Send us a textThe $1.3tn cryptocurrency industry was on Thursday hit by one of its toughest challenges when stablecoin Tether — a critical cog in the market — failed to maintain its link with the US dollar. The company refuses to provide details on the Treasury holdings that back the stablecoin claiming their fear of revealing the ‘secret sauce.’Tether tumbled as low as 95.11 cents yesterday, far below the $1 peg that it seeks to maintain. Its price later recovered, but the slip-up, days afte...

Send us a textXi Jinping has reaffirmed his commitment to China’s controversial zero-Covid strategy, warning against “any slackening” in the effort and vowing to crack down on criticism of the policy despite signs of damage to the economy.“Our prevention and control policies can withstand the test of history; our measures are scientific and effective. We have won the battle to defend Wuhan, we can also win the battle to defend Shanghai,” the statement said.Patrick's Books:Statistics For The T...

Send us a textBill Hwang, founder of Archegos Capital Management, has been arrested by US authorities and charged with racketeering, fraud and market manipulation.The indictment accuses Hwang and former chief financial officer Patrick Halligan, of using Archegos as an “instrument of market manipulation and fraud” with “far-reaching consequences for other participants in the United States securities markets”.The case marks the first criminal charges against Hwang, one of the so-called Tiger Cu...

Send us a textElon Musk - The world’s richest man has allegedly hired the investment bank Morgan Stanley and is trying to gather financing, so he can buy Twitter for $43 billion.According to The New York Times, Musk is evaluating various packages of debt and a loan against his shares of Tesla. Apollo Global Management, an alternative asset manager, is among the parties considering offering debt financing. The equity he needs is likely to be sizable.Last week, Elon Musk, made an unsolicited of...

Send us a textThe sanctions on Russia’s central bank use the reserve currency status of the US dollar to punish an American adversary. Will the US dollar lose its exorbitant privilege? What currency might replace the US Dollar as a reserve currency?Patrick's Books:Statistics For The Trading Floor: https://amzn.to/3eerLA0Derivatives For The Trading Floor: https://amzn.to/3cjsyPFCorporate Finance: https://amzn.to/3fn3rvC Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/Patric...

Send us a textVladimir Putin has demanded payment in roubles for Russian gas sold to “unfriendly” countries, setting a deadline of 31 March for the transition.It is not clear whether he plans to tear up existing contracts that set the price in euros or dollars, but Germany, which relies on Russia for 40% of its gas supplies, is not taking any chances, warning large industrial gas users that a standoff is possible and rationing is one possible outcome.In todays video we ask why payment for Rus...

Send us a textAs the clock runs down to Monday's sanctions deadline for Russian airlines to hand back more than 450 leased planes worth almost $10 billion, foreign lessors are fast losing hope that they will get their planes back. As the owners rushed to repossess the planes, the Kremlin moved quickly to block this by passing a law allowing foreign airplanes to be re-registered in Russia, effectively nationalizing them.Aviation was an early business casualty of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a...

Send us a textIn markets, there are few principles considered more important by traders than the idea that when a commitment to a deal is made, it should stand come what may. So, there was uproar in the commodities market last week over the London Metal Exchange’s decision to bring the global nickel market to a halt and cancel futures trades because of a “short squeeze” on a Chinese tycoon facing potential billions of dollars of losses.In one of the most controversial moments in its 145-year ...

Send us a textThe UK announced new sanctions yesterday relating to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, targeting seven oligarchs with links to Vladimir Putin. Among them is Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea FC.In today's video we try to answer three questions: Who owns Chelsea FC right now? What happens with the other Russian assets being seized around the world? And, what happens with Russian financial assets like stocks and bonds that westerners own that have stopped trading due to ...

Send us a textIn Today’s podcast we discuss if the west can place an embargo on Russian energy exports?Western leaders have threatened Vladimir Putin with sweeping sanctions over his invasion of Ukraine but, they have been clear that they would avoid disrupting energy supplies.Hitting energy exports is no longer as due to the brutality of Putin’s war and the idea of targeting oil and gas exports is no longer off the table — even if it damages western economies in the process.Canada - a tiny b...