SHAREHOLDER ALERT: CCXI PCT ATER: The Law Offices of Vincent Wong Reminds Investors of Important Class Action Deadlines

MoneyWise
Memorial Day weekend gas prices are the worst in 7 years — for these reasons
As the economy opens back up, travel demand is rising. So is the cost of gas.
26m ago
FX Empire
NZD/USD Forex Technical Analysis – Next Big Challenge for Bullish Traders is 50% Level at .7204
The direction of the NZD/USD on Friday is likely to be determined by trader reaction to the main Fibonacci level at .7266.
6h ago
Reuters
U.S. FAA confirms Boeing halt to 787 Dreamliner deliveries
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that Boeing had temporarily halted deliveries of 787 Dreamliners as the agency waits for more data to determine if the planemaker's planned inspection method meets federal requirements. "Since the FAA has not approved Boeing’s proposal, Boeing chose to temporarily stop deliveries to its customers."
8h ago
Reuters
Goldman says China is no longer center of commodities pricing
While commodity prices fell after Chinese warnings over onshore speculation, "the fundamental path in key commodities such as oil, copper and soybeans remains orientated towards incremental tightness in H2, with scant evidence of a supply response sufficient to derail this bull market." The market is beginning to reflect this, as copper prices are increasingly driven by Western manufacturing data rather their Chinese counterparts, it said. "This is a role reversal from the bull market of the 2000's, with China now the incumbent consumer as the U.S. was when emerging Chinese demand squeezed out marginal U.S consumers," Goldman said.
11h ago
Bloomberg
Ark’s Wood Says Bitcoin Can’t Be Shut Down, Rebuts ESG Fears
(Bloomberg) -- Star investor Cathie Wood has a message of reassurance for Bitcoin investors amid the din of ever harsher regulatory rhetoric: officials won’t be able to make the largest cryptocurrency go away.Tough talk against digital tokens from China and calls for greater scrutiny in Europe and the U.S. have contributed to a slump in Bitcoin, but Wood said the virtual currency is “already on its way and it’ll be impossible to shut it down.”Regulators “will be a little more friendly over time” toward cryptocurrencies out of fear of missing out on the innovation provided by the sector, Wood said at the Consensus 2021 conference organized by CoinDesk.Read More: Cathie Wood’s Bad Spring Is a Blip When Future Is So MagnificentThe most high-profile recent broadside came from China. A push to rein in cryptocurrency mining there was partly triggered by concern over a surge in illicit coal extraction to deliver the power needed by the server farms underpinning Bitcoin. Billionaire Elon Musk also highlighted environmental risks in suspending Bitcoin payments at Tesla Inc.Wood, founder of Ark Investment Management LLC, said that the focus on green factors likely led to a pause in institutional buying of Bitcoin. She has previously said she expects the token to surge longer term.Bitcoin’s questionable environmental profile has eroded the argument that the token is bound to lure more mainstream investment, whether as an online store of value akin to digital bullion or for more speculative purposes.Musk has backed an effort to shine a light on energy consumption by North American miners, including planned renewable use. But it will take years for many of the largest miners to recalibrate where they source their energy.“Half of the solution is understanding the problem,” Wood said. “This auditing of what miners, certainly in North America, are willing to do around how much of their electricity usage is generated by renewables is going to bring that topic into stark relief, and will encourage an acceleration in the adoption of renewables beyond which otherwise would have taken the place.”Ark Investment Management published a report last month saying cryptocurrency mining can drive investment in solar power and make more renewable energy available to the grid.Capital-Gains TaxOn the stock market outlook, Wood said concerns about higher U.S. capital-gains taxes had hurt “high-volatility, high-multiple stocks,” but added those fears have eased amid increased chances of gridlock in Washington.Ark’s funds have faced a tough time of late as a wave of selling swept across former market darlings in the technology sector amid a switch to less richly valued segments of the equity market. The firm’s flagship Ark Innovation ETF has slumped about 28% from its February peak.Bitcoin was trading around the $38,000 level as of 12:41 p.m. in Tokyo, down some 40% from a record in mid-April.(Updates with more from Wood from the eighth paragraph.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
14h ago
Barrons.com
AMC Spikes, Salesforce Drops, Stocks Are Rising
Stock futures were pointed higher Friday. Core inflation came in higher than expected, but investors had largely priced that in already.
5h ago
Reuters
Achieved? Google executives' appraisals sought in U.S. antitrust case
Lawyers for the Justice Department and Alphabet's Google tangled on Thursday over whether the company should hand over performance reviews of executives whom the government is considering calling as witnesses. In a pre-trial hearing, Kenneth Dintzer, speaking for the Justice Department, gave the example of an executive who might say in a self-assessment that Google has hit 85% market share in a certain area and his or her goal is to increase it. Dintzer stressed that the government did not want sensitive health or other personal information.
21h ago
Reuters
Dell, HP say chip shortages will hit PC supplies this year
However, shares of Dell fell 1%, while those of HP dropped as much as 6%, after both companies warned the ongoing computer chip shortage could impact their ability to meet demand for laptops this year. "The component supply situation remains constrained," Dell Chief Financial Officer Thomas Sweet said in post earnings call, adding that rising costs to procure these chips would hit its operating income in the current quarter by the low to mid-single digits and lead to slightly lower revenue on a sequential basis. HP Inc, which ranks second among global PC vendors according to IDC data, said the shortages would limit its ability to supply personal computing devices and printers at least until the end of the year.
22h ago
Reuters
Wall Street advances, unshaken by inflation surge
Wall Street's major averages rose on Friday as investors shrugged off data showing a jump in inflation, although recent worries about a spike in prices kept the S&P 500 on course for its smallest monthly gain since February. In the 12 months through April, the so-called core PCE price index vaulted 3.1%, blowing past the Federal Reserve's 2% target and reflecting pent-up demand as the economy reopens. "The market is less concerned about the inflation numbers and more interested in the fact that the reopening of the economy would lead to better corporate performance," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Jersey.
7h ago
Reuters
General Electric expects to burn less cash in Q2 than a year ago
General Electric Co expects to burn less cash in the current quarter than it did a year earlier, continuing a year-on-year improvement in cash generation, Chief Financial Officer Carolina Dybeck Happe said on Thursday. The industrial conglomerate expects to post a similar level of improvement in cash flow this quarter as it did a quarter ago, Dybeck Happe said at a Wolfe Research Transportation and Industrials Conference. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv, on average, expect the Boston-based company to report a cash outflow of $746 million in the current quarter, smaller than an outflow of $2.1 billion a year ago.
22h ago
Bloomberg
Turkey Central Bank Replaces Key Executives in Latest Clearout
(Bloomberg) -- Turkey’s central bank has replaced executives at some of its key departments, the latest step in a wider reshuffle that started with the president’s dismissal of a market-friendly governor.The executive directors of the banking, research and statistics departments were among senior central bank staff who were replaced on May 27, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Some personnel changes were also made at the budget and legal departments, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the internal changes are not announced to the public. The central bank declined to comment.The move comes two months after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fired governor Naci Agbal, the bank’s third governor in less than two years, sending Turkish markets into a nosedive. Erdogan, who holds unorthodox ideas about monetary policy and its impact on inflation, has replaced three additional members of the central bank’s rate-setting committee since installing Sahap Kavcioglu as the new governor.Erdogan Reshuffles Central Bank Again With New DeputyThe decision to fire Agbal, who had sought to restore the central bank’s credibility, set off a swift reversal of investor enthusiasm. The lira has lost more than 15% against the dollar since he was ousted. The new governor has pledged policy continuity after his appointment and kept interest rates unchanged for a second month in May.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
8h ago
Bloomberg
China’s Import Scrutiny Spurs U.S. Corn Cancellations
(Bloomberg) -- China is clamping down on some corn imports amid concern that overseas purchases have spiraled out of control, prompting several feed mills to cancel their U.S. cargoes.Chinese customs authorities are restricting imports into free trade zones, which aren’t counted toward an official annual purchase quota, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Total U.S. corn cancellations are estimated to be less than 1 million tons, said two of the people, who asked not to be identified as the matter is private.The increased scrutiny by Beijing over its corn imports comes as the broader market focuses on whether the country will continue its heightened purchases of raw materials from grains to metals to fossil fuels. Prices across a variety of products have soared this year partly because of Chinese demand, raising import costs and sparking fears over inflation in the Asian nation.Corn futures in Chicago fell as much as 2% before erasing losses as traders determined the scrapped purchases aren’t big enough to alter an already tight supply situation. Some market watchers claim China, which is forecast to import a record amount of corn this year, is trying to get a better deal after prices recently surged above $7 a bushel for the first time since 2013.“China is playing a negotiating game,” said David Martin, founder of Martin Fund Management in New York.China’s crackdown on corn purchases is targeted at businesses that have set up blending facilities in the free trade zones, according to the people familiar with the matter. These facilities allow firms to mix the imported corn with other raw materials to produce livestock feed that enable them to profit from zero-tariff imports, the people said.Calls to Chinese customs outside business hours went unanswered.Illinois corn farmer Matt Bennett, a co-founder of commodities brokerage and consulting firm AgMarket.net, noted that China has a pattern of crop-import cancellations only to start “buying the daylights out of stuff.”The canceled shipments are a small amount compared to more than 20 million tons of American corn that China has purchased this season. The Asian nation has been a key source of demand for the grain to feed its recovering hog herd, helping to push prices to multiyear highs. Imports from the U.S. have soared as Beijing also seeks to fulfill its commitments for the “phase one” trade deal signed with the U.S. in January 2020.The latest move by China “is likely to have only a very small impact on China’s compliance with the overall purchase commitments on the phase one agreement,” said Chad Bown, an expert at the pro-trade Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “Corn is just too small a portion of the overall deal.”Corn QuotasChina allocates annual corn import quotas to state and private firms. State-owned Cofco Corp. may at times receive an allowance to buy an additional amount that it resells domestically to private mills or to replenish state reserves.The quotas for 2021 are set at 7.2 million tons. Imports outside the quota are possible, but may incur tariffs of up to 65% of the purchase price. Shipments into bonded zones are exempt from duties.The proliferation of businesses that are shipping corn into bonded zones and blending them for animal feed has alarmed authorities, who are seeking to control imports and maintain the quality of feed products.Last month, Shandong province shut down a feed producer located at a local bonded zone after its product was found to have fallen short of protein requirements. The plant mainly blended corn with a low amount of distillers dried grains, or DDGS, said one of the people.All the cancellations will be of old U.S. corn crop from the 2020-21 marketing year, the people said. More than 15 million tons of American corn have been purchased for state stockpiles from old and new crops, two of the people said.(Corrects spelling of Bown’s name in 10th paragraph in story published May 26.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
1d ago
Coin Rivet
Polygon price surges following investment from Mark Cuban
Billionaire entrepreneur and newly converted DeFi fan Mark Cuban has invested in Polygon (Matic), a leading Layer 2 Ethereum scaling solution. According to emails, he has confirmed the investment in Polygon but didn’t disclose the size or amount purchased.
1d ago
Bloomberg
BOE Gold Commands High Premium, Signals Central Bank Buying
(Bloomberg) -- Gold stored at the Bank of England has been selling for unusually high premiums recently, signaling that central banks may be back in the market buying.Bullion in the Bank of England’s London reserves -- one of the largest stashes in the world --- is stored and sold on behalf of other central and commercial banks as opposed to being owned by the BOE itself. It usually trades within a few cents an ounce of the metal held at other London vaults run by commercial banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co.But in the past week, gold sold from the BOE has traded for as much as 50 cents above benchmark London prices, according to bullion traders. These premiums are at least in part being driven by buying from the Bank for International Settlements, which regularly trades the metal on behalf of the world’s central banks, a person with direct knowledge said, asking not to be identified because the information isn’t public.The BIS bought as much as 1 million ounces of BOE metal from various commercial banks at a premium of 30 to 40 cents recently, one person said. The premium for gold at the BOE rose to as much as 50 cents an ounce late last week before tapering off to about 20 to 40 cents, according to bullion traders. That compares with a range of zero to 20 cents during normal circumstances, the traders said.A spokeswoman for the BIS declined to comment, citing client confidentiality. The BOE declined to comment.The buying may be a sign that one or several central banks are increasing their gold reserves, bullion traders said.Gold RallyCentral banks helped underpin gains in gold prices for most of the last decade, but flipped to net sellers in the third quarter of 2020 as some countries cashed in on surging prices. Renewed buying could help sustain a rally in bullion, which on Tuesday recovered all its losses so far this year. The metal is on the way to its biggest monthly gain since July as investors fret about inflation and Federal Reserve officials signal steady monetary policy for now.Since prices dropped early this year, at least some central banks have returned as buyers. In the past, sovereign lenders have bought gold to diversify their portfolios away from the U.S. dollar to safeguard their finances amid concerns over the Fed’s ultra-loose monetary policy, massive U.S. government spending and inflationary pressures.Last month, the Bank of Thailand raised its gold holdings to 6.35 million ounces from 4.95 million ounces in March, according to data from the International Monetary Fund website. In March, Hungary tripled its reserves of the metal in one of the biggest purchases by a central bank in decades. Data from the World Gold Council showed global central banks were net buyers of bullion in February, led by India, which bought 11.2 tons.(Updates with BIS, BOE comments from fifth paragraph.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
9h ago
Bloomberg
Bitcoin Slumps as Traders Brace for a Volatile Long Weekend
(Bloomberg) -- Bitcoin slumped 7% to near $35,500, recalling levels seen in the crypto meltdown last week as traders brace for fresh volatility over the long weekend.Prices across digital tokens took a hit as Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda joined a growing list of central bankers expressing skepticism about the industry’s usefulness in the real world.Now, retail players are set to dominate the coming trading sessions on typically thin exchange volumes.“Looking at the unrest across the crypto market, there is a chance that we see another hectic weekend trading in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, a senior analyst at Swissquote.Prices spiked 10% last Saturday, only to plunge by 18% the next day.https://t.co/gR9ozw5TrP pic.twitter.com/xkelxqOZnu— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) May 28, 2021 “Most of the trading is speculative and volatility is extraordinarily high,” Kuroda said in an interview Thursday. “It’s barely used as a means of settlement.”Kuroda Joins Chorus of Central Bankers Casting Doubt on BitcoinAll the same, Bitcoin was little changed for the week, after a 44% selloff from the April’s peak of $63,000.More broadly, the threat of tougher regulation continues to be a drag on crypto market sentiment. China and Iran have cracked down on Bitcoin mining operations for using too much electricity and there’s speculation that the U.S. policymakers may increase financial oversight given the market’s growing size and intense volatility.On a technical level, the key marker is $30,000, said Swissquote’s Ozkardeskaya. A break below that level would be “further affirmation of an extended bear market,” she said.“Volatility has eased this week, but that probably won’t last entering a long weekend,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp., wrote in a note. “Bitcoin’s consolidation phase should continue, but if the $37,000 level breached momentum, it could get ugly fast.”More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
6h ago
Bloomberg
AMC Defies Gravity as Retail Traders Propel Gains to 1,150%
(Bloomberg) -- AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. capped its best trading session in four months, pushed higher by eager retail investors who celebrated vaulting the company’s market value to a record $13 billion on social media.Shares soared 36% to $26.52 as 691 million shares changed hands, in the busiest day since January for the Leawood, Kansas-based company. The four-day rally more than doubled its stock price, pushing its year-to-date gains to 1,150%.AMC’s revival has been fueled by individual investors eager to save the movie theater industry after it raised more than $1 billion in financing to avoid bankruptcy over recent months.Chief Executive Officer Adam Aron has embraced the Reddit-fueled rally and talked to new retail investors on conference calls. The stock has roughly tripled since AMC reported quarterly results on May 6, adding $9 billion in value. Thursday’s milestone stands out against a market value bottom of $216.8 million which was hit in April 2020.While Chad Beynon, an analyst with Macquarie Securities, is waiting for AMC to continue to shed debt and lease obligations before getting more constructive on shares, he acknowledged the mania individual investors can create.“The Reddit crowd is strong, the volumes have been off the charts lately, so there’s clearly demand that wasn’t there pre-Covid,” he said by phone. The company’s ability to raise cash at over $10 a share earlier in the month “marked the first time the company was able to financially benefit from the Reddit rally,” he said.The cash AMC has raised through the sales of hundreds of millions of additional shares is a key driver for the massive run-up in market value despite the stock actually trading down more than 25% from a 2015 peak. More than 490 million shares of AMC are currently available for trading, data compiled by Bloomberg show, almost ten-times the 52 million shares outstanding at the start of last year.More CapitalDebt tied to AMC has rallied alongside shares, setting new highs in recent days. The company’s bonds, which were trading at a low of 5 cents in November, are inching close to par, according to Trace trading data. That debt carries a hefty coupon of 12% for the notes due 2026.AMC’s bonds were among the top performers in the U.S. high-yield market on Thursday, extending gains from earlier in the week.The company said previously it might seek more financing, and some investors have suggested it sell more shares to pay down or look to refinance its more than $10 billion debt load.The cinema chain “will carefully examine the raising of additional capital in whatever form we think is most attractive” and is focused on de-leveraging, Aron said on a call to discuss fourth-quarter results in March.The company’s latest resurgence at the hands of individual investors has pushed the market value to more than double its April 2017 peak of $4.17 billion prior to this year’s trading. Put a different way, AMC has consistently added more than $1 billion in each of the last three sessions -- more than double its value at the start of the year.Mark-to-market losses for investors betting against the movie theater chain topped $1 billion this week alone, data compiled by S3 Partners shows.The movie theater company’s ability to post strong box office numbers as it reopens in key markets like New York and California will be important, B. Riley Securities analyst Eric Wold said by phone. Wold downgraded shares to neutral from buy on Wednesday citing valuation concerns.(Updates with details on shorts in second to last paragraph. A previous version corrected trading volume, company location in second paragraph.)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
22h ago
Bloomberg
Credit Suisse Loses Four Financial Institutions Bankers to Jefferies
(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG’s top financial services banker is leaving the firm for Jefferies Financial Group Inc. along with at least three colleagues, as departures accelerate at the scandal-plagued firm.Alejandro Przygoda, global head of financial institutions, is joining Jefferies along with Carlos Marque, Fitzgerald Woolcott and Henry Kong, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to not be identified because the matter isn’t public.The departures follow a wave of exits from Credit Suisse in the wake of debacles involving Archegos Capital Management and supply-chain finance firm Greensill Capital. The financial-institutions group has seen at least four senior exits in recent weeks, with defections to Barclays Plc, Bank of America Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.Representatives for Credit Suisse and Jefferies declined to comment. The bankers didn’t respond to requests for comment.Przygoda, who focuses on deals in the insurance sector, joined Credit Suisse in 2011 from Greenhill & Co. Prior to that he had worked at UBS Group AG and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
1d ago
Bloomberg
Kevin Ulrich Scored a $2 Billion MGM Win. It Only Took a Decade
(Bloomberg) -- Hedge funds often measure their investments in minutes, not decades; but for Anchorage Capital Group, its long-held stake in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. is proving that patience can also be profitable.The New York-based money manager stands to make roughly $2 billion on its investment in the film and TV producer, one that began almost 11 years ago with MGM in bankruptcy court. Amazon.com Inc. agreed to buy the company for $8.45 billion Wednesday, a price that includes just under $2 billion in debt.The deal is in many ways a vindication for Kevin Ulrich, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader who co-founded Anchorage in 2003 and was part of a group of distressed debt investors that took control of MGM as it went through the restructuring process. In recent years the stake looked to be an albatross for the fund, one that came with significant drama in its own right.Ulrich brought in and later fired a high-profile chief executive officer, resisted efforts by activist investor Carl Icahn to take control, and held out for a bigger payday after years of considering various exit strategies. By selling now, as demand for media content from entertainment and technology companies alike is booming, he’s proving his long-held faith in the investment was justified.“There was a lot of maneuvering, a lot of financial engineering,” said Steven Azarbad, chief investment officer at New York’s Maglan Capital, an MGM investor who sold his shares four years ago. “But they’ve done great.”A representative for Anchorage declined to comment.When Ulrich first invested in MGM, he was new to Hollywood. He helped pick Gary Barber, a South African-born producer of films such as “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective” as chief executive officer of the storied but debt-laden studio. Barber brought to the table a shrewd business sense, and connections into a world Ulrich long admired from afar.Barber shepherded MGM’s development of “The Hobbit” franchise, a co-production with Warner Bros., that became a global smash hit. He helmed the release of the James Bond film, “Skyfall,” which generated over $1 billion at the box office, and he revived the studio’s work in television. Barber also brokered a deal to bring on TV super producer Mark Burnett, which gave MGM access to reality show hits like “Survivor” and “The Apprentice,” but would ultimately become personally troublesome.In 2012 the company bought back Icahn’s stock for $590 million. It also filed paperwork for a possible public offering of shares, and considered other options, such as a sale.As Barber boosted MGM’s film and TV pipeline, Ulrich was increasingly entranced by the allure of Hollywood. He became a regular at movie premieres in Los Angeles and New York, and frequented industry parties in the Hamptons and elsewhere. He became active in creative decisions after becoming chair of MGM’s board -- somewhat unusual for a non-executive lacking Hollywood experience -- even getting involved with business granularities like casting.Growing RiftBut over the following years a rift began to open up between Barber and Ulrich. When it was time to renew Barber’s contract in 2017, Ulrich conducted an extensive search for a new CEO. When it ended, he ultimately chose to sign Barber to a new five-year deal. Yet around the same time, the pair split on whether to sell the company, with Ulrich wanting to hang on to the studio and Barber saying it was time to find a buyer.The company would hold buyout talks with Apple Inc. as well as Chinese investors that would ultimately prove fruitless.Only months after renewing Barber’s deal, Ulrich fired him. The shock departure meant the company had to pay Barber for five years of salary and buy out his equity, a package totaling $260 million. In the three years since Barber left, Ulrich hasn’t replaced him, instead operating an “office of the chief executive officer,” comprised of various people that each have their personal vision for MGM.Barber declined to comment via his spokesperson.Bounce BackAfter the initial period of success following the restructuring, the gains became harder to come by, as they did in Anchorage’s overall credit-focused business. Two senior managers left the firm in January 2020, and another in November. Anchorage’s flagship strategy, with about $8.5 billion under management, returned just 0.6% in 2018, 1.5% in 2019 and 4.4% in 2020, according to people familiar with the matter.In December, MGM hired investment bankers for a potential sale.MGM only released one film in theaters in 2020. Its biggest potential hit, the latest Bond film, “No Time to Die,” was pushed from last year to this October as a result of the pandemic.Yet the value of MGM’s library rose as everyone from media companies to technology giants have sought to build video streaming platforms that can compete with industry leader Netflix Inc. Earnings jumped 48% last year, to about $307 million, even as sales declined.Anchorage holds a roughly 30% stake in MGM, worth about $2.5 billion in the sale, said people with knowledge of the matter. Anchorage invested around $500 million in the company more than a decade ago. Including the MGM stake, Anchorage’s flagship fund is up 18% this year, the people added. The fund has gained about 8% in 2021 not counting the studio.More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
1d ago
Quartz
China’s crackdown on bitcoin mining is getting real
The draft rules, which will be open for public comment until June 1, could set a precedent for other bitcoin mining hubs in China.
1d ago
Bloomberg
China Commodity Firms Cut Bullish Bets on Beijing Pressure
(Bloomberg) -- Several Chinese commodity firms pared back their bullish futures bets at the request of the government, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a sign of Beijing’s increasing concern over soaring raw material prices.Over the last two weeks, at least four major firms, including steel mills and commodity merchants, reduced their long positions in locally traded products including iron ore and coal after attending meetings with government officials, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a sensitive matter. At least two major futures brokerages were also advised by China’s exchanges to cap positions and trading volumes in contracts that are highly volatile, said two of the people.In addition to the firms who were urged by Beijing to reduce commodity holdings, officials at several other Chinese raw material producers, traders and investment firms cut bets without being asked, partly on concerns over potential criticism from regulators, according to interviews with 20 trading managers at state-owned and private firms in the past two weeks. These officials asked to stay anonymous as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.Email inquiries to the Shanghai, Dalian and Zhengzhou futures exchanges weren’t answered. A fax inquiry to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning body, didn’t receive a reply.Inflation AngstThe move by the Chinese government to try to temper prices behind the scenes underscores how worried it is that the global raw-material price boom will feed into higher inflation and derail its post-pandemic economic comeback. Commodity prices soared to near their highest level in a decade this month, as surging futures of iron ore to grains to copper raise the specter of rising construction, food and manufacturing costs.The impact is already being felt, with the country’s factory-gate prices jumping by the most since 2017 last month, adding pressure on officials to act to stem prices. Makers of products from lampshades to capacitors are also already seeing margins shrink as input costs rise.Most of the action so far has been rhetorical, including repeated calls from Premier Li Keqiang for action to rein in prices. There will be “zero tolerance” for monopolistic behavior and hoarding, the top planning department added. Market bodies also weighed in, with the Shanghai Futures Exchange pledging to curb unreasonable moves in its commodities contracts.The jawboning has had some success, with the global commodity spot index sliding about 1% since peaking on May 12, when Li said dealing with the situation is of national economic urgency. Iron ore prices in Dalian have since fallen 21% as of Thursday, while reinforced steel bar prices in Shanghai have dropped by about one-fifth.Still, the reduction in the bullish bets spanning products such as iron ore, base metals and coal hasn’t led to major declines in open interest because bargain hunters came into the market, said Jia Zheng, an analyst with Goldtrust Futures Co. in Shanghai.Coking coal futures traded on the Dalian exchange slipped 0.1% on Friday, reversing an earlier 2% gain. Iron ore climbed 0.8%, while steel rebar added 1.8% in Shanghai, though both pared earlier advances.It’s not just in financial markets where the Chinese government has added pressure. Some coal mining firms that hoarded inventories in anticipation of higher prices have been warned by the local government that their mining licenses could be revoked, the Chinese newspaper 21st Century Business Herald reported on Wednesday, citing a miner it didn’t identify. Coal companies are increasing their sales to mitigate rising prices, the newspaper said.(Updates with analyst comment in 9th paragraph, prices in 10th)More stories like this are available on bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
13h ago

Symbol	Last Price	Change	% Change
ATER Aterian, Inc.	18.15	-0.80	-4.22%
CCXI ChemoCentryx, Inc.	10.20	-0.21	-2.02%
PCT PureCycle Technologies, Inc.	17.04	-0.42	-2.41%
PCTTU PureCycle Technologies, Inc.	22.01	-1.09	-4.72%

S&P 500

Dow 30

Nasdaq

Russell 2000

Crude Oil

Gold

Silver

EUR/USD

10-Yr Bond

GBP/USD

USD/JPY

BTC-USD

CMC Crypto 200

FTSE 100

Nikkei 225

SHAREHOLDER ALERT: CCXI PCT ATER: The Law Offices of Vincent Wong Reminds Investors of Important Class Action Deadlines

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