Author: Steven Sahiounie

The US economy has started 2023 from a stronger position that many of us had expected and when looking at the Fed’s new preferred inflation reading that tries to exclude much of the noise in the data, the story doesn’t change. Overview: US inflation rebound. What now? Events Round-Up JN: CPI (y/y%), Jan: 4.3 vs. 4.3 exp.JN: CPI x fr. food, energy (y/y%), Jan: 3.2 vs. 3.3 exp.US: Personal income, Jan: 0.6 vs. 1.0 exp.US: Real personal spending, Jan: 1.1 vs. 1.1 exp.US: PCE core deflator (m/m%), Jan: 0.6 vs. 0.4 exp.US: PCE core deflator (y/y%), Jan: 4.7 vs. 4.3…

The EU’s openness toward crypto is a striking turnaround. Crypto lobbyists have a new cudgel in their intensifying battle with U.S. regulators: Europe wants their business. Industry leaders are increasingly making the trans-Atlantic juxtaposition to argue for clearer regulations as U.S. agencies begin to enforce decades-old rules for trading and banking in the crypto world. Congress is nowhere near the point where it might craft a federal standard for digital currency, so regulators appointed by President Joe Biden are filling the void. That’s in contrast with the European Union, which is preparing to activate new laws tailor-made for digital asset…

Bitcoin (BTC), the oldest and most valued crypto in the world, failed to rise above the $24,000 mark over the weekend. Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, managed to remain stable within the $1,600 range. Other popular altcoins — including the likes of Dogecoin (DOGE), Solana (SOL), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin (LTC) — saw a mix of reds and greens across the board. The NEO token emerged to be the biggest gainer of the lot, with a 24-hour jump of over 11 percent. The global crypto market cap stood at $1.08 trillion at the time of writing, registering a 24-hour…

Crypto lawyers weighed in on Gary Gensler’s crypto regulation claims saying the SEC has no legal standing to police the space. Cryptocurrency lawyers have rebuffed comments made by the head of the United States securities regulator, claiming in a recent interview that every cryptocurrency except Bitcoin BTC $23,399 is a security that falls under its jurisdiction. In a wide-ranging Feb. 23 New York Magazine interview discussing crypto, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Gary Gensler, claimed “everything other than Bitcoin” falls under the agency’s remit. He added other crypto projects “are securities because there’s a group in the middle and…

Crypto News: Goerli testnet is a cross-client network that uses proof-of-authority and is frequently used to run simulations prior to their mainnet launch. It’s separate from the core Ethereum ledger and therefore, traders can transmit tokens from other chains to Goerli thanks to its cross-chain functionality. However, the testnet ether on Goerli has experienced a great deal of price volatility recently, despite the fact that it has zero commercial utility in the real world. The Rise Of Goerli ETH The trade was first conceptualized by LayerZero, a cross-chain platform — by making it possible for the Ethereum mainnet and the Goerli testnet to trade and exchange the ether. The…

Bitcoin has been experiencing a volatile period, with the cryptocurrency dropping by nearly 4% over the past week. As of the time of writing, BTC is approaching a key support level, with analysts closely monitoring the market to determine where the next target for the digital asset will be. In this context, it is essential to explore the factors that could impact the price of BTC in the short and long term. How Rising Interest Rates Affect Bitcoin And Other Digital Assets In January, inflation rose 5.4% compared to the previous year, according to the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report released…

The country will not confiscate blocked funds despite pressure from Western allies, an official said Swiss banks have no legal right to use Russian money frozen in the country under sanctions for their own purposes, a spokesperson for the country’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Fabian Maienfisch, told the RIA Novosti news agency this week. Any action that allows the management or use of frozen assets is prohibited except for routine administrative actions performed by financial institutions such as accounting for interest rates or banking charges on the account, he noted. “The management of actual portfolio of frozen assets…

Berlin’s spending on tackling skyrocketing energy costs has already topped $270 billion Germany’s government will have to allocate more than $1 trillion by 2030 to deal with the risks and challenges that have arisen due to the energy crisis, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing its primary research service. The enormous costs are expected to include investments in modernization of the country’s power grids and a planned phase-out of its nuclear and coal plants. Berlin will reportedly face growing demand from electric vehicles and heating systems. Moreover, the German authorities are obliged to meet climate commitments. The increase in power demand…

US stocks have soared to unsustainable highs and could crash 26% within months, Morgan Stanley’s top strategist has warned. In an analyst note the bank’s chief US equity strategist, Mike Wilson, said that the current level of stock valuations could be compared to the “death zone,” a term in mountaineering describing an altitude so high that climbers do not have enough oxygen to breathe. “Many fatalities in high-altitude mountaineering have been caused by the death zone, either directly through loss of vital functions, or indirectly by wrong decisions made under stress or physical weakening that lead to accidents,” Wilson wrote. “This…

A British farming union says Brexit, geopolitical tensions, the energy crisis and climate change are weighing on local growers The UK government needs to “take command” of local food production, the deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said on Saturday, warning that an ongoing shortage of fruit and vegetables across the country could be just the “tip of the iceberg.” According to Tom Bradshaw, the deficit of some fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes and cucumbers, has been caused by volatility arising from geopolitical events, and climate change, which is putting intense pressure on supply chains. “What we saw last summer with…