Apple Hardware Chief John Ternus Rises as Leading CEO Candidate

Trump’s plan to lower mortgage rates

John Ternus next Apple CEO?

Iran cuts internet amid protests

Trump said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now hold $200 billion in cash, which he plans to use to buy mortgage bonds.

The move aims to reduce monthly payments and make homes more affordable for Americans, particularly younger buyers.

Trump reiterated his broader housing agenda, including a proposed ban on large institutional investors buying single-family homes.

"People live in homes, not corporations," the president said.

Director of Federal Housing William Pulte confirmed Fannie and Freddie will execute the plan.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump canceled a planned second wave of military strikes on Venezuela, citing improved cooperation on rebuilding the nation's oil infrastructure. (INV)

The Supreme Court is expected to rule Friday on Trump's authority to impose tariffs unilaterally. (FBN)

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply to $29.4 billion in October—the lowest monthly level since June 2009. (CNBC)

The Trump administration weighs $100,000 payments to each of Greenland's ~57,000 residents as part of talks to buy the Arctic territory. (TH)

U.S. labor productivity accelerated sharply in the third quarter of 2025—growing at its fastest pace in two years—at a 4.9% annual rate as businesses ramped up investment. (RTS)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Motley Fool highlighted quantum computing stocks, including IonQ, Rigetti Computing, and D-Wave Quantum as potential millionaire-makers, pointing to rapid technological advances and massive government funding. (MF)

Morningstar highlighted five undervalued stocks that recently raised dividends, including Zoetis and Lamb Weston Holdings, offering attractive yields and strong potential for long-term total returns. (MS)

MarketBeat spotlighted five under-the-radar consumer staples stocks with strong pricing power, including Hormel Food and Conagra, offering steady earnings potential. (MB)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: General Motors warned it will take a $6 billion hit to profits as it scales back electric vehicle production amid a drop in EV demand. (NYP)

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) faces fierce backlash from tech executives after defending a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on California billionaires, with some quietly funding efforts to unseat him. (NYT)

Hilton Hotels further severed ties with a Minneapolis property by removing its signage after the hotel refused rooms to ICE agents. (FBN)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump announced that the world's largest oil companies have pledged at least $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela's dilapidated oil infrastructure. (POL)

Glencore and Rio Tinto revived talks on an all-share merger that would create the world's largest mining company with a value of $260 billion. (FT)

Chevron is vying with trading houses Vitol and Trafigura to secure U.S. government licenses and deals for exporting Venezuelan crude. (INV)

The Trump administration is moving to overturn the Biden-era mining ban on 225,000 acres in northern Minnesota's Superior National Forest. (RTS)

HSBC forecast gold could surge to $5,000 an ounce in the first half of 2026, driven by sustained safe-haven demand. (YF)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Trump said he has no plans to pardon jailed FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. (TB)

Bipartisan crypto market structure talks stalled in the Senate Ag Committee as Chair Boozman (R-AR) released a draft without Democrat support, teeing up a possible partisan markup on Jan. 15. (POL)

Morgan Stanley plans to launch a digital wallet in the second half of 2026 to support tokenized assets, including traditional securities and crypto. (BEN)

The Polymarket trader who won $437k betting on Maduro's ouster just before his U.S. capture has seen their account vanish from the platform. (CT)

Ternus, 50, joined Apple in 2001 and has led hardware engineering for iPhones, Macs, and iPads, including the iPhone Air and Apple’s transition to in-house chips.

Known for attention to detail and low-profile leadership, he balances innovation with cost management, as illustrated by a 2018 debate over adding a $40 laser component to iPhones.

He would be Apple’s first CEO in 30 years with a career focused on hardware, compared with other potential successors like software head Craig Federighi or services chief Eddy Cue.

Ternus is praised internally for collaboration, operational skill, and manufacturing expertise, but has limited exposure to public, policy, and political responsibilities tied to the CEO role.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Grok restricted its image generation and editing features to paying subscribers only after widespread outcry over the tool's use to create sexually explicit deepfakes. (TG)

OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT for Healthcare, a HIPAA-compliant AI workspace designed for hospitals to draft discharge summaries, handle prior authorizations, and query millions of peer-reviewed studies. (FHC)

xAI plans to invest more than $20 billion in a new data center in Southaven, Mississippi, aiming to boost the Colossus supercomputer cluster to 2 gigawatts of computing power. (AP)

Google is introducing an experimental "AI Inbox" view that replaces the traditional email list with personalized summaries of suggested to-dos and key topics to catch up on. (VER)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Global humanoid robot shipments surged more than fivefold year-over-year in 2025 to approximately 13,000 units, led by China’s AgiBot, which shipped roughly 5,168 units. (BBG)

Chinese EV maker XPeng announced plans for street trials for robotaxis, while targeting mass production of humanoid robots in the second half of 2026. (TIA)

Kawasaki accelerated development of its hydrogen-powered robotic horse Corleo, forming a dedicated team to produce a functioning prototype. (FUT)

Humanoid robots traded punches and kicks in crowd-pleasing Ultimate Fighting Bots match on the sidelines of CES in Las Vegas. (TCH)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: NASA will return the four Crew-11 astronauts from the International Space Station a month early, the first medical evacuation in the station's history. (SP)

Israel Aerospace Industries unveiled an advanced border defense system for threat detection across land, air, sea, and space—demonstrated successfully as a first-of-its-kind capability in Israel. (NGD)

The U.S. Marine Corps awarded Northrop Grumman and Kratos a $231.5 million contract to develop the XQ-58 Valkyrie as its first autonomous wingman drone. (DN)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Lambda, the AI cloud provider that rents access to high-performance chips, is in talks to raise more than $350 million in a new funding round led by Mubadala Capital. (TI)

Corgi, the startup providing embedded insurance for digital businesses, raised $108 million in a Series C round at a $630 million valuation, led by investors including General Catalyst. (AX)

Spangle AI, which develops AI-powered tools for online retailers, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by NewRoad at a $100 million valuation. (GW)

Cloud provider Nscale is in talks to raise approximately $2 billion, following its recent haul of more than $1.5 billion across two funding rounds in September and October. (BBG)

Iran’s government cut off the internet and international phone lines Thursday night as nationwide protests surged.

The demonstrations were sparked by a call from exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, marking the first test of his influence in decades.

Protesters shouted from windows and filled streets with chants including “Death to the dictator!” and “This is the final battle! Pahlavi will return!”

Markets and bazaars across the country shut down in support, while clashes have killed at least 42 people and detained over 2,270.

Internet monitoring groups confirmed the blackout, leaving citizens isolated from global communications and preventing coordination and reporting.

The protests remain largely leaderless, though Pahlavi urged the West and Trump to hold the regime accountable and restore communication for Iranian citizens.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: UK bank account closures hit a decade high with roughly 453,000 customers debanked last year. (TEL)

The UK government expanded the Online Safety Act to require tech platforms to preemptively scan user content for potential illegal material before it is posted. (RTN)

The U.S. formally withdrew from the U.N.-backed Green Climate Fund, with Bessent saying Washington will no longer fund the climate finance vehicle. (BN)

Harvard removed a resident dean after a student-run outlet unearthed his old social media posts attacking “whiteness” and police and condoning rioting, prompting his ouster. (HC)