Source: CNBC
Security & Justice
Southern Lebanon Endures Massive Damage: 40,000 Homes Leveled Across 37 Towns
Israeli forces have systematically destroyed entire neighborhoods in southern Lebanon, leveling more than 37 towns and wiping out over 40,000 residential units, according to Lebanon's National News Agency.
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
Gaps in Coastal Radar Enabled Israeli Raid in Batroun, Army Commander Says
Lebanon’s army chief, General Joseph Aoun, detailed to Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati how Israeli forces likely exploited gaps in the country's coastal radar system during the recent raid carried out in Batroun. The briefing comes as Lebanese officials seek answers on how Israel’s elite Shayetet 13 unit carried out the landing undetected.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
My Hope for Lebanon
A company of Lebanese soldiers assigned to maintain order in this anxious wartime capital is gathered at its headquarters 100 yards from the Mediterranean. I make the blunder of asking their commander how many of his men are Shiites, Sunnis, Christians and Druze.
Monday, November 4, 2024
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
Sports
FC Barcelona Fears First Team Star Will Be Banned From Playing, Reports SPORT
FC Barcelona is concerned that one of its main first-team stars will be banned from playing at the turn of 2025 because of issues related to his registration and Financial Fair Play (FFP) limits according to SPORT, which cited anonymous sources.
Friday, November 1, 2024
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Wednesday 12 January 2022 14:20:40
Bitcoin Could Rise to $75,000 this Year to Top Record High, Bank CEO Predicts
Bitcoin’s price could nearly double to $75,000 this year as more institutional investors start to embrace the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, according to the CEO of Swiss bank Seba.
“We believe the price is going up,” Guido Buehler told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal at the Crypto Finance Conference in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
“Our internal valuation models indicate a price right now between $50,000 and $75,000,” said the boss of the regulated Swiss bank which has a focus on cryptocurrencies. “I’m quite confident we are going to see that level. The question is always timing.”
After soaring to an all time high of $69,000 in November, bitcoin has seen its value collapse over the last couple of months and its price briefly tumbled below $40,000 on Monday, meaning it is hovering near lows not seen since September.
Asked if bitcoin will test the record levels seen last year, Buehler said he “thinks so” but he stressed that volatility will remain high.
This week’s price fall came as rising Treasury yields — and the prospect of higher central bank interest rates — continued to lead investors to shed positions in risky, growth-oriented assets.
Bitcoin fell as much as 6% Monday to touch a low of $39,771.91, according to Coin Metrics. It traded at $42,921.55 at around 5 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Declines across the cryptocurrency market follow a week of rough trading for equities, particularly momentum stocks. As the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield spiked at the start of 2022, investors have been rotating into more cyclical and value names. On Monday, the 10-year climbed as high as 1.8%, after ending 2021 at 1.5%.
“We’ve seen bitcoin behave like a risk asset on numerous occasions over the past few months,” said Noelle Acheson, head of market insights at Genesis.
“When the market gets jittery, bitcoin tumbles. We’ve seen various indications that market sentiment is somewhat spooked by the spike in the 10-year — that’s not good for any asset that has high volatility in cash flows. Unlike many assets that are tainted by this brush, bitcoin is liquid and therefore can take more selling pressure without a heavy hit.”
Institutional investors
Buehler said he thinks institutional investors will help to boost the price of bitcoin in 2022.
“Institutional money will probably drive the price up,” he said. “We are working as a fully regulated bank. We have asset pools that are looking for the right times to invest.”
But Pascal Gauthier, CEO of crypto wallet Ledger, told CNBC Wednesday that there’s currently a “retail trend” in bitcoin.
“They trust bitcoin more and more and it’s really the people that will push the price up,” he said.
efore seeking regulatory approval, Buehler said Seba Bank looked at the technology that powers cryptocurrencies and concluded that it’s going to “redefine finance.”
Elsewhere, Californian venture capitalist Bill Tai told CNBC Wednesday from Switzerland that there’s “yet another wobble” in the crypto market.
“I don’t know when it’s going to go back up, but it’s going to go back up,” he said.
He added that cryptocurrencies are at the crux of institutional acceptance.
