Investing

Alex Mashinsky, the founder of crypto lender Celsius, has built a cult following by tapping public mistrust in mainstream financial institutions. Launched five years ago, Celsius, which offers clients high interest rates on crypto deposits, has drawn in 1.7mn customers under the slogan “#unbank yourself”. Now the company itself faces a crisis of trust after

The prime rate is a bank’s lowest commercial lending rate. It is often set at an interest rate spread above the federal funds rate. The federal funds rate is the overnight interbank lending rate for reserves on deposit with the Fed, and as the minimum rate influences borrowing costs throughout the economy. Many banks change

Global stocks have suffered one of their heaviest weekly falls since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, as the aggressive pace of stimulus withdrawal by major central banks and the threat of an economic slump spooked investors. With just a few hours to go before the end of the New York session, a FTSE gauge

Good evening Global stock markets today were on track for their worst week since the depths of the pandemic after central banks across the world took a hawkish shift in their battle against inflation. The Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank both increased rates yesterday, following Wednesday’s announcement by the US Federal Reserve

The unemployment rate is one of the most closely followed indicators used by businesses, investors, and private citizens to gauge the state of the U.S. economy. Investor sentiment and consumer confidence have strong inverse relationships with the percentage of unemployed Americans. When the unemployment rate rises, investors guard their money more closely, and consumers become

The Bank of Japan has renewed its pledge to keep bond yields at zero, sending the yen lower and widening the policy gap with other central banks that have raised interest rates to tame inflation. The BoJ’s decision to stick to its ultra-loose monetary policy exacerbates a global divergence in yields after the US Federal

UK advertising agency M&C Saatchi has reversed its decision to support a proposed takeover from rival Next Fifteen, just weeks after agreeing the deal. The agency, founded by the Saatchi brothers and known for its ties to the Conservative party, said on Friday it no longer supported the deal because of the drop in Next

Amortization is an accounting term that describes the change in value of intangible assets or financial instruments over time. Loans, for example, will change in value depending on how much interest and principal remains to be paid. An amortization calculator is thus useful for understanding the long-term cost of a fixed-rate mortgage because it shows

UK airlines will be forced to cancel hundred of flights this summer after London’s Gatwick airport announced plans to limit its operations because of continuing staff shortages plaguing the transport sector. The UK’s second-busiest airport said on Friday it would cut the number of flights airlines can run to 825 per day in July and

In your article on the effects of inflation on the German beer market (“German beer drinkers warned to expect bitter blow on prices”, Report, June 15) you make the common mistake of referring to German beer vessels as “steins”. Although Stein is a German word (meaning “stone”), it is not a term commonly applied to

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases the Employment Situation Summary, better known as the employment, or jobs report, at 8:30 a.m. ET on the first Friday of every month. The report is based on surveys of households and employers. It estimates the number of people on payrolls in the U.S. economy, the average

The Bank of England raised interest rates by 0.25 percentage points on Thursday, moving more cautiously than other central banks while warning inflation would climb above 11 per cent by the end of the year. The increase — the fifth time the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee has tightened policy in back-to-back meetings — takes the

When we talk about how to address falling birth rates, it’s not surprising that the conversation usually centres on young women. After all, it’s quite tricky to influence birth rates without them. But according to a growing body of research, this demographic is already doing about as much as they can. A more fruitful policy

Candlestick charts are a technical tool that packs data for multiple time frames into single price bars. This makes them more useful than traditional open-high, low-close bars or simple lines that connect the dots of closing prices. Candlesticks build patterns that predict price direction once completed. Proper color coding adds depth to this colorful technical tool, which dates back to 18th-century

The leaders of France, Germany and Italy arrived in Ukraine on Thursday, travelling from the border with Poland by train to Kyiv. The trio is in Ukraine to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the country’s EU membership aspirations and further arms supplies to repel Russia’s invasion. Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis will join them for

The peasant stands in front of his hut as the Russian soldier takes aim. Painted in 1927, “Shooting at Mezhyhirya” by Ukrainian artist Vasily Sedlyar depicts the murder of Ukrainian peasants by Russian imperial forces during the civil war of 1917-21. Although this painting critiques the Soviet army’s enemies, its author was still executed by the

Money, whether it’s represented by a seashell, a metal coin, a piece of paper, or a string of code electronically mined by computer, doesn’t always have value. Its total global value—currently estimated to be around $420 trillion—depends on the importance that people place on it as a medium of exchange, a unit of measurement, and

MPs have warned the UK government against putting “undue pressure” on regulators to “inappropriately weaken” standards for banks, insurers and other financial services firms. The call by the Treasury select committee is an indication of its concerns about the risks of a post-Brexit shift to light touch financial regulation. It comes as regulators continue the

China is moving to consolidate the country’s iron ore imports through a new centrally controlled group by the end of this year, as Xi Jinping’s administration seeks to increase Beijing’s pricing power over the industry. The initiative, led by the China Iron and Steel Association and the planning ministry, involves large state-owned mining and steel

Rates on 30-year mortgages have risen 11 days in a row, with another big jump Tuesday. The flagship average has climbed a remarkable 80 basis points over just the last four days, taking it to its highest level in almost 14 years. National averages of the lowest rates offered by more than 200 of the

HSBC has fired a London-based trader following an investigation into the use of inappropriate messaging applications with clients as banks come under increasing pressure to clamp down on unauthorised communications. The departure is the latest in a swath of bankers losing their jobs over the way they communicate with clients, following regulatory pressure on banks

I am midway through the new series of Borgen on Netflix, the hit drama about political life in Denmark. It’s striking that everyone we see on screen, from the most junior civil servant to the central character, foreign minister Birgitte Nyborg (played by actress Sidse Babette Knudsen), is passionate about their job. They may shout,

Shopping for a new or used car? Use our car loan calculator to see what your monthly payment might look like—and how much interest you would pay over the life of the loan. Key Takeaways Many car buyers take out a loan to finance their purchase, either from the dealer or through a bank. The

China’s retail sales declined for a third consecutive month in May as lockdowns and mass testing campaigns under President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid strategy curtailed growth in the world’s biggest consumer market. Retail sales, an important gauge of consumption, fell 6.7 per cent compared with the same month a year ago. While the pace of decline

The European Central Bank has called an unscheduled meeting of its rate-setters, sparking speculation it could announce measures to tackle surging borrowing costs in weaker eurozone economies. The ECB said: “The governing council will have an ad hoc meeting on Wednesday to discuss current market conditions.” The meeting is scheduled to start at 11am CET.

Year after year, the return on mutual funds competes with the index. Top stock pickers may hit high marks one year, but those returns wane the following year. There are high fees associated with mutual fund management yet a mutual fund may consistently underperform the market. When mutual fund managers successfully pick stocks, the cost of

Anne Bate felt “crazy” trying to downsize in the middle of a global pandemic. But selling her home in the paradise of the Pahi fishing village in the north-west of New Zealand’s North Island proved the easy part. It was in Timaru, her destination some 1,360km away on South Island, that Bate experienced the other

In his op-ed on the alleged amorality of our prime minister (June 10) Jesse Norman makes one small error. He implies the concept of “a government of laws not men” was first articulated by David Hume. Hume, however, borrowed it from James Harrington’s The Commonwealth of Oceana (1656). Dermot Gleeson Wood Street Village, Surrey, UK

Meta Inc. (META), owner of Facebook, the world’s largest social network, provides a digital social media platform enabling billions of users to connect with one another. While Facebook is best known as a site for friends and families to connect, it’s also used by political organizations, small businesses, and large corporations to reach a wide

Sanjeev Gupta has lost control of a Belgian aluminium mill to private equity firm American Industrial Partners, effectively dismantling the metals magnate’s continental European aluminium business. Gupta’s metals group GFG Alliance, which is the subject of criminal investigations into alleged fraud and money laundering in the UK and France, has been battling to refinance more