BITCOIN

The South African currency’s exchange rate versus the U.S. dollar plunged to a new all-time low of ZAR19.51:US$1 on May 12. The rand’s latest fall came a day after the U.S. ambassador to South Africa accused the country of secretly supplying weapons to Russia. Banking giant JP Morgan said it now projects South Africa’s gross domestic product to contract by 0.2%, down from the earlier positive projection of 0.3%. South Africa Denies It Supplied Ammunition to Russia The exchange rate of the South African currency versus the greenback fell to a new all-time low of 19.51 units of the rand for every dollar on May 12. The rand’s plunge came a day after the African country was accused of secretly supplying ammunition to Russia by a United States ambassador. With this latest drop, the South African rand depreciated by more than 5% in just one week and more than 12% since the start of the year. Before hitting the new low, the South African rand’s previous all-time low was set on April 5, 20

The leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), have agreed to “encourage the use of local currencies for economic and financial transactions.” The group comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. This move will help them reduce their reliance on the U.S. dollar. Southeast Asian Countries’ De-Dollarization Efforts The leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, for the 42nd ASEAN Summit on May 10-11 under the chairmanship of the Republic of Indonesia. ASEAN members comprise Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The summit was chaired by H.E. Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia. An official declaration released by the chairman at the conclusion of the summit states: “We adopted the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on Advancing Regional Payment Connec

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has stressed that “there is a significant risk that the Treasury will run out of funds at some point in the first two weeks of June” if the debt ceiling is not raised or suspended. The CBO’s projection is in line with the estimate by the Treasury Department that a U.S. default could occur on June 1. CBO Sees ‘Significant Risk’ of the U.S. Defaulting in June The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an update to the Budget Outlook for 2023 to 2033 Friday. The report updates CBO’s budget projections released in February. “CBO’s baseline projections are developed in accordance with procedures set in law. Those procedures require the agency to project spending, revenues, deficits, and debt without regard to the statutory limit on the issuance of new federal debt. That limit (now set at $31.4 trillion) was reached on January 19, 2023,” the report details, adding: CBO estimates that if the limit is not raised or suspended, there is a significa

Democratic Party members of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services were handed a memo instructing them to back the party’s position on crypto regulation moments before the commencement of the hearings on May 10. According to the party’s leaked memo, Democrats on the committee were expected to point to the Republican Party’s lack of interest in protecting investors. The memo also said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should be allowed to “continue to lead the regulation of the U.S. crypto market.” Republicans Accused of Undermining the SEC According to a leaked memo shared by Eleanor Terrett, a journalist with Fox Business, Democratic Party members on the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services were given instructions to back the party’s position on crypto regulation when the committee met on May 10. In a Twitter post , Terrett claimed that the memo stating this had been circulated among Democrat committee members prior to the start of the hearings. SCOO