Kaohoon Morning Brief – 8 September 2021

1) El Salvador adopt bitcoin as legal tender

El Salvador has become the world’s first country to legally adopt bitcoin as legal tender after buying 400 bitcoin worth about $20.9 million one day prior to the official announcement. The country also launched a wallet application “Chivo,” which El Salvadorian can use to transact using bitcoin.

Bitcoin dropped as much as 17% on Tuesday as users were experiencing delayed or canceled transactions at “elevated rates” in the morning.

 

2) U.K. plans to raise taxes

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to raise taxes to fund social care reforms and the country’s National Health Service by introducing a new 1.25% levy on earned income across the U.K. Meanwhile, tax rates on shareholder dividends will increase by the same amount as well.

 

3) Nasdaq reaches a record high

Despite S&P 500 closing lower on Tuesday, Nasdaq Composite rose to a record high, supported by big tech stocks. Apple rose 1.6% while Netflix gained 2.7% as both securities also hit a record high.

 

4) Dollar rebounds from near-one-month low

The dollar index rose on Tuesday, seeing an uptick from a near-one-month low hit last week, as rising U.S. Treasury yields triggered investors to cut short dollar positions against the euro before a European Central Bank meeting for policy rate discussion this week.