NexChangeNOW Daily Briefing – Friday Nov 15, 2019

Listen to the audio:

What Moved Global Markets
– China’s Commerce Ministry says trade war should be ended by removing tariffs: “The trade war was begun with adding tariffs, and should be ended by cancelling these additional tariffs. This is an important condition for both sides to reach an agreement.” At the same time, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said on Thursday that they welcomed China’s decision to lift a nearly five-year ban on poultry imports from the United States, adding this would boost U.S. exports by $1 billion annually.
– China’s Premier Li Keqiang said the country will further prioritize stabilizing growth, according to state media on Thursday citing a meeting he had with local officials.
– Alibaba’s planned $13.4 billion share sale will be Hong Kong’s first paperless stock market listing, a source with knowledge of the matter said, breaking with a long-held tradition of investors placing stock orders in bank branches.
– ECB Vice President Luis De Guindos said on Thursday that Europe faced only a “very low” risk of recession, but he called on all eurozone governments to help revive the bloc’s economy.

Crypto Prices (from CoinMarketCap)
Bitcoin: Down 1.80% to $8,634.85
Total trading volume (24h): $19.55+ billion USD

Ethereum: Down 1.51% to $185.04
Total trading volume (24h): $7.96+ billion USD

3 biggest movers 24 hours
Biggest Mover 1: adToken is up 244.32% to $0.010101
Biggest Mover 2: Silent Notary is up 182.91% to $0.000007
Biggest Loser: Ethlyte Crypto is down 45.47% to $0.075806

What moved Crypto Markets (i.e. digital assets)
– Ledger, the creator of the iconic Nano hardware wallet, is wooing institutional investors to use its technology to custody cryptocurrency for themselves with the help of big-name insurance broker Marsh.  Marsh has arranged a $150 million insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London syndicate Arch for users of the startup’s Ledger Vault technology platform, the companies announced Thursday. The move is another sign that the insurance industry is gradually becoming comfortable writing coverage for digital assets – widely considered a prerequisite for institutional investment.
Crypto.com announced the launch of a new exchange Thursday, in an expansion of the Hong Kong-based firm’s list of crypto services. The exchange opens up to beta testers Nov. 18 and to the wider public in December.
Canaan, the world’s second-largest bitcoin miner maker, intends to raise about $100 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. The company updated its IPO application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday. It’s aiming to offer 10 million American depositary shares (ADS) with each at a price of between $9 and $11.

Other Specialties
Fintech: SoftBank-backed OneConnect Financial Technology, the fintech arm of China’s largest insurance company Ping An Insurance, filed for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm plans to list its shares on NASDAQ. OneConnect’s filing with the SEC today called for a target raise of $100 million, though that figure could go higher.
Healthtech: Apple on Thursday launched an app that will let users of its devices enroll in three health studies, allowing them to share health-related data for medical research.
Al: Intel will build AI brains into your laptop for a major speed boost – using custom AI chips.
Smart cities: Credit Suisse on Thursday noted that Tesla has nearly an 80% share of the U.S. market for electric vehicles but the firm expects that the automaker’s “unique position” with its Model 3 will face a serious challenge from Ford next year. Despite the bullish statement, Credit Suisse remains one of Tesla’s sceptics, with an underweight rating on the stock, and that’s in part because of Ford’s new electric vehicle.

NexChangeNOW Pick of the Day
OneConnect Financial Technology, the Ping An-and Vision Fund-backed fintech SaaS provider, has filed for a U.S. IPO www.nexchangenow.com/news/blockchain/71575/ping-ans-blockchain-and-fintech-spinoff-files-for-100m-us-ipo/