Author: Steven Sahiounie

Roaring job market could mess with the Fed’s plansFed chair Jerome Powell at last week’s press conference. Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty ImagesThe Federal Reserve is in risk management mode and is more worried about the possibility it will do too little to quash inflation rather than too much. Meanwhile the economy, and especially the job market, is proving surprisingly resilient.Why it matters: It creates a meaningful risk of new disruptions to financial markets — and the possibility of a hard economic landing — as the Fed tries to wrestle inflation to a place where it’s persistently low.But another possibility is that they’re both wrong, and…

ADA, the token that powers the smart-contract-enabled Cardano blockchain, has been surging on Tuesday. The cryptocurrency, the world’s eighth largest by market capitalization according to CoinMarketCap, was last up around 8.5% on the day, with ADA/USD changing hands in the $0.39 area, giving it a market cap of around $13.5 billion. ADA is getting a lift from a broader rally being seen across the crypto space – Bitcoin was last up 1.7% and Ethereum around 3.0% on Tuesday, with traders relieved that the latest US inflation numbers, while still hot, weren’t as bad as some had feared. Cardano’s latest rally has seen it…

As U.S. regulators set their sights on crypto companies, does this mean that other countries are in with a chance at becoming a crypto hub? The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is hunting down Web3 companies with its strict policies. Recently it fined Kraken $30 million and ordered the closure of its staking reward facilities. Then, the SEC warned Paxos of possible legal action for violating securities law. Regulators also oppose listing Bitcoin spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs.) But it is the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs that is the most notable. What I don’t understand about America is; You were so liberal with the…

This cryptoweek…many a-stuff happened. Bitcoin fell out of favor after losing grip on $22K, ethereum dipped below $1,500, Blockstream founder said that bitcoin market cap could reach $200 trillion by 2032, bitcoin volatility expectations remained subdued despite hot US inflation figures, the subdued volatility expectations suggested traders were relaxed about bitcoin and ethereum price risks, crypto whales were increasing their holdings in several altcoins, certain cryptos might explode 10x in 2023, a Wells Fargo’s top analyst predicted the end of stocks bear market, a Bloomberg expert sounded the alarm as BTC bulls fought hard to keep the New Year’s rally rolling, crypto experts gave their cardano prediction prices, and Mark Cuban wants BTC…

Consumer prices in January in the Eurozone’s second-largest economy jumped 6% from a year ago, official data shows The cost of consumer goods in France jumped 6% in January in annual terms from 5.9% in December, conclusive data by the country’s statistics agency Insee showed on Friday. The higher consumer price index (CPI) rate was prompted by an acceleration in food costs, which were up 13.3% year-on-year, and in energy prices, which soared 16.3%. The price increases of manufactured goods and those of services have slowed, according to Insee. The report showed that seasonally adjusted, consumer prices increased by 0.8%…

Russia’s SPFS interbank messaging system is expanding at an unprecedented pace and now includes 469 participants, according to Alla Bakina, head of the Central Bank’s national payment system department. “Over the past year, we have connected as many [members] as for the entire period of the system’s operation,” the banking official stated on Friday on the sidelines of a forum in Ekaterinburg. Around 115 of the participants are foreign entities from 14 countries, Bakina added. She noted that the Russian Central Bank is working to connect even more countries to its SPFS system. “We work with friendly countries; they connect in different…

India’s imports from sanctions-hit Russia have leapt by 400% so far this fiscal year, the Nikkei Asia news website reported on Friday, citing the latest data from the Indian Commerce Ministry. The growth is attributed to large-scale purchases of discounted crude oil from Russia amid Western sanctions, which recently targeted the country’s exports of seaborne oil and petroleum products, including fuel and gasoline. Russia was reportedly ranked India’s fourth biggest “merchandise import source nation” in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year through March, after China, the United Arab Emirates and the US. The total value of Indian imports from…

Electricite de France (EDF) has reported a record single-year loss of €17.9 billion (around $19 billion) for 2022, pushing the power giant’s overall debts to €64.5 billion. The losses, which contrast with a profit of €5 billion in 2021, are the third largest in French corporate history and the worst for more than two decades. The fall comes despite a 70% surge in EDF’s revenues, which totaled €144 billion due to increases in global energy prices. The largely state-owned electricity producer endured a tough 2022 due to an unprecedented number of outages at its reactors, as well as the cap…

Portugal scraps right of non-Europeans to claim residency in return for investment Portugal’s authorities have announced a bulky package of economic measures that includes the termination of one of the most sought-after ‘golden visa’ schemes in Europe, which provides non-EU nationals with Portuguese residence in exchange for buying real estate or for other investments. Lisbon’s decision to halt issuing new golden visas in return for such investments, which had given those who could pay residency status and access to the EU’s borderless travel zone, was announced on Thursday by the country’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa. The step is aimed at “fighting…

Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ,” says that the industry may start to use stablecoins pegged to the euro, yen, or Singapore dollar, following recent actions against the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin BUSD. The crypto industry will “probably” start using euro, yen, or Singapore dollar-based stablecoins in the future, reducing its reliance on United States dollar-based stablecoins, according to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, also known as “CZ.” CZ gave the statement in a Feb. 14 Twitter Spaces event in answer to a question about the crypto industry using gold as a standard of value instead of the U.S. dollar. CZ agreed that it…