Coin News

Ether prices surged in the last week, but the rally was overshadowed by the sharp price increases for both bitcoin and dash.

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The beach-side city of Acapulco recently played host a bitcoin scaling debate.

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Stocks were little changed on Friday as Fed Chair Janet Yellen dropped clues about the central bank's next move.

First up, let's check the scoreboard:

• Dow: 20,005.71, +2.74, (+0.01%)
• S&P 500: 2,383.12, +1.20, (+0.05%)
• Nasdaq: 5,870.75, +9.53, (+0.16%)
• US 10-year yield: 2.482, -0.007
• WTI Crude: $53.21 per barrel, +0.60, +1.14%

1. March is on the table. "We currently judge that it will be appropriate to gradually increase the federal funds rate if the economic data continue to come in about as we expect," Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said at a speech in Chicago. "Indeed, at our meeting later this month, the committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate."

2. The largest contributor to US economic growth just had its strongest month in nearly a year. The non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 57.6, the highest since April 2015, from 56.5 in January. It had been forecast to be unchanged. 

3. The Mexican peso spiked after Wilbur Ross talked about trade. "The peso has fallen a lot mainly because of the fear of what will happen with [the North American Free Trade Agreement]. I believe that if we and the Mexicans make a very sensible trade agreement, the Mexican peso will recover quite a lot," he told CNBC on Friday.

4. Snapchat kept rallying on Friday. Snap Inc's shares rose by as much as 17% in trading on Friday, extending their gains a day after they became available to the public. 

6. US oil rig count jumped for the 7th straight week. The rig count rose by seven to 609 this week, while the gas rig count fell by five to 146.

7. Bitcoin kept extending its lead over gold. The cryptocurrency trades up 2.6% at $1,271 a coin while the yellow metal is down 0.6% at $1,227 per ounce, around 7:25 a.m. ET. In recent weeks, bitcoin has managed to shrug off news that China's biggest exchanges were going to start charging clients a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction and that they were going to block withdrawals.  

ADDITIONALLY:

Snapchat is still rallying — here's how long it takes on average for a hot IPO to crash.

Hhgregg is closing 88 stores that aren't profitable due to the collapse of physical retail.

Why the February job's report isn't today, even though it's the first Friday of the month.

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

Join the conversation about this story »

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Stocks were little changed on Friday as Fed Chair Janet Yellen dropped clues about the central bank's next move.

First up, let's check the scoreboard:

• Dow: 20,992.65, -10.32, (-0.05%)
• S&P 500: 2,381.67, -0.19, (-0.01%)
• Nasdaq: 5,868.65, +7.49, (+0.13%)
• US 10-year yield: 2.482, -0.007
• WTI Crude: $53.19 per barrel, +0.58, +1.10%

1. March is on the table. "We currently judge that it will be appropriate to gradually increase the federal funds rate if the economic data continue to come in about as we expect," Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said at a speech in Chicago. "Indeed, at our meeting later this month, the committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate."

2. The largest contributor to US economic growth just had its strongest month in nearly a year. The non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 57.6, the highest since April 2015, from 56.5 in January. It had been forecast to be unchanged. 

3. The Mexican peso spiked after Wilbur Ross talked about trade. "The peso has fallen a lot mainly because of the fear of what will happen with [the North American Free Trade Agreement]. I believe that if we and the Mexicans make a very sensible trade agreement, the Mexican peso will recover quite a lot," he told CNBC on Friday.

4. Snapchat kept rallying on Friday. Snap Inc's shares rose by as much as 17% in trading on Friday, extending their gains a day after they became available to the public. 

6. US oil rig count jumped for the 7th straight week. The rig count rose by seven to 609 this week, while the gas rig count fell by five to 146.

7. Bitcoin kept extending its lead over gold. The cryptocurrency trades up 2.6% at $1,271 a coin while the yellow metal is down 0.6% at $1,227 per ounce, around 7:25 a.m. ET. In recent weeks, bitcoin has managed to shrug off news that China's biggest exchanges were going to start charging clients a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction and that they were going to block withdrawals.  

ADDITIONALLY:

Snapchat is still rallying — here's how long it takes on average for a hot IPO to crash.

Hhgregg is closing 88 stores that aren't profitable due to the collapse of physical retail.

Why the February job's report isn't today, even though it's the first Friday of the month.

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

Join the conversation about this story »

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In the world of doughnuts, Mark Isreal is known for his creativity. But that creativity extends beyond rosewater-infused glaze and his trademark Jelly-Filled Square Doughnut — Isreal manages his entire business with the same innovative flair.

So to develop the Ripple Doughnut, his ambitious doughnut within a doughnut within a doughnut, Isreal got creative. Instead of digging into his reserve cash to fund its development, he looked to an untapped resource: his credit card rewards points.

Isreal crunched the numbers and figured he would need about $800, which is equal to 80,000 rewards points from his Chase Ink Business credit card, to purchase the supplies needed for the first run of 90 Ripple Doughnuts for his business, Doughnut Plant.

In a few short weeks, he was ready to start selling his new creation. Here's the breakdown of how he did it.

So what did he get for his effort? A lot — especially when you consider the Ripple Doughnut was developed with zero cost to Doughnut Plant's bottom line. Here's how word of the Ripple Doughnut spread.

Talked about online across the US and around the world

Even though the Ripple Doughnut was sold at only one shop in New York City, the attention-grabbing confection — which Isreal said was "designed for social media" — has been seen on various social platforms by people across the country and around the globe in countries like Australia, South Africa, Argentina, and Japan. As Doughnut Plant expands, its name and reputation will precede it.

Featured in more than 40 media outlets

News outlets including BuzzFeed, Refinery29, the "Today" show, and The New York Post covered the launch of the Ripple Doughnut. The potential reach of the coverage is estimated at 16.5 million media impressions. You can't buy that kind of press. (Well, you can — but it's expensive.)

Mentioned in more than 400 social posts

No result is more valuable than the viral social media response to the Ripple Doughnut. The potential reach of the conversation across Facebook, Twitter, and other channels is estimated at more than 8 million impressions. And that means everyone from casual fans to foodie influencers got "face time" with the highly photogenic confection.

In the world of doughnuts, Mark Isreal is known for his creativity. But that creativity extends beyond rosewater-infused glaze and his trademark Jelly-Filled Square Doughnut — Isreal manages his entire business with the same innovative flair.

So to develop the Ripple Doughnut, his ambitious doughnut within a doughnut within a doughnut, Isreal got creative. Instead of digging into his reserve cash to fund its development, he looked to an untapped resource: his credit card rewards points.

Isreal crunched the numbers and figured he would need about $800, which is equal to 80,000 rewards points from his Chase Ink Business credit card, to purchase the supplies needed for the first run of 90 Ripple Doughnuts for his business, Doughnut Plant.

In a few short weeks, he was ready to start selling his new creation. Here's the breakdown of how he did it.

So what did he get for his effort? A lot — especially when you consider the Ripple Doughnut was developed with zero cost to Doughnut Plant's bottom line. Here's how word of the Ripple Doughnut spread.

Talked about online across the US and around the world

Even though the Ripple Doughnut was sold at only one shop in New York City, the attention-grabbing confection — which Isreal said was "designed for social media" — has been seen on various social platforms by people across the country and around the globe in countries like Australia, South Africa, Argentina, and Japan. As Doughnut Plant expands, its name and reputation will precede it.

Featured in more than 40 media outlets

News outlets including BuzzFeed, Refinery29, the "Today" show, and The New York Post covered the launch of the Ripple Doughnut. The potential reach of the coverage is estimated at 16.5 million media impressions. You can't buy that kind of press. (Well, you can — but it's expensive.)

Mentioned in more than 400 social posts

No result is more valuable than the viral social media response to the Ripple Doughnut. The potential reach of the conversation across Facebook, Twitter, and other channels is estimated at more than 8 million impressions. And that means everyone from casual fans to foodie influencers got "face time" with the highly photogenic confection.

A Texas lawmaker has put forward a proposed constitutional amendment that would protect the right to own and use digital currencies like bitcoin.

Source

Abercrombie can't stop talking about its Hollister brand. The company's executives mentioned it 22 times during its fourth quarter earnings call.

That's not surprising. Abercrombie & Fitch has continued to underperform for years while Hollister has remained its sole saving grace throughout.

Last year, Hollister helped the company reverse negative sales for the first time in years. And going by the latest results released on Thursday, the trend looks set to continue into the future.

Abercrombie reported earnings of $0.71 per share in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $0.85 per share for the same period last year, well below expectations.

On a yearly basis, the company earned $0.06 per share in 2016, way below the $0.51 it earned in 2015.

Hollister, however, painted a different picture with its consistently strong performance. Hollister's comparable sales for the 4th quarter were up 1%, against a negative 13% for Abercrombie as a whole, according to Joanne C. Crevoiserat, Abercrombie's chief financial officer.

"While we are not happy with our results, we are pleased with progress we continue to make against our key strategic initiatives. Hollister, our largest brand, is stabilized and continues to perform," Fran Horowitz-Bonadies, Abercrombie's chief executive officer, said during the call. "Despite the headwinds in Q4, our performance at Hollister demonstrated a potential for our brand, when brand voice, product and brand experience are aligned and attuned to our customer."

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin is extending its lead over gold

Join the conversation about this story »

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Abercrombie can't stop talking about its Hollister brand. The company's executives mentioned it 22 times during its fourth quarter earnings call.

That's not surprising. Abercrombie & Fitch has continued to underperform for years while Hollister has remained its sole saving grace throughout.

Last year, Hollister helped the company reverse negative sales for the first time in years. And going by the latest results released on Thursday, the trend looks set to continue into the future.

Abercrombie reported earnings of $0.71 per share in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared to $0.85 per share for the same period last year, well below expectations.

On a yearly basis, the company earned $0.06 per share in 2016, way below the $0.51 it earned in 2015.

Hollister, however, painted a different picture with its consistently strong performance. Hollister's comparable sales for the 4th quarter were up 1%, against a negative 13% for Abercrombie as a whole, according to Joanne C. Crevoiserat, Abercrombie's chief financial officer.

"While we are not happy with our results, we are pleased with progress we continue to make against our key strategic initiatives. Hollister, our largest brand, is stabilized and continues to perform," Fran Horowitz-Bonadies, Abercrombie's chief executive officer, said during the call. "Despite the headwinds in Q4, our performance at Hollister demonstrated a potential for our brand, when brand voice, product and brand experience are aligned and attuned to our customer."

SEE ALSO: Bitcoin is extending its lead over gold

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Animated map shows the best and worst states to raise your family

[…]

The post Newsflash: Bitcoin Price Nears $1,300 appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Bitcoin continues to gain ground on gold after climbing above it for the first time on Thursday. The cryptocurrency trades up 2.6% at 1271 a coin while the yellow metal is down 0.6% at $1227 per ounce, as of 7:25 a.m. ET. 

Both currencies have seen a solid start to 2017, but bitcoin's has been a bit better. It has gained about 35% so far this year after rallying 120% in 2016 and finishing as the top performing currency in each of the last two years. In recent weeks, bitcoin has managed to shrug off news that China's biggest exchanges were going to start charging clients a flat fee of 0.2% per transaction and that they were going to block withdrawals.  

As for gold, it bottomed out at $1123 shortly after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate back in December. It's 2017 gains have come despite a rally in risk assets and a Fed that says it expects to raise rates three times in 2017. Friday's speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen is likely to move the precious metal as she will give her economic outlook and could provide clues as to when the next rate hike could occur. Currently, World Interest Rate Probability data provided by Bloomberg shows an 88% chance of a 25 basis point hike at the upcoming meeting on March 14/15.  

Here's a look at bitcoin:

And gold:

SEE ALSO: We bought and sold bitcoin — here's how it works

Join the conversation about this story »

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Here is what you need to know.

Janet Yellen speaks. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is set to give her economic outlook at the Executives Club of Chicago at 1:00 p.m. ET. Traders will be listening for clues as to if the Fed will hike rates at the conclusion of its March 14/15 meeting. Currently, World Interest Rate Probability data provided by Bloomberg says there's an 88% chance the Fed hikes 25 basis points at the meeting. 

Europe is growing at its fastest pace since 2011. Markit's final February composite reading for the eurozone came in at 56, well ahead of the 54.4 print from January. "Growth of eurozone economic output accelerated to a near six-year record in February," IHS Markit said in a release.

Global manufacturing is making a comeback. Global manufacturers posted their best month in almost six years in February as the JPMorgan-IHS Markit Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index rose by 0.2 points to 52.9, making for the best reading in 69 months.

The dominant part of the UK economy is slowing down. UK services PMI slowed to 53.3 in February, missing the 54.2 that economists were expecting. "The slowdown mainly reflected a softer pace of new business growth, which some respondents linked to more cautious spending among consumers," said a release from Markit that accompanied the report.  

Bitcoin is extending its lead over gold. On Thursday, bitcoin climbed above gold for the first time. On Friday, the cryptocurrency trades up 2% at $1281 per coin while the precious metal is down 0.5% at $1228 per ounce.

Snap had a monster debut. Shares of the social media company shot up 44% in their market debut to close at $24.48 per share and at a market cap of more than $33 billion. Snap is now bigger than Macy's ($10 billion), Twitter ($11.3 billion), American Airlines ($23.6 billion), and Target ($32.9 billion). 

Costco same-store sales miss. The warehouse club retailer reported same-store sales rose 3% in its second quarter, missing the 3.2% gain that analysts were forecasting. The company also announced that it will raise membership fees as of June 1. 

Stock markets around the world are mostly lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-0.7%) trailed in Asia and Germany's DAX (-0.2%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open down 0.1% near 2,380.  

Earnings reporting slows. Big Lots and Revlon will release their quarterly results ahead of the opening bell.  

US economic data is light. Markit services PMI and ISM Non-Manufacturing will be released at 9:45 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, respectively. The US 10-year yield is higher by 2 bps at 2.50%.  

Join the conversation about this story »

HAW Technologies has developed a bitcoin-based lending market concept, recently presented at an event hosted by Japan’s central bank.

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Today marked a weird but auspicious moment in human history. The value of a single bitcoin, the most mainstream of cryptocurrencies, surpassed the price of one ounce of gold. While that's specifically due to a good trading day for the former and slig...

Good morning! Here's what you need to know in markets on Friday.

1. Snap Inc. surged in its debut as a publicly traded company Thursday in New York, after raising a greater than expected $3.4 billion (£2.7 billion) in an initial public offering. Shares of Snapchat's parent company opened for trading at $24 (£19.50), up about 41% from the IPO price of $17 (£13.87) apiece. At the opening price, Snap had a valuation of about $33 billion (£26.9 billion).

2. But shares of Snap Inc. got slapped with a "sell" rating as they made their trading debut. Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group, placed a price target of $10 (£8.16) on the stock, or 58% lower than its opening price.

3. The major US equity indexes closed lower on Thursday, retreating after logging the strongest performance of 2017 on Wednesday. Asian stock markets are dipping too. Japan's Nikkei closed down 0.54%, the Hong Kong Hang Seng is down 0.49% at the time of writing (6.15 a.m. GMT/1.15 a.m. ET), and China's Shanghai Composite is down 0.39% at the same time.

4. It's PMI day. Markit will deliver estimates for February growth in France, Germany, and the eurozone as a whole, as well as growth in the service sectors of Spain, Italy, and the UK, from 8.15 a.m. GMT (3.15 a.m. ET). The UK's service sector is expected to show a slight deceleration in momentum.

5. Xi Jinping has signalled out a looming transformation in the Chinese economy. China's President gave a speech about the death of highly indebted industrial state-owned enterprises, saying they will make room for new more privately owned service industry companies.

6. High-end lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur has been snapped up by retail tycoon Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct. Alix Partners were appointed as administrators as part of a pre-pack deal and Ashley bought the business out of administration.

7. The price of one Bitcoin climbed above the price of one ounce of gold for the first time ever on Thursday. It's still there — at 6.15 a.m. GMT (1.15 a.m. ET), gold is trading at $1,232.00 (£1,004.81) and cryptocurrency bitcoin is at $1,263.09 (£1,030.17).

8. Spotify said on Thursday it has reached 50 million paid subscribers, growing 25% in less than six months and extending the Swedish music streaming service's lead over its closest rival, Apple Music. Spotify, which has not yet shown a profit as it spends to grow internationally, is considering a potential US stock market listing, according to a February TechCrunch report.

9. The government’s industrial strategy lacks cohesion and ambition and does not constitute a strategy, a powerful committee of MPs has concluded. The Times reports that the withering commentary on the government’s green paper, published in January, was delivered by the business, energy and industrial strategy select committee. Business bodies lined up to back the MPs’ criticism.

10. Leaving the European Union without an agreement on future trade measures will be "not only wrong but irresponsible," a British business leader has warned. The Daily Mail reports that CBI President Paul Drechsler said that if the UK is left to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules after Brexit it will open up a "Pandora's Box" of unexpected concerns for the economy.

Join the conversation about this story »

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Snap makes its debut on the New York Stock Exchange, NASA makes its software catalog public and one bitcoin becomes more valuable than one ounce of gold. All this on Crunch Report. Read More

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Demand for the digital cryptocurrency has soared since the beginning of the year.

Bitcoin traders are still bullish as the digital currency continues to reach new all-time highs.

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