Central Bank of China Pumps 300 Billion Yuan Into Financial System, Cuts Loan Rates

The Chinese government has taken multiple steps so far to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic, including interest rate cuts and financial injections worth billions of yuan. It did it again this week, extending the monetary easing provided by the central bank. With the budget under pressure, however, there are indications that Beijing … Read more

Maduro Opens Crypto Casino in Venezuela

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has authorized the opening of a casino at a luxury hotel in Caracas where bets must be placed in petros, the country’s national oil-backed digital currency. Several cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies can be exchanged into petros to wager in the casino. The proceeds are expected to be used for healthcare and … Read more

China Takes Another Step Away From USD Hegemony

The China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) announced that effective January 1, 2020, the system “will adjust weights for CFETS RMB Index,” decreasing the weighting of the USD for the second time in the currency basket’s history from 22.40% to 21.59%, and increasing the Euro from 16.34% to 17.40%. The change could signal further disassociation … Read more