Month: November 2023

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Binance battered as CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pleads guilty to U.S. federal charges

Crypto exchange

Binance chief Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal charges and stepped down as the company’s CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement with the Department of Justice, according to court documents.

The plea arrangement with the U.S. government resolves an investigation into the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Zhao said Tuesday in a post on X, that he had ‘made mistakes’ and ‘must take responsibility’. He said Richard Teng, the company’s former global head of regional markets, is the new CEO of Binance.

Action taken against Binance

The action against Binance and its founder was a joint effort by the Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Treasury Department. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was absent.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reportedly said in a release Tuesday 21st November 2023 that the cryptocurrency exchange permitted ‘illicit actors’ to make transactions that supported activities such as terrorism and illegal narcotics and that it allowed more than 1.5 million virtual currency trades that violated U.S. sanctions.

Plea deal

Zhao personally pleaded guilty to violating and causing a financial institution to violate the Bank Secrecy Act, according to the plea agreement. The DOJ is also recommending that the court impose a $50 million fine on Zhao.

Zhao has been released on a $175 million bond secured by $15 million in cash and has a sentencing hearing scheduled for 23rd February 2024.

Continue to operate

Binance will continue to operate but with new strict rules. The company will be required to maintain and enhance its compliance program to ensure its business is in line with U.S. anti-money-laundering standards. The company is required to appoint an independent compliance monitor.

The case against Binance shows that three criminal charges were brought against the exchange, including conducting an unlicensed money-transmitting business, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and conspiracy. Binance has agreed to forfeit $2.5 billion to the U.S. government, as well as to pay a fine of $1.8 billion.

SEC takes aim too

The SEC targeted the company with a lawsuit in June 2023, alleging that Binance was running an illegal securities exchange and mishandling customer funds.

The SEC also challenged rival crypto exchange Coinbase with a similar lawsuit, alleging it is operating as an unauthorized securities exchange, broker and clearing agency.

And on Monday 20th November 2023 the SEC sued Kraken, alleging that the exchange commingled $33 billion in customer crypto assets with its own company assets, creating the potential for a significant risk of loss to its users.

Crypto fraud
Binance battered as CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) pleads guilty to federal charges, steps down.

In the charges brought against Binance by the SEC, the agency accused Binance of ‘commingling’ billions of dollars in customer money with Binance’s own funds, similar to allegations made against the now bankrupt and disgraced crypto exchange FTX. The founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of fraud and now awaits sentencing.

EC Chair, Gary Gensler reportedly said, ‘Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law’.

Binance origin

Started by the Chinese-born entrepreneur in 2017, Binance went from being a relatively obscure name to being a major force in crypto in a matter of weeks. Binance remains the world’s largest crypto exchange globally, processing billions of dollars in trades every year.

While its holding company is based in the Cayman Islands, Binance doesn’t have a global headquarters and Zhao frequently resisted calls to create one, saying he wanted the platform to run on a ‘decentralized’ operating model.

UK ban

In 2021, the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) barred Binance’s U.K. unit from operating in the country, saying it wasn’t authorized to carry out regulated activities. More recently, Binance scrapped plans to pursue a full U.K. license after the regulator said its ‘know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering’ controls didn’t meet its requirements.

Binance and Zhao filed a motion in July 2023 to dismiss the CFTC’s suit. The U.S. arm of the exchange is also pushing back on the SEC’s lawsuit, filing a protective order against what they call the SEC’s ‘fishing expedition’.

Crypto industry concern

Of particular concern for the crypto industry are the implications of the crypto crackdown for a myriad of altcoins or tokens and blockchains, not just the exchanges.

The SEC maintains that several of the tokens Binance and Coinbase offer on their platforms such as: Solana’s SOL, Cardano’s ADA , and Polygon’s MATIC are all securities that should have been registered.

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Nvidia’s AI chip boom continues, latest figures show

Nvidia AI chip

Nvidia’s revenue grew 206% from year 2022 during the quarter ending 29th October 2023, according to data from Nvidia.

Net income, at $9.24 billion, or $3.71 per share, was up from $680 million, in the same quarter of 2022.

The company’s data centre revenue came in at: $14.51 billion, up a massive 279% and above consensus of $12.97 billion. Half of the data centre revenue came from cloud infrastructure providers such as Amazon, and the other from consumer internet and large companies, Nvidia said. Healthy uptake also came from clouds that specialized in renting out GPUs to clients.

Earnings: $4.02 per share, adjusted, vs. $3.37 per share expected

Revenue: $18.12 billion, vs. $16.18 billion expected

The gaming segment contributed $2.86 billion, up 81% and higher than the $2.68 billion general consensus. Nvidia’s future guidance suggested $20 billion in revenue for Q4, implying a nearly 231% revenue growth.

Year on year Nvidia share price movement.

Year on year Nvidia share price movement – Nov 2022 – Nov 2023

During the quarter, Nvidia announced the GH200 GPU, which has more memory than the current H100 and an additional Arm processor onboard. The H100 is expensive and in demand. Nvidia said Australia-based Iris Energy, an owner of bitcoin mining data centers, was buying 248 H100s for $10 million, which works out around $40,000 each.

Nvidia’s revenue grew 206% year over year during the quarter ending 29th October 2023, according to data from Nvidia.

Nvidia share price moved down 1% in after-hours trading on Tuesday 21st November 2023 after the reporting fiscal Q3 results that surpassed predictions. But the company called for a negative impact in the next quarter because of export restrictions affecting sales to organizations in China and other countries.

‘We expect that our sales to these destinations decline significantly in the Q4 2024, though we believe the decline will be more than offset by strong growth in other regions’, Nvidia reported.

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OpenAI saga continues – I’m in, I’m out, I’m back. Altman is back after getting the sack!

OpenAI

At the speed of AI, the story at OpenAI moves at lightning speed.

Hundreds of OpenAI employees signed a letter demanding the OpenAI board resign or face an employee exodus to Sam Altman’s new venture at Microsoft ‘imminently‘.

The board then attempted to negotiate Altman’s return, but those talks were unsuccessful.

At the touch of a button – resignation letter sent to the OpenAI board of directors

To the Board of Directors at OpenAI

OpenAI is the world’s leading AI company. We, the employees of OpenAI, have developed the best models and pushed the field to new frontiers. Our work on AI safety and governance shapes global norms. The products we built are used by millions of people around the world. Until now, the company we work for and cherish has never been in a stronger position.

The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company. Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.

When we all unexpectedly learned of your decision, the leadership team of OpenAI acted swiftly to stabilize the company. They carefully listened to your concerns and tried to cooperate with you on all grounds. Despite many requests for specific facts for your allegations, you have never provided any written evidence. They also increasingly realized you were not capable of carrying out your duties, and were negotiating in bad faith.

The leadership team suggested that the most stabilizing path forward – the one that would best serve our mission, company, stakeholders, employees and the public – would be for you to resign and put in place a qualified board that could lead the company forward in stability. Leadership worked with you around the clock to find a mutually agreeable outcome. Yet within two days of your initial decision, you again replaced interim CEO Mira Murati against the best interests of the company. You also informed the leadership team that allowing the company to be destroyed “would be consistent with the mission.”

Your actions have made it obvious that you are incapable of overseeing OpenAI. We are unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgement and care for our mission and employees. We, the undersigned, may choose to resign from OpenAI and join the newly announced Microsoft subsidiary run by Sam Altman and Greg Brockman. Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.”

In just 5 days

  • Sam Altman sacked from OpenAI.
  • Altman appears to move to Microsoft.
  • OpenAI staff revolt.
  • No confidence in OpenAI board.
  • Space for staff to move to Microsoft and create new AI company under Altman’s leadership.
  • OpenAI mass employee resignation letter emerges.
  • Microsoft CEO Nadella says OpenAI governance needs to change no matter where Altman ends up.
  • Altman back at OpenAI after board changes.

Now, Altman is back after getting the sack.

So, is all OK at OpenAI? I asked CHATGPT the question, here is the answer…

Searching for: OpenAI news

Generating answers for you…OpenAI

It seems that there is some turmoil at OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. According to the latest news, the former CEO Sam Altman, who was ousted and hired by Microsoft last week, has made a stunning return to OpenAI as the CEO again1. The company also announced a new board of directors, including Bret Taylor, the former chair of Twitter1. This comes after a series of protests and resignations from OpenAI employees, who were unhappy with the direction and culture of the company2. OpenAI also unveiled new models and products at its DevDay event, such as GPT-4 Turbo, Assistants API, GPT-4 Turbo with Vision, and DALL·E 3 API3. These are some of the developments that have been happening at OpenAI recently. I hope this answers your question. 😊

There you have it, sacked and now back!

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Nvidia stock closes at all-time high

AI chip image

Nvidia stock closes at all-time high, a day before earnings

Shares of Nvidia closed up 2.3% at an all-time high of $504 on Monday 20th November 2023. The record comes ahead of the company’s Q3 results due Tuesday 21st November 2023, when analysts are expecting to see revenue growth of over 170%.

And, if that’s not enough, the forecast for Q4, according to some analysts, is likely to show a number close to 200% growth.

Nvidia is still by far the market leader in GPUs for AI, but high prices and competition are fast becoming an issue.

Can Nvidia continue the AI ride and hold this remarkable market share position?

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Party politics and petty petulance, an average day at No. 10 Downing Street

Party politics and petty petulance
Party politics and petty petulance – toys out the pram again at No. 10

Welcome politics at No. 10 Downing street

The phrase ‘throwing your toys out of the pram’ is a British idiom that means to behave in a childish or immature way when you are angry or frustrated. It is usually used to criticize someone who is acting unreasonably or making a fuss over something trivial.

Right now, it sums up everyday behaviour at No. 10 Downing Street.

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Fired OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman to lead Microsoft’s new AI team

AI robot and human

Sam Altman, the former CEO of OpenAI, who was fired last week in a controversial board decision. 

According to the latest reports, Altman is joining Microsoft to lead a new AI research team that will focus on advanced and ethical AI development.

Altman is a well-known entrepreneur and investor who has been involved in several AI-related projects.

He was one of the co-founders of OpenAI, a research organization that aims to create artificial general intelligence (AGI) that can ‘benefit humanity without causing harm’ or being controlled by a few elite players.

Leadership and ideology clash

However, Altman’s vision and style clashed with some of the board members and researchers at OpenAI, who reportedly accused him of being too ambitious, secretive, and authoritarian. They also reportedly claimed that he was pursuing a dangerous goal of creating artificial superintelligence (ASI).

The disagreements escalated when Altman announced a partnership with Microsoft in 2023, which gave Microsoft exclusive access to OpenAI’s GPT-4 Turbo model, a powerful natural language processing system that can generate realistic text on any given topic. 

Some of the OpenAI staff and community members reportedly felt let-down by this deal, which they saw as a violation of OpenAI’s original mission of creating and sharing ‘AI for the common good’.

On Friday 17th November 2023, the board of OpenAI voted to remove Altman as CEO, citing irreconcilable differences and lack of trust. He was replaced by Emmett Shear, the former CEO of Twitch, who promised to restore transparency and collaboration at OpenAI.

Altman to join Microsoft

Altman did not comment on his dismissal. However, on Monday 20th November 2023, he rocked the AI world by announcing he was joining Microsoft as the head of a new AI research team.

He reportedly said that he was excited to work with Microsoft’s talented people and that he would continue to pursue his vision of creating beneficial and ethical AI for humanity. 

Altman’s move to Microsoft has sparked mixed opinions from the AI community. Some have praised him for his innovation and courage, others have criticized him for his arrogance and recklessness.

There were reports over weekend suggesting employees and investors including Microsoft were pushing for Mr Altman to be reinstated. Some employees resigned in support of Altman.

Some have expressed concern about the potential impact of his new role on the future of AI development and regulation.

Where do OpenAI, Microsoft and the AI go from here?

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Singapore to pilot use of wholesale central bank digital currencies in 2024

Central bank digital money

It was reported Friday 17th November 2023 by the city-state’s central bank that Singapore will be piloting the live issuance and use of wholesale central bank digital currencies in 2024.

During the pilot, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, (MAS) will partner with local banks to pilot the use of wholesale CBDCs to facilitate domestic payments.

What is a CBDC?

A CBDC is a digital form of a country’s fiat currency, issued and regulated by the central bank or monetary authority of that country. CBDCs are different from cryptocurrencies, which are decentralized and not backed by any government.

Singapore is one of the countries that has been actively exploring the potential of CBDCs, both for wholesale and retail purposes. Wholesale CBDCs are meant for interbank transactions and cross-border payments, while retail CBDCs are meant for general public use and everyday payments.

CBDC MAS timeline

In November 2021, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched Project Orchid, a retail CBDC project that aims to build the infrastructure and test the use cases for a digital Singapore dollar. The project will explore the concept of purpose-bound digital Singapore dollars, which allow senders to specify how and where the money will be used.

In August 2021, MAS announced Project Dunbar, a wholesale CBDC project that involves the collaboration of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Bank Negara Malaysia, and South African Reserve Bank. The project will develop prototypes of shared platforms for cross-border transactions using multiple CBDC’s.

In June 2021, MAS published a monograph on the economic considerations of a retail CBDC in the Singapore context. The monograph concluded that there is no urgent case for a retail CBDC in Singapore, but MAS wants to be prepared in case the situation changes in the future.

In April 2021, MAS extended the regulatory sandbox for Project Ubin, a wholesale CBDC project that started in 2016. Project Ubin has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using blockchain technology for clearing and settlement of payments and securities.

Singapore to pilot use of wholesale central bank digital currencies in 2024

In March 2021, MAS joined the Multiple CBDC (m-CBDC) Bridge initiative, a wholesale CBDC project that involves the Bank of Thailand, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and the Bank for International Settlements. The project will explore the use of distributed ledger technology to enable real-time cross-border transactions using multiple CBDC’s.

Process

Banks will issue tokenized bank liabilities in the form of claims in balance sheets. Retail customers can then use the tokenized bank liabilities in transactions with merchants, who will then credit these bank liabilities with their respective banks. Tokenization refers to the process of issuing a digital form of an asset on a blockchain.

The CBDC will then be automatically transferred to the merchant as a form of payment during the transaction.

Many central banks are testing and exploring their own digital currencies, includung the UK and U.S.

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European Central Bank says: Signs that the global economy is fragmenting into competing blocs

European Central Bank

Fear or Fact?

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde on Friday 17th November 2023 reportedly said that Europe is now at a critical juncture, with deglobalization, demographics and decarbonization looming on the horizon.

Fragmentation

‘There are increasing signs that the global economy is fragmenting into competing blocs’, she said at the European Banking Congress, according to a transcript.

Focusing on Europe, she said that a continuous decline in the population of working age looks set to start as early as 2025, alongside climate disasters that are increasing every year.

Her answer to these shocks was that massive investment would be needed in a short space of time, requiring what she called a ‘generational effort‘.

Barriers

‘As new trade barriers appear, we will need to reassess supply chains and invest in new ones that are safer, more efficient and closer to home‘, Lagarde reportedly said.

‘As our societies age, we will need to deploy new technologies so that we can produce greater output with fewer workers. Digitalization will help. And as our climate warms, we will need to advance the green transition without any further delays‘.

Paving the way for AI?

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Retail trouble – UK sales hit lowest level since 2021 lockdowns

UK retail spending slows in October 2023

Shoppers bought less food and fuel in October 2023 as they were hit by rising living costs and poor weather, according to ONS data.

The volume of products sold last month fell by 0.3% to the lowest level since February 2021 when large parts of the UK were in Covid lockdowns. Retail sales had been expected to grow in October 2023.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said fuel purchases may have been ‘affected by increasing prices’.

Demand for other goods was also lower, the ONS reported.

The CNBC/NRF Retail Monitor, which tracks card transactions, also reported a drop in consumer spending in October 2023, with retail sales, excluding autos and petrol/diesel, falling by 0.08%, and core retail, which also removes restaurants, declining by 0.03%. 

The report suggested that the consumer took a spending break ahead of the holiday season, amid rising inflation, supply chain disruptions, and labour shortages.

UK inflation presented a bigger drop in October 2023 than expected – this will likely drive higher retail spending through the holiday period.

Higher pay and lower inflation will provide a lift through the Christmas 2023 holidays.

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Does the stock market think the Fed is going to start cutting rates aggressively any time soon?

Fed cuts any time soon?

Probably not, any time soon…

Observing the data available at CME FedWatch the stock market does not seem to expect the Fed to start cutting rates aggressively anytime soon, this opinion is based on the current pricing data of the fed-funds futures market. 

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the probability of a rate cut in the next FOMC meeting on 13th December 2023 is very low. It is likely interest rates will be left unchanged.

The market seems to expect the Fed will hold the current rate of 5.25% until at least March 2024, but will then gradually lower it to 4.75% by December 2024. 

The market seems to be more optimistic about the U.S. economic outlook and the Fed’s ability to control inflation. The mood on rates has been buoyed recently with inflation data coming in better than expected.

It is highly likely that the Fed will have to cut rates more aggressively in 2024 and 2025 to stimulate the economy and avoid a potential prolonged recession.

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Microsoft announces custom AI chip November 2023

Art impression of AI chip

Microsoft is working on its own artificial intelligence chip, code-named Athena, that could compete with Nvidia’s products.

The company introduced two new microchips.

The first, its Maia 100 artificial intelligence chip, could compete with Nvidia’s highly sought-after AI graphics processing units.

The second, a Cobalt 100 Arm chip, is aimed at general computing tasks and could compete with Intel processors.

The chip is designed for training large language models (LLM’s) like ChatGPT and powering AI applications. Microsoft has been developing the chip since 2019 using Taiwan Semiconductor’s 5-nanometer process.  The chip is currently being tested by a small select group of Microsoft and OpenAI employees.

Long-term objective

Microsoft’s objective is to reduce its dependency on third-party hardware providers and to customize its AI infrastructure for its own projects.

Microsoft has invested billions in OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, to enhance its position in the AI field. The Athena chip could also enable Microsoft to add AI capabilities to its Office products and GitHub, but it has already achieved this using the OpenAI system.

Microsoft has not announced when the chip will be available to the public or to its Azure cloud customers.

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IMF says now is the time for central bank digital currencies

Central Bank digital money to replace cash

IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva reportedly said that the public sector should keep preparing to deploy central bank digital currencies (CBDC’s) and related payment platforms in the future.

But according to data from the Atlantic Council, only 11 countries have adopted CDBC’s thus far.

Alternative to cash

Central bank digital currencies (CBDC’s) have the potential to replace cash. But adoption could take time, said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday 15th November 2023.

‘CBDC’s can replace cash which is costly to distribute”, she is reported to have said at the Singapore FinTech event. ‘They can offer resilience in more advanced economies. And they can improve financial inclusion where few hold bank accounts’.

‘CBDC’s would offer a safe and low-cost alternative to cash. They would also offer a bridge between private monies and a yardstick to measure their value, just like cash today which we can withdraw from our banks’, the IMF chief reportedly said.

Fiat currency

CBDC’s are the digital form of a country’s fiat currency, which are regulated by the country’s central bank. They are powered by blockchain technology, allowing central banks to channel government payments directly to households.

Central Bank digital money to replace cash. IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva reportedly said that the public sector should keep preparing to deploy central bank digital currencies (CBDC’s) and related payment platforms in the future.

The IMF has indicated that more than 100 countries are exploring CBDC’s – that’s approximately 60% of countries in the world.

‘The level of global interest in CBDCs is unprecedented. Several central banks have already launched pilots or even issued a CBDC’, the IMF said in a September 2023 report.

According to a 2022 survey conducted by the Bank for International Settlements, of the 86 central banks surveyed, 93% said they were exploring CBDCs, while 58% said they were likely to or may possibly issue a retail CBDC in either the short or medium term.

But as of June 2023, only 11 countries had adopted CBDC’s, with an additional 53 in advanced planning stages and 46 researching, according to data from the Atlantic Council.

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UK inflation falls sharply to 4.6% October 2023

UK inflation drops

UK inflation fell to 4.6% in October 2023, down from 6.7% in September 2023. 

This is the lowest rate of price increases since 2021 and the bigger than expected fall should provide some relief to UK households gripped by the cost-of-living crisis. 

The main factors that contributed to the drop in inflation were largely due to lower energy prices, food and non-alcoholic drink prices, and airfares. Economists suggested that the main reason inflation fell from its peak of 11.1% in October 2022 was due to the fall in the energy price cap, which limits what suppliers can charge consumers per unit of energy.

Office for National Statistics Data (ONS)

Office for National Statistics Data

However, the UK still has the highest inflation rate of any G7 country, and some economists warn that the Bank of England (BoE) may need to raise interest rates to prevent inflation from rising again.

Target hit

The UK government will no doubt rejoice today as the end-of-year 5% has been achieved earlier than expected. But don’t party too early, the actual target is 2%. There is a limit to how much credit ministers can take for the fall as energy prices settle.

The FTSE100 was happy, it climbed some 100 points in morning trade.

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U.S. inflation flat for October from September 2023, core CPI hits two-year low giving a boost to equities

U.S. inflation flat in October - trending down.

U.S. Inflation was flat in October from the previous month, providing a positive sign that high prices are finally easing their tight grip on the U.S. economy. Is this also a green light for the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates.

The consumer price index (CPI) was flat in October 2023 from the previous month but up 3.2% from a year ago. Both were below analysts’ estimates, sparking a major stock market rally.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core CPI rose 0.2% and 4%, against the forecast of 0.3% and 4.1%. The annual rate was the smallest increase since September 2021.

The flat reading on the headline CPI came as energy prices declined 2.5% for the month, offsetting a 0.3% increase in the food index.

Traders do not anticipate that the Fed will raise interest rates in December 2023, according to data from the CME Group.

Traders do not anticipate that the Fed will raise interest rates in December 2023, according to data from the CME Group.

U.S. Treasury yields fall

U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday 14th November 2023 as key inflation data showed a surprisingly ‘soft’ change in prices last month.

The 10-year Treasury yield fell to about 4.45%. The 2-year Treasury yield fell more to under 4.9%.

Good data

Inflation stabilising, yields falling and equities up – are the stars aligning for a stock market rally leading into Christmas 2023?

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‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts’.

Shakespeare quote

William Shakespeare 1564 – 1616

This is from As You Like It, Act 2, Scene 7, where Jaques describes the ages of human life.

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts’.

See other quotes

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Nvidia unveils its newest GH200 high-end AI superchip

Art impression of AI chip

Nvidia has recently announced its latest high-end chip, the GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip, which is designed for training AI models at giant scale. 

The GH200 is a breakthrough accelerated CPU that combines the NVIDIA Grace™ and Hopper™ architectures using NVIDIA® NVLink®-C2C to deliver a CPU+GPU coherent memory model for AI and HPC applications. The superchip delivers up to 10X higher performance for applications running terabytes of data, enabling scientists and researchers to reach unprecedented solutions for the world’s most complex problems.

The technical bit

The GH200 features 72 cores of Grace CPU outfitted with 480 GB of ECC LPDDR5X memory, as well as the GH100 compute GPU that is paired with 141 GB of HBM3E memory that comes in six 24 GB stacks and uses a 6,144-bit memory interface. 

The GH200 also has a new 900 gigabytes per second (GB/s) coherent interface, which is 7X faster than PCIe Gen5, and supercharges accelerated computing and generative AI with HBM3 and HBM3e GPU memory. The GH200 can run all NVIDIA software stacks and platforms, including NVIDIA AI Enterprise, HPC SDK, and Omniverse™.

Nvidia GH200 superchip for AI
Nvidia unveils its newest GH200 high-end AI Superchip.

The GH200 is available as part of the NVIDIA DGX GH200, a massive memory supercomputer that fully connects 256 GH200 Superchips into a singular GPU. The DGX GH200 offers 144 terabytes (TB) of shared memory with linear scalability for giant AI models. 

The DGX GH200 is a turnkey data centre-class solution that includes integrated software and white-glove services from NVIDIA, from design to deployment, to speed the ROI of AI. 

The DGX GH200 is the only AI supercomputer that offers a massive, shared memory space of 144TB across 256 NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchips, providing developers with nearly 500X more memory to build giant models.

Full details available on the Nvidia website.

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UK pay outstrips inflation by highest amount for two years

UK pay up

Pay growth has outstripped inflation by the most since 2021, in a further sign that the pressure on living costs may be starting to ease.

Regular pay rose at an annual rate of 7.7% between July and September 2023, official figures show; higher than average inflation over the same three months.

But job vacancies fell for the 16th month in row, in a worrying sign that the jobs market is weakening. Between August and October 2023, the estimated number of vacancies in the UK fell to 957000, down 58000 – although the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total remains well above pre-pandemic levels.

Data Source: Office for National Statistics Data

UK pay outstrips inflation by highest amount for two years

The UK’s unemployment rate was largely unchanged between July to September 2023 at 4.2%, according to ONS data.

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Xbox gaming platform goes offline

System outage

Microsoft has confirmed problems with accessing its Xbox gaming platform and Teams messaging app in the UK and Europe have now been resolved.

More than 1500 people in the UK reported issues with Xbox Live, according to the outage tracker Downdetector. A similar number also said there were problems with the Teams app.

It left some who had purchased the latest game in the Call of Duty series unable to play. But Microsoft said this had since been fixed.

An artificial increase in synthetic network traffic – whatever that is

On X, Microsoft said the services were impacted by ‘an artificial increase in synthetic network traffic’. Could someone please explain to me what this actually means…? Microsoft went on to say: ‘We’ve made configuration changes to remediate impact and after monitoring the service, we’ve confirmed the issue is now resolved.’ Microsoft previously said it had ‘identified some anomalies within our network infrastructure’. Really, what do these explanations actually explain?

Problem unique to UK & Europe

The problem was unique to customers in the UK and Germany, Microsoft had said earlier on Friday, but it was also reported, on social media, that people in Sweden, Finland and Poland had been unable to access services.

There were reports from both of these countries on Downdetector, as well as other European countries.

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Ex-NatWest boss loses out on £7.6 million pay deal after Farage fiasco

Ex bank boss pay-deal

Dame Alison Rose, the former chief executive of NatWest Group, will lose out on £7.6m after she admitted to discussing the closure of Nigel Farage’s bank account with a BBC journalist.

Another word for getting the sack?

She ‘resigned’ from the banking group in July 2023, after the former Ukip leader complained about a BBC report that claimed his accounts with Coutts, a private bank owned by NatWest, were closed for commercial reasons.

Apology

The BBC later apologised and amended its story, saying that it had checked with a senior source, whom Dame Alison later confirmed was herself, that Mr Farage’s accounts were closed because he fell below Coutts’s wealth threshold.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) initially suggested that Dame Alison had breached data privacy laws by confirming Mr Farage’s banking arrangements, but later issued a formal apology, saying it was ‘incorrect’ and that it had not investigated her.

Pay deal of £2.4 million

Dame Alison will receive her £2.4 million fixed pay package but will not benefit from share awards and bonuses she had previously been entitled to. 

‘I’m sorry you didn’t get your full pay deal of £10 million – but I guess £2.4 million will help with Christmas this year’.

Her saga reportedly wiped £850m off the value of NatWest Group. The long-term damage to the bank and banking sector likely hasn’t been fully realised yet.

It’s about trust and privacy, isn’t it?

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UK economy flatlines

UK flatlined

The U.K. economy flatlined in the third quarter, initial figures showed Friday 10th November 2023.

Gross domestic product (GDP) showed zero quarterly growth in the three months to the end of September 2023, following an increase of 0.2% in the previous quarter. In annual terms, the UK’s Q3 GDP was 0.6% higher than in the same period in 2022.

Services sector output dropped 0.1% on the quarter, but the decline was offset by a 0.1% increase in construction performance, while the production sector flatlined.

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said high inflation remains the ‘single greatest barrier to economic growth’ in the country, with the consumer price index remaining at 6.7% year-on-year in September 2023.

UK economy flatlines as inflation sticks at 6.7% year-on-year as at September 2023.

‘The best way to sustainably grow our economy right now is to stick to our plan and knock inflation on its head’, Hunt reportedly said.

It’s useful to know the government have a plan, even though they were very late to the inflation party! Guess they were sidetracked with all the other parties at No.10!

‘The Autumn Statement will focus on how we get the economy growing healthily again by unlocking investment, getting people back into work and reforming our public services so we can deliver the growth our country needs’.

Up until September 2023, the Bank of England (BoE) raised interest rates 14 consecutive times to try to influence the UK ‘product and service’ price climb.

Red flags

Interest rates are now at a 15-year high of 5.25%, and are expected to remain high for some time to come. Bank Governor Andrew Bailey reportedly said last week it was ‘much too early’ to be considering rate cuts.

Thank you Governor Baily – it so comforting and reassuring to know that the very people who missed the red inflation flags are still in charge of policy.

Transitory?

Remember, the BoE and others originally suggested inflation would be transitory – I suppose it is, if given years to move back down. What did you think was going to happen after all that borrowing and the country crawling back to work after the pandemic.

Nice job guys! Don’t forget to collect your paycheque on the way out!

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Moody’s cuts U.S. outlook to negative

U.S. credit rating stable to negative

Moody’s, a credit rating agency, lowered its ratings outlook on the United States to negative from stable.

This means that Moody’s sees a higher risk of a downgrade in the future, which could affect the borrowing costs and confidence of the U.S. government.

Moody’s actions

The main reasons for Moody’s action are the rising deficits and debt levels of the U.S., as well as the continued political polarization that hampers effective policymaking. Moody’s also cited the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the recent failures of some U.S. banks as factors that have worsened the environment for the U.S. government and the banking system in general.

Warning!

Moody’s warned that the U.S.’s deficits are likely to remain ‘very large’. It also warned that ‘continued political turmoil or polarization’ in Congress further increases the risk the U.S. will not be able to reach consensus on a fiscal plan to slow the decline in debt affordability‘.

Moody’s still maintains a triple ‘A’ (AAA) credit rating on the U.S. government debt, which is the highest possible rating, but warns of the challenges and uncertainties that the U.S. faces in restoring its fiscal strength and stability.

The ‘AAA‘ rating is at risk.

U.S. government on brink of shutdown, again

The federal government is on the brink of another shutdown, with just a week left for the Republican-led House, Democratic-led Senate and Biden White House to reach a breakthrough on funding.

U.S. debt is at an all-time high!

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The Fed is ‘not confident’ according to Jerome Powell

Fed

Fed Chair Jerome Powell reportedly said he and his colleagues remain steadfast in getting policy in line with their 2% inflation target, but ‘we are not confident that we have achieved such a stance’.

He stressed the Fed nevertheless can be cautious as the risks between doing too much and too little have come into closer balance.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell reportedly said Thursday 9th November 2023 that he and his fellow policymakers are encouraged by the slowing pace of inflation but are unsure whether they’ve done enough to keep the momentum going.

Inflation battle

Speaking a little more than a week after the central bank voted to hold rates steady, Powell said in remarks aimed at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gathering in Washington, D.C., that more work could be ahead in the battle against high prices.

The statement comes with inflation still well above the Fed’s long-standing goal but also considerably below its peak levels in the first half of 2022. After 11 U.S. rate hikes, we have witnessed the most aggressive policy tightening since the early 1980s, the FOMC have increased rates from pretty much zero to a range of 5.25%-5.5%.

Those increases have coincided with the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, to fall to an annual rate of 3.7%, from 5.3% in February 2022. The more widely followed consumer price index peaked above 9% in June of last year.

Progress

Powell referenced the progress the economy has made. Gross domestic product (GDP) accelerated at a ‘quite strong’ 4.9% annualised pace Q3 2023, though Powell also said the expectation is for growth to ‘moderate in coming quarters’. He described the economy as ‘just remarkable’ in 2023 in the face of a broad expectation that a recession was inevitable.

Nothing like a massive ‘self-pat’ on the back for a job well-done? Remember the Fed’s initial analysis? IT was for inflation to be ‘transitory’. They didn’t get that right either.

Futures pricing, according to the CME Group, suggested there’s less than a 10% chance that the FOMC will approve a final rate hike at its Dec. 12-13, 2023, meeting, even though committee members in September pencilled in an additional 0.25% rise before the end of 2023.

Impression drawing of Fed Chair. The Fed is ‘not confident’ according to Jerome Powell.

Traders anticipate the Fed will start cutting rates next year, probably around June 2024.

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Bitcoin bashes through $37000 and closes in on $38000

Bitcoin

Bitcoin rose to a new high for 2023 on Thursday 9th November 2023 as optimism around a potential Bitcoin ETF approval continued to build.

The price of the Bitcoin rose more than 6% to climb above $37000 for the first time since May 2022. It touched $37900 before drifting back slightly. Ether was little changed but held recent gains and was trading just below the $2000 level.

The rise in the Bitcoin triggered a wave of short liquidation overnight, which aided and propelled crypto prices higher.

Over the past year, cryptocurrencies in general have been desperately searching for a catalyst and the ETF news has been just that. We may witness another big surge when the ETF news fully breaks.

Altcoins

Other crypto assets as well as crypto equities enjoyed the Bitcoin price wave. Solana, one of the biggest outperformers in crypto this year, gained 11%. The tokens related to Cardano and Polygon rose 4% and 3%.

When Bitcoin surges, Ether and other altcoins tend to follow suit. Bitcoin is up over 120% year-to-date, we are seeing many other coins turning bullish now too, and trading volumes are picking up.