The Winklevoss Brothers, Cameron and Tyler, have launched a stable coin today called the Gemini dollar after approval from New York regulators. The brothers are famous for the Gemini trading platform (created 4 years ago) in addition to work with Mark Zuckerberg in the early creation of Facebook (they got a settlement for their work). The coin has the approval of the NYDFS, the NY department of financial services.

The coins will be backed by US dollars, thus creating a coin that is more stable in price then others. This is Gemini’s first cryptocurrency coin. They have in the past tried to get an ETF approved for cryptocurrencies but have been rejected by the SEC. The coin is traded on the Ethereum network with the symbol (GUSD). You can easy convert between UDS and GUSD by depositing money into your Gemini account.

The US and Mexico reached a deal today to replace NAFTA with a new agreement between the US and Mexico. President Trump made the announcement from the White House where he spoke with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on the phone, his negotiating team was present in the US. The deal will help both farmers and manufacturers in America.

Mexico to Purchase US Farm Products

During the announcement, President Trump expressed his view that the agreement includes Mexico purchasing as much farm product from the US as it possibly could.

Replacing NAFTA

NAFTA has been eliminated and this new deal between Mexico and America will last 16 years with 6 year reviews. The Mexican Peso moved 1% higher against the US Dollar when the announcement was made. Several US based companies that could see additional contracts in Mexico also saw their shares rise during the trading day.

Negotiations with Canada Have Not Began

President Trump has held back from negotiating with Canada, preferring to complete talks with Mexico first. Canada wants to make sure any new deal benefits its middle class. Canada appears to be able to join joint talks with the US and Mexico as an additional third party. The work Mexico had to do with the US was more difficult than the inclusion of Canada will be.

The longest ever bull market run has now been reached with the S&P 500 reaching a new high this afternoon. The market index reached 2873.23, a new high for the overall top 500 companies traded on the American markets. This bull run is now over 3400 days old.I have personally been holding Direxion Daily S&P500 Bull 3X ETF (SPXL) for a couple of years in retirement accounts. They have performed well and at this time are have been much more successful than cryptocurrencies that I hold at Coinbase.

GDP Now

The market is looking at stronger overall growth as illustrated by the GDP Now forecast and the past GDP report. The Atlanta Federal Reserve board is now forecasting 4.3 percent growth in the US for the upcoming third quarter. For the second quarter GDP was reported at 4.1 percent up from a revised 2.2 percent in the first quarter. The next GDP Now forecast comes out on Friday.

While looking for a good source of Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency information online, I came across Remivee and his site Tribetica.com. This is becoming one of my favorite sites for information on the new digital currencies that were the rage last year but have fallen sharply since the end of 2017. And that was one of the criteria that I was looking for, a source that was honest and not just hyping holding Bitcoin.

Taking a look at a post today illustrates the great content that you will find. An analysis of the current short positions in Bitcoin as traded on the Bitfinex market. Read the first paragraph and you will discover that bears have short positions rising from 17 thousand to 34 thousand over the past two weeks. A clear sign that you should not purchase more at the current levels. Although no recommendation is made, the bull position is also analyzed from a historic position. The long positions were built last year at the 6000 price and are hard to break through for the shorts. The shorts are at a all time high level and could lead to a short squeeze according to Remivee.

The Samsung C&T Corporation recently decided to allow crypto currency payments inside Samsung stores. The program has begun its trial run in the Balkan states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Samsung mentioned it might expand this offer to other countries.

The company is currently only using the major cryptocurrencies. The formats currently accepted are Bitcoin, Litecoin, XRP, Ethereum, Steem, and Dash. Other cryptocurrencies might be too minor or volatile to be worth supporting.

Liberty Tax can help taxpayers with their returns, including the postcard tax return. The postcard-size 1040 form will be coming in 2019 and Liberty Tax is there to assist taxpayers navigate the new tax form, as well as the challenges associated with the recently passed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Nicole Ossenfort, the CEO of Liberty Tax, said that the company has helped taxpayers with their taxes for over 20 years. She continued to say that next year won't be any different. She finished by saying that Liberty Tax will continue to provide tax assistance at the professional level to millions of people around the country. You would think that paying with a postcard would not require a professional service but companies are betting this is not the case.

The IRS released results from a recent survey that revealed that taxpayers view paid professional tax experts as an invaluable source of info and advice. The only entity that rated higher than paid professionals was the IRS themselves. Liberty Tax service values the trust of the public and it works hard to provide to taxpayers knowledgeable advice.

It's Time that You Acknowledge Crypto Currency. No need to be afraid - lots of places now recognize it

FitSmallBusiness.com lists the Best Ways Your Business Can Use Cryptocurrency in 2018.

It is 2018 and by now if you are unaware what Bitcoin or LiteCoin is, your financial research is limited. Cryptocurrency came in with a bang and in recent years there has been an unprecedented surge in its market value. In a matter of 5 years, the value of cryptocurrency went from 1.6 billion US dollars to 300 billion US dollars. In 2017 alone, many businesses start to accept Bitcoin with an increase of 11.4 percent in its acceptance.

Online Purchasing

More people are now making online purchasing by using their cryptocurrency and many retail and online stores now accept payments in cryptocurrency.

Some businesses find themselves uncertain on what to do with the accumulated cryptocurrency. While in some instances the cryptocurrency is converted into cash but it takes few days and fluctuation in cryptocurrency can bring it down in monetary value. The best option is to reinvest the currency back in the business.

FitsmallBusiness.com is a digital publication that has researched extensively on how businesses can spend and reinvest the cryptocurrency they are earning.

Nate Harris is the co-founder of Ease and has never previously worked at a technology start-up before. Ease is a Milwaukee-based technology and service provider that helps companies locate freelance workers that can create websites and that aid with search engine optimization. Harris welcomes competition from companies like Upwork and Fiverr and feels it is healthy for business growth.

Ease Raises $500K in funding and centers on the middle and high end level of the freelancing market. It is fairly fresh on the scene, but Harris plans on utilizing the recent profits to expand business in areas it currently operates in such as Denver, San Francisco, Phoenix and Milwaukee. Harris launched Ease in 2016 and says his company is now worth about $2 million. The two investors, CSA Partners and Gener8tor, are also based in Milwaukee. According to Harris, there are over 1,000 freelancer workers in his company's network. He also says business seems to be going as planned so far.

Winklevosses' bitcoin exchange gains approval from New York to roll out services

On Monday, the top regulator of financial services in New York announced that it will allow the Gemini Trust Company bitcoin exchange, established by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, to provide trading of Zcash - the privacy centered crypto currency. This makes it the only licensed exchange for Zcash in the world.

The Financial Services State Department said that it will also allow Gemini to provide Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin trading and custody services in the near future.

"With shrewd and comprehensive regulatory supervision, the long term expansion and development of the sector will thrive" Maria Vullo, the Financial Services Superintendent, said in an interview.

According to Gemini, Zcash deposits will start to be accepted on May 19, 2018, and trading will commence a few days later.

Market capitalization for Alphabet Inc. peaked at nearly $731 billion, which translates into a share price of around $1,073 for the NASDAQ-traded security. The firm's price-to-sales ratio also outpaced the overall average of the technology segment. Investors have taken the total market capitalization and divided it by the company's sales figures to calculate this ratio.

How GOOG Stock Maintains Value

Alphabet Inc. doesn't offer a traditional dividend in the form of additional shares or any sort of cash payment. In fact, the exchange lists their dividend payout ratio as zero for the last year. The company's shares have traded over a huge range, however, which has helped to make money for investors. Over the last twelve months, GOOG stock has been trading anywhere from around $839 to around $1,187 at any given time.