At around 7:30 a.m. ET, the price of bitcoin skyrocketed past the $27,000 range to a high of $27,025 per unit. Precious metals, or PMs, like gold and silver, also rose between 1.98% and 2.12% against the U.S. dollar over the past day. While many market observers are wondering why specific assets like PMs and…
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After U.S. regulators shut down Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) on Friday, the Bank of England has closed the company’s U.K.-based arm. The central bank explained that it intends to place the subsidiary into bank insolvency procedures. Fallout From SVB Failure Prompts BOE to Close U.K. Branch The ripple effect of the 16th largest bank in…
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve loosened fiscal and monetary policy. Now, these same financial institutions are seemingly engaging in quantitative tightening (QT) practices. According to Nick Gerli, CEO and founder of Reventure Consulting, “the money supply is officially contracting.” This has only happened four times in the last…
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Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman complained on Twitter Wednesday that he was experiencing issues with the centralized payment processor Venmo. His tweet was followed by a barrage of bitcoin supporters who insisted that Krugman was now realizing the importance of censorship-resistant payment systems. Krugman’s Experience Highlights the Growing Interest in Censorship-Resistant Payment Systems Nobel Prize…
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Monetary policy for cryptocurrencies is a game-changer — with fixed supplies and decentralized control, they challenge traditional monetary policy tools. How might central bank digital currency design choices affect monetary policy? The design choices, such as the level of privacy — i.e., anonymous or fully traceable transactions — implemented in the creation of a CBDC…
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The persistent scarcity of foreign exchange may force the Nigerian central bank to delay repaying the $10.4 billion owed to local banks, analysts at Moody’s Investors Service have concluded. The central bank’s failure to pay its debts on time will likely force the affected financial institutions to similarly delay paying back their own forex-denominated debts.…
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U.S. inflation levels dropped slightly in January, sliding from 6.5% to 6.4%. However, inflation remains higher than expected, causing concern among investors that the U.S. central bank will continue to hike the benchmark federal funds rate. Inflation in the US Remains High, Causing Uncertainty in Markets Inflation in the United States exceeded expectations among analysts…
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The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe recently revealed that some 25,188 of its value-preserving gold coins were sold between July 2022 and Jan. 13. According to the central bank governor, John Mangudya, the gold coins “have proved to be an effective open market instrument for mopping up excess liquidity in the economy.” Gold Coins as Alternative…
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The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its benchmark federal funds rate by 0.25% on Wednesday after markets priced in near 100% certainty the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) would codify the quarter-point increase. The FOMC statement further detailed that ongoing rate increases are anticipated to bring inflation down to the target range of 2%. FOMC Outlines…
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As investors examine the next move of the Federal Reserve, analysts, economists and market participants are also closely monitoring inflation levels. In Dec. 2022, the annual inflation rate dropped to 6.5%, and many experts predict it will decrease further. However, economist Mohamed El-Erian of the University of Cambridge believes inflation will become “sticky” in midyear,…
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