Author: Steven Sahiounie

Data from the month of March reveals that China’s inflation has dropped from 1 percent in February to 0.7 percent. China recorded the lowest inflation rate worldwide as of March at 0.7 percent, and Russia ranked 102nd place at 3.5 percent despite the historic anti-Moscow sanctions imposed by the West in the past year, Sputnik reported on Saturday based on statistical data. European countries such as Spain (3.3), Switzerland (2.9), and Liechtenstein (2.9) were not far behind Russia, while Hungary and Moldova recorded 25.2 and 22 percent respectively. The highest inflation levels were in Lebanon at 264%, Argentina at 104.3%, Zimbabwe at 87.6%, Suriname…

Ether rose more than 6% at one point Friday and was hovering just below the key $2,000. Market participants put the move on attempts to bring meme mania back to crypto. The newly created SpongeBob token (SPONGE) has surged almost 600% since and is trading at less than 1 cent per coin, according to CoinMarketCap. Pepecoin (PEPE) is up more than 120% over the past 24 hours. “One of the main reasons ETH is up … is down to a resurgence of memecoins,” said Conor Ryder, research analyst at crypto data provider Kaiko. “Whatever your thoughts on memecoins, the facts are they…

WTI Crude (JUN) settled up 4.05% on Friday at $71.34 after hitting a high of $71.81 earlier on Friday. This was the highest level since May 2, when WTI traded as high as $71.42 Meanwhile, WTI Crude is lower -7.09% week to date for the 3 straight negative week and the worst week since Mar. 17, when WTI Crude lost -12.96% Brent settled up 3.86% at $75.30 hitting a high of $75.75. Brent closed down -5.33% WTD for the 3 straight negative week . Natural Gas (JUN) settled up 1.71% at $2.137 after hitting a low of $2.031. Nat gas closed down -11.33%…

Bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital has announced plans to self-liquidate its assets and shut down operations after deals to sell itself to FTX or Binance.US fell apart. In a Friday filing, lawyers of the company revealed that Voyager customers will now recover 36% of their crypto holdings, lower than the 72-73% estimated recovery rate they would have received if the Binance.US acquisition plans had gone through. However, according to the filing, the recovery rate could increase if defunct crypto trading firm Alameda Research is unsuccessful in attempting to claw back $446 million from Voyager’s estate. Voyager’s lawyers are also withholding further…

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a slight setback as both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) witnessed a dip of nearly 3% in their prices.  As the week unfolds, investors and traders are keenly observing the market trends, seeking insights on the possible future movements of these leading digital assets. In this price prediction, we will delve into the factors influencing the market, analyze the recent price actions, and explore expert predictions to help you anticipate what to expect in the week ahead for the crypto market. Unforeseen Shift in Bitcoin’s Key Metric and its Effects on Price Trend A noteworthy change in one of…

Earnings for Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway jumped in the first quarter, thanks in part to a rebound in the conglomerate’s insurance business. Operating earnings, which encompass profits from the conglomerate’s fully-owned businesses, totaled $8.065 billion in the first quarter. That’s up 12.6% from $7.16 billion a year prior. Profit from insurance underwriting came in at $911 million, up sharply from $167 million a year prior. Insurance investment income also jumped 68% to $1.969 billion from $1.170 billion. Geico saw a big turnaround in the quarter, returning to a big underwriting profit of $703 million. The auto insurer suffered a $1.9 billion pretax underwriting loss…

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett said Saturday that regulators avoided a financial disaster by making sure that Silicon Valley Bank customers didn’t lose money in the firm’s collapse. The sudden downfall of SVB in March forced the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to seize the bank, selling some of its assets to First Citizens weeks later. The FDIC protected SVB customers in the process by invoking the systemic risk exception during the March tumult, allowing the regulator to make all depositors whole, even if their accounts exceeded the $250,000 coverage threshold. “It would’ve been catastrophic” if regulators hadn’t done that, Buffet said during his annual shareholder…

Stocks popped on Friday as regional bank shares climbed off their lows and market-darling Apple jumped after posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 546.64 points, or 1.65%, to close at 33,674.38. The S&P 500 climbed 1.85%, ending the day at 4,136.25. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 2.25% and closed at 12,235.41. Despite Friday’s rally, the Dow and the S&P 500 logged their worst week since March. The 30-stock Dow lost 1.24%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%. The Nasdaq eked out a small weekly gain of 0.07%. Stocks rose even as April’s jobs numbers came in hotter than expected. The U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs…

Demand for the precious metal, which is considered a safe haven in times of financial or political turmoil, has been growing Gold prices have been hovering near record highs this week on renewed investor concerns of a deepening US financial crisis and the possibility of a recession this year. According to JPMorgan strategists, cited by Bloomberg on Friday, the so-called ‘long duration’ trade, which is expressed by being overweight on gold and growth stocks, “seems to have become a consensus” in recent months. “The US banking crisis has increased the demand for gold as a proxy for lower real rates as well…

Pakistan is likely to pay for shipments of crude oil from Russia in Chinese yuan, local media reported on Saturday, citing government sources. The first cargo of 750,000 barrels is expected to dock as soon as in June. An unnamed official from the Ministry of Energy told The News International that the transaction would be facilitated by the Bank of China. The sources haven’t provided details about the mode of payment or the exact discount that Pakistan will receive, saying that making the information public is not in the interest of either buyer or seller. “Russia will provide URAL crude…