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Running Of The Bulls To Normal; Cryptos Hurting; All That Glitters ...

October 15/16, 2025

Sin City Sydney, Australia

ASX futures up 5 points/0.1%, at 9024

Wall Street:
S&P 500 +0.4%
Dow Jones: flat
Nasdaq +0.7%

Europe: Stoxx 50 +1%
FTSE -0.3%
DAX -0.2%
CAC +2%

Australian dollar: US65.06 cents

Bitcoin -1.6% to $US111,106

Gold +1.5% to $US4227.10 per ounce

Oil +0.1% to $US58.78 a barrel

Brent crude oil +0.1% to $US62.45 a barrel

Iron ore -0.3% to $US104.90 per ton

10-year yield:
US 4.03%
Australia 4.21%
Germany 2.57%

News Update: (Near Live)

Bitcoin:

New York/Wall St

Cryptos Today: (Near Live) Mood: Corrective! Salt Into The Wound In Checkers?! Or Salt Of The Earth In Metals Right Chess Move?! All That Glitters Not Digital Gold?!

Bitcoin $111,291.65 -1.77%
Ethereum $3,980.33 -3.44%
Tether $1.0005 -0.03%
Binance Coin $1,161.17 -3.98%
XRP $2.4129 -3.48%
Solana $194.13 -3.71%
TRON $0.3194 +0.85%
Dogecoin -$0.1961 -4.15%
Cardano $0.6677 -4.14%

Market corrective. Mood: Somber-like for many! Suspicious! Regaining smiles! Hardcores keep the dream!

Media Man Favs:

October 15, 2025 (Near Live)
Wall St, New York

TKO Group Holdings Inc $191.21 +1.18 +0.62%
NVIDIA Corp $179.83 -0.18 -0.099%
Formula One Group Series C $103.57 -0.15 -0.14%
Alphabet Inc Class A $251.03 +5.58 +2.27%
News Corp Class A $26.57 -0.070 -0.26%
Netflix Inc $1,203.29 -12.06 -0.99%
Caterpillar Inc $534.05 +6.58 +1.25%
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp $16.27
-0.010 -0.061%
Tesla Inc $435.15 +5.91 +1.38%
Walt Disney Co $111.71 +0.54 +0.49%
Wynn Resorts Ltd $118.07 +1.96 +1.69%
Meta Platforms Inc $717.55 +8.90 +1.26%
BHP Group Ltd $43.54
Mercedes Benz Group ADR $15.15 +0.040 +0.26%
Elders Ltd $7.50
Rio Tinto Ltd $129.69

News

The dollar prefers to stay within the range for now

The US dollar turned downward at the end of the day on Tuesday and continues to move downward in the first half of Wednesday. The dollar is being weighed down by the recovery of positive momentum in the stock markets. Pressure on the dollar can also be linked to Powell's latest comments yesterday evening. The Fed chairman confirmed the path to further rate cuts and said asset sales from the balance sheet could be halted soon, ending the quantitative tightening phase. To be cont ..

(FxPro)

News

The US stock market rebound may falter

Over the weekend, US and Chinese leaders appeared to reach out to each other, offering opportunities for further discussion and a deal. Market sentiment was close to extreme fear, with the Fear and Greed Index falling to 29 on Friday and recovering to 30 on Monday. These are the lowest values since the end of April, when the market was recovering from the “liberation day” effect on Trump's tariffs. In the last couple of years, this index has entered the extreme fear zone before we saw a reversal in the indices. This means that bears may exert another round of pressure on the markets. It is easy to link this to further toughening of mutual rhetoric between China and the US, albeit with the possibility of dialogue remaining open. In other words, in this case, it is worth talking about a decrease in the intensity of mutual recriminations, but not about a reversal in relations. From this, we can conclude that the risks that caused the markets to collapse on Friday remain. We also note that the S&P 500 is trading at a significant distance from its 200-week moving average, near which the market has ended its declines over the past 14 years since 2011, touching it or turning around within 2-5% of it. This contrasts sharply with the current situation, where the S&P 500 is almost 25% above this line. If we talk about a correction within a bull market, then the target for bears seems to be the 6100–6150 range, where the 50-week moving average and last winter's highs are concentrated. Movement in this direction looks like a viable strategy for the final quarter of the year, unless there is a real reversal in the rapprochement between China and the US, which we highly doubt. In addition, seasonal factors are also temporarily on the side of the bears, given the more than 40% growth from the lows of the year in early April, the suppressed volatility of the last month and a half, and the tendency to look for new patterns in the markets in the final months of the year. If that's not enough, add to this the fact that the economy is beginning to feel the effects of tariff wars and a deteriorating labour market, and AI is no longer a novelty. In these conditions, it will be increasingly difficult for traders to find reasons for local purchases. (FxPro)

News

Crypto market recovers from tariff shock

Market Overview

The crypto market capitalisation stood at $3.9 trillion on Monday, up 4.4% from the previous day but down 6% from pre-Friday crash levels. On Friday, the US stock market saw its biggest drop since April but recovered some of its losses on Monday. Since Sunday, the crypto market has been attempting to rebound after a sell-off that began as an emotional reaction to tariff initiatives by China and the US but escalated into massive margin calls and stop orders being triggered.

The sentiment index stood at 38 (fear) on Monday morning, down from 24 (extreme fear) the day before. The level of sentiment we saw over the weekend was last seen in April under similar circumstances — when tough trade tariffs were announced.

Bitcoin approached $115K on Monday, while Ethereum exceeded $4,200. Cryptocurrencies are recovering after Friday's sharp decline. The movement on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday swept the ‘weak hands’ out of the market, taking the price of BTC below the 50—and 200-day moving averages and below the August and September lows.

Such sweeping liquidations often set the bottom of the market, but it may take time for the wounds to heal. In 2020, 2021 and 2024, it took a couple of weeks for the rally to start, although the market did not rewrite the lows. But in 2022, the turnaround to growth after the crash began after about six months. Relying on these statistics is encouraging for bargain hunters in crypto. Still, it would be too hasty to say that the recovery will be just as quick and will begin immediately.

News Background

Wall Street crashed on Friday after US President Donald Trump escalated the trade conflict with China following Beijing's tightening of restrictions on trade in rare earth metals, Reuters reports. Cryptocurrencies and stock indices fell sharply on Friday. Some softening of tone from Trump and Xi has led to the probability of 100% tariffs against China by 1 November being estimated at 8% on Polymarket, down from 26% at the end of Friday. Santiment notes that bitcoin remains extremely sensitive to risk appetite and behaves more like a risky asset than a safe haven.

The Kobeissi Letter notes that the collapse of cryptocurrencies on 11 October will not have long-term fundamental consequences and was caused by a combination of technical factors. The market crash triggered a record cascade of liquidations worth $19.3 billion. Analyst Frank Fetter, citing technical indicators, said the cryptocurrency market is still far from overbought, which means there is still potential for the rally to continue.

News Flashback

Oil Holds Strong Despite Bearish Fundamentals

Weekly data from the EIA noted that the US returned to record oil production rates last week, supplying an average of 13.6 million barrels per day to the market, according to the latest EIA data. The trend towards increased supply began in August, but producers have only now returned to the peak levels recorded at the end of last year. Despite a 5.5-million-barrel increase in US commercial inventories over the past two weeks, inventories stay at the lower end of the range seen over the past decade, leaving considerable room for growth. The same can be said for the strategic reserve, which holds nearly 40% less oil than it did five years ago, before the start of the active sell-off. It is an interesting game in which, on the one hand, the US (the largest oil producer) is increasing supplies, while OPEC+ is increasing quotas on a monthly basis. This extremely bearish combination of factors did not cause oil prices to collapse; it was only because of global trade in currency depreciation that caused precious metals, stock indices, and cryptocurrencies to rise. Oil prices have not peaked in recent weeks .. To be cont .. (FxPro)

News

Gold hits new highs due to political turmoil

Gold is outside the realm of politics.

While currencies and securities depend on the actions of presidents and governments, precious metals do not. Therefore, political turmoil forces investors to use them as safe-haven assets.

The impressive 52% rally in gold started in April with the introduction of tariffs on America's Liberation Day. It continued due to the US government shutdown, the political crisis in France, and the change of leadership in Japan. he rise of gold above 4,000 dollars per ounce is not only the result of the weakness of fiat currencies. There are tectonic shifts in the structure of investment portfolios and fears of financial crises due to government recklessness.

The share of precious metals is growing both in speculators' assets and in the gold and foreign exchange reserves of central banks. The indicator has already exceeded the share of the euro. According to Eurizon Capital, if it equals the share of the US dollar, the price per ounce will soar to 8,500 dollars. The Supreme Court's abolition of tariffs will inflate the US budget deficit. France does not intend to reduce it, and Japan plans to increase bond issuance. All this creates a tailwind for commodity assets. (FxPro)

News

Politics remains the main driver of FX

The US government shutdown did not have a noticeable impact on the dollar's performance last week. However, it did help the stock market to grow slightly by strengthening expectations of monetary policy easing. However, these events pale in comparison to the change in Japan's ruling elite and the resignation of the French prime minister less than a day after the formation of the government in terms of their impact on the currency market. In Japan, Sanae Takaichi was chosen head of the Liberal Democratic Party over the weekend and is on track to become the country's first female prime minister. This event caused the yen to fall 2% to 150.49 from Friday's level before correcting to 149.80 at the time of writing. Takaichi is considered a supporter of aggressive government spending, structural reforms, and soft monetary policy, echoing the basic principles of Shinzo Abe. Overall, she has a more right-wing approach to national policy and is also a supporter of revising Japan's pacifist constitution. The market reaction clearly shows that they are considering Takaichi to be the new prime minister. If she does not change her political views (and she has softened them recently to win the party elections), we should be prepared for a further weakening of the yen, which reached its highest level since 1991 in the EURJPY pair, exceeding 176. However, the single currency is also facing uncertainty today due to a new political crisis in France. Prime Minister Lecornu, who had been trying to form a government for a month, resigned the day after he finally presented his new cabinet. His appointments drew criticism from both left-wing and right-wing allies. The EURUSD fell to 1.1650 at its lowest point on Monday, losing a full cent against Friday's levels. Unlike Japan, where a 2% drop in the JPY was accompanied by a 5% jump in the Nikkei225 index, France's CAC40 lost more than 2% intraday, paring its losses to 1.2% towards the end of the trading day in Europe. The EURUSD stopped its climb in July and has been hovering around 1.1700 all this time, not least because of the political crisis in France. Without it, the single currency would have had a much better chance of exploiting political divisions in the US to its advantage. It would be an exaggeration to call the situation in Japan and France a drama. Still, these events once again emphasise that as soon as the dollar's throne begin.

News

Pop Culture News

Dream Matches: Fantasy Booking/Sports; Media Man Group Dream Match Series; Crack The Code!

Million Dollar Man vs IRS
Michael Wall Street vs Billionaire Ted
Mr X vs Mr BTC
Mr Green vs Mr Cash
VKM vs Easy E
Vinnie Vegas vs Mr Corbin
Mr Corp Merch vs Mr Freelance
Masked Superstar vs John McAfee
Sid Justice vs Mr Blood Diamond
Mr Bluey Chipper vs Street Fighter - King Of The Streets Mr Dotcom vs Mr Wiki
Mr Gold vs Mr Green - Money In The Bank Ladder Match Khan vs Khan - Winner Take All Match
Mr Wolff vs The Cleaner
Mr News vs Mr Vice - U.S Market Footprint Stipulation Mr Paramount vs Mr Netflix
Mr ESPN vs Mr Fox
Mr Kross vs Mr H
Cesaro vs Rollins
Dirty Dom vs Mr AAA
Punks vs Egos
Kross vs H
Murdoch Title vs Title
Mr Black Coffee vs Mr Claudio's Cafe Blend
Mr Warner vs Mr Netflix: Broadway draw thus far! Re-match! Winner take all?!
TMZ vs Riddle UFC vs PFL
The Oracle vs Cincinnati, Ohio
Mr X vs Hollyweird
Succession vs Billions
Mouse House vs Art House
NFL vs UFL
ABC vs Mainstream Aussies
Reigns vs Blanka
Cody Rhodes vs Joe
E. Honda vs NJPW
Capcom vs Warner
Cena vs ACME
Combat Sports Players vs Father Time
NXT vs TNA Wrestling (Showdown, not Invasion)!
Alpha vs Meta
TED X vs The Others
WWE's Solo vs Western Australia
UFC Predator vs MMA Predator
Bulls vs Bears

News

Cryptocurrency Movies
Documentaries

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin (2014)
Follows early Bitcoin adopter Daniel Mross, exploring Bitcoin’s origins, its volatile rise, and the community behind it. Great for understanding Bitcoin’s early days and its potential to disrupt finance.

Banking on Bitcoin (2016)
Examines Bitcoin’s history, ideological roots, and impact on global financial systems through interviews with pioneers and experts. A solid primer for newcomers.

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains, and the Future of the Internet (2020)
Directed by Torsten Hoffmann, this documentary dives into blockchain’s broader applications beyond cryptocurrency, addressing scalability and regulatory challenges. Ideal for those interested in blockchain’s transformative potential.

Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain (2018) Narrated by Rosario Dawson, it explores blockchain’s societal impact, from financial inclusion to voting systems. A comprehensive look at real-world applications.

Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It (2015)
Traces the history of money and introduces Bitcoin as a decentralized alternative, critiquing centralized financial systems. Features interviews with crypto experts.

Deep Web (2015) Narrated by Keanu Reeves, this documentary focuses on the Silk Road marketplace and its creator, Ross Ulbricht, highlighting Bitcoin’s role in dark web transactions.

Bitconned (2024) Explores the Centra Tech crypto scam, detailing how three individuals defrauded investors during the 2010s crypto boom. A cautionary tale about unregulated markets.

Feature Films

Crypto (2019)
A crime thriller starring Beau Knapp, Luke Hemsworth, and Kurt Russell. It follows a young anti-money laundering agent investigating corruption and cryptocurrency in his hometown. Critics note its exaggerated portrayal but praise its entertainment value.

Silk Road (2021)
A dramatization of Ross Ulbricht’s creation of the Silk Road, a dark web marketplace using Bitcoin. It explores his rise and fall, blending crime and drama.

Dope (2015) A coming-of-age comedy-drama featuring Bitcoin as a plot device. High schooler Malcolm uses Bitcoin for a dark web transaction, reflecting its early association with illicit activities.

Bonus Mentions

Life on Bitcoin (2014): Follows a couple attempting to live solely on Bitcoin for 100 days, showcasing early adoption challenges.

Bitcoin Heist (2016): A Vietnamese action-comedy about hackers chasing a crypto criminal, blending humor and thrills.

Notes Documentaries are generally more educational, focusing on Bitcoin’s history, blockchain technology, and real-world implications. They’re great for beginners and enthusiasts alike.

Feature films often dramatize crypto’s association with crime or scams, sometimes oversimplifying or exaggerating for effect. They prioritize entertainment over accuracy. For a deeper dive, check streaming platforms like Prime Video, Fandango at Home, or YouTube, where many of these are available.

News

Wall Street (Movie)
Wall Street (1987), directed by Oliver Stone, is a drama about ambition and greed in the 1980s financial world. It follows Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a young stockbroker desperate to succeed, who gets entangled with Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a ruthless corporate raider. Gekko’s mantra, “Greed is good,” drives the story as Bud is lured into insider trading and unethical deals, compromising his morals for wealth and power.

The film explores themes of capitalism, loyalty, and betrayal, with Bud navigating pressures from Gekko, his father (Martin Sheen), and his own conscience.

Key Details: Cast: Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko), Charlie Sheen (Bud Fox), Daryl Hannah (Darien Taylor), Martin Sheen (Carl Fox).
Runtime: 2h 6m.
Genre: Drama/Crime.
Rating: R. Box Office: ~$44 million (US).

Awards: Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Notable Aspects:

Gekko’s “Greed is good” speech is iconic, reflecting 1980s excess. Inspired by real-life figures like Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken.

A sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), continued the story.

Where to Watch (as of 2025):
Streaming: Available on platforms like Peacock or rentable on Amazon, YouTube, or Apple TV (check current availability).
Physical: DVD/Blu-ray via retailers like Amazon.

News Flashback

Gold, copper, & silver:

How metals are moving this year

Metal futures have made some pretty dramatic moves lately from safe haven gold to tariff sensitive copper. So let's take a look at the longer term trends. I'm Jared Blikre, host of Stocks in Translation. And I'm going to start by charting some of the moves in Dr. Copper because this is where we have the most zig and zags over the last 25 years. So this goes back to the beginning of the century and we can see right now, we're at $5.51 per pound. That is a record high. But if we go back to the beginning of the century, guess what? Uh we had a little bit of a slump in the wake of the dot com boom and then bust, but starting in 2003, we saw a big rise there. And that was as China actually joined the World Trade Organization or the WTO. That lasted into the global financial crisis. Then we had a pretty big bust in in Dr. Copper, and then we had another rise. And that rise was due to unprecedented stimulus, not only from the Chinese government, but also from the United States government, QE was in force, and then we saw kind of a strong dollar play. That weighed on this metal all the way into the beginning of 2016. The entire world, most of the world indices went through a bear market in 2015, and then 2016, we found the footing. And that was actually the year that Trump won, began his first presidency. And from there, we saw some zig and zags, and then we saw a shock into the pandemic. A couple of, a couple of years of deflation or a semi-deflation, disinflation, that caught up with it in 2022, but then it was off to the races again. And especially with the Trump tariffs now on copper, threatening to be threatening to be 50% on August 1st, we're seeing a lot of front running in this trade. Now, I also want to show you gold futures and I'm going to show you silver as well. And they follow a very similar pattern. We're not seeing the dramatic zig and zags that we did in copper, but we did see the same pattern of China joining the WTO, contributing to that huge rise in price to 1800, almost $2,000 an ounce by the beginning of the global financial crisis. So a little bit of a meltdown there. But in 2016 into 2018, we saw a bit of a rise into the pandemic, a little bit of a whipsaw there, and consolidation over a few years. Again, that 2022 bare market in US stocks that contributed to some deflation and disinflation globally, supply chain chain shocks came into force again, and then we saw this huge rise beginning in late 2023, and we are now at 3353. We've seen a high of as much as $3,500 per ounce. And gold is kind of unique among the precious metals and also the industrial metals, and this is because central banks have been a huge determining force in their buying of it. This is a bar chart that shows central bank buying in tons going back all the way to 2010. And what you notice here is the last three years, 2022, 2023, 2024, all of those had gold being bought by central banks of in the amount of over 1,000 tons. And so that's a pretty big dramatic increase from the prior years. And this has to do with the ongoing dedollarization in China, as well as Russia, but also a host of other countries, even some in western and eastern Europe. So this is a trend that we want to follow. Uh, I want to close out here with silver, and I'm going to just chart the price action. Again, very similar chart to gold and copper in terms of the big movements here. We saw a big price spike into almost $50 per ounce, and that was just as the global financial crisis was getting underway. And then the QE area in 2011, that's when we saw that high. Then we saw a dramatic, dramatic crash into 2016, kind of found its footing, saw a big squeeze in the early pandemic, 2020 was a great year for silver, but then we saw a little bit of a fallout. And again, silver is on the rise here at $38. It's still off of that $50 record high, but it is increasing very quickly. To round out the conversation, I want to just put on a table here. I have all three medals and just kind of grouping them together. I want to display how they are moving with their specific patterns with a trigger, and then to tell you which one of these is featured in these specific criteria. So here, under the pattern, we have acceleration. So that would be an economic acceleration. The trigger would be liquidity. And when that happens, we see all metals benefiting from that. And then when there's a safe haven scare, and that trigger would be a crisis of some sorts, you're going to see gold and silver outperforming the most, kind of leaving Dr. Copper behind. And then here's a bearish one, industrial drags, that affects copper disproportionately here, and the trigger there is typically a stronger US dollar because the US dollar surges when global global industrials tend to drag, and that's because the US is the least dirty shirt in the laundry basket of the world. And then finally here, we have a policy shock. This will affect all three medals, but especially copper and gold here. Um, arguably, the biggest reason is tariffs and debt, and we've seen both of those contribute to silver rising. So we could put all three in that basket as well. But when you put it all together, we have the perfect explosive mix for all three of these metals, including palladium and also platinum, which we didn't get to have time for, but all of these are experiencing huge thrust in 2025. And we'll have to see how these tariffs play out, especially on Dr. Copper with respect to that August 1st deadline. Remember, 50% there. So tune into Stocks in Translation for more jargon busting deep dives, new episodes on Tuesdays and Thursdays on Yahoo Finances website, or wherever you find your podcast. (Transcript from Yahoo! Finance podcast)

News

Best Quotes

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

"Bottoms in the investment world don't end with four-year lows; they end with 10- or 15-year lows." — Jim Rogers

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett

Media Man "Bullish is a mindset"

Markets, Crypto and Culture

Wednesday Wonderings: Running Of The Bulls Weekend To Weak-ist Start; Bulls Downhill Continue To Climb Back Up The Mountain (Mainly) Mid Week Edition!

October 14/15, 2025

Sin City Sydney, Australia

ASX futures up 74 points/0.8%, at 8994

Wall Street:
S&P 500 -0.2%
Dow Jones +0.4%
Nasdaq -0.8%

Europe: Stoxx 50 -0.3%
FTSE +0.1%
DAX -0.6%
CAC -0.2%

Australian dollar flat at US64.84¢

Bitcoin -2.6% to $US112,817

Spot gold +0.8% to $US4142.94 per ounce

US oil -1.3% to $US58.70 a barrel

Brent crude oil -1.1% to $US62.26 a barrel

Iron ore -1.2% to $US105.25 per ton

10-year yield:
US 4.03%
Australia 4.23%
Germany 2.61%

News Update: (Near Live)

Bitcoin:

New York/Wall St

Cryptos Today: (Near Live) Mood: Corrective! Moody!

Bitcoin $113,474.79 -1.60%
Ethereum $4,138.04 -2.59%
Tether $1.0007 -0.02%
Binance Coin $1,219.35 -5.90%
XRP $2.5241 -3.55%
Solana $203.57 -2.72%
TRON $0.3175 -1.76%
Dogecoin $0.2058 -4.07%
Cardano $0.7011 - 4.02%

Market corrective. Mood: Somber-like for many! Suspicious! Regaining smiles! Hardcores keep the dream!

Media Man Favs:

October 14, 2025 (Near Live)
Wall St, New York

TKO Group Holdings Inc $189.97 +1.37 +0.73%
NVIDIA Corp $180.03 -8.29 -4.40%
Formula One Group Series C $103.72 -0.31 -0.30%
Alphabet Inc Class A $245.45 +1.30 +0.53%
News Corp Class A $26.64 +0.55 +2.11%
Netflix Inc $1,215.35 -3.68 -0.30%
Caterpillar Inc $527.47 +22.71 +4.50%
Trump Media & Technology Group Corp $16.28
-0.28 -1.69%
Tesla Inc $429.24 -6.66 -1.53%
Walt Disney Co $111.17 +0.90 +0.82%
Wynn Resorts Ltd $116.11 +3.59 +3.19%
Meta Platforms Inc $708.65 -7.05 -0.99%
BHP Group Ltd $43.18 +0.38 +0.90%
Mercedes Benz Group ADR $15.11 -0.28 -1.82%
Elders Ltd $7.57 -0.030 -0.39%
Rio Tinto Ltd $127.91 +0.48 +0.38%

News

The US stock market rebound may falter

News

Crypto market recovers from tariff shock

Market Overview

News Background

News Flashback

Oil Holds Strong Despite Bearish Fundamentals

News

Gold hits new highs due to political turmoil

Gold is outside the realm of politics.

While currencies and securities depend on the actions of presidents and governments, precious metals do not. Therefore, political turmoil forces investors to use them as safe-haven assets.

News

Politics remains the main driver of FX

News

Pop Culture News

Dream Matches: Fantasy Booking/Sports; Media Man Group Dream Match Series; Crack The Code!

Million Dollar Man vs IRS
Michael Wall Street vs Billionaire Ted
Mr X vs Mr BTC
Mr Green vs Mr Cash
VKM vs Easy E
Vinnie Vegas vs Mr Corbin
Mr Corp Merch vs Mr Freelance
Masked Superstar vs John McAfee
Sid Justice vs Mr Blood Diamond
Mr Bluey Chipper vs Street Fighter - King Of The Streets Mr Dotcom vs Mr Wiki
Mr Gold vs Mr Green - Money In The Bank Ladder Match Khan vs Khan - Winner Take All Match
Mr Wolff vs The Cleaner
Mr News vs Mr Vice - U.S Market Footprint Stipulation Mr Paramount vs Mr Netflix
Mr ESPN vs Mr Fox
Mr Kross vs Mr H
Cesaro vs Rollins
Dirty Dom vs Mr AAA
Punks vs Egos
Kross vs H L.
Murdoch Title vs Title
Mr Black Coffee vs Mr Claudio's Cafe Blend
Mr Warner vs Mr Netflix: Broadway draw thus far! Re-match! Winner take all?!
TMZ vs Riddle UFC vs PFL
The Oracle vs Cincinnati, Ohio
Mr X vs Hollyweird
Succession vs Billions
Mouse House vs Art House
NFL vs UFL
ABC vs Mainstream Aussies
Reigns vs Blanka
Cody Rhodes vs Joe
E. Honda vs NJPW
Capcom vs Warner
Cena vs ACME
Combat Sports Players vs Father Time
NXT vs TNA Wrestling (Showdown, not Invasion)!
Alpha vs Meta
TED X vs The Others
WWE's Solo vs Western Australia
UFC Predator vs MMA Predator
Bulls vs Bears

News

Cryptocurrency Movies
Documentaries

Banking on Bitcoin (2016)
Examines Bitcoin’s history, ideological roots, and impact on global financial systems through interviews with pioneers and experts. A solid primer for newcomers.

Deep Web (2015) Narrated by Keanu Reeves, this documentary focuses on the Silk Road marketplace and its creator, Ross Ulbricht, highlighting Bitcoin’s role in dark web transactions.

Bitconned (2024) Explores the Centra Tech crypto scam, detailing how three individuals defrauded investors during the 2010s crypto boom. A cautionary tale about unregulated markets.

Feature Films

Silk Road (2021)
A dramatization of Ross Ulbricht’s creation of the Silk Road, a dark web marketplace using Bitcoin. It explores his rise and fall, blending crime and drama.

Dope (2015) A coming-of-age comedy-drama featuring Bitcoin as a plot device. High schooler Malcolm uses Bitcoin for a dark web transaction, reflecting its early association with illicit activities.

Bonus Mentions

Life on Bitcoin (2014): Follows a couple attempting to live solely on Bitcoin for 100 days, showcasing early adoption challenges.

Bitcoin Heist (2016): A Vietnamese action-comedy about hackers chasing a crypto criminal, blending humor and thrills.

Notes Documentaries are generally more educational, focusing on Bitcoin’s history, blockchain technology, and real-world implications. They’re great for beginners and enthusiasts alike.

News

The film explores themes of capitalism, loyalty, and betrayal, with Bud navigating pressures from Gekko, his father (Martin Sheen), and his own conscience.

Awards: Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Notable Aspects:

Gekko’s “Greed is good” speech is iconic, reflecting 1980s excess. Inspired by real-life figures like Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken.

A sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), continued the story.

Where to Watch (as of 2025):
Streaming: Available on platforms like Peacock or rentable on Amazon, YouTube, or Apple TV (check current availability).

Physical: DVD/Blu-ray via retailers like Amazon.

News Flashback

Gold, copper, & silver:

How metals are moving this year

News

Best Quotes

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

"Bottoms in the investment world don't end with four-year lows; they end with 10- or 15-year lows." — Jim Rogers

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett

Media Man "Bullish is a mindset"

Markets, Crypto and Culture

Mad Monday Into Terrifying Tuesday: Running Of The Bulls Weekend To Weak-ist Start; Bulls Downhill Climbing Back Up The Mountain Edition!

October 13/14, 2025
Sin City Sydney, Australia

ASX futures

News Update: (Near Live)

Bitcoin: $115,656.56 +0.27%

New York/Wall St Cryptos Today: (Near Live)
Mood: Corrective! Moody!

Bitcoin $115,656.56 +0.27%
Ethereum $4,276.84 +2.87%
Tether $1.0010 -0.01%
Binance Coin $1,293.57 -0.82%
XRP $2.6185 +3.45%
Solana $208.68 +5.80%
USDC $0.9999 -0.01%
TRON $0.3236 +0.17%
Dogecoin $0.2158 +4.05%
Cardano $0.7331 +4.59%

Market corrective. Mood: Somber-like for many! Suspicious! Regaining smiles! Hardcores keep the dream!

Media Man Favs:

October 13, 2025 (Near Live)

Wall St, New York

TKO Group Holdings Inc $188.60 +1.55 +0.83%

NVIDIA Corp $188.32 +5.28 +2.88%

Formula One Group Series C $104.03 +0.83 +0.80%

Alphabet Inc Class A $244.15 +7.58 +3.20%

News Corp Class A $26.09 +0.31 +1.20%

Netflix Inc $1,219.03 -1.05 -0.086%

Caterpillar Inc $504.76 +13.41 +2.73%

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp $16.56 +0.59 +3.69%

Tesla Inc $435.90 +22.41 +5.42%

Walt Disney Co $110.27 +1.06 +0.97%

Wynn Resorts Ltd $112.52 -7.37 -6.15%

Meta Platforms Inc $715.70 +10.40 +1.47%

BHP Group Ltd $55.71 +2.09 +3.91%

Mercedes Benz Group ADR $15.39 +0.10 +0.65%

Elders Ltd $7.38

Rio Tinto Ltd $125.21

News

The US stock market rebound may falter

US stock index futures are rising after a disastrous Friday, when Trump's aggressive response to China's tariffs shook the markets. The US president's announcements were carefully timed, with the most aggressive measures (additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods) announced after the market closed. Over the weekend, US and Chinese leaders appeared to reach out to each other, offering opportunities for further discussion and a deal.

Market sentiment was close to extreme fear, with the Fear and Greed Index falling to 29 on Friday and recovering to 30 on Monday. These are the lowest values since the end of April, when the market was recovering from the “liberation day” effect on Trump's tariffs.

In the last couple of years, this index has entered the extreme fear zone before we saw a reversal in the indices. This means that bears may exert another round of pressure on the markets. It is easy to link this to further toughening of mutual rhetoric between China and the US, albeit with the possibility of dialogue remaining open. In other words, in this case, it is worth talking about a decrease in the intensity of mutual recriminations, but not about a reversal in relations. From this, we can conclude that the risks that caused the markets to collapse on Friday remain.

We also note that the S&P 500 is trading at a significant distance from its 200-week moving average, near which the market has ended its declines over the past 14 years since 2011, touching it or turning around within 2-5% of it. This contrasts sharply with the current situation, where the S&P 500 is almost 25% above this line.

If we talk about a correction within a bull market, then the target for bears seems to be the 6100–6150 range, where the 50-week moving average and last winter's highs are concentrated. Movement in this direction looks like a viable strategy for the final quarter of the year, unless there is a real reversal in the rapprochement between China and the US, which we highly doubt.

In addition, seasonal factors are also temporarily on the side of the bears, given the more than 40% growth from the lows of the year in early April, the suppressed volatility of the last month and a half, and the tendency to look for new patterns in the markets in the final months of the year. If that's not enough, add to this the fact that the economy is beginning to feel the effects of tariff wars and a deteriorating labour market, and AI is no longer a novelty. In these conditions, it will be increasingly difficult for traders to find reasons for local purchases. (FxPro)

News

Crypto market recovers from tariff shock
Market Overview
The crypto market capitalisation stood at $3.9 trillion on Monday, up 4.4% from the previous day but down 6% from pre-Friday crash levels. On Friday, the US stock market saw its biggest drop since April but recovered some of its losses on Monday. Since Sunday, the crypto market has been attempting to rebound after a sell-off that began as an emotional reaction to tariff initiatives by China and the US but escalated into massive margin calls and stop orders being triggered.

News Background
Wall Street crashed on Friday after US President Donald Trump escalated the trade conflict with China following Beijing's tightening of restrictions on trade in rare earth metals, Reuters reports.
Cryptocurrencies and stock indices fell sharply on Friday.

Some softening of tone from Trump and Xi has led to the probability of 100% tariffs against China by 1 November being estimated at 8% on Polymarket, down from 26% at the end of Friday.
Santiment notes that bitcoin remains extremely sensitive to risk appetite and behaves more like a risky asset than a safe haven.

Analyst Frank Fetter, citing technical indicators, said the cryptocurrency market is still far from overbought, which means there is still potential for the rally to continue.

News

Oil Holds Strong Despite Bearish Fundamentals

News

Gold hits new highs due to political turmoil

Gold is outside the realm of politics.

While currencies and securities depend on the actions of presidents and governments, precious metals do not. Therefore, political turmoil forces investors to use them as safe-haven assets.

he rise of gold above 4,000 dollars per ounce is not only the result of the weakness of fiat currencies. There are tectonic shifts in the structure of investment portfolios and fears of financial crises due to government recklessness.

News Politics remains the main driver of FX The US government shutdown did not have a noticeable impact on the dollar's performance last week. However, it did help the stock market to grow slightly by strengthening expectations of monetary policy easing. However, these events pale in comparison to the change in Japan's ruling elite and the resignation of the French prime minister less than a day after the formation of the government in terms of their impact on the currency market. In Japan, Sanae Takaichi was chosen head of the Liberal Democratic Party over the weekend and is on track to become the country's first female prime minister. This event caused the yen to fall 2% to 150.49 from Friday's level before correcting to 149.80 at the time of writing. Takaichi is considered a supporter of aggressive government spending, structural reforms, and soft monetary policy, echoing the basic principles of Shinzo Abe. Overall, she has a more right-wing approach to national policy and is also a supporter of revising Japan's pacifist constitution. The market reaction clearly shows that they are considering Takaichi to be the new prime minister. If she does not change her political views (and she has softened them recently to win the party elections), we should be prepared for a further weakening of the yen, which reached its highest level since 1991 in the EURJPY pair, exceeding 176. However, the single currency is also facing uncertainty today due to a new political crisis in France. Prime Minister Lecornu, who had been trying to form a government for a month, resigned the day after he finally presented his new cabinet. His appointments drew criticism from both left-wing and right-wing allies. The EURUSD fell to 1.1650 at its lowest point on Monday, losing a full cent against Friday's levels. Unlike Japan, where a 2% drop in the JPY was accompanied by a 5% jump in the Nikkei225 index, France's CAC40 lost more than 2% intraday, paring its losses to 1.2% towards the end of the trading day in Europe. The EURUSD stopped its climb in July and has been hovering around 1.1700 all this time, not least because of the political crisis in France. Without it, the single currency would have had a much better chance of exploiting political divisions in the US to its advantage. It would be an exaggeration to call the situation in Japan and France a drama. Still, these events once again emphasise that as soon as the dollar's throne begin

News

Pop Culture News

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Million Dollar Man vs IRS
Michael Wall Street vs Billionaire Ted
Mr X vs Mr BTC
Mr Green vs Mr Cash
VKM vs Easy E
Vinnie Vegas vs Mr Corbin
Mr Corp Merch vs Mr Freelance
Masked Superstar vs John McAfee
Sid Justice vs Mr Blood Diamond
Mr Bluey Chipper vs Street Fighter - King Of The Streets
Mr Dotcom vs Mr Wiki Mr Gold vs Mr Green - Money In The Bank Ladder Match
Khan vs Khan - Winner Take All Match
Mr Wolff vs The Cleaner
Mr News vs Mr Vice - U.S Market Footprint Stipulation Mr Paramount vs Mr Netflix
Mr ESPN vs Mr Fox
Mr Kross vs Mr H
Cesaro vs Rollins
Dirty Dom vs Mr AAA
Punks vs Egos
Kross vs H L.
Murdoch Title vs Title
Mr Black Coffee vs Mr Claudio's Cafe Blend
Mr Warner vs Mr Netflix: Broadway draw thus far!
Re-match! Winner take all?!
TMZ vs Riddle
UFC vs PFL
The Oracle vs Cincinnati, Ohio
Mr X vs Hollyweird
Succession vs Billions
Mouse House vs Art House
NFL vs UFL
ABC vs Mainstream Aussies
Reigns vs Blanka
Cody Rhodes vs Joe
E. Honda vs NJPW
Capcom vs Warner Cena vs ACME
Combat Sports Players vs Father Time
NXT vs TNA Wrestling (Showdown, not Invasion)!
Alpha vs Meta
TED X vs The Others
WWE's Solo vs Western Australia
UFC Predator vs MMA Predator
Bulls vs Bears

News

Cryptocurrency Movies
Documentaries

Banking on Bitcoin (2016)
Examines Bitcoin’s history, ideological roots, and impact on global financial systems through interviews with pioneers and experts. A solid primer for newcomers.

Trust Machine: The Story of Blockchain (2018)
Narrated by Rosario Dawson, it explores blockchain’s societal impact, from financial inclusion to voting systems. A comprehensive look at real-world applications.

Deep Web (2015)
Narrated by Keanu Reeves, this documentary focuses on the Silk Road marketplace and its creator, Ross Ulbricht, highlighting Bitcoin’s role in dark web transactions.

Bitconned (2024)
Explores the Centra Tech crypto scam, detailing how three individuals defrauded investors during the 2010s crypto boom. A cautionary tale about unregulated markets.

Feature Films
Crypto (2019)
A crime thriller starring Beau Knapp, Luke Hemsworth, and Kurt Russell. It follows a young anti-money laundering agent investigating corruption and cryptocurrency in his hometown. Critics note its exaggerated portrayal but praise its entertainment value.

Silk Road (2021)
A dramatization of Ross Ulbricht’s creation of the Silk Road, a dark web marketplace using Bitcoin. It explores his rise and fall, blending crime and drama.

Dope (2015)
A coming-of-age comedy-drama featuring Bitcoin as a plot device. High schooler Malcolm uses Bitcoin for a dark web transaction, reflecting its early association with illicit activities.

Bonus Mentions

Life on Bitcoin (2014):
Follows a couple attempting to live solely on Bitcoin for 100 days, showcasing early adoption challenges.

Bitcoin Heist (2016):
A Vietnamese action-comedy about hackers chasing a crypto criminal, blending humor and thrills.

Notes

Documentaries are generally more educational, focusing on Bitcoin’s history, blockchain technology, and real-world implications. They’re great for beginners and enthusiasts alike.

News

Wall Street (Movie)

Wall Street (1987), directed by Oliver Stone, is a drama about ambition and greed in the 1980s financial world. It follows Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), a young stockbroker desperate to succeed, who gets entangled with Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), a ruthless corporate raider. Gekko’s mantra, “Greed is good,” drives the story as Bud is lured into insider trading and unethical deals, compromising his morals for wealth and power.

The film explores themes of capitalism, loyalty, and betrayal, with Bud navigating pressures from Gekko, his father (Martin Sheen), and his own conscience. Key Details: Cast: Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko), Charlie Sheen (Bud Fox), Daryl Hannah (Darien Taylor), Martin Sheen (Carl Fox). Runtime: 2h 6m. Genre: Drama/Crime. Rating: R. Box Office: ~$44 million (US).
Awards: Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Notable Aspects:
Gekko’s “Greed is good” speech is iconic, reflecting 1980s excess. Inspired by real-life figures like Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken.
A sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), continued the story.

Where to Watch (as of 2025):

Streaming: Available on platforms like Peacock or rentable on Amazon, YouTube, or Apple TV (check current availability).

Physical: DVD/Blu-ray via retailers like Amazon.

News Flashback

Gold, copper, & silver:

How metals are moving this year

News

Best Quotes An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

"Bottoms in the investment world don't end with four-year lows; they end with 10- or 15-year lows." — Jim Rogers

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett

Media Man "Bullish is a mindset"

Markets, Crypto and Culture

August 15, 2025

Sydney, Australia

Markets

ASX futures up 2 points to 8832 at 6.41am AEST
Australian dollar -0.8% to 64.97 US cents

Wall St:
S&P 500 flat
Dow flat
NAS +0.1%

Europe:
Stoxx 50 +0.9%, FTSE +0.1%, DAX +0.8%, CAC +0.8%

Bitcoin -4% to $US118,066

Gold -0.6% to $US3335.42 per ounce

Oil +2.2% to $US64.01 a barrel
Brent crude oil +2% to $US66.91 a barrel
Iron ore -1.1% to $US102.35 per ton

10-year yield:
US 4.28%
Australia 4.21%
Germany 2.71%

News

Cryptos Today: (Near Live)

Bitcoin $117,672.99 USD -4.11%
Ethereum $4,458.95 USD -5.51%
Tether $1.00 USD +0.09%
XRP $3.05 USD -6.18%
BNB $829.16 USD -1.68%

News Overnight

Bitcoin hit new highs but then dropped back down

Market Overview

The crypto market cap rose to $4.20 trillion on Thursday morning before dropping back down somewhat to $4.14 trillion. But even with the correction, the daily gain is close to 2%, led by Bitcoin's slide to a new peak of $124.5K. Among the major coins, Cardano (+18%), Near Protocol (+6.2%) and Trump (+5.9%) were the leaders.

The sentiment index rose to 75, ready to move into the extreme greed zone. It was previously held at this level throughout the second half of July, but the entire crypto market was in a range at that time. (FxPro)

News Flashback

Summer Break for the Crypto Market

Market Overview

The cryptocurrency market began August with a relatively narrow range of $3.6-3.8 trillion, ending Wednesday at $3.72 trillion. The support received in the area of previous peaks set in December and January suggests that this is a temporary pause to lock in profits and gain liquidity before a new surge. At the same time, however, such sluggishness is turning away the most active traders, who are used to seeing multiple rallies. Now they have moved on to very small projects.

On Tuesday, Bitcoin was again approaching its 50-day moving average. Such frequent testing of the medium-term trend signal line indicates accumulated fatigue in the first cryptocurrency. For comparison, the crypto market's total capitalisation is still moving significantly above its 50-day average, which is currently around $3.57 trillion.

News Background

Institutional investors are actively buying up Ethereum, while retail traders remain on the sidelines. SharpLink bought 83,561 ETH ($264.5 million) last week at an average price of $3,634. The company's reserves amount to almost 522,000 ETH (~$1.9 billion). However, Bitmine Immersion Tech remains the leader, with 833 coins worth over $3 billion. A total of 64 corporations now own 2.96 million ETH ($10.81 billion) or 2.45% of the total Ethereum supply.

Large companies continue to buy Bitcoin, adding 26,700 BTC to their reserves in July. Strategy bought 21,021 BTC for $2.46 billion last week. According to BitcoinTreasuries, public and private companies now hold 1.35 million BTC ($155 billion) on their balance sheets — more than 6% of the total digital gold supply.

US regulators have proposed new rules for the crypto industry. The CFTC has launched an initiative to legalise spot trading of cryptocurrencies on registered exchanges, and the SEC has updated its guidance on stablecoin accounting rules.

USDe from Ethena Labs has become the third-largest stablecoin. Since mid-July, its capitalisation has grown by 75% to $9.5 billion. Demand for the asset may have been spurred by high yields ranging from 10% to 19% per annum. The total capitalisation of all stablecoins has been growing for the seventh month in a row and is approaching $275 billion. (FxPro)

News

S&P500’s buy-the-dip sentiment helped Bitcoin

The sell-off of Bitcoin following Congress's passage of a law regulating the circulation of stablecoins and the retreat of US stock indices from record highs allowed Bitcoin bears to push prices below the lower boundary of the $116k—$120k consolidation range. When it looked like a severe correction was coming, US stocks stepped in again. Investors bought up the S&P 500 dip, and Bitcoin immediately bounced back.

Changes in global risk appetite continue to be the main driver of cryptocurrency prices. July saw a series of record highs for the S&P 500, making it a successful month for Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Bitcoin-focused ETFs attracted $6 billion, the third-best result in the history of specialised exchange-traded funds. Ether ETFs were not far behind, with a record inflow of $5.4 billion.

The situation changed dramatically at the turn of July and August. Interest in digital assets began to cool. Coinbase's Bitcoin premium fell into the red for the first time since May, indicating a decline in demand from US investors. Open interest in Bitcoin and Ether futures contracts fell by 13% and 21%, respectively, compared to Bitcoin's record high. According to Coinglass, on the last day of July, $800 million in long positions across all cryptocurrencies were liquidated.

Speculators doubt the rally's continuation, while crypto treasuries are buying Bitcoin under any conditions. On pullbacks or at market prices, ‘Strategy’ acquired more than 21,000 coins worth $2.46 billion during the week of July 28th to August 3rd. This is the third-largest cryptocurrency purchase by Michael Saylor's company since records began. The average price is the second highest in history. As a result, Strategy's reserves have grown to more than $71 billion.

The future dynamics of Bitcoin will depend on the fate of US stock indices and capital flows into ETFs. If the S&P 500's successes are temporary, Bitcoin will be forced to undergo a deep correction. If its quotes remain below the middle of the previous consolidation range of $116k—$120k, the bears are in control.

News

Bitcoin tests support at 50-day MA

Market Picture

The crypto market rolled back at the end of last week following a reduction in risk appetite in the financial markets. However, on Sunday, sentiment changed with the return of active buyers near the total capitalisation of $3.60 trillion. At the time of writing, the market is at $3.73 trillion (+3.6%). Less than 10% of the top 100 coins show gains over 7 days, among which the largest are TRON (+2.2%) and TON (+4.5%).

The crypto market sentiment index fell to 53 by Sunday morning, a six-week low, but recovered to 64 on Monday, reflecting a resurgence of bullish sentiment. However, another impressive upward move will be needed to confirm a local victory for the bulls.

On Saturday and Sunday, Bitcoin received support from buyers on declines below $112K near the 50-day moving average - the fourth touch of this curve since April. On the “buy the dip” sentiment, the first cryptocurrency recovered to $115K on Monday morning. The rebound from support is a bullish signal for the next couple of days, but the fact that it has been tested frequently raises concerns for the medium term. News Background

According to SoSoValue, net outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US amounted to $812.3 million on August 1, the highest since February 25. As a result, the weekly outflow from BTC ETFs amounted to $643 million, a record high for the past 16 weeks.

The net outflow from spot Ethereum ETFs in the US on Friday amounted to $152.3 million. However, inflows in the previous days of the week managed to keep the indicator in positive territory (+$154.3 million). The positive trend has continued for 12 consecutive weeks.

Analyst Ali Martinez says that over the past two days, Bitcoin whales have bought 30,000 BTC. According to Santiment, over the past four months, whales with balances ranging from 10 to 10,000 BTC have accumulated 0.9% of the total coin supply.

According to The Block, trading volume on centralised crypto exchanges exceeded $1.7 trillion in July (the highest since February 2025), and trading volume on decentralised exchanges (DEX) also reached its highest level since January.

Galaxy Digital warned of risks in the public company sector, which accumulates cryptocurrencies by issuing shares. The model creates systemic vulnerability and could lead to a cascade collapse.

US SEC Chairman Paul Atkins announced Project Crypto. The project’s key objective is to establish clear rules for cryptocurrencies and turn the US into the “world’s crypto capital.” (FxPro)

News Flashback

Three blows to oil in three days

Oil has been under triple pressure since the end of last week, losing more than 7% per barrel of WTI since 31 July, reaching the important psychological level of $65.

The latest wave of oil sell-offs began with the realisation that US trade tariffs from August will be higher than initially expected, as higher tariffs are associated with an economic slowdown and weaker demand for energy. Fears of an economic slowdown intensified after the release of unexpectedly weak US employment data on Friday. Over the weekend, concerns were heightened by OPEC+'s increase in production quotas, which was reflected in the markets on Monday.

After its latest meeting, OPEC+ announced that it would increase production quotas for eight countries by 547,000 barrels per day starting in September.

Considering the quota increases since April, the entire voluntarily reduced volume of 2.2 million barrels per day will return to the market. This is a rather bold decision, given the growing fear that the global economy is slowing down.

Some link such steps by the cartel to the risks of supply disruptions due to potential sanctions from the US and the EU. In our opinion, it is also worth considering the cartel's intention to regain its market share from the US in this way.

Oil producers in the US are very sensitive to price, sharply cutting investment when prices fall. At the beginning of April, there were 489 oil rigs in operation, but according to data published on Friday, this number has fallen to 410. In the long term, a gradual increase in production efficiency should be considered, but at intervals of six months, it is unlikely that there will be any sharp progress. Therefore, we can expect some US production reduction and a gradual recovery in the share of traditional oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and the UAE.

The price of WTI crude oil, which rose to close to $70 at its peak last week, has returned to the lower end of the range since early June at $65. Closing the day below 66 will mark a failure below the 200- and 50-day moving averages, increasing the potential for further declines.

If OPEC+ really plans to increase its share of the oil market, it may not oppose further price declines. The intensification of negative trends in the global and US economies could bring the price back to this year's lows of $55 by the end of September and to the lower end of the downward corridor of $50 by the end of the year. However, further trends will depend heavily on the reaction of monetary authorities and oil producers. (FxPro)

News Flashback

July 29, 2025

Ethereum continues attempt to climb above $4,000

Market Picture

The crypto market lost 1%, falling back to a capitalisation of $3.9 trillion. This was a natural pullback against the backdrop of the dollar's impressive strengthening the day before. However, on Tuesday, the bulls were back in charge, bringing the market back to a level above Monday's opening but not yet reaching its peak.

Bitcoin is trading near $118.7K, unable to break through the resistance at $120K. This indecision to break out of the range is likely to continue until the market sees the Fed's key rate decision on Wednesday evening.

Ethereum rose to $3,930 at the end of the day, fell back to $3,700 on Monday, where it found interest from new buyers and rose to $3,830 at the time of writing. The last seven days have seen a fairly sharp upward trend, and if this trend continues, the price will rise above 4,000 by the end of this week.

News Background

According to CoinShares, global investment inflows into crypto funds last week amounted to $1.908 billion. Investments in Ethereum increased by $1.595 billion, Solana by a significant $312 million, XRP by $190 million, and Sui by $8 million. Investments in Bitcoin decreased by $175 million.

Japan's Metaplanet announced the acquisition of 780 BTC ($92.5 million) at an average price of $118,600. The company's total reserves now amount to 17,132 BTC, worth over $2 billion.

According to Blockware, Bitcoin will no longer show ‘parabolic’ rallies or ‘devastating’ bear cycles, as institutional investors have changed the market dynamics and reduced volatility.

According to Strategic ETH Reserve, the volume of the second cryptocurrency on the balance sheets of public companies has reached 2.32 million ETH (~$9.11 billion) — 1.92% of the total Ethereum supply. Bitmine Immersion Tech, associated with Fundstrat founder Tom Lee, pursues the most aggressive strategy. The company has ~566,800 ETH ($2.23 billion) on its balance sheet.

BNB, the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by capitalisation, updated its historical high above $860 on Monday. Against this background, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao's estimated fortune exceeded $76 billion. According to Forbes, Zhao owns 64% of the BNB supply — about 89.1 million tokens. (FxPro)

News

Pop Culture News

Dream Matches: Fantasy Booking/Sports; Media Man Group Dream Match Series

News

Cryptocurrency Movies
Documentaries

The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin (2014) Follows early Bitcoin adopter Daniel Mross, exploring Bitcoin’s origins, its volatile rise, and the community behind it. Great for understanding Bitcoin’s early days and its potential to disrupt finance.

Banking on Bitcoin (2016) Examines Bitcoin’s history, ideological roots, and impact on global financial systems through interviews with pioneers and experts. A solid primer for newcomers.

Cryptopia: Bitcoin, Blockchains, and the Future of the Internet (2020)

Directed by Torsten Hoffmann, this documentary dives into blockchain’s broader applications beyond cryptocurrency, addressing scalability and regulatory challenges. Ideal for those interested in blockchain’s transformative potential.

Bitcoin: The End of Money as We Know It (2015) Traces the history of money and introduces Bitcoin as a decentralized alternative, critiquing centralized financial systems. Features interviews with crypto experts.

Deep Web (2015) Narrated by Keanu Reeves, this documentary focuses on the Silk Road marketplace and its creator, Ross Ulbricht, highlighting Bitcoin’s role in dark web transactions.

Bitconned (2024) Explores the Centra Tech crypto scam, detailing how three individuals defrauded investors during the 2010s crypto boom. A cautionary tale about unregulated markets.

Feature Films

Crypto (2019) A crime thriller starring Beau Knapp, Luke Hemsworth, and Kurt Russell. It follows a young anti-money laundering agent investigating corruption and cryptocurrency in his hometown. Critics note its exaggerated portrayal but praise its entertainment value.

Silk Road (2021) A dramatization of Ross Ulbricht’s creation of the Silk Road, a dark web marketplace using Bitcoin. It explores his rise and fall, blending crime and drama.

Dope (2015) A coming-of-age comedy-drama featuring Bitcoin as a plot device. High schooler Malcolm uses Bitcoin for a dark web transaction, reflecting its early association with illicit activities.

Bonus Mentions

Life on Bitcoin (2014): Follows a couple attempting to live solely on Bitcoin for 100 days, showcasing early adoption challenges.

Bitcoin Heist (2016): A Vietnamese action-comedy about hackers chasing a crypto criminal, blending humor and thrills.

Notes

Documentaries are generally more educational, focusing on Bitcoin’s history, blockchain technology, and real-world implications. They’re great for beginners and enthusiasts alike.

Feature films often dramatize crypto’s association with crime or scams, sometimes oversimplifying or exaggerating for effect. They prioritize entertainment over accuracy.

For a deeper dive, check streaming platforms like Prime Video, Fandango at Home, or YouTube, where many of these are available.

News

Wall Street (Movie)

Key Details:

Cast: Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko), Charlie Sheen (Bud Fox), Daryl Hannah (Darien Taylor), Martin Sheen (Carl Fox). Runtime: 2h 6m. Genre: Drama/Crime. Rating: R. Box Office: ~$44 million (US).

Awards: Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Notable Aspects:

Gekko’s “Greed is good” speech is iconic, reflecting 1980s excess.

Inspired by real-life figures like Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken.

A sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), continued the story.

Where to Watch (as of 2025):

Streaming: Available on platforms like Peacock or rentable on Amazon, YouTube, or Apple TV (check current availability). Physical: DVD/Blu-ray via retailers like Amazon.

News

Gold, copper, & silver: How metals are moving this year

News

Best Quotes

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

"Bottoms in the investment world don't end with four-year lows; they end with 10- or 15-year lows." — Jim Rogers

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett

Media Man

"Everything is a gamble" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

Cryptocurrency, Markets, Business, World News and Culture

Thank God It's Friday Edition Under The Media Watercooler

August 7/8, 2025

Media Man Newsfeed

Stock market growth has boosted altcoins more than BTC

Market Overview

The crypto market increased its capitalisation by almost 1% over the past day to $3.76 trillion. This smooth recovery is consistent with the growing appetite in the stock markets, where the Nasdaq100 is approaching peak values, trading just over 1% below its historical highs. The growth drivers remain the leading altcoins ETH (+2.4%), XRP (+1.7%), Solana (+3.7%) and Dogecoin (+2.7%) against a modest +0.7% for BTC.

Bitcoin is approaching $115K on Thursday morning, reinforcing confidence in a rebound from the 50-day moving average in the first days of the month. However, the situation is clouded by uncertainty due to trading within a narrow range. Signals for a continuation of the movement will be a breakout of support at $112K (recent local lows and 50-day average) or a breakout of resistance at $120K (July peaks and an important round level).

News Background

According to Glassnode, Bitcoin has moved from a stage of euphoria to a stage of cooling off, with pressure from sellers intensifying. Demand from large companies and investment funds is weakening, capital inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs have fallen by almost a quarter, network activity is declining, and transfer volumes and commission fees are shrinking. In such conditions, any recovery will be short-lived, as there are no fundamental catalysts for a rally.

Options point to expectations of a decline in Bitcoin and Ethereum by the end of August. Analyst Sean Dawson notes that investors are hedging en masse in case of a sharp pullback in BTC below $100,000.

Well-known trader Ton Weiss suggested that the concentration of Bitcoin in the hands of large American companies creates risks of centralisation, and the US authorities may try to confiscate it in the event of an economic crisis, as they once did with gold. In his opinion, this could happen in 2032–2033.

As part of Project Crypto, the US SEC has clarified that liquid staking is not usually subject to securities laws.

US President Donald Trump is going to sign an executive order imposing penalties on banks that refuse to serve crypto companies, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources in the White House. (FxPro)

News

SEC and Ripple Conclude XRP Lawsuit

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Ripple Labs have dismissed all appeals in their legal battle over XRP, ending a case that began in December 2020. A court previously ruled that XRP sales on public exchanges did not constitute securities, while institutional sales violated securities laws, resulting in a $125 million fine for Ripple. This resolution eliminates further litigation and provides regulatory clarity for the cryptocurrency.

News

Cryptos Today: (Near Live)

Bitcoin $116,400.26 USD +1.16%
Ethereum $3,886.75 USD +4.27%
XRP $3.34 USD +11.23%
Tether $0.9987 USD -0.19%
BNB: $784.56 USD +2.44%
Solana $175.11 USD +3.30%
USD Coin $0.9993 USD -0.07%
Dogecoin $0.2227 USD +8.31%
TRON $0.3375 USD -0.71%

News

Business activity in the eurozone is growing, but very slowly

Business activity in the eurozone is returning to growth thanks to a turnaround in manufacturing since the end of last year and a slight acceleration in the pace of growth in services, according to data published by S&P Global.

The final composite PMI data for July showed an increase to 50.9, rising for the third consecutive month and repeating March's figures. Overall, the indicator has returned to levels close to those seen in 2019, indicating fairly sluggish economic growth.

Although the manufacturing sector, for which data was published on Friday, remains below 50, indicating a contraction, this is significantly better than the 45.2 recorded in November and December. This increase clearly reflects the momentum of growth in defence spending in the eurozone and the reduction in the key interest rate, which increases the availability of credit.

The services sector has remained in growth territory for the past eight months, but is experiencing relatively moderate growth rates, which does not suggest any risks of accelerating inflation from this perspective.

An important difference between 2025 and 2019 is the ECB's key rate, which stands at 2.15% versus 0%, respectively. The Central Bank has room to ease policy, so we view the current data as moderately bearish. (FxPro)

News

New Zealand's labour market – a new reason to pause the RBNZ's rate cuts

The New Zealand dollar was able to swim against the tide on Wednesday, strengthening against the dollar more than its other competitors on positive labour market statistics. NZDUSD has gained 0.6% since the start of the day to 0.5930, hitting a weekly high.

In the second quarter, the number of people employed fell by 0.9% compared to the same period a year earlier, but this data was in line with average forecasts. At the same time, the unemployment rate was better than expected, rising from 5.1% to 5.2%, while 5.3% was expected. Salaries rose 0.6% for the quarter and were 2.2% higher than a year earlier — quite healthy figures above forecasts.

There is hope that the labour market is seeing a reversal in wage growth compared to the 0.4% increase in the first three months of the year. This looks like the first signs of the economy's response to the cycle of policy easing that began a year ago. During this time, the RBNZ cut its key rate by two percentage points to 3.25%.

Labour market indicators complement inflation statistics, which show an acceleration from 2.2% at the end of last year to 2.7% year-on-year at the end of the second quarter. Such an acceleration could be a strong argument in favour of at least pausing the rate cuts at the next meeting on August 20. (FxPro)

News

August 5, 2025

Resilient dollar despite weak jobs data

The US employment report published on Friday confirmed its status as the economic report with pivotal status. The dismissal of the head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics is a high-profile political precedent, but we are interested in the consequences for the markets.

Employment growth of 73K was reported, significantly lower than the expected 106K. But the main shock was the revision for May from 144K to 19K and for June from 147K to 14K. Businesses barely created any new jobs in the first months after the tariffs were introduced, in contrast to ‘business as usual’ before the publication.

This report radically reversed the trend in the debt market. Over the past few weeks, markets have been pushing back the Fed's rate cuts further into the future and reducing the number of expected cuts in subsequent quarters. The peak of this revaluation came shortly after the FOMC comments on 30 July. At that time, the markets were pricing in a more than 60% chance that there would be no easing in September, and the main scenario until the end of the year was only one cut.

Now, the probability of a cut in September exceeds 90%, and the chances of three cuts by the end of the year are 47%, i.e. a 25-basis-point cut at each of the remaining meetings.

Investors in the stock markets prefer to see the positive side of the situation, expecting that lower rates will boost corporate earnings. In addition, lower bond yields at lower rates increase the attractiveness of equities.

Somewhat unusually, the dollar, which lost 1.5% on Friday, recovered a third of its losses, adding 0.5% to its lows, despite the clearly negative news for the USD. We previously said that such a reaction was expected due to the US currency's accumulated oversoldness due to its downward trend since January.

Technically, the 50-day moving average, which acted as resistance until mid-July, helped to stop the dollar's decline. Fundamentally, the dollar may be boosted by the familiar idea that in Europe and other parts of the world, the slowdown in US consumption will lead to an even greater slowdown, forcing further policy easing.

At the same time, it is worth being cautious with bullish forecasts for the dollar, as its growth still has several control points to pass. First, it is worth looking at the dynamics of the DXY near its latest peak of 100 against the current 98.8. The next confirmation of a long-term reversal in the dollar trend will be a break above 102, an important peak in May, near which the 200-day moving average and the 61.8% level of the decline from the January peak to the June bottom also pass. Breaking through this level will prove that the movement has risen from a corrective rebound to a reversal, opening growth potential to 110. (FxPro)

News

August 8, 2025

Markets

Australian Dollar: $0.6523 USD (up $0.0023 USD)

Iron Ore: $102.00 USD (up $0.05 USD)

Oil: $63.83 USD (down $0.44 USD)

Gold: $3,396.07 USD (up $27.76 USD)

Copper: $4.4140 USD (up $0.0010 USD)

Bitcoin: $117,275.06 USD (up 1.83%)

Dow Jones: 43,968.64 (down 224.48 points)

News

Business (Australia and World)

August 8, 2025

Shares trade near record; ASX Limited tumbles

The Australian sharemarket edged lower on Thursday, with the S&P/ASX 200 shedding 0.1 per cent to close at 8,831.4 points. ASX Limited was down 8.6 per cent at $64.22, Resmed fell 2.1 per cent to $43.02 and the Commonwealth Bank eased 0.5 per cent to end the session at $178.13. However, JB Hi-Fi rose 1.8 per cent to $116.41, Westgold Resources was up 5.1 per cent at $2.90 and Neuren Pharmaceuticals finished 3.2 per cent higher at $17.55. (RMS)

News

Doubts over gold's 'safe haven' status despite record run

The gold price has risen by nearly 30 per cent so far in 2025, having reached a record high of $US3,500 an ounce in April. However, analysis by Bhanu Singh from Dimensional Fund Advisors has raised doubts about gold's long-standing reputation as a 'safe haven' asset. Singh has found that gold rose in just over 50 per cent of calendar years between 1980 and 2024; in contrast, the Australian sharemarket rose in 73 per cent of the years during that period. Singh says people do not realise that gold is a more volatile asset class than shares. (RMS)

News

ANZ staff await Matos' vision

The ANZ Bank's CEO Nuno Matos has yet to outline his strategy for the 'big four' bank, several months after he succeeded Shayne Elliott. However, Matos is said to have told analysts in closed-door meetings that he intends to 'transform' ANZ. Sources within the bank have claimed that his strategy will include significant job cuts and outsourcing more roles to India. The Finance Sector Union's national president Wendy Streets has accused Matos of treating ANZ employees as "disposable". (Roy Morgan Summary)

News

ASX takes $35m hit from ASIC inquiry as rival Cboe lurks

The ASX has advised that it will spend between $25m and $35m this financial year on legal costs and resourcing on an Australian Securities & Investments Commission inquiry into it. The inquiry was launched in June after a series of failures by the ASX that have called into question its ability to keep the Australian sharemarket functioning properly, while it is understood that ASIC has broadened its inquiry to take in the ASX's latest error, which saw it confuse listed telco TPG Telecom with private equity firm TPG Capital. The mistake, which had TPG Telecom buying software provider Infomedia when it was actually TPG Capital. (RMS)

News

The Wolf Of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street is a 2013 film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on Jordan Belfort's memoir. It follows Belfort, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, a stockbroker who rises to wealth through fraudulent schemes in the 1990s, indulging in a hedonistic lifestyle of drugs, sex, and excess. His firm, Stratton Oakmont, manipulates stock prices to scam investors, leading to millions in ill-gotten gains. The FBI eventually catches up, and Belfort’s empire collapses. The movie blends dark comedy, drama, and satire, critiquing greed and the American Dream.

Key details:
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Jordan Belfort), Jonah Hill (Donnie Azoff), Margot Robbie (Naomi Lapaglia), Matthew McConaughey (Mark Hanna).

Runtime: 3 hours.

Rating: R (for graphic nudity, drug use, language, and violence).

Box Office: Grossed over $392 million worldwide.

Reception: Praised for its energy, performances, and Scorsese’s direction; criticized by some for glorifying excess. Nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. (Grok)

News

The Social Network: News

No official release date or production timeline has been confirmed, and the casting deals are not yet finalized.

These details stem from entertainment industry sources like Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, shared via posts on XThe primary news surrounding The Social Network relates to the development of a sequel, tentatively referred to as The Social Network Part II.

Here are the key details based on recent reports:

Sequel Announcement and Casting: Aaron Sorkin, the writer of the original 2010 film, is set to write and direct the sequel. The project is in early development, with Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White as top choices to star. Madison would portray Frances Haugen, the whistleblower who disclosed Facebook’s documents in 2021, while White would play Jeff Horwitz, the journalist who investigated the Facebook Files. Jeremy Strong is a frontrunner to play Mark Zuckerberg, a role originally portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg.

Focus of the Sequel: The sequel is expected to explore significant events post-2010, particularly the 2021 Facebook Files leak, which revealed internal documents about the company’s practices. This suggests a shift in narrative from the founding of Facebook to its later controversies.

Context and Relevance: The original film chronicled the creation of Facebook and the legal battles involving Mark Zuckerberg and his co-founders. A sequel could delve into the platform’s evolution, its impact on society, and ongoing scrutiny over data privacy and misinformation, reflecting current debates about social media’s role in public discourse. (Grok)

News

Wall Street (Movie)

Key Details:

Cast: Michael Douglas (Gordon Gekko), Charlie Sheen (Bud Fox), Daryl Hannah (Darien Taylor), Martin Sheen (Carl Fox). Runtime: 2h 6m. Genre: Drama/Crime. Rating: R. Box Office: ~$44 million (US).

Awards: Michael Douglas won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Notable Aspects:

Gekko’s “Greed is good” speech is iconic, reflecting 1980s excess.

Inspired by real-life figures like Ivan Boesky and Michael Milken.

A sequel, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), continued the story.

Where to Watch (as of 2025):

Streaming: Available on platforms like Peacock or rentable on Amazon, YouTube, or Apple TV (check current availability). Physical: DVD/Blu-ray via retailers like Amazon.

News

Gold, copper, & silver: How metals are moving this year

News

Best Quotes

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest." — Benjamin Franklin

"Bottoms in the investment world don't end with four-year lows; they end with 10- or 15-year lows." — Jim Rogers

Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy only when others are fearful." — Warren Buffett

Media Man

"Everything is a gamble" Greg Tingle, Media Man Group

News

Best Quotes Of The Day

The best and biggest gold mine is in between your ears."

"You are a gold mine of potential power. You have to dig to find it and make it real."

"Your mind is like a gold mine, if you dig deep you will find something golden."

"Don't die without mining the gold in your mind."

"We're like goldfields. Until we dig deep to find what's inside us, our true potentials may be hidden forever."

"If you want to find gold, you've got to love the process of digging."

"Even if you're sitting on a gold mine, you still have to dig."

"Develop men the same way gold is mined"

"Don't go into the mine looking for dirt; instead, go in looking for the gold."

"A prospector's job is to remove dirt as quickly as possible"

"A prospector who analyses every speck of dirt won't find much gold"

"The world is sitting on a gold mine but knows it not." "Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold."

"All that is gold does not glitter."

"Gold is forever. It is beautiful, useful, and never wears out"

"Gold is the money of kings"

"Mining is the art of exploiting mineral deposits at a profit. An unprofitable mine is fit only for the sepulcher of a dead mule."

"Anyone can find the dirt in someone. Be the one that finds the gold."

"True gold fears no fire."

"The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit."

"Make new friends, but keep the old; Those are silver, these are gold."

"When taken for granted, gold in one's hand is sometimes considered like cheap copper – so are people."

SPY Performance (S&P 500 Proxy)

Current Price (as of April 8 close): $496.48 USD

Previous Day Close (April 7): $504.38 USD

1-Day Change: Down $7.90 (-1.57%)

Metrics from April 8:
Open: $521.86

High: $524.79

Low: $487.8821-Month Trend: Down from $557.001 on March 31, a decline of approximately 10.85%

Context: The S&P 500 has been under pressure, with a significant drop in early April, including a reported 4.8% plunge on April 3 due to Trump’s tariff announcements (per Investopedia). The April 8 close of $496.48 reflects continued volatility.Top 10 Stocks in the S&P 500 (General Context)
Since I don’t have real-time intraday data for April 9 or a specific "Top 10" list for today (e.g., gainers or most active), I’ll highlight the top 10 S&P 500 constituents by index weight as of recent data (typically dominated by tech and large-cap firms). These are often key market movers and may align with what you’re seeking. Their performance would influence SPY and the broader market:

Apple (AAPL) - A major S&P 500 component, recently hit by tariff concerns (down nearly 8% on April 3 per CNBC).

Microsoft (MSFT) - Cloud and AI leader, volatile amid tech sell-offs.

Nvidia (NVDA) - AI darling, heavily impacted by market swings (noted as “horrendous” on April 3 by CNBC).

Amazon (AMZN) - E-commerce and cloud strength, seen as a safer bet by some analysts (Motley Fool).

Alphabet (GOOGL) - Search giant, cautious outlook from Wells Fargo (price target cut to $167).

Meta Platforms (META) - Social media titan, sensitive to ad revenue shifts.

Tesla (TSLA) - High trading volume stock, often trending (Yahoo Finance).

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) - Buffett’s conglomerate, more stable amid turmoil.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) - Financial giant, down with banking sector fears (e.g., BAC fell 11% on April 3).

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) - Healthcare leader, defensive play in a shaky market.Observations from April 8 Data

SPY 1-Day Movement: The intraday data shows SPY peaked at $524.79 but closed at $496.48, indicating late-day selling pressure. By 19:30 on April 8, it hit $488.105, suggesting a rocky session.

Market Mood: Recent reports (e.g., Reuters, Investopedia) highlight tariff-driven uncertainty, with tech and discretionary stocks hit hardest, while consumer staples (e.g., Procter & Gamble) gained.What’s Happening Today (April 9)?
Without real-time intraday data for April 9, I can’t pinpoint today’s top 10 performers yet. However:
Futures data from Yahoo Finance (April 7) showed S&P Futures at 5,013.75, down 1.89%, suggesting a weak open on April 8, consistent with the eventual close of $496.48.

Given the ongoing tariff fallout and recession fears (Bloomberg, Reuters), expect continued volatility. Tech stocks like Nvidia and Apple, and high-volume names like Tesla and Palantir (Yahoo Finance), are likely focal points.

Markets

April 8, 2025

Australian Dollar: $0.5990 USD (down $0.0004 USD)
Iron Ore May Spot Price (SGX): $98.15 USD (down $1.30 USD)
Oil Price (WTI): $60.96 USD (down $1.03 USD)
Gold: $2,983.20 USD (down $54.45 USD)
Copper (CME): $4.3050 USD (down $0.0830 USD)
Bitcoin: $78,993.34 USD (down 0.56%)
Dow Jones: 37,965.60 (down 349.26 points from Friday)

Cryptos Today:

BTC. $79,852.35. 3.70%
ETH. $1,590.17. 3.02.
USDT. $0.9997. 0.03%
XRP. $1.8972. 6.93%
BNB. $563.53. 3.41%
USDC. $1.0001. - 0.00%
SOL. $110.52. 8.19%
DOGE. $0.1509. 6.66%

Stock Market News

April 9, 2025

As of today, April 9, 2025, the stock market is experiencing significant turbulence due to ongoing developments surrounding President Donald Trump's tariff policies. Here's a summary of the latest stock market news based on available information:

Global markets have been reeling since Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imports last week, with a minimum 10% tariff on all U.S. imports and higher rates on goods from countries like China (set to face a 104% tariff starting at midnight EDT tonight). This escalation has triggered widespread sell-offs, with the S&P 500 nearing bear market territory—defined as a 20% drop from its recent peak—after briefly dipping into it earlier this week. The index is currently down nearly 18% from its mid-February high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed over 1,600 points in recent days, and the Nasdaq Composite has entered a bear market with a decline exceeding 20% from its peak.

Yesterday, April 8, U.S. stocks saw volatile trading. The Dow closed down 349 points (0.91%) at 37,965.60 after falling as much as 1,700 points intraday, while the S&P 500 ended 0.2% lower, and the Nasdaq eked out a slight 0.1% gain, buoyed by some buying in megacap tech stocks like Nvidia and Palantir. Trading volume hit an 18-year high with approximately 29 billion shares exchanged, reflecting intense market activity.

Internationally, the fallout has been severe. Asian markets posted their worst session since 2008 on Monday, with Hong Kong’s main index plunging 13% and Taiwan’s tech-heavy market dropping 10%. European indices also saw sharp declines, with Germany’s DAX falling 10% and the UK’s FTSE 100 down 6%. Oil prices have slid to four-year lows, exacerbating recession fears.

Investor sentiment is shaky, with hopes of tariff delays dashed after Trump reiterated his commitment to the policy, dismissing a rumored 90-day pause as "fake news." Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has indicated negotiations with over 50 countries are underway, but no immediate relief is expected. Analysts warn of potential further declines—some predict another 20% drop in stock values—citing risks of inflation, disrupted supply chains, and a global recession. The market’s reaction reflects deep concern over the economic impact of these tariffs, with more volatility anticipated as corporate earnings season begins this week. (Grok)

Cryptocurrency, Fintech, Markets, Comms, Biz, Politics

April 7, 2025

Markets

ASX futures down 331 points/4.3% to 7388
AUD -0.3% at US60.21¢
Bitcoin -4.3% to $US79,283
Dow -5.5%
S&P -6.0%
Nasdaq -5.8%
Gold -2.5% to $US3038.24 an ounce
Brent oil -6.5% at $US65.58 a barrel
Iron ore flat at $US98.00 a tonne

News

April 7, 2025

Crypto Today:

BTC. $78,820.93. 4.67%
ETH. $1,577.20. 10.02.
USDT. $0.9998. 0.03%
XRP. $1.9566. 7.10%
BNB. $552.66. 6.00%
USDC. $1.0002. 0.03%
SOL. $106.55. 9.74%
DOGE. $0.1499. 9.96%

News

Countries Respond to U.S. Tariffs with Negotiation Offers

Following President Trump's announcement of new tariff policies, Vietnam and Taiwan have both offered to eliminate all tariffs on U.S. goods. Additionally, over 50 countries have reached out to the U.S. to begin trade negotiations, as stated by U.S. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett. These actions are in response to the U.S. imposing tariffs, with countries seeking to negotiate new trade deals to mitigate the impact of these tariffs. (Grok)

News

Bitcoin Dips Below $80,000, Hits $78,000 Amid Market Liquidation

On April 6, 2025, Bitcoin experienced a significant price drop, falling below $80,000 and reaching as low as approximately $78,000. This decline was accompanied by a $200 million liquidation from the cryptocurrency market within the past hour. Ethereum also saw a decrease, falling below $1,700, marking a notable downturn in the broader crypto market. (Grok)

News

Trump's Tariffs Prompt Global Trade Shifts

President Trump has recently imposed tariffs on several countries, prompting a variety of responses globally. Vietnam has proposed eliminating tariffs on U.S. goods following discussions with Trump, with plans to send diplomats to Mar-a-Lago to finalize the agreement. In the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has acknowledged the failure of globalization and expressed understanding of Trump's tariff strategy. Meanwhile, business leaders like Elon Musk have advocated for a zero-tariff system between the U.S. and Europe to establish a free trade zone. Public opinion on these tariffs is divided, with some seeing an increase in Trump's approval ratings, while others, including investors, express concerns over economic impacts. (Grok)

World News, Biz, Markets, Resources, Politics, Media

April 4, 2025

Tariff wars made the dollar a risky asset

Gold

Movements in metals have been monumental. A 3% rise deep into the region of all-time highs for Gold was followed by a collapse of more than $100 from $3,170 to $3,050 an ounce. On Friday, trading stabilised near $3100, minimally adding to levels at the opening of the week.

Tactically, this is a good time for the bulls to exhale and lock in profits. This is confirmed by the fulfilment of an important growth target and the entry into extreme overbought on weekly timeframes on RSI. Multi-week corrections started in similar conditions in 2024.

Oil

Oil took a double hit in the week in less than 24 hours when it came under pressure from the macroeconomy due to tariffs and OPEC+ actions. Tired of waiting for the global economy to accelerate, the Cartel switched gears in the battle for market share, pledging to ramp up production faster than the previously announced plan.

Similar moments occurred in March 2020 and December 2014. On both occasions, oil dipped below $30 a barrel before finding support in the form of coordinated action by global producers. In theory, coordination is now at a higher level, but that doesn't negate the powerful pressures expected due to the trade shock and supply expansion.

Technically, oil is breaking through the bottom of the three-year range, and the 50-week moving average worked as resistance for the third time since September. (FxPro)

News

Cryptos Today

BTC. $83,789.09. 0.70%
ETH. $1,812.44. 0.36.
USDT. $0.9997. 0.00%
XRP. $2.1330. 2.61%
BNB. $596.22. 0.09%
SOL. $120.95. 3.74%
USDC. $1.0000. 0.01%
DOGE. $0.1696. 3.20%

News

Markets

ASX 200 futures are pointing down 93 points/1.2 per cent to 7786

AUD +0.4% to US63.22¢

Bitcoin -4.7% to $US82,018

Wall St:
Dow -4%
S&P -4.8%
Nasdaq -6%
VIX +8.26 to 29.77
Gold -0.9% to $US3108.38 an ounce
Brent oil -6.7% to $US69.91 a barrel
Iron ore -1.5% to $US101.25 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.04% Australia 4.26%

News

Germany Considers Gold Withdrawal from U.S. Vault

Germany is contemplating the withdrawal of approximately 1,200 tons of gold, valued at around $124 billion, from a U.S. Federal Reserve vault in New York. This consideration comes in the context of recent U.S. tariffs imposed by President Trump. The decision-making process involves senior officials from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party, who are set to lead the next German government in the Bundestag. The potential repatriation of gold has not occurred since World War II, highlighting the significance of the current deliberations. (Grok)

News

Bitcoin Holds Steady Amid Stock Market Turmoil

On April 4, 2025, the US stock market experienced a significant drop, with over $1.5 trillion in value being erased. Amidst this turmoil, Bitcoin has shown resilience, maintaining its value around $80,000. Some observers and investors view this as a sign of Bitcoin decoupling from traditional financial markets and emerging as a potential safe haven asset, similar to gold. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has publicly stated that 'Bitcoin is becoming a store of value,' reflecting a viewpoint that is gaining traction among some in the financial community. (Grok)

News

Coffee Tariffs Prompt Debate on U.S. Production

The United States is currently facing a discussion around proposed tariffs on imported coffee, which could impact consumer prices. While coffee is grown in the U.S., primarily in Hawaii, the production volume is significantly less than the national demand. Increasing domestic production to meet this demand presents logistical and time-related challenges, as coffee plants require several years to mature and produce a full crop. Opinions vary on the feasibility and desirability of relying more heavily on American-grown coffee to circumvent the potential tariff-induced price increases.

Markets

April 4, 2025

ASX futures down 74 points or 0.9% to 7805

AUD +0.6% to US63.35¢

Bitcoin -4.6% to $US82,296

Wall St:

Dow -3.3%
S&P -4.1%
Nasdaq -5.2%
VIX +6.02 to 27.53
Gold -0.7% to $US3112.12 an ounce
Brent oil -6.5% to $US70.09 a barrel
Iron ore -1.5% to $US101.25 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.05% Australia 4.26%

Cryptos Today:

BTC. $81,846.87. 5.49%
ETH. $1,774.30. 6.24.
USDT. $0.9997. 0.02%
XRP. $2.0101. 6.23%
BNB. $587.77. 2.64%
USDC. $1.0000. 0.01%
SOL. $113.95. 12.19%
DOGE. $0.1581. 8.06%

Markets

April 4, 2025

ASX futures down 74 points or 0.9% to 7805

AUD +0.6% to US63.35¢

Bitcoin -4.6% to $US82,296

Wall St:

Dow -3.3%
S&P -4.1%
Nasdaq -5.2%
VIX +6.02 to 27.53
Gold -0.7% to $US3112.12 an ounce
Brent oil -6.5% to $US70.09 a barrel
Iron ore -1.5% to $US101.25 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.05% Australia 4.26%

Cryptos Today:

BTC. $81,846.87. 5.49%
ETH. $1,774.30. 6.24.
USDT. $0.9997. 0.02%
XRP. $2.0101. 6.23%
BNB. $587.77. 2.64%
USDC. $1.0000. 0.01%
SOL. $113.95. 12.19%
DOGE. $0.1581. 8.06%

Markets

March 24, 2025

ASX futuresdown 0.5 per cent or 41 points to 7945

AUD flat at US62.73¢

Bitcoin +1.2% to $US85,147

Wall St:
Dow +0.1%

S&P +0.1%

Nasdaq +0.5%

VIX -0.52 points to 19.28

Gold -0.8% to $US3022.15 an ounce

Brent oil +0.2% to $US72.16 a barrel

Iron ore -0.5% to $US100 a tonne

10-year yield: US 4.25% Australia 4.39%

Crypto Today

BTC. $85,293.57. 1.15%
ETH. $2,001.72. 0.75.
USDT. $1.0001. 0.03%
XRP. $2.4026. 0.56%
BNB. $622.52. 0.78%
SOL. $132.21. 2.11%
USDC. $1.0003. 0.02%
ADA. $0.7082. 0.59%

Markets

March 24, 2025

ASX futuresdown 0.5 per cent or 41 points to 7945

AUD flat at US62.73¢

Bitcoin +1.2% to $US85,147

Wall St:
Dow +0.1%

S&P +0.1%

Nasdaq +0.5%

VIX -0.52 points to 19.28

Gold -0.8% to $US3022.15 an ounce

Brent oil +0.2% to $US72.16 a barrel

Iron ore -0.5% to $US100 a tonne

10-year yield: US 4.25% Australia 4.39%

Crypto Today

BTC. $85,293.57. 1.15%
ETH. $2,001.72. 0.75.
USDT. $1.0001. 0.03%
XRP. $2.4026. 0.56%
BNB. $622.52. 0.78%
SOL. $132.21. 2.11%
USDC. $1.0003. 0.02%
ADA. $0.7082. 0.59%

News

Media Man Group Market Feed

News, Crypto, Markets, Biz, Politics, Media

March 13/14, 2025

Crypto: just a bumpy downtrend

Market picture

The crypto market declined during the week to a total capitalisation of $2.5 trillion, a third lower than the peaks in December last year. However, towards the end of the week, we could see attempts to stabilise the market, with a rebound of $2.67 trillion.

Despite the growth attempts, only if the market breaks above its 200-day moving average will we be able to take it as a signal of a return to growth. For now, the market dynamics resemble no more than just a bumpy downtrend.

The story is similar in Bitcoin, where the bears are regaining control of the market on bounces to the $83,500 area. A 200-day moving average is near this level.

Ethereum is in a steep decline, having pulled back below $1900. At its low point, it was below $1750. It hasn't been this cheap since October 2023, losing over half of its price since its peak in mid-December.

News Background

Outflows from spot bitcoin-ETFs in the US continue for the seventh day in a row, with 19 trading sessions out of 21 already.

CryptoQuant calls the range of $75,000 - 78,000 as support, which coincides with the lower boundary of the realised price. If the quotes are fixed below this zone, the $63,000 mark may become a benchmark.

Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced an updated Bitcoin Act bill in the US Senate that would allow the government to store more than 1 million bitcoins as part of a newly created crypto reserve. The US can buy 200,000 BTC each year for five years, reallocating funds from the Fed and Treasury Department.

The US SEC has extended the deadlines for several applications to launch spot ETFs based on XRP, Solana, Litecoin and Dogecoin. Bloomberg called the regulator's move ‘expected’ and in line with standard procedures. (FxPro)

News

The crypto bounces back from extreme fear

Market picture

The cryptocurrency market bounced 2% in the last 24 hours to $2.67 trillion. So far, the situation looks like a small rebound after the collapse. We should not talk about the beginning of recovery as long as the market is below its 200-day moving average of $2.83 trillion.

Sentiment in the crypto market has shifted from dread to fear at 34. The indicator was last higher more than three weeks ago, indicating that now is a good time to buy. However, it's worth paying attention to the nervous stock market before considering investments in more volatile cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin was climbing above $83,000 on Tuesday, hitting resistance in the form of the 200-day moving average. If a long-term trend line is repurposed as resistance, that's a worrisome bearish fact.

Ethereum ended Tuesday with growth and was trading near $1900 at the start of Wednesday, but this is a timid rebound within the steep peak the coin has been in since February 24th and the broader downtrend of the past three months.

News Background

CryptoQuant states a sharp drop in open interest in Bitcoin and Ethereum futures, suggesting a ‘leverage washout’ and a chance of market stabilisation. The Kobeissi Letter admits a wave of short position unwinding in risk assets after extreme fear levels are reached.

Clearstream, the post-trading arm of Deutsche Börse, will offer cryptocurrency settlement and custody services to institutional clients as early as next month, starting with Bitcoin and Ethereum. It then plans to add support for other cryptocurrencies and services for staking, lending and brokerage.
Glassnode notes that Solana fell below its realised price of $134 for the first time in three years. The metrics show the average cost for investors to purchase the coin.

According to Arkham Intelligence, on 11 March, bankrupt exchange Mt. Gox transferred 11,501 BTC (~$905 million) to an unknown address. Mt. Gox-related addresses hold a total of 35,915 BTC worth $2.89bn. (FxPro)

News

Gold hits fresh record

March 14, 2025

Spot gold hit a fresh record high on Friday after the US threatened higher tariffs on the EU, adding to growing concerns that levies could hamper economic growth.Prices rose as high as $US2990.02. It came after spot gold notched its biggest intraday gain this year on Thursday, rising 1.9 per cent. US President Donald Trump overnight threatened to impose 200 per cent tariffs on alcohol from the European Union, after the block set a 50 per cent tariff on American whisky.

News

Trump crypto venture has talked to Binance about doing business

March 14, 2025

World Liberty Financial, one of the Trump family’s crypto ventures, has discussed doing business with the world’s largest digital-asset exchange, Binance Holdings, according to four people with knowledge of the talks.

The exchange’s founder pleaded guilty to failing to take required measures to prevent terrorists, child abusers and entities in sanctioned nations from using its services.

It’s not clear what stage the discussions have reached or whether they’ll result in any transactions or ventures, said the people, who asked not to be named because the talks are private.

Two of the people who spoke said conversations have included the possibility of Binance developing a stablecoin – a dollar-backed cryptocurrency – with World Liberty, which President Donald Trump and his sons began promoting in September. The Trumps receive three-quarters of World Liberty’s net revenue, according to its founding documents.

In addition, representatives of the Trump family have held talks with Binance about taking a stake in its US arm, Binance US, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday (Friday AEDT), citing people familiar with the matter. In a post on X, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said he has not held discussions about a Binance US deal with anyone.

Zhao pleaded guilty in 2023 to anti-money laundering failures that allowed Binance to be used by criminal groups and terrorist organisations, including Hamas.

Zhao, known as “CZ”, was released from a halfway house in Long Beach, California, in September after serving a four-month sentence. Binance paid a $US4.3 billion fine. Zhao has been pushing for the Trump administration to grant him a pardon, according to the Wall Street Journal’s report.

Three months after leaving the halfway house, Zhao met with Steve Witkoff, a co-founder of World Liberty, in Abu Dhabi at the Bitcoin MENA 2024 conference, two of the people said. Witkoff is the president’s Middle East envoy. He is slated to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to halt the fighting that began when Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago.

The substance of Witkoff’s meeting with Zhao in December is not clear. Talks between the crypto companies they founded have taken place since then, according to the four people with knowledge of the matter.

Witkoff did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did a White House spokesperson. Witkoff has said he’s in the process of divesting from his crypto assets as well as his holdings in real estate, transferring holdings to his sons to manage potential conflicts of interest.

A representative for Binance US declined to comment on Thursday, and representatives for World Liberty did not respond to requests for comment.

Zhao is still Binance’s controlling shareholder, with a net worth of $US36.9 billion ($58.7 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He stepped down as its chief executive officer in November 2023, when he pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an anti-money laundering program.

Richard Teng, who replaced Zhao, said in February that he sees an opportunity for a “fresh reset and a restart” under Trump, though he did not specify any plans. (Full article and coverage via subscription to The Australian Financial Review)

News

SEC Proposes XRP as Key U.S. Financial Asset

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has released a document titled 'Comprehensive Proposal: XRP as a Strategic Financial Asset for the U.S.' This proposal explores the potential for XRP to become a key financial asset, discussing the replacement of the SWIFT system, legal clarity for XRP, and economic benefits like unlocking $1.5 trillion in banking liquidity. Discussions are also underway regarding whether XRP should be classified as a commodity, similar to Ethereum, which could influence its regulatory and market future.

News

Rumble's Strategic Bitcoin Acquisition

March 13, 2025

Rumble, a video platform and competitor to YouTube, has announced the purchase of 188 Bitcoins for approximately $17.1 million. This acquisition is part of Rumble's strategy to integrate Bitcoin into its treasury management, aiming to hedge against inflation and participate in the growing trend of corporate cryptocurrency adoption. The move reflects a broader acceptance of Bitcoin as a legitimate financial asset among companies.

March 11, 2025

Bitcoin Plunge and U.S. Crypto Reserve Plan

Bitcoin experienced a significant price drop, falling below $80,000 after reaching a high of over $84,000. This decline contributed to a market cap loss of $100 billion in the cryptocurrency sector. Concurrently, the U.S. government has announced plans for a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, intended to hold cryptocurrency forfeited through legal actions, sparking discussions on market stability and government involvement in crypto. (Grok)

News

US confirms its critical minerals agenda as fallen miner AVZ chases an improbable African prize

A spokesman for the US State Department has confirmed that the Trump administration is interested in entering into a critical minerals partnership with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). DRC President Felix Tshisekedi is said to want to strike a deal with the US to help resolve a conflict with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels, while any deal between the DRC and the US could help Australian company AVZ Minerals. AVZ is seeking to regain control of the Manono lithium deposit, which it contends was illegally seized from it by Chinese company Zijin, and it is understood that the Trump administration would want to see AVZ regain control of at least some part of Manono as part of any deal with the DRC. (Roy Morgan Summary)

News

Markets

Australian Dollar: $0.6282 USD (down $0.0035 USD)
Iron Ore Apr Spot Price (SGX): $102.20 USD (up $1.60 USD)
Oil: (WTI): $66.61 USD (down $1.09 USD)
Gold: $2,983.88 USD (up $52.14 USD)
Copper (CME): $4.9240 USD (up $0.0815 USD)
Bitcoin: $80,472.06 USD (down 2.82% in last 24 hours)
Dow Jones: 40,813.57 (down 537.35 points)

News

Roy Morgan wins Media Man 'News Services Company Of The Month' award

News Media

Australia Peter Dutton More Crypto Friendly And Switched On Than Albanese (Media Man Group)

News

"Dutton A Genuine Contender" (Sky News Australia)

Crypto, Fintech, Markets, News and Politics via Media Man

March 12/13, 2025

The crypto bounces back from extreme fear

Market picture

Bitcoin was climbing above $83,000 on Tuesday, hitting resistance in the form of the 200-day moving average. If a long-term trend line is repurposed as resistance, that's a worrisome bearish fact.

News Background

Glassnode notes that Solana fell below its realised price of $134 for the first time in three years. The metrics show the average cost for investors to purchase the coin.

News

SEC vs Ripple Case: Negotiations Underway for Settlement

Recent developments indicate that the legal dispute between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could be nearing a conclusion. Reports suggest that Ripple's legal team is currently negotiating more favorable terms related to a $125 million fine and an injunction on XRP sales to institutional investors. The anticipation of a settlement has led to increased interest and speculation within the cryptocurrency community regarding the outcome and its potential impact on XRP. (Grok)

News

U.S. Plans Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Acquisition

Senator Cynthia Lummis has reintroduced the BITCOIN Act, which proposes that the United States government purchase one million Bitcoins over five years to create a strategic reserve. This legislative move reflects a growing acknowledgment of Bitcoin as a digital asset for national economic strategy, garnering support from both traditional financial sectors and cryptocurrency advocates. Alongside this, there is an ongoing debate about the implications, risks, and potential benefits of such a reserve. (Grok)

News

Trump's Crypto Banking Deregulation

President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to sign an executive order that would reverse regulations set by the Biden administration aimed at restricting banking activities for cryptocurrency firms. This move could impact how crypto companies interact with the Federal Reserve, potentially leading to greater integration of cryptocurrencies within the traditional financial system. (Grok)

News

Rumble's Strategic Bitcoin Acquisition

News

Trump Predicts Market Surge Amid Economic Indicators

President Trump has publicly stated his belief that the U.S. financial markets are poised for significant growth, making his comments at an event with business leaders. This optimistic forecast follows recent economic indicators showing inflation cooling to levels not seen in years, despite mixed responses from markets regarding Trump's economic policies including tariffs. (Grok)

News

Ethereum's Lowest BTC Ratio Since 2020 Triggers Liquidation Risk

The Ethereum Foundation faces potential liquidation of over $100 million in assets if Ethereum's price drops to $1,100, amidst a historic low in the ETH/BTC trading ratio not seen since May 2020. This financial maneuver is part of Ethereum's strategy to manage its treasury through decentralized finance (DeFi), highlighting both the risks and innovative approaches to crypto-asset management in a volatile market. (Grok)

News

Gold funds burst out of the blocks in 2025 as returns rocket

Australian gold funds are shaping up for a bumper year as mining companies start to capitalise on record prices, helping the stocks to finally catch up to the performance of the precious metal.

Portfolio managers were left frustrated last year after a jump in production costs held back ASX-listed gold producers from riding the rally in the spot prices to record levels. The VanEck Gold Miners exchange-traded fund climbed nearly 20 per cent in 2024 versus a 38 per cent rally for the gold price in Australian dollars.

But easing cost inflation that has plagued the mining sector for the last three years and an ongoing surge in prices has seen the trend reverse course. VanEck’s Gold Miners ETF is up 17 per cent already this year while the Aussie dollar spot price has climbed 6.3 per cent.

Local fund managers are bullish that gold has much further to run after the US dollar price climbed above $US2942 an ounce for the first time and the Australian dollar gold price breached $4500 an ounce.

Victor Smorgon Partners’ Resource Gold Fund returned a chunky 13.3 per cent in January and portfolio manager Cameron Judd believes the valuations of ASX gold stocks still don’t reflect the outlook for the yellow metal.

“Gold’s performance in times of uncertainty or crisis could see it push towards $US3600,” Mr Judd said. “Despite the strong gold price performance and fundamentals supporting further appreciation, gold miners are trading at discounted valuations on the ASX.”

Wall Street’s biggest banks believe a $US3000 price tag is imminent. Citi said it was possible within the next three months, while JPMorgan has a year-end target of $US3150. Bank of America said on Thursday that gold could reach $US3500 an ounce if investment demand rises 10 per cent this year.

The unprecedented surge in the gold price has been fuelled by investors seeking safe haven assets as US President Donald Trump unleashes aggressive trade and geopolitical policies. There are fears the president will accelerate inflation, forcing central banks to raise rates in a way that damages global growth.

Victor Smorgon’s top holdings include ASX-listed Vault Minerals and the world’s largest gold miner, US-based Newmont, which recently acquired Newcrest. The fund also owns Australia’s biggest gold miner Northern Star, which agreed to buy rival De Grey in a $5 billion deal. (AFR) *Full article and coverag via subscription to The Australian Financial Review.

News

Australia

Northern Star paying top dollar for gold rival

Northern Star has offered $5 billion to buy De Grey Mining, with De Grey shareholders to vote on the offer on 16 April. De Grey is the company behind the Hemi gold prospect in Western Australia, which is thought to hold at least 11 million ounces of gold and which is slated to produce 530,000 ounces annually in its first decade of operation. KPMG, which was engaged to provide an independent assessment of Northern Star's offer, has valued DeGrey at between $4 billion and $4.79 billion, inclusive of a premium for control. It concludes that the offer is "fair and reasonable and therefore is in the best interests of De Grey shareholders, in the absence of a superior proposal". (Roy Morgan Summary)

News

March 12, 2025

Crypto market tumbles after stocks

Market picture

Crypto market capitalisation has been falling to $2.5 trillion following the rumbling fall of the US stock market. It is dipping below the peaks of early 2024 and late 2021. Previously, a similar decline would complete a corrective pullback, attracting buyers. However, the chances of such an outcome are now lower than in previous years due to the powerful influence of traditional financial companies, which has strengthened the link between the crypto market and stock dynamics.

For now, though, we can argue that there is less terror in crypto. The Fear and Greed Index is at 24 (+4 points for the day), while the low point was a week earlier at 10.

Bitcoin slipped towards $76.5K in the early hours of Tuesday but has popped above $80K at the time of writing, approaching Monday’s consolidation levels. A bearish pattern persists on the daily timeframes, which suggests a strengthening sell-off after a failure under the 200-day moving average. The scenario of a pullback to the $70-74K area still looks the most probable for us. This is all the truer as the consolidation and rebound in early March has taken the short-term oversold stance out of the market.

Ethereum is trying to find a pivot point after falling towards $1750 at the start of Tuesday. These were the lowest values in the last 17 months. On weekly timeframes, the RSI oscillator hit its lowest point since mid-2022 - near the bottom of the bear market. Does this signify an opportunity for the recklessly bold or a breakdown in the leading altcoin? We will find out in the coming days.

News Background

According to CoinShares, global crypto fund investments fell by $876 million last week after record outflows of $2.911 billion a week earlier. Investments in Bitcoin fell by $756 million; in Ethereum, by $89 million. Investments in Solana rose by $16 million, in XRP by $6 million, and in Sui by $3 million.

As a result of another recalculation, Bitcoin mining difficulty increased by 1.43% to 112.15T. The growth did not compensate for a 3.15% drop two weeks ago. However, the figure came close to the all-time high of 114.17T reached in January.

Strategy (former MicroStrategy) intends to raise $21bn through the sale of preferred shares as part of its At-The-Market program. The proceeds will be used to buy Bitcoin and other corporate purposes. (FxPro)

News

March 11, 2025

US Senator And Congressman Introduce Strategic Bitcoin Reserve Bills To Buy One Million BTC

Speaking at the “Bitcoin for America” summit, lawmakers announced their plans to create a federal bitcoin reserve that would see the U.S. buy one million BTC.

Today at the Bitcoin Policy Institute’s “Bitcoin for America” summit in Washington DC, U.S. Senator from Wyoming Cynthia Lummis announced that she is going to reintroduce her strategic Bitcoin reserve legislation in the Senate today.

“I am so pleased to announce that today I will be reintroducing The Bitcoin Act,” Senator Lummis stated. “And I’ll be joined here shortly by Senator Justice of West Virginia, who is one of the cosponsors. And we have several other additional cosponsors. And a lot of it is a result of the excitement that’s been building.” (Bitcoin Magazine). *Full article via Bitcoin Magazine

News

XRP wins Media Man 'Crypto Of The Month' award

News

Markets

Australian Dollar: $0.6317 USD (up $0.0020 USD)
Iron Ore Apr Spot Price (SGX): $100.60 USD (up $0.15 USD)
Oil (WTI): $67.70 USD (up $1.14 USD)
Gold: $2,931.74 USD (up $13.03 USD)
Copper (CME): $4.8425 USD (up $0.0500 USD)
Bitcoin: $82,880.91USD (up 0.32% in last 24 hours)
Dow Jones: 41,350.93 (down 82.55 points)

News

Roy Morgan wins Media Man 'News Services Company Of The Month' award

News Media

Australia

Peter Dutton More Crypto Friendly And Switched On Than Albanese (Media Man Group)

News

"Dutton A Genuine Contender" (Sky News Australia)

March 10, 2025

ASX futures are pointing up 69 points, or by 0.9 per cent, to 8011.

All US prices are as of 4.15pm Sunday in New York:

Bitcoin -3.7% to $US83,138
On Wall St: Dow +0.5% S&P +0.6% Nasdaq +0.7%
VIX -1.5 to 23.37
Gold -0.1% to $US2909.10 an ounce
Brent oil +1.3% to $US70.36 a barrel
Iron ore +0.3% to $US100.70 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.3% Australia 4.4%

January 10, 2025

ASX futures up 33 points or 0.4%

AUD -0.3% to 61.98 US cents
UK pound -0.4% to $US1.2309
Bitcoin -2.9% to $US91,275 at 7.23am AEDT
US markets closed for Jimmy Carter’s funeral
Stoxx 50 +0.4% FTSE +0.8% DAX -0.1% CAC +0.5%
Spot gold +0.3% to $US2671.00/oz at 1.55pm in New York
Brent crude +1.2% to $US77.08 a barrel
Iron ore +1% to $US97.40 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.69% Australia 4.48% Germany 2.56%
US prices as of 1.59pm in New York

Media Man Group Market Feed

Markets

March 12, 2025

ASX futures down 72 points/0.9% to 7812
AUD +0.5% at US63.08¢
Bitcoin +7.1% to $US83,122
Dow -0.5%
S&P -0.5%
Nasdaq +0.8%
Gold +1.1% to $US2919.09 an ounce
Oil +0.6% at $US69.66 a barrel
Iron ore +0.6% at $US100.45 a tonne

March 10, 2025

ASX futures are pointing up 69 points, or by 0.9 per cent, to 8011.

All US prices are as of 4.15pm Sunday in New York:

Markets

March 1, 2025

ASX futures down 12 points or 0.2% to 8120
AUD -0.6% at US61.96¢
Bitcoin +0.4% to $US84,447
Dow flat
S&P -0.1%
Nasdaq -0.2%
Gold -1.1% to $US2845.82 an ounce
Oil -1% at $US73.3o a barrel
Iron ore -2.2% at $US102.00 a tonne

The Australian Financial Review - Markets

The Australian Financial Review - Markets Live

The Australian Financial Review - Commodities

News

The Australian Financial Review wins Media Man 'Newspaper Of the Month' award

Google Finance

Yahoo! Finance

News.com.au - Business

Media Man Group Market Feed

January 10, 2025

ASX futures up 33 points or 0.4%

News

Stock Market News via Grok

Stock Market Overview:

Recent Market Movements: The U.S. stock market saw significant volatility recently. The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a notable decline, marking its longest losing streak since 1974, primarily triggered by a Federal Reserve interest rate decision that was more hawkish than anticipated. This led to a spike in bond yields and a surge in the dollar value, affecting global markets.

ASX Performance: In Australia, the ASX 200 has been subject to various influences. There was a recovery in trading, with gains noted after a period of losses, particularly highlighted by a $3.4 billion sale of Foxtel to a British streaming company. The market has been navigating through economic growth expectations, potential impacts from international politics, and local economic indicators.

Global Market Trends: European markets have seen elevated bond yields impacting share openings, while the Swiss central bank reported a significant profit due to rising gold and stock prices. The global economic growth is projected at 2.8% for 2025 by the UN, indicating a stable but cautious market environment.

Sector and Company News: Inari Medical's acquisition by Stryker for $80 per share has been a significant event, setting a tone for potential M&A activities in the medical technology sector. This deal reflects strategic moves to tap into high-growth markets.

Tech and AI Influence: There's a growing trend of misinformation in AI-generated news, with Apple's AI news alerts being a recent example. This issue is becoming a focal point for investors, especially in tech stocks, as accuracy in information impacts market sentiment.

Economic Indicators and Fed Policy: The Federal Reserve's latest rate decisions continue to influence market dynamics. After lowering the overnight borrowing rate by a quarter point, the Fed's outlook on future rate cuts has led to market adjustments, showing increased uncertainty and volatility.

Investor Sentiment: There's a mix of optimism and caution among investors, with some sectors like tech and semiconductors experiencing significant movements based on company-specific news like partnerships or product launches. The market's reaction to Fed policies and global economic news is closely watched.

Current Trends on X:

Discussions on X highlight notable pre-market movements, record trading volumes, and significant corporate announcements that are driving stock market discussions. The interaction between individual stock performances and broader market trends is a key focus for the community on X.

This snapshot provides a view into the current state of the stock market, driven by economic policies, corporate news, and investor reactions to global and local events. (Grok)

Media Man: Traditional type investments in Gold and Silver looking good. Word on the street is that BTC is looking good for the next few months but may be in for a dive or crash in approx Mid March - April 2025. Lithium and Iron Ore looking good as Australian political season heats up. *Not financial advice. Op based on speaking to numerous people in and around the industry and researching dozens of papers and industry journals.

Markets

January 7, 2025

Under The Media Man Watercooler And On The Floor

ASX futures up 12 points or 0.2%

AUD +0.5% to 62.46 US cents
Bitcoin +3.7% to $US102,068 at 8.33am AEDT
On Wall St: Dow -0.1% S&P +0.6% Nasdaq +1.2%
In New York: BHP -0.7% Rio -0.4% Atlassian +1.7%
Tesla +0.2% Apple +0.7% Nvidia +3.4% Microsoft +1.1%
Alphabet +2.5% Amazon +1.5% Meta +4.2%
VIX -0.09 to 16.04 QQQ +1.2% TLT -0.5%
Stoxx 50 +2.4% FTSE +0.3% DAX +1.6% CAC +2.2%
Spot gold -0.2% to $US2635.63/oz at 1.53pm in New York
Brent crude -0.7% to $US76.00 a barrel
Iron ore -1.2% to $US97.00 a tonne
10-year yield: US 4.61% Australia 4.47% Germany 2.44%
US prices as of 4.29pm in New York

Markets

January 4, 2025

ASX futures up 23 points or 0.3% near 8am AEDT

AUD +0.2% to 62.16 US cents

Bitcoin +1.2% to $US98,195 at 8.27am AEDT

On Wall St at 4pm: Dow +0.8% S&P +1.3% Nasdaq +1.8%

In New York: BHP -0.8% Rio -0.3% Atlassian +3.3%

Tesla +8.2% Apple -0.2% Nvidia +4.7% Microsoft +1.1%

Alphabet +1.3% Amazon +1.8% Meta +0.9%

Mara +14.1% MicroStrategy +13.2% Iren +8.4%

VIX -1.8 to 16.13 QQQ +1.6% TLT -0.3%

Stoxx 50 -0.9% FTSE -0.4% DAX -0.6% CAC -1.5%

Spot gold -0.7% to $US2639.37oz at 4.51pm in New York

Brent crude +0.9% to $US76.58 a barrel

Iron ore -2.6% to $US98.30 a tonne

10-year yield: US 4.60% Australia 4.38% Germany 2.42%

US prices as of 4.54pm in New York

Market Highlights

Under The Media Man Watercooler

November 26, 2024

ASX futures up 18 points or 0.2% near 8am AEDT

AUD +0.03% to 65.03 US cents

Bitcoin -2.5% to $US94,320 at 8.40am AEDT

On Wall St at 4pm: Dow +1% S&P +0.3% Nasdaq +0.3%

In New York: BHP +0.2% Rio +1% Atlassian +0.2%

Tesla -4% Apple +1.3% Nvidia -4.2% Microsoft +0.4%

Alphabet +1.7% Amazon +2.2% Meta +1.1%

VIX -0.64 to 14.60 QQQ +0.2% TLT +2.6%

Stoxx 50 +0.2% FTSE +0.4% DAX +0.4% CAC +0.03%

Spot gold -3.4% to $US2623.72/oz at 2.31pm in New York

Brent crude -2.8% to $US73.05 a barrel

US oil -3.2% to $US68.96 a barrel

Iron ore +2% to $US102.55 a tonne

10-year yield: US 4.27% Australia 4.48% Germany 2.21%

US prices as of 4.38pm in New York

News via Grok

Financial Markets via Grok

Financial markets are broad arenas where buyers and sellers engage in trading securities such as stocks, bonds, currencies, and derivatives. Here's an overview:

Definition and Function:

Financial markets are platforms or systems where the trading of financial assets occurs. They facilitate the flow of capital between those who have it and those who need it. This interaction aids in capital raising, risk management through derivatives, and promotes commerce. Financial markets can be physical (like stock exchanges) or electronic.

Types of Financial Markets:

Stock Markets: Where shares of publicly traded companies are bought and sold, allowing companies to raise money and investors to gain equity in businesses.

Bond Markets: Companies, municipalities, and governments issue bonds to borrow funds, with investors lending money in exchange for interest over time.

Money Markets: Deals in short-term, high-liquidity financial instruments like Treasury bills, commercial paper, and certificates of deposit.

Derivatives Markets: Instruments like futures, options, and swaps that derive value from underlying assets, used for hedging or speculation.

Foreign Exchange (Forex) Markets: The marketplace for trading different currencies, known for high liquidity.

Commodities Markets: For trading raw materials like gold, oil, or agricultural products.

Importance:

Capital Allocation: Financial markets help in efficiently directing savings towards productive investments, fostering economic growth.

Price Discovery: They provide a mechanism to determine the price of securities based on supply and demand, reflecting the perceived value of assets.

Liquidity Provision: They offer liquidity, allowing investors to convert assets into cash quickly.

Risk Management: Through mechanisms like derivatives, markets help in managing financial risks.

Current Trends (as of November 2024):

Market Volatility: There's been observed volatility in stock markets, with some indicators suggesting frothy valuations and market reactions to policy changes.

Yield Spreads: Unusual movements in bond yields, like high-yield corporate bonds having wider spreads than fixed-rate mortgages, indicate market distortions.

Economic Policy Expectations: Markets are pricing in expected economic policies, with mixed signals on the impact of new administrative policies on growth and inflation.

Understanding financial markets involves recognizing their complexity and their role in the global economy, where they serve as mechanisms for both investment and risk management. (Grok)

News

Markets News via Grok

Here's a concise update on markets news, reflecting recent trends and events:

U.S. Markets: The U.S. stock markets recently closed with mixed results. The S&P 500 saw a slight increase, while the NASDAQ rose more significantly, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a small decline. Tesla and Alphabet were among the gainers, whereas NVIDIA faced some pressure ahead of its earnings report. There's cautious optimism in the market, with sectors like technology leading the gains.

Global Trends: India: The Indian stock market staged a notable recovery with the Sensex and Nifty indices showing significant gains, surpassing 78,000 and 23,700 respectively. This surge affected all sectoral indices, particularly IT and Realty, amidst discussions about the potential influences of political events on market dynamics.

ASX 200: The Australian market saw an uptick, driven by commodity prices with uranium and iron ore stocks leading due to external factors like Russia's uranium export limits.

Commodities and Currencies: Gold and Silver: Precious metals like gold and silver have seen price increases, reflecting investor interest in safe-haven assets.

Iranian Rial: Iran's currency hit an all-time low due to economic pressures from international sanctions.

Policy and Economic News: U.S. Federal Reserve: There have been adjustments in interest rates with a quarter-point cut amid post-election uncertainties, indicating a response to economic conditions but also concerns about inflation control.

Energy Sector: Decisions affecting gas allocation in India have impacted city gas distribution companies, leading to significant drops in their stock prices due to fears of rising CNG prices and broader economic implications.

Market Sentiment: The market is navigating through a phase where recovery signs are visible, yet there's a careful watch on how long these trends will last, especially with upcoming economic data and corporate earnings influencing investor behavior.

These insights are drawn from recent market movements and discussions, highlighting the dynamic nature of global financial markets and the various factors influencing them. (Grok)

Markets and Commodities

November 1, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6579 USD (up $0.0009 USD)

Iron Ore Nov Spot Price (SGX): $104.10 USD (up $0.30 USD)

Iron Ore Dec Spot Price (SGX): $103.80 USD (up $0.28 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $70.51 USD (up $1.57 USD)

Gold Price: $2,746.76 USD (down $38.62 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.3600 USD (up $0.0030 USD)

Bitcoin: $69,991.53 USD (down 2.58% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 41,763.46 at 4.09pm NY time (down378.08 points on yesterday's close)

Markets and Commodities

October 24, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6630 USD (down $0.0050 USD)

Iron Ore Nov Spot Price (SGX): $98.80 USD (down $1.90 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $70.99 USD (down $1.25 USD)

Gold Price: $2,716.17 USD (down $31.21 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.3330 USD (down $0.0520 USD)

Bitcoin: $66,436.33 USD (down 1.50% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 42,514.95 at 4.20pm NY time (down 409.94 points on yesterday's close)

Markets and Commodities

October 17, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6670 USD (down $0.0030 USD)

Iron Ore Nov Spot Price (SGX): $104.55 USD (down $1.85 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $70.52 USD (down $0.39 USD)

Gold Price: $2,673.95 USD (up $12.93 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.3665 USD (up 0.0270 USD)

Bitcoin: $67,856.42 USD (up 1.50% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 43,077.70 at 4.20pm NY time (up 337.28 points on yesterday's close)

Markets and Commodities

October 10, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6710 USD (down $0.0040 USD)

Iron Ore Nov Spot Price (SGX): $105.15 USD (unchanged - public holiday)

Oil Price (WTI): $73.36 USD (down $0.55 USD)

Gold Price: $2,607.14 USD (down $15.75 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.4080 USD (down 0.0605 USD)

Bitcoin: $60,908.07 USD (down 2.11% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 42,512.00 at 4.20pm NY time (up 431.63 points on yesterday's close)

Market, Commodities and Financial News Snapshot via Media Man

October 7, 2024

ASX futures up 26 points or 0.3% to 8215 near 6am AEST

AUD +0.1% to US68.01¢

Bitcoin +1.3% to $US62,692

US 10-year yield +13bp to 3.97%

Dow +0.8% S&P +0.9% Nasdaq +1.2%

FTSE flat DAX +0.6% CAC +0.9%

Gold -0.1% to $US2653.60 an ounce

Brent oil +0.6% to $US78.05 a barrel

Iron ore -0.3% to $US108.70 a tonne

Markets and Commodities

October 7, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6786 USD (down $.0054 USD)

Iron Ore Nov Spot Price (SGX): $108.70 USD (down $0.05 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $74.38 USD (up $0.67 USD)

Gold Price: $2,653.25 USD (down $2.79 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.5675 USD (up 0.0240 USD)

Bitcoin: $62,679.21USD (up 1.48% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 42,352.75 (up 341.16 points on Thursday's close)

Markets and Commodities

October 4, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6840 USD (down $.0040 USD)

Iron Ore Nov Spot Price (SGX): $108.75 USD (down $0.20 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $73.71 USD (up $2.70 USD)

Gold Price: $2,656.04 USD (down $2.97 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.5435 USD (down 0.1195 USD)

Bitcoin: $60,801.67 USD (up 0.09% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 42,011.59 (down 184.93 points on yesterday's close)

Market, Commodities and Financial News

Snapshot via Media Man

October 4, 2024

ASX futures down 33 points or 0.4% to 8209 near 6am AEST

AUD -0.6% to $US68.44¢

Bitcoin +1.3% to $US60,954

Dow -0.6%

S&P -0.4%

Nasdaq -0.3%

FTSE -0.1%

DAX -0.8%

CAC -1.3%

Gold -0.1% to $US2657.32 an ounce

Brent oil +5.2% to $US77.77 a barrel

Iron ore +0.6% to $US108.75 a tonne

Markets and Commodities

September 11, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6650 USD (down $0.0010 USD)

Iron Ore Oct Spot Price (SGX): $91.00 USD (down $1.35 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $66.31 USD (down $2.49 USD)

Gold Price: $2,516.51 USD (up $11.13 USD

Copper Price (CME): $4.1050 USD (down 0.0365 USD)

Bitcoin: $57,669.72 USD (down 0.38% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 40,736.96 at 4.59pm NY time (down 92.63 points on yesterday's close)

Market, Commodities and Financial News

Snapshot via Media Man

September 11, 2024

ASX futures down 3 points or 0.04% to 7997 near 6am AEST

AUD -0.1% to 66.58 US cents

Bitcoin +1.4% to $US57,885

Dow -0.3%

S&P +0.4%

Nasdaq +0.8%

FTSE -0.8%

DAX -1.0%

CAC -0.2%

Gold +0.3% to $US2514.88 an ounce

Brent oil -3.2% to $US69.52 a barrel

Iron ore -0.8% to $US91.00 a tonne

Markets And Commodities

August 20, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6728 USD (up $0.0063 USD)

Iron Ore Sep Spot Price (SGX): $95.00 USD (up $2.70 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $74.43 USD (down $2.22 USD)

Gold Price: $2,504.11 USD (down $4.07 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.1975 USD (up $0.0470 USD)

Bitcoin: $59,144.75 USD (down 1.09% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 40,896.53 (up 236.77 points on Friday's close)

Markets And Commodities

August 19, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6665 USD (up $0.0055 USD)

Iron Ore Sep Spot Price (SGX): $92.30 USD (down $1.25 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $76.65 USD (down $1.46 USD)

Gold Price: $2,508.18 USD (up $51.88 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.1505 USD (up $0.0100 USD)

Bitcoin: $59,792.97 USD (up 0.64% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 440,659.76 (up 96.70 points on Thursday's close)

Market, Commodities and Financial News

Snapshot via Media Man

July 29, 2024

ASX futures up 60 points or 0.8% to 7938 near 3am AEST

AUD +0.2% to 65.48 US cents

Bitcoin -0.6% to $US67,636

Dow +1.6%

S&P +1.1%

Nasdaq +1%

FTSE +1.2%

DAX +0.7%

CAC +1.2%

Gold +1.0% to $US2387.19 an ounce

Brent oil -1.5% to $US81.13 a barrel

Iron ore +2.5% to $US102.40 a tonne

Markets and Commodities

July 18, 2024

Australian Dollar: $0.6730 USD (unchanged)

Iron Ore Aug Spot Price (SGX): $105.05 USD (down $2.10 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $83.10 USD (up $2.28 USD)

Gold Price: $2,458.69 USD (down $10.15 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $4.4165 USD (down $0.0405 USD)

Bitcoin: $64,196.81 USD (down 0.80% in last 24 hours)

Dow Jones: 41,198.08 at 4.20pm NY time (up 243.60 points on yesterday's close)

(Roy Morgan Summary)

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July 8, 2024

Crypto Bargain-hunters are back

Market picture

Bargain hunters are showing themselves in full force in crypto. Cryptocurrency market capitalisation rose 3.6% in 24 hours to $2.11 trillion, climbing back to the top of the range of the past five days. It will take the market to rise another 2% before we can say that the bear attack has been repelled. Until then, we can only talk about consolidation after the sell-off.

Bitcoin rebounded to $57.3K after a couple of dips to $54K, sticking to its descending channel that has been in force since March, but the price is very dangerously stuck at the bottom of this corridor. This situation makes us fear an acceleration of the sell-off with a potential target in the $50-51K area, where the crypto market was stagnant in February.

Ethereum trades at $3050 and remains below the 200-day moving average but has not given up trying to climb higher. Here, ETH has a strong support line, which also attracted buyers in April and May. More on the bulls' side is that the RSI on daily timeframes rises from oversold territory. These are promising technical signals, but the sustained sell-off from the US and German governments and the overhang of selling from Mt Gox lenders is clearly undermining the confidence of too many buyers.

News background

According to CoinShares, investments in crypto funds rose by $441 million last week for the first time after three weeks of outflows. Bitcoin investments increased by $398 million, Solana by $16 million, Ethereum by $10 million.

Recent price declines, driven by potential selling pressure from Mt Gox and the German government, were probably seen as a buying opportunity. Inflows into BTC accounted for only 90% of the total inflows, as investors chose to invest in a much broader set of altcoins. The most notable of these was Solana, which has received $57 million in investments since the beginning of the year, making it the most efficient altcoin in terms of flows, CoinShares noted.

German authorities continue to transfer Bitcoins to exchanges. On 8 July, two 250 BTC transfers were made to Coinbase and Bitstamp platforms. Transactions of 700 BTC and 500 BTC followed to unidentified Arkham numbers.

The Bitstamp exchange promised to distribute the payments from Mt Gox "as soon as possible," despite having a 60-day deadline. So far, only Japanese BitBank and SBI VC Trade addresses have been distributed coins. The three remaining recipients - Bitstamp, Kraken and BitGo - are still awaiting their turn. The trustee has 94,771 BTC (~$5.4bn) left to send.

Bitfinex points out signs of a potential end to the market correction. Short-term investor selling is potentially close to exhaustion. Meanwhile, the funding rate for perpetual BTC contracts has turned negative for the first time since 1 May.

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Donald Trump to Headline Bitcoin 2024 Conference in Nashville

July 11, 2024

Former President Donald Trump has been confirmed as a keynote speaker at the upcoming Bitcoin 2024 conference set to take place in Nashville, Tennessee.

This news comes as a significant development for the event, known for its major industry announcements and influential speakers. The conference, which has previously been hosted in Miami, has established itself as a platform for groundbreaking news within the cryptocurrency space.

Bitcoin 2021, the inaugural conference, made headlines when El Salvador officially declared Bitcoin as legal tender. The subsequent Bitcoin 2022 and Bitcoin 2023 conferences continued the trend of notable moments, including a powerful speech by U.S. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in support of the Bitcoin industry.

This year, the shift of the conference location from Miami to Nashville signifies its increasing prominence on the global stage. With two former U.S. Presidential candidates, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Donald Trump, slated to speak, Bitcoin 2024 is anticipated to be a pivotal event that could potentially impact the future trajectory of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency policies in the United States.

Donald Trump’s participation in the conference is especially noteworthy considering his recent engagements with the Bitcoin community. Earlier this year, Trump met with prominent U.S. Bitcoin miners, including representatives from CleanSpark, where he reiterated his support for Bitcoin mining both domestically and internationally. In a statement, Trump pledged to prioritize the development of Bitcoin and crypto initiatives in the United States and safeguard the rights of the nation’s 50 million crypto holders if re-elected as president.

As Trump embarks on his presidential campaign, his alignment with the Bitcoin industry stands in contrast to the position of his potential rival, President Joe Biden, who has shown less enthusiasm towards the cryptocurrency sector. While Biden’s participation in Bitcoin 2024 remains unconfirmed, the event could underscore the divergent approaches of the two candidates towards Bitcoin and its implications for U.S. policies.

For additional details on the Bitcoin 2024 conference and to secure a discounted ticket using a promotional code, interested individuals can visit the official event website. Bitcoin Magazine, a subsidiary of BTC Inc, the organizer of the largest Bitcoin conference, The Bitcoin Conference, will be overseeing the event.

Websites

Bitcoin 2024
https://b.tc/conference/2024

Bitcoin Magazine
https://bitcoinmagazine.com

July 1, 2024

Buyers failed to pick up on the crypto market

Market picture

The crypto market has been enjoying an influx of buyers since Saturday, with a visible acceleration on Monday. Over the past 24 hours, capitalisation has risen 3.6% to $2.33 trillion. Last week’s drop in the crypto sentiment index to 30 (fear zone) reversed the price twice, showing that the market is dominated by a ‘buy the dip’ pattern.

Bitcoin is trading near $63.3K, adding 5% since Saturday morning and reaffirming the importance of support at 61.8% of the Jan-March rally. From another perspective, Bitcoin is adding and bouncing off the lower boundary of the downward channel. Likely, the price is now moving towards the upper boundary at $67K. However, cautious buyers may prefer to wait for confirmation with the price rising above $72-73K - the pivot area of the last four months - which would be confirmation of the start of a new impulsive wave of growth.

Bitcoin ended June down 8.5% to $61.9K. In terms of seasonality, July is considered quite successful for BTC, adding eight times (22.3% on average) out of the last 13 and declining on five occasions (-7.8% on average).

News background

In terms of on-chain analysis, quotes have crossed the realised price level of short-term holders at $62,000, which historically can act as support during corrections in bull markets.

According to Arkham data, German authorities sent another 595 BTC worth ~$36.6 million to crypto exchanges on 26 June. Authorities began actively moving the cryptocurrency on 19 June, when some of it first hit the Kraken and Bitstamp exchanges.

Bitwise forecasts net inflows into spot ETH-ETFs in the US of $15bn in the first 18 months. Bloomberg expects trading in the new product to start on 2 July.

Solana Foundation has launched tools that enable it to turn any website or app into a gateway for cryptocurrency payments and other blockchain transactions.

On 26 June, the Blast development team completed the first phase of an airdrop, distributing 17 billion BLAST tokens (17% of the total issuance). Blast is an Ethereum-based layer 2 (L2) network that was launched in November 2023 by Blur founder under the pseudonym Pacman. In terms of blockchain value locked (TVL), the Blast ecosystem is ranked sixth in the DeFi Llama ranking with a value of $1.58bn.

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Euro, Gold, Crypto and more via Media Man and FX Pro

A strong current account surplus may not help euro

The eurozone's current account surplus climbed to a six-month high of 31.9bn in December. Analysts, on average, had expected a decline to 20.3 bn from 22.5 bn the previous month. The current level was seen in the eurozone during the relatively benign pre-Covid period and sometime before Natural Gas prices spiked in the second half of 2021.

The normalisation of the surplus is good news for the single currency, as it means more net capital inflows into the region. But this growth has been fuelled by falling imports, which can be the result of lower commodity and energy prices (which is a very good thing), but also partly indicative of a slowdown in domestic demand. This threatens to translate into economic contraction in the coming months.

The euro area experienced periods of severe import contraction in late 2008 and early 2010, and in both cases, the economy experienced a severe downturn. Back in 2008, all this was accompanied by the collapse of the euro.

Gold

Gold rises but within a downward channel

Gold rallied for the fourth consecutive session to reach $2023, recovering almost all the losses suffered the week before on the back of the inflation report. Gold's ability to rally suggests continued domestic demand, as some investors are clearly rushing to buy back any losses.

At the same time, however, we note that since the beginning of the year, gold has been characterised by solid selloffs on the news, forming a smooth downtrend. In the context of this downtrend, a rise to $2040-2045, which is the upper boundary of the bearish range, looks quite acceptable.

The area around $2035 - the highs of two weeks ago - also appears to be a crucial intermediate level. Confident buying from this level would be the first important signal that the recent correction is over and that gold is ready to make a fresh assault on the highs.

Much more important, however, will be the behaviour of gold as it approaches the $2050 level, where the reversal of the decline in late January took place.

Consolidation at this level would confirm the breakdown of the downtrend and set the stage for a move towards $2100 and the subsequent renewal of historic highs.

However, as long as gold is trading within the downtrend, there is a greater chance of a breakdown or even an acceleration of the downtrend.

Among the fundamental factors, the potential for growth could be provided by the fall in the dollar if Fed officials show a softening of their position, bringing the start of interest rate cuts closer.

On the bearish side, equities could come under pressure following the optimistic rally in the tech giants and the news of a sharp slowdown in economic activity. We also do not rule out the possibility that the recent support measures for the Chinese stock market and property sector will cool demand for gold as a safe-haven for investors from that part of the world.

Cryptocurrency

Crypto market growth halted amid capital inflows

Market picture

The crypto market has corrected 0.46% in the last 24 hours, fluctuating within a narrow range without a clear direction. Bitcoin is down 1% but up 3.7% over seven days, Ethereum is flat for the day but up 10.6% over the week. The top coins are mixed with BNB +2% and Solana -2.5%.

Bitcoin is currently drawing its fourth daily candle with opening and closing levels close to each other. Such sideways consolidations are characteristic of strong bull markets, as opposed to corrective pullbacks on smoother rallies.

Ethereum hit local highs on rumours of a positive regulatory decision before the end of March. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffarth bet 4 ETH that the SEC will not approve a spot Ethereum ETF next month.

According to data from CoinShares, investment in crypto funds rose by a record $2.452 billion last week, following inflows of $1.116 billion the previous week.
Bitcoin investments increased by $2.424 billion, Ethereum by $21 million, Cardano lost $6 million, and Solana lost $1.6 million.

Since the beginning of the year, crypto funds have seen inflows of an impressive $5.2 billion, with total AUM rising to $67 billion, the highest since December 2021.

News background

Bitcoin will see institutional support in the next three to six months, according to Coinbase. Bitcoin ETFs could eventually become a major competitor to gold funds.
According to IntoTheBlock, there is an 85% chance that Bitcoin will reach a new all-time high within the next six months. Five factors could contribute to this: the halving of the price, ETFs, monetary easing, the US election, and companies accumulating BTC as part of their treasuries.

Former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, who has been living in Russia since 2013, called bitcoin the most significant achievement of the financial system in the entire existence of money and means of exchange.

Amberdata admitted that Ethereum will outpace Bitcoin in terms of growth due to more constructive deflationary policies. The supply of ETH has been decreasing since September 2022, thanks to the update of The Merge, as well as the implementation of a mechanism to burn part of the commissions. During this time, around 0.36 million ETH, or 0.3% of the total supply of 120 million coins, have been removed from circulation.

Via Roy Morgan Research and Media Man social media

Copper, gold, and Bitcoin rise; Iron ore and oil fall; ASX to fall in response to selling on Wall Street; US vetoes Arab-backed UN resolution demanding ceasefire in Gaza; Assange's lawyers warn that he risks 'flagrant denial of justice' if he is tried in US

Latest updates on Key Economic Indicators

21 February 2024

Roy Morgan Summary

Australian Dollar: $0.6550 USD (up 0.0011 USD)
Iron Ore Mar Spot Price (SGX): $120.85 USD (down $6.40 USD)

Oil Price (WTI): $78.27 USD (down $1.02 USD)

Gold Price: $2,024.37 USD (up $6.43 USD)

Copper Price (CME): $3.8595 (up $0.0465 USD)

Bitcoin: $52,059.35 (up 0.35% in last 24 hours)

New report reveals Roy Morgan is one of Australia's leading data companies - with in-depth information on millions of Australians based on their Helix Personas

Market Research Update

20 February 2024

Roy Morgan Summary

Roy Morgan leads the way as one of Australia's leading data companies. A special in-depth report into Australia's leading data companies interviewed Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine and Executive Chairman Gary Morgan about the role the company plays in compiling data and building profiles of different Australians. One of Roy Morgan's key products is 'Helix Personas' which profiles people under headings such as "young and platinum", "smart money", "cautious conservatives", "fair go", "working hard" and nearly 50 other personas. For example, the "young and platinum" group love their mobile devices and are "always on the hunt for the shiny, new and cool" and "making the rent". Their income is around the $64,000 a year mark and they can often be found "living a conventional life centred around family".

Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine confirmed that the Helix Personas market segments are based on statistical information, not data from individual people. "It's totally ethical. Unlike Facebook or any of these things, it's not any particular individual", Roy Morgan's chief executive Michele Levine, said.: 38,582.12 at 3.22pm NY time (down 45.87 points on Friday's close)

Roy Morgan wins three-year contract to deliver domestic tourism statistics for Austrade

21 February 2024

Roy Morgan Summary

From 2025, Roy Morgan will provide Austrade with the world's best practice survey methodology, big data integration and modelling techniques to deliver accurate domestic tourism statistics. Roy Morgan has reimagined the future of domestic tourism statistics to move Austrade and its stakeholders to the forefront of tourism intelligence with a new platform that will drive the future of Australia's tourism industry, which is estimated to be worth in excess of $160 billion. Portia Morgan, the Head of Client Services at Roy Morgan, says that using face-to-face interviewing, which is the gold-standard for surveying the population, enhanced with big data and cutting-edge data science techniques, Roy Morgan will be delivering a future-proofed system that will be cost effective, reliable, and accurate. She adds that Roy Morgan has been delivering survey-based tourism insights via its Holiday Tracking Survey for 20+ years and the company is thrilled to be working with Austrade and the broader industry to provide a deeper of understanding of how many people are travelling, where they go, what they do and how they spend their valuable tourism dollars.

Anti-mining PM pushes BHP's cash offshore

Roy Morgan Summary

It is somewhat hypocritical of the federal government to flag possible support for Australia's nickel industry, given that Labor's anti-mining legislation may jeopardise the expansion of BHP's copper operations in South Australia. BHP is still likely to proceed with an expansion, but the previously touted investment of between $10bn and $15bn is now only a 50 per cent chance. The new labour laws in the government's industrial relations reforms mean that BHP is now more likely to redirect much of this capital investment to its criticals minerals projects in other countries; rival miner Rio Tinto is already doing this.

More than 2.7 million New Zealanders now read newspapers and magazine audiences surge to over 1.7 million

21 February 2024

Roy Morgan has released its readership results for New Zealand's newspapers and magazines for the 12 months to December 2023. The data shows that 2.73 million New Zealanders aged 14+ (64.4%) now read or access newspapers in an average 7-day period via print or online (website or app) platforms. In addition, 1.71 million New Zealanders aged 14+ (40.3%) read magazines, whether in print or online either via the web or an app. The New Zealand Herald is still the nation's most widely-read publication, with a total cross-platform audience of 1,720,000 in the 12 months to June 2023 - almost five times as many as the second placed Dominion Post with a readership of 341,000. Meanwhile, New Zealand's most widely read magazine is still the driving magazine AA Directions, which had an average issue readership of 379,000 during the year to December (an increase of 63,000 on a year ago).

These are the latest findings from the Roy Morgan New Zealand Single Source survey of 6,254 New Zealanders aged 14+ over the 12 months to December 2023.

New report reveals Roy Morgan is one of Australia's leading data companies - with in-depth information on millions of Australians based on their Helix Personas

Market Research Update

20 February 2024

Roy Morgan Summary

(Credit: Roy Morgan Research)

Roy Morgan Summary

One of Roy Morgan's key products is 'Helix Personas' which profiles people under headings such as "young and platinum", "smart money", "cautious conservatives", "fair go", "working hard" and nearly 50 other personas. For example, the "young and platinum" group love their mobile devices and are "always on the hunt for the shiny, new and cool" and "making the rent". Their income is around the $64,000 a year mark and they can often be found "living a conventional life centred around family". Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine confirmed that the Helix Personas market segments are based on statistical information, not data from individual people. "It's totally ethical. Unlike Facebook or any of these things, it's not any particular individual", Roy Morgan's chief executive Michele Levine, said.

(Credit: Roy Morgan Research)

The Saudi National Manual for Assets and Facilities Management Released by EXPRO

It will serve as a comprehensive reference enhancing quality, efficiency, and sustainability in Saudi Arabia Government entities.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, June 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The National Manual for Assets and Facilities Management (NMA&FM) represents a comprehensive reference that enhances quality, efficiency, and sustainability in the management of assets and facilities in Saudi government entities. This reflects the value of the citizens’ combined efforts to establish a unified reference in this field, which is considered the first of its kind on the national and regional levels.

The manual, which is prepared by the Government Expenditure & Projects Efficiency Authority “EXPRO” combined effort with success partners from the concerned government entities, aims to unify the different procedures for managing assets and public facilities, ensuring compliance with local legislation, and building asset management systems by registering and evaluating them to support optimal decision-making. The goal is to extend the life cycle of assets, manage public facilities effectively and efficiently based on the principle of cost and quality and relying on continuous improvement, and preserve resources by activating the concept of financial planning for asset and facility management and effective management of supply chains and contracts.

The manual serves as a technical reference for public entities on how to utilize each entity’s asset and facility management resources impeccably and manage them efficiently. It also covers the entire business life cycle of assets and facilities, starting with planning, constructing, and receiving the project, through contracting and purchasing stages, to operating and maintaining and ending with the decision to stop using and dispose of the facility or asset.

The implementation of this manual has documented success stories in various government entities, Including the Hygiene Performance Contracts transformation Initiative For Riyadh City in cooperation with Riyadh Region Municipality. This initiative resulted in the preparation and development of 16 integrated performance contract brochures for the hygiene of Riyadh city, with an estimated value of over 6 billion riyals, and the development of 11 performance indicators to improve service implementation and quality.

To increase operational efficiency and service quality at the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture, a system for facilities management was established according to best practices. This included automating assets and facilities management processes, creating an indicator board with over 10 indicators, and setting a standard for classifying dams based on urgency and risk levels according to the global best practices. Additionally, a complete asset registry for dams was built, and the computerized operations and maintenance system was activated.

The collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development led to an increase in operating efficiency and improvement in the quality of service by establishing a facilities management system based on best practices and automating five main and supportive processes for managing assets and facilities. This reduced operational and maintenance costs and increased beneficiary satisfaction rates.

Furthermore, the cooperation with King Saud University has improved operational efficiency and service quality. The university’s assets were counted and inventoried, the effectiveness of the computerized asset management program system was enhanced, and it was linked to other systems at the university in line with the requirements of the national manual. Additionally, an occupational health and safety policy was developed and approved, measurement indicators were identified, and seven procedures for operation and maintenance were implemented. These measures contributed to accelerating and facilitating the operation and field maintenance processes, as well as merging with inventory management to raise the efficiency of purchasing operations.

In addition, Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University has succeeded in developing and launching a computerized system for managing assets and facilities. This system includes the operation automation and maintenance processes and ordering spare parts through computerised systems, increasing spending efficiency on annual operation and maintenance costs. It also accelerated service provision, monitored implementation, and provided data and technical and financial indicator panels to support decision-makers. This cooperation resulted in a qualitative leap in the satisfaction rate of users of university facilities, as well as the complete automation of the inventory and spare parts management process.

The Riyadh Region Municipality developed 13 integrated performance contract brochures for the operation and maintenance of Riyadh’s roads, with an estimated value of 2 billion riyals, and established nine performance indicators to measure the service performance, implementation, and quality.

EXPRO has made the manual available to its partners from public entities, their asset and facility departments, and specialized contractors and consulting offices via the website. EXPRO is committed to providing partners with all necessary knowledge for the manual's application through a training package for each volume, on-the-job training, and experiential learning.

The manual consists of 17 volumes upon which the asset and facilities management methodology is based. Each volume addresses a specific function of asset and facilities management and takes into account the best global practices for accomplishing these functions. It is reviewed and updated periodically based on accumulated experiences and the contributions of a committee of government entities’ representatives, as well as global developments in the field of asset and facilities management.

The first volume includes an introduction to the manual, covering the calibres and guidelines necessary for management. The second volume is devoted to managing assets and the business requirements while achieving a balance between risks, performance and cost to ensure the proper use of assets. It also focuses on effectively monitoring assets during their life cycle to guarantee proper utilization, as well as relying on specialized asset management systems and software.

The third volume explains how assessment, as an organizational process, is useful in determining an asset's condition and establishing an appropriate life cycle. This supports the proper direction of the asset and subsequent maintenance activities, ultimately achieving the required value.

The fourth volume includes guidelines for defining the financial policy framework, including planning the asset’s life cycle with regard to the necessary funding to maintain its operation at the required service level. It also covers the integration of strategic asset management with financial planning procedures, which helps in making decisions between investment and funding options and determining the achievable service level.

The fifth volume focuses on managing the processes of planning, organizing, and work control, as well as maximizing the use of resources to manage facilities and assets. This is based on written procedures that support the preservation of resources and limit any shortcomings or inconsistencies in the services provided, thus helping to avoid a negative impact on the entity’s reputation. It also emphasizes aspects that must be taken into account in future planning and development.

The sixth volume is concerned with managing maintenance by applying best practices to develop tools for planning maintenance and applying methodologies in their management. This contributes to determining the design life of the assets and the continuity of their services to maintain the safe and reliable operation of the assets. Additionally, it focuses on optimizing the benefits of its operational processes.

The seventh volume guides the procedures for adjusting the work and managing the requests related to maintenance activities. It prioritizes and plans these activities, fixes malfunctions, estimates costs, schedules work, and oversees testing and closure.

The supply chain management volume focuses on the strategic planning, implementation, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities, such as warehouse and inventory management. Effective supply chain management contributes to achieving optimal value and promotes competitive infrastructure as well as logistics services worldwide while measuring performance and linking supply to demand.

The Contract Management volume focuses on planning, implementing, managing and supplying asset and facility contracts that ensure legal compliance, meet required service levels, maximize financial and operational performance, and reduce potential risks.

The tenth volume focuses on safety, health, and the environment by providing a guideline to the procedures and controls relied upon to protect employees, visitors, public property, and the environment. It includes procedures for monitoring compliance, risk assessment, safety reviews, and safety training.

The eleventh volume presents the core pillars of quality management, which include monitoring daily work, conducting audits to measure the service provider’s compliance with its contractual obligations, and addressing inconsistencies. The effective application of quality management promotes strategies, policies, procedures, and plans.

The manual makers devoted a volume to managing risks and reducing the potential impact of events that may hinder the stakeholder or user from achieving asset and facilities management objectives, with the possibility of applying risk management to all comprehensive management procedures.

The thirteenth volume guides and directs users on the procedures and principles that must be applied to establish effective document management. Document and records management services are useful for obtaining, circulating and retrieving approved information when needed.

Volume Fourteen pays attention to emergency management, strategic organization of personnel, and allocation of resources to reduce the impact of emergencies and restore operations effectively.

The performance control volume explains the foundations of operating and managing operations and activities in accordance with the entity’s mission, vision, goals and requirements. This allows changes to be made when needed in order to maintain the consistency and effectiveness of performance to achieve the desired business objectives.

The asset and facility management of construction project volume identifies the procedures required during the construction stages to ensure the best results of operation and maintenance throughout the life cycle of the asset’s construction or restoration project.

The Energy Management and Sustainability Guideline outlines the optimal means for the strategic application of energy efficiency in buildings, in addition to sustainability, which represents an approach to integrating the environment, human needs, and costs.

EXPRO has recently launched the “Evolution of Tradition” awareness campaign to publicize the importance of the National Manual for Assets and Facilities Management. This includes a series of multimedia explaining the importance of following the manual’s guidelines to organize and facilitate the work of government entities, achieving many benefits on the national level in terms of efficiency and quality. These have a direct impact on performance of the entity and citizens. The campaign presents some government entities’ success stories following the implementation of Manual. Expenditure efficiency teams within government entities also organize activities to publicize the importance and content of the manual.

For more details, contact Turki Bukhari, Executive vice president, A&FM at media@expro.gov.sa.

Learn more at: https://expro.gov.sa

Turki Bukhari
Expenditure & Projects Efficiency Authority (EXPRO)

Media Man

Warrner Bros

Profile

In 2010, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group broke the all-time industry worldwide box office record with receipts of $4.814 billion, which surpassed the prior record of $4.010 billion (set by the Studio in 2009). Warner Bros. also established a new industry benchmark for the international box office with a total of $2.93 billion (marking a record third time of crossing the $2 billion threshold) and retained its leading domestic box office ranking with receipts of $1.884 billion. 2010 also marked the 10th consecutive year Warner Bros. Pictures passed the billion dollar mark at both the domestic and international box offices. Warner Home Video was, once again, the industry’s leader, with an overall 20.6 percent marketshare in total DVD and Blu-ray sales. The companies comprising the Warner Bros. Television Group and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group remain category leaders, working across all platforms and outlets, and are trendsetters in the digital realm with video-on-demand (transaction and ad-supported), branded channels, original content, anti-piracy technology and broadband and wireless destinations.

The Warner Bros. Pictures Group brings together the Studio’s motion picture production, marketing and distribution operations into a single entity. The Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures International, was formed to streamline the Studio’s film production process and bring those businesses’ organizational structures in line with Warner Bros.’ television and home entertainment operations.

Warner Bros. Pictures produces and distributes a wide-ranging slate of some 18-22 films each year, employing a business paradigm that mitigates risk while maximizing productivity and capital. Warner Bros. Pictures either fully finances or co-finances the films it produces and maintains worldwide distribution rights. It also monetizes its distribution and marketing operations by distributing films that are totally financed and produced by third-parties. The Studio’s 2011 slate includes “Sucker Punch,” “The Hangover Part II,” “Green Lantern,” “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” “Happy Feet 2” and “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.”

Warner Bros. Pictures International is a global leader in the marketing and distribution of feature films, operating offices in more than 30 countries and releasing films in over 120 international territories, either directly to theaters or in conjunction with partner companies and co-ventures.

New Line Cinema, part of Warner Bros. Entertainment since 2008, coordinates its development, production, marketing, distribution and business affairs activities with Warner Bros. Pictures to maximize film performance and operating efficiencies. Highlights of New Line’s 2011 release slate, distributed by Warner Bros., include “Horrible Bosses,” “Final Destination 5,” “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” and “New Year’s Eve.”

The Warner Bros. Television Group oversees and grows the entire portfolio of Warner Bros.’ television businesses, including worldwide production, traditional and digital distribution, and broadcasting. In the traditional television arena, WBTVG produces primetime and cable (Warner Bros. Television and Warner Horizon Television), first-run syndication (Telepictures Productions) and animated (Warner Bros. Animation) programming, which is distributed worldwide by two category-leading distribution arms/operations (Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and Warner Bros. International Television Distribution).

Among the primetime series produced by divisions of the Warner Bros. Television Group are “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Mentalist,” “Mike & Molly,” “Fringe,” “Gossip Girl,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Nikita,” “The Middle,” “Southland,” “The Closer,” “Rizzoli & Isles,” “Supernatural,” “The Bachelor,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew” and many more. Also produced by the company are first-run syndicated programs such as “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” “TMZ” and “Extra,” among others, as well as animated shows “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated” and “Young Justice.”

WBTVG is an innovative leader in developing new business models for the evolving television landscape, including ad-supported video-on-demand, broadband and wireless, and has digital distribution agreements in place with all of the broadcast networks. Internationally, the Studio is one of the world’s largest distributors of feature films, television programs and animation to the worldwide television marketplace, licensing some 50,000 hours of television programming, including more than 6,000 feature films and 50 current series, dubbed or subtitled in more than 40 languages, to telecasters and cablecasters in more than 175 countries.

WBTVG provides original shortform programming for the broadband and wireless marketplace through its Studio 2.0 digital venture, and its digital media sales unit is devoted specifically to multiplatform domestic advertiser sales for both broadband and wireless. WBTVG continues its strategic expansion into digital production and distribution with the launch of several advertiser-supported entertainment destinations, including TheWB.com, a premium, video-on-demand interactive and personalized network and KidsWB.com, a premium destination built around youth-oriented immersive entertainment.

The final component of WBTVG is broadcasting: The CW Television Network, launched (in partnership with CBS) in September 2006 with quality, diverse programming, is targeted to the 18–34 audience.

Warner Bros. Animation’s combined classic and contemporary library currently boasts 14,000 animated episodes and shorts which air on domestic broadcast networks, as well as cable networks and in direct-to-video releases around the world. The classic library includes such brands as Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears as well as such beloved characters as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety, Taz, Tom and Jerry, Popeye, Batman, Superman, the Flintstones, the Jetsons and Scooby-Doo.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s home video (Warner Home Video), digital distribution (Warner Bros. Digital Distribution), interactive entertainment/videogames (Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment), direct-to-consumer production (Warner Premiere), technical operations (Warner Bros. Technical Operations) and anti-piracy (Warner Bros. Anti-Piracy Operations) businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. WBHEG is responsible for the global distribution of content through DVD, electronic sell-through and transactional VOD, and delivery of theatrical content to wireless and online channels. It is also a significant worldwide publisher for both internal and third party videogame titles.

In 2010, Warner Home Video dominated the U.S. market as the number one company in total sell-through video (DVD and Blu-ray combined) with 20.6% marketshare, theatrical catalog, TV on DVD, non-theatrical family and animation, Blu-ray and VOD. WHV has been the number one studio in overall DVD sales 14 consecutive years, and is also the leading studio in the international home video space.

With more than 3,700 active licensees worldwide, Warner Bros. Consumer Products licenses the rights to names, likenesses and logos for all of the intellectual properties in Warner Bros. Entertainment’s vast film and television library. With a global network of offices and agents in key regions throughout the world, including North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe, WBCP maintains an ongoing commitment to expand and build the power of its core brands’ recognition in the international marketplace through strong and creative merchandising, promotional marketing and retail programs.

DC Entertainment’s DC Comics has been in continuous publication for more than 60 years, and is the leading comic book publisher in the industry and the creator of some of the world’s most recognized icons. DC’s characters continue to headline blockbuster feature films, live-action and animated television series, direct-to-video releases, collectors’ books, online entertainment, digital publishing, countless licensing and marketing arrangements and, most recently, graphic novels. DC continues to attract new readers and fans all over the world with its signature characters Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Justice League leading the way.

Warner Bros. International Cinemas provides a true state-of-the-art movie experience to audiences in Japan with more than 60 multiplex cinemas and more than 600 screens internationally. One of the pioneers in multiplex development for the international marketplace, WBIC is continually exploring new markets for expansion. (Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment)

Press Release

09 August 2010

MICROGAMING SET TO LAUNCH THE LORD OF THE RINGS™: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING ONLINE VIDEO SLOT GAME

First Title to Utilize Proprietary Cinematic Spins™ Technology Allowing Players to Experience the Film with Every Spin

ISLE OF MAN – Microgaming today announced the imminent launch of a new flagship game, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Online Video Slot Game. This slot game is the first to utilise Microgaming’s new Cinematic Spins™ technology, allowing gamers to see clips from the films with every spin.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a new online slot game that is part of a multi-year licensing agreement Microgaming signed with Warner Bros. Digital Distribution in 2009. The company is developing a series of cutting-edge, graphic rich video slots based on this popular movie trilogy and will use animation material, themes, and characters, from the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings™ motion pictures that include The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. These online slot games will be available to adults only in countries where online gaming is permitted.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is the first online video slot to use Microgaming’s Cinematic Spins™ state-of-the-art gaming technology. This allows movie clips to act as moving backgrounds behind the reels during spins providing players an unprecedented level of excitement and immersion.

Win sequences and expanding wilds also use cinematic clips, instead of traditional animated graphics. The slots feature famous scenes from the film including Ringwraiths during the attack at Weathertop, Balrog in the Mines of Moria, and Uruk-hai in the woods of Middle-earth. Players will also enjoy seeing characters from the films that include Frodo, Aragorn, Saruman and the deadly Black Riders.

Roger Raatgever, CEO Microgaming comments: “Microgaming has always been ahead of the curve with innovative offerings, but this game really does push the boundaries of what an online slot can do. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring looks and feels like an extension of the big screen film experience and we’re confident that our operators will see a great deal of demand from their players, when the game is released. This is an important deal for Microgaming and highlights our commitment to partner with the right brands, at the right time. The Lord of the Rings is one of the most successful and well loved brands on the planet and we are excited about combining this widespread appeal with Microgaming’s groundbreaking software.”

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy generated $3 billion in worldwide box office receipts and was nominated for a total of 30 Academy Awards®; of which they won 17, including Best Picture.

- Ends -
Notes to editors:
*Cinematic Spins is a trademark held by Microgaming

© 2010 New Line Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the names of the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks of The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises under license to New Line Productions, Inc.

For further information please contact:
Duncan Skehens / Laura Moss/ Lyndsay Haywood
Lansons Communications
020 7490 8828
DuncanS@lansons.com / LauraM@lansons.com / LyndsayH@lansons.com
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution

Peter Binazeski
818-977-5701
peter.binazeski@warnerbros.com
About Microgaming (www.microgaming.com)
Since the company developed the first true online Casino software over a decade ago, it has led the industry in providing innovative, reliable gaming solutions. Thanks to an unrivalled R&D programme, that averages 60 games per year and a unique ‘partnership’ approach to working with operators; Microgaming software powers over 160 market-leading online gaming sites.
The company’s front and back-end software supports multi-player, multi-language games - over 500 of them, all uniquely branded and provides platforms for land-based and wireless gaming. Microgaming powers the world’s largest Progressive Jackpot Network and has paid out over €265million. In May 2009 it created the biggest ever online jackpot winner with a single payment win of €6.37m.

As a founding member of eCOGRA, Microgaming is at the forefront of an initiative focused on setting the highest standards in the gaming industry, and leads in the areas of fair gaming, responsible operator conduct and player protection. Microgaming has been awarded eCOGRA’s Certified Software Seal following a rigorous onsite assessment to ensure that the development, implementation and maintenance of the software is representative of industry best practice standards Microgaming licensees are therefore eligible to apply for the eCOGRA Safe & Fair Seal.

About Warner Bros. Digital Distribution
Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (WBDD) manages Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group's (WBHEG) electronic distribution over existing, new and emerging digital platforms, including pay-per-view, electronic sell-through, video-on-demand, wireless and more. WBDD also oversees the WBHEG's worldwide digital strategy, partnerships in digital services and emerging new clients and business activities in the digital space.

News

2009

With Time Warner sitting on $7 billion in cash, the Marvel deal has ignited rumours of a second wave of consolidation in the media industry. Dream Works Animation, home of Shrek, is seen as a potential takeover candidate, as is MGM with its huge library of classic films. The games firms Electronic Arts and Take Two Interactive, with its Grand Theft Auto franchise, are also being touted as potential buys.

Profile

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. (also known as Warner Bros. Pictures, or simply Warner Bros.) is one of the world's largest producers of film and television entertainment.

It is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York City. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, TheWB.com and DC Comics. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network.

Founded in 1918 by Jewish immigrants from Poland, Warner Bros. is the third-oldest American movie studio in continuous operation, after Paramount Pictures, founded in 1912 as Famous Players, and Universal Studios, also founded in 1912.