Bitcoin hits a record high before rolling over

• Oscar Williams-Grut
 

• 6h
• 11,284

LONDON — The price of bitcoin is falling Tuesday morning after big gains over the past few days.

Bitcoin is down over 4% against the dollar to $4,147.93 at the time of writing (11 a.m. BST, or 6 a.m. ET).Markets Insider

The dip follows several days of big gains and record highs. Bitcoin broke through $4,000 a coinfor the first time early Sunday morning, a record high, and continued to rise throughout Monday and early Tuesday morning, peaking at $4,339.79. Investors are most likely taking some profit after the rapid rise.

Mati Greenspan, an analyst at the trading platform eToro, told Business Insider: "Some profit taking is to be expected. Of course, if it gets out of hand, there isn't any real support anywhere close."

Bitcoin cash, the cryptocurrency that was split off from bitcoin at the start of the month, is also down Tuesday. Bitcoin cash is down 2.20% against the dollar to $295.35 at the time of writing.

Ethereum, the other major cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, is sliding too. Ethereum is down 2.43% against the dollar to $291.80.

Greenspan said: "Bitcoin cash is testing its usefulness. We haven't seen any sort of mass adoption of the bitcoin bastard as of yet. Unless that changes soon it could go to nil.

"Ethereum is building a range from $200 to $300. ICOs have slowed down so excitement has cooled as well. All things considered, it remains the crypto of choice for developers."

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Germany's economy is growing at its fastest rate in three years

SAM JACOBS

AUG 15, 2017, 4:40 PM

Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Preliminary GDP data for Germany revealed growth of 0.6% in the June quarter, just shy of market forecasts of 0.7%.

The slight miss was still a solid print for the German economy, with annual growth increasing to 2.1% from 1.7% in Q1.

According to the Financial Times, that’s the fastest rate of annual growth since 2014.

Despite that, the euro dipped immediately after the result, perhaps due to the fact that growth was still fractionally less than expectations.

Investing.com

German chancellor Angela Merkel will lead the Christian Democrat party (CDU) into next month’s elections have presided over 12 straight quarters of growth.

The unemployment rate is also at its lowest level since German reunification in 1990.

According to ForexLive, gains in Q2 economic growth were driven by domestic demand, with increases in state investment and private consumption.

Construction investment also rose while trade balance weighed on growth as imports rose more strongly than exports.

Germany’s 0.6% growth figure was the same as the broader Eurozone. The FT said France had 0.5% growth, while Spain also had its best measure in three years with a 0.9% increase.

3 CEOs have now quit Trump's manufacturing council over Charlottesville

• AFP

• 6h
• 9,391

President Donald Trump at a meeting in the Oval Office on February 8.REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

NEW YORK CITY — The chief executives of Merck, Intel, and Under Armour resigned Monday from a White House advisory panel on manufacturing after President Donald Trump's initial failure to explicitly condemn a white-supremacist rally.

The resignations came as criticism grew over Trump's slow response to the weekend demonstration, which ended in bloodshed when man identified by authorities as a suspected Nazi sympathizer plowed his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, killing one and wounding 19.

Trump initially blamed "many sides" for Saturday's violence, sparking a welter of criticism and prompting Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier, a prominent African-American businessman, to quit the presidential advisory panel.

"America's leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which run counter to the American ideal that all men are created equal," Frazier wrote on Twitter in announcing his resignation on Monday.

"As CEO of Merck and as a matter of personal conscience, I feel a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism."

Trump didn't wait long to respond.

"Now that Ken Frazier of Merck Pharma has resigned from President's Manufacturing Council, he will have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!" he wrote.

In a later post, Trump accused Merck of being "a leader in higher & higher drug prices while at the same time taking jobs out of the U.S. Bring jobs back & LOWER PRICES."

Several hours later, Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank also announced he would step down from the panel.

"Under Armour engages in innovation and sports, not politics," he said in a subtly worded statement.

"I love our country and our company and will continue to focus my efforts on inspiring every person that they can do anything through the power of sport, which promotes unity, diversity, and inclusion."

Earlier this year, Plank had publicly expressed support for Trump in comments that sparked a backlash.

Trump with Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier at a White House meeting with manufacturing executives on February 23.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

'Serious harm'

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich also announced his departure from the panel in a blunt statement that said he wanted to "call attention to the serious harm our divided political climate is causing to critical issues."

"Politics and political agendas have sidelined the important mission of rebuilding America's manufacturing base," he said in a statement that underlined his "abhorrence" over the violence in Charlottesville.

"I resigned because I want to make progress, while many in Washington seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them.

"We should honor — not attack — those who have stood up for equality and other cherished American values. I hope this will change, and I remain willing to serve when it does."

Shortly after Frazier's resignation, Trump made a statement calling out specific hate groups.

"Racism is evil. And those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," he said in nationally televised remarks.

Trump at a meeting with Intel CEO Brian Krzanich in the Oval Office on February 8. Associated Press/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Panel pullouts

The Justice Department has launched a civil-rights inquiry into the incident, and the driver of the car, a 20-year-old Ohio man who was said to have had a history of neo-Nazi beliefs, has been charged with second-degree murder.

Frazier is a Harvard Law School-trained attorney whose experience includes pro bono work that won the release of a wrongly convicted death row inmate in Alabama.

He is not the first executive to depart a Trump advisory panel.

After Trump announced he would withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement, both Disney CEO Bob Iger and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk left a White House advisory council, joining former Uber head Travis Kalanick, who stepped down in February following criticism of Trump's travel ban.

But other executives on the panel appear to be staying put.

"Heartbroken by the violence in #Charlottesville. Hate and intolerance are a betrayal of what we stand for as Americans," Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi said in a statement that did not address the Trump panel.

Other executives, including those from General Electric and Dow, planned to stay on Trump panels, US financial news media reported.

Get the latest Intel stock price here.

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China got a big boost for its nuclear capabilities in the South China Sea

• Sarah Zheng and Kristin Huang, South China Morning Post

• Aug. 12, 2017, 1:23 AM
• 4,075

Sand can be seen spilling from a newly dredged channel in this view of Vietnamese-held Ladd Reef, in the Spratly Island group in the South China Sea, November 30, 2016, in this Planet Labs handout photo received by Reuters on December 6, 2016.Trevor Hammond/Planet Labs/Handout via Reuters

China has announced plans to bolster its maritime nuclear capabilities with the creation of a major new joint venture project, which could also provide the catalyst for the development of floating reactors in the South China Sea and beyond.

State-owned China National Nuclear Power announced on Thursday it was establishing the new company – with registered capital of one billion yuan (US$150 million) – in cooperation with Zhejiang Zheneng Electric Power, Shanghai Guosheng Group, Jiangnan Shipyard and Shanghai Electric.

The joint venture will seek to strengthen China’s nuclear power capabilities in line with its ambitions to “become a strong maritime power”, the company said in a statement.

It will also support China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”, which aims to boost trade and infrastructure links with nations across Asia and Africa.

The statement did not say how or where the technologies will be used, but observers said it is likely they will be deployed in areas such as the South China Sea.

In a separate notice the state power giant said the new company will also seek to promote the development of nuclear-powered vessels.

Wang Yiren, vice-director of the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, said earlier this year that the expansion of China’s nuclear energy capabilities was a vital part of its five-year plan. The country will prioritise the development of a floating nuclear power platform in order to support its offshore oil and gas activities, and its presence in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, he told state media.

Wang’s comments came after Beijing said in a white paper last year that it was developing floating nuclear power plants to facilitate the exploration of maritime resources.

ChinaSecurities Journal reported last year that China could build up to 20 floating nuclear plants in the region to “speed up the commercial development” of the South China Sea.

Beijing has increasingly been flexing its muscles in the South China Sea, with the development of artificial islands and more frequent naval patrols. It has declared sovereignty over 85 per cent of the region and is engaged in multiple territorial disputes with its neighbours.

Collin Koh, a military expert from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technology University, said maritime nuclear power plants have a wide range of uses, and their presence would have both symbolic and practical purposes.

Chinese and Russian naval vessels participate in the Joint Sea-2014 naval drill outside Shanghai on the East China Sea, May 24, 2014.REUTERS/China Daily

As well as producing electricity for Chinese infrastructure in the disputed waters, they could offer a long-term solution to the country’s water supply problems with the provision of desalination facilities, and support China’s status as a maritime power, he said.

Such facilities will also enable China’s military to take a step closer to developing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, he said.

“China sees securing the ability to develop marine nuclear tech as a manifestation of its maritime power status,” Koh said. “It will enhance Beijing’s staying power and assert its claims, as military garrisons and civilian personnel living on those remote outposts would be able to sustain themselves better [and therefore stay longer].”

Carlyle Thayer, a regional security expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy, said that if nuclear power plants were built in the South China Sea, Beijing would have to provide security for them.

“It makes living conditions and life there much improved, and it’s a sign of Chinese permanence,” he said. “The more infrastructure China puts on there ... they can say, we’re only doing necessary defence to protect our people and our facilities.”

Although the nuclear power plants would have both military and civilian uses, it would “raise the cost of the conflict” in the region, he said.

Kai Ji-jung, chair professor of nuclear engineering at City University of Hong Kong, said that while the technology for floating nuclear plants is not yet mature, countries such as China and the US are putting “tremendous amounts of effort” into developing it.

Floating plants are typically much smaller than onshore ones, with no more than a quarter of the electricity production capability, he said.

“Their purpose is to be mobile, so they can float to any harbour or any island, so you have remote electricity,” he said.

Read the original article on South China Morning Post. Copyright 2017. Follow South China Morning Post on Twitter.

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Chinese economic data just missed across the board

DAVID SCUTT 

AUG 14, 2017, 12:12 PM

Photo: Feature China/ Barcroft Images/ Barcroft Media via Getty Images.

Chinese economic data released today has missed across the board with retail sales, industrial output and urban fixed asset investment growth all undershooting expectations by a significant margin.

According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), retail sales grew by 10.4% in the year to July, a figure that was below both the 11% pace seen in June and forecasts for a smaller deceleration to 10.8%.

It was also the slowest year-on-year increase since the first two months of 2017.

The NBS said sales of cosmetics, home appliances, office supplies, furniture and building materials all grew faster than total retail sales over the past 12 months, while those for garments, jewelry, personal care, telecommunications and oil products all came in below the 10.4% average.

Mirroring the underwhelming retail result, industrial output and urban fixed asset investment also painted a disappointing picture on the industrial sectors within the Chinese economy.

The NBS said that industrial output grew by 6.4% in the 12 months to July, a significant miss on the 7.2% increase expected. The figure was also well below the 7.6% pace reported in the year to June.

Over the year, output of cement, cars and crude oil all fell, partially offsetting strong growth in crude steel, natural gas and electricity production.

Of note to iron ore producers, the NBS said that crude steel output jumped by 10.3% year-on-year, leaving total output during the month at 74.02 million tonne, the highest level on record.

Perhaps reflecting that surge, power output rose by 8.6% year-on-year to 604.7 billion kilowatt hours, the fastest increase since May 2014. Coal output grew 8.5% year-on-year to 294 million tonnes, although that was down 4.5% on June leaving total production at the lowest level since October 2016.

Urban fixed asset investment also weakened compared to the same period last year, growing 8.3% between January and July 2017. Markets had been expecting an increase of 8.6% year-on-year, unchanged from the first six months of the year.

Public-sector investment grew by 11.7% between January to July compared to a year earlier, down from 12% in the first six months of the year. Private sector investment — accounting for around 60% of total investment — grew by a smaller 6.9% over the same period, down from 7.2% between January to June.

Partially explaining the weakness in the headline figure, the NBS said property investment grew by 7.9% over the year compared to the same period in 2016, down from the 8.5% increase recorded in the first six months of the year.

New construction starts grew by 8% year-on-year between January to July, down from the 10.6% level in the first half of the year.

Sales grew by 14% year-on-year year-to-date, down from 16.1% growth between January to June this year. In year-on-year terms, sales by floor area grew by just 2.0%, the weakest increase since December 2015.

A spokesperson from the NBS said China’s overheated property market had “cooled somewhat”, according to Thomson Reuters, noting that investment-driven property purchases had been “effectively controlled”.

Despite the trio of data misses, there has been negligible reaction across financial markets, continuing the theme seen over the past few years.

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