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  Associated Press Finance

  BlackRock buys Global Infrastructure Partners in $12 billion deal

  BlackRock is buying independent infrastructure fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners in a cash-and-stock deal valued at more than $12 billion. The deal announced Friday includes $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock. GIP, which was founded in 2006, manages more than $100 billion in client assets across infrastructure equity and debt, with a focus on energy, transport, water and waste, and digital sectors.

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  Barrons.com

  JPMorgan's Adjusted Earnings Top Estimates and the Stock Rises

  JPMorgan Chase reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $3.04 and revenue of $38.6 billion. The nation’s largest bank, JPMorgan reported net income of $9.3 billion for the quarter, a 15% drop from the $11 billion it reported for the same period a year ago. JPMorgan said a FDIC special assessment, which is being applied to other banks as well, cost it $2.9 billion and decreased earnings per share by 74 cents.

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  Bloomberg

  Bigos: Bonds, Stocks Can Maintain Momentum

  AXA Investment Managers Asia ex-Japan CIO Ecaterina Bigos believes bonds and equities can maintain their momentum this year. She speaks with Annabelle Droulers from the sidelines of the 'Morgan Stanley Global Alpha Investment' conference.

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  Reuters

  Wells Fargo profit beats estimates, warns of lower interest income in 2024

  (Reuters) -Wells Fargo's profit beat fourth-quarter expectations on cost cuts, but the lender warned that 2024 net interest income could be 7% to 9% lower than a year earlier, sending its shares down 1.9% before the bell. Rising borrowing costs have benefited banks that charged borrowers more on interest, but with market participants expecting rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, their interest income could start to erode. "Our business performance remains sensitive to interest rates and the health of the U.S. economy, but we are confident that the actions we are taking will drive stronger returns over the cycle," CEO Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf said in a statement.

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  The Wall Street Journal

  Goldman Investing Chief: ETFs Don’t Make Bitcoin an Investment

  Newly launched bitcoin exchange-traded funds [enable the cryptocurrency to be bought as easily as stocks](https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/sec-approves-bitcoin-etfs-for-everyday-investors-dc3125ef), but a top Goldman Sachs executive said digital currencies are [still more like roulette](https://www.goldmansachs.com/what-we-do/consumer-and-wealth-management/private-wealth-management/intellectual-capital-f/beauty-is-not-in-the-eye-of-the-beholder/) than anything that should be in your retirement account. “If you want to go to Las Vegas, great,” said Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani, who leads the investment strategy group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “People can use it if they want for total speculation, but it is not an investment and people should not be investing in cryptocurrencies, in bitcoin, in the ETF, as part of an investment portfolio.”

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  Reuters

  US producer prices unexpectedly fall; goods deflation underway

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in December amid declining costs for goods such as diesel fuel and food, suggesting inflation would continue to subside and allow the Federal Reserve to start cutting interest rates this year. The report from the Labor Department on Friday also showed prices for services were unchanged for the third straight month, another boost in the U.S. central bank's fight against inflation. With supply chains mostly normalized after severe disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, services are now at the core of the inflation battle.