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2024-01-16 04:50:17+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [445, 1199, 1283], "BTC": [270]}

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BlackRock’s Larry Fink Sees “Value” in Ethereum ETFs, Future of Tokenization

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-larry-fink-sees-value-045017667.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

BlackRock’s Larry Fink Sees “Value” in Ethereum ETFs, Future of Tokenization BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has thrown his support behind an Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded fund (ETF), signaling the asset management giant's growing interest in cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin (BTC). "I see value in having an Ethereum ETF," Fink said . "These ETFs are stepping stones towards tokenization, and I believe that's where we're headed." BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was among the several bitcoin ETFs that made their trading debut in the United States on Thursday, following the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) approval. IBIT accounted for a significant portion of the total trading volume that the ETFs collectively saw. Fink's endorsement of an Ether ETF comes as BlackRock is looking to list a similar product for Ethereum's native token. This move would align with the company's broader strategy of embracing tokenization, which involves representing assets (real world or digital) in the form of tokens on the blockchain. Fink believes that tokenization can help eliminate issues related to money laundering and other forms of corruption. He also sees cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, as an asset class that can provide protection against geopolitical risks. "Bitcoin is similar to gold in that it's a scarce asset," Fink said. "However, unlike gold, we're almost at the maximum supply of bitcoin that can be created." Let us know what you loved about this article, what could be improved, or share any other feedback by filling out this short form . View comments

2024-01-16 04:56:02+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [12, 67, 423, 659, 760, 956, 1214, 1245, 1539]}

{"Bitcoin": [12]}

CoinShares: Bitcoin Halving to Squeeze Miners' Margins

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coinshares-bitcoin-halving-squeeze-miners-045602828.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

CoinShares: Bitcoin Halving to Squeeze Miners' Margins As the next Bitcoin halving event approaches, mining firms are bracing for significant cost increases. CoinShares has analyzed the impact of the halving and identified the companies best positioned to weather the storm in a recent report . The halving event, scheduled for April 2024, will reduce the block reward given to miners by half, slowing down the rate of new Bitcoin creation. This will likely lead to an increase in the cost of production and cash costs for miners. CoinShares predicts that the average cost of production and cash costs will increase from approximately $16,800 and $25,000 per Bitcoin in the third quarter of2023 to $27,900 and $37,800, respectively. The analysis suggests that Bitcoin mining firms Riot, TeraWulf, and CleanSpark are best positioned to navigate the halving event due to their cost structure and long runways. However, all miners will face challenges if the Bitcoin price falls below $40,000. CoinShares points out that while most miners are improving their fleet efficiency, the direct cost structure is not improving since they will need to increase their power draw and energy consumed to mine the same amount of Bitcoin. Electricity costs per Bitcoin pre- and post-halving form about 68% and 71% of miners' total cost structure, respectively. The analysis also highlights the challenges faced by Core Scientific, which recently closed an oversubscribed $55-million equity financing round in an effort to return to solvency. Overall, the Bitcoin halving event will likely squeeze miners' margins, and only the most efficient and well-positioned firms will be able to remain profitable. Let us know what you loved about this article, what could be improved, or share any other feedback by filling out this short form .

2024-01-16 06:21:20+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3660]}

{}

GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks slump, dollar gains on rate outlook jitters

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-markets-stocks-slump-dollar-062120105.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Asian shares hit a one-month low, U.S. stock futures fell and the dollar rose on Tuesday as hawkish remarks from central bankers tempered expectations for interest rate cuts and traders waited to hear from the Fed's influential Christopher Waller. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 1.4% to its lowest since mid-December. The Hang Seng headed for its worst session of the year, dropping 2% to a 14-month trough. Japan's Nikkei snapped a six-session winning streak and retreated from a 34-year high, closing 0.8% lower at 35,619. U.S. markets were shut for a holiday on Monday, but S&P 500 futures were 0.5% lower in Asia trade on Tuesday and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.6%. European futures fell 0.6% and FTSE futures fell 0.3%. Fed funds futures also dropped notably for Asia hours - reflecting a slight cooling in interest rate cut expectations - and short-term Treasury yields rose. Two-year yields were last up 7 basis points and tugged the dollar to one-month highs on the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars. On Monday, European bonds were sold after European Central Bank officials pushed back on market bets on rate cuts. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said it was too early to discuss cuts and Austrian central bank governor Robert Holzmann warned not to bank on a cut at all this year. "The upshot ... was to see money markets scaling back the implied probability of a 25 bp ECB cut in March to 26% from 40%," said NAB currency strategist Ray Attrill. Two-year German bunds rose more than 7 bps to 2.6% and 10-year bunds rose 5.4 bps to 2.2%, lending support to the euro, which climbed to a three-week high against the Swiss franc. A stronger dollar pushed the euro about 0.3% lower to a one-week trough on the greenback at $1.0913 on Tuesday. The Australian and New Zealand dollars dropped more than 0.6%, with the Aussie falling through its 50-day moving average to $0.6610 and the kiwi down to $0.6161. Story continues IOWA AND INTEREST RATES Policy and politics top the radar for the rest of the session. Donald Trump secured a resounding victory in the first 2024 Republican presidential contest in Iowa on Monday. His candidacy is likely to stir volatility in markets. Federal Reserve Board Governor Waller's speech on the economic outlook at 1600 GMT, meanwhile, is also to be closely watched since markets had so heartily cheered a shift in his hawkish views in November, when he laid out a path to cuts. "Recall, Waller was responsible for setting up the rally in U.S. equities (when) he gave a defined path by which the Fed could ease," said Pepperstone analyst Chris Weston. "The risk for gold, Nasdaq 100 longs and U.S. dollar shorts is that he pushes back on market pricing for a March cut and shows a lack of urgency to normalise policy." Gold steadied at $2,048 an ounce, holding on to gains from last week. Elsewhere in commodities, iron ore extended falls to touch more than five-week lows in Singapore, dragging on share prices for Australia-listed miners. Houthi forces in Yemen struck a U.S.-owned and operated dry bulk ship with an anti-ship ballistic missile on Monday though oil, which has been supported by the instability in the shipping lane, gave no immediate reaction. Brent crude futures were steady at $78.10 a barrel. On the data front, Australian consumer sentiment took a turn for the worse in January as higher mortgage rates stoked concerns over finances. Japan's wholesale inflation was flat in December from a year earlier, slowing for the 12th consecutive month, taking pressure off the Bank of Japan to raise rates. Bitcoin was steady at $42,700. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Jacqueline Wong)

2024-01-16 07:00:38+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1832]}

{}

Uniqlo Sues Shein for Allegedly Copying Viral Shoulder Bag

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uniqlo-sues-shein-allegedly-copying-070038351.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Uniqlo, part of Fast Retailing Co., sued Shein in Japan, accusing the Chinese retailer of copying its popular Round Mini Shoulder bag. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout The entities that operate the Shein brand must immediately cease sales of “imitation products” and compensate for damages, Fast Retailing said in a statement Tuesday. The bag, sold for around ¥1,500 ($10) in Japan, has become a global hit, with Uniqlo warning consumers about counterfeits and similar products being sold online. Fast Retailing joins rival Hennes & Mauritz AB in suing Shein for copyright infringement in Hong Kong, where litigation aimed at mitigating the threat posed by the Chinese rival has been underway since 2021. Representatives for Shein, which was founded in China and is now based in Singapore, didn’t immediately respond to requests seeking comment. Uniqlo filed the lawsuit against Roadget Business Pte, Fashion Choice Pte., and Shein Japan Co. on Dec. 28 at the Tokyo District Court. “The company filed this complaint because it has determined that the form of the imitation products sold by Shein closely resembles that of its own product,” Fast Retailing said in the statement. “The sale of the imitation products by Shein significantly undermines the high level of customer confidence in the quality of the Uniqlo brand and its products.” --With assistance from Grace Huang and Daniela Wei. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 07:12:05+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 276, 1774, 2572], "BTC": [9, 1086, 1354, 2340, 2445]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin's 'Sell The Fact' Pullback Came From Binance, OKX: Kaiko

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoins-sell-fact-pullback-came-071205295.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Bitcoin [BTC] has come under pressure since spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) began trading in the U.S. last Thursday. Data tracked by Paris-based Kaiko show the selling pressure has been concentrated on Binance, the leading crypto exchange by trading volumes, OKX, and Upbit. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, changed hands at $42,700 at press time, representing a 12% drop from the high of $48,975 reached Thursday. The price drop seems to have stemmed from traders taking profits on long (buy) positions initiated in anticipation of ETFs’ debut. An indicator called the cumulative volume delta (CVD) shows traders from Binance led the so-called “sell-the-fact” pullback in bitcoin. The CVD tracks the net difference between buying and selling volumes over time, offering a total of net bullish/bearish pressures in the market. Positive values indicate excess purchase volume, while negative values suggest otherwise. Binance’s spot market CVD flipped positive last Thursday and has been falling ever since, representing a capital outflow equivalent to nearly 5,000 BTC, data tracked by Kaiko show. South Korea’s Upbit has seen the second-largest net capital outflow, followed by Itbit and OKX. “The ETFs began trading last Thursday, with a strong surge in cumulative volume delta (CVD) across all major exchanges; a net of nearly 3k BTC was market bought on Binance in the hour surrounding market open in the U.S. However, as some had feared, sell the news took hold, and Binance’s CVD quickly fell into the negative, as did OKX’s,” Kaiko said in a weekly report published Monday. “Itbit, another institutional exchange, though with lower volumes, showed consistent selling, along with Upbit, showing consistent selling with few retraces,” Kaiko added. Bitcoin's spot CVD, gauging net capital flows on major exchanges since Jan. 10. (Kaiko) The CVD on Coinbase, the custody partner for most of the ETFs, and Bitstamp has held positive, implying a net capital inflow amid the price weakness. Per some analysts, prices could slide further to $40,000 and lower before the pullback runs out of steam. The initial performance of the ETFs has been weak relative to Bloomberg analysts’ projection of $4 billion in inflows on the first day alone, which supports the case for a deeper price drop. On the second day of trading, #BTC ETFs (Jan 12th) saw inflows of USD677mn (ex-Grayscale). The cumulative first two trading days of the BTC ETFs have a balance of $1.4bn ex-Grayscale and $0.8bn including grayscale. More than half of the flows went to the iShares Bitcoin ETF… pic.twitter.com/vtVXdXfvvN — Exante Data (@ExanteData) January 15, 2024

2024-01-16 07:15:19+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5733, 5776, 5958, 6385]}

{}

Britain’s final coal power plant ramps up power as cold snap hits

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/no-more-money-protesting-german-182657260.html

The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Britain's last active coal plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, helped generate 3.3pc of all electricity consumed over the past week - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Britain is leaning on its final coal power plant for increased electricity supply as an Arctic blast hits the country. Coal contributed its largest share of electricity generation on Monday since November, Energy Dashboard figures show. Britain’s last active coal plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, helped generate 3.4pc of all electricity produced in the UK at the start of the week, well above average levels throughout the year. It could be on course for its busiest week in at least a year, after contributing 2.3pc to electricity generation over the past week which is one of the highest levels in the past 12 months. It comes as temperatures in the UK plummet and could go as low as -10 Celsius in the coming days. It is expected to lead to higher demand for electricity. While pressure on the grid has been lessened by good wind power generation on Monday, the coming days could prove more challenging if this changes. In this instance, the National Grid ESO , which operates the transmission network, could resort to paying families to turn off their washing machines, fridges and other appliances to manage demand. The National Grid ESO had five coal plants on standby last winter to add extra capacity at times of peak demand. This winter, only Ratcliffe has remained online after the four other units closed. The system operator’s main contingency measure is therefore to pay families to switch off devices, which it has already done twice this winter. Tony Jordan of energy consultancy Auxilione said that the grid faced less pressure than last year. He said: “I don’t think there’s any real panic. We’ve got any capacity available. Prices are still down at the moment. Crisis is getting further and further behind us. If we do have any tightening it would just be really short term events.” The Government plans to close Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which is owned by Germany’s Uniper, in September. While the use of coal in the UK energy system has dropped to historical lows over the last year, it has remained an active part of the mix during the colder winter months. Story continues Kathryn Porter from Watt-Logic said that the recent surge in coal was a “hangover from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” as gas prices were still twice as high as before the invasion. Ms Porter said: “Although gas prices have evolved in the last year, they are still double what they were before that and you have not seen the same dynamic in the coal market. It has been economic to run coal ahead of some gas power stations this winter, which is why we’ve seen Ratcliffe running as much as it has.” However, Ms Porter said there was a “real risk of blackouts towards the end of the decade” if the final coal plant closes as planned in September and nuclear power stations shut down as scheduled without additional capacity coming online. Read the latest updates below. 06:26 PM GMT Signing off Thanks for joining us today. Chris Price will return bright and early in the morning to keep you updated as the markets in London open. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few of our latest business stories: Crucial gas supplier to Britain stops shipments through the Red Sea Inmates choose Tetley tea as official prison brew Morrisons’ owner hires Tesco turnaround king 06:24 PM GMT Fevertree gains on investment bank recommendation Shares in the premium tonic-maker Fevertree jumped 4.94pc on Monday after an investment bank upgraded the company from a “hold” to a “buy”. Analysts at Liberum raised the price target for Fevertree shares from 1,200p a share to 1,300p, 30pc higher than Monday’s closing price. Liberal said that share price increases would be driven by improvements to the company’s margins, but believes that revenue growth will be “subdued”. Fevertree, which produces mixers in glass bottles sold at more than twice the price of Schweppes, said in September that it had experienced “materially elevated” glass costs. But it predicted a strong 2024 “due to a combination of softening inflationary headwinds and the benefit of the actions we are taking”. The company said it was “confident of delivering significant margin improvement.” Mixers from the drinks company Fever Tree - Neil Hall/Reuters 05:41 PM GMT Pawnbroker reports record profits A pawnbroking and foreign exchange group listed on Aim has reported record profits after inflation pushed more people into taking out loans against their jewellery. Ramsdens Holdings reported on Monday that its financial year to Sept 30 saw revenue jump 27pc to £83.8m and profit jump 22pc to £10.1m. The company said that its pawnbroking loans had jumped 20pc and it said that it had been helped by the reduction in the number of payday lenders. Ramsdens has been expanding its presence in the South East and noted the “broader demographics seen in the southern communities in which we operate allows for higher loan values with higher carats of gold jewellery offered as security for a loan”. Ramsdens said it was also helped by the high market price of gold. 04:59 PM GMT FRSE 100 closes in the red The FTSE 100 closed down 0.39pc in trading, while the FTSE 250 closed virtually unchanged, up 0.02pc. The biggest FTSE 100 riser was the owner of Paddy Power, Flutter Entertainment, up 2.81pc, followed by insurer Admiral, up 1.67pc. The biggest fallers were Burberry, down 5.72pc, and Ocado, down 5.09pc. Among the FTSE 250, food manufacturer Bakkavor rose 8pc, followed by engineering business John Wood, up 5.48pc. The biggest declines were by Diversified Energy Co, down 9.50pc, followed by Pets at Home, down 3.51pc. 04:54 PM GMT Bitcoin up in trading today after declines Bitcoin is up today by around 1.7pc against the dollar, after a difficult few days of trading since the US announced its approval for the first exchange trading funds that invest in Bitcoin. The move by the Wall Street regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to generate considerable investor interest and increase the price of the currency considerably, despite criticism of cryptocurrencies as investments. Analysts at Standard Chartered Bank suggested last week that the cryptocurrency could more than double in value to $100,000 by the end of the year, following SEC approval. Bitcoin is currently at around $42,500, down from around $46,500 after the announcement. Connor Sephton of Sky News attributes the decline to what is known as a “buy the rumour, sell the news” event 04:33 PM GMT Law firm bucks trend in renewing its central London floorspace Multinational law firm Fieldfisher has signed a lease renewal on its City of London HQ and retained its current space of 81,000 square feet. In September, the investment bank Jefferies said that empty workspace across London’s West End, City and Canary Wharf areas had hit a 30-year high. But the law firm has signed an agreement with Man Group to extend its stay in the building - Riverbank House on Swan Lane - until 2035. Robert Shooter, Fieldfisher’s managing partner, said: “We are delighted to have extended our lease and will be staying in Riverbank House, a landmark building in a highly desirable location.” 04:27 PM GMT UK's biggest nightclub chain falls into administration The UK’s biggest nightclub firm has said it is planning to appoint administrators for parts of its business and could be forced to shut a number of venues. Rekom UK, which owns brands including Atik and Pryzm, said it comes after an “extremely difficult” year for the late-night sector amid pressure from the cost-of-living crisis and surges in the costs of energy and goods. The firm, which runs 35 clubs and 12 late-night bars across the country, said it had filed a notice to appoint administrators for a number of companies within the group earlier on Monday. Peter Marks, chairman of Rekom UK, said: “This gives us breathing space and protection to be able to work with our lenders, our landlords and other stakeholders to come up with the best solution for the UK group going forwards. “We still have a core of successful club and bar businesses and our Nordic brands, Heidi’s Bier Bar in Birmingham and Cardiff and Proud Mary in Cardiff and Swansea have outperformed all expectations. “But we must go through this restructure to be able to come out stronger for the future. For any venues that may not continue as part of Rekom UK, we will do our best to find new owners and save jobs.” Clubbers on the dance floor at the Pryzm nightclub in Brighton - Chris Eades/Getty Images 04:13 PM GMT Ikea is sticking to price cuts despite cost pressure from the Red Sea Budget furniture retailer Ikea is sticking to planned price cuts despite Red Sea shipping disruptions pushing up costs, and enough stocks to absorb any supply chain shocks, it said on Monday. Jesper Brodin, chief executive of Ingka Group, the franchisee that owns most Ikea stores worldwide and runs Ikea UK, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos: “Our commitment is to make sure that we prioritise investing in lower prices for our customers.” Ingka Group has invested more than €1bn euros (£860m) in price reductions across its markets from September to November, and aims to continue lowering prices in 2024. Higher transport costs have spurred fears of new inflationary pressures just as consumers were getting some relief from prices starting to come down. But Mr Brodin said he still sees “quite significant deflation” upstream in its supply chain. While lowering product prices may hurt profits, Mr Brodin said Ikea tends to take market share when consumers are under financial pressure. “This is not a year for us to optimise profits,” he said, adding: “This is a year to try to navigate on a thinner profit, but to make sure that we support people.” Under development: an Ikea store set to open on Oxford Street in London during 2024, pictured last summer - David Parry/PA 03:57 PM GMT Housebuilder Crest Nicholson issues second profit warning in five months Major housebuilder Crest Nicholson has issued its second profit warning in five months as costs spiral on its Surrey development. Melissa Lawford has the details: Crest Nicholson’s share price dropped by as much as 5pc on Monday after the housebuilder slashed its profit forecasts by nearly a fifth, on top of an earlier downgrade in August. In an unscheduled trading update on Monday, Crest Nicholson said it expected its profits before tax in the year to October would now be £41m. This will be 44pc less than the £73.7m the housebuilder had initially forecast in June last year. Anthony Codling, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said the warnings could make Crest Nicholson a target for a takeover. Mr Codling said: “If today’s trading update leads to further share price weakness it could increase the chances of Crest being viewed as an attractive acquisition for another housebuilder.” Monday’s update followed an earlier announcement in August, when Crest Nicholson cut its profit forecast to £50m. In November, it said it expected profits would be in the range of £45m to £50m. This followed an £11m jump in costs on Crest Nicholson’s Brightwells Yard development in Farnham, Surrey, in the six months to October. On Monday, Crest Nicholson said it had now identified further costs on this project as well as other legacy sites. In an investor note, Barclays warned of ongoing uncertainty about future costs. Barclays said: “While work on the main buildings at Farnham is largely complete, we now understand there are still some complex works to be completed on the site that will run through 2024.” ACrest Nicholson logo on the external fencing of a housing development in Maldon - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg 03:48 PM GMT Apple cuts price of new iPhone in China amid competition from Huawei Apple is offering rare discounts on its new iPhones in China amid fears that competition from a resurgent Huawei is hitting demand. James Titcomb reports: Chinese consumers are being offered discounts of as much as 500 yuan (£55) on iPhones and up to 800 yuan on MacBook laptops, with more price cuts on other devices. The discounts, which will apply this weekend, are being presented as a promotion ahead of the Chinese new year in February, but come amid questions about demand for iPhones in China that have hit the company’s shares in recent weeks. On Friday, Microsoft surpassed Apple as the world’s most valuable listed company for the first time in two years following a 6pc fall in the iPhone maker’s shares in the last month. Analysts at Jefferies said last week that iPhone sales were currently falling by as much as 30pc on the same period last year and predicted they would drop by 10pc over 2024. The apparent sales drop could potentially send Apple to a fifth consecutive quarter of declining revenue for the first time since 1998. The drop has been partly attributed to strong demand for Huawei’s Mate 60 phone. The Chinese company appears to have overcome US sanctions designed to crush its smartphone business by developing made-in-China components for the device. While Apple has previously offered discounts ahead of the Chinese new year, which is a key shopping season, it rarely does so for its latest iPhones. A 500 yuan discount on the iPhone 15, released last year, would save as much as 8pc. Sales in China account for around a sixth of Apple’s total. 03:37 PM GMT Octopus Energy takes equity stake in swimming pool data centre business Octopus Energy has taken an equity stake in a startup business that believes in locating small data centres in the same buildings as swimming pools. The startup, Deep Green, was founded by Mark Bjornsgaard. The idea is to use the heat generated by its servers to heat the pool. Octopus says that a public swimming pool in Devon was able to slash its pool heating bill by over 60pc by allowing Deep Green to co-locate a data centre. Deep Green meanwhile gets free cooling which, Octopus says, provides it with a competitive edge over other data centres. The company also wants to provide heat to district heat networks, which supply hot water to buildings. According to a company statement, Octopus is planning to invest £200m in scaling the idea. Deep Green’s most recent published accounts, to Sept 30 2022, show that it had cash of £13,134 and a shareholders’ deficit of £142,974. Public records indicate that a company linked to Octopus now owns between 26pc and 50pc of the share capital. 03:33 PM GMT Thomas Cook 'close to return to European ownership' The owner of Thomas Cook is reportedly holding talks to sell the iconic British brand to a Polish online travel agent. The tourism company’s Chinese owner Fosun Tourism Group is in advanced negotiations to sell the business to eSky, according to Sky News. The talks, which are understood to have been under way for some time, could lead to a deal within weeks. Its potential new owner is majority-owned by MCI Capital, a private equity company focused on Central and Eastern Europe. Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019 leaving thousands of people stranded around the world before they were repatriated by the Government. The brand was revived by Fosun shortly afterwards. On that bombshell, I will take my leave for the day and pass you over to the ever cheerful Alex Singleton , who most certainly is not fazed by a day of work on Blue Monday. Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019, leaving holidaymakers and staff stranded around the world - Thomas Cook Airlines/PA 03:22 PM GMT Aslef refusing to put 'fair and reasonable' pay offer to members After the Aslef union announced fresh strikes by train drivers at the end of this month, a Department for Transport spokesman said: It’s very disappointing to see Aslef continuing to target those who travel to work, school or important medical appointments by train. Aslef is now the only rail union that is continuing to strike while refusing to put a fair and reasonable offer to its members. The offer that remains on the table and would bring the average train driver’s salary up to £65,000. The Aslef leadership should do the right thing and let their members decide their own future, instead of deciding it for them. 02:57 PM GMT There's no more money, protesting German farmers told as economy shrinks German farmers were told there is no more money to protect them from tax rises after the German economy shrank last year. Berlin has been brought to a near standstill by the demonstration, which filled one of its central avenues with trucks and tractors. Some 10,000 farmers arrived in the capital to end a week of protests against taxes that have become a flashpoint for anti-government anger. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition is struggling to fix budget disarray and contain right-wing groups as latest figures today showed the German economy shrank by 0.3pc last year and is expected to remain in a downturn this year. Finance Minister Christian Lindner took to the stage on Monday in front of thousands of jeering farmers in front of the Brandenburg Gate. He said: “I can’t promise you more state aid from the federal budget. “But we can fight together for you to enjoy more freedom and respect for your work.” Farmers protest against the German government's planned cuts to agricultural sector subsidies near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin - Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg 02:42 PM GMT Boeing sets out plan to ensure no repeat of mid-air blowout Boeing will add further quality inspections for the 737 MAX after a mid-air blowout of a cabin panel in an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 earlier this month, the head of its commercial airplanes division said. In a letter to staff, Stan Deal, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the plane maker will also deploy a team to supplier Spirit AeroSystems - which makes and installs the plug door involved in the incident. The group will check and approve Spirit’s work on the plugs before fuselages are sent to Boeing’s production facilities in Washington state. The new actions from Boeing come after the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday extended the grounding of 171 MAX 9 planes indefinitely for new safety checks. Only after 40 planes are inspected will the agency review the results and determine if safety is adequate to allow the MAX 9s to resume flying, the FAA said. The fuselage plug area of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing - NTSB/Handout via REUTERS 02:25 PM GMT Morrisons’ owner hires Tesco turnaround king Tesco’s former chief executive Sir Dave Lewis has joined the private equity owner of Morrisons, as the supermarket giant battles to regain market share. Our reporter Adam Mawardi has the details: Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has hired Sir Dave to strengthen its consumer and retail offering, just three years after it bought Morrisons for £10bn. The retailer veteran is widely credited with turning around Tesco during his stint as chief executive from 2014 to 2020. His move to CD&R comes as the buyout specialist tries to boost Morrisons’ fortunes after it lost its title as Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket to Aldi last year. This graph shows the change in supermarkets’ share of the market. Sir Dave Lewis has downplayed the prospect of him intervening in Morrisons' day-to-day operations in his new role at CD&R - REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 01:46 PM GMT Oil falls amid doubts over global demand Oil prices have fallen amid doubts about demand this year as China held interest rates steady in the world’s second largest economy. Brent crude oil was last down 1.3pc towards $77 a barrel, down from a two-week high of $80.75 on Friday. Prices had drawn support from disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea, but doubts about demand this year have limited the rally. China, the world’s second largest consumer of oil, has released data in recent weeks showing its economy weakening. Meanwhile, at least six further oil tankers have either diverted their course away from or paused before entering the southern Red Sea since the weekend, ship tracking data from LSEG and Kpler show. 01:16 PM GMT Journalists should welcome AI, says Microsoft boss ahead of lawsuit Journalists should “welcome” the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the boss of Microsoft has said, even as the tech giant grapples with a major lawsuit from the New York Times for its deal with OpenAI. Satya Nadella, the Microsoft chief executive, insisted newspapers and publishers would benefit from the changes wrought by AI, despite concerns from the industry over copyright. OpenAI, which is heavily backed by Microsoft, denies any wrongdoing. Mr Nadella said: “If you are a publisher or a journalist or what have you, you should welcome this.” He said AI could provide an alternative to internet search, which has been dominated by Google, and search engines. He added: What happens to the information ecosystem when there is high concentration is things deteriorate. Web search is a fantastic thing, except SEO [search engine optimisation] itself has had unintended consequences. The overture to publishers comes after Microsoft was named in a lawsuit by the New York Times against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. The US newspaper has accused OpenAI of scraping its news stories in breach of copyright laws. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella speaks at Chatham House in London - AP Photo/Kin Cheung 01:06 PM GMT Gas prices slump to five-month low Wholesale gas prices have slumped to their lowest level since August as the UK and European markets shrug off the impact of colder weather and conflict in the Middle East. Dutch front-month futures dropped as much as 6.9pc to fall below €30 per megawatt hour for the first time in five months. The equivalent UK gas contract has fallen 8.8pc to below 73p per therm, also its lowest level since August. Prices remain nearly twice as high as they were before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but are a far cry from the peaks reached during the energy crisis that ensued. 12:55 PM GMT Train driver pay 'far above' that of average worker, says No 10 After the announcement of fresh rail strikes, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: This is extremely disappointing. Not least to commuters, who have already been so badly hit by Aslef’s decision to continually strike. Aslef drivers continue to be paid far above what the average person in the UK receives. Rail companies have made a fair and reasonable offer, and we would encourage them to step back from this action. 12:40 PM GMT Strikes 'difficult to justify,' say rail bosses A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, the trade association for the rail operators affected by the new strike action, said: Nobody wins when strikes impact lives and livelihoods, and they’re particularly difficult to justify at a time when taxpayers are continuing to contribute an extra £54m a week to keep services running post Covid. Despite the railway’s huge financial challenge, drivers have been made an offer which would take base salaries to nearly £65,000 for a four day week without overtime - that is well above the national average and significantly more than many of our passengers that have no option to work from home are paid. Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on the Aslef leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute and deliver a fair deal which both rewards our people, and makes the changes needed to make services more reliable. 12:24 PM GMT 'Aslef are shooting themselves in the foot' Rail users are reacting with frustration, as you’d expect, at the latest announcement of strike action starting at the end of this month: Train drivers to go on strike AGAIN! The strikes will take place between January 30th and February 5th. I’m sick of unions holding the country to ransom! I’d sack the lot of them, thousands of people want to work as train drivers and would appreciate the high pay. These… — Paula London 🇬🇧 (@misspaulalondon) January 15, 2024 Decided not to drive to a friend’s in London and take the train. Booked tickets last week and today announced strikes for that weekend. Bloody brilliant. 🙄🫠😡🤬 — Helen Clare (@HelenClarex) January 15, 2024 I think ASLEF might be self destructing. Yet another set of strikes. People are just used to it now & plan round them. Plus even when they are running the services are crap. I think people are using trains less often & they will need fewer drivers & train staff — Browny (@Browny1956) January 15, 2024 12:01 PM GMT Minister could enforce minimum service levels to limit rail strikes The new rail strikes announced by Aslef could be the first test of new regulations aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service during strikes, set at 40pc in the transport sector. A Bill for minimum standards for passenger rail services, ambulance services and fire and rescue services was passed in July, to ensure essential services remain in place. It means employers will be able to dismiss staff who refuse to turn up to work when ordered to, while unions failing to meet minimum levels could face legal action. Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: Having seen, since this dispute started in June 2022, the resolve of our members, and the support train drivers enjoy among our passengers and the public, the Tories have now tried their old trick of changing the rules. When they couldn’t bully us into backing down they brought in Minimum Service Levels – designed, effectively, to ban strikes by making them ineffective – but this new law won’t ease industrial strife. It will just make it worse. 11:52 AM GMT Aslef strikes to affect commuters across 16 rail operators Here are the details of the train strikes that have just been announced by Aslef. Tuesday, January 30 will see walkouts on services run by Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Thameslink, South Western Railway main line and depot drivers, and SWR Island Line. Wednesday, January 31 will see strikes on Northern Trains and TransPennine Trains. C2C, Greater Anglia, and LNER will be hit by walkouts on Friday, February 2. Industrial action will take place at Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, and West Midlands Trains on Saturday, February 3. Walkouts will take place on Monday, February 5 at Chiltern, CrossCountry, and GWR. 11:41 AM GMT Train drivers announce fresh strikes in dispute over pay Train drivers will stage a series of fresh strikes and an overtime ban from the end of the month in a long-running pay dispute, their union Aslef announced. Union members will stage the industrial action over five days between Tuesday, January 30 and Monday, February 5 - and will ban overtime for nine days from January 29. In all, 16 train operators will be affected, although each will only be affected by a single day of strike action. Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it is now a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute. “Many members have now not had a single penny increase in pay for half a decade, during which time inflation has soared and, with it, the cost of living. “We didn’t ask for an increase during the pandemic, when we worked through lockdown, as key workers, risking our lives, to move goods around the country and enable NHS and other workers to get to work.” The strikes, which will cripple train services, mainly across England, could be the first test of new regulations aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service during strikes, set at 40pc in the transport sector. 11:32 AM GMT Cost-of-living crisis pushes up pawnbroker profits Growing demand for pawnbroking services and higher gold prices have driven up profits for Ramsdens, the lender and retailer revealed. The group, which has about 160 stores in the UK, said higher living costs has led to more consumers looking for short-term credit. It said the number of new customers using its pawnbroking service, which allows people to borrow money against a piece of jewellery or a watch, grew by 11pc compared with the previous year. Higher living costs driving demand for consumer credit, as well as as fewer traditional short-term lenders such as payday lenders on the market, helped give Ramsdens’ pawnbroking service a boost, it said. The average loan value was £325 as at the end of September, up from £303 at the same time the previous year. Jewellery sales surged by nearly a quarter year-on-year as the retailer reported more consumer demand for both new and secondhand items. Meanwhile, sales of precious metals soared by nearly 50pc amid an increase in the price of gold. However, its shares were down 5.6pc. 11:19 AM GMT World to have first trillionaire within a decade, Oxfam predicts The world could have its first trillionaire within a decade, Oxfam International said in its annual assessment of global inequalities released as political and business elites head to the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Oxfam has for years been trying to highlight the growing disparities between the super-rich and the bulk of the global population during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. It reckons the gap has been “supercharged” since the pandemic as the fortunes of the five richest men — Tesla boss Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and his family of luxury company LVMH, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and investment guru Warren Buffett — have spiked by 114pc in real terms since 2020. Oxfam’s interim executive director said the report showed that the world is entering a “decade of division”. Amitabh Behar said in Davos: “We have the top five billionaires, they have doubled their wealth. On the other hand, almost 5 billion people have become poorer.” Oxfam predicted the world will have its first trillionaire within a decade as the business and political elite gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg 10:59 AM GMT Gas prices fall despite Red Sea shipping crisis Wholesale gas prices have slipped as supply levels remain robust despite the cold snap and conflict in the Middle East. Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s benchmark contract, fell as much as 5.6pc towards €30 per megawatt hour, while the UK equivalent dropped by as much as 6.2pc to less than 75p per therm. Traders have taken comfort from the record amounts of gas amassed by Europe over the last year, while industrial demand for the fuel remains sluggish. The fall in prices today comes even as Qatar appeared to have suspended liquified natural gas shipments through the Red Sea in response to the attacks on ships by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Adnan Dhanani, an analyst at RBC Europe, said: “Gas demand across the European Union remained well below pre-conflict levels in 2023, and for much of the year was also below 2022 levels - which were already depressed.” Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a Lancaster House speech that Britain’s “decisive” action in the Red Sea offers “a direct blueprint for how the UK must continue to lead in the future”. He said “enough was enough” and precision strikes were authorised in response to Houthi attacks because they “chose to ignore” clear warnings. 10:42 AM GMT Pound falls ahead of inflation figures The pound has fallen as investors wait to see if inflation and retail sales figures due later this week will offer clarity on potential interest rate cuts. Sterling has dropped 0.2pc against the dollar towards $1.27, even as the Bank of England seems to be a relatively hawkish outlier compared to the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The euro was 0.1pc stronger against the pound at nearly 86p, despite figures laying bare the economic downturn in Germany and slowing industrial production across the eurozone. 10:29 AM GMT Germany 'faces first two-year recession since early 2000s' ING bank economist Carsten Brzeski was pessimistic about the German economy after official data showed it contracted by 0.3pc last year. He pointed to fresh uncertainty stemming from the German government’s recent budget upset and shipping delays in the Suez Canal as a result of conflict in the Middle East. Mr Brzeski said: “Looking ahead, at least in the first months of 2024, many of the recent drags on growth will still be around and will, in some cases, have an even stronger impact than in 2023.” He predicted that gross domestic product would shrink again this year, in what would “be the first time since the early 2000s that Germany has gone through a two-year recession, even though it could prove to be a shallow one”. 10:17 AM GMT Daily Mirror editor quits amid Reach job cuts Daily Mirror editor Alison Phillips has quit amid sweeping job cuts at the newspaper’s parent company Reach. Our media reporter James Warrington has the details: Ms Phillips, who has led the tabloid since 2018, has accepted voluntary redundancy and will leave at the end of the month. It comes after Reach, which also owns the Star and Express titles and local papers including the Manchester Evening News, outlined plans in November to axe around 450 jobs , or around 10pc of its workforce. The move, which includes 300 editorial staff, takes the total number of jobs cut in the last 12 months to almost 800. Jim Mullen, chief executive of Reach, has said the cuts are necessary “against the backdrop of continuing pressures on the business ”. He has refused to rule out further staff reductions. Ms Phillips departure leaves the Mirror without an editor as it gears up for a general election . Alison Phillips became the Mirror’s first female editor in more than a century in 2018 - S Meddle/ITV/Shutterstock 10:10 AM GMT Eurozone industrial production declines Industrial production fell across the eurozone by 0.3pc in November, compared to the previous month, in a signal that the European Central Bank may begin cutting interest rates soon to revive the region’s economy. Industrial production decreased by 6.8pc across the single currency bloc over the year to November, with Ireland, Belgium and Bulgaria suffering the largest declines. Euro area #IndustrialProduction -0.3% in November 2023 over October, -6.8% over November 2022 https://t.co/R6Sxfl7jpX pic.twitter.com/alx1sf8Ci4 — EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) January 15, 2024 09:53 AM GMT German recession conditions to continue this year, say economists Germany’s economic troubles are “not over yet,” economists have warned, after official figures showed it contracted last year. Europe’s largest economy shrank by 0.3pc in 2023 and by 0.3pc in the final three months of the year, according to its statistics office. The country avoided a technical recession after officials revised the figure for the third quarter from a 0.1pc contraction to a stagnation. Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics, said: The recessionary conditions which have been dragging on since the end of 2022 look set to continue this year. Admittedly, the recent fall in inflation should provide some relief for households, but residential and business investment are likely to contract, construction is heading for a steep downturn and the government is tightening fiscal policy sharply. We forecast zero GDP growth in 2024. 09:34 AM GMT AI will impact 40pc of jobs and 'worsen inequality', warns IMF chief Artificial intelligence is set to impact 40pc of jobs around the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. The IMF said the impact will be greater for advanced economies, with around 60pc of roles affected. About half of those workers will benefit from the integration of AI, which could boost productivity, but the remainder could see lower salaries, reduced hiring and, “in the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear”, according to the IMF. In a new report on AI and machine learning, the IMF said the technology could worsen inequality between nations as well as within society as a whole. Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, said: We are on the brink of a technological revolution that could jumpstart productivity, boost global growth and raise incomes around the world. Yet it could also replace jobs and deepen inequality. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said AI could 'replace jobs and deepen inequality' - OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images 09:24 AM GMT Rail line remains closed after landslip A major rail route serving London remains closed due to a landslip. Network Rail said it is “working round the clock” to carry out repairs on the Chiltern main line following a landslip near Bicester, Oxfordshire, which has closed the line between London Marylebone and both Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford. Chiltern Railways issued a “do not travel” alert as the line is not expected to reopen until 7am on Tuesday, causing major disruption to journeys. The line was also closed on Sunday due to the repair work. More than 50 steel piles are being installed at the site of the landslip, which was discovered on January 11. Following the recent landslip on the Chiltern mainline, Network Rail have commenced urgent repairs to the railway, on the line between Bicester North and Haddenham & Thame Parkway. Here are some pictures of the work that has taken place today. pic.twitter.com/pzD1fNo9KU — Chiltern Railways (@chilternrailway) January 14, 2024 09:13 AM GMT German economy shrinks for first time since pandemic The German economy shrank for the first time since the pandemic last year as its dominant manufacturing sector battled with rising energy costs and interest rates. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3pc in 2023, according to the Destatis statistics office, compared to growth of 1.8pc the previous year. The agency’s president Ruth Brand said: “Overall economic development faltered in Germany in 2023 in an environment that continues to be marked by multiple crises.” Germany Full Year GDP Growth https://t.co/ycZpp9e0RB pic.twitter.com/1TvWWBoBN6 — TRADING ECONOMICS (@tEconomics) January 15, 2024 08:48 AM GMT UK stock markets mixed after slump in banks UK shares were mixed to start the week as banking stocks were hit amid rising bets that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting rates as early as March. After opening higher, blue-chip FTSE 100 has moved down 0.1pc, although the mid-cap FTSE 250 index climbed 0.2pc. Banking stocks slumped 1pc after Lloyds had its rating cut by Bank of America, while HSBC was cut to “underperform” by analysts at BNPP Exane. Oil and gas shares added as much as 0.7pc amid higher crude prices as traders watched for supply disruption risks in the Middle East. Investors will look forward to UK inflation data and retail sales figures for the month of December due later this week. Across the Atlantic, business activity data for the month of January and December retail sales from the US will also be on investors’ radar. In corporate news, shares of PageGroup fell 3.2pc after the global recruiter cut its annual profit forecast. British homebuilder Crest Nicholson cut its annual profit forecast, taking its shares lower by 4.5pc. 08:39 AM GMT Demand for petrol cars has peaked, says BMW chief Petrol car demand reached its peak last year, a BMW executive has said, as the German car manufacturer gears up for growth to be led by electric models. The car maker, which makes Mini in the UK, aims to sell half a million battery-powered vehicles this year, which would make up about a fifth of total deliveries, its chief financial officer Walter Mertl said. BMW group electric vehicle (EV) sales jumped 75pc last year, driven by models like the i4 Sedan and as overall sales growth has slowed in the US and some European countries. Mr Mertl said: “The tipping point for combustion engines was last year. “Future volume growth will primarily come from battery electric vehicles.” It comes as the market share of electric cars went into reverse in the UK in 2023 after Rishi Sunak pushed back a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035. EVs share of the overall new car market shrunk from 16.6pc to 16.5pc in 2023, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This compares with the 17.2pc originally forecast. BMW will build its next generation electric Mini at its Cowley plant in Oxford - Joe Giddens/PA Wire 08:28 AM GMT Hyundai offers £5,900 bonus to EV buyers in face of Biden's green subsidies Hyundai will give US electric vehicle buyers as much as $7,500 (£5,888) in cash bonuses as it tries to keep its cars competitive in the face of Joe Biden’s green subsidies. The South Korean car maker will apply the discounts to the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric models in a month-long incentive until January 31. Hyundai is racing to build an EV plant in Georgia that could begin construction as soon as the end of this year. It comes as the company is ineligible for the clean vehicle tax credit programme available to car makers under the President’s Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden administration is looking to revive American industry while tilting the economy away from fossil fuels. Cash bonuses will be offered to buyers to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicle - Lionel Ng/Bloomberg 08:07 AM GMT UK markets open higher amid rate cut hopes Stock markets in London have begun the week higher as traders increase bets that the U Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this year. The FTSE 100 has gained 0.1pc after the open to 7,633.68 while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 has gained 0.2pc to 19,226.79. US wholesale prices figures on Friday have boosted hopes for interest rate cuts after they came in lower than markets expected, bringing down the yield on two-year US bonds to its lowest level since May last year. 07:59 AM GMT Asian shares climb after China rate hold and Taiwan elections Asian shares were mostly higher as China’s central bank kept its one-year policy loan interest rate unchanged and amid relief after Taiwan’s elections. China’s central bank opted to keep its one-year policy loan interest rate at 2.5pc overnight, while injecting funds into the financial system. The decision to hold rates surprised market observers who had anticipated trend of lowering borrowing costs to stimulate the economy after weak data last week. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.1pc to 16,185.00, while the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2pc, at 2,886.29. Tokyo shares ended higher for a sixth straight session on Monday, with the Nikkei again hitting a nearly 34-year high, as a sense of relief spread after Taiwan’s elections. Ruling-party candidate Lai Ching-te emerged victorious on Saturday, a result that will determine the trajectory of the self-ruled democracy’s contentious relations with China over the next four years. The Democratic Progressive Party, to which Lai belongs, has consistently rejected China’s assertions of sovereignty over Taiwan. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.2pc to 17,546.82. 07:52 AM GMT Shapps: Britain will 'wait and see' before launching more strikes on Houthis Britain will “wait and see” before deciding to launch fresh military strikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen in order to protect international shipping, Grant Shapps has said. Asked it the UK would carry out more strikes, the Defence Secretary told Sky News: Let’s wait and see what happens, because it’s not that we want to be involved in action in the Red Sea. But ultimately freedom of navigation is an international right. 07:48 AM GMT Housing delays trigger fresh profit warning at Crest Nicholson Crest Nicholson has downgraded its profit expectations for the second time after warning it is facing mounting costs over a long-delayed housing project in Surrey. The housebuilder said it was now predicting an adjusted pre-tax profit of £41m for the financial year to October. In August, the group lowered its profit expectations to £50m from nearly £74m due to a summer slowdown in the housing market thanks to higher interest rates and fewer homes for sale. Crest Nicholson told investors it was expecting to incur further costs over the delayed completion of a regeneration scheme in Farnham, on top of the roughly £11m flagged last year. Crest Nicholson has cut its profit forecast for a second time - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg 07:40 AM GMT Mortgage affordability 'bringing buyers out in their droves,' says Purplebricks As house asking prices moved higher in January, Purplebricks chief executive Sam Mitchell said: The housing market is becoming more bullish by the week as banks continue to compete over mortgage rates. The boost to demand and affordability is bringing buyers out in their droves, while those already on the property ladder are taking advantage of better remortgage rates and first-time buyers are finding it easier to access the market. More people returned to the office at the beginning of this year after a sustained period of working from home, which means we’ve seen a rural/urban rebalance in property purchasing. Add to that continued heat in the rental market and we’ve seen a remarkably strong start to the year, with buyers and sellers getting back to a new normal. 07:35 AM GMT PageGroup axes hundreds of jobs amid recruitment market downturn PageGroup has announced it axes more than 200 recruitment consultant jobs over the last three months as it battles a downturn in the labour market. The latest reduction in the recruiter’s headcount means bosses have slashed 1,092 fee earning jobs over the last year, bringing its total number of consultants to 5,851. In a trading update to shareholders, it reported a 8.9pc decline in gross profit for the fourth quarter of last year, down to £237.3m. The downturn was worst in the UK, with a 19.9pc reduction in gross profit to £28.6m. It cautioned that full-year earnings are now expected to be slightly below the £120m to £125m it stated previously. Chief executive Nicholas Kirk said: Looking ahead, macro-economic uncertainty persists. However, we have a highly diversified and adaptable business model, a strong balance sheet, and our cost base is under continuous review and can be adjusted rapidly to match market conditions. Given these fundamental strengths, we believe we will continue to perform well in these challenging markets, and we are confident in our ability to implement our new strategy driving the long-term profitability of the group. The job losses come as rival recruiter Hays revealed it has cut 1,150 roles over the last year , while Robert Walters said it had cut about 220 roles in the last three months of last year. 07:25 AM GMT House sellers bump up asking prices by £4,500 in a month The average price tag on a home jumped by around £4,500 in January compared to the previous month, according to a property website, as sellers hoped lower mortgage rates would support the market. Across Britain, the average price of a property coming on the market increased by 1.3pc, or £4,571 month-on-month, to £359,748, Rightmove said. It comes as lenders battle to offer buyers lower mortgage rates amid expectations that interest rates will be cut this year. Despite the increase in average asking prices over the last month, they are still 0.7pc lower than a year earlier. Rightmove said the volume of new properties coming onto the market for sale is 15pc higher than a year ago. Competitive pricing from sellers is still vital, with the number of new properties coming to market outpacing an increase that is also being seen in buyer demand, the website said. The number of potential buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale in the first week of 2024 was 5pc higher than in the same period last year, with the growth in activity strongest in London and the North East of England, Rightmove said. It added that the number of sales being agreed as January gets under way has been higher than the start of last year. Tim Bannister Rightmove’s director of property science said: After a stop-start market in 2023, the initial signs suggest a smoother year for movers in 2024. More new sellers are now entering the market, and with more confident pricing. While the increased level of buyer activity that we’re also seeing may justify some of this increased pricing confidence from sellers, it’s important that sellers who are keen to find a buyer don’t get carried away with New Year enthusiasm when setting their price expectations. Elevated mortgage rates and the wider cost-of-living squeeze are still limiting buyers’ spending power. Accurate and realistic pricing for their local area is the recipe for success for sellers looking to get moving in 2024. Rightmove said asking prices for homes increased by £4,500 on average in January, compared to the previous month - Yui Mok/PA Wire 07:19 AM GMT Good morning Thanks for joining me. The typical asking prices for a new property coming onto the market was £4,500 higher in January than it was in the last month of 2023. The average price tag on a home coming onto the market increased by 1.3pc to £359,748, according to Rightmove. 5 things to start your day 1) Britain’s gas network still using engines from 1960s RAF fighter jets | Ageing aircraft turbines will cost millions to replace, says National Gas chief 2) Vivienne Westwood cuts office hours to two days in net zero push | London staff ordered to work from home as part of energy-efficiency drive 3) BT in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink for broadband offer | Telecoms giant tests satellite equipment to deliver connections to rural areas 4) Four in 10 councils at risk of going bust over next five years | Britain’s local authority funding crisis deepens as social care costs spike 5) Billionaire Tory donor Alan Howard shares in £268m pay day from hedge fund | Alan Howard’s windfall comes as bets on interest rates reap dividends for his company What happened overnight Asian shares got off to a stumbling start as China’s central bank wrong footed markets by deciding to hold its key interest rate steady rather than cutting as had been hoped. China reports economic growth data for the fourth quarter and a slew of monthly figures on Wednesday, and investors have become used to being underwhelmed by activity as Beijing drip feeds its stimulus. Chinese blue chips were little changed in response, having earlier reached their lowest since early 2019. A holiday in the United States also made for thin trading, but at least there was progress on averting an imminent government shutdown as congressional leaders agreed on another stopgap spending bill. Japan’s Nikkei bucked the low mood and climbed to a fresh 34-year peak, having already enjoyed stellar gains of 6.6pc last week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.9pc, or 324.68 points, to end at 35,901.79, while the broader Topix index gained 1.2pc, or 30.37 points, to 2,524.60.

2024-01-16 07:15:19+00:00

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Britain’s final coal power plant ramps up power as cold snap hits

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/no-more-money-protesting-german-182657489.html

The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Britain's last active coal plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, helped generate 3.3pc of all electricity consumed over the past week - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images Britain is leaning on its final coal power plant for increased electricity supply as an Arctic blast hits the country. Coal contributed its largest share of electricity generation on Monday since November, Energy Dashboard figures show. Britain’s last active coal plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, helped generate 3.4pc of all electricity produced in the UK at the start of the week, well above average levels throughout the year. It could be on course for its busiest week in at least a year, after contributing 2.3pc to electricity generation over the past week which is one of the highest levels in the past 12 months. It comes as temperatures in the UK plummet and could go as low as -10 Celsius in the coming days. It is expected to lead to higher demand for electricity. While pressure on the grid has been lessened by good wind power generation on Monday, the coming days could prove more challenging if this changes. In this instance, the National Grid ESO , which operates the transmission network, could resort to paying families to turn off their washing machines, fridges and other appliances to manage demand. The National Grid ESO had five coal plants on standby last winter to add extra capacity at times of peak demand. This winter, only Ratcliffe has remained online after the four other units closed. The system operator’s main contingency measure is therefore to pay families to switch off devices, which it has already done twice this winter. Tony Jordan of energy consultancy Auxilione said that the grid faced less pressure than last year. He said: “I don’t think there’s any real panic. We’ve got any capacity available. Prices are still down at the moment. Crisis is getting further and further behind us. If we do have any tightening it would just be really short term events.” The Government plans to close Ratcliffe-on-Soar, which is owned by Germany’s Uniper, in September. While the use of coal in the UK energy system has dropped to historical lows over the last year, it has remained an active part of the mix during the colder winter months. Story continues Kathryn Porter from Watt-Logic said that the recent surge in coal was a “hangover from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” as gas prices were still twice as high as before the invasion. Ms Porter said: “Although gas prices have evolved in the last year, they are still double what they were before that and you have not seen the same dynamic in the coal market. It has been economic to run coal ahead of some gas power stations this winter, which is why we’ve seen Ratcliffe running as much as it has.” However, Ms Porter said there was a “real risk of blackouts towards the end of the decade” if the final coal plant closes as planned in September and nuclear power stations shut down as scheduled without additional capacity coming online. Read the latest updates below. 06:26 PM GMT Signing off Thanks for joining us today. Chris Price will return bright and early in the morning to keep you updated as the markets in London open. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few of our latest business stories: Crucial gas supplier to Britain stops shipments through the Red Sea Inmates choose Tetley tea as official prison brew Morrisons’ owner hires Tesco turnaround king 06:24 PM GMT Fevertree gains on investment bank recommendation Shares in the premium tonic-maker Fevertree jumped 4.94pc on Monday after an investment bank upgraded the company from a “hold” to a “buy”. Analysts at Liberum raised the price target for Fevertree shares from 1,200p a share to 1,300p, 30pc higher than Monday’s closing price. Liberal said that share price increases would be driven by improvements to the company’s margins, but believes that revenue growth will be “subdued”. Fevertree, which produces mixers in glass bottles sold at more than twice the price of Schweppes, said in September that it had experienced “materially elevated” glass costs. But it predicted a strong 2024 “due to a combination of softening inflationary headwinds and the benefit of the actions we are taking”. The company said it was “confident of delivering significant margin improvement.” Mixers from the drinks company Fever Tree - Neil Hall/Reuters 05:41 PM GMT Pawnbroker reports record profits A pawnbroking and foreign exchange group listed on Aim has reported record profits after inflation pushed more people into taking out loans against their jewellery. Ramsdens Holdings reported on Monday that its financial year to Sept 30 saw revenue jump 27pc to £83.8m and profit jump 22pc to £10.1m. The company said that its pawnbroking loans had jumped 20pc and it said that it had been helped by the reduction in the number of payday lenders. Ramsdens has been expanding its presence in the South East and noted the “broader demographics seen in the southern communities in which we operate allows for higher loan values with higher carats of gold jewellery offered as security for a loan”. Ramsdens said it was also helped by the high market price of gold. 04:59 PM GMT FRSE 100 closes in the red The FTSE 100 closed down 0.39pc in trading, while the FTSE 250 closed virtually unchanged, up 0.02pc. The biggest FTSE 100 riser was the owner of Paddy Power, Flutter Entertainment, up 2.81pc, followed by insurer Admiral, up 1.67pc. The biggest fallers were Burberry, down 5.72pc, and Ocado, down 5.09pc. Among the FTSE 250, food manufacturer Bakkavor rose 8pc, followed by engineering business John Wood, up 5.48pc. The biggest declines were by Diversified Energy Co, down 9.50pc, followed by Pets at Home, down 3.51pc. 04:54 PM GMT Bitcoin up in trading today after declines Bitcoin is up today by around 1.7pc against the dollar, after a difficult few days of trading since the US announced its approval for the first exchange trading funds that invest in Bitcoin. The move by the Wall Street regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to generate considerable investor interest and increase the price of the currency considerably, despite criticism of cryptocurrencies as investments. Analysts at Standard Chartered Bank suggested last week that the cryptocurrency could more than double in value to $100,000 by the end of the year, following SEC approval. Bitcoin is currently at around $42,500, down from around $46,500 after the announcement. Connor Sephton of Sky News attributes the decline to what is known as a “buy the rumour, sell the news” event 04:33 PM GMT Law firm bucks trend in renewing its central London floorspace Multinational law firm Fieldfisher has signed a lease renewal on its City of London HQ and retained its current space of 81,000 square feet. In September, the investment bank Jefferies said that empty workspace across London’s West End, City and Canary Wharf areas had hit a 30-year high. But the law firm has signed an agreement with Man Group to extend its stay in the building - Riverbank House on Swan Lane - until 2035. Robert Shooter, Fieldfisher’s managing partner, said: “We are delighted to have extended our lease and will be staying in Riverbank House, a landmark building in a highly desirable location.” 04:27 PM GMT UK's biggest nightclub chain falls into administration The UK’s biggest nightclub firm has said it is planning to appoint administrators for parts of its business and could be forced to shut a number of venues. Rekom UK, which owns brands including Atik and Pryzm, said it comes after an “extremely difficult” year for the late-night sector amid pressure from the cost-of-living crisis and surges in the costs of energy and goods. The firm, which runs 35 clubs and 12 late-night bars across the country, said it had filed a notice to appoint administrators for a number of companies within the group earlier on Monday. Peter Marks, chairman of Rekom UK, said: “This gives us breathing space and protection to be able to work with our lenders, our landlords and other stakeholders to come up with the best solution for the UK group going forwards. “We still have a core of successful club and bar businesses and our Nordic brands, Heidi’s Bier Bar in Birmingham and Cardiff and Proud Mary in Cardiff and Swansea have outperformed all expectations. “But we must go through this restructure to be able to come out stronger for the future. For any venues that may not continue as part of Rekom UK, we will do our best to find new owners and save jobs.” Clubbers on the dance floor at the Pryzm nightclub in Brighton - Chris Eades/Getty Images 04:13 PM GMT Ikea is sticking to price cuts despite cost pressure from the Red Sea Budget furniture retailer Ikea is sticking to planned price cuts despite Red Sea shipping disruptions pushing up costs, and enough stocks to absorb any supply chain shocks, it said on Monday. Jesper Brodin, chief executive of Ingka Group, the franchisee that owns most Ikea stores worldwide and runs Ikea UK, told the Reuters Global Markets Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos: “Our commitment is to make sure that we prioritise investing in lower prices for our customers.” Ingka Group has invested more than €1bn euros (£860m) in price reductions across its markets from September to November, and aims to continue lowering prices in 2024. Higher transport costs have spurred fears of new inflationary pressures just as consumers were getting some relief from prices starting to come down. But Mr Brodin said he still sees “quite significant deflation” upstream in its supply chain. While lowering product prices may hurt profits, Mr Brodin said Ikea tends to take market share when consumers are under financial pressure. “This is not a year for us to optimise profits,” he said, adding: “This is a year to try to navigate on a thinner profit, but to make sure that we support people.” Under development: an Ikea store set to open on Oxford Street in London during 2024, pictured last summer - David Parry/PA 03:57 PM GMT Housebuilder Crest Nicholson issues second profit warning in five months Major housebuilder Crest Nicholson has issued its second profit warning in five months as costs spiral on its Surrey development. Melissa Lawford has the details: Crest Nicholson’s share price dropped by as much as 5pc on Monday after the housebuilder slashed its profit forecasts by nearly a fifth, on top of an earlier downgrade in August. In an unscheduled trading update on Monday, Crest Nicholson said it expected its profits before tax in the year to October would now be £41m. This will be 44pc less than the £73.7m the housebuilder had initially forecast in June last year. Anthony Codling, analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said the warnings could make Crest Nicholson a target for a takeover. Mr Codling said: “If today’s trading update leads to further share price weakness it could increase the chances of Crest being viewed as an attractive acquisition for another housebuilder.” Monday’s update followed an earlier announcement in August, when Crest Nicholson cut its profit forecast to £50m. In November, it said it expected profits would be in the range of £45m to £50m. This followed an £11m jump in costs on Crest Nicholson’s Brightwells Yard development in Farnham, Surrey, in the six months to October. On Monday, Crest Nicholson said it had now identified further costs on this project as well as other legacy sites. In an investor note, Barclays warned of ongoing uncertainty about future costs. Barclays said: “While work on the main buildings at Farnham is largely complete, we now understand there are still some complex works to be completed on the site that will run through 2024.” ACrest Nicholson logo on the external fencing of a housing development in Maldon - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg 03:48 PM GMT Apple cuts price of new iPhone in China amid competition from Huawei Apple is offering rare discounts on its new iPhones in China amid fears that competition from a resurgent Huawei is hitting demand. James Titcomb reports: Chinese consumers are being offered discounts of as much as 500 yuan (£55) on iPhones and up to 800 yuan on MacBook laptops, with more price cuts on other devices. The discounts, which will apply this weekend, are being presented as a promotion ahead of the Chinese new year in February, but come amid questions about demand for iPhones in China that have hit the company’s shares in recent weeks. On Friday, Microsoft surpassed Apple as the world’s most valuable listed company for the first time in two years following a 6pc fall in the iPhone maker’s shares in the last month. Analysts at Jefferies said last week that iPhone sales were currently falling by as much as 30pc on the same period last year and predicted they would drop by 10pc over 2024. The apparent sales drop could potentially send Apple to a fifth consecutive quarter of declining revenue for the first time since 1998. The drop has been partly attributed to strong demand for Huawei’s Mate 60 phone. The Chinese company appears to have overcome US sanctions designed to crush its smartphone business by developing made-in-China components for the device. While Apple has previously offered discounts ahead of the Chinese new year, which is a key shopping season, it rarely does so for its latest iPhones. A 500 yuan discount on the iPhone 15, released last year, would save as much as 8pc. Sales in China account for around a sixth of Apple’s total. 03:37 PM GMT Octopus Energy takes equity stake in swimming pool data centre business Octopus Energy has taken an equity stake in a startup business that believes in locating small data centres in the same buildings as swimming pools. The startup, Deep Green, was founded by Mark Bjornsgaard. The idea is to use the heat generated by its servers to heat the pool. Octopus says that a public swimming pool in Devon was able to slash its pool heating bill by over 60pc by allowing Deep Green to co-locate a data centre. Deep Green meanwhile gets free cooling which, Octopus says, provides it with a competitive edge over other data centres. The company also wants to provide heat to district heat networks, which supply hot water to buildings. According to a company statement, Octopus is planning to invest £200m in scaling the idea. Deep Green’s most recent published accounts, to Sept 30 2022, show that it had cash of £13,134 and a shareholders’ deficit of £142,974. Public records indicate that a company linked to Octopus now owns between 26pc and 50pc of the share capital. 03:33 PM GMT Thomas Cook 'close to return to European ownership' The owner of Thomas Cook is reportedly holding talks to sell the iconic British brand to a Polish online travel agent. The tourism company’s Chinese owner Fosun Tourism Group is in advanced negotiations to sell the business to eSky, according to Sky News. The talks, which are understood to have been under way for some time, could lead to a deal within weeks. Its potential new owner is majority-owned by MCI Capital, a private equity company focused on Central and Eastern Europe. Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019 leaving thousands of people stranded around the world before they were repatriated by the Government. The brand was revived by Fosun shortly afterwards. On that bombshell, I will take my leave for the day and pass you over to the ever cheerful Alex Singleton , who most certainly is not fazed by a day of work on Blue Monday. Thomas Cook collapsed in 2019, leaving holidaymakers and staff stranded around the world - Thomas Cook Airlines/PA 03:22 PM GMT Aslef refusing to put 'fair and reasonable' pay offer to members After the Aslef union announced fresh strikes by train drivers at the end of this month, a Department for Transport spokesman said: It’s very disappointing to see Aslef continuing to target those who travel to work, school or important medical appointments by train. Aslef is now the only rail union that is continuing to strike while refusing to put a fair and reasonable offer to its members. The offer that remains on the table and would bring the average train driver’s salary up to £65,000. The Aslef leadership should do the right thing and let their members decide their own future, instead of deciding it for them. 02:57 PM GMT There's no more money, protesting German farmers told as economy shrinks German farmers were told there is no more money to protect them from tax rises after the German economy shrank last year. Berlin has been brought to a near standstill by the demonstration, which filled one of its central avenues with trucks and tractors. Some 10,000 farmers arrived in the capital to end a week of protests against taxes that have become a flashpoint for anti-government anger. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition is struggling to fix budget disarray and contain right-wing groups as latest figures today showed the German economy shrank by 0.3pc last year and is expected to remain in a downturn this year. Finance Minister Christian Lindner took to the stage on Monday in front of thousands of jeering farmers in front of the Brandenburg Gate. He said: “I can’t promise you more state aid from the federal budget. “But we can fight together for you to enjoy more freedom and respect for your work.” Farmers protest against the German government's planned cuts to agricultural sector subsidies near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin - Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg 02:42 PM GMT Boeing sets out plan to ensure no repeat of mid-air blowout Boeing will add further quality inspections for the 737 MAX after a mid-air blowout of a cabin panel in an Alaska Airlines MAX 9 earlier this month, the head of its commercial airplanes division said. In a letter to staff, Stan Deal, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the plane maker will also deploy a team to supplier Spirit AeroSystems - which makes and installs the plug door involved in the incident. The group will check and approve Spirit’s work on the plugs before fuselages are sent to Boeing’s production facilities in Washington state. The new actions from Boeing come after the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday extended the grounding of 171 MAX 9 planes indefinitely for new safety checks. Only after 40 planes are inspected will the agency review the results and determine if safety is adequate to allow the MAX 9s to resume flying, the FAA said. The fuselage plug area of the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-9 MAX, which was forced to make an emergency landing - NTSB/Handout via REUTERS 02:25 PM GMT Morrisons’ owner hires Tesco turnaround king Tesco’s former chief executive Sir Dave Lewis has joined the private equity owner of Morrisons, as the supermarket giant battles to regain market share. Our reporter Adam Mawardi has the details: Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) has hired Sir Dave to strengthen its consumer and retail offering, just three years after it bought Morrisons for £10bn. The retailer veteran is widely credited with turning around Tesco during his stint as chief executive from 2014 to 2020. His move to CD&R comes as the buyout specialist tries to boost Morrisons’ fortunes after it lost its title as Britain’s fourth-largest supermarket to Aldi last year. This graph shows the change in supermarkets’ share of the market. Sir Dave Lewis has downplayed the prospect of him intervening in Morrisons' day-to-day operations in his new role at CD&R - REUTERS/Peter Nicholls 01:46 PM GMT Oil falls amid doubts over global demand Oil prices have fallen amid doubts about demand this year as China held interest rates steady in the world’s second largest economy. Brent crude oil was last down 1.3pc towards $77 a barrel, down from a two-week high of $80.75 on Friday. Prices had drawn support from disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea, but doubts about demand this year have limited the rally. China, the world’s second largest consumer of oil, has released data in recent weeks showing its economy weakening. Meanwhile, at least six further oil tankers have either diverted their course away from or paused before entering the southern Red Sea since the weekend, ship tracking data from LSEG and Kpler show. 01:16 PM GMT Journalists should welcome AI, says Microsoft boss ahead of lawsuit Journalists should “welcome” the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the boss of Microsoft has said, even as the tech giant grapples with a major lawsuit from the New York Times for its deal with OpenAI. Satya Nadella, the Microsoft chief executive, insisted newspapers and publishers would benefit from the changes wrought by AI, despite concerns from the industry over copyright. OpenAI, which is heavily backed by Microsoft, denies any wrongdoing. Mr Nadella said: “If you are a publisher or a journalist or what have you, you should welcome this.” He said AI could provide an alternative to internet search, which has been dominated by Google, and search engines. He added: What happens to the information ecosystem when there is high concentration is things deteriorate. Web search is a fantastic thing, except SEO [search engine optimisation] itself has had unintended consequences. The overture to publishers comes after Microsoft was named in a lawsuit by the New York Times against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. The US newspaper has accused OpenAI of scraping its news stories in breach of copyright laws. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella speaks at Chatham House in London - AP Photo/Kin Cheung 01:06 PM GMT Gas prices slump to five-month low Wholesale gas prices have slumped to their lowest level since August as the UK and European markets shrug off the impact of colder weather and conflict in the Middle East. Dutch front-month futures dropped as much as 6.9pc to fall below €30 per megawatt hour for the first time in five months. The equivalent UK gas contract has fallen 8.8pc to below 73p per therm, also its lowest level since August. Prices remain nearly twice as high as they were before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but are a far cry from the peaks reached during the energy crisis that ensued. 12:55 PM GMT Train driver pay 'far above' that of average worker, says No 10 After the announcement of fresh rail strikes, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: This is extremely disappointing. Not least to commuters, who have already been so badly hit by Aslef’s decision to continually strike. Aslef drivers continue to be paid far above what the average person in the UK receives. Rail companies have made a fair and reasonable offer, and we would encourage them to step back from this action. 12:40 PM GMT Strikes 'difficult to justify,' say rail bosses A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group, the trade association for the rail operators affected by the new strike action, said: Nobody wins when strikes impact lives and livelihoods, and they’re particularly difficult to justify at a time when taxpayers are continuing to contribute an extra £54m a week to keep services running post Covid. Despite the railway’s huge financial challenge, drivers have been made an offer which would take base salaries to nearly £65,000 for a four day week without overtime - that is well above the national average and significantly more than many of our passengers that have no option to work from home are paid. Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on the Aslef leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute and deliver a fair deal which both rewards our people, and makes the changes needed to make services more reliable. 12:24 PM GMT 'Aslef are shooting themselves in the foot' Rail users are reacting with frustration, as you’d expect, at the latest announcement of strike action starting at the end of this month: Train drivers to go on strike AGAIN! The strikes will take place between January 30th and February 5th. I’m sick of unions holding the country to ransom! I’d sack the lot of them, thousands of people want to work as train drivers and would appreciate the high pay. These… — Paula London 🇬🇧 (@misspaulalondon) January 15, 2024 Decided not to drive to a friend’s in London and take the train. Booked tickets last week and today announced strikes for that weekend. Bloody brilliant. 🙄🫠😡🤬 — Helen Clare (@HelenClarex) January 15, 2024 I think ASLEF might be self destructing. Yet another set of strikes. People are just used to it now & plan round them. Plus even when they are running the services are crap. I think people are using trains less often & they will need fewer drivers & train staff — Browny (@Browny1956) January 15, 2024 12:01 PM GMT Minister could enforce minimum service levels to limit rail strikes The new rail strikes announced by Aslef could be the first test of new regulations aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service during strikes, set at 40pc in the transport sector. A Bill for minimum standards for passenger rail services, ambulance services and fire and rescue services was passed in July, to ensure essential services remain in place. It means employers will be able to dismiss staff who refuse to turn up to work when ordered to, while unions failing to meet minimum levels could face legal action. Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: Having seen, since this dispute started in June 2022, the resolve of our members, and the support train drivers enjoy among our passengers and the public, the Tories have now tried their old trick of changing the rules. When they couldn’t bully us into backing down they brought in Minimum Service Levels – designed, effectively, to ban strikes by making them ineffective – but this new law won’t ease industrial strife. It will just make it worse. 11:52 AM GMT Aslef strikes to affect commuters across 16 rail operators Here are the details of the train strikes that have just been announced by Aslef. Tuesday, January 30 will see walkouts on services run by Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, GTR Thameslink, South Western Railway main line and depot drivers, and SWR Island Line. Wednesday, January 31 will see strikes on Northern Trains and TransPennine Trains. C2C, Greater Anglia, and LNER will be hit by walkouts on Friday, February 2. Industrial action will take place at Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, and West Midlands Trains on Saturday, February 3. Walkouts will take place on Monday, February 5 at Chiltern, CrossCountry, and GWR. 11:41 AM GMT Train drivers announce fresh strikes in dispute over pay Train drivers will stage a series of fresh strikes and an overtime ban from the end of the month in a long-running pay dispute, their union Aslef announced. Union members will stage the industrial action over five days between Tuesday, January 30 and Monday, February 5 - and will ban overtime for nine days from January 29. In all, 16 train operators will be affected, although each will only be affected by a single day of strike action. Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said: “We have given the government every opportunity to come to the table but it is now a year since we had any contact from the Department for Transport. It’s clear they do not want to resolve this dispute. “Many members have now not had a single penny increase in pay for half a decade, during which time inflation has soared and, with it, the cost of living. “We didn’t ask for an increase during the pandemic, when we worked through lockdown, as key workers, risking our lives, to move goods around the country and enable NHS and other workers to get to work.” The strikes, which will cripple train services, mainly across England, could be the first test of new regulations aimed at ensuring a minimum level of service during strikes, set at 40pc in the transport sector. 11:32 AM GMT Cost-of-living crisis pushes up pawnbroker profits Growing demand for pawnbroking services and higher gold prices have driven up profits for Ramsdens, the lender and retailer revealed. The group, which has about 160 stores in the UK, said higher living costs has led to more consumers looking for short-term credit. It said the number of new customers using its pawnbroking service, which allows people to borrow money against a piece of jewellery or a watch, grew by 11pc compared with the previous year. Higher living costs driving demand for consumer credit, as well as as fewer traditional short-term lenders such as payday lenders on the market, helped give Ramsdens’ pawnbroking service a boost, it said. The average loan value was £325 as at the end of September, up from £303 at the same time the previous year. Jewellery sales surged by nearly a quarter year-on-year as the retailer reported more consumer demand for both new and secondhand items. Meanwhile, sales of precious metals soared by nearly 50pc amid an increase in the price of gold. However, its shares were down 5.6pc. 11:19 AM GMT World to have first trillionaire within a decade, Oxfam predicts The world could have its first trillionaire within a decade, Oxfam International said in its annual assessment of global inequalities released as political and business elites head to the Swiss ski resort of Davos. Oxfam has for years been trying to highlight the growing disparities between the super-rich and the bulk of the global population during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting. It reckons the gap has been “supercharged” since the pandemic as the fortunes of the five richest men — Tesla boss Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault and his family of luxury company LVMH, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and investment guru Warren Buffett — have spiked by 114pc in real terms since 2020. Oxfam’s interim executive director said the report showed that the world is entering a “decade of division”. Amitabh Behar said in Davos: “We have the top five billionaires, they have doubled their wealth. On the other hand, almost 5 billion people have become poorer.” Oxfam predicted the world will have its first trillionaire within a decade as the business and political elite gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg 10:59 AM GMT Gas prices fall despite Red Sea shipping crisis Wholesale gas prices have slipped as supply levels remain robust despite the cold snap and conflict in the Middle East. Dutch front-month futures, Europe’s benchmark contract, fell as much as 5.6pc towards €30 per megawatt hour, while the UK equivalent dropped by as much as 6.2pc to less than 75p per therm. Traders have taken comfort from the record amounts of gas amassed by Europe over the last year, while industrial demand for the fuel remains sluggish. The fall in prices today comes even as Qatar appeared to have suspended liquified natural gas shipments through the Red Sea in response to the attacks on ships by Houthi rebels in Yemen. Adnan Dhanani, an analyst at RBC Europe, said: “Gas demand across the European Union remained well below pre-conflict levels in 2023, and for much of the year was also below 2022 levels - which were already depressed.” Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a Lancaster House speech that Britain’s “decisive” action in the Red Sea offers “a direct blueprint for how the UK must continue to lead in the future”. He said “enough was enough” and precision strikes were authorised in response to Houthi attacks because they “chose to ignore” clear warnings. 10:42 AM GMT Pound falls ahead of inflation figures The pound has fallen as investors wait to see if inflation and retail sales figures due later this week will offer clarity on potential interest rate cuts. Sterling has dropped 0.2pc against the dollar towards $1.27, even as the Bank of England seems to be a relatively hawkish outlier compared to the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. The euro was 0.1pc stronger against the pound at nearly 86p, despite figures laying bare the economic downturn in Germany and slowing industrial production across the eurozone. 10:29 AM GMT Germany 'faces first two-year recession since early 2000s' ING bank economist Carsten Brzeski was pessimistic about the German economy after official data showed it contracted by 0.3pc last year. He pointed to fresh uncertainty stemming from the German government’s recent budget upset and shipping delays in the Suez Canal as a result of conflict in the Middle East. Mr Brzeski said: “Looking ahead, at least in the first months of 2024, many of the recent drags on growth will still be around and will, in some cases, have an even stronger impact than in 2023.” He predicted that gross domestic product would shrink again this year, in what would “be the first time since the early 2000s that Germany has gone through a two-year recession, even though it could prove to be a shallow one”. 10:17 AM GMT Daily Mirror editor quits amid Reach job cuts Daily Mirror editor Alison Phillips has quit amid sweeping job cuts at the newspaper’s parent company Reach. Our media reporter James Warrington has the details: Ms Phillips, who has led the tabloid since 2018, has accepted voluntary redundancy and will leave at the end of the month. It comes after Reach, which also owns the Star and Express titles and local papers including the Manchester Evening News, outlined plans in November to axe around 450 jobs , or around 10pc of its workforce. The move, which includes 300 editorial staff, takes the total number of jobs cut in the last 12 months to almost 800. Jim Mullen, chief executive of Reach, has said the cuts are necessary “against the backdrop of continuing pressures on the business ”. He has refused to rule out further staff reductions. Ms Phillips departure leaves the Mirror without an editor as it gears up for a general election . Alison Phillips became the Mirror’s first female editor in more than a century in 2018 - S Meddle/ITV/Shutterstock 10:10 AM GMT Eurozone industrial production declines Industrial production fell across the eurozone by 0.3pc in November, compared to the previous month, in a signal that the European Central Bank may begin cutting interest rates soon to revive the region’s economy. Industrial production decreased by 6.8pc across the single currency bloc over the year to November, with Ireland, Belgium and Bulgaria suffering the largest declines. Euro area #IndustrialProduction -0.3% in November 2023 over October, -6.8% over November 2022 https://t.co/R6Sxfl7jpX pic.twitter.com/alx1sf8Ci4 — EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) January 15, 2024 09:53 AM GMT German recession conditions to continue this year, say economists Germany’s economic troubles are “not over yet,” economists have warned, after official figures showed it contracted last year. Europe’s largest economy shrank by 0.3pc in 2023 and by 0.3pc in the final three months of the year, according to its statistics office. The country avoided a technical recession after officials revised the figure for the third quarter from a 0.1pc contraction to a stagnation. Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics, said: The recessionary conditions which have been dragging on since the end of 2022 look set to continue this year. Admittedly, the recent fall in inflation should provide some relief for households, but residential and business investment are likely to contract, construction is heading for a steep downturn and the government is tightening fiscal policy sharply. We forecast zero GDP growth in 2024. 09:34 AM GMT AI will impact 40pc of jobs and 'worsen inequality', warns IMF chief Artificial intelligence is set to impact 40pc of jobs around the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. The IMF said the impact will be greater for advanced economies, with around 60pc of roles affected. About half of those workers will benefit from the integration of AI, which could boost productivity, but the remainder could see lower salaries, reduced hiring and, “in the most extreme cases, some of these jobs may disappear”, according to the IMF. In a new report on AI and machine learning, the IMF said the technology could worsen inequality between nations as well as within society as a whole. Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF’s managing director, said: We are on the brink of a technological revolution that could jumpstart productivity, boost global growth and raise incomes around the world. Yet it could also replace jobs and deepen inequality. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said AI could 'replace jobs and deepen inequality' - OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images 09:24 AM GMT Rail line remains closed after landslip A major rail route serving London remains closed due to a landslip. Network Rail said it is “working round the clock” to carry out repairs on the Chiltern main line following a landslip near Bicester, Oxfordshire, which has closed the line between London Marylebone and both Birmingham Moor Street and Oxford. Chiltern Railways issued a “do not travel” alert as the line is not expected to reopen until 7am on Tuesday, causing major disruption to journeys. The line was also closed on Sunday due to the repair work. More than 50 steel piles are being installed at the site of the landslip, which was discovered on January 11. Following the recent landslip on the Chiltern mainline, Network Rail have commenced urgent repairs to the railway, on the line between Bicester North and Haddenham & Thame Parkway. Here are some pictures of the work that has taken place today. pic.twitter.com/pzD1fNo9KU — Chiltern Railways (@chilternrailway) January 14, 2024 09:13 AM GMT German economy shrinks for first time since pandemic The German economy shrank for the first time since the pandemic last year as its dominant manufacturing sector battled with rising energy costs and interest rates. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3pc in 2023, according to the Destatis statistics office, compared to growth of 1.8pc the previous year. The agency’s president Ruth Brand said: “Overall economic development faltered in Germany in 2023 in an environment that continues to be marked by multiple crises.” Germany Full Year GDP Growth https://t.co/ycZpp9e0RB pic.twitter.com/1TvWWBoBN6 — TRADING ECONOMICS (@tEconomics) January 15, 2024 08:48 AM GMT UK stock markets mixed after slump in banks UK shares were mixed to start the week as banking stocks were hit amid rising bets that the US Federal Reserve will start cutting rates as early as March. After opening higher, blue-chip FTSE 100 has moved down 0.1pc, although the mid-cap FTSE 250 index climbed 0.2pc. Banking stocks slumped 1pc after Lloyds had its rating cut by Bank of America, while HSBC was cut to “underperform” by analysts at BNPP Exane. Oil and gas shares added as much as 0.7pc amid higher crude prices as traders watched for supply disruption risks in the Middle East. Investors will look forward to UK inflation data and retail sales figures for the month of December due later this week. Across the Atlantic, business activity data for the month of January and December retail sales from the US will also be on investors’ radar. In corporate news, shares of PageGroup fell 3.2pc after the global recruiter cut its annual profit forecast. British homebuilder Crest Nicholson cut its annual profit forecast, taking its shares lower by 4.5pc. 08:39 AM GMT Demand for petrol cars has peaked, says BMW chief Petrol car demand reached its peak last year, a BMW executive has said, as the German car manufacturer gears up for growth to be led by electric models. The car maker, which makes Mini in the UK, aims to sell half a million battery-powered vehicles this year, which would make up about a fifth of total deliveries, its chief financial officer Walter Mertl said. BMW group electric vehicle (EV) sales jumped 75pc last year, driven by models like the i4 Sedan and as overall sales growth has slowed in the US and some European countries. Mr Mertl said: “The tipping point for combustion engines was last year. “Future volume growth will primarily come from battery electric vehicles.” It comes as the market share of electric cars went into reverse in the UK in 2023 after Rishi Sunak pushed back a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035. EVs share of the overall new car market shrunk from 16.6pc to 16.5pc in 2023, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This compares with the 17.2pc originally forecast. BMW will build its next generation electric Mini at its Cowley plant in Oxford - Joe Giddens/PA Wire 08:28 AM GMT Hyundai offers £5,900 bonus to EV buyers in face of Biden's green subsidies Hyundai will give US electric vehicle buyers as much as $7,500 (£5,888) in cash bonuses as it tries to keep its cars competitive in the face of Joe Biden’s green subsidies. The South Korean car maker will apply the discounts to the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and Kona Electric models in a month-long incentive until January 31. Hyundai is racing to build an EV plant in Georgia that could begin construction as soon as the end of this year. It comes as the company is ineligible for the clean vehicle tax credit programme available to car makers under the President’s Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden administration is looking to revive American industry while tilting the economy away from fossil fuels. Cash bonuses will be offered to buyers to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicle - Lionel Ng/Bloomberg 08:07 AM GMT UK markets open higher amid rate cut hopes Stock markets in London have begun the week higher as traders increase bets that the U Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this year. The FTSE 100 has gained 0.1pc after the open to 7,633.68 while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 has gained 0.2pc to 19,226.79. US wholesale prices figures on Friday have boosted hopes for interest rate cuts after they came in lower than markets expected, bringing down the yield on two-year US bonds to its lowest level since May last year. 07:59 AM GMT Asian shares climb after China rate hold and Taiwan elections Asian shares were mostly higher as China’s central bank kept its one-year policy loan interest rate unchanged and amid relief after Taiwan’s elections. China’s central bank opted to keep its one-year policy loan interest rate at 2.5pc overnight, while injecting funds into the financial system. The decision to hold rates surprised market observers who had anticipated trend of lowering borrowing costs to stimulate the economy after weak data last week. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.1pc to 16,185.00, while the Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2pc, at 2,886.29. Tokyo shares ended higher for a sixth straight session on Monday, with the Nikkei again hitting a nearly 34-year high, as a sense of relief spread after Taiwan’s elections. Ruling-party candidate Lai Ching-te emerged victorious on Saturday, a result that will determine the trajectory of the self-ruled democracy’s contentious relations with China over the next four years. The Democratic Progressive Party, to which Lai belongs, has consistently rejected China’s assertions of sovereignty over Taiwan. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.2pc to 17,546.82. 07:52 AM GMT Shapps: Britain will 'wait and see' before launching more strikes on Houthis Britain will “wait and see” before deciding to launch fresh military strikes against the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen in order to protect international shipping, Grant Shapps has said. Asked it the UK would carry out more strikes, the Defence Secretary told Sky News: Let’s wait and see what happens, because it’s not that we want to be involved in action in the Red Sea. But ultimately freedom of navigation is an international right. 07:48 AM GMT Housing delays trigger fresh profit warning at Crest Nicholson Crest Nicholson has downgraded its profit expectations for the second time after warning it is facing mounting costs over a long-delayed housing project in Surrey. The housebuilder said it was now predicting an adjusted pre-tax profit of £41m for the financial year to October. In August, the group lowered its profit expectations to £50m from nearly £74m due to a summer slowdown in the housing market thanks to higher interest rates and fewer homes for sale. Crest Nicholson told investors it was expecting to incur further costs over the delayed completion of a regeneration scheme in Farnham, on top of the roughly £11m flagged last year. Crest Nicholson has cut its profit forecast for a second time - Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg 07:40 AM GMT Mortgage affordability 'bringing buyers out in their droves,' says Purplebricks As house asking prices moved higher in January, Purplebricks chief executive Sam Mitchell said: The housing market is becoming more bullish by the week as banks continue to compete over mortgage rates. The boost to demand and affordability is bringing buyers out in their droves, while those already on the property ladder are taking advantage of better remortgage rates and first-time buyers are finding it easier to access the market. More people returned to the office at the beginning of this year after a sustained period of working from home, which means we’ve seen a rural/urban rebalance in property purchasing. Add to that continued heat in the rental market and we’ve seen a remarkably strong start to the year, with buyers and sellers getting back to a new normal. 07:35 AM GMT PageGroup axes hundreds of jobs amid recruitment market downturn PageGroup has announced it axes more than 200 recruitment consultant jobs over the last three months as it battles a downturn in the labour market. The latest reduction in the recruiter’s headcount means bosses have slashed 1,092 fee earning jobs over the last year, bringing its total number of consultants to 5,851. In a trading update to shareholders, it reported a 8.9pc decline in gross profit for the fourth quarter of last year, down to £237.3m. The downturn was worst in the UK, with a 19.9pc reduction in gross profit to £28.6m. It cautioned that full-year earnings are now expected to be slightly below the £120m to £125m it stated previously. Chief executive Nicholas Kirk said: Looking ahead, macro-economic uncertainty persists. However, we have a highly diversified and adaptable business model, a strong balance sheet, and our cost base is under continuous review and can be adjusted rapidly to match market conditions. Given these fundamental strengths, we believe we will continue to perform well in these challenging markets, and we are confident in our ability to implement our new strategy driving the long-term profitability of the group. The job losses come as rival recruiter Hays revealed it has cut 1,150 roles over the last year , while Robert Walters said it had cut about 220 roles in the last three months of last year. 07:25 AM GMT House sellers bump up asking prices by £4,500 in a month The average price tag on a home jumped by around £4,500 in January compared to the previous month, according to a property website, as sellers hoped lower mortgage rates would support the market. Across Britain, the average price of a property coming on the market increased by 1.3pc, or £4,571 month-on-month, to £359,748, Rightmove said. It comes as lenders battle to offer buyers lower mortgage rates amid expectations that interest rates will be cut this year. Despite the increase in average asking prices over the last month, they are still 0.7pc lower than a year earlier. Rightmove said the volume of new properties coming onto the market for sale is 15pc higher than a year ago. Competitive pricing from sellers is still vital, with the number of new properties coming to market outpacing an increase that is also being seen in buyer demand, the website said. The number of potential buyers contacting estate agents about homes for sale in the first week of 2024 was 5pc higher than in the same period last year, with the growth in activity strongest in London and the North East of England, Rightmove said. It added that the number of sales being agreed as January gets under way has been higher than the start of last year. Tim Bannister Rightmove’s director of property science said: After a stop-start market in 2023, the initial signs suggest a smoother year for movers in 2024. More new sellers are now entering the market, and with more confident pricing. While the increased level of buyer activity that we’re also seeing may justify some of this increased pricing confidence from sellers, it’s important that sellers who are keen to find a buyer don’t get carried away with New Year enthusiasm when setting their price expectations. Elevated mortgage rates and the wider cost-of-living squeeze are still limiting buyers’ spending power. Accurate and realistic pricing for their local area is the recipe for success for sellers looking to get moving in 2024. Rightmove said asking prices for homes increased by £4,500 on average in January, compared to the previous month - Yui Mok/PA Wire 07:19 AM GMT Good morning Thanks for joining me. The typical asking prices for a new property coming onto the market was £4,500 higher in January than it was in the last month of 2023. The average price tag on a home coming onto the market increased by 1.3pc to £359,748, according to Rightmove. 5 things to start your day 1) Britain’s gas network still using engines from 1960s RAF fighter jets | Ageing aircraft turbines will cost millions to replace, says National Gas chief 2) Vivienne Westwood cuts office hours to two days in net zero push | London staff ordered to work from home as part of energy-efficiency drive 3) BT in talks with Elon Musk’s Starlink for broadband offer | Telecoms giant tests satellite equipment to deliver connections to rural areas 4) Four in 10 councils at risk of going bust over next five years | Britain’s local authority funding crisis deepens as social care costs spike 5) Billionaire Tory donor Alan Howard shares in £268m pay day from hedge fund | Alan Howard’s windfall comes as bets on interest rates reap dividends for his company What happened overnight Asian shares got off to a stumbling start as China’s central bank wrong footed markets by deciding to hold its key interest rate steady rather than cutting as had been hoped. China reports economic growth data for the fourth quarter and a slew of monthly figures on Wednesday, and investors have become used to being underwhelmed by activity as Beijing drip feeds its stimulus. Chinese blue chips were little changed in response, having earlier reached their lowest since early 2019. A holiday in the United States also made for thin trading, but at least there was progress on averting an imminent government shutdown as congressional leaders agreed on another stopgap spending bill. Japan’s Nikkei bucked the low mood and climbed to a fresh 34-year peak, having already enjoyed stellar gains of 6.6pc last week. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.9pc, or 324.68 points, to end at 35,901.79, while the broader Topix index gained 1.2pc, or 30.37 points, to 2,524.60. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.

2024-01-16 07:30:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [916]}

{}

TrueUSD Falls Below $1 Peg, Sparks Concerns

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trueusd-falls-below-1-peg-073006639.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

TrueUSD Falls Below $1 Peg, Sparks Concerns In the past 24 hours, TrueUSD (TUSD) experienced a considerable de-pegging from its $1 price level, presently trading around $0.9878 according to CoinMarketCap data. This rare event for a major stablecoin sparked heated reactions across exchanges and social media. The price divergence first appeared just after midnight on Jan 15, as TUSD dipped below $1 amidst frenzied selling on Binance. TUSD ultimately dropped as far as $0.984 at one point, representing a significant deviation from its intended stability. Analysts pointed to the number of outflows on Binance as evidence. According to available data, Binance saw over $369.2 million worth of TUSD selling activity in the last 24 hours compared to only $239.1 million in buy orders. The resulting net outflow of $130 million indicates traders rapidly converting significant TUSD holdings into other cryptos such as Bitcoin or rival stablecoin Tether. Stablecoin commentators expressed concerns about the state of TUSD’s reserve collateralization, pointing to reports that TUSD’s attestation system has struggled to provide updated USD valuations in recent days. The team behind TUSD has not yet issued a public statement.

2024-01-16 07:31:23+00:00

{"BTC": [62]}

{"Bitcoin": [22]}

Arthur Hayes Believes Bitcoin ETFs Could Bring in Billions From TradFi

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/arthur-hayes-believes-bitcoin-etfs-073123187.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Market inefficiency and the uncorrelated behavior of bitcoin [BTC] to traditional assets could serve as few of the factors that attract billions of dollars in capital from broader financial markets, Arthur Hayes, the chief investment officer of family office Maelstrom and the ex-CEO of BitMEX, said in a Tuesday post . Hayes, one of the earliest prominent bitcoin traders, said spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could open up newer trading opportunities for traders as prices for the asset marked at U.S. benchmarks and the rest of the world fluctuate, allowing traders to profit from their difference. “bitcoin is a global market, and price discovery happens primarily on Binance (I guess based in Abu Dhabi). For the first time in a long time, the bitcoin markets will have a predictable and long-lasting arbitrage opportunity,” Hayes said. “Hopefully, billions of dollars of flow will be concentrated in an hour-long period on exchanges that are less liquid and price followers of their larger Eastern competitors. I expect there to be juicy spot arbitrage opportunities available,” he added. Hayes expects spot ETF products to pop up in major Asian markets, such as Hong Kong, which service “China southbound flow.” The presence of these highly regulated bourses and native crypto exchanges can create more market inefficiencies and thus profit opportunities, he said. ETF-based financing could be another sector poised for growth as bitcoin trading becomes commonplace in the coming years. Banks could open up desks that provide fiat loans against bitcoin ETF holdings, pocketing the spread and influencing bitcoin interest rates, further creating market imbalances. Meanwhile, Hayes said earlier in January that he is bearish on bitcoin in the short term and expects prices to undergo a 30% correction . It’s a sentiment shared by several other traders, who expect prices to fall as low as $38,000 before the next leg up.

2024-01-16 08:29:54+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1864]}

{}

Elon Musk Celebrates First Video by Youtube Mega-Star on X

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-celebrates-first-video-082954781.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- One of YouTube’s biggest stars has posted his first video on X, a win for Elon Musk as he tries to entice buzzy creators and influencers onto the former Twitter. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout The billionaire re-posted a video created by Jimmy Donaldson, better known to his 230 million-plus YouTube subscribers as MrBeast. That’s after a back-and-forth dating back years, during which the Tesla Inc. chief executive traded messages with the online celeb about X’s potential. Donaldson currently sports more than 25 million X followers — still a fraction of his YouTube footprint. His tweet had racked up close to 30 million views as of early Tuesday. Musk’s vision is to transform the social media platform he took over in 2022 into what he calls “the everything app,” or a collection of the services that users now turn to on their smartphones. Musk has mentioned his interest in making X more competitive with Google’s YouTube, the global leader in online video. This month, X announced a slate of new shows, including a partnership with former CNN anchor Don Lemon. But it still has only a fraction of the users on rival services such as Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook, and advertisers have migrated to other platforms. Ad revenue was on track to slump in 2023, in part because of brands’ concerns about changes to X’s content-moderation policies. Read More: Musk’s X Unveils Video Shows With Don Lemon, Tulsi Gabbard Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 09:53:28+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [835, 2891, 3046], "BTC": [1378, 4296]}

{}

What Happened in Crypto Today: Bad Day for Stablecoins

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/happened-crypto-today-bad-day-095328731.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

What Happened in Crypto Today: Bad Day for Stablecoins It's been rocky for stablecoins. TrueUSD shocked markets by suddenly losing its $1 peg, plunging as low as $0.984 amidst a flood of sell orders. Meanwhile, a UN report red-flagged Tether for its extensive use in facilitating illegal activity in Southeast Asia. Not exactly an inspiring day for key pillars. But the crypto news cycle keeps on spinning. So let's dive into the latest top stories and developments: TrueUSD loses its $1 peg, falling as low as $0.984 in overnight trading 💸 UN report singles out USDT's role in assisting Southeast Asian scammers and money launderers 🚩 Venezuela pulls the plug on its controversial Petro token experiment 💀 BlackRock CEO trumpets anticipation for Ethereum ETF listing 🎉 Celsius finally moves $125M of its frozen Ether funds 🐢 Upcoming Bitcoin halving poses profitability threat for smaller miners 🥺 Now let's dive deeper into each of those stories... TrueUSD Loses Its $1 Peg 💸 TrueUSD (TUSD) experienced some price turbulence over the last 24. One of the top 10 stablecoins lost its dollar peg - dipping as low as $0.984 during frantic overnight trading. A rare sight for a major fiat proxy! Most price punishment came on Binance order books amidst a deluge of TUSD sell orders. On-chain data spotted net outflows of over $130 million suggesting investors dumped en masse into BTC and other cryptos. Why did it de-peg all of a sudden? Did the TUSD make any comment? Read the full story ! UN Red-Flags USDT 🚩 Tether just got red-flagged by the United Nations! USDT enjoys broad use among Southeast Asian scammers and money launderers according to a new UN report. Specifically, the report called out stablecoin's role in facilitating illegal online gambling and romance fraud operations. Even citing an example where USDT assisted American authorities in tracking $225 million tied to a human trafficking ring involved in "pig butchering" scams. The scale exposed by UN officials proves alarming for crypto's reputation and stablecoin legitimacy worldwide. Story continues Of course, Tether leadership contends they actively cooperate with agencies to block tainted transactions and freeze stolen funds. Then why did the report single out USDT if they always assist authorities in finding criminals? Read the full story ! No More Petro Token 💀 RIP to Venezuela's infamous Petro token - the state-backed crypto experiment finally flatlined this week after a controversy-plagued 5-year run. The asset began as a bold stab by President Maduro to inject digital assets into Venezuela's inflating economy. Backed by oil reserves, Petro aimed to stabilize the bolivar currency. But critics slammed the effort as an exploitation of national oil wealth from the start. Even earning a US sanction in 2019 over shady Russian bank involvement. Does this mean the country will finally focus on adopting Bitcoin fully to stabilize the economy instead? Read the full story ! BlackRock CEO Predicts Bright Future for ETH ETF 🎉 Barely 72 hours since BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF debuted, CEO Larry Fink is already talking about Ethereum ETF! In recent interviews, the financier kingpin trumpeted high anticipation for an Ethereum fund offering too. Citing "value" in exposure tied to Ether's ascending smart contract dominance. With BlackRock filing its own ETH trust application, it seems they see real value in Ethereum. And there is a rising trend the CEO pointed out. Read the full story ! Celsius Moves $125 Million ETH 🐢 After endless delays, Celsius creditors may finally see some repayment drips on long-frozen funds. Over the past week, the lender shifted over $125 million worth of Ether to exchanges. Mind you this only represents a fraction of Celsius' remaining ETH trove - still over $1.3 billion at last check! Specific timing and repayment figures remain flaky. Any repayment schedule announced by Celsius? Read the full story ! Bad News for Miners 🥺 Per CoinShares’ analysis, the 2024 Halvening comes with pain as miner margins get squeezed. They expect the electricity cost will rise from 68% to 71% of operating budgets. Brutal power bills for miners! Now names like Riot and CleanSpark sit pretty well, thanks to locked-in energy rates and lean operations. But other players may face a wipeout if BTC drops below $40k for long! Will the upcoming halving impact mining stocks negatively? Read the full story ! That wraps up the key crypto news making waves today. Stay safe out there!

2024-01-16 09:58:17+00:00

{"BTC": [1148]}

{}

OKX’s Middle East Business Wins Dubai Virtual Assets License

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/okx-middle-east-business-wins-054535915.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

OKX Middle East Fintech FZE, the cryptocurrency exchange’s Dubai-based subsidiary, has received a license from the Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), which will be put into full operational use within the next few weeks, the firm said on Tuesday. The Dubai virtual assets services provider (VASP) license will enable fiat transactions and allow the firm to provide spot services and spot pairs to institutional and retail customers via the exchanges and its app. Dubai is fast becoming the preferred destination for much of the crypto cognoscenti. OKX, which now ranks as the world’s second-largest exchange by volume, had been given a preparatory license by VARA back in June of last year , but the latest announcement updates this to the operational level. “This allows us to offer services to UAE residents, which we’re going after, including spot trading and fiat-related services, which means deposits and withdrawals of local currency, United Arab Emirates dirham (AED),” said Rifad Mahasneh, OKX General Manager for the MENA Region in an interview. “In addition to that, we’ll be offering local currency trading pairs, so AED/BTC, AED/ETH, and the others, which is something new that we’re doing.” View comments

2024-01-16 10:49:28+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [538, 980], "BTC": [3284, 3335]}

{}

Week in DeFi: DeFi Flourishes as BlackRock Shills Crypto on Live TV

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/week-defi-defi-flourishes-blackrock-104928098.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

Week in DeFi: DeFi Flourishes as BlackRock Shills Crypto on Live TV EigenLayer announces the upcoming resumption of deposits and the introduction of three new supported liquid staking tokens . StarkNet takes another step closer to its token launch, with the passing of a proposal to pay gas fees in STRK, while Cosmos -based chain, Berachain, finally arrives on testnet , in a highly anticipated launch. Overview Total Value Locked (TVL) across all chains surged after the crypto markets took another leg up following the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF on US exchanges. Notable outperformers include Move-based chain, Sui , Cosmos chain, Injective , and BitDAO -backed L2, Mantle , which saw 20-40% increases in TVL. Source: https://coinmarketcap.com/chain-ranking/ Welcome to Alpha Central Ted covers eight big themes for the coming year including: Spot altcoin ETFs, specifically starting with ETH The end of quantitative tightening from the Fed Return of liquidity to crypto Bitcoin Halving Inflation stabilizes Big improvements in AI Recession predictors are wrong again China continues to print more money Ethereum: EigenLayer Unpausing Deposits ETH restaking protocol, EigenLayer, will be reopening the protocol for deposits on January 29th, with the existing caps. Three new liquid staking tokens will also be introduced: Frax Finance ’s sfrxETH , Mantle’s mETH and Liquid Collective’s lsETH . Other Product Launches and Updates Real-world asset (RWA) protocol, Ondo Finance, releases Ondo Points , which reward users who have contributed to the ecosystem, users in their communities and those who have held USDT or USDC between 26 January 2023 to 31 December 2023. Users must claim their points by 31st March. Morpho Labs’ newest product, Morpho Blue, goes live on mainnet , with the first isolated vaults, wstETH - WETH and wstETH-USDC being launched. Morpho Blue isolates lending markets in vaults to manage protocol risk. Self-custodial decentralized exchange (DEX), C3, launches on mainnet . C3 aims to mimic the centralized exchange (CEX) trading experience in a permissionless manner. Users can now earn points for staking , trading and lending on the platform. ETH native restaking platform, EtherFi, announces its plans for the new year , highlighting its token generation event (TGE) in April, which many suspect will come with an airdrop . Ethereum liquidity management protocol, Revert Finance, introduces Revert Lend , a new product enabling Uniswap liquidity providers to collateralize their liquidity positions to secure loans while maintaining management over their liquidity. Story continues L2s: StarkNet Takes a Step Closer to the STRK Token Zero-knowledge rollup , StarkNet, goes live with v0.13, enabling gas fees to be paid with either ETH or the upcoming governance token , STRK. Polygon introduces Libre, an institution-focused L2 built using Polygon’s Chain Development Kit. Libre is designed to focus on tokenization of assets with Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane lined up as their first institutional partners. Other Product Launches and Updates Perennial Labs reintroduces Power Perpetuals to Perennial V2 . Power Perpetuals are a blend between options and perpetuals , a concept first introduced by Paradigm in 2021. The rollout is starting with BTC^2, a contract that tracks the squared price of BTC. Telegram trading bot , Unibot, launches on Arbitrum , now expanding its reach to the popular L2. Users can also bridge funds directly with the bot, leveraging Stargate Finance ’s technology, The latest release of Synthetix , Andromeda, has been deployed on Coinbase’s L2 Base . With the new release, 40% of fees from perpetuals traded on Base will be utilized to buy back and burn SNX tokens, while the remaining will be distributed to liquidity providers and partners. Lending market, Clearpool, introduces Credit Vaults , a new product that seeks to give borrowers greater control and flexibility over their loan terms while attracting lenders with higher rates. Yield trading platform, Pendle, launches limit orders on Arbitrum , enabling traders to set orders for Principal Tokens or Yield Tokens for GLP, rETH , gDAI, aUSDC, with more chains and tokens to be supported in the near future. Exotic derivatives protocol, Y2K Finance, introduces Turbo Option Vaults , which are designed to accept deposits in the same asset that the derivatives are betting on. This allows the trader to earn outsized returns on calls and enables cheaper hedging on puts . Cosmos: Berachain Testnet Live Cryptic Cosmos-based chain, Berachain, finally launches its highly anticipated testnet, allowing users to test out a handful of existing applications on the chain. The Cosmos Hub has put forth a governance proposal to reduce the inflation from 7% to 0%. If passed, this means that once the goal of 67% bonded ATOM is reached, ATOM inflation will be reduced to 0% over time. EigenLayer announces an official collaboration with the Cosmos ecosystem to enable Cosmos chains to tap into Ethereum’s collective security. Teams such as Lay3er and Ethos are working to develop solutions to enable these functions. Osmosis announces the upcoming launch of Staking V1, which enables OSMO holders to stake, claim rewards and redelegate directly via the Osmosis application without passing through their users’ wallet dashboards. Staking V2 will enable multi-chain staking. Another Week, Another Airdrop The Merchant Moe airdrop goes live on Mantle, allowing users who have staked JOE on Merchant Moe to collect their MOE tokens. Users can continue staking JOE on Merchant Moe to earn MOE emissions for the next 12 months. Cross-chain bridge, Orbiter Finance, announces its upcoming token launch, simultaneously hinting that its existing point system, O-Points, will be crucial in determining the airdrop distribution. Multi-chain stableswap DEX , Wombat Exchange , teases an upcoming snapshot on 10th February for stakers of the WOM token and liquidity providers on the platform. Tweet of the Week Blackrock CEO, Larry Fink, shills crypto and shuts down Elizabeth Warren in the same session on live television. Stay updated on your favorite projects and stay tuned for next week’s edition, and keep supporting your favorite projects, degens!

2024-01-16 11:45:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1783, 2705, 2803, 3202, 3673, 5236], "BTC": [3414]}

{}

Could Coinbase Global Stock Help You Become a Millionaire?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/could-coinbase-global-stock-help-114500059.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) likely hasn't made anyone a millionaire since it went public via a direct listing on April 21, 2021. The leading cryptocurrency exchange listed its shares with a reference price of $250, but no shares were actually sold at that price. Its stock opened at $381, soared as high as $429.54, and ended its first trading day at $328.28. It eventually closed at its all-time high of $357.39 during the apex of the growth stock rally on Nov. 9, 2021. But today, Coinbase trades at about $130. The stock stumbled as cryptocurrency prices declined and rising interest rates drove investors toward more conservative investments. Many investors might be reluctant to buy Coinbase after that steep drawdown, but could it still generate millionaire-making gains for long-term investors? Image source: Getty Images. The mathematical path toward $1 million Let's suppose you invest $10,000 in Coinbase today. Assuming its price-to-sales ratio remains unchanged, it would need to grow its revenue at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26% over the next 20 years for your investment to blossom into $1 million. If we extend that time frame to 30 years, it would need to grow at a CAGR of 17%. However, Coinbase's growth trajectory is highly unpredictable because it's tightly tethered to the volatile cryptocurrency market. In 2021, its revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) soared 545% and 676%, respectively, as many cryptocurrencies hit their all-time highs. But in 2022, its revenue fell 57%, and its adjusted EBITDA turned negative. That steep drop was caused by the "crypto winter," which chilled the market as inflation, rising rates, and other macro headwinds drove investors to cash in their coins. Bitcoin , the world's top cryptocurrency, shed 65% of its value for the full year. For 2023, analysts expect Coinbase's revenue to dip 8% as its adjusted EBITDA turns positive again. That stabilization was supported by rising cryptocurrency prices and aggressive cost-cutting measures across the company. What's next for Coinbase? Analysts expect Coinbase's revenue to rise 11% in 2024 and 5% in 2025. They expect its adjusted EBITDA to also grow 11% in 2024 as it continues to rein in its spending, followed by a 1% decline in 2025 as it expands again. We should be skeptical of those estimates, but they imply the company will lose its momentum as the flat growth of the Tether stablecoin (15% of its trading volume last quarter) and the waning popularity of its "other crypto assets" (28% of its volume) -- including smaller tokens, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and other assets -- offset its more reliable returns from Bitcoin and Ether (57% of its volume). Story continues That's why Coinbase's stock underperformed Bitcoin and Ether by such a wide margin over the past three years. Investors would have been better off simply buying those cryptocurrencies on Coinbase than investing in the entire exchange. COIN Chart That gap isn't all that surprising since Coinbase operates a capital-intensive model that gives investors exposure to a lot of bad apples alongside the top cryptocurrencies. The recently approved Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could also replace Coinbase as a simpler way for most investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency market. In that regard, Coinbase is stuck in the same boat as pure-play BTC miners like Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms . All these companies should benefit from rising crypto prices -- but they probably won't outperform the market's leading cryptocurrencies over the long run. Is Coinbase a millionaire-maker stock? I believe Bitcoin has a bright future, but I'm not convinced that other smaller cryptocurrencies and altcoins will still be around in a few decades. Coinbase's stock also isn't cheap right now at 10 times its 2024 sales. If the company fails to keep pace with the growth of the broader crypto market, its price-to-sales ratio will likely contract and make it even more difficult for the stock to deliver multibagger gains. Simply put, Coinbase probably won't grow rapidly enough to achieve millionaire-making gains in 20 or 30 years as long as it's held back by its riskier crypto assets and high operating expenses. Rising crypto prices might drive its stock higher, but it makes more sense to invest directly in the best tokens than in Coinbase's complicated business. Should you invest $1,000 in Coinbase Global right now? Before you buy stock in Coinbase Global, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and Coinbase Global wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 8, 2024 Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Coinbase Global, and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Could Coinbase Global Stock Help You Become a Millionaire? was originally published by The Motley Fool View comments

2024-01-16 11:58:40+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1742]}

{}

TymeBank South Africa Sees Unicorn Status in Next Fundraising

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tymebank-south-africa-sees-unicorn-115840178.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Tyme Group, a digital lender controlled by South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe, could raise as much as $100 million in funding this year, propelling it into unicorn status. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout The bank, which started almost five years ago, is valued at $965 million, Chief Executive Officer Coenraad Jonker said in an interview. “We believe that it is very likely that we cross the $1 billion mark if we meet the $100 million funding target,” he said. Tyme will spend some of the fresh funding during the second quarter on entry into Vietnam — a fast-growing $470 billion economy with a young population and relatively low unemployment, he said. Majority-owned by Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital, Tyme operates in South Africa, where it has racked up more than 8.5 million customers in five years. It’s also in the Philippines as a joint venture with the local Gokongwei Group and has netted 2.3 million users. The lender is adding 1 million clients a month across the two markets, Jonker said. “We will be launching additional functionality, improving our virtual-card proposition, expanding our personal lending proposition with a view to becoming more attractive to wealthier customers,” Jonker said. “This is an important part of our progression to becoming a top-three bank.” Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 13:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [202, 288, 528, 3197, 4799, 4918]}

{"Bitcoin": [70]}

Marathon Digital Holdings Announces the Closing of its Acquisition of Bitcoin Mining Sites

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/marathon-digital-holdings-announces-closing-130000115.html

GlobeNewswire

https://www.globenewswire.com/

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. Fort Lauderdale, FL, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA ) (“Marathon” or “Company”) , a leader in supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem, has closed its previously announced acquisition of two operational Bitcoin mining sites, totaling 390 megawatts of operational capacity, from Generate Capital. “With the closing of this acquisition, we have officially made the transition to a more sophisticated organization with a diversified portfolio of Bitcoin mining assets,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “Our mining portfolio now consists of approximately 910 megawatts of capacity, 45% of which resides on sites we directly own, and 55% of which is hosted by third parties. We look forward to integrating these assets into our portfolio, where we can leverage our cutting-edge technologies to improve efficiencies, and, over the next 18-24 months, scaling our operations to 50 exahashes of capacity.” Salman Khan, Marathon’s chief financial officer, added, “This transaction was made possible by Marathon’s ability to act opportunistically and decisively, as well as by the strong balance sheet we have built over the past year. We look forward to realizing the synergies from this transaction, including the anticipated reduction in our bitcoin production costs, as we begin incorporating these new assets into our operations.” David Hirsch, Principal at Generate Capital, commented, “This transaction demonstrates Generate’s strong operational capabilities, and we are excited for Marathon to take over stewardship of the Kearney and Granbury data centers, which are some of the most efficient data centers and largest controllable load resource assets in the North America. Marathon is well placed to fully realize the potential of these assets for their stakeholders.” Additional information about this transaction can be found in the following resources, all of which are available on the Company’s investor relations website . Story continues December 2023 Business Update , dated December 19, 2023 Press Release Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Webcast Presentation Investor Notice Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described under "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. Future changes in the network-wide mining difficulty rate or Bitcoin hash rate may also materially affect the future performance of Marathon's production of bitcoin. Additionally, all discussions of financial metrics assume mining difficulty rates as of January 2024. See "Forward-Looking Statements" below. Forward-Looking Statements Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “plan,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “continue,” or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise. About Marathon Digital Holdings Marathon is a digital asset technology company that focuses on supporting and securing the Bitcoin ecosystem. The Company is currently in the process of becoming one of the largest and most sustainably powered Bitcoin mining operations in North America. For more information, visit www.mara.com , or follow us on: Twitter: @MarathonDH LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/marathon-digital-holdings Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarathonDigitalHoldings Instagram: @marathondigitalholdings Marathon Digital Holdings Company Contact: Telephone: 800-804-1690 Email: [email protected] Marathon Digital Holdings Media Contact: Email: [email protected]

2024-01-16 13:01:10+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3450]}

{}

Microsoft’s Nadella Wants Stability at OpenAI, Not Control

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-nadella-wants-stability-openai-092104700.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said he doesn’t want greater control over OpenAI as European and UK regulators consider probes of the deep ties between the two companies. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union S&P 500 Hits All-Time High in Historic Bull Run: Markets Wrap Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day “What we just want is good stability,” he said in an interview at Bloomberg House at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We invested, we partnered when they were whatever they were and whatever they are today — a capped-profit, nonprofit, what have you. So I’m comfortable. I have no issues with any structure.” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s ouster in November laid bare how inextricably linked Microsoft and his company have become. Nadella personally advocated for Altman’s return and, at one point, offered him a job. Those ties, together with Microsoft’s some $13 billion investment in the startup, have spurred antitrust reviews in both the UK and the European Union. Read More: Microsoft’s OpenAI Ties Face Potential EU Merger Probe Bloomberg News reported in December that the US Federal Trade Commission has also made queries into the relationship between the companies. “It’s inevitable that regulators everywhere are going to look at what a company of our size and scale does,” Nadella said of the EU probe. “At the end of the day you want new entrants. That’s the core of making sure you have vibrant competition.” Nadella said his company, which received a non-voting board observer role following Altman’s return, isn’t pushing for a seat on the board. The software giant, which is OpenAI’s largest backer, has overhauled its entire product line around the technology that underlies ChatGPT, a product Nadella identified as the “first AI product that we all could relate to.” Yet, Nadella said Microsoft is not too dependent on OpenAI, noting that OpenAI relies on Microsoft for key parts of the technology it needs to create its products, and that Microsoft is also researching and developing its own AI programs apart from its partner. “I feel very good about the construct we have,” he said about the partnership. “I feel at the same time very capable of controlling our own destiny.” Read More: Davos Live: Zelenskiy to Meet With Dimon in Hunt for Cash As the use of AI evolves, it will enable new interfaces and new models for apps, Microsoft sees the opportunity to participate in hardware that takes advantage of the developments, he said. Story continues Though Microsoft last week passed Apple Inc. as the most valuable company by market capitalization, Nadella isn’t overly impressed with the milestone, which he called a “lagging indicator.” Read More: Microsoft Dethrones Apple as Most Valuable Stock in the World “The last thing you want to do is to fixate on the stock price, which we know means nothing in terms of what happens tomorrow, especially in our industry,” he said. “Quite frankly the problem, in some sense, is for all of us whether we can bet it all on what comes next.” (Updates with details of antitrust investigations from first paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-16 13:11:26+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [36865, 36968, 41202]}

{}

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-inc-nyse-blk-q4-131126393.html

Insider Monkey

http://www.insidermonkey.com

BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE: BLK ) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript January 12, 2024 BlackRock, Inc. beats earnings expectations. Reported EPS is $9.66, expectations were $8.84. BlackRock, Inc. isn’t one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter ( see the details here ). Operator: Good morning. My name is Jennifer, and I will be your conference facilitator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the BlackRock, Inc. Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings Teleconference. Participants for today's call will include Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Laurence D. Fink; Chief Financial Officer, Martin S. Small; President, Robert S. Kapito; General Counsel, Christopher J. Meade and Global Infrastructure Partners, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Adebayo Ogunlesi. [Operator Instructions] Mr. Meade, you may begin your conference. Christopher Meade: Good morning, everyone. I'm Chris Meade, the General Counsel of BlackRock. Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that during the course of this call, we may make a number of forward-looking statements. We call your attention to the fact that BlackRock's actual results may, of course, differ from these statements. As you know, BlackRock has filed reports with the SEC, which lists some of the factors that may cause the results of BlackRock to differ materially from what we say today. BlackRock assumes no duty and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements. So with that, I'll turn it over to Larry. Laurence Fink: Thank you, Chris, and good morning to everybody, and Happy New Year. Thank you for joining us today to discuss BlackRock's fourth quarter and full year results. We're also very excited to announce our agreement to acquire Global Infrastructure Partners, and I'd like to welcome all our new partners from GIP and their Chairman and my friend and founder Bayo Ogunlesi is here with me, alongside with Rob and Martin, we're all here today to answer your questions after our prepared remarks. Adebayo Ogunlesi: Thank you, Larry. My fellow founders and colleagues across GIP and I are very excited about the opportunity to join BlackRock. Our combination will drive even better opportunities for our clients. All of us at GIP sharing the vision of delivering better outcomes with clients and leading critical global investments that drive economic growth. Thank you. Laurence Fink: Thank you, Bayo. This is another truly transformational moment for BlackRock. Our firm is what it is today because we've taken a long-term view on what market forces will drive outsized growth for our clients and for our firm. We're doing that again today, guiding us always by the needs of our clients. Growing public deficits, a modernizing digital world, advancing energy independence and the energy transition are driving the mobilization of private capital to fund critical infrastructure. Infrastructure investment is a fast-growing market. In a higher rate environment, the ability to drive operational enhancements will be critical to investment performance. Today, we are announcing two transformational changes in anticipation of the evolution we see ahead for the asset management industry and for the entire global capital markets. Story continues Our strategic re-architecture of our organization will simplify and improve how we work and deliver for our clients. And the acquisition of GIP will propel our leadership in a fast-growing market for a hard asset infrastructure. These transformations in total are the largest at BlackRock since we acquired BGI nearly 15 years ago. The planned combination of BlackRock's infrastructure platform in GIP will provide clients access to market-leading investments and operating expertise across infrastructure, private markets. The integrated platform will deliver clients substantial scale as the second largest private markets infrastructure manager in the world with over $150 billion in client assets. In addition, GIP will bring dedicated investment in operational improvement teams with track records of delivering deep value enhancements, which have led to impressive returns throughout its existence. With a strong common culture of serving clients with excellence together, we will deliver for our clients or holistic global infrastructure manager across equity, debt and solutions. We will provide the full range of infrastructure sector exposures and will offer unique originations across developed and the emerging markets. BlackRock has developed a broad network of global corporate relationships through many years of long-term investments in both debt and equity. These long-term relationships will help us lead critical investments in infrastructure that will improve outcomes for communities around the globe and generate long-term investment benefits for our clients. I know I speak for the entire BlackRock Board of Directors, BlackRock's leadership team and all of our employees when I say we could not be more excited about the prospects of a BlackRock family with our colleagues from GIP. We similarly look forward to welcoming our new clients and deepening our relationships with those clients who already worked with both of us. BlackRock's industry leadership comes from delivering sustained performance innovating and staying ahead of the needs of our clients. Today, we announced several organizational changes to simplify and improve how we work and how we deliver for clients. In anticipation of the major calls we are making on the future of the capital markets and the entire asset management industry. The strong senior leaders taking on new and expanded roles will keep us more tightly connected, stimulate fresh thinking and help us better deliver for all our clients. Let me now turn on to Martin to cover our 2023 results and take you through the specifics of the transaction, our quarter before I offer further context. Martin Small: Thanks, Larry. Good morning, and happy New Year to everyone. Before I pass it back to Larry, I'll review our financial performance and business results. and provide more detail on the GIP transaction. We plan for a longer call today so that we have plenty of time for questions. While our earnings release discloses both GAAP and as-adjusted financial results, I'll be focusing primarily on our as-adjusted results. The last two years have been a character building an inspiring time for investors, for clients and certainly for us at BlackRock. The monetary policy shock of a rapid rate rising campaign upended 10 years of asset allocation practices and spurred repositioning of portfolios into cash and money market funds at the expense of risk assets. At BlackRock, our business is to serve clients with excellence and help them design portfolios for the future. We built BlackRock to be a structural grower by having a platform of investment, technology and product capabilities that go beyond investment outcomes. They deliver client scale, they deliver clients' business efficiency. Whether clients are making wholesale portfolio allocation changes or just executing on tactical adjustments, they're doing it all within the BlackRock platform. We've spoken throughout the year about what conditions we'd expect to bring investors out of cash and into risk assets. It's generally unfolding as we described, with greater clarity on terminal rates in the fourth quarter we saw evidence of portfolio re-risking and we expect this trend to accelerate in 2024. BlackRock is a share winner when there’s an asset in motion and clients continue to consolidate more of their portfolios with us. In 2023, BlackRock generated $289 billion of total net inflows and delivered 1% organic base fee growth. Importantly, we finished the year with significant momentum in the fourth quarter generating approximately $96 billion of total net inflows. In November and December, we saw surge in flows resulting in 6% annualized organic base fee growth for the last two full months of the year. Full year revenue of $17.9 billion was relatively flat year-over-year. Operating income of $6.6 billion declined 2% from 2022, while earnings per share of $37.77 increased by 7%. For the fourth quarter, revenue of $4.6 billion was 7% higher year-over-year, driven by the impact of higher markets on average AUM and higher performance fees. Quarterly operating income of $1.7 billion was up 9%, while earnings per share of $9.66 was 8% higher versus a year ago, also reflecting higher non-operating income in the current quarter. Non-operating results for the quarter included $122 million of net investment income, driven primarily by mark-to-market gains in our private equity co-investment portfolios. Our as-adjusted tax rate for the fourth quarter was approximately 24%, driven in part by discrete items. We currently estimate that 25% is a reasonable projected tax run rate for 2024, though the actual effective tax rate may differ because of nonrecurring or discrete items or potential changes in tax legislation. Fourth quarter base fees and securities lending revenue of $3.6 billion was up 6% year-over-year, driven by the positive impact of market beta on average AUM, 2% organic base fee growth and higher securities lending revenue. Sequentially, base fee and securities lending revenue was down 2%. On an equivalent day count basis, our annualized effective fee rate was approximately three-tenths of a basis point lower compared to the third quarter. This was primarily due to lower securities lending revenue, underperformance of non-U.S. equity markets and client preferences favoring lower fee fixed income and cash. As a result of accelerating organic growth and global equity and bond market appreciation toward the end of the quarter, we entered the first quarter with an estimated base fee run rate approximately 6% higher than our total base fees for the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter and full year performance fees of $311 million and $554 million, respectively, increased from a year ago, reflecting higher revenue from liquid alternatives and long-only mandates. Quarterly technology services revenue increased 7% year-over-year, and full year revenue of $1.5 billion increased 9% and reflecting the successful on-boarding of new clients and large e-Front on-premises licenses renewals in the third quarter. Annual contract value, or ACV, increased 10% year-over-year as clients increasingly partnered with BlackRock for integrated technology solutions to drive business transformation and scale. We remain committed to low to mid-teens ACV growth over the long term. Total expense increased 1% in 2023, reflecting higher compensation, G&A and direct fund expense. We effectively managed our discretionary spend in 2023 and we'll continue to be disciplined in focusing our resources in areas with the greatest opportunity. Our fourth quarter operating margin of 41.6% increased by 40 basis points year-on-year as we continue to drive operating leverage and profitable growth after the market shock of 2022. Our full year as-adjusted operating margin of 41.7% was down 110 basis points from a year ago. The decline primarily reflected the negative impact of markets and foreign exchange movements on our 2023 entry rate revenue as well as critical investments in our people and technology. During the year, we reorganized two of our fastest-growing businesses, private markets in Aladdin to stay ahead of our clients' evolving needs and build on our past successes in these areas. These specific groups further simplified their structures, resulting in a fourth quarter restructuring charge of $61 million, comprised of severance and accelerated amortization of previously granted deferred compensation awards. This charge appears as a single line expense item on our 2023 GAAP income statement and has been excluded from our as-adjusted results to enhance comparison to prior periods. In addition, we made resourcing decisions to free up investment capacity for our most important growth initiatives. This resulted in a onetime compensation expense of $28 million in the fourth quarter, which is included in our as-adjusted results. Overall, these two actions impacted approximately 3% of our workforce by taking a targeted and disciplined approach to how we shape our teams and evolve our skill sets to meet changing market and technology environments, we increased investment capacity, we enhance organizational expertise, and we create opportunities for operating leverage and career growth. Looking forward, we're prioritizing investments to propel our differentiated organic growth and operating leverage. We'll aim to align investment spend with our highest conviction structural growth areas, find additional ways to variabilize expenses and generate fixed cost scale through technology, automation and optimization of our footprint through our innovation hubs. Excluding the impact of the GIP transaction at present, we'd expect our headcount to be broadly flat in 2024. Also excluding the impact of GIP and related transaction costs, we'd expect a low to mid-single-digit percentage increase in 2024 core G&A expense. Most core G&A growth should come from continued investment in technology as we look to operate more efficiently and better serve our clients. One of our biggest long-term advantages has been scale. Our ability to add significant assets managed with excellence without growing expenses linearly. Our platform strategy has delivered scale and operating leverage over time and we're committed to delivering a premium operating margin. Our capital management strategy remains consistent. We invest first either to scale strategic growth initiatives or drive operational efficiency and then return excess cash to our shareholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases. In 2023, we returned over $4.5 billion to our shareholders through a combination of dividends and share repurchases. Share repurchases have been a consistent element of our capital management strategy. Since 2013, we've repurchased close to $15 billion of BlackRock stock, which generated an unlevered compound annual return of 14% for our shareholders. Over this time period, we reduced our share count by nearly 23 million shares or 13%. For the trailing five years, we've lowered our share count by 10 million shares completing $7.8 billion of share repurchases at an average price of $563 for an IRR of over 15%. BlackRock's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $5.10 per share, representing an increase of 2% over the 2023 level. At present, based on capital spending plans for the year, and subject to market conditions, including the relative valuation of our stock price, we're targeting the purchase of $1.5 billion of shares during 2024. Full year total net inflows of $289 billion were positive across active and index as well as regions, led by $156 billion of net inflows from clients in the United States, and we had 70 products across our ETF and mutual fund ranges with over $1 billion in net inflows. BlackRock generated industry-leading ETF net inflows of $186 billion in 2023, representing 6% organic asset growth led by $112 billion of net inflows into our bond ETFs. Fourth quarter ETF net inflows of $88 billion reflected significant momentum into year-end helped by seasonal tax trades and portfolio reallocations. We saw $28 billion of net inflows into precision exposures as institutional clients use these highly liquid instruments to re-risk in the quarter. With Safe-Haven cash providing positive returns. Full year and fourth quarter retail net outflows of $8 billion and $9 billion, respectively, were primarily due to allocations out of rising rate sensitive strategies namely liquid alternatives and flexible bond funds. This was partially offset by strength in Aperio, which saw record net inflows of $12 billion in 2023. Aperio AUM since acquisition has grown 95% to $80 billion. BlackRock's institutional business generated net inflows of $32 billion in 2023, led by active net inflows of $87 billion including the funding of several significant outsourcing mandates throughout the year. Index net outflows of $55 billion were driven by redemptions from our low fee equity strategies as several large clients adjusted their allocations or redeemed for cash needs. Finally, BlackRock's cash management platform saw $33 billion of net inflows in the fourth quarter and $79 billion of net inflows in 2023. We're pleased with the continued strong growth in our cash and liquidity business with year-end AUM up 14% or over $90 billion year-on-year. We're leveraging our scale and integrated cash offerings to engage with clients who are using these products not only to manage liquidity, but also to earn attractive returns. Demand for private markets remain strong, with $14 billion of net inflows into BlackRock illiquid strategies during the year driven by infrastructure and private credit. We continue to expect these categories to be our primary growth drivers in the coming years. Turning to our planned acquisition of GIP this is an exciting day for us, our new partners, our clients and our shareholders. The combination will mark a transformational change in our private market scale and growth. GIP is the world's leading independent infrastructure manager with current client AUM of over $100 billion and fee-based AUM of over $60 billion. The acquisition will create a highly complementary pro forma $150 billion infrastructure platform post-closing tripling BlackRock's infrastructure client assets. The integration will nearly double our private markets management fees to over $1.5 billion and add over $400 million in post-tax annual FRE with FRE margins above 50%. Since its founding in 2006, GIP has successfully scaled its equity flagship series from its $5.6 billion Fund I to $20-plus billion in the most recent vintages. GIP's current team of approximately 400 employees across 11 global offices has delivered strong long-term performance for clients and is expected to generate approximately $760 million of management fee revenue in 2023. Turning to the financial terms of the transaction, we are acquiring 100% of the business and assets of GIP for total consideration of $3 billion in cash and approximately 12 million shares of BlackRock stock. seven million shares will be paid at closing and five million shares to be paid in approximately five years, subject to certain performance measures. BlackRock will fund the cash consideration through $3 billion of additional debt which will not meaningfully change its leverage profile. Primarily through growth synergies from proprietary deal origination, larger transaction sizes, capital formation scale and multi-asset class infrastructure investment innovation we see opportunities to drive significant value creation for BlackRock shareholders. The terms of this transaction ensure long-term continuity and strong alignment of interest among GIP and BlackRock to best serve clients employees and shareholders. A substantial majority of the consideration paid at closing and approximately 75% of nominal total transaction consideration will be paid in BlackRock common stock. GIP leadership will become meaningful shareholders of BlackRock with a shared ambition of driving One BlackRock outcomes for our clients and shareholders. 100% of carried interest and capital commitments from all existing GIP funds will continue to be owned by the GIP owners and employees. These are not economically included in the transaction perimeter and support long-term retention and incentives of GIP employees. After closing, GIP's management team will lead our combined infrastructure platform, working with BlackRock's strong investment teams in equity debt and solutions. The GIP team will bring a talented group of investment and operational improvement professionals with a proven track record of building and running high-performing private markets businesses. Each of the GIP founders will become party to a shareholder's agreement that requires shares to be voted in accordance with the recommendation of BlackRock's independent Board at any meeting of BlackRock shareholders. We've provided additional detail on the transaction structure and terms in a supplement posted to the BlackRock Investor Relations website this morning. We expect the transaction to be modestly accretive to as-adjusted EPS and operating margin in the first full year post close, which will exclude transaction-related costs. Given the structural growth trends of the private infrastructure market, and what we see as a best-in-class whole portfolio infrastructure investing capability, we believe the transaction will be accretive to long-term organic asset and base fee growth. These abilities can be a key source of earnings diversification and growth acceleration to meet or exceed our through-the-cycle 5% or better organic growth ambitions. Building on strong structural growth trends over this past year, and the over $1.9 trillion of organic asset growth over the last five years, we're investing to deliver the industry's only comprehensive platform across public markets, private markets and investment technology. Having delivered differentiated organic growth and operating margin across the weakest markets in decades, we believe markets are trending to be strong for 2024 with a more risk on tone. BlackRock's a share winner when assets are in motion. We see the pent-up demand behind over $1 trillion in money market fund flows this year poised to deliver significant opportunities across risk assets. A professional asset manager making an investment decision at their office. Our combination with GIP will put BlackRock in the leadership position to drive great outcomes for clients and deliver new engines of earnings growth for our shareholders. We've built an industry leader in structural growers like ETFs, model portfolios, outsourcing and investment technology with Aladdin. We're building a private markets leader at new levels of scale and we see the best opportunities we've had in years to get closer with clients and raise significant private capital. We enter 2024 in a stronger position than ever, and all of us at BlackRock are excited about the opportunities ahead for our clients, the firm and our shareholders. With that, I'll turn it back to Larry. Laurence Fink: Thank you, Martin. We'll leave plenty of time for your questions later on, but I want to describe how we evaluated bringing our firms together with GIP. Why we think the timing is so opportune and how infrastructure private markets can be so beneficial to all our clients, employees and to you, our shareholders. Infrastructure is a $1 trillion market forecasted to be one of the fastest-growing segments of private markets in the years ahead. A number of long-term structural trends support an acceleration in the infrastructure investments. These include increasingly growing global demand and upgrading digital infrastructure like fiber broadband, cell towers and data centers. Renewed investments to logistical hubs such as airports, railroads, shipping ports as supply chains are rewired, and a movement towards increased energy independence in many parts of the world, supported by de-carbonization infrastructure. In the United States and around the world, there's a public need for greater investment in infrastructure. This growing needs creates significant investment opportunity for clients. The unprecedented need for new infrastructure, coupled with the record high government deficits means that private capital will be needed like never before. That supply-demand imbalance creates compelling investment opportunities for our clients. At the same time, corporates are looking to engage partners in new projects or partially de-risking the existing ones. These dynamics offer clients, especially those investing for retirement the high coupon inflation-protected long duration investments they need, and we believe it will define the future of asset management for the next 20 years. Our acquisition philosophy has always been about growth, not about cost takeouts and or consolidations. Consistently, these combinations have resulted in reaching heights that neither BlackRock nor a merged partners could ever reach on their own. I truly believe that this will be the case again with the integration of BlackRock infrastructure and GIP. Transformational transactions have strengthened our firm, have strengthened our culture and bringing top talent, new skills and experience into our organization. Our culture has evolved as we welcome new teams and colleagues to BlackRock. Today, it represents a blending of the best parts of the cultures that have come together over the years. What's made our acquisition so successful was our steadfast commitment to One BlackRock culture totally connecting to our clients with one platform, shared goals, a common Aladdin technology. And as a result, BlackRock is greater than the sum of any one part, and then that drives BlackRock's differentiating growth model. Reaching this moment is quite personal and emotional for me. Our firm's BlackRock and GIP have similar origin stories. We founded BlackRock on understanding investment risks and the factors and forces driving returns initially in fixed income and then across the equity markets and then globally. We wanted to help long-term investors better manage their risk in their portfolios in a scaled way through technology. That is what drove our early investments in Aladdin and all the investments we made since to enhance our understanding of risk factors to deliver superior outcomes for our clients. GIP started with a similar focus in the infrastructure space. Understanding operational risks and the factors and forces driving business efficiencies like BlackRock's focused on understanding risk and fixed income GIP built an active approach to analyzing and addressing operational risk. My partners and I had the privilege of pioneering the mortgage-backed securities market. Bayo and his GIP partners, in my opinion, pioneered modern infrastructure investing in private markets. And many of the BlackRock and GIP founders grew up in the same firms early in their careers, where we created common routes from shared experiences, most of them good, sometimes bad, and close flight relationships. The integration of BlackRock's existing infrastructure platform with GIP will result in a market-leading comprehensive infrastructure business with truly differentiated origination and asset management capabilities. GIP will be highly complementary and has limited overlap by client and investment programs for BlackRock's existing leading franchises. These include diversified infrastructure, Infradebt, Infra solutions, climate infrastructure and decarbonization partners. BlackRock has invested originally and has invested organically and inorganically growing our infrastructure platform, which has $50 billion in AUM, having tripled since our acquisition of First Reserve in 2017. BlackRock has already demonstrated our access to some of the largest pools of capital in the world. We're winning deals like ADNOC pipeline transaction and being chosen to partner with sovereign wealth funds and governments on significant climate infrastructure strategy. We have the sourcing capabilities, but greater AUM scale will enable us to have more sizable positions. The planned combination of GIP with BlackRock will accelerate investment scale enabling us to grow faster. BlackRock's deep relationships with clients, corporates, governments and sovereign wealth funds can accelerate investment opportunities. GIP's own lending proprietary deal flow -- leading proprietary deal flow has been supported by investment sizes, relationships and strong track record including a long history of successful JVs with large industrial partners. GIP's deals span the world and sectors. Their investments include Gatwick Airport, Edinburgh Airport and Sydney Airport. And Cypress One Data Center in the Port of Melbourne and several other major renewable platforms. Through the future combination of BlackRock and GIP will be able to connect our clients with bigger and better opportunities while also accelerating growth, diversifying revenues and generating earnings for our shareholders. Like Rob and I, Bayo and his partners are all founders. We're excited about the opportunity to have new partners and new colleagues. I'm proud that the consideration of this transaction consists of approximately 75% of BlackRock stock. GIP founders will become among the largest shareholders of BlackRock, and we plan to have Bayo join our Board of Directors post closing of our transaction. There is no question spiritually or financially about whether we are long-term partners. We have the same interest as significant shareholders alongside our broader shareholder base. Our One BlackRock culture has been central to our success over the last 35 years and cultural alignment has been core throughout our history of successful M&A. Here are founding to today, our firm is purpose-driven, focused on clients, focus on risk management and powered by data and technology, bringing our two businesses together result in an influx of top senior private market talent to BlackRock. GIP founders will lead our combined infrastructure platform with teams of talented investors and business builders. They bring with them a strong investment and performance culture and a commitment to working across One BlackRock. I'm confident we'll be looking back on today as another transformational moment in the BlackRock history. In a similar way, when we could look back at our acquisition of BGI, Merrill Lynch Investment Management and our early days building Aladdin. Our ability to adapt and to evolve and to grow has generated a total return of 9,000% for our shareholders since our IPO in 1999. That is well in excess of our S&P return of 490% and representative of a business model serving all our stakeholders. I truly believe we're better positioned than ever before in our history, and I'm very optimistic on the coming years ahead and the opportunities ahead for all of us. BlackRock was built on optimism. When we founded BlackRock, we knew clients would be at the center of everything we do. We had a deep conviction in the long-term growth and the importance of the capital markets in principle and practice, those beliefs remain core to BlackRock today. We are more connected to our clients as ever, thousands of clients on behalf of millions of individuals around the world have entrusted BlackRock with $1.9 trillion of net new business over the last five years. Thousands more use our technology to support the growth and commercial agility of their own business, years of organic growth alongside a long-term growth of the capital markets underpins our $10 trillion of client assets, which grew in 2023 by over $1.4 trillion. In good times and bad times, whether investors are adding or reducing risk, our consistent industry-leading organic growth demonstrates that clients are consolidating more of their portfolios with BlackRock. In 2023, our clients awarded us with $289 billion of net new assets during this period of rapid change and significant portfolio de-risking. BlackRock's differentiated business model has enabled us to continue to grow with our clients and maintain positive organic base fee growth. We've grown regardless of the market backdrop and even if most of the industry has experienced outflows. I think back to 2016 and 2018 when uncertainty and cautious sentiment impacted investment behaviors among institutional and individuals. Many clients de-risked and move to cash. BlackRock stayed connected with our clients. We stayed rigorous in driving investment performance, innovating new products, technologies and providing advice on portfolio design. Once clients were ready to move more actively step back in to stepping back into the markets, they did it with BlackRock, leading to new record flows for client flows and organic base growth at or above our targets. As we've seen before, when investors were ready to put money back to work, they did it with BlackRock. Flows and organic base fee growth accelerated at the end of the year. We generated $96 billion of total net inflows in the fourth quarter, and we entered 2024 with great momentum. I spent much of 2023 on the road, meeting with clients around the world, and I plan to do the same thing in 2024 starting this month. Our partnership approach and the performance we deliver is resonating both in markets where we have a long-standing presence and those where our profile is just beginning and strengthening. Companies and clients increasingly want to work with BlackRock. For companies where we are investors, they appreciate that we are a long-term consistent capital. We invest early and stay invested through cycles, whether it's debt or equity, pre-IPO or post IPO. Companies recognize the uniqueness of our global relationships, our brand and our expertise across businesses, markets and industries. This makes us a very valuable partner and in turn it enables us to be involved in their sourcing and in performance that we provide for our clients. For example, in November, our diversified infrastructure franchise invested $550 million in Stratos, a commercially scaled direct air capture facility in Texas which is expected to be the largest in the world upon completion. Through our funds joint venture partner, Occidental Petroleum, we are providing our clients with investment access to a bespoke energy infrastructure project. This is just a latest example of our sourcing and execution on numerous distinctive deals for clients over the last 18 months. In the United States, we partnered with AT&T and GigaPower JV and invested in Jupiter Power. Beyond the U.S., examples include such investments of Brazeau in Brazil, First Air in South Korea, Acacia Energy in Australia, like Takata Wind Farm in Kenya, just to name a few. Last month, we announced an innovative partnership with Altera that we will see a $2 billion investment in the climate opportunities across BlackRock's private debt and infrastructure equity strategies. This is one of our largest ever private markets mandates. It adds on to our very strong track record investing in the transition, including in emerging markets and extend our over $100 billion transition investment platform. BlackRock's global network of relationships, data, analytics and flexible, adaptable capital means we could source unique deals for our clients and mobilize assets and accelerate innovation and economic growth. Our active investment insights, our expertise, our strong investment performance, similarly differentiating BlackRock to the markets. We saw nearly $60 billion of active net inflows in 2023 compared to an industry outflows. Across our active franchise, BlackRock has delivered durable investment performance with 87% and 92% of fundamental equity and taxable fixed income AUM above benchmarks or peer medium for the past 5-year period. In ETF, BlackRock generated an industry-leading $186 billion of net inflows for 2023. Our long-term leadership of the ETF industry is another testament to our global platform and our deep connectivity with our clients. BlackRock is the most scaled, diversified ETF provider in the U.S. and globally. We are bringing the ETF benefits of liquidity, of price discovery and market efficiencies and access to investors around the world. Nearly half of the 2023 iShares net inflows were from ETFs listed internationally in local markets, led by our European iShares net inflows of $70 billion. BlackRock has the #1 share of the European ETF market where industry flows were up 70% in 2023. Catalyst trends that we saw in the U.S. years ago, like the growth of the fee-based advisory and model controllers are just beginning to take root in Europe. BlackRock takes a client-first approach to product innovation, and we continue to develop products that are suited for the new investment regime. For example, we launched 19 active ETFs in 2023, leveraging the benefits of the ETF structure to help clients reach the outcomes they seek. Some of these strategies provide access to the insights of our active portfolio managers such as Reader and Tony DeSpirito, other use an option strategy to generate income or provide greater downside protection, such as our buy right and buffer ETFs. And in the fourth quarter, we launched a series of LightPath Target Date ETF to provide an easier way to save for retirement, especially for the many Americans who lack access to a workplace retirement plan. Just yesterday, the iShares Bitcoin ETF began trading in another landmark moment that advances ETF innovation and expand access to Bitcoin for investors. We will continue to provide more convenient and cost-effective investment access across asset classes through innovation, through risk management and technology. Aladdin is the operating system united all of BlackRock and its fundamental and foundational to how we serve our clients across our platform. It is the key technology that powers BlackRock and it also powers many of our clients. The need for integrated data, integrated risk analytics and the whole portfolio views across public and private markets is driving the ACV growth of Aladdin. In 2023, we generated $1.5 billion in technology service revenues. Clients are looking to grow and expand with Aladdin, reflecting in strong harvesting activities with over 50% of the Aladdin sales being multiproduct. Through its dynamic ecosystem of over 130,000 users, the Aladdin platform is constantly in the state of innovation. Investments in Aladdin AI copilots, enhancements and openness supporting ecosystem partnerships and advancing whole portfolio solutions, including private markets and digital assets are going to further augment the value of Aladdin for our clients. We led our industry by both being an agent for and adapting to change. Our best years have followed tough years. And just as we continue to innovate and evolve our business to stay ahead of our clients, we are also evolving our organization and evolving our leadership team. As Martin mentioned, we undertook restructuring efforts that were designed to ensure we are aligning resources to our greatest growth opportunities and client needs. As part of this, a number of valued clients, valued colleagues and friends to part of the firm. We truly appreciate the contributions that they made to BlackRock and wish all of them well. We are continuing to anticipate with clients' needs and shaping BlackRock so they could be getting our insights, our solutions and the outcomes that they expect from us. As we look ahead, the rerisking of client portfolios will create tremendous prospects for both our public and private market franchises. These are the times where investors are making wholesale changes to the way they build portfolios, and BlackRock is leading the way in helping investors build the portfolio of the future, one that integrates public markets and private markets, and it's digitally enabled. We view that these changes are a big catalyst for BlackRock, we set ourselves up to be a structural grower in the years ahead with the diversified platform we built. And the need for integration data, technology and risk management will continue to drive demand for Aladdin. BlackRock was founded on the belief in the long-term growth of the capital markets. Our success has been shaped by a number of those calls and how we would evolve. Our client needs have always been our compass as we listen to them today, we have our eyes on themes we believe that will define the next decade of asset management. The continuum of blurring the lines across product structure, the unprecedented need for new infrastructure driving inflation protected current cash flow long-duration returns, the accelerating capital markets and asset management industry around the world. We are positioning ourselves ahead of these transformations by making three major changes in how we work and how we deliver for each and one of our clients. First, we're creating a new strategic global product and solution business that will work across all their investment strategies, asset classes, fund structures while enabling our ETF and index business across the firm. We have always viewed ETFs as a technology that facilitates investing and just as Aladdin technologies has become core to asset management, so has have ETFs. That's why we believe embedding our ETFs and index businesses across the entire firm, and that will accelerate further growth of iShares and every investment strategy within BlackRock. We are looking to the future, and we believe that ETF revolution that iShares lead will only continue to accelerate as BlackRock turns -- as our clients turn at BlackRock for ETFs as a preferred vehicle for investing in strategic and strategies of all types. If you can make an ETF or a Bitcoin, my Gosh, you can make an ETF or anything. Second, we are creating a new international business structure to provide a unified leadership to allow us to be simultaneously more global, but much deeper local in a fast-growing international markets. BlackRock has been a central player in the growth of the global capital markets, and this is including the developing of retirement solutions in every market around the world and bringing the benefits of ETFs to every market to assist them in growing their markets. And third, we are realigning our private markets business to further leverage the potential of GIP and to meet the growing needs of our clients for infrastructure and other private market investments. All of us at BlackRock have a lot of hard work and a lot of exciting work ahead of us. We have a track record of quick, intense and successful integrations. We'll be more naval and aligned with clients through our new architecture and with the aim to be delivering better experiences, better performance, better outcomes for all of our clients worldwide. I see excitement and incredible amount of energy in our offices. While there's a lot of hard work to come, there really is a bright future for all of us ahead of us. Over the past few months, we've seen decidingly more positive sentiment and tone in markets and among clients that are very optimistic will carry into 2024. And once again, we look forward to beginning this next BlackRock chapter with our new partners and colleagues at GIP. We entered 2024 with $10 trillion of our client money, we entered the year with strong growth momentum, and we entered 2024 as an organization positioned in the future for growth and prosperity. At BlackRock, we are energized by a never done attitude. And today, I really feel that we're just getting started. I see greater opportunity for BlackRock I see greater opportunity for our clients, and I see great opportunities for our shareholders today, tomorrow and stronger than ever before. Let me open it up for questions. As I mentioned, Bayo will also participate in the Q&A. Thank you. Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from Craig Siegenthaler from Bank of America. See also 30 Cheapest Places Across America Where You Will Want to Retire and 20 Best Non-Alcoholic Beers to Try in Dry January . To continue reading the Q&A session, please click here . View comments

2024-01-16 13:14:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [206, 484], "BTC": [215]}

{"Bitcoin": [70]}

First Mover Americas: Binance Traders Led “Sell-The-Fact” Pullback in Bitcoin

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-mover-americas-binance-traders-131455951.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

This article originally appeared in First Mover , CoinDesk’s daily newsletter, putting the latest moves in crypto markets in context. Subscribe to get it in your inbox every day . Latest Prices Top Stories Bitcoin (BTC) has come under pressure since spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) began trading in the U.S. last Thursday . Data tracked by Paris-based Kaiko shows the selling pressure has been concentrated on Binance, the leading crypto exchange by trading volumes, OKX, and Upbit. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, changed hands at $42,700 at press time, representing a 12% drop from the high of $48,975 reached Thursday. The price drop seems to have stemmed from traders taking profits on long (buy) positions initiated in anticipation of ETFs’ debut. An indicator called the cumulative volume delta (CVD) shows traders from Binance led the so-called “sell-the-fact” pullback in bitcoin. The CVD tracks the net difference between buying and selling volumes over time, offering a total of net bullish/bearish pressures in the market. Positive values indicate excess purchase volume, while negative values suggest otherwise. HashKey Group, which operates the Hong Kong-based crypto exchange, has “nearly” met its $100 million fundraising target, the firm said on Tuesday. HashKey announced the fundraising round in August, shortly after it won a license from Hong Kong’s security regulator to offer retail crypto trading . The firm did not disclose the investors in the round and now has a valuation of $1.2 billion post-raise, giving it a “unicorn” status. Unicorn is a term used to describe private companies with a valuation of $1 billion or more. Crypto issuer Circle saw a surge in remittances flow through Asia via its USDC stablecoin, the company said in a new report highlighting how the cryptocurrency is used beyond speculative trading. USDC is a cryptocurrency pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar, and backed by liquid cash and cash-equivalent assets. In 2022, $130 billion worth of USDC flowed into Asia, the report says. According to Circle, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 29% of all global digital currency value received compared to 19% for North America, and 22% for Western Europe. These volumes are also made up of remittance transfers, a big deal for emerging markets with a large diaspora, such as the Philippines. In the report, Circle highlighted how it has partnered with Coins.ph – an exchange based in the country – to try and capture some of this business, worth around $36 billion a year. Story continues Chart of The Day The chart shows the 24-hour activity in the ether options market. Call selling (writing) has dominated the tape with measured activity on the buy side. A call option helps traders profit from or hedge against price rallies. Perhaps traders have turned cautious in the wake of bitcoin's price pullback , or holders may be selling calls as a part of the covered call strategy to generate an additional yield. Source: Amberdata Trending Posts Tether Hits Back at UN Report Alleging Role of USDT in Illicit Activity in East Asia Solana Mobile to Sell Second Crypto Smartphone: Source Fantom Slashes Validator Staking Requirements by 90%, FTM Prices Unchanged

2024-01-16 13:37:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [111, 322, 530, 994, 1047, 1107, 1513, 1577, 1723, 1979, 2357, 2633, 2747, 2885, 3063, 3116, 3244, 4010, 4092, 4340, 4401, 4435, 4637, 4762, 4863, 4924, 5096, 5580, 5657, 5770], "BTC": [547]}

{"Bitcoin": [42]}

Decisions, Decisions: Discover the 3 Spot Bitcoin ETFs I'd Consider Buying

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/decisions-decisions-discover-3-spot-133700191.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

In a historic decision, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 applications to create a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Jan. 10. Sponsored by high-profile investment firms including BlackRock , Fidelity, Invesco , Ark Invest, and several others, these ETFs allow investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without having to directly buy and hold the cryptocurrency. All of the ETFs accomplish the same goal, but they do so with some minor -- yet important -- differences. For investors looking to add some Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) exposure to portfolios, here are the ones I'd consider. Image source: Getty Images. 1. Bitwise No. 1 on the list of candidates is Bitwise. Known for offering innovative crypto-related financial products like its Web3 Index Fund and Bitwise 10 Crypto Fund , Bitwise has become a leader in blending cryptocurrencies with traditional finance. Already well-versed in the crypto world, Bitwise naturally jumped at the opportunity to join the spot Bitcoin ETF race, and it might be winning. Bitwise's Bitcoin ETF (NYSEMKT: BITB) offers the cheapest exposure to Bitcoin since it has waived all management fees. This does come with a stipulation, however. Once the ETF has reached $1 billion in assets under management or six months have passed, a 0.2% fee will be tacked on. Even once this waiver passes, Bitwise will still have the lowest fees on the market. Furthermore, Bitwise gets some kudos because it plans on donating 10% of profits to fund the development of Bitcoin. Given its roots in crypto, low fees, and dedication to Bitcoin philanthropy, Bitwise should be the top choice for investors. 2. Fidelity Coming in at No. 2 on the list is Fidelity with its Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (NYSEMKT: FBTC) . As one of the first asset managers to test the crypto waters, Fidelity boasts a proven track record in traditional finance and experience with digital assets. As a testament to its embrace of crypto, the company began mining Bitcoin in 2014. By 2018, it launched its own institutional crypto-custody service. And in March 2023, Fidelity unveiled a cryptocurrency exchange. Story continues Being the third-largest asset manager in the world and with more than 80 years of experience in the finance sector, Fidelity's familiarity with crypto is rare. With this knowledge, Fidelity crafted a one-of-a-kind Bitcoin ETF. Rather than opting to outsource custodial responsibilities to another company, Fidelity will serve as the sponsor and the custodian for the ETF. Beyond managing the fund and its records, in other words, Fidelity also handles the actual trading and safekeeping of Bitcoin assets while most of the new ETFs outsource that function. By overseeing the management of the underlying Bitcoin assets, Fidelity can maintain control over the security infrastructure, operational processes, and risk management related to its Bitcoin holdings. While it doesn't offer a grace period during which fees are waived, the slightly higher fee of 0.25% seems worth it, knowing that the firm directly manages its Bitcoin. 3. VanEck Rounding out the list is VanEck's Bitcoin Trust (NYSEMKT: HODL) . Similar to Fidelity, the firm has proven experience in the crypto world. In 2021, it launched a Bitcoin Strategy ETF (a fund that tracks futures contracts and is less accurate than the new spot ETFs) as well as its Digital Transformation ETF , which holds dozens of companies at the forefront of crypto innovation. VanEck stands out among the 11 approved spot ETFs for three reasons. First, it boasts one of the lowest-cost structures at just 0.25%. Second, before launch, the firm raised $72.5 million in initial capital, the most of any ETF issuer. With greater amounts of capital from the onset, this signals confidence from institutional investors in the ETF's investment strategy and potential. Not to mention, with more funds in the ETF, it could lead to lower fees in the future. Last but not least, VanEck is promising 5% of the profits it makes to fund Bitcoin development. The company has been adamant that it is devoted to expanding Bitcoin's potential to become "the most important financial freedom technology of the internet age." A round of applause to VanEck. A final note Before buying any of these ETFs, I would implore readers to consider the differences between achieving Bitcoin exposure via the stock market versus actually owning Bitcoin itself. To own the actual Bitcoin, investors must purchase it off a cryptocurrency exchange like Coinbase Global . In doing so, investors have direct ownership and control over their holdings, thereby increasing security as the Bitcoin can be sent to cold storage wallets. When choosing the ETF route, you entrust a third party to manage the underlying Bitcoin. Make sure that's what you want before making this leap. Should you invest $1,000 in Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust right now? Before you buy stock in Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 8, 2024 RJ Fulton has positions in Bitcoin and Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Decisions, Decisions: Discover the 3 Spot Bitcoin ETFs I'd Consider Buying was originally published by The Motley Fool

2024-01-16 13:40:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1848]}

{}

Sidoti Events, LLC's Virtual January Micro-Cap Conference

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sidoti-events-llcs-virtual-january-134000766.html

ACCESSWIRE

https://www.accesswire.com/

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / January 16, 2024 / Sidoti Events, LLC, an affiliate of Sidoti & Company, LLC, has released the presentation schedule and weblinks for its two-day January Micro-Cap Conference taking place Wednesday and Thursday, January 17-18, 2024. The presentation schedule is subject to change. Please visit www.sidoti.com/events for the most updated version and webinar links. Presentation Schedule *All Times EST Wednesday, January 17, 2024 (Day 1) 8:30-9:00 Arqit Quantum Inc. (ARQQ) Marti Tecnologies, Inc. (MRT) Alico Inc. (ALCO) 9:15-9:45 ***** Inspire Veterinary Partners (IVP) Onfolio Holdings, Inc (ONFO) 10:00-10:30 ***** Synlogic, Inc (SYBX) Teton Advisors, Inc. (TETAA) 10:45-11:15 Synchronoss Technologies Inc. (SNCR) Tecogen (TGEN) Flexsteel Industries, Inc. (FLXS) 11:30-12:00 AstroNova, Inc. (ALOT) ***** Caliber Companies (CWD) 12:15-12:45 FreightCar America, Inc. (RAIL) Anixa Biosciences, Inc. (ANIX) AYRO, Inc. (AYRO) 1:00-1:30 ***** GAIA, Inc. (GAIA) Pineapple Financial Inc. (PAPL) 1:45-2:15 Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL) Canoo (GOEV) Reed's, Inc. (REED) 2:30-3:00 Richardson Electronics (RELL) ReWalk Robotics (RWLK) Sacks Parente Golf, Inc. (SPGC) 3:15-3:45 Daktronics Inc (DAKT) Forum Energy Technologies (FET) ***** 4:00-4:30 Heliogen (HLGN) Sonendo (SONX) ***** 1x1s Only (17th) Coda Octopus Group, Inc. (CODA) ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *All Times EST Thursday, January 18, 2024 (Day 2) 9:15-9:45 ***** Vislink Technologies (VISL) ***** 10:00-10:30 Orion Energy Systems (OESX) Avenue Therapeutics (ATXI) ***** 10:45-11:15 LightPath Technologies (LPTH) ***** Mistras Group (MG) 11:30-12:00 Sterling Infrastructure (STRL) ReconAfrica [Reconnaissance Energy Africa](RECO) LuxUrban Hotels, Inc. (LUXH) 12:15-12:45 Lake Resources (LKE) ***** Kingsway Financial Services (KFS) 1:00-1:30 NN Inc. (NNBR) ***** Bitcoin Depot (BTM) 1:45-2:15 LGL Group Inc (LGL) ***** Advanced Emissions Solutions (ADES) 1x1s Only (18 th ) Apogee Enterprises (APOG) Civeo Corporation (CVEO) Coda Octopus Group, Inc. (CODA) ***** ***** ***** About Sidoti Events, LLC ("Events") and Sidoti & Company, LLC ("Sidoti") In 2023, Sidoti & Company, LLC ( www.sidoti.com ) formed an affiliate company, Sidoti Events, LLC in order to focus exclusively on its rapidly growing conference business and to more directly serve the needs of presenters and attendees. The relationship allows Events to draw on the 25 years of experience Sidoti had as a premier provider of independent securities research focused specifically on small and microcap companies and the institutions that invest in their securities, with most of its coverage in the $200 million-$5 billion market cap range. Sidoti's coverage universe comprises approximately 150 equities of which greater than 50 percent participate in the firm's rapidly growing Company Sponsored Research ("CSR") program. Events is a leading provider of corporate access through the eight investor conferences it hosts each year. By virtue of its direct ties to Sidoti, Event's benefits from Sidoti's small- and microcap-focused nationwide sales force, which has connections with 1,500 institutional relationships in North America. This enables Events to provide multiple forums for meaningful interaction for small and microcap issuers and investors specifically interested in companies in the sector. Story continues SOURCE: Sidoti Events, LLC and Sidoti & Company, LLC View the original press release on accesswire.com View comments

2024-01-16 14:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [506]}

{"Bitcoin": [30]}

Sui Tops $300M in TVL, Passes Bitcoin and Joins Upper Echelon of DeFi Protocols

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sui-tops-300m-tvl-passes-140000898.html

News Direct

https://www.newsdirect.com/

Grand Cayman --News Direct-- Sui 2000% increase in TVL and superior technology are causing builders to choose Sui, most recently, top lending protocol, Solend. Sui, a leading Layer 1 blockchain created by the team that led Meta’s Diem stablecoin project, has surged past $300M in Total Value Locked (TVL) continuing to climb the ranks of DefiLlama’s leaderboard. This sudden milestone underscores the ecosystem’s rapid ascent and further solidifies Sui’s position as a leader in the DeFi space, surpassing Bitcoin to make it the 13th-largest blockchain in terms of TVL. This achievement marks a more than 2000% increase in TVL since August. "$300 million in TVL is a significant milestone—one in a string of achievements the Sui ecosystem has reached only months since mainnet launch,” said Greg Siourounis, Managing Director of the Sui Foundation. "As market sentiment strengthens and focus turns to the fundamentals of the technology, it is extremely gratifying to see the work of the Sui community bear fruit and Sui’s ecosystem growth leading the industry forward.” Besides reaching this important TVL result so soon after launching its mainnet, other recent milestones achieved by Sui include surpassing $100 million in bridged USDC, handling the most transactions in a single day by any blockchain, and achieving a demonstrated TPS of 297,000 transactions per second all without any disruption of the network or a spike in fees—clearly demonstrating the chain’s ability to scale. The protocols contributing to Sui’s DeFi TVL are led by the Decentralized Exchange (DEX) Cetus with $62M locked in, followed by Navi Protocol ($60M, up 210% over the last 30 days), Scallop Lend ($54M), DeepBook ($33M), and FlowX Finance ($31M). During the past few months, the Sui ecosystem has welcomed many new projects building on its blockchain. Solend—a leading lending protocol on Solana—just announced its intention to expand to Sui as its first alternative ecosystem with its upcoming Suilend, while Bluefin, a leading derivatives trading protocol that began on Arbitrum, recently shuttered its Arbitrum implementation to devote the entirety of its resources to leveraging the uniquely performant Sui platform. Story continues Sui has also achieved some remarkable technology and infrastructure breakthroughs. After the September launch of zkLogin—which allows users to create and access Web3 wallets by simply using web2 social credentials like Google and FaceBook—the recent launch of zkSend represented a pioneering effort to make Web3 transactions as easy as sending an email. Thanks to its object-centric model and powerful infrastructure, Sui’s unparalleled potential for mass adoption arises from its simplicity for developers, scalability, and rapid transaction processing for broader use cases. Contact Details Sui Foundation [email protected] View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/sui-tops-300m-in-tvl-passes-bitcoin-and-joins-upper-echelon-of-defi-protocols-899766410

2024-01-16 14:37:24+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [252, 1309], "BTC": [269]}

{}

1 Crypto Stock That's Up 315% and I'm Still Buying Today

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/1-crypto-stock-thats-315-143724781.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

The recovery in cryptocurrencies has helped companies like Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) recover a lot of what was lost during the pandemic. Not only is trading revenue picking up, the company is benefiting from higher interest rates and now the approval of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ETFs. In this video, Travis Hoium goes over the latest catalysts for Coinbase and shares why this is still a top growth stock to own today. *Stock prices used were end-of-day prices of Jan. 12, 2024. The video was published on Jan. 15, 2024. Should you invest $1,000 in Coinbase Global right now? Before you buy stock in Coinbase Global, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and Coinbase Global wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 8, 2024 Travis Hoium has positions in Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Coinbase Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Travis Hoium is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through their link they will earn some extra money that supports their channel. Their opinions remain their own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool. 1 Crypto Stock That's Up 315% and I'm Still Buying Today was originally published by The Motley Fool View comments

2024-01-16 15:42:22+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1836]}

{}

Musk’s SpaceX to Help Deere Connect Farmers to the Internet

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/musk-spacex-help-deere-connect-154222294.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The world’s largest tractor maker Deere & Co. is working with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to connect rural areas of the US and Brazil to internet satellites. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union S&P 500 Hits All-Time High in Historic Bull Run: Markets Wrap China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Tractors in the two countries can be outfitted with SpaceX’s Starlink terminal that connects to Deere’s operations center starting in the second half of this year as part of an “industry first” partnership, Deere said in a Tuesday statement. “We are bringing satellite communications service to the farm at scale so farmers with cellular coverage challenges can maximize the value of connectivity to their operations,” Deere Chief Technology Officer Jahmy Hindman said in the statement. Farmers have been using satellite-assisted technology since the late 1990s and, more recently, SpaceX’s Starlink system has been pitched to the agricultural industry as a way to provide rural areas with reliable internet. Only 30% of big US farmers professed to having “high quality” internet, according to a 2022 survey, while growers are increasingly reliant on machinery that measures and tracks how each seed is planted, fertilized and harvested. The collaboration comes when farmers have been buying fewer tractors amid falling crop prices, and as Deere seeks to generate 10% of its revenue through “recurring” models such as subscription fees by 2030. The partnership was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 16:02:51+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2127]}

{}

Alphabet CFO Cites Cancer Experience to Explain AI Optimism

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/alphabet-cfo-cites-cancer-experience-160251107.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Alphabet Inc. Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said her own experience of breast cancer helped her understand the “extraordinary” potential of AI in healthcare. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Musk’s AI Startup Secures $500 Million Toward $1 Billion Funding Goal UAE Warns US Time Running Out to Avoid Wider Mideast Crisis Porat said after learning about progress Google made in early metastatic breast cancer detection with AI, she called her own oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and asked: “Is this really as important as I hope?” Porat’s oncologist told her it was the only technology that could democratize healthcare, she recalled, in an interview with David Rubenstein at Bloomberg House at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. “It’s the only way that oncologists everywhere, radiologists everywhere, all of the medical profession, has the ability to leverage the insight that AI will give you through reviewing a million scans,” she said. Since the public launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022, there has been a wave of investment from the world’s largest technology companies into AI. Microsoft Corp has invested $13 billion in OpenAI, while Amazon.com Inc. has committed as much as $4 billion to rival lab Anthropic. As part of an effort to avoid falling behind in the AI race, Alphabet merged its DeepMind and Google Brain AI research units in April 2023 and has been incorporating generative AI into all of its products. The company has also been looking for places to cut costs to free up resources, and is laying off hundreds of people working on its digital assistant, hardware and engineering teams, Bloomberg reported last week. Porat said the company was focused on “durably re-engineering the cost base” with a “more measured” approach to hiring. Story continues Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 16:10:53+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4476]}

{}

Musk Pressures Tesla’s Board for Another Massive Stock Award

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musk-wants-greater-control-235506985.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk leaned on Tesla Inc.’s board to arrange another massive stock award for him years after he sold a significant chunk of his shares in the company to acquire Twitter. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Trump’s 2016 Win Shook Markets. Traders Won’t Get Fooled Again. Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe In one of several posts on the topic, Musk wrote that unless he has roughly 25% voting control at Tesla, he’d prefer to build artificial intelligence and robotics products elsewhere. While he remains the carmaker’s biggest shareholder with an almost 13% stake, he sold almost $40 billion worth of stock in 2022 to help fund his Twitter purchase. Musk, 52, praised Tesla’s board in other posts and said directors were waiting for a Delaware Chancery Court ruling before preparing another compensation plan. Judge Kathaleen St. J. McCormick — who also presided over Musk’s ill-fated attempt to get out of the Twitter deal — will decide a case brought by a Tesla shareholder who alleges Tesla’s board failed to exercise independence from Musk as it drew up his $55 billion performance award in 2018. “This is primarily about ensuring the right amount of voting influence at Tesla,” Musk wrote in one of his posts on X. Musk is pressuring Tesla’s board at an awkward time. The carmaker is off to its worst start to any year as a public company, losing $94 billion in market value as growth slows and profit margins shrink. The CEO also has had to answer to a Wall Street Journal report on his drug use and concerns this has elicited among executives and directors at his companies, including at Tesla. Read More: Musk’s Drug Use Is the Latest Headache for Tesla’s Board Tesla shares rose 0.7% as of 11 a.m. Tuesday in New York trading. At $695.8 billion, the company’s market capitalization has risen more than 11-fold since the board announced Musk’s pay award in January 2018. On the other hand, its valuation peaked at more than $1.2 trillion before the Twitter deal. Story continues The combination of awards Tesla arranged for Musk in 2009, 2012 and 2018, and the value destruction caused by his Twitter acquisition resulted in a dubious milestone a little more than a year ago. Musk became the first person ever to erase $200 billion from their net worth. His fortune recovered last year as Tesla shares doubled and Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s valuation soared. Musk reclaimed his rank atop the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and is now worth an estimated $206.1 billion, roughly 15% more than No. 2 Jeff Bezos. Read More: Musk Leads World’s Richest to $1.5 Trillion Wealth Gain in 2023 Musk’s sudden claim that he’s uncomfortable growing Tesla to be a leader in AI and robotics follows repeated boasts over the years that the company was a leader in the fields. The carmaker offers products called Autopilot and Full Self-Driving — both of which are driver-support features — and has been developing a humanoid robot called Optimus. The CEO also told analysts in July that he expected Tesla to spend more than $1 billion over the next year on Project Dojo, an effort to make the company a player in supercomputing for purposes including the development of self-driving capability. At Tesla’s inaugural AI Day in August 2021, Musk said he wanted to demonstrate that the company was more than just an automaker and a leader in real-world AI. Read More: Musk Is Willing to Wager Tesla Profits on Driverless Dream In July of last year, Musk announced the formation of xAI, a startup that aims to rival Microsoft Corp.-backed OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind. A week later, an analyst asked him during a Tesla earnings call whether the new AI company would overlap with, compete with or enhance the value of the carmaker’s AI efforts. He said the latter. “What is Tesla? A car, energy, or AI company,” said Daniel Kollar, head of consultancy Intralink’s automotive and mobility practice. “If it’s not an AI company, then I don’t see an issue establishing a new company.” “That said,” Kollar added, “I don’t see his behavior or choice of language benefiting any of his companies now.” (Updates share trading in the sixth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 16:27:17+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [38, 795], "BTC": [790, 804]}

{"Bitcoin": [27]}

Grayscale Moves Another 9K Bitcoin to Exchange in Preparation for Sale

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grayscale-moves-another-9k-bitcoin-162717114.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Grayscale, the owner of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), sent an additional 9,000 bitcoin to an exchange early Tuesday as net selling of the product continues following its conversion to a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to data from Arkham Intelligence , the coins moved in batches of 1,000 just after 14:30 UTC (when the U.S. stock market opened following the three-day weekend). Following U.S. regulatory approval for a spot ETF last week, Grayscale's GBTC has seen net outflows as investors sold for any number of reasons, the elimination of the discount to net asset value and lower fees at competing ETFs among them. The outflows resulted in Grayscale selling 2,000 bitcoin last week, a number that for now has risen to 11,000 and taken GBTC's holdings to below 610,000 BTC. Bitcoin [BTC] saw a sudden drop of nearly 2% to below $42,100 on the Grayscale news, but the price has quickly recovered to $43,100 as of press time.

2024-01-16 16:48:38+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2533], "BTC": [426]}

{"Bitcoin": [26]}

BlackRock Wants to Follow Bitcoin ETF With an Ethereum ETF. Marketing It Might Not Be So Simple

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-wants-bitcoin-etf-ethereum-164838522.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Not long after the debut of BlackRock’s bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the asset manager’s CEO Larry Fink effectively began the marketing drive for a second spot ETF product with the underlying cryptocurrency of Ethereum, citing the value of that blockchain’s transformational utility. The Wall Street machine needs to be fed and pushing more crypto ETFs is an obvious choice, especially given the attention the bitcoin [BTC] product has garnered. This essentially means thousands of salespeople having meetings, showing a new product, saying what it does, and seeing if people want to buy it. But selling an ether [ETH] ETF could present an interesting conundrum to issuers. Investors may have just bought a bitcoin ETF, so the practical need to spice up portfolios is already being satisfied. Why would they need another crypto diversification tool? It’s something Sui Chung, the CEO of CF Benchmarks, an index provider for digital assets and partner firm on the BlackRock iShares bitcoin ETF (IBIT), has been thinking about, especially having recently published a cheat sheet explaining the benefits of a bitcoin-backed security to investors. Defining bitcoin technology and its potential application to finance is part of the explainer, but Chung believes that’s secondary to the bitcoin ETF’s investment role: a small allocation diversifies a portfolio and boosts the overall risk-adjusted return . "The primary thing is how bitcoin behaves and its price history," Chung said in an interview. "When you put bitcoin inside a portfolio with stocks, bonds and cash, it’s just the most potent diversifier in the history of investing. You put a little bit in and the Sharpe ratio doubles." It becomes really interesting as to how a mainstream financial institution– be it BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity etc. – markets an ETH ETF to the typical TradFi investor, Chung said. "Because you’ve already sold bitcoin by going down the diversification route; someone’s already stuck 1.5% or 2% of bitcoin into their portfolio.” Story continues In a sense, BlackRock chief Fink has already started diving into the complex world of Ethereum by mentioning tokenization, a much vaunted concept among TradFi firms these days and something most ETF issuers likely believe in wholeheartedly. But such an educational foray should also explain smart contracts and decentralized finance (DeFi), Chung said, not to mention the can of worms that is blockchain staking and the SEC’s opinion of that. Of course, a key differentiator between Bitcoin and Ethereum is how the latter moved away from the energy-sapping proof-of-work security system to a greener validator model. "I don’t think ESG [environmental, social and governance] is how it’s going to be marketed,” Chung said. “Do you really want to go there given all the controversy around ESG investing today already? Probably not." BlackRock declined to comment.

2024-01-16 17:16:27+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [89, 736, 1348, 1442, 1683, 1787, 1839, 1880, 2161]}

{"Bitcoin": [23]}

Traders Flee Grayscale Bitcoin ETF With $579 Million in Outflows

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/traders-flee-grayscale-bitcoin-etf-171627443.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Investors have pulled over a half of a billion dollars from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust during its first days of trading as an ETF. Most Read from Bloomberg Iowa Latest: Haley Unveils New Ad, Looking to New Hampshire Trump Scores Easy Win in Iowa With DeSantis a Distant Second US Merchant Vessel Struck as Shippers Told to Avoid Red Sea Treasury Yields Climb After Waller’s Rate Remarks: Markets Wrap What Is Disease X? How Scientists Are Preparing for the Next Pandemic The fund, which won US Securities and Exchange Commission approval to convert to an ETF from a trust last week, has seen outflows totaling about $579 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s a stark difference from the other nine spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have pulled in a total of nearly $819 million. “Thanks to the ETF conversion this is the first time we’ve had clear sight into flows of GBTC,” said James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, who noted that investors may be profit-taking. The flow data is a more complete look at how the ETF fared in the wake of SEC approval. While over $2.3 billion of GBTC shares changed hands its first day, the outflows now indicate that a portion of that volume was due to selling. Grayscale didn’t respond to a request for comment. “Lots of this capital will find its way back into other Bitcoin exposures,” Seyffart said. Read more: Scaramucci Says Grayscale ETF Sales Helped Fuel Bitcoin Decline The outflows from Grayscale’s ETF aren’t entirely unexpected. Bloomberg Intelligence forecasted that the fund will drain over $1 billion over the coming weeks. Part of that will be driven by investors fleeing to cheaper spot Bitcoin ETFs. With an expense ratio of 1.5%, GBTC is the most expensive US ETF that invests directly in Bitcoin. The second-most expensive fund, the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, charges 0.25%. Other spot Bitcoin ETFs have all seen net inflows, with BlackRock’s IBIT pulling in nearly $500 million in its first two days of trading, and Fidelity’s FBTC getting roughly $421 million. The inflows suggest that even outside of potential seed funding from fund issuers, demand is strong for Bitcoin exposure in a physically backed ETF. Story continues Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese Tycoon on the Rebound After $10 Billion Debt Deal There’s a Toxic Employee—and the CEO Is Ignoring the Issue How AI Replaced the Metaverse as Zuckerberg’s Top Priority Trumponomics 2.0: What to Expect If Trump Wins the 2024 Election Patti LaBelle Moves From Stage to Stove With a Recipe for Success ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 17:22:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3929]}

{}

Synopsys to Buy Software Maker Ansys for $34 Billion

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chip-software-firm-synopsys-agrees-155918097.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Chip-design company Synopsys Inc. agreed to buy software developer Ansys Inc. for about $34 billion in cash and stock, marking one of the largest deals announced worldwide in the past year. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Trump’s 2016 Win Shook Markets. Traders Won’t Get Fooled Again. Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Ansys shareholders will receive $197 in cash and 0.345 shares of Synopsys stock per share, according to an announcement by the companies Tuesday. That values Ansys shares at about $390.19 based on closing share prices on Dec. 21, before Bloomberg reported that the companies were in talks. The deal is set to close in the first half of 2025, Synopsys said. The acquisition aims to expand Synopsys’ customer base and its suite of products. Synopsys, based in Sunnyvale, California, is one of a few major companies that make software used to design semiconductors, competing primarily with Cadence Design Systems Inc. Meanwhile Ansys makes simulation software used by engineers to help predict how products will work in the real world. Engineers use its structural analysis software before a project to cut manufacturing costs, reduce risk and bring products to market faster. Ansys shares fell 5.4% to $327.95 at 12:14 p.m. in New York, after closing at $346.48 on Friday. The drop signals a potential pullback by investors who saw the stock price surge after last month’s reports that the Canonsburg, Pennsylvania-based company was exploring a sale. Ansys had a market value of about $30.1 billion on Jan. 12. Synopsys shares rose 3% to $508.99. “Given a long timeline, and geopolitical risk wrapped into antitrust risk, we aren’t overly surprised to see Ansys trade off,” said Tyler Tebbs, managing director at the advisory firm MKP Advisors. Tebbs also noted “the marginal premium” that is being offered compared with the stock’s previous close. Story continues Synopsys is adding another layer to the design systems it sells. Its current customers mainly make electronic components, primarily semiconductors. Ansys will bring in makers of everything from aircraft to industrial machinery just as that gear becomes more complicated and reliant on automation, which ultimately depends on semiconductors. Synopsys management is betting that the growing use of artificial intelligence will expand the need for systems that can map out increasingly complex electronic systems, keeping them safe and affordable. The takeover of Ansys provides an early boost for dealmakers in 2024 as they seek to move on from a lackluster period of mergers and acquisitions activity. Niraj Patel, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, called the deal a “strong strategic fit” for Synopsys. Still, Patel said in an email, regulatory approvals and a lengthy close time of 2025 could signal some challenges. In August, the firm completed a purchase of PikeTec GmbH, a closely held German software company that focuses on autonomous driving, in a deal valued at $200 million. And in an interview with Bloomberg Television, then-outgoing Chief Executive Officer Aart de Geus Brisk said the company could be selling even more into China if it weren’t for existing export restrictions. Read More: Synopsys Could Sell More to China Without Export Rules, CEO Says Synopsys generated $5.84 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending Oct. 31 and analysts project a 13% revenue jump in fiscal year 2024. Ansys is expected to produce $2.26 billion in sales in 2023, with analysts estimating a 10% increase this year. (Updates share prices, adds explanation of Ansys product offerings in sixth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 17:45:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1779, 2023, 2097, 2187, 2261, 2327, 2399]}

{"Bitcoin": [69]}

TecCrypto Reveals Policy Update to Boost Passive Earnings in Cloud & Bitcoin Mining

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/teccrypto-reveals-policy-boost-passive-174500412.html

GlobeNewswire

https://www.globenewswire.com/

TecCrypto TecCrypto announces a major policy change to boost investor earnings in cloud and bitcoin mining, offering a variety of plans for daily passive income. This strategic shift, enhanced with state-of-the-art technology and sustainable practices, positions TecCrypto as a leader in profitable cloud mining. London, UK, Jan. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a groundbreaking move, TecCrypto , a leading cloud mining platform, today announces a significant policy change aimed at boosting income for investors in the cryptocurrency world. This change is designed to provide daily passive income opportunities, making it easier and more profitable for investors to engage in cloud and bitcoin mining. A New Era for Cloud Mining: Increased Passive Income TecCrypto’s new policy is set to transform how individuals and businesses earn through cloud mining. By optimizing their mining operations and offering enhanced rewards, TecCrypto is making it possible for users to generate daily passive income, a game-changer in the cryptocurrency industry. This strategic shift not only benefits seasoned investors but also opens doors for newcomers to the world of cryptocurrency. The Vision for the Future "The shift in our policy is more than just an update; it's a commitment to our users' financial growth," said Pamundeep Bains, Media Spokesperson of TecCrypto. "We understand the potential of cryptocurrency, and our goal is to make passive income through mining a reality for everyone. This policy change is a step towards a future where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from the cryptocurrency market." Diversified Investment Plans for Maximum Earnings TecCrypto offers a range of investment plans , each tailored to different levels of investment and expertise: Newbie (Bitcoin Miner S21 Hyd.): $10 for 1 day, total profit of $0.25. Hot (ETC Miner E9 Pro): $100 for 2 days, total profit of $4.00. Litecoin Miner L7: $300 for 3 days, total profit of $14.85. Dash Miner D9: $800 for 7 days, total profit of $100.80. Bitcoin Miner S19 Pro+ Hyd.: $1,600 for 12 days, total profit of $364.80. Bitcoin Miner S19 Pro+ Hyd. (Higher Tier): $3,500 for 15 days, total profit of $1,023.75. Bitcoin Miner S19 XP Hyd.: $6,500 for 18 days, total profit of $2,398.50. Bitcoin Miner T21: $8,000 for 20 days, total profit of $3,360.00. Bitcoin Miner S21: $15,000 for 20 days, total profit of $6,750.00. Hot (Bitcoin Miner S21 Hyd.): $30,000 for 30 days, total profit of $22,500.00. MAX: $100 for 2 days, total profit of $4.20 (Currently Sold Out). Story continues Enhanced Features for Optimized Mining The platform is equipped with state-of-the-art cloud mining technology, ensuring efficient and profitable operations. With a user-friendly interface, TecCrypto makes bitcoin mining accessible to a broad audience. The platform also includes real-time analytics, allowing users to monitor their earnings and optimize their mining strategies. Global Access and Continuous Learning TecCrypto’s cloud-based platform ensures global accessibility, enabling a worldwide community to participate in and benefit from cryptocurrency mining. The company is committed to continuous learning, offering extensive resources to educate users about the nuances of cloud mining and the cryptocurrency market. Commitment to Sustainability and Ethical Mining In line with its policy change, TecCrypto reaffirms its commitment to sustainable and ethical mining practices. The company uses renewable energy sources, reducing the environmental impact of mining operations and setting a standard for responsible cryptocurrency mining. A Gateway to Daily Passive Income in Cryptocurrency This policy change by TecCrypto marks a significant step towards enabling investors to earn daily passive income through cloud and bitcoin mining. The company’s focus on maximizing investor earnings while maintaining a sustainable and ethical approach positions TecCrypto as a leader in the industry. Join TecCrypto: Step into a World of Profitable Mining TecCrypto invites individuals and businesses to explore its platform and take advantage of the enhanced earning opportunities. With comprehensive plans, advanced technology, and a focus on user experience and sustainability, TecCrypto is set to redefine the standards of cloud mining. For more information about TecCrypto’s services and to start earning daily passive income, visit at https://teccrypto.com Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. CONTACT: Media Contact Information: Name: Pamundeep Bains Email: pr(at)teccrypto.com Company: Crypto Technology Limited Website: https://teccrypto.com

2024-01-16 17:45:03+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2920]}

{}

OpenAI Doesn’t Want to Train on New York Times Data After Lawsuit, Altman Says

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-doesn-t-want-train-174503922.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Artificial intelligence doesn’t need vast quantities of training data from publishers like The New York Times Co., according to OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, in a response to allegations his startup is poaching copyrighted material. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him “There is this belief held by some people that you need all my training data and my training data is so valuable,” Altman said Tuesday at Bloomberg House at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos. “Actually, that is generally not the case. We do not want to train on the New York Times data, for example.” The ChatGPT maker is in the midst of a major push to secure access to news content after the Times last month sued the startup and Microsoft Corp., its biggest investor, for allegedly causing billions of dollars in damage over copyright infringement. Such partnerships are key to OpenAI’s future as it balances the need for timely, accurate data to develop its models with public scrutiny about where that data is sourced from. OpenAI is in talks with publishers including CNN, Fox Corp. and Time to license news content, Bloomberg reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter. The company’s chief of intellectual property and content previously told Bloomberg that the startup was in the middle of dozens of potential licensing deals. Read More: OpenAI in Talks With CNN, Fox and Time to License Content “What we want to do with publishers — if they want — is when one of our users says, what happened at Davos today, we’ll be able to say, here’s an article from Bloomberg, here’s an article from the New York Times,” Altman said. “Some people want to partner with us, some people don’t.” Story continues Prior to the lawsuit, OpenAI and the Times had been in contact since April regarding licensing and failed to reach a deal. The AI company is also facing class action suits from writers including comedian Sarah Silverman, Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, and Pulitzer-winning author Michael Chabon. Read More: OpenAI in Talks for New Funding at $100 Billion Valuation Other publishers have been more amenable to cooperation. OpenAI signed an agreement with the Associated Press to access some of the news agency’s archives. It cut a three-year deal in December with Axel Springer SE to use the German media company’s work for an undisclosed sum. “A lot of our research is how do we learn more from smaller amounts of very high quality data,” Altman said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 17:57:52+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2981]}

{}

OpenAI CEO, Time Owner Benioff Disagree on AI’s Use of Copyrighted Content

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-ceo-time-owner-benioff-175752876.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Marc Benioff, the Salesforce Inc. chief executive officer who also owns Time magazine, said artificial intelligence companies ripped off intellectual property to build their technology. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union “All the training data has been stolen,” Benioff said Tuesday in an interview at Bloomberg House at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Content from media outlets including Time and the New York Times Co. surfaces in results from AI companies, he said. There is increasing scrutiny on the makers of large language models that power generative AI tools such as ChatGPT over their use of copyrighted materials. Benioff’s Time is among publications currently negotiating with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to license their news work, as first reported by Bloomberg. Other companies include Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.’s CNN and Fox Corp. The New York Times sued OpenAI and its partner Microsoft Corp. in November for using the publication’s articles without permission. “Nobody really exactly knows,” what a fair price for this data is, Benioff added, but AI companies should standardize payments to treat content creators fairly. Benioff’s Salesforce markets its AI-powered software features as including a “trust layer” to prevent the misuse of customer data. Read More: OpenAI Doesn’t Want to Train on New York Times Data, Altman Says OpenAI has disputed that it used protected material without permission. CEO Sam Altman, in an interview earlier Tuesday with Bloomberg, said training data often isn’t as valuable as its owners think it is. “We do not want to train on the New York Times data,” Altman said, adding that research is more focused on learning from small amounts of high-quality data. It should be possible to avoid any news content that is off limits, he said. Story continues OpenAI has been striking partnerships for specific uses of news content and more are coming, Altman said. “I think there’s going to be great new ways to consume and monetize news.” In July, OpenAI signed an agreement with the Associated Press to access some of the news agency’s archives. OpenAI also reached a three-year deal in December with Axel Springer SE to use the German media company’s work for an undisclosed sum. Read More: Microsoft’s Nadella Wants Stability at OpenAI, Not Control When asked whether AI presented risks to the democratic process in an election year for many countries, Benioff said his biggest concern is still social media. “Regulators have not done their job,” he added. --With assistance from Shirin Ghaffary. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 18:00:00+00:00

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{"Bitcoin": [14]}

Out of 11 New Bitcoin ETFs, Which Looks Best Fit for Investors?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/11-bitcoin-etfs-looks-best-180000575.html

Zacks

http://www.zacks.com/

In a landmark decision, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finally approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs last week. The long-awaited decision led to increased institutional and retail investor participation in the cryptocurrency market, driving massive inflows and price gains. About $4.6 billion was traded in new US spot Bitcoin ETFs on their first day of trading, per LSEG data (read: Bitcoin ETFs Make Historic Debut With $4.6B in Trading). The approved ETFs are products from major financial players such as Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW), VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC), Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR) and Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI). Among these, BITB charges 20 bps in fees followed by ARKB (with 21 bps in fees) while each of FBTC, BRRR, IBIT and HODL charges 25 bps in fees. The fund EZBC charges 29 bps in fees, BTCW and BTCO charge 30 bps and 39 bps in fees, respectively. The funds DEFI and GBTC charge 90 bps and 1.15%, respectively. As far as fee waver is concerned, BITB and ARKB and BTCW’s fee will 0% for the fist six months for up to $1 billion in assets. The fund BTCO’s fee is 0% for first six months for up to $5 billion in assets. The FBTC will charge 0% through Jul 31, 2024. The fund BRRR charge 0% for the first three months. The fund IBIT charge 0.12% for first 12 months for up to $5 billion in assets and BTCO charge 0% for first six months for up to $5 billion in assets. There is no fee waiver for HODL, EZBC, DEFI and GBTC. Expense Ratio Matters a Lot Among the newcomers, efforts have been made to reduce expense ratios and offer fee waivers. For example, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund initially proposed a 0.39% fee but later revised it down to 0.25% with a fee waiver in effect until July 2024. Valkyrie and ARK also lowered their ETF fees from 0.80% to 0.25% and 0.21%, respectively, while providing generous waivers for early investors. The competition among ETF issuers is likely to continue as they vie for market position. In choosing a Bitcoin ETF, investors should consider that all of these ETFs essentially function in the same manner, with minor differences. Therefore, the expense ratio is a crucial factor in making a decision. The Bitwise and ARK 21Shares ETFs, with their 0.20% and 0.21% expense ratios, may be particularly appealing, especially since these fees are waived for the first six months. Story continues Issuers’ Branding Is Another Crucial Factor However, Fidelity and iShares by BlackRock, being renowned investment managers, should not be disregarded. They have a history of competitiveness with fees in traditional ETFs, and they may eventually offer more competitive rates than smaller competitors in the long run. Given the current minimal difference in fees between these funds and market leaders, it might make sense for investors planning long-term Bitcoin ETF holdings to consider these established options. What About Funds With Higher Fees? Hashdex Bitcoin ETF and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, have been established for a significant period. Hashdex Bitcoin ETF is transitioning from a Bitcoin futures ETF to a spot Bitcoin ETF, while Grayscale Bitcoin Trust is transforming from a closed-end trust holding Bitcoin tokens to a spot Bitcoin ETF. They retain their existing assets under management, allowing them to maintain higher fees compared to new competitors seeking fresh investments. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) became the most heavily traded ETF on its debut, with $2.3 billion in trading volume. This was followed by about $1 billion in iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and $685 million in Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC). ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) saw more than $278 million and about $122 million, respectively, in trading volume on the day. Buying Bitcoin ETFs as a Cost-Effective Mean Investors who wish to purchase Bitcoin in taxable accounts may find it more cost-effective to acquire the cryptocurrency directly from a cryptocurrency exchange, despite associated fees. However, this approach may take some time to offset the fees compared to the lowest-fee ETFs. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research View comments

2024-01-16 18:25:46+00:00

{"BTC": [502]}

{}

Can Crypto Dethrone U.S. Dollar Dominance? Here Is Morgan Stanley's Take

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-dethrone-u-dollar-dominance-182546726.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

The dominance of the U.S. dollar as the linchpin of the international financial system is being increasingly questioned due to shifting geopolitical currents and the country’s growing twin deficits , Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley (MS) said in a report last week. Enter cryptocurrencies, which, while still in their early stages, have the potential to both erode and reinforce the dollar’s dominance in global finance, the bank said. “The recent growth in interest of digital assets such as bitcoin [BTC], growth of stablecoin volumes and the promise of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), have potential to significantly alter the currency landscape,” wrote Andrew Peel, Morgan Stanley's head of digital asset markets. U.S. monetary policy, combined with the use of economic sanctions, have forced some countries to look for alternatives to the dollar, Peel said, adding that a “clear shift towards reducing dollar-dependency is evident, simultaneously fueling interest in digital currencies such as bitcoin, stablecoins, and CBDCs.” On the flip side, he noted that stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar are also important as they may actually emphasize the need for the fiat currency. “Their continued evolution and growing acceptance by mainstream financial entities underscore their potential to significantly alter the landscape of global finance and in fact reinforce the dollar as the dominant global currency,” Peel wrote. However, this growing adoption of stablecoins has triggered widespread interest in CBDCs . As these digital currencies become more widely embraced and technologically advanced, “they hold the potential to establish a unified standard for cross-border payments, which could diminish the reliance on intermediaries like SWIFT and the use of dominant currencies such as the dollar,” the report added. Read more: 2023 Was the Year That Crypto Markets Became Institutionalized: Goldman Sachs

2024-01-16 18:30:24+00:00

{"BTC": [2917]}

{}

Here's How Much Sam Bankman-Fried's Solana Would Be Worth If FTX Didn't Collapse

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-much-sam-bankman-frieds-183024788.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

During the 2021 bull market, Solana saw incredible price gains. Going from $2 to an all-time high of $260 made many investors wealthy. When looking back at this run and attempting to pinpoint some of the causes, Sam Bankman-Fried's (SBF) name pops up. SBF was an advocate for Solana, creating projects, investing in the token and speaking about it publicly. Many believe that SBF's praise and use of Solana was a major contributor to its huge spike in 2021. Specifically, SBF created a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Solana blockchain called Serum. This project allowed users to trade and convert Solana and other tokens on a peer-to-peer exchange. SBF's success with centralized exchange FTX also contributed to Serum's success. Don't Miss: This brokerage offers custom rewards for users to switch – the biggest reward so far for 1 user is $19,977.48. Will yours beat it ? The last-standing top crypto exchange without a major security breach offers what now? However, SBF and FTX Trading Ltd. eventually came tumbling down. In early November 2022, FTX became insolvent. As the details became public, it was discovered that SBF was using customer funds for his proprietary trading firm Alameda Research. This event was shattering for the crypto community, but Solana was hit particularly hard. Because SBF backed the project, many were hesitant to continue investing, and the price of SOL fell drastically. Within two months of FTX's insolvency, SOL had depreciated by 50%. By the end of 2022, the token was worth less than $10. While other tokens also lost value during this time, SOL's fall from grace was much larger than its peers. Solana had a strong recovery in 2023. Despite beginning the year at a two-year low, the price reached a new 52-week high of over $125. This recovery was largely because of a handful of new projects and airdrops on the platform. Most notable are the memecoin Bonk (BONK) and the staking platform Jito (JITO). These projects attracted new investors and spurred new interest in SOL. Story continues SOL's recovery makes many wonder about SBF's large position. At the peak, FTX and SBF held more than 60 million tokens, which was more than 10% of the total supply. While the amount of tokens has fallen slightly because of FTX's selling to repay creditors, it still holds over 55 million tokens. It is also important to note that FTX has a vesting schedule for the SOL tokens — it can sell around 1% of its tokens every month. However, in March 2025, FTX will be allowed to sell over 7.5 million tokens. FTX's Solana position currently is worth over $5.5 billion. This is derived from a position of 55.8 million tokens priced at $100. At its peak of 60 million tokens valued at $125 per token, the holding would have been worth $7.5 billion. At its lowest, this position would have been worth a mere $600 million in early 2023. Read Next: Did you know $2.5 BILLION was earned by BTC miners in the 4th quarter of 2023 ? Don't buy the top this time around. Reboot your crypto portfolio today . "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Here's How Much Sam Bankman-Fried's Solana Would Be Worth If FTX Didn't Collapse originally appeared on Benzinga.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2024-01-16 18:39:32+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2924]}

{}

Wall Street CEO on Tether Controversy: 'They Have the Money'

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/wall-street-ceo-tether-controvery-183932878.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick vouched for stablecoin issuer Tether's legitimacy on Tuesday, addressing what has been one of the big questions in crypto over the years as its stablecoin, USDT, has grown into a behemoth: Does Tether have the money it says it does. "They have it," he said during an interview with Bloomberg TV. That's strong validation for Tether coming from a prominent and influential Wall Street figure. Lutnick's Cantor Fitzgerald is among the best-known bond trading houses on Wall Street and one of 25 primary dealers for U.S. Treasurys, allowing direct trade with the Federal Reserve. The stablecoin issuer has long been under the microscope for its backing of USDT, which, with over $95 billion in market capitalization , remains the most widely used stablecoin in the world. "I manage many of their assets," said Lutnick, who brought up crypto in the interview that was streamed live from Davos, Switzerland. "From what I've seen – and we did a lot of work – they have the money they say they have." Lutnick seemed to refer to Tether's latest attestation report , which showed that it held $86.4 billion of assets in reserves as of Sept. 30 against $83.2 billion in liabilities. For years, a big chunk of Tether's reserves were locked up in commercial paper , which worried some observers. However, its latest attestation report shows USDT is mostly backed by U.S. Treasuries, widely considered among the safest assets in the world, and there are no longer any commercial paper holdings. Still, the industry isn't completely convinced about the quality of Tether's assets. Most recently, credit rating agency S&P Global's poor score for the stablecoin , which judges characteristics such as "the quality of the asset backing the stablecoin" as well as "weaknesses in other areas, including regulation and supervision, governance, transparency, liquidity and redeemability, and track record" reinforced those concerns. Story continues Users of USDT are also still waiting for an official audit that would paint a much more precise picture of a company than an attestation. Lutnick has previously voiced that he is a fan of Tether. Cantor Fitzgerald is a custodian for the stablecoin issuer's Treasuries . When asked about a more prominent topic in crypto news currently – the approval and listing of over a dozen spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – Lutnick questioned the real value of bitcoin and stablecoins for Americans and argued that crypto currencies are attractive as speculative assets in this country, whereas people in other nations, such as Argentina, Venezuela and Turkey, hold crypto for more substantial reasons. "This is a speculative asset for us but for countries like Argentina, Venezuela, Turkey, these crypto assets matter, stablecoins matter in those countries," he said. "It's a way to hold on to the dollar." Read more: Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick Is a Bitcoin Maxi and Tether Fan

2024-01-16 19:37:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1099, 1391, 1473, 1629, 1733, 1859, 1990, 2211, 2361, 2455, 2555, 2685, 2779, 2838, 2878, 2968, 3881, 4178, 4312, 4335, 4439, 4482, 4638, 5116, 5181, 5266], "BTC": [1116]}

{"Bitcoin": [26]}

If You Invested $1,000 in Bitcoin 5 Years Ago, This Is How Much You'd Have Now

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/invested-1-000-bitcoin-5-193700718.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

Index investing is a great approach, but you can do even better with specific stocks or cryptocurrencies from time to time. Let's say you invested $1,000 in an index fund tracking the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) index 5 years ago. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPY) is one popular option with minimal management fees and a stellar history of reflecting its chosen index. If you reinvested dividends into more shares of the exchange-traded fund (ETF) over time, you would have doubled your money by now. That's an average annual return of 15% -- well above the 10-year average at 12% or the 10% annual returns since the ETF was introduced 41 years ago. It's easy to see why The Motley Fool recommends holding a diversified stock portfolio for a long time, in the spirit of index-fund pioneer John Bogle and master investor Warren Buffett. I mean, good luck finding a savings account with a stable 10% interest rate, not to mention the higher gains in recent years. Diversified investing is a proven strategy for building and protecting your wealth in the long run. But what if you picked up $1,000 of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) tokens five years ago? The largest cryptocurrency was in the middle of another crypto winter back then, hampered by hacking scandals and regulatory crackdowns with no support to speak of from large banks and other financial institutions. The $19,345 record price of the Bitcoin boom in 2017 felt like a distant memory, melted down to $3,644 per token. Bitcoin's rocky five-year gains As it turns out, that was a solid buying window for investors looking to commit their funds over a five-year span. A $1,000 Bitcoin investment on Jan. 15, 2019, was worth $11,540 at the time of writing exactly five years later: Bitcoin Price Chart It hasn't been a smooth ride, but there's no denying the general upswing over five years. In this period, Bitcoin investors faced more crypto-exchange hacks, the coronavirus health crisis, a global inflation surge, and other challenges. Bitcoin prices fell more than 10% in August 2023, not to mention six single-month drops of that magnitude in 2022. The preceding chart includes all of these headwinds and crashes. The road ahead: Bumpy but hopeful Still, Bitcoin is back on its digital feet with more gains than losses in recent months and a robust slate of upcoming catalysts for further gains. The next Bitcoin halving -- a regularly scheduled increase of the computing power required to mine new Bitcoins -- is scheduled in April 2024. These events are typically followed by a strong bull run in Bitcoin prices over the next couple of years. American regulators recently approved 11 applications for ETFs based on spot-market Bitcoin prices. The approval did not result in a sharp price boost, but having easy access to Bitcoin-based investment vehicles such as the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (NYSEMKT: ARKB) and iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ: IBIT) should ultimately increase trading volume and support higher Bitcoin prices. The regulatory picture is starting to clear up, driven by renewed public interest in the crypto space and progress in important legal cases such as the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission vs. Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP) . The wheels of justice and regulatory rulemaking grind slowly, and I don't expect a complete rulebook in 2024 or 2025. Still, every step in the direction of clarity is good news, even if they're not always taken in the direction of lower taxes and greater investor access to cryptocurrency assets. Story continues The general long-term trend tends to leave traditional stock market indices like the S&P 500 far behind. Furthermore, that bullish market tenor should continue over the next couple of years due to the technology, market, and regulation events listed above -- with the caveat that there may be dramatic price drops along the way for a myriad unforeseen reasons. So Bitcoin isn't a magic ticket to automatic investment gains, with a significant risk of sudden downswings and long periods of stalled or negative returns. Sticking with a market tracker like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF may be a better choice if you're not ready for the volatility and technical quirks of Bitcoin investing. Still, it's a robust digital currency with an unpredictable yet promising future, and I think a modest position in Bitcoin (or one of the Bitcoin-based ETFs) would be a healthy addition to a diversified portfolio. Should you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin right now? Before you buy stock in Bitcoin, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and Bitcoin wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 8, 2024 Anders Bylund has positions in Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and XRP. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . If You Invested $1,000 in Bitcoin 5 Years Ago, This Is How Much You'd Have Now was originally published by The Motley Fool View comments

2024-01-16 20:14:22+00:00

{}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin miner Core Scientific gets court approval for restructuring

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-miner-core-scientific-gets-201422141.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Dietrich Knauth NEW YORK, Jan 16 (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved Core Scientific's Chapter 11 restructuring, allowing the bitcoin mining company to cut $400 million in debt and emerge from bankruptcy by the end of January. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved the company's bankruptcy plan at a court hearing in Houston, Texas, saying it "provides a tremendous recovery for both unsecured creditors and also equity holders," who usually fare poorly in bankruptcy. Core Scientific was one of several crypto companies along with major crypto exchange FTX and crypto lenders Celsius Network and Voyager Digital to file for bankruptcy in 2022. Core Scientific said that "favorable changes in the cryptocurrency and power markets" allowed for a better-than-expected turnaround. Since the company filed for Chapter 11 in December 2022, bitcoin prices have risen from about $16,900 to about $43,000. Core Scientific expects to re-list its shares on the Nasdaq exchange. Its existing equity holders retained about 60% of the company's shares through the bankruptcy, the company said in a Tuesday statement. Core Scientific "mines" new bitcoins using powerful computers, and it spent heavily on new equipment before suffering setbacks in 2022 that included a sharp decline in bitcoin prices, increased energy costs, and disruption among crypto industry customers partners like Celsius, which owned bitcoin mining computers hosted at Core's facilities. Celsius was one of Core Scientific's biggest customers before both companies went bankrupt, and its failure to pay a $7 million energy bill for its mining activities helped push Core Scientific into Chapter 11. Core Scientific said its successful restructuring will allow the company to preserve 240 jobs. Its reduced debt will allow it to save $60 million on annual interest costs. (Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi)

2024-01-16 20:20:02+00:00

{}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin miner Core Scientific gets court approval for restructuring

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-miner-core-scientific-gets-202002599.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Dietrich Knauth NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday approved Core Scientific's Chapter 11 restructuring, allowing the bitcoin mining company to cut $400 million in debt and emerge from bankruptcy by the end of January. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved the company's bankruptcy plan at a court hearing in Houston, Texas, saying it "provides a tremendous recovery for both unsecured creditors and also equity holders," who usually fare poorly in bankruptcy. Core Scientific was one of several crypto companies along with major crypto exchange FTX and crypto lenders Celsius Network and Voyager Digital to file for bankruptcy in 2022. Core Scientific said that "favorable changes in the cryptocurrency and power markets" allowed for a better-than-expected turnaround. Since the company filed for Chapter 11 in December 2022, bitcoin prices have risen from about $16,900 to about $43,000. Core Scientific expects to re-list its shares on the Nasdaq exchange. Its existing equity holders retained about 60% of the company's shares through the bankruptcy, the company said in a Tuesday statement. Core Scientific "mines" new bitcoins using powerful computers, and it spent heavily on new equipment before suffering setbacks in 2022 that included a sharp decline in bitcoin prices, increased energy costs, and disruption among crypto industry customers partners like Celsius, which owned bitcoin mining computers hosted at Core's facilities. Celsius was one of Core Scientific's biggest customers before both companies went bankrupt, and its failure to pay a $7 million energy bill for its mining activities helped push Core Scientific into Chapter 11. Core Scientific said its successful restructuring will allow the company to preserve 240 jobs. Its reduced debt will allow it to save $60 million on annual interest costs. (Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi) View comments

2024-01-16 20:25:20+00:00

{"BTC": [4807]}

{}

Coinbase's SEC Clash Faces First Major Test as Judge Weighs Longshot Dismissal

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coinbases-sec-clash-faces-first-202520632.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Coinbase is poised to argue with the Securities and Exchange Commission over whether its business model is violating U.S. law. A federal judge in New York will hear a lengthy four hours of oral arguments in the case, and the crypto industry will see whether her eventual decision about throwing out the SEC's case will help or hurt its momentum against the regulator. Coinbase is about to make its case in a federal courtroom that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is wrong about its legal arguments that the crypto exchange has been trading unregistered securities. What the New York judge does next could have serious consequences for the wider industry's clashes with the regulator. The company has asked Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to throw out the case – a longshot request, but one that she may be taking very seriously. She's booked four hours of back-and-forth with Coinbase and the SEC on Wednesday – an unusual depth of oral arguments for such a motion, which often tends to favor the government side in this kind of enforcement case. "When the government is suing people they usually don't lose on summary judgment motions," said Patrick McCarty, a financial consultant and former SEC lawyer who teaches crypto classes at Georgetown Law. "But it's possible – very possible." Judge Failla could give significant momentum to either side when she rules on the motion – probably not this week, but within the next couple of months. She'll either land in the camp of fellow SDNY Judge Analisa Torres, who ruled – also in summary judgment – that the SEC strayed in some of its claims about XRP being a security in the case against Ripple, or Judge Jed Rakoff, who just gave the SEC a win in its action against Terraform Labs . Read More: Coinbase Poised to Make Final Pitch in Bid to Kill SEC Accusations Quickly The SEC interprets the key law on identifying securities – known as the Howey test – as saying that a digital asset purchaser who has been guided to expect profit from that purchase is likely buying a crypto security. But Coinbase contends that the tokens being traded on its popular platform aren't securities if there's no formal obligation that says the issuer owes the purchaser a share of profits or income. Story continues The case could be thought of as the first major action that "brings into focus this debate about whether – in fact – these things are investments contracts or securities transactions under the Howey test," McCarty said. He said this current motion puts Failla in an interesting position, "kind of caught between Judge Torres and Judge Rakoff," both judges in the same court that handles so much of the SEC's caseload. Each side will have two hours to make its case directly to Failla, which McCarty noted was an especially long time. If the judge isn't convinced that Coinbase has justified an early resolution in the company's favor, the dispute will proceed toward trial, in which case the company could pursue SEC internal documents revealing conversations among officials as they decided whether to go after the exchange. The agency and the company aren't generally arguing over the facts of what's happening, but on how existing law should treat it. Deciding where Howey fits in is "going to contribute to the continuing development of legal precedent," said Chris Odinet, a professor at the University of Iowa College of Law whose research has a focus on digital assets. "The stakes are extremely high, because they're so inherently tied to the business model," Odinet said. However, he doesn't necessarily interpret the lengthy four hours of scheduled discussion as a sign pointing in either direction, because he said the issues are highly technical and may require that much questioning. But whatever happens on this motion, the dispute over crypto transactions in the secondary market will almost certainly be elevated to the appeals courts. "It's not like this is going to end the debate," McCarthy said. "It's just going to be another chapter." Coinbase's arguments this week also come on the heels of the SEC's capitulation in the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approvals, which agency Chair Gary Gensler granted came out of the SEC's court loss against Grayscale. While that was a different legal question, the regulator was declared by a federal court to be taking "arbitrary and capricious" actions against a crypto firm, and Coinbase is prepared to make a similar claim here. The judge has previously differed with SEC leaders in at least one significant crypto point: She said last year that ether (ETH) is a commodity, not a security . While SEC officials once suggested that may be the case, they've more recently narrowed their position to bitcoin (BTC) being the only token that's definitely outside SEC jurisdiction.

2024-01-16 21:24:54+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [7971]}

{}

Bonds Slide as Fed’s Waller Downplays Need to Rush: Markets Wrap

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-stocks-set-fall-open-224021266.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Wall Street pared its bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts on speculation the dovish bid emboldening stock and bond bulls has gone too far. Most Read from Bloomberg Musk Pressures Tesla’s Board for Another Massive Stock Award Apple to Allow Outside Payments for Apps After US Decision A Wary World Braces for Trump’s Return to the White House What Is Disease X? How Scientists Are Preparing for the Next Pandemic Bonds Slide as Fed’s Waller Downplays Need to Rush: Markets Wrap Equities fell, while Treasury yields climbed with the dollar as Fed Governor Christopher Waller appeared to push back against expectations for as many as six rate cuts this year. While Waller wasn’t outright hawkish, his remarks weren’t massively dovish either — prompting a recalibration of interest-rate wagers. Fed swaps show the probability of policy easing as soon as March dropping to about 65% from almost 80% Friday. Waller said the Fed should take a cautious approach when it begins cutting rates, adding he sees no reason to move as quickly as in the past — pointing to previous economic shocks that have precipitated rapid rate cuts. To Kathy Jones at Charles Schwab, when you get either a data point or a comment like Waller’s, that seems to imply: ‘Well, maybe not so fast’.” “We view his comments emphasizing no need to rush as indicating that he does not expect to push for a March cut — and read his arguments in general as more consistent with our baseline of a first cut in May or June,” said Krishna Guha, vice chairman at Evercore ISI. US 10-year yields topped 4%, the greenback rose the most since March and the S&P 500 lost steam. Morgan Stanley slid amid a warning on lower margins in wealth, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rose as profit beat estimates. Boeing Co. sank on an analyst downgrade. Apple Inc. slipped as the US Supreme Court refused to consider its appeal in an antitrust suit challenging the App Store. Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote, says the first quarter of this year will be marked by the realization that it’s too early for the central banks to cut rates. Story continues “With today’s info in hand, the Fed is intent on cutting three times this year — and would only cut more if the economic situation deteriorated and the unemployment rate started heading towards 4.5-5%, I believe,” said Peter Boockvar, author of the Boock Report. That would compare with 3.7% in December. To Art Hogan at B Riley Wealth, it’s more important to focus on the “why” the Fed is cutting rates instead of the “when.” “If the wheels are coming off the economic cart and the Fed feels the need to rush in to stimulate, that would be sub-optimal,” Hogan noted. “The good rate cuts would come as the path of inflation continues toward the Fed’s target, and they find themselves to be overly restrictive.” Bond bulls have overtaken bears in the latest MLIV Pulse survey amid bets on Fed cuts this year. Those expecting 10-year yields to drop over the next month represented 57% of respondents — the highest percentage since MLIV Pulse started asking the question in August 2022. JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co. and Morgan Stanley are issuing US investment-grade bonds, kicking off what is expected to be a busy week in debt sales as big banks emerge from earnings blackouts. All told, the three Wall Street giants accounted for $23 billion of the $30 billion in blue-chip company debt being raised Tuesday, making it the busiest day in terms of new bond sales so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Meantime, optimism over lower rates has spurred investors to up their exposure to US stocks to the highest in over two years, according to a Bank of America Corp. fund-manager survey. There is “record optimism on rate cuts” and 79% of survey respondents expect the global economy to experience either a soft or no landing in 2024, BofA’s team led by Michael Hartnett wrote in a note. UBS Group AG is the latest bank to lift its outlook for US equities, ratcheting up its 2024 forecast for the S&P 500 by 6% to 5,150, following the Fed’s dovish policy shift in December. The move comes roughly a month after the Swiss lender set its year-ahead call for the US equity benchmark at 4,850. The gauge closed at 4,765.98 on Tuesday. Earnings estimates have been slashed so much over the past three months that Wall Street strategists now expect most companies will easily beat analyst forecasts this season. There’s however little reason to cheer, as Morgan Stanley strategists noted that a 7% cut to fourth-quarter profit estimates means US companies are poised to report almost no growth compared to the year before. That’s “creating a lowered bar and a higher probability” of yet another mid-single-digit earnings-per-share beat rate, Michael Wilson said. “While markets may experience modest downside volatility through the results season after the strong rally in November and December, we think upside remains in US equities amid looser monetary policy and durable corporate profits,” said Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Any selloff should be fairly mild, in our view, and could represent an opportunity to increase exposure to stocks.” Corporate Highlights: Donald Trump’s victory at the Iowa caucuses lifted Digital World Acquisition Corp., the blank-check firm working on taking his media company public. A federal judge blocked JetBlue Airways Corp.’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Spirit Airlines Inc., saying the combination would stifle competition and raise fares for consumers. Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella said while he wants consistency and good governance at partner OpenAI, he’s not worried about the company’s nonprofit structure and doesn’t want greater control over his partner. Dish Network Corp. parent EchoStar Corp. proposed swapping more than $5 billion of debt due in the coming years for new notes, the second such offer in less than a week as the company looks to address looming maturities. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reported profits that missed analyst estimates, as it continued to grapple with declining deposits and tepid loan growth. Deutsche Bank AG is preparing staff for a tough bonus season. Variable pay “will reflect performance in 2023,” Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke said. First Quantum Minerals Ltd. will cut spending, pause its dividend and put smaller mines up for sale in a sweeping effort to free up cash after it was ordered to shutter its $10 billion copper operation in Panama. Key events this week: China GDP, property prices, retail sales and industrial production, Wednesday Eurozone CPI, Wednesday US retail sales, industrial production, business inventories, Wednesday Fed issues Beige Book survey of regional economic conditions, Wednesday New York Fed President John Williams speaks, Wednesday ECB President Christine Lagarde and ECB Governing Council members Klaas Knot and Boris Vujcic speak at Davos, Wednesday US housing starts, initial jobless claims, Thursday Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire, Thursday ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in Davos panel discussion, Thursday ECB publishes account of December policy meeting, Thursday Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Thursday Canada retail sales, Friday Japan CPI, tertiary index, Friday US existing home sales, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday ECB President Christine Lagarde and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speak in Davos, Friday San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks, Friday Some of the main moves in markets: Stocks The S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 was little changed The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% The MSCI World index fell 0.7% Currencies The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.8% The euro fell 0.7% to $1.0872 The British pound fell 0.7% to $1.2632 The Japanese yen fell 1% to 147.25 per dollar Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $43,280.61 Ether rose 2.7% to $2,587.85 Bonds The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced 12 basis points to 4.06% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.26% Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 3.80% Commodities West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $71.88 a barrel Spot gold fell 1.4% to $2,028.26 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. --With assistance from Farah Elbahrawy, Liz Capo McCormick, Michael Mackenzie, Esha Dey, Edward Bolingbroke, Heather Burke, Kasia Klimasinska and Emily Graffeo. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way Chinese Tycoon on the Rebound After $10 Billion Debt Deal There’s a Toxic Employee—and the CEO Is Ignoring the Issue Elon Moves Further Right; Hertz Ditches Tesla Patti LaBelle Moves From Stage to Stove With a Recipe for Success ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-16 21:26:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 114, 426, 607, 696, 712, 789, 2884]}

{"Bitcoin": [15]}

Buy the Dip in Bitcoin Mining Stocks?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/buy-dip-bitcoin-mining-stocks-212600779.html

Zacks

http://www.zacks.com/

Bitcoin has become a hot topic again for investors. Last week’s stamp of approval from the SEC for a slew of spot Bitcoin ETFs was one of the most widely anticipated events in the history of cryptocurrency. It brought with it a great deal of volatility. Some viewed it as a “Sell the news” event with speculators pumping prices up ahead of the news. The initial movement following that first morning has been to the downside. Bitcoin prices are off from nearly $49,000 to $43,000 intraday on January 16 th , 2024. The selling has not been isolated to the underlying cryptocurrency. The selling also hit the Bitcoin miners pretty hard. Here in today’s Chart of the Day, we delve into the world of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin miners including Marathon Digital Holdings ( MARA ) and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF ( WGMI ). In his video, Bartosiak employs technical analysis techniques to break down Marathon Digital’s recent price movements. Here's a glimpse of how he dissects the chart: Moving Averages : Bartosiak starts by examining the stock's moving averages, such as the 50-day and 200-day moving averages. He points out the significance of crossovers and divergences between these averages, which can indicate potential trend changes. Support and Resistance Levels : Bartosiak identifies key support and resistance levels on the chart. These levels act as barriers that the stock price must breach or hold above, providing traders with critical decision points. Chart Patterns : He discusses chart patterns like head and shoulders, cup and handle, or flags, and their relevance in predicting future price movements. These patterns can offer valuable insights into potential bullish or bearish trends. Technical Indicators : Bartosiak also utilizes technical indicators such as Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) to gauge the stock's momentum and potential reversal points. Volume Analysis : He emphasizes the importance of volume analysis in confirming price trends. An increase in trading volume during a breakout or breakdown can validate the significance of a price move. Story continues Dave Bartosiak's technical analysis approach adds depth to our understanding of Marathon Digital's stock chart. By paying attention to moving averages, support and resistance levels, chart patterns, technical indicators, and volume, he equips investors with a comprehensive toolkit for making well-informed decisions in the stock market. Remember, while technical analysis is a valuable tool, it's important to consider other factors like fundamental analysis and market sentiment before making investment choices. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (MARA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI): ETF Research Reports To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research

2024-01-16 21:34:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5339]}

{}

‘Succession’ Sweeps Emmys as HBO Once Again Reigns Supreme

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/succession-sweeps-emmys-hbo-once-043850376.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Succession swept the top prizes at the strike-delayed Emmy Awards Monday night in Los Angeles, capturing best drama for the third time in four years and allowing HBO to once again claim the crown as the premier programmer in TV. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union A darkly comic show about warring members of a family media dynasty, Succession earned six prime-time Emmys in its final season, including best directing, writing and three acting prizes. The series beat seven other nominees for best drama, including three rival HBO titles, The Last of Us, The White Lotus and House of the Dragon. Hulu and FX’s The Bear, about a young chef who is forced to take over his family’s sandwich shop, claimed six prizes for its first season, including best comedy series. Netflix’s Beef, about a minor traffic dispute that escalates into violence, won the Emmy for best limited series, along with acting awards for the show’s stars, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun. It won five in total. Though Hollywood produces hundreds of programs each year, those three shows together took home 17 of the 27 awards handed out during the Fox network broadcast. HBO still produces what the entertainment industry considers the best TV in the US, if not the world, despite changing owners twice in the last decade and facing more competition than ever. The network, now part of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., earned the most nominations of any network and captured the most awards overall. “It was a great sadness to end this show but it was a great pleasure to do it,” Jesse Armstrong, creator of Succession, said upon receiving the award for best writing for a drama series. While Succession claimed the top prizes during the prime-time Emmy broadcast, The Last of Us was the big winner earlier this month at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. It received eight prizes, including statuettes for makeup, visual effects and sound editing. See the complete list of winners here The end of Succession will ignite another discussion of what HBO will do next — as happened after The Sopranos and Game of Thrones. Yet HBO has sustained its quality programming for decades. The network was competing with broadcast TV when it first started to produce award-winning dramas a quarter century ago. Then more cable networks entered the fray, followed by streaming services. Story continues The network’s biggest competition in recent years has been Netflix, which produces more entertainment than any other company and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars chasing awards. The streaming giant earned the second-most nominations and six wins this year. Yet in recent years Netflix has shifted focus, prioritizing shows that reach as broad an audience as possible — the types of programs that seldom win awards. Its two most popular titles of last year, The Night Agent and Ginny & Georgia, received zero nominations. In a blog posting, Netflix said it won a total of 22 prime-time Emmys, led by Beef and Queer Eye. Walt Disney Co. said it won 37 awards across its various brands, while Warner Bros. Discovery reported 36. The Emmys, which are typically broadcast in September, were staged in January after strikes by writers and actors paralyzed the entertainment industry last year. Hollywood screenwriters and actors stopped working for months to fight for higher wages from streaming services, shutting down production for months and costing the economy billions of dollars. Host Anthony Anderson made scant mention of the strikes during the show, which ran about three hours. As a result of the delay, the Television Academy honored work that was more than a year old, such as The Bear, which debuted in June 2022. Its second season, which came out last year and won best comedy at the Golden Globes earlier this month, will be eligible at the next Emmys. The delay also means that the Emmys aired in the middle of Hollywood’s traditional awards season — the Oscar nominations will be announced later this month. Hollywood’s awards shows serve several purposes. They were created to recognize the best work within the entertainment industry, but they are also valuable live program for the networks that broadcast them and can be a marketing platform for certain shows. The Emmys’ power as a promotional vehicle has waned in recent years as viewers tune out. Last night’s telecast, the first time the show has competed against an NFL playoff game, drew 4.3 million total viewers, Fox said Tuesday. That was down 27% from 2022’s audience of 5.9 million, and marked a record low. As three shows dominated the night, most companies and networks went home-empty handed. Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., two technology companies that have spent billions on original programming, won one prize combined on the night. Broadcast networks CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox also combined to win just one award. (Updates with ratings two paragraphs from the end.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-16 22:40:17+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1862]}

{}

US stocks drop as 10-year Treasury yield surges back above 4%

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-stocks-drop-10-treasury-224017866.html

Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on October 20, 2023 in New York City. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Stocks were down as the 10-year Treasury broke above 4%. Central bank officials pushed against market hopes for a quick monetary pivot. Bank equities gained on better-than-expected earnings results. US stocks fell Tuesday as bond yields rose and investors await further data to inform the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped over seven basis points, taking it above the 4% threshold. That's as foreign policymakers at the World Economic Forum signaled further hawkishness, with European Central Bank's Francois Villeroy de Galhau citing that inflation hasn't yet been tamed. As to US policy, investors will be watching for Fed Governor Christopher Waller's Tuesday speech for further clues. Still, equity losses were pared by solid bank earnings, with shares in Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley both gaining ground on better-than-expected results. Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Tuesday: S&P 500 : 4,769.89, down 0.35% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 37,453.82, down 0.38% (-141.45 points) Nasdaq Composite : 14,923.60, down 0.33% Here's what else is going on: AI could end jobs and worsen inequality , IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned. Elon Musk's call for more Tesla control is "outrageous," short-seller Jim Chanos says. War and climate change are biggest challenges to the Fed cuts, analyst says. Tech stocks will make up 50% of the S&P as labor tightens, Fundstrat says. In commodities, bonds, and crypto: West Texas Intermediate inched up 0.35% to $72.91 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, rose $0.84% to 78.58 a barrel. Gold was about flat at $2,039.25 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 7.8 basis points to 4.028%. Bitcoin gained 0.5% to $42,796. Read the original article on Business Insider View comments

2024-01-17 00:25:05+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4647]}

{}

Apple to Allow Outside Payments for Apps After US Decision

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/supreme-court-rejects-apple-bid-150036260.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is opening its US App Store to allow outside payment options after the Supreme Court refused to consider the company’s appeal in an antitrust suit challenging its practices. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union The company plans to let all third-party apps sold in the US include an outside link to a developer website to process payments for in-app purchases. That will bypass Apple’s own payment system, which charges developers a commission of either 15% or 30%. Still, the iPhone maker said it would attempt to collect a 12% or 27% revenue share from developers that opt out of the Apple system. The Supreme Court decision let stand a 2023 appeals court ruling that found Apple’s business model didn’t violate antitrust laws, but that it did flout California’s Unfair Competition Law by limiting the developers ability to communicate about alternate payment systems that may cost less. Both Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. had asked the court to hear an appeal related to the case. The justices turned down the appeals without explanation. Apple shares slid as much as 2.7% after the court’s announcement before paring their decline. The stock was down 1.2% to $183.63 at the close in New York. Developers will need to apply for an “entitlement” to be able to use outside payments systems. Apple previously allowed reader apps — a category that includes video streaming and book reading applications — to point users to the web to sign up for subscriptions. Apple will warn customers when they press a link to conduct purchases outside the App Store before letting them proceed. “As of today, developers can begin exercising their court-established right to tell US customers about better prices on the web,” Epic Chief Executive Officer Tim Sweeney said in a thread on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. Story continues But he took issue with Apple’s plan to charge what he called a “27% tax” on web transactions. If app developers have to pay that fee to Apple and a cut of 3% to 6% to third-party payment processors, they can’t afford to offer lower costs to consumers, he said. Sweeney also described Apple’s planned warning to customers as a “scare screen.” “Epic will contest Apple’s bad-faith compliance plan in District Court,” he said. Billions of dollars are at stake. In app spending is forecast to reach $182 billion this year and $207 billion in 2025, according to research firm Sensor Tower. And competitors are ready to steal a piece of it: Microsoft Corp. has said that it’s already in talks to launch a mobile app store focused on gaming. The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals last year largely affirmed a lower-court judge’s 2021 decision largely rejecting claims by Epic that Apple’s online marketplace policies violated federal antitrust law because they ban third-party app marketplaces on its operating system. The appeals court also upheld a federal judge’s ruling that the iPhone maker’s practices don’t violate federal antitrust law, rejecting the bulk of Epic’s case against Apple’s App Store. That decision had been on hold while the Supreme Court appeals were pending. The high court’s decision ended a temporary stay in the case. The Epic case was the first to challenge Apple’s lucrative App Store system, which rakes in billions of dollars each year. In the interim, the company has come under serious pressure around the world, including in Europe where competition enforcers have two antitrust cases pending against the tech giant. EU authorities are expected to fine the company later this year for allegedly using its App Store rules to thwart music-streaming rivals like Spotify Technology SA. In a separate Epic suit in December, a jury found that Alphabet Inc.’s Google unfairly wields monopoly power in its Android app store. Google has said it plans to appeal, but key legislation in Europe — as well as investigations in the US and UK and an expected wave of follow-on lawsuits — will keep pressure on the tech giants’ app store duopoly. The cases are Apple v. Epic, 23-244, and Epic v. Apple, 23-337. (Updates with Epic Games’ response in eighth paragraph. A previous version of the story corrected a reference to Spotify’s name.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 00:33:41+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3311]}

{}

Dollar hits new one-month high as data weighs on rate cut hopes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dollar-one-month-high-rate-003341716.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar index hit a fresh one-month high on Wednesday after U.S. retail sales data signaled economic strength, dimming expectations for imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales gaining 0.4%. While markets still see the Fed as likely to trim rates in March, expectations for a first cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) are down to 53.2%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, from 65.1% on Tuesday. "If we look at this morning's retail sales report, that points to growth on virtually every possible level and across every aggregate within the consumer spending sphere," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. "That points to underlying inflation pressure remaining sticky for longer, and that coincides with the fact that we're seeing a concerted push from policymakers to anchor market expectations out into the middle of the year for the first cut, and also to warn markets that the cadence of rate cuts is going to be slower than anticipated." The dollar index which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.12% at 103.42, after climbing to 103.69, its highest since Dec. 13. The greenback jumped 0.67% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day percentage climb since Jan. 3, buoyed in part by comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller. He said that while the U.S. was "within striking distance" of the Fed's 2% inflation goal, the central bank should not rush to cut its benchmark interest rate until it was clear lower inflation would be sustained. The Fed's "Beige Book" of economic activity showed the majority of the 12 districts reported little or no change since the prior period, while nearly all noted a cooling labor market. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). Story continues Also supporting the dollar was data showing China's economy grew 5.2% in 2023, slightly more than the official target, but it was a far shakier recovery than many expected while its property crisis deepened. The dollar touched 148.52 against the rate-sensitive Japanese yen, its highest since Nov. 28, and was last up 0.71% at 148.23. The greenback also hit a two-month high of 7.2321 against China's offshore yuan. The euro was down 0.01% at $1.0873 against the dollar, a day after falling 0.67% drop, even as European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers tried to dispel expectations of looming rate cuts. Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot told CNBC on Wednesday that investor bets for ECB rate cuts were excessive and possibly self-defeating because they could actually hold back monetary easing. ECB President Christine Lagarde told Bloomberg TV in Davos the central bank was on track to get inflation back to its 2% target but victory has not yet been won. Sterling was last trading at $1.268, up 0.32% on the day, on track for its first gain against the dollar after three sessions of declines, as a rise in British inflation reinforced expectations that the Bank of England would be slower to cut rates than other central banks. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $42,603. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Richard Chang)

2024-01-17 00:40:54+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5994]}

{}

Fujitsu Says It Will Pay Compensation in Post Office Scandal

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fujitsu-says-pay-compensation-post-130235464.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- An executive at Fujitsu Ltd., whose software contributed to improper convictions of UK Post Office sub-postmasters, said the company has a “moral responsibility” to help provide redress for those who suffered as a result. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union “I am personally appalled by the evidence we have seen,” Paul Patterson, Europe director at Fujitsu Services Limited, told the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday. “I think there is a moral obligation for the company to contribute.” Patterson’s concession suggests that it won’t just be the UK taxpayer who pays out compensation to hundreds of sub-postmasters who were wrongfully prosecuted for theft and false accounting by the government-owned Post Office between 1999 and 2015 after computer glitches led to shortfalls in their accounts. Shares in Fujitsu, whose UK business makes up about 5% of its sales, fell as much as 1.8% in Tokyo Wednesday morning, adding to two straight days of stock price declines. Fujitsu earned 65% of its overall revenue in its home market as of end-September, with Europe accounting for less than 18%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “Maximum negative impact on sales will be, at most, 3-4% in sales, even if we assume penalties, contract suspension and compensation,” said Macquarie Capital analyst Hiroshi Yamashina in a note to investors. “But uncertain negative financial impact could make investors risk-averse.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week announced a law to quash the convictions and speed up compensation to some 980 UK Post Office workers as he sought to draw a line under the long-running saga. Redress was also offered to thousands more who were caught up in the scandal but weren’t prosecuted after using their own money to close the shortfalls and avoid charges. Story continues Government minister Kevin Hollinrake later told the same panel on Tuesday that there is a “significant chance” the government’s move to cancel convictions means some people who were actually guilty may get compensation. Patterson was giving evidence alongside Post Office Chief Executive Officer Nick Read, who told the same hearing that total compensation “may well be” in the order of £1 billion ($1.3 billion). “We’re all very keen to get to the bottom of this,” said Read, who has held the role for four years. “I’ve been very clear since I joined the organization, that the Post Office simply can’t move forward until such time as proper redress has been determined and more importantly has been paid out.” Patterson — appointed to his current role in 2019 — said responsibility for the scandal “lies in many places,” including Fujitsu, and that the the company would take advice from an inquiry into the matter when deciding on its contribution to the redress. He said he had no current estimate for Fujitsu’s liability. He added that his “gut feeling” was that people within Fujitsu knew about the problems with its Horizon software, conceding that it contained bugs which could have had an impact on the accounts logged by sub-postmasters. While Patterson could not give a date when Fujitsu staff first notified the Post Office of problems with Horizon, he said there were “known bugs and errors in the system from a very early stage.” He added that when the Post Office was notified, how they “chose to use that information in their prosecutions was entirely on their side.” While Patterson said Fujitsu was now “an ethical company” and was “quite different to the company in the early 2000s,” Read vowed that the Post Office would “be getting off Horizon” software it still uses a quarter of a century after its introduction. Earlier on Tuesday MPs on the committee heard evidence from former sub-postmasters including Alan Bates, founder of the Justice for Sub-postmasters Alliance on whom a recent ITV dramatization of the Horizon affair was based, and Jo Hamilton, a former sub-postmistress caught up in the scandal. Both spoke of their frustration that the redress process for victims of the Horizon scandal was taking so long. “There obviously isn’t enough of a resource being put in at that end,” Bates said. Hamilton spoke about how she had been forced to plow seemingly endless amounts of money into the Post Office that she ran, as she was accused of mis-accounting that was actually the fault of the Horizon software. “I wasn’t tech savvy at all back 20 years ago — they convinced me it was my fault,” she said, adding that the Post Office had “gaslit” her. “When you take on a sub-Post Office, you actually invest a large amount of money in that business. And as happened in my case, when they fell out with me, they walked off with that amount of money,” Hamilton said. “I think a lot of people feel there’s a financial gun held to their head if they start kicking off or start raising too many problems with the Post Office.” Neil Hudgell, Executive Chairman of Hudgell Solicitors who has represented some of the postmasters, earlier told the committee that spouses, children and parents of postmasters caught up in the scandal had themselves suffered stresses leading to behavioral disorders, miscarriages and shattered family lives. “There’s a whole raft and category of people that are not compensable and that’s another strand of this scandal that needs to be looked at,” he said. “The scandal is in the thousands, but could be in the tens of thousands.” --With assistance from Thomas Seal, Jamie Nimmo, Julian Harris, Vlad Savov and Edwin Chan. (Updates with stock reaction in Tokyo from fourth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 00:45:13+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3286]}

{}

Australia Weighs Mandatory Restrictions on High-Risk AI Use

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/australia-considering-mandatory-restrictions-high-130100775.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Australia will consider introducing mandatory “guardrails” on the development of artificial intelligence as the government attempts to balance the productivity benefits of the new technology with potential fallout including the dissemination of disinformation. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him Sony Sends Termination Letter to Zee Over India Merger Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic announced Wednesday plans to create a panel of experts to weigh options for restrictions on AI use and research. Among other regulations being considered are a voluntary safety standard for low-risk applications and watermarks for AI-created content. “We do need to be able to have those mandatory guardrails that say these are the red lines you cannot cross,” Husic said at a press conference in Canberra. In his interim response to the review, the minister said the government had “heard loud and clear that Australians want stronger guardrails to manage higher-risk AI.” The government said it was clear from the review that voluntary restrictions on the development of AI were insufficient, with potential inaccuracies, biases and a lack of transparency among the risks flagged during the consultation. Husic said work will begin on the AI regulations “straight away” but declined to commit to the full suite of legislation being in place by year’s end. Across the world, the technology is seen as a driver of productivity and can benefit societies while also posing risks, including potentially aiding the spread of disinformation. In Australia, adopting AI and automation had been estimated to add as much as A$600 billion ($397 billion) a year to economic output by 2030. Australia said its goal is to limit the dangers of high-risk applications of AI while allowing the development of useful, low-risk settings to “flourish,” according to the interim response. Story continues While the government didn’t elaborate on what high-risk might include, Husic defined it as “anything that affects the safety of people’s lives, or someone’s future prospects in work or with the law” in an interview with local media published on Sunday. The Australian government began a review into the “safe and responsible” use of AI in June 2023, and decided to extend the response period after receiving more than 500 submissions from interested parties. Australia was one of 27 countries that signed the Bletchley Declaration in the UK in November, following the international AI Safety Summit, which committed to a global collaboration on AI testing. It’s part of a growing move by countries and regions around the world, particularly the EU, US, China and the UK, to set the ball rolling on speedily drawing up AI regulation. But those approaches are just the beginning and will be tested on legal enforcement from this year onwards. --With assistance from Saritha Rai. (Updates with minister’s comments at press conference.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 00:46:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [219, 1920, 2221, 2596, 4802, 26655, 26823]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin ETFs, the Gig Economy, and Robotic Surgery

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-etfs-gig-economy-robotic-004600570.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

In this podcast, Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser and host Dylan Lewis discuss: The SEC's pending decision on crypto spot ETFs and the agency's X account getting hacked. This podcast was recorded before the SEC approved Bitcoin-tracking ETFs. Potential regulations coming for the gig economy and workers that are heavily reliant on companies like Uber , Lyft , and DoorDash . An early earnings look for Intuitive Surgical , and why surgery activity has normalized as the pandemic has waned. Burford Capital CEO Chris Bogart walks Motley Fool analyst Rich Griefner through the world of legal financing, his company's competitive advantages, and a high-stakes case with Argentina. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks . A full transcript follows the video. 10 stocks we like better than Walmart When our analyst team has an investing tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor , has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Walmart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of 1/8/2024 This video was recorded on January 10, 2024. Dylan Lewis: We're talking rules, rules, rules, Motley Fool Money starts now. I'm Dylan Lewis and I'm joined in the studio by Motley Fool analyst Jason Moser. Jason, thanks for joining me. Jason Moser: Happy to be here. Dylan Lewis: We've got a med tech company near all-time highs a conversation with a business that fits into the intersection of the legal system and financing. But Jason, we are kicking off today with rules and regulations. Today is the SEC deadline to weigh in on one of several applications for a Bitcoin spot ETF. But the drama started a little early on this one. We had some interesting news yesterday about this. Story continues Jason Moser: Yes, we did. Dylan Lewis: It's funny like I've always say anything, at least in my mind it's hackable. I guess that's one of the arguments for crypto or Bitcoin is like it's this clear ledger and it's unhackable or the fraud obviously is not the same. I'm not a problem. But clearly somebody got hacked here in regard to this announcement. I wonder if that isn't just a foreshadowing of what could eventually come here. But yeah, it seems like the SEC is meeting to figure out whether they want to go ahead and approve the spot Bitcoin ETF structure. I think that they're going to do that, but you've got EXE saying one thing, you've got the SEC saying another, somebody got hacked somewhere and somehow this got out there and I don't know how it happened, but here we are. It does seem to me though, that this is likely something that will be approved and really as a crypto skeptic, I'm not a crypto guy, not that there's anything wrong with crypto if that's your thing, that's cool, whatever. Don't at me on this one. But it is something where I think this type of structure, these spotty TFs, could bring transparency to an industry that really does need it. I think approval of this will ultimately be a good thing and could make it maybe a bit more of a legitimate and understandable market for more investors. Yeah, if you are looking for official word on this, what we saw from the SEC on EXE yesterday, not actually from the SEC. [laughs]. Their account was compromised. We will wait for the agency to officially weigh in and we should have word today. Unfortunately, we're taping a little bit early in the day so we won't have their answer as we're having this conversation. But I look at this Jason and I don't necessarily have a horse in the race when it comes to crypto as obviously it's good for adoption if you're a bull on the crypto space and even if you're not necessarily a crypto bull, I look at this and I say if you are someone who is a fan of investors generally having more protection. Generally having more safeguards with where they're put the money. Probably a good thing too. Jason Moser: Yeah, I think you're right, I agree there. Like I said, it's not something I'm terribly interested in. But from the perspective of bringing more transparency, more accessibility, I think that's a good thing. Because when you look at crypto now, I mean in general, you have to kind of jump through some hoops to be a crypto investor. But it's becoming easier. I mean, I think the idea behind this right now is though that, for your every day investor who's looking maybe to invest in a digital currency via their traditional brokerage. I mean, your options are limited. You're going through ultimately a futures based Bitcoin ETF, for example, which is ultimately utilizing derivative contracts to come up that pricing. It's just added layers of complexity and ultimately, I guess it's just not as transparent as it could be. That's what we're hoping this decision could do, is ultimately bring more transparency to an industry that definitely needs it. Dylan Lewis: As I mentioned, we're taping before the SEC's decision. We won't know for sure where this one's heading. But I will add the take that I think I always add when we see an incident like this where regardless of the business or the security or whatever in the mix when it comes to a hack, basically an advertisement for identity management and cybersecurity companies. Jason Moser: Oh man, I mean, it just cybersecurity these days. It is such a hard space. I mean, that's probably a whole another show we could do just talking about that. Because it is just this ever evolving threat that's never going to go away. I mean, you look at investing in something like cybersecurity, it can be really difficult because the companies that are doing really well today, they may be rendered obsolete tomorrow and so honestly, when I look at investing in something like a cybersecurity, I would probably opt for something like an ETF that gives you broad exposure to a number of the companies that are helping shape in advance the space. Dylan Lewis: We're going to stick with the government theme here. The Biden Administration is set to unveil some new rules affecting independent contractors and gig economy businesses. Jason, we're still waiting on full details for this, but the broad stroke that I'm seeing is if contractors are economically dependent on a company, they will likely be entitled to more benefits and legal protections from that business. Of course, as soon as you hear some of the elements of this and the themes here, head immediately goes to the gig economy, businesses, the Ubers, the Lifts, the DoorDashes of the world. What's the impact for a company like that? Jason Moser: Well, I think for sure the one guarantee from this is the lawyers are going to win. But because the decision that's made, it's going to go through the court system and ultimately that's probably going to take some time. This is an interesting one. I looked to Uber as sort of the easy example to go by here and how this could impact a business because, I recommended Uber in one of my services back in June of 2022. The stock is up 150% since then, and one of the biggest risks at that time was that California Proposition 22, which essentially was this. I mean, this was just this and that. In a nutshell, I would be interested to know from the worker himself, like, would you rather be a contractor or would you rather be a full time employee? My guess is that it's going to vary. Some love the flexibility, some would love the certainty. I'm not sure ultimately how this ends up. I think regardless, for companies, it is something that if they're required to maintain these employees as full time employees and not contractors, and that pushes those costs up. Well, consumers are going to see that at higher prices, I mean, your Uber bill is going to go up, your Lift Bill is going to go up, your door dash bill is going to go up. Then I look to the companies that can navigate these waters most effectively. I think that's where scale, I think that's where size really matters. You look at it like a company like Uber. I mean, because ultimately it's not something that's specific to, Uber is specific to any business that wants to employ this business model and so you have to look to the biggest and the strongest as the companies to be able to manage those waters most effectively. If it does end up pushing costs up, then likely they'll pass at least some of that on to consumers. Dylan Lewis: You just mentioned before that this has been the existential risk the entire time for companies that are operating in this space. I look at this and I think you're right. I think the big companies continue succeed and do very well. I also think we've started to experience the convenience of this style of business. Jason Moser: Yeah. Dylan Lewis: I don't know that higher costs are necessarily going to move consumers away from it. Jason Moser: I don't think they will. I think a time ago it would it would have played more into the calculus. But I think that what we've seen over the last decade plus, and really I hold Amazon primarily responsible for this. I'm not complaining because, listen, I love Amazon and the convenience that all of these companies offer us today. But they have done a tremendous job in helping us value things a little bit differently. It's not just about the lowest prices anymore. I mean, convenience matters, time matters, and they've really hooked us on the convenience that a lot of their business models offer us, whether it's having something delivered to us or delivering us somewhere. Jason Moser: They got in, I think early on, built up those user bases lift to a lesser extent. I think we've seen Uber rise above Lyft in that regard. But they've done a very good job of getting us hooked to the convenience. Like we were talking about pre-production, now this is wired behavior. That's that value. When you become a verb and I need to Uber something or I need to Netflix something, there's a lot of power that comes with that, pricing power included. I think it makes us focus a little bit less on the pricing and appreciate more the convenience that these models are offering us. Jason Moser: We're going to wrap up our news round up with a little bit of an earnings talk. Last week on the radio show we talked about how earnings season was ramping up. We don't have a full earnings picture from Intuitive Surgical yet, but we got some preliminary results this week. Strong market reaction to the results because they looked like a pretty strong indication of the quarter. Jason Moser: What we're seeing is signs that things are getting back to a state of normal. Particularly for a business like intuitive. Intuitive being right there in hospitals, in medical facilities, those were places that really witnessed a lot of tumult here over the last few years because of everything that we went through with COVID. We saw procedures put on hold, unless it's some type of life saving procedure. But elective surgery really tanked. What we're seeing now, and we're seeing this certainly through the procedure growth, things are coming back around. Procedural growth for this quarter, up 21 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Procedures matter for a company like Intuitive Surgical. One of the beauties of this business model is having that big razor in the hospital. Having that big razor in the hospital. Then selling those instruments and those accessories, the consumables that you need to actually make those machines work. When procedures go up, well then the sale of those accessories and those instruments go up as well. They've been able to witness a little pricing power on those as well, which will help their margins, of course. As painful as it's been for them over the last several years, with procedure growth being so threatened, now we're starting to see things turn, procedural growth turning back around, which really has a number of ongoing positive effects for the business. Dylan Lewis: I think as we tape shares up about 6% on these preliminary results, and it's an interesting time to check in on this business because we are hitting a little bit of a COVID normalization, it seems. But also because at its current valuation, we are getting close to all time highs for this business. Again, this has been a growth story and I think a very future forward story for a long time. Do you still see a lot of runway ahead of this business? Jason Moser: I do. It is certainly a market that has become more competitive over the last several years as technology has proliferated and given other companies the opportunity to pursue this space. Their installed base is getting up there. This is something we are all in. They're closing in on 9,000 of the systems installed, whether it's Da Vinci or this new IonSystem that they have, that doesn't go on forever. Particularly when you consider the competition in this space and the stock is not conventionally cheap. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 70 plus times earnings right now, it garners that multiple because of it's top dog status in the space. I don't suspect that continues. We will see that growth start to slow down a little bit. We will see more competition enter into the fray there. I think naturally as time goes on, we'll see that valuation start to pull back down. Maybe at some point we start talking about intuitive like we talked about Apple making that transition from growth company to most aid dividend payer. Maybe we'll get to that point with Intuitive, but I don't think we're close to it yet. Dylan Lewis: We'll check in certainly along the way. Jason Moser, thanks for joining me today. Jason Moser: Thank you. Dylan Lewis: Coming up. We don't talk about legal financing too much on the show because there's only one publicly traded company that does it. Motley Fool Senior analyst, Rich Greifner, caught up with Chris Bogart, CEO of Burford Capital in early December for a conversation about his company's competitive advantages in the space and a high stakes case with Argentina. Rich Greifner: Let's start at the start. Can you give me Litigation Funding 101. What is it? What problem does it solve, and what role does Burford play in the process? Chris Bogart: Absolutely. Litigation finance is basically specialty finance that looks at legal assets, claims, litigation matters, arbitrations. Looks at those things as financible assets. When you think about a business, companies often have valuable claims that they're bringing. Sometimes it's against other companies, sometimes it's in the context of a multi company thing that has gone wrong. For example, companies that have been victims of price fixing. Those claims have value. You can think of them effectively as being contingent receivables. Just like any other financial asset that has value, you can organize a financing package around the value of those assets, and that's exactly what we do. Now, why is that of interest to companies in particular? There are really two parts to that answer. One part is that spending operating cash, diverting operating cash from the purpose of your business and putting it into a collateral activity like litigation isn't the most value maximizing strategy for companies to engage in. For example, I used to be the general counsel of Time Warner, the media group. Time Warner had lots of money. It wasn't a question of Time Warner not being able to pay for litigation if it wanted to bring it, but every dollar that we spent on litigation was a dollar that we didn't spend making television or movies, or publishing magazines. Ultimately, it's that core business, the business of publishing and making movies that investors want us to be engaged in, that's the business on which you get multiple on your profits. Whereas being really good at collateral litigation doesn't get rewarded by investors and doesn't contribute to your market value in the same way. If you can get an alternative to paying your own operating cash for these collateral activities, whether it's litigation or something else that businesses do, that's a value. We help businesses take those costs off their PNL. We help them keep their operating cash to be devoted to the things that the core business are doing. So that's Part 1. Part 2 is especially in the world that we're in today where there is more and more litigation and that litigation can often be quite high value. These claims really do have significant future potential value. As a result, they are assets that businesses can obtain financing against today. Not only just to pay the costs of those cases, but also to generate today cash that businesses can turn around and use in their operating businesses. We do that as well. We effectively monetize the future expected value of litigation today, and we give businesses cash against those values so that they can go and grow and hire employees and increase their profitability. Rich Greifner: Thank you for that overview. That explains why litigation finance, legal finance is beneficial to the corporation. How about from the law firm side? You also provide a benefit to the law firms. Chris Bogart: We do because ultimately most of the law firms that we work with are law firms that have an hourly fee business model. They charge clients for their time, and law firms don't really have access to the capital markets. As you know, you can't go and buy stock in a US law firm. It's not permitted for you to do that. What that means from the law firm perspective is the only way for law firms to get capital into their business is by borrowing it from the bank. They would prefer not to do that. They would prefer another more sophisticated financial party like us to be in the market intermediating that capital. They would just like to do the business of law. They're happy to have us accommodate the desires of companies for alternative fee arrangements while at the same time not having to go and become financial institutions themselves. By the way, the investor side of that coin is that investors don't have very many good ways of getting exposure to the legal industry, and the legal industry is absolutely enormous. Globally, it's roughly the same size as the pharma industry. Chris Bogart: But as an investor, there are very few ways that you can go and get direct exposure to what's going on in that large and profitable industry and Buford is one of those ways. Rich Greifner: Buford, co founded in 2009, and the company has generated very consistently high returns on invested capital since that time and that suggests that you guys benefit from strong and sustainable competitive advantages. The company likes to call out four sources of competitive advantage. Your scale, your brand, your expertise, and your data. I was hoping we could just quickly touch on each of those four categories so let's start with scale. Why is scale so important in this industry? Chris Bogart: Scale is important, but all of those advantages really link together and create a pretty substantial mote for Buford. Buford is the industry leader by a very significant margin, both in terms of pure scale. In other words, the number of dollars of capital that we put out. We're sitting today with a portfolio that's north of $7 billion in size. We have more than 150 people spread around the world who do this work, many of whom are experienced former lawyers and what that does, you mentioned Goldman Sachs at the beginning of this conversation. When you look at Goldman or a Blackstone or KKR or Morgan Stanley , those firms get a certain amount of business simply because of their size, scale, and presence and we benefit from that as well. We're the known quantity in the legal industry. You'd be hard pressed today to find a partner at a major law firm who doesn't know about us and doesn't know that our capital and our services are available for their clients. Those are the competitive advantages that we've built over the last 15 years and they also lead to data. Data is a very significant competitive advantage for us that comes out of a combination of scale and longevity. The reason the data is important is because litigation is inherently risky. In any piece of litigation, there is idiosyncratic risk of a court, a judge, a jury not agreeing with your position and going in the opposite direction. When that happens, you have a loss in the case and when we have a loss in the case we lose our capital. Trying to make the best quality investment decision that we possibly can is a significant part of what we do here and one of the things about litigation, of course, is that a fair bit of litigation resolves by settlement, by negotiated between parties instead of buy a case going all the way to trial. Settlements are usually confidential and so as a result, it's relatively hard just based on public data for you to get a good data set from which to make high quality investment and analytical decisions. What we have is the benefit now because again, of our scale and longevity, the largest data set in the industry, which lets us apply significant quantitative rigor to our investment process and to make use of that data to improve our performance. We're now down, for example, to a loss rate across our portfolio of only about 9% which is very low when you think of litigation being brought in large dollar cases where those cases are often pretty evenly matched. Rich Greifner: For folks who aren't familiar with this industry. You mentioned this a bit. The majority of cases will settle, so about 70% of your cases settle an when a case settles, Buford typically earns attractive returns with no real litigation risk. About 8% of your cases go to trial and Buford loses and in that event, it's a near complete loss of capital. But there's about 21% of your cases that go to trial and Buford prevails and that is where the real money comes in. There you're looking to earn multi bugger returns on your initial investment. That's just an asymmetric characteristic of the industry. Chris Bogart: That's exactly right, and it's just common sense when you think about it. Litigation is inherently risky and so if you have a $10 million claim, you're not going to spend $10 million in legal fees to fight that claim. You're going to spend $10 million in legal fees only if you can get to $100 million in claim value. When we lose cases, yes, it's unpleasant to lose, but we're only losing the invested capital that we put into them. The $10 million in that example, when we win, we're capable of winning the entire claim. The $100 million in that example and the settlements fill in the middle range, because settlements are an inherently outcome, because they're negotiated with the other side. Rich Greifner: Yeah. The best example that we can provide of a big outlier success is your YPF case. Ordinarily, Buford doesn't reveal much information about the cases in which it invests. But this is so public and so material to your results that you guys have discussed this quite a bit. I'm hoping, can we just do a one minute overview? What is the YPF case? What's the brief history of it? Where do we stand now and what's next? Chris Bogart: YPF is a publicly traded energy company that's owned by the Argentine government. It was privatized a number of years ago. Argentina then renationalized and as it renationalized, breached its promises to shareholders to tender for their stock and YPF. As a result of that, large holders in the stock suffered financial distress because the share price collapsed. In particular, the Peterson clients went bankrupt and we were appointed by the Spanish Bankruptcy Court to try to get relief for their credit. In doing so, we brought a case on behalf of those creditors in federal court in New York. That case has gone all the way through the trial process and ultimately produced a final judgment that is now on appeal. That final judgment in the trial court was for a little bit over $16 billion. The reason that number is so high is simply because YPF was worth a lot and there is a formula for calculating that tender offer price that Argentina simply didn't pay. All the court did, ultimately, was find that both Argentina was liable and the court used the formula to calculate the tender offer price. Rich Greifner: Okay. You guys have been working on this case for eight or nine years now. You mentioned Argentina is found liable for about $16 billion in damages. Of that amount, Buford is owed a bit more than 6 billion, which is more than double the company's market cap. The market is obviously skeptical about your ability to actually collect cash from Argentina. I know you probably don't want to say too much here, but is there anything you could share that might give us some insight into your ability to enforce that judgment against Argentina? Chris Bogart: Well, I think it's not so much a question of enforcing the judgment, but we do a lot of judgment enforcement around the world and one of the characteristics of enforcing judgments is that that is a process that inherently in discounts, the face value of those judgments. Even though you've got a judgment sitting there for $16 billion ultimately you'd expect that judgment to be paid through a negotiated process with Argentina and that negotiation is going to result in a discount to that face value. Rich Greifner: I don't know if you can comment on this or not. Argentina has got a new president. Is there anything you can say about how that might impact your ability to collect? Chris Bogart: Well, we just to say it's obviously early days. The new president isn't even in office yet. But only to say that during the course of the presidential campaign, this judgment because of its size did come up and the government's position was Argentina needs to take care of its doubts. Dylan Lewis: As always, people on the program may own stocks mentioned and the motley fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buyer selling thing based solely on what you hear. I'm Dylan Lewis. Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Dylan Lewis has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Jason Moser has positions in Amazon. Rich Greifner has positions in Burford Capital. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Bitcoin, Blackstone, Burford Capital, DoorDash, Goldman Sachs Group, Intuitive Surgical, KKR, Netflix, and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Bitcoin ETFs, the Gig Economy, and Robotic Surgery was originally published by The Motley Fool

2024-01-17 02:00:01+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2932]}

{}

Apple Passed Samsung as World’s Top Phone Maker in 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-passed-samsung-world-top-020001255.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.’s iPhone dethroned Samsung Electronics Co. devices to become the best-selling smartphone series over the course of 2023, the first time South Korea’s largest company has lost the top spot since 2010. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him Sony Sends Termination Letter to Zee Over India Merger The iPhone accounted for a fifth of the global market with close to 235 million shipments last year, research firm IDC estimates. Samsung, whose shipments slumped double-digits to 226.6 million, came in second, ahead of Chinese device makers like Xiaomi Corp. While Apple has dominated the holiday quarter in recent years, its surge ahead of Samsung over a full year is unprecedented and suggests Apple is weathering an industrywide slump better than rivals. Apple benefited from aggressive offers that have enticed a shift toward premium devices. It managed to expand shipments in 2023 despite a lukewarm reception late in the year for the iPhone 15 in China — its biggest international market — where Huawei Technologies Co.’s growing popularity and a widening ban on government use is depressing sales. Read More: IPhone Sales in China to Fall Double Digits, Jefferies Says “While we saw some strong growth from low-end Android players like Transsion and Xiaomi in the second half of 2023, stemming from rapid growth in emerging markets, the biggest winner is clearly Apple,” IDC research director Nabila Popal said. “All this despite facing increased regulatory challenges and renewed competition from Huawei in China, its largest market. Apple’s ongoing success and resilience is in large part due to the increasing trend of premium devices, which now represent over 20% of the market.” The shift up the smartphone price chain has been driven in part by attractive trade-in offers and interest-free financing, IDC said. Apple was the only player in the global top three to register growth, of 3.7%, but it has not been immune to the wider decline. Sales in China of the latest-generation iPhone are significantly down from its predecessor, with some analyst expecting those drops to deepen. Story continues Part of Apple’s challenge in the world’s biggest mobile market comes from local tech powerhouse Huawei, which reclaimed some of the market share it lost after US sanctions by releasing the Mate 60 Pro smartphone running on an advanced made-in-China processor. Apple this week introduced rare discounts on the iPhone in the country, of as much as 5% per handset, as it sought to stem further erosion of sales. --With assistance from Nick Turner. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 05:22:10+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2585]}

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US stocks drop as bond yields jump after Fed official sees slower pace of rate cuts

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-stocks-drop-bond-yields-052210989.html

Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/

Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on May 25, 2023, in New York City. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images Stocks fell and bond yields jumped after the Fed's Christopher Waller cited a slow Fed pivot. "I believe it can and should be lowered methodically and carefully," he said in a speech. Strong bank earnings helped lifted up Goldman Sachs shares, while Boeing and Apple slid. Stocks fell Tuesday as investors readjusted their expectations of imminent interest rate cuts following comments from a key central bank official. The 10-year Treasury yield returned to 4% levels, as Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller outlined that the central bank would likely cut rates at a slower pace than markets are anticipating. "When the time is right to begin lowering rates, I believe it can and should be lowered methodically and carefully," he said in a speech at the Brookings Institution. The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 10 basis points Tuesday to 4.058%. His remarks followed similar caution from other central bankers, with officials speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Market expectations of a rate cut in March have since climbed lower, with futures now indicating a 65%. Fed policy may be further informed by Wednesday's retail sales data, and signal whether consumer spending strength continues to hold up. Among individual equities, strong bank earnings lifted up Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile, Boeing continued to tumble since the grounding of its Max 757, while Apple's share price after the Supreme Court ruled against it on app store policy . Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Tuesday: S&P 500 : 4,765.98, down 0.37% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 37,361.12, down 0.62% (-231.86 points) Nasdaq Composite : 14,944.35, down 0.19% Here's what else is going on: Boeing's market value has plummeted $28 billion since the MAX 757's panel blew out. Stocks are looking more and more like the 2020 bull market , NDR says. Homeowners look less deterred by mortgage rates , and could mean a wave of home listings, Zillow reports. Don't expect a soft landing and six rate cuts , Harvard's Kenneth Rogoff says. No 'tsunami of defaults' is coming as corporations have extended debt maturities, Bernstein says. Story continues In commodities, bonds, and crypto: Oil prices dropped. West Texas Intermediate slumped 1.2% to $71.80 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, fell 0.55% to $78.12 a barrel. Gold slid about 1% to $2,031 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 10 basis points to 4.058%. Bitcoin jumped 1.77% to $43,141. Read the original article on Business Insider

2024-01-17 06:13:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4576, 21406, 37084]}

{}

Q2 2024 Applied Digital Corp Earnings Call

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/q2-2024-applied-digital-corp-061355763.html

Thomson Reuters StreetEvents

https://financial.thomsonreuters.com/en.html

Presentation Operator Good morning, and welcome to Applied Digital's Fiscal second quarter 2024 conference call. My name is Sherry, and I will be your operator today. Before this call, Applied Digital issued a financial results for the fiscal second quarter ended November 30, 2023, in the press release, a copy of which will be furnished in a report on a Form 8-K filed with the SEC and will be available in the Investor Relations section of the company's website. Joining us on today's call are Applied Digital's Chairman and CEO, Wes Cummins; and CFO, David Rench. Following their remarks, we will open the call for questions. Before we begin, Alex Kovtun from Gateway Group will make a brief introductory statement. Mr. Kovtun, please proceed. Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Applied Digital's Fiscal second quarter 2024 conference call. Before management begins their formal remarks, as we would like to remind everyone that some statements we're making today may be considered forward-looking statements under securities laws and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. As a result, we caution you that there are a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. For more detailed risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our forward-looking statements, please see the disclosures in our earnings release and public filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We disclaim any obligation or any undertaking to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made, except as required by law. We will also discuss non-GAAP financial metrics and encourage you to read our disclosures and reconciliation tables to applicable GAAP measures in our earnings release carefully. As you consider these metrics, we refer you to our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for detailed disclosures and descriptions of our business as well as uncertainties and other variable circumstances, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties identified under the caption Risk Factors in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q. You may get Applied Digital Securities and Exchange Commission filings for free by visiting the SEC website at www.sec.gov. I would also like to remind everyone that this call is being recorded and will be made available for replay via a link available in the Investor Relations section of Applied Digital's website. Now I will turn the call over to Applied Digital's Chairman and CEO, Wes Cummins. Wes. Story continues Thanks, Alex, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining our fiscal second quarter 2024 conference call. I want to start by thanking our employees for their ongoing hard work and service and supporting our mission of providing digital infrastructure solutions to the rapidly growing high-performance computing industry. Before turning the call over to our CFO, David Rench, for a detailed review of our financial results. I'd like to discuss some recent developments across our business. Let's start with our data center hosting operations. Our 100 megawatt Jamestown facility continues to perform as expected and operated at full capacity with consistent uptime throughout the quarter. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter in which the Jamestown facility has operated at full capacity. Our180 megawatt Ellendale facility in North Dakota also operated at full capacity with consistent uptime during the quarter, bringing our total hosting capacity to 280 megawatts across North our North Dakota facilities. Both facilities are contracted out to customers on multi-year terms during the quarter, we announced the initial energization of our 200 megawatt Garden City facility in Texas. This is a significant milestone in Applied Digital's ongoing efforts to meet the growing demand for low-cost, scalable digital infrastructure. The Garden City facility had a small contribution to our results this quarter and is currently operating at approximately 132 megawatts with the remainder of the capacity expected to come online in the next several months. As we brought on the facility, we realized there were additional infrastructure improvements needed for the grid. We expect these improvements to be made no later than April. Our customers continue to send miners to the facility, and we are actively installing them. With the increase in the cost of Bitcoin, we are seeing demand increased significantly for hosting services. As a reminder, our Garden City facility is fully contracted with fixed prices, so we are not exposed to volatility in the crypto markets heading into the halving event this year. Once our Garden City facility becomes fully energized, we will have approximately 500 megawatts of hosting capacity across our three data center hosting facilities. We expect our three sites to deliver up to $300 million in revenue and $100 million of adjusted EBITDA on an annualized basis. Operating cash flow from data center hosting services will ramp up significantly in March as the majority of our prepayments burn off in February. Let's move on to cloud services, which provide high-performance computing power for primarily AI applications. It continues to grow quickly as we progress further in supporting our existing contracts and pursue additional opportunities in our pipeline. Since our last earnings announcement, we have added an additional cloud customer, which brings our total annual contract value of cloud service contracts at full capacity to approximately $398 million. We tailor our agreements to our customers so that they as they raise money, we can exercise options embedded in the contract to deploy GPUs and ramp host ramp up hosting capacity over time. While the typical customers for our cloud service has been private VC-backed companies. We are now also seeing strong demand from the enterprise market for large amounts of GPU compute capacity. We are excited to see demand increasing from this important segment of the market and have plans to hire sales talent to enhance our outreach efforts. We continue to secure access to GPUs. However, there have been some delays in installations attributable to pending deliveries of networking components. We believe it's prudent to receive GPU deliveries only when all associated equipment is on-site and ready for installation, which is how we structure our client deposits. Additionally, we continue to actively explore vendor financing and other tailored financing options to support the capital requirements for the 34,200 GPUs we have on order to support our current customer demand. To date, we have four 1,024 clusters installed and are planning to ship an additional four in the next two weeks. These clusters, as they're currently configured, put us in an elite class of next-generation supercomputers in terms of raw compute power or petaflops for the most demanding AI applications. We expect to reach a minimum of 10 before the end of the fiscal year with the Jamestown cluster representing the opportunity to put us in the top 10 supercomputers for AI workloads. The fully commission clusters are expected to generate over $200 million of annualized revenue. Lastly, let me provide an update on our purpose-built HPC. data centers during the quarter, we broke ground on our first 100 megawatt high performance compute facility in Ellendale, North Dakota. This facility will offer low-cost, high-efficiency liquid cooled infrastructure designed for HPC applications. Construction is proceeding as expected. Our unique proprietary architecture and design implementation, together with the strategic placement of the Ellendale facility near sources of abundant and renewable power will offer scalable infrastructure for these workloads that will offer a significant cost reduction to our customers and deliver best-in-class performance that maximizes high-power density compute. We believe that this advantage is sustainable in this emerging market for data centers specialized in running AI workloads. Our contracted power and adjoining land at our facilities will become valuable assets over the next 18 months. We believe there will be a significant supply constraints for power in the data center market. We have already seen the robust demand for our data centers, which driven by the burgeoning a landscape has exceeded our initial expectations. We believe we'll be in a strong competitive position to support this demand. As a reminder, we have 400 megawatts of capacity in development across North Dakota and Utah. This does not include the current nine megawatts of capacity we have at our stand-alone facility in Jamestown to support cloud service customers as we enter the second half of fiscal 2024. We're well positioned to capitalize on the demand we're seeing across both our cloud service and HPC data center business, and we will continue to allocate our capital appropriately to the highest risk-adjusted returns to maximize shareholder value. With that, I now turn the call over to our CFO, David Rench, to walk you through our financials and provide an update on guidance. David? Thanks, Wes, and good morning everyone. Revenues for the fiscal second quarter of 2024 were $42.2 million compared to $12.3 million for the fiscal second quarter of 2023. The increase was driven primarily by the full quarter of revenue generation from the L&L facility. The Garden City facility beginning revenue generation during the fiscal second quarter of fiscal year 2024, and additional revenue from the Jamestown facility due to increased uptime. In addition, the company recognized a full quarter of revenue from the first cloud service contract during the fiscal second quarter of 2024. Cost of revenues for the fiscal second quarter of 2024 was $29.2 million compared to $11.8 million for the fiscal second quarter of 2023. The increase in cost of revenues was attributable to higher energy costs used to generate hosting revenues, depreciation, and amortization expense and additional personnel expenses driven by the growth of the business as more facilities were energized. Selling, general and administrative expenses for the fiscal second quarter of 2024 were $21.1 million compared to $27.2 million in the prior year comparable period. The decrease was primarily due to lower stock-based compensation expense and was partially offset by increases and depreciation, amortization, and personnel cost. Net loss for the fiscal second quarter of 2024 was $10.5 million or a loss of $0.10 per basic and diluted share based on a weighted average share count during the quarter of approximately $109.7 million. This compares to a net loss of $26.8 million or a loss of $0.28 per basic and diluted share. In the fiscal second quarter of 2023, based on a weighted average share count during the quarter were approximately $93.4 million. Adjusted net loss, a non-GAAP measure for the fiscal second quarter of 2024 was $5.2 million or adjusted net loss per basic and diluted share of $0.05 based on a weighted average share count during the quarter of approximately $109.7 million. This compares to an adjusted net loss of $3.8 million, or $0.04 per basic and diluted share for the fiscal second quarter of 2023 based on a weighted average share count of approximately $93.4 million during the quarter. The significant headwind we faced during the fiscal second quarter of 2024 was amortization and occupancy charges for leases of computing equipment and data center space that have been assessed access by the company but are not yet supporting revenue, but lease expense for the colocation sites nights not supporting revenue, totaled $1.5 million and were not added back to into adjusted EBITDA or adjusted earnings. Amortization of GPUs not supporting revenue was $3.7 million and was not added back to adjusted earnings. We expect this impact to decrease in the future quarters as we resolve supply chain delays and are able to stand up full computing clusters that support revenue. Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure for the fiscal second quarter of 2024 was $10.6 million compared to an adjusted EBITDA loss for the fiscal second quarter of 2023 of $2.2 million. Lastly, on our balance sheet, we ended the fiscal second quarter with $34.6 million in cash equivalents, cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $42.8 million in debt. During the first two quarters of 2024 received $81.8 million in customer payments due to the structure of our commercial arrangements with our customers that incorporate upfront deposits and prepayments. In certain contracts, the prepayments are credited back to the customers over the term of the contract. This has no impact on revenue recognition, but the upfront cash flow is a major benefit for the company as it helps with our CapEx funding as we build out our data centers. Since the quarter closed, we have received an additional $11.1 million in customer prepayments and $23.1 million in net proceeds from the ATM offering. The ATM offering is now complete. Now turning to guidance. Due to the delayed delivery of certain networking components for our GPU clusters. We now expect our revenue and EBITDA to be below the low end of our previously guided range. For the fiscal year 2024 network component deliveries improved in recent weeks, but did have a significant impact on the timing of commissioning clusters and our revenue and EBITDA. We now expect to exit the fiscal year 2024 at an annual revenue run rate of approximately $500 million and an annualized adjusted EBITDA run rate of $250 million. Now I'll turn the call over to Wes for closing remarks. Thank you, David. We're well positioned to capitalize on the growing opportunities across our business and look forward to continuing our momentum in the second half of the year. I'd like to thank all of our team members for their dedication in making applied what it is today and our shareholders for your continued trust, our mission and execution, we are now happy to take questions. Operator? Question and Answer Session Operator (Operator Instructions) Lucas Pipes, B. Riley Securities. Thank you very much, operator. Good morning, everyone. And my first question is on the HPC hosting side and the conditional agreement that you announced and of the few ones. First, in terms of the total value you cite there, should we kind of think of $220 million of revenue per year? And then are your margin expectations for the segment still around 40% and on the capital cost side? I've been working with a $5 million per megawatt assumption. Wondered if that's still a good number to use think. Thank you very much for your details. Yes, good morning. Lucas. Thank you, the so there's not a lot more detail that I can give versus what we announced, but let's talk about the costs. I think we've talked about in our shareholder in the Analyst Day in the Shareholder Day that that cost moving towards $6 million to $7 million per megawatt versus the $5 million as we've worked through the new designs for the $5 million was more for the previous design, and this is the three-story design that we're working for. So that's what we're looking at, but the as far as economics that fits in the economics that we've talked about previously, right, which is about the $2 million per megawatt in revenue and $1 million of EBITDA per megawatt. Got it. That's very helpful. Thank you for that. And turning to guidance for a moment. In terms of the components that have been delayed what exactly has been the bottleneck? Could give you low had a little bit more color on that? And then I think previously you provided some color on GPUs online or for the average in fiscal Q3 and Q4. I think you mentioned it in your prepared remarks, but is trying to take notes and couldn't quite keep up. So if you have maybe expectation around kind of Q3, Q4 GPUs would appreciate color around all of this. Thank you. Sure. So the components that are the issue for delivery. It's not the GPUs themselves. It's specific networking components related to the InfiniBand networking piece of the cluster. And it was I've talked about this several times already, and this has been the bottleneck, I would say for the last kind of three or four months. We are getting delivery of those. It's a matter of making sure you get delivery of every component because you need all of the components to stand up the cluster, commission it and get it operating for customers. So we're seeing improvement in the delivery of InfiniBand and it's been specifically on the transceiver side of the InfiniBand deployments. So we had one cluster up and running last quarter. We have four deployed now, as I said in my prepared remarks, we expect another to receive another four. And on the cluster, just as a reminder, this cluster for us, I know it can be a little bit confusing, but it's 1,024 GPUs per cluster is how we refer to it. And so we'll receive another four in the next two weeks is our expectation. And so also think of where pricing has gone for us on these clusters, you should think about $20 million of annual revenue per cluster deployed. So that the difficulty we have is just we were a few weeks because right now if they were running about eight weeks behind our original expectation. But when you think about the revenue ramp and the revenue generation on a week by week basis, we go from one clusters. We're generating $20 million of revenue. Three per year for that cluster to our business goes to four clusters, which is $80 million of revenue per year. And then our units in a few weeks, our business goes to a clusters, which is $160 million of revenue per year. So when we look at our guidance rate were just agencies. We were assuming 10 clusters deployed by the end of our fiscal year, which is made about 4.5 months away. So that 10 clusters plus are blockchain postings solutions that gets us to that $500 million run rate. I think we can do better than that. But that's the number that I think it is a very conservative number for us to hit by the end of the year. That's very helpful. Thank you, Wes, for all the color. One quick one, the of $45.8 million in property equipment and other assets that have been purchased year to date. Are you able to provide a breakdown between HBC and GPUs in that number? I'm sorry, Lucas, which number was up the purchase year to them? Yes, that's the number of property and equipment that's been purchased to date. Year to date. So of that, the majority of that goes into HPC. So when you look on our balance sheet, so as you look at our balance sheet, the where the GPUs are showing up because of how we're financing the GPUs is the lease asset, the right to use assets. And then we'll have a and then on the on the liability side, you'll see a capital lease. One of the things I would call out with this is on the leases we deploy the GPUs, you the entire right to use asset goes into long-term assets, whereas on the lease liability, it's split about half and half between long-term viability and short-term liabilities. So when you look through the balance sheet, the leases right now because we're doing what I always refer to as equipment finance, senior capital leases, that's how we're financing GPUs. So when you look through CapEx, the vast majority of what you'll see is CapEx on equipment is the HPC facility, the data center and then on the lease rate to use in the capital leases and those liabilities is where you'll see the GPUs. That is very helpful. Thank you, Wes, for all the color and best of luck. Thanks, Lucas. Operator George Sutton, Craig-Hallum Capital Group. Thank you. It's great to see the conditional agreement. I just wondered if you could walk us through the project level financing side of this and sort of how do these ultimately come together in your mind? Is it a combination of construction, loan financing and project financing? And any sense of the market dynamics there that we should know about. Yes, I think, George. So we've talked about this publicly before. So the way these agreements we've been marketing this since mid September then when you think about this, you should think about marketing people do view or potential customers do a lot of due diligence on the site. You answer a significant number of questions, site visits, all of those things that you would expect in the due diligence, and then you typically go into a role for a period of right of first refusal period where someone gets exclusivity that you won't sell it outside of anyone. And I'm not talking about our specific agreement now, I'm just talking about the way that we've experienced this working. And then you work to get to a contract. And then post the contract, you go to project-level finance. We are engaged with multiple parties on the project level finance side. We have been for awhile. We haven't we're not waiting. We weren't waiting for an agreement to go to project-level finance. But on the project level finance side, you'll get in the neighborhood of 65% to 80% loan to cost at the project level. So this won't go at the corporate level that goes down at the site level, just like we've done with all of our Bitcoin sites. And then there's what we call the equity component, which I always look at, as we work through, this is more than what people would refer to in our industry as like mez debt. So you have the construction finance, you know that that debt runs kind of in the 7.5% to 8% type cost range. And then you have the mez piece, the equity piece and then you have our contribution to it. And our contribution, we can have continued construction. We broke ground continued construction on the site in Ellendale, and we've put a significant amount of money into that already. So I think we're close to where we need to be on the equity portion of that loan and the remainder will come in from project level finance and this mez debt piece where typically someone will get kind of a high mid to high 10s return on their capital. And it's generally first money out and then maybe retains a small piece of ownership from, call it [4%, 5%]. It's [3%, 5%] in the site itself. And so that's the process there right now. So I wondered if you could walk through the 400 megawatts that you're ultimately marketing, obviously, 100 megawatts now effectively spoken for. Just you know, it's very clear to us that the demand side of the equation here is going to be pretty significant. I'm just curious what you're seeing as you're going to market with the other 300 megawatts of opportunity? Yes. So your demand was robust. We had two parties very deep in diligence last year. As of the thing that we have seen, which has been interesting in that in January, we kicked the year off. We've had several more parties, short-term three more in the last week on than fields. It feels almost like kind of and I'm looking for capacity from just in the last couple of weeks. So we're seeing a lot of interest and the parties that are involved would easily take more than the capacity that we have. So it's nice to get to the first one, you know, close to over the finish line on it, but I the expectation for me is that over the next month or two months, we're going to have the full 400 booked out. And a reminder, I think I think when we think about this the biggest issue that we face, which is a high quality issue, is how much do we carve out for ourselves? Because we want to carve some of this out for ourselves for our own cloud solution. And I think that's really the question mark, is what's the highest and best value for these for our assets because we want to carve them out for ourselves, but we have a massive amount of demand for the capacity that we have. And George, the reason we have that demand is the 400 megawatts that we have is 400 megawatts that could come online over the next 18 months. The Power's available the land is there permitting. We're in a really good position in a market that is already short capacity, and I think it's going to get worse over the next few months. Last question for me on the side computing side, obviously we understand the supply chain challenge. Looking past that, I'm just curious on the demand side. So you mentioned you've got another four clusters that could ship here soon. Is there any demand challenge that you're seeing or has anything changed there? Or is it really just a limitation on the supply chain side? So on the demand side, the only thing that has changed on the demand side is that we're seeing a new group come into the market, as I mentioned in my prepared remarks. So the demand remains extremely robust on the kind of the VC-backed startup companies. But what we're seeing in the market is what we're referring to as enterprise customers. So these And just so I can define enterprise customers. These are companies that generally are very large companies, you know, typically publicly traded typically north of $50 billion type of market cap. They have a business. They already have their own business. And now that to me what it feels like they have been working on their AI strategy. They have landed on what they plan to do with their in AI, and now they're looking for significant amounts of GPU capacity. So that's a new element for us on the we have we have one of those customers that we've been working with for about two months now. And they've moved into what we call it. We'll call it proof of concept, which is basically a test drive of our infrastructure. Then I think we could get that customer into contracting here in the next two to three weeks. But that's been the only the only change, which is in increased demand, but from a different segment of the market. The way I looked at this market, it is a bit of a barbell rate. It's on one side. You have the hyperscalers. So this was last year, you have the hyperscalers on one side and then you have the VC startups on the other side. And then kind of there was nothing in the middle. And now we're seeing that piece in the middle start to show up. Perfect. Thanks for the details. Absolutely. Thanks, George. Operator Darren Aftahi, Roth MKM. Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions. Just two, if I may, if I heard you correctly pricing's kind of gone up on the GPU side. I think Wes, maybe you said on an annualized basis with the [10,000] to be over [$200 million]. I'm just kind of curious, I think at the Analyst Day, which is not too long ago, you talked about a $1.5 monthly run rate. I guess what's changed? And then on the GPU side, I know you are targeting 10,000 by the end of your fiscal year. I guess, given there are some uncontrollables on components what's your level of confidence in that 10,000 number? Sure. So yes, Darren, you're right. The pricing has gone up some. So we're seeing the number I gave before is with our one of our largest customers, and we were pricing that at around two bucks an hour on the GPU capacity and reserve contract. What we're seeing now is for most of our customers, we're signing contracts. And what it looks like in marketplace is kind of in the [220, 225] range and for two year reserve contracts and somewhere between 20% and 30% prepayments on the contracts. So that's the color on the kind of the update on pricing. And then on the 10,000, that's the number we took that down from the [26]. So the original for us was 26. We had a colocation capacity for 26. And where we are now is just with the slowness on the component side for InfiniBand, you know, the 10,000 is a number that we feel really comfortable with hitting. We feel really comfortable in multiple ways, both on delivery the GPUs, but also on the financing of the GPUs without going outside to do a larger deal. That piece that has been done by some of the players in the market. So we feel really comfortable on both sides of that some, but that's the reason we gave that guidance. However, what I would say about that is I think there's more we can do on the GPU side. So we'll have the [4,000] plus 4,000 shortly. So you know, call it mid-February were [8,000] of those clusters of the 10,000 that we're guiding for. So I think that leaves us plenty of room between there and the end of May. Well, if I could squeeze one more in on Garden City just Laclede obviously, and ramp as fast as everyone expected with the grid components. Can you just maybe talk a little bit about maybe what is needed, how quickly those can get from here? And then I'm just kind of curious, your propensity to continue to do business maybe with the next site in somewhere like Texas, like, how would you kind of grade that in terms of wanting to do business in a place like Texas? Yes. I mean, I live in Texas. I love it there. So I don't want to say anything bad about Texas, we'll leave that. But the sites we're doing in the future right now are North Dakota and Utah. So those are the two areas working on we've I think we've talked about this in the past. We were out looking for more capacity because the demand we see in the market, we have a pipeline of additional capacity that sits north of a gigawatt. So we're working through that. And then specific to the Texas site, there's some improvements of I'm going to butcher this a little bit, but I think we need a little resiliency, which is a capacitor bank put in it, not specifically in our location, but a substation that's in the area to get fully up to the [200]. There's two ways to go there. There's a getting approved for wind plus grid is one route. And the other is I think it's a capacitor bank that needs to be installed and not a huge expense on that by the way on. But the we've been working on that since late November or December and the guidance that we gave is the what we view as the worst case scenario, which would be the April timeframe for that, the remainder of that to come on. So we're going to we're basically waiting for the last 65 megawatts to come on there. Great. Thank you. Operator Rob Brown, Lake Street Capital Markets. Hi, good morning. Just following up on the new anchor customer, could you give us a sense of sort of what vertical that customers? And I mentioned, I guess, enterprise or VC-backed side, what sort of group is that? So we can't do that. But what I can what I can tell you is the customer set that we are seeing of all the people that are looking at the site from there. There's not a lot of companies that exist in the world are that are going to take down a 100 megawatts or 200 megawatts or 300 themselves. And so it's a very small group and all of the companies that that are in the mix for us in North Dakota are names that everyone would easily recognize they're looking for high-power density hosting, high-power density data center capacity on, but it's but it's all companies that you would recognize them instantly. Okay. Thank you. And then just wanted to follow up on the GPU a discussion around, I guess, do you still have commitments to buy the 26,000 GPUs and deploy them after May, or is that still to be determined that contract activity? Those orders are still valid even up to the 34,000. And so we just expect to continue. By the way, Rob, just to clarify on those orders, it's 34,000 right now for each [100]. We can still change those orders, whether it's for [H200] or the [GH200], right? These are fluid for us. So as the market evolves, we're able to react to that. But we still have those in queue. And the ability to bring those when all of the components are available. So that is an issue in the quarter we had just now, as David mentioned in his prepared remarks, just to give clarity on that. So we took delivery of the second cluster during the quarter. We were paying for that cluster, and those were the expenses in total were just under $4 million. So paying for that cluster without that cluster generating revenue because we didn't have the InfiniBand components to fully commission that cluster and turn it over to our customer. So we basically pause the GPU deliveries for ourselves because we don't want to be paying for the GPUs while we can't offer them to our customers and generate revenue for them. So that's really what's happened for us. But we still have all those orders in place and expect to deploy those. We just need to be more careful, I guess about when we expect those to be deployed. Got it. Great. Thank you for the color. I'll turn it. Operator John Taranto, Needham & Company. Great. Thanks for taking my question. A couple ones here. One, so you called out before, I think you're supposed to be 20,000 GPUs by end of December '23 from on the last call or the Analyst Day, maybe you did you did talk about them some possible delays in the InfiniBand. I'm just kind of curious, did that situation get worse than you expected? Or were those delays kind of on your mind and you guys just missed kind of analyzed? So John, specifically on those nodes, we're getting delivery of certain of the vast majority of the networking equipment that we needed. There was one particular component, but you need that component to make it work. So we are in an instance where we are in one of our clusters, right? We have a the entire InfiniBand set up besides the 28 transceivers, just as an example, our view you can fully commission that cluster and generate revenue. So it's been just squeezing in those transceivers is specifically what it is. So like I said, we could have taken delivery of a lot more GPUs, but I see no point, and I think it's detrimental to us to take delivery and not be able to generate revenue and pay for the GPUs. So we just held that off and made that decision in December. We could have taken a significant number of GPUs in December. But again, no reason to do that. So as those come available I think that you could see us speed that up again significantly, and we've started to see that loosen up in the marketplace in late December and January on your own. I'm not ready to say that we'll be able to speed that up to meet kind of the 20,000 and the 26,000, and 34,000 deployments. Got it. Okay. And then that's helpful. Another question I had, you had mentioned this this new customer contract in this high compute side, enterprise customer. How are you could move your proof of concept and start delivering on that contract shortly. Just curious with the delay, wouldn't the previously existing contracts come before this one? Or did anything change with those contracts? No, nothing has changed with those contracts. And just to clarify, John, we don't have a contract with the enterprise customers in proof of concept, and then we'd be moving to contracting so I just want to be clear on that. But nothing has changed with our previous customers, but it's exciting to see an entire new group show up in the marketplace. Looking for a significant amount, significant amount of GPU compute. And these are established companies that make money and have a product and some it's just I'm just calling out that that's a that's kind of a new area of the market that we've seen develop over the last really starting kind of in late November. Okay. Got it. And just to clarify, though, so even with the delays, though customers are still kind of lining up knocking on doors it sounds like. Yes, we have had no issue with that. Okay. Got it. I would say, and I said this earlier, John, but I would say we've seen with the entrance of the enterprise customer. I would say that overall, we've seen demand increase from our last conference call. Some of we haven't seen anything slowdown. We've seen it increase. Got it. Thank you. Appreciate it. Operator (Operator Instructions) Mike Grondahl, Northland Securities. Hey, guys. What is the rough estimate of Applied's contribution to complete financing of the construction, just the project side of it for the anchor tenant? What do you guys have to pitch into that roughly? Yes, how one should be So far, so good, good question, Mike. So when you think about so if we say 7 million megawatts go to the high end of that arm. So at 7 million megawatts, we're going to land anywhere from 65% to 85% -- sorry, 65% to 80% on a construction finance on project level finance. And then what we expect to have and what we in the industry would call an equity partner. However, as I explained earlier, that generally looks more like mez debt. And so at the end you're looking at us, our expectation is that will contribute somewhere between 5% and 10% of the project in cash for the equity portion of that. And we've already spent north of $25 million on that currently for Ellendale on spend. And then, Mike, when we look at that to you, I think David mentioned this in his prepared remarks, is for us on the cash flow for the company. I think it's important to note that when we hit March 1, the cash flow from our Bitcoin data centers improves dramatically, right? We burned through the vast majority of the prepayments at that point. And so the cash flow from that portion of our business improves dramatically. Got it. Got it. That's helpful. I'm assuming that the anchor tenant will be supplying the GPUs, but could you clarify there? Yes. So on the data center business, we are just providing space. Think of this as an Equinix or DLR style business. We're providing the space, they selected the equipment and they buy the equipment. And then we're just hosting very, very similar to what we do on the cloud side. Got it. Got it. In roughly when would you begin to recognize revenue with this anchor customer on what is in any? I'm not going to hold you to above roughly as this plays out, when would you expect that revenue? So right now the expectation is the revenue would be in the very early part of the second half of this calendar year. Like July, August would be kind of. Okay. Yes, great. And then just one last question on the bitcoin hosting business. Any contract renewals or extensions have any updated kind of terms or is everything kind of locked down in that business? It's locked down. The things of note are our largest customer there we have some four years, maybe a little over four years on most of the capacity for our largest customer there on the contract. And the only thing of note is this probably shouldn't surprise you, but we're getting a lot more calls about hosting capacity. We are never out marketing because we don't have any to offer. But we are getting a lot more calls about hosting capacity over the last, call it, six weeks, eight weeks as the price of bitcoin has went up significantly. Got it. Okay. Hey, thank you. Operator Kevin Dede, H.C. Wainwright. Curious about the number of facilities that you're running are leasing to supply the power you need for your cloud service segment? Sure. So we are we have third-party facilities in Denver, in Minnesota, and in Salt Lake City. And we have our own Jamestown facility in Jamestown, North Dakota. Yes, Jamestown, you have maxed out at eight megawatts, if I understand correctly. So Jamestown will hold 5,000 GPUs for us. If I can do it on megawatts? I can tell you on the GPU capacity, however, you prefer home. Whatever you're used to find. And I'm just I guess the real genesis of the question as in meeting cloud builds, right? The amount of given the market's really tight, how are you securing the power that you need to meet your customer demands on the cloud service side? So we secured this power back in the summer of last year. So middle of the year last year, we secured these power sites. We saw the demand and we ran out and grab the capacity to be able to service it. And so we secured that at that point. And so we have the capacity both from third party and our own facilities for the 26,000 GPUs that we talked about and the new as we go beyond that, our expectation is that it will go into our own facilities from Polk post that 26,000 as we continue to grow. Right, so [2035], we got delta going into the Allentown facility that's under construction. Yes. Okay. I think I correctly heard you mentioned a marketing initiative and I was wondering if you could be more specific about the direction that you're going to take that. Do you think that goes towards that enterprise market that you're seeing starting to develop? Yes. So specifically for the enterprise market. So as a reminder, Kevin, I think we've talked about this before, but we've never had a single salesperson at our company, and we hired our first salesperson a few months ago, and we're going to add more to that capability specifically to go after this enterprise market that we see developing now on. So that's our expectation. But previous to that, we've never had a salesperson. We've had no sales force whatsoever in the company. Understood. And congrats on that. I guess I'm just still a little shaky in how you see that market developing and I guess sort of your competitive positioning and if demand is so strong why would a marketing initiative be necessary. So you know that we've hired a one salesperson. Maybe we'll hire another one, but there's an idea about, you know, going out and making sure people know who we are and what we do, because we've never done that before in the history of the company. So that's really the idea. So I don't think you should be thinking that we're hiring 20 sales people. But I do think it's prudent to get a few salespeople on onboard now developed that sales organization and the idea here is that we've discussed a lot internally used. We don't need it now, but we don't want to wait until we need it to build it. It makes sense. Okay. All things that do need any are offensive kind of looking for clarification? Thanks a lot. No, no, no. That's it. Kevin, we're discussing it on the call here, but we've debated a lot internally where there's a group of people saying why would we have salespeople? We don't have anything to sell. Another side because that thinks that we should develop this before we need it. And I guess we ended in the latter camp, which is I think it's a good idea to develop the sales team before you actually need it. I don't disagree. Right, marketing makes it happen. Congrats again on the results, Wes. Thank you very much for taking the questions. Thanks, Kevin. Operator (Operator Instructions) And there are no further questions at this time. I would like to hand the conference back over to Wes for some closing comments. Thanks, and thanks, everyone, for joining. And my last comment is just wanted to say thank you to the team in Ellendale is we're sitting here in January. It's not the most pleasant climate for them to be continuing construction on our site. So really appreciate the team and everyone who makes it happen for us, and I look forward to speaking to you next quarter. Operator Thank you. That will conclude today's conference. You may disconnect your lines at this time. And thank you for your participation.

2024-01-17 07:08:43+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [518], "BTC": [61]}

{"Bitcoin": [51]}

Chiliz, Klaytn Tokens Surge Over 10% on M&A Hopes, Bitcoin Listless

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chiliz-klaytn-tokens-surge-over-055438027.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Smaller cryptocurrencies are having their moment as bitcoin [BTC] trades listless in the wake of the recent debut of spot ETFs in the U.S. Of particular note are CHZ, the native token of the Chiliz network used to purchase Fan tokens on Socios.com and KLAY, the utility token of Layer 1 blockchain network Klaytn, which is backed by Korean internet giant Kakao. In the past 24 hours, CHZ has rallied 10%, topping $0.11 for the first time since May last year, and KLAY has rallied 14.7% to $0.228, CoinDesk data shows. Bitcoin has been primarily directionless, exchanging hands between $42,500 and $43,500. On Tuesday, Chiliz’s CEO, Alexandre Dreyfus, said on X that Chiliz will pursue an aggressive merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy this year to create enormous ecosystems combining existing tokens and networks. Meanwhile, Klaytn and Web3-focused Finschia Foundation proposed to merge the two chains to create an Asian Web3 powerhouse. Finschia is a public mainnet successor to the LINE blockchain. “The proposed merger will bring together South Korea and Japan’s leading blockchains to form an ecosystem of over 420 DApps. The new blockchain will inherit Klaytn and Finschia’s integration with Kakaotalk and LINE, creating a user base of over 250 million across Asia," Klaytn said in a social media post on Tuesday. Holders of KLAY and Finschia’s FNSA token will be able to swap their holdings for a new coin to be created upon completion of the merger, Klaytn added, noting the new coin will have low inflation, a burning mechanism and a zero reserve strategy. (FNSA token has dropped 6% in the past 24 hours). We weren’t joking when we said 2024 is going to be wild - we’ve just submitted a governance proposal to merge the #Klaytn and @finschia blockchains to create Asia’s largest Web3 ecosystem! Details below 🧵 https://t.co/rNsqxxjBsj pic.twitter.com/mvJHPGdYof — Klaytn (@klaytn_official) January 16, 2024 View comments

2024-01-17 07:21:27+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2693]}

{}

OpenAI Is Working With US Military on Cybersecurity Tools

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/openai-working-us-military-cybersecurity-170322501.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- OpenAI is working with the Pentagon on a number of projects including cybersecurity capabilities, a departure from the startup’s earlier ban on providing its artificial intelligence to militaries. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Sony Sends Termination Letter to Zee Over India Merger Trump Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Insult After DeSantis Backs Him The ChatGPT maker is developing tools with the US Defense Department on open-source cybersecurity software — collaborating with DARPA for its AI Cyber Challenge announced last year — and has had initial talks with the US government about methods to assist with preventing veteran suicide, Anna Makanju, the company’s vice president of global affairs, said in an interview at Bloomberg House at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday. Read More: Davos Live: Zelenskiy Delivers Fervent Appeal for Additional Aid The company had recently removed language in its terms of service banning its AI from “military and warfare” applications. Makanju described the decision as part of a broader update of its policies to adjust to new uses of ChatGPT and its other tools. “Because we previously had what was essentially a blanket prohibition on military, many people thought that would prohibit many of these use cases, which people think are very much aligned with what we want to see in the world,” she said. But OpenAI maintained a ban on using its tech to develop weapons, destroy property or harm people, Makanju said. Microsoft Corp., OpenAI’s largest investor, provides several software contracts to the US armed forces and other government branches. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Microsoft are assisting the US Defense Advanced Research Agency with its AI Cyber Challenge to find software that will automatically fix vulnerabilities and defend infrastructure from cyberattacks. Story continues The Intercept had previously reported the changes to OpenAI’s terms. Read More: Microsoft’s Nadella Wants Stability at OpenAI, Not Control OpenAI also said that it’s accelerating its work on election security, devoting resources to ensuring that its generative AI tools aren’t used to spread political disinformation. “Elections are a huge deal,” Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive officer, said in the same interview. “I think it’s good that we have a lot of anxiety.” (Updates with additional details on DARPA project throughout) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 07:26:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1513, 1551, 1700, 1927, 2390]}

{}

A Huge Crypto Bet Spawns the World’s Top-Performing ESG Fund

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cathie-wood-esg-fund-trounces-200000867.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The world’s best-performing ESG fund of 2023 was built by Ark Investment Management LLC and powered by a huge bet on crypto. Most Read from Bloomberg Stocks Drop as Solid Economic Data Lift US Yields: Markets Wrap Musk Pressures Tesla’s Board for Another Massive Stock Award Apple to Allow Outside Payments for Apps After US Decision A Wary World Braces for Trump’s Return to the White House China’s Economic Growth Disappoints, Fueling Stimulus Calls The $2.4 billion Nikko AM Ark Positive Change Innovation Fund (ticker NIPCIPJ LX) returned 68% last year, more than double the gains delivered by the S&P 500. Its biggest holding was Coinbase Global Inc., which makes up almost a tenth of the fund, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Nikko-Ark fund is registered as “promoting” ESG under European rules. The outperformance caps a year in which investing in funds with environmental, social and governance themes has faced major headwinds. More conventional clean-tech ESG assets such as wind and solar tanked as capital-intensive projects in those sectors were upended by higher interest rates. But ESG funds that opted for other corners of tech fared much better. Last year’s 21% slump in the S&P Global Clean Energy Index coincided with an almost fivefold surge in the market value of Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange. Crypto enthusiasts then started 2024 on a high after the US Securities and Exchange Commission moved ahead with its hotly anticipated approval of a number of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. (Those Bitcoin gains have since evaporated in what some analysts say is a classic case of “buy the rumor, sell the fact.”) Read More: Coinbase at Center of Bitcoin ETF Machine Draws Envy and Risks Thomas Hartmann-Boyce, a portfolio manager at Ark, said the SEC approval gives Coinbase shares “major room to run,” thanks to its position as “the leading custodian for those underlying Bitcoin assets.” Coinbase “is certainly our highest conviction name that falls within the digital assets category,” he said in an interview. The fund gets a model portfolio from Ark Investment Management, which was founded by Cathie Wood. It’s then analyzed and implemented by Nikko Asset Management Co. Investments are in disruptive technologies that align with the United Nations sustainable development goals, according to Hartmann-Boyce. He acknowledges that Bitcoin consumes a lot of energy to mine, but says the fund’s sustainability rationale relates to the transparency around transactions, and the provision of financial services to the underbanked. Story continues Overall, ESG funds that dodged more traditional green assets and instead went all-in on tech outperformed last year. Among the top performers was JPMorgan US Technology Fund (JPMUSTC LX), which delivered almost 65% to its investors. The fund, like the Nikko Ark portfolio, is registered as “promoting” ESG, a category that’s formally known as Article 8 under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Hartmann-Boyce said Ark targets a compound annual rate of return of at least 15% over the next five years for its high-conviction public equities, which include Coinbase, CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Block Inc. and Pacific Biosciences of California Inc. Investors in the fund are no strangers to volatility, with 2023’s huge gains following a slump of more than 50% in 2022, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. So far this year, the fund has lost about 5%. And Coinbase is down about 23% year-to-date. Of the 28 analysts monitored by Bloomberg who track the stock, 11 now recommend selling. Peter Graf, the chief investment officer for Nikko in the Americas, said the fund remains committed to its strategy and allocations, even against the backdrop of a volatile macroeconomic outlook and a rough start for tech stocks. “I’m looking to offer a long-term exposure” to sustainability-related innovation, he said. “We wouldn’t want to characterize this as just purely a growth portfolio,” Graf said. “There’s also certainly a small-cap flavor; it’s really a bottom-up portfolio that happens to have a lot of correlation with growth. But on an individual company-by-company basis, the idea is that the new technologies — regardless of the business cycle — are going to work out.” --With assistance from Suvashree Ghosh. (Adds fund’s YTD performance in fourth-to-last paragraph, refreshes Coinbase prices.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way Elon Moves Further Right; Hertz Ditches Tesla There’s a Toxic Employee—and the CEO Is Ignoring the Issue Chinese Tycoon on the Rebound After $10 Billion Debt Deal Patti LaBelle Moves From Stage to Stove With a Recipe for Success ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-17 08:15:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [24, 291, 410, 617, 667, 848, 932, 1122, 1172, 1622, 1863, 1930, 1990, 2225, 2463, 2855, 3042, 3187, 3286, 3624, 3804, 3936, 4156, 4268, 4333, 4511, 5080, 5157], "BTC": [41, 4283, 4348, 4526]}

{"Bitcoin": [26]}

SEC Approval Was Huge for Bitcoin ETFs. But the World's Biggest Just Got a Far More Important Win.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-approval-huge-bitcoin-etfs-081500304.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

After plunging in 2022, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) got its mojo back, more than doubling in 2023. The end of the crypto winter came in large part because of anticipation that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might finally grant approval to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) seeking to own Bitcoin directly. Indeed, that optimistic scenario came to pass earlier this month. The SEC approved 11 different spot Bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10, opening the door to a flood of new interest from investors who were wary about investing directly in the cryptocurrency themselves. That was particularly important for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (NYSEMKT: GBTC) . The Grayscale Bitcoin investment vehicle had been in place for years as an unregistered fund for accredited and institutional investors through private placements. With the SEC's move, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust became a true ETF. And as it happens, what is now the world's largest Bitcoin ETF has scored an even bigger win simply by virtue of its having retained its leadership status amid a flood of new rivals. Here's why. The advantages and disadvantages of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Prior to becoming an ETF, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust had operated for more than a decade. Its shares were listed on the over-the-counter market, and it had offered shares directly to those investors who were eligible to make purchases without Grayscale having to register its shares as securities with the SEC. After a holding period, initial purchasers could turn around and sell their shares over the counter to whoever wanted to buy them. There were a couple of problems with Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, however. First, it carried a high expense ratio of 2% per year. Even worse, Grayscale didn't offer any redemption rights , so unlike with an ETF, even large institutional shareholders had no ability to exchange shares for the Bitcoin that the trust held. As a consequence, shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust plunged far below the value of the underlying Bitcoin that the fund owned. Lacking a redemption mechanism, there was no way for arbitrage-minded investors to capitalize on the disparity in the short run. Story continues GBTC Discount or Premium to NAV Chart Indeed, when Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's discounts to net asset value were at their highest, many investors believed that the crypto investment vehicle could suffer significant outflows if the SEC approved its ETF conversion. Moreover, with alternatives offering Bitcoin exposure at much lower expense ratios -- despite a post-conversion cut from 2% to 1.5% -- it seemed that Grayscale might lose its crypto dominance. Instead, the discount disappeared, giving extra returns to those who invested in the Grayscale vehicle when discounts were at their highest. Grayscale is holding its own As a result, at least in its early days, no exodus from Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF has happened. The ETF reported 690 million shares outstanding as of Jan. 12, with a total value of $26.9 billion and each share representing roughly 0.000894 underlying Bitcoin. That's consistent with where asset levels were prior to the SEC approval. Deeper analysis suggests relatively small movements of actual Bitcoin from the Grayscale ETF. One report from Arkham Intelligence noted a movement of nearly 900 Bitcoin on Jan. 12, worth roughly $41 million. Even if that represented redemptions, though, it was inconsequential compared to the size of the fund. Will Grayscale lose its leadership? For cost-conscious investors, Grayscale has a disadvantage. Every single one of its 10 competitors offers a lower expense ratio. Early favorite iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ: IBIT) charges just 0.25% per year in fees. That could eventually spur investors to move their assets away from Grayscale. Yet for those who have invested in Bitcoin long enough to have sizable gains, the capital-gains tax liability that would come from switching from Grayscale to a rival Bitcoin ETF would be a deterrent. At least in the opening days, Grayscale has done well to hold on to its assets. But investors shouldn't be surprised if that story changes in the months to come -- particularly as other Bitcoin ETFs show their ability to track the value of the cryptocurrency. Should you invest $1,000 in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) right now? Before you buy stock in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC), consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now... and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. The Stock Advisor service has more than tripled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 8, 2024 Dan Caplinger has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . SEC Approval Was Huge for Bitcoin ETFs. But the World's Biggest Just Got a Far More Important Win. was originally published by The Motley Fool

2024-01-17 09:51:03+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2437]}

{}

Fujitsu Takes $1 Billion Knock as Post Office Scandal Escalates

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fujitsu-takes-1-billion-knock-095103632.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- More than $1 billion was wiped off the value of Fujitsu Ltd. on Wednesday after the company’s European chief said it had a moral responsibility to provide compensation for its role in the UK Post Office scandal. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Sony Sends Termination Letter to Zee Over India Merger Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Shares fell 4% by the close of trading in Tokyo, and are now down more than 8% since the start of the year. Glitches in the Japanese technology titan’s Horizon software led to hundreds of local Post Office managers — known as sub-postmasters — being wrongly convicted for theft and false accounting between 1999 and 2015. The scandal has been reignited in Britain following a recent televised drama. On Tuesday, UK politicians quizzed several people including Fujitsu’s Europe head Paul Patterson, who said he was “personally appalled” by the evidence surrounding the case. The UK government has agreed to overturn the convictions of sub-postmasters, and pay hundreds of millions of pounds in compensation. Members of Parliament have argued that Fujitsu should contribute to the payments. “I think there is a moral obligation for the company to contribute,” Patterson told the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee. He said the matter had been discussed with Fujitsu’s senior leaders in Japan. Read More: Fujitsu Says Need to Redress Pain From UK Post Office Glitches Any compensation is expected to be relatively small for Fujitsu, but the scandal could lead to steps such as a ban from future contracts, said Asymmetric Advisors analyst Tim Morse. Fujitsu’s UK business is the company’s most profitable in Europe, he said. Payments could be settled in time for a UK general election, expected in the second half of this year, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Ian Ma. “Without proper crisis management, the ongoing saga could also hurt Fujitsu’s future IT order wins in the Europe region,” he said, adding that they contributed 18% of the company’s overall sales in its last fiscal year. Story continues --With assistance from Blaise Robinson. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 10:38:01+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4378]}

{}

Sam Altman, Bill Gates Weigh AI Risks in Big Election Year

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sam-altman-bill-gates-weigh-103801461.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- With almost half of the world’s population heading to the polls in a national election in 2024, leaders at the World Economic Forum are grappling with how the arrival of ChatGPT will affect these democracies — and how governments will in turn regulate AI. Leaders in artificial intelligence including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates weighed in this week at Davos, the gilded annual conference where billionaires hold forth on global problems. While all said they took the threat of artificial intelligence on elections seriously, there was a split in whether they thought major disruption was likely.Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella somewhat downplayed the risks. “It’s not like this is the first election where disinformation, or misinformation, and election interference is going to be a real challenge that we all have to tackle,” he said, speaking at Bloomberg House at Davos on Tuesday. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Later in the day Altman echoed that sentiment but expressed more uncertainty. “I don’t think this will be the same as before,” he said. “It’s always a mistake to try to fight the last war.”Altman and Nadella spoke the day after the first major caucus of the US presidential elections, with former President Donald Trump scoring an easy win over his fellow Republicans. ChatGPT wasn’t available the last time the US went to the polls, and there’s growing concern that -- besides making it easier to write code or craft emails -- generative AI tools could be used to produce disinformation and faked images that unfairly sway voters. In a warning about what’s to come, videos featuring AI-generated deepfake voices of politicians spread widely ahead of the Slovak parliamentary elections last year. They were shared on sites including Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook and Instagram, and messaging apps like Telegram that include audio impersonating political opponents, Reset, a research group that looks at technology’s impact on democracy, said in a report at the time.One video included a fake, two-minute long clip of a party leader appearing to discuss buying votes. But the audio file was synthesized by an AI tool trained on samples of his voice. At Davos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates predicted that with generative AI tools, “bad guys will be more productive,’’ speaking in an interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua. Story continues Meanwhile, Salesforce Inc. CEO Marc Benioff suggested social media poses a bigger risk to the democratic process than AI does. “Regulators have not done their job,” he said. OpenAI, which counts Microsoft as its largest investor, is “quite focused,” Altman said, on reducing the potential for political misuse of its tools, such as ChatGPT and Dall-E. Altman and Nadella attended a meeting in May with US Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss AI risks. OpenAI will soon release for testing a tool that can identify AI-generated content and will digitally watermark material generated by Dall-E, the startup said Monday. It reiterated that use of OpenAI models for political campaigning isn’t allowed. “Our mind is not at ease,” Altman said. “We’re going to have to watch this incredibly closely this year.” As for how politics will impact AI, Altman was less concerned. “I believe that America is going to be fine no matter what happens in this election. I believe that AI is going to be fine no matter what happens after this election,” he said. OpenAI’s vice president of global affairs, Anna Makanju, said she’s encouraged by proposed regulation being put forward by President Joe Biden and the European Union. “What has struck me and has been really remarkable is that the conversation around AI has remained very bipartisan,” she said. Altman agreed, sort of: “Both parties hate it.” --With assistance from Isabella Ward. (Updates with additional context about the US election and disinformation tactics throughout) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 11:14:07+00:00

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Q4 2023 Interactive Brokers Group Inc Earnings Call

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/q4-2023-interactive-brokers-group-111407848.html

Thomson Reuters StreetEvents

https://financial.thomsonreuters.com/en.html

Participants Milan Galik; President, CEO & Director; Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. Nancy Enslein Stuebe; Director of IR; Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. Paul Jonathan Brody; CFO, Treasurer, Secretary & Director; Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. Thomas Peterffy Benjamin Elliot Budish; Research Analyst; Barclays Bank PLC, Research Division Brennan Hawken; Executive Director and Equity Research Analyst of Financials; UBS Investment Bank, Research Division Christopher John Allen; MD; Citigroup Inc., Research Division Craig William Siegenthaler; MD & Head of the North American Asset Managers, Brokers & Exchanges Team; BofA Securities, Research Division Daniel Thomas Fannon; Senior Equity Research Analyst; Jefferies LLC, Research Division James Edwin Yaro; Research Analyst; Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Research Division Kyle Kenneth Voigt; MD; Keefe, Bruyette, & Woods, Inc., Research Division Patrick Malcolm Moley; Research Analyst; Piper Sandler & Co., Research Division Presentation Operator Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Interactive Brokers Group 4Q '23 Earnings Call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Nancy Stuebe, Director of Investor Relations. Nancy Enslein Stuebe Good afternoon. Happy New Year, and thank you for joining us for our fourth quarter '23 earnings call. Thomas is on the call and asked me to present his comments on the business. Also joining us today are Milan Galik, our CEO; and Paul Brody, our CFO. After prepared remarks, we will have a Q&A. As a reminder, today's call may include forward-looking statements, which represent the company's belief regarding future events, which by their nature are not certain and are outside of the company's control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from what is indicated in these forward-looking statements. We ask that you refer to the disclaimers in our press release. You should also review a description of risk factors contained in our financial reports filed with the SEC. In 2023, we added over 470,000 net new accounts. Client equity at year-end was up 39% to $426 billion, an increase of over $100 million from last year. We earned over $4 billion in net revenues and over $3 billion in pretax income, both for the first time. Our pretax margin was 71% for the full year by far, the highest in the industry. In fact, very few public companies in any industry have that kind of profit margin. If market conditions continue as they are, even with the 3 interest rate cuts being predicted, I see no reason why we wouldn't be able to maintain pretax margin at the 70% level. We saw stronger markets in 2023 with the same focus on options and on the Magnificent Seven names that we have seen for a year now. We see options being traded actively both traditionally as a means to offset risk and a stand-alone zero data expiry. Regarding interest rates, we are not willing to argue with the market. If the market believes that long-term rates will be under 4%, we don't think it's our business to dispute it. However, there are several long-term trends that, in my opinion, call for higher inflation and higher rates in the long run. First is deglobalization. Over the past few decades, where goods are manufactured has been reallocated around the globe, often far from consumers as containerization reduced shipping expenses and manufacturing went where it's cheapest Prices of some goods were driven down 50% to 90%. But now as we have been predicting, geopolitical uncertainty has driven transportation costs up with insurance of transport rising every day as vessels are attacked and routes become unsafe. To start producing closer to consumers, where labor is often more expensive, means higher costs and prices. Second is demographics. For the most part, skilled labor is produced in developed countries like the U.S. and Europe and some extent in Asia. Population growth, however, is occurring in those countries where skilled labor is not produced. Growth rates and population growth have dramatically reversed and developed countries to decreasing instead of growing, meaning that skilled labor will cost more and more over time. Third are deficits. Deficits contribute to inflation as interest payments get funded through deficit spending, which then means bigger deficits and higher interest, which gets added on to the deficit on and on, so it is unclear to me how inflation can substantially decrease as the deficit grows. Fourth, the ever-increasing demand for spending on environmental projects will continue to become more and more expensive. Combining these factors, it is hard to see how inflation will subside over the long term, even if in the next several months, it may ameliorate somewhat. These trends are inescapable. And while you may see long-term rates at 4% for now. They could go back to 5%, 6%, 7% or more as costs, deficit spending and the national debt keep increasing. Turning to our business. Our client accounts and client equity grew fastest in Europe and Asia as more and more people worldwide want to access international markets, invest in securities they feel offer the most upside regardless of what type of security it is or where it is traded and hold what they perceive as safer currencies. In 2023, individuals saw the fastest account growth among our 5 client segments and the second highest commission in net interest growth. Proprietary traders had the fastest client equity and commission growth. Introducing brokers had the highest net interest growth followed by individuals and financial advisers, all well over 50%. While we saw growth in hedge fund accounts and significantly higher client equity, they showed a smaller increase in commission and interest activity than our proprietary traders or individuals. This is likely due to so many funds holding the same Magnificent Seven names. But as many of you are on the call, maybe you can expand on this. We had one of our busiest years ever of programming. During 2023, we added a wide range of features and capabilities including those for financial advisers and enhanced IBKR Mobile, PortfolioAnalyst, our CRM and student training lab, plus added comprehensive new content at our Traders' Academy, Quant Blog and Traders' Insight. Our new Discover tool, let's you see technical insights using actionable analysis and alerts with a market buzz bubble map to identify the company's most in the news. Allowing clients to go more in-depth analytics and sentiment and has proven quite popular. For our long short hedge fund to proprietary trading clients, we added features like a securities lending dashboard, which gives an expanded universe of securities lending data like borrower and lender depth among other items. For financial advisers, we are significantly less expensive than competitors. To give an idea of the value add we offer to financial advisers. When an adviser buys a mutual fund for his or her clients at Interactive Brokers, we charge a maximum of $14.95 for the entire trade and nothing for allocating the mutual fund among any number of clients after the trade. In contrast, competitors charge $45 per account to allocate a trade. Our biggest issue is that FAs do not believe us and we tell them that they can save thousands of dollars each time they update their customers' portfolios. For options traders who do not absolutely need an immediate fill. We built a facility to trade at the mid-price against our marketable order flow. Option orders and frequently traded options have a very good chance of being filled within a few minutes. A growing percentage of our options order flow gets successfully executed through this facility. This is in addition to our similar facility for equities, which we've had for some time now and which we continue to build. As we onboard more and more institutional clients, we get more and more liquidity in our ATS, especially for institutions willing to rest orders for a brief period of time. Ultimately, we believe that the most a broker can do for its customers who trade frequently is to give them the best possible execution prices. This has always been the most important consideration as we have developed our platform over the years. In 2024, we have another active year of programming projects planned, and you will see further upgrades to our platform with more features and capabilities. We are also adding new countries where our clients can trade. I will not say more to avoid tipping off our competitors. Finally, we are well aware that we have now reached $14 billion on equity on our balance sheet. We are considering possible opportunities in the space that would help us grow the business. Our public float is small, so we are unlikely to buy back shares. And personally speaking, I would hope that an opportunity presents itself as raising the dividend is not something I think helps the company grow in the long run. There is much to look forward to. The Interactive Brokers platform is built with the purpose of bringing investors and marketplaces together to interact with each other, all over the world, optimizing the allocation of capital and resources. It is our job to educate current and beginning investors to develop the best tools and capabilities to facilitate their investing journey. We are as busy programming as we've ever been. This and our much lower cost structure is what sets us apart and will continue to do so in the years ahead. With that, I will turn the call over to Paul Brody. Paul? Story continues Paul Jonathan Brody Thank you, Nancy. Good afternoon, everybody, and thanks for joining the call. I'll review the fourth quarter results, and then we'll open it up for questions. Starting with our revenue items on Page 3 of the release. We're pleased with our financial results this quarter, roughly matching the record adjusted net revenues and pretax income of the prior quarter. And for the full year 2023, we achieved record results in every major financial measure. Commissions rose versus last year's fourth quarter, reaching $348 million. The full year commissions were $1.4 billion, up 3% from 2022. In '23, we saw higher trading volumes in options and futures coming from our large base of sophisticated and active traders, investors and advisers. Net interest income of $730 million for the quarter and a record $2.8 billion for the year reflected a risk on environment that led to steadily higher margin lending as well as higher yields on our margin loans and segregated cash portfolio. This is partially offset by the higher interest paid to our customers on their cash balances as Interactive Brokers passes through to them all rate hikes above the first 50 basis points on their qualified funds, which differentiates us in an environment or many competitors pay little to nothing to their customers. Other fees and services generated $55 million for the quarter and $197 million for the year. The increase from the prior year quarter was driven by the risk on positioning of customers, which led to a rise in risk exposure fees to $17 million as well as higher FDIC sweep fees, which rose to $6 million this quarter. Market data fees of $17 million and exchange liquidity payments of $8 million were the other factors in this category. Other income includes gains and losses on our investments, our currency diversification strategy and principal transactions. Note that many of these noncore items are excluded in our adjusted earnings, without these excluded items, other income was $16 million for both the quarter and the full year. Turning to expenses. Execution and clearing and distribution costs were $100 million in the quarter and $386 million for the year up versus last year, primarily due to higher volumes in options and futures, which carry higher fees. As a percent of commission revenues, execution and clearing costs were 23% in the fourth quarter, for a gross transactional profit margin of 77%, unchanged from last quarter. We calculate this by excluding from execution and clearing $20 million of cost, predominantly market data, without a direct commission revenue component. Compensation and benefits expense was $136 million for the quarter for a ratio of compensation expense to adjusted net revenues of 12%, unchanged from last year. For the year, this ratio was also 12%, down from 14% in 2022. We are always focused on expense discipline while improving our strong top line. Our head count at year-end was 2,932. G&A expenses were $45 million, down from the year ago quarter. For the full year, recall that 2023's number is inflated due to a previously disclosed regulatory settlement in the second quarter. Without that, full year G&A would have been even with 2022. Our pretax margin was 72% for the quarter and 71% for the year. Automation and expense control, along with thoughtful management of our balance sheet, remain our key means of maintaining high margins while we invest in the future of our business. Income taxes of $77 million reflects the sum of the public company's $45 million and the operating company's $32 million. The public company's taxes included a decrease in the deferred tax asset, which reflects an annual remeasurement of future tax benefit. Together with some other items, these had an $8 million impact on income taxes, removing these onetime noncash items the public company's adjusted effective tax rate was 17.9% within its usual range. For the year, taxes of $257 million by the sum of the public company's $142 million and the operating company's $115 million. Moving to our balance sheet on Page 5 of the release. Our total assets ended the year 12% higher at $128 billion with growth driven by higher customer cash and margin loan balances from both new and existing customers. We maintain a balance sheet geared towards supporting our growing business and providing sufficient financial resources during volatile markets. We have no long-term debt. Our ample capital base is deployed primarily in running our current business and our liquidity positions us to support our customers during periods of high market stress. It also helps us win new business by showing the strength and depth of our balance sheet to current and prospective clients and partners. In our operating data on Pages 6 and 7. Our contract volumes in options for all customers rose 21% over the prior year quarter, well above industry growth. Futures contract volumes rose 4%, while stock share volume declined for us as it did across the industry. For the full year, options and futures contract volumes rose 12% and 1%, respectively. The decrease in stock share volume is largely attributable to lower trading and pink sheet and other very low-priced stocks. Notional value of brokerage shares traded, however, was up in most markets, particularly in the U.S. as clients gravitated to larger, higher quality names. On Page 7, you can see the total customer DARTs were 1.9 million trades per day, up 2% from the prior year and reflecting a more risk on period for investors. Commission for cleared commissionable order of $3.19 was up slightly from last year, driven by increases in futures volume and average trade size. Options contributed higher volume but a lower average trade size and stock trade volume and average trade size both declined. Page 8 shows our net interest margin numbers. Total GAAP net interest income was $730 million for the quarter, up 29% and $2.8 billion for the year, up 68%. Our net interest margin -- net interest income as displayed in our NIM was $9 million higher or $739 million as we include income here that for GAAP purposes is classified as other fees or other income but that we feel is more appropriately considered interest. These results reflect strength in margin loan and segregated cash interest, partially offset by higher interest expense on customer cash balances. Most central banks around the world including the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady this quarter with only Australia increasing its benchmark rate slightly. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates 4x over the year, raising the average U.S. Fed funds rate for the fourth quarter to 5.33% from 3.65% in the prior year. Our segregated cash interest income rose 67% on a 4% increase in average balances, while margin loan interest rose by 50% on a 9% increase in average balances. The average duration of our portfolio remained at under 30 days. With the U.S. dollar yield curve inverting further over the fourth quarter, we have been maximizing what we earn by capturing higher short-term yield rather than accept the significantly lower yields of longer maturities. In this rate environment, this strategy allows us to maintain a relatively tight maturity match with the rate we pay our customers. Securities lending net interest has not been as strong as in prior quarters for 2 main reasons. First, overall customer demand for shorting stocks has fallen. There were fewer hard-to-borrow names industry-wide with the market's low volatility are the drivers of securities lending. Second, as we have noted on previous calls, higher average interest rates versus prior periods means more of what we earn from securities lending is classified as interest on segregated cash. To more accurately compare our securities lending revenue with the year ago quarter, we estimate that at the interest earned on this cash collateral fell under securities borrowed and loaned, it would have been $18 million higher or $61 million. Interest on customer credit balances, the interest we pay to our customers on the cash in their account, rose on both higher rates and nearly all currencies and higher balances from new account growth. As we've noted many times in the past, the high interest rates we pay on customer cash, currently 4.83% on qualified U.S. dollar balances is a significant driver of new customers. Fully rate-sensitive balances were about $18 billion this quarter. Now for our estimates of the impact of changes in rates. Given market expectations of rate cuts in 2024, we estimate the effect of such changes in the Fed funds rate to be a $56 million reduction in annual net interest income for each 25 basis point decrease in the benchmark. Note that our starting point for these estimates is year-end, the Fed funds effective rate at 5.33% and average balances as of December 31, any growth in our balance sheet and interest-earning assets would reduce this impact. About 25% of our customer cash balances is not in U.S. dollars. So estimates of the U.S. rate change exclude those currencies. We estimate the effect of decreases in all the relevant non-U.S. dollar benchmark rates would further reduce annual net interest income by $18 million to $20 million for each 25 basis point decrease in those benchmarks. In conclusion, we had a financially strong quarter to close out a record year in net revenues and pretax margin reflecting our continued ability to grow our customer base and deliver on our core value proposition to customers while scaling the business. This highlights the attractiveness of our strategy, automating as much of the brokerage business as possible and expanding what we offer while minimizing what we charge. And with that, we'd like to open it up for questions. Question and Answer Session Operator (Operator Instructions) Our first question comes from James Yaro with Goldman Sachs. James Edwin Yaro I'd like to start with your outlook for deploying your excess capital. Maybe you could just speak to how you think about the balance between organic investment and inorganic growth. And then perhaps if you could just speak to the time line over which you might contemplate that inorganic growth and what sort of businesses you might be looking for? Milan Galik So as you know, we have significant cash reserves, significant amount of capital that we could deploy and would like to deploy. We have been looking for possible acquisition targets. They are all in our industry. They tend to be brokers who are less efficient than we are. We have closely looked at a number of them. We either find the price to be too high for acquisition or find that the acquisition would represent a very significant amount of work in terms of the integration. So, so far, we have not found any target that we would actively go after. But we hope that, that will change in the future. James Edwin Yaro Okay. That's very helpful. Maybe if we could just touch quickly on the prime brokerage and prop trading opportunity. Maybe if you could just speak to where you see -- where you are in the growth ramp for prime. And what do you think the business could look like on your platform over the next few years? You have talked about adding new hedge funds, both the small and large. So maybe you could just speak about when you talk to those clients, what attracts the larger hedge funds to your platform? Milan Galik Interactive Brokers has been successful in attracting smaller hedge funds. These are typically the hedge funds that the bigger primes declined to do business with because of the higher cost structure that they have. And then what we find is as the hedge funds get bigger, they start to look around and consider these larger competitors of ours. We would obviously like to reverse that trend, but it's not going to be easy. Part of the problem that we are dealing with is that the large primes are banks that have been in business for 100 years or more and they have created a very significant brand recognition. That is what we are up against. So we hope that the significant amount of capital that we have on our balance sheet will be attractive for the manager that looks at our large competitors, they will consider us because they will walk away with the belief that their assets are safe with us. Operator Our next question comes from Craig Siegenthaler with Bank of America. Craig William Siegenthaler We wanted your perspective on the potential money in motion in the active trader segment. So your biggest active trader competitor will be integrated into a larger financial services firm in a few months. And I'm wondering if you think this is an opportunity for IBKR to pick up share in the active trader segment. Milan Galik Are we talking about thinkorswim and Schwab? Craig William Siegenthaler Yes. Milan Galik So to my knowledge, the thinkorswim platform is going to be made available to the active traders on the Schwab platform. So I would not necessarily see this as an opportunity for the accounts to move from Schwab to Interactive Brokers, but you might have heard something different. I'm not sure. Craig William Siegenthaler Okay. For my follow-up, can you provide us your outlook for margin loan balances? Are we at a point where you think they can start to grow? Milan Galik Well, the margin loan balances are somewhat related to the interest rates, how expensive it is to put the positions on -- margin positions on. They also depend the market opportunities that are in the market. So the higher the volatility, the greater these balances tend to be. As the number of accounts is growing that should also increase the margin balances. So I'm optimistic that they will increase over time. Operator One moment for questions. Our next question comes from Benjamin Budish with Barclays. Benjamin Elliot Budish You made the comment earlier in the prepared remarks about the 70% margin for this year, and I think earlier at a public appearance, you talked about sort of high single-digit operating expense growth for the year. Can you maybe talk about what that means for the top line? How do you think about sort of the interplay between lower rates potentially impacting net interest income, maybe this is offset by higher commissions. We've seen cash balances come up a little bit. How do you think about those 2 -- sort of the interplay between those 2 and how that could evolve over the year and perhaps how you think about that a little bit longer term? I know in the past, you've sort of commented well, the margin could maybe in the low 60s to high 60s. It sounds like there's a little bit more confidence on that 70% mark. So just curious of your thoughts there. Thomas Peterffy So I think it's going to be a risk that heat between lower interest rates, reducing our earnings and higher -- more activity increase in our earnings. So that's how I see it. Benjamin Elliot Budish Got it. And maybe any -- last year, you sort of gave us an early look on the account -- expected account growth into '23. I understand your position on the introducing brokers at this point, but any thoughts on what to expect this year or sort of 20% the right way to think about it? Any potentially large partners onboarding that might come on at any point? Milan Galik Well, I think the best piece of guidance we can give you is that you can look at how we have been growing over time and you can sort of jump to your own conclusions as to how that is going to look. The mix of the business, the various segments of the business that we have individual clients, introducing brokers, hedge funds, prop trading firms, financial advisers. It's not obvious to me how that makes you change over time. So I would expect roughly the same growth numbers for the next year. Operator Our next question comes from Brennan Hawken with UBS. Brennan Hawken Thomas, you just talked about this sort of briefly, but I'm curious if you drill down into it a little bit in more detail. So -- and how we should be thinking about the offsets? And obviously, there's a $56 million impact for each 25 basis point rate cut. But how do you think about lower rates and how that translates into volumes and commissions and higher cash balances and margin loans? Like how do you anticipate that interplay to actually develop? Thomas Peterffy So I expect rates to be cut by 75 basis points in the course of the year. As you heard, our interest income would come down by $300 million -- actually $304 million, if you extrapolate what Paul said putting U.S. dollar deposits and foreign deposits together. So if we come down by 3 quarters that will be $220 million -- about $230 million. And I think that -- I mean, look -- I believe that our earnings increased due to the continuing increasing activity and increasing number of accounts and new accounts being onboarded will outstrip that. But I can promise you that it's just what I think. So I do believe that on balance, our earnings in 2024 will be higher than they were in 2023. Brennan Hawken Okay. And then when we think about the margin balances, the margin balances continue to show good growth. How much of the growth in margin balances coming from new accounts, right? And therefore, that doesn't really have to do with any change in risk appetite in the existing customer base versus new accounts that are coming on and growing the margin organically? Thomas Peterffy We slice and dice our accounts in many ways, but we don't look at new accounts versus old accounts, sorry. Brennan Hawken Fair enough. Maybe let me try and say it another way. The increase in the margin balances that we've been seeing here recently, do you believe that this is sustainable? Thomas Peterffy Of course. Look, we are the least expensive provider of margin loans to -- especially to retail customers, but also to institutional traders. Operator Our next question comes from Dan Fannon with Jefferies. Daniel Thomas Fannon My question is on sec lending and the outlook there, understanding that hard to borrowers have declined. But are you seeing replacement through other options, futures that behavior is changing? Or as you think about markets normalizing engagement picking up, but we should see a natural pickup in the demand for sec lending? Paul Jonathan Brody So there's 2 things that work there, really. There's the baseline of what are the general shorts in the marketplace, which have been down and those are not under our control, but when things get more volatile, maybe more stocks get more interesting, look over value and the shorts go up. And then what really drives the P&L there is that particular stocks get very hot for a while, the demand outstrips the supply for borrowing those stocks because the shorts go up. And the rates go very high on those and we make much more money lending them as do our customers when they are signed up for our fully paid lending program, and they get generally about half of what we earn by lending to the Street. So it's very opportunity-driven. The best we can do is what we've been doing for years. We developed really expert systems at managing that inventory and trying to maximize the profitability when the opportunities come up. Milan Galik Maybe as the IPO space becomes more active, there are going to be some overpriced stocks trading out there with relatively small float and that could act as an increase of this activity. Daniel Thomas Fannon Understood. That's helpful. And then just a follow-up on the inorganic discussion. Could we maybe put some financial metrics around what you guys would be looking to get in terms of returns. Obviously, your pretax margins are, as you mentioned, industry high. So the ability to make -- to replicate that through M&A is probably very difficult. But -- just is there a return threshold accretion, other kind of financial measures that we could think about as the bogeys for inorganic transaction. Milan Galik Well, so there are various factors that we take into consideration. Number one would be how big the acquisition is, how much of our capital would we have to spend. Obviously, we would not want to spend our energy on something too small. And at the same time, we would be too worried about getting into something very large. We would look at what is the overlap between the financial services company we are looking at acquiring with what we are currently offering to our clients. How much synergies can we recognize the amount of work that we would have to do to integrate the acquired company systems with ours. So all these things are closely looked at apart from the pricing structure that the -- to-be acquired company has. In other words, how much would we have to adjust, the commissions and interest they charge. Would the revenues significantly change if the company becomes associated with Interactive Brokers. So there is a whole bunch of different factors that we that we look at, and we have done that a number of times. We have gotten close to 2 purchases in both of the cases, we were not able to agree on the price with the target. Operator One moment for questions. Our next question comes from Kyle Voigt with KBW. Kyle Kenneth Voigt First question is on expenses. If we exclude the $45 million, I think, onetime expense that was realized in the second quarter of 2023, I'm calculating that your fixed expense growth was roughly 12% for full year 2023. Is that the best run rate expense growth rate that we should be thinking about for 2024 as well? And if we get into an environment where the Fed is significantly cutting interest rates, would that expense growth trajectory change at all in order to maintain that 70% pretax margin that you mentioned in your prepared remarks? Milan Galik So 70% profit margin would get somewhat affected by the decrease in interest rates. You have already heard a little earlier, Paul Brody talking about the impact of the 25% cut on our net interest income. However, as Thomas alluded to, we hope that the commission income would offset these decreases in net interest income. So probably the revenue wouldn't change. What we have to pay very close attention to is our expenses. We have a very significant headcount. There's 2,900 employees working for the company. We have recently, over the past several years, we have had to increase the compensation every year because of the significant inflation, that inflation may stay with us, which would mean that we could expect the compensation expense to increase next year as well. And this is something that we really need to pay attention to. We would like to keep the headcount the same, if possible. But obviously, that could change. If we ever see that we are falling behind in customer service, we would have to adjust. But with the advances in, for example, AI, we hope that we can keep this number steady. Kyle Kenneth Voigt Understood. Then just a follow-up, just going back to the M&A discussion. I think now you have over $10 billion of excess regulatory capital. But historically, you wanted to keep some of that as an additional cushion above the regulatory minimums to support the prime brokerage business. I guess when we're thinking about potential acquisition sizes that you are evaluating, I guess, how much of that $10 billion excess regulatory capital could theoretically be deployed for M&A? And anything you could share with respect to general size of assets that you're looking at relative to this excess capital level. Milan Galik Well, I would not necessarily look at $10 billion excess as the guidance towards the size of acquisitions we would be willing to make. It would be most likely the case that the acquired company will be paid for as a mix of stock and cash. So we would not use up all the cash. We like to have the strong balance sheet. We have seen what happened to Robinhood a few years ago. We have seen what happened to Knight Trading. I don't know whether you remember them. more than a decade ago, we like the safety that comes with a strong balance sheet. So we would not want to spend anywhere near to the entire excess capital that we have. Operator (Operator Instructions) Our next question comes from Chris Allen with Citi, may proceed. Christopher John Allen Just have a couple of follow-ups. Just on the M&A discussion, the targets you're looking at is -- any preference from a regional perspective or a product or a capability perspective that you're looking at? Or is it more just about efficiencies? Milan Galik It's about efficiencies. There is no preference. We are a global company, so it really doesn't matter a way. Christopher John Allen And then obviously, headcount has increased at healthy levels, which has driven some of the compensation increases. What's the outlook for hiring going forward? Do you need to continue to hire at a healthy pace to expand internationally in other areas? And what's the pressure in terms of compensation from a competitive dynamic? Milan Galik So we are of the view that we are sufficiently staffed on the technology staff. As far as the customer service is concerned, we are paying very close attention to our metrics, the abandoned cause, causing queue, wait times. They have looked sufficiently healthy that we are running at the levels that we are comfortable with. If all of a sudden, we receive either by acquisitions or by organic growth, significantly higher number of accounts, we may have to adjust but we are trying to counteract it as much as possible by automating the customer service as much as possible. And I could probably say similar things about the surveillance employees and operators that we have, there are hundreds of them that we currently employ. We constantly work on making the tools that they use more efficient so that even if the market activity picks up and number of accounts increases, we would like to be able to operate with the same level of staffing as we currently do. Operator One moment for questions. Our next question comes from Patrick Moley with Piper Sandler. Patrick Malcolm Moley I was just hoping to get your thoughts on the recent spot Bitcoin ETF approval. What impact, if any, it's had on your business? Maybe any sort of behavioral shifts you're seeing among your customer base and how you think you're positioned, I guess, in overall crypto digital asset space going forward? Milan Galik So we were one of the firms and maybe the only broker that was making these 11 ETFs available on their platform on day 1. Our customers immediately started trading these ETFs. Obviously, this is going to make the cryptocurrency investing more mainstream because investors that were reluctant to jump into this space before having these ETFs in existence but easier for them. So I think they are going to -- the cryptocurrencies are going to become portion of a great number of investors out there as to what it's going to mean to our investors, our customers, it's hard to tell. As you know, our clientele tends to be a little bit more active, more sophisticated. I think some of them will recognize the opportunity to trade the cryptocurrency trading itself as well as the ETF on our platform. There may be some arbitrage opportunities that develop. I think it's too early to tell how it will play out. Operator I would now like to turn the call back over to Nancy Stuebe for any closing remarks. Nancy Enslein Stuebe Thank you, everyone, for participating today. As a reminder, this call will be available for replay on our website, and we will also be posting a clean version of our transcript on the site tomorrow. Thank you again, and we will talk to you next quarter end. Operator Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

2024-01-17 11:22:39+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 3202], "BTC": [323]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin's ‘De-Dollarization’ Narrative Loses Ground As USD Tightens Its Grip on International Transactions

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoins-dollarization-narrative-loses-ground-112239490.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Bitcoin's share in international transactions hit a decade high in 2023, while foreign holdings of U.S. government bonds held steady, Credit Agricole said in a note to clients. USD's persistent lead means investors could continue to park money in the currency during times of stress in the global economy. Since bitcoin’s [BTC] inception over a decade ago, crypto propounders have been obsessed with “de-dollarization,” a term used to describe shifting away from the U.S. dollar’s (USD) role as the global reserve currency. The calls grew louder last year as several regional banks in the U.S. faced turmoil and the federal debt hit a record $34 trillion. However, data shows the dollar remained the most favored currency in international transactions, with global demand for U.S. government bonds holding steady. "USD’s share in international SWIFT transactions surged in 2023 to reach its highest level in more than ten years. In contrast, the EUR share collapsed, and that of the JPY and GBP moderated,” Credit Agricole’s G10 FX strategy team said in a note to clients on Monday. “The growing importance of the USD as the currency of choice for international payments and transactions is another reason for global official and private investors to buy the currency. In turn, this should slow down further any push towards de-dollarisation," the strategists, led by Valentin Marinov, added. In other words, the dollar is likely to remain the currency of choice or haven asset during times of stress, sucking money from other assets like bitcoin and stocks. The note said the USD’s share in foreign exchange reserves maintained by central banks worldwide held steady at 59% in 2023, the same level as the previous three years, citing data tracked by the International Monetary Fund's data. The euro's share dipped to its second lowest since 2017. Concerning trends in foreign investment in U.S. Treasury bonds (USTs), the note said that non-Asian nations compensated for the decline in China, Hong Kong, and Japan’s holdings in 2023, keeping the global tally steady. “We continue to think that expectations of aggressive unwinding of USD holdings are quite premature. Indeed, we note that whereas the UST holdings of China and Hong Kong (and to a lesser degree Japan) have been on a downtrend throughout 2023, demand for USTs from the rest of the world held up reasonably well,” Credit Agricole said. “In addition, it is worth highlighting that the UST holdings of Ireland and Belgium that are seen as proxies for custodial holdings of foreign investors like China have held up reasonably well as well.” Story continues Per Global Times , China’s stockpile of U.S. Treasury bonds totaled $769.6 billion in October, marking a seventh consecutive monthly drop and a decline of $97.5 billion in ten months of the year. The continued unwinding of China’s Treasury holdings fueled the de-dollarization narrative. Per Credit Agricole, the decline in Treasury holdings of some nations correlated with the fall of their respected foreign exchange reserves. Nations like China have long been parking reserves earned through trade surpluses in U.S. Treasury bonds, underwriting American consumption. Read more: Bitcoin Unlikely to Replace U.S. Dollar as Global Reserve: Marc Chandler View comments

2024-01-17 11:24:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [170, 10490, 10768, 10944, 11433, 11806, 11835, 12519, 12712, 12764, 13023, 13541, 13731, 14198, 14536, 25099]}

{}

How to Look at Layoffs From an Investor's Perspective

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/look-layoffs-investors-perspective-112400358.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

In this podcast, Motley Fool analyst David Meier and host Deidre Woollard discuss: The macro and micro of job cuts. What companies are signalling when layoffs happen. If Bitcoin is more like an IPO or gold. What is the "snap test"? Motley Fool analyst Alicia Alfiere and host Ricky Mulvey explore this snappy way of reviewing companies. To catch full episodes of all The Motley Fool's free podcasts, check out our podcast center . To get started investing, check out our quick-start guide to investing in stocks . A full transcript follows the video. 10 stocks we like better than Walmart When our analyst team has an investing tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor , has tripled the market.* They just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Walmart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of 1/8/2024 This video was recorded on January 11, 2024. Deidre Woollard: New year, new job cuts. Motley Fool Money starts now. Welcome to Motley Fool Money. I'm Deidre Woollard here with Motley Fool analyst David Meier. David, how are you today? David Meier: I'm doing very well. How are you? Deidre Woollard: Good, we've got sun, I'm happy about it. Wanted to talk to you this week about job cuts because this year has kicked off with a lot of cuts, and I'm surprised by it. But we've got Amazon, Unity Software, BlackRock, Rent the Runway, Google, even Xerox . Last year to me felt like the year of the big layoff. This year maybe the small layoff, but what's happening here? David Meier: Time will tell if we're going to find out if this is a new round of bigger layoffs or if this is just, sort of ones companies didn't get to in 2023. Because if we go back and think about what was being communicated in 2023, a lot of the growth in tech companies slowed, and the push for profits and cash flow increased. So that leads me to believe that, hey, if there's any, now's the time when companies are finalizing their budgets and getting ready for the next year, so if the companies are rationalizing their growth plans, where investment dollars are being cut, unfortunately, there's a good chance labor dollars have to get cut with it. That's the idea of matching your potential revenue with the potential expenses. We'll see what happens. But obviously, a lot of announcements to start the year. Story continues Deidre Woollard: The question I'm asking myself, is it iterative? Is it incremental? Are we honing our focus here? It's hard to know. The other thing I'm juxtaposing that with is the macro. I chatted recently with Liz Ann Sonders from Schwab. We're going to have her on our Saturday's show. She said that some companies might be hoarding labor, so there's this conflicting data between the macro. Job numbers are still strong, but we're also seeing all of these little layoffs, so how do we balance all of that? David Meier: That is an excellent point you've made and an excellent question. As a bottom-up investor, what I'm trying to stay focused on is what the companies are saying and doing more so than the higher-level data. That's because, first and foremost, what I'm trying to figure out is if a stock is attractive or not, and that starts with company data. But as you so rightly pointed out, we have to pay more attention to the macro data. Because what that does is it helps us understand the type of investing environment that we're in. To your point, right now the data from a company level versus the higher level data seems to be a little bit conflicting. Unemployment is still very low, and that's even as interest rates have been rising. Right now with overall good employment, we have wages that have gone up, we have the rate of inflation falling, that seems to be good for the economy and should be good for stocks. However, we need to evaluate what's happening at a company level in order to figure out if the particular stock we're interested is attractive or not. Deidre Woollard: That's such a good point because some of the companies I mentioned, there's a big difference between an Alphabet versus your Rent the Runway because they are just very different types of companies. David Meier: Hundred percent. Deidre Woollard: All of that really is interesting when you think about this because you've got the overall macro and then you've got the underneath of like, OK, there's a lot of layoffs, and then you've got the layer deeper and you talked about being a bottom-up investor. It's always conflicting for me because as an individual, I hate layoffs. I was a victim of one, way back when I worked at AOL, and there were a few more before me and it was painful. But as an investor, I have to look at this, and sometimes I see the stock go up, and I have to think about this from a more impersonal standpoint. What questions are you asking yourself? David Meier: I have fortunately not been in a layoff, although I have seen them happen around me at some companies that I used to work for so I can completely empathize with what you're saying. But as an analyst, the main thing that I want to know is, is this decision consistent with what management's outlook going forward is? Or if it's inconsistent, is what we're seeing a sign of potential problems ahead? As an outsider, as an outside investor looking at the company's data, I'm not privy to the internal conversations that happen about these things. They can be made for a variety of different reasons, but it's important for me to think about the decision relative to the strategy and the tactics that the company is communicating. Again, it's about consistency, like, tell me, does the decision that you're making make sense with where your business is headed? Deidre Woollard: Well, that's such a good point too, because I look at the press releases. I used to work in PR, so I understand PR speak a bit. But, you know what? I look at this with BlackRock . They were talking about we're doing these layoffs, but that's because we see more money going toward ETFs. We look at Amazon and Google and they each have a reason that is interesting. With Google, they're laying off some of the people around the Google Assistant, but they're also putting more energy into it. With Amazon, you've got cuts in Twitch, you've got cuts in Prime Video, MGM Studios , maybe that's indicating cost of content. These are small, little, niggly moves in these massive behemoths. But what, are they also signals not just about the job cuts, like hey, we need to balance the budget, but also, hey, we're going in a different direction, and that's why this is necessary? David Meier: So we're bringing in another variable here. Deidre Woollard: Exactly, yeah. David Meier: That's what you're telling me. But again, your point is spot on, and again, I'll go back to the consistency question. Let's use Google's announcement as the example to walk through here. There may be costs and benefits of the work that needs to go into maintaining and improving Google Assistant at this point in its life cycle, but you could argue that that technology is probably matured, and if it's matured enough, it may need a different amount of labor to do the maintenance and incremental innovation that's required to keep it going. One thing could be, hey, I don't need as much direct labor making these big leaps and bounds in terms of technological innovations, maybe I need less labor and more AI in order to have a better control of my costs that keep that service up and running and interesting for the people who are using it on their phones. Deidre Woollard: It makes me start to wonder, we don't know if these are AI-related parts. David Meier: Correct. Deidre Woollard: And everyone's looking for that, so it's tricky where we're at right now in the cycle. David Meier: But I think that point is, again, spot on. These are the types of things that I think people don't necessarily appreciate in terms of what AI can do. It's not just, hey, I'm going to revolutionize the way we do business. It's also if I can assign AI to do tasks and be more efficient at tasks that I need done, companies are going to do that. That's one way you get a scale advantage in your labor, unfortunately, is to reduce the labor and get more output as a result of that labor using technology. Deidre Woollard: Well, and then you have to balance also the optics of this coming back to the PR. Google announced this and immediately there was a tweet from the Alphabet Workers Union saying, these small cuts, they're unnecessary for a company of this size, and then you had another story that was like an almost job cut from Salesforce . Fortune had this story of Salesforce might be freezing hiring, and so then Salesforce had to come out and say that they're strategically hiring, which is interesting because CEO, Marc Benioff of Salesforce, big job cuts last year. Then their last earnings call, he seemed to be throwing open the door saying AI is making us boom, we're hiring. How do you like to see companies handle some of these really tricky optics? David Meier: Be consistent. David Meier: If we look at the context, focus on Salesforce and Marc Benioff here and we look at the context, look, Marc Benioff is a promotional CEO. He loves to grow, he loves to talk about his company. He loves to talk about the culture within Salesforce and there's nothing wrong with that. But, as a mature company, if growth is picking up and your company needs more labor to execute and capture that growth, then you can talk about hiring. There's no problem with that. But if growth is slowing down and your company needs less labor as a result in order to provide a return to shareholders, look, that's not a fun story to tell, and, you know, Marc Benioff doesn't want to tell that story. That's just not who he is as a person, as a CEO, but it's the right one to tell. Again, just be consistent. Try to be rational here and again, for me as an analyst, I'm looking for that consistency. I want to make sure there is a match between what you're saying, what you're doing as a company, and why you're doing it. If there's a mismatch, that leads to more questions. Deidre Woollard: Yeah. That consistency is so important. I'm going to switch topics a bit because yesterday on the show, Dylan and Jason, they talked about the SEC's approval of Spot Bitcoin , ETF. They were waiting to hear the official announcement because it hadn't come out when they did the show. Now we've got Gary Gensler, of course, head of the SEC, and his statement. There was a phrase that stuck with me that the SEC doesn't really approve or endorse Bitcoin, and they said, investors need to remain cautious. So I read that as the SEC they had to do this. What do you think? What's your take? David Meier: What's the idea for Bitcoin? Etf got started and got support from the various service providers that were going to, you know, make this happen. It was inevitable the momentum was not going to stop, and it was not going to be a case where, you know, no, we're just not going to do this. What I think the SEC has been trying to do in this code and code negotiation phase before the approval phase is figure out how they can get best organized in order to provide some oversight. Look, the gravitational pull of Bitcoin is very strong, and the opportunity for service providers to make incremental revenue fee that could actually be really big is also strong, so look, it was going to happen sooner rather than later. That's always been my feeling. Deidre Woollard: Well, now it's happened. We've got a potential 11 of these coming to market. The frenzy is on. We've got the grayscale Bitcoin Trust and the shares Bitcoin Trust, those were first out of the gate. Early trading went way up. We know people, there's spent up demand here, right? There's going to be this flurry of excitement I think about this like, is it more like like an IPO where I want to watch, maybe wait a year, see how the market, the way the market works on a company, or is it more like, like a gold ETF or something like that? How do you think about the comparison here? David Meier: This is an excellent question and one I had to think quite a bit about. But I think I lean toward the IPO approach that you just mentioned and think it's best to wait and see how lots of things shake out and especially how the market for Bitcoin actually responds. I mean, yeah, the potential for, you know, how is this all going to work? Because if there is all this potential demand, that wants it, what's going to happen to the Bitcoin? Well, I guess it's not a security yet. The Bitcoin [OVERLAPPING] asset, how it responds. What I'm really looking for is to see just how much institutional demand there is for this ETF because that's who they're targeting. You know, it's difficult for many institutional investors to actually invest in Bitcoin itself, so this provides them a way to do that. To your point, between this one being approved and 11 more right behind it. Look, we know there's demand, otherwise I shares wouldn't have been pursuing this product. It just remains to be seen how much there is. I think the key to making any decision about whether or not you want to buy this ETF early on is you have to have some way of handicapping that demand. As well as a way of figuring out what's the potential impact of that demand on the asset itself, Bitcoin. Deidre Woollard: I thought of it like an IPO and then I went back to maybe it's more like gold because with an IPO you have the revenue potential. You have the story emerging. With Bitcoin you've got a price, like there's fewer variables there. David Meier: That's an excellent point. The comparison is not perfect, because we don't have an asset, which is a company. If you go through the IPO process now we have all of the financial statements. We have all of the information that gives us insight into what this company is going to do and how it's going to do it and how it's going to grow, et cetera, we just don't have that with an asset like Bitcoin. But on the other hand, it is all about price. I mean, that's really, it's supply and demand. Supply is for now, held constant, and we know demand is there, so the implication is price go up. It's difficult. But unlike gold, this approach, the wait and see approach is better. Because I think there'll be a lot more volatility in Bitcoin than they're likely be with something a commodity like gold. Deidre Woollard: Yeah, yeah, I think that makes sense. Thanks for breaking this down with me today, David. David Meier: Thank you, Deidre. Deidre Woollard: We talk about a lot of stocks on the show, but it's just a peek at the Motley Fool's investing universe. This year we're rolling out a new offering. It's called Epic Bundle. The service includes seven stock recommendations every month, model portfolios and stock rankings, all based on your investor type. We are offering Epic Bundle to Motley Fool Money listeners at a reduced rate as a thanks for listening to the show. For more information, head to www.fool.com/epic198. We'll also include a link in the show notes for you. One of the most powerful questions that investors can ask doesn't involve any math. Ricky Mulvey caught up with Alicia Alfiere for an introduction to the Snap test and apply it to a few companies. Ricky Mulvey: Alicia, I think this is a Foolish test for a company, but I think it's a powerful question that anyone can and maybe should ask before buying a stock, it's called the snap test. To set the table, can you explain what the question is and how it works? Alicia Alfiere: Yeah, definitely. The snap test is from David Gardner, and so for fans of the Marvel Universe, it's essentially the Thanos test, which means if you snap your fingers and the company is gone, would people be angry? Would they notice? It's shorthand for figuring out if a company has an incredible moat, or a competitive advantage. Sometimes, again, to help you think structurally about a company, is there competition? Are there adequate substitutes? Can anything be rebuilt with time and effort? Of course. But would the loss of a thing drive the need to rebuild? But I would also caution you and say that it's just a piece of the puzzle for investing. Ricky Mulvey: Yeah, it's not one question you can ask and then say move on. But it would be easier if it was that way. I think the obvious company to apply it to would be Snapchat because it's one of those things where you can talk about very necessary companies, where if they shut down, things would go very very awry. But also, with a company like Snapchat, if that was immediately shut down, you would have a lot of upset people who could not communicate with their friends. Alicia Alfiere: You would and perhaps I have a bit of a hot take here because I do think for those who are unfamiliar, the Snapchat app is an app that allows for visual messaging and it is wildly popular. In the third quarter, 406 million global users and over 5 million subscriptions. According to Pew Research Center report, Snapchat was one of the most widely used online platforms for teens. Here's the problem though, I do feel like there are a lot of social media apps and therefore a lot of substitutions. If this company were to be snapped away, would its users miss it? Yes, I think so, but I don't think they would have to really wait long before turning to TikTok, Instagram, maybe even the old school Facebook or Whatsapp. Ricky Mulvey: I think they would figure something out. I don't know about Facebook. One of my favorite takes is I don't use Facebook anymore, I'm just on Instagram. It doesn't really work. I was talking to a teenager for this volunteer thing, and he told me that he is on Snapchat and he lets everyone see his location and the reason he does that is because what if you were dying and you needed someone to come save you, so he allows every single person that he's ever met in high school to see his location at all times. Alicia Alfiere: Wow. Ricky Mulvey: The social dynamics with Snapchat, there's a lot of hurt feelings because people can see if their friends are gathering without them, it is terribly unhealthy. Maybe not Snapchat, but how about Netflix ? That's something that people have been snapped, especially over last year when Netflix started cracking down on password sharing. A lot of people understood like, I'm a little upset, I'm not getting my Netflix right now. Alicia Alfiere: Netflix is just about everywhere. Streaming content in over 190 countries with content in lots of different genres and languages, 247 million paid subscribers at the end of the third quarter and it's still the only major peer play streaming content provider. It was incredibly disruptive to the old way of watching and distributing content and it did so well that as we know, a lot of companies tried to copy the model. It has an incredible amount of content that continues to resonate with its users. I was reading about a Nielsen study and they looked at the US watching habits for the first 38 weeks of 2023 and Netflix had the most watch original series for 37 of those weeks and the most watched movie for 31 of those weeks. We're talking about something that really resonates with people. It was also found that it was more than all of the other streaming services and platforms in terms of screen time, except for YouTube. But the snap test, so several years ago, when it was mostly just Netflix in the space, the company could easily pass over that hurdle for the snap test. It's a little bit more complicated now, there are plenty of substitutes, Disney+, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and others. But we can argue about whether those are actually adequate substitutes for Netflix. Netflix change the way we consume entertainment, and it's still the largest streaming service out there. I think that this one passes the snap test for now. Though, maybe not in another few years if others can catch up. Ricky Mulvey: When I think of the snap test, I think Snap , Netflix, those are some fun ones, but then there's ones where the world would be seriously damaged if these companies wouldn't exist. For that, my mind goes to a lot of the semiconductor companies, whether it's Taiwan Semiconductor which manufactures the chips, or ASML which manufactures the machines that make the chips. If either of those companies went away, there would be very serious problems for the fragile civilization we live in. Alicia Alfiere: Yeah, no, that's absolutely correct, because we're talking about semiconductors are vital to electronics and to your everyday life and that's not at all being hyperbolic, it's true. We're talking about companies that are important in terms of the supply chain of those electronic goods. Definitely, those would pass the snap test. Ricky Mulvey: You mentioned this earlier where you said, just because you passed the snap test, it doesn't mean that it's an attractive stock for an investor. Let's put that to practice then. What are some companies that you think maybe pass the snap test, the world would go awry, it would be very difficult if these companies didn't exist, but you're not running out to buy those stocks? Alicia Alfiere: Well, everything in context. It depends on individual companies. But I would say that the sector where this would be the case would be the utility company sector. We know if the electrical grid in your area were to disappear, that would be a massive problem. But that doesn't mean you would want to invest in a company. As with everything, it depends on the individual company and circumstances, but these companies often have a fair amount of debt so the utility industry is one of the most leveraged and that's because it has this requirement to maintain and build infrastructure. A lot of these companies pay a dividend, but if a company is taking on too much debt and burning cash, it can put their ability to pay dividends at risk. If that's your reason for investing in one to have the dividends, that you're going to run into some trouble there. Ricky Mulvey: They've also run into some trouble with the cops now. As interest rates rise and a lot of the utility companies we're paying a healthy dividend, that becomes a little bit less attractive if you can get a United States literally, risk-free investment for four or 5%. Alicia Alfiere: Right. It might sound crazy that a utility company would suspend or cut their dividend, but it has happened. Last year, a utility company called Algonquin Power and Utilities actually cut their dividend something like 40% to shore up their finances. Ricky Mulvey: To add even a little bit more nuance, maybe there's a company you like that completely fails the snap test, but maybe has historically been a good stock. One example I talked about recently with Bill Barker on the show was Crocs. I think that's a company for the past few years, it's beaten the market. If one did not have Crocs in existence, people could find alternate footwear, Clog, sandals, that kind of thing. Alicia Alfiere: Yeah, definitely. For me, it would be Costco. Ricky Mulvey: Really? Alicia Alfiere: Yeah. Ricky Mulvey: That would be a very painful loss if I didn't have Costco? Alicia Alfiere: It would be for sure. We know they pioneered the membership warehouse club, keeps customers coming back. Member retention rate in the 90% range, continues to grow, generate cash, but there is a lot of retail competition and there are substitutes in the space like Sam's Club. If you snapped it away its members including me and I'm guessing you, would definitely feel the loss and be sad about particularly the loss of those bargain hot dogs. But competitors could come in to fill the gap. Ricky Mulvey: If you're a Costco member, you could still get groceries, you could still get tires somewhere else. It would be incredibly annoying and I wouldn't like it very much. Alicia Alfiere: Great. Ricky Mulvey: Alicia Alfiere. Thank you for your time and your insight. Alicia Alfiere: Glad to be here. Deidre Woollard: As always, people on the program may have interest in the stocks they talk about and the Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against, so don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. I'm Deidre Woollard. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Alicia Alfiere has positions in Alphabet and Costco Wholesale. David Meier has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Deidre Woollard has positions in Alphabet, Amazon.com, and Costco Wholesale. Ricky Mulvey has positions in ASML, Netflix, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Unity Software. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends ASML, Alphabet, Amazon, Bitcoin, Costco Wholesale, Netflix, Salesforce, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Unity Software. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . How to Look at Layoffs From an Investor's Perspective was originally published by The Motley Fool

2024-01-17 11:46:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [198, 441, 589, 1032]}

{"Bitcoin": [33]}

ARK Buys $15.9M Worth of Its Own Bitcoin ETF

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ark-buys-15-9m-worth-114618546.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

ARK Invest bought $15.9 million worth of shares in its own recently-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Tuesday. Cathie Wood's investment firm added 365,427 shares of the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) to its Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW). ARKB shares closed on Tuesday at $43.51 , down around 11% from its price on listing of $49 on Jan. 11. ARK sold a similar amount - $15.8 million - worth of shares in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), the first ETF linked to the bitcoin futures market to list in the U.S. The firm sold off its holdings in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) in December, prior to GBTC's conversion into a bitcoin ETF. ARK swapped its GBTC shares for BITO in anticipation of the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. , with Cathie Wood saying an already approved fund was more secure than an approval waiting to happen. It was expected that ARK would swap some of its BITO shares for a spot bitcoin ETF shortly after the approval happened. Read More: BlackRock Wants to Follow Bitcoin ETF With an Ethereum ETF. Marketing It Might Not Be So Simple View comments

2024-01-17 11:49:19+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 1132, 1467, 1836], "BTC": [9, 97]}

{"Bitcoin": [31]}

Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer Says Bitcoin to Consolidate Recent Gains Amid ETF Hangover

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fidelitys-jurrien-timmer-says-bitcoin-090305425.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Bitcoin [BTC] is down almost 7% in the last week , as the market impact of the recently approved BTC ETF works its way through the system. While many contrarian bets about the price of bitcoin after the ETF approval have been proven right, Fidelity's Jurrien Timmer doesn't expect the sell-off to continue much longer. In a thread on X, Timmer, Fidelity's Director of Global Macro, said current trends in bitcoin's price are suggestive of a short-term positioning adjustment rather than a long-term trend reversal. While some have forecasted that bitcoin might drop and find support anywhere between the $32K to $38K mark , Timmer expects consolidation of recent gains. "The short-term question is whether this a sell-the-news moment. My guess is that it will take a little time to consolidate the recent gains, now that the big moment has arrived," Timmer posted on X. "There were more than a few participants who 'equitized' future spot positions through either the futures market or bitcoin-sensitive equities." Well, the moment finally came last week, which is very exciting to say the least. Will this be a new chapter towards Bitcoin’s widespread adoption as a commodity-currency? 🧵 — Jurrien Timmer (@TimmerFidelity) January 16, 2024 Per Timmer, bitcoin's current price is reasonable and is affected by how much its network is growing and the actual interest rates in the economy and the longer-term prospects look bright. ""Will this be a new chapter towards Bitcoin’s widespread adoption as a commodity-currency?" Timmer posted. "It seems that way, although it could take some time to get there." While the rally has stalled, many asset managers, according to Timmer, continue to have a significant net long position in the bitcoin futures market. (Fidelity) Meanwhile, CoinDesk recently reported that for the first time ever, Bitcoin's 50-week simple moving average has crossed above its 200-week average. This event is known as a "golden cross," which suggests a long-term bullish market, although its predictive accuracy is debated among traders. View comments

2024-01-17 11:51:50+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [748, 1147]}

{}

Inflows to spot bitcoin ETFs drop on second day of trading

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/inflows-spot-bitcoin-etfs-drop-115150033.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) - Fund inflows to exchange traded funds (ETFs) tied to the spot price of bitcoin dropped to about $200 million on the second day of trading after attracting $629 million on their debut on Jan. 11, early estimates from J.P. Morgan showed. Eleven such ETFs, with total assets under management worth $27.9 billion, entered the U.S. stock market in a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry after years of regulatory tussle over investor protection. So far, ETFs by BlackRock and Fidelity have attracted the most funds at nearly $500 million and $423 million, respectively, in the first two days of trading, the brokerage estimated. However, details on fund flows from issuers such as Bitwise, Franklin and VanEck are still awaited. Bitcoin has surged nearly 60% since September end on bets that an approval would usher in new capital as exposure to the world's biggest digital asset on a regulated exchange removes the hassle of directly owning it. On the debut day, $4.6 billion worth of shares changed hands across all the products with Grayscale, BlackRock and Fidelity dominating trading activity. The $26.53 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which charges the highest fees at 1.5% among the 11 ETF issuers, saw outflows of $478 million over the first two days, J.P.Morgan said. Profit-taking from early investors on the fund was widely expected as it was earlier a close-end fund trading at a discount to its underlying bitcoin assets. J.P.Morgan had in November estimated that the fund could record nearly $3 billion in outflows after the ETF conversion. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

2024-01-17 12:30:09+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2373]}

{}

Anthropic Building Feature for Chatbot Claude to Analyze Images

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/anthropic-building-feature-chatbot-claude-123009737.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is working on a feature that would give its chatbot Claude the ability to analyze images, according to unpublished wording contained in the code of the company’s website. The tool could widen the product’s appeal to users and help the company catch up with larger competitors. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Major AI chatbots like Google’s Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT are already equipped with the ability to scrutinize images. The technology enables the programs to perform tasks like identifying the breed of a dog in a photo, comparing two pictures of T-shirts or describing a piece of art. Anthropic has not publicly discussed the new feature, but a Bloomberg review of wording contained in the code of the company’s website using Chrome developer tools, shows text related to image recognition. Some of the as-yet unpublished text offers tips for using image analysis. It invites people to “chat with Claude about images” and ask image related questions. The wording also suggests users give the chatbot prompts such as: “Tell me 3 other buildings by this architect,” “Write 5 versions of ad copy for this product,” and, “What economic predictions are in this chart?” An Anthropic spokesperson declined to comment. Currently, the Claude chatbot only responds to text commands and can only parse text-based documents. Its website suggests asking the program to perform a handful of tasks such as, “Summarize this PDF document” and, “Help me practice my Spanish vocab.” Anthropic was formed in 2021 by former employees of OpenAI, and has positioned itself as focused on responsible AI and safety. The San Francisco-based startup released Claude in 2023, and its customers range from drug maker Pfizer Inc. to video chat company Zoom Video Communications Inc. Last month, Anthropic was said to be in talks with investors to raise $750 million at a valuation of $18.4 billion. Story continues Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 13:00:09+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3603]}

{}

AI Certification Program Verifies Systems Are ‘Fairly Trained’

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-certification-program-verifies-systems-130009164.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- A new initiative will evaluate and certify artificial intelligence products as copyright-compliant, offering a stamp of approval to AI companies that submit details of their models for independent review. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Never Trumpers Brace for New Hampshire Shutout Gloom Over China Assets Is Spreading Beyond Battered Stocks The certification is conducted by a nonprofit called Fairly Trained, founded by Ed Newton-Rex, who resigned in November as the vice president of audio for Stability AI, citing concerns over AI “exploiting creators.” The Fairly Trained label will be given to AI companies that have obtained consent for the data they use to train AI systems, similar to how a tomato farm is certified as organic or a cocoa product is deemed fair trade. Fairly Trained has nine companies that have been certified so far, all small startups. Getting permission to use copyrighted training data isn’t the norm. Generative AI leaders like OpenAI have argued that using data without a license falls under a “fair use” exception to US copyright law. Many rights holders disagree, which has led to several lawsuits, including a high-profile case in which New York Times Co. is suing OpenAI. “All the training data has been stolen,” Salesforce Inc. Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff said in an interview Tuesday at the Bloomberg House in Davos, Switzerland. Benioff also owns Time magazine, which is negotiating with OpenAI over a license agreement. OpenAI has struck agreements with the Associated Press and Axel Springer SE. Newton-Rex quit Stability because he disagreed with the AI startup’s position on fair use — especially because he says that generative AI output competes commercially with the copyrighted works used for training. Since resigning, Newton-Rex said he’s spoken with companies building models trained only on licensed or public-domain material, and he’s heard from businesses and consumers who would prefer to use models like that. He’s hoping that a Fairly Trained stamp can give people the ability to select models that align with their values. “As long as generative AI companies are saying, ‘Yes, this is fair use, we can scrape whatever we want,’ then I think it will be a battle between the two sides,” Newton-Rex said. But plenty of companies aren’t saying that, and he said the issue doesn’t have to be so adversarial. He hopes to show that “there’s a mutually beneficial setup here that works for everyone.” Story continues Here’s the list of Fairly Trained-certified startups: Beatoven.AI Boomy BRIA AI Endel LifeScore Rightsify Somms.ai Soundful Tuney Eight are related to sound generation, and one creates images. To get certified, companies provide detailed information about their training data sources and make commitments around using licensed material. They pay a small submission fee and then, if certified, as much as $6,000 a year depending on their revenue, Newton-Rex said. Advisers to the nonprofit include Maria Pallante, the CEO of the Association of American Publishers, a book publishing trade association; Elizabeth Moody, an attorney; Tom Gruber, a co-founder of the team that created Siri; and Max Richter, a composer and pianist (who OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently mentioned as a composer he listens to often). Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-17 14:00:37+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [797]}

{"Bitcoin": [35]}

Europe May Not Get U.S.-Style Spot Bitcoin ETF

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/europe-may-not-u-style-140037625.html

etf.com

https://www.etf.com/

ETF Investing Tools A painstaking decade of rejections may have concluded with 11 spot bitcoin ETFs being approved in the U.S.; however, crypto assets are unlikely to find a home in European ETFs despite the continent’s leading role in wrapping digital assets. According to data from ETFbook, around $9 billion is currently housed within crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) in Europe, with a good portion of asset gathering and returns over the past year driven by news flow surrounding the anticipated approval of ETFs is the U.S . Crucially, though, these products are structured as exchange-traded notes (ETNs) debt instruments and are not awarded the European ‘gold standard’ UCITS label. Not an ETF as Europe Would Know It The closest a product has gotten to achieving this was the Jacobi Bitcoin ETF (BCOIN) which launched last August While not an ETN, BCOIN is also not an ETF in the fashion European investors are familiar with. Instead, issuer Jacobi Asset Management worked with the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GSFC) to engineer a "protected cell company" (PCC), a unique structure wherein the PCC houses "cells," such as BCOIN, behaving much as a sub-fund would on a conventional fund platform. While Jacobi AM notes the ETF structure it employs is subject greater regulatory scrutiny and may not be subject to the same counterparty risk associated with some ETNs, there are several functional overlaps. For instance, much like physically backed crypto ETPs or ETNs, each cell is backed by a pre-determined physical quantity of the underlying asset, in this case bitcoin. Also, BCOIN targets at institutional investors which need at least $100,000 assets to allocate. Like other crypto wrappers in Europe, it does not benefit from the same distribution passporting, investor protection or eligibility benefits as UCITS ETFs. Loopholes in UCITS However, although crypto ETPs are not themselves considered UCITS eligible, this has not stopped them – or other digital asset exposures—from appearing in UCITS funds on odd occasions. Story continues Townsend Lansing, head of product at CoinShares, previously told ETF Stream German regulator BaFin allows UCITS funds to buy crypto ETNs on the delta one exemption. This is based on the same rationale as allowing funds to buy gold through exchange-traded commodities (ETCs), provided the vehicles are exchange-traded, transferable securities. Elsewhere, WisdomTree noted Spanish regulator—the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV)—allows UCITS or equivalent collective investment schemes to have exposure to financial instruments with performance linked to crypto assets, provided they do not embed derivatives. A Closing Door Unfortunately for crypto-focused issuers, the most likely avenue for getting crypto UCITS ETFs over the line is likely disappearing. Crypto, like gold and other commodities, are not listed within the European Commission’s Eligible Assets Directive for UCITS funds. Yet broad baskets of more than 20 commodities currently tout the UCITS ETF badge, owing to the fact they meet diversification rules known at the ‘5/10/40’ or the ‘20/35’. However, a source familiar with UCITS and crypto ETPs told ETF Stream a sufficient range of crypto assets are already offered in wrapped crypto baskets and a crypto ETF meeting the quantitative rules for UCITS “could be launched tomorrow”. While diversification requirements may be met on paper, regulators including BaFin would be mindful of whether a crypto basket represents convincing risk diversification, spreading and management. Aside from convincing the market highly correlated coins and tokens can be considered distinct assets, Shane Coveney, partner at Dillon Eustace, said the next question would be whether a reliable supply of centrally cleared and exchange-traded futures would be available to facilitate liquid trading of sufficiently broad crypto baskets. The follow-up consideration would then be the roll costs involved in replicating such an index comprising niche crypto assets, which may lead to tracing error and wide performance dispersion, Coveney warned. These considerations may just be academic, though, with the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) stating last year it would assess whether an update to UCITS rules was necessary to close the loopholes enabling specialist exposures a foothold in its fund regime, which is intended to place investor protection front-and-centre. Key Authorities Unconvinced Also, as seen in the U.S., rejections and barriers will remain a way of life for crypto issuers looking to break into ETFs for as long as key regulatory stakeholders view the asset class as unsuitable for the broad investor base. Lansing noted the interpretation of UCITS framework by watchdogs in Europe’s predominant fund domiciles – Ireland and Luxembourg – means they rule out direct exposure to digital assets within UCITS vehicles “on a prudential basis”. Coveney said: “The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has noted that such exposure can present significant risks including liquidity risk, credit risk, market risk, operational risk (including fraud and cyber risks), money laundering and terrorist financing risk and legal and reputation risks. “In assessing the suitability of such a product for a retail investor base, the CBI’s view is that retail investors would need to be able to appropriately assess the risks of making an investment in a fund which gives such exposures, something which has not been shown sufficiently to meet its requirements.” In a similar vein, Luxembourg’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) said under its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing law, an entity investing in crypto “is not suitable for all kind of investors” and “UCITS, UCIs addressing non-professional customers and pension funds are therefore not allowed to invest directly or indirectly in virtual assets”. While some may note the language used by the CBI and CSSF strongly resembles the health warnings delivered by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler in his statement attached to spot bitcoin ETF approvals, the two-tiered UCITS ETF and then non-UCITS ETC and ETN split in Europe creates a clearer line in the sand that does not exist in the US. Athanasios Psarofagis, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, stressed Europe’s approach is “more cut-and-dry”, with language to separate UCITS from “wonky stuff” in ETNs versus the “organised chaos” of the U.S., where “there is really no distinction”. Permalink | © Copyright 2024 etf.com. All rights reserved

2024-01-17 14:01:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1742]}

{}

Open-source developers fled crypto in 2023. But the industry’s most dedicated coders aren’t going anywhere: ‘The tourists have left’

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/open-source-developers-fled-crypto-140100173.html

Fortune

http://fortune.com/

Although the army of open-source developers fueling the nearly $2 trillion crypto ecosystem every month has declined by roughly a fourth over the past year, those committed to the cause aren't going anywhere. By the end of 2023, the number of monthly active open-source crypto developers had fallen to 22,266 from about 29,600 a year earlier, according to a report published Wednesday by Electric Capital . Still, the number of dedicated coders, monthly active developers who've been in crypto at least two years, rose by almost one-third over that same period. Maria Shen, a partner at Electric Capital, said the jump in long-standing open-source developers bodes well for the crypto industry, and that the true number of developers, including non-open-source coders, could be much higher. "The tourists have left, predictably, and the people who are left are the people who are very committed and dedicated—and committing most of the code to crypto," she told Fortune. Despite a massive head start, the U.S.'s share of global crypto developers has fallen to about 26% from an earlier figure of 40% in 2018, Shen added. Much of the decline has to do with regulatory uncertainty in the U.S. fueled by the Securities and Exchange Commission, although some of it is also due to crypto expanding and globalizing , she said. “Anecdotally, just speaking to developers and founders, there's very widespread concern around regulatory uncertainty," Shen continued. "That pushes everyone to think about what is their strategy outside the U.S." About 34% of open-source crypto developers are in Europe , and an increasing number are now in countries that include India and Nigeria, which saw some of the biggest growth in 2023. As for the blockchains, Bitcoin and Ethereum have traditionally been the two biggest destinations for open-source developers, yet the space is increasingly expanding, with the report showing that Polygon, Solana , and BNB Chain are gaining steam. Story continues More than a third of all developers supported multiple layer-1 and layer-2 chains over the course of 2023, compared with just 3% in January 2015. The number of developers working on three or more chains also hit an all-time-high in 2023, according to the report. "I think the biggest takeaway for me," Shen told Fortune , "is that crypto is not going anywhere." This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

2024-01-17 14:47:50+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [56, 886, 2095]}

{"Bitcoin": [14]}

Understanding Bitcoin, Nasdaq-100 Correlations

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/understanding-bitcoin-nasdaq-100-correlations-144750621.html

ETF Trends

http://www.etftrends.com/

This article was originally published on ETFTrends.com. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are consider alternative assets comparable to commodities and other “alts.” That implies digital currencies should not move in concert with traditional asset classes, such as stocks and bonds. Indeed, there are times when the digital currency's price action departs from equities. But there are also occasions when it is closely linked to well-known equity benchmarks, including the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX). That's the underlying gauge for the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and the Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF (QQQM) . As Kevin Davitt , head of options content at Nasdaq, noted, the long-running correlation between bitcoin and NDX is 0.805. That’s fairly high, but there are occasions when that linkage breaks down. And that potentially providies investors with opportunity in QQQ, QQQM, and bitcoin. When Bitcoin and NDX Correlations Shift History can be instructive for investors looking for clues regarding how the bitcoin/NDX relationship can affect exchange traded funds such as QQQ and QQQM. “It was most pronounced in late 2019 and mid-2021. In those situations, the correlation fell to -0.65. During those lookback periods, the NDX and spot bitcoin often moved in opposite directions,” noted Davitt. “In short, the 90-day correlations became negative during/following significant bitcoin drawdowns.” Recently, that situation has reversed, as the digital currency and NDX have risen in unison since the fourth quarter. That could be a symptom of some QQQ and QQQM holdings being viewed as crypto-correlated, the recent approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., or a combination of the two. “The three-month correlation between the two indexes is highly positive. The correlation measure vacillated between 0.64 in May of 2021 and above 0.99. Most of the time, the 90-day correlation is above 90%,” added Davitt. Periods of intimate linkages between bitcoin and NDX aren’t surprising. QQQ and QQQM allocate nearly half their rosters to tech stocks, some of which have clear ties to the cryptocurrency space. Bitcoin itself is viewed as a technology, which could be a variable that enhances its correlations to NDX. Story continues One way of looking at the above is that there are times when opportunity presents itself to tactical traders vis a vis the bitcoin/NDX relationship. “Capital markets are constantly evolving, and the bitcoin saga is just another example. Dynamic markets respond to end-user demand. The growth of cryptocurrency and index option markets over the past few years is representative of that dynamism,” concluded Davitt. On the other hand, more conservative investors can simply embrace QQQ or QQQM as backdoor avenues to exposure to the digital currency without the associated volatility. For more news, information, and analysis, visit the ETF Education Channel . POPULAR ARTICLES AND RESOURCES FROM ETFTRENDS.COM SPY ETF Quote VOO ETF Quote QQQ ETF Quote VTI ETF Quote JNUG ETF Quote Top 34 Gold ETFs Top 34 Oil ETFs Top 57 Financials ETFs New YieldMax Fund of Funds ETF Invests in Other YieldMax ETFs Brinsmere Funds ETFs Adjust Allocations to Enhance Return, Reduce Risk VIDEO: ETF of the Week: PIMCO Enhanced Short Maturity Active ETF (MINT) Calamos Launches Closed-End Funds Income & Arbitrage ETF What You Might Have Missed at the Cryptocurrency Symposium READ MORE AT ETFTRENDS.COM >

2024-01-17 15:55:38+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [86, 170, 314, 646, 760, 950, 1195], "BTC": [95]}

{"Bitcoin": [19]}

Jamie Dimon Bashes Bitcoin Again: 'A Pet Rock'

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jamie-dimon-bashes-bitcoin-again-155538387.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon took another opportunity to publicly air his criticism about Bitcoin [BTC], saying his personal advice is to not get involved. The use cases for Bitcoin are “AML, fraud, sex trafficking and tax avoidance,” said Dimon, holding court Wednesday on CNBC from Davos. "I defend your right to do Bitcoin," continued Dimon, who one month ago in Congressional testimony urged Senator Elizabeth Warren to "close it down." "I don't want to tell you what to do," added Dimon this morning. "My personal advice is don't get involved." He also said the cryptocurrency is like a “pet rock” that “does nothing." Read more: JPMorgan CEO's Bitcoin Bashing Is a 'Do as I Say, Not as I Do' Situation Dimon appeared to be constructive on cryptos outside of Bitcoin, noting there are many folks can “do something with" such as tokenization of real-world assets. Asked about asset management giants like Fidelity and BlackRock getting involved with Bitcoin via spot ETFs, Dimon responded that he “doesn’t care,” and promised this will be the last time he speaks about bitcoin. While Dimon says he may not care about the spot ETFs, JPMorgan is notably playing a key role for BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) as one of the fund's authorized participants.

2024-01-17 15:56:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1109, 1221], "BTC": [147]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Sees First Ever Weekly 'Golden Cross,' a Bullish Signal to Some

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-sees-first-ever-weekly-073734101.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Market enthusiasts call it a "golden cross," indicating a positive shift in asset prices, and now this marker has finally appeared on the bitcoin [BTC] weekly price chart. The 50-week simple moving average (SMA) on bitcoin has crossed over the 200-week SMA for the first time on record, confirming the golden cross. The phrase and its counterpart, "the death cross," in which the short-duration SMA dips below the long-duration SMA, originated in Japan, per some technical analysis textbooks. Many traders see crossovers as forward-looking indicators, with the golden version signaling a long-term bull market ahead. The bullish interpretation could be challenged because averages are based on past data and tends to lag prices. In other words, averages represent what happened in the past, and the first golden cross on the weekly chart results from bitcoin rallying over 70% to $42,700 in four months. Thus, seasoned traders consider crossovers as lagging indicators, often coinciding with trend exhaustion. For instance, the weekly death cross confirmed in early 2023 marked the bottom of the bear market. Bitcoin's daily chart golden and death crossovers have a mixed record of predicting bullish and bearish trends. Bitcoin's rally has already stalled, with the cryptocurrency trading 10% lower from highs near $49,000 registered after 11 spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) began trading in the U.S. last Thursday. Per observers, the bullish momentum has waned due to early ETF flows failing to match the sky-high market expectations. "The Net flow of funds for the ETFs has been $965M (including seed funds), a strong start thus far. However, the spot price is down from the launch-driven euphoria as investors set unreasonably high launch expectations," Greg Cipolaro, global head of research at NYDIG, said in a newsletter Tuesday. View comments

2024-01-17 16:00:01+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3033]}

{}

FOREX-Dollar hits fresh one month high after retail sales data

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/forex-dollar-hits-fresh-one-160001254.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

(Updated at 10:18 a.m. ET/1518 GMT) By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The dollar index hit a fresh one-month high on Wednesday after U.S. retail sales data indicated the economy remained on solid footing, denting the market outlook for any potential rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales gaining 0.4%. While markets still see the Fed's first downward move in rates likely to come in March, expectations for a cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) are down to 57.1%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, from 65.1% on Tuesday. "If we look at this morning's retail sales report, that points to growth on virtually every possible level and across every aggregate within the consumer spending sphere," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. "That points to underlying inflation pressure remaining sticky for longer, and that coincides with the fact that we're seeing a concerted push from policymakers to anchor market expectations out into the middle of the year for the first cut, and also to warn markets that the cadence of rate cuts is going to be slower than anticipated." The dollar index which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.21% at 103.51, after climbing to 103.68, its highest since Dec. 13. The greenback jumped 0.67% jump on Tuesday, it's biggest one-day percentage climb since Jan. 3, driven higher in part by comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller, who said that, while the U.S. was "within striking distance" of the Fed's 2% inflation goal, the central bank should not rush towards cuts in its benchmark interest rate until it was clear lower inflation would be sustained. Also supporting the dollar was data showing China's economy grew 5.2% in 2023, slightly more than the official target, but it was a far shakier recovery than many analysts and investors expected while its property crisis deepened. Story continues The dollar touched 148.47 against the rate-sensitive Japanese yen, its highest since Nov. 30, and was last up 0.67% at 148.17. The greenback also hit a two-month high of 7.2321 against China's offshore yuan. The euro was down 0.14% to $1.0859 against the dollar, on the heels of a 0.67% drop in the prior session, even as European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers try to dispel expectations of looming rate cuts. Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot told CNBC on Wednesday that investor bets for ECB rate cuts were excessive and possibly self-defeating because they could actually hold back monetary easing. Sterling was last trading at $1.266, up 0.17% on the day, on track for its first gain against the dollar after three straight sessions of declines, as a rise in British inflation reinforced market expectations that the Bank of England would be slower to cut rates than other central banks. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin was down 1.27% to $42,584. (Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing by Miral Fahmy, Kim Coghill, Chizu Nomiyama and Alex Richardson)

2024-01-17 16:00:07+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3548]}

{}

DeepMind’s Latest AI System, AlphaGeometry, Aces High-School Math

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/deepmind-latest-ai-system-alphageometry-160007065.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Google DeepMind, Alphabet Inc.’s research division, said it has taken a “crucial step” towards making artificial intelligence as capable as humans. It involves solving high-school math problems. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Never Trumpers Brace for New Hampshire Shutout Stocks Rise as Wall Street Builds on Record Highs: Markets Wrap In a paper published in Nature this week, DeepMind introduced a system called AlphaGeometry that proves complex geometry theorems better than prior computer programs. Researchers at the company described this as a major breakthrough of an AI applying reasoning and planning to tasks, something even today’s advanced models can’t do — but something scientists believe is necessary for a hypothetical future artificial general intelligence, or AGI. “I considered this one of the grand challenges for AI,” Quoc Le, a distinguished scientist at Google and one of the paper’s co-authors, said in an interview. “A couple years ago, I would have said it was impossible.” Last year, Google merged its research division with London-based DeepMind to better compete in the high stakes race to build AI products. Google invested heavily in the technology for years, but was widely seen as falling behind in the emerging field of generative AI, chiefly to OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. In December, Google released Gemini, an AI model that underpins its chatbot Bard and which the company says can outcompete OpenAI’s GPT-4 in certain benchmarks. These generative AI tools are quite good at chatting naturally or producing images, but they struggle with planning or handling problems that require several steps, said Le. That’s why they’re bad at solving geometry and other advanced mathematics. In the Nature paper, AlphaGeometry tackles a set of problems from the Mathematical Olympiad, an international competition, performing nearly as well as the top high-school competitors. Story continues AI systems have struggled with this largely because there’s not enough available data to train them to learn on their own — unlike chatbots, which can glean information from the abundant text online. To solve this, DeepMind fabricated its own dataset, creating 100 million unique examples of geometric constructs for the AI system to absorb. Making this so-called synthetic data is expensive: Google’s scientists deployed 100,000 central processing units for three days to create the dataset. The company declined to share the cost. AlphaGeometry will not be immediately incorporated into Gemini, but Thang Luong, another co-author, said he imagines the system could eventually help serve as a mathematics tutor within services like Bard. Google has faced criticism for not moving some its research advances into commercial products quickly enough. Google decided to open-source AlphaGeometry, giving the code and model freely to others — an approach that potentially increases the risk of the technology being misused by bad actors. Le said he was not concerned about this in light of the company’s risk assessment of the system and the current progress of the science. “If you look very closely at AI today and what it can do, you’d be surprised that it’s not very good in the field of mathematics,” he said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 16:00:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5856]}

{}

Melting Greenland Has Lost 1 Trillion Tons More Ice Than Thought

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/melting-greenland-lost-1-trillion-160008284.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The Greenland ice sheet, an expanse of frozen water about three times the size of Texas, is disappearing much faster than previously thought, according to new research, and the difference may already be affecting the distribution of heat around the world. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Never Trumpers Brace for New Hampshire Shutout Stocks Rise as Wall Street Builds on Record Highs: Markets Wrap The mass of ice lost between 1985 and 2022 has been underestimated by as much as 20%, or more than 1,000 gigatons (1 trillion metric tons). That’s due to the overlooked impact of calving around Greenland’s perimeter, where the sheet’s glaciers meet the sea, scientists wrote in an article published Wednesday in Nature. Using several public datasets, the research team combined more than 235,000 observations of glacial end points to create an “ice mask” showing the extent of the ice sheet every month from 1985 to 2022. “The surprise was just the ubiquity of the signal,” said Chad Greene, a glaciologist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and lead author of the study. With the exception of “one minuscule little glacier” that grew modestly, Greene said, “there’s just been retreat everywhere we’ve looked. It’s on every corner of the island.” The shrinking of Greenland’s ice sheet is already contributing to higher seas, but the melting studied by Greene and his team likely had minimal impact because it occurred in deep fjords leading into the ocean, where the ice was already mostly underwater. However, as that part of the glaciers disappears, inland melting is likely to accelerate and will raise sea levels as that water flows into the ocean. “What we’re seeing is that the clog in this bottleneck has been removed, and as a result, the glaciers all around Greenland have been able to speed up” the melting process, he said. “You take the ice out of the fjord and glaciers speed up and start contributing to sea level rise.” Read More: The Arctic’s Vital Signs Are Going Haywire From Climate Change Figuring out how much more ice is going to be lost, and how quickly, also depends on the sensitivity of various glaciers to climate change. The extent of the glaciers fluctuates seasonally, growing in winter and retreating in summer. Those that consistently changed the most are likely the most sensitive to environmental change and global warming, the scientists surmised. Story continues “This finding is sort of laying a roadmap of where to look for which glaciers that are going to be potentially the biggest players over the next few decades in sea level rise,” Greene said. Greenland’s ice sheet is retreating because of warmer global temperatures caused by the human combustion of fossil fuels. Prior to this study, the total mass loss from the sheet so far was estimated at about 5,000 gigatons, according to IMBIE, a collaboration of polar scientists. Were it all to melt, sea levels could rise more than 7 meters (23 feet). Read More: Luxury Cruise Ship Gets Unstuck After Four Days in Greenland’s Arctic Meanwhile, the loss through calving — when icebergs break off the glacier and float out to sea — is already significant enough that it may be affecting ocean circulation and the distribution of heat energy around the globe, the study suggests. This could have particular importance for Atlantic Meridian Overturning Circulation, or AMOC. AMOC can be described as a planetary conveyer belt of energy that circulates warm water from lower latitudes up to the North Atlantic and back again. In addition to warming much of Europe and the UK, that circulation carries nutrients with it that are key to sustaining ocean life. The annual freeze of the surface of the Arctic Ocean is a driver of the conveyer belt. Ice cannot contain salt, and so as Arctic sea ice freezes, the salt is pushed out and sinks to the bottom of the sea. That denser salt water then flows south, which in turn pulls warm water north. Scientists are divided as to whether AMOC is approaching a tipping point when even a relatively small amount of melting fresh water could disrupt the cycle. But it seems likely that a larger inflow could have an impact. “We found an extra thousand gigatons [of lost ice] and now we’re saying to ocean modelers, ‘Put this in your models and see if it affects things,’” Greene said. That 1,000 gigatons figure is significant — “much larger than I would have hypothesized,” said Julienne Stroeve, chief science officer at Arctic Basecamp, a non-profit group of Arctic experts, and a professor of polar observation and modeling at University College London. The impact it may be having on ocean circulation warrants investigation, Stroeve said. “The only region of the planet that’s kind of cooling is actually off the southeastern coast of Greenland, in the ocean, and that could be due to freshening of the ocean from more melt water from Greenland.” Whether it’s also contributing to larger changes in ocean circulation partly depends on where the fresh water ultimately ends up, as the icebergs float away from Greenland and melt and, more importantly, on the quantity of fresh water entering the ocean, she said. Until now, scientists have believed most ice loss in Greenland is caused by increased surface melting and runoff, not calving. “I do wonder now what the mass balance between calving and surface melt is, because many scientists have been saying that surface melt was more important,” said Stroeve. “But this might change that story.” --With assistance from Eric Roston. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-17 16:39:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1438, 1927, 1997]}

{}

Jamie Dimon still sees no value in bitcoin after ETFs debut: ‘Please stop talking about this sh—’

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jamie-dimon-still-sees-no-163900711.html

MarketWatch

http://www.marketwatch.com/

Dimon said he doesn’t care about the bitcoin ETFs launches. - AFP/Getty Images Jamie Dimon, chief executive at JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, said he still sees no value in bitcoin and is done with talking about the cryptocurrency, after the first several bitcoin exchange-traded funds debuted in the U.S. last week. Most Read from MarketWatch ‘I can’t afford to keep paying for two households’: My adult sons live rent-free in my house, while I pay for 50% of utilities in my second husband’s condo ‘She’s obsessed’: My mom moved into my house and refuses to move out. She has paid for repairs and appliances. What should I do? Apple’s stock could soar nearly 25%, BofA says, going against tide of skepticism Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment for 2025 could be the lowest in five years ‘You are not paid for the risk you take.’ Why this money manager is betting bonds over stocks this year. “I hope this is the last time I’m talking about [bitcoin] with CNBC, so help me God,” Dimon said in an interview with the news channel on Wednesday. A number of Wall Street heavyweights, such as BlackRock BLK and Fidelity, last week launched bitcoin BTCUSD ETFs. When asked about his views on those companies’ moves, Dimon said, “I don’t care.” Read: Vanguard’s decision to shun bitcoin ETFs triggers backlash — with some customers moving to crypto-friendly competitors like Fidelity “Just, please, stop talking about this sh—,” Dimon said. Bitcoin, he said, “does nothing.” Dimon reiterated his view that blockchain technology has great potential. “It’s a technology. We use it. It’s going to move money. It’s going to move data. It’s efficient.” “There’s a [type of] cryptocurrency which might actually do something,” Dimon said of those based on blockchains that enable smart contracts. “We can use it to buy and sell real estate and move data — that may have value. Or to tokenize things that you do something with,” he said. Bitcoin doesn’t fall into the category, according to Dimon. While the Bitcoin blockchain supports smart contracts, their function remains very limited compared with those on some other blockchains, such as Ethereum ETHUSD. Story continues “My personal advice is don’t get involved” in bitcoin, Dimon said. “But I don’t want to tell anybody what to do. It’s a free country.” Such comments are consistent with Dimon’s past stated positions on bitcoin. He once called the cryptocurrency “a hyped-up fraud” and “ a pet rock .” Most Read from MarketWatch ‘I’m getting cold feet’: I’m single and make $120,000 a year. Can I afford a $500,000 home in Florida? These Americans are struggling to pay their bills on time: ‘Financial stress appears to have risen,’ New York Fed says AMD’s stock riding ‘AI-winner trade’ toward first new record close in 25 months I inherited $246,000 from my mother and used $142,000 to pay off our mortgage. If we divorce, can I get it back? U.S. stocks book best day in nearly 2 weeks as Dow snaps 3-day losing streak after big tech rally

2024-01-17 17:01:46+00:00

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{"Bitcoin": [65, 107]}

Investors In Kraken Crypto Exchange Converted Over $1 Billion In Bitcoin To Cash Before SEC Ruling On Spot Bitcoin ETFs

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/investors-kraken-crypto-exchange-converted-170146431.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

Kraken, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, saw investors convert over $1 billion in Bitcoin to cash before a recent SEC Ruling on Bitcoin ETFs. Crypto investors withdrew over $1 billion worth of Bitcoin and converted it to cash on the Kraken exchange shortly before the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent ruling allowing spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The withdrawals/conversions were conducted throughout more than three dozen transactions between Jan. 7 and Jan. 9.  The moves were first reported on the blockchain monitor Whale Alert. The transaction amounts were between 400 and 1,000 Bitcoins. Don't Miss: The last-standing top crypto exchange without a major security breach offers what now? Did you know $2.5 BILLION was earned by BTC miners in the 4th quarter of 2023 ? Massive cryptocurrency withdrawals are not always breaking news, but several aspects of these trades stand out. First, they all came within a short timeframe. Second, these transactions were all closed in the waning hours before a major SEC ruling regarding Bitcoin. It has led some to wonder whether these crypto investors knew something other people didn't, or if they were hedging bets by taking profits while they still could. Why Is The SEC Ruling Important? The SEC allowing spot Bitcoin ETF trading marks a major expansion in the way people can invest in Bitcoin. The traditional model of buying, trading or selling Bitcoin required traders to have a crypto wallet, which was held on a crypto exchange such as Kraken. These exchanges, which are not regulated by the SEC, operate on blockchain technology to secure investor deposits. However, some exchanges were better than others, and if an investor’s crypto wallet was on an exchange that failed, they could lose all their funds and have little recourse. This kind of volatility and risk was an obvious deterrent to many potential cryptocurrency investors. The new SEC ruling means investors can purchase cryptocurrency without being part of a cryptocurrency exchange because they can buy cryptocurrency ETFs through traditional brokerages. Where Can Investors Buy Bitcoin ETFs? Bitcoin ETFs will be listed on the following exchanges: NYSE Arca: Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF (DEFI) Cboe BZX Exchange Inc.: ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL), WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC) Nasdaq Stock Exchange: iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR) Story continues Could This Lead To A New High For Bitcoin? Many observers are expecting a multibillion-dollar cash infusion into the various Bitcoin ETFs now that investors can invest in Bitcoin by simply calling their broker. This could lead to an explosion in Bitcoin value, which has rallied strongly from the low $20,000 range last January to roughly $45,000. Although the current price is still lower than the all-time high, the influx of investor capital could surpass that mark. The War For Investors Is Afoot Now that Bitcoin ETFs are authorized to trade, it would appear as if the cryptocurrency is here to stay. It also means that the various funds are in a knock-down, drag-out fight for the biggest share of new investors jumping into the pool. Even before the SEC approved them to operate, the soon-to-be-approved funds were in a race to the bottom in terms of fees. On top of that, they are also whale hunting. The real honey for many of these funds will be the institutional investors, who can pledge hundreds of millions (or more) all at the same time. This may be a great opportunity for interested investors to consider Bitcoin ETFs while the fees are still low, which certainly won't last. Is Now The Time To Jump In On Bitcoin? The important thing to keep in mind is that even with SEC approval, a Bitcoin ETF is a basket full of cryptocurrencies. So, while the potential exists for cryptocurrency to rocket to all-time highs, getting caught on the downside of that wave cresting can be devastating. For example, if you bought Bitcoin at $65,000, you're still waiting to make a profit despite the massive rally in 2023. Read Next: Don't buy the top this time around. Reboot your crypto portfolio today . Whether you have $10 or $10,000, you can start trading crypto today . "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Investors In Kraken Crypto Exchange Converted Over $1 Billion In Bitcoin To Cash Before SEC Ruling On Spot Bitcoin ETFs originally appeared on Benzinga.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. View comments

2024-01-17 17:14:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1110, 1165, 1760, 1855, 1963, 2707, 2811], "BTC": [1578, 1946, 1958]}

{"Bitcoin": [17]}

Why 2024 Will Be Bitcoin's Year

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-2024-bitcoins-171425132.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

2024 is already shaping up to be a transformative year for digital assets broadly, and bitcoin particularly. With SEC approval for a spot bitcoin ETF last week and bitcoin’s next halving event scheduled for April, we anticipate key shifts in both the supply and demand. Understanding these shifts is critical to understanding what role digital assets may play in the years ahead as they help to foster worldwide financial accessibility. On the demand side, the SEC’s potential approval of a spot bitcoin ETF should open the door for a significant number of new investors seeking exposure to the price of bitcoin directly in their traditional investment accounts. They can now forego the complexity of dealing with crypto exchanges, and access a familiar investment vehicle — an ETF. This will spark both higher liquidity and greater price stability in bitcoin. Equally importantly, the SEC’s approval represents a significant milestone for bitcoin’s growing legitimacy with established financial institutions. As for supply, bitcoin’s scarcity increases approximately every four years with each halving event. Bitcoin halving is the process in which the reward for Bitcoin miners is cut in half, reducing by 50% the rate of new bitcoin issuance. With the next halving expected in April 2024, the block reward will be 3.125 versus 6.25 today. You're reading Crypto Long & Short , our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. This historically has led to significant increases in BTC price in the months and years following each (see chart). While the actual timing of this event is predictable, the market takes time to find a new price equilibrium. Looking at Bitcoin’s prior halvings, we see significant increases in the months and years following each. Bitcoin’s last halving occurred on May 11, 2020, when the block reward decreased from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. Bitcoin has grown at a 52% compound annual growth rate since that event, with the most rapid rise occurring in the first nine to 12 months following the event. The halvings prior to 2020 produced a similar trajectory. Story continues The combination of these factors makes a compelling investment case for bitcoin and offers a potential entry point. Using a stock-to-flow model , which attempts to quantify the value of an asset which has a limited supply, we find an implied value of approximately $62,000 per bitcoin in April 2024, representing roughly a 34% increase relative to the current price as of January 10. The landscape of digital assets, particularly bitcoin, is set for significant change this year. The SEC’s approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF and the halving event in April are poised to reshape both the supply and demand dynamics of Bitcoin. For a deeper dive into the transformative power of digital assets, Global X recently published our latest Charting Disruption report , our annual deep-dive into the trends and technologies shaping the economy of tomorrow.

2024-01-17 17:29:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [53, 212, 625, 674, 748, 867, 1989, 2107, 2681, 2815, 3252, 3353, 3644, 3774, 3857, 4123, 4437, 4563, 4615, 4682]}

{"Bitcoin": [29]}

Jamie Dimon tells Davos that Bitcoin is a ‘pet rock’ that does nothing—except help with fraud and money laundering

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jamie-dimon-tells-davos-bitcoin-172918767.html

Fortune

http://fortune.com/

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is done talking about Bitcoin—again. In a CNBC interview from Davos, a visibly amused Dimon declared he was swearing off opining about the crypto currency. When asked about the new Bitcoin ETF the Securities and Exchange Commission approved last week, Dimon interrupted CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin, also of The New York Times , to say: “So this is an important thing, this is the last time I’m ever going to talk about this on CNBC—so help me God,” Dimon said to laughs from studio hosts Sorkin, Joe Kernen, and Becky Quick. That sort of exasperation has become a Dimon staple when discussing Bitcoin. He’s been saying he’ll never talk about Bitcoin again since as far back as 2017. Dimon continued his criticism of Bitcoin, saying “it does nothing.” “I call it the pet rock,” he said. Dimon then corrected himself to say he did think Bitcoin did actually have some uses. They just all happened to be illegal such as money laundering, fraud, tax avoidance, or as payment for sex trafficking, he said. There is evidence to support Dimon’s claim. The Government Accountability Office found that 15 of the 27 online commercial sex websites it examined in a June 2021 report accepted digital currencies. While the U.N. issued warnings that cryptocurrency platforms are often used for money laundering by criminal groups in Southeast Asia. Despite these concerns, the market for cryptocurrencies has been exceptionally strong in recent years after a near-death experience during 2022’s “ crypto winter .” In 2023, the market capitalization for the entire crypto industry grew 95% , although it’s still down 35% from its all-time high during the pandemic. Also, the SEC’s recent ETF approval is a signal that crypto is becoming a legitimate financial asset. And despite Dimon’s objections to owning cryptocurrency himself, many retail investors do. A study from 2022 found that 36% of millennials and 20% of total adults own cryptocurrencies . Dimon's history of Bitcoin talk Over the years, Dimon has been open about his dislike for cryptocurrencies, calling people who invest in Bitcoin “ stupid ,” and once threatening to fire any employee caught investing in it. Meanwhile, he called the asset itself a “ hyped-up fraud ” and a “waste of time.” At a Senate hearing in December, Dimon said if it were up to him he’d “ close it down ,” earning a surprised reaction from crypto hawk Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Other major financial firms like BlackRock and Goldman Sachs had similar positions before changing their minds as crypto became more popular and lucrative. In 2020, Goldman Sachs published an analyst note explaining why it didn’t consider Bitcoin an asset class that was widely shared in both Wall Street and crypto circles. And while its investment chief is still wary of Bitcoin , CEO David Solomon signaled Goldman Sachs would be interested in acquiring bargain crypto companies . Story continues When CNBC asked Dimon about companies that offer crypto products to their clients, he replied with the same dismissiveness he reserved for the asset itself. “Number one I don’t care,” he told Sorkin. “So just please stop talking about this shit.” BlackRock CEO Larry Fink was once in Dimon’s camp as a staunch Bitcoin critic, concerned it had limited use beyond criminal activity. In 2017, Fink famously called Bitcoin the “ index of money laundering ” and that the only it was good for was illustrating how much demand there was for that specific financial crime. Fink would eventually change his tune, though. By 2020, he believed it could grow into a global market. Fast forward to this month, when Bitcoin got the stamp of approval to become a spot ETF and BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, owns the third most Bitcoins of any public company. Fellow asset manager Fidelity was early to embrace Bitcoin. It began mining the cryptocurrency in 2014, before launching its first trading platform in 2018. While BlackRock’s other competitors, State Street and Vanguard , the world’s second and third largest asset managers respectively, have opted to stay away from Bitcoin altogether. “The investment case for cryptocurrencies is weak,” Vanguard told Bloomberg in December. “Unlike stocks and bonds, most crypto assets lack intrinsic economic value and generate no cash flows. That line of thinking was similar to Dimon’s, who in his CNBC interview raised repeated concerns over Bitcoin’s ultimate function—aside from, as he said, aiding and abetting crime. Instead, Dimon sought to differentiate between Bitcoin and blockchain, the technology which allows Bitcoin to be traded without the approval of a centralized agency. Bitcoin’s defenders tout the ability to trade the asset without having to rely on a bank or clearing authority as the core benefit that makes it unlike any other currency or asset. Blockchain, according to Dimon, was useful for exchanging assets or data. Although he thought even on that topic enough ink had been spilled. “It’s very small,” he said of blockchain. “I think we’ve wasted too many words on that.” This story was originally featured on Fortune.com View comments

2024-01-17 17:39:47+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 470, 1650], "BTC": [9, 390]}

{"Bitcoin": [30], "BTC": [61]}

Bernstein Says Buy the Dip in Bitcoin Mining Stocks Ahead of BTC Price 'Inflection'

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bernstein-says-buy-dip-bitcoin-173947245.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Bitcoin [BTC] mining stocks have underperformed in recent weeks, but any weakness in the near term represents a potential buying opportunity, broker Bernstein said in a research report on Monday, The mining stocks are facing two headwinds following the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). First is "lower investor appetite to use them as a proxy,” and second is a weaker BTC price, resulting in further underperformance, the report said. The Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF (WGMI), which invests in publicly traded bitcoin mining stocks, fell nearly 38% this year, while the bitcoin price and broader equity markets were more or less flat. However, this underperformance might provide a window for investors looking for an opportunity to buy into mining stocks. “Just like bitcoin, the next two months offer a dip buying opportunity in bitcoin miners,” as the stocks will offer "higher beta trade" to the next bitcoin price inflection, analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra wrote. There may be a further temporary weakness in bitcoin, with a potential short-term bottom in the $38,000-$42,000 range for the world’s largest cryptocurrency, the report said. Still, investors should be "structurally long" ahead of the next halving event , expected in April. In a separate note on Wednesday, Bernstein reiterated its bullish call on the miners. The broker recommends “achieving bitcoin exposure via bitcoin miners that offer a higher-beta than bitcoin driven by EBITDA expansion and market multiple growth into the bull cycle.” Bernstein says it prefers outperform rated stocks Riot Platforms (RIOT) and CleanSpark (CLSK). Read more: Bitcoin Miner CleanSpark Cut to Neutral, Riot Platforms Upgraded to Neutral: JPMorgan

2024-01-17 18:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5449]}

{}

Samsung Bets on Google-Powered AI Features in Smartphone Revamp

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/samsung-bets-google-powered-ai-180000977.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. is turning to artificial intelligence features to revamp its flagship Galaxy smartphones, betting that the technology can give it an advantage over Apple Inc.’s iPhone. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Never Trumpers Brace for New Hampshire Shutout Stocks Rise as Wall Street Builds on Record Highs: Markets Wrap At its Unpacked conference Wednesday in San Jose, California, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S24, S24+ and S24 Ultra phones, which all add AI tools based on the Gemini technology from Alphabet Inc.’s Google. The devices can live-translate phone calls, transcribe voice recordings, summarize web articles, fix handwriting and use generative AI to fill in parts of photos. The launch is one of the most ambitious attempts to weave AI into a smartphone’s interface and features. The new devices also provide Google with a chance to put its most advanced software in the hands of more users, a potential edge in its fight for AI dominance with Microsoft Corp. and startup OpenAI. The AI features are the highlight of the new phones, but the devices are also getting slimmer bezels and brighter displays. Samsung is paying special attention to its top-end model, the S24 Ultra. That product, which starts at $1,299, will have a new titanium frame, matching the iPhone 15 Pro models released in September. The borders around the displays are 42% thinner, and the screen is 40% brighter than the phone’s predecessor. It also sports flatter edges and a front-facing camera cutout that’s 11% smaller. The $799 S24 and $999 S24+ come in aluminum and get slightly larger screens than their predecessors, moving from 6.1-inch and 6.6-inch panels to 6.2-inch and 6.7-inch displays, respectively. The S24 Ultra, like the S23 Ultra, has a 6.8-inch screen. Story continues Qualcomm Inc. is providing the main chip of the new Samsung phones in at least some regions. The S24 lineup will be based on its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 applications processor, the company said in a separate statement. That component offers the latest Wi-Fi capabilities and will handle AI-assisted features such as live translation and transcription, Qualcomm said. The new models come at a crucial time for Samsung, which is contending with market share losses and a broader smartphone slump. Last year, it lost its crown as the No. 1 smartphone supplier to Apple, marking the first time Samsung hasn’t led the market since 2010. Samsung’s phone shipments declined nearly 14% to 226.6 million units in 2023, according to research firm IDC. Apple, on the other hand, saw unit shipments increase 3.7% to 234.6 million. Samsung looks to reverse its fortunes by getting a several-month head start on AI. Apple isn’t expected to showcase its latest plans for artificial intelligence until June, ahead of new iPhones arriving around September. The new Galaxy phones come out on Jan. 31, with preorders starting Wednesday. Read More: Apple Faces AI, China, App Store Challenges in 2024 Samsung decided to adopt the Gemini AI technology after surveying offerings from competitors, according to Thomas Kurian, head of Google’s cloud computing unit. As part of a multiyear agreement, Google will be the sole provider of generative AI for Samsung’s phones and applications, including features for taking notes and recording audio, according to Kurian. “This is a validation of the quality of our models,” Kurian said. “They were free to choose whoever they wanted.” Users will be able to switch between two options: one called Gemini Nano that runs on the phone itself and a higher-powered Pro version that uses cloud computing. That flexibility helped Google’s offerings stand out from the competition, Kurian said. In conjunction with Samsung’s announcements, Google also introduced a feature called “Circle to Search,” which lets people search anything on their phone screens without switching apps. Users of Google’s Android operating system can scribble or circle on top of images, text or video in the app they’re on – say, YouTube Shorts or TikTok – to find out more information about the item. The feature is launching globally on the new Galaxy S24, as well as on Google’s own Pixel 8 smartphones on Jan. 31. AI features on the Samsung devices will also let users change the language of a message depending on the context, such as whether it’s a work memo or social media post. And new capabilities for Android Auto — Google’s in-car interface — will summarize incoming text messages and other alerts. The companies are also applying AI to the phones’ camera systems, which are getting upgraded with new sensors, with tools to make photos sharper. The S24 Ultra replaces one of its 10-megapixel telephoto cameras with a 50-megapixel version. The S24 and S24+, meanwhile, include the same camera specifications as their predecessors. The S24 Ultra comes with as much as 1 terabyte of storage, while the S24+ tops out at 512 gigabytes. The S24 has as much as 256GB of space. The S24+ and S24 Ultra include 12GB of memory, which is used for shorter-term storage of data, while the regular S24 has 8GB. --With assistance from Ian King and Yoolim Lee. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 18:04:23+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [137, 184, 1311, 1383, 1528, 1580, 1876, 2015, 2747]}

{"Bitcoin": [19]}

Grayscale CEO Says Bitcoin ETF’s Sector-High Fees Justified by Track Record

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/grayscale-ceo-says-bitcoin-etf-180423199.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Grayscale Investments Chief Executive Officer Michael Sonnenshein said that 1.5% management fee charged for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust — the highest of any of the spot Bitcoin ETFs on the market — is justified by “the size, the liquidity, and the track record” of the company. Most Read from Bloomberg Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Apple to Sell Watches Without Oxygen Feature After Legal Setback Singapore Minister Quits After Biggest Graft Case Since 1986 Dimon Says China Risk-Reward Equation Has ‘Changed Dramatically’ Stocks Drop as Solid Data Fuel Fed-Pivot Repricing: Markets Wrap “As an investor, when you are choosing amongst these products, fees are a consideration, the asset manager, the issuer behind it are a consideration, but so should be size, liquidity and that track record,” Sonnenshein said during an interview on Bloomberg Television from Davos on Wednesday. Several of the nine rival exchange-traded funds are offering incentives such as zero fees to win over investors since they were launched last week. The Grayscale fund has seen about $1.2 billion in outflows since the trust converted to an ETF when regulators approved the funds last week, according to data compiled so far by Bloomberg Intelligence. Excluding GBTC, all other spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen about $1.9 billion in net inflows. VanEck’s spot Bitcoin ETF, which has the second highest management fee of any of the new ETFs, is a sixth the cost of GBTC, at 0.25%. BlackRock’s iShares spot Bitcoin ETF, which has seen the most inflows of any Bitcoin ETF since coming on the market last week, has an introductory 0.12% fee, bumping up to 0.25% after 12 months for accounts with less than $5 billion in assets. Grayscale Investments also filled for a covered call ETF a day after the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the spot Bitcoin ETFs. The company “seeks to provide and deliver current income while also providing participation in the price return of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust,” according to the N-1A form filled last Thursday. “Being able to offer a covered call strategy allows investors to have passive long GBTC exposure but also earn some additional income,” Sonnenshein said. The covered call filling has suggested the possibility of less volatility in crypto markets moving forward, but Sonnenshein said that investor interest, not volatility, was the main motivation behind the covered call filling. “I don’t think it’s for us so much a measure of volatility but instead that we’ve heard from investors that they want to be passively long of that asset class,” Sonnenshein said. Story continues Shares of GBTC fell for a third day, declining about 2% to $37.55 as of 1 p.m. in New York. Bitcoin was down about 2.6% to $42,315. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way Elon Moves Further Right; Hertz Ditches Tesla There’s a Toxic Employee—and the CEO Is Ignoring the Issue Chinese Tycoon on the Rebound After $10 Billion Debt Deal ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-17 18:08:47+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [498, 735, 959, 1039, 1367, 2136, 2245, 2884, 3448, 3832, 4205]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin and Ethereum to Lead Altcoins Higher in 2024

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-ethereum-lead-altcoins-higher-180847464.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Last week’s approval of spot bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETFs) was quite an event. For a brief few days our industry was the belle of the financial ball, with over $4.5 billion trading on Thursday’s debut. Pretty amazing to consider how long it took to get a proper ETF. Some things are worth the wait. Crypto Market Reality Check: 2024 sees the crypto market growing up, rubbing shoulders with its larger asset class peers. Despite some rocky and uncertain economic terrain over the past year, Bitcoin and Ethereum are strutting their stuff and becoming increasing favorites, serving as desirable alternatives to your run-of-the-mill stocks and bonds. Asset allocators are taking note of 2023’s performance, which means demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum is on the rise. You're reading Crypto Long & Short , our weekly newsletter featuring insights, news and analysis for the professional investor. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday. Spot Bitcoin ETFs – Don't Ignore Them: While the jury is still out on whether or not Bitcoin spot ETF launch week was a “buy the rumor, sell the news” event, in the medium to long term, it will likely mark a turning point in crypto adoption rates. Why? Because it's a more familiar, regulated way to allocate capital into the crypto market. Check out Coinbase and MicroStrategy stocks in 2023 – they outperformed Bitcoin, and that's no coincidence. These ETFs will open the floodgates for Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), pension funds, and hedge funds to get in on the action. Plus, investment banks will start concocting new products based on these ETFs and the CBOE is awaiting approval to begin listing options on these new ETFs. Keep an eye on this space – it's gonna be a ride. Inflows and the Big Numbers: Get ready for a tsunami of cash entering the crypto scene. RIAs are managing roughly $130 trillion, and a 1-2% portfolio allocation to digital assets through ETFs could send 1 to 2.5 trillion into the crypto world, roughly equivalent to the current market capitalization of the digital asset market. Here's the catch: this flood of cash is gonna flow mainly into Bitcoin and Ethereum. Sorry, altcoins, you might have to wait your turn for the time being. But, the rise of Bitcoin and Ether should trickle down into other digital assets, as crypto native investors take profits on the majors and allocate capital into smaller tokens. This will put crypto native players in the driver-seat of bitcoin dominance (see chart below), as they will be the investors capable of playing in the basis and spreads between the majors and altcoins. Story continues Macro Factors Ahead: Now, let's talk about recession and interest rates. If the U.S. economy takes a nosedive in late 2024 due to higher interest rates, we will enter into a dovish period of the interest rate cycle and guess who benefits? Yep, digital assets. Bitcoin, with its digital scarcity, and Ethereum, with its increasingly deflationary post-Merge tokenomics, will shine bright in a world of growing deficits, government spending and abundant fiat liquidity. But keep your expectations tempered. There will inevitably be volatile moments of low liquidity and deleveraging within digital assets. Play It Smart with Portfolio Construction: In 2024, forget about trying to predict where the market's heading. Instead, focus on portfolio construction and position sizing. Price momentum indicators, such as the CoinDesk Bitcoin and Ether Trend Indicators (BTI and ETI), can be useful inputs in moderating net exposure and managing overall market exposure. If you find yourself itching for some altcoin exposure to take advantage of an upward trending market, consider diversified exposure. Indices like the newly launched CoinDesk 20 (CD20) offer diversified altcoin exposure while capping major tokens (Bitcoin to 30%, Ether to 20%, respectively) to better manage market volatility and diversify potential altcoin risks of specific token adoption rates and regulatory impacts. (More information on the CD20 is available on coindeskmarkets.com and here .) Preparing for Altcoin Season: It's time to consider tilting your portfolio towards altcoins while keeping a firm grip on Bitcoin and Ethereum. Altcoins shine when the rest of the crypto market is humming along, and there's no denying their potential for growth. But keep in mind the benefits of portfolio construction as markets never move in straight lines and there’s always a twist in the tale. View comments

2024-01-17 18:31:45+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3424]}

{}

Apple to Face US Antitrust Lawsuit as Soon as March

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-face-us-antitrust-lawsuit-183145283.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. is poised to face a US antitrust lawsuit as soon as March as the Justice Department prepares to take on one of the world’s most valuable companies, according to people familiar with the case. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Never Trumpers Brace for New Hampshire Shutout Boeing Faces More Pressure as United CEO Vents Frustrations Antitrust enforcers allege that Apple has imposed software and hardware limitations on its iPhones and iPads to impede rivals from effectively competing, echoing concerns raised by Spotify Technology SA, bluetooth tracker Life360 Inc.’s Tile and messaging service Beeper. The Justice Department and Apple lawyers have met three times to discuss a potential suit, said the people, speaking anonymously to discuss an ongoing probe. The Justice Department hopes to file a suit in the first quarter of the year, though that timing could slip, the people said, as the DOJ’s most senior antitrust officials haven’t yet signed off on the complaint. The agency has been probing the company since 2019, but chose to prioritize its twin cases against Alphabet Inc.’s Google. An antitrust suit against Apple would be the culmination of years of work and mark the fourth case that US antitrust enforcers have pursued under the Biden administration’s crackdown on technology giants. The government is also pursuing cases against Meta Platforms Inc and Amazon.com Inc. The Justice Department and Apple declined to comment. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to hear appeals by Apple and Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. related to an antitrust suit over the App Store, bringing the case to a conclusion. The trial judge in that case found Apple’s App Store rules don’t violate federal antitrust law. However, she ruled the company’s limits on developer communications violated California’s state antitrust law. Story continues The Justice Department had weighed in at an earlier stage in the suit and was waiting for the high court’s decision before making its own move, the people said. Enforcers have also been monitoring Apple’s moves in Europe as the bloc prepares to begin enforcing new digital gatekeeper rules on March 7. The new Digital Markets Act bars the most powerful tech firms from favoring their own services over those of rivals and companies must allow users to download apps from competing platforms. Apple’s App Store was designated as a service that falls under the law, though it’s appealing. Apple said it expects to make changes to the App Store as a result of the bloc’s new rules despite the pending appeal. Earlier: Apple to Allow Outside Payments for Apps After US Decision Following the Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday, Apple said it will allow developers to use alternative payment systems, but charge a 27% fee for most digital purchases or 12% on subscriptions. Epic Games said it planned to contest Apple’s proposed remedy, saying the change was inadequate and would effectively prevent developers from reducing consumer prices. The New York Times earlier reported on the Justice Department’s expected suit. --With assistance from Mark Gurman. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 19:11:59+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 161, 286, 417, 625, 793, 820, 859, 1090]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin spot ETFs break US$10 bln trading barrier

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-spot-etfs-break-us-191159692.html

Forkast News

https://forkast.news/

Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have collectively surpassed US$10 billion in trading volume within four days of their launch. The introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs has been a game-changer for the industry, offering investors a regulated and accessible way to gain exposure to Bitcoin without the complexities of direct cryptocurrency ownership. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applications last Wednesday, allowing the funds to begin trading last Thursday for the first time in the United States, the world’s largest economy. The regulator had previously rejected all spot Bitcoin ETF filings, citing concerns over market volatility, liquidity, and potential manipulation. Among those rejections was Grayscale’s bid to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the largest Bitcoin fund in the world, into a spot Bitcoin ETF. In August, the District Court of Appeals delivered a favorable verdict for Grayscale, forcing the SEC to reevaluate its earlier refusal for the ETF conversion. Following the agency’s recent landmark decision on the 11 Bitcoin ETFs, which included Grayscale’s, SEC Chair Gary Gensler admitted that the August court decision played a big role in the approvals.

2024-01-17 19:34:21+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1604, 1703]}

{"Bitcoin": [18]}

CHART OF THE DAY: Bitcoin's forays into traditional finance have been marked by sell-offs

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chart-day-bitcoins-forays-traditional-193421386.html

Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/

@Haumicharts on X The price of bitcoin tends to decline shortly after the crypto's forays into traditional finance. The launch of bitcoin futures, options, and futures ETF all marked short-term tops in the price of bitcoin. Since the launch of spot ETFs last week, bitcoin has declined by about 9%. Our Chart of the Day is from Louis Sykes of All Star Charts, and it shows that the price of bitcoin tends to decline shortly after traditional finance gets into the cryptocurrency. For example, the CME's launch of bitcoin futures on December 18, 2017, represented a temporary top for the cryptocurrency that was followed by a stunning price crash of 81% over the subsequent year. And when the CME launched bitcoin options contracts on January 13, 2020, the cryptocurrency shortly thereafter experienced a swift and painful decline of about 53% over the next two months. Other traditional finance events for bitcoin include the IPO of Coinbase, a crypto custodian, on April 14, 2021. After the Coinbase IPO, the price of bitcoin tumbled by 55% over the next two months before mounting a five-month recovery to its record high of about $69,000. Finally, the launch of a bitcoin futures ETF by ProShares on October 19, 2021 , nearly marked the top in the price of bitcoin. The cryptocurrency traded at about $64,000 that day, and it topped out at $69,000 just three weeks later. After peaking, bitcoin experienced a brutal one-year bear market and sank as much as 78%. With the launch of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs last week, the question is whether bitcoin will follow its historical pattern and sell-off again. "Bitcoin has a tendency to cool-off after a significant traditional finance launch. Will the recent Bitcoin spot ETF be the same?" Sykes asked on social media. So far, it's not looking good for bitcoin investors. The cryptocurrency has declined by about 9% since the spot bitcoin ETFs began trading last Thursday. Read the original article on Business Insider

2024-01-17 19:49:22+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [113, 641, 737, 943, 2090, 2155, 2358, 2789, 3059, 3502, 3617, 3824, 3988, 4107, 4332, 4560]}

{"Bitcoin": [31]}

Cathie Wood’s Ark Buys Its Own Bitcoin ETF

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cathie-wood-ark-buys-own-182013289.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) — Cathie Wood’s Ark Investment Management LLC is snapping up shares of the firm’s just-launched spot-Bitcoin ETF as competition among the inaugural issuers escalates. Most Read from Bloomberg Blinken Stranded After Boeing 737 Breaks Down on Davos Trip Stocks Set for Worst Day in a Month as Yields Jump: Markets Wrap China Population Extends Record Drop on Covid Deaths, Low Births Musk Pressures Tesla’s Board for Another Massive Stock Award China’s Economic Growth Disappoints, Fueling Stimulus Calls The ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ticker ARKW) sold off $16 million worth of its position in the futures-backed ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) on Tuesday to make way for a purchase of 365,427 shares of the ARK 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), which now makes up 1% of the ARKW fund, data compiled by Bloomberg show. A consistent bid from its sister fund could help give ARKB a leg-up in a highly competitive environment for spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The Securities and Exchange Commission allowed 10 such ETFs to launch at once last week, preventing any one of them from gaining first-mover advantage. That has set up an unusually high-stakes horse race, given that all the funds hold the same underlying asset. Funneling the firm’s own money into an ETF is one way to gain scale quickly — an important criteria for financial advisers and platforms, many of which have minimum-asset thresholds, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. “Cathie Wood buying ARKB with her other ETFs is a little bit of a cheat code in raising assets and volume, but she’s not the only issuer that can do this and this isn’t the only cheat code available,” Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said. “We could see other issuers put their products in model portfolios or do standard bring-your-own-assets.” Although some flow data is lagging due to ETF accounting, data available so far show investors have poured an estimated net $803 million into the funds over the last three days, suggesting that even outside of potential seed money from fund issuers, demand is strong for Bitcoin exposure in a physically-backed ETF. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has taken in the most cash, raking in $710 million. Fidelity’s FBTC has pulled in roughly $524 million. The inflows more than offset the money that’s been drained from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) since it debuted as an ETF. As expected by industry analysts, investors have pulled about $1.2 billion from GBTC over the last three trading sessions. The fund has existed in a trust structure since 2013, but last Thursday marked one of the first days every investor in the fund could redeem their shares near net-asset value and take profits. Story continues “Grayscale has dominated the market for regulated Bitcoin investing for over a decade. Now that other issuers have come to market, we are naturally seeing some rotation into these new products,” Zach Pandl, Grayscale’s managing director of research, said on Tuesday in reference to the outflows. “Total net inflows into Bitcoin investment products are what matters for prices, not substitution from one product to another.” The net inflows come amid hefty trading volume. In the first three days of trading, the ETFs have seen nearly $9.8 billion worth of shares exchange hands. That’s roughly in-line with the three-day traded value of all 500 ETFs that launched in 2023, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. ‘Spaghetti Cannon’ The blockbuster debut of the spot-Bitcoin ETFs has firms rushing to capitalize on the buzz. Grayscale and Roundhill have both filed applications for Bitcoin covered-call ETFs, which would replicate one of the most popular equity ETF strategies of 2023 by using options strategies to generate additional returns. And while questions remain over the fate of Bitcoin-futures ETFs — VanEck announced Wednesday it’s shuttering its futures-backed product — ProShares is doubling down. The firm filed for leveraged and inverse Bitcoin products this week, which employ derivatives to deliver performance, according to SEC filings. Should the spot-Bitcoin ETFs continue to generate inflows and interest, it’s inevitable that issuers will attempt to launch crypto ETFs of every stripe, according to the ETF Store’s Nate Geraci. “The highly successful first few days of spot-Bitcoin ETF trading will only serve to embolden issuers to fire up the spaghetti cannon,” said Geraci, president of the advisory firm. “I expect that we’re going to see every flavor of leveraged, inverse, and options-based spot-Bitcoin ETF strategy. Any time there’s a successful ETF category, issuers will look to build on it by mixing in new ingredients in an attempt to entice investors.” —With assistance from Isabelle Lee. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way Elon Moves Further Right; Hertz Ditches Tesla There’s a Toxic Employee—and the CEO Is Ignoring the Issue Chinese Tycoon on the Rebound After $10 Billion Debt Deal Patti LaBelle Moves From Stage to Stove With a Recipe for Success ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-17 20:05:50+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3355]}

{}

FOREX-Dollar hits new one-month high as data weighs on rate cut hopes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/forex-dollar-hits-one-month-200550713.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

(Updated at 2:23 a.m. ET/1923 GMT) By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK, Jan 17 (Reuters) - The dollar index hit a fresh one-month high on Wednesday after U.S. retail sales data signaled economic strength, dimming expectations for imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales gaining 0.4%. While markets still see the Fed as likely to trim rates in March, expectations for a first cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) are down to 53.2%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, from 65.1% on Tuesday. "If we look at this morning's retail sales report, that points to growth on virtually every possible level and across every aggregate within the consumer spending sphere," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. "That points to underlying inflation pressure remaining sticky for longer, and that coincides with the fact that we're seeing a concerted push from policymakers to anchor market expectations out into the middle of the year for the first cut, and also to warn markets that the cadence of rate cuts is going to be slower than anticipated." The dollar index which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.12% at 103.42, after climbing to 103.69, its highest since Dec. 13. The greenback jumped 0.67% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day percentage climb since Jan. 3, buoyed in part by comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller. He said that while the U.S. was "within striking distance" of the Fed's 2% inflation goal, the central bank should not rush to cut its benchmark interest rate until it was clear lower inflation would be sustained. The Fed's "Beige Book" of economic activity showed the majority of the 12 districts reported little or no change since the prior period, while nearly all noted a cooling labor market. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). Story continues Also supporting the dollar was data showing China's economy grew 5.2% in 2023, slightly more than the official target, but it was a far shakier recovery than many expected while its property crisis deepened. The dollar touched 148.52 against the rate-sensitive Japanese yen, its highest since Nov. 28, and was last up 0.71% at 148.23. The greenback also hit a two-month high of 7.2321 against China's offshore yuan. The euro was down 0.01% at $1.0873 against the dollar, a day after falling 0.67% drop, even as European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers tried to dispel expectations of looming rate cuts. Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot told CNBC on Wednesday that investor bets for ECB rate cuts were excessive and possibly self-defeating because they could actually hold back monetary easing. ECB President Christine Lagarde told Bloomberg TV in Davos the central bank was on track to get inflation back to its 2% target but victory has not yet been won. Sterling was last trading at $1.268, up 0.32% on the day, on track for its first gain against the dollar after three sessions of declines, as a rise in British inflation reinforced expectations that the Bank of England would be slower to cut rates than other central banks. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $42,603. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Richard Chang)

2024-01-17 20:05:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3311]}

{}

Dollar hits new one-month high as data weighs on rate cut hopes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dollar-one-month-high-rate-003341903.html

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/

By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) -The dollar index hit a fresh one-month high on Wednesday after U.S. retail sales data signaled economic strength, dimming expectations for imminent rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. Retail sales rose 0.6% last month after an unrevised 0.3% gain in November, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales gaining 0.4%. While markets still see the Fed as likely to trim rates in March, expectations for a first cut of at least 25 basis points (bps) are down to 53.2%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, from 65.1% on Tuesday. "If we look at this morning's retail sales report, that points to growth on virtually every possible level and across every aggregate within the consumer spending sphere," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto. "That points to underlying inflation pressure remaining sticky for longer, and that coincides with the fact that we're seeing a concerted push from policymakers to anchor market expectations out into the middle of the year for the first cut, and also to warn markets that the cadence of rate cuts is going to be slower than anticipated." The dollar index which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies of other major trading partners, was up 0.12% at 103.42, after climbing to 103.69, its highest since Dec. 13. The greenback jumped 0.67% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day percentage climb since Jan. 3, buoyed in part by comments from Fed Governor Christopher Waller. He said that while the U.S. was "within striking distance" of the Fed's 2% inflation goal, the central bank should not rush to cut its benchmark interest rate until it was clear lower inflation would be sustained. The Fed's "Beige Book" of economic activity showed the majority of the 12 districts reported little or no change since the prior period, while nearly all noted a cooling labor market. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is scheduled to speak at 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT). Also supporting the dollar was data showing China's economy grew 5.2% in 2023, slightly more than the official target, but it was a far shakier recovery than many expected while its property crisis deepened. The dollar touched 148.52 against the rate-sensitive Japanese yen, its highest since Nov. 28, and was last up 0.71% at 148.23. The greenback also hit a two-month high of 7.2321 against China's offshore yuan. The euro was down 0.01% at $1.0873 against the dollar, a day after falling 0.67% drop, even as European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers tried to dispel expectations of looming rate cuts. Story continues Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot told CNBC on Wednesday that investor bets for ECB rate cuts were excessive and possibly self-defeating because they could actually hold back monetary easing. ECB President Christine Lagarde told Bloomberg TV in Davos the central bank was on track to get inflation back to its 2% target but victory has not yet been won. Sterling was last trading at $1.268, up 0.32% on the day, on track for its first gain against the dollar after three sessions of declines, as a rise in British inflation reinforced expectations that the Bank of England would be slower to cut rates than other central banks. In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $42,603. (Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Richard Chang) View comments

2024-01-17 20:08:36+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3833]}

{}

Amazon Makes Local Sports Deal, Giving Broadcaster New Life

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-makes-local-sports-deal-200836880.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Diamond Sports Group reached a restructuring deal with most of its debt holders and Amazon.com Inc. that will save the bankrupt local sports broadcaster from liquidation. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout The deal, subject to bankruptcy court approval, calls for Diamond to emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings with beefed-up finances and Amazon’s Prime Video platform as its main streaming partner, according to a statement on Wednesday. The company — a unit of Sinclair Inc. — was in the midst of finalizing a plan to wind down after the 2024 sports seasons when talks with Amazon about a streaming deal began late last year. Now, key creditors have agreed to swap their holdings for stock in Diamond and put in new money, while Amazon also agreed to make a minority investment in the company, according to the statement. The deal will allow sports fans to purchase access to local Diamond channels through Amazon’s Prime Video platform and watch live MLB, NBA and NHL games for the sports teams where Diamond holds so-called direct-to-consumer rights. Diamond will also look for a new naming rights arrangement for its channels, which currently use the name Bally Sports, according to company filings. Some creditors agreed to provide $450 million of new financing, with the proceeds used to repay $350 million to senior debt holders and support continuing operations, according to the statement. Consenting lenders include more than 85% of the first-lien debt holders, as well as more than half of second-lien creditors and around two-thirds of unsecured bondholders. Amazon’s investment would come in the form of debt that it can convert to equity, according to company filings. Lower ranking creditors are skeptical about the new, proposed bankruptcy loan that would help fund the case for the next few months, said Scott L. Alberino, a lawyer for the official committee of unsecured creditors. That loan contains huge fees that will benefit senior lenders at the expense of unsecured creditors, Alberino said. Officials at Major League Baseball were caught off-guard by the proposed deal, MLB bankruptcy attorney James Bromley said during a court hearing held by video on Wednesday. Baseball officials will review the proposal before deciding whether to drop their objections to the bankruptcy case. Story continues The Amazon deal was “a complete shock,” Bromley said. The league needs more time because Diamond is proposing to radically alter the way it does business with MLB and its clubs, he said. “There’s a lot to digest,” Bromley said. The broadcaster filed for bankruptcy in March of last year, marking a swift collapse for a company bought from Walt Disney Co. for $9.6 billion in 2019. US regional sports networks have been under increasing financial pressure as more people cancel their cable-TV service. Diamond’s restructuring plan includes a tentative deal to settle outstanding litigation with its parent company, Sinclair. Diamond had accused Sinclair of wrongly siphoning more than $1.5 billion from the local broadcaster before its bankruptcy. The settlement calls for Sinclair to pay Diamond $495 million in cash and provide ongoing management and transition services, according to the statement. --With assistance from Steven Church and Jonathan Randles. (Adds detail from hearing beginning in sixth paragraph. A previous version corrected form of Amazon investment.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-17 20:57:26+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2449]}

{}

Samsung Shows Smart Ring to Rival Oura in Renewed Health Tech Push

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/samsung-shows-smart-ring-rival-205726942.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Samsung Electronics Co. previewed a new smart ring with sensors that the company hopes will vault them into deeper competition for health technology with Apple Inc. and others. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout The company teased the device — called the Galaxy Ring — Wednesday at its Unpacked product launch event in San Jose, California. Samsung didn’t share many details about the product, but said it would include a slew of sensors and integrate with the company’s other devices such as the latest Galaxy S24 smartphones also introduced at the event. Read More: Samsung Bets on Google-Powered AI Features in Smartphone Revamp While smartwatches from Apple and Samsung have been the primary consumer entry point into health tracking in recent years, smart rings have grown in popularity. Oura Health Oy has become well-known with its health-tracking rings, while Apple has filed patents for similar devices. “They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Tom Hale, Oura chief executive officer, said in an interview. “New players entering the space is validation for the category and drives us to aim higher to serve our members and community.” Samsung’s entry into the market will likely expand consumer interest in such products — and could push others into the competition. Amazon.com Inc. briefly sold a ring with a focus on taking Alexa voice commands, before discontinuing it in 2020 due to poor demand. That device didn’t include health features. Samsung didn’t say when the Galaxy Ring would be released, nor its price. Oura’s latest rings start at about $300. Samsung also announced new sleep analysis features based on artificial intelligence, including sleep apnea detection, for their smartwatches. Apple is working on a similar feature for this year, Bloomberg News has reported. Samsung also is rolling out what it calls a Vitality Score, a metric designed to tell users how prepared they are for their day. Story continues (Updates with comments from Oura in the fourth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 21:13:00+00:00

{"BTC": [4068]}

{}

Does Howard Lutnick Know ‘the Truth’ About Tether?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/does-howard-lutnick-know-truth-211300835.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Fresh in from the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland: Howard Lutnick, chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, has reiterated claims that Tether has the money the stablecoin issuer claims to have. Cantor has been a Tether custodian since late 2021, and as such has been able to examine portions of the stablecoin issuer's balance sheet, Lutnick said. It’s unclear how much or what percentage of Tether’s funds Cantor manages. In an interview with Bloomberg TV , Lutnck said "I manage many, many of their assets.” This is an excerpt from The Node newsletter, a daily roundup of the most pivotal crypto news on CoinDesk and beyond. You can subscribe to get the full newsletter here . "From what we've seen, and we did a lot of work, they have the money,” he added. Lutnick referenced the conspiracies that have long plagued the world’s first and largest stablecoin issuer, namely, that its USDT stablecoin is backed by air. “There has always been a lot of talk, 'Do they have it or not?' So I'm here with you guys saying we've seen it, and they have it,” Lutnck said. Over and above the fact that Cantor Fitzgerald, a storied financial firm founded in 1945, is tying its reputation to Tether and inviting controversy, Lutnck’s comments are significant because he is perhaps the only person outside of crypto with a reputation to lose willing to speak out in favor of the offshore stablecoin king. His remarks came days after a UN report singled out USDT as the preferred vehicle for money laundering in Southeast Asia. Tether – whose market cap is four times as much as its next largest competitor, USDC – has denied those allegations, noting “the traceability of Tether tokens and the proven record Tether has of collaborating with law enforcement,” in its statement. Of course, this is not the first time Lutnick has backed up Tether. And there is certainly a financial incentive for Lutnck to try to dispel the rumors around its client (Lutnik is the majority owner of Cantor). The Block, citing an unnamed source, reported that Cantor holds "the vast vast majority" of Tether's reserves. Story continues That is a lot of coin. USDT, which is growing at an unmatched rate compared to rival stablecoins, has a market cap above $90 billion. If there is a dollar or dollar equivalent held in reserve backing the $99.5 billion+ of USDT in circulation, that means Cantor has a lot of assets to potentially use to earn revenue. See also: UN Says Tether Plays Major Role in Illicit Activity in East Asia This isn’t necessarily to discount what Lutnick said, but it is relevant. I mean, Lutnick pledging that the assets exist isn’t exactly the “concrete evidence of Tether's financial strength” that Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino wants it to be. So what would “affirm the robustness of [Tether’s] reserves,” as Ardoino put it? Well, an actual audit. The quarterly attestations Tether provides (which were first mandated by the New York Attorney General, after the company was found to have lied about its reserves, and are now offered proactively by Tether) offer only a glimpse into the the systemically-important (or “Too Big To Fail”) stablecoin. But an attestation doesn’t conclusively prove that the assets are always where they are supposed to be. Tether has been claiming it will supply an actual audit for years. When I spoke to Ardoino for CoinDesk’s Most Influential series last November , he was cagey about saying anything specific about this. To be fair, auditing firms have been remiss to get involved in the crypto industry, or take the risk of auditing a firm like Tether. So until that happens, and a legitimate auditor bites the bullet, it’ll be a “he says, she says” situation. That said, at this point, it is absolutely time for the so-called Tether Truthers to give up the game. For years, skeptics have been able to get away with saying just about anything they want about Tether, wantonly connecting dots and raising questions out of nowhere. For instance, it was once a popular trope that Tether was responsible for driving up the price of bitcoin [BTC], by inflating the market with counterfeit dollars. See also: Tether May Be in U.S. Treasury Sights It is conclusively true that Tether has lied about the nature of its reserves. The company also had a shady backroom deal with sister company Bitfinex, after the popular exchange was hacked. Its executives have been evasive, and there’s reason enough to distrust their statements. However, just because someone lied doesn’t mean they’re always lying. It’s perfectly reasonable for a company in as lucrative a business as Tether to eventually clean up its act. And everyday that USDT continues to trade, with every new blockchain it expands onto and with every new corporate backer like Cantor it gets, is another reason for it to mature.

2024-01-17 21:38:20+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [7038]}

{}

Stocks Drop as Solid Data Fuel Fed-Pivot Repricing: Markets Wrap

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stocks-bonds-fall-traders-tweak-224523839.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Stocks retreated and bond yields climbed on speculation the Federal Reserve will be in no rush to cut interest rates as the economy shows signs of resilience. Most Read from Bloomberg Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Apple to Sell Watches Without Oxygen Feature After Legal Setback Singapore Minister Quits After Biggest Graft Case Since 1986 Dimon Says China Risk-Reward Equation Has ‘Changed Dramatically’ Stocks Drop as Solid Data Fuel Fed-Pivot Repricing: Markets Wrap At a time when good economic news is not really that great from a policy perspective, a solid reading on retail sales fueled concern about Wall Street’s bold dovish bid. And with central bank officials recently striking a more cautious tone about prospects for easing, it ended up being the perfect recipe for traders to push back the timing for the first Fed move — assigning lower odds of a rate reduction in the first quarter. “We will need to see data that is consistent with a still healthy and resilient consumer, but not to the point where the Fed would be inclined to delay rate cuts or cut less in 2024,” said Tom Essaye, a former Merrill Lynch trader who founded The Sevens Report newsletter. Strong consumer spending helped propel the economy in recent weeks, the Fed said in its Beige Book survey. Bond traders abandoned wagers the Fed will cut rates in March, pushing swaps to levels consistent with only about 50% odds of a quarter-point reduction during the first quarter. Treasury two-year yields topped 4.3%. The move also reflected a slide in UK bonds after data showed inflation picked up — making traders pare their bets on Bank of England easing. The dollar rose. The S&P 500 extended this year’s losses. Wall Street’s “fear gauge” — the VIX — hit the highest since November. US retail sales rose at the strongest pace in three months in December, capping a solid holiday season that suggests consumer resilience heading into the new year. Separate data showed homebuilder sentiment climbed January by the most in nearly a year as lower mortgage rates boosted customer traffic, sales and the demand outlook. Story continues To Andrew Hunter at Capital Economics, while a further slowdown possibly lies ahead, there is still little to suggest a sharper downturn is in store. “A recession seems increasingly unlikely,” said David Russell at TradeStation. “Despite weathering an inflationary storm, consumers still have pent up demand and dollars to spend. A soft landing could be taking shape before our eyes.” With consumer confidence gaining momentum, the economic landscape remains on solid ground — and the market reaction suggests hopes for a March rate cut becomes more elusive, according to Quincy Krosby at LPL Financial. In fact, there’s a repeated refrain from the throngs of financiers in Davos this week: rein in your rate-cut expectations. Everyone from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Daniel Pinto to Standard Chartered Plc’s Bill Winters to Cantor Fitzgerald’s Howard Lutnick have said they expect monetary policy to ease slower than anticipated by the market. Still, traders continue to expect the Fed this year to embark on a reversal of the aggressive tightening campaign that lifted the cap on the federal funds rate to 5.5% in July 2023 from 0.25% at the start of 2022. But they look for the cuts to total about 140 basis points, down from a recent peak near 175 basis points. Jason Draho at UBS Global Wealth Management says that it’s unlikely to be a smooth path for markets. “Investors will be debating the type of soft landing, stage of the cycle, and the macro regime, and the wide dispersion of views now could quickly evolve based on new data,” Draho said. “That could lead to quick and dramatic market pivots to price in shifting consensus views.” And as the earnings season continues, investors will need to consider their rate outlook alongside financial results, according to Jose Torres at Interactive Brokers. “Robust pricing power and profitability are likely to lead to persistent inflationary pressures, which will incrementally delay rate cuts,” Torres said. “Weaker earnings trends, on the other hand, may lay the groundwork for monetary policy easing, but at the cost of deteriorating corporate fundamentals.” Corporate Highlights: Operators of Boeing Co.’s 737 Max 9 have completed inspections on an initial batch of 40 planes, a key step to eventually end the grounding of the aircraft ordered by US regulators in the wake of an accident earlier this month. Apple Inc. has to stop selling its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches with a blood oxygen feature in the US, suffering another legal setback in its patent dispute with Masimo Corp. Charles Schwab Corp. reported declines in profit, new assets and deposits as it navigated a tumultuous year of interest rate hikes that dented the firm’s balance sheet. JetBlue Airways Corp. sank as investors assessed the fallout from its failed pursuit of Spirit Airlines Inc., dragging down carriers across the low-cost end of the market. Bayer AG laid out plans for sweeping changes including significant job cuts in its managerial ranks, as new Chief Executive Officer Bill Anderson seeks to revive the crisis-rattled company. Birkenstock Holding Plc’s first earnings report as a public company on Thursday is ripe for volatility as investors gauge whether the negative reaction to its 2023 initial public offering was overdone. Samsung Electronics Co. is turning to artificial intelligence features to revamp its flagship Galaxy smartphones, betting that the technology can give it an advantage over Apple’s iPhone. Verizon Communications Inc. is writing down the value of its business services division by $5.8 billion, a sign of the company’s declining enterprise operations. Dish Network Corp.’s debt exchange ambitions are causing consternation among traders who bought a form of insurance that pays out if the struggling satellite television company defaults, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Key events this week: US housing starts, initial jobless claims, Thursday Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire, Thursday ECB President Christine Lagarde participates in Davos panel discussion, Thursday ECB publishes account of December policy meeting, Thursday Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaks, Thursday Canada retail sales, Friday Japan CPI, tertiary index, Friday US existing home sales, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, Friday ECB President Christine Lagarde and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva speak in Davos, Friday San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks, Friday Some of the main moves in markets: Stocks The S&P 500 fell 0.6% as of 4 p.m. New York time The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.6% The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% The MSCI World index fell 0.9% Currencies The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1% The euro was little changed at $1.0882 The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.2685 The Japanese yen fell 0.7% to 148.19 per dollar Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin fell 1.9% to $42,614.01 Ether fell 2.8% to $2,534.5 Bonds The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.10% Germany’s 10-year yield advanced six basis points to 2.32% Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 19 basis points to 3.98% Commodities West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.6% to $72.80 a barrel Spot gold fell 1.1% to $2,006.04 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation. --With assistance from Thyagaraju Adinarayan and Elizabeth Stanton. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way Elon Moves Further Right; Hertz Ditches Tesla There’s a Toxic Employee—and the CEO Is Ignoring the Issue The Downfall of Diddy Inc. ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-17 22:34:09+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1978]}

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US stocks fall as strong retail sales further dim outlook for swift Fed rate cuts

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-stocks-fall-strong-retail-223409959.html

Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/

JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images US stocks fell Wednesday as investors reassessed their view for Fed rate cuts in 2024. Retail sales came in hotter than expected in December, putting pressure on the Fed to keep its policy tight. Bond yields ticked higher as investors raised their interest rate expectations. US stocks fell on Wednesday as hot economic data dimmed investors' hopes for the Federal Reserve to slash interest rates soon. Retail sales came in higher than expected in December, rising 5.6% year over year. That's a sign US consumers are more than keeping up with the pace of inflation — putting pressure on the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer as central bankers are looking to cool off the economy. Markets are now pricing a 57.6% chance the Fed will cut interest rates at its March policy meeting, down from 63% on Tuesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Some investors, though, are still looking for aggressive rate cuts this year. Markets see a 39% chance that the Fed could slash rates 150 basis points in 2024, about double what central bankers have forecasted. Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Wednesday: S&P 500 : 4,731.04, down 0.73% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 37,256.66, down 0.28% (104.46 points) Nasdaq Composite : 14,760.61, down 1.23% Here's what else is going on: Tesla's place in the Magnificent Seven is at risk as Elon Musk's EV maker sheds $90 billion to kick off the year. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway now owns a truck-stop chain that was the fifth-largest private company in America. 2024 will be a perilous year for the world economy as geopolitical tensions ramp up, top economists warned In commodities, bonds, and crypto: West Texas Intermediate dipped 2.4% to $70.68 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, slipped 2.08% to $76.66 a barrel. Gold prices ticked 0.41% lower to $2,020.24 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 3 basis points to 4.102%. Bitcoin slipped 0.63% to $42,543. Read the original article on Business Insider

2024-01-17 23:00:00+00:00

{"BTC": [2917]}

{}

Here's How Much You'd Have If You Bought Solana After The FTX Crash

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-much-youd-bought-solana-231628694.html

Benzinga

http://www.benzinga.com/

During the 2021 bull market, Solana saw incredible price gains. Going from $2 to an all-time high of $260 made many investors wealthy. When looking back at this run and attempting to pinpoint some of the causes, Sam Bankman-Fried's (SBF) name pops up. SBF was an advocate for Solana, creating projects, investing in the token and speaking about it publicly. Many believe that SBF's praise and use of Solana was a major contributor to its huge spike in 2021. Specifically, SBF created a decentralized exchange (DEX) on the Solana blockchain called Serum. This project allowed users to trade and convert Solana and other tokens on a peer-to-peer exchange. SBF's success with centralized exchange FTX also contributed to Serum's success. Don't Miss: This brokerage offers custom rewards for users to switch – the biggest reward so far for 1 user is $19,977.48. Will yours beat it ? The last-standing top crypto exchange without a major security breach offers what now? However, SBF and FTX Trading Ltd. eventually came tumbling down. In early November 2022, FTX became insolvent. As the details became public, it was discovered that SBF was using customer funds for his proprietary trading firm Alameda Research. This event was shattering for the crypto community, but Solana was hit particularly hard. Because SBF backed the project, many were hesitant to continue investing, and the price of SOL fell drastically. Within two months of FTX's insolvency, SOL had depreciated by 50%. By the end of 2022, the token was worth less than $10. While other tokens also lost value during this time, SOL's fall from grace was much larger than its peers. Solana had a strong recovery in 2023. Despite beginning the year at a two-year low, the price reached a new 52-week high of over $125. This recovery was largely because of a handful of new projects and airdrops on the platform. Most notable are the memecoin Bonk (BONK) and the staking platform Jito (JITO). These projects attracted new investors and spurred new interest in SOL. Story continues SOL's recovery makes many wonder about SBF's large position. At the peak, FTX and SBF held more than 60 million tokens, which was more than 10% of the total supply. While the amount of tokens has fallen slightly because of FTX's selling to repay creditors, it still holds over 55 million tokens. It is also important to note that FTX has a vesting schedule for the SOL tokens — it can sell around 1% of its tokens every month. However, in March 2025, FTX will be allowed to sell over 7.5 million tokens. FTX's Solana position currently is worth over $5.5 billion. This is derived from a position of 55.8 million tokens priced at $100. At its peak of 60 million tokens valued at $125 per token, the holding would have been worth $7.5 billion. At its lowest, this position would have been worth a mere $600 million in early 2023. Read Next: Did you know $2.5 BILLION was earned by BTC miners in the 4th quarter of 2023 ? Don't buy the top this time around. Reboot your crypto portfolio today . "ACTIVE INVESTORS' SECRET WEAPON" Supercharge Your Stock Market Game with the #1 "news & everything else" trading tool: Benzinga Pro - Click here to start Your 14-Day Trial Now! Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Here's How Much You'd Have If You Bought Solana After The FTX Crash originally appeared on Benzinga.com © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

2024-01-17 23:09:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3681]}

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Apple's Vision Pro Won't Launch With Netflix App

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apples-vision-pro-wont-launch-215100815.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Netflix Inc. isn’t planning to launch an app for Apple Inc.’s upcoming Vision Pro headset, marking a high-profile snub of the new technology by the world’s biggest video subscription service. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Rather than designing a Vision Pro app — or even just supporting its existing iPad app on the platform — Netflix is essentially taking a pass. The company, which competes with Apple in streaming, said in a statement that users interested in watching its content on the device can do so from the web. It’s a sizable omission for the $3,499 headset, which debuts on Feb. 2. Apple is banking on entertainment content to help market the nascent and pricey technology, and Netflix is a must-have streaming service for many consumers. Netflix also offers apps for Apple’s other devices, including the iPhone and iPad, though it doesn’t participate in the company’s TV app. The Vision Pro will run two main types of apps: new software written specifically for the device’s interface or existing iPad applications. Apple has sought to make it easy to transfer developers’ current iPad apps over to the new platform, aiming to quickly amass a wide range of Vision Pro software. The fact that Netflix isn’t even willing to support the iPad approach suggests that it’s taking a wait-and-see stance with the headset. It’s also a bit of a reversal for the company, which said in July that it would support its iPad app on the Vision Pro. Even then, though, Netflix didn’t plan to release software specifically for the headset’s operating system, visionOS. “Our members will be able to enjoy Netflix on the web browser on the Vision Pro, similar to how our members can enjoy Netflix on Macs,” Los Gatos, California-based Netflix said in the statement. Apple declined to comment. In contrast with its Vision Pro strategy, Netflix did develop an app for Meta Platforms Inc.’s Quest headsets, though it hasn’t been updated in years. The approach means it will be harder for users to access Netflix on the Vision Pro. And they won’t be able to download Netflix content to watch offline, potentially making it more of a pain to use on an airplane. The lack of an app also means Netflix watchers won’t have access to custom environments for streaming. That means Netflix can’t create specialized immersive backdrops for its users to watch videos in. Story continues While Netflix and Apple don’t compete in TV hardware, they’re both currently vying for subscribers in the streaming industry. Apple is a small player in this category, with less than 10% of the US market. But it’s been gathering award wins in the space, and the two companies compete over talent and production deals. It’s plausible Netflix doesn’t want to help boost a rival by giving it a key app for its upcoming launch. Apple has been marketing the Vision Pro as an entertainment device in the run-up to preorders beginning on Friday. The Cupertino, California-based company said earlier this week that the headset would have many entertainment options beyond its own TV+ service. That includes programming from Disney+, Max, Peacock, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video, among others. (Updates with more details on Netflix-Apple relationship starting in second paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-18 00:18:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3342]}

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Meta’s Sheryl Sandberg to Leave Board After 12 Years

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-sheryl-sandberg-step-down-231728253.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Meta Platforms Inc. director and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg said she will step down from the board this year, exiting her last official role at the social media company she helped grow from a promising internet startup into a digital-advertising stalwart. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout “With a heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories, I let the Meta board know that I will not stand for reelection this May,” Sandberg wrote Wednesday in a post on Meta’s flagship Facebook network. “Going forward, I will serve as an adviser to the company, and I will always be there to help the Meta teams.” Sandberg, 54, joined Facebook in 2008 as No. 2 to co-founder Mark Zuckerberg to oversee the fledgling company’s advertising, partnerships, business development and operations, following stints at Google, McKinsey & Co. and the US Department of the Treasury. She left her job as COO of the company, by then rebranded as Meta, in 2022. During her time at the tech giant, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, Sandberg was key to turning the social network into a money-making machine and one of the world’s biggest companies. In 2022 Meta brought in almost $117 billion in revenue, most of it from targeted advertising. She often served as the public face of the business, particularly among policymakers and regulators. As criticism of Facebook and its platforms mounted in more recent years, including bruising scandals over lapses in privacy and content moderation, Sandberg increasingly retreated from the spotlight. Read More: Sandberg’s Advertising Empire Leaves a Complicated Legacy “Your dedication and guidance have been instrumental in driving our success,” Zuckerberg wrote in a comment on Sandberg’s Facebook post. “I am grateful for your unwavering commitment to me and Meta over the years.” Story continues It’s unclear if Meta plans to replace Sandberg on the board, which now has eight other members, including Zuckerberg as chairman. A company spokesperson said Meta consistently evaluates how to grow the board, but declined to offer further details. Since leaving the COO role at Meta, Sandberg has spent more time on philanthropic efforts. Her nonprofit organization, LeanIn.Org, launched a program for girls 11 to 15 called Lean In Girls, aiming to teach lessons about resilience, positive risk-taking and leadership. She was also part of a team of investors that brought a women’s professional soccer club to the San Francisco Bay Area last year; the team will play its inaugural season in 2024. Most recently, Sandberg organized an event at the United Nations focused on sexual violence that occurred during the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel. Read More: Sheryl Sandberg Donates $3 Million for ACLU’s Abortion Fight (Updates with Meta’s 2022 revenue, plans for board replacement, Sandberg’s philanthropic work starting in fourth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-18 00:48:30+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5966]}

{}

TSMC’s $59 Billion Rally May Extend on AI Demand

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tsmc-59-billion-rally-may-004830711.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- A rally in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. may get a fresh push as renewed optimism over artificial intelligence offsets concerns on China relations after Taiwan’s presidential election. Most Read from Bloomberg Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion Never Trumpers Brace for New Hampshire Shutout Shares of the world’s largest foundry have rallied 12% from a September low, adding $59 billion to its market value, as investors bet on a recovery in the global chip industry after more than a year of inventory correction. Daily call options volume on TSMC’s American depositary receipts has been building recently on bullish bets ahead of the company’s earnings report due Thursday. Still, the shares remain 15% below their record level set two years ago, even as its global chip peers and A-list clients including Nvidia Corp. have regained all-time highs on AI hype and the gradual rebound in broader chip demand. Given the muted geopolitical reaction to the Taiwan leadership vote, some investors expect a catch-up in TSMC, with the average price target implying a gain of 20% over the next year. “We hope this one issue is now out of the way and this name could finally break out given its unquestionable dominance in AI chip production,” said Amir Anvarzadeh, a strategist at Asymmetric Advisors Ltd. TSMC shares may rise further on low valuations combined with the company’s better-than-expected sales and likely price hikes, he added. World Chip Sales Return to Growth in Sign of Improving Demand The consensus forward earnings estimate for TSMC has climbed back to a record high, as the company beat fourth-quarter revenue expectations. The stock has 35 buy ratings versus two holds and no sells. As the contract manufacturer of the 5-nanometer semiconductors designed by Nvidia, TSMC is seen as a prime beneficiary of the AI boom. While a recovery in smartphone demand has been slow to get off the ground, Apple Inc. is adopting the company’s more advanced, and higher priced, 3-nanometer chips in its latest iPhones. Story continues TSMC rallied with global chip stocks since autumn before losing some steam since the start of the year on concerns over friction with China resulting from Taiwan’s election. The presidency was won by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s Lai Ching-te, who is seen as a “separatist” by China, though his party lost the control of the parliament. Lai has supported TSMC’s decision to expand manufacturing overseas, saying it strengthens the company’s as well as Taiwan’s influence internationally. Beijing has so far had a muted reaction to Lai’s victory, reiterating its opposition to the island’s independence. Why Making Computer Chips Has Become a New Arms Race: QuickTake “I believe there will be minimal effect on TSMC” from the election, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Charles Shum. “Lai’s victory suggests a continuation of Taiwan government’s semiconductor-focused economic growth strategy.” Upcoming results may highlight negative impacts from spending on factories in the US and elsewhere, as well as the strengthening of the Taiwan dollar and risings labor costs. But relative cheapness is seen supporting the stock, trading at 15 times forward earnings estimates compared with a five-year median of 18 times and Nvidia’s 28 times. “We like TSMC as we think its solid technology leadership and execution better position it vs peers to capture the industry’s long-term structural growth, particularly in areas such as 5G or AI,” Goldman Sachs Inc. analysts including Bruce Lu wrote in a note, adding that its valuation remains attractive. Tech Chart of the Day An index that tracks volatility in the Nasdaq 100 Stock Index jumped to the highest in more than two months on Wednesday after a pair of strong US economic reports boosted speculation the Federal Reserve will be in no hurry to cut interest rates, weighing on tech stocks. The Cboe NDX Volatility Index rose as much as 8.6%, hitting the highest in about two months. The spike comes after a lull in volatility that saw the index drop to the lowest since 2019 a month ago. Top Tech News Samsung Electronics Co. is targeting double-digit growth for its latest flagship smartphone series, powered with an array of new artificial intelligence features. Apple Inc.’s iPhone dethroned Samsung Electronics Co. devices to become the best-selling smartphone series over the course of 2023, the first time South Korea’s largest company has lost the top spot since 2010. Verizon Communications Inc. is writing down the value of its business services division by $5.8 billion, a sign of the company’s declining enterprise operations. Alphabet Inc.’s Google is rolling out a series of broad changes to some of its core search, browser and data products in Europe, in order to step in line with the European Union’s new rules to rein in Big Tech’s market dominance. Artificial intelligence startup Anthropic is working on a feature that would give its chatbot Claude the ability to analyze images, according to unpublished wording contained in the code of the company’s website. The tool could widen the product’s appeal to users and help the company catch up with larger competitors. Rivian Automotive fell after Deutsche Bank downgraded the electric-vehicle maker to hold from buy, citing downside to 2024 volume and margin outlooks. Google DeepMind, Alphabet Inc.’s research division, said it has taken a “crucial step” towards making artificial intelligence as capable as humans. It involves solving high-school math problems. --With assistance from Jeran Wittenstein. (Updates first chart) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-18 00:57:33+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [16, 242, 2282, 2436]}

{"Bitcoin": [16]}

VanEck Shutters Bitcoin Futures ETF

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vaneck-shutters-bitcoin-futures-etf-005733862.html

etf.com

https://www.etf.com/

VanEck Shutters Bitcoin Futures ETF VanEck is closing its bitcoin futures ETF, barely a week after the launch of its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund and following millions in outflows in the runup to the launch of the spot fund. The VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF) will stop trading on Jan. 30, according to a company press release . New York-based VanEck, which manages $66.4 billion in 69 ETFs, said in the statement it’s closing the fund based on an analysis of its performance, investor interest, liquidity, assets under management and other factors. The futures fund is up 97% over the past year and has $69 million under management according to etf.com data. Yet investors pulled $14.8 million from the fund since Dec. 1 as federal regulators’ deadline to approve a spot bitcoin ETF approached. Investors drained $10 million from the ETF in a single day on December 26 and drew down another $2 million on Jan. 15. The arrival of spot bitcoin ETFs had sparked speculation about whether or not futures-based bitcoin ETFs, which have about $2 billion in assets, will survive. VanEck suggested that it had anticipated investors' preferences would transition to the spot funds. "We believe investor appetite would switch from products offering bitcoin futures exposure to direct bitcoin exposure (such as HODL),"  VanEck director of digital assets product Kyle DaCruz wrote in an email. "VanEck spot products should more closely track the price of bitcoin, as they don’t incur the costs associated with rolling futures contracts." Futures ETFs also were expected to face competition from the lower fees spot funds charged. “Though they’ve delivered strong returns over the past year, bitcoin futures ETFs suffer from higher costs than their spot bitcoin ETF counterparts,” said etf.com analyst Sumit Roy. “In particular, roll costs—or the cost of rolling from one futures contract to another—have dampened the ETFs’ returns.” While ETFs that track bitcoin futures have been trading since 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission only last week approved the novel spot bitcoin ETF, which is physically backed by bitcoin and more closely tracks the asset. 11 funds were approved by the SEC, including ETFs from traditional players such as Fidelity and BlackRock. The VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) started trading last Thursday, Jan 11. Story continues BITO’s First Mover Advantage The largest bitcoin futures ETF is the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which saw huge first mover advantage from being the first futures product to hit the market. “While most bitcoin futures ETF will likely shutter, BITO has been remarkably resilient so far and still boats nearly $2 billion in assets under management, a reflection of its strong liquidity and first-mover advantage,” said Roy. Contact Lucy Brewster at [email protected] . Permalink | © Copyright 2024 etf.com. All rights reserved

2024-01-18 01:49:13+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4743]}

{}

Apple to Sell Watches Without Oxygen Feature After Legal Setback

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-must-stop-selling-watches-195208942.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. will begin selling versions of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 watches without a blood oxygen feature in the US, following a legal setback in its patent dispute with Masimo Corp. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market An Isolated Israel Doubles Down on War in Gaza — At All Costs Netflix Pays $5 Billion for ‘Raw’ in Bet on Live Events Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom The company said Wednesday that the tweaked models will go on sale Thursday at its retail outlets and online store. The new models will still include the blood oxygen monitoring tool, but it won’t function. Earlier in the day, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit declined to grant Apple a longer pause on an import ban of the devices imposed by the US International Trade Commission. The ruling means the company has to stop selling the watches with the oxygen measurement feature while an appeal of the ban plays out — a period that Apple believes could last a year or more. That led Apple to take the unusual step of removing a key feature from its devices. Last week, the US Customs and Border Protection agency approved redesigned versions of the watches that didn’t have the capability. “Pending the appeal, Apple is taking steps to comply with the ruling while ensuring customers have access to Apple Watch with limited disruption,” the company said in a statement. “Apple’s appeal is ongoing, and we believe the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit should reverse the USITC’s decision. We strongly disagree with the USITC decision and resulting orders.” The company added that the feature remains available on models sold outside the US. Previously purchased watches also will retain the ability to check blood oxygen levels. Masimo shares jumped 2.1% to $122.57 following the decision, reaching their highest level since August. Chief Executive Officer Joe Kiani said in a statement that the development is a “victory for the integrity of the American patent system.” Kiani added that the decision “affirms that even the largest and most powerful companies must respect the intellectual rights of American inventors and must deal with the consequences when they are caught infringing others’ patents.” The court battle has threatened one of Apple’s biggest moneymakers in its home market, an unprecedented situation for the tech giant. The watches are a central piece of the company’s wearables, home and accessories division, a business that generated more than 10% of revenue last year, or nearly $40 billion. Story continues The ITC ruled in October that Apple’s latest watches violate patents related to blood oxygen measurement, an area known as pulse oximetry. That led Apple to pause sales of the smartwatches just ahead of Christmas, though an interim stay allowed the company to bring the products back late last month. Read More: Apple Watch Saga Set in Motion by Late-Night Email to Cook According to the ITC, the harm Apple said it would face from the ban “is not unquantifiable, but rather speculative.” Apple maintains that the ruling from the ITC is erroneous and should be reversed. Masimo had urged the Federal Circuit to reject the request for an extended delay, arguing Apple had almost three years to anticipate a ban and “cannot complain about the consequences of its own failure to prepare for exclusion.” Apple pushed back on the ITC’s and Masimo’s arguments that its ability to continue selling the noninfringing Apple Watch SE means any reputational harm from the ban can’t be truly irreparable. It also criticized the product that the trade dispute was launched to protect, Masimo’s W1 watch, saying it didn’t exist when Masimo filed its complaint, wasn’t placed in the consumer channel and is sold only in negligible quantities “well over two years after this investigation began on the false premise that Masimo had an established domestic industry.” The appeals court said in a brief order Wednesday, “We reach no conclusion on the merits of the appeal.” The panel said the temporary stay will expire at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday. Apple, based in Cupertino, California, added the blood oxygen sensor to its watches in 2020 with the Series 6. Masimo, a medical device company, sued Apple that year, alleging that the iPhone maker violated several of its health technology patents and stole its trade secrets. The case is Apple Inc. v. ITC, 24-1285, US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. --With assistance from Katrina Compoli. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Should I Tell My Colleagues (or My Boss) About My Bipolar Diagnosis? ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments