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Bitcoin's Greatest Feature Is Also Its Existential Threat
March 9, 2021--The cryptocurrency depends on the integrity of the blockchain. But China's censors, the FBI, or powerful corporations could fragment it into oblivion.
Security researchers have recently discovered a botnet with a novel defense against takedowns. Normally, authorities can disable a botnet by taking over its command-and-control server.
With nowhere to go for instructions, the botnet is rendered useless. But over the years, botnet designers have come up with ways to make this counterattack harder. Now the content-delivery network Akamai has reported on a new method: a botnet that uses the Bitcoin blockchain ledger. Since the blockchain is globally accessible and hard to take down, the botnet's operators appear to be safe.
Oil logs first loss in 4 sessions, as buying after attack on Saudi oil facilities fades
March 8, 2021--Brent crude briefly rises past $70 a barrel
Oil futures pulled back Monday, posting their first loss in four sessions after an attack on Saudi oil facilities briefly lifted global benchmark Brent crude prices above $70 a barrel for the first time since early last year.
Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition dropped bombs on Yemen's rebel-held capital San'a on Sunday, following attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil and military facilities. The coalition blamed the administration of President Joe Biden for the attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels after a decision to remove them from U.S. terror lists.
Freedom In The World 2020 A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy
March 5, 2021--Democracy and pluralism are under assault. Dictators are toiling to stamp out the last vestiges of domestic dissent and spread their harmful influence to new corners of the world. At the same time, many freely elected leaders are dramatically narrowing their concerns to a blinkered interpretation of the national interest.
In fact, such leaders-including the chief executives of the United States and India, the world's two largest democracies-are increasingly willing to break down institutional safeguards and disregard the rights of critics and minorities as they pursue their populist agendas.As a result of these and other trends, Freedom House found that 2019 was the 14th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. The gap between setbacks and gains widened compared with 2018, as individuals in 64 countries experienced deterioration in their political rights and civil liberties while those in just 37 experienced improvements. The negative pattern affected all regime types, but the impact was most visible near the top and the bottom of the scale. More than half of the countries that were rated Free or Not Free in 2009 have suffered a net decline in the past decade.
view the Freedom In The World 2020 A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy
OSCO Reviews Implementation of Liquidity Risk Management Recommendations and Market Participants ́ Responses to COVID-19 Induced Market Stresses
March 5, 2021--IOSCO today launched its Thematic Review of the Recommendations for Liquidity Risk Management for Collective Investment Schemes issued by IOSCO in 2018. The Recommendations are meant to ensure that liquidity risk is managed to safeguard and protect the interests of investors, including in stressed market conditions.
They are also designed to address potential structural vulnerabilities in the asset management sector that could impact financial stability. The Thematic Review-conducted by the IOSCO Assessment Committee (AC) - aims to assess the extent to which the Recommendations have been implemented through member regulatory frameworks.
FCA Issues Timeline to Cease LIBOR Benchmark
March 5, 2021--Most of the currency settings will end by the end of 2021.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is officially ending the controversial LIBOR benchmark for most of the currencies, a decision that came after an industry consultation in December led by the ICE Benchmark Administration.
The FCA, which oversees the global benchmark, announced on Friday that the publication of LIBOR will cease after December 31, 2021, for the pound sterling, euro, Swiss franc, Japanese yen and for the one-week and two-month US dollar settings.
The rest of the US dollar settings will cease on 30 June 2023.
TrackInsight Monthly ETF Report-ESG Surge Pushes ETFs to $8 Trillion
March 4, 2021--ESG Pushes Global ETF Industry to $8 Trillion
Global ETF assets reach $8 Trillion as US ETF flows surge nearly 50%
ESG ETF assets rise 9% over February to reach the 11th consecutive monthly high
7th consecutive record month for ESG ETF Flows- $19 Billion added
Investors Dump Gold, Buy Bitcoin
February data from TrackInsight, the world's first global Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) analysis platform, shows that ETFs continued their seemingly unstoppable growth trajectory to reach a new global high of $8 Trillion, in AuM, driven by exploding flows in North American markets and huge investor appetite for ESG products.
Contributing to this important milestone were ETFs listed in North America which witnessed historic flows of $95 Billion over February, an almost 50% increase month-on-month. There are now 3,200 ETFs listed on North American exchanges with $5.9 Billion in AuM.
OPEC, Russia send oil price up with deal to contain output
March 4, 2021--Caution about the pandemic took the upper hand Thursday at a meeting of the OPEC oil cartel and allied countries, as they left most of their production cuts in place amid worry that coronavirus restrictions could still undermine recovering demand for crude.
Many analysts had expected a small production increase as the price of oil has risen 30% since the start of the year on hopes that the pandemic will ease, allowing for an economic rebound that should increase energy consumption.
Economy-The need for speed: faster vaccine rollout critical to stronger recovery
March 3, 2021--A global economic recovery is in sight but a faster and more effective vaccination rollout across the world is critical, while respecting necessary health and social distancing measures, according to the OECD's latest Interim Economic Outlook.
Activity in many sectors has picked up and adapted to pandemic restrictions over recent months. Vaccine deployment, although uneven, is finally gaining momentum and government fiscal stimulus - particularly in the US - is likely to provide a major boost to economic activity.
But the pandemic is widening gaps in economic performance between countries and between sectors, increasing social inequalities, particularly affecting vulnerable groups, and risking long-term damage to job prospects and living standards for many people.
The Interim Economic Outlook calls for ramping up vaccination, for swifter, more targeted fiscal stimulus to foster output and confidence, and to maintain income support for people and businesses hard hit by the pandemic while preparing the ground for a sustainable recovery.
Consumer Prices, OECD-Updated: 3 March 2021
March 3, 2021--OECD annual inflation picks up to 1.5% in January 2021 while Euro Area records sharp increase to 0.9%
Annual inflation in the OECD area picked up to 1.5% in January 2021, compared with 1.2% in December 2020.
Following a rebound between December and January, the annual decline in energy prices was less pronounced in January (minus 3.9%) than in December (minus 6.5%), while food price inflation slowed slightly to 3.1%, compared with 3.2% in December. OECD annual inflation excluding food and energy, also increased slightly, to 1.7% in January, compared with 1.6% in December.
The Evidence Is in on Negative Interest Rate Policies
March 3, 2021--Interest rates are low, and "lower for longer" has become something of a mantra among policy makers, regulators, and other market watchers. But negative interest rates raise an entirely new set of questions.
After eight years of experience with negative interest rate policies, the initial skepticism (paying interest to borrowers rather than savers was certainly unprecedented) has proven largely misplaced.
The evidence so far suggests that negative interest policies have worked.
Since 2012, a number of central banks introduced negative interest rate policies. Central banks in Denmark, euro area, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland turned to such policies in response to persistently below-target inflation rates (most central banks set rates as part of their broader mandate to keep prices stable, thereby supporting jobs and economic growth).
view the IMF Departmental Paper-Negative Interest Rates : Taking Stock of the Experience So Far