There are a myriad of logistical challenges in overseeing a new financial system predicated on anonymity, and that’s before taking into account crypto investors’ concerns that regulation would cripple, or even destroy, vital elements of the currency and impede its ability to grow. Nevertheless, talks broaching the regulatory subject have heated up.The US Treasury held a hearing on Tuesday to discuss the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) roles in overseeing cryptocurrency markets in the US, and prominent international figures, including US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, have called for talks about cryptocurrency regulation during March’s G20 summit in Argentina. Mnuchin and Le Maire have different, but standard, fears about cryptocurrencies.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s global head of investment research, Steve Strongin, has indicated that the recent market tumble, with losses to the tune of nearly $500 billion, stands to get much, much worse. In a February 5, 2018 report, Strongin warned digital currency investors to prepare for massive future changes.Strongin’s research, citing the recent price swings as evidence, indicates a bubble inconsistent with a “few-winners-take-most” market. Strongin believes that most modern digital coins have too many challenges to succeed – security issues, high maintenance costs, and slow transaction times that present significant obstacles to consistency and staying power. While sobering, the report is not a death knell for cryptocurrency.

No earnings reports, no profits/sales to monitor, very few valuation metrics to analyze. In the absence of fundamental analysis, it is technical analysis that becomes the primary source of data used for trading.Indeed, technical and chart analysis can help make sense of price trends and allow us to anticipate market shifts.

In November 2017, The Bank for International Settlements ranked Bitcoin as the sixth most-circulated currency in the world, at $180 billion.The ranking, calculated when bitcoin was valued at $10,765 each, means the flagship cryptocurrency outranked the UK pound and the Russian ruble, and was only surpassed in total value by the rupee (India), yen (Japan), yuan (China), euro (Europe), and the US dollar. While bitcoin has been performing extremely well over the last year plus, it is worth noting that the value of notes in circulation does not equate to total value of a currency.

Zynga shares got optimistic views from analysts on the company's latest earnings release. Bank of America's analyst Ryan Gee boosted rating on the online games company’s stock to neutral from underperform. He raised price target to $12 from $9.50 per share. Piper Sandler's Yung Kim raised price target to $13.50 from $12 per share. Kim said that “with a string of new titles poised to launch...

Uber Technologies fourth-quarter earnings missed analysts’ expectations, on pandemic-related drop in riders’ demand. But analysts boosted their one-year price targets as they expect better prospects. For the fourth quarter. Uber experienced a narrower loss, as strength in its food-delivery business (+130% year-over-year) to a large extent offset a decline of -50% in its ride-hailing business...

Traditional shopping malls and the retailers that operate in them have been struggling for a number of years as consumers have shifted their shopping preferences. This shift was going on well before the pandemic hit and now it appears the health crisis has only made things worse. Among the companies that are struggling are two apparel retailers that caught my eye because they are overbought...

Decentralized applications, or Dapp (pronounced ‘dee-app’), are in early stages of development, but have extraordinary potential to revolutionize the way economic ecosystems grow and function removed from a centralized authority.Cryptocurrency models, which are open-source, peer-to-peer, and encrypted end-to-end, are likely the foundational pieces of the next phases of data storage, social media, and the internet as a whole. But cryptocurrencies and decentralized ownership are raising difficult legislative and regulatory questions that have roots in an influential court case from the 1940’s, SEC v. Howey Co. In 1946, a large Florida citrus farm called the Howey Company planned to lease half of its vast acreage “to finance an additional development”.

Uber Technologies narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter, as food delivery business strengthened. The ride-hailing company’s net loss per share attributable to holders came in at- 54 cents, compared to -64 cents a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had anticipated a loss of -53 cents a share. Revenue for the quarter was $3.17 billion, lower than $3.75 billion a year earlier. Analysts...

Let’s examine several of the companies and how they operate. SALT SALT touts itself as “the first asset-backed lending platform to give blockchain asset holders access to liquidity without them having to sell their tokens.” Borrowers use SALT tokens, which have a $25 set value, as collateral for cash loans.These tokens cover membership fees and also set borrowing limits – one SALT token establishes a $10,000 limit, while 100 SALT as collateral allows asset holders to borrow over $1,000,000.

That last bit is key, because advances in technology – particularly AI – are fundamentally changing how data scientists and statisticians process and analyze data. So, where do data scientists work?Data is king. There is another way people can make money as data scientists – using data analysis to invent your own ideas, strategies, and insights.

Just a couple of years ago, Robinhood was a company poised to disrupt the brokerage world with commission-free trades focused on the needs and wants of everyday retail traders. The company believed it could target millennials and younger generations and sweep market share away from competitors like eTrade, Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and others. And for a good stretch of time, the plan worked. But...

Dogecoin was created in 2013 as an homage to Bitcoin, with a goal to make crypto traders chuckle. The coin was presented with an internet meme of a Shiba Inu dog who couldn't spell (hence "doge" instead of "dog"). It's price barely ever moved. But now the internet is going crazy over dogecoin, and even though it only trades for $.07 a coin, its market capitalization is still around $9 billion...

The pandemic adversely impacted sales of most non-digital goods and services, other than staples like groceries and toilet paper. Diamonds and other luxury goods were among the categories that took a significant hit during the downturn. But the sparkle in diamond prices may be back. Prices of polished diamonds are at their highest level in over a year, and are up 5.1% from their low point in...

Coca-Cola reported fourth quarter earnings that came in higher than expected. The beverage giant’s earnings for the quarter were or 34 cents a share, compared to 47 cents per share a year earlier. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose to 47 cents from 44 cents, surpassing the FactSet consensus of 42 cents. Revenue fell -5% year-over-year to $8.61 billion, just above...

These smart products gather raw data for companies to store, analyze, and use, and then the raw data takes on exponentially greater value as more and more companies find increasingly efficient and intelligent ways to mine and interpret it.Blockchain may change this outcome. A big advantage The world’s largest companies (like Facebook, Netflix, Google, and Apple in the US and Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent in China) have a significant advantage in the race to accumulate data because of their size – they have the vast reach, and by extension the capital, to collect, store, and analyze the massive amounts of information they gather.

U.S. consumer prices increased moderately in January. On Wednesday, the Labor Department released data that showed consumer price index rose +0.3% in January, following a +0.4% increase in December. In the 12 months through January, the index rose +1.4% after a similar rise in December. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI rising +0.3% month-over-month, and +1.5% year-on-year...

Lyft reported revenue for the fourth quarter that exceeded analysts’ expectations. The ride-hailing company’s fourth-quarter revenue came in at $569.9 million, compared to $1 billion in the same period a year ago. Analysts polled by Factset expected revenue of $560.3 million. The company incurred a loss of -$150 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and...

Following Twitter’s Q4 earnings beat, several analysts boosted their one-year price targets on the microblogging platform’s shares. KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson boosted his price target to a Wall Street-high of $80 from $65, as he perceived the Q4 results as a “full swing” recovery in Twitter’s advertising and continued success in strengthening audience engagement and advertisers...

Twitter reported fourth quarter earnings that crushed analysts’ expectations. Despite missing estimates for audience growth, the microblogging website experienced solid year-over-year increase in revenue. The company’s earnings came in at 27 cents per share, up from 15 cents per share a year ago. Excluding items, Twitter earned 38 cents per share. Analysts polled by FactSet on average...