Finance

Goldman Sachs is rolling out a generative AI assistant to its bankers, traders and asset managers, the first stage in the evolution of a program that will eventually take on the traits of a seasoned Goldman employee, according to Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti.
The bank has released a program called GS AI assistant to about 10,000 employees so far, with the goal that all the company’s knowledge workers will have it this year, Argenti told CNBC in an exclusive interview.
“The AI assistant becomes really like talking to another GS employee,” Argenti said.

Goldman Sachs GS AI Assistant
Courtesy: Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs is rolling out a generative AI assistant to its bankers, traders and asset managers, the first stage in the evolution of a program that will eventually take on the traits of a seasoned Goldman employee, according to Chief Information Officer Marco Argenti.
The bank has released a program called GS AI assistant to about 10,000 employees so far, with the goal that all the company’s knowledge workers will have it this year, Argenti told CNBC in an exclusive interview. It will initially help with tasks including summarizing or proofreading emails or translating code from one language to another.

“Think about all the tasks that you might want to complete with regards to a variety of use cases for all those professions that can be now at your fingertips,” Argenti said. The Goldman assistant is a “very simple interface that allows you to have access to the latest and greatest models.”
Goldman’s move means that, along with JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, the world’s top three investment banks have aggressively released generative AI tools to their workforce, a remarkable development since ChatGPT went viral about two years ago.
Wall Street has embraced generative artificial intelligence faster than any other disruptive technology in recent years, experts say, because of how adept large language models are in replicating aspects of human cognition.
Today it can respond to queries, write emails and summarize lengthy documents, but expectations are high that future versions will exhibit so-called agentic abilities, meaning they can perform multistep tasks with little human intervention.
In speaking with CNBC about his vision for artificial intelligence at the firm, Argenti — who joined from Amazon in 2019 — repeatedly likened the AI program to a new employee that will absorb Goldman culture over the coming years.

Initially, the tool will mostly produce answers based on Goldman data that has been fed into AI models from OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Meta’s Llama, depending on the task, said Argenti. The bank is also looking at models from companies including Anthropic, Mistral and Cohere, he added.
“The AI assistant becomes really like talking to another GS employee,” Argenti said.

Learning the Goldman Way

“As we progress, the second step is when you’re starting to have this agentic behavior, that is, ‘I’m completing a task on behalf of a Goldman employee, and I need to take a set of steps,'” he said. “That’s where the model is going to start to do things like a Goldman employee, not only say things like a Goldman employee.”
This helps explain why companies have forbid employees from using ChatGPT for work, instead moving to create their own platforms to tap the technology. It allows firms to not only keep their information secure, but to also craft AI platforms that increasingly resemble the best examples of their own workforce.
“For the AI to have a very specific identity that reflects the tenets, the values, the knowledge and the way of thinking of the firm is extremely important,” Argenti said.
In practice, that means that just as an experienced Goldman employee would know to double-check their work with multiple data sources or use a specific algorithm for a calculation, the AI will absorb those lessons, he said.

Marco Argenti, chief information officer for Goldman Sachs, joined the bank from Amazon in 2019.
Courtesy: Goldman Sachs

But Argenti says he is most excited by the prospect of what comes later, in perhaps three to five years, as AI models increasingly blur the lines between human and machine thinking.
This stage of AI at Goldman would have the model “actually reason more and become more like the way a Goldman employee would think,” he said.
So instead of being handed a run book, which is tech industry parlance for a set of step-by-step instructions for completing tasks or responding to incidents, the AI would be able to generate detailed plans “in the way that an experienced Goldman employee would do,” Argenti said.

Disruption risk

The prospects of that future — and the fact that Wall Street’s workers are helping train a technology that may make some roles obsolete, while augmenting other jobs and creating new roles altogether — may send a fresh wave of anxiety through employee ranks.
Like at Goldman, other major investment banks are on target to give generative AI tools to their entire workforces in the coming months.
More than 200,000 JPMorgan employees currently have access to in-house generative AI tools, according to a person with knowledge of that bank who declined to be identified speaking about internal matters. Roughly 40,000 Morgan Stanley employees had access to it as of late last year, the bank said in October.
Finance and technology are seen as among the industries where employees are most prone to upheaval because of generative AI, allowing companies to potentially generate billions of dollars in additional profits. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told podcaster Joe Rogan earlier this month that its AI will be capable of writing code as well as mid-level software engineers this year.
Global investment banks may shed as many as 200,000 jobs in the next three to five years as the companies implement AI, according to a report from Bloomberg’s research arm. The report, based on a survey of tech executives at major banks, said that support and operations roles known as the back and middle office were most at risk.
At Goldman, however, the official stance is that AI will empower employees to do more, not necessarily result in the need for fewer humans.
“The importance of having a phenomenal human workforce is actually going to be amplified,” Argenti said.
“In my opinion, it always boils down to people,” he said. “People are going to make a difference, because people are going to be the ones that actually evolve the AI, educate the AI, empower the AI, and then take action.” More

Full Coverage

Richard Teng, Binance’s CEO, on Tuesday said that he sees “much clearer regulation” in the U.S. this year under the new Trump administration, adding that this will be supportive for crypto markets.
“If you look at past cycles, this year will be a year that we see a new all-time high for the crypto industry,” Teng told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Last year, bitcoin passed the $100,000 price milestone for the first time, as traders grew optimistic about the crypto industry’s prospects under a Trump administration.

The crypto market will see a new all-time high in 2025 on the back of positive regulatory movements in the U.S. under newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, the CEO of Binance told CNBC Tuesday.
Richard Teng, who took the reins from former Binance boss Changpeng Zhao last year, told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal that he sees “much clearer regulation” happening in the U.S. this year under the new Trump administration, adding this will be supportive for crypto markets.

“If you look at past cycles, this year will be a year that we see a new all-time high for the crypto industry,” Teng said in a fireside chat at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Bitcoin passed the $100,000 price milestone for the first time last year, as traders grew optimistic about the crypto industry’s prospects under a Trump administration. As of Tuesday, the token was trading near $104,000, according to CoinGecko, down 3% in the last 24 hours amid a broad slump in crypto markets.

“The narrative [around crypto] has shifted quite drastically” since last year, Teng added, noting he’s been hearing positive crypto sentiments expressed by political and corporate leaders since arriving in Davos.
In terms of new legislation, Teng said that he expects to see progress in the United States on several fronts, including token issuance, trading and asset management.
Trump isn’t the only key U.S. political figure who is “pro-crypto,” Teng said, adding: “The House of Representatives and the Senate now [are] pro-crypto, compared to the past.”

“So, legislation will be passed, you have pro-crypto regulators being appointed to key commissioner roles in the SEC and CFTC,” Binance’s CEO said.
Trump picked respected Washington lawyer Paul Atkins to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, which has previously been aggressive in its enforcement approach to the crypto industry
Teng is also expecting Trump to give the crypto sector “certainty” and “recognition,” as well as establish a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve — something the now-president suggested he’d do during his campaign.

Clarification: The text and headline of this story have been clarified to reflect that Binance CEO Richard Teng said the crypto market will hit a new all-time high in 2025. More

Full Coverage

Ray Dalio, Founder & CIO Mentor Bridgewater Associates, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 16th, 2024.
Adam Galici | CNBC

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio thinks reducing the U.S. budget deficit could stabilize the bond market and lower interest rates.
The founder of Bridgewater, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, said the current projected deficit is 7.5% of U.S. gross domestic product. If that ratio goes down to 3%, the supply-demand imbalance in the bond market would be lessened significantly, Dalio said.

“It’s almost a black and white situation,” Dalio said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “All those bonds have to be sold … there’s a tremendous supply … It’s happened many times before, so we have to stabilize that, and we can do it.”
Rising financing costs along with continued spending growth and declining tax receipts have combined to send deficits spiraling and have pushed the national debt past the $36 trillion mark. In 2024, the government spent more on interest payments than any other outlay other than Social Security, defense and health care.
The widely-followed investor said reducing the deficit can be achieved through higher taxes, lower spending or a combination of the two, so long as politicians work together to solve the problem.
“That’s what I call the 3% solution,” Dalio said. “We have so much debt that the interest costs on the debt is more important than spending and taxes …. our problem isn’t the deficit. Our problem is the politics, the fragmented politics.” More

“Official Trump,” a token representing the new U.S. leader, plunged as much as 26% in 24 hours.
A meme token released Sunday by first lady Melania Trump also crashed.
Trump’s inauguration Monday lacked any concrete policy announcements regarding crypto.

A cartoon image of US President-elect Donald Trump with cryptocurrency tokens, depicted in front of the White House to mark his inauguration, displayed at a Coinhero store in Hong Kong, China, on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. 
Paul Yeung | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies sank on Tuesday, as bullish investor sentiment surrounding cryptocurrencies cooled after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
“Official Trump,” a token launched last week that represents the new U.S. leader, plunged as much as 26% in 24 hours, according to CoinGecko data. Meanwhile, a meme token released Sunday by first lady Melania Trump, roughly halved in price in a day.

Bitcoin dipped as much as 5% Tuesday morning before paring losses slightly. The world’s largest digital coin was last down 2%, trading at $104,375. XRP, a smaller token, fell 4%. Ether was flat.
Crypto investors have hailed Trump’s arrival to the White House as a positive moment for the industry. The president has promised to introduce policies supportive of cryptocurrencies, including an accommodating regulatory framework and a federal bitcoin hoard.

While Trump is viewed as set to benefit crypto, his inauguration Monday lacked any concrete policy announcements regarding the sector. That appeared to be the primary factor taking the wind out of the crypto market’s sails on Tuesday.
Kenneth Lamont, a principal at Morningstar, warned investors not to jump into crypto trading without being properly informed about the risks involved.
“If Donald Trump delivers on his election promises, we could see cryptocurrency markets continue to surge. However, investors would do well to resist the siren call of fear of missing out, and sit on their hands,” Lamont said in emailed comments Tuesday.

Cryptocurrencies are known to be volatile. Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital coin, has previously risen or fallen by thousands of dollars in a single day. Alternative coins, or “altcoins,” like ether and XRP, have proven even more more prone to fluctuations.
“Fear of missing out is not an investment strategy. For many investors, the lure of easy wealth is strong,” Lamont said, adding that retail investors “tend to be poor at market timing, buying and selling at the worst moments.” More

Full Coverage

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang warned there are “no winners” in a trade war.
“Protectionism leads no where. [A trade war has no winners,” Ding said Tuesday, according to an official English translation.
Returning U.S. President Donald Trump indicated tariffs could be a way to pressure China into forcing Beijing-based ByteDance to sell TikTok, whose future availability in the U.S. is now in question.

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang speaks during COP29 on Nov. 12, 2024.
Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

BEIJING — Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang warned there are “no winners” in a trade war, as the world’s second-largest economy faces the possibility of tariffs under the freshly-inaugurated administration of Donald Trump.
“Protectionism leads no where. [A] trade war has no winners,” Ding said Tuesday, according to an official English translation. He was speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The vice premier began his address largely by referencing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at Davos in 2017, which took place just days before Trump headed to the White House to begin his first term.
At the time, Xi had said that “pursuing protectionism is just like locking one’s self in a dark room. Wind and rain might be kept outside but so are light and air.”
After his second inauguration on Monday, Trump said the U.S. could levy tariffs on Mexico and Canada as soon as February. As for China, the returning U.S. president indicated tariffs could be a way to pressure the country into forcing Beijing-based ByteDance to sell TikTok, whose future availability in the U.S. is now in question.
“If we wanted to make a deal with TikTok, and it was a good deal, and China wouldn’t approve it, then I think ultimately they’d approve it, because we’d put tariffs on China,” Trump said. “I’m not saying I would, but you certainly could do that.”
Trump said he and Xi discussed TikTok and trade during a call on Friday. The Chinese readout of the exchange did not mention the social media app. Neither leader attended Davos this year.

Ding, who said he was attending Davos for the second time, is one of China’s four vice premiers. China economy has struggled with lackluster consumption and a real estate slump. Despite this, the country’s GDP officially grew by 5% last year after a flurry of stimulus announcements starting in late September.
In his speech on Tuesday, Ding attributed China’s economic challenges to the external environment and to “temporary pains brought [about] by our own economic restructuring.” He referenced that the country is trying to move away from real estate as a pillar of growth and toward new drivers such as high-end technology.
China’s technological achievements are the result of “open cooperation,” Ding added in a subsequent discussion with World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab. The Chinese official emphasized that Beijing is developing artificial intelligence for the “intelligent transformation” of its economy, and has institutions capable of controlling the emerging technology.
Under the administration of former President Joe Biden, the U.S. had said it was in competition with China and imposed sweeping restrictions that prevent Chinese companies from buying high-end semiconductors used for training artificial intelligence systems.”
“On the global governance of AI, this is a tough issue,” Ding said. “If we allow this reckless competition among countries to continue then we will see a grey rhino, what to do about it?”
He called for global coordination on AI governance through the United Nations, similar to nuclear or biological risks.
Ding broadly warned of “unimaginable consequences” if the world were to split into different systems, including a worst-case-scenario of a “relapse into confrontation.”
“That would be a situation [in which] no country can stay unafflicted,” Ding said.
— CNBC’s Jeff Cox contributed to this report. More

Donald Trump started his new presidential term with an unexpected show of restraint. Just a couple of months ago, Mr Trump had warned that he would announce hefty new levies on his first day back in the White House. Instead, he opted for a softer opening. He was set to issue a presidential memorandum, calling for an “America first” trade policy and a review of commercial relationships with China, Canada and Mexico. His measured start prompted relief in government offices and on trading floors around the world. Foreign currencies and stocks rallied. More

SO BEGINS Donald Trump’s tariff roller-coaster, sure to be a stomach-churning ride for the global economy. He started his first day in office with an unexpected show of restraint: rather than slapping hefty new tariffs on other countries, he instead issued a presidential memorandum calling for a review of unfair trade practices. It seemed to be a measured start for Mr Trump—at least on the protectionist front, if not his wider programme—prompting relief in government offices and on trading floors around the world. Foreign currencies and stocks rallied. More

Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller believes Donald Trump’s re-election renewed a jolt of speculative enthusiasm in the markets and surging optimism within businesses.
“I’ve been doing this for 49 years, and we’re probably going from the most anti-business administration to the opposite,” Druckenmiller said on CNBC Monday. “We do a lot of talking to CEOs and companies on the ground. And I’d say CEOs are somewhere between relieved and giddy. So we’re a believer in animal spirits.”

While the notable investor, who now runs Duquesne Family Office, is bullish on the economy in the near-term, he remains somewhat cautious on the stock market because of elevated bond yields. He revealed that he is holding onto his short against Treasurys, effectively betting that bond prices will fall and yields will rise.
“In terms of the markets, I would say it’s complicated,” Druckenmiller said. “You’re going to have this push of a strong economy versus bond yields rising in response to that strong economy, and that kind of makes me not have a strong opinion one way or the other.”
The S&P 500 surged nearly 6% in November on Trump’s victory, bringing the benchmark’s 2024 gains to 23.3%. Trump’s promised tax cuts and deregulation have boosted risk assets dramatically, especially bank and energy stocks, as well as bitcoin, which just hit another record high Monday.
Druckenmiller, 71, said he would focus on individual stocks, not worrying about the broader market. The investor noted he’s bullish on companies where artificial intelligence is going to lower their costs and drive productivity. He didn’t reveal which AI stocks he’s betting on after selling out of Nvidia and Microsoft.
‘Risks are overblown’
As for concerns that Trump’s punitive tariffs would spoil the market rally and spike inflation, Druckenmiller believes that the revenue generated by duties could lessen the pressing fiscal problem in the country.

“We have a fiscal problem, we need revenues,” Druckenmiller said. “To me, tariffs are simply a consumption tax that foreigners pay for some of it. Now the risk is retaliation, but as long as we stay in the 10% range, …I think the risks are overblown relative to the rewards, the rewards on high.”

Trump’s trade memorandum to be issued Monday would not impose tariffs yet. His camp has been reportedly discussing a schedule of graduated tariffs increasing by about 2% to 5% a month on trading partners.
Druckenmiller once managed George Soros’ Quantum Fund and shot to fame after helping make a $10 billion bet against the British pound in 1992. He later oversaw $12 billion as president of Duquesne Capital Management before closing his firm in 2010.  More