Crypto News: No harbor for hedge funds

Good morning. Crowded hedge fund trades rapidly unwind. Paraguay’s fintech failure sparks a political earthquake. And Hyatt is king of the all-inclusive resort, if that’s your thing. Listen to the day’s top stories.

— Angela Cullen

Market Snapshot
S&P 500 Futures	7,401.50	+0.3%
Nasdaq 100 Futures	27,160.50	+1.5%
Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index	1,225.02	+0.2%
WTI Crude Oil Futures	$90.94	+0.5%
Market data as of 07:06 AM ET. Data is subject to provider delays.	Your watchlist

Wall Street traders wrong-footed by Thursday’s $3 trillion rout are seeing some relief into the weekend as the US equity selloff eases. But spare a thought for hedge funds. On the heels of a tough October came the midterm elections, and there’s a risk that more forced selling could follow. For an industry premised on making money no matter the direction of the market, the breadth of the damage is stunning. President Donald Trump blamed Democrats for 401(k) declines. The rout occurred because the party “had a big Tuesday — So sad to see, you only have yourselves to blame!” he wrote on Truth Social.

For months, investors have been worrying about risks to the gravy train of artificial intelligence spending. This week, they hit the panic button. Just ask Goldman Sachs, whose equities trading desk had one of its busiest sessions of the year on Wednesday as markets jumped. Slumping Thursday was “the exact opposite,” the head of its Americas equities execution services wrote. “Our phones are exploding with asks for color. Unfortunately we aren’t seeing much.”

The Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York.

Goldman Goes Quiet on Women Partner Promotions as Progress Slows

Rare auction. Dutch bank ING was the mystery seller of a roughly $500 million portfolio of data center loans all at once, people familiar said, as the midterms tilt the regulatory map against the AI buildout. The loans include a $25 million slice backing a massive data center site that’s part of OpenAI, SoftBank Group and Oracle’s joint Stargate project in New Mexico. That’s the location where Oracle sent the developer a notice citing force majeure.

Marco Rubio dismissed reports he may leave the Trump administration, telling the New York Times that working for the president until the end of this term has “always been my plan.” Meanwhile, Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman won the mayor’s race, ousting Karen Bass and putting a democratic socialist in charge of the second-largest US city. But Californians are on track to reject a first-of-its-kind tax on billionaires, marking the end of one of the most expensive and divisive political battles in state history.

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Deep Dive: Tumult in Paraguay

Paraguay’s President Santiago Peña faces a hearing today that may expose him to criminal prosecution after the collapse of a major commercial bank he has ties to. The president announced his intent to step down on Thursday, just as the country’s Congress began debating his impeachment.

The seizure of Ueno Bank, once held up as a paragon of progress, has triggered a political crisis and left millions of Paraguayans and the state without access to savings, pensions and other assets.
The scandal marks a swift downfall for Peña after a little over three years in office and deprives Donald Trump of an ally in his efforts to expand US influence in Latin America.
Marco Rubio had lauded Paraguay as a model for the region, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with Peña in Washington just two weeks ago.
Ueno’s collapse also marks a stunning fall from grace for former owner Miguel Vázquez, who’s now jailed. The millennial triathlete once harbored ambitions of creating Paraguay’s first unicorn and being the first to list a local company on the NYSE.

The Big Take

People gather for a holy bath in India. — People gather for a holy bath in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India.

More than a decade into Narendra Modi’s $4.5 billion effort to clean up the Ganges, much of India’s holy river remains dangerously polluted.

Big Take Podcast

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Opinion

It isn’t just Israel that must fundamentally recalibrate its foreign policy in the wake of the US midterms, Marc Champion writes. Every national leader should gird themselves against Trump’s final two years in office.

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Godzilla Minus Zero director Takashi Yamazaki.

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‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Plus Its View of America Equals a Serious Film

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Secrets Mirabel in Cancun. — Secrets Mirabel, Cancun.

Shrimp, margaritas and unlimited towels, anyone? Hyatt has turned itself into the king of all-inclusive resorts, dominating a corner of the hotel business once considered decidedly downmarket.

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