MIEX Offical

Bitcoin has rebounded after a heavy March sell-off to trade more-or-less flat for the year-to-date. While bitcoin traders and investors are eagerly eyeing the upcoming bitcoin halving, some smaller cryptocurrencies are making massive gains. Stellar lumens, which trades as XLM, is up 75% since the beginning of 2020—and rocketing higher as cash-heavy investors flock to performing assets. Stellar, which falls just outside of the cryptocurrency top ten tokens by value, as measured by Binance-owned crypto data website CoinMarketCap, has doubled since its March lows. Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency market, including stellar, crashed last month as the coronavirus pandemic brought the world economy to its knees. Bitcoin has, meanwhile, added around 70% since the crash but has failed to recapture its momentum from earlier in the year. The exact cause for stellar's sudden surge, which has seen the XLM price climb by around 40% in just the last seven days,...

The ongoing oil price slump, that has seen U.S. oil futures crash into negative prices, has ensnared another company after Diamond Offshore Drilling filed for bankruptcy. In a Chapter 11 petition filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (Houston), the rig contractor controlled by Loews Corp. L said operating conditions had worsened "precipitously in recent months." Diamond owns rigs that can drill in water more than two miles deep but the current slump in prices, triggered by the collapse of OPEC+ and the subsequent collapse in oil demand in the wake of the coronavirus or Covid-19 pandemic, has hammered demand for oil and gas exploration at sea. Offshore oil exploration and production (E&P) is often the most expensive to produce and not economically viable in many global production zones below $30 per barrel oil prices, a level global benchmark futures are currently well short of. Recent declines have seen Brent and WTI futures...

In yet another volatile session on Thursday, stocks pared back gains despite a rebound in oil prices, after reports that a Gilead Sciences clinical trial for its remdesivir drug was not effective in treating coronavirus—though the company quickly disputed that it was an inconclusive trial. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%, just 40 points, on Thursday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both ended slightly negative. Stocks rose earlier in the day, with the Dow up to 400 points higher, thanks to a rebound in oil prices: WTI crude oil futures have stabilized since their unprecedented drop earlier this week, rising over 40% in the last two days alone. The market abruptly slashed its gains and briefly turned negative, however, after a report from The Financial Times—citing documents accidentally published by the WHO—said that a potential coronavirus treatment from Gilead Sciences had flopped in a recent clinical trial. According to the report, G...

Gold prices in Asia rose on Wednesday morning in Asia as stocks took a hit from the sharp drop in oil prices. Gold futures were up by 1.11% at $1,706.60 by 11:17 PM ET (4:17 GMT), as Asian stocks reported losses for a second day in response to oil futures tumbling in the previous session. The yellow metal is seeing its prices restore its inverse relationship with stocks as investors seek safe havens amid the economic turbulence. Bank of America raised its 18-month gold price target to $3000 an ounce, up from a previous $2,000 target, in its latest report “The Fed can’t print gold”. Despite continued economic volatility that is affecting even safe havens such as gold, the bank remained bullish that the fiscal and monetary stimuli unleased by governments worldwide will offset the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “As economic output contracts sharply, fiscal outlays surge, and central bank balance sheets double, fiat currencies could come under pressure,” BoA analysts said in ...

Oil has dropped to a twenty-one-year low today. Bears are out for blood. The WTI West Texas Crude Oil dropped over 18% today and reached a low of $14.45, a price level that has surprised traders. The steep fall in price is due to the lack of sufficient demand and lack of storage given that the production cut has failed to address the supply glut. There is a strong possibility that WTI Crude Oil prices will drop to $10. Yes, I mean $10! And, here is why. Critical Factor During the 2015 oil supply glut, there was a heavy focus on the U.S. rig count. As shown in the chart below, the rig count fell to its lowest level in late June 2016. It took a long time for this rig count to reach this level in just under one year. The same rig count measure has started to fall from its peak level, but we are still nowhere close to reaching the same level that pushed oil prices high in 2016. To put things in perspective, the U.S. total rig count is down (from its December 2018 peak) 51%, but it...

 Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies are soaring—pushing the combined value of the crypto market back over $200 billion. Bitcoin, along with top ten tokens ethereum, Ripple's XRP, litecoin and bitcoin cash have all climbed between 6% and 12% over the last 24-hour trading period, adding over $10 billion to the crypto market. The bitcoin price has this week rallied back above $7,000—approaching levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic sent global markets into meltdown last month. Libra now looks set to be broken up to support multiple coins backed by individual currencies. Libra's blockchain will also be significantly centralized, forcing companies to comply with regulations or face removal. The bitcoin and cryptocurrency community reacted to the news, announced by the Facebook-led non-profit Libra Association, with a mixture of glee and scorn. "This is good for bitcoin," said Mati Greenspan, the founder of financial advisory firm ...

It was another brutal day for oil prices; Crude Oil crashed another 10% yesterday. In fact, since the oil production cut this week—which was supposed to help oil prices—the selling pressure has been building. OPEC+ has done its job, and it would be foolish to expect any more production cuts from Saudi Arabia or Russia. Remember, initially, Russia wasn’t ready for the production cut, and then the oil war was extended by Saudi Arabia. Eventually, we saw an agreement forged, and the OPEC+ alliance settled for a production cut just shy of ten million barrels a day. Donald Trump was proud that he forged a deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia, however, the president’s only goal was to save the U.S.   oil industry and its jobs. The Saudis and Russians are done with their production cuts, and it is highly unlikely that we will hear any more from them, even if prices stay at the current level. OPEC+ has always wanted the U.S. shale oil industry to make organic cuts, but oil p...

Stocks gave up their gains from earlier in the session on Tuesday, turning negative in the final hour of trading as Wall Street continues to closely monitor the coronavirus outbreak and whether the economy can eventually get back on track. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.12% on Tuesday, while the S&P 500 was down 0.16% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.33%. All three major indexes rallied almost 4% to start the day, but stocks pared back gains in the last couple hours of trading, as a 6% decline in oil prices—due to ongoing oversupply concerns—weighed on markets somewhat. The market had moved higher in recent sessions, amid news that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is starting to slow, which has added to optimism on Wall Street that the economy can eventually recover to pre-crisis levels. Some experts, however, are warning that stock prices may be getting out of touch with reality, since the coronavirus outbreak will continue to weigh on ...

The Coronavirus crisis has hit the apparel industry hard. The companies have had to temporarily shutter their stores and it remains unclear as to when they can open them again, as the pandemic continues to spread, particularly in Europe and the U.S., which are the largest markets for apparel companies. Athletic apparel companies, in particular, have taken investors’ brunt as the cancellation of major sporting events including the Olympics, NBA and Euro 2020 expected to materially impact their top line over the coming months. Under Armour and Nike, two athletic apparel companies with a major stake in global sports events, have seen their stock prices decline by -53% and -11%, respectively, since early February. Our analysis Is Under Armour Expensive Or Cheap After A -52.6% Move vs Nike? compares the stock price performance and fundamentals of the two companies over the last few years, and helps us conclude that Nike is in a much better position than Under Armour to weather...

Oil rallied more than 24% after President Trump talked up the prospect of a truce in the ongoing oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia that has devastated the oil market amid a major demand slump caused by the coronavirus, tweeting that he had spoken with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman and expects Saudi Arabia to cut production by 10 million barrels. Last month, an all-out price war  between two oil-producing giants, Russia and Saudi Arabia, rocked global markets just as demand began to plummet during the coronavirus outbreak. When members of OPEC, a cartel of 13 of the world’s major oil-producing countries, and Russia met in Vienna to discuss industry-wide supply cuts aimed at alleviating the dramatic drop in demand, Russia did not agree to the cuts, leading to speculation that it acted intentionally in order to drive prices down, gain market share and punish the growing American fracking industry; others dispute that theory. In response, Saudi...

Russia’s heavy reliance on oil to balance its budget could lie behind a sudden shift by the country’s central bank from buying locally mined gold to encouraging miners to export what they can. The surprise move sent a shudder through the gold market, triggering a $40 fall in the price which dived back below $1600 an ounce. Until earlier today, Russia’s central bank had been soaking up a large portion of the country’s gold production, spending an estimated $40 billion over the last five years to amass a stockpile of 2279.2 ton of the metal, the 6th biggest holding in the world, behind France (2436 tons) and Italy (2451.8 tons) — but well behind the U.S. with its 8133.5 tons. While most central banks own some gold it has been Russia’s buying which has stood out with the urge to acquire gold seen as a way of cutting the country’s exposure to the U.S. dollar in its official reserves. But with Russia’s national income badly bruised by the collapse in the oil price, a...