Aurelia Butler

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    in Economy

    UK’s Sunak to announce uplift in military support for Ukraine

    Sunak’s visit to Poland to meet Prime Minister Donald Tusk is his first international trip for months and is aimed at showing his restive party he is still in command before an election later this year he is widely expected to lose.Britain has long been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, and the additional funding will take London’s total military aid for this financial year to 3 billion pounds, just days after the U.S. House of Representatives approved a $60 billion package.”Defending Ukraine against Russia’s brutal ambitions is vital for our security and for all of Europe. If Putin is allowed to succeed in this war of aggression, he will not stop at the Polish border,” Sunak said in a statement.”Ukraine’s armed forces continue to fight bravely, but they need our support – and they need it now. Today’s package will help ensure Ukraine has what they need to take the fight to Russia,” he said before the visit.Britain will also send what it described as its largest-ever single package of equipment, including 60 boats, more than 1,600 strike and air defence missiles and nearly 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition.With Russia making some gains, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged countries to help Kyiv get the long-range arms and air defence systems he says are needed to turn the tide.In Poland, Sunak will meet Tusk, who as European Council president was outspoken over Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, for the first time in person to discuss not only security but also deepening trade ties. ($1 = 0.8102 pounds) More

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    in Economy

    New Zealand’s Central Bank disagrees with watchdog over capital settings

    WELLINGTON (Reuters) – New Zealand’s central bank said on Tuesday it does not agree with the assessment of the country’s competition watchdog that its prudential capital settings need to be reviewed.In March, a draft Commerce Commission report found that there was limited competition in New Zealand’s personal banking sector and one of its recommendation was that the central bank review its capital setting requirements. Since 2008, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has allowed larger banks to hold significantly less capital than smaller banks for some lending giving them in some cases a competitive advantage, according to the Commerce Commission.RBNZ Deputy Governor Christian Hawkesby said the current bank capital framework is the result of a careful and extensive review process that occurred recently and is still being phased in. “The Commission’s suggested changes to our risk-weighting framework in the draft report would lead to very marginal benefits to competition, and could have unintended consequences and put us out of step with international regulatory approaches,” Hawkesby said. More

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    in Economy

    Vanguard favors inflation protection amid rising price pressure risks

    NEW YORK (Reuters) -A Vanguard executive said on Monday increasing inflation protection in investment portfolios was worthwhile in light of recent U.S. data and the global risks of a rebound in price pressures. For international investors, the strategy was also worth considering because Middle East tensions could lift transportation costs and oil prices, Roger Hallam, global head of rates at the world’s second-largest asset manager, said in a webinar. “We do think it’s attractive to increase the level of inflation protection within portfolios at present,” he said. Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities at the front end of the curve are particularly attractive, he added.Signs of stubborn inflation have pushed U.S. bond yields higher this year, as investors shifted expectations for the scope of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts in 2024. Yields move inversely to prices.Vanguard’s base scenario is for a “deferred landing” for the U.S. economy – continued economic growth and higher inflation than the Federal Reserve wants, but not high enough for the central bank to hike interest rates again.Such a scenario would be positive for investors in corporate bonds and U.S. Treasuries because of high interest income and potential price gains if the Fed does lower rates. But it is also entails “tail risks” such as a rebound in inflation or weakening in economic growth, Chris Alwine, global head of credit at Vanguard said in the webinar. “We’re still constructive on credit, but very mindful as this theme of soft landing or extended cycle eventually runs its course and then we move into either re-acceleration or a shallow recession,” he said.Vanguard expects inflation and economic growth to continue to drive Treasury yields over the next few months but concerns over the U.S. government deficit and debt burden could gain prominence ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November.”If either of the presidential candidates was to campaign on a platform of fiscal expansion, we do think that will be very market relevant,” said Hallam, adding that it could drive bond yields higher. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Are Bitcoin (BTC) Whales Targeted With 1% Wealth Tax?

    The proposal highlights that individuals or corporate bodies holding cryptocurrencies valued at over $1,000 would be required to report such holdings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) yearly. Furthermore, the bill seeks to impose a 1% wealth tax on entities holding digital assets exceeding $500,000.Some individuals commented that the 1% tax could be part of an effort from the government to regulate the market and prevent whales from manipulating the price of Bitcoin. However, the bill, which has been dispelled as false, is intended to address the growing inequalities in the United States. According to the proposal, individuals and entities holding substantial wealth in the form of crypto are expected to contribute their quota to support public services and investments.In 2021, the Biden administration dropped a tax proposal aiming to increase the capital gains tax rate to 43.4% for citizens whose income exceeds $1 million. The proposal had been met with a lot of criticism. Renowned venture capitalist Tim Draper claimed that it could kill “the golden goose that is America.”This article was originally published on U.Today More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    747,000 BTC Bought at Crucial Bitcoin Demand Zone: Details

    On-chain data indicates that 1.54 million addresses have collectively purchased 747,000 BTC at this level, suggesting strong investor confidence and reinforcing bullish sentiment on the market.”Bitcoin aims to secure $66,000 as support, where 1.54 million addresses bought 747,000 BTC,” Ali said in a tweet.If this move by Bitcoin bulls turns out successful, the next critical resistance level for BTC, according to Ali, might be between $69,900 and $71,200. Bitcoin increased modestly to begin the week as the network completed its fourth halving on Friday, lowering the incentives offered to Bitcoin miners.At the time of writing, BTC had risen 1.97% in the previous 24 hours to $66,210. The Bitcoin halving reduces the rewards given to miners in half and occurs around once every four years, as stipulated by the Bitcoin code. Many investors expected little price action in Bitcoin around the halving since it has typically taken many months for the impact to be reflected in the price of Bitcoin. However, JPMorgan believes Bitcoin faces some near-term downside risk.However, the good news is that Bitcoin is currently positioned right on top of a key demand zone. While it is currently seeking to establish support at the $66,000 level, the $64,800 level comes next into view as a strong support level, with 1.66 million addresses having acquired BTC around here. According to IntoTheBlock, the $64,800 price point could potentially act as a strong support level should the market experience further downward pressure.According to the latest CoinShares data, digital asset investment products saw outflows totaling $206 million for the second week in a row. The data reveals that enthusiasm among ETP/ETF investors is waning, most likely due to predictions that the Fed would retain interest rates at these high levels for longer than projected.Bitcoin witnessed $192 million in outflows, but few investors recognized this as an opportunity to short, with short-Bitcoin outflows totaling $0.3 million.This article was originally published on U.Today More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    ‘Embrace Bitcoin’ Michael Saylor’s Tweet Raises Heated Discussion, Here’s Why

    This time, Saylor tweeted “embrace Bitcoin” and added a picture, in which a young girl is standing close to a humanlike robot, which looks like robots from sci-fi movies, half-hugging it. An inscription on the robot says “Bitcoin.”Bitcoin holders found this choice of an image rather peculiar, and they did not hesitate to say so to Michael Saylor in the comments. Many, however, found the picture fine, also leaving comments about it.It is also often referred to as 4/20, and prior to the explosion in popularity of Dogecoin, it was known as “weed day” to many people. This year, however, it was also remarkable since it marked one year since the first launch of Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s Starship on April 20 last year.The fourth Bitcoin mining reduced the block award from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC for miners. The halving is loved by Bitcoiners since it is a great trigger for increasing Bitcoin’s scarcity. The CEO of Jan3, Samson Mow, referred to it as Bitcoin “quantitative hardening” as opposed to the quantitative easing measures that the Federal Reserve has been undertaking quite often recently, and which resulted in enormous money printing.This article was originally published on U.Today More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Ripple CTO Challenges Bitcoin’s Logic Framework: Details

    In response to tweets, Schwartz offers a new perspective, questioning the logic that the majority of hash power determines who gets to use the name “Bitcoin.”An X user, “Curtis Ellis,” shared on X what he refers to as “BTC logic”: that the majority of hash power decides who gets to use the name Bitcoin and that users must run a full node so they only follow the hash power that runs the rules that they choose.To put things in context, participants, or the computers that maintain the Bitcoin blockchain, are known as nodes, classified into full and miner nodes. Full nodes get and store an entire blockchain copy on them, ensuring that blocks and transactions follow network rules by validating them. Full nodes are essential to the integrity and security of the Bitcoin network.The Nakamoto consensus has served as the backbone of the Bitcoin network, and one of its key components is the longest chain rule. When competing chains occur on a network, the longest chain rule declares the chain with the highest total computing effort to be the legitimate blockchain. The Ripple CTO, however, brings a fresh perspective to the Bitcoin discussion, questioning whether the majority of hash power indeed confers the authority to define what “Bitcoin” is. “Do you think a rational user says I want whatever is called bitcoin, whether it’s good or bad, honest or corrupt? The former is how you tell what is bitcoin and the latter is how you get what you actually want,” Schwartz queried. Schwartz cites the scenario of the Bitcoin cash hard fork from Bitcoin. Bitcoin Cash is a hard fork of Bitcoin, whose split took place in 2017.He added, “When the BTC/BCH fork happened, rational users didn’t say, I want whichever side is called bitcoin afterward. The rule for how to tell which side is bitcoin doesn’t tell users which side they want to be on or get them on the side they want.”While the discussion continues, the Ripple CTO’s intervention brings a nuanced perspective, challenging the community to think critically about the principles that underpin the ecosystem.This article was originally published on U.Today More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF About to Break Major Milestone After 69 Day Inflow Streak

    Eric Balchunas, a renowned ETF expert at Bloomberg, has been closely monitoring IBIT’s ascent, noting the remarkable nature of this streak.On a market landscape where consistency is key, IBIT’s performance stands out. Unlike other contenders in the top ranks of the Longest Daily Inflows Streak, IBIT is the sole representative of the burgeoning Bitcoin ETF sector. While traditional ETFs dominate the leaderboard, IBIT’s presence highlights the growing interest in digital assets within institutional circles.A snapshot attached to the post showcases IBIT’s climb up the rankings, with the Longest Daily Inflows Streak table illustrating the fund’s steady accumulation of investor capital. Currently, JEPI US Equity holds the top position, with an uninterrupted streak lasting 160 days, setting a high bar for BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF to aspire to.As IBIT inches closer to breaking into the top 10, the anticipation mounts next on the Bitcoin ETF market. Whether it continues its ascent or encounters a setback, the journey reflects the dynamic interplay between traditional finance and the unpredictable space of cryptocurrencies.This article was originally published on U.Today More