Month: November 2022

Spillover Results Of FTX Incident Causes Market Turmoil, Bitcoin, Ethereum Fall

The crypto market once more went right into a downward spiral after crypto DeFi lender Genesis suspended withdrawals citing difficulties which occurred on account of the FTX incident. 

This was adopted by Circle (issuer of USDC stablecoin) confirming its publicity to Genesis. Nonetheless, the corporate assured customers that their lending settlement with Genesis is powerful. Tether (issuer of USDT) confirmed that it had no publicity to Genesis.

Because of all these detrimental information, virtually each main crypto, together with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), fell. DeFi tokens fell by a a lot better share than others.

The crypto market cap fell about 2.17 per cent to $831.85 billion and its buying and selling quantity was down by 3.31 per cent to $60.09 billion, in line with knowledge from Coinmarketcap.com at 8.50 am.

At the moment’s prime gainer was Belief Pockets Token (TWT); it was up 10.23 per cent at $2.19. The highest loser was Huobi Token (HT), which was buying and selling at $4.58 with a lack of 7.39 per cent within the final 24 hours to Thursday morning. 

Cryptocurrency Costs

Bitcoin: BTC fell 1.88 per cent to $16,613.88.

BTC’s commerce on November 16 was extremely unstable and rancid. Its buying and selling quantity shrank and so did its value. However round 4.40 pm BTC consumers’ exercise surged by a major margin and consequently BTC managed to recuperate a few of its losses.

Its lowest intraday buying and selling value was $16,430.11, whereas its quantity was down by 6.76 per cent at $33,315,235,515.

Ethereum: Ethereum’s value fell 4.03 per cent to $1,211.29 within the final 24 hours to Thursday morning.

ETH’s commerce too was additionally unstable and directionless. ETH made no important value strikes and stayed confined to a slim vary of $1,191 and $1,264. Nonetheless, ETH’s buying and selling quantity was up. 

The bottom value for ETH was $1,192.99. ETH’s buying and selling quantity was up by 6.49 per cent at $12,009,052,297.

Different Altcoins: Solana’s (SOL) value was down by 1.65 per cent at $14.31 in the present day.

Ripple (XRP) was down by 1.48 per cent at $0.3753 and its 24-hour buying and selling quantity was down by 27.19 per cent at $1,274,396,863.

Cardano (ADA) was down by 3.51 per cent to $0.3308. Cardano’s 24-hour buying and selling quantity was down by 12.02 per cent to $267,758,041.

Binance (BNB) was down by 2.43 per cent to $271.71. Its 24-hour buying and selling quantity was down by 12.95 per cent at $913,303,728.

Meme Cash

Dogecoin fell 1.85 per cent at $0.08589. Its 24-hour buying and selling quantity was up by 18.83 per cent at $712,490,658.

Shiba Inu was down by 0.89 per cent to $0.000009195.

Decentralised Finance (DeFi)

Yearn.Finance (YFI) fell 3.87 per cent to $6,314.99. Its 24-hour buying and selling quantity was down by 5.07 per cent at $38,937,160.

Avalanche (AVAX) was down by 3.45 per cent at $13.13 and its 24-hour buying and selling quantity was down by 6.06 per cent at $152,511,719.

Aave (AAVE) was buying and selling with a lack of 5.12 per cent at $58.36 and its 24-hour buying and selling quantity was down by 19.36 per cent at $79,321,550.

Paying for climate damage could threaten funding for other global warming targets: NPR -thats news

Climate activists at the United Nations climate conference in Egypt call for money to pay for loss and damage caused by global warming in low-income countries.

Climate activists at the United Nations climate conference in Egypt call for money to pay for loss and damage caused by global warming in low-income countries.

Peter Dejong/AP

Facing increasing pressure to compensate low-income countries for the damage they are suffering from climate change, rich nations may try to move money they have already pledged to other global warming targets instead of getting new funds, according to experts and participants at the United Nations climate conference in Egypt.

a draft document released this week in talks says money for loss and damage, a key issue in the negotiations, should be added to climate finance already going to low-income countries to help them limit and adapt to global warming. The current funding deal, which was created more than a decade ago, reflects the fact that industrialized nations like the United States have emitted most of the pollution that warms the Earth, while poorer countries bear the brunt of it. damage caused by rising temperatures.

But industrialized countries have for years failed to fully finance those pledges. That makes the chances of a big new cash injection from losses and damages slim, especially as countries grapple with the recession threat and the war in Ukraine. And it is increasing the possibility that developed nations will now seek to transfer money from older funding commitments to potentially new loss and damage obligations, without actually increasing the general funds that low-income nations need to tackle climate change.

“We need to see money, extra money, flow into” loss and damage, says Michai Robertson, an adviser to the Alliance of Small Island States, which represents communities that are especially vulnerable to climate change. However, he says a reorganization of climate funds is likely to be “a reality that we will have to deal with a lot in the future.”

Failure to deliver new money for loss and damage would mean that the richest countries would continue their chronic underfunding of developing nations. That raises fears that this year’s climate conference will not spur a strong global response to climate change despite the urgency signaled by deadly events around the world.

Without more money, loss and damage could hurt adaptation efforts

One of the challenges of dealing with climate change is that countries have to do several things at once to protect their people, experts say. Countries must limit or mitigate further warming. They must adapt to the risks that people face. And they must compensate poorer nations for damage already done and for impacts that cannot be avoided, such as the displacement of communities from rising sea levels. All of that requires funding, which, given the scope of the problem, should increase over time.

So far, several countries have promised money for loss and damage. But the amounts are relatively small and the money is not new, says Taylor Dimsdale, director of E3G, a climate change think tank. Rather, countries are “simply dividing the same climate finance pie in different ways.”

If money is withdrawn from mitigation and adaptation efforts, it could mean more places and people will experience irrevocable loss and damage.

Over time, the amount of money that is available to low-income countries will likely increase so that claims for loss and damage do not eat up funds for extreme weather adaptation, says Gaia Larsen, director of access and deployment for climate finance at the Center for Sustainable Finance at the World Resources Institute. But right now, “developed countries are pulling back, mainly because they don’t want to provide much more money,” she says.

Reached for comment, a spokesman for John Kerry, the US presidential special envoy on climate change, noted recent comments in which Kerry said the country “has been very clear about its support to address the issue of loss and damage.”

The debate focuses on the creation of a new fund for losses and damages

However, it is not yet clear what kind of action world leaders would be willing to commit to in Egypt.

Frans Timmermans, executive vice-president of the European Commission, suggested on Wednesday that a decision on whether to create a new fund or financial mechanism to address loss and damage should be delayed while details are ironed out, including whether certain developing countries such as China should contribute. and how the money would be distributed. China is the world’s biggest emitter of heat-trapping pollution and second-biggest economy.

“Now, we believe that a process should be started where the [financial] Installation could be one of the outcomes,” Timmermans said in Egypt. “But we also believe that the existing instruments we have could be immediately mobilized to support the most vulnerable.”

The European Union and several member states said on Wednesday that they are providing over a billion euros ($1.04 billion) of new and existing funds for adaptation programs in Africa. An EU spokesman said the bloc is providing 220 million euros of new funds, including 60 million euros for losses and damages.

“So you see we have tools, funds, mechanisms to provide financial assistance now and move it quickly.” Timmermans said.

Kaveh Guilanpour, vice president of international strategies at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, says there could be “good reasons” to postpone the creation of a new loss and damage fund at this year’s climate conference.

It is not clear if such a fund “will quickly result in the flow of new finance,” says Guilanpour. And world leaders are looking for ways to use limited public money to attract other forms of funding, she says, including from the private sector.

Guilanpour says that climate litigation coupled with better attribution science linking extreme weather events to climate change could expose fossil fuel companies to greater liability for the impacts of rising temperatures. That could provide a valuable source of funding for loss and damage claims.

“There is a will and there is a recognition [among industrialized countries] that more funding is needed for loss and damage,” says Guilanpour. “But I think there’s also a question about where and how the money will come from.”

Developing countries are also looking for safeguards to ensure they get what they were promised.

Even if world leaders decide this week to create a new loss and damage fund, “we’re still going to have the blurred lines and rebranding that you see many developed countries doing right now,” says Robertson of the Alliance of Small Island States. .

“We’re going to have to make sure we set some clear rules about this and what can count as funding for this cause,” says Robertson, “especially to hold them accountable.”

This record number in Nvidia earnings is a scary sight

Nvidia Corp.’s financial results had a bit of a surprise for investors, and not on the good side — product inventories doubled to a record high as the chip company gears up for a questionable holiday season.

Nvidia reported fiscal third-quarter revenue that was slightly better than analysts’ reduced expectations Wednesday, but the numbers weren’t that great. Revenue fell 17% to $5.9 billion, while earnings were cut in half thanks to a $702 million inventory charge, largely relating to slower data-center demand in China.

Gaming revenue in the quarter fell 51% to $1.57 billion. Nvidia said it is working with its retail partners to help move the currently high-channel inventories.

While the company was writing off the inventory for China, its own new product inventory was growing. Nvidia
NVDA, -4.54%
reported that its overall product inventory nearly doubled to $4.45 billion in the fiscal third quarter, compared with $2.23 billion a year ago and $3.89 billion in the prior quarter. Executives cited its coming product launches, designed around its new Ada and Hopper architectures, when asked about the inventory gains.

In the semiconductor industry, high inventories can make investors nervous, especially after the industry had so many supply constraints in recent years that quickly swung to a glut of chips in 2022. With doubts about demand for gaming cards and consumers’ willingness to spend amid sky-high inflation this holiday season, having all that product on hand just amps up the nerves.

Full earnings coverage: Nvidia profit chopped in half, but tweaked servers to China offset earlier $400 million warning

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress told MarketWatch in a telephone interview Wednesday that the company’s high level of inventories were commensurate with its high levels of revenue.

“I do believe….it is our highest level of inventory,” she said. “They go hand in hand.” Kress said she was confident in the success of Nvidia’s upcoming product launches.

Nvidia’s revenue reached a peak in the April 2022 quarter with $8.3 billion, and in the past two quarters revenue has slowed, with gaming demand sluggish amid a transition to a new cycle, and a decline in China data-center demand due to COVID-19 lockdowns and U.S. government restrictions.

For its data-center customers, the new architectures promise major advances in computing power and artificial-intelligence features, with Nvidia planning to ship the equivalent of a supercomputer in a box with its new products over the next year. Those types of advanced products weigh on inventory totals even more, Kress said, because of the price of the total package.

“It’s about the complexity of the system we are building, that is what drives the inventory, the pieces of that together,” Kress said.

Bernstein Research analyst Stacy Rasgon believes that products based on Hopper will begin shipping over the next several quarters, “at materially higher price points.” He said in a recent note that he believes Nvidia’s numbers were likely hitting a bottom in this quarter.

“We remain positive on the Hopper ramp into next year, and believe numbers have at this point likely reached close to bottom, with new cycles brewing and an attractive secular story even without China potential,” Rasgon said in an earnings preview note Tuesday.

Read also: Warren Buffett’s chip-stock purchase is a classic example of why you want to be ‘greedy only when others are fearful’

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang reminded investors on a conference call that the company’s inventories are “never zero,” and said everyone is enthusiastic about the upcoming launches. But it doesn’t take too long of a memory to conjure up a time when Nvidia went into a holiday with an inventory backlog that included new architecture and greatly disappointed investors: Four years ago, Huang had to cut his forecast for holiday earnings twice amid a “crypto hangover” with similar dynamics to the current moment

Investors need faith that this holiday season will not be the same, even as demand for some videogame products declines after a pandemic boom just as the market for cryptocurrency — some of which has been mined with Nvidia products — hits a rough patch. Huang said that Nvidia’s RTX 4080 and 4090 graphics cards based on the Ada Lovelace architecture had an “exceptional launch,” and sold out.

Nvidia shares gained more than 2% in after-hours trading Wednesday, suggesting that some are betting that this time will be different. That enthusiasm needs to translate into revenue for Nvidia so that this big gain in inventories does not end up being part of another write-down at some point in the future.

: Retirement savers, especially Gen Z, hold steady, even in a rough stock market

Despite market turbulence that ate into retirement account balances and left workers feeling worse about their finances, the majority of retirement savers kept their contributions steady and Generation Z savers actually hiked their contribution rates, new data from Fidelity Investments showed.

Although average account balances have decreased, the data suggested retirement savers continued to focus on the long-term: total 401(k) savings rates held strong, the number of IRAs at Fidelity continued to increase, and the percentage of employees with 401(k) loans remained low for a sixth consecutive quarter, the firm found. 

“The market has taken some dramatic turns this year, including the best month this past October since 1976,” said Kevin Barry, president of workplace investing at Fidelity Investments. “Retirement savers have wisely chosen to avoid the drama and continue making smart choices for the long-term. This is important, because one of the most essential aspects of a sound retirement savings strategy is contributing enough consistently—in up markets, down markets and sideways markets — to help reach your goals.” 

Read: Why you shouldn’t ‘set and forget’ your retirement accounts

Total 401(k) savings rates were stable. The total savings rate for the third quarter, which reflects a combination of employer and employee 401(k) contributions, remained fairly steady at 13.8%, compared with 13.9% in the second quarter and 14.0% in the first quarter of the year. That was slightly below Fidelity’s suggested savings rate of 15%. 

The majority of workers (86%) kept their savings account contributions unchanged and 7.8% actually increased their contribution rate. Men continued to save at higher rates than women (14.5% vs. 13.5%), while preretiree baby boomers saved at the highest levels (16.5%). Gen Z participants increased their savings levels this quarter, moving from 10% to 10.3%. 

Read: Your 401(k) has had a wild year. How to know when it’s time to rebalance.

“Generally, retirement savings rates was not an initial option for people when they wanted to make changes in their financial picture. We also didn’t see people tapping into loans,” said Mike Shamrell, Fidelity’s vice president of thought leadership. “A lot of people are realizing that retirement savings is a marathon, not a sprint. And over the long haul, you will encounter a lot of market scenarios. Staying the course and taking a long perspective is really the strongest path.”

The majority of retirement savers still aren’t making changes to their asset allocation. Only 4.5% of 401(k) and 403(b) savers made a change to the asset allocation in the third quarter, less than the 5.0% that did so in second quarter and those who made a change in third quarter a year ago (4.8%). Of the savers that made changes in Q3, about 85% only made one, with the top change involving shifting savings to more conservative investments (29%). 

Outstanding 401(k) loans and average loan amounts continue to decline. Despite inflationary pressures, the percentage of 401(k) savers initiating a new loan continues to remain low, with only 2.4% of participants doing so in the third quarter. In addition, the percentage of participants with a loan outstanding remained at 16.7% for third quarter—a significant drop, compared with 18.7% in third quarter of 2020 in the early days of the pandemic.

On the down side, the percentage of individuals with negative feelings about their finances (32%) is now greater than those who have positive feelings (30%), which is a sharp contrast to just a year ago, when the percentage of workers who felt positive about their finances (45%) was more than twice the percentage of those with negative feelings (22%). 

Also, average retirement account balances decreased for the third consecutive quarter. 

The average IRA balance was $101,900 in the third quarter, a 24.9% decrease from a year ago, and an 8% decrease from last quarter, and a 33% increase from 10 years ago. 

The average 401(k) balance dropped below the six-figure mark to $97,200 this quarter, down 22.9% from a year ago, 6% from the second quarter and and a 28% increase from 10 years ago. For baby boomers, the average 401(k) balance was $197,400, while Gen X had $126,800. Millennials’ average balance was $36,900 and Gen Z’s average was $4,900.

The average 403(b) account balance decreased to $87,400, down 21% from a year ago, a decrease of 6% from last quarter, and a 48% increase from 10 years ago.

Despite this, Gen Z 401(k) savers actually increased their balances slightly this quarter, Fidelity said. Although their balances are smaller, among Gen Z savers, who are heavily invested in target-date funds, the average account balance actually increased by 1.2% over last quarter. 

“Gen Z is really seeing the positive benefits of auto services like auto-enrollment in company plans,” said Shamrell. “Retirement is many years away, but they seem to be the group staying the course, which is probably the best approach they can take.”

As of the third quarter, 85% of Gen Z savers have all of their 401(k) savings in a target-date fund. The use of target-date funds as a default option continues to increase in popularity, with a 93.2% plan sponsor adoption rate in the third quarter of 2022, up from 88.3% in the third quarter of 2017, just five years ago. 

The number of IRA accounts continues to increase, especially among Gen Z and millennials. 

The total number of Fidelity IRA accounts continues to climb, reaching 13.2 million, an 11.2% increase over Q3 of last year. The number of accounts reporting a contribution also increased by 2.3% year-to-date between the third quarter last year and this year.

Across generations, Roth accounts tend to be the retail retirement savings vehicle of choice, with 61% of all contributions going to a Roth in third quarter of 2022. 

Younger generations continue to lead the way, with the number of accounts for Gen Z increasing by 83% compared with third quarter last year and the number of millennial accounts increasing by 25%. In particular, millennial Roth IRA accounts with a contribution increased by 5.8% year-to-date. In addition, younger generations (Gen Z and millennials) now make up make up roughly half (45%) of the tax-exempt workforce, Fidelity said.

Fidelity said its third-quarter analysis of savings behaviors and account balances included data from more than 35 million IRA, 401(k), and 403(b) retirement accounts.

This record number in Nvidia earnings is a scary sight

Nvidia Corp.’s financial results had a bit of a surprise for investors, and not on the good side — product inventories doubled to a record high as the chip company gears up for a questionable holiday season.

Nvidia reported fiscal third-quarter revenue that was slightly better than analysts’ reduced expectations Wednesday, but the numbers weren’t that great. Revenue fell 17% to $5.9 billion, while earnings were cut in half thanks to a $702 million inventory charge, largely relating to slower data-center demand in China.

Gaming revenue in the quarter fell 51% to $1.57 billion. Nvidia said it is working with its retail partners to help move the currently high-channel inventories.

While the company was writing off the inventory for China, its own new product inventory was growing. Nvidia
NVDA, -4.54%
reported that its overall product inventory nearly doubled to $4.45 billion in the fiscal third quarter, compared with $2.23 billion a year ago and $3.89 billion in the prior quarter. Executives cited its coming product launches, designed around its new Ada and Hopper architectures, when asked about the inventory gains.

In the semiconductor industry, high inventories can make investors nervous, especially after the industry had so many supply constraints in recent years that quickly swung to a glut of chips in 2022. With doubts about demand for gaming cards and consumers’ willingness to spend amid sky-high inflation this holiday season, having all that product on hand just amps up the nerves.

Full earnings coverage: Nvidia profit chopped in half, but tweaked servers to China offset earlier $400 million warning

Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress told MarketWatch in a telephone interview Wednesday that the company’s high level of inventories were commensurate with its high levels of revenue.

“I do believe….it is our highest level of inventory,” she said. “They go hand in hand.” Kress said she was confident in the success of Nvidia’s upcoming product launches.

Nvidia’s revenue reached a peak in the April 2022 quarter with $8.3 billion, and in the past two quarters revenue has slowed, with gaming demand sluggish amid a transition to a new cycle, and a decline in China data-center demand due to COVID-19 lockdowns and U.S. government restrictions.

For its data-center customers, the new architectures promise major advances in computing power and artificial-intelligence features, with Nvidia planning to ship the equivalent of a supercomputer in a box with its new products over the next year. Those types of advanced products weigh on inventory totals even more, Kress said, because of the price of the total package.

“It’s about the complexity of the system we are building, that is what drives the inventory, the pieces of that together,” Kress said.

Bernstein Research analyst Stacy Rasgon believes that products based on Hopper will begin shipping over the next several quarters, “at materially higher price points.” He said in a recent note that he believes Nvidia’s numbers were likely hitting a bottom in this quarter.

“We remain positive on the Hopper ramp into next year, and believe numbers have at this point likely reached close to bottom, with new cycles brewing and an attractive secular story even without China potential,” Rasgon said in an earnings preview note Tuesday.

Read also: Warren Buffett’s chip-stock purchase is a classic example of why you want to be ‘greedy only when others are fearful’

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang reminded investors on a conference call that the company’s inventories are “never zero,” and said everyone is enthusiastic about the upcoming launches. But it doesn’t take too long of a memory to conjure up a time when Nvidia went into a holiday with an inventory backlog that included new architecture and greatly disappointed investors: Four years ago, Huang had to cut his forecast for holiday earnings twice amid a “crypto hangover” with similar dynamics to the current moment

Investors need faith that this holiday season will not be the same, even as demand for some videogame products declines after a pandemic boom just as the market for cryptocurrency — some of which has been mined with Nvidia products — hits a rough patch. Huang said that Nvidia’s RTX 4080 and 4090 graphics cards based on the Ada Lovelace architecture had an “exceptional launch,” and sold out.

Nvidia shares gained more than 2% in after-hours trading Wednesday, suggesting that some are betting that this time will be different. That enthusiasm needs to translate into revenue for Nvidia so that this big gain in inventories does not end up being part of another write-down at some point in the future.

FTX Collapse Slaps the Winklevoss Brothers

Cryptocurrency brokerages Gemini and Genesis are reassuring people that their operations are still solvent after the massive collapse of exchange FTX.

The insolvency of FTX could result in more companies in the industry facing severe liquidity issues, including crypto exchanges and lenders.

Gemini, the exchange founded by the Winklevoss twins, is attempting to calm crypto investors. The exchange said on Wednesday that it would halt withdrawals on its Earn accounts that provide interest. The lending partner for the Earn accounts is Genesis.

“We are aware that Genesis Global Capital, LLC (Genesis) — the lending partner of the Earn program — has paused withdrawals and will not be able to meet customer redemptions within the service-level agreement (SLA) of 5 business days.,” Gemini said.

Gemini said it hopes to have more information in a few days.

“We are working with the Genesis team to help customers redeem their funds from the Earn program as quickly as possible,” Gemini said in a tweet. “We will provide more information in the coming days.”

‘Disappointed’

The company also said, “We are disappointed that the Earn program SLA will not be met, but we are encouraged by Genesis’ and Digital Currency Group’s commitment to doing everything in their power to fulfill their obligations to customers under the Earn program,” in a tweet.

Gemini’s other products and services are not impacted since the company is a “full-reserve exchange and custodian,” according to a tweet. “All customer funds held on the Gemini exchange are held 1:1 and available for withdrawal at any time.”

Gemini faced another setback around 12:00 PM ET when it experienced an outage from AWS, the cloud platform of Amazon. The outage was restored within a few hours

“We experienced an Amazon Web Services EBS outage with one of our primary databases,” the company tweeted. “We have restored the database and are bringing the exchange back up.”

On Nov. 9, two days before FTX filed for bankruptcy, Cameron Winklevoss, who founded cryptocurrency exchange Gemini with his twin brother Tyler, fired a thinly veiled criticism at FTX.

“We do not do anything with your funds unless explicitly authorized and directed to do so by you,” he posted on Twitter. “Regulatory oversight is important as it ensures that companies like Gemini do what they say they do.”

Genesis Stops Customer Withdrawals

Crypto exchange Genesis confirmed on Wednesday that it has stopped customers from making withdrawals and issuing new loans, the latest company to be severely impacted from the collapse of FTX.

The brokerage told TheStreet in an email that it’s “number one priority is to serve our clients and preserve their assets,” a spokesperson said.

“Therefore, we have taken the difficult decision to temporarily suspend redemptions and new loan originations in the lending business,” Genesis said. “We are working diligently to shore up the necessary liquidity to meet our lending client obligations.”

The division that has halted the withdrawals is Genesis Global Capital, which works with institutional clients and had $2.8 billion in total active loans as of the end of the third quarter of 2022.

Genesis said it has three primary business lines: spot and derivatives trading, lending and borrowing, and custody.

“Our spot and derivatives trading and custody businesses remain fully operational,” the company spokesperson added.

Genesis said via Twitter it is working on a plan for its lending business such as injecting new capital that will be announced next week.

“We have hired the best advisors in the industry to explore all possible options,” the company tweeted. “Next week, we will deliver a plan for the lending business. We’re working tirelessly to identify the best solutions for the lending business, including among other things, sourcing new liquidity.”

The company reinforced that Genesis Global Trading, its broker/dealer that holds its BitLicense, is “independently capitalized and operated – and separate from all other Genesis entities,” in a tweet.

Genesis faces major losses when Three Arrow Capital, which is also known as 3AC, became insolvent in May.

The crypto company filed a $1.2 billion claim in bankruptcy court.

Genesis does not have any outstanding liabilities linked to Three Arrows Capital.

“3AC negatively impacted the liquidity and duration profiles of our lending entity Genesis Global Capital,” the company tweeted. “Since then, we have been de-risking the book and shoring up our liquidity profile and the quality of our collateral.”

FTX Practices

FTX was once a major brokerage for trading crypto and the bankrupt company said it could have as many as one million investors who are seeking to recoup their losses.

The Bahamian-based brokerage filed for bankruptcy after facing massive liquidity issues when its acquirer, Binance, backed out of a merger.

Several other crypto firms, including Celsius and Voyager Digital, also filed for bankruptcy in 2022 as they also faced liquidity issues and falling prices in bitcoin and other digital asset prices.

FTX was an exchange used by crypto investors that included retail and institutional traders such as several hedge funds. It was backed by numerous high profile venture capitalists such as SoftBank, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Sequoia Capital, Temasek, Sea Capital, IVP, ICONIQ Growth, Tiger Global, Ribbit Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock.

The insolvency of FTX, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11, was the result of a liquidity shortfall when clients attempted to withdraw funds from the platform a few days ago. The liquidity shortfall appears to have been the result of FTX’s founder reportedly transferring $10 billion of customer funds from FTX to his cryptocurrency trading platform Alameda Research, according to Reuters, citing two sources that “held senior FTX positions until this week”.

This mid-cap technology stock epitomizes diversified growth

 

Very little technology stocks are trading at 10-year highs, but in San Jose Sanmina Corporation (NASDAQ: SANM) is one of them.

Last week, the midcap moved up after another strong quarterly report. It bowed to what was a phenomenal fiscal 2022 for the company. Earnings per share (EPS) far exceeded Wall Street expectations in all four quarters.

The resounding outperformance is in stark contrast to what has been a difficult year for technology investors. Supply chain constraints and lukewarm IT spending have left many in need of urgent medical attention.

At Sanmina, however, there is a great demand for a completely different kind of EMS.

Interest in the group’s electronics manufacturing services – printed circuit board assembly, manufacturing and testing – is growing. And the best part is, even with the US economy teetering on a recessiongrowth comes from a range of end markets.

Who are Sanmina’s customers?

As a provider of integrated electronics manufacturing solutions, Sanmina serves original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in high-growth industries. Its customers are mainly in communication, cloudindustrial, automotive, medical and defense markets.

Even when companies target a diverse set of end markets, they often specialize in one area. That is not the case with Sanmina.

About 60% of revenue comes from outside the networking and cloud infrastructure business. Since this comprehensive segment includes industrial, medical, defense and automotive customers, there is no major industry dependency. The same applies to the level of the individual customer. Sanmina’s 10 largest customers account for less than half of its total turnover. Simply put, the company is diversified growth at its best.

Soon Sanmina will do more business in India. Last month, it finalized a joint venture (JV) agreement with Reliance Industries Limited, a multinational conglomerate based in Mumbai. The joint venture, which will begin with a $200 million cash budget, will leverage Sanmina’s expertise in electronics manufacturing and Reliance’s knowledge of the local Indian market. Given Reliance’s strong presence in the energy, retail, textile and media markets, the partnership should expand Sanmina’s scope and diversify an already diverse model.

How did Sanmina perform in fiscal year 2022?

Together, these customers generated broad-based revenue growth in the company’s recently reported fiscal year. Last week’s Street-topping Q4 results capped off a great year for Sanmina that few saw coming.

After a lesser year in fiscal 2021, revenue growth rebounded 17% to $7.9 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) growth was even stronger at 26%, a function of increased operating margin and improved scale.

It was a particularly strong performance given supply chain challenges and rising economic uncertainty. Going forward, management expects pressure on the supply chain to ease. If so, it points to an even stronger performance in the new fiscal year.

Sanmina ended the year with one of the strongest balance sheets in the technology sector. Through October 1, debt was less than two-thirds of cash. Together with $1.4 billion in liquidity, this should provide enough flexibility to pursue organic growth and additional JV opportunities.

The financial strength supported Sanmina’s ability to repurchase 8 million of its own shares in fiscal year 2022. This pushed it past the $1 billion mark in repurchases dating back to fiscal year 2014. An additional $164 million remains on current repurchase authorization, which could limit any restrictions. pressure on short-term profit-taking.

Does Sanmina Stock have more benefit?

On a 12 month basis, Sanmina is trading at 13.5x adjusted earnings. The average P/E in the electronics industry is around 19x, meaning Sanmina shares remain woefully undervalued even after rising more than 60% this year.

If the company’s P/E multiple grew to the industry average, a move justified by last year’s growth, the stock would rise above $90. This implies another 30% to 40% increase from current levels.

The stock looks even more attractive on a forward P/E basis. Wall Street analysts forecast earnings growth of 17% in the current fiscal year. This means that Sanmina’s 17% growth can be achieved for less than 12x future earnings.

Despite Sanmina’s impressive rise over the past decade, there aren’t many research firms working on the sell side. This is part of the reason why it has largely flown under the radar mega cap technology makes headlines. Those who do cover the stock tend to be bullish. In the wake of the Q4 update, Sidoti Sanmina actually upgraded to buy with a price target of $78.

For the current quarter, management led to earnings per share of $1.46 at the midpoint. This implies a growth of 35% – growth that most struggling tech companies wouldn’t mind half of.

Since growth can come from anywhere (mobile 5G networks, electric vehiclesmilitary drones, renewable energy, diagnostic imaging to name a few), look for Sanmina to hold manufacturing outperformance into 2023.

 

Wait, wasnt bitcoin supposed to solve this?

Jill Gunter is a co-founder of blockchain company Espresso Systems. Previously, she was a venture capitalist focused on crypto. She started her career as a trader at Goldman Sachs.

A popular refrain among crypto advocates over the years has been bitcoin solves this. But the same phrase has also become a popular meme among critics of cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

Sceptics offer the phrase in reply to overzealous crypto acolytes who try to apply blockchain technology to everything from salad provenance to social media. Bitcoin solves this, they eye-roll, gesturing to the fact that no amount of blockchain will be a panacea to the problem at hand.

Over the last week, as crypto exchange FTX crumbled into bankruptcy amid revelations of misappropriation of customer funds, imaginary marks and risky bets, cryptos proponents and detractors alike have turned that phrase into a question. Wait, wasnt bitcoin supposed to solve this?

After all, cryptocurrency was invented explicitly to counter Wall Streets opaque and overleveraged practices. The original Bitcoin whitepaper proposed a system that would end the reliance on trusted financial institutions, reduce fraud and protect consumers. At the moment, this couldnt feel more ironic.

But not having to trust anyone is a seductive promise! According to Gallup, trust in government, media, banks and beyond has been in a steady decline for decades, but really, all you need to do is log on to Twitter this week and check out the chaos to see that society has a trust problem. It is little wonder that blockchains with their vows to obviate the need for trust have captured the imagination of many.

And to their credit, I think blockchains and their decentralised finance (DeFi) applications have actually delivered on this promise. Individuals can custody their own crypto assets, audit the ledger of transactions by themselves, and even participate as keepers and overseers of the whole system. Millions of people now only need to rely on code.

These cryptocurrency users might have lost sleep this week as they watched the value of their assets plummet, but at least they werent worried about whether theyd ever get access to their funds again, as they have with centralised crypto exchanges like FTX.

While FTXs customers scrambled and failed to withdraw their funds, users of major decentralised finance products like Uniswap, Compound, and Aave had continuous access to their assets and benefited from orderly and transparent processing of their trades, transactions, and, yes, liquidations. For the users who hold their own coins and only trade on decentralised finance platforms, crypto came through. It turns out that blockchains can mitigate the risks posed by intermediaries!

Unfortunately, not all crypto holders have taken advantage of these properties. Thats because there are major trade-offs.

In order for crypto users to gain the benefits of blockchains, they must use new and clunky products that carry their own risks. The stakes are high if they make any mistakes, and they will only have themselves to blame. The man who famously threw away hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin in a garbage dump was acting as his own bank. As he demonstrates for us, theres a major drawback to being your own bank. You have no recourse, no customer support, and no one to sue if you lose from your own negligence.

DeFi users also take on the risks inherent to an anarcho-utopia (or dystopia?) where code is law. If a user makes a typo in the address to which they are sending their assets, there is no way to undo that. Similarly, if a hacker finds a bug in the code of a DeFi product and extracts user funds, the victims will have little protection. It is like the ultimate finders keepers. The technology is still in a state where these types of hacks happen all the time. For many users, it is not worth the inconvenience and the risk to gain the benefits of trustless systems like those of DeFi.

Users who do not want or need to hold their own crypto can do it the old fashioned Wall Street way: they can trust a custodian. Custodial exchanges not only enable crypto users to cash in and out of coins and tokens, they also hold on to users assets as deposits. Of course users who hold and trade on exchanges are not really using crypto. They arent deriving any of the features crypto was designed to offer, like self-custody and censorship-resistance and transparency. They are just holding or speculating on whether number go up or number go down.

Still, its fair to say that millions of users benefit from the convenience of holding their assets on these exchanges. Today it turned out that at least a million of those users namely the ones who used FTX would have been better off if they had taken advantage of cryptos value proposition and held on to their funds themselves.

And the grim reality is that despite bitcoin and other blockchain products offering alternatives, as of today, the cryptocurrency market has created more intermediaries than it has eliminated. For the last several years, no one has really cared about the genuine utility that may be found in crypto.

With global floods of easy money pouring into asset classes of all kinds, and pushing people further out the risk spectrum, entrepreneurs, developers, and investors found themselves incentivised to play into the building of a large speculative bubble as opposed to delivering durable value.

Too much of the time, energy, money, and attention that has gone into crypto over the past few years has gone toward building gambling markets around magic beans instead of creating products taking advantage of the openness, transparency, and autonomy that the tech offers.

FTX and its violation of user trust serve as the starkest reminder the industry could ask for in returning it to its original vision. The demise of FTX feels like the end of crypto at the moment, but it may become the catalyst to drive the industry to the areas where cryptocurrencies and blockchains can solve real problems.

Already, many more custodial exchanges have announced that they will take advantage of the transparent nature of blockchains to provide the public with a cryptographic proof of reserves. This is a great example of leveraging the technology for its true utility: improving accountability.

It feels optimistic in this hour of shame and darkness, but one can hope that crypto might actually deliver on a more open and transparent system so that in a decade we will look back and be able to say: bitcoin solved this.

Top 10 N23.Ultipro.Com Competitors

n23.ultipro.com is a website that provides users with access to a wide range of online services, including social media management, content marketing, and SEO. With such a diverse range of offerings, it’s no wonder n23.ultipro.com has become one of the leading online providers in its field. In this blog post, we will take a look at 10 of n23.ultipro.com’s top competitors and how they stack up against the site. From price to features to customer service, read on to learn everything you need to know about these competing websites.

N23.ultipro.com

N23.ultipro.com is a top competitor in the online marketing space. They offer a wide range of services, including website design, web development, and online marketing. Their team of experts is available to help you create a successful online presence for your business. N23.ultipro.com offers a variety of services to choose from, so you’re sure to find the right one for your needs.

Salesforce

Salesforce is one of the most popular CRM software programs on the market. It’s used by small businesses and large enterprises alike. Salesforce offers a wide range of features, including marketing automation, customer relationship management (CRM), and lead management. It also has an app for both iOS and Android devices.

Some of Salesforce’s top competitors include Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, SugarCRM, and Asana. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, but all are widely used in the industry. If you’re looking for a comprehensive CRM system that can handle multiple tasks simultaneously, Salesforce is a good option to consider.

Also Read: Top 10 mol.gov.sa Competitors

Adobe

Adobe is a premier software company that creates tools for content creators and professionals everywhere. With products like Photoshop and Illustrator, Adobe provides the necessary tools to help people communicate ideas, create beautiful artwork, and edit documents.

The Adobe suite of products is very comprehensive and allows users to do many things that are not possible with other software options. For example, Adobe Photoshop can be used to edit photos, create logos, and more. Additionally, Illustrator can be used to create vector illustrations or logos.

Overall, the Adobe suite of products is a great option for anyone looking for quality tools that will help them work efficiently.

Oracle

N23.Ultipro.Com

1. Oracle is a world-leading software company that develops and delivers innovative database technologies. Oracle offers customers a broad range of products and services to meet their unique needs.

2. Oracle Database is the world’s most popular commercial database. Customers rely on its performance, scalability, availability, and security to power their businesses. Oracle Database is available in both cloud and on-premises versions.

3. Oracle also provides a broad range of software development tools such as PL/SQL, Java SE, and SparkSQL to help developers build applications with superb functionality and reliability

Aso Read: Allyoulike.com Competitors & Alternative Sites

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a multinational technology company with headquarter in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. It has a market capitalization of $2 trillion as of September 30, 2018. Microsoft provides Windows operating systems, office software, Internet Explorer and Edge browser, Skype, Outlook.com, Xbox Live gaming service, and more.

It has been criticized for its anti-competitive behavior and lack of openness to new ideas. In March 2019 the European Union announced that it would fine Microsoft €2.5 billion for violating antitrust laws since 2009. In July 2019 the U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft alleging that it abused its dominant position in the computer operating system market through anticompetitive practices such as tying its Windows operating system to its own hardware products and preventing other companies from producing similar products

Google

N23.Ultipro.Com

1. Google is the biggest search engine in the world and it dominates the online search market. There are many other search engines, but Google is the most popular and used one.

2. It was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1997. Since then, it has become one of the world’s most powerful companies.

3. The company has a complex business model with revenues generated from advertising, search engine fees, and sales of its products such as Android phones and Chromebooks.

4. Google also owns YouTube, which is one of the world’s most popular video sharing platforms with more than two billion active users each month.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the most popular social networking sites with over 600 million users. It offers a platform for business professionals to connect, share information, and build networks. LinkedIn has several features that can help businesses compete with n.ultipro.com.

One feature of LinkedIn is its “Company Pages.” These pages allow businesses to display their logo, company name, and contact information in a way that is both professional and attractive. They also provide a space for companies to share news and updates, as well as create job postings.

Another advantage of LinkedIn is its “Messaging” feature. This allows businesses to send messages to their contacts privately or publicly. Messages can be filtered by type (job notification, product announcement, etc.), subject matter, company size, location, or connection status (in/out). This feature makes it easy for businesses to target specific contacts and message them in the most appropriate way.

Finally, LinkedIn offers a “Lead Generation” feature that can help businesses generate leads from their contacts. With this tool, businesses can enter the contact’s name and email address and receive a list of potential customers who are likely interested in what they do. This allows businesses to reach out to these potential customers directly without having to spend time finding them on other websites or forums.

Also Read: Allyoulike.com Competitors & Alternative Sites

Twitter

N23.Ultipro.Com

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging platform where users post and respond to messages using short 140-character bursts. The service can be accessed via desktop and mobile devices, and has more than 300 million active users. In order to remain competitive, n.ultipro.com must continue to improve its Twitter presence. Here are five ways the website can improve its Twitter strategy:

1) Use Twitter as a marketing tool: n.ultipro.com should use Twitter to promote its products and services to its audience of users. This can be done by posting relevant information about the company, including new product announcements, updates on current projects, or contests that offer prizes to participants. Additionally, the website should regularly interact with its followers on various topics in order to build relationships and foster trust.

2) Use hashtags: Hashtags are a great way for n.ultipro.com to reach a wider audience on Twitter through search engine optimization (SEO). By using specific hashtags related to the company’s industry or niche, n.ultipro.com can increase the visibility of its tweets in search results and attract new followers interested in what the company is talking about.

3) Share interesting content: When tweeting about specific products or services, n.ultipro.com should share content that is both valuable and engaging for its followers. This way, they will not only be kept up-to-date on important announcements but also persuaded

Slack

Slack is a messaging app for work that has quickly become one of the most popular tools for teams. It’s free, lightweight, and easy to use, and it has a growing number of integrations with other products. Here are some of the key competitors to Slack:

Google Drive: Google Drive is another popular messaging app for work. It’s free, has a wide range of integrations, and is used by many big companies.

HipChat: HipChat is a well-known messaging app for businesses. It can be expensive to get started, but it offers more features than Slack and is used by more companies.

World population reaches 8 billion, but how many are in crypto?

 

The global population figure has just reached a huge milestone, with 8 billion souls now sharing the planet. Meanwhile, crypto adoption continues to grow. 

According to Worldometer, which draws estimates from a 2022 United Nations report, the global population ticked over 8 billion on Nov. 15, doubling from a population count of 4 billion in 1974 — some 48 years ago.

Worldometer said that as of 2022, the population’s annual growth rate sits at around 0.84% but will continue to slow. This could mean it could take another 15 years for the world’s population to reach 9 billion, while the population won’t hit 10 billion until 2080.

China and India are the two most populous countries, with almost 36% of the global population between them.

However, there currently doesn’t exist a consensus around how much of the world’s population currently holds digital assets such as cryptocurrency, with estimates varying. 

Market research firm GWI suggests that as much as 10.2% already hold crypto, with most ownership skewed toward nations experiencing high inflation or fluctuation in the value of their national fiat. 

Singapore-based blockchain firm TripleA estimated that as of 2022, the global crypto ownership rate is around 4.2%, with over 320 million crypto users worldwide. It reported that the United States was top with 46 million crypto holders, followed by India, Pakistan and Nigeria.

In June, Blockware Intelligence predicts that Bitcoin adoption alone will hit 10% worldwide by 2030, as reported by Cointelegraph earlier this year.

Earlier this year, Chainalysis ranked 146 countries in five categories in its 2022 Global Crypto Adoption Index. It found that Vietnam led the pack for overall adoption rates, followed by the Philippines, India, Ukraine and the United States. However, the report did not suggest actual ownership figures.

China, however, remains a difficult country to ascertain the level of crypto ownership. A large portion of people in the world’s most populous country is understood to be tech-savvy and hungry for crypto.

However, the ruling regime has other ideas at the moment. No accurate crypto ownership figures are available.

Crypto adoption will inevitably continue to grow across the planet so we’ll round off with happy birthday, global citizen number 8,000,000,000