The Bank of England lifted the UK’s interest rates by 25 bps, the eleventh rate hike in a row. The interest rates were increased from 4% to 4.25%, reaching 15-year highs, with the aim of bringing inflation down.

The Swiss National Bank joined the Fed with another rate hike of 50 bps. The interest rates were increased from 1% to 1.5%, the highest since 2008. The central bank suggested more rate hikes could occur this year. 

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%.

The Big Tech layoffs continue, now with Amazon. The company is reportedly firing 9,000 people, according to Andy Jassy’s memo to staff.

Nasdaq is about to launch crypto custody services in the second quarter of this year. Nasdaq is reportedly moving forward to get all the necessary technical setup and regulatory approvals ready.

The European stock market was brought down by the banking sector. DAX fell 2% due to ongoing fears that another bank will crash. Deutsche Bank is down 15%, while UBS along with Credit Suisse both lost around 6%. Other notable industry players like BNP Paribas and Commerzbank suffered losses as well.

Bitcoin appears to be entering a new bullish “supercycle,” according to Bloomberg senior analyst Mike McGlone. He claims Bitcoin is the best-performing asset in 2023, increasing its price “nearly 10 times” as much as gold.

The Japanese Yen has been strengthening against all other currencies on Friday. EUR/JPY fell the hardest, by 1.82%. Other currency pairs, like NZD/JPY and GBP/JPY, are also down 1.5% so far.

Hermes International (RMS) jumped to a new all-time high of over 1,806 per stock. The company is up 24% so far in 2023 and up 49.5% in the last 12 months. Hermes is currently valued at 188 billion euros.

The Interior Minister of Montenegro claims Do Kwon has been arrested in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro. The identity verification should be confirmed soon.