Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. A lot to process
Markets sold off Wednesday as investors sought something solid to hold onto during this uncertain time. The midterm elections might not have yielded a GOP "red wave," but control of Congress is still up in the air. Companies are still churning through earnings reports – big retailers are up next week – and there are some major economic data points to digest as the Federal Reserve pushes ahead with its battle against inflation. The consumer price index grew less than expected in October, although it was still hot. "As everyone knows, markets really don't like uncertainty," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at the Independent Advisor Alliance, according to CNBC's markets live blog.
2. Bye-nance
Sam Bankman-Fried's crypto empire needed a savior. For a day, it looked like Changpeng Zhao, CEO of the world's biggest crypto firm, Binance, would be his white knight. Binance said it would prop up Bankman-Fried's liquidity-squeezed FTX. But then ... nevermind, said Binance. "In the beginning, our hope was to be able to support FTX's customers to provide liquidity," Binance said Wednesday. "But the issues are beyond our control or ability to help." Now, FTX, which was valued at $32 billion earlier this year, is on the brink of a wipeout – a stunning fall from grace for Bankman-Fried and his company, which itself had become known as a savior to failing crypto firms.
3. Bloodletting at the banks
Job cuts at big banks are picking up steam, as deal-making remains frozen in market conditions beset by uncertainty and rising interest rates, according to CNBC's Hugh Son. Citigroup and Barclays rolled out dozens of layoffs this week, following hundreds of cuts at Goldman Sachs in September and ongoing terminations at struggling Credit Suisse. JPMorgan Chase is looking to potential job cuts at the end of the year as it seeks to shrink costs, and Morgan Stanley is also examining possible layoffs. "Most of the banks are budgeting for declines in revenue next year," a person involved with providing data and analytics to the banking industry told CNBC.
4. A huge loss for Russia
Russian forces are withdrawing from Kherson, in the southern part of Ukraine. It's the latest embarrassing defeat for Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Russia's former Soviet neighbor. Kherson was one of the areas Russia claimed in its illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. Knowing the area's importance to Russia, Ukraine President Volodomyr Zelenskyy greeted the news of the withdrawal with caution and wondered whether Putin's armies were setting a trap. He also said, without offering further detail, that his forces are planning more operations to force Russian troops off Ukrainian soil. Read live war updates here.
5. The crying of lot MSFT
$1.5 billion? In this economy? Sure, why not. A large chunk of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection, which features pieces spanning 500 years, was sold at auction Wednesday night to the tune of nearly $1.51 billion. That easily tops the $922 million paid for the Harry and Linda Macklowe collection, the previous record holder. Allen's collection includes works by legendary artists Vincent van Gogh, Edward Steichen and Gustav Klimt. Georges Seurat's "Les Poseuses, Ensemble" sold for $149.2 million, the biggest score of the night. All told, five works went for over $100 million. More items from Allen's collection are due to hit the block Thursday. The proceeds will go to charity.
– CNBC's Alex Harring, MacKenzie Sigalos, Kate Rooney, Hugh Son, Holly Ellyatt and Robert Frank contributed to this report.
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