Coin News

The post Ethereum Price Cracks $1,000 as Crypto Markets Surpass $750 Billion appeared first on CCN

The cryptocurrency market cap achieved a new all-time high on Thursday, briefly rising above $770 billion amidst a widespread altcoin rally. The ethereum price rode this wave across the $1,000 threshold, while the ripple price appears determined to extend what has been a remarkable rally. After entering the day at $683 billion, the cryptocurrency market

The post Ethereum Price Cracks $1,000 as Crypto Markets Surpass $750 Billion appeared first on CCN

The post Ethereum Price Cracks $1,000 as Crypto Markets Surpass $750 Billion appeared first on CCN

The cryptocurrency market cap achieved a new all-time high on Thursday, briefly rising above $770 billion amidst a widespread altcoin rally. The ethereum price rode this wave across the $1,000 threshold, while the ripple price appears determined to extend what has been a remarkable rally. After entering the day at $683 billion, the cryptocurrency market

The post Ethereum Price Cracks $1,000 as Crypto Markets Surpass $750 Billion appeared first on CCN

In a blog post, Coinbase announced it would not be adding any new tokens to its exchange, putting to rest rumors that XRP was a candidate for listing.

• Kevin McPartland, the head of research for market structure and technology at Greenwich Associates, a consultancy, outlined the ten trends that'll define markets in 2018.
• According to McPartland, 2018 will be the year in which digital descends upon the markets. 
• He sees banks paying more attention to crypto, data becoming more important, and more regulatory changes.

2017 was politically strange, economically strong and eerily calm. President Trump attempted to govern the U.S. in ways never before seen and often hard to imagine. Britain seemed to second-guess their choice to leave the EU while carrying on negotiating the exit. Asset prices around the world continued to rise, prompting bubble fears despite generally supportive fundamentals (for those assets with fundamentals, unlike Bitcoin).

Even with the first real nuclear threat since the Cold War, markets have remained oddly calm, with volatility and volume remaining depressingly low,particularly for those who make money only when markets move. Heading into 2018, dreams of volatility will continue, and watching interest rates rise will be like watching grass grow.

While both will be key factors on every market participant’s dashboard, neither is really a trend—just business as usual. Regulatory change will enter the spotlight again this year, and the importance of data and analytics will be highlighted along with it. Both will impact trading venues, investors, dealers, and those that support them.

With that, these are our top 10 market structure trends to watch in 2018:

Regulators get things done, Congress does not

Despite high expectations and lots of promises, Congress has yet to deliver much meaningful change. While the President and the congressional majority are of the same party on paper, interpretations of the details have made consensus elusive. The same dynamics make it hard to predict if Congress will enact any meaningful capital markets legislation, especially given the higher priority of health care and immigration reform.

However, many changes proposed by the U.S. Treasury do not require Congress, and with the CFTC and SEC working their way back up to full staff, real change by the end of this year is likely. The usual process of comment periods and Federal Register publishing will still be required, but by the end of 2018, the world of swaps trading will shed some overly prescriptive rules, while equities markets will see some unproductive rules unwound.

MiFID II soft launches

You’re probably thinking, “It’s not a soft launch—MiFID II is the law of the land now!” That is technically true, of course. And for better or worse, even though the SEC has provided U.S. firms with “no-action relief” from some European rules, Europe’s regulators don’t have the no-action relief lever that U.S. regulators became so fond of using as they implemented Dodd-Frank. However, MiFID II is so wide-reaching and impactful, it is unreasonable to think European regulators can or will crack down on imperfect compliance as the year gets underway.

That is not to imply the majority of market participants, especially if measured by the appropriate market-share statistics, won’t be ready to go. The potential for a public-relations headache is enough to motivate true best-efforts compliance. But we should expect some short-term hiccups that include some counterparties not interacting with one another because of incomplete processes or legal work, non-European firms opting to interact with other non-European firms, and manual work-arounds involving junior staff where technology isn’t yet built. Unfortunately for compliance operations and technology teams, more late nights are still to come, as they work to transform the current “Let’s make sure we’re compliant” implementations into permanent, enterprise-grade installations.

Active investing is still huge, but passive keeps growing

Over three-quarters of investable assets are still with active managers, equal to $30 trillion. Beating the market is hard, but investors continue to vote with their portfolios, offering active managers the chance to try.

However, the $4 trillion in passively managed funds today would have all been with those active managers not too many years ago, and the money seems to be flowing in only one direction. There is a limit here. If enough money passively tracks a set of indices, then the opportunities for alpha in active management will become too hard to resist and a balance will be struck.

However, Greenwich Associates research in 2017 found that most portfolio managers see 40% of assets in passive as the limit, compared to today’s 22%—that is a huge opportunity for growth. Lastly, passive investing is somewhat of a misnomer. Truly passive portfolios wouldn’t need fund managers, which clearly isn’t the case. While reducing tracking error isn’t stock picking, it is a pretty marketable job skill nonetheless.

Meanwhile, the SEC and a North American securities regulation group warned investors about risks of cryptocurrency products.

Stocks finished up on Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 25,000 points for the first time in history. 

Here’s how the markets stand with one day left in the first trading week of 2018:

• Dow: 25,069.40 (+0.59%)
• S&P 500: 2,724.31 (+0.41%)
• Nasdaq: 7,077.91 (+0.18%)

What happened:

1. Tesla shares took a hit after the company reported fourth-quarter Model 3 deliveries that missed estimates by a mile. 
2. AMD was up as panic over a central processing unit security flaw sent investors out of Intel and into the rival chipmaker.
3. Macy's raised its guidance after a solid holiday season, but shares still sunk. 
4. Sears said it would close an additional 103 stores. Here's the full list.

In other news…

• There's a new biggest bull on Wall Street now that Trump has signed tax cuts into law.
• A $9 billion robo-adviser going all in on automation just landed $75 million.
• The scorching-hot stock market is on pace to do something that's never been seen before.
• Investors once seen at risk of extinction are mounting a huge comeback.

SEE ALSO: Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why bitcoin checks all the boxes of a bubble

Stocks finished up on Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed 25,000 points for the first time in history. 

Here’s how the markets stand with one day left in the first trading week of 2018:

• Dow: 25,069.40 (+0.59%)
• S&P 500: 2,722.79 (+0.36%)
• Nasdaq: 7,077.91 (+0.18%)

What happened:

1. Tesla shares took a hit after the company reported fourth-quarter Model 3 deliveries that missed estimates by a mile. 
2. AMD was up as panic over a central processing unit security flaw sent investors out of Intel and into the chipmaker.
3. Macy's raised its guidance after a solid holiday season, but shares still sunk. 
4. Sears said it would close an additional 103 stores. Here's the full list. 

In other news…

• There's a new biggest bull on Wall Street now that Trump has signed tax cuts into law.
• A $9 billion robo-adviser going all in on automation just landed $75 million.
• The scorching-hot stock market is on pace to do something that's never been seen before.
• Investors once seen at risk of extinction are mounting a huge comeback.

SEE ALSO: Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why bitcoin checks all the boxes of a bubble

Meet Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen.

• Luxury real estate broker Leonard Steinberg has sold over $3 billion worth of New York real estate.
• But Uber and Lyft, Steinberg says, are changing where wealthy people buy homes in the city.
• He said it's because luxury buyers can use ride-sharing to get from place to place without losing out on productivity.

Since 2001, Leonard Steinberg, real estate broker and a president at Compass, has been selling homes to New York City's richest residents.

Steinberg has over $3 billion in transactions under his belt. His largest sale to date was on a Tribeca townhouse that sold for $43 million. In 2009, he worked on the $32 million deal for Dolce & Gabbana designer Domenico Dolce's 11th Avenue penthouse.

We recently spent a day with Steinberg, and when we asked what New York City neighborhood was currently the most popular among buyers, he had a surprising answer.

"Buyers have become more and more neighborhood agnostic than at any other time in history," he said. "[A buyer] will look at an apartment in SoHo, Hudson Yards, Upper East Side, and Tribeca."

The reason? Steinberg accredits ride-hailing apps such as Uber, Lyft, and Juno for this shift in mindset.

"Today, in our Uber-tech world — I [can be] in the back of a car with my iPhone, and I'm not losing out on anything. That has changed [commutes] dramatically. Your commute time is not lost productivity," he said.

"Time is the last luxury. If you can not lose time, you can live in many places," he said. 

SEE ALSO: A day in the life of a power real estate broker who sells penthouses worth millions

DON'T MISS: Nobody wants to buy this $79.5 million Upper East Side mansion that costs $240,000 a year in taxes

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A certified financial planner explains just how risky of an investment bitcoin is

Ripple has a complicated relationship with its native cryptocurrency XRP, one that critics contend many recent buyers of the token may not understand.

• Robo-adviser Wealthfront landed $75 million in a new fundraising round, the company announced Thursday.
• Tiger Global Management, the New York-based investing firm, is leading the fundraise.
• Wealthfront will use the cash to enhance its Path tool and continue to attract younger investors to its purely automated platform.

Tiger Global Management is making a big bet on a California investing startup.

Wealthfront, a robo-adviser with more than $9 billion under its management, announced Thursday that Tiger Global, the New York investment firm, would lead a $75 million fundraising round. The firm, which declined to share its valuation with Business Insider, was founded in 2011, counts Benchmark Capital, DAG Ventures, and Greylock Partners among its investors.

Wealthfront plans to use the new capital to enhance its Path platform, which allows users to view all of their financial accounts.

"Path's appeal to young people propelled our growth such that people under 45 now represent 85% of our clients," chief executive Andy Rachleff said in a statement. "We believe our success with this group is based on our unique ability to optimize and automate our clients' personal finances."

Wealthfront has adamantly held on to its belief that the future of financial advice is in automation. Unlike fellow robo-adviser Betterment and incumbent rivals such as Charles Schwab, Wealthfront has remained a pure robo without human advisers.

"A software only approach specifically appeals to a younger demographic, and we have embraced that," Rachleff told Business Insider during a recent visit to New York.

"Whereas the rest of the industry, as Wayne Gretzky would say, is skating to where the puck is, not where it is going to be," he added.

That laser focus was part of the appeal for Tiger Global.

"Wealthfront's exclusively software-based model gives the company a superior approach to capture the younger, fast-growing market of investors," said Lee Fixel, a partner at Tiger Global Management, in a press release. "We're excited to support continued growth of the business and help Wealthfront become to the Millennial generation what Charles Schwab is to Baby Boomers."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 5 issues to consider before trading bitcoin futures

The post Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen Might Be the 8th Richest Person in the World appeared first on CCN

The recent ripple price surge has undoubtedly made many investors quite wealthy. On Thursday, the global average ripple price rose to an all-time high of $3.84, meaning that a hypothetical $1,000 investment made on Jan. 1, 2017, would now be worth more than $600,000. No one, however, has benefited more than Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen,

The post Ripple Co-Founder Chris Larsen Might Be the 8th Richest Person in the World appeared first on CCN

The post Bitcoin Price Analysis: Bitcoin Poised for a Potentially Large Market Move appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

The post Contrary to Many “Analysts,” Billionaire Peter Thiel is Optimistic for Bitcoin appeared first on CCN

Peter Thiel, the billionaire entrepreneur and venture capitalist, and his VC firm Founders Fund have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin, as CCN previously reported. Analysts Worried The investment of Thiel in the cryptocurrency came after the negative short-term predictions in regards to the price trend of bitcoin provided by many analysts. Another

The post Contrary to Many “Analysts,” Billionaire Peter Thiel is Optimistic for Bitcoin appeared first on CCN

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.

Heading into 2017, the eulogy for good old-fashioned stock pickers had been all but written.

Robo-advisors and passive strategies were supposed to put them out of commission. And matters weren't helped much as volatility hovered close to the lowest levels on record, sapping the market of the price swings so crucial for active managers to prove their bonafides.

But then something unexpected happened — the stock pickers fought back. Here's our story. 

In other news, the scorching-hot stock market is on pace to do something that's never been seen before. And there's a new biggest bull on Wall Street now that Trump has signed tax cuts into law. And the Fed says it could speed up rate hikes because of Trump's tax cuts.

In finance news, the three partners of a boutique London M&A firm made £63 million between them last year.

In crypto news, Ripple’s XRP hit an all-time high, sending its cofounder's wealth soaring. And the blockchain "name game" is just getting started — and it echoes dot-com mania.

In other news, Tesla missed badly on Model 3 delivery expectations for the fourth quarter, delivering only 1,550 vehicles. Here's what you need to know: 

• Tesla's Model 3 deliveries were awful — but the company still set a sales record for 2017
• Tesla just slashed in half its Model 3 production target for the first quarter
• Wall Street is making excuses for Tesla's Model 3 problem — and it could backfire this year

Lastly, Trump's tax overhaul has slowed Manhattan's real estate market even before going into full effect.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We talked to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman about tax reform, Trump, and bitcoin

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.

Heading into 2017, the eulogy for good old-fashioned stock pickers had been all but written.

Robo-advisors and passive strategies were supposed to put them out of commission. And matters weren't helped much as volatility hovered close to the lowest levels on record, sapping the market of the price swings so crucial for active managers to prove their bonafides.

But then something unexpected happened — the stock pickers fought back. Here's our story. 

In other news, the scorching-hot stock market is on pace to do something that's never been seen before. And there's a new biggest bull on Wall Street now that Trump has signed tax cuts into law. And the Fed says it could speed up rate hikes because of Trump's tax cuts.

In finance news, the three partners of a boutique London M&A firm made £63 million between them last year.

In crypto news, Ripple’s XRP hit an all-time high, sending its cofounder's wealth soaring. And the blockchain "name game" is just getting started — and it echoes dot-com mania.

In other news, Tesla missed badly on Model 3 delivery expectations for the fourth quarter, delivering only 1,550 vehicles. Here's what you need to know: 

• Tesla's Model 3 deliveries were awful — but the company still set a sales record for 2017
• Tesla just slashed in half its Model 3 production target for the first quarter
• Wall Street is making excuses for Tesla's Model 3 problem — and it could backfire this year

Lastly, Trump's tax overhaul has slowed Manhattan's real estate market even before going into full effect.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We talked to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman about tax reform, Trump, and bitcoin

Alternative cryptocurrencies have seen a notably boost, though those that are grabbing the most news don't necessarily have the largest recent gains.

• UBS' Keith Parker raised his year-end target for the S&P 500 to 3,150 from 2,900, citing the passage of the Republican tax plan. 
• His forecast is the highest among strategists at major Wall Street firms. 
• He expects the lower corporate tax rate to lift corporate profits by 7% this year.

UBS' head of US equity strategy has raised his bullish view on the stock market now that the Republican tax plan has become law.

Parker increased his year-end S&P 500 target to 3,150 from 2,900, and has the highest forecast among strategists at major firms. His forecast is about 16% higher than where the index opened at an all-time high on Thursday, three trading days into the new year. In his most optimistic scenario, Parker sees the market going up to 3,330, by 22%.

"Positive economic data as measured by data surprise indices has supported much of the recent return for US equities, as earnings revision ratios for 2017 EPS (i.e. ex tax) have been very positive and are the strongest since 2010," Parker said in a note on Thursday.

"However, the index also appears to be pricing in more of the tax bill than it was in mid-December."

Parker estimates that the S&P 500 has priced in 60%-70% of the tax cut impact, based on how it's traded since he released his previous outlook on November 14. 

He forecast that the lower corporate tax rate would lift company earnings by 7.2%, excluding the effect of limits on interest deductibility. And just like the tax repatriation holiday of 2004, Parker expects companies to do heavy buybacks and acquisitions, which should also support earnings per share growth.

SEE ALSO: Here's what 12 Wall Street pros are predicting for the stock market in 2018

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Bitcoin can be a bubble and still change the world

• A security flaw in central processing units has sent AMD shares soaring and Intel's plummeting.
• AMD's chips do not have all the problems Intel is facing, but they are affected by some of the same issues.
• Watch AMD's stock price move in real time here.

AMD is up another 5.45% on Thursday as panic over a central processing unit security flaw sent investors out of Intel and into AMD.

Initially, AMD told users its chips were not subject to the same sort of attacks as Intel's chips, but the company has since updated its stance to say its chips are only affected by some of the announced hacks. Engineers at Google originally detected the flaw and wrote in a blog post Wednesday it could affect Intel, AMD, and ARM chips.

The flaw Google discovered has to do with how programs talk to a computer's hardware. Software patches have been released for many operating systems, but the updates could slow systems by as much as 30% according to some reports.

Intel's chips have been the main focus of the CPU flaws, and the company's shares have fallen as much as 9% since the news broke on Wednesday morning. AMD shares have risen 15.3% in the same time frame and maintained their gains despite the company saying its chips also contain the flaws to a degree.

Intel said future processors won't have the flaw, which is unlikely to affect future product launch timings. Credit Suisse released a note on Thursday suggesting people were making "mountains from molehills" of the whole issue. The firm didn't think that the flaws should materially affect the companies involved.

Read more about Cowen's declaration here.

SEE ALSO: CREDIT SUISSE: People are making 'mountains from molehills' over Intel's security flaw

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why bitcoin checks all the boxes of a bubble

The post R3’s Lawsuit Against Ripple is Now Worth $19 Billion appeared first on CCN

The value of a legal dispute involving US-based fintech startups R3 and Ripple has ballooned to nearly $20 billion on the heels of a breakneck rally that has launched ripple’s market cap past $140 billion. As CCN reported last September, R3 and Ripple filed dueling lawsuits regarding a contract dispute that arose after the dissolution

The post R3’s Lawsuit Against Ripple is Now Worth $19 Billion appeared first on CCN

• The number of public companies adding "blockchain" to their name, or announcing a pivot to blockchain technologies, will surge in 2018, says Autonomous Research.
• The firm's forecast is based on a comparison to the dot-com bubble, which saw a similar phenomenon as companies tried to ride the Internet wave.

You'd think an iced tea manufacturer adding "blockchain" to its name would mark the absolute apex of companies rebranding to ride surging interest in cryptocurrencies.

That's not the case, says one research firm, which sees the trend only just getting started.

There will be more than 100 instances of companies changing their titles in 2018, up from 31 in 2017, according to an analysis conducted by Autonomous Research. The firm's forecast is based on the similarly overwhelming number of corporate name changes seen during the dot-com bubble, when a large number of companies were trying to ride the Internet wave to quick stock gains.

In turn, Autonomous' findings are based on a 2002 academic study that looked at so-called dot-com "name gaming" and found that 126 companies altered their titles in 1999, a massive increase over just 13 in 1998. The chart below reflects that explosion of name changes in year T+1, or 1999.

You'll note, however, that the number of dot-com-branded companies dropped by roughly 30 just two years later — something that should give bitcoin bandwagoners pause. According to the 2002 report, the tech bubble "bust period" weeded out the true Internet companies, so it's entirely possible that some alleged blockchain corporations will find themselves back-tracking in due time.

But with that potential reckoning far in the future, investors with exposure to these stocks have made a killing. In 2017, newly-branded blockchain companies surged 265%, dwarfing the 118% windfall seen from dot-com enthusiasts nearly two decades ago.

Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox>>

SEE ALSO: 7 companies whose stocks surged — then slumped — after jumping on the crypto bandwagon

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How the sale of Qdoba will impact Chipotle's future

However, regulators in China reportedly plan to withdraw preferential benefits such as tax deductions and cheap electricity available to mining firms.

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

Ripple's XRP has been on a tear for the past month, skyrocketing to the number-two spot behind bitcoin with a market cap of $139 billion — potentially making its cofounder a billionaire. 

Here are the standings as of Thursday morning:

• Bitcoin (BTC): $14,621.47 (-3.91%)
• Ripple (XRP): $3.029 (+11.05%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $987.33 (+5.00%)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCC): $2,373.26 (-6.74%)

What's happening:

• XRP hit an all-time high of $3.315 per token early Thursday. There’s a lot of misinformation about the cryptocurrency’s market cap and the value of Ripple, the company behind it.
• Merrill Lynch has barred its clients and financial advisors from buying bitcoin, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Bitcoin is in a tricky legal situation in India — it's not banned, but the government has made known its discomfort with the cryptocurrency. 
• Finally, a Swedish blockchain guru explains why bitcoin cash is no cure-all for bitcoin problems. 

SEE ALSO: The global cryptocurrency hit a new record high above $700 billion

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The chief global strategist at Charles Schwab says stocks will keep soaring in 2018

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

Ripple's XRP has been on a tear for the past month, skyrocketing to the number-two spot behind bitcoin with a market cap of $139 billion — potentially making its cofounder a billionaire. 

Here are the standings as of Thursday morning:

• Bitcoin (BTC): $14,621.47 (-3.91%)
• Ripple (XRP): $3.029 (+11.05%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $987.33 (+5.00%)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCC): $2,373.26 (-6.74%)

What's happening:

• XRP hit an all-time high of $3.315 per token early Thursday. There’s a lot of misinformation about the cryptocurrency’s market cap and the value of Ripple, the company behind it.
• Merrill Lynch has barred its clients and financial advisors from buying bitcoin, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Bitcoin is in a tricky legal situation in India — it's not banned, but the government has made known its discomfort with the cryptocurrency. 
• Finally, a Swedish blockchain guru explains why bitcoin cash is no cure-all for bitcoin problems. 

SEE ALSO: The global cryptocurrency hit a new record high above $700 billion

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The chief global strategist at Charles Schwab says stocks will keep soaring in 2018

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

Ripple's XRP has been on a tear for the past month, skyrocketing to the number-two spot behind bitcoin with a market cap of $139 billion — potentially making its cofounder a billionaire. 

Here are the standings as of Thursday morning:

• Bitcoin (BTC): $14,621.47 (-3.91%)
• Ripple (XRP): $3.029 (+11.05%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $987.33 (+5.00%)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCC): $2,373.26 (-6.74%)

What's happening:

• XRP hit an all-time high of $3.315 per token early Thursday. There’s a lot of misinformation about the cryptocurrency’s market cap and the value of Ripple, the company behind it.
• Merrill Lynch has barred its clients and financial advisors from buying bitcoin, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Bitcoin is in a tricky legal situation in India — it's not banned, but the government has made known its discomfort with the cryptocurrency. 
• Finally, a Swedish blockchain guru explains why bitcoin cash is no cure-all for bitcoin problems. 

SEE ALSO: The global cryptocurrency hit a new record high above $700 billion

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Nobel Prize-winning economist says Trump's tax plan won't crash the economy

Welcome to Crypto Insider, Business Insider’s roundup of all the bitcoin and cryptocurrency news you need to know today. Sign up here to get this email delivered direct to your inbox.

Ripple's XRP has been on a tear for the past month, skyrocketing to the number-two spot behind bitcoin with a market cap of $139 billion — potentially making its cofounder a billionaire. 

Here are the standings as of Thursday morning:

• Bitcoin (BTC): $14,621.47 (-3.91%)
• Ripple (XRP): $3.029 (+11.05%)
• Ethereum (ETH): $987.33 (+5.00%)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCC): $2,373.26 (-6.74%)

What's happening:

• XRP hit an all-time high of $3.315 per token early Thursday. There’s a lot of misinformation about the cryptocurrency’s market cap and the value of Ripple, the company behind it.
• Merrill Lynch has barred its clients and financial advisors from buying bitcoin, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• Bitcoin is in a tricky legal situation in India — it's not banned, but the government has made known its discomfort with the cryptocurrency. 
• Finally, a Swedish blockchain guru explains why bitcoin cash is no cure-all for bitcoin problems. 

SEE ALSO: The global cryptocurrency hit a new record high above $700 billion

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A Nobel Prize-winning economist says Trump's tax plan won't crash the economy

The post China’s Biggest Newspaper Calls Bitcoin a Bubble appeared first on CCN

The People's Daily seemingly summarizes China's bitcoin aversion

The post China’s Biggest Newspaper Calls Bitcoin a Bubble appeared first on CCN

• Flaws in the central processing units of many manufacturers rocked the computing world on Wednesday.
• Credit Suisse says the flaws really aren't a big deal because there are already patches, and the issue will be eliminated with future hardware.
• Watch Intel's stock trade in real time here.

Intel's central processing units have a major security flaw that requires all operating systems to be patched and could slow down systems by as much as 30%. But it's not really a big deal, Credit Suisse said on Thursday.

John Pitzer, an analyst at Credit Suisse, had four main reasons for thinking that everyone is making "mountains from molehills" regarding the Intel chip flaw. 

1. Hackers could potentially see sensitive information, but can't change it.
2. Google, which originally discovered the flaw, said that it impacts more than just Intel CPUs.
3. It will soon be patched with software and eliminated in new hardware.
4. It is not expected to change Intel's timing of new products.

The chip flaw was originally discovered by Google engineers and has to do with a problem in the CPU hardware. The flaw allows hackers to exploit how programs talk to the computer hardware to extract sensitive information stored in the system memory.

The flaw affects Intel CPUs produced over the last decade and would affect any computer using the chips, regardless of operating system. Google informed Intel and other chip manufacturers of the flaw months ago, and programmers have been working to patch the flaw since then.

Intel's stock slumped on Wednesday after the news was reported, while rival AMD's share soared. Pitzer said that while Intel's chips are perhaps the most vulnerable, parts of the flaw also exist in ARM and AMD chips.

Pitzer is neutral Intel because he thinks it's expensive. His price target of $42 is just below its current price of $43.19. 

Intel shares are down 5.09% at $42.97 on Thursday and have fallen 7.75% since the news broke on Wednesday. 

Read about how Intel's CEO sold shares in the company after learning about the security flaw.

SEE ALSO: Intel was aware of the chip vulnerability when its CEO sold off $24 million in company stock

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: Bitcoin mania, a Nobel Prize-winning economist talks Trump, and a deep dive on unstoppable tech stocks

• US Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to roll back rules that paved the way for states to legalize marijuana, AP reported Thursday.
• Cannabis-related stocks took major hits after the news, falling as much as 35%. 

Marijuana stocks slumped after the Associated Press reported Thursday that US Attorney General Jeff Sessions plans to roll back Obama-era federal policies that paved the way for states to legalize marijuana, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. He is expected to announce the policy shift later Thursday.

Several of the largest cannabis growers and other marijuana-related stocks took a hit in trading Thursday, reversing gains earlier in the week from California’s full legalization of recreational marijuana.

• Terra Tech, the largest US pot stock with a $407 million market cap, was down 35% on the news.
• Cannabis Science was also down 35% on the news.
• Medical Marijuana Inc was down 22.74% on the news.
• Canopy Growth, the largest Canadian marijuana stock, was trading down about 9%.
• Aurora Cannabis plummeted 13% on the news and was trading down roughly 8% mid-morning.

The new policy is expected to allow US attorneys in individual states to decide how to enforce federal marijuana laws in their borders, reversing a 2013 policy memo stating that the federal government wouldn't interfere with states legalizing marijuana, AP reported.

Sessions has previously touted marijuana as a “gateway drug," saying it could lead to use of much more harmful drugs. This has been debunked by numerous scientific studies.

Recreational marijuana is projected to bring in $1 billion in tax revenue from the eight states, plus Washington DC, that have legalized it so far.

SEE ALSO: Sessions is losing the war on weed in Nevada

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what bitcoin futures could mean for the price of bitcoin

The post Ethereum Price Hits Historic $1,000 Milestone, Eyes $100 Billion Market Cap appeared first on CCN

The ethereum price crossed $1,000 on Thursday, marking yet another historic milestone for the third-largest cryptocurrency. Ethereum Price Rips Past $1,000 Only four days have been marked off on the calendar, but January has already been a banner month for the altcoin markets. In this brief span, the combined value of altcoin market caps has

The post Ethereum Price Hits Historic $1,000 Milestone, Eyes $100 Billion Market Cap appeared first on CCN

• Snap shares lower after the company was downgraded by Cowen on Thursday.
• The company ranks last in a number of important categories to ad buyers, like user targeting and return on investment.
• Watch Snap trade in real time here.

Snap shares are falling, down 3.79% at $14.82 apiece, after Cowen released a downgrade of the company on Thursday morning.

John Blackledge, an analyst at Cowen, released the results of his team's survey of 50 senior ad buyers, and the big was that 96% of would prefer to buy ads on Instagram instead of Snapchat. Because of this, Blackledge downgraded Snap to "underperform" from "market perform," and set a price target of $11. That's 26% below the company's current share price.

When Blackledge asked the ad buyers to rank social media platforms by important metrics like return on investment, user targeting, and campaign measurement, Snap ranked last in every category.

The survey results come as Snap is working on rolling out its biggest redesign ever, which more clearly splits content from users' friends from celebrities and brands. The redesign was planned to debut on December 4, but has yet to hit all phones.

The redesign also introduces an algorithmically sorted feed that hopes to increase engagement, and add new ad spots in the app. Snapchat's users are still highly engaged, spending an average of 38 minutes a day on the platform.

Blackledge said that some of the ad buying disconnects come from the tendency for Snapchat to be more of a sharing platform, while Instagram users tend to view the platform as a place to consume content.

Snap is currently trading at 12% below its $17 IPO price.

Read more about the planned redesign here.

SEE ALSO: Snapchat's biggest redesign ever is planned for December 4 — here's how it will work

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why bitcoin checks all the boxes of a bubble

• XRP, a cryptocurrency by Ripple, reached new highs on Thursday.
• The digital tokens have risen astronomically since last year, making its cofounder a multi-millionaire, provided he could sell his stake. 
• It's important to distinguish the value to XRP from the value of its controlling company, Ripple. 

XRP, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, hit an all time high of $3.317 per unit just before 8am Thursday. 

The huge jump in value — up more than 1300% since December — has made multimillionaires out of the lucky few who own massive amounts of the cryptocurrency.

Chris Larsen, who cofounded Ripple Labs (now just known as Ripple) in 2012, owns 5.19 billion XRP, or 13% of the total XRP in circulation, the company told Business Insider on Tuesday. At Thursday’s exchange rate, that stake is worth $16 billion — provided he could find a way to sell any or all of his holdings.

Some crypto fanatics on Twitter have said Larsen could be the richest man in the world, even ahead of Bill Gates. None of the calculations could be confirmed by Business Insider. Still, the tweets have gained traction with hundreds of retweets.

Larsen, who could not be reached for comment, also owns a 17% stake in Ripple, the company behind XRP, the company confirmed Tuesday. The company has raised $93.6 million in funding over nine rounds to date, according to CrunchBase.

"It would be helpful to think of Ripple as a corporation,” Ripple’s vice president of product, Asheesh Birla, told Business Insider on Wednesday. “We make software products and we sell them to banks, payment providers, like MoneyGram just as an example, and then corporates. XRP ledger is a standalone decentralized product, and the primary use-cases are around digital assets."

XRP currently has a market cap of $143 billion, making it the second-largest digital currency behind bitcoin. The decentralized ledger for XRP was created and is maintained by Ripple, which is also holding 54 billion of the currency in escrow to “provide predictability about XRP supply,” it said last month.

XRP is up 16.91% Thursday and is currently trading at 3.1839, according to Markets Insider data.

Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox>>

SEE ALSO: Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what bitcoin futures could mean for the price of bitcoin

• XRP, a cryptocurrency by Ripple, reached new highs on Thursday.
• The digital tokens have risen astronomically since last year, making its cofounder a multi-millionaire, provided he could sell his stake. 
• It's important to distinguish the value to XRP from the value of its controlling company, Ripple. 

XRP, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, hit an all time high of $3.317 per unit just before 8am Thursday. 

The huge jump in value — up more than 1300% since December — has made multimillionaires out of the lucky few who own massive amounts of the cryptocurrency.

Chris Larsen, who cofounded Ripple Labs (now just known as Ripple) in 2012, owns 5.19 billion XRP, or 13% of the total XRP in circulation, the company told Business Insider on Tuesday. At Thursday’s exchange rate, that stake is worth $16 billion — provided he could find a way to sell any or all of his holdings.

Some crypto fanatics on Twitter have said Larsen could be the richest man in the world, even ahead of Bill Gates. None of the calculations could be confirmed by Business Insider. Still, the tweets have gained traction with hundreds of retweets.

Larsen, who could not be reached for comment, also owns a 17% stake in Ripple, the company behind XRP, the company confirmed Tuesday. The company has raised $93.6 million in funding over nine rounds to date, according to CrunchBase.

"It would be helpful to think of Ripple as a corporation,” Ripple’s vice president of product, Asheesh Birla, told Business Insider on Wednesday. “We make software products and we sell them to banks, payment providers, like MoneyGram just as an example, and then corporates. XRP ledger is a standalone decentralized product, and the primary use-cases are around digital assets."

XRP currently has a market cap of $143 billion, making it the second-largest digital currency behind bitcoin. The decentralized ledger for XRP was created and is maintained by Ripple, which is also holding 54 billion of the currency in escrow to “provide predictability about XRP supply,” it said last month.

XRP is up 16.91% Thursday and is currently trading at 3.1839, according to Markets Insider data.

Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox>>

SEE ALSO: Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what bitcoin futures could mean for the price of bitcoin

Exchange and wallet startup Coinbase has taken to reminding its customers to pay taxes due on their cryptocurrency gains.

• After so much was made of their potential decline, active managers rebounded in 2017, posting their best performance in four years.
• US stock pickers were aided by low pair-wise correlations, which reflected the degree to which equities performed independently of one another last year.

Heading into 2017, the eulogy for good old-fashioned stock pickers had been all but written.

Robo-advisors and passive strategies were supposed to put them out of commission. And matters weren't helped much as volatility hovered close to the lowest levels on record, sapping the market of the price swings so crucial for active managers to prove their bonafides.

But then something unexpected happened — the stock pickers fought back. Almost 50% of US active equity funds beat their benchmarks in 2017, the highest percentage since 2013, according to data compiled by Credit Suisse.

The firm also saw a similar recovery when assessing those funds on a longer-term trailing basis. That has Credit Suisse thinking the dip in active performance was temporary, rather than a signal the entire stock-picking industry is failing.

"The rolling three-year relative performance trend was extremely weak heading into 2017," analyst Craig Siegenthaler wrote in a client note. "But it has started to reverse in 2017 which is hopefully the end of a bad cyclical
period for active equity managers."

Stock pickers got a huge boost from historically low pair-wise correlations between stocks in major indexes — a measure that reflects the degree to which they trade in tandem. For the benchmark S&P 500, the measure sits at its lowest since 1994, while companies in the Russell 2000 gauge of small-cap stocks are trading the most independently since the tech bubble, according to BAML data.

However, just because active managers are experiencing a renaissance of sorts doesn't mean they're out of the woods yet. After all, Credit Suisse expects passive investment vehicles like exchange-traded funds to make up half of the stock market by 2020. That likely means stock pickers will have to adapt to survive — something that the data suggests they were able to do last year.

SEE ALSO: The scorching-hot stock market is about to do something that's never been seen before

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: Bitcoin mania, a Nobel Prize-winning economist talks Trump, and a deep dive on unstoppable tech stocks

• Macy's announced comparable sales rose 1.1% during November and December and raised its 2017 adjusted earnings-per-share guidance.
• The retailer announced it was closing more stores and taking a one-time charge of $0.33.
• Shares are slipping on the news.

Macy's is slipping ahead of Thursday's opening bell, down 1.74% at $24.90, despite the company posting positive comparable sales for the holiday season and raising its annual guidance. 

The retailer said comparable sales rose 1.1% versus a year ago for the November and December period and raised its full-year 2017 adjusted earnings-per-share guidance to a range between $3.59 and $3.69. 

"Macy’s had a solid holiday shopping season, and we are pleased that our November/December performance resulted in positive comp sales for the period, setting us up for a positive fourth quarter," CEO Jeff Gennette said in the release. “We intend to close the fourth quarter in a good position and head into 2018 with momentum.”

But the news wasn't all good. The company announced the closure of 11 stores, for which it expects to take a one-time charge of $160 million, or $0.33 a share. Macy's has shut a total of 124 stores since 2015. 

It also said it expects comparable sales to fall between 2% and 2.3% and total sales to slide 3.6% to 3.9% for fiscal 2017. 

Shares of Macy's fell 28% last year.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what bitcoin futures could mean for the price of bitcoin

The post The KWATT Coin Tokenized Electricity appeared first on CCN

This is a submitted sponsored story. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the content below. 2017 has been a record breaking, awe inspiring rollercoaster ride for cryptocurrency valuations with over 2000% valuation increases. With all the hype and global attention on Bitcoin and

The post The KWATT Coin Tokenized Electricity appeared first on CCN

The post War of the Words: How to Improve Public Understanding of Blockchain Technology appeared first on CCN

This is a submitted sponsored story. CCN urges readers to conduct their own research with due diligence into the company, product or service mentioned in the content below. It certainly is a curious case, how Bitcoin has come to be one of the most talked about economic trends of 2017. Yet if you were to ask

The post War of the Words: How to Improve Public Understanding of Blockchain Technology appeared first on CCN

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

• Intel is continuing to slide after a critical security flaw was reported in many of its chips.
• US stock markets are ticking higher on Thursday.
• Gold is sliding from three-month highs.

Here's Lutz:

Good Morning, and Happy Blizzard Thursday! 30,000 without Power, while 2800 flights have been cancelled so far. Be safe out there! US Futures are ticking higher slightly, but plenty of moves under the surface with all eyes on allocations from INTC to AMD, and the continuing squeeze in retail with JCP up another 5%. A strong rally in Europe, with the Dax up 1% led by Industrials and Fins, and the FTSE 100 Fresh records despite Sterling hitting September highs. Retailers are retreating after yesterday’s NEXT surge as Debenhams Headers outweigh those from Aldi. Oil Majors loving Brent upside $68, While other Commodity equities continue to follow suit. Asia due north on Strong Caixin China services PMI and Japanese Manufacturing Data - Nikkei rips 3.2% on first day of trading in 2018 while Topix hits 27Y highs - Hang Seng adds 65bp - Shanghai adds 50bp – Aussie added small, All of EM Asia closed ~50bp higher – while Korea was a standout, with the KOSPI getting hit for 80bp after opening well bid.

Ahead of NFP tomorrow, strong global PMI data continues to propel Yields higher, with the US 10YY up 2bp early. Keep an eye on the 2YY, ripping towards 2% as Traders pricing in a March hike as a done deal. Strong Euro Services PMI has Euro bouncing from $1.20, but keep an eye on the $/Y getting rejected from 112/80 – yesterday’s highs. Ore up 1.4% overnight and Copper up 1.5% on the LME, but we have Gold retreating from 3M highs. A Big API Draw last night has the Oil complex well bid despite headers Saudi cutting prices to the States as they tackle the Texas Wildcatters. Natty continues to frustrate weather-watchers, getting rejected from $3 as higher Oil prices mean more surplus in Gas stocks.

Here are the 10 things you need to know today.

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

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: PAUL KRUGMAN: Bitcoin is a more obvious bubble than housing was

Tesla shares are sliding ahead of Thursday's opening bell, down 5.44% at $300, after the company reported fourth-quarter Model 3 deliveries that missed estimates by a mile. 

The electric-car maker said it delivered 1,550 Model 3 sedans in the fourth quarter, a bit more than half of the 2,917 that Wall Street analysts were expecting. Tesla produced 2,425 sedans during the period.  

That number fell well short of Elon Musk's promise of producing 20,000 Model 3 sedans per month beginning in December. "Looks like we can reach 20,000 Model 3 cars per month in Dec," Musk tweeted back in January. 

Thursday's drop is a welcome sign for traders who have been loading up on bets against Tesla. Short interest in Tesla has climbed by $6 million, or 22%, in the three months leading up to announcement amid mounting concerns over the delivery numbers and as traders use recent high flyers hedge against the broader market. 

Traders will now turn their attention to the the company's fourth-quarter results, which are due out on February 21.

Tesla shares gained 45% in 2017.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why bitcoin checks all the boxes of a bubble

The post Rocketing Ripple Puts Founders and CEO Among the World’s Richest People appeared first on CCN

The value of the cryptocurrency ecosystem skyrocketed in 2017, with various cryptocurrencies surpassing 1,000% gains. Ripple’s XRP token, for example, was worth about $0,006 in the beginning of 2017 and is currently trading at $3.76. The 60,000% rise helped Ripple become the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market cap, and is now valued at over $140 billion. … Continued

The post Rocketing Ripple Puts Founders and CEO Among the World’s Richest People appeared first on CCN

• Amazon could underperform its retail peers, Bernstein said in a note listing possible 2018 surprises.
• It’s a heavily owned stock, with an expensive valuation, which could impact its ability to outperform.

Amazon had a stellar 2017. The stock rose 55% during the year, fueled by ever-increasing earnings and the high-profile buyout of Whole Foods.

But such a great year could be setting Amazon up for a less-than-stellar 2018, Bernstein warns.

"In 2017, most retailers felt the pain of Amazon’s dominance, and investors watched as the rest of the retail sector barely squeaked out positive performance. The consensus is that this pattern continues in 2018 and rewards Amazon with another year outperforming retail peers. But could the market be surprised?" the firm wrote in a note highlighting possible 2018 surprises. 

“The success certain [electronics and luxury] retailers are having should at some point be more widely recognized. Coupled with the already high level of ownership and lofty valuation, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Amazon underperform these other retailers next year.”

Amazon is one of the most popular stocks for both retail investors and institutional holders alike. Bank of America said this week that the stock is one of the most overowned on Wall Street, with a relative weight of 1.77 and 50.5% of actively managed funds holding shares. It’s also the most popular stock on Stockpile, an app that lets users — most of which are millennials — buy fractional shares of expensive companies.

To be sure, Wall Street consensus is that Amazon still has plenty of room to run. Analysts polled by Bloomberg have an average price target of $1,298 — that’s another 11% above Wednesday afternoon's share price of $1,169. Bernstein declined to disclose its own price target for the Amazon.

"We are by no means implying that these events are likely, and they are certainly not our base case forecast," Bernstein said.

"But we constantly think about these and other surprises in our “what-if” scenarios, knowing that the market tends to throw curve balls. Keeping potential unexpected events in mind helps ensure we are not left staring like a deer in headlights."

SEE ALSO: Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what bitcoin futures could mean for the price of bitcoin

• Amazon could underperform its retail peers, Bernstein said in a note listing possible 2018 surprises.
• It’s a heavily owned stock, with an expensive valuation, which could impact its ability to outperform.

Amazon had a stellar 2017. The stock rose 55% during the year, fueled by ever-increasing earnings and the high-profile buyout of Whole Foods.

But such a great year could be setting Amazon up for a less-than-stellar 2018, Bernstein warns.

"In 2017, most retailers felt the pain of Amazon’s dominance, and investors watched as the rest of the retail sector barely squeaked out positive performance. The consensus is that this pattern continues in 2018 and rewards Amazon with another year outperforming retail peers. But could the market be surprised?" the firm wrote in a note highlighting possible 2018 surprises. 

“The success certain [electronics and luxury] retailers are having should at some point be more widely recognized. Coupled with the already high level of ownership and lofty valuation, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Amazon underperform these other retailers next year.”

Amazon is one of the most popular stocks for both retail investors and institutional holders alike. Bank of America said this week that the stock is one of the most overowned on Wall Street, with a relative weight of 1.77 and 50.5% of actively managed funds holding shares. It’s also the most popular stock on Stockpile, an app that lets users — most of which are millennials — buy fractional shares of expensive companies.

To be sure, Wall Street consensus is that Amazon still has plenty of room to run. Analysts polled by Bloomberg have an average price target of $1,298 — that’s another 11% above Wednesday afternoon's share price of $1,169. Bernstein declined to disclose its own price target for the Amazon.

"We are by no means implying that these events are likely, and they are certainly not our base case forecast," Bernstein said.

"But we constantly think about these and other surprises in our “what-if” scenarios, knowing that the market tends to throw curve balls. Keeping potential unexpected events in mind helps ensure we are not left staring like a deer in headlights."

SEE ALSO: Sign up for Crypto Insider to get the most important updates on all things crypto delivered straight to your inbox.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: THE BOTTOM LINE: Bitcoin mania, a Nobel Prize-winning economist talks Trump, and a deep dive on unstoppable tech stocks

• In public appearances Prince William is nearly always seen holding George's hand, while Kate looks after Charlotte.
• A parent expert has a theory it's to prepare George for his role as future king.
• Business Insider put her theory to royal experts to see what they had to say.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are some of the most down-to-earth royals we've ever seen, yet in some ways they appear firmly traditional.

Ever wondered why in photos Prince William is always holding George's hand, while Kate holds Charlotte? Relationship expert Jasmine Peters has a theory that it's all part of preparing George for his role as future king.

She told The Daily Mail: "Fathers are typically responsible for the disciplinary actions, redirection, protection, and provision of the family.

"It is not uncommon to see a father with his son to set the foundation of what his role and responsibilities will be in life with a family. It is often believed that it takes a man to raise a boy to be a man. If you look at the pictures it clearly reflects this common belief."

In order to test the theory, Business Insider spoke to two royal commentators.

Robert Jobson, a royal expert and author behind the No.1 bestseller "Diana: Closely Guarded Secret," told BI:

"Every parent raises their child in his or her way. It usually comes down to the relationship between the individual child and parent as to who takes the lead in a particular relationship. But in William and George’s case it may be different.

"William, after all, is the only person — apart from the Queen and Prince Charles — on the planet who knows what it’s like to be the direct heir in line to the British throne and only he knows what is expected of him.

"Therefore, perhaps it makes sense he takes the lead in that particular relationship when in public."

As you delve back through the photo archive, you can certainly see a pattern emerging.

William Hanson, a British manners and etiquette coach who often comments on royal protocol, told Business Insider: "Whether the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have knowingly chosen to look after their children in public in this way is unknown, but it is certainly a nice, subtle nod to the lineage and line of succession that is key to the British royal family."

SEE ALSO: These adorable photos show Prince George on his first day at the £18,000-a-year prep school where the most important rule is to 'be kind'

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We talked to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman about tax reform, Trump, and bitcoin

The post Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Bans Clients from Bitcoin Fund appeared first on CCN

Bank of America’s brokerage arm Merrill Lynch has barred clients and their financial advisers from participating in bitcoin investments. The Wall Street Journal, upon reviewing an internal memo by Merrill Lynch, reports that the brokerage arm has specifically highlighted Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust, a open-ended trust fund directly invested in the world’s first cryptocurrency. The

The post Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch Bans Clients from Bitcoin Fund appeared first on CCN

Bitcoin has come under pressure today amid sharp gains in alternative currencies, but the charts are showing no signs of panic.

• The S&P 500 has gone 382 days without a 5% pullback, and it's now just over two weeks away from establishing a new record streak.
• US stocks have been aided throughout the almost nine-year bull market by a buy-the-dip mentality that's conditioned investors to add to exposure on weakness.

The stock market is on the brink of history.

Sure, the S&P 500 has made history on a seemingly weekly basis as it's hit new record highs, but this unprecedented feat is about longevity. The index has gone 382 days without a 5% pullback, putting it just over two weeks away from the longest streak on record, dating back to 1929, according to Goldman Sachs data.

That US stocks are at the precipice of such a prolonged stretch of strength speaks to the resilience of the ongoing bull market, which will turn nine years old in early March and is already the second-longest on record. At the core of the ongoing rally has been a "buy the dip" mentality, which involves adding to bullish positions whenever stocks drop.

It's a tactic that's been crucial for the near-record streak as a healthy undercurrent of pessimism has led to minor pullbacks, which have then in turn been used by bulls to fatten their existing positions. In fact, it's been so effective that investors are now embracing brief rough patches, says Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

"Investors no longer fear shocks but love them," a group of strategists led by Nitin Saksena wrote in a recent client note. "Since 2013, central banks have stepped in — or communicated that they may step in — to protect markets, leaving investors confident enough to buy the dip."

Of course, no rally can be considered legitimate without concrete reasons for traders to buy more stocks. In the case of the current streak without a 5% dip, US equities have benefited greatly from six straight quarters of earnings growth, which followed a multi-quarter profit recession.

Add that earnings expansion to a gradually improving economy and continued monetary accommodation from global central banks and you have a combination of factors ideal for supporting an unprecedented run of gains.

And that bullish outlook matches up with Wall Street expectations. According to the median 2018 price target, strategists expect the S&P 500 to climb 5.2% from current levels to 2,855 by year-end.

SEE ALSO: JEFFERIES: There's an unorthodox way for traders to protect against big stock market losses

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's what bitcoin futures could mean for the price of bitcoin

The post Ripple Price Surges 35%, Hits $141 Billion Market Cap appeared first on CCN

The Ripple price, which many investors claimed could not increase further after reaching $3, has demonstrated yet another 33.8 percent surge over the past 24 hours, as the market valuation of Ripple surpassed $141 billion. Meteoric Rise Over the past seven days, the market valuation of Ripple has risen from $52 billion to $141 billion,

The post Ripple Price Surges 35%, Hits $141 Billion Market Cap appeared first on CCN

Merrill Lynch, the brokerage arm of Bank of America, has blocked financial advisers and clients from trading in bitcoin-related investments.

• Nationwide: London was the worst area in the UK property in 2017.
• Average prices fell by 0.5% in the capital, compared to growth of 2.6% nationally.
• West Midlands was the fastest-growing property hotspot, with prices climbing by 5.2%.
• Nationwide forecasts UK house price growth of just 1% in 2018.

LONDON — London house prices fell for the first time in eight years in 2017, according to new data from Nationwide.

The capital was the weakest performing region across the UK last year for the first time since 2004, with average house prices falling by 0.5% in London. It was the only region to record a fall in prices.

Jonathan Samuels, CEO of the property lender Octane Capital, said: "London, without doubt, has been a victim of its own success. Prices reached absurd highs and it is now paying for its irrational exuberance."

Property agents Savills reported earlier this week that it is seeing price declines of as much as 4% in residential areas of South West London such as Battersea, Clapham, Wandsworth, Fulham, and Richmond.

The best performing region for house price growth last year was the West Midlands, where prices rose by 5.2%. It is the first time since Nationwide began its survey in 1974 that the West Midlands has topped the leaderboard.

Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, said: "For the first time in nearly a decade, the North-South divide has been reversed. London’s sliding prices held back southern England as a whole and allowed price growth in the North to come out on top."

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said in a statement: "The significant disparity in house prices across the UK has been a recurring theme in recent years. In this respect, 2017 saw the beginnings of a shift, as rates of house price growth in the south of England moderated towards those prevailing in the rest of the country."

But while the geography of price growth has shifted dramatically over the last year, London remains the least affordable region in the UK for first time buyers. The average price in the capital stands at £470,922, compared to just £182,861 in the fast-growing West Midlands. Scotland and Wales are the most affordable.

A more granular analysis of house price growth published by Halifax earlier this week also found that Cheltenham in the South West of the UK was the best performing town for house price growth in 2017. Halifax said average prices grew by 13% there.

Growth of just 1% in 2018

Nationally, house price growth slowed dramatically. Annual price growth in 2017 was 2.6%, compared to 4.5% in 2016. The average house price in the UK now stands at £211,156.

Gardener said: "Low mortgage rates and healthy employment growth continued to support demand in 2017, while supply constraints provided support for house prices.

"However, this was offset by mounting pressure on household incomes, which exerted an increasing drag on consumer confidence as the year progressed."

Nationwide is forecasting national house price growth of just 1% in 2o18. Gardener said: "How the housing market performs in 2018 will be determined in large part by developments in the wider economy. Brexit developments will remain important, though these remain hard to foresee."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: We talked to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman about tax reform, Trump, and bitcoin

The post China Isn’t Shutting Down Bitcoin Miners: Report appeared first on CCN

Chinese authorities’ ‘crackdown’ on bitcoin miners will not see them banned and will instead focus on removing their preferential treatment in local provinces. Chinese publication Ciaxin is reporting that, contrary to rumors on Wednesday, Chinese authorities haven’t asked bitcoin miners to shut down their operations in the country. China is home to nearly two-thirds of

The post China Isn’t Shutting Down Bitcoin Miners: Report appeared first on CCN

• The pound could climb as high as 1.53 against the dollar in 2018, according to ING's Viraj Patel.
• Patel believes that if the UK and EU are able to strike a transition deal for Brexit early in the year, and UK economic data holds up, then 2018 will be a good year for the currency.
• A rise to $1.53 would represent a rise of 13% from current levels and the highest level for sterling since before the Brexit vote.

LONDON — The pound is set for a stellar 2018 and could end the year being worth more than it was prior to the Brexit vote in 2016, according to Viraj Patel, an FX strategist with Dutch lender ING.

A combination of factors could contribute to a major appreciation in sterling over the next 12 months, with the currency possibly gaining as much as 11% from its current level against the dollar to trade as high as $1.53.

That would represent its highest level since the Brexit vote, and be around 3.5% higher than the pound was the day before the referendum.

"The conviction is for cable at $1.40 based on a one-off positive reappraisal of the U.K. economic story and BOE," Patel said in comments cited by Bloomberg.

"Then we’d expect some stability in the $1.40s, before late-cycle dollar weakness takes cable back toward the $1.50 level."

Effectively Patel believes that if the UK and EU are able to strike a transition deal for Brexit early in the year, and UK economic data holds up, then 2018 will be a good year for the currency, especially when it is likely that the dollar will struggle during 2018, exacerbating the pound's gains.

"We look for GBP to be one of the primary beneficiaries of reduced policy uncertainty – at least in the early part of 2018. Approval to proceed to Phase II of Brexit should prompt a brief re-rating of the UK economic cycle," according to an overview of ING's currency forecasts for 2018 by Chris Turner, ING's head of currency.

"Politicians moving away from seeking to protect their own domestic interest (the Prisoner's Dilemma scenario) – and slowly moving towards a mutual agreement – is unambiguously positive for GBP," Patel wrote back in December.

"For example, while agreeing a ‘divorce bill’ has little economic significance for the price of GBP, the political significance of progress in Brexit talks is quite profound – not least as it reduces the tail risk of a 'No Deal' scenario and a complete breakdown in negotiations,"

While Patel is more positive than most on the pound's likely progress in 2018, his approach is pretty similar to most forecasters this year.

In a survey of 11 analysts and strategists by Business Insider at the end of 2017, most held similar views on sterling — namely that the pound's fortunes are set to be inextricably linked with how Brexit negotiations progress as the year goes on.

As one economist put it: "Good news, sterling goes up. Bad news, sterling goes down."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 5 issues to consider before trading bitcoin futures

The head of one of Japan's largest bitcoin exchanges looks back at 2017, a year he believes the country became a true market leader for the industry.

• Top executives at FTSE 100 companies will earn more in the first three working days of 2018 than the typical UK worker will earn all year, according to new analysis.
• The day has been dubbed "Fat Cat Thursday," and draws attention to the large pay gap between what CEOs and ordinary workers are paid.
• Although executive pay fell between 2015 and 2016, CEOs still took home 120 times that of the average worker.

LONDON — On the first Thursday of 2018, the average FTSE 100 CEO will already have earned more money than the typical UK worker will earn all year.

Top executives will earn more than ordinary workers in only three working days, according to analysis by think tank The High Pay Centre and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), prompting January 4, 2018, to be dubbed "Fat Cat Thursday."

FTSE 100 CEOs were paid a median of £3.45 million per year in 2016, a modest fall from £3.97 million in 2015 — but still 120 times the median UK salary of £28,758.

"To ensure this year's fall in CEO remuneration isn't just a blip on the consistently upward trend of recent years, it's crucial that the government keeps high pay and corporate governance reform high on its agenda," said Peter Cheese, CEO of the CIPD.

"We need a significant re-think on how and why we reward CEOs," he said.

In December, a new public register was published that details those companies where more than 20% of shareholders rebelled against resolutions, the most common concern relating to executive pay. Sports Direct, Sky and Morrisons were just some of the well known British companies named.

The move came as part of Prime Minister Theresa May's crackdown on sky-high level of executive pay, one of her campaign promises, which she has described as representing the "unacceptable face of capitalism." New legislation will also require around 900 listed companies to annually publish and justify the pay ration between CEOs and their average worker, which was welcomed by Thursday's report.

The highest paid CEO in the analysis in 2016 was advertising firm WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell, who took home £48.1 million, down from £70 million in 2015. His pay packet dwarfed even the executive in second place, travel company Carnival's Arnold Donald, who took home £22.4 million. 

Stefan Stern, director of the High Pay Centre, said pay gaps between top executives and the rest of the workforce were "still grossly excessive and unjustifiable." 

In November, 71% of Sports Direct shareholders voted against a proposal to pay founder Mike Ashley's brother John Ashley an £11 million back payment, while 33% of Thomas Cook shareholders voted against plans to award CEO Peter Frankhauser a bonus of up to 225% of his basic salary.

In a 2015 survey of more than 1,000 working adults, the CIPD found 71% agreed that CEO pay levels in the UK were generally too high, and 60% agreed such high pay demotivated employees.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 5 issues to consider before trading bitcoin futures

• Three partners of M&A boutique Robey Warshaw shared profits of more than £63 million, according to latest accounts.
• Profits up by around 75% on the previous year after bagging roles on series of huge takeover deals.
• Partner with the biggest share made £37 million.

LONDON – The three partners of Robey Warshaw, a Mayfair-based M&A advisory firm, shared a profit pool of £63.3 million ($85.2 million) last year, according to accounts filed on Wednesday.

The firm brought in £72.7 million in revenue in the year ended March 31, 2017, an increase of around 70% on the previous year, after scoring roles on a series of huge takeover deals. The firm advised Reckitt Benckiser on its $17 billion offer for baby-formula maker Mead Johnson Nutrition, among others.

Robey Warshaw paid out £8.9 million in salaries to just 13 members of staff, giving an average pay packet of £684,000.

The firm was set up by senior trio Sir Simon Robey, Simon Warshaw, and Philip Apostolides in 2013. The three partners do not draw salaries but instead take a slice of the profits. The highest earner took home £37.3 million last year, according to the accounts, which is more than the firm's total profit of £36.6 million in 2016. 

The boutique is growing fee revenue rapidly. It earned £23.9 million in the year ended March 31, 2015, according to accounts filed in 2016. Robey Warshaw looks set to continue its stunning form, earning a place in the top 10 M&A boutiques in the world last year.

Former Morgan Stanley and UBS bankers Sir Simon Robey and Simon Warshaw advised on at least four mega-deals worth a total of $67 billion (£54.1 million) in 2016, the period captured by the latest accounts, against a backdrop of a cooling M&A market, according to figures from Dealogic.

Robey Warshaw did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 5 issues to consider before trading bitcoin futures

• Debenhams sales fell 1.3% over Christmas and the total value of sales decreased 0.8%.
• CEO blames "challenging" market and increased discounting at rivals.
• Department store had to cut prices to keep up and profits this year will suffer as a result.
• Stock opens down 18% on the news.

LONDON — Debenhams issued a profit warning on Thursday, blaming the UK's "volatile and competitive" retail market.

Shares in the retailer crashed as much as 18% in London after news of the weak festive trading.

The department store said that sales fell over the crucial Christmas trading period. CEO Sergio Bucher blamed increased discounting by rivals and said efforts to compete will hit profit margins this year.

Debenhams said in a trading update that:

• Sales fell 1.3% in the 17 weeks to December 30;
• The total value of sales over that period fell 0.8% over the same time;
• Sales fell 1.8% when you strip out the impact of currency fluctuations in the period;
• UK sales fell 2.3%, while international sales rose by 2.1%;
• Digital sales rose by 9.9%.

Debenhams said: "The early weeks of the quarter were disappointing as the market remained volatile and competitive."

The retailer "took tactical promotional action to improve our performance," which it said improved things in the run-up to Christmas, but it admitted: "The first week of post-Christmas Sale was below expectations despite further markdown investment, particularly in the highly seasonal Gift category."

Debenhams warned investors that margins are set to be 150 basis points below last year as a result of the discounting. The company said it was ramping up cost-saving measures, with an additional £10 million of savings to be made.

Debenhams said pre-tax profit for the year ahead is now likely to be between £55 million and £65 million, potentially below last year's figure of £59 million. Independent retail analyst Nick Bubb said market consensus ahead of the update was a pre-tax profit of around £83 million for the year.

The department store's share price crashed as much as 18% at the open in London:CEO Sergio Bucher said in a statement:

"The market has been challenging and particularly promotional in some of our key seasonal categories and we have responded in order to remain competitive for our customers, which has impacted our profit performance.

"Nevertheless, we are seeing positive early signs from the changes we have made as part of our Debenhams Redesigned strategy. The market dynamics we have seen have reinforced our view that we need to move even faster to implement the cultural and organisational changes needed to ensure Debenhams is in the best possible shape for today's fast-changing retail environment."

High Street stalwart Debenhams has been struggling for several years, amid a wider decline in physical retailing in the UK and a rise in online competition. Bucher was brought in from Amazon in May 2016 to try and turn around the company's fortunes. He has focused on beefing up Debenhams digital operations and focused on selling beauty products.

Debenhams' Christmas numbers compare unfavourably to Next, which reported better-than-expected numbers on Wednesday.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The 5 issues to consider before trading bitcoin futures

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

1. Silicon Valley is abuzz about "Meltdown" and "Spectre" — new ways for hackers to attack Intel, AMD, and ARM processors that were first discovered by Google last year, and publicly disclosed Wednesday. Between them, the vulnerabilities threaten almost all PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, regardless of manufacturer or operating system.

2. Spotify, the music streaming company, has filed paperwork to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, in an indication that it is pressing on with a unique plan to go public. The Financial Times reports that the popular music service could be the first large, well-known market debut of 2018, after a rebound in initial public offering activity last year.

3. US stocks finished up on Wednesday, as Fed chair Janet Yellen warned that the recently passed Republican tax reform package could cause the central bank to raise interest rates more quickly than previously signalled. The Dow closed up 0.37% at 24,916, the S&P 500 ended up 0.61% at 2,712172, and the Nasdaq closed 0.84% higher at 7,065.5.

4. Asian shares scaled a 10-year high on Thursday as solid economic data from the United States and Germany reinforced investors' optimism while oil prices hovered at a two-and-a-half year high with unrest in Iran stoking supply disruption concerns. Japan's Nikkei closed up 2.95% in its first trading session of 2018, while the Hong Kong Hang Seng shares index is up 0.53% at the time of writing (6.35 a.m. GMT/1.35 a.m. ET) and China's Shanghai Composite is up 0.30%.

5. Data on Europe's service sector is coming. IHS Markit will release services PMI data for December starting at 8.15 a.m. GMT (3.15 a.m. ET). The data will cover Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the UK, and the Eurozone as a whole. We'll also get estimates of overall economic growth for Germany, France, and the Eurozone in December.

6. Consumer credit and mortgage figures are coming from the Bank of England. The central bank, which has expressed concern about the level of borrowing in the UK, will publish the latest stats at 9.30 a.m. GMT (4.30 a.m. ET). Consumer credit for November is forecast to rise slightly to £1.5 billion.

7. Poundland has secured up to £180 million of independent financing that will reduce its reliance on its troubled South African owner Steinhoff International after bumper Christmas trading. The Guardian reports that Pepkor Europe — the European owner of Poundland, the Pep&Co clothing business, and two other chains — has arranged a two-year loan facility from US investment firm Davidson Kempner Capital Management.

8. Tesla is cutting in half its Model 3 production target for the first quarter of 2018. Tesla says it will build 2,500 Model 3 vehicles per week by the end of Q1 2018, and hit 5,000 per week by the end of Q2.

9. XRP, the cryptocurrency made by Ripple, continued its explosive tear Wednesday afternoon, surging above $3 for the first time. The digital currency is trading up 12.9% against the dollar at $3.07 at the time of writing (6.23 a.m. GMT/1.23 a.m. ET).

10. Barclays analysts believe that millions of Apple customers could opt for a battery replacement over a new iPhone, proving costly for Apple. Apple started offering $29 in-store battery replacements last week in an apologetic move after the company revealed that an older battery could actually make an iPhone run slower.

Join the conversation about this story »

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

The post Asian Market Update – Thursday: Litecoin Leads the Way Lower; Asian Stocks Extend New Years’ Rally appeared first on CCN

The post Asian Market Update – Thursday: Litecoin Leads the Way Lower; Asian Stocks Extend New Years’ Rally appeared first on CCN