As the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX crypto exchange ricochets through the industry, this has not been a good week for Bitcoin and the Crypto community more generally.
And now we are beginning to see arguments emerging suggesting first that Bitcoin is not the same a Crypto, and second, we see Digital asset exchanges rushing to reassure clients that their funds are safe.
For example, Coinbase sent an email to customers explaining “how Coinbase’s business is different and ultimately better protects” customer accounts and assets. Yet the biggest crypto exchange Binance’s chief executive warned last week of the potential for a “cascading” crisis in the crypto sector in the wake of FTX’s failure, which he said could resemble the 2008 global financial crisis.
The total value of Crypto including Bitcoin fell again to around $940 billion US dollars, compared with a peak of over 3 trillion dollars. So Crypto is under the microscope as never before.
https://youtu.be/lOjdw5l_Ngg – DFA Live Tuesday 15th Nov 2022
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I caught up with Senator Rennick (LNP Queensland) after his recent outings in Senate Estimates and his speech on Superannuation. We explored the broader economic issues which we face, and why we need some different approaches from our regulators and the RBA.
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Another extract from the recent Senate Estimates with the RBA. This on consolidates Nick McKim’s questions about inflation, and what is driving it – and whether higher interest rates cause more inflation!
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Another round of price reductions from the Property Portals thanks to Cookie’s research, which shows that prices are on the slide now, and quite fast.
We compare the falls with our Core Market Model data and find some interesting correlations.
This is not a statistically robust piece of analysis, but it does talk to the general trends, as higher interest rates hit home, and sales momentum eases.
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And we discuss an alternative to the Major Banks who are closing outlets to secure profits for shareholders – the Customer Owned Banks. There are nearly 60 across the country focused on their members (customers) offering lower risk, more competitive banking services, including local branches.
You can find a list of local members here: https://www.customerownedbanking.asn.au/about-coba/list-of-our-members
So, I recommend switching to these community banks, away from the Majors. Funnily enough often the COBA banks offer better rates, and service than the others, and have the highest customer satisfaction!
Finally, digital is fine until the power goes out, and cash is still needed to maintain viable and dynamic local communities!
The latest edition of our finance and property news digest with a distinctively Australian flavour.
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Another in our series of Senate Estimate shorts, this one where Senator Rennick asks about the Australian Gold held by the Bank of England in their vaults.
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Global stocks rallied on Friday for a second day on hopes cooler U.S. inflation would lead to less aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, an outlook that pushed the dollar to its biggest two-day drop in 13 years.
On Wall Street, stocks rose to add to the prior day’s biggest daily percentage gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq in more than 2-1/2 years after year-over-year inflation in October fell below 8% for the first time in eight months.
“We got a potential view that the Fed may not need to get as horrible as we thought over the last couple of weeks,” Marvin Loh, senior global macro strategist at State Street in Boston, said about the market’s exuberance. “Risk could be stabilizing here.” The Fed has no choice but to press on, but if inflation is no longer rising, that indicates the end of more extensive tightening may be near, Loh said.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 gained 0.92% and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.88%. Energy stocks rose more than 3%, buoyed by rising oil prices as China eased some of its Covid-19 restrictions, stoking hopes for a jump in demand.
The banks rose, with ANZ up 1.48%, CBA up 1.7%, NAB up 1.15% and Westpac up 1.99%. Macquarie was up 5.6%. So old world financials did well.
Where as in Crypto Pain land. Sam Bankman-Fried’s digital-asset empire filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, capping the downfall of one of crypto’s wealthiest and most influential moguls and his collection of high-flying ventures including exchanges and a massive trading operation.
At his peak, crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried was worth $26 billion. At the start of this week, he still had $16 billion. Following the collapse of his crypto exchange FTX and his Alameda Research trading house, his assets in the Bahamas have been frozen by the authorities, he’s being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission for potential violations of securities rules, and regulators in Cyprus are poised to suspend his license to operate in Europe. By Thursday, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index was valuing FTX’s US business at $1, down from $8 billion in January. That’s not a typo. One dollar.
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Another in our series of shorts from the Senate Estimates quizzing the RBA. In this one Senator Matthew Canavan probs the financial status of the bank. Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/
My latest chat with Journalist Tarric Brooker, as we answer questions relating to inflation, on the day after the latest data from the US was lower than expected. So, we examine why that is, and what the implications may be.
Sides available here: https://avidcom.substack.com/p/charts-that-matter-11th-november
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