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The US dollar is strong but is still baffling investors. The European Central Bank makes record interest rate hike, Coinbase backs Tornado Cash lawsuit against the Treasury, and Cuban slams Warren over billionaire tax proposals.
In the wake of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive tightening policy, the value of the US dollar is appreciating to multi-decade highs as it overtakes currencies around the world, CNN Business reported. One thing that has investors puzzled, however, is that the dollar is currently appreciating more against the currencies of wealthier economies than it is against emerging markets. As an example, the euro is at a 20-year low against the dollar, while the British pound is also at its lowest level compared to the greenback since 1985.
The European Central Bank (ECB) hiked its interest rates on Thursday by a record-setting three-quarters of a percentage point. The ECB promised more rates are likely to come as it battles to restrain the inflationary fallout in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the energy crisis that has ensued in the aftermath, CNN Business reported. In July, the ECB made its first rate hike since 2011, when rates were increased to zero after years of residing in negative territory.
Employees of Coinbase and backers of Ethereum filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the US treasury, Secretary Janet Yellen, and other officials over their decision to place sanctions on Tornado Cash, a popular decentralized cryptocurrency service, Fortune reported. At the heart of the case is the legal question of whether the government can impose sanctions on publicly-available software code. Legal experts say the outcome of the case is likely to have implications for the crypto industry for years to come.
Mark Cuban, billionaire star of the Shark Tank TV show, went ballistic during an appearance at Vox Media’s Code Conference, hurling harsh words at Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the New York Post reported.
Cuban, who also owns the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, called out the progressive senator for her repeated calls to tax the rich, arguing billionaires don’t pay their fair share in taxes.
“I don’t mind being taxed more,” Cuban said. “I wrote a blog 20 years ago saying it’s the most patriotic thing you can do, after military service, is pay your taxes, because that’s what allows everybody to live and to prospect.”
“But yeah, the idea of ‘soak the rich,’ billionaire tears that fill that cup,” Cuban added, “screw you, Elizabeth Warren. You’re everything that’s wrong with politics.”
