Stock Rally Poses Question: When Does a Bull Become a Bubble?

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The bull market, born out of the pandemic, has turned a year old. The remarkable turnaround has some analysts wondering if the breakneck pace is sustainable.

The bull market turned a year old on Tuesday, a testament to the unbridled enthusiasm that let investors shrug off the economic carnage of the pandemic and buy stocks — and pretty much anything else.

Since the S&P 500 scraped bottom on March 23 last year, the blue-chip index has posted a rally of nearly 75 percent, even with a 0.8 percent fall on Tuesday. Tesla’s stock is up more than 650 percent, while true believers have pushed up shares of GameStop by over 4,500 percent. Bitcoin is booming, and so are even more esoteric assets like NFTs.

It’s enough to pose a question that would have seemed unfathomable a year ago.

“Is this a bubble?” said Garry Evans, chief strategist for global asset allocation at BCA Research. “I would say there are certainly pockets of the market that look bubbly.” » | Matt Phillips | Tuesday, March 23, 2021

UK Furlough Scheme Pays Out Millions to Foreign States and Tax Exiles

THE GUARDIAN: Qatari owners of Harrods and the Ritz claimed £3m alongside payouts to Saudi royals and British National party from Covid job support scheme

Billionaire tax exiles, the British National party, Saudi royals and oil-rich Gulf states have claimed millions of pounds in taxpayer-funded furlough money, the Guardian can disclose.

The revelations, based on analysis of government information, have sparked dismay among MPs at the use of a scheme designed to support struggling businesses and prevent mass unemployment, with one complaining of public money being scattered “like confetti”.

Beneficiaries behind companies that have drawn on the coronavirus job retention scheme include:

• Members of the Saudi royal family

• Qataris behind Harrods and the Ritz

• The ruler of Dubai

• Tax exiles Jim Ratcliffe and Guy Hands

• Billionaires Evgeny Lebedev, Len Blavatnik and Mohamed Al Fayed

• The British National party » | Rob Davies and Joseph Smith | Friday, March 19, 2021

The foreign royals and billionaire tax exiles collecting UK's furlough millions »

Why Grantham Says the Next Crash Will Rival 1929, 2000

Jan.22 -- Jeremy Grantham, co-founder and chief investment strategist of Boston’s GMO, believes U.S. stocks have become an epic bubble and will burst in a collapse rivaling the crashes of 1929 and 2000. In this interview, he explains why, discusses the futility of Federal Reserve policy, criticizes the state of American capitalism, and shares his thoughts on gold, Bitcoin, emerging markets and climate change. He spoke exclusively to Erik Schatzker on Bloomberg’s “Front Row.”

GameStop to Tesla: Investor Jeremy Grantham on 'Crazy' Markets | Charts That Count

The founder of GMO, known for calling several of the biggest market turns of recent decades, talks to the FT's US finance editor Robert Armstrong about his fears for a stock market crash in 2021.

‘“I Regret Voting Brexit” – Fish Industry in Ruins

Ian Perks runs a huge fish export company in Devon. Recently, the massive piles of paperwork have left him in a really difficult situation.

Will Bitcoin Be the Currency of the Future? – Inside Story

It's bitcoin season again. The time of year when the world's most famous and least understood currency explodes in value - seemingly for no reason.

In March last year, a single bitcoin was worth $5,000. In December, it hit $20,000 for the first time. As we came into the new year, $30,000. And just days later, it's now $40,000.

It has those already on the Bitcoin train guessing at where it goes next. So exactly what is driving this increase? And could Bitcoin be a new safe haven?

Should the World Embrace Cryptocurrencies? | Inside Story

For the first time ever, America's oldest bank, BNY Mellon says it's planning to offer some cryptocurrency services.

That's good news for digital currencies like Bitocoin - which has been soaring to all time-highs.

While investing in it can be a rollercoaster ride that comes with many risks, that hasn't stopped the Chief Executive of Tesla, Elon Musk, from purchasing a $1.5 billion stake in it. Tesla is also now expected to accept the virtual money as a form of payment.

That and BNY Mellon's decision to allow cryptocurrencies in its services, has seen a boost for digital assets.

Bitcoin's Market Value Exceeds $1tn after Price Soars

THE GUARDIAN: Cryptocurrency heading for a weekly gain of 14% and up by 60% in February

Bitcoin hit a new high on Friday, giving it a market value of more than $1tn for the first time.

Bitcoin rose 6.4% during trading on Friday to reach an all-time high above $55,000, and was on track for a weekly gain of about 14%.

The surge took its market capitalisation – the value of all bitcoin in circulation – to more than $1tn, according to the data website CoinMarketCap.

On Wednesday, bitcoin burst through the $50,000 mark for the first time, as it continued to attract interest from mainstream investors and acceptance from financial institutions.br /> » | Joanna Partridge | Friday, February 19, 2021

Cryptocurrencies Rise in Popularity in World's Conflict Zones

THE GUARDIAN: Libya, Palestine and Syria near top in online searches for bitcoin and other digital forms of money, analysis finds

People in the world’s major conflict zones are turning to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin as soaring values and the backing of super-rich investors make them more attractive.

Online searches for bitcoin, ethereum and dogecoin have increased in Libya, Syria and Palestine, pushing aside the usual focus of interest in stock markets and safe-haven investments in gold and property.

Publicity surrounding the new breed of digital currencies has spread across the world since the pandemic struck and meant users have also looked to them as a way to borrow when banks have become reluctant to lend money.
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» | Phillip Inman | Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Biden's America against Xi's China: Struggle for Supremacy? | To the Point

Who can stop China's surge to global dominance? It's one huge question, and one huge challenge, that the new US president, Joe Biden, is already facing. Biden has inherited a divided and doubt-ridden America from his predecessor Donald Trump. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping 's China is both expansive and authoritarian. It's two rival systems apparently on collision course. So, on "To the Point" we ask: Biden's America against Xi's China: Struggle for supremacy?

Margaret Thatcher - Speech to the College of Europe ("The Bruges Speech") [1988]

In this impressive speech in Bruges, Margaret Thatcher spoke strongly in favour of the Single Market. Indeed, the Single Market was Thatcher’s baby. Today’s Conservatives under BoJo have betrayed Thatcher’s legacy. Whilst Maggie was anti-federalism, she was certainly pro-European free trade; and she was certainly very much against erecting barriers to European free trade, which Brexit does. All I can say is this: Thatcher must be turning in her grave! All her hard work has gone up in smoke. – ©Mark Alexander

Fury at Gove as Exports to EU Slashed by 68% since Brexit

THE OBSERVER: Hauliers say Cabinet Office minister ignored warnings, amid fears that worse is to come with introduction of import checks in July

The volume of exports going through British ports to the EU fell by a staggering 68% last month compared with January last year, mostly as a result of problems caused by Brexit, the Observer can reveal.

The dramatic drop in the volume of traffic carried on ferries and through the Channel tunnel has been reported to Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove by the Road Haulage Association after a survey of its international members. In a letter to Gove dated 1 February, the RHA’s chief executive, Richard Burnett, also told the minister he and his officials had repeatedly warned over several months of problems and called for measures to lessen difficulties – but had been largely ignored.

In particular he had made clear throughout last year there was an urgent need to increase the number of customs agents to help firms with mountains of extra paperwork. The number now, around 10,000, is still about a fifth of what the RHA says is required to handle the massive increase in paperwork facing exporters. » | Toby Helm | Saturday, February 6, 2021

UK Banks Given Six Months to Prepare for Negative Interest Rates

THE GUARDIAN: Bank of England’s monetary policy committee votes to keep rate at 0.1% but gives banks six-month deadline

The Bank of England took a step closer to introducing negative interest rates for the first time on Thursday, after it gave lenders six months to prepare for such a move.

Threadneedle Street’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted unanimously to keep the official interest rate at historically low levels while it agreed to set the deadline for banks to prepare themselves after policymakers said they were ready to make negative lending rates part of their toolkit.

According to the minutes of the MPC meeting, officials were split over asking lenders to put in place the measures needed to facilitate negative rates on loans and mortgages, with some fearing it would signal to investors that the central bank planned to move ahead in the next few months. » | Phillip Inman | Thursday, February 4, 2021

Jeff Bezos to Step Down as Amazon Chief Executive

BBC: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is to step down as chief executive of the e-commerce giant that he founded in his garage nearly 30 years ago.

He will become executive chairman, a move he said would give him "time and energy" to focus on his other ventures.

Mr Bezos, the world's richest man, will be replaced by Andy Jassy, who currently leads Amazon's cloud computing business.

The change will take place in the second half of 2021, the company said.

"Being the CEO of Amazon is a deep responsibility, and it's consuming. When you have a responsibility like that, it's hard to put attention on anything else," Mr Bezos said in an [sic] letter to Amazon staff on Tuesday.

"As Exec Chair I will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives but also have the time and energy I need to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and my other passions."

"I've never had more energy, and this isn't about retiring. I'm super passionate about the impact I think these organizations can have," he added. » | BBC | Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Truss: Asia Pacific Countries 'Where the Big Markets Are'

BBC: International trade secretary Liz Truss says Asia Pacific countries "will provide big markets" in the future for British products.

The UK is applying to join a free trade area made up of 11 Asia and Pacific nations, under its post-Brexit plans. » | BBC | Sunday, January 31, 2021

Dumb is as dumb does! – Mark

THE GUARDIAN: Ease of trading is key measure of success, say cross-channel businesses, not lack of lorry traffic

It was billed as a deal that would secure tariff-free access to the EU, that “sunlit uplands” would follow initial disruption to trade.

But one month since the Brexit trade deal came into force, businesses are warning that the “teething problems” Boris Johnson described in a visit to Scotland last week are in fact symptomatic of endemic disruption that will force many businesses to restructure and will mean the end of some British businesses altogether.

“The last month has been like Dante’s fifth circle of hell” for importers and exporters unable to move supplies because of new red tape, said Ben Fletcher, the policy director of Make UK, which represents manufacturers across the UK.

One internationally renowned car manufacturer had “1,000 cars sitting in their car park partially built because they could not get the parts in time,” said Fletcher. “They said this has never happened ever before.” » | Lisa O’Carroll, Brexit correspondent | Sunday, January 31, 2021

Brexit is for fossils and fools! – Mark

Redditors Proved That the Stock Market Is a Joke and Wealth Is Imaginary

The stock market drama that unfolded this week thanks to a massive group of Redditors proved that not only is the stock market a casino, but that most of the wealth of some of the biggest groups in America is also a complete myth. And while regulations will be coming quickly, it will only put future events like what happened this week on temporary delay. Farron Cousins explains what happened.

Mehdi Hasan Gets a Personal Khan Academy Lesson on the GameStop Stock Squeeze | The Mehdi Hasan Show

Khan Academy founder Sal Khan joins Mehdi Hasan to explain how GameStop became the center of the latest Wall Street scandal.

The Mehdi Hasan Show: Insightful reporting and probing interviews that examine the day's events and provide a deeper level of context for the politics of our interconnected society. Watch The Mehdi Hasan Show on The Choice channel on Peacock TV, weeknights, 7 p.m. ET. Subscribe to the channel for more interviews.

GameStop: Anger as Trading in GameStop Shares Is Restricted

THE BBC: Amateur investors are responding with outrage after trading platforms curbed buying of shares in the US games firm GameStop and other companies.

The moves by Robinhood and Interactive Brokers follow days of frenzied trading that led to massive gains for some stocks.

Shares in GameStop dived by as much as 55% after the restrictions.

It is the latest twist in a battle that has pitted amateur investors against Wall Street giants.

Major hedge funds had bet billions of dollars that GameStop's shares would fall.

But they have faced major losses after amateurs, swapping tips on social media sites such as Reddit, drove up the share price by more than 700% in a week.

Other firms, such as AMC Entertainment, Koss Corp and BlackBerry, also saw sharp gains. They were embraced by day traders after hedge funds bet against them. » | Thursday, Januray 28, 2021

WallStreetBets Founder on GameStop: There Is No Precedent for This

Jaime Rogozinski, founder of the WallStreetBets trading forum on Reddit, says people are "placing bets on a market in a way that they are actually affecting the odds of the outcome." He speaks with CNN's Julia Chatterley about the stock frenzy.