In June, Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate finance committee, put forward legislation that would prevent tax-free transfers of appreciated securities to 351 funds.
Jeffrey Colon, professor of law at Fordham University School of Law, said that, unless Congress acts, tax paid by publicly traded investment vehicles would “inevitably” decline.
“The Wyden proposal is a necessary and appropriate first step in reining in the newest tax abuse of ETFs,” he said. “The growing popularity of ETFs and recent launches of ETF swap funds requires a new urgency.”
“The government is clearly aware of these issues, but so far has not indicated any inclination to attack them. The investment company lobby is very powerful,” he added.
ETFs have always been more tax efficient than more traditional mutual funds in the US, due to a quirk in the tax system. Whereas mutual funds often trigger a capital gains tax event when they sell profitable positions, ETFs can usually avoid doing so by trading “in kind” with market makers, so that no cash changes hands.
Three decades on from the birth of ETFs, though, some issuers are looking to turbocharge this tax efficiency. The less contentious funds minimise coupon or dividend income — subject to income tax — by switching holdings shortly before payments fall due.
In August Washington DC-based F/m Investments launched the F/m Compoundr High Yield Bond ETF and F/m Compoundr US Aggregate Bond ETF. The two funds invest in bond ETFs but then rotate into other ETFs just before each underlying fund’s ex-dividend date, “converting monthly interest income into unrealised capital gains”, according to the firm. This strategy also minimises withholding taxes for non-US investors.
Roundhill Investments and LionShares have launched similar funds that invest in equity funds.
While the extent to which investors will take advantage of these tax loopholes remains to be seen, some funds are already delivering savings.
The Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, known as BOXX, which invests in options to mimic an ultra-short duration bond portfolio, has had net flows of $8.6bn since launch and now holds $9bn of assets, implying it has made a total return of $400mn. Assuming investors would have paid the highest rate of interest income tax but instead pay the long-term capital gains tax rate of 20 per cent, this would translate into a tax saving of $68mn, according to Financial Times calculations.
“This is a significant trend because taxes are often top of mind for investors and ETFs have found ways to manage tax exposures,” said Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research in North America at Morningstar.
Section 351 funds — named after a previously little-used section in the US Internal Revenue Code — are seen by some as upping the ante still further. Contributing their pre-existing shareholdings allows wealthy investors to convert them into shares in an ETF, without triggering a capital gain.
Tidal’s Christensen said the Internal Revenue Service might have some concerns over people contributing stock they received as part of an employee share plan. That is particularly the case if they are slicing this stock up into several 351 conversions in order to ensure they contribute a diversified portfolio, which is required under US tax rules, to each ETF.
“At what point does the IRS start to look into this and say we are giving this to people who have had a compensation equity plan?” she said. “This is a new use case for section 351. It makes you wonder if it started to raise some red flags.”
Fund firm Exchange Traded Concepts has conducted a number of such launches, with “several billion dollars more” in the pipeline, according to chief executive Garrett Stevens.
He added that several have been for family offices “that have their own assets, but they are going ‘why wouldn’t we do what we do inside the more tax-advantaged tax wrapper?’”
Stevens said similar arrangements already exist for holders of real estate and annuity contracts, allowing them to rotate positions without incurring tax.
“It’s not unique. It’s an IRS rule,” he said. “It’s all legal, we are not skirting any regulations. There are probably a lot of unintended consequences in tax legislation.”
But Elisabeth Kashner, director of global fund analytics at FactSet, said this strategy, coupled with other aspects of tax law used by the wealthy, “is certainly not honouring the intention of the tax code. It’s not playing by the consensus of how we run this country.”
She added: “From a tax fairness point of view the investor has brilliantly avoided taxes and has had access to a good portion of his or her assets, and everyone else in the country has been deprived of that money for the Treasury.”
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