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The events of the year took many investors by surprise and made the task of predicting bitcoin's price that much harder. The crypto market was awash with pundits making feverish calls about where bitcoin was heading next. When asked about his $250,000 target earlier this month, the Draper Associates founder told CNBC $250,000 "is still my number" — but he's extending his prediction by six months. The entrepreneur says he's also done making bitcoin price predictions. Buehler said lack of risk management in the crypto industry, missing regulation and fraud have also been major factors affecting prices.

☆ Bank of Japan makes surprise policy tweak
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

ATUSHI TAKEDA, CHIEF ECONOMIST, ITOCHU ECONOMIC RESEARCH, TOKYO:"Today's move reflects the BOJ's determination not to alter its yield cure control policy. CAROL KONG, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY:"I think the move was certainly unexpected, to say the least. MOH SIONG SIM, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, BANK OF SINGAPORE:"They've widened the band, and I guess that came earlier than expected. CHRISTOPHER WONG, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, OCBC, SINGAPORE:"The timing of the policy tweak is a surprise, though we have been expecting the move to come in 2Q 2023. "The tweak may seem modest but is significant for a central bank that has held dovish for a long time.

☆ Bank of Japan reviews yield-curve control policy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Dec 20 (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan has slightly loosened the shackles on its 10-year yield target and said it will review its yield-curve control policy, surprising financial markets and sending the yen sharply higher. However, it is only a first step and yield-curve control (YCC) remains in place, as does negative rate strategy. CAROL KONG, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SYDNEY:"I think the move was certainly unexpected, to say the least. MOH SIONG SIM, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, BANK OF SINGAPORE:"They've widened the band, and I guess that came earlier than expected. CHRISTOPHER WONG, CURRENCY STRATEGIST, OCBC, SINGAPORE:"The timing of the policy tweak is a surprise, though we have been expecting the move to come in 2Q 2023.

☆ The CEO of Coinbase says the exchange will see revenue plunge at least 50% in 2022 as turmoil weighs on crypto markets
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong expects the company's revenue to dive at least 50% in 2022. The crypto exchange cut 18% of its staff earlier this year, slashing roughly 1,200 roles. "(Armstrong) indicated that he expects Coinbase FY2022 revenue to be less than half of FY2021 revenue," the company tweeted on Wednesday. The warning comes after Coinbase cut 18% of its workforce in June, slashing around 1,200 employees. The crypto market took another hit last month, when Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX, which was once valued at $30 billion, filed for bankruptcy.

☆ Urals oil discount widens as freight rates for Russian oil jump - traders, Reuters calculations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Russian Urals oil's discount to dated Brent have widened significantly, under pressure from record high freight rates for tankers carrying Russian oil and sending sellers' revenues well below an agreed EU price cap, two traders said on Friday and Reuters calculations showed. EU governments on Friday agreed to a price cap of $60 per barrel for the Russian crude. Therefore, freight cost for this voyages went up to some $20 per barrel for India and $25 per barrel for China, according to Reuters calculations. Fearing to disrupt a yet-to-be-established mechanism, many shipowners have refrained from handling Russian oil, reducing tanker availability and driving up shipping costs on key Urals export routes. Freight rates for 80,000 Aframax class tankers on routes from Black Sea's Novorossiysk to Augusta were at the highest level since March - 475 Worldscale points.

☆ India's Reliance makes rare buy of Russian naphtha, ups fuel oil imports
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Mohi Narayan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The private refiner did not buy Russian naphtha in 2020 and 2021. Its annual imports of Russian naphtha were restricted to just one parcel in four years to 2019, the data showed. The data showed a panamax carrier Okyroe sailing towards India laden with about 59,000 tonnes of Russian naphtha. Russian naphtha is being sold at lower premiums to countries like India, two Asian naphtha traders said. FUEL OIL IMPORTS SURGEReliance, its two plants together capable of processing 1.4 million barrels of oil a day, has emerged as a key buyer of Russian oil since Moscow's February military action in Ukraine.

☆ CIOs Can Play Key Role in Guiding Companies Through Slowdown
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

The market for cloud computing, business software, artificial intelligence and other so-called enterprise technologies has been a relative bright spot. “During times of economic uncertainty, companies look for ways where technology can drive growth and create more economic value faster,” said Juan Perez, chief information officer at Salesforce Inc. When budgets are under scrutiny, companies tend to focus on short-term solutions that can drive efficiency and productivity, Salesforce’s Mr. Perez said. Companies should take this opportunity to reconsider the pace of hiring and employ freelance workers where it makes sense. Additionally, CIOs say they are looking at the opportunity to hire valuable workers who lost their jobs at other companies or renew technology contracts on more favorable terms.

☆ From $32 billion to criminal investigations: How Sam Bankman-Fried's empire vanished overnight
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +17 min

Alameda's success spurred the launch of crypto exchange FTX in the spring of 2019. A Twitter fight with the CEO of rival exchange Binance pulled the mask off the scheme. Alameda, FTX and a host of subsidiaries Bankman-Fried founded have filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. On Nov. 2, CoinDesk reported a leaked balance sheet showing that a significant amount of Alameda's assets were held in FTX's illiquid FTT token. On Nov. 6, according to Bankman-Fried, the exchange had roughly $5 billion of withdrawals, "the largest by a huge margin."

Jordan Vonderhaar | Bloomberg | Getty Imageswatch nowSaylor was speaking on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" as FTX's demise roiled the crypto market. Bitcoin tumbled 19% in December, as investors rotated into assets deemed safer in a tumultuous economy. David Marcus, former head of crypto at Facebook parent Meta , used a phrase that would soon enter the lexicon. "It's during crypto winters that the best entrepreneurs build the better companies," Marcus wrote in a Jan. 24 tweet. Ryan Gilbert, founder of fintech venture firm Launchpad Capital, said the crypto world is facing a crisis of confidence after the FTX implosion.

☆ Tech Layoffs Reflect Worsening Outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

Layoffs at ride-sharing firm Lyft Inc. and payments company Stripe Inc., as well as a pause in hiring at Amazon.com Inc., reflect a darker outlook for tech. PREVIEW“The changes that we will see going forward will be based purely on the economic drivers from the overall economy slowing down,” Mr. Kanchi said. The metaverse, NFTs, and some aspects of cryptocurrency, or those technologies which don’t have immediate monetary value, will continue to fall out of favor, Mr. Kanchi said. “The downturn has kind of started but it hasn’t hit bottom and will get bad, very quickly, likely sometime mid next year,” Mr. Chan said. He predicts that “the new Google or Uber of 2023 and 2024 will come out of this downturn.”Write to Steven Rosenbush at steven.rosenbush@wsj.com

☆ Analysis: Tech Layoffs Reflect Worsening Outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Steven Rosenbush | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

☆ Why the ultimate low in stocks not in yet, according to this market strategist
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The market has not hit its low of the cycle yet thanks to the spike in the 2-year Treasury yields and a looming recession, according to Canaccord Genuity. The S & P 500 is down more than 20% year to date, and investors have been searching for signs of a bottom in every bounce. Since 1957, the market hasn't seen the absolute bear market low before the cycle peak in the 2-year Treasury yield, he said. Also since that time, the the S & P 500 hasn't bottomed before an economic downturn began. Instead, the S & P 500 reaches bottoms out a median 23.5 weeks after the start of a recession, Dwyer said.

☆ 3 things not to do when pitching your startup to a VC, according to a partner at a $750 million crypto venture firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Marc Weinstein, a partner at VC firm Mechanism Capital, has cut 100 checks as an angel investor. The crypto venture firm grew from $500,000 to a peak AUM of $750 million in two years. But venture firms like Mechanism Capital say there are still tons of deals to be made. Founders who are 'catching the latest fad'The Mechanism Capital partner is focused on the team's backgrounds and what they've accomplished in the past. The firm, Weinstein included, looks for a certain level of consistency in their potential portfolio companies.

☆ Sterling weakens as inflation returns to 40-year highs
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Lucy Raitano | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

At 0845 GMT, the pound was down 0.4% against the dollar at $1.12750 pence , and down 0.18% versus the euro at 87.220 pence <EURGBP=D3. Wednesday's CPI data showed the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 10.1% in annual terms in September, in a new blow for households grappling with a cost-of-living crisis. The U-turn on the fiscal plans prompted traders to curb their bets on the Bank of England raising interest rates. Truss has so far defied calls for her resignation, though markets are increasingly considering the possibility of her imminent replacement. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Lucy Raitano; Editing by Andrew CawthorneOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Saudi Arabia sells $5 bln in first bond deal in almost a year
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Yousef Saba | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

DUBAI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia sold on Tuesday $5 billion in Islamic and conventional bonds for which demand topped $26.5 billion as it held its first international bond sale in almost a year. "Saudi is a fairly logical substitute for Russia and its weight in indices such as the JPMGBI (JPMorgan Government Bond Index) has been growing." Saudi Arabia's finance ministry on Tuesday also invited holders of its $3 billion bonds due in 2023, $4.5 billion notes due in April 2025, $2.5 billion bonds due in October 2025 and $5.5 billion notes maturing in 2026 to tender them for cash. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, raised $3 billion with green bonds in its debt markets debut earlier this month. Saudi Arabia raised $3.25 billion in bonds in November via sukuk and bonds, after issuing bonds worth 1.5 billion euros in February and $5 billion in January last year.

The world's biggest stablecoin, tether, saw more than $10 billion in redemptions in May, fueling fears of a 2008-style "bank run." Tether, the world's largest stablecoin, has slashed back its commercial paper holdings to zero, replacing them with U.S. Treasury bills instead, according to a blog post. There are now about 68.4 billion tether tokens in circulation, according to data from CoinMarketCap, up from 2 billion three years ago. But well before UST's dramatic implosion, Tether — the company behind the stablecoin of the same name — was facing serious regulatory backlash over its reserves. Critics have also raised fears that tether tokens were used to manipulate bitcoin prices, a claim Tether has repeatedly denied.

☆ Gunman fires at Russian draft office amid anger over Ukraine mobilization
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Yuliya-Talmazan-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Yuliya Talmazan | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

A gunman opened fire at a draft office in Russia’s Siberian region of Irkutsk on Monday amid a growing backlash against President Vladimir Putin’s chaotic efforts to mobilize more people to boost his troops in Ukraine. A video circulating online, confirmed by NBC News to have been shot in the draft office, showed people inside running for cover and screaming as the gunman fired. But Melvin said it's further evidence of Russia's disorganized mobilization drive. The unrest throughout Russia comes against the backdrop of a voting process underway in four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church has said that Russian soldiers who die in the war against Ukraine will be cleansed of their sins.

☆ A Russian man who was called up to fight in Ukraine shot an official at a local enlistment office, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian man shot the head of a local military draft committee in Siberia on Monday, reports said. A video of the incident shared online shows an official collapsing on stage after a shot rings out. The gunman was detained and the official is in critical condition, the reports said. The video shows two military officials on stage in front of a group of new recruits who had been called up to fight in the ongoing war in Ukraine, The Insider reported. Suddenly, a gunshot rings out and one of the officials collapses as everyone else runs out of the enlistment in panic, the video shows.

☆ Gunman detained after shooting at draft office in Russia's Irkutsk region
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - A gunman has been detained after opening fire at a draft office in Russia's Irkutsk region on Monday, the local governor said. The gunman, who in a video published on social media is seen identifying himself to police officers as 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin, opened fire at a draft office in the town of Ust-Ilimsk. A separate video of the shooting shows him firing at least one shot inside the draft office. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIrkutsk region Governor Igor Kobzev wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the draft office head was in hospital in a critical condition, and that the detained shooter "will absolutely be punished". Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Reuters; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Eight states announced on Monday they're bringing actions against the crypto lending platform Nexo Group in connection with its unregistered, interest-bearing cryptocurrency product. The filings also state that Nexo misrepresented the accounts, and suggested to investors that they are a licensed and registered platform. These interest earning accounts, known as "Earn Interest Product," allowed investors to deposit assets with Nexo in exchange for earning yields as high as 36% on their deposits. Celsius, which offered similar interest-bearing accounts, filed for bankruptcy this summer after freezing customer funds in June. The orders states filed further prevent Nexo from offering this product to residents until it meets the necessary registration requirements.

☆ The S&P Global exec in charge of the firm's DeFi efforts breaks down Wall Street's biggest hurdles to institutional adoption of crypto
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Chief DeFi Officer at S&P Global, Chuck Mounts, spoke at the Messari Mainnet conference on Thursday. Mounts says institutional capital will flood into crypto once there's more regulatory clarity. In recent years, Wall Street giants have made progress in offering crypto and its related products to their clients. S&P Global Ratings has followed in line with the other financial giants, who've signaled interest in crypto. In terms of policy, Mount says, these include both clear and educated regulation and legislation in crypto.

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