French Adopts 2025 Budget | ECB Digital Euro Plan | Swedish Shooting Resembles Inferno

February 06, 2025

Market Update

  • MicroStrategy reports a larger-than-expected Q4 loss while boosting Bitcoin holdings.

  • Qualcomm shares fall 4% on smartphone demand concerns.

  • Ford shares dropped 4% in pre-market trading, CEO says Trump tariffs will damage U.S. auto industry.

  • AMD gives a disappointing outlook for AI growth.

  • India's 2024 tea output drops 7.8%, lifts average prices.

French parliament finally adopts 2025 budget

The French Parliament finally adopted the 2025 state budget after months of political turmoil.

The process saw the previous government toppled, and the current administration survived multiple no-confidence votes.

The budget aims to reduce the public deficit to 5.4% of GDP through €30 billion in savings and €20 billion in tax increases.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou's government narrowly avoided collapse, but his position remains precarious due to potential future no-confidence motions. [Learn more]

ECB hopes Trump's crypto plan will speed up digital euro

The European Central Bank (ECB) hopes U.S. President Donald Trump's support for cryptocurrencies pegged to the U.S. dollar will accelerate legislative backing for the digital euro.

ECB board member Piero Cipollone expressed concern that the spread of U.S.-based stablecoins could divert deposits away from European banks.

The ECB aims to finalize digital euro legislation by November 2025, with the EU Parliament and Council wrapping up work before the summer.

Several countries, including Nigeria, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, have already launched central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), while others like Russia, China, and Brazil are running pilots. [Learn more]

Swedish police say mass shooting scene resembled 'inferno'

Swedish police described the scene of the country's worst mass shooting as resembling "an inferno," with dead and injured people, screams, and smoke.

The shooting at an adult education center in Örebro, west of Stockholm, left 10 people dead, including the gunman.

Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the attack, with no confirmed answers yet.

The suspected gunman, identified by Swedish media as 35-year-old Rickard Andersson, reportedly had psychological issues and had been living as a recluse. [Learn more]

Trivia of the Day!

Did you know that in 2006, a research team found a 9,000-year-old skeleton of a dog buried alongside its human in Texas? This discovery suggests that humans and dogs have been loyal companions for thousands of years.

Generative AI Photo of the Day!

Credit: DALL-E 3

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