Author: Steven Sahiounie

Bitcoin started the week climbing back above $28,000, as markets returned from the Easter holidays. The move saw the world’s largest cryptocurrency briefly break out of a key resistance level of $28,500. Ethereum was also higher, as it closed in on the $1,900 level. Bitcoin Bitcoin (BTC) was back above $28,000 to start the week, as market sentiment shifted towards the bulls following the Easter break. BTC/USD rose to a high of $28,532.83 earlier in today’s session, after trading at a low of $27,828.48 the day before. As a result of the move, BTC/USD marginally moved past a ceiling at…

Ethereum (ETH) continues to be the top dog when it comes to generating fees in the blockchain world, signaling its unwavering adoption and growth. In an April 10 report, blockchain data firm Token Terminal revealed that Ethereum generated more than double the fees of its nearest competitor over the past six months, raking in a staggering $743 million in cumulative daily fees. Meanwhile, TRON, Ethereum’s closest rival, generated less than half at $282 million, with bitcoin (BTC) generating just under $80 million during the same period. Low Ethereum fees are still challenging for non-whale users Token Terminal stresses the importance…

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest cryptocurrency, started this week on a solid upward trajectory and has remained stable around the $28,400 level. Similarly, Ethereum, the second most popular cryptocurrency, has gained substantial traction and is approaching the $1,900 mark in the wake of the upcoming Shanghai update scheduled for April 12. So, the total value of all cryptocurrencies on the market was just slightly higher at about $1.18 trillion or up less than 0.5 percent in the last 24 hours. The total trade volume increased by nearly 11% to $29.98 billion. So, the total value of all cryptocurrencies on the…

Since the center-left government raised wealth taxes to 1.1%, a record number of Norway’s richest are fleeing to low-tax countries, The Guardian said in a report on Monday. Research conducted by Dagens Naeringsliv newspaper found that in 2022, over 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left the country – more than that in the previous 13 years combined – while more super-wealthy people are expected to move away this year over the tax increase passed last November, which will eventually cost the government tens of millions NOK of lost tax income. Switzerland was the favourite destination for many of them due to its significantly lower…

U.S. government debt prices were higher on Monday, after data released last week hinted at a slowdown in job growth. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped to 3.363%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped to 3.584%. The 2-year note yield, meanwhile, fell about 4 basis points to 3.933%. Prices move inversely to yields. Last week, the Labor Department released nonfarm payroll data for March, showing that the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs over the period. The number was in line with expectations, but down from 326,000 new hires in February. “March’s jobs growth was the…

Asia-Pacific markets were mostly higher on Monday as some investors returned from a long Easter weekend. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.87% to end at 2,512.08 and led gains among the benchmark indexes in the region. The Kosdaq index also advanced 0.88% to finish at 887.78. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.42% higher at 27,663, with the Topix was up 0.56% to end the day at 1,976.53. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite was down 0.37% to 3,315.36, while the Shenzhen Component fell 0.8% to 11,871.93. Australian and Hong Kong markets remained closed due to a four-day Easter holiday till Monday. India…

Japan’s new central bank governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday he will communicate closely with the government and guide monetary policy flexibly, warning of high uncertainty over the economic outlook. Ueda faces a bumpy road as slowing global growth clouds prospects for a sustained pickup in inflation and wages, a prerequisite for phasing out his predecessor’s controversial monetary stimulus. “Given high economic uncertainty, the BOJ will communicate closely with the government and guide monetary policy flexibly,” Ueda told reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to receive his official appointment letter. Ueda also said he agreed with the prime…

The 25 wealthiest individuals have lost a combined $200 billion in net worth, according to an annual ranking The planet’s wealthiest 25 people have had a rough year, with their aggregate net worth plunging by $200 billion, according to Forbes’ 2023 World Billionaires List released last week. They are still worth a combined $2.1 trillion, the rating shows. Both the number of billionaires and their combined wealth were down, with 254 people losing their billionaire status. The remaining 2,640 billionaires lost a combined $500 billion, according to the report. Among those leaving the club were FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and…

Venezuela wants to strengthen trade cooperation with Moscow for a number of products Venezuelan coffee producers plan on ramping up coffee supplies to the Russian market, Roman Frolenko, the head of the Russian-Venezuelan Chamber of Commerce, told RIA Novosti on Friday. The official explained that Venezuelan coffee was not being promoted as highly as Colombian coffee, even though “Venezuelan coffee is of very high quality.” According to him, the only issue with the supply chain is logistics. Once those are resolved, more Latin American products will appear on the Russian market in general. “There are also avocados, mangoes, seafood – shrimp, in…

Mikhail Zadornov, a former Russian finance minister, said the impact of the next global crisis will be much greater than the 2008 global financial crisis because geopolitics hangs over the economy. Zadornov added, in an interview with “Novosti” correspondent: “The impact of this upcoming crisis will be much greater than it was in 2007-2009, when the crisis was of a purely economic nature.” Zadornov, a well-known economist, believes that the reason for this lies in the imposition of geopolitical affairs on economic relations. According to him, the current crisis is characterized by turning into a direct political confrontation, that is,…