Gold Hits One-week Low On Higher Yields

Gold drifted lower on Tuesday to hit one-week low as Treasury bond yields and the dollar edged higher ahead of key U.S. inflation data due out later in the day.

Renewed optimism over the post-pandemic economic recovery also weighed on prices.

Spot gold dipped 0.3 percent to $1,726.98 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.4 percent at $1,726.55 per ounce.

U.S. bond yields and the dollar ticked up after the Treasury’s sales of three- and 10-year notes attracted decent demand.

The U.S. will sell $24 billion of 30-year bonds later today and a total of $151 billion in bills throughout the week.

U.S. inflation data for March is due to be published later today and the numbers are important given the debates surrounding inflation and its implications for monetary policy.

Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said Monday he expects the economy to grow rapidly this year due to looser monetary and fiscal policies, though a full recovery could take longer than many think.

With inflation still below the central bank’s 2 percent target rate, the current “highly accommodative” monetary policy stance remained appropriate, he said.

Economic Club of Washington hosts Fed Chair Jerome Powell for a moderated Q&A on Wednesday.

Reggie Miller says he would have never teamed up with Michael Jordan if he was recruited

Steph Curry became the Golden State Warriors' all-time leading scorer Monday night, as his 53-point performance moved him past Wilt Chamberlain. 

To mark the feat, ESPN interviewed Hall of Famers Jerry West and Reggie Miller and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, all who spent their careers with the same team and at one point led their franchise in scoring. 

The question: Was there ever a point you felt like you might leave? Any superstar pitches to join forces?

"No," Miller told ESPN. "And if Michael Jordan ever would have called me and tried to sway me to come to Chicago, I would have told him to go (expletive) himself! 'I'll be coming to see you on I-65,' or whatever that highway is there. 'I'll be down to see you.'"

Miller went on to admit that the Knicks came calling, but that was already after Miller and New York "had a storied history," as he put it. Nowtizki told ESPN he fielded a call from the late Kobe Bryant after one of his final deals with the Mavericks expired, but he politely declined. 

Public Storage Acquires Of EzStorage For $1.8 Bln – Quick Facts

REIT Public Storage (PSA), the leading owner, acquirer, developer, and operator of self-storage properties, announced Tuesday the acquisition of ezStorage, one of the highest quality self-storage portfolios in the U.S., for $1.8 billion.

The portfolio comprises 48 properties (4.2 million net rentable square feet) located in submarkets with strong demand drivers and high barriers for new property development across Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland.

Public Storage’s industry-leading development team will assume responsibility for one property that is under construction and expand eight additional properties, resulting in a 10% increase in square footage through 2023.

In combination with its existing market presence, the Company’s Mid-Atlantic portfolio will be unmatched in coverage and quality with 163 properties and 11.3 million net rentable square feet.

The Company plans to fund the acquisition with unsecured debt. The transaction will be immediately accretive to FFO following an anticipated closing in May 2021.

Couple who bought house next to A446 complain about noise from dual carriageway

Cryptocurrency Market Capitalization Hits Record $2 Trillion

The cryptocurrency market capitalization reached an all-time high of $2 trillion on Monday.

The crypto market cap was boosted mainly by bitcoin, which maintained a market value of $1 trillion for one week, and by a rally in Ether.

Bitcoin accounts for more than half of the entire cryptocurrency market capitalization.

BTC, having touched its all-time record of $60,743 on March 14, continues to consolidate in the market.

2021 proved to be a year in which Bitcoin displayed its strongest performance ever, rallying over 100 percent.

The most popular cryptocurrency is trading at $57,726 as of this writing. BTC’s current market capitalization is $1.09 trillion. Global trade volume made a sharp surge in the last 24 hours to $66.21 billion, CoinMarketCap data shows.

Ether, the second most traded cryptocurrency, also contributed to the latest boost in the crypto market.

ETH price reached a record high of $2,151 in Asian trading hours Tuesday morning. The digital coin is currently trading at $2,054, 180 percent higher than the rate at which it was sold at the beginning of this year.

Ether’s current market capitalization is $243.73 billion, and global trade volume is $30.40 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.

New demand from both institutional and retail investors helped the market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market grow by double in just over two months, according to data and market trackers CoinGecko and Blockfolio.