Category: Blog

Crypto lender Celsius defends bitcoin mining plans as bankruptcy kicks off

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Crypto lender Celsius defends bitcoin mining plans as bankruptcy kicks off

Cryptocurrency lender Celsius Network said bitcoin mining is key to the company’s restructuring efforts at a U.S. bankruptcy court hearing on Monday in Manhattan. New Jersey-based Celsius received approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Martin Glenn to spend $3.7 million in construction costs at a new bitcoin mining facility and $1.5 million on customs and duties on imported bitcoin mining rigs. Patrick Nash, a lawyer for Celsius, told Glenn that bitcoin mining could provide a way for the company, which halted other business operations like its cryptocurrency lending, to repay customers,…

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EU cuts euro zone growth forecasts, revises up inflation outlook

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EU cuts euro zone growth forecasts, revises up inflation outlook

The European Commission cut its forecasts for economic growth in the euro zone for this year and next and revised up its estimates for inflation on Thursday largely due to the impact of the war in Ukraine. In its quarterly forecasts, Brussels confirmed its more downbeat outlook, which it had already discussed with euro zone finance ministers on Monday The EU executive now predicts growth of 2.6% this year for the 19-country currency bloc, slightly less than the 2.7% it had forecast in May. But next year, when the impact…

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The hike is (almost) here! Now for what comes next: Five questions for the European Central Bank

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The hike is (almost) here! Now for what comes next: Five questions for the European Central Bank

The European Central Bank is set to deliver its first interest-rate hike since 2011 this week, yet markets are already fast-forwarding to focus on the path for higher rates beyond Thursday as economic prospects darken. That outlook is getting murkier by the day because inflation is still accelerating and growth slowing sharply. “The trade off the ECB is facing is more severe than any of the other major central banks,” said Silvia Ardagna, head of European economics research at Barclays. Here are five key questions for markets. 1. So, we’ll…

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US dollar nudges down from multi-year highs as euro gasps for gas

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US dollar nudges down from multi-year highs as euro gasps for gas

The dollar began the week nudging down from multi-year highs, with a hotter-than-forecast inflation reading in New Zealand lending modest support to the kiwi, though fears about Europe’s gas supply put a cap on dollar selling. The greenback has soared this year thanks to a combination of rising U.S. interest rates and wobbling economies in Europe and China. It pushed above parity on the euro for the first time in almost 20 years last week, before easing back. The euro last bought $1.0094 and the yen, which has tumbled about…

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Swiss central bank plans at least 50 bps rate hike in September, newspaper reports

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Swiss central bank plans at least 50 bps rate hike in September, newspaper reports

The Swiss National Bank is currently planning to raise interest rates by 50 or 75 basis points in its next scheduled monetary policy announcement in September, a Swiss newspaper reported on Saturday, citing one or more people involved in the matter. The central bank last month raised its policy rate for the first time in 15 years and Chairman Thomas Jordan said soon afterwards that ongoing inflationary pressure meant further tightening would likely be needed. Data published last week showed Swiss inflation hit a 29-year high of 3.4% in June,…

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European parliament backs ‘historic’ reboot to EU’s digital rulebook

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European parliament backs ‘historic’ reboot to EU’s digital rulebook

The European Parliament has given a final stamp of approval to two major pieces of regulation which will update the EU’s rules for digital businesses. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) will introduce new ‘ex ante’ competition rules for gatekeeping tech giants to ensure markets are fair and open; while the Digital Services Act (DSA), which applies more broadly — to services and platforms both large and small — will set governance rules around the handling of illegal content and products, as well as dialling up broader accountability on larger platforms…

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Russia, Belarus athletes may face Paris 2024 ban: IOC’s Reedie

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Russia, Belarus athletes may face Paris 2024 ban: IOC’s Reedie

 Athletes from Russia and Belarus may not be allowed to compete at the Paris 2024 Games over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Craig Reedie said. The IOC issued guidance to sports governing bodies in February to remove the two countries’ athletes from competition. Belarus has been used as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”. “A decision is going to have to be taken on what happens to each of these two countries, and my guess is that the…

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Russia remains barred from international soccer as sports court upholds bans

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Russia remains barred from international soccer as sports court upholds bans

Russia remains barred from international soccer competitions including the Champions League after the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected appeals by the national soccer federation and four clubs on Friday. CAS upheld decisions by UEFA and FIFA which excluded Russian national teams and clubs following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia was already excluded from men’s World Cup qualifying and the women’s European Championship. Its clubs won’t feature in competitions like the Champions League in 2022-23. “The panel finds it unfortunate that the current military operations in Ukraine, for which Russian…

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2022 World Swimming Championships Results

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2022 World Swimming Championships Results

Finals results from the 2022 World Swimming Championships in Budapest at the Duna Arena … Men’s 50m FreestyleGold: Ben Proud (GBR) — 21.32Silver: Michael Andrew (USA) — 21.41Bronze: Maxime Grousset (FRA) — 21.574. Szebasztian Szabo (HUN) — 21.605. Josh Liendo (CAN) — 21.616. Lorenzo Zazzeri (ITA) — 21.817. Lewis Burras (GBR) — 21.838. Kristian Gkolomeev (GRE) — 21.89 Men’s 100m FreestyleGold: David Popovici (ROU) — 47.58Silver: Maxime Grousset (FRA) — 47.64Bronze: Josh Liendo (CAN) — 47.714. Pan Zhanie (CHN) — 47.795. Brooks Curry (USA) — 48.006. Nandor Nemeth (HUN) —…

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U.S. finishes swimming worlds with most medals in history

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U.S. finishes swimming worlds with most medals in history

BUDAPEST — The U.S. shattered the record for world swimming championships medals, winning eight more on the final day to finish with 45. It held the previous record of 38 from 2017. The U.S. closed out competition Saturday with gold in the men’s 50m backstroke (Justin Ress, who was disqualified, then had it overturned on appeal) and the women’s 4x100m medley relay. “We have crushed it this whole week,” said Regan Smith, who led off the relay and also won the individual 100m back earlier in the meet. “We’ve had such…

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