Crypto sales soon available on PayPal?
PayPal and Venmo are reportedly taking a big step in the crypto direction. PayPal will be following in Square and Revolut’s footsteps, who have both seen great profits after launching crypto transactions on their platforms.
The news of PayPal’s entry into the crypto market comes from “three people familiar with the matter”.
These sources claim that: “They are going to allow buys and sells of crypto directly from PayPal and Venmo. They are going to have some sort of a built-in wallet functionality so you can store it there.”
Another source shed more light on the timeline, stating that: “the service could be expected in the next three months, maybe sooner.”
PayPal has not yet commented on these plans.
Global stocks dive after worsened IMF economic outlook
The last week in June showed another uncertain time for the global stock markets. This was partly due to the International Monetary Fund’s worsened outlook on the global economy, projecting a 4.9% decrease in global GDP—down 1.9% from its April forecast.
Stocks in the USA plummeted further due to the US’ highest daily infection rate to date and subsequent fears of reinstated lockdowns.
On a more positive note, the European markets showed the slightest of growth in spite of the IMF’s projections of a longer recession.
Green finance criteria a game changer in EU Green Deal
The EU parliament has put forth 6 criteria for sustainable investments. If any 1 of these 6 objectives are met, economic activity will be labelled as environmentally sustainable, provided it doesn’t harm any the other objectives. This will act as incentive for companies to make the transition to invest in green, sustainable practices. It will also support job creation and help to avoid ‘greenwashing’.
“It will be a game changer in the fight against climate change”, said Sirpa Pietikainen, lead negotiator for the Environment Committee. “Greening the financial sector is a first step towards making investments serve the transition to a carbon-neutral economy”.
The EU Green Deal aims to have Europe carbon-neutral by 2050.
Wirecard: No more wild-cards to play
On 23 June Markus Braun, former CEO of the now disgraced fintech giant Wirecard, was arrested on suspicion of false accounting and market manipulation. This comes after Wirecard announced on June 18 that €1.9 billion was missing. The day after, Mr. Braun resigned.
For years, Wirecard has been facing damning allegations, but has swept them under the rug and managed to become one of the biggest fintech success stories in Europe. Since the initial shock announcement, Wirecard stocks have continued to plummet.
ADNOC signs biggest energy deal of 2020
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has signed the largest energy infrastructure deal in the world for 2020—a €18.4 billion contract for natural gas pipelines. Of that amount, just over €9 billion will be a direct foreign investment for the UAE from the six-company consortium. The six companies are Global Infrastructure Partners from the US, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Canadian Brookfield Asset Management, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, NH Investment & Securities from South Korea, and Italy’s Snam.
“As part of the agreement, the consortium will acquire a 49% stake in a newly-formed subsidiary, ADNOC Gas Pipeline Assets, with lease rights to 38 pipelines. ADNOC will hold the majority stake of 51% and will retain ownership of the pipelines.”
This will be the second recent significant investment into the Abu Dhabi energy infrastructure. In 2019, companies KKR and BlackRock invested €4,4 billion for the rights to ADNOC’s oil pipelines.