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Business

Japan sees core inflation at highest in 40 years as Asia-Pacific stocks trade mixed

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Alibaba saw delivery disruptions during Singles Day, CEO says

Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said, “The resurgence of Covid has affected one area after another, resulting in abnormal or suspended logistic service in different places,” according to a FactSet transcript of the company’s quarterly earnings call Thursday.

Zhang noted logistics disruptions took place through Nov. 11, while adding the company was “seeing improvements.”

Alibaba also announced it would increase its share buyback program by $15 billion.

Read the full story here.

— Evelyn Cheng

Morgan Stanley confirms job cuts in Asia-Pacific

Morgan Stanley’s Asia-Pacific CEO Gokul Laroia confirmed layoffs in the Asia-Pacific region are taking place.

When asked if he could confirm reports of the firm’s plans to cut 10% of its staff of 500 in the region, Laroia told CNBC’s Emily Tan on Thursday the plans are already underway.

“I actually don’t know whether the number is 10%, but there is going to be a reduction in force,” he said. “In fact, that’s in progress.”

Laroia added China remains an important market for Morgan Stanley, despite slowing down more than expected this year, and that the firm expects to remain invested there.

— Jihye Lee

South Korean, Japanese defense stocks rise on North Korea’s missile launch

Shares of South Korean and Japanese defense-related companies rose in Friday’s morning session after North Korea was confirmed to have launched an inter-continental ballistic missile.

In South Korea, shares of Hanwha Aerospace rose 4.69%, Korea Aerospace gained 2.34%, and Victek climbed 2.3%.

In Japan, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rose 0.93% while Hosoya Pyro-Engineering rose 1.7% in Asia’s afternoon session.

—Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: While Muddy Waters bets against dLocal, here are the other fintech stocks that short sellers are eyeing

Philippines central bank expects economy to see “low growth” next year, not a recession

Central bank governor Felipe Medalla of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the economy is expected to see “low growth” of under 5%, not a recession, next year.

Speaking to CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah in an interview, he said the central bank estimates the economy to grow by 6% next year, higher than the International Monetary Fund’s outlook of 5%.

That outlook may change by around 100 basis points depending on worsening global financial conditions, he added.

The BSP delivered its second 75-basis-point hike of the year on Thursday, raising its benchmark interest rates to 5%.

— Natalie Tham, Jihye Lee

Tencent, NetEase stocks rise after China approves game titles

Shares of Chinese tech companies Tencent and NetEase listed in Hong Kong rose after the companies were granted gaming licenses by China’s National Press and Publication Administration.

Tencent shares rose 3% at open, and NetEase rose more than 5%.

The regulator issued licenses for some 70 games for November, including Tencent’s Metal Slug: Awakening and NetEase’s A Chinese Odyssey: Homecoming.

On Thursday, NetEase shares plunged more than 11% after the company announced its license with Activision Blizzard will be ending in January 2023.

— Jihye Lee

Japan’s core inflation index rises 3.6%, higher than expected

The core consumer price index for Japan rose 3.6% in October on an annualized basis, beating expectations for a rise of 3.5% and the quickest pace since February 1982.

The index, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 3.0% in September compared with the same period a year ago.

The latest data marks the seventh consecutive month that the nation has seen inflation levels above the Bank of Japan’s target of 2%.

— Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: JPMorgan says these Asian travel stocks are poised to pop

As travel in Asia resumes and continues to gain momentum, especially after China’s recent announcement to reduce quarantine time for international travelers, JPMorgan says it remains bullish on the region’s travel industry.

“Considering the high forward booking visibility and further upside arising from the final leg of re-opening in parts of the region, we stay positive on the Asia airlines & airports sectors,” it said in a Nov. 11 note.

CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to find out which stocks investors should pay attention to.

— Charmaine Jacob

The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite close lower Thursday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed near the flat line on Thursday despite falling as much as 314 points in the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.31%. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.35%.

— Sarah Min

CNBC Pro: ‘Bull case for semis is compelling’: BofA picks top chip stocks to buy

Chip stocks, once a hot favorite among investors, are doing poorly this year.

But BofA says that despite consumer demand remaining under pressure, the “bull case for semis is also compelling.”

Semiconductor sales could rebound in the second half of 2023, BofA predicted.

Here are some themes that chip stocks could ride on, says the bank, which also picks names to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Fed’s Jefferson said low inflation is the best way to achieve prosperity

Keeping inflation under control is the best way to ensure a strong economy for everyone, Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson said Thursday.

“Low inflation is key to achieving a long and sustained expansion — an economy that works for all,” the central bank official said during an event in Minneapolis. “Pursuing our dual mandate is the best way for the Federal Reserve to promote widely shared prosperity.”

Jefferson did not provide any direct comments on where he sees policy heading as the Fed looks to achieve both full employment and stable prices.

His comments from following a flurry of speeches from his colleagues, who universally say the Fed will need to raise interest rates more to bring down inflation still running around its highest levels since the early 1980s.

—Jeff Cox

Fed’s Bullard says monetary policy not yet ‘sufficiently restrictive’

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said more tightening may be needed for the central bank to tame inflation.

He said Thursday that inflation remains unacceptably high, noting that policy isn’t “sufficiently restrictive” at current levels. The Fed has raised rates from zero to a range of 4%-4.25% this year, as U.S. inflation soars to levels not seen in decades.

“Thus far, the change in the monetary policy stance appears to have had only limited effects on observed inflation, but market pricing suggests disinflation is expected in 2023,” Bullard said.

— Fred Imbert

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Business

Japan sees core inflation at highest in 40 years as Asia-Pacific stocks rise

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Philippines central bank expects economy to see “low growth” next year, not a recession

Central bank governor Felipe Medalla of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the economy is expected to see “low growth” of under 5%, not a recession, next year.

Speaking to CNBC’s Sri Jegarajah in an interview, he said the central bank estimates the economy to grow by 6% next year, higher than the International Monetary Fund’s outlook of 5%.

That outlook may change by around 100 basis points depending on worsening global financial conditions, he added.

The BSP delivered its second 75-basis-point hike of the year on Thursday, raising its benchmark interest rates to 5%.

— Natalie Tham, Jihye Lee

Tencent, NetEase stocks rise after China approves game titles

Shares of Chinese tech companies Tencent and NetEase listed in Hong Kong rose after the companies were granted gaming licenses by China’s National Press and Publication Administration.

Tencent shares rose 3% at open, and NetEase rose more than 5%.

The regulator issued licenses for some 70 games for November, including Tencent’s Metal Slug: Awakening and NetEase’s A Chinese Odyssey: Homecoming.

On Thursday, NetEase shares plunged more than 11% after the company announced its license with Activision Blizzard will be ending in January 2023.

— Jihye Lee

Japan’s core inflation index rises 3.6%, higher than expected

The core consumer price index for Japan rose 3.6% in October on an annualized basis, beating expectations for a rise of 3.5% and the quickest pace since February 1982.

The index, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose 3.0% in September compared with the same period a year ago.

The latest data marks the seventh consecutive month that the nation has seen inflation levels above the Bank of Japan’s target of 2%.

— Jihye Lee

CNBC Pro: JPMorgan says these Asian travel stocks are poised to pop

As travel in Asia resumes and continues to gain momentum, especially after China’s recent announcement to reduce quarantine time for international travelers, JPMorgan says it remains bullish on the region’s travel industry.

“Considering the high forward booking visibility and further upside arising from the final leg of re-opening in parts of the region, we stay positive on the Asia airlines & airports sectors,” it said in a Nov. 11 note.

CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to find out which stocks investors should pay attention to.

— Charmaine Jacob

The S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite close lower Thursday

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed near the flat line on Thursday despite falling as much as 314 points in the session. The S&P 500 fell 0.31%. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.35%.

— Sarah Min

CNBC Pro: ‘Bull case for semis is compelling’: BofA picks top chip stocks to buy

Chip stocks, once a hot favorite among investors, are doing poorly this year.

But BofA says that despite consumer demand remaining under pressure, the “bull case for semis is also compelling.”

Semiconductor sales could rebound in the second half of 2023, BofA predicted.

Here are some themes that chip stocks could ride on, says the bank, which also picks names to buy.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Weizhen Tan

Fed’s Jefferson said low inflation is the best way to achieve prosperity

Keeping inflation under control is the best way to ensure a strong economy for everyone, Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson said Thursday.

“Low inflation is key to achieving a long and sustained expansion — an economy that works for all,” the central bank official said during an event in Minneapolis. “Pursuing our dual mandate is the best way for the Federal Reserve to promote widely shared prosperity.”

Jefferson did not provide any direct comments on where he sees policy heading as the Fed looks to achieve both full employment and stable prices.

His comments from following a flurry of speeches from his colleagues, who universally say the Fed will need to raise interest rates more to bring down inflation still running around its highest levels since the early 1980s.

—Jeff Cox

Fed’s Bullard says monetary policy not yet ‘sufficiently restrictive’

St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said more tightening may be needed for the central bank to tame inflation.

He said Thursday that inflation remains unacceptably high, noting that policy isn’t “sufficiently restrictive” at current levels. The Fed has raised rates from zero to a range of 4%-4.25% this year, as U.S. inflation soars to levels not seen in decades.

“Thus far, the change in the monetary policy stance appears to have had only limited effects on observed inflation, but market pricing suggests disinflation is expected in 2023,” Bullard said.

— Fred Imbert

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World

Hong Kong stocks jump after China trims quarantine period, up more than 7%

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Oil prices rise more than 2% on back of China easing quarantine measures

Reopening stocks jump after China’s eased Covid measures reported

China trims Covid quarantine time by two days

Chinese state media announced on Friday that the country will reduce quarantine time for international travelers by two days.

The revised rules state travelers will be required to stay at a quarantine facility for five days, shorter than the previous period of seven days, with a two day period of home observation.

— Evelyn Cheng, Lee Ying Shan

Earnings preview: Softbank to post net profit after seeing previous losses

Softbank is expected to post a net profit in upcoming quarterly earnings.

A median of forecasts predict the Japanese conglomerate to report an annualized net profit of 2.769 trillion yen ($19.5 billion) for its second quarter ending September 30, according to a Refinitiv survey.

The company posted two consecutive periods of quarterly net losses, with a 3.16 trillion yen net loss in the first quarter ending June 30 and a 2.1 trillion yen net loss in the fourth quarter ending March 30th.

— Lee Ying Shan

Hong Kong movers: Alibaba, JD.com, Tencent soar at open

Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese technology companies popped in early Asia trade as the broader Hang Seng Index briefly added more than 6%.

Tech giants Alibaba and JD.com soared 7.94% and 10%, respectively. Tencent added 9.16%, and Meituan gained 12.26%.

— Lee Ying Shan

Currency check: Japanese yen, Chinese yuan at strengthened levels

The Japanese yen and Chinese yuan hovered around strengthened levels after the U.S. dollar index fell more than 1% overnight on a softer-than-expected inflation report.

The yen stood at 141.63 against the greenback, hovering around the strongest levels it’s seen in two months before weakening past 150 in October.

The onshore yuan was around 7.18, also trading near its strongest levels to the dollar in nearly a month.

— Jihye Lee

Asia-Pacific indexes pop at open after U.S. inflation report

CNBC Pro: Bitcoin will fall further, says fund manager — until this one catalyst kicks in

Bitcoin is down by 75% from its all-time high, and a cryptocurrency exchange is on the brink of bankruptcy. In such an environment, a bond fund manager reveals the one thing that’s needed for prices to rally.

Michael Howell from Cross Border Capital also said that due to the missing catalyst, there’s an increased risk of investors getting in a “bit too early.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

CPI rises less than expected

The U.S. consumer price index — a broad measure of inflation — rose by 0.4% in October from a month ago. On a year-over-year basis, the CPI rose 7.7%.

Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a month-over-month gain of 0.6% and a year-over-year advance of 7.9%.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core CPI increased 0.3% for the month and 6.3% on an annual basis, compared to respective estimates of 0.5% and 6.5%.

— Jeff Cox

Dollar index on pace for worst day since Dec. 2015

The U.S. dollar slid Thursday against a basket of other currencies as investors cheered October’s CPI report coming in weaker than expected, signaling that inflation may have peaked.

The dollar index shed 2%, putting it on pace for its worst daily performance since Dec. 4, 2015. If the index falls more than 2.1%, it will hit levels not seen since 2009.

This week, the dollar index is down 2.3% and is on pace for its worst week since March 2020.

—Carmen Reinicke

Biden to raise concerns about Xi’s relationship with Putin ahead of G-20 summit

The U.S. government has introduced some of its most sweeping export controls yet aiming to cut China off from advanced semiconductors. Analysts said the move could hobble China’s domestic chip industry.

Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images

President Joe Biden is expected to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in a face-to-face meeting.

The meeting between the two leaders, the first since Biden ascended to the U.S. presidency, will take place ahead of the G-20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia.

“I think the president will be honest and direct with President Xi about how we see the situation in Ukraine with Russia’s war of aggression,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters on a call.

“This is a topic that the president and President Xi have spoken about several times before. They spoke about it extensively in March in their video call and then they spoke about it again in July, so it’s part of an ongoing conversation between the two of them,” added the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

— Amanda Macias

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Business

Asia-Pacific markets are mixed as investors search for direction

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SINGAPORE — Australian stocks rose more than 1% while Hong Kong and South Korean markets were lower on Monday ahead of Australia and Malaysia central bank decisions this week.

The S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.26%, with banking and retail stocks in the green.

Japan and mainland China markets were also higher.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan pared earlier gains to trade 0.54% higher, while the Topix index climbed around 1%.

In China, the Shanghai Composite gained 0.14% and the Shenzhen Component rose 0.9%.

We probably will be bumping along the bottom, maybe a bit more downside from here.

Dan Fineman

Co-head of Asia-Pacific equity strategy, Credit Suisse

Hong Kong and South Korea stocks were down.

The Hang Seng index was closed on Friday and slipped as much as 1.8% in early trade on Monday. It was last down 0.59%.

Exchange-traded funds will be included in the stock connect scheme that links Hong Kong and mainland China from Monday.

South Korea’s Kospi initially struggled for direction and was last down 0.91%, while the Kosdaq shed 1.92%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.13% lower.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia’s Jakarta Composite dropped 2.54%.

Dan Fineman, co-head of Asia-Pacific equity strategy at Credit Suisse, said markets appear to have adequately priced in the amount of Fed hikes that are to come, but that the “very high risk of recession” means markets are unlikely to rally.

“I think that the worst is behind us. We probably will be bumping along the bottom, maybe a bit more downside from here, but I think the difficulties of the first half will not be repeated on the same scale in the second half,” he told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Monday.

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Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 105.143.

“The possibility of 75bp hikes at its June and July meetings is keeping the USD strong in the near term, but we maintain our core view that dollar strength will wane later in the year,” Richard Yetsenga, chief economist at ANZ, wrote in a Monday note.

The Japanese yen traded at 135.14 per dollar, strengthening from levels as weak as 137 per dollar last week. The Australian dollar was at $0.6806 after recovering from below $0.679 recently.

Oil futures fell in Asia’s afternoon trade. U.S. crude futures shed 0.22% to $108.19 per barrel, while Brent crude futures slipped 0.21% to $111.39.

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Business

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leads gains in Asia; Alibaba shares soar

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SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Friday morning trade, with investors monitoring shares of Alibaba in Hong Kong after the Chinese tech giant posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday.

In Friday morning trade, shares of Alibaba in Hong Kong surged 12.08% after it reported Thursday fourth-quarter earnings of 7.95 yuan ($1.18) per share, excluding items, on revenues of 204.05 billion yuan ($30.28 billion).

That was higher than analyst expectations for earnings of 7.31 yuan a share on CNY199.25 billion in revenue, according to StreetAccount.

Other Chinese tech stocks in the city also saw big gains, with Tencent rising 3.71% while Netease surged 5.39%. The broader Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed 2.78%.

Mainland Chinese stocks also traded higher, with the Shanghai Composite up about 0.5% while the Shenzhen Component advanced 0.845%.

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The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 0.88% as shares of conglomerate SoftBank Group surged 4.47%. The Topix index advanced 0.62%. South Korea’s Kospi also jumped 1.15%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.07%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 1.57% higher.

Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P 500 jumped 1.99% to 4,057.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 516.91 points, or 1.61%, to 32,637.19. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed as it rose 2.68% to 11,740.65.

Currencies and oil

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 101.691 — off levels above 102.2 seen earlier in the week.

The Japanese yen traded at 127.01 per dollar, still stronger than levels above 127.8 seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7103, holding above the $0.705 level that it momentarily fell below earlier in the week.

Oil prices were higher in the morning of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures rising around 0.2% to $117.61 per barrel. U.S. crude futures hovered above the flatline, trading at $114.14 per barrel.

— CNBC’s Samantha Subin contributed to this report.

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Business

Asia-Pacific stocks mixed; China keeps benchmark lending rate unchanged

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SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday trade as China defied expectations by keeping its benchmark lending rate unchanged.

The Shanghai composite in mainland China fell 0.21% while the Shenzhen component shed 0.648%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, which fell more than 2% on Tuesday, gained 0.82%.

China on Wednesday kept its one-year loan prime rate unchanged at 3.7%, while also holding steady on the five-year LPR at 4.6%. A majority of the traders and analysts surveyed in a snap Reuters poll expected a cut in the loan prime rate this month.

Investors have been watching for signs of policy support from Chinese authorities as the mainland continues to grapple with its worst Covid outbreak since the initial shock of the pandemic in 2020.

“I really don’t expect, you know, they’re very keen to put on the rate cuts … in the near term,” said Eva Lee, head of greater China equities at UBS Global Wealth Management’s chief investment office.

China’s second-quarter growth rate is set to be weak, but authorities are likely to make moves toward ensuring sufficient liquidity in the system rather than flooding it, Lee told CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday.

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The Nikkei 225 in Japan climbed 0.78% as shares of Fast Retailing jumped more than 2%. The Topix index advanced 0.88%.

Australian stocks also traded in positive territory as the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.27%. South Korea’s Kospi sat below the flatline.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.6% higher.

Yen recovers partially against dollar

The Japanese yen traded at 128.57 per dollar, stronger as compared to an earlier low of 129.40 seen against the greenback.

The moves came after the Bank of Japan on Wednesday said it would offer to buy an unlimited amount of 10-year Japanese government bonds at 0.25%. The Japanese yen has been weakening for weeks against the dollar amid expectations the Bank of Japan will lag the U.S. Federal Reserve in normalizing monetary policy.

The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was at 100.699 after earlier touching a high above 101.

The Australian dollar changed hands at $0.7411, still lower as compared to levels above $0.745 seen last week.

Oil prices were higher in the afternoon of Asia trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures climbing 1.02% to $108.34 per barrel. U.S. crude futures gained 0.93% to $103.51 per barrel.

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Business

Didi 44% stock plunge leaves SoftBank and Uber with weak returns

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Cheng Wei, chairman and chief executive officer of Beijing Xiaoju Keji Didi Dache Co., pauses at the Boao Forum For Asia Annual Conference in Boao, China, on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. The annual event sees business and political leaders come together and runs from March 22 to 25.

Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Didi shares tumbled 44% on Friday, the biggest one-day drop since the Chinese ride-hailing company went public in the U.S. in June.

The stock is now 87% below its IPO price, leaving its two top shareholders — SoftBank and Uber — facing the potential for steep losses.

The shares were already in freefall amid a crackdown by the Chinese government on domestic companies listed in the U.S. Didi said in December that it would delist from the New York Stock Exchange and instead list in Hong Kong. On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Didi hadn’t complied with data-security requirements necessary to proceed with a share sale in Hong Kong.

Softbank owns about 20% of Didi. The Japanese conglomerate’s stake is now worth around $1.8 billion, down from close to $14 billion at the time of the IPO. Uber’s roughly 12% stake has fallen from more than $8 billion in June to just over $1 billion today.

Uber acquired the stake in 2016 after selling its China business to Didi. Uber said in its latest annual report that in 2021 it recognized an unrealized $3 billion loss on its Didi investment.

The hole is deepening and reflects a broader headwind for the tech sector, which is getting hammered on the public market.

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

Earlier this week, database software maker Oracle said its investments in Oxford Nanopore and Ampere Computing pulled down profit in the fiscal third quarter by about 5 cents a share. And electric car maker Rivian, which counts Amazon as a top investor, fell 8% on Friday after a disappointing forecast and is now down 63% this year.

For SoftBank, Didi was one of the 83 companies it backed through its original first Vision Fund. Last year CNBC reported that SoftBank was selling part of its Uber position partly to cover its Didi losses.

“Since we invested in Didi, we have seen a huge loss of value,” Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s CEO, said in a February call to discuss results for the nine months ended Dec. 31.

SoftBank shares fell 6.6% at the close, while Uber rose 1.2%.

Didi wasn’t the only Chinese tech stock to drop on Friday, though its decline was the heftiest. E-commerce sites Alibaba Group and JD.com as well as electric automaker Nio all fell as fears remerged regarding companies with dual listings in the U.S. and Hong Kong.

WATCH: Blueshirt Group’s Gary Dvorchak discusses Didi shares’ plunge

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Business

Coinbase rival FTX U.S. valued at $8 billion in first funding round

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Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and chief executive officer of FTX, in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

Lam Yik | Bloomberg | Getty Images

FTX U.S., the American affiliate of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, said Wednesday it has raised $400 million in its first external fundraising round.

The investment gives FTX U.S. a valuation of $8 billion, placing it among the world’s most valuable private crypto firms. Investors in the round include Temasek, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2.

The deal shows that start-up investors’ confidence in the nascent digital asset industry hasn’t been shaken, even as the prices of bitcoin and other tokens have fallen sharply.

Bitcoin and ether, the world’s two biggest virtual currencies, have both roughly halved in value since reaching record highs in November, while smaller tokens like solana and cardano have suffered even steeper declines.

The slump has led some to fear a more dramatic downturn known as “crypto winter” could be on its way. Brett Harrison, president of FTX U.S., said the market turbulence shows how crypto is a “volatile asset class.”

“Volatility cuts both ways,” he said. “With all of the large upturns that we’ve seen in crypto, we have to expect that there are going to be downturns as well. And we’re definitely in that period right now.”

Harrison said the phenomenon is “not specific to crypto” — stock markets have taken a tumble as well. “I think that we are going to eventually see a bounce back,” he added.

FTX was set up in Hong Kong in 2019 by 29-year-old crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried. The wider company, recently valued by investors at $25 billion, has since moved its headquarters to the Bahamas.

Bankman-Fried established FTX U.S. as the American sister to distinguish it from his main exchange, as officials in Washington began taking a closer look at the digital currency market. Trading launched on the platform in May 2020.

In a trading update Wednesday, FTX U.S. said average daily volumes on its platform grew sevenfold in 2021, peaking at more than $800 million in November after bitcoin notched a record high of almost $69,000.

The company facilitated more than $67 billion in spot crypto trades last year. It now has around 1.2 million registered users in total.

FTX U.S. hopes the investment will help it gain an edge over rivals like Coinbase and Robinhood. Like FTX, the company is making a push into derivatives — contracts that allow investors to speculate on the performance of an asset. It acquired LedgerX, a crypto futures and options exchange, in October.

Harrison says the U.S. market for crypto derivatives pales in comparison to the international marketplace. Investors see that there’s “an enormous opportunity for us to bring much of that volume onshore,” he added.

Coinbase is looking to make similar moves beyond spot trading, agreeing a deal to buy derivatives exchange FairX earlier this month.

Regulation is coming

Still, regulators are growing concerned by the rapid rise of the crypto industry. They fear certain aspects of the market may pose the threat of contagion across financial markets, and that consumers are getting into crypto investments without knowing the risks involved.

President Joe Biden’s administration is reportedly expected to deliver an executive order calling for regulation of digital assets as early as next month.

Harrison said officials in Washington have two primary concerns with crypto — stablecoins and oversight of exchanges.

Digital currencies like tether and Circle’s USD Coin are meant to be pegged to the U.S. dollar, but it’s not that simple. Tether has admitted its reserves include short-term debt obligations and other assets as well as dollars. And, up until recently, USD Coin’s reserves had included assets other than cash and U.S. government bonds.

Meanwhile, crypto exchanges are currently regulated in the U.S. as money transfer businesses. Harrison says that’s “not a sustainable long-term future” and wants stricter oversight with rules against market manipulation, a major source of concern in the crypto market.

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Business

WeWork (WE) reports Q3 2021 earnings

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The New York Stock Exchange welcomes WeWork, Inc. (NYSE: WE), today, Thursday, October 21, 2021, in celebration of its listing. To honor the occasion, Sandeep Mathrani, CEO, and Marcelo Claure, Chairman, joined by NYSE President Stacey Cunningham, ring The Opening Bell®.

NYSE

WeWork shares were up 3% in premarket trading on Monday after the company reported third-quarter earnings, the company’s first report since going public in October.

Total revenue for the quarter was $661 million, up 11% from the previous quarter, WeWork said. The company also saw a loss of $4.54 per share. That’s an improvement from the loss of $5.51 per share in the year-ago quarter. No analysts covered WeWork for the third quarter, so there are no estimates to compare the results against.

WeWork went public through a SPAC merger in October, almost two years after its botched IPO.

When it went public, WeWork was valued at roughly $9 billion, a steep drop from 2019, when it was privately valued at $47 billion by SoftBank Group. That slowly dropped as news of the company’s finances unraveled and investors raised concerns over its business model and its founder and then-CEO Adam Neumann.

By the end of September, WeWork said physical memberships grew to 432,000 with a 56% occupancy rate. As companies continue to embrace flexibility, All Access memberships increased to 32,000 by the end of September or 60% over the previous quarter.

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Business

Inside Boston Dynamics’ plan to commercialization

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In June of 2020, Boston Dynamics started selling its first commercial robot: Spot.

It was a big moment for the company. For most of its 30 year history, Boston Dynamics has been focused on research and development. Initially, Boston Dynamics received a lot of its funding from the U.S. military and DARPA. Later, it was financed by big-name owners including Google, SoftBank and most recently, Hyundai. All of these companies have tried to steer the robot maker on a path to commercialization, and Boston Dynamics is finally getting there.

“I expect that we will become a serial producer of novel robots with advanced capabilities. I think we’ll build, every, say three to five years, we’re going to roll out a new robot targeting a new industry,” says Robert Playter, CEO of Boston Dynamics.

But for now, Boston Dynamics is focusing on the inspection and warehouse industries with its robots Spot and Stretch.

“The next big industry for Spot is really in this this market that we’re calling industrial sensing or dynamics sensing, which is where we have robots walking around places like manufacturing plants, chemical plants, utilities, installations, and using the robots to collect data on what’s happening in these facilities in an automated way,” says Zack Jackowski, chief engineer of the Spot product. “And this is really interesting, because once you start getting this highly repeatable, high quality data, you could start understanding these facilities and the efficiencies of them in new ways.”

Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot performs an inspection at a National Grid substation in Massachusetts.

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So far, Spot has been used to do inspections at construction sites, oil rigs, nuclear plants, to check the vital signs of Covid-19 patients in hospitals, and even remind people to maintain social distance amid the pandemic. Boston Dynamics said it has sold several hundred Spot robots so far, with the entry level robot costing around $75,000.

The company’s other commercial robot, Stretch, focuses on the warehouse market.

“We see Stretch as ultimately a general purpose box moving machine that can be used anywhere in the warehouse,” says Playter. “Something like 800 million containers are shipped around the world each year. Many of those are full of boxes. There’s probably trillions of boxes that are loaded and unloaded by hand each year in the United States. It’s a huge job. It’s a mountain of material that has to get moved. Stretch is really power tools to help people move that that material.”

Stretch is made up of a few different parts. The robot uses a mobile base to move around tight spaces and go up loading ramps. An arm, gripper, vision cameras and sensors allow the robot to identify and handle a variety of different objects. Initially, the robot will be used for the loading and unloading of trucks.

Boston Dynamics says it expects Stretch to go on sale next year, though it would not provide a price point. Customers can also opt to purchase just the computer vision software that powers Stretch, which Boston Dynamics calls Pick. The company says it’s working with a few early adopters to test the robot, but would not say who those partners are. 

Check out the video to learn more about Boston Dynamics’ history and the company’s plan to transition from R&D to commercialization.

 

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