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Selasa, 02 April 2019

Bitcoin soars 20 percent, mystery buyer seen as catalyst - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Bitcoin burst to its highest level in almost five months on Tuesday, sending smaller cryptocurrencies up, with analysts ascribing the move to a major order by an anonymous buyer that triggered a frenzy of computer-driven trading.

FILE PHOTO: Bitcoin.com buttons are seen displayed on the floor of the Consensus 2018 blockchain technology conference in New York City, New York, U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

The original and biggest cryptocurrency soared as much as 20 percent in Asian trading, surpassing $5,000 for the first time since mid-November. By late morning, it had settled at around $4,700, still up 15 percent in its biggest one-day gain since April last year.

Bitcoin surged to near $20,000 in late 2017, the peak of a bubble driven by retail investors that pushed cryptocurrencies onto the agenda of mainstream financial firms. But wide interest waned as prices collapsed, and now trading is mostly powered by smaller hedge funds, tech firms and wealthy individuals.

Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie, chief executive of London-based cryptocurrency firm BCB Group, said the move was likely triggered by an algorithmic order worth about $100 million spread across major exchanges - U.S.-based Coinbase and Kraken, and Luxembourg-based Bitstamp.

“There has been a single order that has been algorithmically-managed across these three venues, of around 20,000 BTC,” he said.

“If you look at the volumes on each of those three exchanges – there were in-concert, synchronized, units of volume of around 7,000 BTC in an hour”.

For a graphic on Bitcoin price, see - tmsnrt.rs/2VadrPe

Analysts could not point to any specific news or developments in the cryptocurrency sector that could explain the mystery buyer’s big order.

Outsized price moves of the kind rarely seen in traditional markets are common in cryptocurrency markets, where liquidity is thin and prices highly opaque.

So orders of large magnitude tend to spark buying by algorithmic traders, said Charlie Hayter, founder of industry website CryptoCompare.

As bitcoin surged, there were 6 million trades over an hour, Hayter said - three to four times the usual amount, with orders concentrated on Asian-based exchanges.

“You trigger other order books to play catch up, and that creates a buying frenzy.”

Bitcoin’s surge sent smaller cryptocurrencies, known as “altcoins,” trading higher. Ethereum’s ether and Ripple’s XRP, respectively the second- and third-largest coins, both jumped by more than 10 percent.

Price moves of smaller coins tend to be correlated to bitcoin, which still accounts for just over half of the value of the cryptocurrency market.

Slideshow (2 Images)

“Usually bitcoin is the leader of the market and altcoins tend to follow, as far as direction and sentiment is concerned,” said Mati Greenspan, an analyst at eToro in Israel. “Today bitcoin is in the driving seat.”

Cryptocurrency markets have been relatively calm so far this year, with bitcoin trading until today between around $3,300 and $4,200.

There have been few catalysts for big price moves of the kind seen last year. In 2018, fears of regulatory clampdowns and declining interest from retail investors saw bitcoin slump by about three-quarters.

Reporting by Tom Wilson and Tommy Reggiori Wilkes; Editing by Abhinav Ramnarayan and Andrew Cawthorne

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies/bitcoin-soars-20-percent-mystery-buyer-seen-as-catalyst-idUSKCN1RE0JY

2019-04-02 13:27:43Z
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Walgreens shares slide as drugstore chain misses earnings estimates, lowers 2019 forecast - CNBC

Walgreens Boots Alliance reported quarterly earnings and revenue that missed analysts' expectations and lowered its forecast for 2019 in what CEO Stefano Pessina called the "most difficult" quarter since acquiring European drugstore chain Alliance Boots in late 2014.

The company now expects full-year earnings for 2019 to be roughly flat, compared with its previous forecast of 7 to 12 percent growth, it said Tuesday. The company also said it would cut more than $1.5 billion in costs, up from the $1 billion it announced last quarter.

"The market challenges and macro trends we have been discussing for some time accelerated, resulting in the most difficult quarter we have had since the formation of Walgreens Boots Alliance," Pessina said in a statement announcing its performance during the second quarter of fiscal 2019, which ended Feb. 28.

Walgreens' shares slid by about 7 percent in premarket trading.

Walgreens reported adjusted earnings of $1.64 per share during the quarter, missing analysts' estimates of $1.72 per share, according to data compiled by Refinitiv. Revenue also fell short, coming in at $34.53 billion. Analysts had been looking for $34.56 billion.

It generated $1.16 billion in net income, or $1.24 per share, down from $1.35 billion, or $1.36 per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, which excluded foreign currency fluctuations and a few other items, Walgreens said it earned $1.64 per share, below the $1.72 per share analysts were expecting.

Executives from Walgreens and rival CVS Health have warned investors in recent months that profits might not be all that fat this year. The Trump administration has been pressuring drugmakers and pharmacy benefits managers to lower consumer prices, both of which may cut into the bottom line for drugstore chains.

While analysts were expecting a bad quarter, they weren't prepared for it to be as bad as it was and to fall short in so many different areas.

"The magnitude was significantly worse," Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut told CNBC.

Walgreens also bought back more than $2 billion of its own stock in the quarter, bringing its total stock buybacks for fiscal 2019 to $3.11 billion so far, he noted. The company repurchased $5.23 billion of its shares all of fiscal 2018, according to the company's financial statement. Stock buybacks can make the company's profits look better because there are fewer shares outstanding, thus boosting earnings per share.

Evercore analyst Ross Muken in a note to clients said "this was truly a terrible print, as most metrics missed materially." This is the first time Pessina has missed quarterly guidance since he was named CEO in July 2015, he added.

Generic drug prices declined and pharmacy benefit managers paid Walgreens less, weighing on the pharmacy chain in the quarter, Pessina said. Walgreens also faced "consumer market challenges" in the U.S. and the U.K., he said.

"While we had begun initiatives to address these trends, our response was not rapid enough given market conditions, resulting in a disappointing quarter that did not meet our expectations," Pessina said.

Same-store sales declined 3.8 percent, which Walgreens said was primarily because of a weak cough, cold and flu season compared to last year.

Drugstores are trying to diversify their products and experiment with new ways to get people into their stores. Walgreens last week said it will sell CBD products in about 1,500 of its stores, following CVS.

Walgreens is working with LabCorp, Humana, Sprint and others on everything from offering senior care services to selling phones in their stores. CVS is changing up its business model after buying health insurer Aetna for $70 billion late last year.

Pessina on Tuesday said Walgreens will prioritize "expediting the execution" of its partnership initiatives, develop its health-focused stores and optimize its store footprint.

CORRECTION: This story was updated to correct the company's adjusted earnings estimate. It was $1.72 a share.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/02/walgreens-boots-alliance-q2-2019-earnings.html

2019-04-02 11:06:28Z
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Bitcoin soars past $5000, mystery buyer seen as catalyst - Investing.com

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A placard of French startup Keplerk, for clients to purhcase bitcoins, is seen inside a tobacco shop at Rueil-Malmaison

By Tom Wilson and Tommy Wilkes

LONDON (Reuters) - burst to its highest level in almost five months on Tuesday, sending smaller cryptocurrencies up, with analysts ascribing the move to a major order by an anonymous buyer that triggered a frenzy of computer-driven trading.

The original and biggest cryptocurrency soared as much as 20 percent in Asian trading, surpassing $5,000 for the first time since mid-November. By mid-morning, it had settled at around $4,800, still up 16 percent in its biggest one-day gain since April last year.

"There has been a single order that has been algorithmically-managed across these three venues, of around 20,000 BTC," he said.

"If you look at the volumes on each of those three exchanges – there were in-concert, synchronized, units of volume of around 7,000 BTC in an hour".

For a graphic on Bitcoin price, see - https://tmsnrt.rs/2VadrPe

Outsized price moves of the kind rarely seen in traditional markets are still common in cryptocurrency markets, where liquidity is thin and prices highly opaque.

So orders of large magnitude tend to spark buying by algorithmic traders, said Charlie Hayter, founder of industry website CryptoCompare.

As bitcoin surged, there were 6 million trades over an hour, Hayter said - three to four times the usual amount, with orders concentrated on Asian-based exchanges.

"You trigger other order books to play catch up, and that creates a buying frenzy."

Bitcoin's surge sent smaller cryptocurrencies, known as "altcoins," trading higher. Ethereum's ether and Ripple's , respectively the second- and third-largest coins, both jumped by more than 10 percent.

Price moves of smaller coins tend to be correlated to bitcoin, which still accounts for just over half of the value of the cryptocurrency market.

"Usually bitcoin is the leader of the market and altcoins tend to follow, as far as direction and sentiment is concerned," said Mati Greenspan, an analyst at e-Toro in Israel. "Today bitcoin is in the driving seat."

Cryptocurrency markets have been relatively calm so far this year, with bitcoin trading until today between around $3,300 and $4,200.

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https://www.investing.com/news/cryptocurrency-news/bitcoin-briefly-hits-5000-after-20-percent-surge-1824660

2019-04-02 10:23:00Z
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Whole Foods will slash prices on hundreds of items starting Wednesday - NBCNews.com

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April 2, 2019, 10:44 AM GMT / Source: CNBC.com

By Lauren Hirsch, CNBC

Whole Foods is slashing prices on hundreds of items, starting Wednesday, extending its focus beyond enticing Prime shoppers.

The specialty grocer’s last major price cut for all customers was in November 2017. In the interim, it has been rolling out more perks catered to members of Amazon Prime, such as offering them an extra 10 percent off discounted products.

Amazon, which acquired Whole Foods in July 2017, had hoped to convert more Prime members into Whole Foods shoppers. The better Whole Foods is able to sync in-store shopping with Amazon Prime, the better it will be able to target its ads and promotions.

Prime’s ranks surpassed more than 100 million people last year. Prime members now qualify for two-hour delivery at Whole Foods, they can use Alexa to add groceries to their Prime Now cart and arrange for grocery pick-up within 30 minutes at some locations.

The price cuts planned for Wednesday, however, extend beyond Amazon prime customers. Whole Foods will slash its prices on hundreds of products, with a focus on produce, such as greens, tomatoes and tropical fruits. Customers will save an average of 20 percent on the new reduced-price items.

“Whole Foods Market continues to maintain the high quality standards that we’ve championed for nearly 40 years and, with Amazon, we will lower more prices in the future, building on the positive momentum from previous price investments,” Whole Foods Chief Executive Officer John Mackey said in a statement.

Whole Foods will continue to build on its special offers for Prime members, as well as efforts to promote sales online. The grocer is doubling the number of exclusive deals for Prime members, it said on Monday.

The company also hasn’t given up on trying to recruit more Prime members. In April, Amazon will offer Whole Foods customers $10 off a $20 purchase when they try Prime online. New members can try Prime free for 30 days.

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2019-04-02 10:44:00Z
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NHTSA Opens New Probes Into Kia, Hyunda Vehicle Fires - NPR

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The 2014 Kia Optima, pictured here in 2013, is one of the vehicles included in new probes by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. John Minchillo/AP hide caption

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John Minchillo/AP

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened new investigations into fires in five Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motor Corp. vehicle models, following reports of thousands of fires and more than a 100 injuries and one death.

The federal auto safety regulator announced on Monday that it had launched the two investigations into nearly 3 million vehicles in response to a petition from the Center for Auto Safety, a consumer advocacy group. The probes come on the heels of several years of recalls for both companies over fire risks.

The cars included in the scope of the new investigations by the NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigations are Hyundai's 2011-2014 Sonata and Santa Fe, Kia's 2011-2014 Optima and Sorento, and Kia's 2010-2015 Soul.

Altogether, the agency and the pair of South Korea-based vehicle manufacturers have received 3,125 reports of fires that were not sparked by a collision, according to the NHTSA. The agency's documents also show one recorded fatality.

According to the NHTSA, the investigations will "assess the scope, frequency, and potential safety-related consequences of alleged defects" relating to "non-collision" fires in the vehicles.

Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said in a statement that the decision was overdue.

"It is long past time for the full power of the federal government to be brought to bear to answer why so many thousands of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have been involved in non-crash fires," Levine said.

The center originally asked the agency to look into the Optima, Sorento, Sonata and Santa Fe vehicles in June 2018, then added the Soul to the list of problematic vehicles the next month. It has also asked Congress to investigate the fires.

Prompted by the center's original petition, the Highway Loss Data Institute analyzed insurance records and found that certain years of the models under investigation had "significantly higher" rates of non-crash fire claims than comparable vehicles. The institute's findings suggested that the problem was related to the 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter "Theta II" engines, both of which were correlated with elevated claim rates in the Hyundai and Kia models.

The companies have issued several recalls since 2015 as a result of engine failures and fires. In February, the companies recalled more than 500,000 vehicles, bringing the total number of vehicles recalled to over 2.3 million, according to Reuters. February's number included several hundred thousand Kia Souls, The Associated Press reports, which Kia had been investigating after the center sent its petition to federal regulators last year.

The NHTSA said that prior recalls of vehicle models covered by the investigation have related to engine fires but that this probe "is not limited to engine components and may cover additional vehicle systems or components as well."

Both Hyundai and Kia told the AP that they're cooperating with the investigations and have been transparent with the NHTSA.

In a separate issue, Hyundai also recalled about 20,000 Veloster cars in the U.S. and Canada last week because of damage to the engines that can cause stalls and fires, The Washington Post reports.

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https://www.npr.org/2019/04/02/708986625/federal-auto-regulator-to-investigate-hyundai-kia-vehicle-fires

2019-04-02 09:07:00Z
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Singapore Airlines Grounds Two Boeing Planes for Engine Issue - Bloomberg

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Singapore Airlines Grounds Two Boeing Planes for Engine Issue Bloomberg

Singapore Airlines Ltd. found “premature blade deterioration” on some engines during routine inspections, leading the carrier to ground two Boeing Co. 787-10 ...

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-02/singapore-air-grounds-two-planes-on-rolls-royce-engine-issue-jtzf5ex1

2019-04-02 06:46:00Z
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Bitcoin Price Surges 20% to $4,800 in Minutes: Is the Bear Trend Officially Over? - CCN

The bitcoin price recorded a massive surge from $4,200 to nearly $4,800 within minutes, demonstrating a 20 percent gain in a short time frame.

Bitcoin surges 20% in a matter of minutes, fueled by a short squeeze (source: coinmarketcap.com)

The $4,200 resistance level, which bitcoin has struggled to break out of for more than four months, was broken cleanly for the first time on early Tuesday morning, which led most technical indicators to turn and allow the dominant cryptocurrency to surge substantially.

Is the Bitcoin Bear Trend Over?

Earlier this week, economist and global markets analyst Alex Krüger said that a price movement of bitcoin above the $4,200 level will mark the end of the bear trend beginning January 2018, lasting 16 months.

“This is not a call. Not a matter of aging well or not. A break above $4,200 technically ends the bear trend that started Jan 2018. Facts don’t care about opinions. If strong selling resumes later on, that would represent a different trend,” he said.

The momentum of bitcoin from breaching the crucial $4,200 resistance level immediately led BTC to break out of $4,300, $4,400, $4,500, and to $4,800, which many analysts predict could go to as high as $5,500 in the upcoming days.

That's what no resistance looks like. Nothing but hot air above 4200. The longer the wait, the harder the break. This is what technical analysis is for. $BTC +20% in 45 minutes.
— Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) April 2, 2019

On Monday, a technical analyst in the cryptocurrency market said that an $80 million sell wall was awaiting above $4,200, and buyers had to absorb $80 million to push the bitcoin price above the highly anticipated resistance level.

Once the level was broken, it triggered a short squeeze on major trading platforms, intensifying the upside movement of bitcoin.

Can Bitcoin Rise Even Further?

Several traders have said that while bitcoin could retrace slightly to the $4,200 to $4,300 range in the near-term, the $5,000 to $5,500 range is a reasonable target for BTC.

One analyst wrote that as long as bitcoin remains above the $4,000 mark in the short-term, it will be en route to recovering to previous levels.

“This is why we’ve been long on BTC the past few months and remain so bullish regardless of price action. OBV found support near $3,300 and continues to trend up. If this trend breaks then we’ll change our position,” the analyst said.

Click here for a real-time bitcoin price chart.

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https://www.ccn.com/newsflash-bitcoin-price-surges-20-to-4800-in-minutes-is-the-bear-trend-officially-over

2019-04-02 05:57:32Z
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