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What does the Bitcoin craze have in common with dot-coms and tulips? That's the big question as the cryptocurrency continues its trip downward. Technical analysts are preparing for the worst after a 50 percent plunge over the past month. But just a week ago, some were saying buy. Traders and strategists are scrambling for explanations, from regulatory fears to the Lunar New Year. Where Bitcoin eventually lands, perhaps nobody knows.
Investors have good reason to be worried given Bitcoin's recent dive, but some aren't so sure. Bulls say the cryptocurrency's boom is far from over and that there’s more to analyzing a market than measuring price gains. The funny money has bounced back from previous swoons, and if Bitcoin does become a widely-accepted form of digital gold, it could have a lot further to surge. Bloomberg looks at some famous bubbles from the past for perspective.
How did Michael Wolff get in the door? It turns out President Donald Trump's staffers were wrong to assume they could shape the narrative of his book, "Fire and Fury," which depicts an administration in turmoil. Wolff's pitch to the White House included a working title that signaled a sympathetic view. The controversial writer was able to gain access despite a track record of critical coverage, including a hard-hitting book on Trump's good friend, Rupert Murdoch.
America is getting increasingly unpopular among international travelers. Historically, the U.S. had only to sit back and let foreign tourists (and their money) roll in. Over the past few years, though, that gravy train has begun to dry up, a trend that accelerated as Trump began to make good on promises to restrict immigration. The travel industry has banded together to fight this shift, and they're asking the White House for help.
Corporate America may finally bring home its bacon. An estimated $3.1 trillion of corporate cash is now held offshore. For years, the likes of Apple and Microsoft have stashed billions of dollars there to cut their U.S. tax bills. Now, the tax-code rewrite could throw that into reverse. The great on-shoring may prompt multinationals, which have parked much of their overseas profits in bonds, to use the money to goose their stock prices. Think buybacks and dividends.
Your Russian news feed revealed. Twitter told Congress Wednesday it will let users know if they've been exposed to web posts secretly crafted as part of that country's effort to tamper with the 2016 U.S. election. Accounts linked to the Internet Research Agency, which aided Russian efforts to meddle in the race, are the focus of the social media company's effort.
House Republican leaders are pushing a plan to avoid a shutdown by funding the government for four more weeks while ignoring Democrats and their demands for a deal on immigration. The bill would extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program, intended as a lure to Democrats, and delay taxes on high-end health insurance and medical devices, a gift to conservative Republicans. The Senate, however, is another matter.
The most valuable distiller is almost out of booze. You know you’re in Maotai when you smell it. The picturesque town of about 100,000 in southwestern China is home to the world’s most valuable liquor company. The soy sauce-like scent of the grain alcohol baijiu, made by the eponymous Kweichow Moutai Co., permeates the main street. But inside local liquor stores, the distiller’s big brands are sold out. The buying frenzy, and resulting inventory shortages, now extend nationwide.
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