Good STEEM(ing) Morning! What You Missed While You Slept - Friday May 19' 2017

Good Morning Steemers!   

And a very happy TGiF! Some might've thought it would never get here quickly enough! So lots of interesting pieces of news out today while you were sleeping, stocks going steady and bitcoin going wild. I enjoyed Gregory Mannarino's piece on how bitcoin might be taking its rightful place as a safety play when compared to global geopolitics (mentioned below) and just how big the cryptocurrency market is quickly becoming!

Hope you guys have a great Friday to look forward too, I realize that for those of us working the 9-5, some Fridays can truly be brutally busy. Hope this isn't one of them, but if it is, take a happy note that it's still early - so grab your hot java, read through my findings below, put on some good tunes and get busy! Onwards & upwards friends...

FINANCE/WORLD PIECES   

•  Stocks Steady After Volatile Week; Crude Rises: Markets Wrap
  • "Global equities showed signs of stabilizing at the end of a turbulent week in which investors confronted political crises in Washington and Brazil. Oil headed for a second weekly gain as OPEC members supported Saudi Arabian and Russian pledges to extend supply cuts.Stocks  in Europe gained, paring their worst week since November. Gold resumed gains after briefly halting a five-day rally, while the dollar fell as emerging-market currencies rebounded from a selloff sparked by calls for Brazil’s leader to resign over an alleged cover-up." [Link]
•  China Is Using the Yuan to Combat Risk of a Market Meltdown
  • "China has an insurance policy against a full-scale market meltdown: the daily currency fixing.With stocks and bonds in retreat amid anxiety over Beijing’s deleveraging campaign, officials have been guiding the  yuan higher against the dollar in a move that’s caught market watchers by surprise. After meeting expectations earlier in the year, the reference rate used by the People’s Bank of China to manage the yuan has come in stronger than the forecasts of four banks who regularly track  the measure on 25 of the past 32 trading days." [Link]
• Trump In The News
  •  The Trump administration's plans to crack down on Wall Street are being called into question [Link]
  •  James Comey reportedly rebuffed Trump's attempts to get chummy [Link]
  •  Will The $40 Billion Saudi Infrastructure Gift Influence Trump? [Link]

TECH/CRYPTO PIECES   

•  Bitcoin Price Breaks Beyond $1,900 toward All-Time High
  • "Bitcoin price has now hit a new all-time high with a global average of $1,937.15, scaling above the $1,900 figure for the first time ever. Bitcoin’s remarkable year in making gains continues, as prices have now nearly doubled since the cryptocurrency scaled $1,000 at the turn of  the year. Led by Japanese markets with a volume of over $300 million over the last 24 hours, the world’s most prominent cryptocurrency is continuing to see increased activity in Asia. Japan and Korea now account for two  of the top five bitcoin trading markets in the world, combining for over 47% of the market share." [Link]
•  ANT Token Sale Raises $25 Million in 15 Minutes
  • "Earlier this week Crypto Insider reported that the Aragon Network, a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO)  that wants to act as a container and a digital jurisdiction for other decentralized organizations, was selling a number of Aragon Network Tokens (ANTs) to the public, starting on May 17 the Ethereum blockchain.  The token sale raised $25 million in 15 minutes.  Less than one month ago, the Gnosis token sale raised $12.5 million in ten minutes, shattering previous Initial Coin Offering (ICO)  records. But the record now belongs to Aragon. In view of the current ICO craze, however, it seems likely that the Aragon record itself might  not last that long. Following a pattern that is becoming almost common, the ANT token sale raised $24,750,000 almost before starting. “Aragon token sale was finalized in less than 15 minutes,” the Aragon team announced with a tweet. “Thanks to all contributors, we are extremely humbled by the confidence deposited.” [Link]
•  Cryptocurrency Market Cap Tops $60 Billion to Hit All-Time High
  • "The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies reached an all-time high today, passing $60bn as the innovative assets continued to draw robust inflows. This figure reached $63.6bn at one point during the day's trading, according to online data service Coinmarketcap, a figured represented a weekly, monthly and quarterly increase of roughly 18%, 115% and 220%, respectively. While analysts cited different variables as fueling these gains, one  factor they noted was growing awareness of cryptocurrencies, one that is finding them emerge as a more diverse set of investments than observed previously." [Link]

PIECES OF INTEREST (Products/Op-Ed)

• [HEALTH] A Great Way To Quickly Treat Back Pain
  • "Written by Drew Manning, the television guru and designer of Fit2Fat2Fit, this very easy guide will help you understand the importance of the most acute and overlooked muscle of your body posture that affects your mobility. Drew lays it out in a way that it is  good for anyone." [Link]
• [HEALTH] Tired of Doing Regular Crunches? Plus Not Entirely Sure About Their "Safety"?
  • Coach Brian Klepacki of Certified Bench shows you in under 3 mins, how to perform oblique crunches safely [Link]
• [HEALTH] Controversial Video Exposes Dead Water
  • Find out what kinds of water age you the fastest...and what the #1 antioxidant on the planet is [Link]
• [PRODUCTIVE]  The Introvert's Guide To Networking   
  • Charlie Houpert breaks it down in this quick video how to improve your connecting abilities, taking cues from his recent meeting with Youtube star Evan Carmichael [Link]
• [MOTIVATIONAL] How To Feel More ALIVE Now
  • Jason Capital, aka America's Most Honest Dating Coach, mentioning in a quick video a book that helped to change his life (had never heard of the author myself) and why most people stay in the "known" [Link]
• [WEALTH] The "Secret Formula" That Most Financial Planners Know, But Never Share
  • George from Fynanc, breaks down in a quick 7-min video, why most financial planners never share this critical piece of personal finance information with you. George's reasoning: "Because if you knew about it, you might not use their services! I believe everyone should be exposed to this formula that reflects how  our financial system is rigged. It’s not rigged for some evil plan, but it’s just the way it is – but you need to know about it." [Link]

STEEM(ING) FORWARDS   

• @Hilarski -  How a Social Media Pro Joins a New Platform and 9 Tips for Success
  • Solid tips on how to get a foothold into this social media environment and what ingredients to include for success. To be honest, reading his well-written guide made me feel like a complete neophyte, but hey better to know and start somewhere! [Link]
• @Codyshirk -  How I Lost $500,000 in Bitcoin Thanks to the U.S. Government
  • Cautionary tale on trading cryptos and how to best protect yourself for the upcoming future. In fact, a very good read overall, especially with the crypto economy taking off, needs to be shared! And for all other traders; just look at this man's return on investment! Kicking myself for having missed the boat on early days of the bitcoin behemoth [Link]
• @Meesterboom -  Crypto Trading Fundamentals: Part 2! 
  • Good read for the novice (read: me) on how to trade cryptos, why to keep a portfolio, placing professional looking bids and more... [Link]
• @Marketreport -  Something HUGE Just Happened To Bitcoin, and No One Even Noticed . By Gregory Mannarino
  • Good read on the potential inclusion of bitcoin into the world's "safety currency" pot. Joining stalwarts like Gold, the Japanese Yen and the Swiss Frank. Pretty esteemed company I must say! [Link]

LET’S BREAK FOR SOME ENTERTAINMENT, SHALL WE?   

• For all the Bros/Lads Out There
  • Sizzling Adriana Lima grapples with her assets as  Petra Němcová suffers a lingerie-flashing wardrobe mishap at Loveless  premiere in Cannes [Link]
  • Things That Bounce Thursday [Link]
  • Bella Hadid suffers another wardrobe malfunction [Link]
•  Blast Your Music In The Bathroom With The Loud And Crisp XXL Shower Speaker
  • Definitely might've gotten that, if I wasn't into taking cold showers or quick ones...however, have been looking into epsom baths recently so perhaps that card might still be on the table [Link]
•  Here’s What Brian Shaw Eats Every Day To Remain The World’s Strongest Man
  • Wow! His one meal nearly covers the calorie requirements of my entire day  [Link]
• Dana White Confirms UFC Has Finalized Deal With Conor McGregor For Floyd Mayweather Fight
  • Apparently Floyd's still holding on the cards for this fight and fairly so. It will be his 50th fight, and I'm fairly sure his last so he's looking to get paid out and for Conor this will his pièce de résistance to culminate his 20's...anyone else just slightly impressed? [Link, Link]

Alright kids, lots of other excellent things out there but time for the coffee to kick in & get this day started!   

Catch you STE(A)MERS Layta!   

Best,
@Mystidark   

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P.P.S: Rock a hot comment below & I’ll feature it in my afternoon piece