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After a slight dip Thursday, bitcoin (BTC) gained roughly 4% in Friday trading and is back above $66,000.

It was another positive day for U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Thursday, as $84.8 million flowed into these products, according to Farside Investors. This takes the week's total inflows to $861.5 million so far.

Optimism around the approval and potential trading debut next week of spot ether ETFs is also growing, pushing ether (ETH) prices higher. Issuers of these products have unveiled their fee structure and now await a final nod from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The native token of the Ethereum blockchain was also up around 2% in Friday trading.

Outside of the two largest crypto tokens by market cap, XRP has been performing relatively well lately, with the alternative crypto asset up nearly 10% over the week.

XRP has been performing particularly well in South Korea, where the digital asset accounted for 35% to 40% of all trading volume on three popular crypto exchanges there from Tuesday through Thursday, reported. Price speculation for XRP, used by blockchain technology firm Ripple to facilitate transactions, has increased ahead of a potential resolution to Ripple's legal battle with the SEC over whether XRP is an unregistered security. Earlier this week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse told , "We expect resolution very soon."

In addition, as one of the projects targeted by the SEC with an enforcement action, some market observers expect XRP to benefit from a potential victory of a pro-crypto Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential elections.

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Eli Lilly and Co. (LLY) announced on its WeChat account Friday that it has won approval from Chinese regulators to sell tirzepatide for weight loss in the country.

Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Lilly’s injectable diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound. Mounjaro previously was approved in China for diabetes treatment.

The approval comes after Danish rival Novo Nordisk (NVO) announced in June that its weight-loss drug Wegovy received similar approval in China. Last week, a JAMA Internal Medicine study found that tirzepatide caused greater weight loss than semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy.

Competition between the drugmakers in the world’s second-largest economy will be crucial, with the global weight-loss market expected to reach $77 billion annually by 2030, according Morgan Stanley analysts. 

Eli Lilly did not specify when sales of the drug would begin in China, or how many doses would be sold, according to . The drugmaker did not immediately respond to 's request for comment.

Eli Lilly shares rose 1.4% to $860.50 as of 1 p.m. ET Friday and are up almost 50% year-to-date. Novo Nordisk American depositary receipts (ADRs) were up 1.7% to $132.19 and have added about 28% in 2024.

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Source: Harvard Health Publishing

The Central Bank of Nigeria has directed banks to send funds in dormant accounts, unclaimed balances to apex bank.

The CBN hereby issues the revised Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts, Unclaimed Balances and Other Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria to banks and other financial institutions for implementation. This is sequel to the conclusion of the review of the Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts and Other Unclaimed Funds by Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria issued in October 2015.

The revised Guidelines, which operationalizes Section 72 of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020, followed engagement and consultations with relevant stakeholders, whose comments and recommendations were considered in the review process. It, amongst others, standardises the management of dormant accounts, unclaimed balances and financial assets, and outlines the procedure for the administration of these balances, funds, and assets by banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria.

The modalities for the transfer of the relevant balances/funds/ assets to the CBN, together with the revised templates for the rendition of quarterly returns to Banking Supervision Department or Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department (as the case may be) will be communicated subsequently stablog9ja

This Guidelines supersedes the Guidelines on the Management of Dormant Accounts and Other Unclaimed Funds by Banks and Other Financial Institutions in Nigeria, issued in October 2015 and takes effect immediately.

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Halliburton (HAL) shares slumped Friday as the big oilfield services provider’s U.S. business declined.

The company reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.80, in line with forecasts. Revenue rose less than 1% to $5.83 billon, missing estimates.

Revenue in North America was down 8% to $2.48 billion, which Halliburton said was primarily caused by “decreased pressure pumping services in U.S. land and lower activity across multiple product service lines in the Gulf of Mexico.” It was higher in all other regions, with total international revenue jumping 8% to $3.35 billion.

By segment, Completion and Production revenue fell 2.2% to $3.40 billion, while it increased 4.7% to $2.43 billion for Drilling and Evaluation.

CEO Jeff Miller said that, in international markets, “we see strong demand for Halliburton’s services, high activity levels, and equipment tightness across all major basins.”

He said that that the company's strategy to maximize value in North America “delivers shareholder value,” and the company expects to “continue to deliver strong returns through this cycle.”

Halliburton shares were down 4.9% at $34.65 in recent trading, putting the stock into negative territory for 2024.

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