Facing travel restrictions across Asia and Europe due to Coronavirus concerns, five major February investor conferences avoided outright cancellation by substituting complete agendas of virtual video meetings for face-to-face interactions. The virtual conferences were set up and managed by OpenExchange, the trusted video exchange for financial communications. The company is already preparing for sharply increased volume of virtual conferences in March. These critical bank-sponsored gatherings bring global professional investors together with growing companies in China, Korea, and Europe, at a time when information about health concerns and supply chain disruptions are rising around the world.
Deploying its suite of video meeting technology, seasoned video meeting specialists, and proprietary directory services during February, OpenExchange successfully connected 1500 professional investors with executive teams from more than 240 companies — many of whom were forced to work from home offices because of restrictions on travel and public gatherings in their home countries.
“OpenExchange is uniquely qualified to respond quickly to the urgent need to keep financial communications flowing in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak,” remarked OpenExchange CEO Mark Loehr. “The experience and trust we’ve built in serving video needs of the professional investment community over the last ten years, combined with the technology and people we acquired in our recent merger with KnowledgeVision, enabled us to respond rapidly to the urgent needs of some of the world’s most prominent financial institutions.”
OpenExchange employs its own technology, along with technology from Cisco, Zoom, and other video platforms, to connect the financial community with reliable, secure video connections regardless of the kind of video conference setup each participant has. Video meeting specialists, most of whom have deep experience in financial and investor services, set up and test connections to ensure that video meetings go off without a hitch. OpenExchange’s cutting-edge Knovio streaming video platform can livecast keynote and plenary sessions to tens of thousands of simultaneous viewers around the world and organize them into video libraries and microsites, dedicated to the virtual conference. Furthermore, its patented tracking system provides detailed analytics on how each viewer engages and interacts with the video content.
OpenExchange is adding technology and personnel in anticipation of sharp demand growth in March. “Even before March begins, we have committed to more than triple the number of meetings and connections we managed in February,” said OpenExchange’s Mark Loehr. “These truly are meetings that matter, because there is simply no substitute for professional investors than coming face-to-face — if only by video — with company executives during a time of global disruption.”
Based in Boston, New York, London, and Hong Kong, OpenExchange video-enables the vital daily communications of the financial services and professional investment industry and its clients with advanced one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many video technologies, tools and services. Anchored by its experience in connecting more than 50,000 video endpoints in the professional investment community and more than 400,000 registered users to its video platform, the OpenExchange Network bridges the worlds of real-time videoconferencing, video live-streaming, and searchable on-demand video archives and showcases, making it easy to connect, create, disseminate, and discover information critical to investment and business decisions.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
