Crypto News: Canadian contender

Good morning. The battle to become Canada's new prime minister begins. Nvidia unveils its newest chips. And luxury brands look to age before beauty. Listen to the day's top stories.

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The race to replace Justin Trudeau as Canadian PM is hotting up. Former central bank boss Mark Carney said he's considering entering the contest (although he's pretty busy being chair of Bloomberg Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management, among other things). He's high on the list of contenders alongside ex-Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. But whoever the new leader is, they'll have to deal with an economy that's set for a dramatic reshaping.

How Trudeau's Successor Will Handle Trump

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Tech darling Nvidia kicked off 2025 by announcing a raft of new chips, software and services, aiming to stay at the forefront of AI computing. Speaking at the CES tech show in Las Vegas for more than 90 minutes, CEO Jensen Huang outlined products and strategy, including tie-ups with Toyota and MediaTek that sent their shares—as well as those of Asian chipmakers—climbing. Nvidia itself got a stock boost premarket, although investors should already be pretty happy after its 171% jump in 2024.

There were more treats for tech lovers at CES. Qualcomm also introduced new chips designed to power personal computers capable of running the latest AI software yet costing as little as $600. And Dell is re-branding its PCs in a way that might feel rather, ahem, familiar to Apple users. It's goodbye "XPS" and "Inspiron" and hello Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max. Climate-centric tech is also getting eyeballs at the show. Electric grill for your backyard, anyone?

Meta's been shaking things up. The social media giant elected three new directors to its board, including Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White. Probably no bad thing that White's a high-profile campaigner for Donald Trump too, but let's hope it doesn't inspire Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg to challenge Elon Musk to any more cage fights.

McDonald's became the latest big company to revamp its approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, as the once-ubiquitous goals come under pressure from conservative advocates. Wall Street has been retreating from DEI for a while. Read our explainer on why—or watch our Bloomberg Originals documentary on how diversity has become a dirty word.

Developing News

Earthquake in Tibet Near Mount Everest Kills at Least 95 People

Deep Dive: Silver Shoppers

After one of the worst years for luxury in more than a decade, experts are warning that brands looking for rejuvenation need to get past their fixation on youth and target the so-called silver generation.

In the US, people 55 and older possessed 72% of the population's wealth in 2024, McKinsey estimates—and that share is increasing each year. Plus, baby boomers and older Gen Xers are more steadfast when it comes to brand loyalty than younger—and more fickle—shoppers.
Something has to change. Louis Vuitton and Tiffany owner LVMH—far and away the biggest of all the publicly traded luxury companies—saw its market value shrink by 13% last year as Chinese consumers pulled back.
Adding to the headwinds, Trump's plans to slap higher tariffs on many US imports are only making the industry more nervous.

Shoppers pass the Louis Vuitton boutique in central Paris. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg

Opinion

Digital currencies seem to have proven that they're not a nothing, but that doesn't mean they qualify as a something, Mark Gilbert writes. Bitcoin's roaring success of late is undeniable. But it's still not money.

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Before You Go

Dialing down. Bad news for watch investors. Prices for the most sought-after used watch models from Rolex, Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet fell yet again in 2024, hitting fresh three-year lows.