Investors update: Bitcoin jumps above $18k

Bitcoin jumps above $18k to highest level in a month

Highlights

• Bitcoin has surged to its highest price in nearly a month, as traders bet on a US inflation cooldown and lawyers for defunct crypto exchange FTX found billions of dollars worth of assets.
• The digital currency climbed above $18,000 for the first time since December 14, increasing in value by about 5% in the last 24 hours.
• Still, Bitcoin is down about 74% from its November 2021 all-time high of $68,990, and last year, nearly $1.4 trillion of value was wiped off the cryptocurrency market, as traders dumped risky assets like technology and growth stocks.

Source: Barrons

Our Takeaway

It is anticipated that the release of US consumer price index data would reveal a slowing of inflation with economists at Dow Jones expecting a 0.1% decline from one month to the next in December. Although this would be less than the 7.1% increase in November and much below the 9.1% peak rate in June, inflation is still predicted to increase by 6.5% year over year. Investors hope that the decrease will encourage the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. 

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Women-led startups in Africa raised $203.2m in 2022

Highlights

• African startups led by women raised $203.2 million in 2022. Though still a significant amount, it is 58% less than what enterprises of this sort mobilized in 2021.
• The reduction of funds raised by these startups largely goes against the general trend of the sector; 2022 was one of the most successful years in capital funding for African startups in general.
• Although venture capital on the continent has been relatively successful, it has helped less than 3% of startups with female founders and only 4% of female entrepreneurs.

Source: The Big Deal

Our Takeaway

In Africa, female entrepreneurs are taking their place in the male-dominated tech boom but they still find it harder to access finance and grow their businesses. Per Briter Bridges, only 3% of the total funding raised by startups in Africa since 2013 has gone to all-women co-founded teams. Collective stakeholder efforts are crucial to increasing female representation in the startup space, which remains minute against a faster-growing percentage of ventures run by men.

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Oil prices rally despite fears of weak US demand

Highlights

• Oil prices slightly rose on Thursday despite demand worries after a higher-than-expected increase in oil stockpiles in the US, the world’s largest oil consumer.
• International benchmark Brent crude traded at $82.75 per barrel at 06:22 GMT, a 0.10% increase from the closing price of $82.67 a barrel in the previous trading session.
• The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate traded at $77.48 per barrel at the same time, a 0.09% increase after the previous session closed at $77.41 a barrel.

Source: Nairametrics

Our Takeaway

US commercial crude oil inventories increased by around 19 million barrels to 439.6 million barrels, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, compared to an expected decline of around 2.4 million barrels by analysts. The increase in crude stocks signaled falling crude demand in the US and weighed on oil but prices were supported by renewed hopes of a demand increase in China, the world’s biggest oil importer.