DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ The 10 best U.S. cities for finding a job—New York and L.A. are not on the list
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

For those seeking new job opportunities, geography could be one way to narrow the search. Personal finance company WalletHub recently looked at more than 180 cities across the country and ranked its best cities for jobs based on metrics such as job openings per job seeker and median annual incomes. Here are the top 10 cities for job search according to WalletHub. "This ensures there will be plenty of hiring opportunities for people entering the workforce," says Cassandra Happe, WalletHub analyst. 1 best U.S. city to live in is Cambridge, Massachusetts—see which other cities made the listMoving to a new city?

Persons: Cassandra Happe, Daniel Zhao Organizations: jobseekers, U.S Locations: WalletHub, Scottsdale , Arizona Tampa , Florida Salt Lake City , Utah Columbia , Maryland Austin , Texas Atlanta , Georgia Seattle, Washington Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania Plano , Texas Boston , Massachusetts Scottsdale, Tampa, Salt Lake City, Cambridge , Massachusetts, U.S

☆ China tries to halt stock market rout by boosting lending and wooing foreign investors
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has vowed to pump more money into the economy and further open its $64 trillion financial industry to international investors, as Beijing scrambles to restore confidence following a massive stock market rout. The astonishing losses, reminiscent of the last Chinese stock market crash of 2015-2016, highlight a crisis of confidence among investors concerned about the country’s future. It will allow Hong Kong banks to expand their businesses in mainland China and reduce the barriers to investing in mainland insurers. Last month, China Reform Holdings, a state-owned investment fund, announced it had bought tech-focused index funds to support the market. The brutal sell-off in Chinese stock markets has even forced some hedge fund managers to apologize for making wrong bets.

Persons: Li Yunze, “, Pan Gongsheng, Goldman Sachs, Li, ”, Lam, Li Qiang, Wang Zhao, Premier Li Qiang, Stringer, Li Bei Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Administration of Financial, People’s Bank of, Buildings, New Champions, Getty, Premier, Xinhua, Reuters, Securities Daily, Social Security Fund, China Reform Holdings, Central Huijin Investment, Shanghai Banxia Investment Management Locations: China, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, People’s Bank of China, Victoria Harbour, British, Tianjin, AFP, Central, Fuyang, China's, Anhui

☆ The 4 best industries to work in, according to Glassdoor—some jobs can pay more than $200,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

About a third, 29% want more flexible work hours, according to Monster's 2024 Work Watch Report. Job search site Glassdoor recently released its Best Places to Work report, including a list of the 100 best large companies to work for based on current and previous employee reviews. Glassdoor looked at which came up the most to decipher the best industries to work for as well. Here are their top four industries, including examples of jobs and how much they pay. TechThere were 31 tech companies on the list, crowning the industry as the best one to work for overall.

Persons: Glassdoor, Daniel Zhao, Zhao, Cassandra Happe, Booz Allen Hamilton, Fannie Mae Organizations: Workers, Tech, WalletHub, Companies, NVIDIA, Procore Technologies, VMWare, Bain & Company . Companies, McKinsey & Company, Booz, Huron Consulting Group, Bain & Company, Finance, Fidelity Investments, Mastercard, & $ Locations: Glassdoor

Details of the medical procedure were also blacked out in the letter, which noted that federal prosecutors had not consented to Zhao's request. Jones held a closed hearing on the request on Dec. 29, and denied Zhao's bid to travel, court records show. Jones earlier in December rejected another request to allow Zhao to travel to the UAE. The judge said Zhao's "enormous wealth" made him a significant flight risk. His family resides in the UAE and it appears that he has favored status in the UAE," Jones wrote in a six-page order on Dec. 7.

Persons: Zhao Changpeng, Binance, Changpeng, Richard Jones, Zhao, Judge Jones, Jones, Zhao's Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, United Arab Emirates, Jan Locations: Porte, Paris, France, U.S, Seattle, Abu Dhabi, UAE, United States

“There is no Ken without Barbie, and there is no ‘Barbie’ movie without Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie, the two people most responsible for this history-making, globally celebrated film,” Ryan Gosling said. Her first three films as a solo director — “Lady Bird,”“Little Women” and “Barbie” — have all been nominated for best picture. One likely factor: the increasingly international composition of the film academy. After Ben Affleck went unnominated for directing 2012's “Argo,” voters rallied around his movie, ultimately handing Affleck the Oscar for best picture. Whether the same effect could follow “Barbie" will be one of the biggest questions leading up the Academy Awards.

Persons: —, Barbie ”, Greta Gerwig's, Ken, Barbie, Greta Gerwig, Margot Robbie, ” Ryan Gosling, Hillary Clinton, Greta, “ Barbie, “ Oppenheimer, Jimmy Kimmel, “ Jimmy Kimmel, ”, Gosling, Robbie, Gerwig, “, Lady Bird, Kathryn Bigelow, Zhao, Jane Campion, Bird, Noah Baumbach, “ Barbie ”, Robbie didn't, ” snubs, Mary McNamara, Barbie ’, Robbie’s Barbie, Justine Triet, Palme, Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Glazer, Yorgos, — Gerwig, Alexander Payne, Lanthimos, Glazer, Celine Song's “, Shannon Watts, “ Oscar, Ben Affleck, Affleck, Oscar, Billie Jean King, Jake Coyle Organizations: Twitter, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts, Sciences, Gerwig, Los Angeles Times, ” Locations: Europe

☆ Women are making great films, but they're still getting ignored by the Academy
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Palmer Haasch | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But on a more disappointing (though not unexpected) note, only one of those women earned a nomination for best director. "Barbie," "Anatomy of a Fall," and "Past Lives" will all compete for best picture at the Oscars in March. The snubs for Greta Gerwig, who helmed the billion-dollar box-office hit "Barbie," and "Past Lives" director Celine Song are notable. Gerwig's first three solo films as a director — "Lady Bird", "Little Women," and "Barbie" — were all good enough to make the best picture cut. But to this day, only one has ever gotten her in the best director running.

Persons: —, Barbie, Justine Triet, Jonathan Glazer, Yorgos, Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese, Greta Gerwig, Celine Song, Nolan, Oscar, Lina Wertmüller, Sofia Coppola, Emerald Fennell, Kathryn Bigelow, Chloé Zhao, Jane Campion, Campion, Zhao, Selma, Sarah Polley, Ava DuVernay, Barbra Streisand, Greta Lee, Gerwig, Margot Robbie, Gerwig's Organizations: Golden Globes

☆ China opens the world's deepest and largest underground laboratory 7,800 feet below a mountain to hunt for dark matter
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

China has just opened the deepest and largest underground laboratory in the world. AdvertisementChina has opened the biggest and deepest underground laboratory in the world in a bid to uncover the secrets of dark matter. That leaves us with one overarching theory; that there is another type of matter acting on the universe, or so-called dark matter. CJPL hosts the Particle and Astrophysical Xenon Experiments (PandaX) and the China Dark Matter Experiment. "There is enough replication already," he said, adding that it may be better to try to find a new approach in the hunt for dark matter.

Persons: —, Gran, Ning Zhao, Juan Collar Organizations: Service, Gran Sasso National Laboratory, Nature News, Nature, Sanford Underground Research, Shanghai Jiao Tong, University of Chicago Locations: China, China's Sichuan Province, CJPL, Sichuan, Italy, , South Dakota, Shanghai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Illinois

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A woman charged with killing a high-profile marketing consultant and social justice advocate in film pleaded not guilty Monday. Jameelah Elena Michl, 36, entered the plea in Los Angeles Superior Court to charges of murder and burglary, with additional allegations that she used a firearm to commit the felonies. Prosecutors say she knocked on the door of the Los Angeles home of Michael Latt — then forced her way in and fatally shot him with a semi-automatic handgun on Nov. 27. Latt, 33, was a well-known consultant in Hollywood whose firm focused on social impact in film and entertainment. At the ceremony, Satter and the two directors she mentored who presented her the award, Coogler and Chloe Zhao, paid tribute to Latt.

Persons: —, Jameelah Elena Michl, Michael Latt —, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, Michl, A.V, Rockwell, Teyana Taylor, Latt, Latt’s, Michelle Satter, Oscar, Satter, Coogler, Chloe Zhao, “ Michelle, you’ve, Michael, ” Coogler, “, ” Organizations: ANGELES, Los Angeles Superior Court, Los, Prosecutors, Rockwell, Sundance, Sundance Institute Locations: Los Angeles, Latt, Hollywood

☆ With a possible cooler labor market this year, here are 4 tips for getting a job in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Zhao, Croucher, and career coach Stacey Perkins outlined four tips for job seekers in today's labor market. Make a job planPerkins, a career coach at organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry, suggested job seekers figure out a robust strategy for job searching, which doesn't mean simply submitting your résumé to many places. Perkins suggested looking at who you have a mutual connection with or identifying who you already know at the places noted on the list. AdvertisementFor people just graduating and looking for work, Croucher suggested looking for an internship first because it could be easier to get. AdvertisementBut job seekers should be picky about what they want to include.

Persons: —, Daniel Zhao, Zhao, Rebecca Croucher, Croucher, Stacey Perkins, Perkins, Korn Ferry, you've, It's, it's Organizations: Service, Business, Labor Statistics hasn't, BLS, North Locations: North America, ManpowerGroup

☆ About 1,000 Tourists Trapped in China's Xinjiang After Avalanches
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING (Reuters) - Around 1,000 tourists remain stranded in a remote holiday village after avalanches hit China's northwestern Xinjiang region with metres-high snow and fickle weather impeding evacuation, state TV reported on Tuesday. Road access to Hemu village, a scenic destination near the borders of Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia where the tourists were trapped, has been cut off by avalanches for several days now. The village is situated in Xinjiang's Altay Prefecture where continuous snowfall in some areas has lasted 10 days, it said. Snow brought by the avalanches reach as high as seven metres in some parts and in many, was higher than snow clearing equipment, CCTV said. A military helicopter scheduled to send supplies - such as flour and fuel - to Hemu village was delayed on Tuesday morning, CCTV said.

Persons: Snow, Zhao Jinsheng, Zhao, Liz Lee, Qiaoyi Li, Raju Gopalakrishnan Locations: BEIJING, Xinjiang, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, Xinjiang's Altay Prefecture, Altay, Hemu

☆ The Last Man Standing in Crypto
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-14 | by ( Vicky Ge Huang | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Brian Armstrong has become the new face of crypto. Coinbase Global, the cryptocurrency exchange he co-founded in 2012, is one of the last big digital-asset companies standing after a string of high-profile collapses and government crackdowns. Armstrong’s former rivals—FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao , who once boasted far greater influence and wealth—are either in jail or facing time behind bars.

Persons: Brian Armstrong, —, Sam Bankman, Changpeng Zhao

☆ Importers Face Surging Shipping Costs, Delays as Red Sea Diversions Pile Up
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Paul Berger | Costas Paris | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Red Sea is one of the most important shipping waterways in the world, but it’s also one of the most dangerous. Here’s how the cargo industry is responding to try and guard against attacks from the Houthis in Yemen. Illustration: Annie ZhaoWestern importers are reporting a steep rise in ocean-shipping rates and weekslong delays as carriers divert ships from the Red Sea to avoid Houthi rebel attacks. Some companies shipping goods on the crucial trade lane are starting to chafe at the rising prices and extra fees that ocean carriers are imposing for the higher cost of routing containerships on longer voyages around the Horn of Africa following drone and missile attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Persons: it’s, Annie Zhao, Houthi Locations: Yemen, of Africa

☆ A US Navy sailor handed over military secrets to China for just $15,000, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewA US Navy sailor has been fined $5,500 and sentenced to 27 months in prison for leaking military secrets to Chinese intelligence, federal prosecutors said on Monday. Prosecutors said Zhao would talk with the Chinese intelligence officer using encrypted messaging, and accused him of destroying evidence and trying to hide his communications with his handler. AdvertisementAnother US Navy sailor, Jinchao Wei, also known as Patrick, was arrested at the same time as Zhao on similar charges. She believed that the espionage would secure him a position in the Chinese Communist Party, federal prosecutors alleged.

Persons: —, Wenheng Zhao, Zhao, Thomas, Prosecutors, Larissa Knapp, Jinchao Wei, Patrick, Wei Organizations: Service, US Navy, Business, Justice Department, Federal Bureau, Investigation's National Security, Prosecutors, Chinese Communist Party Locations: Port Hueneme, Ventura County , California, Okinawa, Japan, Monterey Park , California, Essex, San Diego, Wisconsin, Washington

☆ Cryptocurrency investors eagerly awaiting SEC ruling on bitcoin ETFs
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-05 | by ( Bob Pisani | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Crypto investors are eagerly awaiting an imminent ruling from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that will likely approve the trading of a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund, more than a decade after initial attempts were rejected. 13 companies have filed for a spot bitcoin ETF:Grayscale Bitcoin TrustArk/21Shares Bitcoin TrustBitwise Bitcoin ETF TrustBlackRock Bitcoin ETF TrustVanEck Bitcoin TrustWisdomTree Bitcoin TrustValkyrie Bitcoin FundInvesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETFFidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin TrustGlobal X Bitcoin TrustHashdex Bitcoin ETFFranklin Templeton Digital Holdings TrustPando Asset Spot Bitcoin TrustHow the SEC will proceedThere are two components to the applications:1) A 19b-4 filing, which is a form used by exchanges to inform the SEC of a proposed rule change. In this case, each company filing for the spot bitcoin ETF has differences in the way the product might be structured. Invesco's Galaxy Bitcoin ETF has set its expense ratio at 59 basis points, which are waived for the initial six months and the first $5 billion in assets. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust currently charges 2% but has said it's committed to lowering the fee once its application to convert to a bitcoin ETF is approved.

Persons: Fidelity's, it's, Gary Gensler's, Gensler, Bitcoin, Coinbase, Binance, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, Wood Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, BlackRock, Fidelity, Bitcoin, Franklin Templeton Digital Holdings Trust, SEC, Securities, NYSE, Nasdaq, Galaxy, U.S ., Appeals, U.S . Department of Justice, Binance

☆ Copper could skyrocket over 75% to record highs by 2025 — brace for deficits, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-03 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Copper prices are set to soar more than 75% over the next two years amid mining supply disruptions and higher demand for the metal, fueled by the push for renewable energy. In a December report, the investment bank forecast that the higher renewable energy targets would boost copper demand by extra 4.2 million tons by 2030. This would potentially push copper prices to $15,000 a ton in 2025, the report added, way higher than the record peak of $10,730 per ton scaled in March last year. "This assumes a very soft landing in the U.S. and Europe, an earlier global growth recovery, significant China easing," Citi analysts said, while also emphasizing on continued investments in the energy transition sector. A growing economy tends to boost demand for copper, which is used in electrical equipment and industrial machinery.

Persons: Matty Zhao Organizations: U.S, BMI, Fitch Solutions, U.S . Federal Reserve, Bank of America Securities, CNBC, Citibank, Citi Locations: Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, China, Asia, Pacific, U.S, Europe

Meanwhile, there is growing excitement that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will approve the first ever bitcoin ETF, after years of opposition. With all of this excitement comes some quite bold predictions about bitcoin's price. "No rationale for that prediction," Mobius said, except that a bitcoin ETF looks likely and "that has heightened interest" in the cryptocurrency. Yang attributes the anticipated price rise to a bitcoin ETF being approved, leading to higher institutional investment in bitcoin, as well as May 2024's bitcoin halving, which would result in the bitcoin supply being constrained. Alexander told CNBC that during the first quarter of 2024, bitcoin will trade within the $40,000 to $55,000 range, owing to "professional traders creating volatility."

Persons: Filip Radwanski, Bitcoin, bitcoin, FTX, Sam Bankman, Fried, Binance's Changpeng Zhao, Mark Mobius, Mobius, Yang, Luna, James Butterfill, Butterfill, Antoni Trenchev, Trenchev, Carol Alexander, Alexander, Coinbase, Matrixport Organizations: Getty, CNBC, Department of Justice, U.S, U.S . Securities, Exchange, Chartered, University of Sussex, Exchange Commission, SEC, Fidelity, Blackrock, Federal Reserve Locations: U.S, bitcoin, Blackrock

Here's the state of play globally for crypto regulation and enforcement in 2023 — and a look at what to expect in 2024. "However, much of their work has involved providing guidance to the industry through enforcement actions," continued Levin. Crypto market participants nevertheless hope that the spate of legal challenges brought to crypto companies in 2023 will bring clarity in the form of new regulations. The U.S.'s dominant role in global finance and its focus on consumer protection plays a crucial role in its leading position in crypto regulation enforcement. The region has been increasingly warming to crypto assets, despite a broader anti-crypto push from China, which banned bitcoin trading and mining in 2021.

Persons: Al Drago, Binance, Sam Bankman, Renato Mariotti, Mariotti, Richard Levin, Nelson Mullins Riley, Levin, ada, Changpeng Zhao, Damian Williams, Brian Armstrong, Armstrong, Alyse Killeen, Scarborough's Levin, FinCEN, Killeen, Diem, USDC, Braden Perry, it's, Kennyhertz Perry, Perry, Bafin Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Bloomberg, Getty, Regulators, Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S, Alameda Research, U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, CNBC, Capitol, SEC, Futures Trading Commission, Department of Justice, Scarborough, CFTC, Protocol Labs, Southern, of, Stillmark, Meta, Visa, Mastercard, U.S ., European, IRS, European Union, EU, France's Financial Markets Authority, AMF, Treasury, Monetary Authority of, Three Arrows, Terra Labs, Terra, Hong Kong Securities, Futures Commission, SFC, OSL Locations: Washington, Europe, Asia, U.S, Alameda, of New York, European, Crypto, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Monetary Authority of Singapore, China, East, Africa

☆ Heroes to zeroes in 12 months: How the two biggest crypto billionaire CEOs proved the critics right
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-30 | by ( Mackenzie Sigalos | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Combination showing Former FTX CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried (L) and Zhao Changpeng (R), founder and chief executive officer of Binance. Meanwhile, Solana is nearly 10x higher in the last 12 months, and bitcoin miner Marathon Digital has also skyrocketed. That same year, Bankman-Fried earned street cred in crypto circles for his bitcoin arbitrage trading strategy, dubbed the Kimchi swap. The relationship between Zhao and Bankman-Fried began to sour a few months after they met. In Nov. 2022, a fight between Bankman-Fried and CZ on Twitter, now known as X, pulled the mask off the scheme.

Persons: Sam Bankman, Zhao Changpeng, Bitcoin, Solana, Binance's, Zhao, FTX's Sam Bankman, Fried, JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, bitcoin, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Elizabeth Warren, execs, Renato Mariotti, Michael Lewis, Sam, gunning, Lewis, SBF, Binance, FTX, Goldman Sachs, General Merrick Garland, Garland, Amr Alfiky Organizations: Marathon, JPMorgan, Microsoft, Capitol, Department of Justice, U.S . Justice Department's Securities, Commodities, CZ, Alameda Research, Formula, Democratic, Twitter, Emergency Economic, U.S ., Futures Trading Commission, Treasury Department, Securities, Exchange Commission, Justice Department, DOJ, Reuters Locations: Hong Kong, Singapore, Bankman, FTX, Miami, Washington, Alameda, U.S, New York City

☆ Crypto’s 2023 was marred by fraud and scandal. It was its best year ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-24 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —Crypto’s 14th year in existence was one marred by scandal, bankruptcy, fraud and regulatory squabbling. Bitcoin, the crypto’s bellwether asset, is up 160% for the year. “It was the year of crypto’s resiliency,” Kyla Curley, a crypto expert and partner at global advisory StoneTurn, tells CNN. “Fraud is fraud,” Curley says, “Regardless of the technology or the industry … you cannot stop human nature. Adding to that bullish sentiment: the bitcoin halving, or, more menacingly, “the halvening.”While it’s often a buy-the-hype-sell-the-news kind of event, the halving does tend to push bitcoin higher.

Persons: New York CNN —, “, ”, Sam Bankman, Zhao, Alex Mashinsky, Heather “ Razzlekhan ” Morgan, Ilya Lichtenstein, ‘, Bonnie, Clyde ’, Bitcoin, crypto’s, ” Kyla Curley, ” Curley, Changpeng Zhao, Eduardo Munoz, Costas Baltas, Faryar Shirzad, bitcoin, ” Antoni Trenchev, ” Trenchev, Warren Buffett, Anthony Scaramucci, “ Bitcoin Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York CNN — Crypto’s, CNN, Department of Justice, crypto’s, grifters, Bitcoiners, SkyBridge Locations: New York, SBF, Bitcoin

☆ The runway is getting clearer, but the U.S. economy still isn't assured of a soft landing
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-08 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesNovember's solid jobs report did not assure that the economy will come in for a soft landing, but it did help to clear the runway a little more. "Overall, the jobs market is doing its part to get us to a soft landing," said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at jobs rating site Glassdoor. The unemployment rate unexpectedly declined to 3.7%, easing worries that it could trigger a historically dead-on signal known as the Sahm Rule, which coordinates increases of the unemployment rate by half a percentage point to recessions. "The recession versus soft landing debate sort of misses the necessary nuances of this unique cycle," Sonders said. "A best-case scenario is not so much a soft landing, because that ship has already sailed for [some] segments.

Persons: Stephanie Keith, Daniel Zhao, nonfarm, Gus Faucher, Liz Ann Sonders, Charles Schwab, Sonders, Sanders, Schwab Organizations: Bloomberg, Getty, Labor, PNC Financial Services, PNC, University of Michigan's Locations: New York, U.S

The number of job openings fell sharply in October, to 8.7 million from a downwardly revised 9.35 million a month earlier, according to the Labor Department. The number released Tuesday was lower than economists had forecast and suggests that the labor market is slowing as the year comes to an end. “Job openings dropped to 8,733,000 in October, the lowest level since March 2021. Despite some volatile jumps/drops month-to-month, job openings have been on a downward trend since early 2022,” Daniel Zhao, lead economist and senior manager on Glassdoor’s economic research team, posted on social media. The Federal Reserve will be looking at the latest readings on the labor market as they come one week before officials meet to consider monetary policy.

Persons: ” Daniel Zhao, Jeffrey Roach, Joanie Bily, ” Bily, “, Jerome Powell Organizations: Labor Department, LPL, American Staffing Association, ” Nomura Securities, Hollywood, Government, Federal, Fed

☆ Bitcoin price hits highest level in 18 months as investors gear up for ETF approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

New York CNN —The price of bitcoin soared above $40,000 on Monday, hitting its highest level in 18 months as investors look ahead to a lower interest rate environment and key regulatory approvals that could make the crypto asset more mainstream. Bitcoin, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, was up more than 5% over the past 24 hours, trading at $41,600, according to CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin is now up 150% for the year, though it remains far from its historical high of $69,000 in November of 2021. A spot bitcoin ETF would allow traditional investors to have exposure to the digital asset without actually owning it. The market has long desired a way to ride the digital asset’s wild rallies, but its volatility has also made owning bitcoin unappealing outside of the digital asset community.

Persons: Jerome Powell, Powell, ”, Antoni Trenchev, Changpeng Zhao, Binance, FTX, Sam Bankman Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal, Securities and Exchange, SEC Locations: New York

☆ Crypto execs says the bull run is underway and could lead to $100,000 bitcoin in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"It feels that [2023]was a year to get ready for the bull run that is yet to come. But the sentiment is very hopeful for [2024] and 25," Pascal Gauthier, CEO of Ledger, told CNBC last week in an interview. Since then, the crypto industry has been hit with a litany of issues from the collapse of coins and projects to bankruptcies and criminal trials. It began with Standard Chartered last week which reiterated an April price call that bitcoin would hit $100,000 by end of 2024. "Combined with geopolitical crosscurrents, this healthy dose of monetary support should push Bitcoin to new highs in 2024."

Persons: Chino, Bitcoin, Pascal Gauthier, Ledger, Sam Bankman, Changpeng Zhao, David Marcus, Marcus, Facebook's, Diem, Gauthier, Vijay Ayyar, Matrixport Organizations: Getty, CNBC, U.S . Department of Justice, bitcoin, Standard Chartered, Federal Reserve

When 2023 began, a single bitcoin could be had for less than $17,000 after losing more than 75% of its value. But fueling this latest rally are prospects for the possible approval of spot bitcoin exchange traded funds — a pooled investment security that can be bought and sold like stocks. While analysts expect the potential approval of spot bitcoin ETFs to create a much larger pool of crypto investors, future volumes could go either way, Carey added. Despite the recent excitement around bitcoin, experts still maintain that crypto is a risky bet with wildly unpredictable fluctuations in value. As of around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time Monday, the price of bitcoin stood at $41,709.

Persons: Bitcoin, Riyad Carey, Carey, Binance, Changpeng Zhao, ”, “, Edward Moya, FTX, bitcoin Organizations: Federal, Industry, Regulators, Associated Locations: Silicon, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies, U.S

☆ Opinion: Why crypto was the perfect tool for criminals and kleptocrats
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Opinion Casey Michel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The news last week of money laundering charges against crypto exchange Binance and its CEO, Changpeng Zhao, sent shockwaves through both financial markets and crypto consumers alike. But for those familiar with the history of modern money laundering, they’re hardly surprising. Over and again, everything from Manhattan high-rises to Malibu beachfronts to Midwest manufacturing plants have allegedly housed illicit wealth, easily and anonymously. But crypto was also, in many ways, the perfect tool for kleptocrats and criminals trying to dodge sanctions and duck investigators. Like banks, real estate and more before it, the best days of the crypto industry as a haven for money laundering may yet be behind it.

Persons: Casey Michel, Changpeng Zhao, Zhao, ”, Versha Sharma, Hamas’s Al, they’re, —, kleptocrats Organizations: CNN, Wall Street Journal, Binance, Hamas’s, ISIS, Patriot Locations: Washington, American, Manhattan, Malibu, Midwest

Search resuls for: "Zhao"

25 mentions found