Author: admin

Gold tends to ‘trade on fear’The recent surge in gold prices is pushing more people to consider unloading their family heirlooms and other valuables, which can be melted for cash, according to Schmidt.Spot gold prices hit an all-time high above $3,500 per ounce last week. The record follows a barrage of tariffs announced by President Donald Trump in April, fueling concern that a global trade war will push the U.S. economy into recession. One year ago, prices were about $2,200 to $2,300 an ounce.As of Wednesday morning, gold futures prices were up about 23% year-to-date and 36% higher compared to the price a year ago. “Gold…

Bitcoin (BTC), the world’s largest digital asset by market value, recently held steady as President Donald Trump’s trade war spurred a shift away from U.S. assets. The so-called decoupling reinforced the belief of crypto advocates that BTC is as a safe haven and a low-beta play relative to equities. BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets, Robert Mitchinik, believes the cryptocurrency could actually evolve into a permanent low-beta play reflexively. “It makes no fundamental sense, and yet when it’s repeated enough, it can actually become a little self-fulfilling, right?” Mitchnik said during a panel discussion at the Dubai Token2049 conference on Wednesday.…

Bitcoin developers are again at odds over how the world’s oldest and largest blockchain should handle storing information on-chain, with a proposal to relax long-standing limits on the size of data held sparking fierce debate reminiscent of 2023’s battles over Ordinals. The blockchain’s OP_RETURN feature allows people attach a small piece of extra data to a transaction It is often used for things like notes, timestamps or digital records. The proposed change, put forward by developer Peter Todd, would remove the 80-byte cap on such data, a limit originally designed to discourage spam and preserve the blockchain’s financial integrity. Supporters…

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday said that the Bangladesh men’s team will tour Pakistan in May for a five-match T20I series. Pakistan last played international cricket against New Zealand earlier this month, where the Green Shirts lost both the One-day International series (3-0) and the Twenty20 International series (4-1). The Pakistan Super League is currently ongoing in the country with the final set to take place on May 18. The schedule for the series. — PCB The PCB said in a press release: “The series, which is part of the Future Tour Programme (FTP), originally consisted of three…

Europe’s economy grew more strongly in the first three months of the year, only to see hopes for an ongoing recovery quickly squelched by US President Donald Trump’s trade war. Gross domestic product in the 20 countries that use the euro grew 0.4% in the first quarter, improving on 0.2% growth in the last part of 2024, according to official figures released Wednesday. But on April 2, just two days after the end of the quarter, Trump announced an onslaught of new tariffs on almost every US trading partner and hit goods imported from the European Union with a 20%…

Given the uncertainty around tariffs, some investors are starting to view Bitcoin as digital gold and a store of value. Institutional adoption of Bitcoin is on the rise, thanks primarily to the launch of the new spot Bitcoin ETFs. If the current trade tensions intensify, Bitcoin could challenge the U.S. dollar as the world’s reserve currency. Crypto prices have collapsed as President Donald Trump’s trade war has expanded. Across the board, crypto prices are down for the year, and many show little sign of recovery anytime soon. Against a backdrop of escalating tariffs, investors are moving from risky assets to…

LONDON: All-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt has succeeded Heather Knight as England captain, the England and Wales Cricket Board said on Tuesday. Sciver-Brunt was the favourite to take over after the long-serving Knight was dismissed last month following a humiliating 16-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia. Head coach Jon Lewis was also sacked and has been replaced by former captain Charlotte Edwards. Sciver-Brunt made her international debut in 2023 and has been vice-captain for the last three years. She is ranked number three in the ICC world batting rankings in one-day International (ODI) cricket. The 32-year-old, who was part of England’s ODI World…

Washington CNN  —  President Donald Trump’s major, abrupt policy shifts likely slowed the US economy sharply in the beginning of the year — for the worst quarter perhaps since the Covid-19 pandemic — as consumers and businesses fretted about massive new tariffs. The Commerce Department is set to release its initial estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, on Wednesday at 8:30 am ET. It will give the clearest picture yet of how the US economy is responding to Trump’s sweeping economic agenda, just one day after the administration’s 100th day in power. Economists estimate…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed approval decisions on spot xrp (XRP) and dogecoin (DOGE) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) late Tuesday, in line with analyst expectations. The SEC said it will wait until June 15 for the next steps for the Bitwise DOGE ETF and June 17 for the Franklin XRP Fund, separate filings show. The law says the Commission has 45 days from when a proposed rule change is announced to approve it, reject it, or start a process to decide if it should be rejected. These 45 days can be extended to 90 days if the Commission…

BENGALURU: India batting great Sachin Tendulkar led the plaudits for 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi after the Rajasthan Royals batter became the youngest centurion in men’s Twenty20 cricket with a knock for the ages in the Indian Premier League. Left-handed opener Suryavanshi had shown glimpses of his ability with a first-ball six on his IPL debut earlier this month, and on Monday his explosive talent was on full display as he tore apart Gujarat Titans with a 38-ball 101 in the Royals’ eight-wicket win. Rajasthan coach Rahul Dravid forgot about his leg injury and leapt from his wheelchair when Suryavanshi completed his…