Bitcoin hits record high above $124,000
The cryptocurrency rose above its previous July record, briefly exceeding $124,500 before retreating. US stocks ended higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq reaching new heights this week, contributing to the cryptocurrency's rise.
Bitcoin's value has recently soared, fueled by US regulatory changes under US President Donald Trump, a strong backer of the crypto sector. Its price has also been boosted by large holders of cryptocurrency, referred to as "whales."
Trump's media group and Tesla, the electric carmaker owned by tech billionaire Elon Musk, are among an increasing number of companies buying huge amounts of bitcoin.
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35 minutes ago
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Report: Trump to offer Putin economic incentives to end war in Ukraine
US President Donald Trump is reportedly ready to present Vladimir Putin with a proposal that includes several economic concessions to Russia in exchange for peace in Ukraine, report claims. Among the incentives would be access to Alaska's natural resources, as well as Ukrainian rare earth minerals and the lifting of some sanctions on Russia's aircraft industry, according to UK newspaper The Telegraph. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other senior administration officials are reportedly working closely with Trump to finalise the proposals ahead of the summit. In April, Kyiv and Washington signed a deal that gives the US access to Ukraine's minerals. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine holds one-third of Europe's lithium reserves and 3% of global stock. Two of Ukraine's largest lithium deposits lie in Russian-held territory, and Putin has laid claim to the valuable minerals extracted there. Ukrainians remain sceptical Ukrainians in Kyiv on Wednesday voiced scepticism that the planned summit between Trump and Putin will bring Russia's war on Ukraine to an end. Trump has threatened 'very severe consequences' if Putin does not agree to stop his war in Ukraine the summit, to be held in Alaska on Friday, though he did not say what those consequences might be. Kyiv residents weren't optimistic of a breakthrough. "In my opinion, nothing is likely to change in the coming days," said a woman who gave her name only as Natalya. "We have already seen numerous times how negotiations have been postponed, failed, and other changes have occurred." Oleksandra Kozlova, 39, head of department in a digital agency, echoed her sentiment. "People have already lost hope. Personally, I don't think this round will be decisive," she said. Trump consulted with European leaders earlier on Wednesday, who said the president assured them he would make a priority of trying to achieve a ceasefire in Ukraine when he speaks with Putin on Friday in Anchorage. Prior to Trump announcing the meeting with Putin, his efforts to pressure Russia into stopping the fighting had delivered no progress. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly insisted any peace deals must include robust security guarantees for Ukraine to protect it from future Russian aggression.
Euronews
2 hours ago
- Euronews
Ibex-35 hits 15,000 points and reaches the highest level since 2007
The main index of the Spanish stock market closed on Wednesday at 15,019 points and reached levels not seen since 2007, the year in which the real estate bubble burst, leading to a global stock market collapse and a decade of austerity for the Iberian economy. At the time of writing on Thursday morning, it had continued to rise to 15,113 points. The Ibex-35 is less than 1,000 points away from beating its all-time high of 9 November 2007, a month before the outbreak of the great financial crisis. At that time it reached 16,040.40 points. Several factors could be boosting investor confidence during the eight consecutive days in which the Ibex has risen. Firstly, the US Consumer Price Index data: the drop in oil prices has kept inflation at 2.7% in both the US and Spain, so trade uncertainties and Donald Trump's tariff war do not appear to be translating, for now, into widespread price increases for consumers. Secondly, the US Federal Reserve is expected to lower its interest rates despite resistance from its chief, Jerome Powell, who believes that inflation is not sufficiently under control and that rates should therefore not be cut, despite the direct threats he has received from the US president to do so. The futures market gives a near 100% probability of a rate cut in the US, to be announced on 17 September. The biggest risers on the Ibex on Wednesday were two pharmaceutical companies: Grifols (2.18%) and Rovi (3.42%), as well as Fluidra (2.79%) and several banks such as BBVA (1.68%) and Santander (1.51%). In Europe, the German Dax was up 0.7% while London's FTSE 100 and the French Cac were up 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. So far this year, the Spanish selective index has gained 28%. Investors await Friday's meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska. The geopolitical news of the week is keeping the world's stock markets on edge, and they could react with a negative rebound if a satisfactory agreement is not reached between the two leaders. The meeting between the US and Russian presidents will be their first face-to-face meeting since the Russian invasion began in February 2022. The Ukrainian president and the other Western leaders, excluded from this meeting, have tried to soften their positions this afternoon so that Ukrainian territorial sovereignty does not come into play during the negotiations, in which Kyiv will have no say.
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3 hours ago
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The new 'Tiger economy': Vietnam's 2045 get rich quick plan
Beneath red banners and a gold bust of revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi's central party school, Communist Party chief To Lam declared the arrival of 'a new era of development' late last year. The speech was more than symbolic—it signalled the launch of what could be Vietnam's most ambitious economic overhaul in decades. Vietnam aims to get rich by 2045 and become Asia's next 'tiger economy'—a term used to describe the earlier ascent of countries like South Korea and Taiwan. The challenge ahead is steep: Reconciling growth with overdue reforms, an ageing population, climate risks and outdated institutions. There's added pressure from President Donald Trump over Vietnam's trade surplus with the US, a reflection of its astounding economic trajectory. In 1990, the average Vietnamese could afford about $1,200 (€1,025) worth of goods and services a year, adjusted for local prices. Today, that figure has risen by more than 13 times to $16,385 (€13,995). Vietnam's transformation into a global manufacturing hub with shiny new highways, high-rise skylines and a booming middle class has lifted millions of its people from poverty, similar to China. But its low-cost, export-led boom is slowing and it faces a growing obstacle to its proposed reforms—expanding private industries, strengthening social protections and investing in technology and green energy—from climate change. 'It's all hands on deck. . . . We can't waste time anymore," said Mimi Vu of the consultancy Raise Partners. The export boom can't carry Vietnam forever Investment has soared, driven partly by US-China trade tensions, and the US is now Vietnam's biggest export market. Once-quiet suburbs have been replaced with industrial parks where trucks rumble through sprawling logistics hubs that serve global brands. Vietnam ran a $123.5 billion (€105bn) trade surplus with the US trade in 2024, angering Trump, who threatened a 46% US import tax on Vietnamese goods. The two sides appear to have settled on a 20% levy, and twice that for goods suspected of being transshipped, or routed through Vietnam to avoid US trade restrictions. During negotiations with the Trump administration, Vietnam's focus was on its tariffs compared to those of its neighbours and competitors, said Daniel Kritenbrink, a former US ambassador to Vietnam. 'As long as they're in the same zone, in the same ballpark, I think Vietnam can live with that outcome," he said. But he added that questions remain over how much Chinese content in those exports might be too much and how such goods will be taxed. Vietnam was preparing to shift its economic policies even before Trump's tariffs threatened its model of churning out low-cost exports for the world, aware of what economists call the 'middle-income trap,' when economies tend to plateau without major reforms. To move beyond that, South Korea bet on electronics, Taiwan on semiconductors, and Singapore on finance, said Richard McClellan, founder of the consultancy RMAC Advisory. But Vietnam's economy today is more diverse and complex than those countries were at the time and it can't rely on just one winning sector to drive long-term growth and stay competitive as wages rise and cheap labour is no longer its main advantage. It needs to make 'multiple big bets,' McClellan said. Vietnam's game plan Following China's lead, Vietnam is counting on high-tech sectors like computer chips, artificial intelligence and renewable energy, providing strategic tax breaks and research support in cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang. It's also investing heavily in infrastructure, including civilian nuclear plants and a $67 billion (€57bn) North–South high-speed railway, that will cut travel time from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City to eight hours. Vietnam also aspires to become a global financial center. The government plans two special financial centres in bustling Ho Chi Minh City and in the seaside resort city of Danang, with simplified rules to attract foreign investors, tax breaks, support for financial tech startups, and easier ways to settle business disputes. Underpinning all of this is institutional reform. Ministries are being merged, low-level bureaucracies have been eliminated and Vietnam's 63 provinces will be consolidated into 34 to build regional centres with deeper talent pools. Private business to take the lead Vietnam is counting on private businesses to lead its new economic push—a seismic shift from the past. In May, the Communist Party passed Resolution 68. It calls private businesses the 'most important force' in the economy, pledging to break away from domination by state-owned and foreign companies. So far, large multinationals have powered Vietnam's exports, using imported materials and parts and low cost local labour. Local companies are stuck at the low-end of supply chains, struggling to access loans and markets that favoured the 700-odd state-owned giants, from colonial-era beer factories with arched windows to unfashionable state-run shops that few customers bother to enter. 'The private sector remains heavily constrained," said Nguyen Khac Giang of Singapore's ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. Again emulating China, Vietnam wants 'national champions' to drive innovation and compete globally, not by picking winners, but by letting markets decide. The policy includes easier loans for companies investing in new technology, priority in government contracts for those meeting innovation goals, and help for firms looking to expand overseas. Even mega-projects like the North-South High-Speed Rail, once reserved for state-run giants, are now open to private bidding. By 2030, Vietnam hopes to elevate at least 20 private firms to a global scale. But Giang warned that there will be pushback from conservatives in the Communist Party and from those who benefit from state-owned firms. A Closing Window from climate change Even as political resistance threatens to stall reforms, climate threats require urgent action. After losing a major investor over flood risks, Bruno Jaspaert knew something had to change. His firm, DEEP C Industrial Zones, houses more than 150 factories across northern Vietnam. So it hired a consultancy to redesign flood resilience plans. Climate risk is becoming its own kind of market regulation, forcing businesses to plan better, build smarter, and adapt faster. 'If the whole world will decide it's a can go very fast,' said Jaspaert. When Typhoon Yagi hit last year, causing $1.6 billion (€1.4bn) in damage, knocking 0.15% off Vietnam's GDP and battering factories that produce nearly half the country's economic output, roads in DEEP C industrial parks stayed dry. Climate risks are no longer theoretical: If Vietnam doesn't take strong action to adapt to and reduce climate change, the country could lose 12–14.5% of its GDP each year by 2050, and up to one million people could fall into extreme poverty by 2030, according to the World Bank. Meanwhile, Vietnam is growing old before it gets rich. The country's 'golden population' window—when working-age people outnumber dependents—will close by 2039 and the labour force is projected to peak just three years later. That could shrink productivity and strain social services, especially since families—and women in particular—are the default caregivers, said Teerawichitchainan Bussarawan of the Centre for Family and Population Research at the National University of Singapore. Vietnam is racing to pre-empt the fallout by expanding access to preventive healthcare so older adults remain healthier and more independent. Gradually raising the retirement age and drawing more women into the formal workforce would help offset labour gaps and promote "healthy ageing,' Bussarawan said.
