The total value of stablecoins has surpassed $20 billion for the first time, as investors move to hedge their risks in both cryptoassets and traditional markets. Coindesk, quoting data from Coin Metrics, show that the total value of assets for all stablecoins breached the $20 billion mark yesterday, just four months after breaking a $10-billion record in May.
Europe’s virus resurgence weighs on growth momentum: a sharp rise in virus cases has dampened European growth momentum, with the Euro area composite PMI new orders declining from a peak of 53 in July to 50 in September, following the sharp rebound from a trough of 14 in April. Weaker domestic growth momentum, in combination with uncertainty on US fiscal stimulus and rising real bond yields, has led the Stoxx 600 to decline by 5% over the past week to a two-month low of 355.
Spain does not want to be left behind in the area of renewable hydrogen, currently the most efficient technological solution for storing and transporting energy. The government has already launched a consultation of its ‘Hydrogen Roadmap’. The draft includes 57 measures to prepare the regulatory framework and sets targets for 2030 such as reaching an installed capacity of 4 GW, which represents 10% of the target set by the European Commission for the whole of the EU.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), wage income in the world has fallen by 10.7% in the first nine months of 2020, equivalent to $3.5 trillion or 5.5% of global GDP in the first three quarters of 2019. From the perspective of income, the positive side is that the figures do not take into account government subsidies which have provided a key safety net for families’ vital consumption.
Analysts have warned cryptoassets such as bitcoin and ethereum could be in for a bout of volatility come Friday when nearly $2 billion-worth of options contracts expire, according to Forbes. The data, provided by Skew, suggests the level of options contracts has tripled in the past three months to $1.9 billion in total. Around $1 billion of this is focused on bitcoin alone, with many contracts set between $11,000 and $12,000, higher than bitcoin’s current dollar prices.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak today delivered a series of new measures and extensions to existing supports to help the UK economy through the winter months following the re-emergence of the coronavirus and re-imposition of wider restrictions on activity.
Donald Trump and Joe Biden have pronounced policy differences on corporate taxes, energy and US-China trade, but generally similar views around drug pricing, large-cap tech firms and infrastructure investment. As the US presidential election draws closer, the race is tightening between both candidates. While much is at stake in this election cycle, the three policy areas noted above could have a large impact on the markets and portfolio allocations, warns Allianz GI.
Funcas | The Labour Force Survey shows the extraordinary decline of agricultural occupation in recent decades. In 1976, those employed in this sector (2.6 million people) accounted for over a fifth of total employment; in 1991 they represented less than a tenth (1.3 million) and already in 2007 agricultural employment had fallen below a twenty-fifth of total employment (801,000). Since then, this proportion has stabilized around 4% of the total occupation (734,000 people in jobs in 2019).
On Monday, PharmaMar joined the Ibex 35, the main Spanish stock market index. It will will be composed of 34 stocks until October 19th, following the exclusion of MásMóvil after Lorca Telecom Bidco’s takeover bid. The Ibex 35’s Technical Advisory Committee unexpectedly announced on 10 September that PharmaMar would replace Ence in that index. Since then, the company’s share price has risen by more than 17% to 103.8 euros at last Friday’s close, recovering its July levels.
Spanish banks recorded aggregate attributed losses of 11.531 billion euros in the first half of 2020. This came in the wake of an effort in terms of provisions and write-offs to the tune of 26.518 million euros. Preparation for the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was behind this effort, according to the Spanish Banking Association (AEB).