Despite—or because of—all the tariffs and the intensifying trade war, the U.S. goods trade deficit reached a record high in October, hitting $77.2 billion, based on Census Bureau data.

Issues of national security aside, one of the key selling points of the trade war has been to reduce America’s trade deficit and make things fair again—so October’s data is a bit of a slap in Washington’s face…. CLICK for complete article

The U.K. and EU reportedly reached a preliminary agreement that must be ratified and approved, Bloomberg reported.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May needs approval of her Cabinet of ministers along with a majority of members of Parliament. One of the main provisions of the agreement calls for the U.K. to remain in a customs union with the EU to avoid border checks on goods moving from EU member state Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K…. CLICK for complete article

For better or worse, the ICO landscape has changed a lot of the past twelve months. I have been involved in every turn of this tumultuous ride. In the meantime I’ve probably accumulated enough fun stories to write a small book, but for now I’ll limit myself to a brief digest.

It used to be fabulous! You form a team – i.e., a few of your college buddies – you brainstorm, and out of your brainstorming session you pick the most exciting and most far-fetched idea to put in a whitepaper (which might take a couple of weeks to write); then you create a simple website, start a Telegram group, and open a Bitcointalk thread; and voila, you are ready to fundraise millions through ICO…. CLICK for complete article

For better or worse, the ICO landscape has changed a lot of the past twelve months. I have been involved in every turn of this tumultuous ride. In the meantime I’ve probably accumulated enough fun stories to write a small book, but for now I’ll limit myself to a brief digest.

It used to be fabulous! You form a team – i.e., a few of your college buddies – you brainstorm, and out of your brainstorming session you pick the most exciting and most far-fetched idea to put in a whitepaper (which might take a couple of weeks to write); then you create a simple website, start a Telegram group, and open a Bitcointalk thread; and voila, you are ready to fundraise millions through ICO…. CLICK for complete article

Interest rates are climbing quickly.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury hit the highest level since 2011 in the midst of a massive bond sell-off Wednesday. The selloff spread across the globe on Thursday morning. ZeroHedge called the spike in yields a “monster move.”

The 10-year US Treasury yield jumped 11 basis points on Wednesday to 3.16%. In European trading, the yield on the 10-year went as high as 3.2192%. The selloff was “promoted by stronger than expected US economic data, and which accelerated after upbeat, hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.” CLICK for complete article