Japanese yen weak, USDJPY rises past 160 on middling BOJ, Fed fears
-- The Japanese yen weakened further on Monday, seeing little relief after middling signals from the Bank of Japan and increased expectations of higher-for-longer U.S....
-- The Japanese yen weakened further on Monday, seeing little relief after middling signals from the Bank of Japan and increased expectations of higher-for-longer U.S....
Contrary to what many believe, the S&P 500 index can be beaten with minimal added risk.
According to PANews, zkSNACKs, the development company behind the privacy-enhanced Bitcoin wallet Wasabi Wallet, has announced an indefinite ban on its products for users in the United States. This decision is likely triggered by the arrest of the founder of Samourai Wallet earlier this week. As per the company's announcement, the ban will be enforced through the use of an IP address firewall, preventing users from the US and related regions from accessing its website, downloading, and using the Wasabi Wallet, as well as any related products and services, including API and RPC interfaces. The company cited 'recent statements issued by US authorities' as the reason for this decision.
According to Cointelegraph: John Deaton Supports Coinbase in SEC Appeal by Filing Amicus Brief John Deaton, a known crypto lawyer who is presently running a Senate campaign to unseat Elizabeth Warren, has filed an amicus brief advocating for Coinbase. This step comes as the cryptocurrency exchange appeals certain matters in its legal battle against the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Source: Courtlistener In an April 26 document filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Deaton submitted the amicus brief supporting a motion for interlocutory appeal, representing 4,701 Coinbase customers. Interestingly, Deaton provided this legal aid pro bono, representing Coinbase users' interests distinct from the exchange itself. The brief insists that the SEC’s enforcement actions are evidence that "the regulator does not speak on behalf of digital asset users and investors and intends to offer no regulatory guidance beyond citing the Howey case." Deaton pointed to the SEC's lawsuits against crypto firms, such as Debt Box, alleging that the commission's approach was more adversarial towards the crypto industry than truth and justice-aligned. Though Deaton's actions appear tied to his ongoing Senate run based on his April 26 X post, he proposed himself as a legal representative for Coinbase users as early as June 2023—prior to announcing his campaign—after the SEC filed its lawsuit. Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, informed that the interlocutory appeal seeks the court's discernment on whether a post-sale contractual obligation is essential for something to be defined as an "investment contract"—a foundation for deciding if something is a security under SEC regulations. This pivotal legal issue is key among those being contended in the SEC's lawsuit against Coinbase. Less than six months from the election day, it remains to be seen if Deaton's legal maneuvers might impact his Senate campaign, which is distinguished by his markedly different views on digital assets compared to incumbent Senator Warren.
According to Cointelegraph: EU's DeFi Regulations Could Welcome Big Banks but Test Crypto Natives New regulatory rules forthcoming for decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols in Europe could create significant hurdles for crypto-native projects while stimulating traditional financial institutions to enter the DeFi space, as per Marina Markezic, Executive Director of the European Crypto Initiative. Markezic discussed the European Commission's forthcoming DeFi report, set to be released on Dec. 30, 2024, during a recent interview with Cointelegraph. The report will scrutinize DeFi's regulatory feasibility under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework. Markezic expressed her expectations from a DeFi regulatory framework stating that it could facilitate traditional players' entry into the crypto space since several banks are already considering issuing stablecoins. However, she cautioned that obtaining licenses and achieving compliance might become harder for crypto-native projects. The EU's report seeks to explore the regulation of decentralized systems, particularly those without a defined issuer or service provider. A crucial outcome may include initial definitions of what regulators perceive as decentralization. Markezic suggested that DeFi should be looked upon as a spectrum rather than a binary scenario. This 'DeFi spectrum' would consist of a range of different use cases, from fully decentralized systems to those that exhibit various levels of control and management. Legal experts push for clear standards instead of strict rules. Sascha Drobnjak, former head of legal and compliance at Elusiv protocol, emphasized that governments, policymakers, and the industry need to agree on what really defines DeFi. Revenue from the DeFi sector is predicted to reach approximately $6.69 billion in Europe by 2024, according to Statista, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.67% between 2024 and 2028, reaching $9.68 billion in revenue by 2028.
U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a rally in megacap growth stocks following robust quarterly results from technology heavyweights Alphabet and Microsoft in addition to moderate inflation data. Investors cheered Alphabet's first-ever dividend, its $70 billion stock buyback program, and better-than-expected first-quarter results. Microsoft shares rose after its third-quarter revenue and profit exceeded Wall Street estimates, driven by gains from artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across its cloud services.
U.S. stocks rose on Friday, buoyed by a rally in megacap growth stocks following robust quarterly results from technology heavyweights Alphabet and Microsoft in addition to moderate inflation data. Investors cheered Alphabet's first-ever dividend, its $70 billion stock buyback program, and better-than-expected first-quarter results. Microsoft shares rose 2.7% after its third-quarter revenue and profit exceeded Wall Street estimates, driven by gains from artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across its cloud services.
Here are the daily ETF fund flows for April 26, 2024.
The energy sector (XLE) is underperforming in Friday's trading session, following disappointing results from industry leaders Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX). S&P Global Vice Chairman Daniel Yergin joined Yahoo Finance to discuss the geopolitical risks looming over the oil market. Yergin acknowledges that the current calm within the oil market will "entirely depend" on exogenous events. He notes that oil prices have reverted to levels pre tensions between Iran and Israel, which initially caused a slight uptick: "There's been a tug-of-war between geopolitics and the fundamentals of supply and demand," Yergin says. "In terms of the oil industry, they're commercial animals," Yergin tells Yahoo Finance, adding, "Their incentive is to produce as much as they can." However, he cautions that concerns about future production softening persist within the industry. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Angel Smith
Intel beat estimates on earnings but lagged the same on revenues. It provided a dismal second-quarter revenue guidance, underscoring concerns over the company's growth prospects.