Retiring without Worry

If you’re like most people, the recent market decline has done more than cause your investments to decrease substantially. It’s probably also caused you to rethink your retirement plans. After all, the only thing worse than retiring later than you planned is to retire and quickly run out of money.

But how can you ensure you’ll have sufficient funds to last your entire retirement? So many of the variables used to calculate how much you need for retirement seem uncertain. What is a reasonable rate of return for your investments over the long term? How long will you live, knowing life expectancies are increasing? How much can you count on from Social Security and pension plans? If you’re concerned about running out of money during retirement, then you need to be very conservative with your retirement assumptions. Some tips to consider include:

Assume your retirement expenses will be at least 100% of your current expenses.

Most rules of thumb indicate you need between 70% and 100%, but figure on 100% to be safe. Nowadays, retirees want to travel, pursue hobbies, and live an active lifestyle. That generally means you’ll need the higher end of these estimates.

Add a few years to your life expectancy.

You should probably plan on living until at least age 85 or 90. If your family has a history of longevity, add a few more years to these figures. While you may find it hard to believe you’ll live this long, you don’t want to reach age 75 or 80 and find out you’ve run out of money. At that point, you might not have the option of returning to work.

Reduce your estimates of Social Security benefits.

The Social Security Administration sends benefit statements every year around your birthday, telling you how much to expect in benefits. While the Social Security system is currently in sound financial condition, that is expected to change after all the baby boomers retire. To be safe, count on benefits that are somewhat less than the Social Security Administration is estimating and don’t plan on adjustments for inflation.

Cut back on your living expenses now.

This has a two-fold impact on your retirement. First, it frees up money to set aside for your retirement. Second, you get used to a lower standard of living, which should also reduce your expected lifestyle for retirement.

Reach retirement with no debts.

Mortgage and consumer debt payments consume a significant portion of most people’s income. Pay off all those debts by retirement and you significantly reduce your cost of living.

Forget about early retirement.

Saving enough to last from age 65 to 85 or 90 is daunting. Trying to retire at age 55 or 60 is just not practical for most individuals unless they’re willing to reduce their lifestyle significantly. Working a few more years can go a long way in helping fund your retirement. Those years are typically your highest earning years, so hopefully, you’ll save significant sums during that period. Also, every year you work is one year you don’t have to support yourself with your retirement savings.

Consider working during retirement.

Especially during the early years of retirement, you should consider working on at least a part-time basis. Even modest earnings can help significantly with retirement expenses.

Plan on making conservative withdrawals from your retirement assets.

Don’t plan on taking out more than 3% to 4% of your balance annually. With that level of withdrawal, your funds should last for decades.

Another Look at Risk Tolerance

After all the pain caused by market volatility over the past year, how much have we learned about our risk tolerance? We know we’re much happier when the stock market is going up rather than down. We probably realized our portfolios were too risky back in 2020 and wish we had made different choices back then. But how many of us have assessed our risk tolerance and made portfolio choices based on that assessment?

You are trying to assess your emotional tolerance for risk or how much price volatility you are comfortable with. Some questions that can help you gauge that risk tolerance include:

What long-term rate of return do you expect on your investments?

This will help you determine the types of investments needed to meet that target. Review historical rates of return over a long time period to see if your estimates are reasonable. High return expectations can cause you to invest in asset classes you aren’t comfortable with or that you may be tempted to sell frequently. A better alternative may be to lower your expectations and invest in assets you are comfortable owning.

What length of time are you investing for?

Some investments, such as stocks, should only be purchased for long time horizons. Using them for short-term purposes may increase the risk in your portfolio since you may be forced to sell during a market downturn.

How long are you willing to sustain a loss before selling?

The market declines of the past three years will indicate how comfortable you are holding investments with losses.

What types of investments do you own now, and how comfortable are you with those investments?

Ensure you understand the basics of any investments you own, including the historical rate of return, the largest one-year loss, and the risks to which the investment is subject. If you don’t understand an investment or are not comfortable owning it, you may be tempted to sell at an inopportune time. Over time, your comfort level with risk should increase as your understanding of how risk impacts different investments increases.

Ensuring your investments are compatible with your risk tolerance is an important component of your investment strategy.

Tips to take care of your personal finances

When we talk about personal finances, we refer to the management of the economic resources you have, with an eye on future planning.

The financial risks, the goals, the savings instruments, and the net worth that you have available are the aspects that you must consider to organize your money.Tips to take care of your personal finances 1Tips to take care of your personal finances 2

Personal finances must be understood as a professional matter because we often make the mistake of seeing personal expenses as something of little importance. However, they are an area of our lives that we should tread carefully since our future depends on them.

The last thing we want is not to reach our goals or lose money in the face of any emergency, no matter how small.

But, how should you take care of your personal finances? Here are some tips to get you started:

➡️ Save and Invest Your Money

Tips to take care of your personal finances 3Tips to take care of your personal finances 4Saving is crucial for the conservation of one’s finances. One of the most effective ways to save is to keep at least 10% of your total income per month.

But, the key is also to invest. The money saved only keeps its value if the interest rate acquired is higher than the inflation rate.

Investing money is an excellent way to make your capital profitable and save it more effectively since it won’t lose real value with time.

➡️ Only keep assets that increase in value.

Most assets lose value over time, such as cars or appliances. To maintain your financial health so that the numbers do not get out of control, try to keep only those assets that increase their value.

Personal financesThese assets might be stocks, bonds, or other financial instruments or be subject to increases in price thanks to inflation. If we have one of these goods that increase in price over time, in the long run, if we decide to sell the good, we will make a profit.

Gold is an excellent hedge for inflation, to put a clear example. GLD is an ETF we normally recommend.

➡️ Use your credit card wisely.

Cards are a good financial resource if they are taken advantage of and used well.

Take advantage of your credit cards for those purchases that allow you to pay in installments without interest. For example, when buying some furniture for your home.Tips to take care of your personal finances 5

Try to look at the number of installments and the corresponding value and make sure that your personal finances allow you to assume that debt each month. On the other hand, we also advise you to learn to read the account statement, so you understand each of the concepts detailed.

The important thing is that you are regularly checking your expenses and available credit limits.

Never use your card as extra money, as it is a financing instrument that includes a price for using it (interest).

Trading and Forex Brokers for Beginners

Forex” is derived from foreign exchange, is also used the term FX Market. “Foreign Exchange” is the buying of one currency and selling of another simultaneously through forex brokers.

Currencies are traded in pairs, for example, Euro / US Dollar (EUR / USD) or U.S. Dollar / Japanese Yen (USDJPY). FX MarketFX Exchange – is considered a market “over the counter” (OTC). Transactions are carried out either by telephone or by electronic networks. Unlike stocks or futures markets, forex trading is not centralized on an exchange.

You may have heard a lot of buzz recently about online forex trading but what exactly is an online forex broker? If you’re looking to get involved in international trading on your own, forex trading may be a great place for you to start because it is simple, global, and practically always available.

Forex brokers for beginners provide traders a Forex trading platform – an application, a working environment, where the trader buys and sells currencies, dealing online – in other words, he speculates to make money on the difference of currency rates.

Who trades currencies, and why?

Daily volume on the currency market comes from two sources:

  • Foreign trade (5%). Companies buy and sell items from/to abroad and convert profits from foreign trade into their own currency.
  • Speculation for profit (95%).

Most speculators focus on the most traded / liquid currency pairs, called “The majors – major. Today, more than 85% of daily transactions involve trading of major currencies, including the U.S. Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar, and Australian Dollar.
The Forex market is the most traded world market, with transactions 24 hours a day.

Certain parts of the world have part of their Saturday to trade, as it’s still Friday in other markets. Financial institutions in these countries may be dealing with the Forex market during their work hours, the Forex market is open and trading 24 hours, 5 days a week.

With an average daily trading volume of over 3.2 billion U.S. dollars, the forex market is traded in world markets. Open 24 hours from 24, started trading on the FOREX market every day in Sydney, and moves around the globe depending on the opening day in each financial center, first to Tokyo, then London and New York.

Unlike other financial markets, investors (speculators Forex) can respond to currency fluctuations caused by economic events, social and political, which would occur anytime – day or night.

It doesn’t take a large initial investment, and it doesn’t take any special training (although making yourself more knowledgeable is helpful!) and these are two of the reasons it is becoming more popular and gaining more attention. Using some of the most popular and easy-to-understand forex systems, a person can trade directly with real live forex markets, without the intervening middle-man influencing decisions.

One of the most popular methods in recent years is the use of Expert Advisor software (also known as “EAs,” “Electronic Advisors,” or “Robot traders”). This software is programmed to monitor the market for specific movements and conditions set by the user, then used to capture market opportunities. The most exciting thing about being your own online forex broker is that regardless of market conditions – whether the market is rising (“Bullish”) or falling (“Bearish”) an individual still has the potential to make a profit.

This huge, influential market allows for unlimited profit potential because it is based on market movement alone, not on positive or negative conditions specifically. So this means that as long as an individual is monitoring the movement of the market that person has the potential to make profits. Check this blackbull markets review  to understand how a broker that cares for beginners in forex investment can be beneficial to your career as a forex trader.

Traditional Online Forex Broker

If you choose to use a traditional brokerage firm, which would act on your behalf and according to your direction when trading in the forex market, you will develop a relationship with an advisor or money manager. He or she is the contact go-between for you (the client) and the market and will watch the market very closely for price levels. Then, the advisor will execute your orders based on the direction you give them. It must be remembered that in this type of situation, the advisor cannot act to engage in trades with your money of their own accord and would have to have clearance from you to do so, and this also makes you solely responsible for the outcome of the trade.

When you’re beginning to find out more about being an online forex broker, you may be afraid that your EA software won’t be used properly, or that you might miss some valuable opportunities. Many people have the tendency to look at these situations as “mistakes” and can begin to second-guess what their software tells them, or the signals that they receive in regards to the parameters they set up for the software. The truth is, it is virtually impossible to “win” every trade, so even a trade that loses money can be seen as valuable if it increases your confidence in your software, or teaches you something about how to set the parameters of the software to your benefit.

The fact is, only 5% of all traders achieve the goal of being consistent with their profits, and that average is established by looking at both the high and the lows of trading. Learn from your mistakes, and don’t see these experiences as “failures” but instead, for what they are – chances to learn more and do better next time. The only real “mistake” would be to ignore the signals of your EA entirely. If you begin to second guess your own system, the entire thing can unravel.

The foreign exchange market began with the need to convert payments received in foreign currency to home currency, and an online forex broker helps large banks, small companies, and investors around the globe do this quickly and efficiently. This is why the market is available virtually all day, every day. The market is the most “fluid” (or “liquid”) because it is not based on “real money” and its value. Instead, it is based on the exchange rate between currencies with the purpose of cashing in on the value change between those currencies.

A currency speculator (someone who estimates the values and attempts to foresee what they will do) can benefit from endless trading opportunities because the number of members involved in forex trading is so high, the volume of money is so vast, and there is virtually no end to the demand. Currently, the daily transactions are reported to be in the trillions, meaning that a large amount of money flowing, and the solid foundation of the exchange, have created the forex market as an asset class of its own – not subject to the same troubles as “real world” commodities.

If you’re interested in learning more about becoming an online forex broker, it is wise to conduct additional research and learn all you can before dipping your toe in the market with an initial investment. Although it does not require any special training or certification, it is a fast-paced and constantly moving market, and having some initial knowledge will give you the advantage over other novices. If you have worked with an advisor or money manager before and have some knowledge of the basics, a good piece of advice to begin in your own investment portfolio is to start out speculating and becoming intimately familiar with two particular currencies and their exchanges and rates.

Once you have become a bit of an expert at those currencies, you can begin to expand and see what other currencies and foreign exchange rates seem to perform well and deserve your time, attention, and investment. It may take some time to become the successful online forex broker that you dream of, but with a little work and determination, you can make it be the most profitable investment in your life.

Don’t Wait for an Emergency to Call Your Local Plumber!

Plumbing emergencies are well documented. From a broken or burst pipe to water coming through the ceiling, we are all well aware of the major disasters that can affect the average home. But more often than not, there are one or two less major plumbing problems that affect us all from time to time, problems that often go unfixed year after year costing money.

Rather than suffering from annoying little problems, and if you reside in Sydney, it is best to call in the best plumber Sydney offers to sort these problems out once and for all and in some cases prevent these little problems from becoming major issues costing us more money.

But what are some of these problems and why is a plumber the best person to call?

Blocked Drains

Does your sink from time to time become blocked, resulting in the plunger being brought out more often than you would like?  Blocked drains are a common problem that can be easily fixed by a qualified plumber. But not only will a plumber be able to fix it within a few minutes, but they will also be able to identify the problem and offer advice on how to prevent it from reoccurring.

Food scraps and fat are the most common causes of blocked drains, so the plumber will be able to identify what the cause was, and then advise on how to otherwise dispose of the troublesome items.

Noisy Water Systems

Does your water system make unusual noises? Does it keep you up at night? By calling a qualified Local plumber these noises can be identified and then rectified. Usually, a noisy system is due to the water traveling at a high velocity through the pipes.

Do not just assume these noises are natural; in most cases, they are not.

Toilet Trouble

Toilet blockages are relatively common and are mostly caused by objects being disposed of down there that shouldn’t be, such as sanitary towels and nappies. A plumber will be able to remove the blockage and leave your toilet in full working order. To a fully qualified local plumber, a blocked toilet will present no challenge, and whilst he is there he will usually also make sure that the toilet and drainage system are working to their full potential.

Instead of struggling with common plumbing problems, call a local plumber. They see these problems every day of the week, so do not suffer in silence. Not only will these problems be fixed, but you will also receive some much-needed advice on how to prevent them from returning.

Take profit: examples of profit taking on the stock exchange

What is profit-taking on the stock exchange?

In simple words, it is an exit from the current profitable transaction. While the transaction (position) is open, the profit on it is floating, it changes depending on the fluctuations of the quote. When a trader closes a trade, the profit is fixed.

Profit-taking in trading is the most pleasant process when, after closing a transaction, the balance increases due to the fact that floating profit is transferred to it as the financial result of the transaction. This scheme is the same in different markets. Profit-taking on stocks, futures, and cryptocurrencies occurs similarly.

At the same time, it is important to note that a trader can fix a floating profit both with the help of a take profit order (automatically) and manually.

What is take profit in trading?

This is a pending order that must be executed when the market price reaches a certain level. When this happens, a market order is sent to the exchange, which is directed against an open position, which leads to its closure.

For example. You have a long position open on the oil market, yesterday you bought it at 40.00. Today the price fluctuates around 41.00. You send a take profit to the broker at 42.00. This means that if the quote reaches 42.00 tomorrow, a market order for sale will be sent to the exchange. Thus, the take profit will work, your contracts will be sold, the position will be closed, and you will fix the profit from the transaction.

How can take profit be calculated?

In the most general case, there are 2 ways:

  • Mathematical. In this case, take profit is calculated according to formulas and proportions. For example, a trader sets a stop loss for 10 ticks. Then he can set a take profit for 15 or 20 ticks. Then the ratio of profit to risk will be 1:1.5 or 1:2 (excluding commissions). This is a rational ratio that you can work with.
  • Discretionary. In this case, the trader conducts an analysis, the purpose of which is to identify where it is better to set a take profit.

One of the effective ways is to use the volume analysis and functionality of the ATAS platform to track the activity of large market participants, and then come to a logical conclusion where to put take profit.

What is the difference between a take profit and a stop loss?

These are two very similar pending orders, they are both waiting for their time. In order for them to activate, you need a condition – the price reaches a certain level. Then they are triggered as triggers and send market orders to the exchange opposite to the open position, which leads to its closure.

An important difference is that a stop loss fixes a loss (so that it does not reach catastrophic proportions), a take profit fixes a profit.

There are still some differences between take profits and stop losses. It is believed that:

  • Take profits slow down the market, and stop losses accelerate the market;
  • Take profits are often placed before important levels, stop losses are placed behind important levels

How to set a take profit?

Take profit can be set:

  • during the opening of a position or after its opening;
  • manually or automatically;

There are defensive strategies in the ATAS trading platform. There you can set up a take profit so that it will be set automatically together with the opening of a position at a given distance.Atas trading platform

How to set take profit

What happens when a large number of taking profits are triggered?

At the points where a large number of taking profits are triggered, the market slows down.

For example, large traders are in purchases. They placed take profits below an important peak. When the price reaches the take profit level, sell orders begin to enter the market to close previously opened purchases. As a result, the uptrend may slow down, or even reverse. Because of this, sometimes there are ”shortfalls” of the price to the previous important levels.

Where are take profits often placed?

A popular place to place take profits is a price zone located near some important level, but not reaching it.Setting stop loss

Where to place take profits

Sellers at point 1 are likely to place their stop losses for the previous high. And buyers at point 2 are likely to place their take profits before the previous high.

Another place to place take profits may be the levels at which stop losses are presumably set. Then stop losses will be reduced to take profits.Taking profits

Where to place Profit Taking

Take profits placed in this way to have increased profit potential, but also a lower probability of execution.

When taking profits and stop losses are triggered massively, you can see a noticeable drop in open interest.Taking profits

How Profit Taking works

What do we see in the picture above? When the previous low was broken, a large number of market sales were sent to the market (this is evidenced by the red clusters). Obviously, numerous stop-losses of buyers have been triggered. Some of them were combined with the sellers’ take profits.

As a result, we are seeing a sharp drop in open interest, which indicates the exit of a large number of traders from the market.

Principles of Profit Taking

The general principle that will help in using take profit is“ “Cut losses, and let profits grow.”

The first part of this principle refers to the ”brother” of take profit – stop loss.

Stop loss should be clearly limited, and if the market goes against your position, then losses should be cut without regret, closing a losing trade. Sitting out losses, hoping for a price return, or emotionally averaging an open position, while also increasing the volume– is the way to lose the deposit. Losses need to be cut at the lowest possible level.

The second part of this principle already directly concerns take profit.

Place the take profit in such a way that the profit has the opportunity to grow. You need to give the market the opportunity to move in the direction of your transaction.

It is desirable that the take profit exceeds the stop loss several times. Give the market time to bring you a significant profit, set take profit at sufficiently remote levels.

Learn the trailing stop technique. This is a method of tracking a successful transaction, in which the trader moves the stop loss following the price going in his direction. So the trader protects the achieved profit, but does not limit the potential for its further growth.

Of course, there are different trading systems for exiting trades, but the main principle “cut losses and let profits grow” has passed the test of time and has been used by many well-known traders.

Conclusions

Correct profit taking is very important in trading. So don’t forget that:

Take profit (exit from a trade with a profit) should be clearly described in the trading system, and its effectiveness should be tested on history;

Indicators for volume analysis in the ATAS trading platform help to find levels for effective take profit setting;

It is desirable to set a take profit according to the general principle“ “Cut losses, and let profits grow.”

5 Qualities Essential For a Successful Stock Trader

All of us who venture into the stock market should possess certain basic qualities that will help us to be successful in trading. Without any exception, everyone who ventures into stock trading is interested in making some quick money. Here are some basic qualities that you must have to be a successful trader.

Patience

First, you should be patient with yourself and give yourself some time to learn the basics of stock investing. Many people when they begin their stock trading career, they try to plunge into it immediately in their enthusiasm to make money. However, by doing this you will be subjecting yourself to great financial risks.

Accept Losses

Secondly, when you enter into stock market, you are bound to make some wrong decisions in the beginning and this should not discourage you. Loss in the beginning is inevitable and you should be mentally prepared for it only then, you will be able to survive in this field. You must always keep long-term profit in mind. Even if you make a wrong decision in a particular instance, you will be able to make up for the loss at a later stage.

Research

Thirdly, you must never get to your trading desk without making thorough stock market research. You will have to be faithful to your market research daily. Lot of things could have happened when you closed the previous day and get back to your trading desk the next day morning. If you do not keep yourself informed of the latest developments in the market, your decisions for that day will not be sound stock investment decisions.

Speculation is the key to stock trading. However, speculation should be based on statistics and other facts. Any speculation that does not take into consideration factual details will only be random speculation and this will not help you in the long run. The prevailing market trends should guide your decisions.

Discipline

The next important quality for a successful stock trader is discipline. It is everyone’s weakness to give in to the temptation to wait longer to see a greater profit. But decisions that are postponed will push you to unnecessary loss. On the other hand, you must be content with your reasonable profit. To avoid loss, once you reach the cut-off that you set for yourself you must sell those stocks. This applies to day trading in particular.

Don’t Panic

Yet another crucial quality required is the ability to think clearly in the midst of stressful trading day. The market can be highly volatile and in the beginning when you see the stocks being so volatile you will tend to panic. Once you give into your fear, you will tend to make hasty decisions hoping to save the loss. If you give yourself some time, you will see the market stabilizing itself. You must not make investment decisions or selling decisions when you are tensed. Such decisions will often be faulty decisions because your reasoning faculty is no more supporting your decision-making efforts.

These are some of the essential qualities that will set you apart as a successful trader in this field.

Gas prices continue to rise on record, oil at fresh highs: what drives the markets?

What happened?

Oil

The jump occurred after the new agreement of the OPEC+ countries. An agreement was reached to increase oil production in November by 400 thousand barrels per day.

Oil prices have returned to the level of three years ago. Thus, the cost of a barrel of Brent for the first time since 2018 exceeded $ 81. WTI fuel also broke the record. More than $77 is being asked for it on the London Stock Exchange. This is generally the best result since 2014.

Such a jump occurred after the new agreement of the OPEC+ countries. They agreed to increase oil production in November by 400 thousand barrels per day.

At the same time, the participants of the meeting took into account all possible risks — the next waves of coronavirus and the possible launch of additional volumes of black gold from Iran to the market. This, according to experts, will help to stabilize the situation with fuel prices.

Gas

The price of gas futures contracts on October 7 broke another record and crossed the $1,900 mark, according to the ICE exchange platform. In just a few hours, it jumped by more than 20%, and then fell by $200 in 10 minutes.

What does it mean?

Oil

The energy crisis in Europe will intensify as utilities continued to outbid scarce supplies of natural gas as the winter heating season began.

Shale oil production will grow over the next 18 months, even if prices reach a multi-year high, leaving OPEC in a very weak position as the world cries out for more barrels.

The decision threatens to exacerbate tensions between the United States, Europe and China, which fear that rising energy prices could undermine the recovery of their economies.

Nevertheless, OPEC+ assures that in the event of a sharp increase in demand, they will be able to adjust production and prevent the oil market from overheating.

Gas

Gas prices have started to rise due to the European gas crisis, but it seems that new price records are now being achieved in the absence of obvious new reasons.

We are faced with the inability of the market to generate an adequate gas price. It does not reflect either the level of transactions or the state of the market in Europe. But this is only part of the truth. In addition to gas producers, traders are actively working on the market, but they have serious financial problems due to high gas prices.

Why should I know that?

The inflationary background may contribute to the growth of securities of companies from the electric power sector and consumer goods.

Given the current situation with gas prices in Europe, investors should pay attention to protective assets, as well as shares of companies exporting natural gas, coal, oil and polymers. An increase in inflationary pressure may have a positive impact on the profitability of grocery retailers, Walmart-type chains and consumer goods manufacturers such as Procter & gamble and Johnson & Johnson.

This week, Reuters reported another reason for the price increase – brokers and exchanges demanded that commodity traders increase financial guarantees for short contracts due to rising prices for gas futures contracts, margin calls were experienced by the largest commodity traders Glencore, Gunvor, Trafigura and Vitol, among others. The special drama of the situation is that operations with commodity futures themselves are an element of hedging or insuring financial risks for traders with sharp fluctuations in commodity prices, but no one expected such a sharp rise in prices.

The consequences of such high gas prices will continue to increase prices for other energy carriers, such as energy coal and petroleum products. If we recalculate the cost of a barrel of oil in Europe based on the energy value of alternative gas, then it should be above $200.

Now we can say that in the foreseeable future there are no serious reasons that can stop the gas crisis that has broken out. Supplies of liquefied natural gas, which can partially compensate for the imbalance in the European market, are reoriented to Asia, where there is still high demand, especially from China. Komlev said that due to the growing demand for LNG in Asia, where gas is sold more expensive, another 14 billion cubic meters of gas did not reach Europe. This is 4-5% of the volume of consumption, “it was enough for prices to go off the chain,” added the top manager of Gazprom Export.

It is obvious that without the intervention of the regulator, the process of price growth can be catastrophic.

States within states: why large companies need cryptocurrencies

Analysts at Goldman Sachs wrote that the cryptocurrency market is already catching up with the traditional financial market in terms of volume and amounts to $1.87 trillion. Apple, Amazon, and Walmart have announced the search for specialists in cryptocurrencies and digital money. Where will the company’s interest in crypto assets lead?

Who goes to the crypt?

On August 15, the largest retailer in the United States, Walmart, posted a vacancy on its LinkedIn profile about finding a leader in digital and cryptocurrency products. Based on the job description, this person should develop a “digital currency strategy and a product roadmap.” The specialist should also be responsible for partnerships related to cryptocurrency. The announcement does not specify which products the future Walmart employee will launch.

This vacancy was published a few weeks after Amazon, one of the world’s most prominent players in the e-commerce market, announced the search for a leading specialist in digital currency and blockchain products. According to the job description, it should be an employee who will develop a digital currency and blockchain strategy for Amazon and a product roadmap. One of the necessary skills of a candidate, which Amazon indicated, is “the ability to succeed in an uncertain and constantly changing environment.” According to a London newspaper City A.M. source, Amazon’s plans are broader than just accepting cryptocurrency for payment: in 2022, the online retailer will create its token.

At the end of 2021, Amazon will start accepting bitcoin as payment — it will be the first of about eight cryptocurrencies that Amazon will work with, the interlocutor of City A.M. noted. According to him, the company will later start working with cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Cardano, and Bitcoin Cash. At the same time, Amazon denied these rumors and reported that the speculations that arose around the company’s specific plans for cryptocurrencies do not correspond to reality.

The British bank Lloyds Banking Group also published a vacancy in the search for a senior manager for digital currencies and innovations in mid-August. The announcement says the company is looking for an expert in cryptocurrencies and blockchain who will work on new projects for the bank.

Even earlier — at the end of June — Apple posted a similar vacancy. Among the essential requirements for the position of manager for the development of “alternative payments,” the corporation indicated five years of experience working with digital wallets, players in the “buy now, pay later” segment (Buy now, pay later, BNPL), fast payment services, cryptocurrencies, etc.

Some large companies already accept cryptocurrency as payment for goods and services. Starbucks and a large chain of Home Depot construction stores accept cryptocurrency through third-party applications that convert digital money into dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported. Payment in bitcoins was also accepted by Tesla. Still, the company’s head, Elon Musk, soon suspended the experiment because cryptocurrency mining is too harmful to the environment. At the end of July, Musk said that the company would most likely start accepting bitcoins again after conducting a comprehensive check of the amount of renewable energy used to extract the currency.

Why is this necessary

Today, the cryptocurrency market is already catching up with the traditional financial market in terms of volume, Goldman Sachs (GS) analysts write in a report dated August 11 (Forbes has it). According to CoinMarketCap.com, there are about 6,000 cryptocurrencies on the market, with a total market capitalization of $1.87 trillion. For comparison, the total market value of bonds covered by the Bloomberg-Barclays US Corporate High Yield Index is $1.67 trillion, while the market capitalization of the S&P 500 is approximately $39 trillion, according to GS.

Analysts write that cryptocurrencies are a highly competitive market compared to other asset classes. The most popular digital currency is bitcoin-it accounts for 46% of the entire cryptocurrency market, and another 20% is occupied by the second most popular, Ethereum. The shares of the two largest companies (Apple and Microsoft) in the S&P 500 account for about 12% of the market capitalization. According to GS, the shares of the largest 84 companies account for 66% of the total market capitalization.

Facebook was a pioneer in the cryptocurrency market among large companies. Still, it tried to launch a digital currency at the wrong time. In 2019, it was crushed by the state regulator, which is afraid of losing its control, according to Alexander Brazhnikov, executive director of the Russian Association of Crypto Industry and Blockchain (RAKIB). However, the pandemic has changed the situation; he continues: online solutions are becoming more popular, and now it is difficult to resist such initiatives, says Brazhnikov. According to him, the world is moving towards the fact that cross—border companies can get away from the dependence on states and their currencies-the dollar, euro, and ruble.

“Why should Amazon receive payment in different currencies, if the company can make its own tokens, for example, Amazon Coin and receive payment in them?”, the expert argues.

Amazon can teach people to buy in their currency if it encourages customers with discounts when using tokens and then begins to cooperate with other companies, predicts Brazhnikov. Such a development strategy will lead to the fact that shortly companies will not depend on any state, Central Bank, or regulator but will sell and form prices for goods and services themselves, the expert is sure.

Now retailers, as a rule, accrue points to customers for purchases on their sites, and creating their cryptocurrency will help them replace these points, says Rustam Botashev, portfolio manager of the Hash CIB investment company. Companies may want to sell some tokenized goods in the form of an NFT (non-fungible token, non-interchangeable token) or launch a marketplace, Botashev suggests. Experiments with cryptocurrencies are a win-win situation for large companies, which either will not affect their development in any way or will only affect them positively, he is sure.

Pharmaceutical companies today

The COVID-19 pandemic has given a strong impetus to the development of many pharmaceutical companies. Consider who has succeeded in their development more than others and which companies should be adopted.

Anti-covid cocktail drives record revenue for Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is an American biotechnology company founded in 1988. The most commercially successful product of the company is the anti-covid “cocktail” of REGEN-COV antibodies, which US ex-President Donald Trump used to treat the coronavirus.

As a representative of Regeneron said earlier, the US government has already purchased up to 1.5 million doses of the drug, and it is provided free of charge to patients. In the first half of 2021, Regeneron sold REGEN-COV doses totaling $ 2.85 billion (37.2% of total revenue) without a full-fledged regulatory license. REGN shares have gained 69.27% ​​since December 31, 2019, while the S&P 500 is up 36.2%, and the industry average S&P 500 Healthcare is up 32.05%.

The stock is recommended to buy with a target price of $ 755.02, which implies a 15% upside potential.

Axsome Therapeutics shares jump 19%

Axsome Therapeutics, a biotech company that develops new treatments for central nervous system diseases, jumped 19.06% in a New York premarket.

The company said on Monday that it had received a response from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that a new application for a depressive disorder drug (AXS-05) would not be completed by the target date of August 22, 2021.

However, the FDA did not request additional information from Axsome; the application is ongoing.

Shares closed 8.29% higher on Friday.

Trillium Shares soar 190% after news of merger with Pfizer

Trillium and Pfizer announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Trillium, which develops innovative cancer treatments. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will acquire all outstanding Trillium shares not yet owned by Pfizer for $ 2.26 billion, or $ 18.50 per share.

This represents a 118% premium to Trillium’s 60-day weighted average share price.

Trillium possesses the only known targeting molecule, SIRPα – CD47, with clinically significant responses to monotherapy and a solid basis for combination therapy, supported by preclinical data with diverse therapeutic agents. With Pfizer’s global reach and capabilities, programs will move faster to patients.