Bull market

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Cryptocurrencies are famous for their wild price swings, and in their short history, they’ve gone through multiple cycles of scorching-hot summers followed by frigid, long winters. The last downturn began in early 2018 and lasted about two and a half years. Over the past three months, with inflation spiking and recession concerns spreading, bitcoin has dropped from a high of $48,000 to roughly $21,000 . Today, some top investors think we’re in for another painful, extended period of low prices. “The next two years are going to be really rough,” says Avichal Garg, a managing partner at Electrical Capital, a crypto investment fund with more than $1 billion in assets. His fundamental views on the industry’s promise haven’t changed. “New software developers are coming in , and we're seeing more and more high-quality founders. We see Web2 executives from Facebook and Google coming in at a faster clip,” he says. But one … [Read more...] about The Crypto Bear Market Could Last Two Years, Top Investors Say

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Home prices, which have been shooting up since last year, grew at a slower pace in April, showing signs of a potential cool down in the red-hot housing market, according to new data from S&P Case-Shiller on Tuesday. Key Facts Home-price growth slowed in April, rising 20.4% compared to last year but down from a 20.6% growth rate in the previous month, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures average home prices in major cities. For the first time in five months, most of the 20 cities in the index saw a monthly decline in price gains, while metropolitan areas in the South such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami and Tampa saw the biggest increases since March. The Case-Shiller Index reports on a two-month delay and constitutes a three-month moving average of repeat-sales data: Since then, median existing-home prices spiked 15% in May, topping … [Read more...] about Home Prices Finally Cooling Off? Market Slows In April, But Demand Remains High Despite Rising Mortgage Rates

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline A leading indicator for housing market activity—pending home sales—unexpectedly jumped in May and reversed six straight months of declines, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors on Monday, though experts warn that higher mortgage rates will continue to weigh on demand. Key Facts Pending home sales, which measure signed contracts on previously owned and existing properties, unexpectedly rose slightly in May, up 0.7% compared to April and surprising analysts who were largely expecting a drop of up to 4%. Home sales were strongest in the Northeast (up roughly 15%), while other regions like the Midwest and West both saw declines of 1.7% and 5%, respectively. Pending home sales were still nearly 14% lower than they were a year ago—with year-over-year declines in all major regions as buyers have had to contend with rising mortgage rates in 2022. The average interest rate … [Read more...] about Pending Home Sales See Surprise Rebound In May, But Experts Warn Housing Market Is ‘Undergoing A Transition’

At the foundation of Web3 is blockchain technology and decentralisation. (Image: Alina Grubnyak via Unsplash) Web3 is marketers’ shiny new toy. While there is enough excitement about the future of the internet in the marketing community, every brand maker is defining it differently. Future-ready advertising agencies think it is mainly because Web3 is still a work in progress. The right thing for marketers to do is to observe, learn, and use it in the right context and brief, advertising executives tell Storyboard18. The premise of Web3, as per computer scientist Gavin Wood who coined the term, is simple. While Web1 opened up the internet, Web2 led to the birth of trillion-dollar technology companies which not only own a lot of infrastructure on the web but also have a lot of influence on users, their content, and above all their data. They dominate the web. Web3 is a truly decentralized version of the internet where users will have control, giving them the upper hand. And … [Read more...] about Storyboard18 | Demystifying what Web3 means for brand marketers & advertisers

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): Bursa Malaysia closed higher on Tuesday (June 28), lifted by buying interest in most heavyweights and in line with improving market sentiment across the region, said an analyst. At 5pm, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) rose 1.16% or 16.62 points to 1,454.74 from Monday's close of 1,438.12. The benchmark index, which opened 0.86 of-a-point firmer at 1,438.98, moved between 1,431.35 and 1,455.46 throughout the day. On the broader market, gainers led losers 470 to 410, while 420 counters were unchanged, 1,042 untraded, and 79 others suspended. Total turnover narrowed to 2.28 billion units valued at RM1.61 billion from 2.65 billion units worth RM1.43 billion on Monday. Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice president of equity research Thong Pak Leng said regionally, key indices ended mostly higher as foreign funds returned to the region amid economic concerns in the United States and European Union. On the local front, he said the … [Read more...] about Bursa ends higher in line with improved market sentiment

- A + A SINTRA/FRANKFURT (June 27): The European Central Bank (ECB) will activate the bond-purchasing firepower it has earmarked as a first line of defence against a possible debt-market crisis on Friday (July 1), according to President Christine Lagarde. Applying "flexibility" to how reinvestments from the ECB's €1.7 trillion (US$1.8 trillion) pandemic bond-buying portfolio are allocated is aimed at curbing unwarranted turmoil in government bonds as interest rates are lifted from record lows to curb unprecedented inflation. Net buying under a separate asset-purchase programme is also set to end on Friday — potentially exposing some of the eurozone's more-indebted nations to speculative attacks by investors. "We have decided to apply this flexibility in reinvesting redemptions coming due in the PEPP portfolio as of July 1," Lagarde said on Tuesday in a speech in Sintra, Portugal, where the ECB is holding its annual retreat. "We will ensure that the orderly … [Read more...] about ECB to activate first line of defence in bond market on July 1

- A + A LONDON (June 28): Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc is abandoning the sale of the Boots drugstore chain in the UK citing "unexpected and dramatic change" in the global financial markets since launching the sales process in January. The American healthcare group had been in talks with a consortium between Reliance Industries Ltd and Apollo Global Management Inc over the more than £5 billion (US$6.1 billion) sale of Britain's biggest pharmacy chain. As a result of "market instability severely impacting financing availability, no third party has been able to make an offer that adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots", Walgreens said in a statement on Tuesday. The recent strong performance of Boots, and its key No7 beauty brand, is also behind the decision to retain the business, the company added in the statement. The Boots sale was considered a litmus test for dealmaking in the UK with credit markets becoming increasingly fragile. The easy financing … [Read more...] about Walgreens abandons Boots sale amid volatile debt market

Bloomberg filepix for illustration purpose only - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (June 28): The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) signed last month between Malaysia and Japan will see Malaysian workers going to Japan for work and to hone their skills further, so that they can contribute to the local labour market upon their return. Japanese Ambassador to Malaysia Katsuhiko Takahashi said the MoC did not mean that Japan is going to absorb labour from Malaysia. “The basic idea of the programme (MoC) is to make them work in Japan for a specific period of time (around three to five years), among others in the hospitality and agriculture sectors. Usually, after gaining skills, those Malaysians will come back to the local labour market. “This (programme) is not a system to absorb labour forces from Malaysia to Japan, but this is rather a value-added quality and journey where we provide them training and encourage them to come back and serve their own country,” said Takahashi … [Read more...] about Japan-Malaysia’s MOC to better equip skilled workers for labour market, says envoy

- A + A CHICAGO (June 28): In a year that has seen widespread selling of technology stocks and long-time market leaders fall into bear territory, the woes of Netflix Inc stand alone. The video-streaming company has plummeted 69% this year, abandoned by both investors and analysts as back-to-back disappointing quarterly reports raised concerns about user trends in an industry that’s becoming more competitive and losing its pandemic-related tailwinds. The drop is the most of any Nasdaq 100 or S&P 500 component, and much worse than the former index’s 26% decline. The growth outlook has weakened to the point that Netflix has cut hundreds of jobs and changed its tune on two longstanding principles: it is cracking down on password sharing, and will introduce an ad-based subscriber tier to the platform. That’s on top of a backdrop where high inflation has pushed the Federal Reserve to hike rates sharply, sparking recession fuels and fueling a rotation out of tech. … [Read more...] about The number of Netflix bulls is dwindling

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin U.S. drugstore giant Walgreens WBA has abandoned the sale of the U.K.’s leading pharmacy chain Boots, with the debt-financing markets apparently derailing its plans. The Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) announced its decision to keep its Boots and No7 Beauty Company businesses under its existing ownership this morning, U.S. time. In a statement is said: “This marks the conclusion of the review that began in January in line with the company’s strategic priorities. WBA has been encouraged by productive discussions held with a range of parties, receiving significant interest from prospective buyers. However, since launching the process, the global financial markets have suffered unexpected and dramatic change. “As a result of market instability severely impacting financing availability, no third party has been able to make an offer that adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots and No7 Beauty Company. … [Read more...] about Walgreens Ditches Sale Of Boots Blaming Volatile Debt Markets