Author: Steven Sahiounie

It will be very difficult for venture capital firms and startups to find another bank that is as startup-friendly as the fallen Silicon Valley Bank, said U.S.-based venture capital firm Race Capital. “SVB was not just another bank around the corner. They really were the bedrock of Silicon Valley,” said Edith Yeung, general partner at Race Capital, on CNBC “Squawk Box Asia” on Wednesday.  SVB was Race Capital’s primary bank and two of their portfolio companies had 100% funds sitting in SVB, Yeung said. “If you are a startup founder, you may be able to find another bank to custody your…

Gold prices have more room to spike as global banks struggle and investors await the U.S. Federal Reserve rate decision, and could go as high as $2,600 per ounce. Prices of the metal on Monday breached $2,000 to mark the highest since March 2022. Its all-time high was $2,075 in August 2020, Refinitiv data showed. “A sooner Fed pivot on rate hikes will likely cause another gold price surge due to a potential further decline in the U.S. dollar and bond yields,” CMC’s Market Analyst Tina Teng, who sees gold prices hitting between $2,500 to $2,600 an ounce, told CNBC. Gold prices…

Asia-Pacific markets rose on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest update on its rate hike decision, as the central bank attempts to balance its inflation fight and stem a banking crisis. Japan’s Nikkei 225led gains in the region, advancing 1.93% and closing at 27,466. The Topix was 1.74% higher and finished at 1,962.93. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.76%, and the Hang Seng Tech index rose 1.01%. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200rose 0.87% to close at 7,015.6, while in South Korea, the Kospi was up 1.2% to close at 2,416.96 and the Kosdaq gained…

Gold prices have more room to run as global banks struggle and the U.S. Federal Reserve renders another interest rate decision, potentially breaking all-time highs — and staying there. “A sooner Fed pivot on rate hikes will likely cause another gold price surge due to a potential further decline in the U.S. dollar and bond yields,” said Tina Teng from financial services company CMC Markets. She expects gold will trade between $2,500 to $2,600 an ounce. Investors have been flocking to gold and Treasurys as bank stocks have been whacked by the shuttering of Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse’s implosion. Gold is…

BERLIN — Germany could be weeks away from introducing a bill to legalize cannabis under sweeping reforms that would greenlight the consumption and sale of the drug in Europe’s largest economy. Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach last week said that the plans had received “very good feedback” from the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, adding that the bill could be announced by the end of March or in early April. “We will soon present a proposal that works, that is, that conforms to European law,” Lauterbach said, following months of talks with Brussels. The government published draft proposals for the legalization of adult-use…

Crypto firms are scrambling to find institutions to bank with after the collapse of Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital, two lenders that were friendly to digital currency companies. Some of these companies have turned to crypto-friendly Swiss banks, flooding them with requests for banking services, according to multiple industry insiders who spoke to CNBC. Typically, the crypto industry has found it difficult to access banking services from traditional lenders, who don’t want to touch anything that does not have a clear regulatory framework. This has included blockchain and crypto firms, who have instead had to turn to specialist banks. But with two of…

Skyrocketing inflation has dampened household consumption, an official report says Retail sales in Poland slumped for a second straight month in February, at the fastest pace since 2020 as inflation continued to squeeze spending power, Statistics Poland reported on Tuesday. Last month, sales in the sector dropped by 5% year-on-year, far more than an expected 1.4% decline, the figures showed. On a monthly basis, retail saw a 3.6% decline from January. “Retail sales of goods, with calculations based on data from stores with at least 10 employees, decreased by 5% in February. At the same time, in January this fall…

Türkiye has resumed the transit of some sanctioned goods to Russia, business outlet Kommersant reported on Tuesday, citing market participants. Goods of European origin have been cleared for further shipment to Russia since March 17, the outlet stated. However, the transit of products of US and Canadian origin is still reportedly being blocked by Turkish customs. Reports of refusals by Türkiye to clear transit cargo of non-Turkish origin destined for Russia first emerged on March 6. It was claimed that Ankara had distributed a list of foreign goods banned for export to Russia, and had instructed domestic companies not to…

Tehran wants stronger ties with Moscow amid Western sanctions, according to its economy minister Iran is aiming to expand its partnership with Russia in the energy sector, including projects involving nuclear power and renewables, as the two countries boost economic ties to offset Western sanctions, Iranian Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi said on Tuesday. “The prospect of cooperation in the field of ‘new energy’ and renewable energy sources, as well as in the field of other types of energy, including peaceful nuclear energy, certainly causes great interest and motivation to expand economic relations with Russia,” Khandouzi told RIA Novosti. Russia is…

Settlements between Moscow and Beijing are already carried out mostly in national currencies, the Russian president says Russia is ready to increase settlements in yuan in its foreign trade, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, who is in Moscow on a three-day official visit. “We are for the use of Chinese yuan in settlements between Russia and the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. I am sure that these forms of settlements in yuan will be developed between Russian partners and their counterparts in third countries,” Putin said. Two thirds of current…