Bitcoin alternatives, Russia's oil, and America's natural gas: Markets news roundup
A collection of our best posts of the week in money markets
The crypto world has been thriving in recent months, bringing an end to a long period of hardship. This year alone, Bitcoin has grown by 50%, reaching an all-time high of $72,000. But it isn’t just Bitcoin that’s seeing a meteoric rise. Other cryptocurrencies have also grown by more 100% over the past year, marking the end of a long crypto winter plagued by a string of crypto exchange collapses, scandals, and bankruptcies.
It’s been a bit of whiplash this week the world of Russian oil.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that the country’s oil exports had crept up to 3.7 million barrels a day, their highest level this year. This comes even as its OPEC+ colleagues are trying to cut supply to help keep the price-dropping effects of surging U.S. crude production in check. Then, on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Ukrainian forces had attacked three oil refineries in two days, including the biggest facility operated by Rosneft, Russia’s biggest oil company.
Despite a Biden administration pause in new natural gas exports, the U.S. still ships a lot of the stuff to the world. Last year it sent 88.9 million metric tons of natural gas abroad, becoming the globe’s biggest supplier. One would imagine that would mean cheaper natural gas for Americans. But it turns out the opposite has become true.
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Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk teased promising early-stage trial results of its experimental weight loss pill amycretin last week, resulting in the company’s stock surging.
Nigerian authorities have arrested 2 top officials from Binance, who were in the country to address allegations that the crypto exchange was destabilizing the national currency, the naira. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Tigran Gambaryan, head of financial-crime compliance at Binance who previously worked at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and Nadeem Anjarwalla, a British-Kenyan national and Binance’s regional manager for Africa, have been held against their will for the past two weeks in the country.
Investors concerned about a potential tech bubble bursting this year can breathe a sigh a relief for now. At least according to analysts at JPMorgan.
Under Armour stock fell by almost 11% on Thursday after the announcement that its ex-CEO and founder Kevin Plank is returning as the head of the American sportswear company. Its current CEO, Stephanie Linnartz, is stepping down after 13 months, and Plank will take charge effective April 1.
The Danish pharma giant released promising early-stage trial results of its experimental weight loss pill amycretin last week
Strategas Research Partners’ Chris Verrone tells Quartz the AI chip maker’s big reversal on Friday could mean its time for investors to look elsewhere for gains