Asian stock markets were mixed on Friday ahead of U.S. jobs data, which could influence the Federal Reserve's plans for additional interest rate hikes to cool rising inflation. Shanghai and Seoul advanced, while Tokyo and Hong Kong reversed their positions. Oil prices have increased by more than $1.50 per barrel. Investors are looking forward to August hiring data in the United States to see how the economy is responding to four previous hikes to cool inflation, which is at a four-decade high. A strong reading would give Fed officials ammunition to argue that higher interest rates are needed to slow economic activity and reduce upward pressure on consumer prices. If the figures show that more than 300,000 jobs were added in August, it "could likely reinforce further lean towards" a 0.75 percentage point rate hike at this month's Fed meeting, according to Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 3,189.09, while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 f...

  = The Hong Kong tech index rises, as WTI crude rises to $88 per barrel. = Markets take a break from the doom and gloom of imminent Fed rate rises. Stocks surged on Monday, helped by a rebound in Chinese technology shares, while U.S. equity futures jumped as concerns about the Federal Reserve's monetary policy tightening eased. Asia-Pacific stocks surged for a second day, boosted by a rebound in a Hong Kong tech index on speculation that the worst of Beijing's anti-tech crackdown has passed. For the Lunar New Year vacation, a number of markets, including those on mainland China, are closed. The S& P 500, Nasdaq 100, and European contracts all rose. The dollar, the yen, and Treasuries all fell in value. This indicated a more positive investor mindset than last week when market volatility was fueled by fears of Fed stimulus tapering. Crude oil prices rose, owing to concerns that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt energy flows. The price of gold continued to fall. A...

  Asian shares   swung higher on Monday as Wall Street futures stabilized, though tests loom ahead as   UK  interest rates are expected to rise this week, and surging oil prices add to worries over inflation. Data on Sunday showed China's factory activity slowed in January as a resurgence of   COVID-19   cases and tough lockdowns hit production and demand. The standoff over  Ukraine  remains a thorn in the market's side, with concerns a Russian invasion would also cut vital gas supplies to western Europe. Lunar New Year holidays made for thin conditions, and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan nudged up 0.6% in slow trade. Japan's Nikkei bounced 1.3% from a 14-month trough. However, local data on industrial output and retail sales undershot forecasts. S&P 500 futures  and  Nasdaq futures  recouped early losses to rise 0.3%, while EURO STOXX 50 futures rallied 1.2% and FTSE futures 0.6%. The...

  Governments   aren't alone in turning the screws on the   Russian economy . Dozens of major multinational   companies are doing the same. A growing number of businesses are choosing to shut down their operations in  Russia  -- even if they aren't required to. Companies in multiple industries are bowing out of Russia, from Apple (AAPL) to Ikea to ExxonMobil (XOM), to General Motors (GM). The companies say they are concerned about  Russia's  invasion of Ukraine, which has sparked widespread outrage across the United States and many European countries. Whether they're pulling out to comply with government sanctions isn't always clear. What is certain is that there are plenty of business reasons to shy away from Russia. First and foremost: uncertainty. Investing money and selling goods for which the companies would be paid   with a severely devalued  Russian  ruble, is a bad...

  One of the most popular Ethereum (ETH) clients, OpenEthereum has ended support for its software in preparation for the upcoming Ethereum Merge.   OpenEthereum creates “clients” or software used to interact with the Ethereum network allowing anyone to create an Ethereum node to mine the cryptocurrency which is currently using a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism. In a  Twitter  thread the OpenEthereum team explained that with the Merge approaching and the legacy codebase becoming “increasingly difficult to manage” due to its age that it was the right time to end support. More from Financetody Best Forex Trading Strategies That Works EBay Drops First NFT Collection To Non-Crypto Mainstream Buyers Oil Climbs In Tight Market As U.S. Driving Season Looms The project was formerly owned by blockchain infrastructure company Parity Technologies before it transitioned ownership to the OpenEthereum decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) in December 2019. At the tim...

  The war in Ukraine is "a catastrophe" for the world which will cut global economic growth, the president of the World Bank has told the BBC. "The war in Ukraine comes at a bad time for the world because inflation was already rising," said David Malpass.  He stressed his biggest concern is "about the pure human loss of lives" that is occurring. Thousands of civilians and soldiers are thought to have been killed by the fighting.  Mr. Malpass said the economic impact of the war stretches beyond Ukraine's borders, and the rises in global energy prices in particular "hit the poor the most, as does inflation".  Food prices have also been pushed up by the war, and "are a very real consideration and problem for people in poor countries". Food crunch Mr. Malpass points out that both Russia and Ukraine are big food producers. Ukraine is the world's biggest producer of sunflower oil, with Russia number two, according to S&P Global P...

  With a new partnership with leading Web3 company The Sandbox, eSports, lifestyle, and media company FaZe Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: FAZE) is heading to the metaverse. The decentralized metaverse business The Sandbox, a division of Animoca Brands, has announced a partnership with North American gaming and esports organization FaZe Clan. Through this agreement, FaZe Clan will establish a virtual territory called FaZe World and enter the metaverse. The release states that FaZe and Sandbox will collaborate to develop new revenue streams while also hosting events and experiences in FaZe World. The partnership for "Faze Clan into metaverse" includes: The FaZe Clan will build FaZe World, a 12-by-12-foot virtual plot in the Sandbox metaverse. The world, according to the two companies, is "part virtual real estate and part amusement park." They plan to build digital infrastructure to support this idea. FaZe and Sandbox will host virtual events, games, and digital products in F...