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    in Economy

    Wall St Week Ahead: Some worry U.S. stocks rally more 'Fear Of Missing Out' than fundamentals

    NEW YORK (Reuters) – A record-setting run in U.S. stocks has made some investors wary as concerns grow over the market’s vulnerability to surging inflation, tighter Federal Reserve policy and moderating corporate profit growth. The S&P 500has gained about 24% so far in 2021, and on Monday finished a streak of eight straight all-time closing highs, the longest such stretch since 1997. The benchmark index has more than doubled since its March 2020 low at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, minting 65 all-time highs in 2021 alone, the second-most of any year on record, according to LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA). With those gains have come potential pockets of excess that some investors worry are emblematic of a market that is overheating, even as inflation soars to its highest levels in decades and the Fed prepares to tighten monetary policy next year. Some examples include the eye-popping gains for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the blockbuster initial public offering of electric vehicle maker Rivian, which garnered a valuation over $100 billion despite having little revenue, as well as Bitcoin’s surge to an all-time peak. More broadly, the S&P 500 tech sector’s valuation, based on forward price-to-earnings ratios, is near a 17-year high.“There are very reasonably valued stocks and portions of the market, and so that is what I am trying to gravitate to,” said Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital in South Carolina. “But as somebody who has been doing this for a while, (the market) seems… excessive in certain respects.” His firm owns stocks such as pharmaceutical company Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and tech stalwart Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) for its clients.Some of the worries may be starting to take their toll. Stocks have wobbled in recent days, endangering a sixth week of positive returns for the S&P 500. The CBOE Market Volatility index, known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, on Wednesday hit its highest level in a month. Based on the level of the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) strategists said in a note on Monday that the S&P 500 should be trading at about 20.5 times forward earnings estimates, as opposed to its current level of 21.5 times. “We think retail flows, seasonal strength and institutional ‘FOMO’ have taken valuations above fair value,” the Morgan Stanley strategists said, using the acronym for “fear of missing out.” Some investors believe a startling rise in consumer prices to their highest level in more than three decades may accelerate the speed at which the Fed reduces its bond buying and eventually raises interest rates, potentially weighing on stocks and other risky assets. The central bank kicked off an unwind of its $120 billion government bond buying program this month. U.S. consumer sentiment plunged in early November to the lowest level in a decade as surging inflation cut into households’ living standards, according to the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index released on Friday.Market participants will also start turning their focus to next year, when S&P 500 profit growth is expected to slow to 7.5% after rebounding an estimated 49% this year following the pandemic shutdowns. Chad Morganlander, portfolio manager at Washington Crossing Advisors, has been paring back his stock holdings in the past month, reducing equity exposure in some portfolios from an overweight position to neutral and moving more into cash and bonds. Investors have been “handsomely rewarded” in the wake of the Fed’s easy money policies, he said. “The real question is what to do now,” Morganlander said. “Our viewpoint is that you want to try to be a little less risky.”Investors next week will keep a close eye on the latest monthly retail sales report, as well as earnings results from companies including Walmart (NYSE:WMT), Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Nvidia. Analysts at BofA Global Research recently wrote that investors’ options bets “reveal mounting demand for leverage as investors chase the market’s performance into year-end.” Taken together with the market’s recent run, “we view this as FOMO… not a fundamentally justified rally.”A Capital Economics report, meanwhile, said the firm’s analysts expect a gradual climb in real yields and underwhelming economic growth to hold back the U.S. stock market. Whether investors, who have consistently scooped up stocks on pullbacks this year, will actually turn away from equities remains to be seen, in particular with November and December being historically a strong period for the market. “Are you going to fight the tape?” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. “Selling into that strength, people would have caught themselves on the wrong side of the trade and nobody wants to be doing that, especially at year end.” More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bluzelle Is on the Mission to Become the Airbnb of Decentralized Cloud Storage

    Fully decentralized storage networkThe current cloud service landscape is predominantly centralized and is mostly dominated by a few players including Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), IBM (NYSE:IBM), and a few others.One common attribute among the existing cloud storage service providers is that they are all purposed for the second-generation web 2.0, which is why they operate as a centralized network.Likewise, this set of cloud services stores user data and information on a single node, or depending on how you see it, a single database, which if compromised, poses a great risk to the entire storage and its contents. In addressing this seeming setback, Bluzelle, a decentralized storage network for the creator economy, is on the mission to build a storage network that is fully decentralized, replicable, and retrievable. The Bluzelle network intends to do to web 3.0 what Google, IBM, Microsoft Azure, and their likes are doing to web 2.0; only in this case, the former wants to leverage the possibilities inherent in the blockchain.During an exclusive interview with DailyCoin, Pavel Bains, the CEO and Co-Founder at Bluzelle, described the blockchain venture as the “Airbnb of decentralized storage.” The B2B project is notable for safekeeping non-fungible tokens (NFTs) over its decentralized storage while ensuring that they are secure, easily accessible, and cannot be tampered with. In addition, Bluzelle also plays an instrumental role in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, as it provides advance warnings of attacks that have plagued the sector.Unlike centralized cloud storage services that rely on a single node or server, Bluzelle leverages the blockchain distributional system to decentralize cloud storage services.Notably, by allowing different computers to join its network from anywhere around the world, Bluzelle is able to convert each to a storage facility and just like Airbnb, connect end-users to any of the storage facilities.“Instead of sitting at one node that’s controlled by one company, we send it to the crowd and say offer up your storage and your space and we’re basically going to rent it out for you. So it’s basically the Airbnb of storage,”
    Bains noted.Bluzelle Transitioned from Mere Data Storage to File StorageAlthough Bluzelle initially launched as a blockchain-based data storage network, it incorporated file storage by the time it went live earlier in the year. According to Bains, being a data storage network alone poses a lot of limitations to what services can be offered.On the other hand, by introducing file storage, they have been able to eliminate the majority of the limitations, which include the storage of NFT files. “Initially, we were focused on data storage, but earlier this year we realized that file storage is critical. We can do that better, because of the support for NFTs, and have only recently launched the file storage component to the platform,”
    Bains explained.Bluzelle Cloud Storage Network Supports File ReplicationBecause the operational nodes on the Bluzelle network are interconnected, files stored on the network are replicated across multiple nodes. This way, these files are easy to retrieve assuming a node is compromised. In comparison, this cannot be achieved on a centralized network that relies on a single server, which makes it a less safe alternative.Take for instance, if a Google cloud service or Amazon web service shuts down for some time, an end-user is left stranded until the system is fully back on. On the other hand, if a node shuts down on Bluzelle, an end-user can easily retrieve a file from any of the interconnected nodes.“With decentralized storage, such as Bluzelle, what we do is take your file and automatically replicate it within our storage network. So it has one owner, but we also validate that it is only one file that is replicated over all of our nodes so that even if one node fails, goes missing, or gets hacked into, your file remains unaffected,”
    Bains explained.According to Bains, replicating the file in this context is not the same as creating new ones outrightly. Instead, by replicating a file stored on the network, Bains implies that they are storing it in multiple places at the same time.“So what we end up doing is we’re basically storing it at multiple places at the same time. So when it’s grabbed, there’s only one file that it grabs from. So if you do lose it or one node goes down it’s still there,”
    Bains noted.Replicated files are stored randomly across the network nodes so that when they are needed, the network algorithm can easily and quickly grab from the nearest available node.While Bluzelle is not the first project of its kind, its proprietary approach of replicating files in multiple places makes it stand out from the likes of IPFS and other decentralized storage, which only stores files on a single node within the network.On The FlipsideWhy You Should Care?The future of crypto is inseparable from the future of Web 3, which includes decentralized applications like Bluzelle at its core.Watch the full interview here:EMAIL NEWSLETTERJoin to get the flipside of cryptoUpgrade your inbox and get our DailyCoin editors’ picks 1x a week delivered straight to your inbox.[contact-form-7]
    You can always unsubscribe with just 1 click.Continue reading on DailyCoin More

  • 150 Shares169 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    Gate.io Launches Initial NFT Offerings (INO) On Its NFT Magic Box Marketplace

    “The launch of our new dedicated INO platform on the existing NFT Magic Box marketplace, we at Gate.io aim to empower artists and creators while helping them showcase their artwork to audiences across the world. Inversely, Gate.io users will get early access to new NFT collections by investing in up and coming talent,”
    said Marie Tatibouet, Chief Marketing Officer at Gate.ioIn the months since Gate.io launched NFT Magic Box, the platform has grown significantly. OpenPunks launched in October as one of the world’s first community-driven NFT collections, and become a cornerstone of the platform. Recently, Gate.io supports multi-chain on NFT Magic Box allowing users to showcase and trade NFTs based on several Ethereum and Tron protocols. NFT series such as Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) have received official certification, allowing users to trade their Apes on NFT Magic Box.Initially, projects listed on the INO platform will be strictly vetted, with only projects audited by the Gate.io team being allowed to participate on the platform. The Gate.io community will be able to vote and support high-quality projects with longterm potential, while getting early access these NFT collections.As Gate.io continues to support original creations in the NFT space, NFT Magic Box features official certification tags for creators to show their ‘Official Portfolio’ and ensure users access the correct collection. Creators can gain access to official certification by submitting an application directly on the platform. Official certification gives creators access to more traffic and more funds, while getting access to the high liquidity provided from the larger Gate.io ecosystem.Continue reading on DailyCoin More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    How Reward Systems in the Crypto Industry Attract Investments

    The increased integration of cryptocurrencies and decentralized finance has changed the playing field dramatically. Up until a few years back, cryptocurrencies were independent entities operating in the decentralized finance realm.Nowadays, a developed ecosystem offering a wide range of services such as exchanging crypto, investments, messaging platforms, loans, and credits can easily replace entire enterprises.Apart from having one-stop hubs providing all the landscape for impeccable crypto trading, exchanges are making great strides insofar as to ensure the holder that loyalty programs are in place, and their commitment will be rewarded.Taking a page from the traditional finance playbook, cryptocurrency exchanges are doing their best to become mainstream enterprises and in that regard, reduce the risk for investors and reward them, especially when it comes to referrals.A referral system has proven to be an incredibly effective incentive to attract new investors and users while remaining true to existing users in exchange platforms. On that note, Kick Ecosystem is shaping up to be a leader of crypto ecosystems because it offers a considerable constellation of services to its ecosystem members.Referral systems especially benefit beginners in crypto investing apart from already being lucrative to intermediate and advanced investors simply because users still get to earn rewards for their efforts and their contributions to inviting new users to join. This offering is definitely a step forward in ensuring that the crypto space will become a secure space for all investors regardless of their expertise in crypto trading.Kick Ecosystem is a complete cryptocurrency environment that assists both beginners and cryptocurrency professionals in earning a consistent income from digital coin transactions.Kick Ecosystem has changed the playing field by introducing and consistently amending KickRef, the free, user-friendly, and open-source referral program where apart from referring new users and getting rewards, the flux of social activity provides a safe and engaging space for networking with other users and investors with different levels of expertise. Constant innovation and upgrades are being launched from the likes of KickRef. While the flow of earnings will remain the same, users will have a much easier time trading cryptocurrencies, referring new users, and getting their well-deserved rewards while being able to track their actions via elaborate dashboards available on the web and mobile apps.Continue reading on CoinQuora More

  • 138 Shares179 Views

    in Economy

    China wields political might to cool coal prices, but winter looms

    BEIJING (Reuters) -In just 10 days after a blizzard of meetings and official notices, Chinese regulators last month nearly halved soaring domestic prices for thermal coal, the main source of power for the world’s No. 2 economy.Beijing’s raft of interventions underscored the extent – and some limitations – of its regulatory might, but the country still faces the daunting task of keeping the fuel cheap and abundant through winter.The price of thermal coal – which accounts for roughly 60% of China’s electricity needs – more than tripled in the 12 months to mid-October after years of moves to curb overproduction ran into booming post-pandemic industrial demand for power.As soaring prices forced electricity producers to curb output, sparking power rationing and sapping economic growth, Beijing raced to boost production https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-coal-surge-puts-supply-record-power-jump-within-reach-2021-10-22 and bring in measures ranging from price targets https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-planner-met-with-coal-producers-study-profiteering-standards-2021-10-28 to a crackdown on hoarding and probes into data providers.The most-traded thermal coal futures on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange plunged in the 10 days after hitting a lifetime high on Oct. 19, and were down 56% from that mark on Friday.Spot physical coal prices at the southern port of Guangzhou also fell sharply and are now down nearly 44% from their October high. Prices for both, though, are still up more than 60% so far this year.”No other country could have achieved a similar result considering the scale and timeline,” said Steve Hulton and Fabian Ronningen, analysts at consultancy Rystad Energy said. “It truly shows the power of Chinese authorities over the domestic coal market and the economy in general.” The raft of interventions has spilled into the global coal market, with prices in major coal exporters Australia and Indonesia falling in recent days, and has left market participants wary of further regulatory meddling.And as colder temperatures across China crank up demand for heating and the need for more coal, Beijing is likely to face pressure to manage the country’s power-generating fuel supplies and costs until well into 2022, analysts and traders said. ‘STEADY DECLINE’To reverse the months-long climb in the price of coal, Beijing held dozens of meetings with producers, utilities, railway operators and industry associations, producing a flurry of market missives and warnings.Some 71 power-related documents were issued by 32 national and local government bodies in October alone, according to a summary circulated among traders, chilling trading activity in coal futures, with coal open interest and volumes slumping on the Zhengzhou exchange.”‘Never fight the regulators’ is the mantra,” noted Kevin Xue, senior Asia economist at Commonwealth Bank.Miners were urged to reverse course after years of efforts to curb overcapacity by shutting inefficient, low yielding or environmentally damaging coal deposits.So far, Beijing’s cajoling has worked, with daily coal output scaling a record high of 12.05 million tonnes on Nov. 10, the country’s state planner said.Traders who attended a meeting called by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) on Nov. 3 said the message from the top economic planner now was that coal prices should not fall too far and too fast.”With more coal capacity to be released and production to continue to increase … coal prices are expected to continue to decline steadily,” the NDRC said on Sunday.LOW STOCKSThe recent swell in fresh coal mine supply and a regulatory change allowing power producers to pass on higher prices https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/what-does-chinas-power-policy-shift-mean-metal-makers-other-energy-hogs-2021-10-13 has helped raise electricity output for households and reduce the number of power curbs in effect since September. But analysts are closely eyeing China’s coal stockpiles for signs of market tightness.Total coal inventories held at key ports across China – a measure which reflects both domestic production and imports – were at 52.4 million tonnes in October, according to the China Coal Transportation and Distribution Association. This is up 1.8% from September but roughly 20% below the October average from 2017 to 2020.Inventories held by key power plants as at end-October were roughly 38% below the average for that month from 2017 to 2020, according to Caixin Data Technology Co.The upcoming winter may also strain supplies, especially in open pit mines which can be affected by heavy snow – raising questions over the sustainability over the recent rise in output.And with heating demand now set to climb as winter sets in, China’s State Grid Corp warned on Sunday there would be a “tight balance” between power supply and demand until Spring.Rystad Energy analysts expect prices to continue to retreat in the short to medium term but warned “the thermal coal market is still currently very tight so any supply disruptions or extreme winter weather events could easily send prices shooting back up again.””We expect price volatility to be high,” they added. What is clearer is Beijing’s commitment to steering the market, said Yu Aiqun, a researcher at U.S.-based Global Energy Monitor think tank.”The government can put its hand in the market as deep as it wants,” she said. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin edges lower as advance in major cryptocurrencies slows

    Investing.com – The Bitcoin price edged lower on Friday but still held above $63,500 as high inflation in the US and much of the developed world is continuing to support major cryptocurrencies.Bitcoin is often viewed by its supporters as a hedge for inflation given its limited supply. One of the main characteristics of Bitcoin is its limited supply with the total number of Bitcoin capped at 21 million. The scarcity, in theory, should control inflation that might arise from an unlimited supply of the currency.However, it is still inconclusive whether Bitcoin is a suitable hedge for inflation. Higher-risk assets, such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, have benefitted from low interest rates and the Fed’s large scale quantitative easing programme.Following this week’s US inflation print, where CPI increased 6.2% YoY in the latest month, the likelihood of an earlier than expected interest rate hike and faster tapering of bond buys has increased.Therefore, higher inflation may weigh on the price of Bitcoin as the ‘punch-bowl’ is gradually removed.After the CPI data this week, Bitcoin initially shot higher but reversed course later in the trading session.“Bitcoin’s price action following the record inflation numbers left traders scrambling to decipher if it can sustain its value during times of high inflation,” wrote cryptocurrency data science firm intotheblock. Looking forward, this weekend could see Bitcoin’s Taproot upgrade take place.According to the website taproot.watch, Taproot is a soft-fork to the Bitcoin network that will improve the scripting capabilities and privacy. The upgrade will expand on Bitcoin’s smart contract flexibility, while offering more privacy in doing so by only revealing the relevant parts of the contract when spending.The website nicehash.com currently expects the upgrade to take place on 14th November at 05:59UTC. Whether the upgrade will have an immediate impact on the price of Bitcoin is unclear but some analysts have suggested that the current high price has been supported by the upcoming network update.“This is the largest upgrade since SegWit in 2017 and will improve a whole string of key functions,” said QCP Capital on Telegram. “We are keeping long BTC into this major event.” More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Crypto Flipsider News – Taproot Launches Tomorrow, Binance Freezes DOGE, Discord Drops ETH Plans

    Bitcoin Taproot Upgrade Scheduled for November 13, Investors HODL Bitcoin in Anticipation of RallyAfter nearly five months of waiting, the Bitcoin community could be getting the Taproot Upgrade on Saturday, November 13. Taproot has been hailed as one of the biggest upgrades since the Bitcoin network launched. Taproot will bring programmable scripting similar to Ethereum smart contracts. This will translate to improved privacy, speed, efficiency, and programmability of the Bitcoin Network.Although Bitcoin dominates 43% of the crypto market, it is bested by smart contract networks in terms of functionality. However, the upgrade would bring programmability to Bitcoin as well as multi-signature transactions for better performance.While Bitcoin has broken its all-time highs every other week, a report shows that many investors continue to HODL, expecting BTC to keep climbing. According to Glassnode, only 12.9% of the Bitcoin supply remains on exchanges. Flipsider:Why You Should CareBeing the most significant and hyped Bitcoin network upgrade, the launch of Taproot has been predicted to start a Bitcoin rally, setting it up to break a new all-time high.
    Binance Halts Dogecoin (DOGE) Withdrawal, Users Asked to Return DOGEThe meme coin season continues to distend, with Dogecoin reclaiming its throne from Shiba Inu as the biggest “DOGE” on the block. Feeding the Doge populace, Binance announced on November 10 that it had completed DOGE Network’s Dogecoin Core 1.14.5 version update.However, a day after the update was announced, Binance temporarily suspended withdrawals of DOGE. According to Binance, there was a minor issue in the new update.The issues seem bigger than Binance wants to acknowledge. According to a November 12 report, some Chinese users have allegedly received DOGE from transactions that failed years ago. Dogecoin Developers wrote;Other users have complained that Binance initiated the withdrawal of Dogecoin without their consent. Some users have complained that the exchange is asking them to return the Dogecoin that they do not currently have in their Binance accounts.Flipsider:Why You Should CareDogecoin Developers have provided technical advice for those worried about their failed transactions.
    Indonesian MUI Outlaws Crypto as Currency, Miami to Receive “Bitcoin Yield” from MiamiCoinWhile cryptocurrencies are enjoying unprecedented adoption, the asset class has had several fallouts with governments and organizations. In Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim majority country, the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has banned the use of crypto as a currency.According to Asrorun Niam Sholeh, MUI’s head of religious decrees, cryptocurrencies are forbidden as a means of payment because they carry elements of uncertainty and harm. On the contrary, trading and investing in cryptocurrencies are allowed in the country.Flipsider:Why You Should CareThe contrast between Miami and Indonesia shows how important regulatory policies will be in shaping the future of cryptocurrencies. Favorable policies will foster greater adoption of crypto.
    Discord Drops Ethereum and NFT Integration, Sotheby’s Will Accept ETH BidsJust days after teasing a possible integration with the Ethereum Network, the CEO of Discord, Jason Citron, has been forced to drop his plans of integrating Ethereum and NFTs into the popular community messaging app.Citron was forced to go back on his earlier plans after thousands of Discord users called on him to abandon the project, with some threatening to cancel their Nitro subscriptions. As a result, on November 11, Citron announced that the features had been moved from “pre-release” mode to “no release” mode.Flipsider:Why You Should CareThe obvious dissimilarity between Discord and Sotheby’s shows that although crypto adoption is at an all-time high, not everybody is ready to integrate the technology.EMAIL NEWSLETTERJoin to get the flipside of cryptoUpgrade your inbox and get our DailyCoin editors’ picks 1x a week delivered straight to your inbox.[contact-form-7]
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    in Cryptocurrency

    KILT Becomes a Fully Decentralized Blockchain Network

    An open-source blockchain protocol for issuing self-sovereign, anonymous and verifiable credentials, KILT became a fully decentralized blockchain network on November 11.In a press release, the KILT team announced that it has reached the final step of decentralization. According to BOTLabs GmbH, the firm behind KILT Protocol, the Sudo Key was removed, and governance of the KILT ecosystem was handed over to the hands of its community. In short, the company has given decision-making to the community.What is more, KILT will run through a system of governance in which KILT Coin holders take control and can suggest things to the network on which the community will have to vote.Driving deeper, the firm notes that the first proposal in front of KILT community governance would not only allow tokens to be transferred (TTE) but also allow the distribution of the “thank you” KILT Coins to the crowdloan supporters. Not to mention that the proposal will go for a vote today on November 12, for KILT Coin holders to choose from over the following 7 days.Additionally, the team emphasized that proposals are automatically achieved on KILT on-chain by the system after an enactment period of one day. As a matter of fact, the KILT Coins can be given to crowdloan supporters in around two weeks.Launched in 2018, KILT aims to return control over personal data to its owner, restoring privacy to the individual and enabling innovative, industry-agnostic business models around identity.Note that KILT secured a parachain slot on the Kusama network and launched as a live blockchain on September 8, 2021.Continue reading on CoinQuora More