Author: Euronews

Bitcoin ETFs have seen more demand than previously expected, following last month’s approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. ADVERTISEMENTBitcoin prices hit $51,757 (€48,274) on Wednesday afternoon, the highest since the beginning of December 2021, following surging demand for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).The US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first US-listed Bitcoin ETF in January 2024, in an historic move for the global cryptocurrency industry.The initial response was not as expected, due to investors still being wary about the risks posed by cryptocurrency. However, in the 30 days following the approval, Bitcoin ETFs have already accounted for about…

“We should not undermine the credibility of NATO’s deterrence,” Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday, issuing a public rebuke to Donald Trump. ADVERTISEMENT”Deterrence is in the mind of our adversaries. We should not leave (any) room of miscalculation or misunderstanding in Moscow about our readiness, our commitment and our resolve to protect all allies,” the Secretary-General said on Wednesday ahead of a meeting in Brussels of the alliance’s defence ministers.”And the reason to do so is not to provoke a conflict but to prevent a conflict as NATO has done successfully for the 65 years.”Keeping NATO strong is in “the national interest of…

Lyft shares jumped 62% after the closing bell on Tuesday thanks in part to a typo in the ride-hailing company’s earnings release that appears to have sent investors’ auto-trading algorithms – or “bots” – into a buying frenzy. ADVERTISEMENTLyft’s fourth-quarter report initially forecast that an important profit metric was expected to climb by 500 basis points, or 5%, in 2024. However, the company informed investors about five minutes after the original release that there was one zero too many in that number and corrected it to 50 basis points, a much more realistic 0.5%. Shares retreated after the correction, but…

As the grim milestone of two years of war looms, Ukrainians tell Euronews they hope Russia’s brutality and propaganda campaigns will not dent Western support to Kyiv. ADVERTISEMENTYuliia Kanivska is a mother of one from Irpin, a commuter city that lies 20km north of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv.Much of Irpin was destroyed during a month-long occupation in 2022, before it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces.“I was very scared; we didn’t think that Russia could invade us,” Yuliia told Euronews’ Shona Murray.Yuliia also worries pro-Russian propaganda could skew the reality of Ukraine’s suffering and undermine Western support for the war-torn nation.”Because a…

Italy’s competition watchdog, AGCM, fines BAT and Amazon €7 million for deceptive advertising on heated tobacco products. ADVERTISEMENTItaly’s competition watchdog has fined British American Tobacco (BAT) €6 million and Amazon €1 million respectively for what it describes as misleading advertising related to heated tobacco products. The advertisement failed to provide sufficient information to consumers about the nicotine content and health risks associated with using the Glo Hyper X2 and Glo Hyper Air products, watchdog AGCM said.  “The Glo Hyper X2 and Glo Hyper Air were not advertised in a truthful and adequately informative manner for consumers,” AGCM said in a statement.”The…

New EU rules aim for easier access to cash with fairer charges, Poland’s Marek Belka said. ADVERTISEMENTA draft of new EU regulations on payment services was approved by lawmakers on Wednesday (14 February), in a move promising to make transactions cheaper, safer and more unified across the bloc.The cross-party plans ensure cash machine users are informed about fees, and make social media companies responsible for tackling “hi mum!” impersonation scams, Marek Belka (Poland, Socialists and Democrats) told reporters.“The main objective of this dossier is to make payments more user friendly – also for old people like myself – cheaper and…

The bloc sharing the euro has seen its economy practically motionless in the last year as it continues to stagnate. ADVERTISEMENTEconomic output remained unchanged in the eurozone in the final three months of 2023, and slightly expanded in the EU, confirming the first estimates from Eurostat. The eurozone economy’s stagnation follows a 0.1% contraction in the previous quarter, meaning that the bloc has just avoided a recession, essentially avoiding two consecutive quarters of decline in gross domestic product (GDP).The economy has not shown any sign of life over the last year, contracting or growing by a slight 0.1% since the beginning…

Prime ministers Pedro Sánchez and Leo Varadkar have asked the European Commission to “undertake an urgent review” of the EU-Israel agreement in light of the war in Gaza and the worsening humanitarian crisis. ADVERTISEMENTIn a joint letter addressed to Ursula von der Leyen and sent on Wednesday morning, the two leaders raise serious concerns over Israel’s military campaign and potential violations of human rights and international law, emphasizing the recent resolution of the United Nations General Assembly and the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which found some of Israel’s actions “may fall” within the Genocide Convention.Among the bloc’s…

Airbnb reported mixed fourth quarter (Q4) results on Wednesday but highlighted a rise in bookings due to demand remaining strong. ADVERTISEMENTRevenue climbed 17% to $2.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago, while adjusted earnings came in at $738 million, representing a 46% increase from Q4 2022.However, net income came in at a loss of $349 million, according to the company’s latest earnings.Its stock closed down 1.94%, at the time of writing, and was set to stay in the red ahead of Wall Street markets opening on Wednesday.Q4 results follow tax dispute settlementThe company’s latest Q4 financial results come…

Euronews takes a closer look at why Jeff Bezos might have opted to sell €3.7bn ($4bn) of his Amazon stock over the past week. ADVERTISEMENTAmazon founder, Jeff Bezos, has not explained why he has opted to sell 24 million shares in the company he started, worth around $4bn (€3.7bn), although the selling plan was on the agenda.Regulatory filings confirmed the amounts that the billionaire has offloaded in recent days – and whilst he is yet to comment on the transactions, Amazon said in February that Bezos was planning to sell 50 million shares in the company via Morgan Stanley by…