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Everyone gets crippled by the fear of failure. Even the most successful people feel the fear of failure. Here are two ways to redirect it into productive goodness.

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Stocks climbed higher to a new record as a core reading of inflation slowed, showing that economic growth is continuing to grind along.

The S&P 500 gained 0.1%. Meanwhile, the Dow increased 0.2% and the more tech-heavy Nasdaq also rose 0.2%.

First up, the scoreboard:

• Dow: 22,873.83, +32.82, (+0.14%)
• S&P 500: 2,552.70, +1.73, (+0.07%)
• Nasdaq: 6,603.05, +11.34, (+0.17%)
• US 10-year yield: 2.28%, -0.04
• WTI crude oil: $51.36, +0.76, +0.76%

1. Forget bitcoin, an $8 trillion bubble in global markets is waiting to pop. Deutsche Bank's chief economist singles out government and corporate bonds that still have negative yields as potentially disastrous.

2. The rise of a new kind of finance is setting off alarm bells at the Fed. A surge in new methods and avenues to circumvent conventional bank finance presents the next major challenge for regulators in Washington, the St. Louis Fed's president, James Bullard, told Business Insider in an interview.

3. Traders are betting big against gun stocks after the Las Vegas mass shooting. After their prices surged immediately following the massacre, traders are now loading up on shorts.

4. Bank of America beat on third-quarter earnings. The bank reported earnings of $0.48 per share, even with the second quarter, beating analysts estimates of $0.46 per share.

5. Bitcoin went bananas. The red-hot cryptocurrency crossed $5,800 for the first time and set a record high of $5,866 a coin.

ADDITIONALLY:

These 13 companies pay the highest effective tax rate in the US

The Weinstein Company will reportedly be sold off or shut down — but the company publicly denies it

Jamie Dimon talks about bitcoin one day after saying 'I'm not going to talk about bitcoin anymore'

REPORT: Saudi Aramco is 'considering shelving plans for an IPO'

Trump needs to make another key appointment as Janet Yellen's right hand man steps down

MORGAN STANLEY: Here are 20 companies that are best exposed to the growing space economy

Fed president James Bullard tells us why he disagrees with his colleagues about the need for more rate hikes

Brevan Howard, an $11 billion hedge fund, is betting on volatility in the world's most important market

Cryptocurrencies are 'in the 3rd inning' — and Wall Street is just getting started

SEE ALSO: Traders are betting big against gun stocks

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch billionaire CEO Jack Ma dance to Michael Jackson in full costume

Just a day after JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon said he wouldn't talk about bitcoin, he issued new remarks about the cryptocurrency.

A Nebraska-based company signed Thursday the first contract to supply US-grown hemp fiber to a sustainable apparel company, according to an investor close to the deal. 

Bastcore, LLC, purchases raw hemp grown by US farmers and has a proprietary process for converting hemp stalks into commercial materials, for textiles, composites, and energy production. 

"This fiber supply contract marks a historic milestone in the U.S. Hemp Industry, and particularly for American-made hemp textiles, since the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill," Bastcore CEO John Lupien said in an announcement obtained by Business Insider.

The hemp is sourced from farms in Colorado, Kentucky, and Minnesota, and Bastcore plans to work with farmers in North Carolina and New York also as those states develop the legal framework for growing hemp.

The hemp will be used by Recreator, a Los Angeles-based apparel company that focuses on "bringing regenerative agricultural practices to the American fashion industry," the company said. Recreator will use Bastcore's hemp to make t-shirts and other garments in LA. 

"This partnership should encourage rural communities to re-invest in natural fibers and textile production. We are excited to show the pull-through capacity of Recreator by implementing Bastcore’s American-grown and processed hemp fiber into our premium apparel line," Recreator CEO Matt McClain said. 

Morgan Paxhia, a co-founder of Poseidon Asset Management, a cannabis-focused hedge fund that invested in Bastcore, told Business Insider in an email that "Bastcore's innovative technology is a cornerstone to revitalizing the US hemp economy."

"We have been working with Bastcore for almost two years now," Paxhia added. "We have witnessed their technology evolve from concept/R&D to today where we are now entering commercialization."

Growing industrial hemp was outlawed in the US prior to Colorado becoming the first state to legalize cannabis in 2014. Both hemp and marijuana are variants of the same cannabis plant, though hemp, unlike marijuana, doesn't contain any psychoactive chemicals.

The Farm Bill, signed into law by the Obama Administration in 2014, allows states that have legalized cannabis to develop regulations around growing hemp for industrial or research purposes. 

Marijuana is considered an illegal drug by the federal government, though 29 states have legalized the plant for commercial, recreational or medicinal uses in various forms. 

SEE ALSO: Snoop Dogg's venture capital firm is leading an investment in a cannabis tech company

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NOW WATCH: Gary Shilling calls bitcoin a black box and says he doesn't invest in things he doesn't understand

[…]

The post Financial Analyst Gary Shilling is Not Investing in Bitcoin, Calls it a ‘Black Box’ appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

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The post Jamie Dimon Should “Do Some Homework” on Bitcoin, says Tech VC appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Jamie Dimon can't get bitcoin off his mind. 

JPMorgan's CEO popped off about bitcoin one day after saying he was done talking about the red-hot digital currency, which Friday morning reached more than $5,800 per coin. 

The billionaire banker, who in mid-September called bitcoin "a fraud" said on Friday "who cares about bitcoin" while speaking at a conference in Washington DC, according to Bloomberg. 

He added "governments are going to crush bitcoin one day." 

During JPMorgan's earning call on Thursday, Dimon said he wouldn't put bitcoin into "the category of important things in the world" and that he wasn't "going to talk about bitcoin anymore."

The massive growth of the market has piqued the interest of folks from Main Street to Wall Street, but Wall Street's top execs — who have seen their fair share of bubbles — have voiced their concern about the cryptocurrency. 

Ray Dalio, the founder of the world's largest hedge fund, echoed Dimon's criticisms of bitcoin on September 19. 

The billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates said bitcoin "is a bubble" during an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box. 

And in a recent interview with Bloomberg News last week, Larry Fink, the head of the BlackRock, the world's largest investor, said he thinks the explosive growth of bitcoin points to nefarious behavior. 

"It just identifies how much money laundering there is being done in the world," Fink said. "How much people are trying to move currencies from one place to another."

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NOW WATCH: SCOTT GALLOWAY: Amazon is using an unfair advantage to dominate its competitors

Saudi Aramco might be delaying its initial public offering.

The Financial Times' Anjli Raval, James Fontanella-Khan, Arash Massoudi, and Simeon Kerr report that the state-oil behemoth "is considering shelving plans for an international public offering in favour of a private share sale to the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors."

Five people familiar with the situation said that talks with foreign governments — including China — and other investors about a private sale have recently "gathered pace."

If the company decides to go for the private share sale option, the FT reports that an international listing could still follow, although probably not before 2019 or later.

Senior officials said earlier this month in Moscow that the plan to list Saudi Aramco in 2018 remains on track. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who is also Aramco's chairman, said in October that the IPO would happen in the second half of 2018.

The plan to float about 5% of Saudi Aramco has long been considered a priority for the kingdom's leadership. It's part of the kingdom's Vision 2030 plan, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which aims to curtail the kingdom's "addiction" to oil via various measures.

Mohammed bin Salman has previously suggested Aramco may be valued close to $2 trillion, though investors have questioned whether the company will actually be valued at that price.

Check out the full story at The Financial Times here.

SEE ALSO: ROSENBERG: This may be 'one of the most bullish, and underappreciated, charts on the planet right now'

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NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: The 'Trump trade' is back and Ray Dalio breaks down the bitcoin bubble

Today is Stanley Fischer’s last day as the Federal Reserve’s No. 2 official, leaving yet another open spot on the central bank’s powerful board of governors for President Donald Trump to fill.

Trump has yet to name a replacement for Janet Yellen, whose term ends in February, although he is reported to be close to making a decision, and seems to be wavering between ex-Morgan Stanley banker and Fed governor Kevin Warsh and ex-Carlyle Group executive and current board member Jerome Powell. 

Given the overwhelming volume of pending items on the president’s current political and legislative agenda, including tax cuts and the botched disaster response in Puerto Rico, the Fed’s vice-chairmanship may not be high on the White House’s list of priorities. In other words, it could be a while.

Randall Quarles, Trump’s pick for the new position of Fed vice chairman for bank regulation, was recently confirmed by the Senate.

Fischer, 73, surprised everyone last month when he announced he would be stepping down well before the  completion of his term, which was not supposed to end until June of next year. He cited personal reasons for his departure. 

Fischer is considered the leader of a generation of prominent academic and professional economics, in part because he taught many of them at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

"He is often referred to as the dean of central bankers, having taught most central bankers including former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and European Central Bank president Mario Draghi," Shawn Baldwin, the chairman of AIA Group, wrote in a LinkedIn post after Fischer's announcement.

"Fischer's departure creates a vacuum not easily filled, adding to the uncertainty in monetary policy."

Larry Summers, the Harvard economist and former Treasury secretary, dubbed Fischer's resignation "the end of an era."

Fischer, who was born in Zambia and later studied in London, started his career as an academic but became a policymaker at the World Bank and later the International Monetary Fund, where he rose to the role of first deputy managing director. Fischer then spent three years at Citigroup as a vice chairman before moving to Israel in 2005 to become the head of its central bank. Fischer returned to the US as Fed vice chairman in 2014.

Not everyone is complimentary about the arc of Fischer's career. To some, he represents the kind of establishment economics that led to financial instability and income inequality in many parts of the world.

During his time at the IMF, Fischer became the face of austerity measures gone wrong. Many of his and the IMF's recommendations for drastic spending cuts during the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s have since been widely discredited as having made matters worse.

SEE ALSO: Fed president James Bullard tells us why he disagrees with his colleagues about the need for more rate hikes

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NOW WATCH: Is bitcoin a bubble or the future of everything?

Welcome to Finance Insider, Business Insider's summary of the top stories of the past 24 hours. Sign up here to get the best of Business Insider delivered direct to your inbox.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter earnings Friday.

BAML reported earnings of $0.48 per share, even with the second quarter, beating analysts estimates of $0.46.  Investment banking fees increased 1% to $1.5 billion, the best third-quarter performance since Bank of America acquired Merrill Lynch.

Wells Fargo delivered adjusted earnings of $1.04 per share, slightly above the $1.03 per share Wall Street analysts expected and down from $1.05 last quarter. It set aside $1 billion in the quarter for various litigation.

We spoke to St. Louis Fed's president, James Bullard, about why he disagrees with his colleagues about the need for more rate hikes, and why the Fed is keeping an eye on fintech. 

Elsewhere in Wall Street news, Goldman Sachs is reportedly exploring options for its stake in The Weinstein Company, and Deutsche Bank is hiring in credit trading.

Wall Street banks have realized they can't do it all themselves. And cryptocurrencies are "in the 3rd inning" — and Wall Street is just getting started.

In investing news, Brevan Howard, an $11 billion hedge fund, is betting on volatility in the world's most important market.

Maverick Capital, a $10.5 billion hedge fund, is jumping on one of the hottest trends in investing. Two two protégés from billionaire Steve Cohen's investment firm are gearing up for a big hedge fund launch. A hedge fund started by a pioneering female investor has lost more than half its assets in two years.

And a star stock picker at Fidelity was reportedly fired after an allegation of sexual harassment.

Bats, the upstart stock exchange recently acquired by industry giant Chicago Board Options Exchange, just took a big swing at rivals Nasdaq and the NYSE.

Lastly, this man quit his job at Morgan Stanley to embrace his obsession with air miles — and he now flies first class for a living.

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NOW WATCH: Gary Shilling calls bitcoin a black box and says he doesn't invest in things he doesn't understand

Brevan Howard, the London-based hedge fund run by billionaire Alan Howard, is launching a new fund to bet on an increase in volatility in the US Treasury market. 

The fund, called the Brevan Howard CMS Curve Cap Master Fund, will be led by senior trader Rishi Shah, who has been with the firm since 2010 in Geneva and New York, according to documents seen by Business Insider.

The new fund will use what are called constant maturity swap curve caps to bet on both a steepening of the US yield curve and an increase in curve volatility.

In simple terms, the yield curve shows the difference between yields on short term government debt and long term government debt. The smaller the difference, the flatter the curve. 

Interest rate policy and government bond buying have combined to both flatten the curve and reduce volatility.

Brevan Howard is betting that's going to reverse as central banks start to shrink their balance sheets and uncertainty over the leadership of the Fed circulates. A spokesman for the firm declined to comment. 

Some of the details of the fund launch were previously reported by Bloomberg. 

The US government bond market makes up around 30% of the fixed-income market, according to the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and American Bankers Association. In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission last year, they said the Treasury market is "the most important global benchmark for pricing and hedging spread asset classes and is a key transmission mechanism for US monetary policy."

As of August, Brevan Howard managed about $11.1 billion firmwide, Business Insider previously reported. That's down from about $40 billion in 2013.

The firm has in recent months been launching new strategies, including one managed by founder Alan Howard. The flagship fund fell 4.61% this year through September, Business Insider reported.

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NOW WATCH: RAY DALIO: Bitcoin is a speculative bubble

Want your bitcoin purchases in a hurry? That's doable now that Coinbase has opened up instant purchases for cryptocurrency. Whether you're a fan of ethereum, litecoin or plain old bitcoin, you're covered here. Previously you'd have to wait a few days...

Want your bitcoin purchases in a hurry? That's doable now that Coinbase has opened up instant purchases for cryptocurrency. Whether you're a fan of ethereum, litecoin or plain old bitcoin, you're covered here. Previously you'd have to wait a few days...

A tech focused stock team from Steve Cohen's investment firm is readying for launch.

KCL Capital, founded by Chris LaSusa and Kevin Cottrell, plans to open November 1 with 11 people on staff, people familiar with the situation said.

The New York-based firm's name is a combination of the founders' initials, the people said. The firm, which has been making the rounds at hedge fund investor events, is expected to raise hundreds of millions of dollars over the coming months, though an exact target is unclear.

The people asked to go unnamed because the information is private.

KCL plans to invest in global tech, media and telecommunications stocks, which the founders specialized in at Point72 Asset Management, Steve Cohen's family office. LaSusa worked at Cohen's firm for 14 years, and Cottrell worked there for 12, according to one of the people close to the situation.

That included the duration of the transition from hedge fund SAC Capital, which was forced to shut to outside money for insider trading.

LaSusa, who is acting as the portfolio manager of KCL, and Cottrell, who is director of research, have brought on several staffers who previously worked at Point72. They include:

• Braxton McKenzie, data scientist
• Shayne Dolden, analyst 
• Craig Cerone, analyst
• Thomas Li, analyst

Other hires include chief operating officer Jon Schlafman, previously managing director at Alcentra, and chief financial officer Charlie Murphy, who was previously the CFO at Jamie Zimmerman's LiteSpeed Partners. The firm has also hired a junior analyst who is starting Monday and a trading operations clerk.

Cottrell and LaSusa didn't respond to a request for comment.

SEE ALSO: Maverick Capital, a $10.5 billion hedge fund, is jumping on one of the biggest trends in investing

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NOW WATCH: RAY DALIO: Bitcoin is a speculative bubble

The rapid rise of bitcoin, the red-hot cryptocurrency up more than 400% this year, has Wall Street abuzz. 

Still, despite its meteoric rise, bitcoin by many measures is still in its very early days. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used, for instance, by a very small percentage of people and institutions are just starting to look at building out a sophisticated market around the space. 

"We are in the third inning of a burgeoning new asset class," said BlockTower Capital cofounder Matthew Goetz in a recent interview with Business Insider. 

Credit Suisse agrees with Goetz's thesis. In a note out to clients Friday, analysts Paul Condra and Mrinalini Bhutoria wrote "the investment infrastructure is emerging."

Cryptocurrency funds like BlockTower Capital have been opening at an eye-popping clip. At least 79 funds, according to Autonomous NEXT, a fintech analytics company, have emerged with an estimated $2 billion in managed assets. 

Michael Novogratz, a former manager at the $72 billion investor Fortress, is reportedly starting a $500 million cryptofund that invests in bitcoin, ethereum, and initial-coin offerings.

At the same time, "private investment firms are increasingly putting resources toward finding ways to provide exposure to the industry," according to Credit Suisse. 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman Sachs was looking into establishing a bitcoin trading operation. As for Credit Suisse, the bank hosted a symposium on cryptocurrencies and blockchain Tuesday.

There are barriers 

But there are huge barriers to making cryptocurrencies more palpable to Wall Street, especially in the market for initial coin offerings, a cryptocurrency-based fundraising method. This year ICOs have raised more than $2 billion, but many have operated outside the realm of US and other nations' regulation. Some countries, including China and South Korea, have deemed them illegal. Such countries are worried about a mounting bubble in the space and the impact it could have on retail investors. Wall Street has similar concerns. 

But a mature market could be around the corner. Overstock, the online retailer, launched a trading system that provides a platform on which startups can run ICOs in compliance with the regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

“Now, by combining our expertise with Argon's advisory services and RenGen's electronic trading, deep liquidity and market making capabilities, we are in a position to launch the only U.S. SEC compliant token trading venue,” said Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne in a press release.

Credit Suisse said such initiatives could "catalyze more broad-based investment in the space."

"Regulation remains a key obstacle as – without a clear legal framework – existing service providers are generally unwilling to offer the liquidity, leverage and custody services needed to attract larger investment," the bank wrote. 

This will change over the course of the next five years, according to the bank. They expect SEC-compliant ICOs, which make up less than 1% of the total market, will soon become the norm.

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NOW WATCH: THE RAY DALIO INTERVIEW: The billionaire investor on Bridgewater’s 'radically transparent' culture and how to bet on the future

Business Insider CEO Henry Blodget and executive editor Sara Silverstein discuss bitcoin, which has seen mixed public comments from influential people lately. Blodget reiterates his long-standing view that bitcoin is the perfect example of a speculative bubble, because there's no plausible argument for how to value it. Silverstein mentions the future use of blockchain perhaps attracting a valuation, and says that bitcoin can be compared to gold.

Join the conversation about this story »

[…]

The post $95 Billion: Bitcoin is Bigger than Goldman Sachs appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

The post Yes, Bitcoin Can Do Smart Contracts and Particl Demonstrates How appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

A strange and unexpected thing happens to gun stocks after a mass shooting: they go up.

It adds a perverse twist to an already terrible situation, as firearm enthusiasts race to stockpile weapons out of fear that gun control legislation will hamper future purchases.

It also exposes the dirty truth of gun stocks: rather than moving on more traditional fundamental factors, their direction is often largely dictated by developments in the ongoing gun control debate.

That dynamic is playing out right now across the space. After spiking following the recent Las Vegas massacre — which left 58 people dead — stocks of gun producers like Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor Brands (which owns Smith & Wesson) have erased those gains amid speculation that no legislative efforts are imminent.

In fact, the possibility of heightened gun control is viewed as so unlikely in the immediate term that traders are piling into bets that these stocks will continue to fall.

Average shorting activity in the space has jumped by 10% since early July, according to data provider IHS Markit. On a single-stock basis, the firm finds that Sturm Ruger has over 25% of its shares shorted at present time, while Outdoor brands has also seen a "sharp rise" in shorting activity.

"This slump hasn’t gone unnoticed by short sellers, and they have been busy adding to their positions since last November," said Simon Colvin, an equity and credit markets analyst at IHS Markit. "Last week’s tragic events did little to dent resolve in the trade, and these two stocks saw the demand to borrow their shares climb to the highest level in over three months."

The chart below shows just how much short interest — or bets a stock will fall — in American Outdoor Brands has surged in recent days. The uptick is particularly interesting when you consider that the stock is already sitting close to a 2 1/2-year low.

SEE ALSO: Traders are cranking up bets against the nation's biggest wine company as California wildfires rage

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NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: The 'Trump trade' is back and Ray Dalio breaks down the bitcoin bubble

The post (+) Technical Analysis: Ethereum, Monero, and Litecoin Jump as Bitcoin Goes Parabolic appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

The post (+) Technical Analysis: Ethereum, Monero, and Litecoin Jump as Bitcoin Goes Parabolic appeared first on CryptoCoinsNews.

Goldman Sachs is "exploring options" for its small stake in The Weinstein Company after more than two dozen women came forward with accusations of sexual harassment against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, according to Shannon Bond at The Financial Times.

Andrew Williams, a spokesman for the bank, told the FT the firm is exploring options for its stake, which is valued at less than $1 million.

Goldman Sachs helped finance the creation of The Weinstein Company back in 2005.

Even before reports about Weinstein's alleged misconduct came to light, The Los Angeles Times says that the company was "already facing financial strains because of a lack of commercial hits and increasing competition in the indie cinema space."

Last week, a bombshell New York Times report exposed decades of sexual harassment and abuse allegations against Weinstein, including from actress Ashley Judd. The Times reported that Weinstein has made legal settlements with at least eight women.

Since then, over two dozen women have come forward, including stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, and Cara Delevingne.

Most of these alleged encounters follow a similar pattern of "business meetings" turning into a proposed massage and hotel room sexual harassment or assault. The accusations begin as early as the 1980s and include actresses, assistants, and other employees of Weinstein's companies. 

The Huffing Post reported on Friday that Lauren Sivan, who was previously a news anchor on local cable channel Long Island 12, alleges that a decade ago Weinstein trapped her in the hallway of a restaurant that was closed to the public and masturbated in front of her until he ejaculated.

Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company by its board last the weekend. The statement announcing the firing said the decision was made "in light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged in the past few days."

Weinstein and his brother, who is now the head of the company, together own 42% of the company. 

Check out the full report from The Financial Times here.

SEE ALSO: All the women who have accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: The 'Trump trade' is back and Ray Dalio breaks down the bitcoin bubble

US consumers haven't been this optimistic about the economy since the start of 2004, according to a survey conducted by the University of Michigan. 

The consumer-sentiment index registered a preliminary October reading of 101.1, a monthly report showed Friday.

The data show that consumer spending will likely continue to support the economy through at least mid-2018, at which time this economic expansion would become the second-longest since the 19th century. 

US economic growth in the second quarter rose to a two-year high on stronger consumer and business spending, a late-September report showed. 

The surge in optimism "reflects an unmistakable sense among consumers that economic prospects are now about as good as could be expected," said Richard Curtin, the chief economist of the survey.

"This 'as good as it gets' outlook is supported by a moderation in the expected pace of growth in both personal finances and the overall economy, accompanied by a growing sense that, even with this moderation, it would still mean the continuation of good economic times." But consumers continue to expect slow wage growth, and limits on how quickly their living standards will improve, according to the survey.

Consumer sentiment spiked after President Donald Trump's election largely along partisan lines: Republicans turned much more optimistic while Democrats turned more bearish on the economy's direction.

SEE ALSO: FORGET BITCOIN: An $8 trillion bubble in global markets is waiting to pop

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NOW WATCH: RAY DALIO: There's one asset every portfolio must have

One of the biggest banks on Wall Street just made a wild prediction about Netflix.

Goldman Sachs raised its 12-month price target for the streaming company by 17.5% to $235, the highest rating among analysts tracked by Bloomberg. Netflix is trading 1.74% higher after Goldman released the new target.

Netflix is scheduled to report earnings on Monday, and Goldman says the rest of Wall Street is underestimating the company's potential.

"We believe consensus subscriber estimates for Netflix ahead of Monday’s earnings remain too low," Goldman wrote in a note to clients. "While we are considerably above consensus (13.9 million net subscriber adds in the second half of 2017 vs. FactSet consensus of 10.8 million) and don’t expect management to guide to our forecast, we do believe management is likely to exceed those forecasts."

Netflix announced a price increase for its subscribers earlier this month. The price hikes won't affect many users until November, but they did send a number of analysts on Wall Street to raise their price targets and re-evaluate the company ahead of its earnings.

The average price target for the 45 analysts tracked by Bloomberg is currently $200.85, which is about 1% higher than Netflix's current price of $198.96, but many of the more recent estimates are more bullish. About 74% of analysts who issued new research since Netflix raised its prices are bullish, according to data from Bloomberg.

Goldman said it set the ambitious $235 price target because it sees other firms generally underestimating Netflix. If Netflix reports its earnings and beats many of Wall Street's estimates, analysts will revise their price targets higher which will drive Netflix's stock higher as well, according to Goldman.

"While high expectations, particularly in light of the price increase, could lead to volatility post results, we believe upward revisions to consensus estimates will ultimately drive further outperformance and remain Buy rated," Goldman said.

Many analysts point to the company's rising prices as a way for Netflix to increase its spending on new content. Good content is often seen as a driver of new subscriptions.

Netflix is facing a wave of new competition, however. Competitors have been trying to find a way to grab their own piece of Netflix's success. Companies like Apple, CBS, Amazon, Hulu, Disney and others are producing original content to place exclusively behind their own paywalls. 

Goldman increased its price target by 17.5% on Friday. Netflix is up 56% this year.

Read about how Netflix timed its price hike perfectly so you wouldn't leave...

SEE ALSO: UBS: Netflix perfectly timed its price increase to ensure you won't leave

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NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: The 'Trump trade' is back and Ray Dalio breaks down the bitcoin bubble

The post A Bitcoin Beginner’s Guide to Surviving the Bgold and SegWit2x Forks appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

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On Friday, Aston Martin unveiled the new DB11 Volante convertible.

Volante means "flying" in Italian and is Aston's designation for its convertible models.

The stylish drop-top is the third variant of Aston Martin's next-generation grand tourer to debut, after the V12 and V8 Coupes.

The new Volante is an important addition to Aston's lineup. The open roof GT is expected to account for half of all DB11 sales worldwide, Aston Martin CEO Dr. Andy Palmer told Business Insider.

The DB11 Volante will be powered by a new 503-horsepower, 4.0 -liter, twin-turbocharged V8 engine that debuted on the V8 Coupe.

For now, the convertible will be available exclusively with the V8. According to Palmer, Aston's decision to forgo the coupe's 600-horsepower V12 was based on the need to have the lighter V8 compensate for the added mass of the convertible body style. 

Performance-wise, the DB11 is no slouch. According to the boutique sports car maker, the Volante can hit 60 mph in a brisk 4.1 seconds with a top speed of 187 mph. That's not far off the 3.9-second 0-60 time and 200 mph top speed of the much more powerful DB11 V12 coupe.

The V8's power finds its way to the rear wheels by way of an 8-speed automatic transmission.

For the Volante, Aston Martin decided to go with a canvas soft top as opposed to the always-popular folding metal roof. The canvas won out because it is easier to package and allowed designers to keep the height of the rear decklid low, thereby preserving the DB11's sleek lines, Palmer said. The convertible top can be controlled using the DB11's key fob and can operate at speeds of up to 31 mph. 

Inside, the DB11 coupe's interior carries over to the Volante. That means tons of brogued leather, wood accents, and a Mercedes-Benz-sourced infotainment system. A new addition to the DB11's bag of tricks is the use of wood veneer on the Volante's seat backs. The design feature is meant to evoke the aesthetics of classic luxury yachts, Palmer added.

The new Aston Martin DB11 Volante is expected to arrive in showrooms during the summer of 2018 with a starting price of $216,495.

SEE ALSO: Porsche turned its most controversial car into the finest sports sedan in the world

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NOW WATCH: Gary Shilling calls bitcoin a black box and says he doesn't invest in things he doesn't understand

For all the hype about bitcoin, there's an $8 trillion bubble in financial markets that many more investors are exposed to. 

It's all the government and corporate bonds that still have negative yields eight years after the financial crisis, according to Torsten Sløk, the chief international economist at Deutsche Bank. 

This is not normal, and is a legacy of the amount of stimulus that global central banks had to pump into their economies after the recession, partly by buying massive amounts of government bonds. Investors, meanwhile, bought these bonds for their perceived safety, and because some institutions like banks were required to.

All this demand raised the bonds' prices, pushing their yields below zero in Japan and some parts of Europe.

"These $8trn in negative yielding assets have forced investors around the world into all kinds of other asset classes such as IG credit, loans, mortgages, HY bonds, equities, and even emerging markets fixed income and equities," Sløk said in a note on Friday. One loose proxy for how yield-starved investors are is in the comparison between the riskiest European corporate bonds and the secure 10-year yield. According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Euro High Yield Index, the 10-year yielded just 4 basis points more than the benchmark Treasury note on Friday.

The Federal Reserve is now trying to unwind the $4.5 trillion balance sheet it stoked after the recession by gradually ceasing reinvestments of its fixed-income assets as they mature. But this won't help pop the bubble. "The real test will be when the red area in the chart below turns black," Sløk said.

And that could be negative for riskier assets like equities. 

"The fear is that when the risk-free interest rate goes higher then credit spreads will widen and equities underperform as investors leave risky assets and come home to higher-yielding government bonds," Sløk added. "In finance terms, if the risk-free rate goes higher why should I then be buying risky assets?"

But the Fed will have a role to play in reducing the share of government bonds that yield negative. If inflation begins to rise in the US, Sløk said, the Fed would be inclined to raise rates faster, and that would mean higher rates in Europe and Japan. 

Investors, however, aren't counting on rising inflation, judging by the magnitude of their investments in negative-yielding bonds. "The bottom line is that the central bank exit has barely started and once inflation does start to move higher then checking out from Hotel Easy Money will be a lot more difficult than checking in," Slok said. 

SEE ALSO: More and more stocks are doing the market's heavy lifting

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The dollar slipped after inflation data came in below expectations.

The US dollar index was down by 0.3% at 92.77 at 8:53 a.m. ET after being up in the green ahead of the CPI report.

CPI rose 0.5% month-over-month in September, according to the Labor Department. That was above the prior month's reading of 0.4%, but below expectations of a 0.6% uptick.

On a year-over-year basis, it rose by 2.2%, which was above the prior month's reading of 1.9%, but below expectations of 2.3%.

The gasoline index rose 13.1% in September, accounting for three-fourths of the seasonally adjusted all items increase, and the food index picked up slightly. The Labor Department added that Hurricane Irma has a "small impact" on the data collection. 

Meanwhile, Core CPI rose 0.1% month-over-month in September, below the prior month's reading of 0.2%, and below expectations of 0.2%.

Market watchers were looking to Friday's inflation data for flickers of growth after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting in September, which were released earlier this week, showed that many Fed officials are concerned that inflation will remain lower for longer.

Some FOMC members suggested that more secular factors, like the influence of technology on lowering prices, might keep inflation below the Fed's target of 2% for longer. Officials were split on whether to hike rates for the third time this year, which would likely be in December.

In its September Summary of Economic Projections, the FOMC said its inflation expectations continue to slide. It expects core PCE to come in at 1.5% to 1.6% in 2017, down from the previous forecast of 1.6% to 1.7%.

"[I]t's worth noting that the CPI number is not the Fed's preferred measure of inflation but it is released a couple of weeks before the core PCE price index and there is followed closely for signs of price pressures building or declining," Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in emailed commentary.

The US dollar index is down by nearly 10% from US President Donald Trump's inauguration.

As for the rest of the world, here was the scoreboard at 8:48 a.m. ET:

• The euro was up by 0.3% at 1.1868 against the dollar. Data showed German CPI rose 0.1% month-over-month in September, in line with expectations, while Italian CPI fell 0.3% month-over-month, also in line with expectations.
• The British pound was up by 0.4% at 1.3314 against the dollar. The British Chambers of Commerce said in its Quarterly Economic Survey, an influential business lobby group, said Friday The Bank of England hiking interest rates next month would be an "extraordinary" step and should be avoided given the current economic climate in the UK.
• The Russian ruble was up by 0.7% at 57.3218 per dollar, while Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was up by 2.0% at $57.34 per barrel.
• The Japanese yen was up by 0.5% at 111.77 per dollar.
• The Indian rupee was up by 0.4% at 64.729 per dollar.

SEE ALSO: ROSENBERG: This may be 'one of the most bullish, and underappreciated, charts on the planet right now'

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Dave Lutz, head of ETFs at JonesTrading, has an overview of today's markets.

• Bank of America reported a beat on earnings, and the stock is up early Friday morning.
• Wells Fargo beat on earnings but had to set aside $1 billion for legal woes. Wells Fargo shares fell after the report.
• Global markets are mixed.
• Oil is higher ahead of President Donald Trump's speech on Iran.
• Check out which other companies are reporting earnings today with our earnings calendar.

Here's Lutz:

Morning, and good luck this Friday the 13^th!  US Futures are up slightly as all eyes are on US CPI and Retail Sales at 8:30, as well as Banks (earnings from BAC/WFC) and Semis (MU breaking deal, trading lower again) in focus.  Mixed bag in Europe, with the DAX trying to get legs thru 13,000 with Healthcare jumping behind Bayer and EU fins shrugging off early weakness.  FTSE Lower despite Miners and Steelmakers having a good session in London on Chinese Trade data.   Volumes look low tho, with most exchanges trading 20% below averages.   In Asia, Nikkei up 50bp as Fast Retailing leapt 6% on Overseas Sales - Shanghai up 13bp and Hang Seng up small as trading remains tepid into the Congress next week - KOSPI off 10bp as Sammy hit for 1.5% as record profits was a “Sell the News” with the CEO stepping down - Aussie up 30bp and the Kiwis hit new highs for the 9^th straight session 

The DXY is in the red but holding upside 93 and the US 10YY continues to stay upside 200d ahead of Key Inflation data for Sept - Sterling is rebounding near 2week highs as Hard Brexit Angst recedes slightly and that Euro is sliding off, continuing yesterday’s weakness.  Commodity currencies like that Aussie $ are popping, as Ore was up 3% and Rebar 4% on strong Chinese import data – squeezing Nickel for another 2.5% and keeping that red metal in the green.   Gold is seeing some softness as gravity kicks in near $1300.   Oil complex is squeezing again, with WTI seeing stops as it eclipses the week’s highs, adding 2% ahead of the 12:45 Iran Speech from President Trump – dragging Gasoline and Natty along for the ride.

SEE ALSO: 10 things you need to know before the opening bell

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It's virtuous circle.

Netflix has moved to raise prices on its subscription plans, which will give it the resources to push further into global markets and expand its exclusive content. That, in turn, is likely to increase its pricing power even further.

That's the crux of a research note from Morgan Stanley's Benjamin Swinburne. The analyst lifted his price target for the company to $225 from $195, a 15% increase. 

This month, the company announced that it will raise prices on its standard and premium plans to $10.99 a month from $9.99, and $13.99 from $11.99, respectively.

"Netflix's recent price increases in the US and abroad are a positive indication of its confidence in the subscriber opportunity ahead and should help fuel content investments for future growth," Swinburne wrote.

Though Netflix received some churn when it raised prices in 2016 on "grandfathered" plans, the company has seen many users who dropped their plans come back to the fold. Those "re-joins" have also driven the upside for the company this year, Swinburne said. 

Netflix's high-quality content gives its pricing power an additional boost. Swinburne points out that Netflix has enjoyed a seasonally strong quarter for viewership and that its slate of content for the fourth quarter is also promising, with "Stranger Things," "The Crown," and "Punisher" coming to viewers soon.

SEE ALSO: One chart shows why shareholders are so happy about Netflix's price increase

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WASHINGTON, DC - Banks are so 2008.

A surge in new methods and avenues to circumvent conventional bank finance, from cryptocurrencies and blockchain to crowdfunding, presents the next major challenge for regulators in Washington, St. Louis Fed President told Business Insider in an interview.

As President Donald Trump vows to roll back financial regulations aimed at preventing another financial crisis, in particular post-crisis legislation known as Dodd-Frank, Bullard said these rules had made big banks safer by forcing them to fund their operations with more equity capital relative to their debt. 

But he argued the debate over Wall Street rules amounts to fighting the last war.

"I do think we’re at the end of the era of thinking about Dodd-Frank," Bullard said. "The new issue now for the next 10 years is going to be fintech, and how fintech is going to affect financial intermediation in the US. And if you go out to Silicon Valley, all the discussion is all about how can we strip the profits from the big firms."

The challenge is that regulatory bureaucracies in Washington, including the Federal Reserve itself, may be too slow to react to new technologies, in the same way that policymakers missed the risks embedded in the so-called "innovations" in mortgage finance that ultimately fueled the worst housing bust and financial crisis in modern history.

"We’re not going to call it banking, we’re going to call it something else," said Bullard.

"That’s happening every day. I know that the regulatory world here in DC does not react well to that," he said. "They react legalistically. I think that’s the issue that’s going to face us and the new leadership of the Fed going forward. Weakening Dodd Frank or doing something more with Dodd Frank is beside the point when Silicon Valley is as powerful as it is."

He said big banks' efforts to domesticate some of the new technologies, including investments in blockchain, may not be enough to catch up with the speed of change coming out of the more cash-flush, venture-capital driven tech world.

"Banks will always say buy the technology and bring it into the regulated sector," Bullard added. "But you kind of wonder: Are these really the institutions that are going to be able to innovate quickly or are they just big bureaucracies that are going to be to slow to run this kind of stuff?"

SEE ALSO: Trump's pick to oversee Wall Street regulations at the Fed was just confirmed by the Senate

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We already know Jack Ma can dance. But the billionaire CEO of Alibaba showed recently that he can sing as well.

On October 11, Ma joined Chinese singer Li Jian on stage for a surprise appearance at Yunqi Music Festival, where he sang a duet on Li's hit song "Legend."

Adorned in a hip jacket, jeans and sunglasses combo, he didn't stop there.

Ma stayed on stage and sang solo for another three songs, including "Unchained Melody," followed by Jonathan Lee's "I Finally Lost You" and Wang Feng's "When I'm Thinking of You."

The festival was part of the Computing Conference 2017, an event hosted by Alibaba Cloud in the city of Hangzhou.

Ma's singing showcase comes just a month after he performed a choreographed dance to Michael Jackson at his company's 18th annual celebration. He's also been known to belt out tunes over the mic, having performed songs from the "Lion King" at a company meeting of more than 16,000 people back in 2014.

Watch the full performance here:

SEE ALSO: BANK OF AMERICA: 'This is not your parents' tech bubble'

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Was Q3 the biggest-ever for blockchain? Share your thoughts on bitcoin, ICOs and more for our upcoming State of Blockchain survey.

Bitcoin hit a new record high of $5,856 this morning, but the question everyone will be asking is, can the rally continue?

Wells Fargo is set to report third-quarter earnings on Friday at 8 a.m.

Wall Street is expecting the bank, which has taken a beating on Capitol Hill and in the press for its myriad consumer banking scandals, to deliver earnings of $1.03 per share, down from $1.05 last quarter.

Here's what else analysts will be looking at:

• Revenue of $22.4 billion, down from $22.5 billion in the second quarter.
• Net income of $5.13 billion, down from $5.28 billion in the second quarter.
• Net charge offs: Hit a post-crisis low of 0.27% in the second quarter, but Citi and JPMorgan each reported increases in the third quarter and increased reserves for loan losses.

The bank has faced numerous challenges stemming from its fake accounts scandal that broke a year ago. In September 2016, Wells reached a settlement with regulators after it was found that employees opened 2 million accounts in customers names without their knowledge between 2011 and 2015.

The scandal resulted in multiple congressional hearings and the eventual ouster of former CEO John Stumpf. Also, reports suggest that the fake accounts practices may have taken place for many years prior to the original findings and resulted in even more fraudulent accounts.

Current CEO Tim Sloan was grilled by Capitol Hill lawmakers on October 3 for the one year anniversary of the scandal

Analysts will also expect updates on efforts to decrease management costs as well as any new details on the firms ongoing legal inquiries and litigation. 

Citi and JPMorgan kicked off the earnings cycle for US banks Thursday, each handily beating earnings estimates. 

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Bitcoin soared past $5,400, $5,500, $5,600, $5,700, and $5,800 for the first time on Friday morning before putting in a record high of $5866 a coin, Bloomberg data showed. The cryptocurrency has since pared its gains, but still trades up 3.92% at $5,626 a coin. 

Friday's advance comes after Coinbase, a digital currency exchange, announced that customers can instantly purchase bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using a US bank account. Those customers previously had to wait several days before receiving their digital currencies. 

It has been a monster week for bitcoin, which has soared nearly 30% since last Friday's close. It blew through the highly anticipated $5,000 level on Thursday, just days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Goldman Sachs was looking into setting up a bitcoin trading operation, and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said that the cryptocurrency was "certainly more than just a fad." 

But things didn't look too promising in September. News of a crackdown on trading in China and and regulatory uncertainty around initial coin offerings, a cryptocurrency-based fundraising method, pushed the cryptocurrency to a low of $2,900 per coin on September 15, it has since rallied. 

Neil Wilson, a senior analyst at ETX Capital, told Business Insider on Thursday that ""bulls returned to the market with a vengeance." 

Bitcoin is up about 476% this year. 

SEE ALSO: 8 surprising places where you can pay with bitcoin

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Bank of America Merrill Lynch will report third-quarter earnings at 6:45 a.m. Friday.

Wall Street analysts are expecting the bank to report earnings of $0.46 per share, down from $0.48 in the second quarter. 

Here are the other key figures and estimates analysts will be looking for:

• Revenues of $21.95 billion, down from $23.2 in the second quarter.
• Net income of $4.9 billion, down from $5.2 billion in the second quarter. 
• Trading revenues expected to suffer a double-digit decline. 

Net interest income will also command attention, as the bank failed to meet expectations on this figure last quarter despite posting record numbers in global banking and wealth management. The consensus estimate for third-quarter NII is $11.3 billion, up from $11.2 billion last quarter.

Wall Street's trading decline — especially in bond trading — will be another point of focus. Citi and JPMorgan, each of which kicked off the earnings cycle for US banks yesterday, reported fixed-income trading drop-offs of 16% and 27%, respectively.

Nonetheless, the two banks each beat earnings estimates handily.

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If you were thinking about buying stocks today — on the dreaded Friday the 13th — you may want to think again.

Since 1928, there have been 152 Friday the 13ths, on which the S&P 500 returned an annualized 4.2% gain. That's only roughly one-third the increase for all Fridays over time, according to data compiled by Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial.

That's fine, right? After all, a gain is a gain?

Not quite.

When Detrick breaks down the analysis by month, the picture gets much starker for Friday the 13ths that fall in October. Across the 12 times it's happened — including the most recent one, in 2006 — the S&P 500 has fallen by an average of 0.54%. That's the second-worst of any month, trailing only November, Detrick finds.

So should you just stay out of the market entirely as you wait for Friday the 13th to pass? It probably doesn't matter one way or another, Detrick says. After all, in the end, it's just a minor market quirk with a very limited sample size.

"Unless you break a mirror or see a black cat on Friday, we aren't in any way saying one day matters more or less than another," Detrick wrote in a blog post. "Still, wouldn't you know it — Friday the 13th tends to be a weak day on average; but taking it a step further, this day does even worse during October. You can't make this stuff up!"

SEE ALSO: BANK OF AMERICA: 'This is not your parents' tech bubble'

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LONDON – The UK's tax collector has paid nearly £2 million for information about tax evasion since 2013, but whether or not this represents value for money is unclear, according to a leading tax lawyer.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) did not disclose the number or value of individual payments, which are made using public money, and has previously been unable to say how much money it recovered using paid-for information.

"I'm not sure how much scrutiny there is," says Adam Craggs, head of tax disputes at law firm RPC, so it is "hard to know" whether the payments are worthwhile.

It would be "sensible and prudent," he suggests, for there to be more oversight of the payments, and perhaps an audit.

HMRC said disclosing how many informants the payments related to could "prejudice the assessment or collection of any tax or duty or of any imposition of a similar nature," and "endanger the safety of any individual."

But Craggs says these reasons are "not credible," and the question is "not unreasonable, as long as you're not asking for their names."

Pressure on HMRC to tackle financial crimes has mounted since the Panama Papers scandal, and the tax collector has been asked to triple the number of criminal investigations for "serious and complex tax crime" and recover an additional £7.2 billion in tax by 2020/21.

But gathering the information required to prove individuals and businesses have failed to pay their taxes is a complex business. According to Craggs, HMRC "normally relies on being tipped off for this sort of information," although it sometimes comes as a product of its own enquiries.

Those who blow the whistle to HMRC tend to be disgruntled employees or ex-employees, says Craggs, usually from senior or accounting roles, who "know where the bodies are buried." Ex-husbands and ex-wives are also common, and tipping off HMRC is sometimes used as a "threat" during divorce proceedings, he says.

According to Paul Noble, head of tax investigations at law firm Pinsent Masons, "some people just have an axe to grind."

HMRC does not advertise payments. Unlike in the United States, where informants are paid based on the amount of money their information recovers, informants in the UK usually have to ask to be paid. HMRC will then "make a judgment," and pay if "circumstances are right," says Noble.

Noble says the payments do represent value for money, and suspects the majority of payments are "at the lower end, definitely," likely between £0-£10,000. He points out that in the last financial year, HMRC received over 113,000 reports from members of the public, most of which likely were not paid for.

Given the potential backlash from blowing the whistle on an ex-colleague or partner, says Noble, "quite a lot of people want to be anonymous," and won't provide the personal information required for HMRC to make a payment.

A bigger concern, he says, is whether the tax collector has the resources to deal with all the information it receives.

HMRC paid £421,460 for information in 2016/17, and £460,433 in 2015/16. That compares to a spike of £605,000 in 2014/15, and to £402,000 in 2013/14.

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LONDON – Deutsche Bank is boosting its credit trading division to prepare for the end of the ultra-loose monetary policies enacted by central banks in response to the 2008 financial crisis. 

The German lender hired Paul Huchro, a veteran of the US credit trading team at Goldman Sachs, as global head of investment grade credit trading.

Huchro, who spent 30 years at Goldman Sachs, also becomes head of high yield credit trading in the US and Europe.

Gavin Colquhoun, Deutsche Bank’s head of European credit trading, said: "We expect to see client activity in credit increase as monetary stimulus is withdrawn. The hires we have made over the past 18 months reflect our commitment to being a leading flow credit house."

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hike rates several times next year and in 2019 and shrink its $4.4 trillion balance sheet as part of a retreat from the monetary stimulus that has characterised policy in the years since the 2008 crisis.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is widely expected to cut its asset-purchase program within the next few weeks and the Bank of England has warned market participants that it may raise rates as soon as November.

Deutsche Bank said that over the last 18 months it has made 21 new hires in European investment grade bond sales, trading and research, "in response to client demand," and 19 US hires in the same period.

US operations have been a key focus for Deutsche Bank, with CEO John Cryan taking personal responsibility for the US business in March this year. 

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The value of a bitcoin reached a new all-time high of $5,856 this morning amid a market that is fast recovering from regulatory news in China.

LONDON — Londoners are seeing 40% of their income swallowed by rent as house prices in the capital spiral, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

A new IFS report found the rent-to-income ratio in Britain excluding London has fallen by 3% — from 31% to 28% — in the last twenty years, but climbed by 3% — from 37% to 40% — in London over the same period.

Median percentage of income spent on rent among private renters

The growing rent-to-income ratio in London has been driven by rapidly-increasing rent prices in a market where house prices grew by 66% between 2007 and 2017:

Median weekly private rents (adjusted for inflation)

The chart shows that London rents increased by 38% between 1994-1996 and 2001-2003, alongside a much smaller 12% in the rest of the UK. Following a period between 2001-2003 and 2008-2010 where real rents flatlined, rents in London began to grow fast again, increasing by 11% while they fell by 4% in the rest of the UK.

"Renters are paying considerably more for their homes than 20 years ago," said the report.

"Relative to the general price level, the average (median) private rent paid in the mid 2010s was 53% higher than that in the mid-1990s in London and 29% higher in the rest of Britain. Those rises mainly occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s (in London) or in the early and mid 2000s (in the rest of Britain)."

Rent caps and Help-to-Buy

The chronic shortage of UK housing is currently an important political issue. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn last week pledged to introduce rent caps if he becomes prime minister, and Theresa May pledged a further £10 billion for the government's Help-to-Buy scheme which helps first-time buyers to purchase homes.

A Savills report published earlier in October also found that growing rents and a sharp rise in the number of people renting homes means private landlords are earning ever-increasing sums from renters, and deepening a financial division between those who own a home and those who don't.

Savills said landlords earned £54 billion in the year to June — twice the total amount of interest homeowners paid on their mortgages, who currently benefit from record-low interest rates.

The private rental figure was up by £14 billion in five years, a 35% increase from a 21% rise in the number of homes.

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LONDON — The Bank of England hiking interest rates next month would be an "extraordinary" step and should be avoided given the current economic climate in the UK, an influential business lobby groups said.

The British Chambers of Commerce said in its Quarterly Economic Survey on Friday that economic growth is simply not strong enough right now to necessitate a Bank of England rate hike — which is widely expected when the bank's Monetary Policy Committee holds it November meeting.

"The uninspiring results we see in our third quarter findings reflect the fact that political uncertainty, currency fluctuations and the vagaries of the Brexit process are continuing to weigh on business growth prospects," Dr Adam Marshall, the BCC's director general said in a statement accompanying the survey.

"Against this backdrop, it seems extraordinary that the Bank of England are considering raising interest rates," Suren Thiru, head of economics at the BCC added.

"With UK economic conditions softening and continued uncertainty over Brexit, it is vital that the MPC provides monetary stability. We’d caution against an earlier than required tightening in monetary policy, which could hit both business and consumer confidence and weaken overall UK growth," Thiru said.

At its simplest level, the policy dilemma facing Britain's central bank when it comes to rates, is that it must balance surging inflation brought on by the weakened pound since the referendum, with the slowdown in the economy, dwindling consumer spending and declining inward investment.

A higher base interest rate can help subdue inflation, but also increases borrowing costs, which can stifle the economy. In normal circumstances, the current economic backdrop would mean that the bank would be very unlikely to raise rates, but Brexit's impact on inflation — which currently sits at 2.9% — is likely to push the bank towards a hike in November.

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• Zopa "growing [lending] by 45-50%" despite a freeze on new lenders.
• Peer-to-peer lender says it has been tightening credit amid a squeeze on disposable income.
• CEO says credit conditions normalising after 8 years of improvement, thinks the economy is OK.

LONDON — The CEO of peer-to-peer lending business Zopa has rejected claims the business is struggling to attract borrowers, saying the platform is still growing lending volumes by as much as 50%.

Zopa stopped accepting new money in December 2016, amid high demand to lend over its platform. The Financial Times wrote in September that Zopa's experience highlights the "enormous difficulty faced by marketplace lenders attempting to find new borrowers."

CEO Jaidev Janardana told Business Insider: "I do struggle a little bit with this thing that we're struggling with borrowers. We have been growing [lending] by 45-50%. I don't think there are other businesses that are growing at 50% year-on-year that would be looked at as struggling."

Speaking to Business Insider at LendIt Europe this week, Janardana said existing investors have funded the platform's growth by deploying more capital on the platform.

"What we have had is an issue of too much popularity on the other side," he said. "Investors, particularly given ISAs, have just wanted more of our product. We see that as an incredibly good thing actually."

Zopa, founded in 2005, is credited with inventing the idea of peer-to-peer lending: matching borrowers with investors willing to fund their loans online. The company only does consumer lending in the UK and has lent over £2 billion to date.

Zopa has built up a waiting list of 15,000 people who want to lend over the platform. The company hopes to let some of them onto the platform towards the end of the year.

Janardana said: "One of the things we could have done is just reduce prices and that would have settled the market and we would have made a lot more money. We have chosen not to do that because we think we have a duty of care to maintain an appropriate risk-return.

"We could have chosen to continue to relax credit — again, we don't think the right thing is to reduce the quality of the product. A restaurant that has high demand doesn't start putting on more tables, they take reservations — that's what we're doing."

'Consumer lending is always a cyclical business'

The Bank of England has been sounding the alarm on rising consumer credit levels and warned lenders in July not to "return to the punch bowl," saying it is worried that lenders relaxing their lending criteria could lead to repeats of mistakes made during the financial crisis.

Janardana said Zopa began tightening its lending criteria around 15 months ago, amid signs of deterioration in the market.

"We realise that consumer lending is always a cyclical business and it's important to be agile. We've been tightening credit for almost 15 months, we started at the announcement of Brexit. We've been slowly tightening credit. I feel we're in a good place."

Zopa recently wrote to investors warning them to expect lower returns in part due to deteriorating credit conditions in the UK.

"If you look at pretty much any public data — insolvencies in the UK in general, they've been ticking up for the last 18 months," Janardana said. "The Bank of England does a quarterly survey of its lenders, which are banks. In the credit conditions survey, they reported that in general unsecured consumer lending there was a tick up [in loss rates] in Q2 and even more so in Q3."

I think what is happening is an economy-wide trend of credit going back to normal levels

Asked if he thought this was linked to Brexit, Janardana said: "I'm not wise enough to know what Brexit will bring, but what we do know is it is creating uncertainty. Uncertainty drives down business confidence, it drives down growth, and you can start seeing that with the UK being the slowest growing market in the G7.

"The other thing that has happened, whether it is Brexit or not I don't know, is higher inflation. What that does is squeeze people's disposable income. We've always had [borrowing] criteria for people's disposable income but people who are near to that criteria have actually struggled more than in the past and we think that is a result of inflation."

"I think what is happening is an economy-wide trend of credit, which has been improving for a long time, going back to normal levels, potentially caused by inflation, that might be one of the reasons."

Janardana, who worked at Capital One before Zopa, said he does not think the UK is heading for a credit crunch or recession.

"Fundamentally, as of today, the economy is still going, the unemployment rate is still low," he said. "Those are the things we're going to keep a very close eye on. If those things start to change, then we need to act quickly. At least we understand the levers to pull when those things happen."

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

1. European Union leaders are ready to hand Theresa May an olive branch in deadlocked Brexit negotiations next week by launching their own internal preparations for a transition to a new relationship with Britain. A draft statement which was prepared for next Friday's talks and sent out for approval on Thursday to the 27 other EU governments made final Brussels' rejection of opening free trade talks.

2. According to China’s General Administration of Customs, imports grew by 18.7% in the year to September in US dollar terms, accelerating upon the 13.3% level of August. It easily surpassed market expectations for an increase of 13.5%.

3. Lufthansa agreed to buy parts of insolvent German airline Air Berlin for around 210 million euros ($248.72 million), Air Berlin said. The deal includes Air Berlin's Austrian leisure travel airline Niki, its LG Walter regional airline and 20 further aircraft, its said in a statement, adding that the purchase price was subject to adjustments upon closing.

4. Citigroup reported a 7.6% increase in quarterly profit from a gain on an asset sale, lower costs and better-than-expected trading revenue. The fourth-biggest U.S. bank by assets said that net income rose to $4.13 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30 from $3.84 billion a year earlier.

5. Wells Fargo, the third-biggest US bank by assets, named Mike Roemer chief compliance officer. Roemer, who joins from Barclays, will take charge in January, the company said.

6. A majority of independent votes cast at the annual shareholders' meeting of Sky supported the re-election of James Murdoch as chairman. Ahead of the meeting some shareholders had said they were planning to oppose Murdoch's re-election because they did not believe he could effectively represent independent investors as he is also chief executive of Twenty-First Century Fox.

7. Deutsche Telekom tested Europe's first ultra high speed 5G antennas on Thursday. Europe’s biggest telecoms provider said showed it was ready for a global launch of the technology by 2020, but it still leaves the continent lagging behind South Korea and Japan.

8. Airlines are still seeking answers from Britain as to future flying rights, with less than a year to go until they start selling tickets in a post-Brexit world, industry executives said. "Airlines sell tickets 300 days out, so they are about six to eight months away from needing some certainty," Michael Whitaker, principal of Whitaker Airspace, said.

9. Goldman Sachs wants to expand its investment bank in Switzerland and is in the process of upgrading its trading operations in Zurich to a branch from a representative office, Reuters reported. The bank hopes to receive the approval for the switch from Switzerland's Financial Market Supervisory Authority, FINMA, next year, Reuters said.

10. Accenture was appointed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to manage and develop a blockchain-based platform for interbank payments. The project aims to improve how central banks and financial institutions deal with the settlement of payments, Accenture said in a statement.

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LONDON — Nikolay Storonsky was in a hurry.

The founder and CEO of Revolut, one of the fastest growing fintech startups in the world, whizzed through a presentation meant to last half an hour in around 15 minutes at the LendIt Europe conference in London this week.

He had a plane to catch. But doing things quickly is just Storonsky's style.

So far this year, Revolut, which started as a foreign exchange card linked to an app, has launched business accounts, loans, loyalty offers, mobile phone insurance, a bill splitting feature, a subscription "Premium" account, a chatbot, and more. Oh, and raised $66 million.

"We are not afraid of doing new things," Storonsky, 34, told Business Insider after his LendIt talk on Tuesday. "That's what entrepreneurship is. We'd rather try then fail rather than wait, analyse, think, then don't do anything. There is a good phrase: paralysis through analysis. We are not these type of people."

Projects can take just one month to go from an idea to reality at Revolut. Business accounts, Revolut's thorniest problem so far, took just six months to build and launch.

This rapid work cycle has been rewarded with rapid growth. Just two years after launch, Revolut has over 900,000 retail customers and, just four months after business accounts, 16,000 companies have signed up. Venture capitalists and crowdfunding investors have also invested over $85 million.

"The vision is very simple," Storonsky said. "At the moment in the world, all banks are very local. As a result, you always struggle with international activity. That means you always need to open new bank accounts, issue new cards, set up a new credit profile.

"Nowadays people are all international. Banks are not providing this service. The vision for us is alternative global banking. Anyone in the world can just download the Revolut app and set up a local bank account to access any services they need."

'A lot of people work on weekends'

It's a bold ambition. But can the business sustain this pace? I had heard from people in the industry — startup founders, PRs, former staff — that Revolut's working culture can be tough: long hours, aggressive targets, burn out.

"We are not about long hours — we are about getting shit done," Storonsky said. "If people have this mentality, they work long hours because they want it."

There are just seven reviews of Revolut on Glassdoor, the website that let staff leave anonymous feedback on companies.

But two include the comments "work life balance will shift towards being dedicated to your job," and "Working hours can be long."

"No one is sitting there telling them they have to work long hours," Storonsky said.

"They're really motivated, really sharing the vision of where we want to go and as a result, they work long hours — they work at least 12, 13 hours a day. All the key people, all the core team. A lot of people also work on weekends."

It should be said that all the company's Glassdoor reviews are five-star reviews, even those that mention the hours. "This company is highly addictive," one reads.

While Revolut's company culture is not for everyone, Storonsky said it is the culture that makes the business such a success.

"We are trying to attract people who want to grow themselves. Growing is always through pain. It's the same as going to the gym. You need to train and you need to hit your limit — and then you grow."

He added: "Attrition is actually very low. We designed a whole onboarding process plus first six months as a continuing interview process — we see how he performs, how he feeds the culture, how he feeds the team, and most importantly, what he delivers.

"The majority of people, they pass through but some of them, they just realise it's not for them. It's not because they are stupid — they just don't share our vision and our passion."

'After I closed the round, I went on holiday for the first time in two years'

Russian-born Storonsky is no stranger to long hours — he is a veteran of investment banking, an industry known for its long hours, having worked at Credit Suisse and Lehman Brothers before setting up Revolut. Still, is there a personal toll to running such as rapidly growing business?

"It's more complex compared to a year ago," Storonsky said. "It's more complex the more people you have around you."

Relaxation is important. Storonsky is an avid kite surfer and still makes time for his hobby.

"It's the only thing that I do apart from working," he said. "What's good about kite surfing is it switches your brain off completely and you just don't think, and you become so relaxed — it's effectively equivalent to meditation.

"I remember in summer, after I closed the round, I went on holiday for 10 days — the first time in 2 years. I went to Rhodes to do kite surfing in Greece. I switched the phone off and didn't get any emails, for the first time ever."

This downtime is as important to Revolut as the company's hard-charging attitude in the office, Storonsky said.

"After you stop kite surfing and get to the beach, you have some sun, and you have so many creative ideas. My brain is structured so that its very process driven, it's very logical, but at some point it blocks your creativity, right? You need to stop this logical thinking, kite surfing helps, and then you switch to creativity."

Does he worry that those staff working 12-hour days and weekends won't have that time to switch off and recharge their creativity?

"They're all grown-ups," he said. "It's up to them how they manage their time. That's part of the self-development process. We are not pushing them to do anything, it's up to them."

"I've got a very tight schedule all the time," he said, adding that he manages about "five or six hours" sleep a night.

With that, Storonsky is off to the airport, off to Moscow for two nights and then on to San Francisco.

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LONDON — Entrepreneur-focused bank OakNorth has raised £154 million from Singapore investment group The Clermont Group, UK hedge fund Toscafund, and Coltrane Asset Management.

The consortium has purchased close to a 16% stake in the two-year-old business, valuing London-headquartered bank at £934 million ($1.3 billion).

It means OakNorth has reached so-called "unicorn" status — a private startup valued at over $1 billion. Earlier this year tech-focused investment bank GP Bullhound named OakNorth as a fintech startup it believes could one day be worth over $1 billion.

OakNorth was founded in 2015 as a "bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs." It was founded by Rishi Khosla and Joel Perlman, who previously cofounded Copal Amba, a research company for banks that was sold to Moody's in 2014.

OakNorth has lent over £800 million to date to fund the expansion of businesses such as healthy fast food chain LEON, Galliard Homes, and Brasserie Blanc.

Khosla, CEO of OakNorth, said: "While we have reached a £800 million loan book in two years, we know that this represents just a fraction of the businesses that need financing support. This funding will enable us to boost our lending by an additional £1.5bn and add thousands more jobs and homes in the UK."

The business also plans to use the funding to roll out its inhouse lending platform, ACORN, to other lenders and banks around the world. The platform helps the bank originate, underwrite and monitor loans.

Kholsa said in a statement: "Rather than building a technology platform and then going to market trying to sell it, we wanted to build the platform and prove the concept in a highly regulated and highly competitive market – the UK – via OakNorth. Through ACORN we will be able to help lenders around the world unlock the underserved and underestimated market for bespoke loans to SMEs."

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• Chemical company BASF warns bad batches of chemicals used in foam manufacture shipped.
• Chemical contains unusually high levels of compound suspected of causing cancer.
• Silent Night, Simba, and Eve carry out emergency checks to make sure customers not exposed.

LONDON — UK mattress-makers have shut down production and carried out emergency testing after German chemical giant BASF warned customers it had shipped a bad batch of chemicals that could cause cancer.

Silent Night, the UK's biggest mattress manufacturer, and startup bed maker Simba both shut down production at factories in Lancashire and Derby this week.

A spokesperson for online mattress retailer Eve Sleep told Business Insider on Thursday afternoon that the company was "checking as a matter of urgency" whether any of its products are affected.

Emergency tests confirm that both Silent Night and Simba's products did not contain any of the suspect chemicals.

The alarm was raised after BASF wrote to 50 of its customers this week warning 7,500 tonnes of a chemical it produced called TDI contained unusually high levels of the compound DCB.

DCB can cause irritation to the skin, eyes, and throat and, according to a BASF letter seen by Business Insider, is "suspected of causing cancer."

TDI is mainly used to make elastic foam for mattresses, cushions, and car seats, BASF said in a statement. It is also used to make wood coating for furniture.

Silent Nights, the UK's biggest mattress manufacturer, told Business Insider it shut down its Lancashire factory for two days this week to carry out emergency testing to see if it was affected, but concluded all was OK.

A spokesperson told BI:

"The UK furniture industry has been affected by a significant European foam supply issue, caused by a quality fluctuation from an ingredients supplier.

"As a precautionary measure, Silentnight Group suspended manufacturing for a short period of time while we investigated the situation.

"Following this thorough investigation, we can confirm that there has been no impact whatsoever on the quality or safety of any products manufactured at our Silentnight Group sites. While we have now resumed manufacturing, there is likely to be some disruption in the short term."

Startup Simba Sleep, which sells memory foam mattress online, told Business Insider it too had carried out checks to ensure its customers are safe. 

Production was immediately stopped at Simba's UK and Polish factories when news of the chemical scare broke and all of Simba's foams were re-tested. The company concluded it is in the clear.

BASF said that the foam posed no risk for consumers. "BASF has come to the conclusion that, even at the highest load on mattresses with DCB after the accident at the BASF plant in Ludwigshafen, there is no risk for consumers of these products."

James Cox, cofounder of Simba, said: "At Simba, we take our quality control incredibly seriously. We consistently work with our producers to ensure we enforce the very best procedures throughout the manufacturing process.

"As such, we can guarantee that the foam we use to make our products has not been affected by the defective TDI supplied by BASF's Ludwigshafen factory that has affected the wider industry."

Furniture retailer DFS declined to comment when contacted by Business Insider on the issue.

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Bitcoin is now valued at more than $5,000 a coin, DJI releases a new interchangeable lens series for drones, Google gets rid of the Home Mini touch function and Hyperloop One takes on big investment from Virgin and renames to Virgin Hyperloop One. All this on Crunch Report! Read More

China announced today that it would sell $2 billion in government bonds denominated in US dollars. The offering will be China’s largest dollar-bond sale ever. The last time China sold dollar-bonds was in 2004.

Investors around the globe are eager to hand China their US dollars, in exchange for a somewhat higher yield. The 10-year US Treasury yield is currently 2.34%. The 10-year yield on similar Chinese sovereign debt is 3.67%.

Credit downgrade, no problem. In September, Standard & Poor’s downgraded China’s debt (to A+) for the first time in 19 years, on worries that the borrowing binge in China will continue, and that this growing mountain of debt will make it harder for China to handle a financial shock, such as a banking crisis.

Moody’s had already downgraded China in May (to A1) for the first time in 30 years. “The downgrade reflects Moody’s expectation that China’s financial strength will erode somewhat over the coming years, with economy-wide debt continuing to rise as potential growth slows,” it said.

These downgrades put Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s on the same page with Fitch, which had downgraded China in 2013.

But the Chinese Government doesn’t exactly need dollars. On October 9th, it reported that foreign exchange reserves – including $1.15 trillion in US Treasuries, according the US Treasury Department – rose to $3.11 trillion at the end of September, an 11-month high, as its crackdown on capital flight is bearing fruit (via Trading Economics):

So why does China want these $2 billion in US dollars? For one, they’re still cheap, given the low yield, which is expected to rise as the Fed has started to unwind QE. And two, China might be interested in creating a benchmark for dollar-bond trading in China that could help set prices for Chinese corporate debt denominated in dollars. And there’s a lot of it.

Other emerging market governments and companies have jumped on the same dollar-bandwagon. Among them Tajikistan. It sold $500 million of 10-year bonds in September, its first foreign currency bond sale ever. S&P rated the bonds B-, six notches into junk, one of the lowest sovereign bond ratings out there. Yet at a yield of 7.125%, there was strong demand from European and US investors.

“Investors are very bullish on bonds from emerging markets and very keen to diversify into new names,” Peter Charles, a Citibank managing director who handled the bond sale, told the Wall Street Journal.

In June, even the Maldives, a minuscule nation of atolls in the Indian Ocean, was able to sell $200 million in five-year bonds with a 7% coupon.

In total, emerging market governments and companies have issued $509 billion in dollar-denominated bonds so far this year, a new record. Dollar-denominated junk bond issuance in the developing world has hit a record $221 billion so far this year, up 60% from the total for the entire year 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal:

Investors’ thirst for income is enabling governments and companies in some of the world’s poorest countries to sell debt at lower and lower interest rates.

Buyers reason that the debt pays a healthy yield and carries few immediate risks. The global economy appears robust and emerging-market defaults are low. Bankers say they expect emerging markets to sell tens of billions of dollars in new junk bonds by year-end.

The euphoria is worrying some investors, who warn that frenzied buying of risky assets sometimes presages market turning points. The average yield on speculative-grade corporate bonds in emerging markets dropped to 5.53% late last week, the lowest on record, according to J.P. Morgan. Two years ago, that yield was over 9%.

In previous times of market stress and economic weakness, junk bonds and emerging-market debt were among the asset classes that suffered sharp price declines as investors dumped riskier holdings for safer ones. The recent tightening in spreads raises questions about whether investors are getting adequately paid for the risk they are taking on.

Total dollar-denominated debt owed by governments and non-bank corporations outside the US has risen to a new record of $10.7 trillion, according to the Bank for International Settlements’ last Quarterly Review, cited by Krishen Rangasamy, Senior Economist at the National Bank of Canada, Economic Analysis. In the Emerging Markets, dollar denominated debt amounted to $3.4 trillion:

Dollar denominated debt owed by governments and non-bank corporations in advanced economies with currencies other than the dollar has reached 26% of their GDP, nearly three times the level of the year 2000.

Borrowing in foreign currencies increases the default risks. When the dollar rises against the currency that the borrower uses – which is a constant issue with many emerging market currencies that have much higher inflation rates than the US – borrowers can find it impossible to service their dollar-denominated debts. And when these economies or corporate cash flows slow down, central banks in these countries cannot print dollars to bail out their governments and largest companies. Financial crises have been made of this material, including the Asian Financial Crisis and the Tequila Crisis in Mexico.

But today, none of this matters. What matters are yield-chasing investors that, after years of zero-interest-rate-policy brainwashing by central banks, can no longer see any risks at all. And the dollar remains the foreign currency of choice.

Betting against the dollar remains a favorite sport.

SEE ALSO: Traders are cranking up bets against the nation's biggest wine company as California wildfires rage

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The head of digital currency research at the People's Bank of China offered up new critiques of bitcoin today, arguing it will never pass muster as a currency.

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