DOW TOUCHES NEW HIGH: Here's what you need to know
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The Dow did it again. For the 11th straight day in a row, the index touched a new all-time high. It was up by a mere 6 points at the close after spending most of the day in the red. The other two major indices also finished little changed, but up for the day. And now, let's hit the scoreboard:
1. Consumer confidence falls for the first time since Trump's election, according to the University of Michigan's bimonthly survey. The sentiment index in February fell to 96.3 from a January reading of 98.5, which was the highest in a decade. Economists had forecast a reading of 96. Still, confidence remains above pre-election levels. 2. Trump called China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation — and China responded. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he hoped the US could "fully and correctly" view the exchange-rate issue. "China has no intention of seeking foreign trade advantages via an intentional devaluation of the renminbi. There is no basis for the continued devaluation of the renminbi," he told a daily media briefing in Beijing. 3. The White House denied a report that it doesn't support the version of the border adjustment tax being pushed by Republicans in Congress. This follows Trump's favorable comments about the proposal in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. Meanwhile, Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, expressed concern over it in an interview with CNBC, saying "my view is that this actually does not create jobs." 4. Private prison stocks jumped after the Justice Department reverted a plan to reduce their use. CoreCivic, the largest publicly traded prison provider formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, rallied 3%. Geo Group gained as much as 3.6% to a record high near noon in New York. 5. JC Penny is closing up to 140 stores to "effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers." Additionally, the retailer reported adjusted earnings for the quarter of $0.64 a share, higher than analysts' expectations of $0.60 a share. Revenue came just barely below expectations at $3.96 billion against analysts' projections of $3.98 billion. 6. Nordstrom spiked by about 6% after a stellar fourth quarter. The department store operator was boosted by outlet Nordstrom Rack, which saw comparable sales increase 4.3%, while the Nordstrom brand experienced a decrease in comparable sales of 2.7%. 7. Baker Hughes oil rig count rose for the 6th straight week. The rig count was up by five to 602, while the gas rig count rose by two to 151. At 632, the oil rig count would be double the trough it fell to after the most recent oil crash. 8. Bitcoin hovered around all-time highs again. The cryptocurrency rose amid the expectation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will approve at least one of the three proposed bitcoin-focused exchange-traded funds by a March 11 deadline. Analysts have warned that the SEC's decision is uncertain. 9. New home sales jumped less than expected. Sales climbed by 3.7% at a seasonally adjusted rate of 555,000 in January, according to the Census Bureau. ADDITIONALLY: Here's the first look at the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Wall Street speaks: The case for and against investing in Snap's massive IPO. 2 Alabama doctors face up to 20 years in prison for running a $40 million opioid "pill mill." Trump's immigration plans could cripple the US economy and hurt the workers he's pledging to protect. Americans have flipped their opinion on Obamacare right as Republicans are set to repeal it. SEE ALSO: What 25 major world leaders and dictators looked like when they were young Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Trump's doctor and a hair surgeon explain what's going on with his hair |
DOW TOUCHES NEW HIGH: Here's what you need to know
|
Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The Dow did it again. For the 11th straight day in a row, the index touched a new all-time high. It was up by a mere 6 points at the close after spending most of the day in the red. The other two major indices also finished little changed, but up for the day. And now, let's hit the scoreboard:
1. Consumer confidence falls for the first time since Trump's election, according to the University of Michigan's bimonthly survey. The sentiment index in February fell to 96.3 from a January reading of 98.5, which was the highest in a decade. Economists had forecast a reading of 96. Still, confidence remains above pre-election levels. 2. Trump called China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation — and China responded. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he hoped the US could "fully and correctly" view the exchange-rate issue. "China has no intention of seeking foreign trade advantages via an intentional devaluation of the renminbi. There is no basis for the continued devaluation of the renminbi," he told a daily media briefing in Beijing. 3. The White House denied a report that it doesn't support the version of the border adjustment tax being pushed by Republicans in Congress. This follows Trump's favorable comments about the proposal in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. Meanwhile, Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, expressed concern over it in an interview with CNBC, saying "my view is that this actually does not create jobs." 4. Private prison stocks jumped after the Justice Department reverted a plan to reduce their use. CoreCivic, the largest publicly traded prison provider formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, rallied 3%. Geo Group gained as much as 3.6% to a record high near noon in New York. 5. JC Penny is closing up to 140 stores to "effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers." Additionally, the retailer reported adjusted earnings for the quarter of $0.64 a share, higher than analysts' expectations of $0.60 a share. Revenue came just barely below expectations at $3.96 billion against analysts' projections of $3.98 billion. 6. Nordstrom spiked by about 6% after a stellar fourth quarter. The department store operator was boosted by outlet Nordstrom Rack, which saw comparable sales increase 4.3%, while the Nordstrom brand experienced a decrease in comparable sales of 2.7%. 7. Baker Hughes oil rig count rose for the 6th straight week. The rig count was up by five to 602, while the gas rig count rose by two to 151. At 632, the oil rig count would be double the trough it fell to after the most recent oil crash. 8. Bitcoin hovered around all-time highs again. The cryptocurrency rose amid the expectation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will approve at least one of the three proposed bitcoin-focused exchange-traded funds by a March 11 deadline. Analysts have warned that the SEC's decision is uncertain. 9. New home sales jumped less than expected. Sales climbed by 3.7% at a seasonally adjusted rate of 555,000 in January, according to the Census Bureau. ADDITIONALLY: Here's the first look at the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Wall Street speaks: The case for and against investing in Snap's massive IPO. 2 Alabama doctors face up to 20 years in prison for running a $40 million opioid "pill mill." Trump's immigration plans could cripple the US economy and hurt the workers he's pledging to protect. Americans have flipped their opinion on Obamacare right as Republicans are set to repeal it. SEE ALSO: What 25 major world leaders and dictators looked like when they were young Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Trump's doctor and a hair surgeon explain what's going on with his hair |
DOW TOUCHES NEW HIGH: Here's what you need to know
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The Dow did it again. For the 11th straight day in a row, the index touched a new all-time high. It wasn't a huge surge: The Dow was up by a mere 11 points at the close after spending most of the day in the red. Still, this is the longest streak since 1987. The other two major indices also finished little changed, but up for the day. And now, let's hit the scoreboard:
1. Consumer confidence falls for the first time since Trump's election, according to the University of Michigan's bimonthly survey. The sentiment index in February fell to 96.3 from a January reading of 98.5, which was the highest in a decade. Economists had forecast a reading of 96. Still, confidence remains above pre-election levels. 2. Trump called China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation — and China responded. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he hoped the US could "fully and correctly" view the exchange-rate issue. "China has no intention of seeking foreign trade advantages via an intentional devaluation of the renminbi. There is no basis for the continued devaluation of the renminbi," he told a daily media briefing in Beijing. 3. The White House denied a report that it doesn't support the version of the border adjustment tax being pushed by Republicans in Congress. This follows Trump's favorable comments about the proposal in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. Meanwhile, Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, expressed concern over it in an interview with CNBC, saying "my view is that this actually does not create jobs." 4. Private prison stocks jumped after the Justice Department reverted a plan to reduce their use. CoreCivic, the largest publicly traded prison provider formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, rallied 3%. Geo Group gained as much as 3.6% to a record high near noon in New York. 5. JC Penny is closing up to 140 stores to "effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers." Additionally, the retailer reported adjusted earnings for the quarter of $0.64 a share, higher than analysts' expectations of $0.60 a share. Revenue came just barely below expectations at $3.96 billion against analysts' projections of $3.98 billion. 6. Nordstrom spiked by about 6% after a stellar fourth quarter. The department store operator was boosted by outlet Nordstrom Rack, which saw comparable sales increase 4.3%, while the Nordstrom brand experienced a decrease in comparable sales of 2.7%. 7. Baker Hughes oil rig count rose for the 6th straight week. The rig count was up by five to 602, while the gas rig count rose by two to 151. At 632, the oil rig count would be double the trough it fell to after the most recent oil crash. 8. Bitcoin hovered around all-time highs again. The cryptocurrency rose amid the expectation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will approve at least one of the three proposed bitcoin-focused exchange-traded funds by a March 11 deadline. Analysts have warned that the SEC's decision is uncertain. 9. New home sales jumped less than expected. Sales climbed by 3.7% at a seasonally adjusted rate of 555,000 in January, according to the Census Bureau. ADDITIONALLY: Here's the first look at the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Wall Street speaks: The case for and against investing in Snap's massive IPO. 2 Alabama doctors face up to 20 years in prison for running a $40 million opioid "pill mill." Trump's immigration plans could cripple the US economy and hurt the workers he's pledging to protect. Americans have flipped their opinion on Obamacare right as Republicans are set to repeal it. SEE ALSO: What 25 major world leaders and dictators looked like when they were young Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Animated map shows the best and worst states to raise your family |
DOW TOUCHES NEW HIGH: Here's what you need to know
|
Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST The Dow did it again. For the 11th straight day in a row, the index touched a new all-time high. It wasn't a huge surge: The Dow was up by a mere 11 points at the close after spending most of the day in the red. Still, this is the longest streak since 1987. The other two major indices also finished little changed, but up for the day. And now, let's hit the scoreboard:
1. Consumer confidence falls for the first time since Trump's election, according to the University of Michigan's bimonthly survey. The sentiment index in February fell to 96.3 from a January reading of 98.5, which was the highest in a decade. Economists had forecast a reading of 96. Still, confidence remains above pre-election levels. 2. Trump called China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation — and China responded. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he hoped the US could "fully and correctly" view the exchange-rate issue. "China has no intention of seeking foreign trade advantages via an intentional devaluation of the renminbi. There is no basis for the continued devaluation of the renminbi," he told a daily media briefing in Beijing. 3. The White House denied a report that it doesn't support the version of the border adjustment tax being pushed by Republicans in Congress. This follows Trump's favorable comments about the proposal in an interview with Reuters on Thursday. Meanwhile, Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, expressed concern over it in an interview with CNBC, saying "my view is that this actually does not create jobs." 4. Private prison stocks jumped after the Justice Department reverted a plan to reduce their use. CoreCivic, the largest publicly traded prison provider formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America, rallied 3%. Geo Group gained as much as 3.6% to a record high near noon in New York. 5. JC Penny is closing up to 140 stores to "effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers." Additionally, the retailer reported adjusted earnings for the quarter of $0.64 a share, higher than analysts' expectations of $0.60 a share. Revenue came just barely below expectations at $3.96 billion against analysts' projections of $3.98 billion. 6. Nordstrom spiked by about 6% after a stellar fourth quarter. The department store operator was boosted by outlet Nordstrom Rack, which saw comparable sales increase 4.3%, while the Nordstrom brand experienced a decrease in comparable sales of 2.7%. 7. Baker Hughes oil rig count rose for the 6th straight week. The rig count was up by five to 602, while the gas rig count rose by two to 151. At 632, the oil rig count would be double the trough it fell to after the most recent oil crash. 8. Bitcoin hovered around all-time highs again. The cryptocurrency rose amid the expectation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will approve at least one of the three proposed bitcoin-focused exchange-traded funds by a March 11 deadline. Analysts have warned that the SEC's decision is uncertain. 9. New home sales jumped less than expected. Sales climbed by 3.7% at a seasonally adjusted rate of 555,000 in January, according to the Census Bureau. ADDITIONALLY: Here's the first look at the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Wall Street speaks: The case for and against investing in Snap's massive IPO. 2 Alabama doctors face up to 20 years in prison for running a $40 million opioid "pill mill." Trump's immigration plans could cripple the US economy and hurt the workers he's pledging to protect. Americans have flipped their opinion on Obamacare right as Republicans are set to repeal it. SEE ALSO: What 25 major world leaders and dictators looked like when they were young Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Animated map shows the best and worst states to raise your family |
Texas Gets Four New Bitcoin ATMs
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST […] The post Texas Gets Four New Bitcoin ATMs appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
What you need to know on Wall Street right now
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours Snapchat parent company Snap Inc. is set to price its initial public offering, or IPO, on Wednesday, allowing investors to decide just how much the social media company is ultimately worth. Here are the four key issues prospective investors in Snap are wrestling with. Gary Cohn, the chief economic adviser to US President Donald Trump, reportedly told a group of CEOs at a private event hosted by The Business Counsel that the White House doesn't support the version of the border adjustment tax being pushed by Republicans in Congress. Earlier in the day, Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Meg Whitman said the proposed border tax "actually lowers the number of jobs for many, many companies." Elsewhere in politics news, Trump called China the "grand champions" of currency manipulation — and China struck back. And here's the first look at the House Republican plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Lastly, Trump's immigration plans could cripple the US economy and hurt the workers he's pledging to protect, according to Business Insider's Pedro da Costa. In bank news, RBS made its ninth consecutive year of losses and says it won't make a profit until 2018, and Credit Suisse's UK offices risk losing out on £600 million a year in a "Hard Brexit." And in hedge fund news, a former Citadel money manager is gearing up for one of this year's biggest hedge fund launches. In Silicon Valley, Google's self-driving-car company is suing Uber, accusing it of stealing its technology. This lawsuit follows one filed by Tesla for similar reasons. Together, the lawsuits could mean that the Silicon Valley self-driving-tech bubble is about to pop. Lastly, here's exactly how to respond if your kid asks, "Are we rich?" Here are the top Wall Street headlines from the past 24 hours J.C. Penney is closing up to 140 stores to "effectively compete against the growing threat of online retailers" - J.C. Penney reported stronger-than-expected results for the fourth quarter on Friday and announced plans to shut down a large number of stores in 2017. Prison stocks are jumping after the Justice Department reverted a plan to reduce their use - The shares of private-prison providers jumped on Friday after the Justice Department signaled its support for their use by the government. Outback parent company announces dozens of restaurant closures as threat of restaurant recession looms - Bloomin' Brands, the parent company of the Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba's, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming's Steakhouse chains, has announced plans to close multiple restaurants. GUNMAKER CEO: People are buying guns because cops are backing off and crime is "soaring to the roof" - There's never been a better time to be a gun owner, according to gunmaker Sturm Ruger. "I was the best golfer of all the rich people": In meeting with manufacturing CEOs, Trump insists GE's Jeff Immelt tell the story of the time Trump hit a hole in one - GE CEO Jeff Immelt on Thursday regaled an assembly of some of the executives of the largest manufacturing companies in the world with a story about the time President Donald Trump hit a hole in one while playing golf with Immelt. Here are the 24 CEOs who met with Trump to discuss American manufacturing on Thursday - President Donald Trump held the largest yet of his meetings with high-powered executives on Thursday, assembling 24 CEOs in the White House's State Dining Room to discuss American manufacturing. A startup president named to Forbes' 30 under 30 shares his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs - Michael Kennedy wasn't a well behaved child. "I was a horrible kid," he said. "I was always breaking the rules." The 25 best beaches in the US, ranked - The world is full of gorgeous beaches, so it's easy to forget that the US has some spectacular beaches of its own — especially if you don't live along the coast. |
bitcoin all time high
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Gizmodo, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Bitcoin, somehow, continues to persist despite mounting evidence that it’s not the best use of your money. The digital “cryptocurrency” hit a record high on Thursday, trading above $1,200 according to several exchanges. |
ING and SocGen partner on blockchain solution
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST This story was delivered to BI Intelligence "Fintech Briefing" subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here. Blockchain technology is gaining momentum in the area of trade finance, as banks including Barclays develop and test solutions to address its pain points. Now, the trend continues with ING and Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking successfully testing a blockchain-based trade finance prototype solution, announced on Wednesday. The new solution is called Easy Trading Connect, and was trialled between the two banks and Mercuria, a global commodities trading corporation. It was used to process an oil trade from Africa to China. The banks say the solution delivered on all expected fronts by eliminating documentary fraud, reducing costs, and improving efficiency. The oil trade involved the banks, traders, an agent, and an inspector, and the prototype allowed these parties to execute their role in the transaction directly on the platform. ING and Societe Generale claim the prototype reduces the time it takes a bank to execute its role in such a transaction from an average of three hours to 25 minutes. It also successfully enabled the digitization of all documents involved in the trade, the auto-checking of the documents, real-time access to transaction data, and maintained a full data record of the transaction, which the banks say is convenient for auditing. The firms did not reveal whether the technology underlying the solution was built in-house or provided by an external source like Hyperledger or R3. Trade finance seems to be an area particularly ripe for blockchain technology to mature in. While blockchain technology is being tested in other areas including securities trading, clearing, and payments, the processes involved in these sectors are highly complex and difficult to safely make adjustments to. Trade finance's pain points, meanwhile, are relatively straightforward to solve with digitization. Mostly, these stem from the fact that it is an intensely manual process that relies on safely moving physical documents around the world, which opens transactions up to human error, fraud, and delays. As such, trade finance might be the first area in which blockchain technology sees widespread adoption. However, whether this happens will depend on how well these solutions can scale as more users sign on. Blockchain technology, which is best known for powering Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, is gaining steam among finance firms because of its potential to streamline processes and increase efficiency. The technology could cut costs by up to $20 billion annually by 2022, according to Santander. That's because blockchain, which operates as a distributed ledger, has the ability to allow multiple parties to transfer and store sensitive information in a space that’s secure, permanent, anonymous, and easily accessible. That could simplify paper-heavy, expensive, or logistically complicated financial systems, like remittances and cross-border transfer, shareholder management and ownership exchange, and securities trading, to name a few. And outside of finance, governments and the music industry are investigating the technology’s potential to simplify record-keeping. As a result, venture capital firms and financial institutions alike are pouring investment into finding, developing, and testing blockchain use cases. Over 50 major financial institutions are involved with collaborative blockchain startups, have begun researching the technology in-house, or have helped fund startups with products rooted in blockchain. Jaime Toplin, research associate for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on blockchain technology that explains how blockchain works, why it has the potential to provide a watershed moment for the financial industry, and the different ways it could be put into practice in the coming years. Here are some key takeaways from the report:
In full, the report:
To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of blockchain technology. |
Will Bitcoin Surpass Gold Parity?
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST […] The post Will Bitcoin Surpass Gold Parity? appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
Cloudflare Bug Triggers Password Warnings from Bitcoin Exchanges
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Users of bitcoin exchanges and other online services are being warned to change their passwords in light of a bug tied to Cloudflare. |
Venezuela’s Biggest Bitcoin Exchange Looks to Resume Operations After Bank Blockade
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST […] The post Venezuela’s Biggest Bitcoin Exchange Looks to Resume Operations After Bank Blockade appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
Trump’s immigration plans could cripple the US economy and hurt the workers he's pledging to protect
Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
Economists disagree on a lot of issues. Immigration is not one of them. Almost unequivocally, experts from the left and the right ends of the political spectrum see immigration as a net benefit to the economy. They cite everything from population growth to increased tax receipts to diversity of people and ideas. That's why it is surprising to see Wall Street analysts, who are rather intensely focused at the prospect of corporate tax cuts from President Donald Trump, largely ignore the clearly detrimental impact his immediate immigration orders are already having on economic growth. During her congressional testimony on February 15, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen was not shy about offering a broad retort to immigration restrictions. Trump's plans include blanket travel bans on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations as well as orders to increase deportations at the Mexican border with still-shifting guidelines. "Labor-force growth has been slowing in the United States," Yellen said. "It's one of several reasons, along with slow productivity growth, for the fact that our economy has been growing at a slow pace. Immigration has been an important source of labor-force growth. So slowing the pace of immigration probably would slow the growth rate of the economy." Her comments are striking because Yellen is usually careful not to discuss topics outside her monetary policy and regulation remit, lest her remarks are construed as political. But the PhD economist and career central banker has a strong, bipartisan, body of work to stand on. The Center for American Progress, a liberal policy institute in Washington, estimates that a policy of mass deportation would “immediately reduce the nation’s GDP by 1.4% and ultimately by 2.6%.” "Because capital will adjust downward to a reduction in labor—for example, farmers will scrap or sell excess equipment per remaining worker — the long-run effects are larger and amount to two-thirds of the decline experienced during the Great Recession," the CAP report says. "Removing 7 million unauthorized workers would reduce national employment by an amount similar to that experienced during the Great Recession." Over ten years, US output will have fallen $4.7 trillion short of what it might otherwise have been, CAP says. For comparison, US gross domestic product, the nation’s total spending on goods and services, stood at $18.6 trillion at the end of 2016. Dreamers Drag
The program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, gives certain rights, including work permits, to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the US as children. CATO estimates the budget drag from immediately deporting the approximately 750,000 people currently in DACA would be over $60 billion for the federal government. The think tank foresees a $280 billion reduction in economic growth over the next decade from the elimination of this program alone, even though it represents just a sliver of the more than 11 million undocumented workers whose fates are now increasingly uncertain. Keep in mind that figure has been stable for several years, contradicting Trump’s suggestion that this is a sudden and pressing problem. "Donald Trump has proposed eliminating or severely modifying the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program," says Neal McCluskey, director of Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom. "Many Americans believe that the presence of unauthorized immigrants is harmful to the economy and would like to see steps taken to reduce their presence. However, a repeal or roll-back of DACA would harm the economy and cost the US government a significant amount of lost tax revenue." The case for immigrants
Local economies also tend to derive a perceptible boost from bursts of immigration. Businesses near the border stand to lose the most, and some communities — like Rutland, Vermont — are even making refugee resettlement part of their economic policy. The logic is simple enough: Refugees will reverse the population drain on the town as its younger residents move away and its older residents phase out of the work force. Some US real estate markets meanwhile, as Trump would well know, are dependent on foreign demand. Even if his immigration policies don't target these specific buyers, the hostility toward outsiders is turning them away. Fears surrounding Trump’s aggressive anti-immigrant positions is already depressing the US real estate market, Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson told Bloomberg television on February 23, citing the large sums invested in the market from foreign buyers who were now reticent about owning property in the United States. Hurting constituentsTrump’s policy proposals thus far are also likely to hurt the constituency he promised to help: voters in economically depressed manufacturing and farming regions. On manufacturing, Trump’s bluster about striking major deals with specific firms like Carrier are a sideshow. The amount of jobs created in each instance is paltry, but pressure to keep jobs in the United States will raise costs for US firms. That makes them less competitive, actually endangering the good paying jobs that do remain in the United States and speeding up the automation of industries that can turn to robots instead of foreign labor. Trump's proposed offset is to levy a tax on imports, but that creates a whole other set of problems. Many technology firms, a major source of American corporate strength, are actively fighting Trump’s immigration measures for concern they will narrow the pool of available talent. In farming, Trump’s popularity is already withering, because many agricultural businesses were in favor of the TransPacific Partnership Agreement with 11 other nations including Japan, Canada and Mexico. The construction industry, heavily reliant on undocumented labor, could suffer worker shortages if Trump’s measures are vehemently enforced. Whether the federal government has the resources to process all these deportations is another major uncertainty hanging over the proposed program. It's the politics, stupidBeyond the financial effects, it would be callous to ignore the tremendous human toll that extreme uncertainty about a more militant anti-immigration policy puts on families that are potentially affected by them. Many US undocumented immigrants have been here for decades, sometimes generations. They have American children and deep cultural and professional ties to the United States. Wide-ranging legal challenges to Trump’s policies only deepen the foreboding sense of a looming unknown. The fear factor that begins with Mexicans and other Latin American immigrants is already sending a chill through other communities, particularly those of Muslim origin, who have faced increased discrimination ever since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. Trump critics are warning, rightly, that America should not forget the stain on its democratic history represented by internment camps for Japanese-Americans instituted during World War II. Given how flagrantly ill-advised Trump’s immigration stance is, even from the perspective of helping the disaffected workers he promises to represent, why is he sticking to it? In this case, politics trumps economics, in spades. The reality-TV host-turned president is merely pandering to the very base, which includes a significant racist element, that helped launch his campaign. Recall, his opening salvo for the 2016 election was a baseless, broad-brush attack on Mexico in which he mentioned the country 13 times, saying those who cross the southern border are “bringing drugs, they're bringing crime — they're rapists.” For a president who fancies himself a dealmaker, such brutish language is hardly an adequate starting point for good relations with a long-time neighboring ally that wasn’t always so friendly. SEE ALSO: Trump's border tax will hurt the economy but not in the way people fear Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here’s everything we know about the iPhone 8 |
On the other side of the political spectrum, here’s how the libertarian 
But the cost of restricting immigration goes beyond the expense of deporting people on a greater scale.
'Buy Bitcoin,' PwC Fintech Director Tells Fordham Students
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CoinDesk, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Representatives of the 'Big Four' global auditing firms were at New York's Fordham University yesterday to discuss blockchain in the capital markets. |
Indian Bitcoin Startups Join to Launch Self-Regulatory Body
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST […] The post Indian Bitcoin Startups Join to Launch Self-Regulatory Body appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
Bitcoin is hovering near all-time highs
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Bitcoin on Friday pulled back slightly from the all-time highs it reached a day earlier. The cryptocurrency surpassed its previous record on Thursday, amid the expectation that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will approve at least one of the three proposed bitcoin-focused exchange-traded funds by a March 11 deadline. Analysts have warned that the SEC's decision is uncertain. Around 8 a.m. ET on Friday, Bitcoin traded up 5%, or $11.704, at $1,175.8 a coin. Bitcoin surged more than 20% in the first week of 2017 amid heavy buying interest from China. Then, the price tumbled 35% when traders feared that China would crack down on the market. The cryptocurrency rallied after bottoming near $750 despite news that China's largest exchanges would begin charging a flat fee of 0.2% on all transactions and that two of China's largest bitcoin exchanges were blocking withdrawals.
SEE ALSO: A leading economist explains why bitcoin isn't money Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's how to use one of the many apps to buy and trade bitcoin |
A leading economist explains why bitcoin isn't money
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST Ann Pettifor, leading economist and author of "The Production of Money" told Business Insider that bitcoin is flawed as money because it is a "finite asset." Speaking about the origins and usage of bitcoin, she said: "Bitcoin was invented by some big bad guys on the dark web as a secret currency, for which they could exchange goods and services. "The problem with a finite asset is that the economy is not finite, and if you have a limited amount of money to match this almost unlimited capacity of people in the economy to do things, money doesn't work." Produced by Joe Daunt. Filmed by David Ibekwe. |
The University of Edinburgh is launching a blockchain research lab with one of the cofounders of Ethereum
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Business Insider, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
LONDON — Research labs focusing on blockchain technology are being opened up at the University of Edinburgh and the Tokyo Institute of Technology, sponsored by one of the cofounders of cryptocurrency Ethereum. IOHK, a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency research and development company, is investing up to $1 million in the two facilities, according to the business' cofounder Charles Hoskinson. Hoskinson was one of the founders of Ethereum, a popular digital currency set up in 2013. Blockchain has become one of the hottest areas of technology among banks and financial institutions over the last few years. First developed to underpin digital currency bitcoin, the distributed ledger technology is basically a form of shared database that allows institutions to interact directly with each other rather than through middlemen. The technology could save banks billions in fees, according to estimates. However, bitcoin itself was only invented in 2009 and blockchain technology is still very new. Hoskinson told BI: "Early on when we started the company [IOHK], originally we were just going to be an engineering consultancy firm — kind of like a boring, standard software shop. But we realised that our technology was very young and the science of the technology wasn't settled. As a consequence, we felt like we would be building on quicksand unless we brought in some expertise early on. "After having discussions, they [the experts] said, actually we don't have answers to a lot of these fundamental questions. We said, how do we get those answers? and they said, we need to write some papers, we need to do some basic research. Over time we started moving into the university research space." The two labs will focus on topics such as cryptography, smart contracts, and how to upgrade cryptocurrency systems. They will have up to 15 people working on the issues, with IOHK providing staff on the ground at each facility to help with research.
The Edinburgh lab will be led by Professor Aggelos Kiayias, Chair in Cyber Security and Privacy at the University of Edinburgh and Chief Scientist at IOHK. Professor Kiayias says in a statement: "Distributed ledgers is an upcoming disruptive technology that can scale information services to a global level. The academic and industry connection forged by this collaboration puts the Blockchain Technology Lab at Edinburgh at the forefront of innovation in blockchain systems." All the research from the lab will be open source, meaning anyone can have access to it and patents will not be awarded. IOHK has committed to funding the Edinburgh and Tokyo facilities for two years but Hoskinson hopes to expand the project to more universities around the world. IOHK, set up in 2015 by Hoskinson and Jeremy Wood, builds cryptocurrencies and blockchains for academic institutions, government entities, and corporations. Hoskinson said the company has several clients in Asia, but declined to name specific ones saying that a project would be announced in March. IOHK has around 50 staff. The company is privately funded and profitable, according to Hoskinson. "We're making lots of money and we're doing quite well," he said. "We get contracts to build cryptocurrencies and we take fiat currency — dollars, yen, whatever — and also take ownership of some of the cryptocurrencies we build. It's a surprisingly good business model." Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' star Daymond John: Making products in the US could cost consumers 25-30% more |
Hoskinson said: "This is commonly not done in the startup setting. Usually, this is something you do if you're a company like Microsoft — Microsoft has research campuses at many major universities."Analysis: Bitcoin Hits Our Target at a New All-Time High
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CryptoCoins News, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST […] The post Analysis: Bitcoin Hits Our Target at a New All-Time High appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews. |
The price of Bitcoin just hit an all-time high
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TechCrunch, 1/1/0001 12:00 AM PST
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Wow – Bitcoin just hit an all-time high. The digital currency is currently trading at around $1,186 – which is about $20 more than it’s previous all-time high of ~$1,165, which it hit three years ago in November 2013, at the height of Bitcoin-mania. A few months after that all-time high, Mt. Gox, one of the earliest and biggest Bitcoin exchanges, shut down after news it…