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If you are trying to save, learn more about finances or want to take on some new techniques for your money then reading from those who have done it or are experts in the field could help you.

There is so much advise out there it can become overwhelming, when finding the book for you make sure it contains what you are looking for and won’t make it more complicated than necessary.

Below is a short list of books which could help you to invest, save, learn about finances and help you build better habits. Pick up one of these helpful reads for world book day and learn more about your finances.

Key to my approach to markets is that they require political stability to thrive – hence the most remunerative markets tend to be found within the most stable nations. They tend to have robust and enforceable legal systems, solid financial infrastructure and a culture enabling transactions and risk-taking. That’s the key to understanding the fundamental strength of the City of London – centuries of stability.

All around the world, we are now seeing a rise in instabilities – triggered by supply chain breakdowns, the supply shocks in Energy and Food, and now wage demands. Nations are struggling with inflation, rising interest rates, higher debt service costs on borrowing, rising bond yields, currency weakness, and how to address multiple vectors of financial instability as they try to hold their financial sovereignty together.

It’s occurring at a time when we seem to have reached the lowest common denominator in the political cycle. That’s a critical problem – voters need leadership in crisis, and they can easily be fooled by populists.

Confidence in a nation’s political direction and leadership is one of the key components of the Virtuous Sovereign Trinity, my simple way of explaining how Confidence in a country, the value of its Currency, and the Stability of its bond market are closely linked. When they are strong – they can be very strong. Strong economies rise to the top.

But, if any one of the Trinity’s legs were to fracture, then the whole edifice could come tumbling down. Which is why we should be concerned sterling is down over 10% this year. It strongly suggests global investors have issues with the UK.

Key to my approach to markets is that they require political stability to thrive – hence the most remunerative markets tend to be found within the most stable nations.

The UK is a good example of what might go wrong. If confidence wobbles in the government’s ability to handle the multiple economic crises now upon us, particularly the rising tide of industrial unrest as workers demand higher salaries to cope with inflation or servicing the nation’s debt, then the UK’s currency and bond markets could come under massive pressure. Investors will demand a higher interest rate to account for the increasing risk inherent from investing in the UK, while the currency could tumble as investors sell gilts to buy less vulnerable more stable nations.

At least the UK is financially sovereign. We control our own currency. Sterling may weaken, but we can always print more to repay debt… Except that would probably cause a global run on sterling as confidence in the UK would further tumble. If the currency leg were to fracture, interest rates would have to rise, wobbling confidence further.

The Virtuous Sovereign Trinity sounds stable, but experience shows it can quickly turn chaotic if issues are not swiftly addressed.

Clearly, the UK has some current confidence “issues” regarding the incumbent political leadership. The growing perception that Boris is a “lame duck” magnifies internationally held concerns about how his government has failed to seize the opportunities (such as they were) from Brexit, doubts about energy and food security, and the apparent dither in policies are all perceived as reasons for sterling weakness and are another reason bond yields are rising as global investors exit.

While the UK’s debt quantum should be manageable – Italy is somewhat different. As part of the Euro, Italy is no longer financially sovereign. It has rules on Debt/GDP to observe (and ignore). But effectively Italy borrows in a collective currency it has no real control over. It has to plead with the ECB for the right to borrow money and will rely on the ECB to announce special measures to make sure its debt costs don’t turn astronomical. Without the ECB, Italy would be heading straight for a debt crisis.

That’s why ECB head Christine Lagarde is desperately trying to guide the ECB towards the establishment of anti-fragmentation policies to stop Italian debt instability leading to a renewed European sovereign debt crisis. Fragmentation means Italian bond spreads widening to Germany – the European sovereign benchmark. It’s a political issue because Lagarde is no central banker, but a politician sent in to lead the ECB to the inevitable compromise that rich German workers will pay Italians’ pensions.

In the USA there is an even larger political impasse developing. The US Supreme Court’s decision – by 4 old men and one catholic woman appointed by Trump – to deny women the right to control their bodies by undoing abortion rights highlights the increasingly polarized nature of US politics. Republicans, and their fellow travellers on the religious right, are delighted. Democrats are appalled.

US politics simply doesn’t work. All efforts by Biden to pass critical infrastructure spending have been stymied. There is zero agreement between the parties – each has destroying the other at the top of its to-do list, rather than rebuilding the economy. The result is increasing doubts on the dollar. It’s a battle the Republicans are winning by dint of managing to stuff the Supreme Court with its appointees. It’s no basis for democracy or market stability.

At the moment the dollar is the go-to currency, and treasuries are the ultimate safe haven. It could change. The world’s attitude to the US is evolving. The West may be united on Ukraine, but global support is noticeably lacking. 35 nations representing 55% of the global population abstained from voting against Russia at the UN. The Middle East and India see Ukraine as a European problem and a crisis as much of America’s making. As the West lectures the Taliban on schooling girls, the Republican party has moved the US closer to a dystopian version of The Handmaid’s Tale of gender subjugation.

As the World increasingly rejects America, then America will reject the rest of the World. Time is limited. The Republican Administration, run by Trump, or kowtowing to him, will likely pull the US from NATO and isolate itself. That’s going to become increasingly clear over the next few years. The dollar, the primacy of Treasuries… will leave a massive hole at the centre of the global trading economy.

It will be particularly tough for Europe. As we seek alternative energy sources, what happens when Trump 2.1 proves as pernicious as Putin and shuts off supplies?

The supreme court decision was clearly timed to come at the Nadir of this US political cycle – a weak president likely to lose the mid-terms in November – when the Roe vs Wade news will be off the front pages. It means the damage to the Republicans in the Mid-Term Elections could be limited – they will still make the US essentially ungovernable for the next 3 years.

If the US was a corporate, it would be a massive fail on corporate governance. But it’s not. It’s the current dominant global economy and currency. Politics and markets can’t be ignored.

The threat is becoming increasingly clear. It’s a massive threat to markets, society and economic growth. Expect to read a lot about it.

The big news in December is Jerome Powell, Fed Chair, finally admitting the post-COVID inflation we’ve seen building over the past 18 months is anything but “transitory”. It’s here to stay. That’s come as something of a surprise to many analysts who went with the central bankers dismissing inflation as a likely short-lived issue, a mere post-pandemic hurdle that would swiftly be passed by. Over the coming weeks, sentiment is likely to shift towards new long-term inflation scenarios as the inflation numbers remain stubbornly high. It’s difficult to imagine an inflationary scenario that’s positive.

Inflation is currently running a shocking 5-6% across the Western Economies – for how much longer, or how much higher is a “how long is a piece of string question.” We don’t know. Inflation is now in a spiral of supply chain hick-ups, wages, earnings and contradictory expectations. Inflation may ease tomorrow. It may not. Be a boy scout… Prepare for a rough ride.

Unexpected consequences include fears that inflation will boost rising pandemic populism, leading to protectionism and the end of globalisation – a less connected global economy is likely to prove inflationary, especially in terms of increased tariffs.

What is, perhaps, most frightening, is how little financial professionals – from central bankers, investors and traders – really understand what inflation is and how it emerges. It is overly simplistic to state inflation is “everywhere a monetary phenomenon” as the uber-monetarists proclaim. That fundamental ignorance could create massive policy mistakes and market uncertainty.

Unexpected consequences include fears that inflation will boost rising pandemic populism, leading to protectionism and the end of globalisation – a less connected global economy is likely to prove inflationary, especially in terms of increased tariffs.

The next time some “expert” tells you inflation is all the fault of Governments borrowing too much, ask them to explain how and why. What a vast number of market participants don’t get is inflation doesn’t follow rules – it follows sentiment. Governments and central banks have been stuffing the global economy with liquidity for the last decade, but it's only in the last few months the pandemic shock has crystalised real inflation. Why… Because suddenly people fear inflation.

Let me coin a new mantra on inflation: “Inflation is everywhere what people fear it might become…”

Conventional wisdom assumes inflation can be mitigated inflation by cutting liquidity; central banks raising interest rates (tightening), while governments can raise taxes and cut spending programmes (austerity). These monetary arguments are logical but also highly simplistic and create largely erroneous hopes and expectations. Hope should never be a strategy. Conventional wisdom is cheap.

The confusing reality of the system of multiple demand and supply transactions we call the global economy is it’s anything but a series of binary questions. It’s unfeasibly complex. If you raise interest rates that may cause a rise in the relative value of the currency, thus reducing inflation from imported goods, but it will equally create a series of shocks through the economy in terms of more expensive loans, impacts on retail jobs and services and rebalance the whole demand/supply equation as a trillion new decisions will be made by economic participants.

Hope should never be a strategy. Conventional wisdom is cheap.

Financial markets work because participants are constantly evaluating every nuance of information to determine future prices. Prices are a reflection of the market putting together everyone’s perception like some enormous voting machine. Inflation is just a particularly important part of the economic picture influencing the market vote at present. Should we let it panic us?

Maybe not - we’ve just undergone a period of unmatched and sustained global monetary creation through the past 12 years – since 2009. Stock prices have tripled – posting massively higher gains than the relatively lacklustre economic growth we saw over the same period. It’s financial asset inflation, pure and simple. It’s happened because stocks look relatively cheap to ultra-low interest rates, and central banks have been pumping liquidity into the financial system (in the hope of creating economic activity) via QE.

The result is massive financial asset inflation on a cause and effect basis: make money cheap and financial assets will rise. (Conversely, that’s why everyone predicts a stock market crash when rates (the price of money) rise!)

But long-term Financial Asset Inflation since 2009 has created a whole series of massively destabilising consequences. The rich have become phenomenally richer – buoyed by soaring stock prices. Generally, they are exactly the same people saying governments are borrowing too much, taxing them too much and it’s time to cut spending! Expectations that markets will only keep going higher have sucked in legions of retail investors convinced they’ll get rich (only if they stay lucky). The results of chronic inequality, political blindness and insane financial optimism make for a hopeless unbalanced and unfocused economy.

The real value of the global economy is not the market cap of an electric car company worth trillions, but the number of electric cars being produced and sold. (These are very different metrics – one is perceived future value, the other real value.)

What a vast number of market participants don’t get is inflation doesn’t follow rules – it follows sentiment

Inflation in the real economy is not cause and effect. It’s a constantly evolving perception and expectations led threat. It changes as the votes with the markets change and the behaviours of economic participants change.

The supply chain crisis as the global economy reopened triggered a host of consequences around the globe. What’s happened has been complex and spawned a host of unforeseen knock-on effects. The coronavirus and successive lockdowns are still throwing new shocks into the system – as a result, the system is becoming increasingly chaotic and impossible to predict as the threat board keeps changing.

This is roughly how it worked:

Economies around the globe shuttered themselves through lockdowns and working from home. Goods become scarce – from construction lumber to microchips at both micro and macro level, from local shortages to national level. Prices of scarce goods rocket – often temporarily till new supply leaven shortages. However, workers perceive higher prices and demand higher wages to compensate – triggering wage inflation. Prices become elastic to the upside and sticky to adjust downwards. Companies raise margins and prices to meet wage demands, fuelling further wage demands and declining demand. The intricate balances between demand and supply become increasingly chaotic, and more so when new COVID lockdowns raise new supply chain threats. Throw in an energy inflation spike and you create a recipe for disaster.

The key thing is not that inflation is simply due to the consequences of too-low interest rates (the monetary phenomenon) or rising government indebtedness (pumping money into the economy) but is due to the expectations of crowds towards perceptions of rising costs.

In a crisis, human behaviour tends to become increasingly difficult and fractious to predict. The unpredictable behaviour of crowds makes Central Bankers policy choices fraught. Traditional inflation responses like austerity, raising taxes, tighter monetary policy, are as likely to cause market instability and generate increased expectations to push inflation as to ease it.

The time to cut liquidity, the amount of money sloshing around the financial system was a long time ago. That money – that’s fuelled financial asset inflation – is now pouring into the real economy in terms of buying real assets like property, pushing up real inflation.

Complex eh? But don’t panic… yet.

Most financial advisors tell their customers the best thing they can do to grow their wealth after getting rid of debt and preparing for the future is to invest. Of course, there are various ways to grow your money through investing, and countless vehicles to use for your trading strategy. Finding the right solution for you can take some significant time and investigation.

For the majority of people, the most common areas to explore will be either share and stock trading, or forex trading. With shares and stocks, you pay for portions of a company, which you can trade or sell at a later stage. With forex, or FX, you’re making money by buying foreign currency and exchanging it from one currency to another. Let’s explore whether FX could be right for you.

What is Forex Trading?

FX or foreign exchange trading is one of the most actively traded environments in the world. Companies, banks, and individuals alike all carry out huge transactions on a regular basis. While much of the foreign exchange that happens every day is done for practical reasons, most currency conversion occurs as a result of forex trading. The amount of currency big investors choose to convert in a day can even lead to price movements for some currencies, making the market more volatile. Although FX might seem quite complicated, it’s much simpler than you’d think. The process starts with choosing a pair, or two types of currency that you can trade against each other, like EUR/USD.

Unlike other forms of investment, forex is usually quite fast-paced, as it requires users to act on slight changes in the value of a currency to make the biggest profits. You’re constantly working finding the most valuable lots for your portfolio. For beginners, it can be a little tricky to get started, which is why it’s so valuable to read guides that explains the considerations involved when investing in foreign currency in Australia when first getting started.

Is FX Trading Profitable?

For those looking to grow their wealth, the right forex trading strategy can be extremely beneficial. There are plenty of people out there who have made money by trading regularly in the foreign exchange market – but not everyone is suited to this task. If you’re looking for a more long-term solution where you can invest in something and leave your money to grow over time, this probably isn’t the environment for you.

Forex is all about speed and timing. You need to ensure you’re acting as quickly as possible when little changes happen in the market, or you could risk losing a lot of cash. However, if you have the time and skills to focus a decent amount of attention on this type of trading, it could be a powerful tool. As with most forms of wealth building, it will be up to you to determine how much risk you can take on as a trader, and whether the forex environment is a good place for you to begin exploring. There are always plenty of other options if you decide forex is too confusing.

Imagine a world without law and order. No rules, no guidelines, no restrictions, no control, everyone having the liberty to do as they please. What comes to mind as the inevitable outcome? Chaos. Utter commotion. The same would be the fate of the forex market, with its $5 trillion worth, if it were left without regulation.

What is Forex Regulation?

Forex regulation is a system of checks that have been put in place to ensure that the forex market is a safe place to be. These checks include the setting up of legal and financial standards. For compliance with these checks to be ascertained or verified, watchdogs or overseers have been set up to monitor the behavior of industry players. These bodies are called regulators.

The primary purpose of regulation is to protect investors from fraud. Forex broker reviews can help answer questions such as is thinkmarket legit?   And can help to guide investors to forex brokers that are regulated.

Who Regulates the Forex Market?

There is no central regulatory body in charge of global forex regulations. Regulatory bodies are set up at local levels across the world. Each of these local regulatory bodies functions under the ambit of the laws governing their respective jurisdictions. However, all regulatory bodies in the EU can operate in all the countries on the continent. One of the most widely used regulatory bodies in Europe is the CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission) which is based in Cyprus. Other major regulatory bodies include the Australian Securities and Exchange Commission (ASIC), Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), US Securities and Exchange Commission, Financial Services Authority (FSA) UK and the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) France.

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How the Forex Market is Regulated

Forex market regulators set guidelines for forex brokers to abide by. These guidelines protect investors and maintain order in the trading arena.

The regulator is saddled with the responsibility of conducting periodic audits, reviews, and inspection of the financial, legal, and customer-related activities of the forex market players. These guidelines ensure that brokers abide by a set of fair and ethical rules. When these guidelines are not met, a regulator has the power to enforce punishments on the erring broker.

Forex regulation is done in compliance with the prevailing laws of each jurisdiction. These laws spell out a host of requirements for forex brokerage and some elements of these regulations vary from one jurisdiction to another. However, some fundamental standards cut across every area or region of forex regulation. These are;

Registration and Licensing

Regulators are responsible for the registration and licensing of forex brokers. Only pepperstone regulated brokers are safe for investors.

Audits and Reviews

Periodically, regulators look into the books and general affairs of brokers to ensure that they comply with all financial and ethical standards. For example, there is lots of information that brokers are mandated to pass across to investors. Brokers who fail to do so are punished by regulatory bodies.

The role of regulators is crucial to the safety of your funds. Questions about regulation should be a priority for every investor. Broker reviews should be properly consumed by traders before working with any broker. If a broker isn't regulated, steer on the side of caution and avoid them. 

The FTSE 100 rose on Wednesday, rallying after a mass sell-off led to a 2% fall in the previous session.

The index rose 0.6%, lifted by oil giants BP Plc’s and Royal Dutch Shell’s respective gains of 2.0% and 1.7%. The surge followed a report from Azerbaijan’s energy ministry said BP’s oil output reached 5.9 million tonnes in the first quarter.

Some stocks continued to slip, however. Just Eat Takeaway.com fell 4.2%, slumping to the bottom of the index, following news that rival Uber Eats plans to expand into Germany.

Meanwhile, data published on Wednesday indicated that inflation in the UK rose to 0.7% in March, in line with expectations.

The FTSE 100’s positive performance follows a sell-off on Tuesday that led to major indices in Europe and Asia closing as much as 2% in the red. US markets were also negatively affected, though not to such an extent; S&P 500 futures and Dow Jones futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures fell 0.1%.

The sell-off appeared to be triggered by anxiety over rising COVID-19 cases in India and elsewhere, and their implications for the economy. IAG dived by 8.1% on concerns over travel plans being scrapped, while hotel operators Whitbread and Intercontinental lost 4.8% and 4% respectively.

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Overall, around £37 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 on Tuesday.

While the London-based index rallied on Wednesday, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 respectively gained 0.2% and 0.4% by mid-morning.

Every successful person in this world is industrious, and they also possess a calm and rational mindset. Investors who have gained success in the Forex platform may hold a different mindset, but one thing can be found which is common to all, and that is that they are not whimsical. A person who is indecisive and cannot think clearly about what they should do can be compared to a rolling stone that cannot gather any moss.

To be a trader, a beginner must build a trading mindset that will allow them to stand against all odds. If you do not own a strong mind, trading is not for you as the market is highly volatile and everyone has to taste some loss. Today, for beginners, we will describe the ways to build a trading mindset that will be fruitful to win in most trading battles.

1. Anger

Professionals never get angry for silly reasons, and they are skilled enough to manage their anger. This childish attitude may be found among the beginners who cannot take their first loss on the platform easily. They plan to make double the profit next time with a higher investment, which turns into an irony later. One thing they should keep in mind that no one may give them the assurance of making a profit in Forex or other markets. Success depends totally on the research methodologies of each investor.

Without conducting any deep research, an angry trader is bound for the rainy days in the future. Always try to trade FX options online with a stable mindset. Control your anger as it will make things extremely complex and make you an ultimate loser.

2. Greed

Executing a trade is not like gambling, where one can wait for the return of their luck. A lot of study and devotion is needed here to gain success. The idea of greed must be kept away from the mind of an investor. Some investors think if they invest double, they can make double the profit too. In reality, the opposite is often true, and the traders have less chance to make a double profit with a double investment. Greed is forbidden in every religion, and a newbie must not invest because of greed. They must calculate the risk to reward ratio and, based on that, they should measure the investment they are going to make. By being a greedy trader, you may lose all, and for this reason you should not forget the old saying: “Grasp all, lose all.”

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3. Overtrading

There is a class of traders who are absorbed in overtrading, which makes their capital drain away. You must not go into another trade until you receive the return from another. This method can be good for the scalpers, but beginners must avoid this tendency at all costs. To solve the issue, you can write down about the trades you join each day. Then, you may set a goal that says that you will not trade more than three times a day.

4. Physical exercise

Professionals often take up a gym membership and do daily physical exercise, which helps them to build a productive mindset for trading. They start their day in the gym or on a morning walk, which allows them to be active all day long. Meditation and yoga also work as a great way to keep your mind under control.

To conclude, it can be said that a trader must build a trading mindset to get success in Forex or other markets. The mind is regarded as the power of all success, and if our mindset is not positive, we will end up trading and dealing with huge losses. Professionals focus their attention on keeping their psychological balance to always to cope with all types of trading situations.

Sezer Sherif, founder and CEO of investment group Vector Capital, outlines the role of hedge funds and their role in the market.

GameStop Corp is an ailing Fortune 500 company, headquartered in the US, that offers a range of games and entertainment products across ten countries. In January, the company was embroiled in what was widely reported to be a “David and Goliath” battle between large hedge funds and small investors.

This was because the price of the company’s share suddenly and unexpectedly started to skyrocket in value, defying the exceptions of Wall Street traders. They had sought to make a profit by selling large volumes of the company’s shares in order to push their share value down. These “short-sellers” would then bet on a decline by selling borrowed shares in the hope of repaying at a lower price.

Unfortunately for them, investors from the Reddit forum Wall Street Bets saw the opportunity to buy the shares at a bargain price and started a campaign to push them back up again. The result was billions lost by some major players on the stock market and a few Wall Street Bets users becoming millionaires. Regrettably many amateur investors, not heeding professional advice and caught up in the media excitement, bought GameStop shares just before they crashed, which resulted in them losing their hard-earned savings.

The takeaway from this event is that investing in the stock market can be an enjoyable and a profitable experience, but only when performed correctly. Those attracted by the GameStop hype or wanting to become the next “Wolf of Wall Street" will quickly become undone, or fail to take more suitable opportunities, if they do not take the time to fully understand what they are getting into.

What is a hedge fund?

At its simplest, a hedge fund is simply a way to invest in the stock market with the aim to create money for its creators and investors. They are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

UK hedge fund managers are required under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to gain approval to establish a new fund. They must also demonstrate adequate financial resources and appropriate staff, systems, and controls to manage the fund.

At its simplest, a hedge fund is simply a way to invest in the stock market with the aim to create money for its creators and investors.

Once approved, a hedge fund manager will invite investors to pool their money in order to fund one large portfolio in accordance with their set strategy, which is then spread across many investments. Whether that be real estate or emerging markets such as the BRIC economics – Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

This minimises risk and is also a lot simpler than buying shares individually or directly from a company. Investor returns are typically generated as dividends or interest distributions. In return the hedge fund managers will receive a performance fee, which can be as much as 20% of the fund’s profits.

How do they work?

It is commonly accepted that Alfred W. Jones is the father of the hedge fund industry. While working at Fortune magazine, Jones wrote an article titled “Fashions in Forecasting” (FIF) in which he had an insight that that would make investing more profitable and less risky. This is achieved by “hedging”.

There are many different types of hedge funds and their managers invest according to different goals and strategies. They are similar, though, in their desire to make money in spite of market fluctuations. They achieve this by holding both long and short stocks.

Imagine the fictional IT company, the Acme Corporation, invents a quantum computing chip that will vastly increase computing power as we know it. This will likely mean its share value will increase while that of its nearest and less innovative competitor will drop. A textbook hedging strategy by a hedge fund manager would be to go long on the Acme Corporation, while shorting its rival, with investments of the same value.

If the value of the IT industry increases, you will generate a return on your investment in the Acme Corporation that should outweigh the loss of having invested in the competitor. Alternatively if the IT industry goes down in value you would lose money from Acme Corporation but make it from its competitor.

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By hedging both sides, a hedge fund manager can insure against risk but at the cost of greater profit.

What do they offer to consumers?

Investing in a hedge fund led by a highly experienced and performing hedge fund manager can deliver some excellent returns on your initial investment but you may be exposed to greater levels of risk than other means of investment.

Remember that hedge funds are typically utilised by large companies, but high net-worth individuals can and do invest in them. Unfortunately, the sums required are often beyond the means of the average retail investor. The alternative is for them to invest in a “fund of funds”. This is a fund that invests in other mutual funds or hedge funds and provides retailers with the advantages associated with broad diversification at minimal risk. They are also a great way to access to an investment vehicle that might not have otherwise been accessible. For the privilege though, there is typically an additional layer of fees to be paid.

Before you invest in a hedge fund, you must make sure you are prepared and suitable (financially) for the venture. Due to the large role they play in managing your money, you also want to make sure any hedge fund manager is qualified to do so. Finally, always read through their sales literature so you understand the nature of the risks and returns you may receive. If you are in any doubt if the fund is suitable for you then seek independent financial advice.

Bitcoin continued its gains on Tuesday, reaching a new record high as a surprise investment from Tesla made the asset’s drift towards the mainstream more convincing.

The cryptocurrency hit a high of more than $48,000 during morning trading before dropping back below the $47,000 mark.

Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AVATrade, expressed optimism at the apparent bull rally, remarking that it seems like “nothing is going to stop the bitcoin price from touching the $50,000 price level”.

The record gains were observed as Bitcoin has seen a significant rise in attention from mainstream firms – first from PayPal, which moved to adopt Bitcoin as a supported transaction method on its platform last year, and more recently from Tesla, which revealed on Monday that it had invested $1.5 billion in the currency.

Like PayPal, Tesla also said that it planned to accept payments from its customers in the form of Bitcoin.

However, Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency to have seen a surge of investor interest. Dogecoin, the meme currency boosted by Elon Musk as a “joke”, has risen 800% in a matter of days. Bitcoin’s more serious rival, Ethereum, also reached a record high of $1,784.85 on Tuesday morning trading.

While Bitcoin’s jump on Monday was the largest daily rise seen in more than three years, it follows a period of significant growth. The cryptocurrency has more than doubled than value over the past two months as traders have sought out alternative wealth stores.

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The total capitalisation of the cryptoasset market is now an estimated $1.2 trillion, though regulation of the digital-only currencies is still light.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is calling a meeting of several key financial regulators this week to discuss market volatility driven by retail trading in GameStop and other equities favoured by online investors.

Yellen will convene the heads of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Reserve, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Reuters first reported on Tuesday.

Yellen sought a waiver from ethics lawyers prior to calling the meeting, according to a document seen by Reuters. Her decision to seek permission follows reports that she received $700,000 in speaking fees by hedge fund Citadel, a key player in the GameStop saga, potentially creating a sticking point for Yellen.

A Treasury official, who declined to be named by Reuters, said the meeting would be held this week, potentially as early as Thursday.

“Secretary Yellen believes the integrity of markets is important and has asked for a discussion of recent volatility in financial markets and whether recent activities are consistent with investor protection and fair and efficient markets,” said Treasury spokesperson Alexandra LaManna in a statement to Reuters.

The move by Yellen follows a week of unprecedented market volatility as retail investors piled into stocks that had been targeted by short-sellers. Brick-and-mortar video game retailer GameStop saw the most trading activity, with its stock price rising more than 1,600% from its state at the beginning of the year, though other struggling outlets including AMC, BlackBerry and Bed Bath & Beyond were also affected.

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The investors’ coordinated push against short-sellers cost hedge funds billions of dollars, with the resulting volatility causing Robinhood to restrict purchases of the focal stocks – a move which also caught the attention of lawmakers, who subsequently called for an investigation into the platform.

Coinbase, the most prominent cryptocurrency exchange platform in the US, is planning to go public through a direct listing, the firm announced in a statement on Thursday.

The San Francisco-based firm previously stated in December that it had confidentially filed registration documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), though it hadn’t disclosed that it would pursue a direct listing rather than a traditional initial public offering. Its statement on Thursday did not detail when the stock would be listed or under which ticker.

The SEC has approved a proposal from the New York Stock Exchange to allow companies to raise primary capital while listing directly, removing what had previously been a significant drawback of bypassing an IPO.

Direct listings enable companies  to skip elements of the standard IPO. The need to price and sell a block of new equity is removed, allowing the firm to simply list its shares to become available for trading. This method usually requires a high degree of visibility to prove attractive.

As it goes public, Coinbase will join a small number of other tech companies that have previously undergone direct listings. Consumer-facing companies like Spotify have listed directly, and online video game company Roblox Corp has also announced its intention to go public via direct listing.

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Founded in 2012, Coinbase allows its users to buy and trade decentralised tokens including bitcoin and Ethereum. It has raised $547.3 million in funds as a private company.

European stocks opened lower on Thursday following an overnight sell-off on Wall Street that weakened equity markets globally.

The Dow Jones closed down 2% on Wednesday, the index’s biggest single-day fall since October. The slump came shortly after a pessimistic assessment of the US economy from the US Federal Reserve, and amid a market war between activist retail investors and hedge funds in parts of the market. The S&P 500 also lost 2.5%.

Asian stocks slid shortly after the Wall Street sell-off, with Japan’s Nikkei falling 1.5% -- its own steepest drop since October – and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.7%. Chinese blue-chip stocks also lost 2.7%.

Losses were mirrored in European stocks when markets reopened, with the FTSE 100, CAC 40 and DAX sliding 1.5%, 1% and 1.7% respectively.

Though impactful, the Federal Reserve’s pronouncements on Wednesday were overshadowed by activity around so-called “Reddit Stocks” – equities being boosted by a wave of investors aiming to lift stocks that hedge funds are attempting to short, causing immense losses on Wall Street.

The focal point of the war is GameStop, a high street video game retailer that was targeted by short-sellers and then saw a flurry of trading activity as investors flocked to it. The company’s shares jumped 134% on Wednesday alone and are currently valued at $347, having been down as low as $17 earlier in the year. Cinema chain AMC has also been boosted by the movement’s attentions, gaining 300%.

[ymal]

“The whole business is seen as a trump for the little traders, the Robinhood account holders who use Reddit to get their financial information,” said David Morrison, market analyst at Trade Nation. “On the other side is the Wall Street players who would happily see GameStop go out of business and people lose their jobs if it brought from a profit.

“Of course, life is never that simple, and the GameStop story is far from over as traders hunt out other heavily-shorted stocks. But it’s a salutary tale of our times and a timely reminder of the dangers that can lurk when shorting individual stocks."

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