The quickly tightening labor market could present a problem for financial markets in the medium term, according to Longview Economics CEO Chris Watling. Recent JOLTs data put U.S. job openings in April at a record 9.3 million, but this is running alongside persistent unemployment and subdued hiring rates. The most recent jobless claims data showed a surprise […] Read more
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s government announced a ban on the mining of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the country’s president, Hassan Rouhani, announced Wednesday, as officials blame the energy-intensive process for blackouts in a number of Iranian cities. The ban is effective immediately and will be in place until Sept. 22, Rouhani told state TV, in […] Read more
LONDON — For Deutsche Bank, bitcoin has lost its flair. Bitcoin suffered a huge plunge this week that saw the digital currency fall to three-month lows. It dived 30% to nearly $30,000 at one point on Wednesday, before paring losses later that day. On Thursday, bitcoin bounced back above $40,000 as the crypto market attempted to recover. Bitcoin was last trading 1% lower […] Read more
LONDON — Ether surged past $4,000 Monday to hit a new record high, extending a stunning rally for the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. Ether, the digital token of the Ethereum blockchain, rose to an all-time high of $4,196.63 at 12:15 p.m. ET, according to Coin Metrics. It now has a total market value of $483.4 billion, less than […] Read more
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen conceded Tuesday that interest rates may have to rise to keep a lid on the burgeoning growth of the U.S. economy brought on in part by trillions of dollars in government stimulus spending. “It may be that interest rates will have to rise somewhat to make sure that our economy doesn’t […] Read more
U.S. stock futures were flat in overnight trading on Monday as investors prepare for the next batch of corporate earnings. Dow futures rose 35 points. S&P 500 futures gained 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat. The major averages fell on Monday, dragged down by overall weakness in the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average […] Read more
Keith Gill, the Reddit trading crowd’s favorite and the man who inspired the epic GameStop short squeeze,, just doubled down on his bet on the video game retailer, forgoing millions of dollars in quick profit to ramp up his stake. The investor, who goes by DeepF——Value on Reddit and Roaring Kitty on YouTube, exercised his 500 GameStop […] Read more
Turkey’s Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday chose to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 19%, in a move widely anticipated by markets. While unsurprising to investors watching the central bank, the dovish signal nonetheless risks more volatility for the country’s currency as it all but eviscerates the likelihood of higher rates in the future […] Read more
Federal Reserve officials indicated at their last meeting that easy policy will stay in place until it produces stronger employment and inflation, and won’t be adjusted based merely on forecasts. The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday released minutes from the March 16-17 meeting as investors looked for indications about where policy may be heading […] Read more
The outlook for U.S.-China trade relations is likely to remain challenged after this week’s high-level diplomatic talks showed that President Joe Biden’s team does not plan to wholly abandon the Trump administration’s tough tone in discussions with Beijing. Though Washington and Beijing struck a ceasefire in their tit-for-tat trade feud with last year’s “phase one” agreement, […] Read more
