2025-02-24 17:45
SOFIA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Bulgaria will ask the European Commission and the European Central Bank for an assessment on whether the Balkan country meets all criteria to join the euro zone in January next year, its finance minister said on Monday. "The latest data showed Bulgaria had met the inflation target," Finance Minister Temenuzhka Petkova said, referring to its inflation rate of 2.6% in February. To join the euro zone, a country's inflation rate cannot be higher than 1.5 percentage points above the rate of the three best-performing member states. Bulgaria, which is the EU's poorest country, has stated its aim to join the euro zone next January. It is yet to adopt its 2025 budget which will set the deficit target at 3% of gross domestic product, the limit for euro zone membership. Economists say that Bulgaria, whose currency, the lev, has been long pegged to the euro, would attract more foreign investment if it adopted the single currency and would secure credit ratings upgrades that could cut its debt financing costs. Bulgarians are divided over the introduction of the euro, with many worrying that it will cause prices to skyrocket, as happened in Croatia when it adopted the euro in 2023. On Saturday several thousand supporters of Bulgaria's ultra-nationalist Revival party scuffled with police while trying to storm the building of a European Union mission during a protest against introducing the euro. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/bulgaria-ask-eu-assessment-its-readiness-adopt-euro-next-year-2025-02-24/
2025-02-24 17:35
LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit said last week hackers had stolen digital tokens worth around $1.5 billion, in what researchers called the biggest crypto heist of all time. Bybit CEO Ben Zhou said the crypto was taken from a "cold wallet" - a digital wallet usually stored offline and so supposedly more secure - that was used for ether tokens. Blockchain research firm Elliptic said the hack was more than double the last-biggest crypto heist and "is almost certainly the single largest known theft of any kind in all time." The crypto industry has suffered a series of thefts, prompting questions about the security of customer funds, with hacking hauls totalling more than $2 billion in 2024 - the fourth straight year where proceeds have topped more than $1 billion. Here are some of the other major thefts to have plagued the industry since bitcoin was born in 2008. POLY NETWORK Hackers stole around $610 million in August 2021 from Poly Network, a platform that facilitates peer-to-peer token transactions. The hackers behind the heist later returned nearly all of the stolen funds. The hack underscored vulnerabilities in the burgeoning decentralised finance - DeFi - sector, where users lend, borrow and save in digital tokens, bypassing the traditional gatekeepers of finance such as banks and exchanges. RONIN NETWORK Hackers stole cryptocurrency worth - at the time of the hack - around $540 million from a blockchain project linked to the popular online game Axie Infinity in March 2022. Ronin, a network that allows the transfer of crypto coins across different blockchains, said that hackers stole some 173,600 ether tokens and 25.5 million USD Coin tokens. COINCHECK In January 2018, hackers stole cryptocurrency then worth around $530 million from Tokyo-based exchange Coincheck. The thieves attacked one of Coincheck's "hot wallet" - a digital folder stored online - to drain the funds, drawing attention to security at exchanges. South Korea's intelligence agency said at the time that a North Korean hacking group may have been behind the heist. MT. GOX In one of the earliest and most-high profile crypto hacks, bitcoin worth close to $500 million dollars was stolen from the Mt.Gox exchange in Tokyo - then the world's biggest - between 2011 and 2014. Mt.Gox, which once handled 80% of the world's bitcoin trade, filed for bankruptcy in early 2014 after the hack was revealed, with some 24,000 customers losing access to their funds. WORMHOLE DeFi site Wormhole was hit by a $320 million heist last month, with the hackers making off with 120,000 digital tokens connected to the second-largest cryptocurrency, ether. The crypto arm of Chicago-based Jump Trading, which had the year before acquired the developer behind Wormhole, later replaced the funds "to make community members whole and support Wormhole now as it continues to develop." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/cryptos-biggest-hacks-heists-after-15-billion-theft-bybit-2025-02-24/
2025-02-24 16:08
LONDON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Hedge funds exited U.S. tech and media stocks in the two weeks to February 21 at the fastest pace in six months, according to Goldman Sachs, just as Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, one of the biggest tech firms by market capitalisation, readies to report earnings. Nvidia's profit report this week is seen as a bellwether of the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) industry. The AI and graphics chipmaker is the world's second most valuable company, with a 6.3% weight on the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab, according to LSEG. Its shares have skyrocketed over 550% over the last two years. Speculators "aggressively" dumped both long and short positions in AI-related equipment, media, and communications equipment companies, according to a note sent to Goldman Sachs clients on Friday. A short position expects an asset price to fall while a long, or bullish, position expects it to rise. Stock hedge funds, which usually mix long and short bets in their trading strategies, last week lost money on their short wagers but made money on the parts of their portfolios holding long bets, said the note. While stock pickers finished the week flat, systematic traders returned 0.36% between February 14-20. U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday in the wake of gloomy economic reports. Some analysts and traders said that the expiration of options positions worth $2.7 trillion also added a further pressure. ASIA BULLS Hedge funds also bought developed and emerging market Asia stocks at the quickest pace in five months, Goldman Sachs said, with Asia now the only region globally where the balance of hedge fund trades is long rather than short. "China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong are by far the most net bought markets on our Prime book [year to date]," said the note. About 8% of hedge fund portfolio positions hold the stock of companies in Asian developed markets, while net allocation to Asia's emerging markets stands at 13.3%, the note said, among the highest levels for both in the past year. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/hedge-funds-exit-tech-media-stocks-fastest-pace-six-months-goldman-sachs-says-2025-02-24/
2025-02-24 16:05
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Robinhood (HOOD.O) , opens new tab said the U.S. securities regulator had closed its probe into the retail trading firm's crypto arm with no action, as it seeks to revamp policing of digital assets since President Donald Trump took office. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has moved to ease its crypto-related regulations under Trump's leadership. It has established a task force to focus on clarifying the regulatory framework around crypto assets and rescinded a key accounting guidance. Robinhood in May last year received a so-called "Wells notice", which is issued when the SEC is planning to bring enforcement action against a company, over crypto tokens traded on its platform. A spokesperson for the SEC declined to comment. "The recent closure of investigations into Robinhood and Coinbase by the SEC is a promising development for the crypto industry. It suggests a shift towards clearer regulatory guidelines, moving away from the previous approach of regulation by enforcement," said Scott Acheychek, COO of REX Financial. "For Robinhood, this development is likely to boost investor confidence and support its continued expansion in the crypto market," he added. Robinhood earlier this month beat fourth-quarter profit estimates, helped by a surge in equity, options and crypto trading on its platform following Trump's return to the White House. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-sec-closes-investigation-into-robinhood-with-no-action-2025-02-24/
2025-02-24 15:46
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Peru's gross domestic product (GDP) will likely expand by 4% this year and rank as the second-fastest growing economy in Latin America, a senior official told reporters on Monday, as inflation is seen holding for another year at around 2%. The Andean economy is bouncing back from recession, with the government of President Dina Boluarte and the central bank forecasting positive prospects for 2025, including fewer inflationary pressures and more investment. Peru's economy for decades was one of Latin America's top performers, but in recent years growth has cooled as social unrest hit the country's key mining sector amid growing political instability. At a press conference, Economy Minister Jose Salardi pointed to the expectation of relatively high prices for copper and gold - Peru's top mineral exports - and a push to cut regulations that should facilitate investment. In Latin America, Peru's expected economic growth this year would be surpassed only by Argentina's likely expansion, according to Salardi. The Economy Ministry also forecasts inflation of 2% this year, after the annual rate of rising consumer prices closed 2024 at 1.97%. Salardi added that he aims to lower the government's budget deficit, in line with established fiscal rules. Peru's debt-to-GDP ratio stands at around 33%. The minister added that ratio is expected to go down," but did not go into further detail. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/peru-will-be-second-fastest-growing-latam-economy-2025-says-minister-2025-02-24/
2025-02-24 15:31
Inflation expected to return to target range in second half of year Labour market tightness and supply constraints drive inflation pressures Governor Yaron suggests potential rate cuts if inflation stabilizes JERUSALEM, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The Bank of Israel kept short-term interest rates unchanged for a ninth straight meeting on Monday, but held out the prospect for further easing this year should inflation pressures subside, despite the conflict in Gaza. The central bank - which has expressed worries about a higher investor risk premium since the start of the war with Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in October 2023 - left its benchmark rate (ILINR=ECI) , opens new tab at 4.50%, as expected. It cited an annual inflation rate that rose to 3.8% in January from 3.2% in December "partly due to tax increases", adding that the rate is expected to move back into its 1-3% target range in the second half of the year. Water, electricity and transportation costs also rose at the start of 2025. Yet, it cautioned that the labour market remains tight, as indicated by job vacancy, employment, participation and wage data. The central bank reduced its benchmark rate by 25 basis points in January 2024 after inflation and economic growth slowed, but has since kept policy steady. The government blames the inflation rise mainly on war-related supply issues. Israel's Manufacturing Association also said supply constraints in the economy, especially a shortage of workers - many of whom have been called into reserve duty - were driving inflation. "The government must take urgent action to address supply constraints caused by labour shortages and declining productivity," said association President Ron Tomer, citing the removal of barriers to bringing in foreign workers and the rapid return of the missing workforce to the economy. Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron has said Israel could cut rates once or twice later this year should inflation move back into its target. For the time being, "In view of the continuing war, the monetary committee’s policy is focusing on stabilising the markets and reducing uncertainty, alongside price stability and supporting economic activity," it said. The bank said Israel’s risk premium, as measured by the price of five-year credit default swaps and the spreads on dollar-denominated government bonds, continued to decline, but remained higher than before the war. The economy grew by an annualised 2.5% in the fourth quarter, well below expectations, and 1% for all of 2024. "Economic activity continues to recover moderately," the bank said. Its economists forecast 4% growth in 2025. The shekel was 0.1% weaker versus the dollar at a 3.57 rate. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/rates-bonds/bank-israel-keeps-rates-steady-again-after-january-inflation-spike-2025-02-24/
