Europe Interest Rate Increase +0.5%

Market situation

US stocks had a bullish session yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.51%, the S&P 500 gained 0.99% and the Nasdaq gained 1.36%. Stock futures fell in all three indexes. Oil price has dropped below 100 USD, holding around 97 USD/barrel. The contract of gold is flat at 1712 USD/ounce.

BTC price holds around $22,000 to $23,000. ETH is still above $1500.

Finally, the European Central Bank (ECB) also raised interest rates for the first time in 11 years in an attempt to cool rampant inflation in the euro area. The ECB decided to raise its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points (equivalent to a 0.5 percent increase), bringing the deposit rate to zero. This increase was higher than traders’ expectation of 0.25%.

Social media company Snap reported disappointing second-quarter results and said it plans to slow hiring because of weak revenue growth. Earnings per share fell 2 cents, compared with an expected loss of 1 cent, according to a survey of Refinitiv analysts. Second-quarter revenue was $1.11 billion, lower than expected $1.14 billion. Following the announcement, Snap stock plummeted 26% in just one trading session.

Tesla sells most of BTC

The news that has received a lot of attention in recent days is that Elon Musk said that Tesla sold most of its BTC holdings in the second quarter to increase its cash position. It was a time when Tesla was experiencing production difficulties, and the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 lockdown in China affected its factory operations in the country. However, Elon Musk also said that Tesla is willing to increase its Bitcoin holdings again in the future. Tesla’s published accounting data also supports what Elon Musk has announced.

Former Coinbase Director Arrested

On July 21, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an indictment against Ishan Wahi, a former Coinbase manager, and two other individuals for obtaining approximately $1.5 million through cryptocurrency insider trading on Coinbase exchange. Ishan Wahi used his Coinbase location to commit fraud. Ishan Wahi and his brother Nikhil Wahi were arrested in Seattle, Washington. Wahi’s partner and friend Sameer Ramani is still free but wanted.

During the Coinbase internal investigation, the SEC also revealed that nine of the crypto assets listed as securities are being traded on the exchange. The tokens are if the name is AMP, RLY, DDX, XYO, RGT, LCX, POWR, DFX and KROM of Flexa. For its part, Coinbase said none of the cryptocurrencies it supports trading are securities, and pointed to a parallel action by the Justice Department that “does not charge securities fraud fees.” Coinbase’s attorney general also added that they disagree with the SEC’s assessment. In the internal investigation, there are two departments, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the SEC Department of Securities, but the DOJ did not mention that the tokens are securities, but only the decision of the SEC.

Despite the bad news, these nine tokens are not affected much in terms of price but mainly fluctuate according to the market trend. Most tokens, when mentioned by the SEC and listed as securities, are usually more risky than they can be.

After a series of Terra, 3AC, Celsius crashes, the SEC chairman said that the agency is actively looking for ways to get some ‘so-called’ crypto lenders legally registered if they operate. more active as an investment company. This is necessary to have a specific legal framework to help the crypto market develop.

Nancy Pelosi in trouble

The Senate voted to pass a stripped-down version of the bill designed to boost US semiconductor competition with China. The bill would provide about $50 billion in subsidies to boost U.S. computer chip production. House Speaker Nancy also voiced support for the bill.

According to public financial reports, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, purchased $1 million to $5 million worth of stock in computer chip and software company Nvidia on June 17. To date, the company’s stock has grown after the bill was passed. Therefore, many people question that Nancy Pelosi may trade inside information for profit. She has denied all information as well as these allegations.

Nancy Pelosi’s net worth is $135 million. Stocks of top companies in Nancy Pelosi’s portfolio are valued at millions of dollars. Nancy Pelosi is the current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, she is also one of the richest politicians in America.

Many people think that, with a salary of $ 210,000 in the House of Representatives, to have the current fortune, she must be a very good trader in the market. Some people have been following this event for a long time, providing information about Nancy Pelosi’s investment on the website unusualwhales.com. This website has statistics and compared with other members of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi is also the person with the largest trading volume (in 2020).

So far, the Pelosi family has done very well over the past year. The one-year return on her stock is 45.59% and the options return is 66.7%. This is quite hard to believe, because the average return on her stock and options is 56.15%. Meanwhile, the average S&P return for the best year is up just 36% from last June.

The website also points out that Nancy Pelosi’s investments in stocks or options are mostly before the time when those companies/stocks have good information that causes prices to rise. For example, the Pelosi family was able to buy stocks of TSLA, DIS around the stimulus news, NVDA before the funding of American Semiconductor was announced, as well as many other stocks.