Ally Bank, Goldman Sachs GS Bank and Sallie Mae Bank are all paying much higher rates for deposits which can put brick and mortar competitors in a tough spot; banks typically lag a bit when it comes to rates so their current loans can reprice and profits are not hit; though they could lose deposits if they wait to long to raise rates as customers will move to the better rate; Fitch Ratings released a report Wednesday showing online bank rates were 1.18 percent versus brick and mortar rates of 0.075 percent. Source.
Goldman Sachs head of commodities research, Jeff Currie, told Bloomberg TV that bitcoin is a commodity though with less liquidity than gold; he explains, “"It's a commodity. A security, by definition, has a liability attached to it. Take a dollar bill, it has a liability to the US government. Commodities do not have liabilities.”; similar to gold it is not backed by a government or a company but is significantly more volatile. Source.
Lend Academy features two companies, Landed and Fundrise, who are taking a unique approach to building to new homes and providing down payment assistance. Source
Equbot has created an AI Powered ETF (ticker: AIEQ); it analyzes massive amounts of data to create a portfolio of 30-70 stocks; some of the data sources include regulatory filings, quarterly news releases, articles, and social media posts; a major difference of the fund is that the bot’s methodology can be explained; the fund launched on October 18, 2017 and has about $70 million in assets. Source
The price of bitcoin was trading at $10,026 on the South Korean exchange CEX while at the same time trading at $9,748 on US exchange Kraken as of early yesterday; the 3 percent spread was not the first time this happened and leaves open the potential for some to take advantage but also shows the immature nature of the market; this has been part of the reason why institutional investors have not fully bought in, though some have and the recent news from the CME could help to ease more concerns. Source.
The online lender has started a new marketing push to highlight new product offering to millennials; the company placed ads over the Thanksgiving holiday on TV and in newspapers with a unique twist on Black Friday. Source
USAA, Wells Fargo and U.S. Bank have started to look within the veteran community for skilled workers in the field of cybersecurity; hiring veterans has always been a source of pride for the banks but their specific military experience is seen as a big plus when it comes to cybersecurity; veterans are experienced and highly motivated, being able to find someone with cybersecurity know how can help to transform a banks defenses; the banks have also partnered with educational institutions which have programs geared at helping veterans transition to the workplace. Source.
Bitcoin looks to be headed towards $10,000 and the overall market cap for digital coins has surpassed $300bn; Ethereum, bitcoin gold and bitcoin cash have all reached all time highs as the appetite for these currencies continues to rise unabated; while concerns of a bubble persist the prices continue showing more strength by the day. Source.
As former director Cordray left the CFPB last week he named an acting director to minimize operational disruption in his words; the White House on the other hand thinks he meant to provoke a response from the administration; the agency now is broiled in confusion over who is the true interim leader as the White House appointed their own interim leader; Mr. Cordray is working off of language in the Dodd-Frank Act to appoint a successor, while the White House is acting on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act that gives the President authority to appoint interim leaders; each leader will have a different mandate and the confusion will need to be cleared up soon. Source.
New apps allow workers of Uber, McDonalds and Bloomin Brands to spend the money they have earned in close to real time; the Instant Financial App for example notifies users each morning is they want to deposit about half of their previous days earnings on a debit card; workers use the app for free while businesses are charged a fee; the app has seen benefits and drawbacks, accessing earnings quickly has increased productivity but it also has the potential to reduce the chances of saving money. Source.