Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/769023
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 4 JANUARY 2017 12 Regular market closed –3/1/2017 Symbol Code Volume Traded Value Traded Trades High Price Low Price Open Price Close Price Change t BOV 56,695 127,640.26 24 2.258 2.240 2.255 2.250 -0.001 s GHM 7,200 6,487.20 1 0.901 0.901 0.901 0.901 0.032 t GO 992 3,233.92 2 3.260 3.260 3.260 3.260 -0.010 l MDI 15,000 5,265.00 3 0.351 0.351 0.351 0.351 0.000 l MIA 6,024 24,364.75 6 4.050 4.035 4.050 4.050 0.000 s MPC 4,000 2,380.00 1 0.595 0.595 0.595 0.595 0.005 s RS2 23,638 43,234.67 7 1.839 1.824 1.824 1.839 0.019 t G17C 10,000 10,352.00 1 103.520 103.520 103.520 103.520 -0.170 s G22B 6,000 7,311.00 1 121.850 121.850 121.850 121.850 0.040 t G28A 50,000 69,105.00 1 138.210 138.210 138.210 138.210 -0.660 t G28B 93,000 125,596.50 2 135.050 135.050 135.050 135.050 -0.230 t G29B 5,000 5,538.50 1 110.770 110.770 110.770 110.770 -0.480 t G30A 50,000 73,250.00 1 146.500 146.500 146.500 146.500 -0.540 t G32A 1,500 2,129.55 2 141.970 141.970 141.970 141.970 -0.810 t G33A 100,000 138,000.00 1 138.000 138.000 138.000 138.000 -1.590 t G36A 5,000 5,389.00 1 107.780 107.780 107.780 107.780 -2.050 t G39AA 71,700 73,105.55 9 102.250 101.500 102.230 101.500 -0.750 t G40A 2,300 2,674.67 1 116.290 116.290 116.290 116.290 -2.990 s 6PM25 10,000 10,800.00 1 108.000 108.000 108.000 108.000 0.010 l DF26A 78,000 81,900.00 4 105.000 105.000 105.000 105.000 0.000 l GF21A 3,200 3,352.00 1 104.750 104.750 104.750 104.750 0.000 l GP23A 12,000 12,240.00 2 102.000 102.000 102.000 102.000 0.000 s IG24A 3,600 3,924.00 1 109.000 109.000 109.000 109.000 1.700 l IH26A 3,000 3,058.80 1 101.960 101.960 101.960 101.960 0.000 l MD26A 4,200 4,410.00 2 105.000 105.000 105.000 105.000 0.000 t MI17C 42,000 41,580.00 1 99.000 99.000 99.000 99.000 -0.990 t MI20A 6,000 6,180.00 1 103.000 103.000 103.000 103.000 -1.000 s MM26A 25,000 26,000.00 1 104.000 104.000 104.000 104.000 0.500 l PC26A 1,800 1,844.64 1 102.480 102.480 102.480 102.480 0.000 t PG20A 40,000 41,457.50 4 105.000 103.250 105.000 103.250 -1.750 l PT24A 32,000 33,573.50 3 105.000 104.300 105.000 104.950 0.000 Market Summary as at January 3, 2017 Equity Official List Session State ................................................................... Market Closed Number of trades ............................................................. 88 Volume Traded ................................................................. 768,849 Value of € denominated securities .................................... 953,798.01 Value of US$ denominated securities ................................ 41,580.00 Value of GBP£ denominated securities .............................. 0.00 Current Index ................................................................... 4634.08 Previous Index ................................................................. - Change in Index (%) ......................................................... 0.07% 6pm Holdings plc .......................... 0.800 0.00% MaltaPost plc ................................. 2.030 0.00% Bank of Valletta plc ........................ 2.250 -0.04% Medserv plc .................................. 1.599 0.00% FIMBank plc .................................. 0.900 0.00% Mapfre Middlesea plc .................... 2.249 0.00% GlobalCapital plc ........................... 0.410 0.00% MIDI plc ........................................ 0.351 0.00% GO plc ........................................... 3.260 -0.31% Plaza Centres plc ........................... 1.090 0.00% Grand Harbour Marina plc ............. 0.901 3.68% RS2 Software plc............................ 1.839 1.04% HSBC Bank Malta plc ..................... 1.900 0.00% Simonds Farsons Cisk plc ............... 7.000 0.00% International Hotel Investments plc 0.645 0.00% Tigné Mall plc ................................ 1.190 0.00% Island Hotels Group Holdings plc ... 1.101 0.00% Pefaco International plc ................. 2.240 0.00% Lombard Bank Malta plc ................ 2.300 0.00% Santumas Shareholdings plc ......... 1.260 0.00% Malita Investments plc ................... 0.860 0.00% Malta Properties Company plc ........ 0.595 0.85% Malta International Airport plc ....... 4.050 0.00% MSE Index Business Today Market Commentary: Back to work The first days of 2017 are a far cry from what we saw last year as stock carried over the surge from late 2016 into the New Year. The US and the UK bourses started trading yester- day while most Asian and European equities already chalked up gains on Monday, the latter boosted by better than expected manufacturing data in Italy. The data for Italy comes on the back of multi-year highs for German manufacturing PMIs and euro-area manufacturing data, reinforcing the belief that Europe's recovery is intact going into 2017. Other than that, news was – as customary for the first few days of the year – somewhat slow. Most markets will once again be closed or have reduced trading hours due to the Epiphany on Friday, making this week a somewhat shortened one. With liquidity not yet back at normal levels, it's a bit difficult to judge whether the performance over the first few days is indicative of a greater trend across markets. If you look hard enough… The day did offer two interesting snippets though. Popular crypto- currency Bitcoin surged above the $1,000 level for the first time since December 2013, a move attributed to increased demand in China where the vast majority of transactions are carried out in a bid to avoid capital controls. Bitcoin is historically volatile, and frequently experiences moves of around 10% on a daily basis. The last time it hit $1,000 – back in December 2013 – it fell by a whopping 60% after a hack on one popular exchange, but it has seemed much more stable since. South Korean newspaper Joongang Daily cited unnamed sources on Monday when it reported that Samsung will publish the results of the investigation into what caused many of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones to spontaneously combust. Samsung had warned of a hit to its operating profit to the tune of around $5.1 billion over three quarters after the decision to halt sales of the infamous device back in October. Many market participants expect a thorough investigation, which would show Samsung's commitment to identify the problem, fix it, and rebuild trust with their consumers. This article was issued by Andrew Martinelli, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, views and opinions provided in this article are being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website. Bitcoin digital currency hits three-year high Bitcoin has started 2017 with a bang, with its value hitting a three-year high of more than $1,000. The embryonic digital currency, which has been criticised as a vehicle for a range of nefarious characters from drug dealers to tax evaders to operate, outperformed all its central bank-issued counterparts with a 125% climb in value in 2016. Analysts are attributing its jump to increased demand from China, which is where most Bitcoin trading takes place. Bitcoin relies on web-based transactions handled across thousands of computers and is an anonymous and quick way to move money globally. As a result, some speculate people in China are using it to circumnavigate strict government rules aimed at preventing money from leaving the country. China's currency, the renminbi, fell about 7% in value last year. Bitcoin rose 125% in value last year, which makes it the world's best- performing currency when compared with its central bank-issued peers. But it may be best to think of its units being virtual tokens rather than physical coins or notes. However, like all currencies its value is determined by how much people are willing to exchange it for. To process Bitcoin transactions, a procedure called "mining" must take place, which involves a computer solving a difficult mathematical problem with a 64-digit solution. For each problem solved, one block of Bitcoins is processed. In addition the miner is rewarded with new Bitcoins. This provides an incentive for people to provide computer processing power to solve the problems. To compensate for the growing power of computer chips, the difficulty of the puzzles is adjusted to ensure a steady stream of new Bitcoins are produced each day. It is estimated the crypto-currency's total worth is now above a record $16 billion. To receive a Bitcoin, a user must have a Bitcoin address – a string of 27-34 letters and numbers – which acts as a kind of virtual post-box to and from which the Bitcoins are sent. Since there is no register of these addresses, people can use them to protect their anonymity when making a transaction. These addresses are in turn stored in Bitcoin wallets, which are used to manage savings. They operate like privately run bank accounts – with the proviso that if the data is lost, so are the Bitcoins owned. Bitcoin has been historically volatile since it was first launched in 2009, and many experts have questioned whether the crypto-currency will last. The last time Bitcoin was trading above $1,000 was in late 2013. But later that year the currency experienced daily price swings of as much as 40% after the Tokyo-based Mt Gox exchange was hacked and saw the currency plunge to under $400. However, experts expect Bitcoin to continue its bull run. There are also more Bitcoins in circulation than ever before and it is estimated 12.5 are added to the system every ten minutes.