Economy

ECB vs. inflation
European economists agree: Lagarde to leave early

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is likely to leave the ECB before her term ends in October next year. That is the view of the majority of economists around Europe who participated in a Bloomberg survey.

More than half of the economists believe that the Frenchwoman will leave this year. Fewer than 30 percent believe that she will stay until the end of her term.

If she steps down early, 57 percent of the economists in the survey believe that the former head of the Dutch central bank, Klaas Knot, would be the best successor. If she does, however, serve out her entire term, Pablo Hernández de Cos, head of the “central bank of central banks,” the BIS, is seen as the hottest candidate.

Rumors about Lagarde’s possible early exit began to swirl last week, after sources told the Financial Times that she wants French President Emmanuel Macron to be involved in appointing a successor before the national elections this fall.

According to the ECB, however, Lagarde has not yet made a decision on whether she will resign or stay on.

Crypto market
Bitcoin breaks downtrend: “Many are buying the dip”

Bitcoin climbed over 7 percent to around $68,900 on Wednesday. Thus, the cryptocurrency broke free from the downward trend of recent days, reports Bloomberg.

– The rise is likely due to many people buying the dip after the big drop, says Caroline Mauron at Orbit Markets.

The rise occurred at the same time as Wall Street traded clearly positive during the day and risk sentiment increased ahead of Nvidia's report, which will be released shortly after the US stock market closes.

Crypto exchange Coinbase surged 14 percent in New York, while fintech company Robinhood rose 6 percent.

The Chip Battle 

All eyes on Nvidia – record numbers expected

The market is holding its breath as chip giant Nvidia opens its books for the fourth quarter after Wall Street closes tonight. Expectations are sky-high – again.

According to Bloomberg’s consensus estimate, both sales and earnings are expected to increase by around 70 percent. Sales are believed to reach $65.9 billion, of which $60.3 billion is expected to come from data center operations. The gross margin is expected to amount to 75 percent and adjusted earnings per share to $1.53.

– The general perception, especially among those who work with chips, is that the market is once again expecting record numbers, says Holberg manager Harald Jeremiassen to E24.

The company’s future forecasts are expected to be one of the key issues, with some analysts expecting sales growth of up to 100 percent in the coming quarters.

The gross margin is also expected to come into focus, which was previously pressured by new product platform launches, according to Jeremiassen.

Herman Ohlsson, deputy manager at BMC, says on DI TV that Nvidia will once again deliver a “very strong report”. He believes that signals from TSMC’s monthly figures and export figures from Taiwan indicate that the company’s strong trend will continue.

Warning: “Chip apocalypse” if China attacks Taiwan

For years, US tech giants have been warned about their dependence on Taiwan, where more than 90 percent of the world’s advanced chips are manufactured. Now the New York Times is reporting on secret meetings where Washington’s security officials tried to convince top executives from Apple and Qualcomm, among others, of the risks.

However, the warnings have not been heeded and American concerns are growing. If China decides to try to take control of what it considers its territory, the dependence of American tech companies could destabilize the global economy, the newspaper writes.

“If the island is subjected to a blockade, we would face an economic apocalypse,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month.