- Putin has no successor, no living rivals and no retirement plan – why his eventual death will set off a vicious power struggle The Conversation Indonesia
- Despite scenes of defiance, plenty of Russians support Putin as election nears CNN
- Forever Putinism: The Russian Autocrat’s Answer to the Problem of Succession Foreign Affairs Magazine
- Russia elections: How key issues will be affected by the poll results The Associated Press
- ‘Make the Young Fall in Love With Putin’: Young Russians Pressured to Vote as Kremlin Demands Record Turnout The Moscow Times
Tag Archives: Eventual
Asia shares bank on eventual China opening; oil gains
SYDNEY, Dec 5 (Reuters) – Asian shares extended their rally on Monday as investors hoped steps to unwind pandemic restrictions in China would eventually brighten the outlook for global growth and commodity demand, nudging the dollar down against the yuan.
The news helped oil prices firm as OPEC+ nations reaffirmed their output targets ahead of a European Union ban and price caps on Russian crude, which begin on Monday.
More Chinese cities announced an easing of coronavirus curbs on Sunday as Beijing tries to make its zero-COVID policy less onerous after recent unprecedented protests against restrictions. read more
There were also reports Beijing might lower the threat classification for COVID-19, though clarity was lacking on timetables for future steps. read more
“While the easing of some restrictions does not equate to a wholesale shift away from the dynamic COVID zero strategy just yet, it is further evidence of a shifting approach and financial markets look to be firmly focussed on the longer term outlook over the near-term hit to activity as virus cases look set to continue,” said Taylor Nugent, an economist at NAB.
Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) gained 1.7%, on top of last week’s 2.5% bounce, while the Hang Seng (.HS11) jumped 3.5%.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) added 1.7% to a three-month top, after rallying 3.7% last week. Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) edged up 0.1%, while South Korea (.KS11) eased 0.4%.
EUROSTOXX 50 futures added 0.1%, while FTSE futures were flat. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures both fell 0.1%.
Wall Street had lost some momentum on Friday after November’s robust U.S. payrolls report challenged hopes for a less aggressive Federal Reserve, though Treasuries still ended last week with solid gains. read more
Indeed, 10-year note yields have fallen 74 basis points since early November, effectively undoing much of the tightening of the Fed’s last outsized increase in cash rates.
Markets are wagering Fed rates will top out at 5% and the European Central Bank around 2.5%.
“But U.S. and Euro area labour demand remain surprisingly strong, and alongside a recent easing in financial conditions, the risks are shifting toward higher-than-anticipated terminal rates for both the Fed and the ECB,” warns Bruce Kasman, head of economic research at JPMorgan.
“The combination of labour market resilience with sticky wage inflation adds to the risk that the Fed will deliver a higher than 5% rate forecast at its upcoming meeting and that Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference will shift to more open-ended guidance regarding any near-term ceiling on rates.”
DOLLAR VULNERABLE
The Fed meets on Dec. 14 and the ECB the day after. Speaking on Sunday, French central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau said he favoured a hike of half a point next week. read more
Central banks in Australia, Canada and India are all expected to raise their rates at meetings this week.
The steep decline in U.S. yields has taken a toll on the dollar, which fell 1.4% last week on a basket of currencies to its lowest since June.
It lost 3.5% on the yen alone and last traded at 134.34 , leaving October’s peak of 151.94 a distant memory. The euro resumed it rise to $1.0578 , having added 1.3% last week to its highest since early July.
The dollar also slipped under 7.0 yuan in offshore trade to hit the lowest in three months at 6.9677.
The drop in the dollar and yields has been a boon for gold, which was up 0.5% at a four-month peak of $1,807 an ounce after rising 2.3% last week.
Oil prices bounced after OPEC+ agreed to stick to its oil output targets at a meeting on Sunday.
The Group of Seven and European Union states are due on Monday to impose a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, though it was not yet clear what impact this would have on global supply and prices. read more
Brent gained $1.67 to $87.24 a barrel, while U.S. crude rose $1.46 to $81.44 per barrel.
Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Sam Holmes
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Analysts warn that Bitcoin could dip to $38K ‘before an eventual breakout’
The cryptocurrency market faced another day of weakness on Jan. 18 as the price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped lower and additional pressure was also put on the altcoin market. Currently, the crypto Fear and Greed Index registered “Extreme Fear” among investors and some traders caution that BTC price could soon fall below its recent $39,000 swing low.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that bulls lost control of the $42,000 support level during the early trading hours on Jan. 18 as bears hammered the BTC price to a daily low of $41,250.
January is historically weak for Bitcoin
Many crypto holders who were disappointed by the lack of a blow-off top to close out 2021 are also expecting fireworks to start 2022, but historically speaking, January “has been one of the most disappointing months for BTC,” according to a recent report from Delphi Digital.
Delphi Digital pointed to “a slowdown in global liquidity growth and tighter policy expectations” as the primary source of headwinds for Bitcoin and they highlighted that these factors have also led to weakness in the stock market, which is considered to be strongly correlated with the price movements seen in BTC.
Another source of weakness identified by Delphi Digital was a lack of liquidity in the perpetual and futures markets along with a drop in BTC open interest over the past two months.
Delphi Digital said,
“For the most part, the price contraction stemmed from liquidity issues in the perp/futures market, which triggered a series of liquidations that exacerbated BTC’s initial price weakness.”
As for what comes next, Delphi Ditial indicated that “short-term momentum indicators appear to signal the worst may be behind us” and the analyst noted that the Fear & Greed index is at levels not seen since May 2021.
Related: Bitcoin hodlers ‘under siege’ at $42K as 30% of BTC supply flips from profit to loss
Bitcoin price could dip under $38,000
A similar trend of weakness was addressed by crypto market intelligence firm Decentrader, which observed that the number of overly bullish “I’m buying the dip” traders on crypto Twitter was challenged at around $41,000.
The analysts suggested that based on the size and consistency of the BTC drawdown over the past two months, “a move out of the range to the upside is the most probable outcome eventually and they expect the price “to run towards the 200DMA and the point of breakdown in the summer at around $49,000 – $50,000.”
Decentrader said,
“It is our view that we may need to see some further ranging between $44,000 and potentially $38,000 before an eventual breakout.”
For traders hard hit by this latest drawdown, Twitter user John Wick issued a positive perspective.
I just want to take a moment to say to you guys who might be underwater in your positions that its okay.
Every cycle this happens. Most of us have to wear these battle scars at least once in our journey to becoming a better trader/investor. I know I did.
Just don’t give up.
— John Wick (@ZeroHedge_) January 18, 2022
The overall cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.976 trillion and Bitcoin’s dominance rate is 40%.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
This dead star offers a glimpse of our solar system’s eventual fate
The “Star Trek” actor became the oldest person to ever travel to space. The trip was a blisteringly brief 10 minutes aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft, but Shatner was incredibly moved by the “profound experience” of seeing the “life and nurturing” of Earth.
Current-day scientists are living up to the words spoken by Shatner in the show’s introduction half a century ago: exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life.
Once upon a planet
Our corner of the universe may be in for a rude awakening, but we’ve got 5 billion years to prepare.
Researchers observed a giant planet orbiting a white dwarf, or the remains of a dead star, at the heart of our galaxy. It showed what may happen in our solar system when the sun dies.
While Saturn and Jupiter will likely survive the violent evolution, it’s a different story for the other planets.
Consequences
With sea levels steadily on the rise, 50 major coastal cities need to adapt in unprecedented ways to stay afloat, according to new research.
The results show striking visual contrasts between the world as we know it today and our underwater future, if the planet warms to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) above preindustrial levels.
Use our visual sliders to compare how California’s Santa Monica pier and London’s Buckingham Palace would appear if global warming and sea level rise can’t be stopped. The sight of such iconic places submerged is startling.
Wild kingdom
Stunning photos revealing our wonderfully wild world have won in 19 categories of the 2021 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Photographers from 95 countries submitted a record-breaking 50,000 entries, with shots including a gorilla enjoying a rain shower and a tent spider’s web as an auto-rickshaw passed by in India (which was captured by a 10-year-old).
And enjoy a peek at the cuter side of wild animals with this litter of adorable newborn cheetahs.
Five cubs were born to cheetah mom Rosie Tuesday morning at Virginia’s Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. You can watch the feline family via the Cheetah Cub Cam, which features live footage of the den. If you listen closely, you can hear the cubs chirping.
Across the universe
An outburst of cosmic explosions has been traced back to a mysterious repeating fast radio burst in space called FRB 121102. Researchers detected 1,652 bursts over the course of 47 days.
Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are millisecond-long emissions of radio waves in space. This one has been traced to a small dwarf galaxy over 3 billion light-years away.
Scientists have yet to determine the actual cause of the flashes, and, naturally, everyone has a theory (greetings, aliens!). But researchers suspect these celestial phenomena as the more likely cause.
We are family
As humans, it appears we have a long history of indulgences.
Archaeologists uncovered a 1,500-year-old wine factory in the Israeli town of Yavne after toiling away at the site for two years. A famous brand of wine from the ancient world was likely made at the world’s largest wine factory from the Byzantine period, they said.
Meanwhile, researchers studying fossilized poop discovered that Iron Age Europeans enjoyed blue cheese and beer in their diet.
And charred seeds found in a hearth once belonging to hunter-gatherers in Utah suggest humans used tobacco over 12,000 years ago — 9,000 years earlier than previously thought.
Curiosities
You never know what you’ll find:
— This “living fossil” creature was found in an incredibly unlikely place for the first time in documented history.
— An Australian-made rover will land on the moon in 2026 and collect lunar soil that may contain oxygen, which NASA hopes to extract.
— These carved stone statues were used as garden ornaments — until it was revealed that they were Egyptian relics dating back thousands of years.
Like what you’ve read? Oh, but there’s more. Sign up here to receive in your inbox the next edition of Wonder Theory, brought to you by CNN Space and Science writer Ashley Strickland, who finds wonder in planets beyond our solar system and discoveries from the ancient world.
Ant Group Boss Tries to Quell Employee Discontent With Promise of Eventual IPO
Facing discontent among employees, Ant Group Co.’s leader said the Chinese financial-technology giant would eventually go public and that the company would look for ways to help workers monetize some of their shares.
In a lengthy post on Ant’s internal website, Executive Chairman Eric Jing said the company’s management is reviewing its remuneration and incentive policy and working on a “short-term liquidity solution” for employees that would take effect in April, according to people who saw his message. Mr. Jing was responding to an employee who had asked about Ant’s future and how the company plans to retain talent.
The liquidity solution Ant is working on will likely be a program to buy back some of the employees’ shares, according to people close to the firm. April is typically the month when Ant awards discretionary annual bonuses to employees.
Employee morale has been low at Ant since Chinese regulators forced the company to call off its blockbuster initial public offerings in Hong Kong and Shanghai in early November.
Many of Ant’s 16,000-plus workers had received share-based compensation, and they were on the cusp of reaping a windfall from Ant’s listing, which had valued the company at more than $300 billion last fall. That represented a doubling in Ant’s valuation from mid-2018, when its last round of private fundraising valued the company at $150 billion.