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A new wave of optimism is splashing onto the Street. Investment firm Goldman Sachs just gave its three-month stock forecast a boost, lifting it from Neutral to Overweight, with it also projecting high single-digital returns for global stocks over the next year.Whats behind this updated approach? Goldman Sachs strategist Christian Mueller-Glissmann cites the impressive rebound in global earnings growth and reduced equity costs as the drivers of the estimate revision. On top of this, a broader procyclical shift in stocks and other assets could take place during the remainder of this year.We have shifted more cyclical on sectors and themes tactically but still prefer growth vs. value on a strategic horizon... In the near-term, elevated uncertainty on U.S. elections and a better global growth outlook might benefit non-U.S. equities more, but in the medium term a large weight in structural growth stocks is likely to support the S&P 500, Mueller-Glissmann noted.As for the most important catalyst that could spur growth optimism in the next year, the strategist points to additional clarity on when and how a COVID-19 vaccine will be available.Turning Mueller-Glissmann's outlook into concrete recommendations, Goldman Sachs analysts are pounding the table on three stocks that look especially compelling. According to these analysts, each name is poised to surge in the 12 months ahead.Raytheon Technologies (RTX)First up we have Raytheon Technologies, which is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers. While shares have stumbled in 2020, Goldman Sachs thinks the weakness presents a buying opportunity.Representing the firm, analyst Noah Poponak points out that RTX is too high quality and well positioned of a company to trade at an 11% free cash flow yield on the fully aerospace-recovered and fully synergized 2023E free cash.The analysts bullish outlook is largely driven by the companys aerospace aftermarket (the secondary market that deals with the installation of equipment, spare parts, accessories and components after the sale of the aircraft by the original equipment manufacturer) business, which Poponak argues is the best sub-market within Aerospace over the long-term. This segment makes up roughly 45% of RTXs aerospace revenue.Even though COVID-19 flight disruptions have weighed on this part of the business, Poponak points out total aircraft in service is down only 25% year-over-year, and flights have dipped less than 50%. He added, China domestic traffic is now up year on year, and while international remains depressed, we believe the recovery in global air travel could be quicker from here than broad expectations for a recovery by 2023-2024.Poponak highlights that in previous downturns, the aftermarket had to confront headwinds that arose from the increased use of parting out, inventory pooling and delayed aftermarket spending. Even then, aftermarket grew at or faster than ASMs, and we believe there was pent-up demand heading into this downturn that support aftermarket tracking the recovery in global air travel. Long-term, we expect air traffic to grow 2X global GDP, as it has historically, the analyst commented.Adding to the good news, the Geared Turbo Fan, which is a type of turbofan aircraft engine, product cycle could generate substantial revenue and EBIT growth at Pratt & Whitney, in Poponaks opinion.Given the high OE exposure to the A320neo, which has the strongest backlog of any aircraft in the market, we see Pratt OE revenue holding up better and recovering faster than peers. New GTF deliveries will drive expansion in the installed base for Pratt, which was declining for most of the 2000s. Despite the end of V2500 OE deliveries, that program is just moving into the sweet-spot for shop visits on the aftermarket side, Poponak opined.Whats more, Poponak sees merger synergies as capable of fueling margin expansion and cash generation, with the historical synergy capture in the space implying that upside to guidance isnt out of the question.In line with his optimistic approach, Poponak stays with the bulls. To this end, he keeps a Buy rating and $86 price target on the stock. Investors could be pocketing a gain of 49%, should this target be met in the twelve months ahead. (To watch Poponaks track record, click here)In general, other analysts echo Poponaks sentiment. 7 Buys and 2 Holds add up to a Strong Buy consensus rating. With an average price target of $78.63, the upside potential comes in at 36.5%. (See RTX stock analysis on TipRanks)Boeing (BA)Moving on to another player in the aerospace space, Boeing has also struggled on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, with it failing to match the pace of the broader market. That being said, Goldman Sachs has high hopes for this name going forward.Firm analyst Noah Poponak, who also covers RTX, points out that BA has already trimmed production rate plans by half, compared to the peak plan from before the COVID crisis and MAX grounding. A slower-than-anticipated air travel rebound could result in more reductions, but the analyst argues these would be much smaller than the reductions that have already been witnessed. He added, Historically, the best buying opportunities in BA shares are right after it has capitulated to production rate cuts.According to Poponak, compared to previous economic declines, the peak to trough in the current downturn is larger and faster, although this is partly related to the grounding of the 737 MAX in 2019. We believe this will result in a less severe dislocation of supply and demand balance, and see deliveries recovering to 2018 levels by 2024 as global air travel recovers and airlines replace accelerated retirements, he explained.As for how the company can fulfill its new production rate plan given the mix of its backlog is so much more weighted to growth than replacement, Poponak believes the answer is that airlines during this downturn are revising that mix. Since the pandemics onset, airlines have revealed higher aircraft retirement plans, and braced for less growth. That means for a given revision in an airlines order book, there is also a substantial mix shift toward replacement from growth within the new delivery numbers. Therefore, the backlog will not necessarily lose all of its growth orders, the analyst stated.Additionally, following an uptick in aircraft order cancellations in March and April, the pace has slowed. Even assuming another 200-plus unit cancellations this year, we estimate the 737 MAX would have nearly 6X years of production by the middle of the decade at our revised production rate estimates, Poponak mentioned.When it comes to free cash flow, the analyst is also optimistic, with Poponak forecasting that BA will see positive free cash flow in 2021. We think the market is underestimating the mid-cycle achievable aircraft unit cash margins across the major programs, extrapolating temporarily negative items into the future, and underestimating the degree of inventory unwind likely to occur in 2021, he said.If that wasnt enough, the MAX recertification could be a major possible catalyst. The company is working towards recertification and return to service, with Poponak expecting both to come before year-end.Taking all of the above into consideration, Poponak maintains a Buy rating and $225 price target. This target conveys his confidence in BAs ability to climb 35% higher in the next year.Turning to the rest of the analyst community, opinions are mixed. With 8 Buys, 8 Holds and 1 Sell assigned in the last three months, the word on the Street is that BA is a Moderate Buy. At $192.40, the average price target implies 16% upside potential. (See Boeing stock analysis on TipRanks)Immatics (IMTX)Combining the discovery of true targets for cancer immunotherapies (therapies that utilize the power of the immune system) with the development of the right T cell receptors, Immatics hopes to ultimately enable a robust and specific T cell response against these targets. Based on its cutting-edge approach, Goldman Sachs counts itself as a fan.Writing for the firm, analyst Graig Suvannavejh notes that unlike CAR-T approaches, a T cell receptor (TCR)-based approach can go after targets inside the cell, and fight the 90% of cancers which are solid tumor in nature. The company is advancing two technologies: ACTengine, designed for personalized TCR-based cell therapies, and TCER, which targets TCR-based bispecific antibodies.ACTengine is the more advanced technology, with its four assets IMA201, a genetically engineered T cell product candidate that targets melanoma-associated antigen 4 or 8, IMA202, which targets melanoma-associated antigen 1, IMA203, which targets preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) and IMA204 that targets COL6A3 (found in a tumors stroma and is highly prevalent in the tumor microenvironment/TME in a broad range of cancers) expected to enter the clinic soon.Using the TCER platform, IMTX is developing IMA401 and IMA402, or off-the-shelf biologics consisting of a portion of the TCR which directly recognizes cancer cells and a T cell recruiter domain which recruits and activates the patients T cells.Speaking to the market opportunity, Suvannavejh mentioned, Cancer immunotherapies have made great strides over the past decade, and in particular, advances seen with CAR-T have paved the way for cell therapy-based approaches... CAR-T, however, has to date only shown limited effect in treating cancers that are solid tumor in nature. With more than 90% of all cancers being solid tumors with lung, breast, colorectal and prostate cancers accounting for c.60% of the total this is the opportunity for IMTX. To this end, he believes cumulative 2035 sales could land at $15.5 billion for the ACTengine-based assets.Reflecting another positive, since 2017, IMTX has inked at least one significant partnership per year with top global biopharma companies. According to Suvannavejh, each provided non-dilutive funding opportunities.The analyst added, ...the ARYA Sciences Acquisition Corporation, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), merger that enabled IMTX to become a publicly traded entity brought in a deep roster of well-known, experienced healthcare-dedicated institutional investors. Taken together, we find these to be validating of IMTXs longer-term prospects.Looking ahead, the initial clinical data readouts for IMA201, IMA202 and IMA203, which are slated for Q1 2021, and investigational new drug (IND) application submissions for IMA204 and IMA401 in 2021 and YE2021, respectively, reflect key potential catalysts, in Suvannavejhs opinion.Everything that IMTX has going for it convinced Suvannavejh to reiterate his Buy rating. Along with the call, he attached a $17 price target, suggesting 73% upside potential. (To watch Suvannavejhs track record, click here)Are other analysts in agreement? They are. Only Buy ratings, 4, in fact, have been issued in the last three months. Therefore, the message is clear: IMTX is a Strong Buy. Given the $19 average price target, shares could soar 93% in the next year. (See Immatics stock analysis on TipRanks)To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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USDT Trading Arrives on Bitcoin Global - Yahoo Finance

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What REALLY Moves Bitcoin? - Elliott Wave International

It is a question that many in the crypto community must have asked themselves at least once. The news ofWladimir van der Laan taking a temporary hiatus, prompted us to explore what some might consider to be an improbable, yet highly impactful situation.

A Bitcoin Core developer that is also a maintainer of the project's GitHub account (i.e., someone who can merge code into the master branch)is a rare commodity. To put this in perspective, if a Bitcoin Core developer is a black belt, then someone like van der Laan is a third-degree black belt.

To set the record straight we interviewed the well-known sensei and master of the Blockstream dojo, Adam Back. He said that neither Laans departure, nor the disappearance of all the maintainers in the event of a potential catastrophe, would present a challenge to Bitcoin (BTC):

Back also opined that most in the crypto community do not truly understand the role of Core developers in the ecosystem and tend to overestimate their importance. In his view, the changes that Bitcoin Core developers can introduce are bound by being backward compatible and should not change the key properties of the protocol like finality, censorship resistance, or rate of inflation. He also noted that changes should preserve or improve privacy. Back believes if the developers tried to introduce ideals outside of this paradigm, they would be rejected by the ecosystem:

Back is also against any sort of on-chain governance as he believes that this would lead to the centralized lobbying groups taking control of Bitcoin, noting that this is a problem inherent to proof-of-stake protocols. We parried that with the current system, some believe that organizations like Backs Blockstream, Lightning Labs, Chaincode Labs and others that support Bitcoin Core developers, have a disproportional amount of influence in the ecosystem. Back replied that Blockstream purposefully does not take a position on Bitcoin proposals. At the same time, Core developers under the companys employ can quit Blockstream if they believe they are being pressured to do something bad for Bitcoin and the company would have to pay their salary for another year.

We asked the Hashcash inventor why, if the decision-making process within the Bitcoin ecosystem is so harmonious, do debates sometimes become so heated? It is well known that some have even lead to schisms, like in the case of the block size debate. In his view, this happened because some participants were trying to force their way to a change:

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Would Bitcoin suffer if the lead maintainers were kidnapped by aliens? - Cointelegraph

It seems there is a lot of turmoil happening in the world, as the year 2020 keeps giving and giving. From natural disasters, a global pandemic, and race wars and riots, everyone is wondering what will happen next. However, something happened earlier this year that resonated with me personally, and I wanted to touch on this subject as I dont believe it has received enough attention and is a topic that in particular for this year, is important because of whats going on around the world, especially in the cryptocurrency space.

Its not a big surprise for people to hear or know that women in the tech sector are at times, far and few between. Depending on the space youre in, it may be hard to find other women in your office. For example, if youre a female engineer, you may be the only one or maybe there are two in your entire team that are women.

According to an article written earlier this year by CIO, women make up 47% of all employed adults in the U.S., but only hold about 25% of technology related positions. Also, women who are working in the computing sector are typically paid less than their male counterparts. On top of that, women have a higher likelihood of facing discrimination in the workplace.

Earlier this year, right when the United States was starting to get hit hard with the Corona Virus, there was news that hit crypto twitter Binance is hiring and the only requirements are beautiful young girls with big boobs. You can imagine my shock.

Being a female in a male dominated industry where its already hard to get a name for yourself, I was just sent back years by one of the biggest exchanges in the crypto space. From the different news articles that popped up on the issue, it was discovered that Binance was hiring women so they could exploit them in order to potentially get new clients and customers.

The exchange was hiring them not because they possess the knowledge and experience to do the job, but they were hiring them strictly because of how they looked.

They later recanted what happened, saying they were joking about the job requirements, however, the damage was done. Women everywhere in the crypto space felt this, especially those of us who work for exchanges. Binance being a peer in the space, set the bar really low for all us, and now we have to work our way back up, whether it was a joke or not.

Currently there are over 30 million people unemployed in the United States, primarily due to the Corona Virus pandemic. This staggering number has many people worried, including myself. If you split that right down the middle, which its probably not a straight split, but to argue the point, lets say there are somewhere around ~15 million women who are unemployed. Who do you think will be going after your job? With the bar set low, women are now facing an even bigger struggle to get employed and keep their jobs, especially in this booming space with lots of competition.

Being in the crypto space and working for another top exchange, OKEx.com, I have the personal experience and statistics to help paint the picture. Lets take a raw look at some numbers to give you a firsthand view into who is using these exchanges.

As you can see, the number of female users (29.8%) that come and use OKEx is far less than the male users (70.2%).

For the age demographics of people using the exchange, 38% of the users belong to the age group 25-34, and 31% of the users are 18-24, making up nearly 70% of all the users on our platform.

The top countries that represent where the majority of our users are coming from are Indonesia, Russia, India, Vietnam, China, and Ukraine.

As a woman who works in the cryptocurrency industry, I think I have a different view of the situation. Every workplace has its own gender preference at an early stage, and it will become more diverse as time goes by and the company grows.

One of the challenges that I face is the worry about being treated less with less importance compared to a male employee with my voice not being heard every time.

One of my friends asked me the other day if people at my work even want to hear a females opinion? Frankly speaking, I have not experienced this kind of issue, but it is still a concern. I do feel I work in a very healthy, organic, and fair work environment. I can speak up anytime I want to express my opinions in the office. But not all work places are like this, and as others have shown, women are not always treated equally and fairly.

Overall, in the crypto community, I feel valued. Also, most of the people that I work with are very professional. But this doesnt go without saying I have different challenges and issues to deal with being a woman and dealing with others who may not value what I have to bring to the table.

I have to say that representation of females in the technology sector still has a long way to go before women are no longer considered a minority in tech, and its a similar scenario in the blockchain and crypto sector.

At OKEx, Im glad to see other female employees, which there are plenty of. However, for web developers and engineers, its still far less below than what I would like to see, which is a general phenomenon across the whole computer science field. On my team, I am one of the rare female faces. This gender imbalance problem arises from school age challenges, all the way up to adulthood where women arent always treated the same.

My hope is that this will change as time goes on and new technologies emerge such as blockchain and crypto, which will help pave the way for women to give us an opportunity to make our mark.

This OP-ed is written by Summer Lyu.

Summer Lyu is a Global Business Manager at OKEx.com who accomplished her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Northeastern University in Boston. She is passionate about crypto, business communication, reading, and traveling. She is also working on increasing the awareness of womens rights and trying to bring equal opportunities for women in the workplace.

What do you think about this subject? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Working in the Cryptocurrency Industry as a Woman | Op-Ed Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

The U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, recently announced that the Fed will now shift its focus from targeting inflation to closing unemployment shortfalls. The Fed, in essence, is doubling-down on the same inflationary policies with which it experimented during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Speaking at a virtual Jackson Hole event recently, Powell said the Fed would not raise rates anytime soon. He also said that the Fed would tolerate higher inflation, departing from the historical norm of a 2% inflation target. This cheap money and higher inflation policy take quantitative easing to an entirely new level.

Related: Jerome Powell throws US dollar under a bus in Jackson Hole

A Federal Reserve study on Bank of Japan practices during its 2013 economic crisis warned that higher inflation targets could result in never-ending monetary accommodation, even when real economic activity is strong or when financial stability risks accumulate. The Bank of Japan had introduced in March 2013 quantitative and qualitative monetary easing to stimulate the Japanese economy and increase the inflation rate.

On the heels of Powells Jackson Hole speech, the dollars value fell against the euro, while gold rallied back to its 1950 highs. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (BTC) has plateaued; Ether (ETH) stabilized; and stocks have yet again rallied. The Fed wont be able to reverse the course from its new policy so easily, however.

As governments print infinite amounts of money through bailouts and quantitative easing, inflation will likely send core prices higher. Clearly, the fiat system is imperfect. The crypto media uses the threat of inflation to proclaim the benefits of cryptocurrencies. Against a backdrop of shrinking gross domestic products, economic slowdown, government bailouts and fiscal stimulus, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have been touted as an inflation-resistant hedge. The claim? You should buy Bitcoin because crypto serves as a hedge to the broken fiat system.

Bitcoin, however, remains a nascent technology. In times of economic uncertainty, investors still prefer to flock to gold and stocks as safe-haven assets. In the case of gold, according to Morningstar data, the S&P GSCI Gold Index gained 7.2% in the last three months of 2018, while the stock market declined nearly 14%. Even during the most recent bear market when equities dropped by 33%, the gold index declined by only 2%. The price of gold then shot up over the next few months to record levels. Gold volatility, however, can go both ways. Almost a third of fund managers polled in the August 2020 Bank of America Global Fund Manager Survey stated that they believed that gold was overvalued.

From the Fidelity president filing for a new Bitcoin fund to multi-billion-dollar Bitcoin and crypto asset manager Grayscale reporting its biggest-ever quarterly inflows of almost $1 billion, institutional demand for Bitcoin has been rising amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This institutional attention showcases the seriousness with which major players have been considering Bitcoin as an investable asset.

Institutional money, however, is only just beginning to enter the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and so the market is still relatively immature and fragmented. Crypto needs more time to grow before it is widely considered a safe-haven asset.

Investors today use Bitcoin as a store of value because they think the prices will increase in fiat terms. Be warned: This shouldnt be the sole intention of investing in the crypto market. If people are investing in this space because the financial system is collapsing, then we will see an unhealthy price increase followed by a collapse in the crypto index.

In such a scenario, investors will flock to the industry not because of crypto technology or the deflationary nature of Bitcoin but because of fear of missing out. Those who suffer from FOMO believe that since everyone else is investing, they should be too. We saw this happen during the ICO mania of 2017 when investors primarily wanted to make money and not invest in innovative technology.

Investors and crypto enthusiasts often speak of crypto in relation to fiat currency, but it was not the intention of cryptocurrencies to be correlated in such a way. The intention was to create an alternative to fiat.

Crypto enthusiasts are the new hippies of the 21st century. We are not protesting in the streets. We are building an alternative. In order to build it, we need to return to our roots and stop correlating crypto with fiat.

We dont want the crypto market to grow because the traditional monetary system failed. We want to see this market grow because investors demand choice and financial freedom.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Luciano Nonnis is the CEO and founder of DXone. Along with Mario Urschitz he co-founded the largest German language crypto Facebook group, Alles ber Kryptowhrungen und Blockchain. They also founded Crypto-Coach, a nonprot online and offline education center, as well as a major cryptocurrency mining facility in Austria.

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Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are no hedge for inflation - Cointelegraph