World Street | US Treasury targeted in hack, Bitcoin falters, BlackRock under fire, and more

World Street offers a sneak peek into the world of business and economy.

Bitcoin’s rally loses momentum, Wall Street grapples with rate cut implications, and regulatory shifts stir discussions. From BlackRock facing tighter scrutiny to South Korea’s unprecedented presidential arrest warrant and a major US Treasury cyberattack. All this and more on the December 31 edition of World Street.

Bitcoin Rally Slows
Bitcoin’s year-end surge continued to lose steam on Monday, closing at $94,000 when US markets wrapped up at 4 p.m. ET. Earlier this month, the cryptocurrency hit $106,000 amid optimism about the incoming administration’s pro-crypto stance.

Wall Street’s 2024 Performance
In 2024, the Dow faced its longest losing streak since 1974, with declines worsening after the Federal Reserve’s recent meeting. Although the Fed delivered a widely expected quarter-point rate cut, it scaled back projections for further cuts next year, triggering a selloff.
Despite this, the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq are poised to end the year with gains, with the Nasdaq leading at over 32 percent growth as of Monday’s close.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s Future
Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac surged on Monday after investor Bill Ackman predicted the President-elect will privatize the mortgage firms. Ackman anticipates they could return to private ownership and potentially relist by 2026, ending government conservatorship.

BlackRock Faces FDIC Scrutiny
The FDIC is pressing BlackRock to adopt stricter compliance measures when it holds over 10 percent of shares in midsized banks. The $11.5 trillion asset manager has until January 10 to respond to the proposal, sources said.
Regulators and politicians are increasingly wary of the influence wielded by firms like BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, fueled by the dominance of passive funds tracking major indexes.

South Korea Issues Arrest Warrant for President
A South Korean court approved an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol following his impeachment over the brief imposition of martial law on December 3. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) confirmed this is the first warrant for a sitting president in the country’s history.

US Treasury Cyberattack
Chinese state-sponsored hackers infiltrated the US Treasury Department’s systems through a third-party provider, BeyondTrust, earlier this month, according to Reuters. The attackers exploited a key security vulnerability, gaining access to certain workstations and unclassified documents in what Treasury officials called a “major incident.”