Bitcoin hits new all-time high of $6,450

Bitcoin climbed to a new all-time high of $6,450 on Wednesday, boosted by bets the cryptocurrency could enter the financial mainstream after the world's largest derivatives exchange operator said on Tuesday it would launch bitcoin futures.

CME Group Inc said it would provide a regulated trading venue for the cryptocurrency market and would launch the new derivatives in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Bitcoin has had a bumper year with a more than sixfold increase in price, and has more than doubled in price since mid-September alone.

It was up 0.3 per cent on Wednesday on the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange.
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World stocks hit new high as Spain relief, tech rally boost European scrips

A strong rally in the technology sector helped drive global stocks to a record high on Monday, while a recovery in Spanish markets supported European shares after an opinion poll smoothed investors' concerns over Catalan secession.

MSCI's world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, rose 0.2 per cent to its highest ever level. The index has surged 17.7 percent so far in 2017 and is on track for its best annual showing since 2013.

Eurozone stocks climbed 0.3 per cent, holding near their highest level in 10 years. European stocks have rallied this year as a healthy economy dovetailed with convincing growth in corporate earnings and a reduction in political risk.

"There is an avalanche of things that are happening or going to happen, but markets are just shrugging it off. It's like markets have been vaccinated against bad news thanks to the strength of the global business cycle," said Marie Owens Thomsen, global head of economic research at Indosuez Wealth Management in Geneva.

Spanish stocks extended gains, up 2 per cent and set for their best day in three weeks after a weekend poll suggested Catalan secessionists may lose their majority in regional elections scheduled for December.

Spain's benchmark 10-year bond yield fell 5 basis points to 1.486 per cent. Banks Caixabank and Sabadell, which moved their headquarters out of Catalonia due to the crisis, led gains on the IBEX.
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Asian shares hit 10-year high on Wall Street record finishes

Asian shares inched up to a 10-year high on Wednesday, cheered by record highs on Wall Street, while the dollar's rise against the yen helped boost Japanese shares.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones industrials and Nasdaq Composite all marked record finishes as investors' concerns faded about North Korean tensions as well as the impact of Hurricane Irma.

Gains were kept in check, however, by a decline in shares of Apple Inc after it unveiled its newest line of iPhones. Apple fell 0.6 per cent but pared some losses in after-hours trade.

The new iPhone's sales will have repercussions beyond Apple for many suppliers as well as its rivals.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was slightly higher in early trade, while Japan's Nikkei stock index added 0.4 per cent to a one-month high, getting a tailwind from a weaker yen.

"The Nikkei is not rising on fundamentals at the moment, but rather on supply and demand moves, as the weaker yen prompts investors to cover short positions" that they took during recent bouts of risk aversion, said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
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Gold retreats from one-month high ahead of Fed meeting

Gold prices retreated from a one-month high on Tuesday as equities gained ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting that is expected to provide more clues about monetary policy.

The market is not expecting an interest rate increase at the Fed's two-day meeting starting on Tuesday but it is looking for hints on the timing and extent of future moves.

Spot gold was 0.2 per cent lower at $1,252.59 an ounce by 1326 GMT, not far from the previous session's peak of $1,258.79, its highest since June 23.

US gold futures fell 0.2 per cent to $1,252.

"The market is looking for clarity on the Fed's tightening cycle and when they are going to start with the tapering (of monetary stimulus)," said ETF Securities analyst Martin Arnold.

Taking the shine off gold slightly, investors climbed into European equities after a string of solid corporate updates. The US dollar hovered near a 13-month low against a basket of currencies on Tuesday, with traders not expecting the Fed meeting to alter the currency's recent weakness.

Markets give a less than 50 per cent probability of a US interest rate increase before the end of the year, according to CME's Fedwatch tool.

Also supporting gold were hurdles standing in the way of US President Donald Trump's economic stimulus and tax reform agenda.
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From Kalanick to Dave McClure: Silicon Valley faces it sexist culture woes

A growing chorus of voices denouncing sexist culture is echoing through male-dominated Silicon Valley, knocking a number of internet industry executives from their perches.

Accusations concerning the lack of women in tech jobs and unfair, or downright crude, treatment endured by some in the industry have simmered for years, occasionally reaching a boil.

Now increasing numbers of women are going public with complaints of gender-based discrimination -- in some cases leading men to step down.

Uber's embattled chief executive Travis Kalanick resigned last month, yielding to pressure from investors seeking to clean up the company's allegedly toxic corporate culture.

His departure capped a rocky period for the global ridesharing giant, which has been roiled by disturbing reports of cutthroat workplace conditions, harassment and discrimination.

Before Kalanick's departure, Uber said it had fired 20 people after examining 215 claims of discrimination, harassment, unprofessional behavior and bullying.

June also saw venture capitalist Justin Caldbeck take an indefinite leave of absence from Binary Capital in Silicon Valley in the face of allegations he made sexual advances towards female entrepreneurs interested in funding.

"To say I'm sorry about my behavior is a categorical understatement," Caldbeck said in released statement.
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