Finance

China’s Financial System Faces Intense Pressure Amid Economic Challenges

Short "essays" seem to be causing significant disruptions in China’s bond market. Over the past year, this term has been used to describe rumors circulating in financial hubs, often originating from brief social media posts attempting to explain the complexities of the system. One such rumor suggests that the central bank is targeting speculators involved in "illegal transactions" within the bond market. Another rumor implies that the China Financial Futures Exchange, where bond futures are traded, has raised fees to deter trading activity.

TECH

Texas Tech Insider Says Micah Hudson Could Still Return to Red Raiders

It seems that Micah Hudson’s time with the Texas A&M Aggies may have been short-lived.

He could potentially be heading back to where it all started. According to Texas Tech Red Raiders insider Chris Level, the former Texas A&M wide receiver, who left the program earlier this month, might be contemplating a return to Lubbock.

CRYPTO

Trump’s Crypto Gift: A Cautionary Tale

Three days before taking office, President Donald Trump launched his own cryptocurrency: $TRUMP. By the night before his inauguration, Trump’s stake in the so-called memecoin was valued at $58 billion, making him, on paper, one of the wealthiest individuals on Earth. While the value of the Trump memecoin has since dropped from its peak, the risks of the president’s unregulated approach to crypto are now more evident than ever.

Trump could use this crypto venture to extract money not just from his most loyal supporters but also from those hoping to gain favor with his administration in the months ahead. Even many within the crypto industry, which played a role in Trump’s rise to power, have criticized the project as fraudulent and exploitative. Trump and his associates control the vast majority of the memecoin’s supply, meaning that when they choose to sell, the price will likely plummet, leaving Trump wealthier (in actual money) while investors in the coin lose out. It has the hallmarks of a classic "pump and dump" scheme.

“I wouldn’t call this a scam,” said Omid Malekan, an associate professor at Columbia Business School. “Because to me, whenever something is called a scam, there’s an element of deception. There’s no deception here.”