2025-02-28 03:29
Bitcoin caught up in tech selloff on tariff and growth fears US crypto policy doubts and Bybit hack hurts crypto sentiment Bitcoin ETFs see $2.27 billion outflows, crypto stocks decline SINGAPORE, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Bitcoin hit its lowest since November and was set for its biggest weekly fall in over two years, swept up in a sell-off in tech stocks at a time when a $1.5 billion hack and doubts about U.S. crypto policy has left industry sentiment fragile. The world's largest cryptocurrency by market value dropped as much as 7% on Friday to $78,273 , its lowest since November 10 and on track for a fifth straight day of declines. It has fallen 16% in the past week, its biggest weekly drop since the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange in November 2022. The broader crypto market has lost nearly half a trillion dollars in the past week alone, according to Coingecko. "Inflationary pressures, growth prospects are crumbling and Trump's tariffs are not going away. And with Trump's attention (on) anything except deregulating crypto, bitcoin traders are not happy," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index. Bitcoin typically trades loosely in line with assets like tech stocks that rise when investors are optimistic about economic growth. The tech heavy Nasdaq (.IXIC) , opens new tab is at its lowest since November. Investors fear the so-called exceptionalism of the U.S. economy might be fading and are nervous about U.S. President Donald Trump's moves to impose tariffs which have stoked fears of higher global inflation and slower growth. Investors judged AI darling Nvidia's results harshly as well. NEW ENVIRONMENT For the world's largest cryptocurrency, the environment is very different from mid-January, when it approached $110,000 on optimism that the Trump administration would champion a strategic bitcoin fund and loosen regulation. But beyond a flurry of appointments of crypto-friendly officials when Trump took office, there has been little concrete news around that policy for investors. The bitcoin price decline "shows that positive sentiments from a crypto-friendly administration and high-profile endorsements have run their course," said Joshua Chu, Co-Chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association. "It’s clear bitcoin is a risk asset, not the inflation hedge or digital gold it’s often touted to be." Ether , the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, was down 6% at $2,149.38, around its lowest since January 2024. Trump's own "TRUMP" memecoin that he launched upon his inauguration has lost 50% in value since then, while his wife's "MELANIA" token has lost 90%. Investors have also been pulling money out of bitcoin exchange-traded funds. U.S.-listed bitcoin ETFs have seen outflows of $2.27 billion so far this week. Bank of America analysts said in a note on Friday the fact that the average daily price of bitcoin had struggled to break above $97,000 since November was the first sign of the "bro bubble popping". Much of the hype around crypto in the last couple of years has stemmed from, typically, younger male influencers on social media and tech entrepreneurs that many nickname "crypto bros". The crypto world has been nervous after Dubai-headquartered Bybit, the world's second-largest exchange after Binance, said last week hackers had stolen ether worth around $1.5 billion in what is thought to be the single largest crypto heist of all time. "It's a combination of macro forces. More tariffs, uncertainties around geopolitics and war, and the ByBit hack didn't help confidence either," said Reuben Conceicao, chief strategy officer at digital wallet firm Metasig. The price fall hurt crypto-connected stocks in U.S. premarket trading. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN.O) , opens new tab and bitcoin buyer Strategy (MSTR.O) , opens new tab dropped 2.3%, while both miners Riot Platforms Inc (RIOT.O) , opens new tab and MARA Holdings (MARA.O) , opens new tab shed about 3.5%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/bitcoin-slides-more-than-5-lowest-level-since-november-11-2025-02-28/
2025-02-28 02:27
SEOUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - South Korea's acting President and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed tariffs, investment and forex policy in a video call, South Korea's finance ministry said on Friday. Choi asked Bessent to pay attention to South Korea's contributions to the U.S. economy in Washington's policymaking, the ministry said in a statement, amid growing concerns in Seoul about U.S. President Donald Trump's push for sweeping tariffs. South Korea is a major global exporter and top trading partner with the United States. Last week, a delegation of South Korean officials requested an exemption from U.S. reciprocal, steel and aluminium tariffs during a visit to Washington. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-us-finance-chiefs-discuss-tariffs-investment-fx-says-seoul-2025-02-28/
2025-02-28 00:05
LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - British businesses turned more optimistic for the first time in seven months in February as they took a brighter view on the economy and ramped up their hiring plans, according to a survey published on Friday. Striking a more upbeat note than other recent gauges of sentiment among employers, the Lloyds Bank Business Barometer hit its highest since July and August of last year at 49%, up from 37% in January which was its lowest in more than a year. Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said the rise in confidence suggested firms were coping with higher costs and uncertainty. Other surveys have shown a mood of gloom among employers linked to finance minister Rachel Reeves' announcement of a 25 billion-pound ($31 billion) tax increase starting April when a nearly 7% increase in the minim um wage is also due. But the Lloyds report showed confidence in the economy jumped by 18 points - the largest monthly increase since late 2020 - to 42%. Businesses' trading prospects improved by six points to 57%, the highest since 2017. Hiring plans rose by nine points to 41%. Two-thirds of businesses expected to raise their prices in the coming year, up from 61% in January, a warning sign for the Bank of England which is trying to gauge inflation pressure in the economy as it considers when to cut interest rates again. The Lloyds survey was based on responses from 1,200 companies between February 3 and February 17. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-firms-turn-more-hopeful-economy-plan-hire-more-lloyds-says-2025-02-28/
2025-02-27 23:52
Feb 27 (Reuters) - California's $21 billion wildfire fund may shield Edison International's (EIX.N) , opens new tab balance sheet if equipment owned by the company's electric utility is found to have caused a deadly Los Angeles fire last month, Edison's CEO said on Thursday. Southern California Edison, one of the state's largest electric utilities, faces a swelling number of lawsuits claiming its power lines caused the Eaton Fire in the foothills near Pasadena. The California Wildfire Fund, which allows the state's utilities to recover some wildfire-related claims payments, has $21 billion and has been largely untapped by investor-owned utilities like Southern California Edison, Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro said on a call with investors. "We have confidence in the fund," he said. The Eaton Fire was one of multiple blazes that broke out in the Los Angeles-area on January 7 in what became the most costly natural disaster in American history. No official cause for the major fires, including Eaton, has been released. SCE will likely begin burying more lines underground as a wildfire mitigation effort, Edison executives said on a conference call with investors. Edison International shares have fallen 35% since the start of the wildfires as investors worry the company could face massive liability claims. When pressed by Wall Street analysts for how long it might take to determine the cause of the fire, Pizarro said it was too hard to know the timing. "You might recall from previous fires, it has taken 12 to 18 months even to get an investigation report from official fire authorities that might help one make conclusions," he said. The company said the fire investigation is also focused on examining and testing an idle transmission line, which also is suspected of being a potential ignition source. The equipment on the line will be examined for arc marks and missing metal pieces, for example. The company said that process may still take many weeks as it requires agreeing on a protocol with plaintiffs' attorneys and other interested stakeholders. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/california-wildfire-fund-may-shield-edison-balance-sheet-fire-claims-company-2025-02-27/
2025-02-27 23:48
Olam Group's profit falls 52.8% Declares final dividend of 3 SG cents per share Feb 28 (Reuters) - Singapore's Olam Group (OLAG.SI) , opens new tab reported a slump in its full-year underlying profit on Friday, impacted by an increase in net finance costs coupled with a sharp rise in prices of commodities such as cocoa and coffee. Olam, one of the world's biggest agricultural commodities traders, reported operational profit after tax and minority interests of S$216.3 million ($160.5 million) for the year ended December 31, compared to S$458.1 million the previous year. The company recorded net finance costs of S$1.58 billion as compared to S$1.13 billion a year ago. Olam's Incubating Businesses and Olam Global Holdco units also recorded a 14.7% drop in full-year revenue. However, Olam Agri (IPO-OLAA.SI) , opens new tab, the company's top revenue-generating segment, reported a rise of 5.9% in its full-year sales revenue to S$33.17 billion. The company declared a final dividend of 3 Singapore cents per share, compared with 4 Singapore cents declared last year. Earlier in the week, Olam agreed to sell its 44.58% stake in its agricultural business Olam Agri to Saudi Arabia's agricultural and livestock investment firm SALIC for $1.78 billion. The transaction valued Olam Agri at $4 billion, higher than the $3.5 billion valuation in December 2022 when it sold a 35% stake to SALIC, and now gave SALIC an 80% controlling stake in the business. "The group will focus on seeking strategic options to unlock value for the remaining Olam Group businesses and Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), including the pursuit of an ofi IPO," the company said. ($1 = 1.3477 Singapore dollars) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/singapores-olam-group-reports-around-53-fall-full-year-profit-2025-02-27/
2025-02-27 23:28
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Utility firm Talen Energy (TLN.O) , opens new tab reported an increase in its annual profit on Thursday, helped by lower operating and energy expenses, sending the company's shares up 2.6% in extended trading. The utility reported operation, maintenance and development expenses of $592 million in 2024, down about 8% from a year earlier. Energy expenses fell about 8% to $797 million. In November, Talen was pursuing another chance to convince regulators to approve its agreement to supply more electricity to an Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab data center connected to the utility's nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission struck down the deal that month to increase the capacity of the data center at Talen's Susquehanna plant to 480 megawatts from 300 megawatts, noting that diverting power to a single customer could raise power bills in the region and cause grid reliability problems. Houston-based Talen, however, reported a 17% fall in yearly operating revenue to $2.12 billion. The company reported a net income attributable to stockholders of $998 million for the year ended December 31, up about 63%. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/talen-energy-reports-higher-full-year-profit-lower-operating-energy-expenses-2025-02-27/
