Asian Currencies Steady as Fed Delivers Hawkish Rate Cut; Aussie and Rupee Under Pressure 
SpaceX Edges Toward Landmark IPO as Elon Musk Confirms Plans 
Air Transat Reaches Tentative Agreement With Pilots, Avoids Strike and Restores Normal Operations 
SoftBank Eyes Switch Inc as It Pushes Deeper Into AI Data Center Expansion 
Moore Threads Stock Slides After Risk Warning Despite 600% Surge Since IPO 
Wall Street Futures Dip as Broadcom Slides, Tech Weighed Down Despite Dovish Fed Signals 
SpaceX Insider Share Sale Values Company Near $800 Billion Amid IPO Speculation 
Rio Tinto Signs Interim Agreement With Yinhawangka Aboriginal Group Over Pilbara Mining Operations 
Wall Street Futures Slip as Oracle Earnings Miss Reignites AI Spending Concerns 
Fed Rate Cut Signals Balance Between Inflation and Jobs, Says Mary Daly 
Gold Prices Dip as Markets Absorb Dovish Fed Outlook; Silver Eases After Record High 
Mizuho Raises Broadcom Price Target to $450 on Surging AI Chip Demand 
Mexico Moves to Increase Tariffs on Asian Imports to Protect Domestic Industries 
ANZ Faces Legal Battle as Former CEO Shayne Elliott Sues Over A$13.5 Million Bonus Dispute 
Fed Near Neutral Signals Caution Ahead, Shifting Focus to Fixed Income in 2026 
Gold Prices Slip Slightly in Asia as Silver Nears Record Highs on Dovish Fed Outlook 
Westpac Director Peter Nash Avoids Major Investor Backlash Amid ASX Scrutiny 
JPMorgan and Siemens have joined forces for a Blockchain project. It was reported that the American investment banking company has partnered with the German industrial manufacturing firm to develop a blockchain-based payment system.
The new Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) payment system that JP Morgan will be creating for Siemens is said to become a first-of-its-kind application. The report about the companies' deal appeared on Monday, Dec. 20.
As per the Financial Times, the blockchain payment system will be used by Siemens to further expand its payment options. The company said it is dealing with a larger amount of payments now as it is already using the pay-per-use payment schemes which are the trend these days.
The changing trend made Siemens aspire to give this pay model a try and make use of the fast-growing blockchain technology where cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were built. A company representative further told the FT that new digital business models are cropping up and the old ones are not able to keep up with these, thus, they cannot even compete with them.
In any case, the new digital system that will be developed by JPMorgan for Siemens will be used to automate the transfer of cash between accounts owned by the latter. The funds are being moved in US dollars but by 2022, the company is planning to add euro payments as well.
CoinDesk reported that Siemens is the first client of JPMorgan's new DLT payment processing system that was created by Onyx, the financial institution's blockchain division. The bank revealed that many clients have already lined up to try the blockchain-based payment model but chose Siemens to be the first to use it.
The application has been designed to automate different steps and actions needed in the recording and verification of payments. Aside from these, it will also take programmable payments outside of the current uses including direct debits and standing orders. The system will be fully using JPMorgan's Onyx system and Siemens has now become the cornerstone customer.
Meanwhile, as banks appear to have trust in blockchain compared to crypto, they have started to integrate the DLT system into their company operations. This development simply shows that more and more major brands are getting interested in using blockchain technology to boost efficiency and improve the cost of their day-to-day operations.
