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Stocks didn't budge much ahead of Friday's US jobs report, the final report on 2016.

The Dow and the S&P 500 closed slightly in the red, while the Nasdaq barely scraped into the green.

First up, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 19,895.93, -46.23, (-0.23%)
• S&P 500: 2,268.07, -2.59, (-0.11%)
• Nasdaq: 5,488.86, +11.68, (+0.22%)
• US 10-year yield: 2.359%, -0.093
• WTI Crude oil: $53.66, +0.40, +0.75%

1. The final jobs report of 2016 will be released on Friday. Wall Street is expecting nonfarm payrolls to increase by 170,000, the unemployment rate to tick up to 4.7%, and average hourly earnings to rise by 2.8% year-over-year.

2. Trump takes aim at Toyota. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted his displeasure at carmaker Toyota on Thursday, threatening to impose taxes on the Japanese company if it produced its Corolla model in Mexico.

3. Department store stocks got crushed after some flagship brick-and-mortar stores reported weak holiday sales. Around 11 a.m. ET, JC Penny was down by 6.3%, Nordstrom was down by 8.9%, Macy's was down by 14.4%, Kohl's was down by 18.9%, and Dillards was down by 10.2%.

4. Bitcoin had a wild day. The cryptocurrency fell by 20% earlier in the morning, and then somewhat rebounded from the lows. It was down by about 15% at $966.84 in the late afternoon.  

5. A publishing powerhouse has reportedly approached Time Inc about a merger, and the stock popped. Meredith Corp. has contacted Time Inc. about a potential merger, according to Alex Sherman at Bloomberg. Times shares jumped by over 11% immediately after the news, but have settled up about 3% for the day.

6. Saudi Arabia is following through on its promise to cut oil production, according to the Wall Street Journal. WSJ reporter Georgi Kantchev tweeted on Thursday that the kingdom has cut oil output by at least 486,000 barrels per day to 10.058 million barrels per day, citing a "source."

ADDITIONALLY:

There's a warning sign that we're nearing a "retail recession."

JPMorgan's complete guide to everything happening in the markets.

Former Goldman Sachs CEO and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine agrees to pay a $5 million fine.

The 27 most important finance books ever written.

SEE ALSO: What 25 major world leaders and dictators looked like when they were young

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decides to raise rates

Stocks didn't budge much ahead of Friday's US jobs report, the final report of 2016.

The Dow and the S&P 500 closed slightly in the red, while the Nasdaq barely scraped into the green.

First up, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 19,899.29, -42.87, (-0.21%)
• S&P 500: 2,269.00, -1.75, (-0.08%)
• Nasdaq: 5,487.94, +10.93, (+0.20%)
• US 10-year yield: 2.352%, -0.100
• WTI Crude oil: $53.75, +0.49, +0.92%

1. The final jobs report of 2016 will be released on Friday. Wall Street is expecting nonfarm payrolls to increase by 170,000, the unemployment rate to tick up to 4.7%, and average hourly earnings to rise by 2.8% year-over-year.

2. Trump takes aim at Toyota. President-elect Donald Trump tweeted his displeasure at carmaker Toyota on Thursday, threatening to impose taxes on the Japanese company if it produced its Corolla model in Mexico.

3. Department store stocks got crushed after some flagship brick-and-mortar stores reported weak holiday sales. Around 11 a.m. ET, JC Penny was down by 6.3%, Nordstrom was down by 8.9%, Macy's was down by 14.4%, Kohl's was down by 18.9%, and Dillards was down by 10.2%.

4. Bitcoin had a wild day. The cryptocurrency fell by 20% earlier in the morning, and then somewhat rebounded from the lows. It was down by about 15% at $966.84 in the late afternoon.  

5. A publishing powerhouse has reportedly approached Time Inc about a merger, and the stock popped. Meredith Corp. has contacted Time Inc. about a potential merger, according to Alex Sherman at Bloomberg. Time's shares jumped by over 11% immediately after the news, but have settled up about 3% for the day.

6. Saudi Arabia is following through on its promise to cut oil production, according to the Wall Street Journal. WSJ reporter Georgi Kantchev tweeted on Thursday that the kingdom has cut oil output by at least 486,000 barrels per day to 10.058 million barrels per day, citing a "source."

ADDITIONALLY:

There's a warning sign that we're nearing a "retail recession."

JPMorgan's complete guide to everything happening in the markets.

Former Goldman Sachs CEO and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine agrees to pay a $5 million fine.

The 27 most important finance books ever written.

SEE ALSO: What 25 major world leaders and dictators looked like when they were young

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decides to raise rates

A year and a half ago, the idea of buying the virtual currency Bitcoin was laughable. After a rapid rise in value in 2013, the cryptocurrency's value more than halved by mid-2015.

At its lowest point, one Bitcoin was equal to about $230.

These days, Bitcoin has made a comeback, and recently rallied over $1,000, before fluctuating wildly.

But given the currency's covert operations, the average person still may not understand how buying and selling actually works.

Using the app Coinbase, which lets anyone trade Bitcoins for a small fee, we decided to find out.

A brief warning: If you're going to do this, tell your bank you're about to buy Bitcoin, but more on that later.

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin is trying to make a comeback

This is what the Coinbase app looks like on an iPhone.

When you first open the app, you're presented with the latest price of Bitcoin, which you can sort depending on the desired timeframe, and the change since that period. You can see how wild the latest moves have been in the chart below.

I happen to be one of the many who have never traded Bitcoin before, so there is a certain level of wariness in buying into the cryptocurrency world.

Need a catch-up on recent price developments? Here's your go-to primer.

Source

Despite the fall, analysts say the network is still strong.

Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours.

It's all about the retail sector right now. 

Sears had a brutal holiday season, and is closing 150 stores. It has also sold the iconic Craftsman brand for $900 million. Kohl's and Macy's are both getting crushed after reporting disappointing holiday sales. Macy's also said it is closing 68 stores.

Together, the negative news for the sector represents a warning sign that we're nearing a "retail recession."

In related news, Amazon is in talks to buy bankrupt American Apparel, and the bid could solve its Trump problem in one master stroke.

In Wall Street news, Credit Suisse thwarted another attempt by Jefferies to hire a number of its senior bankers. Deutsche Bank's David Bianco has been given a bigger role at the bank. And three London-based partners of a boutique M&A firm shared in a $43 million profit pool. 

In macro news, the Federal Reserve is watching for the impact of fiscal policy on economic growth and on how quickly it raises interest rates, according to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held in December.

And there's a big disagreement taking place at the central bank, according to Pedro da Costa at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

In markets news, Saudi Arabia is reportedly following through on its promise to cut oil production, Treasurys are surging, and bitcoin crashed before staging something of a recovering.

In related news, we visited the "Crypto Castle," where young bitcoin entrepreneurs party and plot the future of money.

In tech news, Apple will invest $1 billion into the world's largest technology venture fund. One of Wall Street's most accurate tech analysts has predicted the 10 biggest surprises for 2017. 

And Elon Musk and Donald Trump suddenly have an awkward alignment that "really seemed to sneak up on people."

Lastly, here are the 27 most important finance books ever written. 

Here are the top Wall Street headlines from the past 24 hours

GOLDMAN SACHS: The US Treasury is going to have to borrow more than we expected - It remains to be seen whether the election of Donald Trump will "make America great again," but it will likely require the US Treasury to borrow more.

US auto sales rose to a new record in 2016 - US auto sales rose for an unprecedented seventh straight year in 2016, topping the record set in 2015. 

HSBC: The 'euphoria' surrounding the dollar will end once reality sets in - The US dollar has been on a roll since President-elect Donald Trump's win in early November.

Morgan Stanley is 'eating humble pie' over its post-Brexit economic forecasts - Morgan Stanley, one of the world's biggest investment banks, is — in its own words — "eating humble pie" about its post-Brexit economic forecasts.

BARCLAYS: These 13 'black swans' could cause market chaos in 2017 - 2016 was a year of shocks, and with Donald Trump set to be sworn in as US president in two weeks and the UK set to begin the formal process of leaving the European Union by the end of March, 2017 could get even more interesting.

This app will send you alerts when Donald Trump tweets about stocks you own - When President-elect Donald Trump tweets about a public company, the market listens. 

The "frenzy" for Manhattan real estate is over - The housing market in Manhattan continued to shift in favor of buyers at the end of last year.

America's hottest investment product is taking over — here are the top performing funds of 2016 - There's no doubt about it: exchange-traded funds are hot. 

New York City's most iconic hotel is closing indefinitely — take a look back at its star-studded past - New York City's Waldorf Astoria is one of the most legendary hotels in the world.

SEE ALSO: North America is going to get a new billionaire every 6 days

Join the conversation about this story »

In the brightly lit kitchen of the Crypto Castle, a three-story home in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood, young tech workers drink from Solo cups and wax poetic about Bitcoin.

"I don't think you can be in this house for two hours without being evangelized," says Jeremy Gardner, a resident and seasoned entrepreneur working on Bitcoin technologies.

His roommate, Viviane Ford, perks up. With eyes wide, she says she bought bitcoins within a week of moving in and calls it "the best investment I've ever made."

Bitcoin is a new kind of payment system in which people use digital currency, also called bitcoin, to buy things and send money. There are no banks. Transactions get recorded on a digital ledger called a blockchain, which allows users to stay anonymous.

Some folk buy bitcoins in the hopes that they'll go up in value. On January 2, Bitcoin reached a three-year high after its value passed $1,000, up about 140% from the beginning of 2016. Still, the currency has yet to catch on widely. The software is complicated, the risk of being hacked is great, and it's not popular enough to be practical.

But as I learned on a recent visit to the Crypto Castle, where roughly a dozen cryptocurrency entrepreneurs have called home since the Castle's founding in 2015, it's hard not to get excited about Bitcoin when you're among its biggest fans.

Here's what it's like to eat, sleep, drink, and work at the Crypto Castle.

SEE ALSO: This Silicon Valley 'smart drug' startup crashed and burned on 'Shark Tank,' but business is booming

2016 was a pretty great year for the tenants of the Crypto Castle. As the value of Bitcoin rose, they got richer, Gardner explains as he swirls a glass of liquor with his finger.

Not everyone who lives here works in the Bitcoin space, though any one could pitch you on its merits. Some entrepreneurs moved in simply because they needed a place to crash.

Ford, head of operations at self-driving car technology startup Comma, says she "lived in a legitimate closet for two weeks" before discovering the Crypto Castle.

CoinDesk contributor Willy Woo presents an in-depth look at how bitcoin competes against other cryptocurrencies on two important attributes.

Source

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The post China Intervenes, Yuan Soars, Bitcoin Crashes appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp’s crowdfunding campaign has netted more than $1.3m in capital.

Source

[…]

The post Hacker Compromises Bitcoin Wallet KeepKey Founder’s Email, Demands 30 BTC Ransom appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Bitcoin prices plunged nearly $200 in an hour this morning.

Source

Bitcoin is getting smashed.

The cryptocurrency was down 18% to about $892 per coin as of 8:17 a.m. ET on Thursday. It is the biggest drop in two years.

Earlier this week, on its first trading day of the new year, bitcoin crossed above the $1,000 mark for the first time since 2013, but it has now tumbled below that level.

From the end of September through Wednesday — just before the plunge — bitcoin gained nearly 100%. It was supported by renewed interest from China, where money rushed out of the country as its currency, the yuan, continued to weaken.

But on Thursday the yuan witnessed its biggest two-day rise since record keeping began in 2010. This happened amid the government's efforts to stop outflows from the country and after overnight borrowing costs in Hong Kong surged to a record as high as 100%. That squeezed investors who had bet that the currency would fall.

The yuan's rise is also pressuring the US dollar, which fell against other major currencies.

SEE ALSO: The ruble is surging to its highest level since July 2015

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decides to raise rates

[…]

The post Newsflash: Bitcoin Price Takes a Steep Fall Below $1000 appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Dave Lutz, head of exchange-traded funds at JonesTrading, has a quick overview of what traders are watching on Thursday. In brief:

• US stock futures are pointing to a lower open. After Wednesday's closing bell, Kohl's and Macy's cut their estimates for profits this year, citing weak holiday sales. That could weigh on retail-sector stocks during the trading session. 
• It's almost jobs Friday. But before that, ADP releases its private payrolls report, which is expected to show an increase by 175,000.
• The dollar is lower while bitcoin is getting smashed after a big rally after China's yuan surged.

Here's Lutz:

Good Morning, and we kickoff Jobs Data w/ ADP - Expectations are for a 175,000 gain — roughly in line with payrolls forecasts Friday - Overall US Futures are slightly lower, as KSS and M will have retailers reeling today in the States - Mixed Bag in Europe, as the STOXX gravitates around unch and DAX up small.   Miners acting well, Fins doing OK, but Industrials, Materials and Discretionary all lagging.   FTSE just off a fresh record as UK PMI hits fresh recent peaks, London torn between a rally in Miners and HC, while Fins are under pressure.  In Asia, Stronger PMIs from China and Hong Kong helped Hang Seng jump 1.4% - Aussie closed up 30bp as telcos and energy rallied, while the Nikkei lost 40bp as it consolidated yesterday’s 2.5% gain.  EM Asia all had a bid again overnight as the Greenback retreated.

Heavy focus overseas on a BILD op-ed which says it is time for ECB to raise rates, causing Stop-Losses in Schatz which drove Bund Yields higher.   Treasuries are relatively quiet as we await Payrolls – while the DXY continues to retreat from Tuesday’s 14Y high.  No bounce from the worst whack in 2 months yesterday.  Focus on the China Yuan having the biggest 2day rise on record while CNH Hibor rips to 1Y highs as PBOC soaks up liquidity, while Headers have the Lira getting smashed to fresh record lows.  Industrial commodities all better, as Better Chinese PMI and News that Beijing plans a $115bn railway infrastructure project is helping boost sentiment towards construction-linked commodities – while the Weaker $ is helping Gold hold the Fed Minutes Bid.   Oil up 1% on Saudi Headers and a massive draw in Inventories reported by API last night.  Natty showing a bounce after being trounced by 12.5% so far this week.

Ahead of us today, we get Challenger Job Cuts at 7:30, ahead of the ADP Employment Change at 8:15 and Weekly Jobless Claims at 8:30.   Markit US Services PMI posts at 9:45, just before the “Official” ISM Services read at 10.  Attention then turns towards Energy, as the EIA presents findings of Annual Energy Outlook 2017 at 10am, Natty Gas Inventory data posts at 10:30, and DOE data for Crude hits at 11.   Headers from CES in Vegas continue to roll.

SEE ALSO: The Fed has its eyes on Trump

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch Yellen explain why the Federal Reserve decides to raise rates

[…]

The post Argentine Bitcoin Wallet BitPagos Raises $1.9 Million, Rebrands as Ripio appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

CoinDesk's Corin Faife recaps how last year saw one of bitcoin's biggest technology debates, setting the stage for a potentially pivotal 2017.

Source

Here is what you need to know.

The Fed has its eyes on Trump. The minutes from the December FOMC meeting show the Fed is monitoring how fiscal policy will impact growth and how quickly it will have to raise rates. "... almost all also indicated that the upside risks to their forecasts for economic growth had increased as a result of prospects for more expansionary fiscal policies in coming years," the minutes said.

The British economy is "exceeding all expectations." The latest bit of good news comes in the form of services PMI, which drew a reading of 56.2 for December, ahead of the flash estimate of 54.7. The British pound is down 0.1% at 1.2309 against the dollar.

Bitcoin surrenders most of its overnight gains. The cryptocurrerncy raced to a high of $1,161.88 per coin, up 6.4%, but is now higher by just 0.9% at $1,101. Bitcoin has gained about 15% so far in 2017 after rallying more than 120% in 2016.

Macy's is closing 68 stores. The closures represent about 15% of Macy's store base and will impact nearly 4,000 employees. Macy's also said it now expects to earn an adjusted $2.95 to $3.10 per share for fiscal year 2016, down from its previous estimsate of $3.15 to $3.40.

Kohl's had a rough holiday season. The retailer said sales slumped 2.1% in November and December, compared to a year ago. "Strong sales on Black Friday and during the week before Christmas were offset by softness in early November and December," Kohl's CEO Kevin Mansell said in a press release.

Amazon is in talks to buy American Apparel. The online retailer and Forever 21 are among the companies considering a bid for the bankrupt retailer, Reuters reports. Any deal must top the $66 million offer from Gildan Activewear, which was agreed to by American Apparel when it filed for bankruptcy back in November.

Now there's an app that lets you know when Trump tweets about your stocks. The free app, called Trigger, will notify you in real-time if Trump tweets about a stock that you own.

Stock markets around the world trade mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.5%) led the gains in Asia and Germany's DAX (-0.1%) is slipping in Europe.

Earnings reports trickle out. Walgreens Boot Alliance and Monsanto report ahead of the opening bell.

US economic data picks up. ADP Employment Change will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET before initial jobless claims and Markit services PMI cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and 9:45 a.m. ET, respectively. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.44%.

Join the conversation about this story »

Here is what you need to know.

The Fed has its eyes on Trump. The minutes from the December Federal Open Market Committee meeting show the Federal Reserve is monitoring how fiscal policy will affect growth and how quickly it will have to raise rates. "Almost all also indicated that the upside risks to their forecasts for economic growth had increased as a result of prospects for more expansionary fiscal policies in coming years," the minutes said.

The British economy is "exceeding all expectations." The latest bit of good news comes in the form of services PMI, which drew a reading of 56.2 for December, ahead of the flash estimate of 54.7. The British pound is down 0.1% at 1.2309 against the dollar.

Bitcoin surrenders most of its overnight gains. The cryptocurrerncy raced to a high of $1,161.88 per coin, up 6.4%, but it is now higher by just 0.9% at $1,101. Bitcoin has gained about 15% in 2017 after rallying by more than 120% in 2016.

Macy's is closing 68 stores. The closings represent about 15% of Macy's store base and will affect nearly 4,000 employees. Macy's also said it expected to earn an adjusted $2.95 to $3.10 a share for fiscal-year 2016, down from its previous estimate of $3.15 to $3.40.

Kohl's had a rough holiday season. The retailer said sales slumped 2.1% in November and December, compared with a year ago. "Strong sales on Black Friday and during the week before Christmas were offset by softness in early November and December," Kohl's CEO Kevin Mansell said in a press release.

Amazon is in talks to buy American Apparel. The online retailer and Forever 21 are among the companies considering a bid for the bankrupt retailer, Reuters reports. Any deal must top the $66 million offer from Gildan Activewear, which was agreed to by American Apparel when it filed for bankruptcy back in November.

Now there's an app that lets you know when Trump tweets about your stocks. The free app, called Trigger, will notify you in real time if Trump tweets about a stock that you own.

Stock markets around the world trade mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.5%) led the gains in Asia, and Germany's DAX (-0.1%) is slipping in Europe.

Earnings reports trickle out. Walgreens Boot Alliance and Monsanto report ahead of the opening bell.

US economic data picks up. ADP Employment Change will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET before initial jobless claims and Markit services PMI cross the wires at 8:30 a.m. ET and 9:45 a.m. ET, respectively. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 2.44%.

Join the conversation about this story »

[…]

The post Iranian Banker: Bitcoin is Changing Banking; Calls for Adoption appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Good morning! Here's what you need to know on Thursday.

The government has appointed the former UK ambassador to Russia, Sir Tim Barrow, to replace Sir Ivan Rogers as the country's EU ambassador who resigned unexpectedly on January 3. The BBC and other news outlets confirmed with the Foreign Office that Barrow, a senior diplomat, will play a key role in the UK's Brexit negotiations.

The FTSE 100 closed at a record high for the fifth session in a row on Wednesday, closing marginally higher despite a dreadful day for the retail sector. The FTSE 100 closed up 0.14%, or 10.21 points higher, at 7.188.10. It is the second record close this week and extends a winning run that began in the period between Christmas and New Year.

Theresa May will probably fail to keep Britain in the EU Single Market and lose the UK's financial passport after Article 50 talks conclude in March 2019, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Andrew Benito. That is the bad news, the kind that might impose a "permanent cost" on the UK of 1.2% of GDP. The good news is that once Britain gets past what Benito calls its "phoney war" with the EU, Prime Minister May will probably be able to get a transitional agreement which will last until a new free trade agreement is made.

From commodities to Bitcoin, Chinese speculators are looking to escape the weakening yuan. Following an enormous rout in stocks in 2015, skyrocketing house prices in the nation’s largest cities and a lack of investment options elsewhere, Chinese speculators flocked to commodity futures markets in 2016, trading record volumes during the year. Mirroring the frenzy seen in commodity futures, there’s now evidence that Chinese speculators have now moved into the Bitcoin market, once again fuelled by concern over the potential for further yuan weakness.

Bitcoin is still going wild. Bitcoin is up 95% since the beginning of September, and it gained 123% in 2016, making it the top performing currency for the second year in a row. So far in 2017, the cryptocurrency has added a further 19% to its value, and is currently trading at $1,150 per bitcoin. Speculation from China — mentioned above — has been one of the big drivers of bitcoin's surge.

Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve a U.S. government lawsuit. The suit accused the German bank of using shell companies to evade significant tax liabilities in 2000, according to court papers filed on Wednesday.

HSBC believes that the 'euphoria' surrounding the dollar will end once reality sets in during 2017. "We believe too much will be priced in to the currency market in terms of a successful reflation trade," an HSBC team led by David Bloom wrote. "The USD rally will reverse as belief in Trump-flation turns to realization that the scale of policy overhaul is relatively modest ('Trump-lite'), and that the results are underwhelming as a consequence ('Trump-failure'). We expect a retracement from mid-year to the end of the year."

Credit Suisse said it has blocked an attempt by Jefferies Group LLC to lure a number of its senior bankers. Of the eight bankers that had agreed to take on new roles at Jefferies, five are remaining at the Swiss bank, according to Credit Suisse spokeswoman Nicole Sharp. This includes Jonathan Moneypenny, who had agreed to join Jefferies to co-head its global leveraged finance capital markets business, Reuters reported on Tuesday. Moneypenny has reversed his decision and will remain at the Swiss bank, Sharp said.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro shuffled his cabinet on Wednesday. Maduro named a new economy czar to oversee the OPEC country's decaying socialist system and a new oil minister to confront the economic difficulties caused by low oil prices. Economist Ramon Lobo, who has been serving as a legislator for the ruling Socialist Party, will assume the dual roles of finance minister and economy vice president - making him the country's top economic authority.

Former Republican Senator Dan Coats of Indiana is the leading candidate to serve as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's director of national intelligence. NBC reported the news on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the discussions. Coats met with Trump on Nov. 30 at Trump Tower in New York City.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: These are the watches worn by the smartest and most powerful men in the world

As bitcoin's price hovers close to an all-time high, buy-side pressure is mounting according to exchange data.

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The post Bitcoin Rally Was Starting to Feel Unsustainable appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Bitcoin prices surged 4th January, surpassing $1,100 but proceeded to fall back.

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