ECB continues to fight high inflation 🔥
The European Central Bank agreed that the ECB should continue tightening monetary policy to tackle high inflation levels. The ECB officials said inflation is still far too high, and they are ready to lift interest rates even if it causes a slight recession. However, they are also prepared to pause the rate hikes in case of a prolonged recession.
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Fed raised interest rates by 25 bps
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps as expected, from 4.75% to 5%. The news pushed Bitcoin to $29,000 and Nasdaq close to $13,000.
The annual inflation rate in the UK unexpectedly jumped from 10.1% to 10.4%, significantly higher than the 9.9% forecast. Lebanon’s inflation surged from 123.53% to 189.67%. South Africa’s inflation jumped by 0.1% from 6.9% to 7%.
Canada’s annual inflation rate dropped to 5.2% from the previous month’s 5.9%. This is the lowest reading since January 2022 and falls short of the market’s projection of 5.4%. Core inflation decreased as well, from 5% to 4.7%.
Amazon fires 9,000 of its employees
The Big Tech layoffs continue, now with Amazon. The company is reportedly firing 9,000 people, according to Andy Jassy’s memo to staff.
EU inflation falls, core inflation rises
The annual inflation rate in the Euro Area dropped as expected from 8.6% to 8.5%. The core CPI grew from 5.3% to 5.6%, also exactly in line with market estimates.
ECB raises interest rates by 50 bps 💥
The ECB delivered another rate hike of 50 basis points (bps), from 3% to 3.5%. This is the highest since 2008, a 350 bps increase in the last 9 months.
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SEC’s fight with crypto intensifies
The SEC filed a new lawsuit against Jake Paul, citing crypto promotions without disclosing the payment he received for the promotion. Justin Sun is being sued for fraud and market manipulation. The SEC alleges unregistered sales of securities (TRX and BitTorrent). Moreover, Coinbase received a Wells Notice focused on staking and asset listing.
EUR/USD rose above 1.0900 after the Fed raised interest rates, the highest since early February. Another Fed’s rate hike of 25bps was delivered, but the US dollar weakened all around the place.
Fed raised interest rates by 25 bps
The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 bps as expected, from 4.75% to 5%. The news pushed Bitcoin to $29,000 and Nasdaq close to $13,000.
Enterprise blockchain adoption will be sped up thanks to a new partnership between Chainlink Labs and PwC Germany. Chainlink Labs will offer services to traditional businesses who are already working with PwC but have not yet adopted blockchain technology.
Magic Eden supports Bitcoin NFT trading
Magic Eden has become one of the first major NFT marketplaces to support Bitcoin NFTs (Ordinals). The company aims to leverage the rising interest in Ordinals after over 560,000 inscriptions were made. This is the fourth supported blockchain after Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon.
Russia to internationalize Chinese Yuan
Putin advocated for the internationalization of the Chinese yuan, saying that around two-thirds of trade between Russia and China is conducted in yuan and ruble. The president said his country supports the use of the yuan in trade between Russia and countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.