Oil Prices
The price of crude oil crossed $70 per barrel today, the highest since November 2014.
US firm ConocoPhillips has taken over oil inventories and terminals of Venezuelan state-owned PDVSA under court orders to enforce a $2 billion arbitration award by the International Chamber of Commerce. Further, US President Donald Trump said he’d announce his decision on the Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday. Both developments contributed to soaring oil prices.
Dollar Index
The US Dollar index (DXY) hit its highest level in 2018. The market is expecting rising interest rates to boost the dollar. This despite poor wage growth numbers reported last week.
The US Dollar has gained 2.9% against the Euro (EUR) over the past month, 3.95% against the Pound (GBP), 2.4% against the Australian Dollar (AUD), 1.95% against the Yen (JPY) and 6% against the Mexican Peso (MXN).
Warren Buffett and Bill Gates on Cryptocurrencies
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett called bitcoin “probably rat poison squared” during the annual meeting of the firm over the weekend. During the same meeting, Berkshire Chairman Charlie Munger said that trading in cryptocurrencies is “just dementia”.
Doesn’t stop there, in an interview with CNBC today, Buffett added about cryptocurrencies that the “asset itself is creating nothing. When you’re buying non-productive assets, all you’re counting on is the next person is going to pay you more because they’re even more excited about another next person coming along”.
This after his previous comments that “If I could buy a five-year put on every one of the cryptocurrencies, I’d be glad to do it, but I would never short a dime’s worth.”
Meanwhile, Bill Gates in the same interview with CNBC said today “As an asset class, you’re not producing anything and so you shouldn’t expect it to go up. It’s kind of a pure ‘greater fool theory’ type of investment. I would short it if there was an easy way to do it.”