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Editorial Invest in Slovakia
Get information from a selection of articles from other media. Our summary of each of them will save you time. You'll find news from the worlds of finance, technology, and real estate.
The euro and the pound headed sharply lower. The euro fell to a new 20-year low - The British pound fell 2.6 % to 1.0972 USD/GBP on Friday (despite a series of tax cuts and economic measures in the context of major changes in the country's finances). The fall in the euro ( 0.9 % to 0.9755) is thought to have been due to a reduction in business activity in the euro area private sector in September as a result of higher energy prices.
EUR 30 million is allocated to subsidise the renovation of older family houses. What do you need to know? - Applications will be open from 17 October 2022. The calls will run until the end of February next year. Any owner of a family house predominantly used for housing that was approved before 1 January 2013 will be able to apply for the renovation. €15 million is intended for a wide range of homeowners, the other half for disadvantaged families. Such applicants are favoured under this call and can receive up to 95 % of the reconstruction costs, up to a maximum of EUR 18 thousand. The energy efficiency of the house must reach at least 30 %.
More than half of the world's central banks are exploring or developing digital currencies - Digital versions of cash, issued and regulated by central banks, are safer and less volatile than other cryptoassets. As of July 2022, there were nearly 100 of them in the research or development phase and two fully launched: the eNaira in Nigeria, introduced in October 2021, and the Bahamian sand dollar, which debuted in October 2020. Experts say they can create greater resilience in domestic payment systems and encourage greater competition, increase payment efficiency and, in turn, reduce transaction costs. But they are also associated with risks that central banks need to consider. Banks must also consider their ability to manage the risks posed by cyber-attacks, while ensuring data privacy and financial integrity.
Digital euro will be available in 2026 at the earliest - In a paper on the progress of this initiative, the ECB states that a number of steps would need to be taken before the digital euro could be introduced, including an analysis of how financial intermediaries could provide front-end services, how the currency would be distributed to users and how payments would be settled. "The [implementation] phase could take about three years," says the central bank. "A decision on the eventual issuance of the digital euro may be taken at a later stage, also depending on legislative developments in relation to the regulation on the introduction and management of the essential aspects of the digital euro, which will be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the basis of a proposal from the European Commission." The central bank also mentions cooperation "with various stakeholders - intermediaries, consumers and retailers."
In the next few years, electric cars will rocket. How will this affect transport and the environment? - The forecast says that from 2027 onwards, the amount of oil produced will decrease and with it the consumption of diesel and petrol. At the same time, between 2021 and 2050, the volume of goods transported by road is expected to increase by 61 %. The number of vehicles transporting goods is set to reach 350 million by mid-century, up from 226 today, but the vehicle structure is set to change significantly. In 2050, despite the dominance of diesel powertrains, LNG and electric trucks are expected to be the most important vehicles.
Financial institutions committed to reduce fees for transfers to Ukraine - These currently amount to about 7 % of the country's GDP, but are set to rise to 22 % of GDP this year because of the war. Several financial institutions have decided to help the situation by lowering fees for money transfers, at least during the war. They have committed themselves to this by signing a joint declaration.
Crypto app downloads in Europe almost halved since 2021 - This year's economic downturn has not only affected the entire technology sector, but the cryptography sector seems to have suffered the most. The number of downloads of Europe's top 10 crypto apps has dropped to 4.1 million downloads in the first half of 2022 - a 45 % drop from the first half of 2021, when they recorded 7.5 million downloads, according to a survey by App Radar. Only three crypto apps - crypto exchanges Bitstamp, Change and Coinmetro - saw a slight increase in downloads compared to last year. However, all this does not seem to have hurt the overall venture capital investment in the sector so far.
HN's great guide on how to invest in cryptocurrencies. There are too many on the market, it's unsustainable, warns analyst - Although the value of most cryptocurrencies is declining, the market for digital assets continues to grow. When investing in them, the advice to invest only as much as you are willing to lose is especially true. Nowadays, the internal economics of various computer and mobile games or metaverse worlds are built on cryptocurrencies. "From our point of view, people [Slovaks] are still most interested in the largest cryptocurrencies, i.e. bitcoin or ethereum," experts agree. In the case of smaller assets, the orientation for ordinary investors is already becoming much less clear and they are usually much riskier. Self-study and the ability to find an edge over the rest of the market is important. Some cryptocurrencies today are pursuing a higher purpose than simply facilitating transactions. "If someone invests in NFT, they should rather focus on the artistic or other added value of that work. The vision of profit should not be the primary purpose," explains David Stencel.
Pleasant reading!
