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Bitcoin ATMs are taking over malls and gas stations across the U.S.

Somerset House has been a key part of London's landscape for hundreds of years, with its grand architecture and prominent position close to the River Thames and the Covent Garden area. But its leaders say its current role as a center for arts and culture is not fully understood, with one even describing it as "London and the U.K.'s best-kept secret." While its courtyard is well known as a striking venue for a winter ice rink and summer movie screenings, people are less aware that hundreds of artists and creatives work within its walls.

The strategic importance of lithium is likely to have played a major role in the European Union's blockbuster deal with Brazil, Argentina and three other South American countries, analysts say. After 25 years of talks, the EU and five Mercosur countries (an alliance which includes Paraguay, Uruguay and, newly, Bolivia) reached a highly anticipated trade agreement on Dec. 6. If ratified by the 27-nation bloc, the EU- Mercosur partnership will create one of the world's biggest free trade zones, covering an estimated area of more than 700 million people and representing roughly 20% of global gross domestic product.

The global travel industry is set to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic this month, according to U.N. Tourism. During the first nine months of 2024, international arrivals worldwide reached 98% of pre-pandemic levels, compared to the same period in 2019, it said. The remaining 2% gap will close this month, according to the organization, marking a momentous shift in the industry into a new era of growth.

While much of KFC's early success came from the U.S., today the majority of its growth is in China.

China's exports and imports both missed expectations in November, with exports rising 6.7% in U.S. dollar terms and imports falling 3.9% from a year ago, data from the country's customs authority showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments missed Reuters' poll expectations of an 8.5% year on year growth. Exports had risen 12.7% in October, marking their highest growth since March 2023, according to LSEG data. Meanwhile, import data surprised with a decline of 3.9%. Analysts had expected a growth of 0.3%.

Tesla is being sued by the family of a driver who died in a 2023 collision, claiming that the company's "fraudulent misrepresentation" of its Autopilot technology was to blame. The Tesla driver, Genesis Giovanni Mendoza-Martinez, died in the crash involving a Model S sedan in Walnut Creek, California. His brother, Caleb, who had been a passenger at the time, was seriously injured. The Mendoza family sued Tesla in October in Contra Costa County, but in recent days Tesla had the case moved from state court to federal court in California's Northern District. The Independent first reported on the venue change. Plaintiffs generally face a higher burden of proof in federal court for fraud claims.

Oracle announced its fiscal, second-quarter earnings on Monday that missed on the top and bottom lines, which sent its shares falling in after-hour trading. The database giant also said that it signed up Meta as a customer, in which it will let the the social media giant access its cloud infrastructure to help with various projects related to the Llama family of large language models. Read more here on CNBC:

Insider trading cases are difficult to prove because of the legal gray area and the high threshold for proof regarding proof of intent.

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Monday reviewed several companies that surpassed $100 billion in market cap this year, noting that the names capture the "zeitgeist of the moment" on the market. "When you get this much money coming in, you can see how all these companies can reach $100 billion, creating a huge amount of wealth, at least on paper," he said. "One more reason why it wouldn't be so bad if some of the winning investors in this market took something delicious off the table." Cramer first mentioned AppLovin, an enterprise software company that is currently up nearly 760% year-to-date. Some investors think AppLovin could become an extremely successful e-commerce outfit as it does well advertising in the video game space, he said. Palantir has also seen enormous gains, currently up 322% year-to-date. According to Cramer, Wall Street loves this stock because it makes high-profile government deals, and some think it could reinvent the U.S. defense budget. Click here to download Jim