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2024-01-19 00:53:21+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4010]}

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YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/youtube-spotify-won-t-launch-220212119.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Google’s YouTube and Spotify Technology SA, the world’s most popular video and music services, are joining Netflix Inc. in steering clear of Apple Inc.’s upcoming mixed-reality headset. 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 Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout YouTube said in a statement Thursday that it isn’t planning to launch a new app for the Apple Vision Pro, nor will it allow its longstanding iPad application to work on the device — at least, for now. YouTube, like Netflix, is recommending that customers use a web browser if they want to see its content: “YouTube users will be able to use YouTube in Safari on the Vision Pro at launch.” Spotify also isn’t currently planning a new app for visionOS — the Vision Pro’s operating system — and doesn’t expect to enable its iPad app to run on the device when it launches, according to a person familiar with matter. But the music service will still likely work from a web browser. Bloomberg News reported on Netflix’s decision Wednesday. The Vision Pro will include access to Apple’s apps for music and podcasts, which compete with Spotify’s offerings. But getting snubbed by Netflix, Spotify and YouTube means that the most popular streaming apps won’t be available when the headset launches on Feb. 2. Apple has largely marketed the device as a platform for video, games and other entertainment. YouTube is a particularly large omission for the product. When Apple’s original iPad launched in 2010, YouTube was one of a handful of apps preinstalled on the tablet. The company didn’t rule out eventually supporting the Vision Pro but said it had “no further plans to share at this time.” YouTube and Spotify continue to offer popular apps for the iPhone and iPad. And that, theoretically, gave them an easy path toward supporting the Vision Pro. Developers with iPad software in the regular App Store will see those apps appear in the Vision Pro store by default. That means developers have to opt out if they don’t want to participate. Story continues Several other entertainment apps are still participating, including Disney+, Max, Peacock, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video. Altogether, Apple says the device will support more than 1 million titles in the headset’s App Store. The company will begin taking preorders for the Vision Pro on Friday. YouTube and Spotify declined to say why they bowed out of supporting the $3,499 device. Spotify doesn’t offer an app on competing headsets, such as Meta Platforms Inc.’s Quest, though YouTube does. Spotify also has been embroiled in a fight with Apple over App Store policies, but the decision on the Vision Pro isn’t related to that, according to the person familiar, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Searches conducted by MacStories on Thursday indicated that other key iPhone and iPad apps, including Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, aren’t currently set to work on the Vision Pro either. But that could change by the device’s launch, or those developers could be planning new dedicated versions for visionOS. Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Apple’s executive in charge of the Vision Pro told employees this week that he expects health care, technician training and education to eventually become key areas for the product. The company also is studying corporate applications, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. The Vision Pro represents Apple’s first major new product category since it began selling smartwatches in 2015. --With assistance from Julia Love and Kurt Wagner. (Updated with more on Vision Pro launch in 11th 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.

2024-01-19 00:53:27+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4309]}

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A $4.9 Billion Japan Deal for a US Builder Heralds More M&A

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-9-billion-japanese-deal-161555976.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The Japanese homebuilder deal hunt is picking up. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot Airstrikes on Yemen Bring New Level of Chaos to Shipping in the Southern Red Sea Sekisui House Ltd. announced a $4.9 billion agreement on Thursday to buy MDC Holdings Inc. — a purchase that will help it meet a key target in its ambitions to diversify beyond Japan. It’s likely the biggest US purchase of a homebuilder by a Japanese company, according to investment banker Margaret Whelan. Asian buyers have been active in the US homebuilding market for a decade, purchasing at least 29 builders or related companies in the country, according to Whelan, who founded Whelan Advisory. But the appetite among Japanese buyers in particular is growing to include even bigger deals as they increase in size and struggle with a declining population at home. Whelan said she’ll announce a separate transaction next week involving a Japanese company purchasing a regional homebuilder. “They’re taking it to the next level,” she said. “You’re not moving the needle by buying smaller companies.” Read More: Japanese Builder Sekisui House to Buy MDC for $4.9 Billion Homebuilders in the US have ridden a wave of heightened interest in newly built properties as tight inventory leaves buyers fighting over scraps. But scale has been key for builders seeking to offer mortgage-rate buydowns and lure in customers. That’s fueled deals even among US companies. Buying Spree Sekisui House Chief Executive Officer Yoshihiro Nakai said at a briefing Thursday that the company was done with large-scale acquisitions for the time being. Since 2017, the Osaka-based company has snapped up US builders including Woodside Homes, Holt Homes and Chesmar Homes. Other large Japanese builders like Daiwa House Industry Co. and Sumitomo Forestry Co. have also been active in the market in recent years. Shares of Sekisui House rose as much as 2.9% on Friday morning in Tokyo. The stock has gained 40% in the past year. MDC closed up 18% in New York Thursday. Read More: Small US Homebuilders Are Being Squeezed Despite Rising Demand As part of the Sekisui deal, MDC shareholders will receive $63 a share, or about 19% more than the closing price on Wednesday. The purchase, slated to close in the first half of this year, will give Sekisui House operations in heavily populated states including California, Texas and Florida. Story continues The deal may help drive Sekisui’s long-term earnings potential given growth in the US single-family housing market, Citigroup Inc. analyst Masashi Miki wrote in a note, adding that the larger-than-expected acquisition will weaken the builder’s financial position in the near term. Overseas Bets The latest transaction is part of a broader wave of overseas investment by Japanese companies over the past several years, propelled by concerns about limited prospects for domestic growth thanks to the country’s accelerating population decline. The announcement is just weeks after Nippon Steel Corp.’s proposed takeover of United States Steel Corp. Other big deals in recent years have come in fields as diverse as food and beverage to pharmaceuticals. Read More: Morgan Stanley’s Pick Sees M&A Rebound on Fed ‘Predictability’ Japanese investors have also been buying up property abroad, even as the yen weakens. Japan’s exchange rate has steadily depreciated in recent years, making overseas purchases costlier. The yen sank some 27% against the dollar over the three years through the end of 2023, the biggest drop among major developed-world currencies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “I think we’ll continue to see Japanese-based builders active in the US market as they look to supplement lower domestic growth and declining population growth,” Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Drew Reading said. --With assistance from Lisa Du and Natsuko Katsuki. (Updates with Sekisui CEO, analyst comments and share moves.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Elon Moves Further Right; Hertz Ditches Tesla ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-19 01:16:20+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4194]}

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Global Passive Funds Put Added Strain on China’s Stock Rout

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-passive-funds-put-added-212940805.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Global passive funds are putting added strain on the world’s worst-performing stock market as they join actively-managed peers in the January selloff of Chinese and Hong Kong equities. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot Airstrikes on Yemen Bring New Level of Chaos to Shipping in the Southern Red Sea Managers of benchmark-tracking funds have sold a net $300 million of shares traded in mainland China and Hong Kong this month, according to a Morgan Stanley analysis. That’s a reversal from the last half of 2023 when they bought $700 million on a net basis even as stock indexes declined. “Their recent selling did amplify the downside pressure,” analysts led by Gilbert Wong and Laura Wang wrote in a note Thursday. The rout in Chinese stocks deepened this year after a slew of disappointing economic data reinforced bearish sentiment. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index has slumped nearly 10% this month, making it the worst performer among major global benchmarks. Meantime, the CSI 300 benchmark for mainland shares, which has slumped about 4.6% in January, saw the biggest outflow in more than a year on Wednesday as global funds sold a net 13 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) of stocks. The index rose on Thursday, with a jump in turnover in some major exchange-traded funds raising speculation that buying by state funds may be behind the reversal. Thursday Bounce The bounce in Chinese shares Thursday was accompanied by a surge in ETF trading volumes, prompting speculation that state funds may have intervened to prop up the flagging market. Historically, however, support from the government-backed funds, known as the National Team, rarely stops the bleeding. Read more: China’s Sudden Stock Rally Points to ETF Buying by State Funds Story continues The Chinese stock market has fallen almost every day of the new year, and the opening bell Thursday seemed to signal yet another miserable session, with the CSI 300 Index dropping to a five-year low. But a sharp afternoon rebound helped the benchmark close the day up 1.4%, after slumping as much as 1.8%. Since 2005, these types of sharp reversals have only occurred on seven occasions, three of which came during the 2008 financial crisis. Structured Products Hong Kong’s stock slide on Wednesday was probably exacerbated by the triggering of automatic sell orders on structured products, according to several traders and analysts. The Hang Seng Index slid from Wednesday’s open following worse-than-expected Chinese economic data, before the breaching of technical levels triggered knock-outs on a number of retail structured products, they said, with some requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive market matters. The benchmark gauge at one stage tumbled 4.2%. “As soon as the market opened, Hong Kong stocks fell below the 15,800-point support level, causing many products in the derivatives market to be withdrawn,” said Edmond Hui, chief executive officer of brokerage Bright Smart Securities in Hong Kong. “The spot market triggered liquidation orders and stop-loss orders, thus intensifying the decline.” Sales Slow US- and EU-based active funds have now sold $560 million of Chinese and Hong Kong equities this month, according to Morgan Stanley citing EPFR data. Still, that’s a slower pace than December’s $920 million drop. Chinese growth and tech stocks took a particularly hard thrashing. Tech giants Tencent Holdings Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Baidu Inc., Meituan bore the brunt of the $2.3 billion in net sales this month, the Morgan Stanley analysts said. At the same time, hedge funds are positioning for further declines in the growth and tech segment, according to the bank. A total of $1.7 billion of short positions have been added this month, mainly in Alibaba, BYD Co., Nio Inc. and JD.com Inc., the analysts estimated. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 01:20:25+00:00

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Whitehaven Considers Sale of 20% of Coal Mine to Steel Producers

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/whitehaven-considers-sale-20-coal-012025248.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Whitehaven Coal Ltd. is studying options to sell a 20% stake in the Blackwater mine to global steelmakers as it works to finalize a $3.2 billion deal for two Australian assets. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot Airstrikes on Yemen Bring New Level of Chaos to Shipping in the Southern Red Sea The producer is exploring opportunities as it also works to complete the acquisition of Blackwater and Daunia sites from co-owners BHP Group Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corp. by early April. “Interest is very, very strong” in relation to a stake in Blackwater, Chief Executive Officer Paul Flynn told analysts Friday on a call. “We’ll think about the opportunity with Daunia at a later date.” Read more: BHP to Sell Coking Coal Mines to Whitehaven for $3.2 Billion Whitehaven’s shares advanced as much as 7.3% as of 12:10 p.m. Sydney time. Metallurgical coal, used in steel production, is showing signs of strengthening and an “anticipated growing structural shortfall” in higher quality material to supply Asia — and particularly India — will underpin prices over the longer term, the producer said. Whitehaven’s average received coal price fell 4% in the three months to Dec. 31 on the previous quarter, as the market continues to normalize after 2022’s shocks to energy supply. Global demand for the fossil fuel likely peaked in 2023, according to the International Energy Agency. High-calorific value thermal coal prices are likely to remain strong over the long-term because of underinvestment in new supply and the depletion of existing mines, Whitehaven said. Russian sanctions and weather-related impacts in Queensland have also contributed to recent tightness. (Updates to add CEO comment, share price from third paragraph) Story continues Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 01:31:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3701]}

{}

TSMC Outlook Drives $165 Billion Chip Rally in 2024 Rebound Bet

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tsmc-outlook-drives-165-billion-013155446.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Semiconductor stocks from Tokyo Electron Ltd. to Nvidia Corp. gained more than $160 billion of market value after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s outlook for capital spending and revenue lifted hopes of a broad tech recovery in 2024. Most Read from Bloomberg Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Pakistan’s Army Strikes Back at Iran as Both Sides Urge Calm Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot TSMC’s better-than-projected numbers underscored expectations for a bounce-back in smartphone, chip and computing demand, following more than a year of post-Covid malaise. On Friday, the world’s most valuable chipmaker gained more than 6% in Taipei — its biggest gain in almost a year — after a near-10% climb in the US. Key suppliers Tokyo Electron and Advantest Corp. gained more than 5% in Tokyo. Together, they fueled a gain in semiconductor stocks from the US to Asia of roughly $165 billion, based on Bloomberg’s calculations. TSMC’s outlook offered much-needed reassurance to investors accustomed to a depressed market. The main chipmaker to Apple Inc. and Nvidia is budgeting capital expenditure of $28 billion to $32 billion and expecting revenue growth to return to at least 20% for the year. Executives also spent a lot of time talking about how the advent of AI should turbocharge the industry because of its immense computing needs. In Europe, chip gear linchpin ASML Holding NV gained 4%, leading a broad regional rally that spilled over into US stocks including Nvidia and Intel Corp., driving the biggest gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index since Dec. 11. “TSMC’s confidence around near-term fundamentals appears to have improved significantly over the past 4 to 5 months,” Wedbush analysts wrote. “We see this more bullish outlook as predicated upon some combination of optimism around a growing contribution from AI, better expectations for traditional end market trends in 2024.” Story continues TSMC Gains as Outlook Points to AI-Fueled Growth: Street Wrap Signs of a recovery for the chipmaking sector have emerged in recent weeks. The Semiconductor Industry Association estimated chip sales increased in November after more than a year of declines. TSMC is projecting revenue growth of at least 8% to $18 billion to $18.8 billion in the March quarter, versus expectations for around $18.2 billion. It’s now moving ahead with plans for chipmaking plants in Japan, Arizona and Germany — the first of which will begin mass production at the end of 2024 in a big boost to TSMC’s global footprint. Read More: TSMC’s Outlook Backs Hopes for Global Tech Recovery in 2024 Uncertainty persists. This month, fellow chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co. posted its sixth successive quarter of declining operating profit, as it weathered the impact of muted consumer demand in its own smartphone and memory businesses. Questions also overshadow China, the world’s largest computing, smartphone, internet and chip market. Apple — long one of TSMC’s most important customers — faced headwinds with its latest iPhone generation. Several analysts downgraded Apple on expectations of soft demand, and Jefferies has said the iPhone sales slump in China is likely to deepen. The US company has also been hit by a widening ban on foreign-device use among Chinese agencies and state-owned companies. TSMC Gain in Sales Not Enough to Boost Margins: Earnings Outlook Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before Elon Moves Further Right; Hertz Ditches Tesla ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 01:31:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3674]}

{}

TSMC Outlook Drives $165 Billion Chip Rally in 2024 Rebound Bet

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tsmc-outlook-drives-165-billion-013155458.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Semiconductor stocks from Tokyo Electron Ltd. to Nvidia Corp. gained more than $160 billion of market value after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s outlook for capital spending and revenue lifted hopes of a broad tech recovery in 2024. 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 TSMC’s better-than-projected numbers underscored expectations for a bounce-back in smartphone, chip and computing demand, following more than a year of post-Covid malaise. On Friday, the world’s most valuable chipmaker gained more than 6% in Taipei — its biggest gain in almost a year — after a near-10% climb in the US. Key suppliers Tokyo Electron and Advantest Corp. gained more than 5% in Tokyo. Together, they fueled a gain in semiconductor stocks from the US to Asia of roughly $165 billion, based on Bloomberg’s calculations. TSMC’s outlook offered much-needed reassurance to investors accustomed to a depressed market. The main chipmaker to Apple Inc. and Nvidia is budgeting capital expenditure of $28 billion to $32 billion and expecting revenue growth to return to at least 20% for the year. Executives also spent a lot of time talking about how the advent of AI should turbocharge the industry because of its immense computing needs. In Europe, chip gear linchpin ASML Holding NV gained 4%, leading a broad regional rally that spilled over into US stocks including Nvidia and Intel Corp., driving the biggest gain in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index since Dec. 11. “TSMC’s confidence around near-term fundamentals appears to have improved significantly over the past 4 to 5 months,” Wedbush analysts wrote. “We see this more bullish outlook as predicated upon some combination of optimism around a growing contribution from AI, better expectations for traditional end market trends in 2024.” Story continues TSMC Gains as Outlook Points to AI-Fueled Growth: Street Wrap Signs of a recovery for the chipmaking sector have emerged in recent weeks. The Semiconductor Industry Association estimated chip sales increased in November after more than a year of declines. TSMC is projecting revenue growth of at least 8% to $18 billion to $18.8 billion in the March quarter, versus expectations for around $18.2 billion. It’s now moving ahead with plans for chipmaking plants in Japan, Arizona and Germany — the first of which will begin mass production at the end of 2024 in a big boost to TSMC’s global footprint. Read More: TSMC’s Outlook Backs Hopes for Global Tech Recovery in 2024 Uncertainty persists. This month, fellow chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co. posted its sixth successive quarter of declining operating profit, as it weathered the impact of muted consumer demand in its own smartphone and memory businesses. Questions also overshadow China, the world’s largest computing, smartphone, internet and chip market. Apple — long one of TSMC’s most important customers — faced headwinds with its latest iPhone generation. Several analysts downgraded Apple on expectations of soft demand, and Jefferies has said the iPhone sales slump in China is likely to deepen. The US company has also been hit by a widening ban on foreign-device use among Chinese agencies and state-owned companies. TSMC Gain in Sales Not Enough to Boost Margins: Earnings Outlook 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.

2024-01-19 02:07:27+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3155]}

{}

Dollar Dominance Is Triggering Intervention Fears Across Markets

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dollar-dominance-triggering-intervention-fears-020727338.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Investors are dusting off intervention playbooks once again as a resurgent dollar raises the specter of fresh efforts from officials to protect their currencies. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout Taiwan’s central bank issued a rare statement this week to calm investors after global funds slashed their holdings of the island’s stocks and the local currency swooned. A South Korean official told reporters Wednesday the won’s weakness is excessive, while China’s central bank maintained forceful support for its currency with the daily fixing throughout this week. Speculation is growing that the yen will be next. “More intervention across markets is a legitimate concern,” said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at Capital.com Inc. in Melbourne. “Policymakers might have wiped their brows, thinking their job was done last year, but a stronger dollar means currency concern is creeping up again — and traders’ positions may compound the volatility.” Bloomberg’s dollar gauge has jumped about 2% this year, with the currency strengthening against all of its major peers, as investors wound back bets on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. While the greenback’s advance hasn’t yet been as prolonged as last year, the recent spike higher is a reality check to those investors betting on dollar weakness and for the authorities hoping for a respite. The risks are particularly evident in Asia, home to the world’s two worst-performing major currencies against the greenback. The yen has slumped nearly 5% this year, triggering fears about imminent intervention as it nears the 150-per-dollar level. The won has slumped to the lowest since November, while Taiwan’s dollar has fallen more than 1% this week alone. “We expect the Bank of Korea and the People’s Bank of China to smooth market volatility,” said Lemon Zhang, a strategist at Barclays Bank Plc in Singapore. Korea’s central bank may act more aggressively, meaning dollar-won may end up trading in a wide range, she said. Nations with weak current-account and fiscal deficits, such as India and Indonesia, may struggle to prop up their currencies should the dollar continue to strengthen, according to KB Kookmin Bank. Those with more firepower, such as South Korea and Japan, are likely to be more proactive, said Moon Junghiu, an economist at the lender in Seoul. “In terms of volatility, the won has been the most dramatic lately,” making it one of the most vulnerable currencies to intervention, Moon said. Story continues --With assistance from Betty Hou, Chien-Hua Wan, Tania Chen, Wenjin Lv and Daedo Kim. (Updates second and fifth paragraphs with latest trends in yuan fixing, yen and Taiwan dollar.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-19 02:42:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3099]}

{}

TSMC’s Second Factory in Arizona Delayed as US Grants Remain in Flux

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tsmc-second-fab-arizona-delayed-091454456.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. announced another delay to its $40 billion site in Arizona, dealing a further blow to the Biden administration’s plans to boost manufacturing of critical components on US soil. 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 Executives said their second plant in Arizona, whose shell is now being built, will start operations in 2027 or 2028, later than TSMC’s prior guidance of 2026. That’s after the company in July announced a delay to the first site, now due to start making 4-nanometer chips only in 2025, citing a lack of skilled labor and higher costs. “Our overseas decisions are based on customer needs and the necessary level of government subsidy, or support,” Chairman Mark Liu said during TSMC’s earnings conference in Taipei on Thursday. The company’s upbeat outlook for the year drove a rally in chip stocks across Asia on Friday, with TSMC shares up as much as 6.3%. Read More: TSMC Outlook Drives $165 Billion Chip Rally in 2024 Rebound Bet Previously, TSMC had said it will make 3nm chips at the second factory, which is expected to be more advanced than the first in Arizona. But on Thursday, the company said that incentives from the US government will help determine how advanced the tech inside will be, adding uncertainty to the project’s outcome. Because of the setback with the first fab, TSMC has delayed its second factory too, according to Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang. The Taiwanese chipmaker is in talks with the US government about incentives and tax credits, Liu said. He also reiterated TSMC was working with the local union and trade partners in the state. The company has faced resistance to plans to bring in technicians from Taiwan for the construction project. Story continues Pushing back the start of the second fab could mean a delay of as much as two years, time enough for semiconductor tech to advance by one generation. Read More: Biden’s Vision for US-Made Chips Hits Snag With Arizona Delay More than a year after US President Joe Biden signed the Chips and Science Act into law — which is supposed to provide tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to chipmakers expanding in the US — the administration has yet to hand out any grants to major chipmakers like TSMC or Intel Corp. It has so far only provided some modest financial support to two minor industry players. By contrast, TSMC publicized its plans for a more modest plant in Japan later than its Arizona project, but it has already received funds from the Japanese government. The facility is on track to start production in late 2024, according to the latest update the company provided. (Updates with semiconductor share moves) 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.

2024-01-19 03:16:20+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2226]}

{}

Houthis Fire Missiles at Another US-Owned Ship in the Red Sea

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/houthis-fire-missiles-another-us-031620043.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Houthi militants in Yemen fired missiles at an American-owned commercial vessel on Thursday, the same day President Joe Biden acknowledged US airstrikes have not halted the Red Sea attacks. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout The Houthis launched two anti-ship ballistic missiles at the Chem Ranger, a Greek-operated tanker, US Central Command said in a statement posted on social media platform X. It was the third such attack in three days. “The crew observed the missiles impact the water near the ship. There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship,” Central Command said in the statement. Read More: US Presses Ahead With ‘Least Bad’ Option in Confronting Houthis “Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” Biden said of the air campaign against the Houthis which began a week ago. A day earlier, the American military targeted 14 Houthi missiles just before midnight Yemeni time. They were ready to be launched and presented “an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region,” Central Command said. That airstrike was carried out after the American-owned Genco Picardy was attacked by a drone in the Gulf of Aden, near the southern end of the Red Sea. The danger to commercial shipping in the Red Sea has started to disrupt shipments of produce and is threatening to halt a slowdown in food inflation. On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced it would place the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, back on a global terrorism list in an effort to cut off the group’s ability to fund its attacks. The move reversed Biden’s previous decision to remove the Houthis’ terror designations in order to ensure humanitarian aid flowed to Yemen after years of civil war. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-19 03:18:29+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5732]}

{}

Red Sea Unrest Is Bad News for World’s Fragile Food Supply

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/red-sea-unrest-bad-news-000100024.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Chaos in the Red Sea is starting to disrupt shipments of produce from coffee to fruit — and threatening to halt a slowdown in food inflation that brought some relief to strained consumers. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout Vessels loaded with foodstuffs are among those avoiding Houthi attacks in the key waterway by sailing around Africa, a longer and costlier route. But unlike gas, oil and consumer goods cargoes that have also been affected, lengthier shipping times risk making perishable foods unsellable. That’s spooking the industry. Italian exporters fear kiwi and citrus fruits will spoil on the way, Chinese ginger is getting pricier and some African coffee cargoes were briefly delayed. Grain is being diverted from the Suez Canal and a livestock carrier bound for the Middle East has changed course. While the impact is so far limited, it’s a reminder of how fragile food supply chains can be. If disruptions worsen, they could stall the slump in food-commodity costs that had started to filter through to cheaper grocery bills. Read more: How Houthi Red Sea Attacks Are Disrupting World Trade: QuickTake “Everyone is a loser here,” said Nitin Agrawal, managing director of Euro Fruits, a major Indian grape exporter. The company usually ships to Europe via the Red Sea, but now uses the longer route that’s more than quadrupling freight costs and doubling transit times. That means grape quality will suffer, and most European importers have agreed to higher prices of Indian grapes, which will make them more expensive for consumers, Agrawal said. The European Union generally relies on India for about a seventh of its table grapes, and more than 35% at the crop’s peak in March-April, according to European fresh produce association Freshfel. Story continues Italian exporters, which sell about $4.4 billion of agricultural produce to Asia, are worried that going around Africa will hurt freshness and add to costs for fruit like apples, kiwi and citrus, said Massimiliano Giansanti, president of farm group Confagricoltura. Meat faces similar concerns, and India’s buffalo-meat shipments bound for regions like North Africa are grappling with delays, said Fauzan Alavi, spokesperson of All India Buffalo and Sheep Meat Exporters Association. It’s also a headache for farmers who could have to cut their prices to make up for higher shipping costs. “We have to sell even if prices fall as we can’t prolong the harvesting period,” said Sandeep Dagu Sandhan, a grape grower in India’s state of Maharashtra, where harvesting has started in some areas. “Exporters always manage to cover their costs. It will be our losses if prices crash.” Wider Worries The shipping issues are also a concern for Europe’s exports of products like pork, dairy and wine, as well as imports of tea, spices and poultry — though it’s unclear the extent of any impact — according to CELCAA, which represents agri-food traders. And ships carrying about 1.6 million tons of grain and headed for the Suez Canal were diverted to other routes in recent weeks, intelligence firm Kpler said. Most of that will be crops going to China and Southeast Asia. UK grocery giant Tesco Plc has warned that shipping disruptions could lead to inflation on some goods and J Sainsbury Plc is working with the government to cope with delays. Fresh ginger prices have jumped more than a third since December at East London’s New Spitalfields Market. Muhammed Patel of wholesaler Amer Superfresh Ltd., which usually sources from China, said suppliers are raising costs to account for longer journeys. “Every now and then we have delays, but nothing like this,” Patel said. Some traders have even delayed cargoes. UK-based coffee importer Mercanta briefly halted loading in East Africa while it awaited clarification of the route carriers will take. While it has decided to load again, any delays will slow sales to Europe at a time when shipments in the Americas also face constraints, including at the Panama Canal. If a cargo heads south, “it’ll have to go on a very, very long transit and probably be more expensive,” Mercanta founder and managing director Stephen Hurst said. Countries like Uganda and Vietnam account for a big share of Europe’s coffee imports, and the Red Sea is a crucial artery for that trade. While perishable foods are often transported in containers, some companies are switching to bulk carriers to ship coffee, according to the Vietnam Coffee Cocoa Association. That can make supplies harder to handle at places like ports and leave them more open to damage from the elements. Importers are seeking to secure more robusta — the beans used in instant coffee — from Brazil, upending typical flows. Pink salt from Pakistan is another example of buyers balking. Majid Mahboob Paracha, manager of international trade at Shahpur Industries, said his customer base has shrunk because buyers are unwilling to pay higher transport rates, with costs to ship a container to Europe running at quadruple the norm. “We have the product, but if they are not comfortable with the freight charges, we cannot force them,” he said. --With assistance from Celia Bergin and Gina Turner. (Adds information on meat and coffee from seventh paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 03:44:47+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [15, 790, 1140, 1241, 1331, 1447, 1534, 1642, 1690, 2432]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin Retreats to One-Month Low as ETF-Led Enthusiasm Wanes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-retreats-one-month-low-224324642.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin slid to the lowest since mid-December as the speculative demand for the token sparked by hype about new exchange-traded funds dissipates, leaving the cryptocurrency in the red since the start of 2024. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout The largest digital asset flirted with a drop below $40,000 before trading at $40,843 as of 11:40 a.m. Friday in Singapore, a decline of 4% in the past 24 hours. Smaller tokens like Ether, Solana and Polkadot also struggled. Bitcoin surged 157% last year on optimism about the eventual Jan. 11 launch of the first US exchange-traded funds to directly hold the token. Digital assets also got a tailwind from bets on looser monetary policy. Traders are now assessing how much money the ETFs attract and paring expectations for interest-rate cuts. Read more: What Are These New Bitcoin ETFs and How Do They Work? “This type of correction after a significant run-up is normal for Bitcoin,” said Greg Moritz, co-founder at crypto hedge fund AltTab Capital. Nine new spot Bitcoin ETFs went live last week, including from BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity Investments. The $25 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust converted from a closed-ended structure into an ETF. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has passed $1 billion in investor inflows. The equivalent figure for the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund is about $880 million. Grayscale’s Bitcoin fund, which was created in 2013, has seen about $1.6 billion in outflows since it started trading as an ETF. The Grayscale fund traded at a discount to its underlying holdings last year when it was a closed-ended vehicle, spurring some to bet on the gap narrowing. Speculators may be exiting that trade now that the discount has all but gone. “GBTC selling, that’s the story,” said crypto investor Meltem Demirors. Shares in the fund have also been “pledged as collateral or used to repay bad loans” as part of crypto sector insolvencies, she said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-19 04:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [7181]}

{}

Key African Economies to Hold Off From Rate Cuts Until Second Half of 2024

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/key-african-economies-hold-off-040000884.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- African central banks due to decide on interest rates in the next three weeks are poised to maintain tight monetary policies, in contrast to their emerging market peers in Europe and Latin America, who have started cutting. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout Its biggest economies Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Angola are set to keep rates higher for longer until at least the second half of this year, as they battle persistent inflation and weigh up risks from weaker currencies and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. An escalation in tensions in the oil-rich region could cause gasoline prices to surge. Freight costs are already spiking due to ships rerouting around Africa because of attacks by Houthi militants on vessels in the Bab El-Mandeb strait, part of the passage from the Indian Ocean to the Suez Canal. In normal times, the route accounts for more than a 10th of maritime global trade. Smaller economies such as Ghana and Mozambique may loosen their monetary policy in the first half of 2024 as they have some of the highest real rates in the world when adjusted for inflation. What Bloomberg Economics Says... “Persistent inflation and soft currencies will keep rates on hold at the first MPC meetings of the year. Inflation remains in double digits for half of the sub-Saharan Africa countries holding meetings in the coming weeks, and currency weakness will keep those with single-digit rates from easing.” — Yvonne Mhango, Africa economist Angola, Jan. 19 BNA rate: 18% Inflation rate: 20% (Dec.) While the Banco Nacional de Angola has been reluctant to increase interest rates due to weakness in the domestic economy, analysts expect its monetary policy committee to maintain or raise them again, after a percentage-point hike in November. Finance Minister Vera Daves de Sousa in an interview with Bloomberg TV this week said the central bank is “totally committed” to taming inflation that’s at a 17-month high and is forecast to continue to quicken because of exchange-rate pressures. South Africa, Jan. 25 Repurchase rate: 8.25% Inflation rate: 5.5% (Nov.) Inflation target: 3%-6% South Africa’s monetary authority is poised to leave its key interest rate, which has been at its current level since May, unchanged for a while longer. Story continues Inflation expectations, a key metric watched by policymakers to decide on rates, are on the rise again and Governor Lesetja Kganyago told Bloomberg TV this week that while price growth is within the MPC’s target “it is not quite where we would like to see it.” He added that policymakers would only cut rates when they “see that inflation has declined to our anchor, which is 4.5%.” Oxford Economics Africa senior economist, Jee-A van der Linde anticipates rate cuts to start only once the US Federal Reserve enters easing territory. Markets are fully pricing in its first rate cut in May. Ghana, Jan. 29 Policy rate: 30% Inflation rate: 23.2% (Dec.) Inflation target: 8% +/- 2 ppts Ghana’s MPC is set to stall its first rate cut since 2021 until later in the first half of 2024 to assess the impact of new taxes on annual inflation that’s near a two-year low. “I would have expected a reduced policy rate but for the fact that we are having new taxes on electricity consumption and emissions, this will eventually fuel inflation,” said Agyapomaa Gyeke-Dako, a senior lecturer in economics at the University of Ghana Business School, who instead sees the monetary policy committee acting against that by keeping rates on hold. Mozambique, Jan. 31 MIMO interbank rate: 17.25% Inflation rate: 5.3% (Dec.) Mozambique is also expected to delay loosening. That’s despite an International Monetary Fund assessment that it has “ample scope” to ease monetary policy because its real, inflation-adjusted interest rate is one of the highest in the region, constraining non-extractive economic growth. The central bank has been reluctant to hastily reverse a tightening cycle that began in 2021 and will probably hold rates “until it firmly believes the inflation trajectory has changed,” according to Alfredo Mondlane, economist at FNB Moçambique. He sees 100 basis points in cuts over the rest of the year. Egypt, Feb. 1 Deposit rate: 19.25% Inflation rate: 33.7% (Dec.) Inflation target: 7% +/- 2 ppt Egypt will likely save its next bout of monetary tightening until it enacts another much-anticipated currency devaluation, a step that would help the North African nation increase its current $3 billion International Monetary Fund’s loan and pass delayed reviews of the rescue program. “With no sign of an imminent deal with the IMF, the central bank will likely keep rates on hold,” said Mohamed Abu Basha, head of research at Cairo-based investment bank EFG Hermes. “Any action in rates would come once Egypt signs a deal with the IMF and takes a move on the EGP,” he said, referring to the Egyptian pound. The slowing of inflation for a third month in December also favors a hold. The central bank has been on pause since a 100 basis points increase in August. Kenya, Feb. 6 Central bank rate: 12.5% Inflation rate: 6.6% (Dec.) Inflation target: 5% +/- 2.5 ppts Kenya’s rate-setting panel will probably leave borrowing costs unchanged after a surprise 200-basis-point hike in December, aimed at supporting its battered shilling. While inflation is within target the MPC is likely to wait to see the impact of the December tightening and sift through January inflation data to see if price growth has eased to Governor Kamau Thugge’s mid-point target of 5%. That’s according to Eric Musau, head of research & sustainable finance at Nairobi-based Standard Investment Bank. “We think by the second half of this year, we may start to see some moderation,” he said. Nigeria, TBC Policy rate: 18.75% Inflation rate: 28.9% (Dec.) Inflation target: 6%-9% Having not held a rate-setting meeting since July or announced when its next one will be, economists are almost certain that when the Central Bank of Nigeria’s MPC gathers under Governor Olayemi Cardoso it will deliver a jumbo increase. “The correct thing for the new CBN governor and MPC to do is to signal a clear and unambiguous intention to fight inflation, through an aggressive raising of rates to 30% or more as well as ending all of the CBN’s developmental interventions,” said Joachim MacEbong, senior governance analyst at Stears Insights. Stubborn inflation stoked by a rapid depreciation in the naira, security issues in food-producing regions and the removal of fuel subsidies, is yet to peak. --With assistance from Mirette Magdy, Ntando Thukwana, Matthew Hill, David Herbling, Ruth Olurounbi, Ekow Dontoh and Henrique Almeida. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-19 04:29:31+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1342]}

{}

Canada Proposes New Crypto Rules for Public Investment Funds

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canada-proposes-crypto-rules-public-042931787.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

Canada Proposes New Crypto Rules for Public Investment Funds Canadian securities regulators have proposed new rules aimed at providing greater clarity and risk mitigation measures for public investment funds dealing with crypto assets. The proposed changes to regulations would restrict what public investment funds can do regarding cryptocurrencies and set the standards for holding of crypto assets. Under the proposed new regulations, only alternative investment funds and non-redeemable investment funds would be allowed to trade or have crypto assets in custody directly. Other mutual funds that want to gain crypto exposure would have to invest in those funds. Additionally, the assets invested in would have to be listed on an exchange recognized by a Canadian securities regulatory authority and would have to be fungible. Assets would also need to be insured and held in cold wallets, with an annual review of the custodian's internal management required. The proposed amendments are part of an ongoing project by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) to develop a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets in Canada. The proposals will be open for public comment for 90 days, followed by the development of a consultation paper and consideration of a broader crypto asset regulatory framework. Canada has had spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) since 2021. Let us know what you loved about this article, what could be improved, or share any other feedback by filling out this short form .

2024-01-19 04:41:23+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1133, 1221]}

{}

Donald Trump Claims He Will “Never Allow” Creation of CBDC in the US if Reelected

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/donald-trump-claims-never-allow-044123759.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

Donald Trump Claims He Will “Never Allow” Creation of CBDC in the US if Reelected During a campaign speech in New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump vowed to prevent the creation of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC) if reelected, calling it a "dangerous threat to freedom." He warned that a CBDC would give the federal government "absolute control over your money" and the ability to seize funds without individuals' knowledge. Trump said: “To protect Americans from government tyranny, as your President, I will never allow the creation of a central bank digital currency.” Trump's stance marks a shift from his previous skepticism towards cryptocurrencies, as he seeks to attract pro-crypto voters. He has released numerous NFT collections and cashed out millions in Ethereum from their sales. Trump was joined on stage by Vivek Ramaswamy, a crypto-friendly former Presidential candidate who dropped out of the race to back Trump. The former President's pledge to block CBDCs aligns with the views of other Republican candidates, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has pledged to "end Biden's war on Bitcoin" and banned CBDCs in the state. He has also announced that Florida would accept Bitcoin as payment for state taxes from businesses. The issue of cryptocurrencies and CBDCs has become a hot-button topic on the campaign trail. As the country enters the 2024 election cycle, candidates are increasingly taking positions on these issues to appeal to voters. 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

2024-01-19 04:43:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [36, 82, 126, 329, 379, 498, 599, 793, 1103, 1232]}

{"Bitcoin": [36]}

BlackRock’s IBIT Becomes First Spot Bitcoin ETF to Reach $1B AUM

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrock-ibit-becomes-first-spot-044318128.html

CoinMarketCap

https://coinmarketcap.com/

BlackRock’s IBIT Becomes First Spot Bitcoin ETF to Reach $1B AUM BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has achieved a significant milestone by surpassing $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) within its first week of trading. This makes it the first among the recently launched Bitcoin ETFs to reach this milestone. The iShares Bitcoin Trust started trading on January 12, 2024, and has quickly gained traction among investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin through a regulated and transparent investment vehicle. IBIT's holdings consist primarily of Bitcoin, with 99% of its portfolio allocated to the cryptocurrency. The fund also holds a small amount of fiat currency, currently valued at nearly $60,000. As of Thursday, the fund held 25,067 Bitcoin. Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, said: "We are excited to see IBIT reach this milestone in its first week, reflecting strong investor demand. This is just the beginning. We have a long-term commitment focused on providing investors access to an iShares quality ETF." The iShares Bitcoin Trust closed Wednesday's trading session at $24.41 and trades at a slight premium of 0.42% relative to the spot price of Bitcoin. The fund has recorded an average daily trading volume of 14 million shares since its launch. Let us know what you loved about this article, what could be improved, or share any other feedback by filling out this short form .

2024-01-19 05:13:11+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2163]}

{}

US stocks climb as strong chipmaker earnings boost tech sector

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-stocks-climb-strong-chipmaker-051311854.html

Business Insider

https://www.businessinsider.com/

New York Stock Exchange, Wall St, New York, USA. Getty Images US stocks rose Thursday as strong chipmaker earnings lifted the tech sector. Taiwan Semiconductors' quarterly report beat expectations, with the stock popping 9%. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he expects rate cuts to arrive in the third quarter of 2024. US stocks rose Thursday as chipmakers led a rally in the tech sector, which also got a boost from an uptick in Apple shares. Taiwan Semiconductor beat earnings and revenue forecasts, sending the stock up 9%. Other chip stocks like Nvidia, AMD and Intel also climbed. Apple was higher too after shares got an upgrade from Bank of America, which said AI will drive a major iPhone upgrade cycle. Those gains came despite Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic saying he expects rate cuts to arrive in the third quarter of 2024, later than market bets for earlier this year. "I want us to be absolutely certain that inflation is where we need it to be before we move too dramatically," he said at an event hosted by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Yields on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.14%. Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. closing bell on Thursday: S&P 500 : 4,780.94, up 0.88% Dow Jones Industrial Average : 37,468.61, up 0.54% (201.94 points) Nasdaq Composite : 15,055.65, up 1.35% Here's what else is going on: Whiskey, Rolexes, and trading cards are in a spiraling crash as "the bubbles have popped" in collectibles. The Magnificent Seven mega-cap firms should continue to outperform the bottom 493 stocks in the S&P 500. Reddit, the hotbed of the meme stock craze, is reportedly aiming to IPO in March. One of Wall Street's biggest bulls said investors should brace for a 7% drop in the stock market. Coinbase told a judge that buying crypto is just like collecting Beanie Babies. The Red Sea attacks are creating chaos in the global coffee trade. In commodities, bonds, and crypto: West Texas Intermediate rose 1.98% to $74 a barrel. Brent crude , the international benchmark, edged up 1.49% to $79.04 a barrel. Gold inched up 0.82% to $2,023 per ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed 3.4 basis points to 4.138%. Bitcoin dropped 4.17% to $40,867.75. Read the original article on Business Insider

2024-01-19 05:14:27+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5003]}

{}

India Central Bank Not Discussing Rate Cuts Yet, Das Says

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/india-central-bank-not-discussing-110735409.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- India’s central bank won’t consider interest rate cuts unless inflation settles firmly around the 4% target, with policymakers not even discussing the topic yet, Governor Shaktikanta Das said. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout While price gains have moderated, “unless we see clear evidence that inflation is going to sustain at that level, it will be premature to talk about rate cuts,” Das told Bloomberg Television’s Haslinda Amin in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos Thursday. “The topic of rate cuts is not even under discussion,” he said. The Reserve Bank of India has kept rates unchanged for five straight policy meetings, while sticking to a relatively hawkish stance as inflation hovers above the target. Economists are projecting the central bank will begin cutting interest rates this year after the Federal Reserve starts easing. The RBI expects inflation to average around 4.5% in the fiscal year that starts in April, Das said. While that may be cause for caution, the governor said he “would not like to give any kind of forward guidance” on the timing of a rate cut. When asked about the Fed’s policy easing, Das said markets “all over are running ahead of central banks and that should not happen.” He said rate cuts in India will depend on domestic factors, and reiterated the RBI’s policy is to be “actively disinflationary.” “So far as India is concerned, the Reserve Bank and the markets, I think the thought process and the outlook, as far as I can see, is well aligned,” Das said. Financial markets were relatively subdued Friday after Das’s comments, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year government bond rising 1 basis point to 7.19%. The rupee was steady at 83.15 per dollar as of 10:10 a.m. local time. Story continues Madhavi Arora, lead economist for Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd., said the governor’s comments were to be expected in a global environment of rates remaining higher for longer. “We are unlikely to see RBI precede the Fed in this rate cut cycle,” she said. Inflation in India accelerated to a four-month high in December, largely due to volatile food prices. Stripping out food and fuel costs, the core measure slid below 4% for the first time in almost four years, raising expectations of rate cuts. Economic growth will likely touch 7% in the next fiscal year, Das said, repeating comments he made in a speech Wednesday. That would put the economy on track to post growth of around 7% or more for four consecutive years, he said. Faster expansion over the years suggests that India’s potential growth rate — an estimate of how fast an economy can grow at without triggering a spike in inflation — has also increased, Das said after the interview. The RBI had previously estimated that India’s potential growth was 6.5%, but that’s likely risen to around 7%, he said. “The actual economic activity is higher than the potential growth rate” previously estimated by the RBI, he said. “And therefore, the growth potential also is rising. It is rising, perhaps, moving towards 7% or so.” Emkay Global’s Arora said most of the improvement in the trend growth was driven by fiscal measures to improve the supply of goods and services in the economy, which is usually non-inflationary. “The dividends of past reforms and the relatively better macro out-turn after hitting pre-Covid lows may have improved the macro landscape and growth potential,” she said. IMF Backlash Das also pushed back against the International Monetary Fund labeling the central bank’s currency intervention as excessive. “We intervene in the market only to prevent excessive volatility, and we have not deviated from that policy. I think the IMF is missing out the nuances of our policy,” he said. The economy’s strong fundamentals have fueled inflows, which have underpinned the currency’s moves, he said. “When this is the ground situation, when you have such a confluence of factors, if the rupee is holding, it’s holding on it’s strength and you cannot blame the RBI,” Das said. An expected surge in foreign inflows after India’s inclusion in the JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s global index this year won’t change the central bank’s intervention strategy either, Das said, since the economy is large enough to be able to absorb the flows. “The inflow is also going to be very steady. It’s not as if, you know, there’ll be a sudden spurt of inflow coming overnight, or in a few days,” he said. (Updates with more details, comment from analyst.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 05:17:21+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2536]}

{}

Citi Tells Private Bankers Not to Discuss Yuan in Mainland China

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/citi-tells-private-bankers-not-051721902.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc. told private bankers serving Chinese clients not to discuss the yuan or hedging the currency risk when making trips to the mainland, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring growing sensitivity in onshore dealings. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout The US lender, which doesn’t have a private bank unit in mainland China, primarily serves its rich clients from offshore wealth hubs in Hong Kong or Singapore. Relationship managers who travel to China typically can’t discuss investments or solicit business though they can meet with clients to build relationships. The bank has a set of rules related to offshore banking, and in its latest refreshed guidelines in December specifically warned relationship managers against soliciting yuan-related investment ideas, the people said, asking not to be identified talking about an internal matter. It updates its offshore banking rules from time to time, the people said. A spokeswoman for the bank declined to comment. The guidance comes as China’s growth has disappointed and the nation has been battling a prolonged property slump. A rout in stocks has made China one of the world’s worst-performing major market in the new year, and the yuan has dropped about 6% in the past 12 months. At the same time, Chinese investors have been piling into ETFs in Japan. Last month, Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook for Chinese sovereign bonds to negative, underscoring deepening global concerns about the level of debt in the world’s second-largest economy. There has been heightened caution among global banks as they try to navigate geopolitical tension between China and the US. Being negative or the perception of being negative in China can attract backlash onshore. Last year, a bearish research report on Chinese banks by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. drew criticism from a major lender and state media. The year before, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s description of Chinese internet companies as being “uninvestable,” resulted in the bank losing a role as an underwriter in a stock offering for a Chinese tech company. 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

2024-01-19 05:37:21+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1851]}

{}

EM Asia Stocks Set to See Biggest Weekly Outflows Since 2022

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/em-asia-stocks-set-see-035117304.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Asia’s emerging equities excluding China are poised for their biggest weekly outflows since June 2022, as fading hopes for aggressive rate cuts by the Federal Reserve dented sentiment for risky assets. 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 Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Global investors have sold a net $6.6 billion of stocks so far this week, set for the biggest weekly outflow in nearly 19 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The exodus has been led by the tech-heavy market of Taiwan and the region’s fastest-growing major economy India. Taiwan stocks have seen outflows of $4.5 billion this week as investors assess what the pro-independence party’s third straight term means for its relations with China. India saw a record outflow of $1.26 billion on Wednesday after HDFC Bank Ltd.’s quarterly results soured sentiment. Foreigners pulled another $1.19 billion Thursday, provisional data from the exchanges show. To be sure, India’s earnings season has just started and some good earning results may change the mood. Chip bellwether Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s outlook has already changed the mood for Taiwan and global technology stocks, pushing the Nasdaq 100 Index to a record overnight. Separately, foreigners have also extended their record quarterly selling streak in mainland equities as China’s CSI 300 Index lost more than 4% this year. (Adds India’s provisional flows data for Thursday in the third 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.

2024-01-19 06:01:10+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3108]}

{}

FOREX-Dollar headed for second weekly gain on tempered rates outlook

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/forex-dollar-headed-second-weekly-060110114.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

(Updates prices, adds analyst comments) By Tom Westbrook SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The dollar headed for a second weekly gain in a row on Friday as signs of resilience in the U.S. economy and caution about rate cuts from central bankers had traders dialling back expectations of swift and sharp falls in interest rates. Weekly gains on the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars of 1.6% and 2.3% are set to be the largest since November and July respectively. Markets price a 57% chance of a U.S. rate cut in March, down from 75% a week ago. "The thumping message from U.S. activity data and central bankers is that markets are too aggressively priced for rate cuts in 2024, both on timing and in magnitude," said Westpac's head of foreign exchange strategy Richard Franulovich. "That, and a fresh bout of turbulence across China's property and financial markets has the dollar returning to form." The dollar index is up 0.9% to 103.4 on the week and biggest loser has been the yen, which is now down 5% for the year so far as data and a deadly earthquake have sapped confidence the Bank of Japan is about to hike rates. Data on Friday showed Japan's core inflation slowed to 2.3% in the year to December, its lowest annual pace since June 2022, taking the pressure off policymakers to make swift moves and dragging the yen about 0.2% lower to 148.44 per dollar. "The market's realisation that rates hikes will not be easy for the BOJ in the coming months and the coincident repricing of Fed rate cut risks have already been reflected in the move higher in dollar/yen," said Rabobank strategist Jane Foley. Other currency moves in the Asia session were modest on Friday, leaving the euro down 0.6% for the week at $1.0884 and sterling down 0.4% to $1.2705. The Aussie caught a little support from stabilising iron ore prices and rose 0.1% to $0.6578. The kiwi was shaky at $0.6099. HAWKISH CHORUS U.S. labour-market data released on Thursday was strong, with weekly jobless claims dropping to their lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years, adding to the pressure on market rate-cut wagers. Story continues Two-year Treasury yields, which track short-term interest rate expectations, are up 22 basis points this week to 4.3587%. Earlier data showed retail sales rose more than expected in December. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday the U.S. economy's strength gives policymakers flexibility to move "carefully and slowly", which traders took as pushing back at pricing for a speedy fall in rates. A similarly hawkish chorus from European central bankers has also dialled back expectations for cuts in Europe, limiting the euro's fall on the dollar and driving gains for crosses such as euro/yen and euro/swissy. An unexpected rise in British inflation also drove a sharp pullback in bets on Bank of England interest rate cuts and lent support to sterling. Deepening malaise in China's property markets rattled investors, who sold mainland shares to multi-year lows and the currency to an almost two-month low of 7.1999 per dollar, drawing state-bank buying to support it. Bitcoin hit a five-week low at $40,484 overnight as traders have taken profits following the U.S. approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Speculators drove the price 150% higher during 2023 in anticipation the approval paved the way for large-scale investors to buy the cryptocurrency. Investors poured $1.9 billion into nine new bitcoin ETFs in their first three trading days, but that fell short of some of the more aggressive estimates for multi-billion inflows on day one. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Jamie Freed)

2024-01-19 06:06:37+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2503]}

{}

Zombie Firms in Japan on Rise as BOJ Paves Way for Rate Hike

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/zombie-firms-japan-rise-boj-060637629.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- One in six Japanese companies have become “zombie” firms unable to keep up with debt payments from profits alone, putting them in a vulnerable position should the central bank raise interest rates this year, as is widely expected. 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 Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal The number of zombie companies hit 251,000 or 17% of the total number in the 12 months to March, jumping almost a third from the previous year, according to a report by Teikoku Databank on Friday. The number was the highest since 2011, when Japan’s economy was battered by an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, the firm said. The surging proportion of zombie firms is partly a reflection of the fallout from the government and central bank’s large-scale financial support during the pandemic. The financial positions of these firms would likely come under more pressure if the Bank of Japan hikes interest rates for the first time since 2007. While further rises in bankruptcies and a possible increase in unemployment would be largely unpopular outcomes, some economists argue that allowing inefficient and unprofitable firms to go bust is one of the key ways that would enable Japan to raise its growth rate. During the pandemic policymakers pulled out all the stops to avoid a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs that would scar the economy for years. The government has provided around 2.6 million interest-free, unsecured loans worth about ¥45 trillion ($300 billion) to businesses in addition to a raft of other support measures to keep businesses afloat. Special pandemic lending programs from the BOJ at one point swelled the size of loans on the central bank’s balance sheet by around ¥100 trillion. The BOJ meets next week and is widely expected to leave its negative interest rate untouched. Nearly 60% of surveyed economists surveyed this month view April as the most likely month for the central bank to raise the rate. Still, the prevailing view is that the BOJ won’t aggressively raise rates after that, a factor that will limit the additional pressure on struggling companies. 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

2024-01-19 07:01:43+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3782]}

{}

Egypt's Pound Dives on the Black Market as Moody's Cuts Debt Outlook

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/moody-cuts-egypt-outlook-currency-070143068.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Egypt’s credit outlook was cut to negative from stable by Moody’s Investors Service while the pound’s weakening on the black market accelerated, in a sign of the country’s worsening economic plight. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot Moody’s affirmed Egypt’s rating of Caa1, or seven notches into junk, according to a statement late Thursday. Even as Egypt holds talks with the International Monetary Fund to increase a $3 billion rescue program, little of which has been disbursed, Moody’s warned it might be insufficient. MIDEAST INSIGHT: Red Sea Costs Egypt $150 Million - and Counting “While a debt restructuring in the near term is not Moody’s current baseline expectation, the risks have increased,” analysts Elisa Parisi-Capone and Matt Robinson said. That’s “despite an anticipated increase in financial support from the IMF” and the government running a fiscal surplus when debt payment are excluded, they said. They cited “very weak debt metrics and elevated exposure to foreign exchange and interest rates risks.” Egypt is in the grip of its worst economic crisis in decades at a time when the war between Israel and Hamas next door is adding to the pressures. Now, revenues from Suez Canal — a critical source of foreign currency — are slumping as many ships avoid the waterway to protect themselves from Red Sea attacks from Yemen’s Houthi militants. Egypt Needs Cash and Gaza War Gives World New Reasons to Help Moody’s estimates interest payments will absorb two-thirds of Egypt’s revenue at the end of this fiscal year, which ends in June. The pound, meanwhile, fell to 60 per dollar on the black market this week, having been around 50 in early December. The parallel rate’s now around 50% weaker than the official one of 30.9. Story continues That underscores the dire shortage of hard currency in the nation of 105 million people, even as foreign investors reduce bets on a near-term devaluation. “People are hoarding FX because they want to protect themselves against a weakening pound or because they want to make profit,” said Farouk Soussa, an economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “Either way, it’s a signal that they have little confidence in the pound’s future.” Some Egyptian banks are having to sharply limit overseas transactions. JPMorgan Chase & Co., citing problems for investors when it comes to converting pounds to foreign exchange, will soon exclude Egypt from local-currency bond indexes tracked by billions of dollars worth of funds. The extent of the pound’s depreciation on the black market “points to the potential for even sharper macro rebalancing requirements than projected in Moody’s central scenario,” the rating company said. It added that a rating downgrade is possible if there are concerns about the government’s ability to service its local currency debt or boost foreign reserves. An upgrade could occur if the government manages to attract inflows of foreign exchange. Moody’s said it assigns “a high likelihood” of the IMF program being boosted to as much as $10 billion, which would broadly cover what it estimates is Egypt’s external funding gap in the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years. “Rebuilding confidence will take an improvement in economic policy,” Goldman’s Soussa said. (Updates with comments starting in third paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 07:19:32+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2839, 3305], "BTC": [351, 1117, 1436, 4087, 4131, 4325]}

{}

Ether Could Soar in 2024 on the Back of Dencun Upgrade, ETF Narrative: Analysts

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ether-could-soar-2024-back-071932578.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Investors are likely to have a relook at ether as the spot ETF narrative gathers steam and Ethereum remains the dominant chain in the DeFi and NFT world, according to analysts. Ether is qualified to be a core holding in a diversified crypto portfolio, one observer said. Ether [ETH], the native token of Ethereum’s blockchain, underperformed bitcoin [BTC] in 2023, as the latter’s new-found smart contract, non-fungible tokens (NFT) narrative, and spot ETF optimism drew investor money. Per analysts, investors will likely have a relook at ether this year as Ethereum is still the world’s leading smart contract blockchain with key upgrades lined up, and ether is widely seen as the next likely candidate to get a spot-based ETF in the U.S. “ETH could be poised for a breakout year,” Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase said in the weekly newsletter. “Last week’s bitcoin ETF news proved to be a boon for ethereum, which briefly spiked above $2,700 — reaching its highest price since May 2022. And there are reasons to be even more optimistic about ETH’s near-term future. For one, several of the firms behind the BTC ETFs — including BlackRock and VanEck — are also plotting ether-based spot ETFs.” A spot ETF invests in actual cryptocurrency, allowing investors to take exposure to the asset without having to own it, and is considered a better option than futures-based ETFs, which are vulnerable to roll costs . So, just as spot BTC ETFs, a potential launch of spot ETH ETFs is expected to open floodgates to institutional and retail money. Nearly a dozen bitcoin spot ETFs began trading in the U.S. last Thursday and have registered a cumulative volume of over $10 billion, with BlackRock’s product amassing $1 billion in inflows. Dencun upgrade and institutional demand In addition, Ethereum’s upcoming Dencun upgrade , which aims to improve the mainnet’s scalability by introducing “data blobs,” could galvanize investor interest in the cryptocurrency, according to Coinbase. The upgrade went live on Ethereum’s Goerli testnet early this week. A blob is a temporary transaction data memory typically related to Layer 2 solutions that can be attached to Ethereum. Following the upgrade to the mainnet, the network will only need to confirm the correctness of the blob data attached to the block rather than verify each transaction, helping reduce congestion and network fees. “Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade began initial tests on Wednesday and in coming months is expected to implement EIP-4844 (“EIP” stands for “Ethereum improvement proposal”), which some ETH watchers predict could help reduce network fees by 90% or more,” Coinbase noted. Story continues Institutional crypto firm ETC Group, in its annual report , discussed a bullish outlook for the ether-bitcoin ratio and explained that despite 2023's inscriptions-led boom in Bitcoin's network activity, Ethereum remains the dominant chain for building decentralized applications, NFTs, and tokenized assets. For instance, data tracked by ETC Group show, the top 10 ERC-20 tokens have a cumulative market value of $21 billion – or 13 times bigger than the $1.6 billion market capitalization of the entire BRC-20 token universe of over 37,000 coins. ERC-20 is Ethereum’s token standard, while BRC-20 is a fungible digital asset created on the Bitcoin network. Further, ether investors can generate extra returns on top of their holdings by staking or locking their coins in the network in return for rewards. The current annualized reward rate is around 3.84%, having averaged about 4% to 5% since Ethereum completed the Merge in September 2022. Lastly, Ethereum's feature of burning a portion of transaction fees paid in ETH has a deflationary effect on the token's supply, positively affecting investors. "The strong dominance of Ethereum in terms of smart contract platforms and the possibility to earn an additional source of yield imply that it should also be a core holding in a diversified cryptoasset portfolio as well," ETC Group said. "We therefore think that it is quite likely for the relative performance of ETH/BTC to reverse itself in 2024. In fact, ETH/BTC’s 12-month relative performance has historically shown a strong tendency to mean revert," ETC Group added. Ether has outperformed bitcoin so far this year, with the ether-bitcoin ratio (ETH/BTC) trading 10% higher. The ratio tanked over 25% last year. View comments

2024-01-19 07:43:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [6126]}

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China Swap Market Goes Into Overdrive as Traders Seek FX Bypass

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-swap-market-goes-overdrive-000000945.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Trading has surged to a nine-year high in China’s onshore swaps market, an increasingly popular one-stop-currency-shop for everyone from foreign to local to state banks and corporates, all happy to bypass traditional FX venues. 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 Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal Attractive rates for those with dollars to lend, strong demand for the US currency in China’s banking system and even shadow intervention from officials keeping the yuan in check are some of the suggested reasons that have driven one measure of client activity to the highest since 2015. Swaps are becoming more common tools to manage currency positions, with a market share now of 10%, according to Bloomberg calculations, compared to about 75% for old school buying and selling via so-called spot trading. A key factor behind the growth has been investors taking advantage of low interest rates on the yuan relative to the dollar after the stark divergence of monetary policies between the world’s two largest economies. A gauge measuring funding costs in the Chinese currency has sunk to the lowest since 2008 in the swaps market, making it highly profitable to borrow in yuan with dollars. For example, an investor lending their greenbacks for yuan for one year using swaps would enjoy a return of 3.4%, with the chance to put the proceeds to work elsewhere, according to calculations by Bloomberg. Alongside the lure of returns, swaps also offer cheaper ways for investors to bet on currency moves without giving up core positions, as they are derivatives. That makes them one possible way China can manage volatility in the yuan without spooking the market by dipping into its foreign-exchange reserves. “I would look for a higher proportion taken by FX derivatives in the long run in China,” said Lemon Zhang, macro & currency strategist at Barclays Bank Plc, citing the nation’s relatively low share compared to developed markets. I see “improvement on both variety of market participants and products.” State Banks Large state banks have been heavily active of late. They traded $1.2 billion a day of one-year swaps on average in the first seven sessions of 2024, according to traders who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to comment publicly. That’s about eight times the daily average volume seen in the first quarter of 2023 and is part of a surge that started in November, they said. Story continues For Ju Wang, head of greater China FX & rates strategy at BNP Paribas, that could be down to the banks acting as proxies for officials trying to stabilize the yuan without exhausting the government’s FX reserves. The Chinese currency strengthened from near a 16-year low toward the end of 2023 alongside swap market activity, before slipping back about 1% this year. “It could be intervention,” she said. China’s forex reserves finished the year higher in 2023 at about $3.2 trillion, suggesting authorities refrained from direct intervention despite their battle to rein in yuan weakness. The People’s Bank of China resorted to using more indirect measures such as guiding the yuan higher with its daily reference rate, fine-tuning required foreign exchange reserve ratios at lenders and squeezing offshore liquidity to discourage short-sellers. Natural Growth Still, others are doubtful of the intervention explanation, saying the growth in swaps could be just be the lenders trading for themselves or clients, rather than acting as a central bank proxy. The PBOC didn’t respond to a request for comment sent by Bloomberg this week. Yuan funding is currently very cheap and some firms may borrow and then swap the proceeds for dollars, rather than directly borrow the US currency, said Le Xia, chief Asia economist at Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA. In recent months there was also less of a need for currency intervention after the dollar retreated on bets of US interest-rate cuts, he said. Demand for trading onshore swaps has also picked among dollar-based bond investors. Lending dollars in exchange for yuan via swaps and then investing in some onshore Chinese bonds has become a more lucrative trade than outright buying and holding US debt, according to Bloomberg calculations. Such swap-based trades helped boost China bond inflows in late 2023. China Bond Inflow Extends on Lucrative Swaps, PBOC Easing Hope “Thanks to lower swap points, their FX hedged investment in China, especially in bonds, could generate a better return,” said Kiyong Seong, lead Asia macro strategist at Societe Generale. One-year dollar-yuan swap points in China’s onshore market remain deeply negative at about minus 2400 pips and hit minus 2744 pips in September, the lowest since the global financial crisis. Corporates have also been active for operational purposes, in part because swaps won’t cause them to reduce the amount of dollars they hold. “They can borrow onshore to give bonuses, pay bills, rather than converting their dollar holdings,” Barclay’s Zhang said. “Corporates and foreign investors are enjoying the tailwinds from FX swap points.” Watch Yield Differentials With the yuan trading close to a two-month low and persisting concerns on China growth, some market watchers see robust swap trading extending in the near term. The wide gap between US and China rates is key, which hinges on bets on when and how quickly the Federal Reserve will pivot to cuts, they said. “This dynamic will most likely to hold in the first half of 2024 given still very wide dollar-yuan rate differential,” said Becky Liu, Head of China Macro Strategy at Standard Chartered Bank. “But it should fade in subsequent quarters when their rate differential narrows.” (Adds example in fifth 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

2024-01-19 07:47:29+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4678]}

{}

China's Mutual Funds Implode at Fastest Pace in Five Years as Stocks Sink

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinas-mutual-funds-implode-fastest-024308872.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- A meltdown in Chinese shares is wreaking havoc on the country’s asset management sector, pushing mutual fund closures to a five-year high in another sign of waning investor confidence. 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 Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal About 240 local mutual funds were liquidated last year, according to Bloomberg-compiled data dating back to 2014. That’s the most since 2018, when stricter asset management rules triggered a major industry shakeup. Among the closed funds, four out of five had a stock-focused mandate, which was a record. The trend has continued into this year, with another 14 funds already liquidated and two dozen more warning of imminent closures, according to Bloomberg calculations of official data. China’s mutual fund industry is confronting a double whammy as the country’s stock selloff intensifies, with the surge in product closures coinciding with a plunge in the amount of new subscriptions to a decade-low. The fund liquidations have accelerated the downward spiral in the world’s second-largest stock market, forming a vicious cycle as retail investors abandon their once-preferred product for the safety of cash. “Weak performance was an important factor behind mutual fund shrinkage and even liquidations,” said Li Yiming, senior analyst at Morningstar Inc.’s fund research center in China. “When investors find it hard to make money in a market, underperforming products face the greater risk of becoming so-called mini funds.” A relentless selloff has turned China into the world’s worst-performing major market in the new year, as a deepening housing slump and stubborn deflationary pressures weigh on the economic outlook. Story continues The benchmark CSI 300 Index dropped 0.4% this week capping its ninth weekly drop in ten, despite signs of heavy purchases by state funds dubbed the “national team.” The mainland Chinese stock gauge remains 4.7% down in 2024, following a record three consecutive years of losses. China’s securities regulator requires mutual fund products to have at least 200 investors and raise a minimum of 200 million yuan ($27.8 million) in order to be launched. Once a product’s asset value drops below 50 million yuan for 60 consecutive trading days, the fund house must alert the regulator and propose solutions, including contract termination. Many funds prefer liquidations given the complexity of other options such as merging with another fund. Such product closures would mean forced selling of the portfolio’s holdings and returning the remaining assets to investors at a loss. This would be especially painful for retail investors who continued to buy these products in hopes of being rewarded in the long run for bargain hunting. In one example, the CCB Principal Quantitative Event-driven Equity Fund, an open-end fund run by CCB Principal Asset Management Co., was liquidated in August after its assets under management plunged to 30 million yuan, or a little over a tenth of its value at its 2017 launch, according to public filings. Actively managed mutual funds, once a favored investment tool among Chinese retail investors, are fast losing their appeal: a gauge of stock-focused mutual funds has declined 7.7% this year, according to China Securities Index Co. Meantime, investors also are falling out of love with exchange-traded funds that drew record subscriptions last year but now suffer a supply glut, said Morningstar’s Li. ICBC Credit Suisse CSI Consumer Top ETF, launched in October, is among peers that are struggling to survive. The fund warned investors earlier this month that its net asset value had been below the 50 million yuan mark for 45 trading sessions. If the situation continued for another five trading days, it would trigger product termination based on its contract. “The market also is aware that there has been a lot of redemption. There are funds that were set up three years ago and now we have come to the end of that lockup,” said Nicholas Yeo, head of China equities at abrdn at a briefing Thursday. “So there is a concern about short-term pressure on selling and that’s why domestic investors are not willing to go into the market right now.” --With assistance from Xinyi Shen and Charlotte Yang. (Updates prices in seventh 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.

2024-01-19 08:02:26+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [47]}

{}

ARK Continues to Shuffle Out of BITO, Buys $15M of its Own ETF

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ark-continues-shuffle-bito-buys-080226369.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

ARK Invest continues to shift out of ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) and into its own recently listed spot bitcoin ETF. According to a trading disclosure sent out on Jan. 18, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW) sold 758,915 shares of BITO, worth approximately $15 million, and bought 365,695 shares of ARKB, its own bitcoin ETF, also worth $15 million. The fund made a similar move on Wednesday when it swapped similar amounts of BITO for ARKB. CoinDesk previously reported that ARK has sold its holdings in GBTC and acquired BITO shares, anticipating the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S., with plans to swap BITO for a spot bitcoin ETF upon approval, making the move expected.

2024-01-19 08:39:42+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2749]}

{}

Investment Banks Beat Out Private Credit in CVC’s Latest Buyout Deals

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/investment-banks-beat-private-credit-083942585.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- CVC Capital Partners has opted to finance two of its latest buyouts with loans from investment banks, according to people with knowledge of the matter, beating out direct lenders in the process. 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 private equity firm financed its acquisition of Italian restaurant chain Gruppo La Piadineria with a €200 million ($218 million) loan from lenders including UniCredit SpA, Credit Agricole SA and Natixis, said people familiar with the deal, who weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Those lenders are expected to sell on some of the debt to a wider group of banks. CVC also funded its acquisition of German vitamin and supplement maker Sunday Natural with about €200 million of financing from banks including Deutsche Bank AG, UniCredit and UBS Group AG. The CVC deals are the latest indication of a comeback for traditional lenders, which are benefiting from calmer leveraged loan markets and the prospect of interest rate cuts. The revival means more competition for the $1.6 trillion private credit market, which boomed over the past 18 months as soaring rates and hung debt made banks cautious about underwriting fresh leveraged buyouts. Spokespeople for CVC, Credit Agricole and Unicredit declined to comment. Natixis, Deutsche Bank and UBS didn’t respond to requests for comment. Bank financing may provide private equity sponsors a cheaper cost of capital than direct lenders can offer — and is often from local banks that like and support the business. Pricing for the loan backing the La Piadineria deal was in the range of high-400 basis points over the Euribor benchmark, one of the people said. Unitranche pricing from direct lenders tends to be over 600 basis points. There’s also geographical nuances, with direct lenders typically more cautious about deals in Italy, because of greater legal protections given to borrowers than elsewhere. Read more: Banks Notch Up LBO Deal Wins From Private Credit Firms For the banks, underwriting buyout debt is a lucrative and much sought-after business as it provides some of the most generous fees on offer in investment banking. At the same time, private lenders often aren’t particularly enthusiastic about consumer-facing businesses, as they are seen as more cyclical. Story continues --With assistance from Kat Hidalgo. 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

2024-01-19 08:44:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2501]}

{}

Citi Trader to Depart to Focus on Children’s Books Charity

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/citi-trader-depart-focus-children-135917431.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc.’s Marcus Satha, who turned the firm’s short-term interest rate trading desk into an industry leader, is planning to depart for a role in the children’s book charity he founded. 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 Satha, a 20-year veteran of Citigroup, first joined the Wall Street giant in Australia before moving to London in 2012, according to a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg. He was named head of the short-term interest rate trading division for Europe, the Middle East and Africa in 2016 before being elevated to global head of the division one year later, the memo said. He “led the STIRT team to achieve record revenues, ranking No. 1 across the market,” Flavio Figueiredo, who leads Citigroup’s currency trading division, said in the memo. Satha is planning to take a more active role at Inclusive Books for Children, a charity he founded in 2022 that says it helps “source expertly reviewed, high-quality books for children that reflect the diverse world in which they live.” The nonprofit is a “vast, virtual ‘bookcase,’ showcasing inclusive books for different ages,” according to its website. The charity is hoping to combat the fact that the proportion of children’s books published featuring animal or non-human characters is far greater than books starring ethnic-minority main characters, according to its website. The philanthropy provides curated lists of books, though it said it currently chooses not to focus on books that are focused on the marginalized aspects of characters’ identities. “Stories are powerful tools that allow us to relate,” Satha said in an emailed statement. “We all want the children in our lives to be able to access the power of stories, and how they open the imagination and inspire creativity.” Story continues During his time at Citigroup, Satha created initiatives focused on diversity, equity and inclusion within the trading division, the memo said. (Updates with comment from Satha in penultimate paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected the spelling of surname in last 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.

2024-01-19 09:02:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1840]}

{}

Trafigura’s Former Battery Metals Co-Head Wetterwald Is Leaving

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trafigura-former-battery-metals-co-090225627.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Mehdi Wetterwald, who was briefly co-head of battery metals at Trafigura Group, is leaving the trading house in the latest senior departure from its metals unit. 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 Wetterwald, who joined Trafigura in 2012, was appointed to run global nickel, cobalt and lithium trading as co-head alongside Daniel von Arx last February, in the wake of the revelation of a massive alleged nickel fraud against the company. Last autumn, von Arx was named the sole head of the division. Wetterwald is leaving the company for personal reasons, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as the matter isn’t public. He’s the latest senior figure to depart the metals division, after a period marred by the nickel losses and the financial woes of a Congolese copper-cobalt project backed by Trafigura. In the past twelve months, senior departures have included Socrates Economou, the previous head of nickel and cobalt trading; Kostas Bintas, the head of copper and former co-head of metals; Simon Grenfell, the head of metals business development; and Svetlana Kabanova, the head of metals operations. Still, in its annual report last month, Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Weir described Trafigura’s metals performance as “robust,” and the company noted that the unit’s profits would have been above the previous three-year average without the nickel loss. 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.

2024-01-19 09:05:24+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2361]}

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Mobile App Kaspi.kz’s US IPO Raises $1 Billion for Investors

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mobile-app-kaspi-kz-us-003220676.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Kaspi.kz’s largest shareholders raised about $1 billion in an upsized initial public offering as the Kazakhstan mobile app company adds momentum to US listings. 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 investors sold 11.3 million American depositary shares of Kaspi.kz for $92 apiece, according to a statement Friday confirming an earlier report by Bloomberg News. The price is a 5.3% discount from the closing level Thursday of Kaspi.kz’s London-traded global depositary receipts. Kaspi.kz, whose US shares are set to begin trading Friday in New York, has a market value of about $18 billion. The London-listed shares dropped 1.9% to $95.30 at 9:04 a.m. in London. The offering is the largest on a US exchange since Birkenstock Holding Plc’s $1.48 billion listing in October. Dozens of IPO candidates are looking for any sign that a two-year lull in listings might be coming to an end. Kaspi.kz Chairman Vyacheslav Kim, Chief Executive Officer Mikheil Lomtadze and Asia Equity Partners Ltd. earlier had planned to sell 9 million shares, according to the filings. The company isn’t receiving any proceeds from the IPO. Kaspi.kz, operating in Kazakhstan, offers the Kaspi.kz Super App, a mobile app for consumers with a diverse range of services, and the Kaspi Pay Super App for merchants and entrepreneurs. The consumer app had 13.5 million average monthly active users as of Sept. 30, according to the filing. Kaspi.kz is also listed on both the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and the Astana International Exchange. The company said it had net income of $1.27 billion on revenue of $2.83 billion for the nine months ended Sept. 30. The offering of the US shares is being led by Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. The shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under symbol KSPI. Story continues --With assistance from Bailey Lipschultz and Ryan Gould. (Updates with statement 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.

2024-01-19 09:21:46+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1493]}

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Chinese Tungsten Miner to Tap CICC for Hong Kong Listing, Sources Say

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-tungsten-miner-said-tap-092146044.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Tungsten miner Jiaxin International Resources Investment Ltd. has selected China International Capital Corp. to help prepare for a potential initial public offering in Hong Kong that may take place as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the matter. 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 company is considering raising 700 million yuan ($97 million) to 1 billion yuan in the first-time share sale, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. It could lodge its IPO application with the Hong Kong stock exchange in the coming weeks, one of the people said. Deliberations are preliminary and details such as banks involved and IPO timing could change, the people said. Representatives for CICC and Jiaxin didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Jiaxin is involved in the extraction of tungsten resources, according to a disclosure from affiliate Jiangxi Copper Co., which says the company owns prospecting rights for a mine in Kazakhstan that has about 284,900 tonnes of tungsten metal reserves. 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.

2024-01-19 09:30:57+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1800]}

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Taiwan Stocks See Sudden Reversal in Foreign Flows as TSMC Beat

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/taiwan-stocks-see-sudden-reversal-093057624.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Foreign investors have done an about-face in their Taiwan stock investments this week, thanks to a blowout earnings result from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. 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 $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day After withdrawing $4.5 billion from local shares through Thursday on post-election concerns and a pullback in US policy easing bets, global funds rushed back in the next day following a solid growth outlook from the chip giant, Bloomberg-compiled data showed. They scooped up $2.6 billion in equities on Friday. While cross-strait relations remain an overhang, particularly after Chinese officials said it may cancel tariff concessions for some Taiwan imports, TSMC’s projections for capital spending and revenue have lifted hopes of a broad recovery in the tech sector this year. READ: Taiwan Central Bank Calls for Calm as Stocks, Currency Slide “The political risk premia for Taiwan assets is likely to fade as investor interest shifts back to fundamentals,” said David Chao, a strategist at Invesco Asset Management. The island’s tech sector “could benefit from a continuation of the increased tech exports we have seen in recent months, which were boosted by artificial intelligence-related products,” he said. READ: TSMC Outlook Drives $165 Billion Chip Rally in 2024 Rebound Bet --With assistance from Abhishek Vishnoi, Jeanny Yu and Cindy Wang. 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.

2024-01-19 09:37:48+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2736]}

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FOREX-Dollar headed for second weekly gain as rate cut optimism cools

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/forex-dollar-headed-second-weekly-093748716.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

(Updates at 0920 GMT) By Harry Robertson and Tom Westbrook LONDON/SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The dollar was on track to rise for a second straight week on Friday as signs of resilience in the U.S. economy and pushback from central bankers has caused traders to dial down expectations of swift and sharp falls in interest rates. The euro has fallen 0.6% this week, helping push the dollar index to a 0.9% gain. Japan's yen has been the biggest loser: it is now down around 5% for the year so far as tepid economic data and a deadly earthquake have sapped confidence that the Bank of Japan is about to hike rates. "The thumping message from U.S. activity data and central bankers is that markets are too aggressively priced for rate cuts in 2024, both on timing and in magnitude," said Westpac's head of foreign exchange strategy Richard Franulovich. "That, and a fresh bout of turbulence across China's property and financial markets has the dollar returning to form." On Friday, the euro was roughly flat at $1.0878, as was the dollar index, at 103.38. "We're kind of stuck in this range here in euro," said Erik Nelson, macro strategist at Wells Fargo. "As much as has happened, the euro has barely moved this year." Nelson said investors were waiting for data on the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation to be released on Friday next week. The yen was also little changed at 148.02 to the dollar, having risen but then fallen back after data showed Japan's core inflation rate slowed to 2.3% in the year to December. That was its lowest annual pace since June 2022, taking the pressure off policymakers to make swift moves. Britain's pound was 0.16% lower at $1.2685. Data on Friday showed UK retail sales slumped by the most in three years in December. Investors now expect 140 bps of interest rate cuts from the Fed this year, down from 165 bps a week earlier. They also see a roughly 54% chance the first cut comes in March, from 77% a week ago. U.S. labour market data released on Thursday was strong, with weekly jobless claims dropping to their lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years, adding to the pressure on market rate-cut wagers. Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday the U.S. economy's strength gives policymakers flexibility to move "carefully and slowly", which traders took as pushing back at pricing for a speedy fall in rates. Two-year Treasury yields, which track short-term interest rate expectations, are up 21 basis points this week to 4.348%. Story continues Deepening malaise in China's property markets rattled investors, who sold mainland shares to multi-year lows and the yuan currency to an almost two-month low of 7.197 per dollar, drawing state-bank buying to support it. Bitcoin hit a five-week low at $40,484 overnight as traders have taken profits following the U.S. approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. (Reporting by Harry Robertson in London and Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Jamie Freed and Susan Fenton) View comments

2024-01-19 09:49:05+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [6279]}

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UK Retail Sales Drop, Raising Odds of Mild Recession in 2023

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-recession-risk-grows-worst-073610780.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- UK retail sales fell at their fastest pace since Covid-19 lockdowns three years ago, adding to the risk the economy slid into a shallow recession to end 2023. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Blinken’s Return From Davos Was Delayed After Plane Broke Down Trump Moves to Quash Hopes of Congress Ukraine, Border Deal China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout Trump Asks Supreme Court to Keep Him on Colorado Ballot The volume of goods sold fell 3.2% in December, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday, as households did holiday shopping earlier in the season and bought less sports equipment, games, watches and jewelry in the days immediately before Christmas. That was the worst reading since January 2021, and well below the 0.5% drop economists had expected. Sales declined 0.9% in the fourth quarter as a whole and will drain 0.04 of a percentage point from gross domestic product. While retail sales make up only 5% of the nation’s output, the shortfall may be enough to tip the UK’s stagnant economy into a technical recession — or two consecutive quarters of negative growth — at the end of 2023. “The UK economy has been dealt another disappointment this week with retailers reporting a contraction in sales,” Jon Boland, general manager of the payment processing company Clover in the UK. “This decline in a key sector will be a cause for concern for those hoping the UK economy will avoid a recession.” The pound fell after the release, snapping a two-day winning streak, to trade 0.2% weaker at $1.2685. Investors added to bets on rate cuts, fully pricing in the first quarter-point reduction by June with at least three more to follow by the end of the year. What Bloomberg Economics Says ... “December’s UK retail sales collapse adds to evidence that the UK probably slipped into a technical recession at the end of last year. Consumer spending appears to have been hit hard by the unseasonably wet weather in December, as well as sales being brought forward to November for the Black Friday sales. The pressure on consumer spending is likely to ease this year as wage growth continues to surpass inflation.” Story continues —Niraj Shah, Bloomberg Economics. Click for the REACT. The slowdown is further evidence that the Bank of England’s efforts to rein in both a red-hot labor market and inflationary pressures have had their desired effect. Policymakers at the central bank are closely watching the data to gauge when they can bring interest rates down from their highest level in 16 years. Although a year-end recession looks more likely, several economists expect the situation to improve in 2024, as businesses and households benefit from rising wages, falling energy prices and declining borrowing costs. Bloomberg Economics is forecasting the UK economy to pick up from the spring, with a 0.2% GDP gain in each of the final three quarters of this year. There’s also the potential for an upward adjustment to the ONS’s initial estimates of retail sales in December. The previous month’s figure was revised up a 10th of a point to show a 1.4% jump in sales, reflecting early Black Friday discounting. “The odds of an upward revision seem high,” said Martin Beck, an economist at EY Item Club, which uses the Treasury’s forecasting model. “In volume terms, December’s fall was more than twice as big as the previous month’s rise, which seems unlikely, even allowing for Black Friday distortions.” Retailers blamed slow sales in the last weeks of the year on cost-of-living pressures and low footfall levels. December was hurt by unusually wet weather. Overall, it’s the second consecutive year for a drop in retail sales as a whole, which slid 2.8% in 2023 to the lowest level since 2018. “Food stores performed very poorly, with their steepest fall since May 2021 as early Christmas shopping led to slow December sales,” said Heather Bovill, deputy director for surveys and economic indicators at the ONS. “Department stores, clothing shops and household goods retailers reported sluggish sales too as consumers spent less on Christmas gifts.” Excluding auto fuel, sales fell 3.3% in December, also the biggest drop since January 2021. The UK figures mark a contrast with the situation in the US, where shoppers splashed on clothes and cars over Christmas, pushing up US retail sales growth above upbeat forecasts. Surveys have pointed to weakness for retailers. The British Retail Consortium said its measure of sales grew just 1.7% from a year ago in December. Credit card data from Barclays showed spending growth halved in December compared to the same period in 2022, suggesting shoppers cut back on gifts and big-ticket purchases over Christmas. Household retailer DFS Furniture Plc lowered its revenue guidance on Friday after sales were hit by weak demand, especially in September and early October. The company, known for its wide range of sofas, kept profit expectations steady due to cost cuts, despite “tough trading conditions.” “Electricals and Furniture performed weaker than hoped, and even food saw smaller growth as many households traded down to cheaper brands,” said Kris Hamer, director of insight at the British Retail Consortium. “However, with inflation on a downward trend, and wages slowly rising, retailers hope that consumer confidence and sales volumes will bounce back in 2024.” The chief executive officer of UK electronics retailer Currys Plc said retailers are facing mounting pressures, warning that a minimum-wage rise and tax increases coming into place in April will fuel inflation. “While we’ve unfortunately seen a rise in inflation this month food inflation has continued to come down, but until personal finances improve and confidence returns retailers will have to navigate a challenging trading environment,” said Aled Patchett, head of retail and consumer goods at Lloyds Bank. --With assistance from Harumi Ichikura, Julian Harris, Andrew Atkinson and James Hirai. (Updates with comment and context from third paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Japan’s Market Roars Back to Life—With Old-Timers Leading the Way The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 09:51:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2902]}

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Korea Builder Shinsegae to Sell Debt as Liquidity Woes in Focus

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/korea-builder-shinsegae-sell-debt-095125009.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Korean builder Shinsegae Engineering & Construction Co. will raise 200 billion won ($149 million) from the sale of bonds as it seeks to shore up liquidity, just days after a competitor started debt restructuring. 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 $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day The company, part of a retail-focused conglomerate spun off by the Samsung Group, will sell the debt securities in a private placement. Financial institutions are set to buy 70% and a group company the remainder, according to a statement on Friday from the firm. Credit investors in South Korea are on high alert for signs of trouble after distressed builder Taeyoung Engineering & Construction Co. announced it couldn’t service its debts. That news rekindled memories of a default in 2022 by the developer of a Legoland theme park that sent short-term corporate borrowing costs to their highest in over a decade. Policymakers quickly moved to contain any contagion from the Taeyoung E&C fallout, pledging to step up a $66 billion program to stabilize markets if needed, with the country’s finance minister vowing authorities “will make every effort” to limit the spillover. At the heart of the nation’s property woes lie 134 trillion won worth of project finance loans, based on Bank of Korea data. These are typically shorter in maturity. Given the global rise in interest rates, in some cases they can be hard to refinance. Shares of the builder, which reported operating losses for four straight quarters, dropped 9.1%, their biggest slump since March 2021. Its local-currency note due in 2025 was little changed at 100.8% of par, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shinsegae Group was spun off from Samsung in 1997. Chair Lee Myung-hee is a daughter of the founder of the Samsung conglomerate. Among the builder’s projects is the Shinsegae Centum City department store in the southern city of Busan, billed as the world’s biggest. Story continues “We’ll monitor Shinsegae E&C’s liquidity at all times and actively consider various support measures, including group-level funding, if necessary,” parent Shinsegae Group said on its website. Shinsegae E&C’s interest coverage ratio — a measure of a company’s ability to pay its obligations — was the weakest among major builders in the country as of the third quarter of 2023, according to a Korea Investment & Securities report this week. MoneyToday reported the news earlier on Friday. --With assistance from Shinhye Kang. (Adds details 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.

2024-01-19 10:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [6797]}

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China’s Scrutiny of Shein IPO Plan Shows Regulator’s Reach Widening

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-scrutiny-shein-ipo-plan-100000446.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- When fast fashion giant Shein firmed up plans for a US initial public offering late last year, the online retailer hoped that it wouldn’t be subjected to regulatory review in China. 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 had several reasons to believe it could avoid the process: Though founded in China, Shein has never sold products in the country, and it moved its global headquarters to Singapore years ago. And while it has reams of personal user data that’s made its cheap trendy wares a rival to Amazon.com Inc. and Inditex SA’s Zara, the trove contains no information on Chinese shoppers — removing, in theory, a security risk that Beijing saw in Didi Global Inc.’s US IPO back in 2021 and prompted its subsequent delisting. Yet when the company approached the China Securities Regulatory Commission for clarity in November, the regulator was unequivocal. Shein would still need to undergo scrutiny under new rules that spell out the vetting required of companies ahead of an IPO outside China. The revelation casts a cloud over the debut of an estimated $90 billion company that could be the fifth-largest consumer company IPO of all time, and that many investors had been counting on to jump-start stalled Asian IPO train. It’s also revived fears that Beijing might once again tighten the screws on capital during an economic downturn, with uncertain implications for Chinese-founded firms with IPO aspirations such as ByteDance Ltd. This account, provided by people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly, underscores the difficulties facing global businesses of Chinese origins. Story continues Besides Shein, companies from Bytedance’s TikTok Inc. to PDD Holdings Inc.’s Temu have taken great pains to distance themselves from their roots in hope of avoiding getting caught in the geopolitical crossfire between Beijing and western governments, as well as intensifying scrutiny in China that risks throwing a wrench into any overseas IPO plans. But Shein’s experience shows the long reach of Chinese regulators. “Shein has a lot of manufacturing, suppliers and partnerships in China, so even if they say that their headquarters are outside of China, a lot of their operations are within the country,” said Tiffany Wong, a consultant on China’s cyberspace and data governance at Albright Stonebridge Group. The Cyberspace Administration of China is now looking into Shein’s data handling and sharing practices as part of the regulatory clearance the company needs to get to list in New York, the people said. The Wall Street Journal reported the CAC review earlier this week. The review of Shein could take months to complete, risking a delay to the IPO, according to legal experts. Meanwhile, lawmakers in the US have urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to halt the IPO until it verifies the company doesn’t use forced labor in its supply chain. The CAC and the CSRC didn’t respond to faxes seeking comment. A Shein spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment. More Scrutiny Beijing tightened scrutiny over data security among companies seeking to list overseas after ride-hailing giant Didi pushed ahead with a US listing in 2021 despite regulators’ request it should be delayed because of security concerns. Two days after its $4.4 billion IPO, internet watchdog CAC started a cybersecurity review of the firm which culminated in a more than $1 billion fine for violating laws that endangered national security. It delisted in 2022. In early 2022, new rules issued by CAC and government agencies that oversee everything from state security to financial markets mandated a review of companies that hold the personal data of more than 1 million users before they apply to list overseas. And rules released by the CSRC in February 2023 maintained the regulator will value what it calls substance over form when assessing whether an overseas listing merits review. Shein’s experience, despite shifting its headquarters to Singapore from Nanjing in 2021 and opening manufacturing hubs in South America, may also act as a warning to other tech and e-commerce firms. TikTok and Temu — both immensely popular in Western countries — will likely find a review unavoidable if they want to sell their shares outside China. “Even with all the PR work and attempts to set up shop outside of China, you have to think about how the Chinese government thinks about it,” said Wong from Albright Stonebridge. “If you think about how the entire chain of data flows within the company, there is still a connection to China.” Procedural Review While the review of Shein looks entirely normal, the sudden intervention of the data and market regulators recalls one of the most dramatic IPO clampdowns in Chinese corporate history, when an investigation into Didi ended up forcing a national champion off US bourses and shackled the company’s business in a sort of regulatory limbo that it’s yet to escape fully today. Still, the scrutiny won’t necessarily derail the company’s IPO plan and it could be largely procedural, said Tom Nunlist, a senior analyst at the Beijing-based consultancy Trivium. The review also doesn’t indicate Shein is being targeted, particularly since the CAC has been under pressure in recent months to relax its cross-border data restrictions, he added. China proposed relaxing its strict rules for outbound data flows last September, as foreign businesses raise concerns about the difficult and lengthy process to obtain a security assessment. The data laws have sparked widespread anxiety for multinationals, even forcing some of the world’s biggest financial firms to ring-fence their China operations. With the country now trying to woo back foreign investors amid a slowing economy, authorities may show a more supportive stance toward Shein’s IPO than they might have in the days of the Didi crackdown, when data security concerns gripped Beijing. “Unlike Didi’s case, Shein is a fast-fashion company and its data is not super sensitive,” You Chuanman, an expert in data at the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen. “Shein’s data is mostly corporate and supply-chain data since its business is targeting overseas users, so while they are required to go through this security assessment process, it is just part of the new regulatory procedure.” 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.

2024-01-19 10:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2914]}

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Biden Cancels $5 Billion in Student Debt in Latest Relief Step

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/biden-cancels-5-billion-student-100000737.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden is forgiving nearly $5 billion in additional student debt as the administration seeks to deliver on one of his signature initiatives with high stakes for his 2024 reelection campaign. 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 $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Almost 74,000 student loan borrowers will see debt canceled as a result of administrative changes by the US Education Department in the latest round of relief. Those affected include borrowers enrolled in the government’s income-driven repayment and public-service loan forgiveness programs. Each program requires at least a decade of payment or service to be eligible for relief. Mismanaged federal student-loan plans have left some borrowers without promised relief after making payments for as long as 25 years. “My administration is able to deliver relief to these borrowers – and millions more – because of fixes we made to broken student loan programs that were preventing borrowers from getting relief they were entitled to under the law,” Biden said in a statement Friday. Of those receiving assistance, 43,900 borrowers are public servants and 29,700 are enrolled in income-driven repayment plans. The effort comes as Biden faces pressure from civil rights group, labor unions and advocates for borrowers to expand the scope of a new student debt relief plan after the president’s earlier $400 billion initiative was struck down by the US Supreme Court. The replacement plan is slated to be much narrower than that original plan that would have forgiven as much as $20,000 in student loans for an estimated 40 million Americans. Read More: Civil Rights, Labor Groups Push Biden on Student Debt Relief Nearly 70 groups, including the AFL-CIO and NAACP, asked Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in a letter Thursday to hold another session in the rulemaking process and to include targeted relief for borrowers who have experienced hardship. The goal is to allow more young people, people of color and low-income borrowers to be eligible for relief. Polls show Biden’s support has weakened among Black, Hispanic and young voters who will be crucial to helping him secure a second term. Since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has made amendments to existing federal programs to further provide relief. Story continues The Education Department has incrementally unveiled $136 billion in student-debt cancellation for more than 3 million Americans, including for borrowers who were misled or defrauded by schools. 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

2024-01-19 10:00:01+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5407]}

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Emerging-Market Money Manager Beats 99% of Peers by Ignoring Fed

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/emerging-market-money-manager-beats-100001487.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- An emerging-market money manager who is outperforming 99% of his peers says equity investors can make money in 2024 whether the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates or not, by focusing on countries undergoing economic transformations. 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 $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Montreal-based Fiera Capital Corp. has handed holders of its EM Select Fund a 29% return in the past 12 months, beating all but 12 of the 4,383 funds in its group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Dominic Bokor-Ingram, who co-manages the fund with Stefan Bottcher, said the gains are coming from buying shares in under-owned markets such as Greece, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam, where policy changes are driving makeovers independent of global monetary conditions. While Fed rate cuts would create a supportive environment for general risk-taking and spur capital flows into emerging markets, their absence won’t arrest rallies driven by such local turnaround stories, Bokor-Ingram said. He sees the key as looking beyond markets heavily weighted in MSCI Inc.’s benchmarks — such as China and India — and so reducing the correlation with index-related flows. “Our strategy is very insensitive on a relative basis to Fed policy,” he said. “The overriding factor is domestic reforms and how they play out. For instance, if Vietnam gets MSCI emerging-market status or Greece grows its tourism because of reforms, then the Fed doesn’t matter as much.” The Fiera Oaks EM Select Fund advanced nearly five times as much as the MSCI Emerging Markets Index’s 7% gain in 2023. This year, the fund is already up even as the benchmark gauge has fallen more than 5% for the worst start to a year since 2016. Story continues Turnaround Stories Countries resetting their economic policies are continuing to do well in 2024, defying a broader selloff led by China’s slowdown and doubts over the timing of Fed easing. Bokor-Ingram named three countries as his surest bets: Vietnam, Greece and Saudi Arabia — all implementing reforms and under-owned by international investors. Vietnam, considered a frontier investment, has eyed a promotion to emerging-market status at MSCI and FTSE Russell indexes for years. While progress has been slow, economic and market-structure reforms such as an equity index overhaul may bring it closer to earning an upgrade. Improving stock trading volumes signal greater domestic retail participation and could support an eventual move, Bokor-Ingram said. The country’s equity benchmark has risen 4.6% this year after a 12% rally in 2023. Greece’s structural reforms under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis have won praise from global investors and the International Monetary Fund. Greek bonds will join elite indexes in 2024 after upgrades by Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings last year, helping draw funds from the trillions of dollars focused on investment-grade debt. The nation’s stocks, while still classed as an emerging market, surged nearly 40% last year. Saudi Arabia’s non-oil economic activity continues to expand, with investments planned in the semiconductor and space industries this year, following moves into electric carmaking, sports and tech startups. That’s spilling over into other countries in the region, such as the United Arab Emirates, Bokor-Ingram said. Meanwhile, an end to the Russia-Ukraine war may also boost the allure of eastern European stocks, he said. Other countries now on Bokor-Ingram’s radar include Argentina and Turkey. Argentina’s Merval Index is up 20% in dollar terms this year as investors bet Javier Milei’s incoming government will rein in spending and deregulate the economy on the path toward fiscal sustainability. Bokor-Ingram said Fiera might consider investing in the country’s stocks this year, after a gap of six years, if the new president does make headway with reforms. “The problem is, for Argentina to start to grow again, the population has to become poorer first and the wage-hike spiral has to end,” he said. “Whether the new administration of Milei has enough follow-through is something we are watching closely.” Fiera is also beginning to look at Turkish companies again, as Ankara pursues economic orthodoxy in a reversal of years of ultra-loose monetary policy. The country has “major macro headwinds” and its foreign-exchange reserves are poor, but the policy shift has brightened the country’s outlook, he said. Fiera’s selective strategy also includes a list of markets to avoid in 2024. Top on the list are Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Bokor-Ingram’s reasons: Conflict along the Red Sea shipping route could cut Egypt’s GDP; Nigeria’s reforms have stalled and inflation remains stubborn; Kenya’s debt problem is much worse than expected because of public-sector losses; and Pakistan faces balance-sheet stress because of a “circular debt” problem arising from unpaid energy subsidies. “We don’t like countries that create an existential risk to our capital,” Bokor-Ingram 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.

2024-01-19 10:01:18+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2181]}

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El-Erian Says Markets Have Overpriced Speed, Depth of Fed Cuts

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/el-erian-says-markets-overpriced-100118745.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Markets are overpricing the pace and amount of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts as they are overlooking stubbornly high inflation, according to economist Mohamed El-Erian. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Stocks Power Ahead With S&P 500 Set for a Record: Markets Wrap “I do think that we get to the pivot, but relative to what the market expects, it won’t be as fast or as deep,” said El-Erian, president of Queens’ College, Cambridge, and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we start later, probably the beginning of the summer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up the year with cuts that are closer to what the Fed has signaled, which is 75 basis points as opposed to what the market has priced in,” El-Erian said. Traders are currently pricing in about 140 basis points of easing this year, down from a recent peak of about 175 basis points, after Fed Governor Christopher Waller this week pushed back against aggressive rate cuts and US retail-sales data beat forecasts. Markets are underestimating service-sector inflation, which is still running higher than goods’ inflation and will need to come down much faster, El-Erian said at a UBS Global Wealth Management conference in Hong Kong. A change in the Fed’s price mandates may damage its credibility, “if you’re a central bank that’s made multiple policy mistakes in the past few years, the last thing you want to do is give the impression that you’re going to change your target, so don’t expect any change in the inflation target,” he said. Treasury 10-year yields may end the year closer to 4.5% than 3.5%, El-Erian said in response to a question at the conference, while US GDP growth could come in about 1%-to-2% as the economy normalizes from the previous year’s pandemic savings boost. 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.

2024-01-19 10:03:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2585]}

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Red Sea Dangers Delay Saudi and Iraqi Oil Export as Ships Divert

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/red-sea-dangers-delay-saudi-100334187.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Oil deliveries from Saudi Arabia and Iraq totaling almost 9 million barrels are delayed as tankers switch routes to travel the longer way around Africa, rather than transiting the Red Sea. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Stocks Power Ahead With S&P 500 Set for a Record: Markets Wrap Ships that loaded crude oil and refined products this month from Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura and Jubail ports, and Iraq’s Basra have changed course, sailing away from the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the entrance to the southern Red Sea, according to ship-tracking data on Bloomberg. Most diverted on or after Jan. 12, when US and UK forces hit the Houthis in Yemen with airstrikes and the militants said they’d step up attacks in response. The diverted vessels are heading toward Africa. That’s a longer voyage from the Middle East to refiners and consumers in Europe. The detour can add more than two weeks’ sailing time when compared with the trip from the Persian Gulf through the Red Sea and Suez Canal. The diversions and delays highlight the chaos in the shipping industry that’s spilling over into the wider economy and raising the risk of inflation as flows of food and other goods get disrupted. Heads of the biggest carriers expect the threat to remain for months even as the US continues to target the Houthis in an effort to deter attacks. Read: Red Sea Shipping Chaos Worsens as US Strikes Broaden Crisis While oil tankers don’t appear to have been purposely targeted so far, many vessel owners want to avoid the risk. The Middle East, which produces about a third of the world’s crude, ships most of it to Asia and those supplies aren’t affected. Crude prices in London are below $80 a barrel. But sales to Europe have become more important after the continent largely cut off imports of Russian energy. Rerouting tankers adds transit costs and delays can create inefficiencies in the market. At least two vessels carrying nearly 3 million barrels of Saudi crude and refined products are likely to be delayed after loading in the Persian Gulf this month. Another five tankers with as much as 6 million barrels of crude from Iraq have also diverted away from the Red Sea. --With assistance from Alex Longley. 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

2024-01-19 10:05:05+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1917]}

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Franklin Sees Value in India Lenders Amid $26 Billion Stock Rout

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/franklin-sees-value-india-lenders-100505169.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- A $26 billion rout in India’s lenders hasn’t dimmed their allure for Franklin Templeton, which is betting on growth potential in the sector. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Stocks Power Ahead With S&P 500 Set for a Record: Markets Wrap “Banks continue to remain a very key holding for us,” Sukumar Rajah, director of portfolio management at Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Equity, said in an interview Thursday. “There is more than adequate valuation comfort for these banks now.” HDFC Bank Ltd. tumbled this week following third-quarter earnings that disappointed investors on liquidity and deposit metrics, despite net income beating estimates. The selloff in the country’s biggest private sector lender has raised concerns about peers such as ICICI Bank Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd., due to announce earnings on Jan. 20. For HDFC Bank, “the real issue is that the expectations set on how much of retail deposits they were going to accrue was higher than what they achieved,” said Rajah, who is managing $4 billion in assets. “This is more of an expectation-setting failure than an operational one.” Nearly 19% of Franklin Templeton’s India Fund, which beat 85% of peers last year, is bank stocks including ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, individually making up 7% and 6.7% of the portfolio, respectively, according to data on its website as of Dec. 31. “It’s very exciting time for the country. There are a lot of new growth drivers,” said Rajah. “We are substantially overweight and will continue to be overweight on India.” 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.

2024-01-19 10:15:09+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2743]}

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BofA’s Hartnett Says Growth, AI Stocks Are Favorites Again

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bofa-hartnett-says-growth-ai-101509857.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The stocks that led the rally in 2023 are again traders’ top picks, defying broader outflows, according to Bank of America Corp. strategists. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Stocks Power Ahead With S&P 500 Set for a Record: Markets Wrap Investors are reverting to owning growth, technology, the “AI bubble” and the so-called Magnificent Seven group of stocks including Apple Inc. as the 10-year Treasury yield settles in a range of 3.75% to 4.25%, a team led by Michael Hartnett wrote in a note. This same group of equities led the Nasdaq 100 index’s 54% rally last year amid expectations of upcoming rate cuts, a solid economy and optimism about artificial intelligence developments. So far in January, Nvidia Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. — all part of the Magnificent Seven — are the biggest point gainers on the tech-heavy gauge, which hit a record Thursday. While US stocks saw redemptions at $4.3 billion in the week through Jan. 17, technology stock funds saw the biggest two-week inflow since August at $4 billion, the strategists said, citing EPFR Global data. Meanwhile, Hartnett said the new Treasury yield range implies investors will resume avoiding banks, REITs, small-caps and leverage. These trends will continue until the range breaks. The strategist — who was negative on stocks last year even as they rallied — expects the market to continue being dependent on the path of Federal Reserve policy. Investor sentiment is “bullishly skating to where the puck is going,” and in this case, it’s toward a lower Fed funds rate. Treasuries and the dollar were little changed Friday after frantic repricing earlier in the week of the outlook for Fed policy after doubts over the timing of potential interest rate cuts this year. Story continues Looking globally, Hartnett said the Nikkei 225 benchmark stock index is a beneficiary of traders looking to pour money anywhere but China, especially as investors are still structurally underweight on Japanese stocks. The nation’s stock funds saw the largest inflow in 12 weeks in the week through Jan. 17, the BofA strategists said, citing EPFR Global data. Read more: HSBC, SocGen Take Contrarian View of Japan’s Blistering Market Elsewhere, European equity funds had outflows of $1 billion. Investors poured $14.1 billion into bond funds. --With assistance from Jan-Patrick Barnert. 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.

2024-01-19 10:30:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1212, 1231]}

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Trump says a U.S. digital currency would be ‘tyranny.’ The Biden administration hasn’t mentioned CBDCs since September 2022

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-u-digital-currency-103000716.html

Fortune

http://fortune.com/

During a campaign stop in New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump vowed to block the creation of a U.S. Central Bank Digital Currency, calling it “a dangerous threat to freedom.” Trump’s remarks fall in line with arguments Republicans have used in Florida, North Carolina, and, most recently, in Congress . Democrats, including President Joe Biden, largely have been more open to the possibility that the Federal Reserve create a digital version of the dollar. “Tonight, I’m also making another promise to protect Americans from government tyranny. As your president, I will never allow the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency,” said Trump, who's reportedly made millions of dollars from NFT sales . CBDCs are the digital versions of the fiat money, in this case the dollar, but exchanged via blockchains. Proponents of a U.S. CBDC argue that a digital dollar could be exchanged securely and less subject to the volatility often seen throughout the crypto ecosystem. JUST IN: 🇺🇸 Donald Trump says "As your president, I will never allow the creation of a Central Bank Digital Currency. Such a currency would give our federal government absolute control over your money." pic.twitter.com/lSE2AGYgOm — Bitcoin Magazine (@BitcoinMagazine) January 18, 2024 While Democrats have talked about the benefits of creating a digital dollar, there has been little concrete movement in that direction. In September 2022, Biden released a framework in which he asked the Federal Reserve to explore the creation of a CBDC after signing an executive order in March . But the White House hasn't said much since then. Furthermore, during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in March 2023 , Fed Chair Jerome Powell said a U.S. digital currency was far from becoming a reality. Story continues “What we’re doing is experimenting in kind of early stage experimentation. How would this work? Does it work? What’s the best technology? What’s the most efficient?” Powell said. CBDCs aren't the only option when it comes to fiat-backed digital currency. Another option is stablecoins, which can be created by private entities, for example USDC , which was launched by Coinbase in collaboration with Circle. Fiat-backed stablecoins, unlike those supported by algorithms , require traditional banking system reserves. “A United States CBDC may have the potential to support efficient and low-cost transactions, particularly for cross‑border funds transfers and payments,” Biden said in his March 2022 order. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

2024-01-19 10:34:10+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [609, 740, 1115]}

{}

BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF first to hit $1 billion in assets

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/blackrocks-spot-bitcoin-etf-first-103410586.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

(Reuters) — BlackRock's spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) hit $1 billion in assets in the first four days of trading, the first to clinch the milestone among a batch of newly launched ETFs tracking spot bitcoin prices, J.P.Morgan data showed. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved nearly a dozen ETFs tracking the world's largest cryptocurrency last week, after years of regulatory pushback. Since the launch, BlackRock and Fidelity have pulled the lion's share of inflows as lower fees and name recognition appear to be key factors in drawing investors so far. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin ETF accumulated $1.07 billion in assets under management as of Jan. 17, followed by $874.6 million by Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF, J.P.Morgan data showed. Samara Cohen, CIO of ETF and Index Investments at BlackRock, rings the Nasdaq opening bell as spot bitcoin ETF's are launched on January 11.(Stephanie Keith/Getty Images) (Stephanie Keith via Getty Images) The nine newly launched ETFs have drawn $2.90 billion in investment flows in the first four days of trading. However, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which was converted from a closed-end fund to an ETF, charges the steepest fee compared to the newly launched ETFs and has witnessed $1.62 billion in outflows in the first four days. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar) View comments

2024-01-19 10:45:19+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2621]}

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Atlantic Storm to Push German Wind Power to Record Next Week

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/atlantic-storm-push-german-wind-081053564.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- German wind power output is forecast to hit a record high as a storm sweeps across northern Europe early next week. Most Read from Bloomberg YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Stocks Power Ahead With S&P 500 Set for a Record: Markets Wrap Production from thousands of turbines in the nation is set to peak at 57,949 megawatts at 11 a.m. on Monday, according to a Bloomberg model. The current record of 53,022 megawatts was reached just before Christmas. Wind is Germany’s biggest source of green energy, combining with solar to account for more than half of the country’s total power supplies for the first time last year. The prospect of a jump in wind-power generation helped to damp natural gas prices earlier this week. Germany’s national weather service expects stormy gusts across north, west and central parts overnight into Monday, with particularly heavy squalls in the North Sea and near mountain peaks. Strong winds and occasional hurricane-like gusts will ease from Wednesday. Wind speeds are also increasing across the UK, with the Met Office issuing weather warnings for parts of the country, including London, during Sunday evening and Monday morning. Storm Isha will bring gusts as strong as 80 miles (129 kilometers) per hour near some coasts, it said. “Disruption to travel and utilities is likely,” according to the Met Office. Britain also set a wind-generation record last month, sending output from gas-fired plants to their lowest in almost four years. High levels of wind power are also expected in the Nordic region, with forecasts as high as 22,000 megawatts. That will peak on Monday when the low pressure weather pattern is at its most intense, utility Bixia AB said in a report. In the meantime, yellow alerts for snow and ice are still in place for northern and western parts of the UK, threatening further disruption on Friday. The arrival of storm Isha will also bring much milder temperatures across the region. London will reach 13C on Tuesday, matching the forecast for Rome, while Paris will climb to 14C, according to Maxar Technologies Inc. Parts of the Mediterranean will be even warmer, with Madrid hitting 18C on Wednesday. --With assistance from Carolynn Look. (Updates with UK’s Met Office comments from fifth 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

2024-01-19 10:47:13+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3003]}

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New Foreign Investment Into China Drops to Three-Year Low

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/foreign-investment-china-drops-lowest-091032544.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- New foreign direct investment into China fell last year to the lowest level in the three years, as companies in Hong Kong and overseas became less willing to put new money into the mainland. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 S&P 500 Hits All-Time High in Historic Bull Run: Markets Wrap New actually utilized foreign investment in 2023 was 1.1 trillion yuan ($153 billion), according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Friday. That was 8% lower than in 2022, which was the highest on record in comparable data going back to 2014. The ministry declared last year to be “the year of investing in China.” But the slowing economy and falling financial markets, a weak rebound from Covid, a series of investigations on foreign firms, and the arrest of a Japanese executive all combined to dampen companies’ willingness to put more money into the country. Earlier this year, the ministry came out with 24 specific reforms to encourage more foreign investment, but only small actions have been taken so far. Beijing has started allowing people from 11 countries to enter visa-free as it seeks to boost investment and inbound tourism, which was decimated during Covid and hasn’t recovered since. Japan is an example of a major foreign investor that has pulled back from China. A survey of more than 1,700 Japanese firms in the country found that most of them have either cut or maintained investments last year. A majority of them don’t have a positive outlook for 2024. Factors compelling them to freeze or cut investment varied. Some in the survey cited over-investment and concerns demand won’t recover, while others said they were worried about decoupling, China’s anti-spy law and data export rules. Read more: Most Japanese Firms Don’t See China’s Economy Improving in 2024 For US companies, calculating the potential upside for investing in China has become more complicated, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon. Potential investors have to be “a little worried” because “the risk-reward has changed dramatically,” he said this week in a CNBC interview from the World Economic Forum in Davos. A high-level delegation of Japanese business leaders will visit Beijing next week, where they will meet with officials from China’s Ministry of Commerce and the National Development and Reform Commission. They may push for the restart of visa-free entry to China — cited in the survey as a top concern and a factor costing Japanese firms the opportunity to expand business in China. Story continues --With assistance from Colum Murphy. (Updates with additional details 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. View comments

2024-01-19 10:53:57+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2894]}

{}

Chinese Bad Banks Downgraded by Moody’s as Huarong Cut to Junk

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-bad-debt-manager-huarong-082428947.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- China’s largest bad-debt managers suffered Moody’s Investors Service’s rating downgrades that cut China Huarong Asset Management Co. to junk status, over concerns about the property crisis. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 S&P 500 Hits All-Time High in Historic Bull Run: Markets Wrap Huarong AMC’s long-term rating was reduced one notch to Ba1. Three other peers - China Great Wall Asset Management Co., China Orient Asset Management Co., China Cinda Asset Management Co. - also had their ratings cut Friday by one to two notches. Moody’s action is the latest alarm sounded over the property sector ills’ spillover across the economy, despite Beijing’s pledges for support policies. It also resembles a sector-wide downgrade by Fitch Ratings earlier this year, when the ratings firm cited concern over bad-debt managers’ financial conditions. Three of the companies cited by Moody’s — Huarong, Cinda and Orient Asset — also were put on negative outlook. Their asset quality and profitability will remain under pressure due to “the persistent strain on China’s property market and slowing economic growth,” Moody’s said. In early 2023, Chinese financial regulators tapped some bad-debt managers, including Huarong and Cinda, to offer possible lifelines for the ailing property sector. Meanwhile, some of the companies already have had significant real estate-sector exposure that have hurt their bottom line. Huarong — whose former chairman was executed in 2021 after being convicted of taking nearly $250 million of bribes — was the most aggressive in the industry in expanding beyond its early mandates. Last year, Moody’s lowered the rating for Huarong’s offshore financing vehicles’ senior unsecured debt to a junk rating. Huarong still has an investment-grade rating with Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings. Story continues Huarong AMC’s asset quality will continue to be strained by its exposure to property developers via its acquisition-and-restructuring distressed asset management business, Moody’s said Friday. The asset manager will likely maintain a large amount of credit lines from commercial banks over the next 12 to 18 months, Moody’s said. Huarong is one of the four state-controlled entities set up by China’s government in 1999 to help clean up a banking system riddled with bad debt. But the quartet later expanded beyond their original mandate, creating a labyrinth of subsidiaries to engage in other financial businesses and borrow billions from the bond market. (Updates 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.

2024-01-19 11:00:28+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1006, 4051, 6688]}

{}

Best Short Call of 2023 Belongs to Amateur ‘Dirty Bubble’ Sleuth

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/best-short-call-2023-belongs-110028406.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The best short call of 2023 wasn’t made by a ruthless hedge fund, a well-known activist firm, or any of the liveliest voices on the sell side. It was made by a first-year medical resident running a blog named after a SpongeBob SquarePants character. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 S&P 500 Hits All-Time High in Historic Bull Run: Markets Wrap James Block is a physician at one of America’s top hospitals, but between shifts he moonlights as an amateur financial sleuth and writer. His personal mission: expose the cryptocurrency market for being what he describes as “a semi-decentralized pyramid scheme.” Plenty would dispute that characterization, and his quest looks increasingly like an uphill battle following the US approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs this month. Yet the 31-year-old hobbyist has won notable victories — including last year’s best bearish call. Block (no relation to famous short seller Carson Block) stumbled onto Signature Bank during his investigations in the crypto world. The regional lender was doing big business with companies in the industry, working with multiple characters he considered suspect and with huge exposure to questionable digital assets. “I saw just how careless they were being with who they were doing business with, with the amount of money that they were holding, the amount of uninsured deposits they had,” Block says from his home office near Ann Arbor, Michigan. That spurred him to publish a damning critique of Signature on his blog, Dirty Bubble Media, on Jan. 10, 2023. A little over two months later the lender was shut down, becoming at the time the third-largest bank failure in US history. Signature’s demise came amid a broader US banking crisis that began with a run on Silicon Valley Bank, and given the worries surrounding the industry it’s unlikely Block was the only person to spot trouble brewing. But he was one of the few to publish concerns focused on Signature specifically, and the subsequent 100% wipeout in its shares made Dirty Bubble’s bearish call the best of the year, according to Breakout Point, an analytics firm that tracks short-selling campaigns. That puts Block atop a list that includes the likes of Nate Anderson’s Hindenburg Research and Fraser Perring’s Viceroy Research. FTX Takedown With a subscriber base of about 20,000, the Dirty Bubble Media blog has little of the clout enjoyed by more famous short sellers, who can often send a stock spiraling the instant they publish research. But Block’s one-man campaign to “destroy these frauds” in the digital asset space has attracted influential readers including hedge funds and even regulators, he says. Story continues Many of those were won after he helped expose fraud at Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange FTX and trading firm Alameda Research. The Dirty Bubble post “Is Alameda Research Insolvent?”, in which Block patiently explained the likely scam underway, was a viral hit in the days leading up to the collapse of both firms. The name Dirty Bubble was taken from one of the antagonists in the SpongeBob TV show. Block says he chose it because he knew he was destined to be a bad guy in the eyes of the crypto faithful, and he was right. They’ve accused him of everything from outright lies to working for Wall Street’s big banks in an effort to derail digital assets. (“If that’s true, I wish they would send me a check,” he says.) Exactly how correct he is about the legality and integrity of the digital-asset space is up for debate. While Bankman-Fried was convicted of one of the biggest-ever financial frauds following the fall of FTX and Alameda, and other high-profile crypto firms like Celsius Network have failed, advocates see these as inevitable growing pains for a nascent industry. In this view, the arrival of spot Bitcoin ETFs — so long delayed by financial watchdogs in part because of concerns about market manipulation — signals a growing regulatory acceptance and shift into the mainstream. Almost a dozen such products started trading earlier this month, with some $4.6 billion of shares changing hands in their first session — a huge level of activity for debut funds. ‘Pyramids and Ponzis’ Block says he started betting against Signature personally with “pocket change” in 2022 based on its exposure to crypto and his own view of the precariousness of the digital-asset ecosystem. Ultimately, the lender failed not directly because of its cryptocurrency deals but because panicked depositors began withdrawing billions following the demise of SVB and Silvergate Bank — two similarly crypto-friendly institutions. It’s impossible to say how many others spotted the growing risks. Plenty of professional short sellers never publicize their positions or research, and hedge funds typically don’t disclose their bets. Meanwhile, measuring each call by the calendar year can be a flawed process, since many can take months or years to play out. And gauging success by the share decline is imperfect, since in reality other factors would influence short selling returns, such as cost to borrow stock. Still, Block’s was the top call from 129 tracked by Breakout Point in 2023, the analytics firm said. Dirty Bubble was one of almost a dozen new short activists it counted last year. Other calls by Block have fared less well so far. In March, Dirty Bubble published a report describing Coinbase Global, Inc. as a “cash-burning regulatory nightmare.” In April, the blog explored problems underlying the business model of the Charles Schwab Corp. Though the shares of both companies are off to a miserable start in 2024, they’re up more than 85% and 20%, respectively, since the posts appeared. Block, now a second-year resident in psychiatry at the University of Michigan hospital, considers the collapse of the whole crypto edifice — what he views as little more than a collection of “pyramids and ponzis” — inevitable. In the meantime, faced with the current resurgence, he now views his role as chronicling the madness rather than curing it. “It sounds kind of depressing, but I recognize how impotent facts are in these kind of scenarios,” he says. “It really doesn’t matter what’s true and what’s not true to people. They only care about what will make them money.” --With assistance from Philip Lagerkranser and Chris Miller. 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

2024-01-19 11:15:00+00:00

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Spot Bitcoin ETF Gets Green Light: Is Ether Next?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spot-bitcoin-etf-gets-green-111500276.html

Motley Fool

http://www.fool.com/

The spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) obtained approval earlier this month. Now with Bitcoin being more accessible to the general public, investors are hopeful that the cryptocurrency can continue to build on the gains it has accumulated in recent months. And it may not be too long before another popular cryptocurrency follows in its footsteps. Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) may soon have its own spot ETF coming. A decision on Ethereum could come as early as May Now that the spot Bitcoin ETF has obtained approval, crypto enthusiasts turn to what may seem like an inevitability: The approval of a spot Ethereum ETF. Ethereum is the second most popular cryptocurrency with a market cap of $305 billion, which is less than half of Bitcoin's value of $843 billion. Multiple companies have made applications for a spot Ether ETF, including BlackRock and Ark. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to make a decision by May. Ethereum's value has been rising over the past year along with Bitcoin, as enthusiasm for greater acceptance of crypto is generally a good sign for both digital currencies. Investors were buying up Bitcoin in anticipation of an expected approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF, and the same may be happening with Ethereum as well, as its value has also been spiking in recent weeks. Bitcoin Price Chart Bitcoin Price data by YCharts Why approval may not come until much later While there is excitement that a spot Ethereum ETF may soon be available as well, not everyone is convinced that is a sure thing. According to TD Cowen, an approval is unlikely to happen by May. And it may not even happen until after the U.S. federal election. The rationale for this is that the investment bank believes that "the SEC will want to gain experience from Bitcoin" before it approves another token, whether it is for Ethereum or any other coin. Investors shouldn't be concerned Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two big names in crypto, and their trajectories have been fairly similar over the past year, as both have moved in similar directions. While Bitcoin has generated the stronger returns due to its recent approval, a spot Ethereum approval may not be too far away, either. Whether it happens in May or even next year, it would appear unlikely for regulators to only approve one of the major cryptocurrencies and no others. Story continues The SEC took its time (more than two years) in approving a spot Bitcoin ETF. So if it takes a bit of time in analyzing the rollout before approving the spot Ethereum ETF, that may not be all that surprising. What's important is that investors factor this into their expectations and not get their hopes up too high in May, in case the spot Ethereum ETF approval doesn't come through. Is now a good time to invest in Ethereum? If you're bullish on crypto, now may be a good time to add some exposure to Ethereum. Even if it takes a little longer than expected, approval of a spot Ethereum ETF looks highly probable. And with Ethereum's gains lagging behind Bitcoin over the past year, there could be more potential upside for the cryptocurrency once the approval takes place. There is the risk of volatility, as is always the case with any cryptocurrency, but with regulators taking a more positive view of digital currencies and approving a spot Bitcoin ETF, the outlook is as promising as ever for crypto. As long as you're OK with the risk that comes with it, now may be an optimal time to buy Ether. Should you invest $1,000 in Ethereum right now? Before you buy stock in Ethereum, 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 Ethereum 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 the S&P 500 since 2002*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of January 8, 2024 David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Ethereum. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy . Spot Bitcoin ETF Gets Green Light: Is Ether Next? was originally published by The Motley Fool

2024-01-19 11:45:49+00:00

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{}

Davos Sees Nothing Normal About the Global Economy for 2024

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/davos-sees-global-economy-settling-114549277.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The world is finding an uneasy equilibrium with a more benign economic backdrop overshadowed by a panoply of geopolitical risks, according to the final Davos panel of 2024. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix 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 The prospects of subsiding inflation and a pickup in global trade offer some encouragement for investors despite the backdrop of war and populism, European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde and peers agreed as the World Economic Forum drew to a close. “Normalization — that’s what we have begun to see,” she told the audience in the Swiss resort town, before adding an important qualifier. “It is not normality that we’re heading to,” she added. The six-member panel was charged with summarizing the mood in Davos after a week where participants tended to put a brave face on the global outlook, accentuating the likelihood that a deep recession will probably be avoided despite unprecedented monetary tightening to bring inflation under control. Such optimism has at times been undermined by the specter of geopolitics, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East looming large, and Red Sea tensions too. Donald Trump’s Iowa victory on Monday, setting him on the road to the Republican nomination, was also greeted with alarm by many attendees. “There’s so many uncertainties — and of course all the elections that we see around the world and what that may bring,” World Trade Organization Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala lamented. She shared Lagarde’s view that the world is “maybe moving towards normalization” while at the same time certainly “not normal.” The prospect of a second Trump presidency was cited frequently during the panel discussion chaired by Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua. Lagarde took a bullish stance, saying that “the best defense is attack” and pushing for strengthening Europe by creating “a real single market.” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner was more circumspect. Story continues “We are talking too much about Donald Trump in Europe,” he said, “Doing our homework is the best preparation for possible second term of Donald Trump, and this includes our capabilities to defend ourselves.” For David Rubenstein, Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder and co-chairman, the reality is that no matter who wins November’s election, the US faces political stasis, with all the risks that entails for the rest of the world. “Almost everything every candidate was saying will probably not be true about what will happen in the future, because they probably won’t be able to get done what they say they’re gonna get done,” said Rubenstein, who also presents a show on Bloomberg Television. One such worry there expressed frequently during the week was the fiscal backdrop in the US. Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam perhaps alluded to that when he said that “the most important and most neglected area of public policy is fiscal reform.” Rubenstein was specific about the challenges in the US. “If we don’t resolve this, something’s going to happen to the dollar,” he said. “If the United States can’t get its fiscal act together, at some point, people are going to do what they did to the British pound and the Dutch guilder years ago.” Earlier in the week, Deutsche Bank AG Chief Financial Officer James Von Moltke described a “‘pinch-me’ moment” because of his surprise at the resilience in economies and financial markets, while Harvard University Professor Ken Rogoff worried that “the geopolitical situation is like nothing I’ve seen in my professional lifetime.” Lindner chose to take the more positive slant. He described his own country as “a tired man after a short night” as opposed to the “sick man” label that has been recently reattached to it. He also was more upbeat on the world economy. “It is a new normal, which we have to be prepared for,” he said. “2023 has given me hope.” --With assistance from Swetha Gopinath, Michael Nienaber, Akshat Rathi, Aline Oyamada, Cagan Koc, Jana Randow, Iain Rogers, Sabah Meddings, Sridhar Natarajan, Viktoria Dendrinou, Bastian Benrath, Chris Reiter, Chiara Albanese and Alessandro Speciale. (Updates with Lindner in penultimate paragrph) 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.

2024-01-19 12:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [10961]}

{}

Global AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market Size To Exceed USD 251.39 Billion By 2032 | CAGR of 40.25%

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-ai-alaas-market-size-120000417.html

GlobeNewswire

https://www.globenewswire.com/

SPHERICAL INSIGHTS LLP The Global AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market Size was valued at USD 8.54 Billion in 2022 and the Worldwide AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market Size is expected to reach USD 251.39 Billion by 2032, according to a research report published by Spherical Insights & Consulting. Companies Covered: Amazon Web Services, Inc., RainBird Technologies, SiftScience, Microsoft, BigML, Inc., Google LLC, SAP SE, Siemens, DataBricks, Salesforce, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, Intel Corporation, Fair Isaac Corporation and Other Key Vendors. New York, United States, Jan. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market Size is To Grow from USD 8.54 Billion in 2022 to USD 251.39 Billion by 2032, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 40.25% during the projected period. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/request-sample/3032 AI as a Service (AaaS) is a cloud-based service that offers artificial intelligence (AI) outsourced services. AIaaS (Artificial Intelligence as a Service) is a third-party provider of artificial intelligence (AI) outsourcing. It allows individuals and organisations to investigate various avenues for various purposes without a large initial investment and involves risk. AI bots also aid in financial planning, the detection of fraud and cybercrime, the improvement of bureaucratic efficiency, and the delivery of a personalised experience. Artificial intelligence adoption is being driven by rising demand for automation and analytics solutions in industries such as automotive and transportation, manufacturing, government, BFSI, healthcare, information technology and telecommunications, and others. Companies are focusing their efforts on the implementation of artificial intelligence technology. Furthermore, among the complex tasks that artificial intelligence can perform is the analysis of medical data to help doctors make faster and more accurate decisions about medical treatments. Furthermore, AIaaS platforms are scalable and flexible, allowing businesses to access AI resources as needed. By utilising AIaaS services, businesses can easily scale up their AI capabilities as the demand for predictive and analytics solutions grows. This adaptability enables organisations to respond to changing business requirements without making large upfront investments in infrastructure and expertise; these factors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. Story continues Browse key industry insights spread across 200 pages with 110 market data tables and figures & charts from the report on the " Global AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market Size, Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Cloud (Public, Private, Hybrid), By Technology (Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Context Awareness, Computer Vision, Others), By Component (Software, Services), By End-user (Automotive & Transportation, Manufacturing, Government, BFSI, Healthcare, IT & Telecom, Others), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa), Analysis and Forecast 2022 – 2032." Buy Now Full Report: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/checkout/3032 The public segment dominates the market with the largest revenue share over the forecast period Based on the cloud, the global AI as a service (AlaaS) market is segmented into public, private, and hybrid. Among these, the public segment is dominating the market with the largest revenue share over the forecast period. Public cloud providers offer a wide range of services, including machine learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, that businesses can use to build, train, and deploy AI models. Cost-effectiveness, scalability, and availability are some of the benefits of public cloud AIaaS solutions. Pay-as-you-go models are commonly used by public cloud providers, allowing businesses to only pay for the services they use. Because public cloud platforms are infinitely scalable, businesses can quickly scale up or down their AI workloads based on demand. The computer vision segment is witnessing significant CAGR growth over the forecast period. On the basis of technology, the global AI as a service (AlaaS) market is segmented into machine learning, natural language processing, context awareness, computer vision, others. Among these, the computer vision segment is witnessing significant growth over the forecast period. By utilising computer vision in AIaaS, businesses can gain valuable insights from visual data, improve operations, and improve the customer experience. It allows businesses to analyse large amounts of visual data in real time, allowing them to make better, more informed decisions. The software segment is expected to hold the largest share of the global AI as a service (AlaaS) market during the forecast period. Based on component, the global AI as a service (AlaaS) market is classified into software and services. Among these, the software segment is expected to hold the largest share of the AI as a service (AlaaS) market during the forecast period. By revealing hidden patterns in data and datasets, software tools play an important role in predicting outcomes from massive amounts of data. Furthermore, software tools aid in the development of various company strategies as well as the decision-making process for critical business decisions. The software learns in real time as it speaks, hears, sees, and moves, allowing it to draw conclusions, which is an important aspect of authentic thinking. Without prior knowledge, Sallie can distinguish objects with her eyesight, construct an internal model, ask questions, and follow instructions. The BFSI segment accounted for the largest revenue share over the forecast period. On the basis of application, the global AI as a service (AlaaS) market is segmented into automotive & transportation, manufacturing, government, BFSI, healthcare, it & telecom and others. Among these, the BFSI segment dominates the market with the largest revenue share over the forecast period. Artificial intelligence is primarily used in the BFSI sector for fraud detection, client suggestion, algorithmic trading, and chatbots. Banks are experimenting with chatbots, which are expected to encourage other financial institutions to invest in similar technologies. In finance, artificial intelligence can be useful in assessing real-time activity in any setting. It provides precise predictions and forecasts based on a wide range of variables, which is critical for business planning. Inquire Before Buying This Research Report: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/3032 North America dominates the market with the largest market share over the forecast period. North America dominates the market with the largest market share over the forecast period. The growth of AI as a service can be attributed to technological advancements and increasing acceptance of digital technology. The region is one of the most important cognitive computing markets, with numerous large industries and IT infrastructure, government data security regulations, and cloud application and security information services all helping to drive market growth. Furthermore, with numerous educational institutions and research centres in the region conducting cutting-edge AI research, North America has been at the forefront of AI innovation. As a result, new AI technologies and applications have been developed, propelling the AI as a Service market forward. Asia Pacific is expected to grow the fastest during the forecast period. China, Japan, and South Korea are the region's leading artificial intelligence innovators. China and South Korea make significant investments in the development of industrial automation technologies, which is one of the primary factors driving the growth and adoption of artificial intelligence in these countries. Competitive Analysis: The report offers the appropriate analysis of the key organizations/companies involved within the global market along with a comparative evaluation primarily based on their product offering, business overviews, geographic presence, enterprise strategies, segment market share, and SWOT analysis. The report also provides an elaborative analysis focusing on the current news and developments of the companies, which includes product development, innovations, joint ventures, partnerships, mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, and others. This allows for the evaluation of the overall competition within the market. Major vendors in the global AI as a service (AlaaS) market are Amazon Web Services, Inc., RainBird Technologies, SiftScience, Microsoft, BigML, Inc., Google LLC, SAP SE, Siemens, DataBricks, Salesforce, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, Intel Corporation, Fair Isaac Corporation and Others. Get Discount At @ https://www.sphericalinsights.com/request-discount/3032 Recent Developments In September 2023, EY's investment established the way for the launch of EY.ai, a new unifying platform that will help businesses confidently adopt artificial intelligence (AI). Market Segment This study forecasts revenue at global, regional, and country levels from 2020 to 2032. Spherical Insights has segmented the global AI as a service (AlaaS) market based on the below-mentioned segments: AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market, Cloud Analysis Public Private Hybrid AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market, Technology Analysis Machine Learning Natural Language Processing Context Awareness Computer Vision Others AI as a Services (AlaaS) Market, Component Analysis Software Services AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market, End User Analysis Automotive & Transportation Manufacturing Government BFSI Healthcare IT & Telecom Others AI as a Service (AlaaS) Market, Regional Analysis North America US Canada Mexico Europe Germany Uk France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Australia Rest of Asia Pacific South America Brazil Argentina Rest of South America Middle East & Africa UAE Saudi Arabia Qatar South Africa Rest of Middle East & Afric Browse Related Reports Japan Blockchain in BFSI Market Size , Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Private Blockchain, Consortium Blockchain, Public Blockchain), By Application (Smart Contracts, Security, Trade Finance, Digital Currency, Record Keeping, GRC Management, Identity Management & Fraud Detection, Others), and Japan Blockchain in BFSI Market Insights Forecasts to 2033 South Korea Pico Projectors Market Size , Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Embedded Pico Projectors, Non-Embedded Pico Projectors), By Technology (Digital Light Processing (DLP), Laser Beam Steering, Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCOS)), and South Korea Pico Projectors Market Insights Forecasts to 2033 Global Virtual Currencies Market Size , Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Component (Hardware, and Software), By Type (Bitcoin, Litecoin, and XPR), By End-user (Trading, Retail & E-commerce, Banking, and Others), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa), Analysis and Forecast 2022 – 2032 Japan Digital Signal Processor Market Size , Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Programmable (FPGA & PLD) DSP, General-Purpose DSP, Application-Specific DSP), By Application (Speech Processing & Recognition, Digital Image Processing, Audio Signal Processing, Audio & Video, Others), and Japan Digital Signal Processor Market Insights Forecasts to 2033 About the Spherical Insights & Consulting Spherical Insights & Consulting is a market research and consulting firm which provides actionable market research study, quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight especially designed for decision makers and aids ROI. Which is catering to different industry such as financial sectors, industrial sectors, government organizations, universities, non-profits and corporations. The company's mission is to work with businesses to achieve business objectives and maintain strategic improvements. CONTACT US: For More Information on Your Target Market, Please Contact Us Below: Phone: + 1 303 800 4326 (the U.S.) Phone: +91 90289 24100 (APAC) Email: [email protected] , [email protected] Contact Us: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/contact-us Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

2024-01-19 12:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3589]}

{}

Rudy Giuliani’s Personal Bankruptcy Is Off to Contentious Start

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rudy-giuliani-personal-bankruptcy-off-120000605.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Former New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani may soon find out how far Chapter 11 bankruptcy can go in sheltering him from overwhelming legal bills. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix 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 Giuliani is scheduled to make his first appearance Friday in New York bankruptcy court, where he has asked a judge’s permission to challenge the $148 million judgment that drove him to seek protection from creditors. The hearing is slated for 11 a.m. The onetime prosecutor went bankrupt last month after losing a defamation lawsuit to two 2020 Georgia election workers he falsely accused of trying to rig the election for Joe Biden. Giuliani must ask Judge Sean Lane permission to appeal their $148 million award because filing bankruptcy pauses all litigation against him and prevents the election workers from immediately collecting the judgment. The election workers and others who have sued Giuliani, including Dominion Voting Systems, are challenging his request. A bankruptcy lawyer for Giuliani said Thursday it was too early to know how exactly his Chapter 11 case will play out. Previously: Giuliani Files for Bankruptcy After $148 Million Defamation Loss “We hope, ultimately, we reach a path forward that makes everyone equally unhappy, which would be a good resolution,” Gary Fischoff, one of Giuliani’s lawyers, said in an interview. Right wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has attempted to strike such a deal through a personal bankruptcy filing after juries ordered him to pay more than $1 billion for spreading falsehoods about the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre. Other than the judgment, Giuliani faces a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion over false claims he made alleging the company used its voting machines to rig the 2020 election against against Donald Trump. He’s also being sued by his former business development director, Noelle Dunphy, who has accused Giuliani of battery, assault and sexual harassment. Giuliani has denied Dunphy’s allegations. Story continues Lawyers for the Georgia election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea’ ArShaye “Shaye” Moss, said Giuliani is “looking to have his cake and eat it too” because he wants bankruptcy to prevent Moss and Freeman from collecting their judgment and give him the ability to challenge the award without posting a bond. If Judge Lane denies his request, Moss and Freeman said “it would not be surprising if Mr. Giuliani sought to dismiss his own chapter 11 case.” Giuliani has said in court papers that he believes the amount of the judgment is unreasonable and doesn’t accurately reflect the damages Moss and Freeman have suffered, if any. Freeman and Moss said they were flooded with thousands of racist and harassing messages after Giuliani made his false statements, according to court documents. He earlier said in a sworn statement that he filed bankruptcy because of the $148 million judgment and cost of other lawsuits against him and that he intends to use Chapter 11 to restructure his finances and address his financial obligations. The case is Rudolph W. Giuliani, 23-12055, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan). 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.

2024-01-19 12:13:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2496]}

{}

FOREX-Dollar heads for weekly gain as rate cut optimism cools

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/forex-dollar-heads-weekly-gain-121334392.html

Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/

(Updates at 1200 GMT) By Harry Robertson and Tom Westbrook LONDON/SINGAPORE, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The dollar was on track to rise for the week on Friday, adding to solid gains so far this year, as the U.S. economy and pushback from central bankers has caused traders to dial down expectations of swift falls in interest rates. The euro has fallen 0.6% this week, helping push the dollar index to a 0.9% gain, taking its increase this year to 1.9%. Japan's yen has been the biggest loser: it is now down around 5% for the year so far as tepid economic data and a deadly earthquake have sapped confidence that the Bank of Japan is about to hike rates. "The thumping message from U.S. activity data and central bankers is that markets are too aggressively priced for rate cuts in 2024," said Westpac's head of foreign exchange strategy Richard Franulovich. "That, and a fresh bout of turbulence across China's property and financial markets has the dollar returning to form." On Friday, the euro was up 0.1% at $1.0887, while the dollar index was little changed at 103.33. The yen was also little changed at 148.02 to the dollar, having fallen after data showed Japan's core inflation rate slowed to 2.3% in the year to December. That was its lowest annual pace since June 2022, taking the pressure off policymakers to make swift moves. "We're kind of stuck in this range here in euro," said Erik Nelson, macro strategist at Wells Fargo. "As much as has happened, the euro has barely moved this year." Nelson said investors were waiting for data on the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation to be released on Friday next week. Britain's pound was 0.17% lower at $1.2683. Data on Friday showed UK retail sales slumped by the most in three years in December. Investors now expect 140 bps of interest rate cuts from the Fed this year, down from 165 bps a week earlier. They also see a roughly 54% chance the first cut comes in March, from 77% a week ago. Story continues U.S. labour market data released on Thursday was strong, with weekly jobless claims dropping to their lowest level in nearly 1-1/2 years, adding to the pressure on market rate-cut wagers. Fed official Christopher Waller said on Tuesday the U.S. economy's strength gives policymakers flexibility to move "carefully and slowly", which traders took as pushing back at pricing for a speedy fall in rates. Two-year Treasury yields, which track short-term interest rate expectations, are up 22 basis points this week to 4.359%. Bitcoin hit a five-week low at $40,484 overnight as traders have taken profits following the U.S. approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. Australia's dollar, which tends to rise when investors are taking more risk in global markets, was up 0.4% at $0.6599, although it remains around 3.2% lower for the year. (Reporting by Harry Robertson in London and Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Jamie Freed, Susan Fenton and Sharon Singleton)

2024-01-19 12:14:39+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3160]}

{}

Tata Steel to Shut Down Loss-Making Blast Furnaces in the UK

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/tata-steel-shut-down-uk-091109587.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Sign up for the India Edition newsletter by Menaka Doshi – an insider's guide to the emerging economic powerhouse, and the billionaires and businesses behind its rise, delivered weekly. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix 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 Tata Steel Ltd. plans to shut down two loss-making blast furnaces at its steelworks in Port Talbot, after last year securing government financing to convert the historic site in Wales into a production hub for recycled steel. The steelmaker on Friday said the decision will affect up to 2,800 workers, and is designed to reverse more than a decade of losses at the plant. The widely expected move comes after it reached a deal with the UK government for £500 million ($636 million) in funding to support its transition to making steel in electric arc furnaces. While significantly greener than coal-fired furnaces, the new process is also much less labor-intensive. Port Talbot’s blast furnaces and coke ovens are expected to be decommissioned this year, and Tata expects 2,500 roles to be impacted within the next 18 months. Unions had hoped to keep one of the furnaces running during the transition, but the company said doing so wouldn’t be feasible due to the heavy losses involved in running the plants. Tata’s British steelmaking operations have struggled for years to turn a profit. Sales in Europe have been sluggish amid rising cost pressures and competition from Asian imports. The company will announce its third-quarter earnings next week. It posted an unexpected loss in the prior three-month period, mainly dragged down by weak European performance. “The closure of these old and loss-making operations will be a step toward more sustainable operations for the company,” said Manav Gogia, an analyst at Yes Securities India Ltd. “The market is now waiting to see how the trade union plans are formulated.” Story continues Tata Steel’s shares jumped the most in more than a month to close 2.5% higher in Mumbai, before the company formally announced the blast furnace closures. Opposition lawmaker Stephen Kinnock, whose constituency Aberavon is home to the Port Talbot steelworks, told Sky News on Friday that the move by Tata was “deeply disappointing.” “We’ve got a plan that’s been cobbled together between Tata Steel and the UK government which is going to use £500 million of taxpayers money to make 3,000 men and women redundant,” the Labour Party lawmaker said. It “is also going to remove the British capability to make its own steel from scratch. We would become the only country in the G20 that is no longer able to do that.” --With assistance from Emily Ashton and Eddie Spence. (Updates with Tata’s confirmation of blast furnace shutdowns 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.

2024-01-19 12:22:34+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2271]}

{}

NYC Seeks Millions From Failed Silicon Valley Bank for Taxes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ny-city-seeks-millions-failed-043327313.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- New York City is trying to collect more than $2.1 million it says Silicon Valley Bank owes in back taxes from before the California-based regional lender collapsed last year. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix S&P 500’s Record in Sight as Stocks Power Ahead: Markets Wrap China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day In a complaint filed Thursday against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the receiver for the failed bank, the city cites corporation business tax “deficiencies” for 2017 through 2021 and is also seeking interest and penalties. The city said the FDIC in November denied its request to be paid out of remaining bank assets. “The city has a legitimate tax claim against the SVB and is entitled to collect taxes due,” New York’s lawyers said in the complaint, filed in federal court in Washington. “The FDIC, in its capacity as receiver for SVB, is liable for the claim amount.” Also on Thursday, Silicon Valley Bank’s Cayman Islands branch filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York. The March collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, following a wave of withdrawals by the tech startups and venture capital firms that formed its client base, was the biggest US bank failure in more than a decade and presaged a banking crisis that engulfed several other financial institutions. This month, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank announced it had struck a deal with key creditors in a step toward resolving its bankruptcy case. The arrangement, which requires court approval, involves forming a new company that would hold valuable assets like the firm’s venture capital arm — SVB Capital — and tax attributes potentially worth billions of dollars, according to court papers. The tax case is City of New York v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 24-cv-00160, US District Court, District of Columbia (Washington). Story continues (Adds bankruptcy filing in fourth paragraph and background in fifth.) 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.

2024-01-19 12:41:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [78, 226, 814, 941, 1283, 1367, 1700, 1997, 2297, 2508, 2825, 3068]}

{"Bitcoin": [11]}

Harnessing Bitcoin's Growth with Bit.Store Card: A New Era of Spending and Earning

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/harnessing-bitcoins-growth-bit-store-124100020.html

GlobeNewswire

https://www.globenewswire.com/

Bit.Store New York, NY, Jan. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the digital age, Bitcoin has emerged as a leading financial force, demonstrating remarkable growth and proving its mettle as a valuable digital asset. The ascent in Bitcoin's market value has not only solidified its status as a viable investment but has also expanded its utility as a robust medium of exchange. Bit.Store is at the vanguard of this financial revolution, with its recent Bit.Store Visa® Virtual Crypto Card launch, marrying the convenience of traditional spending with the innovative spirit of cryptocurrency. The Bit.Store Visa® Virtual Crypto Card is a game-changer in the cryptocurrency domain, serving as a conduit between the digital wealth of cryptocurrencies and the tangibility of everyday purchases. By topping up the card with Bitcoin, users gain the freedom to spend their crypto holdings with unprecedented ease, both online and in physical stores. As Bitcoin's value climbs, the purchasing power packed within these digital wallets swells, allowing consumers to reap more from their investments than ever before. Beyond its capacity to enhance purchasing power, the Bit.Store Visa® Virtual Crypto Card offers a compelling cashback feature on transactions, incentivizing users to utilize their Bitcoin in daily commerce. This innovative perk not only fosters the utilization of Bitcoin but also cultivates a sustainable ecosystem of spending and earning—a harmonious loop where each purchase fuels future investment potential. The Bit.Store Visa® Virtual Crypto Card is designed for versatility, addressing a spectrum of consumer needs with aplomb. Online shopping becomes a breeze as users transact with their Bitcoin holdings on various e-commerce platforms, bypassing the need for currency conversion and retaining the advantages of a decentralized asset. Similarly, offline experiences are enriched as the card is accepted globally, making it possible to enjoy dining, travel, and more with the power of Bitcoin. Story continues Security and control are paramount in Bit.Store's offering, with the Bit.Store Visa® Virtual Crypto Card providing a secure and transparent platform for users to manage their finances. The ability to monitor spending and track transactions instills confidence, ensuring that Bitcoin can be spent freely and securely, without the specter of unauthorized access or security breaches. In essence, the Bit.Store Visa® Virtual Crypto Card is more than a mere payment option—it's a symbol of Bitcoin's burgeoning role in the global financial ecosystem. With the card's launch, Bit.Store reaffirms its commitment to bridging the gap between the potential of Web3 and the established mechanisms of traditional finance, fostering a more inclusive, efficient, and transparent financial environment. As we witness Bitcoin's continued growth, the Bit.Store Visa® Virtual Crypto Card stands as a beacon of innovation, empowering users to convert their digital assets into a potent instrument for both expenditure and earning. Register your card now and spend Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies just like cash: cryptocard.bit.store CONTACT: pr-at-bit.store

2024-01-19 12:54:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2746]}

{}

ABB Falls as US Congress Reviews its Operations in China

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/abb-says-us-congress-reviewing-083259966.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Swiss industrial supplier ABB Ltd. fell the most in three months on the news that US Congress is reviewing its relations with China. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix S&P 500’s Record in Sight as Stocks Power Ahead: Markets Wrap China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day The main investigation focuses on Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., according to a letter from Congress, with ABB becoming involved because it’s a sub-supplier to the Chinese state-owned manufacturer of container cranes. The Swiss company said Friday it’s taking the matter seriously and wants to provide an appropriate response to the letter from the House Committee on Homeland Security and a select committee examining economic competition between the US and China. The Asian country is ABB’s second-largest market. ABB fell as much as 3.9%, the steepest intraday decline since Oct. 18. The stock is down around 5% this year. Some initial negative reaction is to be expected given the history of large fines for European companies from US investigations, said Redburn Atlantic analyst James Moore. “If more details suggest that this isn’t a very specific issue to ABB, investors could then become concerned about other industrials with large China exposures,” Moore said. ABB’s crane software is supplier-independent and used by major crane manufacturers including those in China, the company said in a statement, adding that US ports then buy the cranes from those companies and not from ABB. ZPMC is one of the world’s largest port crane suppliers. RBC Capital Markets’ analyst Sebastian Kuenne said over-compliance from ABB could mean breaking its business ties with ZPMC, “which would likely trigger penalty payments for breach of contract.” Congress requested documents and information from ABB concerning “cybersecurity risks, foreign intelligence threats, and supply chain vulnerabilities at seaports” in the US, according to the letter. The committees said they want to know more about ABB’s relationships with Chinese state-owned companies. Story continues Swedish broadcaster Sverige Radio initially reported the investigation, saying it was connected to potential espionage and other security threats concerning ABB’s business activities in China and the US. ABB cooperated and handed over a large amount of documents. --With assistance from Rafaela Lindeberg. (Updates with analyst comment in 8th 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.

2024-01-19 13:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [217, 370, 1912, 2265, 2910], "BTC": [226, 296, 1339, 2167, 2811]}

{"Bitcoin": [22]}

First Mover Americas: Bitcoin Slips Over 15% Since ETF Approval

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/first-mover-americas-bitcoin-slips-130000545.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 (CoinDesk) Top Stories Bitcoin [BTC] has dropped over 15% to around $41,300 since the first U.S. spot BTC ETFs listed last week, with $1.5 billion flowing out of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), according to JPMorgan. “It looks like GBTC investors who over the past year had been buying the GBTC fund at a significant discount to NAV to position for its eventual ETF conversion, have been taking full profit post-ETF conversion by exiting the bitcoin space entirely rather than shifting to cheaper spot bitcoin ETFs,” analysts wrote. JPMorgan previously estimated that up to $3 billion had been invested in GBTC in the secondary market during 2023 to exploit the trust’s discount to NAV. If this estimate is correct, there could be an additional $1.5 billion to exit the space via profit-taking on GBTC, which will put further pressure on bitcoin prices in the coming weeks. Ether [ETH] could be poised to soar in 2024 on the back of hopes of a spot ETH ETF listing , analysts at Coinbase (COIN) have said. ETH reached its highest price since May 2022 following the approval of bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. last week. Several of the firms behind BTC ETFs, such as BlackRock and VanEck, are plotting similar products for ETH, Coinbase said in a weekly newsletter. Aside from ETF hopes, Ethereum's upcoming Dencun upgrade, which aims to improve the mainnet's scalability, could galvanize investor interest in ETH. Institutional crypto firm ETC Group said in its annual report that ether has a bullish outlook given Ethereum's ongoing status as the most dominant blockchain for DeFi and the extra returns users can accrue through staking their coins. ARK Invest sold a further $15 million worth of shares in the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) on Wednesday, adding to the $15.8 million worth it sold the day before. ARK essentially swapped the BITO shares for $15 million worth of its own spot bitcoin ETF (ARKB). ProShare's bitcoin product was the first ETF tied to the BTC futures market to list in the U.S. back in October 2021. ARK sold off its shares in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust late last year in favor of BITO, anticipating the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. Now the approval has happened, ARK is pivoting toward its own product. Story continues Chart of The Day (Glassnode) The chart shows bitcoin's monthly net position change or the 30-day change in supply held by long-term holders. Glassnode defines long-term holders as wallets with a history of holding coins for 155 days or more. The metric flipped negative early this month, indicating net selling by long-term holders, and fell to -33,951 BTC on Wednesday, the lowest since December 2022. Source: Glassnode - Omkar Godbole Trending Posts Bitcoin Instantly Topped Silver in ETF Market and Trails Only Gold Among Commodities Donald Trump's NFTs Have Limits Normal Ones Don't Crypto Industry Cautiously Welcomes Agreement on New EU AML Rules

2024-01-19 13:00:59+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [8065]}

{}

Seismic Bond Shift Has Traders Watching Yield Curve’s Moves

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/seismic-bond-shift-traders-watching-232500070.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Bond traders are growing convinced that US Treasury yields are on the brink of returning to the way they’ve traded for most of their existence — it’s the how, why and when of the normalization that keeps financial markets bouncing around. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix S&P 500’s Record in Sight as Stocks Power Ahead: Markets Wrap China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day The shift many investors bet is now underway would see the interest rate on 10-year Treasuries rise above those on US two-year notes, a steepening of the so-called yield curve that would mean banks and investors get rewarded for the risk of lending money for longer periods as is typical. That’s a world away from last July, when two-year Treasury yields exceeded 10-year ones by more than a full percentage point. It was the sort of deeply inverted yield curve last seen in the early 1980s, a side effect of the Federal Reserve’s series of rate hikes aimed at fighting inflation. The campaign, it was feared, risked tipping the economy into recession. Veteran investor Bill Gross, the co-founder of Pacific Investment Management Co., and Harley Bassman, a long-time bond expert who invented the MOVE Index of Treasury market volatility, are among those predicting that chapter will soon end. What is the subject of fierce debate is what propels the pivot, and the answer means money for some and losses for others. If rate-cuts emerge as the economy slows then yields will shrink on the short-end, but if inflation remains a concern and the Fed stays on hold then 10-year yields will rise more in a higher-for-longer scenario. “The question we are asking – given the wide range of outcomes – is what is that steeper yield curve?,” Kathryn Kaminski, chief research strategist at AlphaSimplex Group, said on Bloomberg Radio on Tuesday. “Is that going to be cuts on the short end or could it possibly be, unexpectedly, that we see weakness in long-term bonds and we have a longer time to wait for cuts – and we actually see a steepening from the long end.” Story continues Read more: Yield Curve ‘Steepening’? Here’s Why That Matters: QuickTake Key to how any steepening unfolds is the timing of Fed rate cuts. After central bankers signaled a shift toward easing late last year, investors ramped up rate-cut bets and piled into Fed-policy-sensitive two-year notes, driving yields to the lowest since May earlier this month and below yields on US 30-year bonds. Traders have since tempered their wagers as US economic data continued to show resilience and Fed officials emphasized they want to ensure inflation is tamed before embarking on any cuts. “The Fed doesn’t need to embark on a big easing campaign to steepen the curve further,” said Gregory Faranello, head of US rates trading and strategy for AmeriVet Securities. “A little will go a long way like we learned in the last two months of 2023,” when bond markets rallied sharply just on the speculation of a Fed pivot toward easing. Two-year yields about matched those on 30-year bonds as of Friday morning in New York. As for Fed cuts, markets are now pricing in about 1.4 percentage points of reductions this year, compared with expectations of as much as 1.7 percentage points of easing as recently as last week. Meanwhile, March rate cuts that were largely baked into the market are now seen as more of a toss-up. Kellie Wood, deputy head of fixed income at Schroders Plc in Sydney, is sticking with bets on a steeper curve even after closing out straight duration bets. She is positioned for two-year US notes to outperform 30-year bonds, and sees the potential for longer-dated yields to exceed shorter peers by more than a full percentage point. “We’ve been positioned in steepeners for a while,” Wood said. She was initially expecting to see long-end yields to rise amid higher term premium, and now she is betting on a drop in front-end yields due to rate cuts. Investors anticipating a faster pace of curve steepening, one that sends short-term rates decisively below those with longer maturities, need to see compelling evidence of a much weaker economy that would force the Fed’s hand. Instead, the current trajectory points to a gradual easing cycle stemming from a slowdown in inflation and moderating growth. The US central bank itself envisions only three-quarters of a point of cuts this year. “In normal times it’s the short rate that comes down sharply given a recession is coming, and that causes the dis-inverting,” said Tobias Adrian, director of the International Monetary Fund’s monetary and capital markets department. “But now the US is likely to have a soft landing and so basically the curve could just flatten.” Read More: Top US Banks Eager for Relief From Rate Pressure After Fed Hikes What Bloomberg Intelligence Says... “If the market eventually prices for slower rate cuts in line with Waller’s ‘methodical’ path, two-year yields could move 40 basis points higher and yield-curve steepening could slow.” — Ira F. Jersey and Will Hoffman, BI strategists Click here to read the full report Of course, conditions may shift quickly. Roger Hallam, global head of rates at Vanguard, sees two potential catalysts for a steeper curve. “One is a recession or a financial accident that causes the Fed to ease more quickly and significantly than expected. That’s a bull steepening case in an adverse outcome,” he said, referring to a situation where yields across the curve fall, with short-term yields leading the decline. A more problematic outcome would be if longer-dated yields push higher, as seen last year when a surging US deficit raised concerns about financing for the US Treasury. “The deficit challenge in the US remains very material,” and one cause of steeper curve would be a “Fed easing before inflation is truly slain,” as the market seeks more of a term premium for holding longer-dated bonds, Hallam said. Across the entire Treasury market, yields on three-month bills aren’t far from the lower end of the current policy band, 5.25% to 5.5%, so this part of the curve still remains heavily inverted. ‘Happy’ Steepener Bills sit more than 1 percentage point above a 10-year yield of 4.16%, a negative relationship that has existed for at least 14 months from October 2022. That period does mark the average lead time of inversion before the previous four recessions, according to Campbell Harvey, the Duke University professor who first established the predictive qualities of an inverted curve back in the 1980s as regards economic downturns. “How this is going to play out is largely to do with the Fed cutting rates,” Harvey said in an interview. “The Fed has to cut fairly substantially to get to the point that we don’t have an inversion.” Campbell doesn’t rule out a far longer period of inversion between bills and longer-dated Treasuries. “The curve could stay inverted for all of 2024.” Stephen Bartolini, a fixed-income portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, warns of another scenario for curve watchers. “If we have a re-acceleration in the economy, the long end of the curve could give up a lot,” he said. After the bond market’s late-year rally helped to drive down benchmark borrowing costs, “we’ve had substantial easing of financial conditions.” Put another way, “there is the happy steepener, which is what everybody wants, which is when you get cuts,” AlphaSimplex’s Kaminski said. “Then there’s the not-so-happy steepener, which would be a situation where long-term yields go higher.” --With assistance from Edward Bolingbroke and Garfield Reynolds. (Updates rates throughout and adds strategist comment in eighth paragraph. An earlier version was corrected to show the inversion mentioned in the third paragraph took place in July) 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.

2024-01-19 13:02:16+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3776]}

{}

UK Inflation Shock Sets Gilts Up for Worst Ever Start to a Year

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-inflation-shock-sets-gilts-111719744.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- UK bonds extended the biggest slide across major markets this year after an unexpected surge in inflation prompted investors to rethink of how much the Bank of England can cut interest rates. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 S&P 500 Hits All-Time High in Historic Bull Run: Markets Wrap The Bloomberg Sterling Aggregate Bond Index is down over 3% this month, more than any other sovereign market and the worst start to the year on record for the gauge. The rout comes as swap traders abandoned bets on a full quarter-point of cuts earlier this week after the report on UK consumer prices. The UK isn’t the only place where investors are rethinking their aggressive bets on interest-rate reductions. Traders in the US and Europe have also moderated their expectations. But the turbulence has brought home how vulnerable markets are. The reaction “will serve as a warning to global markets this quarter,” said Chris Turner, ING’s global head of markets, adding that investors will probably want to wait until the January inflation report in the US before deploying their capital. They “will be wary that the US could suffer something similar,” he said. Focus in the UK will turn to a syndicated sale of 30-year gilts likely on Tuesday, as well as preliminary January PMI figures due Wednesday. Any weakness in the data could lead traders to rebuild bets on more policy easing. A softer-than-expected reading for retail sales Friday had already tipped markets in that direction. “Overall it leaves the BOE very much caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Stuart Cole, chief macro economist at Equiti Capital in London. “At best, the clear path the market was painting for a steady reduction in interest rates this year may have to be re-visited.” Story continues Focus on Flatteners For some bond traders, it means betting on a flatter curve is starting to pay off again as they position for a later start to interest-rate cuts. The spread between five- and 30-year yields has pared a move since spiking to above 81 basis points earlier this week, the steepest the curve has been since August 2022. “What we’ve been telling clients on the UK is to position for rate cuts later through a flattener,” said Emmanouil Karimalis, European rates strategist at UBS Investment Bank. He argues that the market is pricing in more cuts in 2024 than warranted, and says most of the easing from the BOE will come in 2025. Pre-election policy moves may also play into their calculus. Potential fiscal largess in the March budget in the form of tax cuts could persuade policymakers to hold interest-rates steady for longer. As the trading week drew to a close, markets were pricing 117 basis points of reductions by the end of the year, the equivalent of more than four quarter-point cuts, with odds favoring the first as early as May. At the start of the year, six quarter-point reductions were fully priced in. Benchmark 10-year yields traded at around 3.9% after reaching 4% earlier in the week, and a far cry from the low of 3.4% touched mid-December. “The most underestimated risk the market is pricing right now is probably the re-emergence of inflation,” said Grace Peters, head of global investment strategy at JPMorgan Private Bank. --With assistance from Greg Ritchie, Anchalee Worrachate, Alice Atkins and Alice Gledhill. (Updates to add next week’s gilt syndication in the fifth 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.

2024-01-19 13:05:54+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1688]}

{}

New York City to See More Snow Friday Before Temperatures Drop

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/york-city-see-more-snow-130554358.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- New York City, northern New Jersey and parts of Long Island will likely pick up a couple of inches of snow Friday as a weak storm lumbers east across the US canceling hundreds of flights. A winter weather advisory has been issued across the region until 7 p.m. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix 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 While the storm isn’t particularly powerful, it’s “affecting a fair amount of real estate, there are advisories up from Iowa all the way back to the East Coast,” said Rob Carolan, owner of Hometown Forecast Services, which provides outlooks for Bloomberg Radio. The area between Philadelphia, Trenton and Dover, Delaware, will likely see the most snow with up to 4 inches (10 centimeters). Across the US, more than 700 flights were canceled as of 7:55 a.m. in New York with most of those at La Guardia Airport, according to FlightAware. New York’s Central Park ended a 701-day streak without an inch of snow earlier this week and it may double its tally for the season by late Friday. However, it has a long way to go to reach its seasonal average of 10 inches. Further west, Chicago may also pick up 1 to 2 inches. Temperatures will drop in New York to 17F (-8C) Saturday night and 19F on Sunday night before milder air arrives to start the week. 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.

2024-01-19 13:07:38+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 796, 1956], "BTC": [9, 1266]}

{"Bitcoin": [8]}

Bullish Bitcoin Bets Rise as Implied Volatility Slides

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bullish-bitcoin-bets-rise-implied-130738251.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Bitcoin [BTC] options now look cheap and some traders are taking advantage of the same to raise bullish bets. Options are derivative contracts that give the purchaser the right to buy or sell the underlying asset at a predetermined price at a later date. A call gives the right to buy and allows traders to profit from or hedge against price rallies, whereas a put option does the opposite. Traders consider options cheap when implied volatility, one of the key determinants of options prices, slides below its long-term average or under the asset’s realized volatility. Implied volatility is the one standard deviation range of the expected movement of the underlying asset’s price over a year and tends to be mean-reverting. Realized volatility is the price movement that has already happened. Bitcoin’s implied volatility (IV) peaked with the launch of spot ETFs in the U.S. last week and has dropped below the realized volatility, stoking demand for calls at strikes $45,000 and $46,000 during Thursday’s North American trading hours, according to over-the-counter institutional cryptocurrency trading network Paradigm. “We saw a large buyer of Feb $44k straddles and some outright call buying in the $45k /$46k strikes,” Paradigm said in a Telegram broadcast. “BTC implied [volatility] now trades well under-realized [volatility], so [we are] not surprised to see Paradigm customers playing for a sharp rally back in spot and vol.” The word outright call buying implies that calls purchased were likely standalone trades, betting on renewed upside price volatility in bitcoin and not a part of a complex strategy. Since early 2023, bitcoin’s price and implied volatility have been mostly positively correlated . A straddle is a non-directional strategy involving the simultaneous purchase of call and put options at the same strike price. Its purpose is to profit from an expected spike in implied volatility and the resulting rise in options prices. Bitcoin has dropped over 15% since the ETF debuted on Jan. 11, with prices briefly falling below $41,000 late Thursday.

2024-01-19 13:12:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [142, 558, 922, 1122, 1930]}

{}

3 Stocks to Watch as Coinbase (COIN) Takes Centerstage

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/3-stocks-watch-coinbase-coin-131200061.html

Zacks

http://www.zacks.com/

Having received a slew of applications on Jan 10, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) finally green-lit the launch of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs in what can be dubbed a landmark moment for the crypto market. Investors had been expecting this for over six months since late June 2023, when big names from the traditional asset management domain had applied for these ETFs. Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN, the financial infrastructure and technology provider, is pitted to be one of the biggest winners in the crypto market because of the SEC’s actions. Bitcoin rose 157% in 2023, re-emerging from a lackluster prior year. Much of the benchmark crypto coin’s rise has been due to countries around the world seemingly making an effort to take cryptocurrency mainstream, and the focus has been on the SEC. These approvals from the SEC follow years of stalling and outright rejections of numerous attempts to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs. Of the 13 applications the SEC had in hand, Coinbase Global is the custodian for 10. Coinbase is the largest crypto-trading platform in the world and renders itself a logical choice for Bitcoin ETFs. The company is known for its low transaction costs and extensive safety measures. Its two-factor authentication and vault system have made it a lucrative choice for investors when compared to its competitors. Currently, the company is in a legal battle with the SEC which alleges that the exchange flouted laws by operating as an "unregistered broker dealer" in buying and selling similarly unregistered digital assets. Coinbase argues that it has sold no tokens on its platform that constitute securities because there's no investment contract between the token issuers and users who are buying the tokens on the secondary market. If the court decides to validate this argument, it could significantly hamper SEC’s attempt to regulate the company through various enforcement actions. But with Bitcoin spot ETFs already approved, COIN’s stock should move upward. Story continues COIN’s expected earnings growth rate is 92.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has improved 9.2% over the past 60 days. COIN currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here . Selecting a cryptocurrency exchange is often the first step investors take when exploring the world of digital assets. It will be prudent to keep a watch on a few competitors of COIN as it gains more prominence. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. CBOE is an options exchange marketplacethat also engages in the trading of digital currencies. As a digital asset trader, it operates as an exchange and futures marketplace. CBOE’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 11.7%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for its current-year earnings has improved 2.4% over the past 60 days. CBOE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Interactive Brokers Group Inc. IBKR is a global automated electronic broker. IBKR executes, processes and trades in cryptocurrencies. IBKR’s expected earnings growth rate is 9% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3% over the past 60 days. IBKR currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Robinhood Markets, Inc. HOOD is a financial services platform that allows users to invest in, among other things, ETFs and cryptocurrencies. HOOD’s expected earnings growth rate is 45.3% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has remained unchanged over the past 60 days. HOOD currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. 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 Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Robinhood Markets, Inc. (HOOD) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research

2024-01-19 13:19:50+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2760]}

{}

Paytm Posts Narrower Loss as Payments Business Grows

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/paytm-posts-narrower-loss-payments-112546162.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Paytm trimmed losses in the latest quarter after the Indian fintech company cut some costs and scaled up services to small merchants. 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 Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Florida Governor DeSantis Drops Out of 2024 Race, Endorses Trump Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Say Buy the Dip After Treasury Rout Net loss shrank to 2.2 billion rupees ($26.5 million) for the three months through December, the firm officially called One 97 Communications Ltd. said Friday in a statement. Analysts estimated a loss of 2.55 billion rupees. Sales rose 38% to 28.5 billion rupees. The SoftBank Group Corp.-backed payment services provider is trying to keep costs in check while bolstering its offerings as digital payments gather steam in India. It achieved operating profitability last year before factoring in the cost of employee stock ownership plans and expects artificial intelligence to help it curb expenses as it targets further improvement. On Friday, Paytm said AI helped cut indirect costs, as a percentage of revenue, by 3 percentage points. It also said it had disbursed 4.9 billion rupees in high-value loans in the quarter. Paytm categorizes loans above 300,000 rupees as high value. Read more: Paytm Billionaire Bets on Young Wealth to Hit Profit Sooner Paytm’s engineering teams are aggressively using AI, a move that narrowed the development of new products to just days from weeks, billionaire founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma told Bloomberg News previously. Sharma late last year acquired shares from Ant Group Co., cementing his control over the firm and assuaging investors worried about Indian government opposition to Chinese ownership. Read More: Paytm Founder Says He’s Looking for Chances to Raise Stake He has now vowed to revamp online wealth management and insurance services as well as get more merchants on the Paytm network. Paytm has also launched new devices that are helping to drive demand for its merchant payments business. Story continues The fintech’s devices business, which includes card machines and a speaker that alerts merchants to payments received, grew by 1.4 million units in the quarter through December. Paytm, based on the outskirts of New Delhi, competes with financial services offered by Amazon.com Inc., Google and Walmart Inc. Tycoon billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Financial Services Ltd. has also entered the space, threatening to shake up the fledgling sector. (Updates with detail from the earnings statement) 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.

2024-01-19 13:27:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [244, 391, 537, 609, 660, 838, 937, 1020, 1447, 1591, 1808, 2147], "BTC": [400]}

{}

4 Stocks in Focus Amid Volatility in Cryptocurrency Market

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-stocks-focus-amid-volatility-132700806.html

Zacks

http://www.zacks.com/

The cryptocurrency market started 2024 on a positive note after closing out last year on a high. On Jan 10, the most anticipated moment arrived, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) finally giving the green light to 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. The move, believed to be one of the most significant events to have happened in the cryptocurrency market history, added fuel to the Bitcoin (BTC) rally. This approval will now allow retail investors to trade the world's most prominent cryptocurrency without actually owning it. Bitcoin prices soared past $47,500 following the announcement. However, Bitcoin price has since fallen sharply. On Jan 18, Bitcoin traded lower by nearly 3.5% at $41,364.33. Earlier, it dropped to $40,601.37, hitting its lowest level since Dec 18. Although last week’s positive news raised hopes that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would continue their dream run, the rally has somewhat stalled. Bitcoin has entered correction territory post the ETF launch. Experts believe that Bitcoin continues to hold a lot of potential and the ETF launch will only boost the market in the long term. Despite the inherent volatility and associated risks of cryptocurrencies, the move to bring them into the mainstream has been eagerly anticipated. This shift is expected to facilitate a closer monitoring of the digital coin market, a development that the sector has historically resisted. However, since the approval, Bitcoin has lost 12% of its value as several investors have been flocking to institutional investment products to avoid risk. Also, the flow of Bitcoin to derivative exchanges has ceased its growth, a trend that has previously indicated bear markets or impending price corrections. However, the correction phase is temporary and last week’s approval of 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs is only going to boost the crypto market. has improved 3.1% over the last 60 days. Coinbase currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. Story continues Stocks to Watch BlackRock, Inc. BLK is one of the world’s largest investment managers and is publicly owned. BLK was one of the first companies from the traditional market to join the Bitcoin ETF race back in June 2023. BlackRock’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 3.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 3.1% over the last 60 days. BlackRock presently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here . Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN offers financial infrastructure and technology to support the global cryptocurrency economy. COIN provides a main financial account for consumers in the crypto space, a marketplace with liquidity for institutional crypto asset transactions, and technology and services for developers to build crypto-based applications and accept cryptocurrencies securely as payment. Coinbase Global’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 92.5%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 9.2% over the last 60 days. Coinbase currently has a Zacks Rank #2. Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. MARA is a digital asset technology company. MARA mines cryptocurrencies, with a focus on the blockchain ecosystem and the generation of digital assets. Marathon Digital Holdings’ expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 95.1%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 47.1% over the last 90 days. Marathon Digital Holdings currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. NVIDIA Corporation NVDA is a major player in the semiconductor industry and has been one of the standout success stories of 2023. As a leading designer of graphic processing units (GPUs), the value of the NVDA stock tends to surge in a thriving crypto market. This is primarily due to the crucial role that GPUs play in data centers, artificial intelligence, and the mining or production of cryptocurrencies. NVIDIA’s expected earnings growth rate for the current year is 268.6%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 12.9% over the last 60 days. Currently, NVIDIA has a Zacks Rank #1. 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 BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) : Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. (MARA) : Free Stock Analysis Report Coinbase Global, Inc. (COIN) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research

2024-01-19 13:50:54+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2895]}

{}

Brazil’s Economic Struggles Deepen in Challenge for President Lula’s Ambitious Plans

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brazil-economic-struggles-deepen-challenge-135054183.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s economic activity stalled in November after three consecutive months of drops, the latest sign of the challenges facing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he works to deliver greater prosperity. 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 The central bank’s economic activity index, a proxy for gross domestic product, ticked up 0.01% from the month prior, compared to the -0.2% median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. From a year ago, the gauge gained 2.19%, according to data published on Friday. Latin America’s largest economy is succumbing to headwinds including high interest rates while the boost from strong consumption and agricultural production fades. Adverse weather caused by El Nino is now threatening harvests across the country, and retail sales are barely growing. Analysts see GDP expanding roughly 1.59% this year, down from almost 3% in 2023. Read more: Lula Gets New Nemesis in Inflation Fight as El Nino Brings Rain “All in all, we continue to see signs of weakening in domestic activity,” Banco Santander economist Gabriel Couto wrote in a research note. He expects the slowdown of the second half of 2023 will continue into the first few months of this year, driven by sectors that are more sensitive to high rates. “It doesn’t change the outlook of a flattish result for the period,” he added. Policymakers led by Roberto Campos Neto are expected to cut interest rates again at the end of their Jan. 30-31 meeting, extending a gradual easing cycle that’s lowered borrowing costs to 11.75%. Consumer price rises ended last year within the central bank’s target range for the first time since 2020. Story continues Still, closely watched measures of inflation excluding volatile items are cooling slower than expected. With the economy decelerating in line with forecasts, central bankers have said there’s still a need for restrictive monetary policy. Read More: Spiking Food Costs Threaten Inflation Progress for Brazil’s Poor With Lula focusing on spreading the benefits of economic growth — fulfilling his campaign pitch of “barbecue and beer for all” — investors are concerned he may push for greater spending to attain his goals. Finance Minister Fernando Haddad is still negotiating with Congress on ways to increase revenues and eliminate this year’s primary fiscal deficit, which excludes interest payments. --With assistance from Giovanna Serafim. (Updates with economist comment 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.

2024-01-19 14:00:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2431]}

{}

Bit.Store Enhances Crypto Card Services with TrueUSD Integration

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bit-store-enhances-crypto-card-140000168.html

GlobeNewswire

https://www.globenewswire.com/

Bit.Store Bit.Store, a dynamic player in the cryptocurrency card industry, is excited to announce its latest collaboration with TrueUSD (TUSD). This partnership aligns with Bit.Store's mission to continually evolve its service offerings, providing an ever-expanding array of crypto spending solutions to its global user base. Vilnius, Lithuania, Jan. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bit.Store has established itself as a leader in seamlessly integrating cryptocurrency into daily financial activities, offering both virtual and physical crypto cards. These cards are designed for the modern crypto user, combining the convenience of traditional banking with the innovation of digital currency. Now, by accepting TUSD for card recharges, Bit.Store is adding to its diverse payment options, enabling users to enjoy even more stability and flexibility in their transactions. TrueUSD, as the fourth-largest stablecoin in the market, boasts exceptional stability and reliability, underscoring the high-quality backgrounds of both TrueUSD and Bit.Store. Key Features and Benefits of Bit.Store: Diverse Card Options : Bit.Store offers both virtual and physical crypto cards, catering to a range of user preferences for online and in-store transactions. Customizable Experience : Users can choose from multiple Bank Identification Numbers (BINs), tailoring their cards to fit specific spending needs and preferences. High Spending Limits : Bit.Store stands out for offering higher spending limits compared to many competitors, empowering users to make substantial transactions with ease. User-Centric Design : The platform is crafted with user experience in mind, making managing crypto assets straightforward and enjoyable. TrueUSD, known for its reliability as a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, complements Bit.Store's commitment to providing secure and user-friendly financial solutions. Users can now enjoy the added assurance that comes with using a stablecoin for their crypto card transactions. Looking Ahead with Bit.Store: Bit.Store's partnership with TrueUSD is a part of its ambitious strategy to broaden its service spectrum and cater to the diverse needs of its users. Following a year of significant growth and restructuring, Bit.Store is poised to make even greater strides in the crypto card market. With plans to launch an innovative mobile app, expand its ambassador program, and introduce new top-up methods, including Bitcoin ordinals, Bit.Store is steadily advancing towards its goal of being a leader in crypto payment solutions. Experience the enhanced flexibility and security of managing your digital finances with Bit.Store. Visit www.bitstore.com to discover more about our offerings and how the new TrueUSD integration can elevate your crypto card experience. Story continues About TrueUSD: TrueUSD stands out as the first USD-pegged stablecoin with live on-chain attestations by independent third-party institutions. It's a widely recognized stablecoin, listed on over 100 trading platforms including major ones like Binance and Huobi, and actively present on more than 10 mainstream public chains such as Ethereum, TRON, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Fantom, and Polygon. TUSD's daily attestation by MooreHK, a leading global accounting firm, and its integration with Chainlink’s Proof of Reserves, ensures secure minting and enhances its transparency and reliability. You can learn more about TUSD on its official website CONTACT: Media Contact:pr-at-bit.store View comments

2024-01-19 14:00:09+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3679]}

{}

Korea Battery Makers Eye Chile Lithium Projects to Supply US

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/korea-battery-makers-eye-chile-215346595.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Lithium heavyweight Chile is drawing interest from South Korean battery makers keen to develop processing plants there, the head of a government agency said. 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 InvestChile, the South American nation’s foreign investment promotion body, has held meetings with representatives from multiple Korean companies, said the group’s executive director, Karla Flores. The companies are interested in helping Chile turn its vast reserves of semi-processed lithium into materials such as iron phosphate for rechargeable batteries, in part to supply the US market, she said. “A possibility is that Korean projects here export lithium cathode to the US,” Flores said in an interview Thursday in Santiago. Mining giant Chile has been looking to leverage the world’s biggest lithium reserves to move further down the value chain. The Korean companies that have expressed interest in the country include Posco Holdings Inc. and SK Group and LG Corp., according to Flores. Posco Holdings and petrochemical unit LG Chem said they are reviewing various investments or options in regions including Chile, while battery unit SK On said it is looking closely at the country. All three companies said no decisions have been made. Last year, Chile granted Chinese firms access to preferential prices for lithium carbonate produced by SQM, the world’s second-largest lithium producer, for use in a cathode factory to be built in the country’s north. This quarter, additional lithium offtake — from Albemarle Corp.’s mine in Chile — is available for similar deals, with Korean firms showing interest. Unlike Chinese-run projects, lithium processed by Korean firms in Chile may qualify for US incentives to diversify clean-energy supply chains. Chile, which has a free trade agreement with the US, has held talks with the US at a diplomatic level about whether value-added products would be compliant, with initial feedback indicating they would, Flores said. Cathode projects in Chile may also process lithium mined in Argentina. Contract Tweaks In roadshows last year, 97 companies expressed interest in investing in Chile’s lithium industry — both upstream and processing — as the nation prepares to open up new production areas under a public-private model. Story continues By end-March, the government will call for formal expressions of interest to develop extraction projects in smaller salt flats, before determining which areas will be made available, Flores said. That will be followed by a bidding process, with contracts awarded toward year-end. Authorities have modified their approach to the state’s role in some types of projects. While state-owned Codelco and Enami will partner with private firms on so-called strategic salt flats and areas where they already have land holdings, other projects could operate independently. “Small salt flats that don’t have claims by Enami or Codelco could be be developed directly by the private sector, making some kind of contribution to the state,” she said. In addition, Enami could take a minority stake in some projects even though they are deemed strategic. --With assistance from Heesu Lee. (Updates with changes in new extraction contract rules from eighth 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

2024-01-19 14:16:46+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3362]}

{}

China’s Biggest Broker Curbs Short Sales After Stock Rout

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-biggest-brokerage-restricts-short-025632255.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- China’s largest brokerage has suspended short selling for some clients in mainland markets amid a deepening rout in the nation’s stocks, according to people familiar with the matter. 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 State-owned Citic Securities Co. has stopped lending stocks to individual investors and raised the requirements for institutional clients this week after so-called window guidance from regulators, said the people, asking not be identified discussing a private matter. Citic Securities didn’t respond to a request for comment. Chinese shares have extended declines this year with no sign of a let-up after a harrowing 2023, heading for their worst start to a year since 2016. While it’s not immediately clear how many brokerages are restricting short sales, the move signals authorities’ eagerness to put a floor under the market, after earlier efforts including state buying of bank shares failed to lift sentiment. In another sign of official attempts to boost stock prices, trading activity in some major exchange-traded funds surged on Thursday — pointing to potential buying by state institutions dubbed the “national team.” Still, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.7% this week, capping its eighth weekly drop in nine. The meltdown of mainland A shares is wreaking havoc on the country’s asset management sector, pushing mutual fund closures to a five-year high. China Securities Co. will ban clients from using margin loans to buy and return stocks they sold short effective from Jan. 22, closing a popular channel for short sales, according to a notice sent to investors on Friday. Beijing has a history of limiting short selling at times of market volatility, with an aim to avert a downward spiral in stocks. As recently as October, regulators tightened rules on short selling to halt declines. Story continues The strategy hasn’t always worked. In its last stock boom and bust cycle in 2015, China restricted short-selling to force out day traders, whose selling and buying of stocks on the same day were seen as fueling “abnormal fluctuations.” The market continued its slide over the following months. The moves in October, and a later order in November for brokerages to cap the size of their securities lending businesses, also failed to arrest a slide in stocks. The value of shares sold short has dropped 61% from a 2021 peak to 67 billion yuan ($9.3 billion) as of Wednesday, its lowest since August 2020, before a mild increase on Thursday. The Shanghai Composite on Thursday dipped below the key 2,800 psychological level to its lowest since April 2020, before recovering some ground at the close. That contrasts with a rally in Japanese stocks, which have seen frenzied ETF purchases by Chinese investors. The market capitalization gap between China and Japan has narrowed to the lowest since July 2020. (Updates with another top broker’s notice in seventh 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.

2024-01-19 14:17:24+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1631]}

{}

US Treasury Team Meets China Economy Czar, Extending Engagement

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-treasury-team-meets-china-141724094.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Officials from the US Treasury and China’s central bank concluded two days of talks in Beijing on a wide range of international financial issues Friday, with the two sides agreeing to continue to meet “regularly.” Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand YouTube and Spotify Won’t Launch Apple Vision Pro Apps, Joining Netflix S&P 500’s Record in Sight as Stocks Power Ahead: Markets Wrap China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day The meetings of the financial working group, as it’s been named, included discussions on “financial stability and capital markets issues, international financial institutions, sustainable finance, cross-border payments and data, and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism,” the Treasury said in a statement. US officials also met with Vice Premier He Lifeng, China’s top economic policy official, telling him that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen looked forward to visiting China again “at the appropriate time.” The vice premier said that both sides should continue to make good use of the financial working group mechanism, and consolidate the momentum of cooperation in the financial sector, according to China’s official readout on the sessions. Yellen visited Beijing in July and held talks with He in San Francisco in November. The sessions this week marked the third meeting of the financial working group. 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.

2024-01-19 14:30:00+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [6557]}

{}

Iran Emerges from the Shadows to Broaden the Proxy War With Israel

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/iran-emerges-shadows-broaden-proxy-143000948.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- The shape-shifting conflict in the Middle East saw Iran openly go on the offensive for the first time since the war in Gaza began, as Tehran’s latest round of existential brinkmanship with Israel spread further from the tiny Mediterranean enclave. 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 The show of force broke with the stealth that’s come to define Iran’s role in the conflict so far, after allies like the Houthis in Yemen and Lebanon’s Hezbollah led the military campaign in support of Gaza. It was a message from an emboldened Iran that relegated its proxies to the sidelines, signaling an appetite to replace an unstable status quo by taking the fight where it saw fit. The Israel-Iran Shadow War Reaches a Risky New Phase: QuickTake New flashpoints lit up almost daily. First Iran seized an oil tanker off the coast of Oman in what it said was a retaliation for the US’s “theft” of its crude from the same ship last year. Then it launched missile strikes on an alleged Israeli spy base in northern Iraq and ISIS in Syria, signaling that Tehran was willing to use force to push back what it saw as Israeli influence, and creating an opportunity to show off new high-tech missiles that could in theory reach Tel Aviv. Why Pakistan and Iran Attacked Each Other: QuickTake Next came a further strike — this time on Pakistan to the east — targeting another militant group that Tehran says organizes attacks from the porous border region. Though Pakistan launched reciprocal strikes the following day, both sides moved quickly to de-escalate by affirming their “brotherly” relations. A day later, Iran announced air and naval drills around the Persian Gulf coast, saying they will “create deterrence” around sensitive facilities like refineries, ports and nuclear power plants. The flurry of interventions followed a series of strategic blows to Tehran. In December a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed one of its top commanders. Then came similar hits on a Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon and a Hamas leader in Beirut, all chipping away at the leadership of Iran’s “resistance front” of regional allies opposed to Israel and the US. “There was internal pressure in Tehran on the need to flex its military muscle to deter further targeted killing of its senior commanders and strikes against its allies in the region,” said Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the Washington-based International Crisis Group. Story continues Iran has also faced pressure from multiple deadly attacks by militant groups on its own soil that killed around 100 people since December. They undermined security at a commemoration for slain general Qassem Soleimani, a hero to the Islamic Republic, ahead of elections in March that were already set to test the legitimacy of a regime rocked by protests and an economic downturn. It’s a confrontation playing out against the backdrop of a market that’s so far not overly concerned. Crude in London has been largely steady through the Middle East tensions, trading below $80 a barrel as supplies haven’t been hit despite the shipping chaos. But traders will be aware that the more active involvement of Iran in the crisis holds risks to crude flows from the energy-rich region. ‘Strong Signal’ “The Iranians are making a show of force,” said Amin Saikal, adjunct professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. “It is also sending a very strong signal to Israel and to the United States that ‘we are not going to lay down.’” What matters now is whether the adversaries conclude Iran is settling scores or upping the ante. Two Western officials in the region see Tehran caught in a predicament, needing to carve out a role for itself as many of its proxies push for stronger steps. While facing the need for action, Iran can’t afford a full-blown escalation at this time, one of the officials said. Though it didn’t directly instigate Houthi attacks, Iran is now supplying the Yemeni militants with support that ranges from supplies to targeting information, another said. The US reckons Iran’s regional foreign policy is showing signs of overreach and may be risking a backlash, according to people familiar with American thinking. One US official pointed to an Arab League emergency meeting condemning the Iranian strike on Iraq. That made Tehran look isolated in a conflict that had initially boosted its ties with former Arab rivals due to their shared solidarity with Palestinians. “Iran doesn’t get enough credit for its strategic calculus — it’s been advancing its goals at the lowest cost possible for it,” said Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor at Kuwait University and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “It doesn’t want an all-out war or a direct escalation at least, something Israel is trying to pull it to,” Al-Saif said. “But all of this tit-for-tat could backfire and cause more havoc on a region already on fire.” As soon as a day after the retaliatory military strikes by Islamabad, officials from both countries moved to defuse tensions. Pakistan has sparred intermittently with Iran over attacks by militants along their 900-kilometer-long (560-mile-long) border — but never on this scale. “Iran’s strike into Pakistan was both reckless and feckless,” said the International Crisis Group’s Vaez. It risked antagonizing a Muslim neighbor that supports an independent Palestinian state and isn’t to blame for Iran’s setbacks, he said. While Pakistan and Iran have quickly tried to de-escalate, no such move is on the agenda with Israel. There, officials are determined to end – not just stem – the threat from Hamas. Israelis “are in a far more risk-acceptance place than they have been a very long time,” said Emily Harding, former director for Iran on the US National Security Council and now an expert at think tank CSIS. “Iran needs to be careful not to miscalculate.” --With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs, Peter Martin, Fiona MacDonald, Golnar Motevalli, Philip J. Heijmans, Demetrios Pasigos, Rakteem Katakey, Matthew Martin and Thomas Hall. 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

2024-01-19 14:49:29+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5084]}

{}

China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-6-3-trillion-stock-094926499.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese stocks just capped another dismal week, with a gauge of mainland firms listed in Hong Kong languishing at the bottom of global equity index rankings for the year so far. 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 Grim milestones have kept piling up in recent days: Tokyo has overtaken Shanghai as Asia’s biggest equity market, while India’s valuation premium over China has hit a record. Locally, a meltdown in Chinese shares is wreaking havoc on the nation’s asset management industry, pushing mutual fund closures to a five-year high. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index has already lost 11% in 2024. Coming after a record four-year losing streak, the slump is reinforcing a structural shift that’s seeing everyone from active money managers to passive funds turn their back on the world’s second-largest stock market. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index slipped as much as 2.2% at the start of US trading Friday, extending losses to a fifth consecutive day. In all, some $6.3 trillion has been wiped out from the market value of Chinese and Hong Kong stocks since a peak reached in 2021, underscoring the challenge that Beijing faces as it seeks to arrest a decline in investor confidence. Authorities have ruled out the use of massive stimulus to revive the flagging economy, leaving traders wondering when things will improve. “What we are seeing this year so far really is a continuation of what we saw last year,” John Lin, AllianceBernstein’s chief investment officer of China equities, said in an Jan. 17 interview on Bloomberg Television. “These squeezing-the-toothpaste type of stimulus policies so far haven’t been able to turn around the underlying bottom-up fundamentals of areas like the property sector.” Story continues ‘Waiting Game’ The HSCEI gauge plunged more than 6% this week and is on track to record its worst January performance in eight years. On the mainland, the CSI 300 Index has dropped in nine of the last 10 weeks. Signs that state funds likely bought exchange-traded funds and a decision by China’s largest brokerage to suspend short selling for some clients failed to halt the onshore benchmark’s losing run. The headwinds buffeting the market are well documented: China’s real estate sector remains a trouble spot, deflationary pressures are building and a long-running feud between Beijing and Washington refuses to go away, with the US election set to take place later this year. In recent days, uncertainties about the trajectory of US interest rates and the threat of an imminent blowout of local stock derivatives have added to investor worries. Read John Authers Column: That Thunder Out of China Is Loss of Confidence Asian fund managers have cut their allocation to China by 12 percentage points to a net 20% underweight, the lowest in more than a year, according to the latest Bank of America survey. Managers of benchmark-tracking funds have sold a net $300 million of shares traded in mainland China and Hong Kong this month, according to a Morgan Stanley analysis. That’s a reversal from the last half of 2023, when they bought $700 million on a net basis even as stock indexes declined. “China is a waiting game and we continue to be waiting,” said Mark Matthews, head of Asia research at Bank Julius Baer & Co., which is mostly avoiding Chinese equities. Beijing’s efforts to reassure investors have been met with skepticism from investors, many of whom worry that authorities are behind the curve. While the People’s Bank of China took steps last month to pump cash into the financial system, it bucked widespread expectations for cutting a key policy rate on Monday. Speaking to leaders at the World Economic Forum this week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang trumpeted his nation’s ability to hit its roughly 5% growth target for 2023 without flooding the economy with “massive stimulus.” Read more: China Downplays Big Stimulus in 2024, Testing Investor Patience Right now, the loss of confidence is so severe that even attractive valuations are of little help. The MSCI China Index has never been this cheap versus the S&P 500 gauge from a forward earnings estimate perspective. Still, bets on a short-term rebound have failed to materialize. “The government seems very sanguine about the economy,” said Xin-Yao Ng, an investment director for Asian equities at abrdn. “The market might not even trust the 5% growth figure, it certainly has a much more negative view on the economy and definitely believes Beijing needs a big fiscal response.” --With assistance from Sangmi Cha, April Ma, Hideyuki Sano, Carmen Reinicke and Cristin Flanagan. (Updates market moves at start of trading in US.) 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.

2024-01-19 14:49:33+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [0, 2394], "BTC": [9, 2438]}

{}

Grayscale's GBTC Could See Another $1.5B in Sales From Arb Traders: JPMorgan

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-exposed-possible-1-5b-074920932.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Bitcoin [BTC) has dropped over 15% since the inaugural launch of spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last week with several billion in assets flowing out of Grayscale's GBTC. While a chunk of those billions has been from investors moving to lower fee ETFs and another chunk from investors taking profits on GBTC's (and bitcoin's) absolute price rise, at least some of that money is due to traders exiting what's likely been a very profitable bet that GBTC's discount to net asset value (NAV) would narrow. “It looks like GBTC investors who over the past year had been buying the GBTC fund at a significant discount to NAV to position for its eventual ETF conversion, have been taking full profit post-ETF conversion by exiting the bitcoin space entirely rather than shifting to cheaper spot bitcoin ETFs,” analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou wrote. Before being uplisted to an ETF from a trust, GBTC was one of one of the only ways for stock traders in the U.S. to gain exposure to the price movements of bitcoin without the need to purchase the actual cryptocurrency. That made it the largest regulated bitcoin fund in the world by AUM. The bank had previously estimated that up to $3 billion had been invested in GBTC in the secondary market during 2023 to exploit the trust’s discount to NAV. If this estimate is correct, and given that $1.5 billion has already exited, there could be an additional $1.5 billion to exit the space via profit-taking on GBTC, which will put further pressure on bitcoin prices in the coming weeks. These outflows are also putting pressure on GBTC to lower its fees, the report said, adding that the “GBTC fee at 1.5% still looks too high compared to other spot bitcoin ETFs risking further outflows.” “A lot more capital, perhaps an additional $5 billion-$10 billion, could exit GBTC if it loses its liquidity advantage,” the bank cautioned. As of Friday, GBTC is the most expensive ETF among counterparts, with some charging zero fees for the first six months or until a certain assets under management (AUM) target is reached. JPMorgan says other spot bitcoin ETFs, minus GBTC, attracted $3 billion of inflows in only four days, and this is comparable to the inflows seen during previous bitcoin product launches. Most of this $3 billion of inflows reflects a rotation from existing bitcoin vehicles such as futures-based ETFs, the report added. Read more: Bitcoin ETF Approval is Historic Moment for BTC, Miners: Analysts View comments

2024-01-19 14:49:38+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3556]}

{}

Spirit Soars After Affirming Deal Support, Refinancing Plans

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spirit-airlines-surges-carrier-still-120941428.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Spirit Airlines Inc. said its deal with JetBlue Airways Corp. “remains in full force and effect” as the carrier explores ways to shore up its liquidity, offering investors a measure of relief after a federal judge blocked the multibillion-dollar buyout. 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 The company also detailed efforts to refinance debt in a wide-ranging update Friday aimed at easing anxieties over how Spirit will navigate the fallout of its troubled merger. The airline lost almost two-thirds of its market value in the days after the Jan. 16 court decision. Spirit “continues to believe that a combination with JetBlue is the best opportunity to increase much needed competition and choice,” the company said in a regulatory filing. It didn’t specify whether it would appeal the ruling. Read More: JetBlue’s $3.8 Billion Spirit Deal Turns Into a Nightmare The company’s shares surged 28% after the markets opened in New York, the biggest intraday gain since November 2020, recovering a portion of the week’s losses. Spirit’s junk bonds also rallied in secondary trading: Its 8% notes due in 2025 jumped 9.25 cents on the dollar to trade at 60.75 cents as of 8:10 a.m., according to Trace bond trading data. Spirit is seeking to regain support after the deal collapse led multiple Wall Street analysts to predict a bankruptcy filing or even liquidation. Cash has been dwindling at the budget carrier in an environment of high operating costs and flagging demand for low-cost domestic travel. “There is a real bankruptcy risk at Spirit without a swift change in fundamentals,” Conor Cunningham, a Melius Research analyst, said in a note. “But that doesn’t mean management won’t fight to right the ship. Bankruptcies don’t just happen, they take time.” Spirit likely is working on a revised standalone plan, he said. The airline said in Friday’s filing that it’s assessing options to refinance 2025 debt maturities. Liquidity Source As of Dec. 31, the company had $1.3 billion of liquidity, including unrestricted cash and equivalents, short-term investment securities and $300 million of liquidity under a revolving credit facility. It’s in negotiations with aircraft parts-maker Pratt & Whitney over compensation for issues with the geared turbofan engine, which Spirit said represents a “significant source of liquidity over the next couple of years.” Story continues The carrier also said fourth-quarter revenue would reach the high end of its forecast after strong bookings around the Christmas and New Years holidays. Spirit raised it operating margin guidance for the period. The update comes a day after Spirit pushed back against bankruptcy speculation, saying it was “not pursuing nor involved in a statutory restructuring.” Read More: Spirit Air Says No Bankruptcy Planning After JetBlue Setback “We don’t think a bankruptcy filing is a foregone conclusion,” said Savanthi Syth, an analyst with Raymond James. Engine-related compensation, cost-reduction efforts and domestic travel demand “are all important variables.” (Updates with share trading, analyst comment beginning 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. View comments

2024-01-19 14:56:53+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5597]}

{}

Amazon’s $1.4 Billion iRobot Deal to Be Blocked by EU Antitrust Watchdog

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amazon-1-4-billion-irobot-145653762.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc.’s proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot Corp. is expected to be blocked by the European Union’s antitrust regulator over concerns that the deal will harm other robot vacuum makers. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion Netflix Pays $5 Billion for ‘Raw’ in Bet on Live Events An Isolated Israel Doubles Down on War in Gaza — At All Costs India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom The e-commerce giant was told the deal was likely to be rejected at a meeting Thursday with officials from the European Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. A final decision still needs formal approval from the EU’s political leadership and is due by Feb. 14. Amazon declined to comment. Shares in Bedford, Massachusetts-based iRobot sank as much as 31% to $16.30 on Friday widening the deal spread to more than $35, the widest level since the merger announced more than a year ago. The Wall Street Journal first reported the expected decision from the meeting. The deal is likely to face opposition in the US as well. According to people familiar with the matter, the Federal Trade Commission has been drafting a lawsuit that would seek to block the acquisition. The FTC’s three commissioners haven’t yet voted on a challenge nor had a final meeting with Amazon to discuss the potential case, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing an ongoing probe. It was widely expected that the EU commission would oppose the deal after it expressed concerns last month that Amazon might be tempted to use its dominant position as an online retailer to favor iRobot products over those of competitors. EU interim competition chief Didier Reynders said Amazon had to pledge fair treatment to all robot vacuums offered on its platform. Amazon declined to make concessions to allay the EU’s concerns. Instead, the e-commerce firm is already prepping a legal challenge to the commission’s decision, according to a person familiar with the matter. It would be the second major tech merger blocked in recent months by the EU regulator, which nixed Booking Holdings Inc.’s €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) bid for Sweden’s Etraveli Group in September. Booking is appealing that decision. The EU’s opposition to its iRobot acquisition highlights the tension between Amazon’s retail operations and its ambitions for the smart-home ecosystem built around its Alexa voice assistant. The FTC has also expressed concern that the deal would give Amazon too much control over the smart-home device market and potentially violate users’ privacy by giving the company access to data on their homes. Story continues Analysts say the EU’s decision is a relatively minor setback for Amazon, which has the resources to pursue alternatives to the deal. “Amazon can continue to pursue a home connectivity strategy, even without iRobot,” Gil Lauria of D.A. Davidson & Co. said in an interview, adding, “This is a very small deal for a very large company.” The stakes for iRobot are potentially greater. The company, which pioneered robot vacuums, has seen demand for its products fall by nearly half since a 2021 pandemic peak in the face of growing competition from lower-priced manufacturers. Shares in the company have been falling for months on fears that the deal would be blocked. Last year, it was forced to secure a $200 million financing facility, and Amazon cut its per-share offer by about 15%. The EU’s decision again puts it at odds with the UK’s antitrust watchdog, which gave the deal the green light after finding it would have limited competitive impact on the British market. The UK Competition and Markets Authority also split with its European counterpart by approving the Booking deal and, at least initially, blocking Microsoft Corp.’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc. The CMA later reversed its position on the Microsoft-Activision deal. When Amazon announced its intention to buy iRobot in 2022, the acquisition was seen as a way for the e-commerce giant to expand its presence in the burgeoning market for smart-home gadgets. Besides baking its Alexa voice assistant into multiple devices, the company has fielded a personal robot named Astro. Early in its development, Astro struggled to map and navigate homes with complicated or unusual layouts, something iRobot has been working on for years with Roombas. Astro remains available only to invited buyers more than two years after its introduction, and Amazon now plans to sell a security guard version to businesses, Bloomberg reported in November. Though small for a company the size of Amazon, an iRobot acquisition would be the fourth-biggest in its history, trailing only its purchases of Whole Foods Market, movie studio MGM and the One Medical concierge healthcare service. More broadly, Luria said the deal-making climate for Big Tech has soured. “It’s hard for large technology companies to acquire anything right now. And it’s likely to become harder. There’s a global – or let’s say at least a trans-Atlantic – alliance around preventing technology companies from expanding through acquisition, and thus limiting competition.” --With assistance from Alexandra Muller and Matt Day. (Updates with shares on market open and deal spread in the third paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Should I Tell My Colleagues (or My Boss) About My Bipolar Diagnosis? The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-19 15:00:31+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2924]}

{}

Ally Tops Earnings Estimates, Will Sell Unit to Synchrony

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ally-tops-revenue-estimates-agrees-125112164.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Ally Financial Inc. announced fourth-quarter results that topped analysts’ estimates and said it will sell a point-of-sale financing business that includes $2.2 billion of loan receivables to Synchrony Financial. 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 The Detroit-based auto lender reported more than $2 billion in revenue, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.99 billion. Consumer auto-loan originations totaled $9.6 billion, less than the $9.69 billion average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Adjusted earnings came in at 45 cents a share, according to a statement Friday, topping estimates of 44 cents. The deal for the point-of-sale unit includes relationships with almost 2,500 merchant locations and supports more than 450,000 active borrowers in home-improvement services and health care, according to a separate statement. Ally said the sale, expected to be completed in the first quarter, will boost its Common Equity Tier 1 ratio by about 15 basis points and add “modestly” to tangible book value and per-share earnings in 2024. “This transaction allows us to continue to be disciplined in allocating capital to optimize risk-adjusted returns as we manage through a dynamic operating environment,” Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Brown said in the statement. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Ally shares rose 8.4% to $34.83 at 9:59 a.m. in New York. They’ve gained 33% in the past year. Over the course of last year, a handful of auto lenders pulled back from various parts of the sector, which Ally Chief Financial Officer Russ Hutchinson said last month is favorable for the company. Almost 40% of Ally’s retail auto-loan originations in 2023 were with customers in the highest credit-quality tier, Brown said in the statement. Story continues The auto lender appointed Doug Timmerman as interim CEO earlier this month while the company continues to search for a permanent replacement for Brown, who’s leaving to become president of Hendrick Automotive Group. The firm has worked to lower expenses over the past year, pausing hiring and then cutting jobs in October. The headcount reductions will give the firm $80 million of annualized cost savings, Ally said Friday. The company’s net interest margin hit 3.17% in the fourth quarter, below estimates of 3.2%. For all of 2024, NIM is expected to be between 3.25% and 3.3%, Ally said in an earnings presentation, and other revenue is forecast to rise as much as 10%. (Updates with shares in fifth 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.

2024-01-19 15:00:54+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3298]}

{}

Chicken Finger Billionaire Buys Dallas Condo Priced Like NYC

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chicken-finger-billionaire-buys-dallas-131207118.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Todd Graves, the founder of popular chicken finger chain Raising Cane’s Restaurants, purchased a penthouse at a luxury condo building under construction in Dallas, the latest sign of the city’s increasing shift toward the ultra-wealthy. 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 Musk’s AI Startup Secures $500 Million Toward $1 Billion Funding Goal Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand The billionaire is taking the top two floors at the Knox Street project, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified disclosing private information. A penthouse on one floor of the building was marketed for $25 million a few months ago, according to a person familiar with the matter. No official price was disclosed for Graves’s purchase and the total could be far higher. A price in the double-digit millions would be expensive, even by New York City standards. In the fourth quarter, the median sales price for a luxury Manhattan condo was about $12.5 million, according to appraiser Miller Samuel Inc. and brokerage Douglas Elliman Real Estate. MSD Partners — an affiliate of BDT & MSD Partners — and CBRE Group Inc.’s Trammell Crow Co. are part of a joint venture that’s developing the 1 million-square-foot (93,000-square-meter) Knox Street site with plans for a hotel, condos and office space. Ultraluxury condo units at the new project — expected to open in 2026 — may range from 2,500 square feet to more than 15,000 square feet, according to a December statement. Spokespeople for Trammell Crow and BDT & MSD, which invests on behalf of Michael Dell and other investors, declined to comment. The developers, which also include Steve Lieberman’s The Retail Connection and Highland Park Village Associates, are seeking to seize on booming demand for high-end spaces in Dallas, the most populous metro area in Texas. Graves’s business, Raising Cane’s, has a support office in the Dallas suburb of Plano, and counts Texas as the restaurants’ largest market. Story continues Graves, who opened the first Raising Cane’s in 1996, has a net worth of $7.2 billion due to his nearly 90% ownership interest in the closely-held business, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Louisiana native has starred in television shows and even worked at an oil refinery. He also collects historical artifacts and owns a 66 million-year-old triceratops skull that was found in Montana, according to news reports. The Knox Street project sits on a 4 acre (1.6 hectare) site and received construction financing from Texas-based Beal Bank. The development also includes retail and restaurant space. Other luxury developments are underway in the Dallas area. The Terminal, located close to the Katy Trail, features 16 luxury residences. Developer Carpenter & Co. is planning a Four Seasons hotel and private residences in the Turtle Creek neighborhood in Dallas. (Updates with more details on BDT & MSD in fifth paragraph, development details in ninth.) 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.

2024-01-19 15:05:00+00:00

{"BTC": [16787, 19879]}

{}

IMFINZI® (durvalumab) plus transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and bevacizumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 23% vs. TACE in liver cancer eligible for embolization

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/imfinzi-durvalumab-plus-transarterial-chemoembolization-150500507.html

Business Wire

http://www.businesswire.com/

EMERALD-1 is first global Phase III trial to show improved clinical outcome for systemic therapy in combination with TACE in this setting WILMINGTON, Del., January 19, 2024 --( BUSINESS WIRE )--Positive results from the EMERALD-1 Phase III trial showed AstraZeneca’s IMFINZI ® (durvalumab) in combination with TACE and bevacizumab demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) compared to TACE alone in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) eligible for embolization. These results will be presented today at the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI) in San Francisco, California (#LBA432). Approximately 20-30% of patients with HCC, the most common type of liver cancer, are eligible for embolization, a procedure that blocks the blood supply to the tumor and can also deliver chemotherapy or radiation therapy directly to the liver. 1-8 Despite being the standard of care in this setting, most patients who receive embolization experience disease progression or recurrence within eight months. 9-11 In EMERALD-1, treatment with IMFINZI plus TACE and bevacizumab reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 23% compared to TACE alone (based on a hazard ratio [HR] of 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.61-0.98; p=0.032). Median PFS was 15 months in patients treated with the IMFINZI combination versus 8.2 months with TACE. The PFS benefit observed was generally consistent across key prespecified subgroups. The secondary endpoint of time to progression (TTP) further supports the clinical benefit of IMFINZI plus TACE and bevacizumab in this setting, with a median TTP of 22 months versus 10 months for TACE (HR 0.63; 95% CI 0.48-0.82). The trial will continue as planned to assess the key secondary endpoint of overall survival (OS). Bruno Sangro, MD, PhD, Director of the Liver Unit and Professor of Medicine at Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain and a lead investigator in the EMERALD-1 trial, said: "In this earlier liver cancer setting, embolization alone has been the standard of care for more than 20 years, and rates of disease progression have remained high. Adding durvalumab and bevacizumab to TACE reduced the risk of disease progression or death by twenty-three per cent for patients with liver cancer eligible for embolization, showing for the first time that combining a systemic treatment with TACE meaningfully improves this clinically relevant outcome in earlier-stage disease." Story continues Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, said: "With IMFINZI-based treatment, patients with liver cancer eligible for embolization lived nearly seven additional months before their disease progressed. We are discussing these positive EMERALD-1 data with global regulatory authorities while awaiting the final overall survival results from the trial." Summary of results: EMERALD-1 i IMFINZI plus TACE and bevacizumab (n=204) Placebo plus TACE (n=205) Median PFS (months; 95% CI) ii, iii 15.0 (11.1-18.9) 8.2 (6.9-11.1) PFS HR (95% CI) ii, iv 0.77 (0.61-0.98) p-value v 0.032 PFS rate at 12 months (%) iii 55.5 39.8 PFS rate at 18 months (%) iii 43.1 28.3 Median TTP (months; 95% CI) iii, v 22.0 (16.6-24.9) 10.0 (7.1-13.6) TTP HR (95% CI) iv, v 0.63 (0.48-0.82) Subjects with measurable disease IMFINZI plus TACE and bevacizumab (n=202) Placebo plus TACE (n=203) Objective Response Rate (ORR) (%) iii 43.6 29.6 i The data cut-off date was Sept 11, 2023. ii PFS, TTP and ORR by Blinded Independent Central Review (BICR) per RECIST v1.1 iii Calculated using Kaplan-Meier method iv Calculated from stratified Cox proportional hazards method v The threshold of significance for this analysis was 0.0435 based on the alpha spend at the PFS interim analysis (2.27%) and the actual number of events at PFS final analysis. The safety profile for IMFINZI plus TACE and bevacizumab was generally manageable and consistent with the known profile of each medicine. The number of TACE procedures was consistent across arms. No new safety signals were observed. Grade 3 and 4 adverse events due to any cause occurred in 45.5% of patients treated with IMFINZI plus TACE and bevacizumab and 23% of patients treated with TACE alone. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION There are no contraindications for IMFINZI ® (durvalumab) or IMJUDO ® (tremelimumab-actl). Severe and Fatal Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions Important immune-mediated adverse reactions listed under Warnings and Precautions may not include all possible severe and fatal immune-mediated reactions. Immune-mediated adverse reactions, which may be severe or fatal, can occur in any organ system or tissue. Immune-mediated adverse reactions can occur at any time after starting treatment or after discontinuation. Monitor patients closely for symptoms and signs that may be clinical manifestations of underlying immune-mediated adverse reactions. Evaluate clinical chemistries including liver enzymes, creatinine, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) level, and thyroid function at baseline and before each dose. In cases of suspected immune-mediated adverse reactions, initiate appropriate workup to exclude alternative etiologies, including infection. Institute medical management promptly, including specialty consultation as appropriate. Withhold or permanently discontinue IMFINZI and IMJUDO depending on severity. See USPI Dosing and Administration for specific details. In general, if combination of IMFINZI and IMJUDO requires interruption or discontinuation, administer systemic corticosteroid therapy (1 mg to 2 mg/kg/day prednisone or equivalent) until improvement to Grade 1 or less. Upon improvement to Grade 1 or less, initiate corticosteroid taper and continue to taper over at least 1 month. Consider administration of other systemic immunosuppressants in patients whose immune-mediated adverse reactions are not controlled with corticosteroid therapy. Immune-Mediated Pneumonitis IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated pneumonitis, which may be fatal. Immune‑mediated pneumonitis occurred in 1.3% (5/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including fatal (0.3%) and Grade 3 (0.2%) adverse reactions. Immune-Mediated Colitis IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated colitis that is frequently associated with diarrhea. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection/reactivation has been reported in patients with corticosteroid-refractory immune-mediated colitis. In cases of corticosteroid-refractory colitis, consider repeating infectious workup to exclude alternative etiologies. Immune‑mediated colitis or diarrhea occurred in 6% (23/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including Grade 3 (3.6%) adverse reactions. Intestinal perforation has been observed in other studies of IMFINZI and IMJUDO. Immune-Mediated Hepatitis IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated hepatitis, which may be fatal. Immune‑mediated hepatitis occurred in 7.5% (29/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including fatal (0.8%), Grade 4 (0.3%) and Grade 3 (4.1%) adverse reactions. Immune-Mediated Endocrinopathies Adrenal Insufficiency : IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause primary or secondary adrenal insufficiency. For Grade 2 or higher adrenal insufficiency, initiate symptomatic treatment, including hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Immune-mediated adrenal insufficiency occurred in 1.5% (6/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including Grade 3 (0.3%) adverse reactions. Hypophysitis : IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated hypophysitis. Hypophysitis can present with acute symptoms associated with mass effect such as headache, photophobia, or visual field cuts. Hypophysitis can cause hypopituitarism. Initiate symptomatic treatment including hormone replacement as clinically indicated. Immune-mediated hypophysitis/hypopituitarism occurred in 1% (4/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO. Thyroid Disorders (Thyroiditis, Hyperthyroidism, and Hypothyroidism) : IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated thyroid disorders. Thyroiditis can present with or without endocrinopathy. Hypothyroidism can follow hyperthyroidism. Initiate hormone replacement therapy for hypothyroidism or institute medical management of hyperthyroidism as clinically indicated. Immune-mediated thyroiditis occurred in 1.5% (6/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO. Immune-mediated hyperthyroidism occurred in 4.6% (18/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including Grade 3 (0.3%) adverse reactions. Immune-mediated hypothyroidism occurred in 11% (42/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, which can present with diabetic ketoacidosis : Monitor patients for hyperglycemia or other signs and symptoms of diabetes. Initiate treatment with insulin as clinically indicated. Two patients 0.5% (2/388) had events of hyperglycemia requiring insulin therapy that had not resolved at last follow-up. Immune-Mediated Nephritis with Renal Dysfunction IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated nephritis. Immune-mediated nephritis occurred in 1% (4/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including Grade 3 (0.5%) adverse reactions. Immune-Mediated Dermatology Reactions IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated rash or dermatitis. Exfoliative dermatitis, including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS), and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), has occurred with PD-1/L-1 and CTLA-4 blocking antibodies. Topical emollients and/or topical corticosteroids may be adequate to treat mild to moderate non-exfoliative rashes. Immune-mediated rash or dermatitis occurred in 4.9% (19/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including Grade 4 (0.3%) and Grade 3 (1.5%) adverse reactions. Immune-Mediated Pancreatitis IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO can cause immune-mediated pancreatitis. Immune-mediated pancreatitis occurred in 2.3% (9/388) of patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO, including Grade 4 (0.3%) and Grade 3 (1.5%) adverse reactions. Other Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions The following clinically significant, immune-mediated adverse reactions occurred at an incidence of less than 1% each in patients who received IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO or were reported with the use of other immune-checkpoint inhibitors. Cardiac/vascular : Myocarditis, pericarditis, vasculitis. Nervous system : Meningitis, encephalitis, myelitis and demyelination, myasthenic syndrome/myasthenia gravis (including exacerbation), Guillain-Barré syndrome, nerve paresis, autoimmune neuropathy. Ocular : Uveitis, iritis, and other ocular inflammatory toxicities can occur. Some cases can be associated with retinal detachment. Various grades of visual impairment to include blindness can occur. If uveitis occurs in combination with other immune-mediated adverse reactions, consider a Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada-like syndrome, as this may require treatment with systemic steroids to reduce the risk of permanent vision loss. Gastrointestinal : Gastritis, duodenitis. Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders : Myositis/polymyositis, rhabdomyolysis and associated sequelae including renal failure, arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatic. Endocrine : Hypoparathyroidism. Other (hematologic/immune) : Hemolytic anemia, aplastic anemia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, histiocytic necrotizing lymphadenitis (Kikuchi lymphadenitis), sarcoidosis, immune thrombocytopenia, solid organ transplant rejection. Infusion-Related Reactions IMFINZI and IMJUDO can cause severe or life-threatening infusion-related reactions. Monitor for signs and symptoms of infusion-related reactions. Interrupt, slow the rate of, or permanently discontinue IMFINZI and IMJUDO based on the severity. See USPI Dosing and Administration for specific details. For Grade 1 or 2 infusion-related reactions, consider using pre-medications with subsequent doses. Infusion-related reactions occurred in 10 (2.6%) patients receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO. Complications of Allogeneic HSCT after IMFINZI Fatal and other serious complications can occur in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) before or after being treated with a PD-1/L-1 blocking antibody. Transplant-related complications include hyperacute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) after reduced intensity conditioning, and steroid-requiring febrile syndrome (without an identified infectious cause). These complications may occur despite intervening therapy between PD-1/L-1 blockade and allogeneic HSCT. Follow patients closely for evidence of transplant-related complications and intervene promptly. Consider the benefit versus risks of treatment with a PD-1/L-1 blocking antibody prior to or after an allogeneic HSCT. Embryo-Fetal Toxicity Based on its mechanism of action and data from animal studies, IMFINZI and IMJUDO can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman. Advise pregnant women of the potential risk to a fetus. In females of reproductive potential, verify pregnancy status prior to initiating IMFINZI and IMJUDO and advise them to use effective contraception during treatment with IMFINZI and IMJUDO and for 3 months after the last dose of IMFINZI and IMJUDO. Lactation There is no information regarding the presence of either IMFINZI or IMJUDO in human milk; however, because of the potential for serious adverse reactions in breastfed infants from IMFINZI and IMJUDO, advise women not to breastfeed during treatment and for 3 months after the last dose. Adverse Reactions In patients with unresectable HCC in the HIMALAYA study receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO (n=388), the most common adverse reactions (occurring in ≥20% of patients) were rash (32%), diarrhea (27%), fatigue (26%), pruritus (23%), musculoskeletal pain (22%), and abdominal pain (20%). In patients with unresectable HCC in the HIMALAYA study receiving IMFINZI and IMJUDO (n=388), serious adverse reactions occurred in 41% of patients. Serious adverse reactions in >1% of patients included hemorrhage (6%), diarrhea (4%), sepsis (2.1%), pneumonia (2.1%), rash (1.5%), vomiting (1.3%), acute kidney injury (1.3%), and anemia (1.3%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 8% of patients who received IMJUDO in combination with durvalumab, including death (1%), hemorrhage intracranial (0.5%), cardiac arrest (0.5%), pneumonitis (0.5%), hepatic failure (0.5%), and immune-mediated hepatitis (0.5%). Permanent discontinuation of treatment regimen due to an adverse reaction occurred in 14% of patients. The safety and effectiveness of IMFINZI and IMJUDO have not been established in pediatric patients. Indication: IMFINZI in combination with IMJUDO is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). Please see Full Prescribing Information including Medication Guide for IMFINZI and IMJUDO . Notes Liver cancer Liver cancer, of which HCC is the most common type, is the third-leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 900,000 people worldwide diagnosed each year and a high prevalence in certain regions of Asia. 12-14 An estimated 80-90% of all patients with HCC also have cirrhosis. 15 Chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis are associated with inflammation that over time can lead to the development of HCC. 15 Immunotherapy is a proven treatment modality in HCC with approved options available for patients in later-line settings. 16 EMERALD-1 EMERALD-1 is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, global Phase III trial of IMFINZI plus TACE concurrently, followed by IMFINZI with or without bevacizumab until progression versus TACE alone in a total of 616 patients with unresectable HCC eligible for embolization. The trial was conducted in 157 centers across 18 countries, including in North America, Australia, Europe, South America and Asia. The primary endpoint was PFS for IMFINZI plus TACE and bevacizumab versus TACE alone, and secondary endpoints include PFS for IMFINZI plus TACE, OS, patient-reported outcomes and ORR. IMFINZI IMFINZI ® (durvalumab) is a human monoclonal antibody that binds to the PD-L1 protein and blocks the interaction of PD-L1 with the PD-1 and CD80 proteins, countering the tumor's immune-evading tactics and releasing the inhibition of immune responses. IMFINZI is approved in combination with chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) in locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC) and in combination with IMJUDO ® (tremelimumab-actl) in unresectable HCC in the US, EU, Japan, China and many other countries based on the TOPAZ-1 and HIMALAYA Phase III trials, respectively. Following HIMALAYA in the advanced setting, EMERALD-1 is AstraZeneca’s second positive Phase III trial in HCC. In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), IMFINZI is approved in combination with a short course of IMJUDO and chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic NSCLC in the US, EU and Japan based on the POSEIDON Phase III trial. IMFINZI is also the only approved immunotherapy and the global standard of care in the curative-intent setting of unresectable, Stage III NSCLC in patients whose disease has not progressed after chemoradiation therapy based on the PACIFIC Phase III trial, the results of which have been confirmed in the real-world setting in the PACIFIC-R study. In 2023, AstraZeneca announced positive results from the AEGEAN Phase III trial evaluating IMFINZI in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy before surgery and as adjuvant monotherapy after surgery in resectable NSCLC. IMFINZI is also approved in the US, EU, Japan, China and many other countries around the world for the treatment of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) based on the CASPIAN Phase III trial. IMFINZI is approved in previously treated patients with advanced bladder cancer in a small number of countries. Since the first approval in May 2017, more than 200,000 patients have been treated with IMFINZI. As part of a broad development program, IMFINZI is being tested as a single treatment and in combinations with other anti-cancer treatments for patients with SCLC, NSCLC, bladder cancer, several GI cancers, breast cancer and other solid tumors. In 2023, AstraZeneca announced positive results for several Phase III trials evaluating IMFINZI in various combinations, including in ovarian (DUO-O) and endometrial (DUO-E) cancers with olaparib. In GI cancers specifically, AstraZeneca has an extensive clinical development program further assessing IMFINZI across multiple settings. In addition to EMERALD-1, IMFINZI is also being investigated in combination with bevacizumab in adjuvant HCC (EMERALD-2), in combination with IMJUDO, lenvatinib and TACE in embolization-eligible HCC (EMERALD-3), in resectable gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers (MATTERHORN) and in locally advanced esophageal cancer (KUNLUN). In June 2023, IMFINZI added to standard-of-care neoadjuvant chemotherapy met a key secondary endpoint of pathologic complete response in the MATTERHORN Phase III trial. AstraZeneca in GI cancers AstraZeneca has a broad development program for the treatment of GI cancers across several medicines and a variety of tumor types and stages of disease. In 2020, GI cancers collectively represented approximately 5.1 million new cancer cases leading to approximately 3.6 million deaths. 17 Within this program, the Company is committed to improving outcomes in gastric, liver, biliary tract, esophageal, pancreatic and colorectal cancers. In addition to its indications in BTC and with IMJUDO in HCC, IMFINZI is being assessed in combinations, including with IMJUDO, in liver, esophageal and gastric cancers in an extensive development program spanning early to late-stage disease across settings. Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki, a HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate, is approved in the US and several other countries for HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer and is being assessed in colorectal cancer. Fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki is jointly developed and commercialized by AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo. Olaparib, a first-in-class PARP inhibitor, is approved in the US and several other countries for the treatment of BRCA-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Olaparib is developed and commercialized in collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc., known as MSD outside the US and Canada. AstraZeneca is advancing multiple modalities that provide complementary mechanisms for targeting Claudin 18.2, a promising therapeutic target in gastric cancer. These include AZD0901, a potential first-in-class antibody drug conjugate licensed from KYM Biosciences Inc., currently in Phase II development, AZD5863, a novel Claudin 18.2/CD3 T-cell engager bispecific antibody, licensed from Harbour Biomed, that is in Phase I development, and AZD6422, an armored autologous chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy, currently being evaluated in an Investigator Initiated Trial (IIT) in collaboration with AbelZeta in China. In early development, AstraZeneca is developing two Glypican 3 (GPC3) armored CAR-Ts in HCC. AZD5851, currently in Phase I development, is being developed globally, and C-CAR031 / AZD7003 is being co-developed with AbelZeta in China where it is under evaluation in an IIT. AstraZeneca in immuno-oncology (IO) AstraZeneca is a pioneer in introducing the concept of immunotherapy into dedicated clinical areas of high unmet medical need. The Company has a comprehensive and diverse IO portfolio and pipeline anchored in immunotherapies designed to overcome evasion of the anti-tumor immune response and stimulate the body’s immune system to attack tumors. AstraZeneca aims to reimagine cancer care and help transform outcomes for patients with IMFINZI as a single treatment and in combination with IMJUDO as well as other novel immunotherapies and modalities. The Company is also exploring next-generation immunotherapies like bispecific antibodies and therapeutics that harness different aspects of immunity to target cancer. AstraZeneca is boldly pursuing an innovative clinical strategy to bring IO-based therapies that deliver long-term survival to new settings across a wide range of cancer types. With an extensive clinical program, the Company also champions the use of IO treatment in earlier disease stages, where there is the greatest potential for cure. AstraZeneca in oncology AstraZeneca is leading a revolution in oncology with the ambition to provide cures for cancer in every form, following the science to understand cancer and all its complexities to discover, develop and deliver life-changing medicines to patients. The Company's focus is on some of the most challenging cancers. It is through persistent innovation that AstraZeneca has built one of the most diverse portfolios and pipelines in the industry, with the potential to catalyze changes in the practice of medicine and transform the patient experience. AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer care and, one day, eliminate cancer as a cause of death. About AstraZeneca AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in over 100 countries and its innovative medicines are used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit www.astrazeneca-us.com and follow us on social media @AstraZeneca . References Lin YJ, et al . Treatment patterns and survival in hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States and Taiwan. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(10):e0240542. Park JW, et al . Global patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma management from diagnosis to death: the BRIDGE Study. Liver Int. 2015;35(9):2155-2166. Henriksson M, et al . Treatment patterns and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the Swedish national registry SweLiv. BJS Open . 2020;4(1):109-117. Wehling C, et al . Treatment stage migration and treatment sequences in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: drawbacks and opportunities. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol . 2021;147(8):2471-2481. Fukuda H, et al . Differences in healthcare expenditure estimates according to statistical approach: A nationwide claims database study on patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(8):e0237316. Akada K, et al . Database analysis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and treatment flow in early and advanced stages. Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2019;7(4):e00486. Chon YE, et al . Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Korea between 2012 and 2014: an Analysis of Data from the Korean Nationwide Cancer Registry. J Liver Cancer . 2020;20(2):135-147. National Cancer Institute. Embolization. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/embolization . Accessed January 2024. Lencioni R, et al. Lipiodol transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review of efficacy and safety data. Hepatology . 2016;64:106-116. Young S, et al . Local recurrence following complete radiologic response in patients treated with transarterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma. Diagn Interv Imaging. 2022;103(3):143-149. Llovet JM, et al . Trial design and endpoints in hepatocellular carcinoma: AASLD consensus conference. Hepatology . 2021;73(Suppl 1):158-191. ASCO. Liver Cancer: View All Pages. Available at: https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/liver-cancer/view-all . Accessed January 2024. WHO. Liver Cancer Fact Sheet. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/cancers/11-Liver-fact-sheet.pdf . Accessed January 2024. Liu Y, et al. Changes in the Epidemiology of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Asia. Cancers (Basel) . 2022;14(18):4473. Tarao K, et al . Real impact of liver cirrhosis on the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in various liver diseases—meta‐analytic assessment. Cancer Med. 2019;8(3):1054-1065. Colagrande S, et al . Challenges of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol. 2016;22(34):7645-7659. World Health Organization. World Fact Sheet. Available at: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/900-world-fact-sheets.pdf . Accessed January 2024. US-84597 Last Updated 01/24 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240119724994/en/ Contacts Media Inquiries Brendan McEvoy, +1 302 885 2677 Chelsea Tressler, +1 302 885 2677 US Media Mailbox: [email protected] View comments

2024-01-19 15:18:15+00:00

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Canada Retail Sales Rebounded in December After Slowdown

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/canada-retail-sales-rebounded-december-135053693.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Canadian consumers went on a holiday shopping spree at the end of last year, after reining in their spending just a month earlier. 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 Musk’s AI Startup Secures $500 Million Toward $1 Billion Funding Goal Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand Receipts for retailers jumped 0.8% in December, the biggest increase since April, according to an advance estimate from Statistics Canada released Friday. That followed a 0.2% decrease in November, which missed the median estimate of a flat reading in a Bloomberg survey. In volume terms, retail sales also edged down 0.2% that month. Sales declined in four of the nine subsectors in November, while motor vehicle and parts dealers saw the largest increase, up for a third straight month. Excluding autos, retail sales fell 0.5%, versus expectations for a 0.1% decline. Read More: Automakers Have Biggest Yearly Boost in Canada Sales Since 1997 Core retail sales, which exclude gas stations and car dealers, were down 0.6%, led by lower receipts at supermarkets, grocery retailers and liquor stores. Bonds ticked slightly lower after the data release, with the yield on the two-year Canadian benchmark rising to nearly 4.09% as of 10:12 a.m. The Canadian dollar was little changed on the day at C$1.3477 per US dollar. While sales rose in December, the pullback in November highlighted some spending weakness for consumers, who are facing higher interest rates and many of whom are due to renew their mortgages this year. Friday’s report, combined with accelerating core inflation and worse-than-expected job gains last month, point to the Bank of Canada holding its policy rate steady at 5% next week. “The flash estimate for December revealed a rebound in spending, but that was largely due to higher goods prices,” said Tiago Figueiredo, a macro strategist at Desjardins Financial. The apparent rise in sales came alongside an increase in prices of 0.6%, he pointed out. “As a result, in volume terms, the advance in December just barely offsets the decline in November. These numbers look even less inspiring in light of the surge in population growth over the past 12 months.” Read More: Immigration Surprises Are Making the Bank of Canada’s Job Harder Regionally, sales were down in five provinces in November. Quebec saw the largest provincial decrease of 1.4% and sales in its biggest city, Montreal, decreased 0.9%. Story continues The statistics agency didn’t provide details on the December estimate, which was based on responses from 49.4% of companies surveyed. “Canadian consumers are increasingly struggling with higher interest rates,” said Katherine Judge, an economist with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. “Although the advance estimate for December suggested a 0.8% increase in sales, we expect that strength to be fleeting given the weakening labor market and the impact of higher interest rates on spending.” --With assistance from Erik Hertzberg. (Adds economist reaction.) 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

2024-01-19 15:20:35+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2226]}

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Citadel Joins Hedge Fund Peers Cutting Back Trading on Index Changes

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/citadel-joins-hedge-fund-peers-152035404.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Citadel has dialed back its index rebalance strategy, joining a string of hedge fund peers who are curtailing what once used to be one of the most reliable trades but one that’s turned challenging in recent years. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand The $56 billion investment firm has cut its dedicated team specializing in the trade, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Nina Zhao left the company in recent months, while Ryan Sandor and Paul Jefferys departed earlier in 2023, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. A spokesman for Citadel declined to comment. Zhao could not be reached for comment. Sandor and Jefferys didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The index rebalance strategy, in its simplest form involves, for example, buying stocks that are entering major stock indexes and selling those that are exiting them ahead of time. But with everyone from Millennium Management and Man Group to traditional money managers getting in, it’s been facing diminishing returns. Read More: Sure-Fire Trade Exploiting Dumb Index Cash Crushed by Crowding A number of traders pursuing the strategy suffered one of their toughest years in 2022, following which a retrenchment at major investment firms started. ExodusPoint Capital Management, which focuses overall on fixed income, scaled back the strategy, Bloomberg News reported last year. Some managers specializing in the trade at firms including Point72 Asset Management, Millennium and Balyasny Asset Management also departed. At Citadel, the strategy still operates with a small allocation as part of the firm’s equities business and is overseen by quant researchers, one of the people said. Citadel posted a 15.3% return in its main Wellington hedge fund last year. 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

2024-01-19 15:27:25+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [1857]}

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Many Ship Crews Will Get Double Money to Go Through Red Sea

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ship-crews-double-money-red-152725120.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand Seafarers on vessels with links to the US and UK will get double pay for the days they’re in the most dangerous parts of the Red Sea, as well as the option to disembark before reaching the risky areas, a major union said. Nautilus International, which represents more than 20,000 crew, said the agreement will apply from Friday and has been broadened from a previous recommendation that only covered vessels with links to Israel. The deal follows a meeting of the Warlike Operations Area Committee, which is made up of Nautilus, the UK Chamber of Shipping, and the RMT Union. Read more: Red Sea Attacks Mean Double Wages for Danish Crew It made the recommendation following the increased threat posed by Houthi rebels, who have said all UK and US assets in the region are legitimate targets. Key organizations have warned that parts of the Red Sea remain too dangerous to transit following attacks in shipping, sparking an exodus of vessels from the region. Read more: Container Rates Soar as Red Sea Chaos Worsens Capacity Crunch “Seafarer safety must take precedence over commercial interests,” said David Appleton, Nautilus International head of professional and technical. “This is a welcome move, and we are pleased agreement was reached between unions, employers, and government.” The hazard pay concession followed a similar move in late December from Denmark’s shipping industry. 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

2024-01-19 15:40:23+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5373]}

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AMD’s Record High Shows AI-Fueled Chip Rally Has Another Gear

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amd-record-high-shows-ai-154023774.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is on track for its best week since November, outpacing even AI-darling Nvidia Corp., as optimism builds anew around the semiconductor industry’s growth prospects. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand AMD shares closed at a record high on Thursday and rose again in early trading Friday. They’re up roughly 65% since October, handily beating both Nvidia and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index in that period. AMD has surged roughly 12% this week, outpacing a nearly 6% leap for Nvidia, which is also climbing Friday and set an all-time high Thursday. Investors see huge growth potential for chips and expect that Nvidia “won’t be the sole winner,” said David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. “Investors are looking for a catch-up trade” after Nvidia’s stellar performance in the past year, he said. Semiconductor shares got a boost overall on Thursday from better-than-expected fourth quarter results from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia said it expects revenue growth of at least 20% for the year, after a slump in 2023. Read more: TSMC’s Outlook Backs Hopes for Global Tech Recovery in 2024 AMD shares got a lift early this week when analysts at firms including Barclays Plc, Susquehanna Financial and TD Cowen boosted their price targets. Of those three, Barclays now has the highest target at $200 per share, raising it from $120 on the potential for artificial intelligence as a driver. The stock traded as high as $167 on Friday. More than 70% of analysts covering AMD have a buy-equivalent rating, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Read more: AMD CEO Debuts Nvidia Chip Rival, Gives Eye-Popping Forecast Story continues Risks Ahead In a sign of how the Street has struggled to keep up with the stock’s ascent, the average 12-month price target of around $150 implies a drop of about 9%. Some of that gap is due to AMD’s recent rally - the stock price only overtook the average analyst price target in December after months below the level. Analysts can also be slow to update target prices and ratings, especially in the weeks before an earnings release. Both AMD and Nvidia have upcoming earnings reports that will give investors a sense of their growth outlook for the year ahead. AMD releases results on Jan. 30, and Nvidia in late February. The reason Nvidia has surged so much and continues to be a favorite is its booming revenue growth, which gives it a cheaper valuation than many peers. Nvidia trades at about 28 times forward earnings, a premium to the semiconductor share benchmark at about 23. AMD trades at a multiple of more than 40. “Those stocks are more than fully valued at this point, especially AMD,” said Alec Young, chief investment strategist at MAPsignals, adding that AMD has more to prove because earnings haven’t come through yet. “It’s not a good setup for the bulls right now.” If the rally in chipmakers fades, it could present an opportunity to those who are bullish on AI’s long-term prospects, Young said. “These are definitely stocks you want to buy on any weakness, but just tactically you probably don’t want to chase them here today,” he said. Still, the sector’s strength to start the year shows that the enthusiasm around AI that propelled chipmaker shares and the tech sector in 2023 hasn’t faded, even as a rally in the S&P 500 Index appears to have stalled. “If you believe in AI then you believe in the broadening of the opportunity — it’s not just one or two companies that are going to take that share,” said Will Rhind, chief executive officer of GraniteShares. “This is just reinforcing the narrative that AI has a lot more room to run.” Tech Chart of the Day Another dismal week for Chinese equities saw grim milestones pile up. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index, which hosts the likes of Tencent Holdings Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Xiaomi Corp., is already down 17% in 2024 after three straight years of losses. The index has seen about $1.8 trillion wiped out since a February 2021 peak. Top Tech News Apple Inc.’s long-awaited Vision Pro mixed-reality headset will finally be available for preorders on Friday, giving the company its first real taste of consumer demand for the $3,499 device. Apple vowed to open up its coveted tap-to-pay technology on iPhones to rivals in a bid to sidestep potentially massive European Union antitrust fines. Amazon.com Inc.’s proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot Corp. is expected to be blocked by the European Union’s antitrust regulator over concerns that the deal will harm other robot vacuum makers. When fast fashion giant Shein firmed up plans for a US initial public offering late last year, the online retailer hoped that it wouldn’t be subjected to regulatory review in China. Paytm trimmed losses in the latest quarter after the Indian fintech company cut costs and scaled up services to small merchants. 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.

2024-01-19 15:40:23+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [5438]}

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AMD’s Record High Shows AI-Fueled Chip Rally Has Another Gear

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/amd-record-high-shows-ai-154023189.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is on track for its best week since November, outpacing even AI-darling Nvidia Corp., as optimism builds anew around the semiconductor industry’s growth prospects. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion Netflix Pays $5 Billion for ‘Raw’ in Bet on Live Events An Isolated Israel Doubles Down on War in Gaza — At All Costs India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom AMD shares closed at a record high on Thursday and rose again in early trading Friday. They’re up roughly 65% since October, handily beating both Nvidia and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index in that period. AMD has surged roughly 12% this week, outpacing a nearly 6% leap for Nvidia, which is also climbing Friday and set an all-time high Thursday. Investors see huge growth potential for chips and expect that Nvidia “won’t be the sole winner,” said David Wagner, a portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. “Investors are looking for a catch-up trade” after Nvidia’s stellar performance in the past year, he said. Semiconductor shares got a boost overall on Thursday from better-than-expected fourth quarter results from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia said it expects revenue growth of at least 20% for the year, after a slump in 2023. Read more: TSMC’s Outlook Backs Hopes for Global Tech Recovery in 2024 AMD shares got a lift early this week when analysts at firms including Barclays Plc, Susquehanna Financial and TD Cowen boosted their price targets. Of those three, Barclays now has the highest target at $200 per share, raising it from $120 on the potential for artificial intelligence as a driver. The stock traded as high as $167 on Friday. More than 70% of analysts covering AMD have a buy-equivalent rating, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Read more: AMD CEO Debuts Nvidia Chip Rival, Gives Eye-Popping Forecast Risks Ahead In a sign of how the Street has struggled to keep up with the stock’s ascent, the average 12-month price target of around $150 implies a drop of about 9%. Some of that gap is due to AMD’s recent rally - the stock price only overtook the average analyst price target in December after months below the level. Analysts can also be slow to update target prices and ratings, especially in the weeks before an earnings release. Both AMD and Nvidia have upcoming earnings reports that will give investors a sense of their growth outlook for the year ahead. AMD releases results on Jan. 30, and Nvidia in late February. Story continues The reason Nvidia has surged so much and continues to be a favorite is its booming revenue growth, which gives it a cheaper valuation than many peers. Nvidia trades at about 28 times forward earnings, a premium to the semiconductor share benchmark at about 23. AMD trades at a multiple of more than 40. “Those stocks are more than fully valued at this point, especially AMD,” said Alec Young, chief investment strategist at MAPsignals, adding that AMD has more to prove because earnings haven’t come through yet. “It’s not a good setup for the bulls right now.” If the rally in chipmakers fades, it could present an opportunity to those who are bullish on AI’s long-term prospects, Young said. “These are definitely stocks you want to buy on any weakness, but just tactically you probably don’t want to chase them here today,” he said. Still, the sector’s strength to start the year shows that the enthusiasm around AI that propelled chipmaker shares and the tech sector in 2023 hasn’t faded, even as a rally in the S&P 500 Index appears to have stalled. “If you believe in AI then you believe in the broadening of the opportunity — it’s not just one or two companies that are going to take that share,” said Will Rhind, chief executive officer of GraniteShares. “This is just reinforcing the narrative that AI has a lot more room to run.” Tech Chart of the Day Another dismal week for Chinese equities saw grim milestones pile up. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Tech Index, which hosts the likes of Tencent Holdings Ltd., Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Xiaomi Corp., is already down 17% in 2024 after three straight years of losses. The index has seen about $1.8 trillion wiped out since a February 2021 peak. Top Tech News Apple Inc.’s long-awaited Vision Pro mixed-reality headset will finally be available for preorders on Friday, giving the company its first real taste of consumer demand for the $3,499 device. Apple vowed to open up its coveted tap-to-pay technology on iPhones to rivals in a bid to sidestep potentially massive European Union antitrust fines. Amazon.com Inc.’s proposed $1.4 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot Corp. is expected to be blocked by the European Union’s antitrust regulator over concerns that the deal will harm other robot vacuum makers. When fast fashion giant Shein firmed up plans for a US initial public offering late last year, the online retailer hoped that it wouldn’t be subjected to regulatory review in China. Paytm trimmed losses in the latest quarter after the Indian fintech company cut costs and scaled up services to small merchants. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Should I Tell My Colleagues (or My Boss) About My Bipolar Diagnosis? The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P. View comments

2024-01-19 15:48:04+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3177]}

{}

Defying Milei’s Austerity, an Argentina Province Plans Its Own Currency

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/defying-milei-austerity-argentina-province-154804955.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- When President Javier Milei defended the adoption of the dollar through a “free competition of currencies” in Argentina, few foresaw a brand new legal tender coming out of the middle of the country. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand The legislature of La Rioja, a small landlocked province known for its olives, approved the creation of a new quasi-currency this week, defying Milei’s austerity push to end the nation’s chronic fiscal deficit. La Rioja’s move evokes similar provincial currencies issued during past economic crises that ended infamously. La Rioja Governor Ricardo Quintela — from the opposition Peronist coalition — requested authorization to launch the so-called bocade to pay part of public servants’ salaries after a strike by La Rioja’s local police force and protests from health workers. The legislature approved issuing as much as 22.5 billion pesos ($27.5 million) worth of bocades to complement workers’ paychecks in the national currency. It’s not immediately clear if La Rioja will print physical bocade banknotes. In a statement, the legislature said Quintela is authorized to issue hard cash or register the money digitally in workers’ bank accounts. Whether businesses will accept bocades as a form of payment is also to be seen. Read More: Why the Argentine Peso Is Slipping Through Milei’s Fingers Quintela blamed Milei’s austerity for forcing the province to freeze public workers’ salaries that can’t keep up with 211% inflation. He’s also suing the federal government for 9.3 billion pesos he says the province is owed from the 2023 budget. Bocades and Patacones Quintela argues that the bocade will allow the provincial government “to improve public administration workers’ salaries and revive the local economy,” according to a comment he posted on social media. To his point, government workers are crucial to La Rioja’s economy, outnumbering private sector workers in the province of 385,000 residents. Story continues It’s not La Rioja’s first dance with a new currency. Like many Argentine provinces, it also created its own legal tender under the same name in the wake of the country’s 2001 debt crisis. Buenos Aires province, the country’s most populous, also printed the so-called patacones that were used as a form of payment until they were converted into pesos by the national government. Read More: Milei’s Younger Sister Is Also ‘The Boss’ Directing His Mission Milei, who has put plans to replace the peso with the dollar on hold to prioritize budget austerity, sarcastically welcomed La Rioja’s decision. “Provincial currencies are welcome to compete,” Milei wrote on social media. But, “unlike what happened in the past, in no way are they going to be rescued by the national government.” 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.

2024-01-19 15:50:35+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2429]}

{}

Endeavor Shares Rise on Prospects for Sale to Silver Lake

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/silver-lake-plans-sell-off-233112789.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. rose in New York on controlling shareholder Silver Lake Management’s plans to buy out minority investors and sell some assets of the entertainment company. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand Shares of Endeavor gained as much as 5.4%. They were up 4.3% to $24.03 at 10:47 a.m. in New York. The group’s bid will be delivered in coming weeks to Endeavor’s independent directors, who will hire advisers to evaluate the terms and make a recommendation, according to people with knowledge of the plans who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Silver Lake, which holds a 71% voting stake in Endeavor, is following through on plans announced in October. Endeavor said at the time it was evaluating strategic options out of frustration with the company’s languishing stock, which has been trading below its initial offering price of $24 a share almost three years ago. Led by Hollywood superagent Ari Emanuel, the company acquired dozens of businesses but struggled to convince investors they fit together. Its operations include the William Morris Endeavor talent agency, a sports-betting platform and companies that manage events, such as the Professional Bull Riders league and New York Fashion Week. Endeavor won’t part with its original business, the talent agency that represents stars including Dwayne Johnson and Millie Bobby Brown. The company also owns a 51% stake in TKO Group Holdings Inc., the parent of Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment. TKO is expected to remain publicly traded, according to the people. Shares of TKO were up as much as 3% to $78.08. Silver Lake is expected to bring in partners to help finance the deal, including new and existing ones. The firm has been talking to Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co. about an investment, Bloomberg News reported. Story continues --With assistance from Crystal Tse. (Updates with trading of Endeavor, TKO Group in second, eighth paragraphs.) 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.

2024-01-19 15:53:45+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [358, 1282], "BTC": [140, 2310]}

{}

Crypto Bulls Lose $217M Amid Concern About Grayscale Outflows

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/crypto-bulls-lose-217m-apparent-065739206.html

CoinDesk

https://www.coindesk.com

Futures traders betting on higher crypto prices saw some $217 million in liquidations in the past 24 hours as the approval of spot bitcoin [BTC] exchange-traded funds continues to be a “sell-the-news” event, a contrarian bet that shows no signs of slowing. Concern that crypto fund manager Grayscale is selling some of its bitcoin as owners of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) remove money from the ETF contributed to a drop in prices. Verified wallets belonging to Grayscale, tracked and labeled by analysis firm Arkham , show that the fund moved over $400 million worth of bitcoin to custodian Coinbase Prime on Thursday – potentially a step toward an eventual sale. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas also pointed out that GBTC shares flipped to a 0.9% discount versus their net asset value on Thursday “likely due to selling pressure.” On the 'not a good sign' front, GBTC's discount has also reversed, the wrong way, back up to 96bps, likely due to selling pressure but who know we'll see in the flows eventually pic.twitter.com/T7eXrmH6Ju — Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 18, 2024 Even as GBTC sees net outflows, other newly approved bitcoin ETFs are seeing net inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT crossed $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) on Wednesday. Bitcoin fell below $42,000 late Thursday, down 3.7% since Thursday and 15% from the December run to $49,000. It led to a market-wide retreat, with ether [ETH] falling 2.5%, Solana’s SOL falling 6.5%, and Cardano’s ADA down 5%. BNB Chain’s BNB outperformed the market and was up 0.6%, buoyed by launchpads on the closely related Binance exchange, where users can stake BNB to gain an allocation of new projects listed on the platform. The price drop caused highly leveraged futures betting on higher prices to see $217 million in losses, with bitcoin trades taking on $88 million in liquidations alone. (Coinglass) Liquidation occurs when an exchange forcefully closes a trader’s leveraged position due to a partial or total loss of the trader’s initial margin. It happens when a trader cannot meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (fails to have sufficient funds to keep the trade open). Meanwhile, some traders said in a Friday note that they expect broader crypto markets to be range-bound in the short term. “BTC is hovering above the $40,000–$42,000 zone, which is likely to act as short-term support,” said Rachel Lin, CEO and co-founder of Singapore-based SynFutures, in an email. “Overall, the past week can be summed up as the calm after the storm. The ETF mania phase is over, and the market is moving sideways, looking for the next trigger.” View comments

2024-01-19 16:01:56+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2444]}

{}

Brookfield Weighs Investment in Dubai’s GEMS Education

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/brookfield-weighs-investment-dubai-gems-160156659.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. is in talks to invest in Dubai-based GEMS Education, one of the world’s largest private school operators, people familiar with the matter said. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand The Canadian firm is considering investing about $2 billion in GEMS, according to the people, who asked not to be named as the information is private. The potential deal could allow CVC Capital Partners to exit its stake in GEMS, according to the people. GEMS is controlled by founder Sunny Varkey. There’s no certainty the discussions will lead to an agreement, and other suitors could still emerge, the people said. Brookfield didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. Spokespeople for GEMS and CVC declined to comment. A successful deal would cap a process that began in 2022 and also drew interest from an Abu Dhabi-based consortium. It would also mark another multibillion-dollar bet on Dubai’s future by Brookfield, which previously invested in retail assets owned by the emirate’s government and built the financial district’s tallest office tower with the city’s main sovereign wealth fund. GEMS, whose roots go back about 60 years, operates more than 60 schools across the Middle East but its center of gravity lies in Dubai, the city popular with expats who are among the world’s biggest spenders on private education. The population of the emirate, one of seven members of the United Arab Emirates, has been swelling as the city emerged as a favored destination worldwide during Covid. Varkey held talks to sell some of his stake in GEMS in 2020, but struggled to find buyers amid the pandemic, with schools and universities shutting down as part of global lockdowns. The firm had also considered a stock market listing in 2019, but those plans were scuppered by Dubai’s move to unexpectedly freeze school fees. Story continues Dubai-based deNovo Partners is advising Varkey and the company, according to the people. --With assistance from Archana Narayanan and Julia Fioretti. 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.

2024-01-19 16:09:01+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3364]}

{}

US Existing-Home Sales Fall, Cap Worst Year Since 1995

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-existing-home-sales-decline-150002202.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Sales of previously owned US homes fell in December, capping the worst year for the housing market in nearly three decades. 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 Musk’s AI Startup Secures $500 Million Toward $1 Billion Funding Goal Ford Cuts Workforce Making Electric F-150s on Weak Demand Contract closings decreased 1% from a month earlier to a 3.78 million annualized rate, according to National Association of Realtors data released Friday. For all of 2023, sales slipped back to the lowest level since 1995. Back then, there were roughly 74 million fewer people in the country and the median home price was about $114,600, less than a third of what it is now. The housing market — one of the most interest-rate sensitive parts of the economy — reeled last year as the Federal Reserve raised borrowing costs to the highest level since the early 2000s. Policymakers have since pivoted toward cutting rates, sending mortgage rates down from a peak near 8% in October. But many existing homeowners are still hesitant to list their properties and move until rates fall further. “The latest month’s sales look to be the bottom before inevitably turning higher in the new year,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage rates are meaningfully lower compared to just two months ago, and more inventory is expected to appear on the market in upcoming months.” Picking Up Yun noted that activity is picking up, and data this week showed mortgage applications for home purchases climbed to the highest level since July. Homebuilder sentiment has improved as well, which should help boost inventory of new construction. A separate report Friday showed US consumer sentiment soared in early January to the highest since 2021 as short-term inflation expectations slipped to a three-year low. The share of respondents to the University of Michigan survey with a favorable view of homebuying conditions rose by the most in two years. Story continues Last month, the number of previously owned homes for sale dropped to 1 million, the lowest since March. At the current sales pace, selling all the properties on the market would take 3.2 months. Realtors see anything below five months of supply as indicative of a tight resale market. That lack of inventory is helping to keep prices elevated. The median selling price climbed to $382,600 in December from a year ago, reflecting increases in all four regions. Prices hit a record of $389,800 in 2023. Some 56% of the homes sold were on the market for less than a month. Properties remained on the market for 29 days, compared with 25 days in November. In the resale market, “a full recovery to the pre-pandemic sales rate is expected to take years,” according to new projections from Fannie Mae, which cited the high cost of homes relative to people’s incomes. Existing-home sales account for the majority of purchases and are based on contract closings. Data on new-home sales, which reflect contract signings, are due next week. (Corrects label in graphic to reflect price is in thousands of US dollars) 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.

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

{"Bitcoin": [96, 435, 749, 1001, 1322, 1461, 1781, 2766]}

{"Bitcoin": [0]}

Bitcoin ETFs have been out for a week—here’s how they’re doing

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bitcoin-etfs-week-doing-161607836.html

Fortune

http://fortune.com/

Happy Friday. The crypto industry spent months pinning its hopes on the long-awaited arrival of Bitcoin ETFs, which would help it break out of a painful bear market and let digital assets take their rightful place in the world of mainstream finance. Those ETFs finally arrived last Thursday. So were they a success? An initial flurry of marketing spin made it hard to tell, but now some clear signals are emerging. On the price front, Bitcoin has actually slumped significantly since the launch, but that doesn't mean the ETFs have been a flop. The slump follows a wild run-up in crypto prices that came in anticipation the SEC would approve the new product, so the recent drop reflects an expected "sell the news" moment. Meanwhile, the market for Bitcoin ETFs is already reportedly more valuable than the one for silver with BlackRock's ETF already pulling in more than $1 billion on its own. More intriguing is what comes next. I spoke with Ophelia Snyder, whose 21.co helped stand up Ark Invest's Bitcoin ETF, which was fourth of the 11 new ETFs with $2.7 million of trading volume on Thursday, to get a better sense of where things are going. She made the case that much of the early movement is from organic retail trading and that the market can expect a lot more inflows once financial advisors start recommending Bitcoin ETFs to their clients. According to Snyder, these advisors are currently able to pick up the phone and fill a customer's order for Bitcoin shares but need to assess the market before actively putting them in portfolios. She expects that to happen in the coming weeks and months, which will drive up demand—and of course the price. Snyder is obviously not impartial here but her thesis makes sense. Another thing that's becoming apparent one week into Bitcoin ETF trading is which of the 11 newly launched ETFs are gaining significant market share. While assets under management tell part of the story, that metric can also be misleading since some of the funds' size reflects, in Snyder's words, a "bring your own assets" playbook—meaning they drew on their own capital to help juice their launches. That's the case with category leaders BlackRock and Fidelity and with BitWise, which launched with a "seed partner" that invested heavily. Story continues The better way to assess the new ETFs' early performance is by daily trading volume and, on that front, BlackRock and Fidelity are also way out front with volumes of $17.7 million and $9.7 million on Thursday. BitWise was next with $2.8 million, just ahead of Ark. Meanwhile, the other new ETFs (aside from Grayscale, which is a special case) posted less than 10% of those volumes, raising questions about their long-term viability. The upshot of all this is that the long-awaited Bitcoin ETFs are an initial success, and, if optimists like Snyder are right, this is just the beginning. Jeff John Roberts [email protected] @jeffjohnroberts This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

2024-01-19 16:55:28+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3467]}

{}

States, Cities Brace for Higher Wage Costs After Hiring Binge

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/states-cities-brace-higher-wage-165528447.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- State and local governments boosted wages, offered bonuses, advertised hundreds of miles away and sweetened benefits to fill jobs lost to the pandemic. Now analysts say it’s time to tally the bill. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe UAE Warns US Time Running Out to Avoid Wider Mideast Crisis Buoyed by tax revenue and federal stimulus funds, municipalities across the US didn’t hold back when replenishing their workforce. But all the new hiring will come at some cost as wage pressures mount and concerns about the economy linger. “Following 21 straight months of positive job growth in the sector, we’re watching to see budget impacts of this successful hiring campaign,” said Geoff Buswick, managing director and sector lead for state governments at S&P Global Ratings. The public job market was one of the last to recover from the pandemic when compared to the private sector. Almost four years after the Covid-19 coronavirus shut schools, closed theaters, grounded flights and filled hospitals, public sector payrolls topped pre-pandemic highs at the end of December, according to seasonally-adjusted data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “It took a big run-up in hiring throughout most of 2023 to complete that restoration,” said Justin Marlowe, director of the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago, in an email. In contrast, “it took 15 years for state/local government to recover from the Great Recession,” he added. Last month, state government payrolls totaled 5.3 million, surpassing the high reached in February 2020. Meanwhile, local governments employed 14.7 million, slightly above the total posted in March 2020. Read More: Desperate U.S. Cities Pitch Wall Street-Style Sign-On Bonuses Reaching those levels meant doling out a lot cash and getting creative. Florida said it paid out $22.5 million in bonus money to attract new police officer recruits from out of state, and succeeded in attracting more than 900 officers since 2022. Last year, the San Francisco Police Department went on a recruiting mission to four Texas universities. And one small northern Minnesota city offered new hires and existing police officers free canoes plus paddles and life jackets, a package worth $4,000, in an effort to attract and retain staff. “Wage and benefit enhancements have been common in an effort to fill slow-to-hire positions, notably, in public safety, education, nursing and social work,” said S&P’s Buswick. Story continues Dan Kowalski, an analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, said he expects government wage growth to remain around 4% to 5% even as inflation this year drops below 3% and private sector wage growth slows to around 3% by the end of 2024. “State and local governments have generally been able to absorb rising wage pressures,” said Eric Kim, head of state government ratings at Fitch Ratings, in an email, adding that a sizable amount of their budgets go to labor costs. “However, contractually bargained multi-year wage increases could be a problem if slowing consumer spending and related tax revenue is worse than expected.” 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

2024-01-19 16:59:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3839]}

{}

Improved Inflation Views Lift US Sentiment to Highest Since 2021

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-consumer-sentiment-jumps-price-151657011.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- US consumers rang in the new year with a good dose of optimism about the economy, their incomes and the inflation outlook, driving a gauge of confidence to a more than two-year high. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe UAE Warns US Time Running Out to Avoid Wider Mideast Crisis The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose 9.1 points, the biggest monthly advance since 2005, to 78.8. The preliminary January reading stands at the highest level since July 2021, far surpassing the most optimistic estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. Combined with a drop in year-ahead inflation expectations to the lowest level since the end of 2020, the spike in confidence has the potential to sustain demand and keep the economy on its expansion path. More sanguine views about inflation may also reassure Federal Reserve officials as they consider when to begin lowering interest rates. “With confidence rebounding and inflation expectations falling, this is another sign that the economy is on track for a soft landing,” Andrew Hunter, deputy chief US economist at Capital Economics, said in a note. The consumer sentiment survey showed the pickup in optimism was broad, with improvements across age, income and political affiliation. More than half of households expect their incomes to grow at least as fast as inflation, the highest share since mid-2021. Consumers expect prices will climb at an annual rate of 2.9% over the next year, down from the 3.1% expected a month earlier, the Friday data showed. They see costs rising 2.8% over the next five to 10 years, a four-month low. “Improvements in inflation expectations have been supported by perceptions of easing price pressures in buying conditions for both durable goods and vehicles,” Joanne Hsu, director of the survey, said in a statement, adding that consumers increasingly expect the Fed to lower rates this year. Story continues That’s “consistent with the belief that inflation will not accelerate in the near future,” Hsu said. Meanwhile, stock market expectations were the strongest in more than two years, the report showed. Consumers’ perception of their current financial situation rose to a two-year high, while expectations for future finances climbed to the highest since 2021. Buying conditions for durable goods rose to a nearly three-year high. More respondents also reported hearing considerably more favorable economic news. Sentiment readings for both Democrat and Republican respondents in the University of Michigan survey showed their most favorable readings since 2021. Dissatisfaction with inflation and the broader economy has weighed on President Joe Biden’s approval ratings. Meanwhile, separate figures from the National Association of Realtors showed sales of previously owned homes fell in December, wrapping up the worst year for the resale market in nearly three decades. However, the NAR noted that activity is picking up as rates settle back. “The latest month’s sales look to be the bottom before inevitably turning higher in the new year,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage rates are meaningfully lower compared to just two months ago, and more inventory is expected to appear on the market in upcoming months.” The University of Michigan’s report showed the share of respondents who had a favorable view of home-buying conditions rose by the most in two years. --With assistance from Kristy Scheuble. (Adds additional details 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.

2024-01-19 17:10:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4214]}

{}

Altman Seeks to Raise Billions for Network of AI Chip Factories

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/altman-seeks-raise-billions-network-171006241.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, who has been working to raise billions of dollars from global investors for a chip venture, aims to use the funds to set up a network of factories to manufacture semiconductors, according to several people with knowledge of the plans. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union 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 Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe UAE Warns US Time Running Out to Avoid Wider Mideast Crisis Altman has had conversations with several large potential investors in the hopes of raising the vast sums needed for chip fabrication plants, or fabs, as they’re known colloquially, said the people, who requested anonymity because the conversations are private. Firms that have held discussions with Altman include Abu Dhabi-based G42, people told Bloomberg last month, and SoftBank Group Corp., some of the people said. The project would involve working with top chip manufacturers, and the network of fabs would be global in scope, some of the people said. While efforts to raise funds for a chip venture were earlier reported by Bloomberg, the scope of the project and the focus on manufacturing wasn’t previously known. The talks are still early and a full list of involved partners and funders hasn’t been established, the people said. Altman’s fundraising push reflects his concern that as AI becomes more pervasive, there won’t be enough chips for widespread deployment, some of the people said. Some current forecasts for production of AI-related chips fall short of projected demand. Building and maintaining fabs that manufacture semiconductors is far more expensive than the approach favored by many of OpenAI’s AI industry peers. Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp. — OpenAI’s largest investor — typically focus on designing their own custom silicon and then farm out manufacturing to outside companies. Story continues Constructing a single state-of-the-art fabrication plant can require tens of billions of dollars, and creating a network of such facilities would take years. The talks with G42 alone had focused on raising $8 billion to $10 billion, people told Bloomberg previously, although the current status of the discussions are unclear. Altman believes the industry needs to act now to ensure there’s sufficient supply near the end of the decade, according to people familiar with his thinking. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT more than a year ago, interest in artificial intelligence applications has skyrocketed among companies and consumers. That in turn has spurred massive demand for the computing power and processors needed to build and run those AI programs. Altman has said repeatedly that there already aren’t enough chips for his company’s needs. Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. lead the chip fabrication market and are potential partners for OpenAI. Altman had been hard at work on the chips project until he was temporarily ousted as OpenAI CEO in November. Upon his return, he rekindled the efforts. Altman has also sounded out Microsoft on the plan, and the software giant is interested, according to two people. OpenAI, G42, Intel, Microsoft, SoftBank and TSMC declined to comment. Samsung officials weren’t immediately available to comment. G42, which focuses on artificial intelligence, has been the subject of calls this month by a key US lawmaker for greater scrutiny and trade restrictions. House China Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, raised concerns about G42’s relationships with blacklisted Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies Co. and Beijing Genomics Institute, as well as risks to research at US universities. Gallagher urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to consider sanctions on G42 and 13 of its subsidiaries and affiliates. --With assistance from Ian King, Ben Bartenstein 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.

2024-01-19 17:10:06+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4277]}

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Altman Seeks to Raise Billions for Network of AI Chip Factories

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/altman-seeks-raise-billions-network-171006715.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, who has been working to raise billions of dollars from global investors for a chip venture, aims to use the funds to set up a network of factories to manufacture semiconductors, according to several people with knowledge of the plans. Most Read from Bloomberg China Weighs Stock Market Rescue Package Backed by $278 Billion Netflix Pays $5 Billion for ‘Raw’ in Bet on Live Events An Isolated Israel Doubles Down on War in Gaza — At All Costs India Tops Hong Kong as World’s Fourth-Largest Stock Market Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom Altman has had conversations with several large potential investors in the hopes of raising the vast sums needed for chip fabrication plants, or fabs, as they’re known colloquially, said the people, who requested anonymity because the conversations are private. Firms that have held discussions with Altman include Abu Dhabi-based G42, people told Bloomberg last month, and SoftBank Group Corp., some of the people said. The project would involve working with top chip manufacturers, and the network of fabs would be global in scope, some of the people said. While efforts to raise funds for a chip venture were earlier reported by Bloomberg, the scope of the project and the focus on manufacturing wasn’t previously known. The talks are still early and a full list of involved partners and funders hasn’t been established, the people said. Altman’s fundraising push reflects his concern that as AI becomes more pervasive, there won’t be enough chips for widespread deployment, some of the people said. Some current forecasts for production of AI-related chips fall short of projected demand. Building and maintaining fabs that manufacture semiconductors is far more expensive than the approach favored by many of OpenAI’s AI industry peers. Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Microsoft Corp. — OpenAI’s largest investor — typically focus on designing their own custom silicon and then farm out manufacturing to outside companies. Story continues Constructing a single state-of-the-art fabrication plant can require tens of billions of dollars, and creating a network of such facilities would take years. The talks with G42 alone had focused on raising $8 billion to $10 billion, people told Bloomberg previously, although the current status of the discussions are unclear. Altman believes the industry needs to act now to ensure there’s sufficient supply near the end of the decade, according to people familiar with his thinking. Since OpenAI released ChatGPT more than a year ago, interest in artificial intelligence applications has skyrocketed among companies and consumers. That in turn has spurred massive demand for the computing power and processors needed to build and run those AI programs. Altman has said repeatedly that there already aren’t enough chips for his company’s needs. Intel Corp., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. lead the chip fabrication market and are potential partners for OpenAI. Altman had been hard at work on the chips project until he was temporarily ousted as OpenAI CEO in November. Upon his return, he rekindled the efforts. Altman has also sounded out Microsoft on the plan, and the software giant is interested, according to two people. OpenAI, G42, Intel, Microsoft, SoftBank and TSMC declined to comment. Samsung officials weren’t immediately available to comment. G42, which focuses on artificial intelligence, has been the subject of calls this month by a key US lawmaker for greater scrutiny and trade restrictions. House China Select Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, raised concerns about G42’s relationships with blacklisted Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies Co. and Beijing Genomics Institute, as well as risks to research at US universities. Gallagher urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to consider sanctions on G42 and 13 of its subsidiaries and affiliates. --With assistance from Ian King, Ben Bartenstein and Yoolim Lee. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek The Downfall of Diddy Inc. How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine Should I Tell My Colleagues (or My Boss) About My Bipolar Diagnosis? The Bitcoin Hype Is Back and About Just as Hollow as Before ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

2024-01-19 17:11:28+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2938]}

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Meaningful Losses Loom on Office Loans, Canadian Regulator Says

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meaningful-losses-loom-office-loans-171128642.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- As the risk of sizable losses on commercial real estate loans grows, Canadian banks’ earnings are poised to take a hit, according to the head of Canada’s financial-system regulator. 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 “It’s likely that banks across the world are going to suffer some” commercial real estate losses “and they’re likely to be meaningful,” Peter Routledge, head of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, said Friday at a conference in Toronto hosted by TD Securities. Those losses will probably be “earnings events” for Canadian banks, but not a major capital risk, he added. “We’re expecting institutions to act early, to identify troubled loans, take provisions early and work them out, move them through capital.” Office buildings are under particular stress as both property valuations and revenue have slumped amid occupancy levels that remain well below pre-pandemic levels in many places. Using a traffic-light analogy, Routledge said office loans are a “dark orange” issue in Canada and a “dark red” problem in the US. OSFI knows which banks are most highly exposed and has been working with them to make sure they’re “putting in place the capital and operational buffers to absorb a greater deterioration in the asset class than they might expect,” Routledge said. While Canadian banks put more money aside for potentially souring commercial-property loans in fiscal 2023, “more pain is likely, given the state of real estate markets,” Paul Gulberg, senior industry analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, said in an email Friday. There are particular challenges with loans in the US, he said, because lenders in the country don’t have recourse to debtors’ other assets, and borrowers are facing more near-term refinancing needs. Story continues Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are more exposed to US commercial real estate, Gulberg said. “Yet the banks’ earnings power and high levels of capital are sufficient to absorb the risks, likely leaving some pressure on quarterly earnings.” Analysts have said CIBC is particularly exposed on US office properties, and Bloomberg News reported last week that the bank is exploring selling $316 million in US office debt. Read More: CIBC Said to Explore Selling $316 Million of US Office Debt Routledge said at the conference that commercial real estate, residential properties and bank liquidity and capital are his top three concerns at the moment. 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.

2024-01-19 17:31:52+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [4778]}

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Climate Test for Natural Gas Exports Splits White House Advisers

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/climate-test-natural-gas-exports-173152597.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden’s top advisers are divided over how much to ramp up environmental scrutiny of licenses to ship natural gas abroad as companies and industry groups warn it could slow development of new export terminals, according to people familiar with the matter. Most Read from Bloomberg Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe Musk’s AI Startup Secures $500 Million Toward $1 Billion Funding Goal China’s $6.3 Trillion Stock Selloff Is Getting Uglier by the Day Administration officials who support taking a tougher approach argue it’s important on both climate and political grounds and are worried that the US has already authorized too much natural gas to flow overseas, said the people, who asked not to be named detailing private deliberations. Biden has already alienated some young, climate-minded voters with his administration’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Willow oil development in Alaska last year, and he’s under increasing pressure to limit US crude and gas exports before the November elections. The younger electorate, incensed over the Willow approval, have come to view the multibillion dollar liquefied natural gas export projects as a test of the president’s commitment to fighting climate change. Even so, the issue is complex — cutting across myriad geopolitical, domestic and other interests. Biden pledged to provide more natural gas to Europe after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The US is now the world’s largest LNG exporter, and any change in policy could have have far-reaching consequences for the industry. Advisers have raised concerns about the economic risk. Among the administration officials leading the push for a more stringent climate test are Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and advisers John Podesta and Ali Zaidi, according to the people. At the same time, officials who raised concerns include National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, presidential energy adviser Amos Hochstein, and Sarah Ladislaw, Biden’s special assistant for climate and energy. “The administration is aligned on the importance of this priority,” White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said Friday. The Energy Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Increased climate scrutiny could imperil billions of dollars in new export projects that are awaiting the Energy Department’s blessing, including Venture Global LNG Inc.’s CP2 project, near its existing Calcasieu Pass export plant in Louisiana, and a proposed terminal in Louisiana by Commonwealth LNG. Story continues Read More: Gas Export Projects Hang in the Balance as Biden Mulls Test Overall, top advisers are broadly aligned on the need to make changes — especially after the US and nearly 200 other nations committed in December to transition away from fossil fuels. The fault lines are over how aggressive to be. Those pushing for less drastic action have invoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine while advocating taking an approach that addresses the climate argument and preserves a US economic resource. A presidential decision memo on the issue is expected in the coming weeks. One option could be a formal Energy Department rulemaking that could require a robust federal environmental review of LNG export projects and their potential lifeycyle greenhouse gas emissions. Read More: Biden Urged to Keep LNG Exports Flowing to Help Kill Off Coal The prospect has ignited a flurry of lobbying, as gas and pipeline companies warn the White House that a pause in LNG export approvals would undermine the climate benefits of using American natural gas to displace coal in power plants around the world. Even without formal rulemaking, a review could be used to justify a pause in a making decisions on existing LNG export applications — potentially until after the Nov. 5 presidential elections. Such an approach has been taken before by the Obama administration, which commissioned a third-party study of the potential economic consequences of expanded LNG exports after authorizing a Cheniere Energy Inc. LNG export facility in Louisiana — and as other potential exporters lined up for licenses. The Energy Department then factored those conclusions into individual, case-by-case reviews of proposed exports. Environmentalists have warned against an expansion of new natural gas infrastructure they say will prolong for decades the use of that fossil fuel, which burns more cleanly than coal but nevertheless contributes to climate change. --With assistance from Annmarie Hordern. 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

2024-01-19 17:34:55+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2673]}

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Google DeepMind Scientists in Talks to Leave and Form AI Startup

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-deepmind-scientists-talks-leave-173455477.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- A pair of scientists at Google DeepMind, the Alphabet Inc. artificial intelligence division, have been talking with investors about forming an AI startup in Paris, according to people familiar with the conversations. 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 Netflix Pays $5 Billion for ‘Raw’ in Bet on Live Events An Isolated Israel Doubles Down on War in Gaza — At All Costs Hong Kong Stocks at 36% Discount Show True Depth of China Gloom The team has held discussions with potential investors about a financing round that may exceed €200 million ($220 million) — a large sum, even for the buzzy field of AI, the people said. Laurent Sifre, who has been working as a scientist at DeepMind, is in talks to form the company, known at the moment as Holistic, with fellow DeepMind scientist Karl Tuyls, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private information. They said the venture may be focused on building a new AI model. Sifre and Tuyls didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. A DeepMind representative declined to comment on the startup plans. The two have given notice to leave the company, a person familiar with the situation said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Sifre was a co-author of the 2016 DeepMind research on Go, a seminal work that showed a computer system beating masters of the ancient game for the first time, which sparked an international frenzy over AI. Tuyls has worked on research into game theory and multi-agent reinforcement learning, a branch of AI that explores interactions between autonomous actors, often through video games. Both Sifre and Tuyls are widely considered leaders in their field, and the unusually large financing round being discussed is further evidence of strong investor interest in the technology. That’s particularly true in France, where venture capitalists and business tycoons have poured funds into startups emerging from Parisian universities and the AI hubs of Silicon Valley firms. Story continues Mistral AI, an OpenAI rival whose chief executive officer also worked for DeepMind, formed in early 2023 and had raised two sizable rounds by the year’s end to earn a valuation around $2 billion. Kyutai, a nonprofit AI research lab, was formed in November with €300 million in initial funding. The new French startup under discussion is different from Holistic AI, an enterprise software business based in London. 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.

2024-01-19 17:37:59+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [572, 735, 871, 919, 1121, 1195]}

{}

SEC delays Fidelity’s Ethereum ETF decision

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-delays-fidelity-ethereum-etf-173759462.html

Forkast News

https://forkast.news/

Fidelity’s quest to launch a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) has hit a regulatory roadblock as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) extended its decision window. Fidelity’s Wise Origin Ethereum Trust, if approved, is a fund that would track the performance of Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It would allow investors to gain exposure to digital assets without directly owning them. According to James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, the SEC may choose to approve a batch of spot Ethereum ETFs as it did with Bitcoin. Seyffart pointed to May 23 as the next key date, the deadline for the regulator’s decision on VanEck’s Ethereum ETF application. The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs last week, allowing such funds to be traded for the first time in the U.S. Before the approvals, the SEC rejected all spot Bitcoin ETF applications. Ether price outshined Bitcoin’s price following the approvals surging past US$2,600 for the first time since May 2022, CoinGecko data shows. Ether has since fallen, losing 7% over the past week to US$2,436 at 12:30 p.m. ET. Bitcoin dropped 6.4% in the same period to trade at US$40,642. Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF, one the funds that received the SEC’s green light last week, crossed the US$1 billion today, becoming the second to do so, The Block reported . View comments

2024-01-19 17:51:16+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [2444]}

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Most Americans Who Failed to Pay Student Loans Say They Can’t Afford to Keep Up

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/most-americans-failed-pay-student-175116324.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- More than half of Americans who’ve failed to pay student-loan bills since the October restart said the main reason was that payments were unaffordable, according to new research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Most Read from Bloomberg Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Trump’s 2016 Win Shook Markets. Traders Won’t Get Fooled Again. Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe The Easy Money Has Already Been Made in Bonds The study comes as the Biden administration seeks new ways to write down student loans or make repayment manageable, after its wider debt-forgiveness plan was struck down by the Supreme Court last year. Read More: Biden Cancels $5 Billion in Student Debt in Latest Relief Step Some 22% of borrowers anticipated failing to make at least one of their scheduled payments in last quarter, with about half of that group saying they’d miss all three, according to the report by the Philadelphia Fed’s Consumer Finance Institute. Among those who made less than their full payment, more than half did so because they found it unaffordable. About 15% said they strategically skipped or postponed instalments because non-payment can’t be reported to credit rating companies until later this year — part of the administration’s plan to ease resumption of payments after a 3 1/2-year pandemic freeze. About 12% of borrowers in the survey expected to see their capacity to make a payment worsen after October, rising to 17% who said they didn’t expect to pay in December. That aligns with Department of Education data on transfers to the US Treasury which show monthly payments declined after an initial surge when the freeze ended. Overall, there are some “encouraging” signs that borrowers managed the restart better than they’d feared, but also “clear evidence that borrower distress has not been eliminated,” wrote the report’s authors, Tomás Monarrez and Dubravka Ritter. Story continues Read more: Why Student Loan Payments Are Back, and What It Means: QuickTake They also warned that many parents who took on student debt on their children’s behalf are struggling with payments, and suggested that those borrowers should be “considered for available or tailored relief programs.” 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.

2024-01-19 18:02:08+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [6535]}

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US Now Pursuing ‘Least Bad’ Option in Confronting Houthis

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-presses-ahead-least-bad-235325634.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- US officials acknowledge that airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen won’t deter the group from attacks that have roiled commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Yet that doesn’t mean the military campaign will stop anytime soon. Most Read from Bloomberg Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe The Easy Money Has Already Been Made in Bonds UAE Warns US Time Running Out to Avoid Wider Mideast Crisis President Joe Biden candidly described the dilemma Thursday when he was asked about the efforts to weaken Houthi capabilities after the Iran-backed group’s series of drone and missile strikes disrupted shipping in in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital trade waterway. “Are they stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” Biden told reporters in comments that fit his long habit of saying the quiet part out loud. Analysts and outside critics — not to mention the Houthis themselves — have said the aerial military campaign won’t prevent them from firing on more ships, especially if the US refuses to target the group’s main backer, Iran. Yet in the absence of any better options for now, the Biden administration may have no choice. “I think that they don’t have any great expectations that this is going to succeed in deterring or degrading or defeating the Houthis,” said Gerald Feierstein, a former US ambassador to Yemen, who’s now at the Middle East Institute in Washington. “Basically, they came to the conclusion that this was the least bad of the bad options that they had.” The comments only further exposed the difficult balancing act Biden faces. He must confront the chaos in the Red Sea caused by the Houthis, who insist they’ll keep up their attacks until Israel halts its bombing campaign on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But he doesn’t want to go to war with Iran or pull in even more participants into the conflict. And he’s rejected calls at home and abroad to press for a cease-fire in Gaza — an idea Israel won’t agree to anyway. Story continues The urgency is only increasing. The Houthi attacks, which the group says are motivated by Israel’s war against Hamas, and the US and UK response have driven down shipments through a waterway that previously handled 12% of global seaborne trade. Shippers are diverting everything from oil and gas to livestock to commercial goods around the southern tip of Africa. Insurance costs have also shot up and some underwriters are trying to exclude US, UK and Israeli vessels from coverage. Biden’s remarks on Thursday prompted hasty clarification from National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who said every strike — the US has launched five so far, starting last Thursday night — makes it harder for the Houthis to keep up their attacks. Read More: Red Sea Shipping Chaos Worsens as US Strikes Broaden Crisis At the same time, a tentative strategy may be emerging, with a focus on continuing the strikes against the Houthis, pressuring Iran and seeking more international support for the campaign. That’s despite the understanding that the battle-hardened militants have already endured years of airstrikes from Saudi Arabia’s military, have little infrastructure of value to target and have been able to repair or replenish their weapons, thanks to Iran. The Biden administration doesn’t think Iran initially prompted the Houthis to start attacking commercial vessels, but now believes that Tehran is helping the militants with a mix of supplies, as well as tactical and targeting information, one US official said. With the Houthis not backing down, the US expects it will take some time to resolve the situation in the Red Sea, the person added. The UK, which has been the only US partner actively participating in the Yemen strikes within a broader coalition, has tried to pressure Iran diplomatically but concluded that only military action against the Houthis could deter Tehran, a British official said. Still, UK is wary of an open-ended conflict and regional escalation, added the official, who was granted anonymity to speak about private deliberations. “The attacks on the Houthis, as we all know, are not about defeating the Houthis, which is what the Saudi aim was, it was about reestablishing deterrence,” Alicia Kearns, chair of the British Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told reporters in Washington on Thursday. “Obviously, in some ways, deterrence has improved, because we have seen reduced attacks, but actually that’s only happened because we’ve degraded their capabilities — there will be more strikes, I’m almost certain of that,” Kearns said. With clashes on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon and the US already hitting back against Iranian-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, the region is seeing even more flareups. Iran struck an alleged Israeli spy base in Iraq and, separately, a militant site in Pakistan. Islamabad struck back on Thursday morning against what it called “terrorist hideouts” in Iran. Some US lawmakers are hoping for more international support for the US-led efforts to halt the Houthi attacks. Read more: Who Are the Houthis Being Hit With US, UK Airstrikes?: QuickTake “I don’t think we have eliminated the threat — the threat is still there,” Ben Cardin, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters on Thursday. “I certainly hope we’ll get the type of support internationally — we’ve gotten some — that we need to recognize that this is more than US shipping.” The US is now attacking in real-time as militants in Yemen mobilize missiles for attacks on commercial vessels. So far, it seems the military response has only emboldened the Houthis. “It is an honor for our people to be in such a confrontation with these evil forces,” Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the head of the militant group, said in a speech on Thursday, citing the US, the UK and Israel. “The Biden administration is in bind,” said Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a former State Department official. “Biden’s preemptive and responsive attacks will have to do for now until the Israel-Gaza war ends and the Houthis ease up their strikes.” --With assistance from Daniel Flatley, Josh Wingrove, Alex Wickham, Jennifer Jacobs and Mohammed Hatem. (Updates with comments in 11th 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.

2024-01-19 18:25:48+00:00

{"Bitcoin": [3899]}

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Fed Could Cut as Inflation Cools and Real Rates Rise, Goolsbee Says

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-could-cut-inflation-cools-150605873.html

Bloomberg

https://www.bloomberg.com/

(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said officials should consider cutting interest rates as inflation falls to avoid keeping policy too tight, though he stressed the central bank will make decisions meeting-by-meeting. Most Read from Bloomberg Hedge Funds Rake in Huge Profits Betting on Catastrophe Risk Putin Orders Hunt for Property of Russian Empire, Soviet Union Trump’s 2016 Win Shook Markets. Traders Won’t Get Fooled Again. Burger King Is Serving Whoppers With a Side of Cringe The Easy Money Has Already Been Made in Bonds “If we continue to make surprising progress faster than was forecast on inflation, then we have to take that into account in determining the level of restrictiveness,” Goolsbee said Friday in an interview on CNBC. As inflation comes down, “we would clearly be evaluating the responsiveness.” The Chicago Fed chief, who does not vote on policy decisions this year, didn’t comment directly on the timing of the central bank’s first rate cut. But he echoed comments made by some of his colleagues, suggesting that if price pressures ease faster than anticipated, policymakers can lower borrowing costs to ensure that real interest rates — adjusted for inflation — don’t keep rising. Policymakers left interest rates unchanged at their December meeting, in a range of 5.25% to 5.5%. It was the third straight meeting without a rate increase and none of the 19 officials projected another hike in this cycle. Markets interpreted the meeting last month as a pivot in Fed policy and now see about a 50% chance of a rate cut as early as March. Goolsbee emphasized there are still weeks worth of data between now and then, and he encouraged market participants to watch economic data — not comments from policymakers — to assess the path of interest rates. “It’s fundamentally about the data and what will enable us to become less restricted is if we have clear evidence that we’re on a path to get to the 2% target,” Goolsbee said. Story continues He pointed to the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, specifically. The December figures will be released next week. He also noted that if the Fed isn’t able to fully cool inflation, policymakers will need to think about rate hikes again. Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic also emphasized the role of data in his decision-making process in an interview on Fox Business on Friday. While Bostic reiterated his view that the central bank will begin cutting interest rates in the third quarter, he indicated he’d be open to changing his outlook if inflation were to come down faster than he expects. “I’d be open to changing that outlook and my view about when we need to start cutting rates,” said Bostic. But he added that he wants “to make sure that we are well on our way to 2% before we move off of our restrictive stance.” Goolsbee said last week that financial markets had likely gotten ahead of policymakers in assuming an aggressive path of rate cuts this year. Investors are anticipating six cuts in 2024 but several central bank officials have tried to push back against those expectations. Policymakers penciled in three rate cuts in the projections released after their December gathering. The Chicago Fed chief Friday underscored the progress made on inflation over the past year, reiterating the US economy is still on a “golden path” to achieving its inflation mandate without spurring recession. Goolsbee spoke just hours before the Fed’s traditional pre-meeting communications blackout period. The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged again when they convene Jan. 30-31. --With assistance from Steve Matthews. (Adds comments from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic starting in the eighth 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.