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Month: March 2022

Goldman Sachs now offers crypto options “over the counter”

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/03/2022

New York-based Goldman Sachs has made its first over the counter crypto options trade, marking its increase in digital asset holdings to investors.

American investment bank and financial services company Goldman Sachs traded a non-deliverable Bitcoin option, a derivative tied to Bitcoin’s price that pays out cash, according to a statement put out by the company.

The transaction was made by Galaxy Digital Holdings, run by former Goldman partner Michael Novogratz. Options are used by crypto investors to lessen risks or to enhance yields, and over-the-counter transactions are usually bigger trades negotiated privately.

This is the first time a major US bank has executed such a transaction and it anticipates that this trade will “open the door for other banks considering OTC as a conduit for trading digital assets,” said Damien Vanderwilt, co-president and head of global markets at Galaxy, in a statement.

Goldman opened up trading of non-deliverable forwards, a derivative tied to Bitcoin’s price that settles in cash in 2021. It offers exchange-listed options and futures trading in Bitcoin and Ether as well. Furthermore, Galaxy provided liquidity for Goldman’s first CME Bitcoin futures trade last year.

Max Minton, Goldman’s Asia Pacific head of digital assets, said, “This is an important development in our digital assets capabilities and for the broader evolution of the asset class.”

Goldman is huge in the banking world, with a 2020 revenue of US$ 44.6 billion and assets of an eye-watering US$ 2.1 trillion.

It was announced in February that the American financial services company had received approval to re-establish a private wealth unit branch in Monaco, six years after it closed a former location.

 

SEE ALSO:

Goldman Sachs set to return to the Principality

 

 

 

Photo by Art Rachen on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

Weekend ski report: 25th – 27th March

by: Luke Entwistle
23/03/2022

Snow is receding and temperatures are on the rise throughout the region, although those hoping to catch some end-of-season snow still have plenty of enticing options with good conditions in many resorts.

Isola 2000 – There are currently 23 ski slopes and 14 ski lifts open at Isola. Visitors can expect there to be between 100 and 80 cm of smooth snow. The weekend is expected to be largely overcast. As we accelerate towards April, temperatures are on the rise, and Isola can expect highs of 9°C and lows of -3°C. The col de la Bonette and la Lombarde roads are closed until the end of the winter season.

Auron – There are currently 20 ski slopes and 14 ski lifts open at the resort, with between 85-75 cm of standing snow. It will be milder than last weekend with highs of 10°C and lows of 0°C. Conditions will be pleasant although breezy over the weekend with sunny spells on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with winds reaching up to 34km/h on Sunday. In terms of access, Route de la Tinée, Route de la Bonette, Piste de la Moustière, Piste de Demandols all remain closed. The French Alpine Ski Championships will be taking place at the resort throughout the weekend with a variety of mens and womens events.

Les Deux Alpes – There is a huge choice of runs at the resort with 69 ski slopes and 40 ski lifts currently open. There is 65cm of hard standing snow. The resort isn’t expecting any snow over the weekend, whilst temperatures are expected to be up on last weekend with lows of -1°C and highs of 11°C. Meteorological conditions will be similar to many other resorts in the region with sunny spells accompanying the mild turn.

La Colmiane – There are 10 ski slopes and five ski lifts open at the resort, with between 65 and 40 cm of standing snow. It will be a cloudy weekend at the resort with moderate winds reaching up to 41km/h on Friday. As we reach the end of the skiing season, temperatures are up on previous weekends with highs of 10°C and lows of 0°C. The resort hosts a market on Saturdays, and will continue to do so until the end of March.

Greolieres les Neiges – The winter season has come to an end at the resort as the ski lifts closed on Monday. Greolieres is now preparing activities for Easter and the Summer season.

Limone Piemonte – There are currently 13 runs open and 9 ski lifts. Snow levels vary from 50 to 10 cm. Temperatures at the resort are considerably up on last weekend with lows of 4°C and highs of 12°C. Passage through the Roya valley currently isn’t possible due to the collapsed bridge at Tende. Drivers must instead pass through Ventimiglia and the journey from Monaco is currently approximately three hours. Alternatively, it is possible to drive to Tende and take a 20/30 minute train to Limone Centre. The train runs 12 times a day between 07:00 and 18:45, with the journey from Monaco taking approximately 1 hour 45 minutes.

Valberg – There are 19 ski slopes and 11 ski lifts open. The resort currently has between 80 and 60 cm of standing snow, following the snowfall on Valentine’s Day. Skiers at the resort will experience some of the sunniest conditions throughout the entire region as full sun is expected on Friday and Saturday, whilst sunny spells are forecast on Sunday. It is expected to be slightly milder than last weekend with highs of 10°C and lows of -1°C.

Note: Snow tyres must be worn on the roads up to the ski resorts.

 

 

 

 

Monaco to host unveiling of next generation Formula-E racer

by: Luke Entwistle
23/03/2022

The presentation of the Gen3 race car will take place at Monaco’s Yacht Club on 28th April, just two days before the Principality hosts the ePrix.

A press release on Friday revealed that the car will be used from the start of the 2022/23 season, the ninth season of the motorsport category, which is the first to be net-zero carbon. The car will be unveiled to partners and other VIP guests at the event, whilst the release will also be broadcast on the championship’s digital channels to allow fans to participate.

Since its inception in 2014, innovation has allowed incremental improvements in the car’s performance. This latest model is no different.

“Formula E’s Gen3 race car represents a leap forward for motorsport and electric mobility,” said Jamie Reigle, Formula E CEO. “It is our most powerful, lightest and fastest race car to date.”

Indeed, Formula E is at the forefront of their field, and whilst the sport continues to provide entertainment, their research, innovation and promotion of green technology also facilitates advancements off the track.

The Monaco Yacht Club will represent a nexus at the unveiling, as the Principality’s racing history and future collide. “We look forward to finally taking the covers off the Gen3 in Monaco, a location steeped in motor racing history,” added Reigle.

Whilst the Gen3 model will “set the benchmark for sustainability,” it should also provide better racing. Being smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the Gen2, it will therefore allow faster, more agile wheel-to-wheel racing.

As well as the Gen3 unveiling, Monaco will also host a roundtable event organised by the FIA and Formula E, which will bring together leaders and manufacturers from the automotive sector, with sights already set on the Gen4 era.

The gaze of Formula E is always set on the horizon as it continues in its conquest to become ever more performative and sustainable, with the next stage of that endless journey set to be inaugurated in Monaco next month.

 

 

Photo source: FIA

 

 

 

Medicinal Plant Awareness Conference at Stars ‘n’ Bars

by: Stephanie Horsman
23/03/2022

Stars ‘n’ Bars will be hosting an event entitled Message for Humanity, a “conference and musical ceremony” highlighting medicinal plant awareness.

Once the domain of village healers and shamans, using plant-based cures for a variety of ailments has become increasingly mainstream, and has boomed since the start of the 21st century.

Many drugs that doctors regularly prescribe are plant-based, such as codeine, quinine and morphine, and the World Health Organisation says that 11% of the 252 drugs deemed “basic and essential” originate exclusively from plants.

To help people better understand what plants can do, ProActive Society and INME are hosting the Message for Humanity Conference and Musical Ceremony on 2nd April from 6pm to 8pm at Stars ‘n’ Bars. The event will have speakers who are professionals in this field such as Ryan Whitewolf, who works in the Amazon with indigenous cultures and on reforestation projects, Dr Carrie Chojnowski, who will speak on how to combine functional and plant medicine, Marina Jahlan-Matova, who will present the therapeutic potential of entheogenic substances and how they can be used for wellbeing, Simona Rakusa, who will talk about the healing potential of expanded states of consciousness, and Anastasiya Kulygin, who will discuss IMNE Wellness Retreats using plants from the Amazon.

After the talks, Ryan Whitewolf will hold a musical concert from 8pm to 10pm.

Admission is free with a reservation, which can be made at proactivefounders@gmail.com

Donations to support Ukraine are also being accepted at the event.

 

 

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash

 

 

 

Poles experience extreme temps upto 40°C above normal

by: Cassandra Tanti
22/03/2022

Record highs at both the Arctic and the Antarctic over the weekend have shocked researchers. It comes just weeks after Monaco held the world’s first polar summit and call to action. 

Parts of eastern Antarctica were around 40°C above average on Friday, with Italian-French weather station Concordia at 3,234 metres above sea level recording its highest ever temperature of -11.8°C. That’s 40°C warmer than seasonal norms.

The March temperature record at Antarctica’s Vostok station was broken by almost 15°C and the Terra Nova Base on the Antarctic coast hit +7°C.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the planet, parts of the Arctic were experiencing extremes of around 30°C above the monthly average, with heat records also broken in Norway and unusually warm temperatures recorded in Greenland.

According to the Associated Press, the Antarctic continent as a whole on Friday was about 4.8°C warmer compared to averages between 1979 and 2000, while the Arctic was 3.3°C warmer than the same period.

Scientists don’t believe that the simultaneous occurrence in the poles is related, although this will be examined further. A very high-pressure system drove moist air from the Southern Ocean down across Antarctica, where it was actually warm enough to fall as rain on the coast thanks to an atmospheric river.

In the Arctic, an intense low pressure system formed off the north-east coast of the United States. An atmospheric river formed at its junction with an adjacent high pressure system, funnelling warm air into the Arctic circle.

The extraordinary weather event comes just a week after it was reported that Antarctic sea ice shrank to below two million square kilometres this year, the lowest minimum extent since satellite recordings began 43 years ago. This was attributed partly to strong winds pushing ice out of the Ross Sea, a bay off the coast of Antarctica, to areas farther north, where it is warmer and where the ice broke up and melted.

Monaco’s call for action

On 24th and 25th February, Monaco gathered experts for a polar-focussed scientific symposium called The Cold is Getting Hot: From Arctic to Antarctic at the Oceanographic Museum. It was the first time a global summit put the spotlight on both polar regions.

The meetings were opened by Prince Albert II, who warned in his keynote speech against “selfish interests and short-sighted economic calculations”.

The symposium was structured around four primary themes: Understanding changes in the poles, the contribution of polar changes to the global climate, the effects of polar changes on human societies and economies, and the management responses in the face of these problems and uncertainties.

The event conveyed a sense of urgency to address threats to polar regions and underscored the need for international commitments and global cooperation to address polar challenges and move towards a sustainable future.

The Prince Albert II Foundation organised the polar summit in conjunction with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), with participation by the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco, the Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation, the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative, and the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

 

 

 

Photo of Greenland by William Bossen on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

Covid rates continue steady upward march

by: Stephanie Horsman
22/03/2022

The number of Covid cases is again on the rise in Monaco and France, with the lifting of most restrictions and a sub variant of Omicron being cited as the causes. Hospitalisations, however, remain low.

Last week, from 14th to 20th March inclusive, the positivity rate in Monaco reached 17.18%, with an incidence rate of 910 per 100,000 inhabitants versus 621 the previous week.

France isn’t faring any better. The incidence rate in the Alpes Maritimes is now 867, and 898 in France, while the positive rate in the neighbouring French department is 23.2%.

Monaco dropped mandatory masks at schools on 7th March and the health pass one week later. France has also scrapped the need to wear masks in classrooms and at indoor public venues.

But the rise has not necessarily translated to hospitalisations. The Princess Grace Hospital Centre is currently treating around a dozen patients, three of whom are residents of the Principality, while only one is in intensive care. Meanwhile, France’s health Minister Olivier Veran announced a very modest 1.7% drop in admissions last week. Intensive care occupancy in the Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur region is 36%.

Whilst the rising numbers are of concern, experts are not raising alarm bells quite yet. The new variant, BA.2, does not appear to cause more severe disease, though it is thought to be highly infectious, like its predecessor. It is also believed that the vaccine is just as effective against this version as the previous one.

 

 

Photo of the Covid testing lab at the CSM by Monaco Life