Friday, 9 June 2023

Bye, Bye, Binance? China Deflation?

 Baltic Dry Index. 1040 +20           Brent Crude 75.44

Spot Gold 1964                  US 2 Year Yield 4.52 -0.04

Coronavirus Cases 01/04/20 World 1,000,000

Deaths 53,103

Coronavirus Cases 09/06/23 World 689,076,498

Deaths 6,889,515

June 9, 1873. Alexandra Palace, London burns down, after being open for only 16 days. Fire number one.

In the stock casinos, party on like it’s 2019 back again. Well, they all partied on when Noah got on with building his Ark. How well did that turn out? Great for Noah his family and the animals, but for everyone else?

In China, more sign of deflation rising in the Chinese economy. How long before China’s exporting deflation to the rest of the world economies? Not long I suspect.

In cryptoland, is it bye, bye, Binance? Cut off from its banks, the escape routes out of cryptoland are getting closed off fast.


Asia markets rise as S&P 500 hits new 2023 high, China’s producer price index falls

UPDATED FRI, JUN 9 2023 12:36 AM EDT

Asia-Pacific markets traded mostly higher after the S&P 500 closed at a new high for 2023 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a third straight day of gains.

Investors digested China’s consumer price index, which saw a 0.2% rise in May and its producer prices that fell 4.6% year on year, marking the steepest drop since May 2016.

Mainland Chinese markets were mixed, with the Shanghai Composite marginally higher and the Shenzhen Component fractionally lower. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.3%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 popped 1.82%, leading gains in the region and maintained the highest level in three decades. The Topix gained 1.4%.

South Korea’s Kospi inched 0.95% higher and the Kosdaq moved up 1%, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.4%.

Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes climbed higher, with the Nasdaq Composite leading gains and advancing 1.02%, while the S&P 500 was 0.62% higher and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5%.

A key focus for next week would be the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on June 13 and 14, especially after jobless claims increased more than expected to their highest since October 2021, a potential sign that the labor market is softening up after more than a year of interest rate hikes.

Asia markets rise as S&P 500 hits new 2023 high, China's producer price index falls (cnbc.com)


China’s producer prices plunge the most in seven years as deflation hangs over economy

Inflation in China stayed at low levels in May, as the economy struggles to recover even after its strict Covid lockdown measures lifted late last year.

Producer price index in May fell 4.6%, marking the steepest year-on-year drop in seven years, when producer prices saw a year-on-year drop of 7.2% in May 2016.

The latest reading fell further from a decline of 3.6% in April and lower than expectations to see a decline of 4.3% in May, according to Reuters poll of economists.

China’s consumer price index in May rose 0.2% compared to a year ago, government data showed. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected a 0.3% rise. CPI in April was at a two-year low of 0.1%.

Month-on-month, prices fell 0.2% — economists predicted a 0.1% decline.

China’s low consumer inflation and deflation in its producer prices come in contrast to relatively high inflation in major economies around the world. Global central banks, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, have been fighting to bring down rising prices for more than a year. Just this week, Canada and Australia defied expectations and raised interest rates.

---- The latest data is among a batch of economic indicators that point to a cooling economy in China.

China’s National Bureau of Statistics attributed the broad softness to a general weakness seen in global commodity prices and overall demand.

The mining and raw material industries led declines in producer prices, while food, tobacco and alcohol prices led consumer price gains, the data showed.

Pinpoint Asset Management’s Zhiwei Zhang said, “The risk of deflation is still weighing on the economy. Recent economic indicators send consistent signals that the economy is cooling.”

Zhang expects the Chinese government’s next fiscal policy review to take place after its second quarter gross domestic product is released next month.

More

China economy: Inflation cools in May, CPI and PPI shows (cnbc.com)

Exclusive: Credit Suisse puts up China brokerage venture for sale

By Selena Li and Engen Tham

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, June 9 (Reuters) - Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) and a joint venture partner are seeking buyers for their China securities brokerage business due to the Swiss bank's takeover by rival UBS (UBSG.S), said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Citigroup (C.N) had at one point shown interest in acquiring Credit Suisse Securities China (CSS), they added.

Citi, whose CEO Jane Fraser was in China this week, is setting up a securities brokerage in China. It had hoped to fast-track development via an acquisition but decided to stick to its original plan to grow the business organically, said one of the people.

According to Chinese securities regulations, one entity cannot hold two licenses for majority-owned brokerages. UBS has a 67% stake in a profitable securities venture with Beijing State-owned Asset Management.

Credit Suisse owns 51% of loss-making CSS and struck a deal to buy out its partner Founder Securities (601901.SS) last year. That transaction has yet to receive Chinese regulatory approval.

The sources asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

UBS and a spokesperson representing both Credit Suisse and CSS declined to comment. Citi declined to comment.

Founder Securities and the China Securities Regulatory Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

CSS was established in 2008 in Beijing with Credit Suisse initially owning 33.3% before raising its stake to 51% in 2020. In addition to brokering, it is licenced to conduct underwriting, sponsoring, proprietary trading and to act as an investment consultancy.

It booked a net loss of 254 million yuan ($36 million) in 2022 and had headcount of 234 at the end of last year, according to its annual report. The potential deal value for the business could not be immediately learned.

UBS plans to announce the finalising of its tie-up with Credit Suisse as soon as next Monday.

More

Exclusive: Credit Suisse puts up China brokerage venture for sale | Reuters

Finally, cryptoland news. Bye, bye Binance?

But is the UK climbing on the USA’s war wagon against cryptoland or issuing a subtle invitation to the less dodgy parts of shady cryptoland to come to London?

Banks are cutting off Binance’s access to U.S. banking system, exchange says

Binance.US customers will no longer be able to use U.S. dollars to buy crypto on the platform as early as June 13, hobbling the exchange’s ability to do business in the United States, after both payment and banking partners “signaled their intent to pause USD fiat channels,” the exchange said.

Binance announced the change late Thursday night on Twitter, and blamed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s “unjustified civil claims against our business.” The exchange said it had preemptively disabled customers’ ability to buy and deposit U.S. dollars.

Binance’s banking transactions are the center of immense scrutiny by the SEC, which filed a civil complaint against the exchange and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, alleging both violated U.S. securities laws.

Zhao’s influence over and ownership of the U.S. and international arms of Binance — an international network of offshore holding companies the SEC alleges have moved billions of dollars of assets between themselves — prompted the SEC to file an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order. That restraining order would have frozen U.S. dollars from the exchange anyway.

Customers won’t lose their money — those who haven’t withdrawn their money by the shutdown date could still theoretically convert it to a stablecoin such as tether, then withdraw that and convert it back to dollars elsewhere. But it suggests that Binance’s banking partners have decided the exchange is too risky a client to keep on, and that the revelations from the SEC case have grown too significant to ignore.

The exchange’s disclosed U.S. banking partners, which have included Axos Bank, Cross River Bank, and the failed Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley Banks, processed billions of dollars in transactions for the U.S. exchange, according to documents Binance provided to the SEC. Multiple banking partners had already stopped serving Binance, and it wasn’t immediately clear which banking partners Binance retained.

Banks to cut off Binance access to U.S. banking system, exchange says (cnbc.com)

Regulator plays sheriff as it takes on crypto marketing ‘wild west’

THURSDAY 08 JUNE 2023 7:15 AM

Crypto firms face a regulatory clampdown in the UK this year as the City watchdog cracks the whip on the “Wild West” landscape of crypto marketing. 

In a new set of rules announced today, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it will force crypto firms to introduce a “cooling-off” period, during which time consumers can decide to cancel their purchase.

The watchdog is also set to ban “refer a friend” bonuses and force firms to put in place “clear risk warnings” as it seeks to ensure that those who buy crypto understand the risk. 

Sheldon Mills, executive director at the FCA said: “It is up to people to decide whether they buy crypto. But research shows many regret making a hasty decision. Our rules give people the time and the right risk warnings to make an informed choice.”

The new rules will come into effect from 8 October, setting the clock ticking for the UK crypto’s sector. 

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, at Hargreaves Lansdown said the FCA had “shot out of the traps” with the changes and was “racing ahead with new rules to give consumers extra protection in the crypto Wild West”. 

Regulators have been looking to tighten the guardrails in the sector and protect consumers from digital assets bandits after the high profile implosion of crypto exchange FTX last year.

The FCA’s move comes after a week of regulators tightening the screw on crypto.

The US Securities Exchange Commission has been on a warpath against the sector and this week sued the world’s two biggest coin exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, for flouting its rules. 

A host of top US industry bosses have made overtures across the Atlantic in light of the clampdown, with Coinbase chief Brian Armstrong telling a London conference in April that the exchange could shift its headquarters across the pond.

Debates continue to swirl in the UK about the best way to approach the sector as adoption continues to rise. New data from the FCA shows that estimated crypto ownership has more than doubled from 2021 to 2022, with 10 per cent of 2,000 people surveyed saying they own crypto.

The influential Treasury committee has argued that crypto should be treated like gambling, sparking a backlash from the sector.

Regulator plays sheriff as it takes on crypto marketing 'wild west' (cityam.com)

Cryptocurrency prices: Check today's rates of Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP

Cryptocurrency prices: Check today's rates of Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP

Written by Sanjana Shankar  Jun 08, 2023,

Bitcoin has slipped 1.96% in the past 24 hours to trade at $26,382.22. It is 1.54% lower than the week before.The second most popular token, Ethereum, has dropped 2.23% from yesterday to trade at $1,837. It has fallen 0.93% from last week.The market capitalization of Bitcoin and Ethereum is now at $511.87 billion and $220.92 billion, respectively.

How have other popular cryptocurrencies moved today?

BNB is trading at $259.75, a 6.9% decrease from yesterday and 14.68% lower than last week.The current price of XRP is $0.55, down 1.30% in the last 24 hours. It is 2.68% higher than last week.Cardano and Dogecoin are trading at $0.33 (down 6.67%) and $0.066 (down 2.98%), respectively.

Solana's price has decreased by 10.39% since last week

Solana, Polka Dot, Shiba Inu, and Polygon are currently trading at $18.56 (down 7.97%), $5.6995 (up 0.95%), $0.0000077 (down 1.60%), and $0.77 (down 5.39%), respectively.Looking at the weekly chart, Solana has fallen 10.39% while Polka Dot has gained 9.61%.Shiba Inu has lost 5.23% of its value in the last seven days whereas Polygon has declined 13.95%.

Here are the top 5 gainers of the day

Stacks, XDC Network, Casper, UNUS SED LEO, and Dai are the top five gainers on a 24-hour basis. They are trading at $0.66 (up 5.03%), $0.033 (up 2.65%), $0.044 (up 0.82%), $3.52 (up 0.45%), and $0.99 (up 0.04%), respectively.

How have the popular stablecoins performed today?

A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency that has very low volatility. Its value is correlated to a real-world asset such as fiat currency or gold.Talking about some of the popular tokens, Tether and USD Coin are trading at $1 (down 0.01%) and $0.99 (down 0.01%), respectively.

Check out today's top 5 losers

The biggest losers of the day are Kava, Flare, Algorand, Decentraland, and Klaytn. They are trading at $0.99 (down 22.07%), $0.011 (down 9.68%), $0.11 (down 9.55%), $0.44 (down 8.81%), and $0.11 (down 8.28%), respectively.

Here are the top cryptocurrency spot exchanges

On the basis of traffic, liquidity, trading volumes, and confidence in the legitimacy of trading volumes, Binance, Coinbase Exchange, and Kraken are the top three cryptocurrency spot exchanges.The 24-hour volumes of Binance and Coinbase Exchange are $9.14 billion (down 16.52%) and $1.07 billion (down 21.93%), respectively. Kraken recorded a volume of $0.61 billion which is down 16.65% from yesterday.

Check out today's leading DeFi tokens

DeFi, short for decentralized finance, is an umbrella term for global, peer-to-peer financial services on public blockchains.Avalanche, Dai, Wrapped Bitcoin, Chainlink, and Uniswap are among the most popular DeFi tokens. They are trading at $13.93 (down 4.73%), $0.99 (up 0.03%), $26,386.61 (down 1.99%), $5.93 (down 4.26%), and $4.56 (down 4.16%), respectively.

More

Cryptocurrency prices: Check today's rates of Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP (newsbytesapp.com)

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.

Euro zone slips into recession after Germany, Ireland revisions

June 8, 2023

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The euro zone economy was in a technical recession in the first three months of 2023, data from European statistics agency Eurostat showed on Thursday, after downward revisions of growth in both the first quarter and the final quarter of 2022.

Gross domestic product (GDP) for the 20-country euro zone fell by 0.1% in the first quarter compared with the fourth of 2022 and was 1.0% up from a year earlier, Eurostat said in a statement.

That compared with flash estimates of growth of 0.1% and 1.3% published on May 16. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast on average respectively zero and 1.2% expansion.

The revision was principally due to a second estimate from Germany's statistics office showing that the euro zone's largest economy was in recession in early 2023.

The contraction in Ireland's economy widened to 4.6% from a preliminary estimate of 2.7%, although this negative was due to the impact of large multinationals on growth there.

The euro zone figure for the fourth quarter of 2022 was also cut to -0.1% from a previous reading of zero.

Euro zone slips into recession after Germany, Ireland revisions (msn.com)

Rishi Sunak will accept a recession if necessary to get inflation rates down

June 7, 2023

Rishi Sunak has backed interest-rate hikes to calm inflation even if they increase the risk of the UK entering a recession.

The prime minister has set halving inflation by the end of the year as one of the five key tests he has asked voter to judge him on.

But in a new blow to that ambition, ministers have been warned that the UK will see the highest inflation rate and nearly the slowest growth of any advanced economy this year.

Last month the chancellor Jeremy Hunt said he was willing to accept a recession if it brought inflation down.

Asked if he agreed with that approach, Mr Sunak told the BBC: “Yeah, I think what the Chancellor was saying is that inflation is the challenge that we must confront.

“Obviously, monetary policy interest rates are decision for the Bank of England, so it wouldn't be right for me to comment on that. But I set out five priorities, halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and to stop the boats. The first of those is to halve inflation. That's the thing that I want to make sure we deliver, because that's what will help. That's what in the long term, that is the best way to help British families.”

Asked at the end of May if he was comfortable with the Bank acting to bring down inflation even if doing so could precipitate a recession, Mr Hunt said: “Yes, because in the end inflation is a source of instability.

“If we want to have prosperity, to grow the economy, to reduce the risk of recession, we have to support the Bank of England in the difficult decisions that they take.

“I have to do something else, which is to make sure the decisions that I take as chancellor – very difficult decisions to balance the books, so that the markets, the world, can see that Britain is a country that pays its way – all these things mean that monetary policy at the Bank of England [and] fiscal policy by the chancellor are aligned.”

In a new forecast the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said inflation in Britain would average at 6.9% this year.

Clare Lombardelli, the OECDs chief economist, said: "Inflation in the UK is higher and proving to be higher than other countries at the moment."

She said this was partly due to high labour costs as wages rise, and the fact that Britain is more exposed to high global energy prices.

More

Rishi Sunak will accept a recession if necessary to get inflation rates down (msn.com)

Covid-19 Corner

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

COVID-19 virus can cause brain cells to fuse, may explain 'brain fog'

Paul McClure  June 08, 2023

New research has found that viruses such as the one that causes COVID-19 can cause brain cells to fuse together and malfunction. The findings might explain the ‘brain fog’ and other neurological symptoms some people experience following infection with the SARS-Cov-2.

It’s well-known that some viruses, including the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, involve the brain and nervous system by infecting nerve cells (neurons).

Some viruses don’t kill their host cells and, instead, cause brain dysfunction. The mechanism by which they do this is understood in non-brain cells: the viruses use specialized molecules called fusogens to fuse with and enter cells. The fusogens hijack the cell's machinery to produce more viruses which spreads the virus – and more fusogens – to neighboring cells. What’s been unclear until now is how fusogens affect brain cells.

Researchers at Macquarie University, Sydney, have collaborated with the University of Queensland and the University of Helsinki, Finland, to examine the effect that fusogens have on the brain. The research relied on brain organoids, artificially grown ‘mini-brains’ that simulate the real thing.

“We reprogram human stem cells into brain cells, including neurons, and allow them to assemble into mini-brains in a dish,” said Yazi Ke, a co-author of the study.

Some organoids were infected with viral fusogens, including SARS-CoV-2, and compared with non-infected control organoids. They found that the virus caused fusion between neurons, between neurons and glia and between glia. Glia are non-neuronal cells in the brain and spinal cord that help support and protect neurons.

“We discovered COVID-19 causes neurons to undergo a cell fusion process, which has not been seen before,” said Massimo Hilliard, one of the study’s co-authors. “After neuronal infection with SARS-CoV-2, the spike S protein becomes present in neurons, and once neurons fuse, they don’t die.”

The spike protein, or S protein, is one of the key biological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2. It’s located on the outside of the virus, allowing it to penetrate host cells and cause infection.

This fusion without cell death, the researchers say, could explain the chronic neurological symptoms some people have after infection with COVID-19, such as headache, ‘brain fog’, loss of taste and smell, and exhaustion.

More

COVID-19 virus can cause brain cells to fuse, may explain 'brain fog' (newatlas.com)

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

The Spectator Covid-19 data tracker (UK)

https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.

Today, something a little different. When the Fed bailed out Signature Bank did the Fed also bailout Binance? Wittingly or unwittingly?

Binance Money Trail Reveals $70 Billion Flowing Through Silvergate, Signature

Thu, 8 June 2023 at 3:47 am BST·

(Bloomberg) -- Crypto exchange Binance and related entities shuttled some $70 billion through accounts at now-defunct Silvergate Bank and Signature Bank from 2019 up until this year, including “large amounts of money” flowing in and out within days, according to new details revealed in a filing Wednesday.

Silvergate facilitated more than $50 billion in deposits for Binance-related parties, while Signature handled more than $19 billion, the 27-page document, which was filed Wednesday in US District Court in Washington, shows. Some of the funds flowed out to foreign entities, according to the filing, which cited a review of financial records including bank statements, deposits, canceled checks and wire transfers.

The SEC this week sued Binance, its co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao and Binance.US for “blatant disregard” of US securities laws, including mishandling customer funds and misleading investors and regulators, part of a widening crypto crackdown following a wave of blowups last year including the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX exchange. On Tuesday, the agency filed an emergency action application for a temporary restraining order to freeze Binance.US’s assets in attempt to protect customer funds, including through the repatriation of client investments held abroad.

While the SEC’s case against Binance includes allegations it mishandled client funds, the provenance of the money and the purpose of the transfers described in the Wednesday document weren’t specified. The filing was in support of the motion to freeze assets of Binance.US, and didn’t include any fresh charges. A company spokesman told the New York Times the transfers didn’t involve client funds and were done in the normal course of business.

‘Red Flag’

Banks generally are expected to monitor money flow for unusual transactions including large transfers, according to John Popeo, partner at the Gallatin Group, which advises banks and other firms on regulatory issues. It’s unclear whether Silvergate or Signature Bank did so in the instances detailed in the filing, or whether they needed to.

“If there’s a frequent large cash movement — it could be extraterritorial or it could be domestic — that to me is a red flag,” Popeo said.

Binance didn’t respond to a request for comment. A representative for Binance.US declined to comment to Bloomberg. Silvergate and New York Community Bancorp, which bought Signature, didn’t respond to requests for comment outside of usual work hours.

Many of the Binance and related accounts participated in Silvergate’s SEN network and Signature’s Signet platform. The electronic-payments systems allowed users to transfer funds seamlessly and instantaneously, 24 hours a day, before they were shuttered earlier this year when their parent companies ran into trouble. Signature was shut down by regulators in March after a run on deposits. Silvergate announced it would voluntarily shut down the same month.

Big Flows

Often, amounts in the accounts would be relatively small at the beginning and the end of the month, but have huge inflows and outflows in between.

“At times the amounts being credited and debited during a single month amounts to movement of more than a billion dollars,” the filing said. “For example, in July 2021, one Signature Bank Binance Holdings account shows a starting balance of $468 million, deposits of $1 billion, withdrawals of $1.3 billion, and an ending balance of $179 million.”

Accounts at the two banks paid out funds to a yacht seller, and for “insured aircraft title service,” the filing said.

Zhao was also the beneficial owner of numerous other foreign companies with accounts at Signature Bank, the filing said, including those domiciled in Canada, the UAE, Seychelles, Singapore, Lithuania and Kazakhstan. Some of the money eventually ended up in Zhao’s personal account, per the filing. Some flowed to Amazon Web Services, and some to Stifel Bank, the filing said. Representatives for AWS and Stifel didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Merit Peak

At Silvergate, in 2020 and 2021, one Binance entity alone, called Key Vision, had deposits and withdrawals of more than $13 billion, the filing shows, with nearly all deposits transfered to another entity named Merit Peak, identified in the SEC’s suit as being controlled by Zhao.

More

Binance Money Trail Reveals $70 Billion Flowing Through Silvergate, Signature (yahoo.com)

Another weekend and the first weekend in Uncle Sam’s new war on cryptocurrencies. Time to get out of cryptoland and fast while it’s still possible to find buyers for cryptocurrencies,  coins, stablecoins and tokens. Have a great weekend everyone.

1875: The Second Palace

By Ally Pally

Alexandra Palace was first opened, to rave reviews, on 24 May 1873. Only 16 days later it was destroyed by fire. A redesigned Palace was built on the same site within two years, reopening to much fanfare on 1 May 1875.

The new Palace boasted a concert hall, theatre, circus, extensive dining areas, so that the venue could host entertainment for all on a grand scale. In the spirit of Victorian conscience, the Park and Palace also laid on educational shows too.

To celebrate this anniversary, we thought we’d introduce a few features you might not know about Alexandra Palace!

·         For the 1875 rebuild approximately 15 million bricks were used to construct the seven acre Palace in Italianate architectural style.

  • ---- To mitigate against another disaster like the fire of 1873 – four 16,000 gallon capacity water towers were built at the corners of the building, fire breaks were designed into the layout and the whole structure was more solid and functional.

More

1875: The Second Palace > Alexandra Palace

Fire - Alexandra Palace – 1984   (approx.. 26 seconds.)

Fire - Alexandra Palace - 1984 - YouTube

Alexandra Palace

Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed[2] entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm.[3] Originally built by John Johnson and Alfred Meeson, it opened in 1873 but following a fire two weeks after its opening, was rebuilt by Johnson. Intended as "The People's Palace" and often referred to as "Ally Pally", its purpose was to serve as a public centre of recreation, education and entertainment; North London's counterpart to the Crystal Palace in South London.[4]

More.

Alexandra Palace - Wikipedia

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