Author: Steven Sahiounie

Something unexpected is going on in the U.S. economy. Inflation remains high, yet many Americans went on a spending spree last month, eating out at restaurants and shopping for cars. In ordinary times, that additional spending would be welcome news to an economy that’s heavily dependent on consumer dollars. But there’s a catch: All that spending threatens to put more upward pressure on inflation at a time when the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates aggressively to keep prices in check. That makes it critical to gauge how long that consumer spending can last. A drop in consumer spending would…

New research suggests that Beijing’s property market is as bubbly as Tokyo’s two decades ago. The next few months put Japan in line for a series of anniversaries it would probably prefer to forget. But these are dates which the leadership in China may be wise to mark: the detonation of timebombs with counters set ticking by a property bubble. For these are, some would argue, distinctly echoey times. New research suggests that, if it is not careful, China may be on track for a new wave of Japanification. Back in 2003, Japan could no longer fool itself that all…

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) — After achieving a major and decisive victory in its COVID-19 prevention and control efforts since late 2022, China has put its economy back on the fast track, with the vigor of its development impacting the whole world. At a meeting last week, the Chinese leadership noted that China’s COVID-19 response has accomplished a smooth transition in a relatively short time, citing continuous efforts made in optimizing relative prevention and control measures since November 2022. With enhanced social mobility and international exchanges, the world’s second largest economy is on course for a robust economic comeback. The…

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Sunday that stubbornly-high inflation in the country has likely peaked, but conceded it remains a big economic challenge. Inflation is running at a 32-year high of 7.8% is only expected to slow to the top of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)’s target range of 2-3% by mid-2025. Speaking from India, where he has been attending the G20 financial leaders’ meet in Bengalaru, Chalmers said the global economy was on an “incredibly narrow path” with “the inflation challenge on one side, and a big global downturn on the other”.…

Over the last 24 hours, the cryptocurrency market has experienced a lot of volatility, with some currencies losing value while others have rebounded. One such example is the Binance USD (BUSD) and Avalanche (AVAX) currencies, which have seen dips and losses respectively, while Binance Coin (BNB) has rebounded. On its part, Big Eyes Coin ($BIG) has continued to break records at presale, with over $30 million dollars in the bag already. Avalanche: An Avalanche of Ways Similar To BUSD The worth of Binance USD, a stablecoin backed by the US dollar, has decreased. This is partially a result of the recent increase…

In the world of cryptocurrencies, Terra Luna Classic (LUN) has been making waves recently, as its price has been on the rise following a surge in trading volume. With the volume of trading reaching $100 million, many investors are speculating that the price of LUN could reach $1 in the near future. This prediction has created a lot of excitement and buzz in the cryptocurrency community, as people wonder whether Terra Luna Classic will continue to rise in value, or if this is just a temporary uptick. In this article, we will explore the factors driving this recent surge in…

A tweet suggesting the city will make crypto fully legal for all citizens is a misreading of the legislation. Hong Kong is warming up to crypto, and a licensing regime for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) – the local term for crypto exchanges – kicks in on June 1. Does this mean crypto is going “fully legal” in the city for everyone, as a tweet suggests? Not at all. While the situation may change later, for the time being the VASP framework for licensing exchanges, which just finished a multiyear consultation, allows them to provide access only to accredited professional investors. Retail investors…

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has failed to maintain its upward momentum and has fallen below $24,000 in the last 24 hours, dropping from its peak of $25,100 due to a significant reversal in the cryptocurrency market. Following Bitcoin’s lead, Ethereum has also seen a gradual decline in the past 24 hours. As the cryptocurrency market continues to experience volatility, all eyes are on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes scheduled to be released today. The outcome of this event is expected to have a significant impact on the market, particularly on Bitcoin and Ethereum prices. Cryptocurrency Market Analysis: A…

Jump Crypto, the Chicago-based crypto arm of Jump Trading that helped develop DeFi project Wormhole, has managed to counter-exploit the Wormhole protocol hacker and retrieve $140 million worth of tokens. According to a recent blog post, a coordinated effort between Jump Crypto and Oasis, which develops multi-signature wallet software, led to the recovery of certain assets involved with the wallet address associated with the Wormhole exploiter. While Oasis said a Whitehat group helped the project in the endeavor, blockchain data suggests Jump Crypto might be the other party as the ownership of the wallets involved in the counter-exploit has been traced back…

A number of major exchanges reportedly still transact with cards issued by sanctioned Russian lenders Seychelles-based crypto exchanges Huobi and KuCoin have so far failed to take steps to block Russian banks from their platforms despite sanctions, Politico reported on Saturday, citing blockchain analytics firm Inca. According to the report, both still allow traders to transact with cards issued by sanctioned Russian banks on their peer-to-peer platforms, including the country’s largest lender Sber Bank. According to Inca CEO Adam Zarazinski, allowing crypto buyers trade with each other using accounts at sanctioned banks is a “direct violation of US and European…