HSBC’s eleventh-hour decision to offer £1 for Silicon Valley Bank UK was driven as much by its inability to fully analyse 30 per cent of the target’s loan book as the opportunity to win a host of start-up clients. The bank’s executives had already determined that SVB UK and its customers were a good strategic fit,
The investment arm of major cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is moving to support new stablecoin initiatives by backing a Chinese yuan-pegged stablecoin issuer. KuCoin Ventures has led a $10 million investment into stablecoin issuer and blockchain-based payment service provider known as CNHC. Announcing the news on March 16, KuCoin Ventures said that the funding round included
The Pokemon Company, a corporation in charge of the development of the Pokemon brand, might be preparing to make some moves regarding the franchise and the metaverse. The company has opened a job opportunity that includes experience and knowledge of fields like blockchain, Web3, and the metaverse as a requirement, including connections with investors in
Bitcoin (BTC) received a substantial boost this week as United States inflation levels for February were in line with market expectations. On March 14, the BTC/USD pair surged to a 2023 peak at $26,550 after the news. But, while the macroeconomic conditions may currently favor risk-on buyers, certain on-chain and market indicators hint at a potential correction
U.S. tech giant Meta is giving up on operations with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) amid ongoing turbulence in the crypto space. The company allowed creators to share digital collectibles on its leading social media platforms last year. Meta Platforms Cutting Off Support for Non-Fungible Tokens California-based technology conglomerate Meta is winding down support for digital collectibles
Budget October 27 2021 Prime minister: Boris Johnson; Chancellor: Rishi Sunak. Rishi Sunak delivered a “tax, spend and save” Budget, his third and final as UK chancellor. He raised taxes to their highest level in 70 years on the back of forecasts that gave him a £35bn annual windfall and promised to pump more money
Since Bob Iger’s second term as Disney chief executive started in November, some of America’s most prominent media executives have offered him advice on how to turn the world’s largest entertainment group round. One topic has dominated the conversations: what to do with Hulu, the popular but complicated streaming service in which Disney owns a
A new study shows that payments via central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are expected to reach $213 billion annually by 2030. Furthermore, 92% of the total value transacted via CBDCs will be paid domestically, the research found. $213 Billion Annually Research and market intelligence firm Juniper Research published a report on central bank digital currencies
The writer is a science commentator The assertion that the UK is world-beating at science and technology is often repeated but rarely questioned. The government boasts of being a “global leader”; UK Research and Innovation, the national funding agency, talks of the “UK’s global leadership in transformative technologies”. The reality may be less rosy, according
Technology start-ups are scrambling to deal with tighter regulation and the influence of larger banks that are set to replace the informal financial relationships and close personal connections that have characterised Silicon Valley Bank’s dealings with the sector. Young tech companies, which account for a large part of SVB’s deposits, were making plans to take
Ethereum-based noncustodial lending protocol Euler Finance is trying to cut a deal with the exploiter that stole millions from its protocol, demanding the hacker returns 90% of the funds they stole within 24 hours or face legal consequences. Euler Labs sent its ultimatum to the flash loan attacker who exploited the platform for $196 million by transferring
The Federal Reserve’s dilemma over whether to press ahead with its campaign of raising interest rates after bank failures has been further complicated by the release of strong inflation data. Officials of the US central bank are set to gather next week for a two-day policy meeting at which they will decide how substantially to
Equities in Asia rose on Wednesday following a rebound in US banking stocks, as measures from regulators boosted confidence in the financial sector after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Japan’s Topix added 0.8 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi added 1.5 per cent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.7 per cent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng
The host of Mad Money, Jim Cramer, says he would still sell bitcoin despite the failures of major banks and growing public distrust in the banking system and the Federal Reserve. “Bitcoin is a strange animal,” he said, asserting that the price of the cryptocurrency is “being manipulated up.” Jim Cramer’s Recommendations The host of
The decision to close down Signature Bank had “nothing to do with crypto,” said the New York State Department of Financial Services, the regulator that took possession of the troubled bank on Sunday. The financial watchdog insisted that its decision to put Signature Bank in receivership “was based on the current status of the bank
China’s economy showed signs of recovery in the first two months of the year, with consumer spending rising after Covid restrictions were lifted. Retail sales grew 3.5 per cent year-on-year in the first two months of the year, compared to declines in both December and November. Consumption remained weak throughout China’s three-year zero-Covid regime, which
Billionaire Jeffrey Gundlach, aka the “Bond King,” expects the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates at its March meeting next week, which “would be the last increase,” he said. In addition, Gundlach cautioned: “The inflationary policy is back in play with the Federal Reserve.” Doubleline CEO Jeffrey Gundlach on Fed Rate Hikes Jeffrey Gundlach, chief
The one-time Santa Monica, California digs of singer-song writer and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne and his actress partner Daryl Hannah just hit the market for $22.5 million. Known as The Witbeck House, the property is a prime example of American Arts and Crafts style architecture. Influential early 20th Century American architects
Jeremy Hunt will on Wednesday announce billions of pounds to boost business investment and measures to bolster Britain’s workforce, including a big expansion in free childcare, in a “Budget for growth”. The chancellor has pledged that business will be the main beneficiary of any tax cuts in his Budget, but he is constrained by a
The Shapella hard fork has been executed on the Goerli testnet — the last test run before Ethereum validators will be able to withdraw their Ether (ETH) from the Beacon Chain. There were, however, issues with the hard fork. Ethereum core developer Tim Beiko noted that while deposits were being processed, the process didn’t run
Web3 wallet app MetaMask has introduced a number of new features aimed at enhancing privacy and giving users more control, according to a March 14 blog post by the developer. The new features come after MetaMask had previously been criticized for allegedly intruding on users’ privacy. MetaMask Mobile v6 is now available to everyone! Our