Economy

Crypto Market
Expert: Bitcoin below $60,000 could trigger a cascade effect

Bitcoin was down and nosediving at the $60,000 level last Friday, and according to trading company STS Digital CEO Maxime Seiler, it is a crucial level to keep an eye on, writes Bloomberg. The reason is that many buyers are collateralized with bitcoin and that many lenders automatically make forced sales when the cryptocurrency approaches that level.

– A fall below $60,000 could trigger forced sales and flows of “hedging,” which creates a cascade effect, he tells the news agency.

In that scenario, volatility is expected to rise sharply as liquidations accelerate and traders try to protect themselves against further declines, adds Maxime Seiler.

On Friday, bitcoin is trading up around 2 percent to around $68,500.
 

Gold bounces back: “Will continue to rise in the long term”

The price of gold fell sharply to the lowest level of the week yesterday. But overnight the price has bounced back as the market awaits signals about the direction of US interest rates when the country's jobs report is released this afternoon.

"The precious metals market will eventually continue to trend higher over time, but likely with increased volatility as we are seeing now," said Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda to Reuters.

Gold fell as much as 3 percent to $4,895 an ounce. In the morning, an ounce costs $4,932.

Fed vs. inflation
Inflation comes in lower than expected in the US

US inflation in January lands at 2.4 percent at an annual rate. This is lower than the 2.5 percent expected, according to Trading Economics' consensus forecast. Core inflation was in line with estimates – 2.5 percent.

Both the Stockholm Stock Exchange and Wall Street are reacting positively.

The price of gold had risen before the announcement. 

Saab sales
Saab signs agreement with Ukrainian defense company

Saab has signed an agreement with the Ukrainian defense company Joint Stock Company "Ukrainian Defense Industry" (JSC UDI) on cooperation in aviation and airborne surveillance. Saab writes in a press release. Financial details of the deal are not disclosed.

The aim is to strengthen Ukraine's defense capabilities, with Saab contributing its experience from the defense industry and "expertise in the aviation field and in technology for airborne surveillance systems".

- Saab is committed to supporting Ukraine's defense capabilities and defense sector, says the company's vice president Anders Carp in a statement.

Chinese AI race
Seedance 2.0 is highlighted as a new Deepseek moment

Bytedance's new AI model Seedance 2.0 is attracting a lot of attention in China after Thursday's official launch, writes Reuters.

Seedance 2.0 can generate videos from short text instructions and handle text, images, audio and video simultaneously.

The breakthrough is being compared to the launch of the Deepseek language model last year. State-run Chinese media described the launch as another sign of the country's progress in AI, according to the news agency.

The excitement was heightened when Elon Musk commented "it's going fast now" on a post praising the model.