Decentralised finance, offering a full suite of financial products without intermediaries via distributed ledger technologies, continues to snowball, nearing the $100-billion mark in total value locked. Such success has captured regulators’ and hackers’ attention, supporting DeFi’s evolution into a dynamic, able and secure mode of finance.
With renewable energy set to dominate power-generation innovations in the coming years as the world aims to achieve decarbonisation, China is leading the race in solar power. Supported by the government, China is making strides in replacing its predominant energy source, coal, with clean energy and sharing its progress with its BRI partners.
The price of gold broke its own trading-day record to close out 2023 and may not have peaked. Analysts expect 2024 to be another great year for gold, with factors such as purchases by central banks and accelerating geopolitical turmoil pushing its price higher. But softer landings for major world economies may temper the demand for gold.
Banks, including some of the world’s largest, are increasingly being held accountable for their financing flows to clients involved with fossil fuels and industrial agriculture, deemed the top aggravators of climate change. Recent reports have spelled out the extent of individual banks’ financial support, causing some to change course.
After a few trying months of incremental interest-rate hikes in response to inflation, many wonder if the end is near or if central banks such as the Federal Reserve are resigned to higher-for-longer monetary policies. Many analysts believe there will be relief for borrowers sometime in 2024, but how much and when is under debate.