It gets Worse before It gets Better
CPI, Interest Rates, and TikTok??
Gm friends and investors.
US lawmakers propose a new bill to ban TikTok this week.
For years the US has worried about American privacy under the Chinese government's influence on that app.
Looks like they are finally getting around to doing something about it.
( I can already hear the cry of whiny teens)
Highlights
The Markets get BEAT
The Fed raised rates
Shaq is just a hater
The S&P 500
The Markets were a blood bath this week, with every major index reporting lower.
On Thursday, stocks saw their worst day in the market in over 3 months.
The fed raised interest rates once again and said that rate hikes will most likely continue into 2024 the way they see it.
The Economy
CPI came in this week lower than expected but still rose.
CPI rose 0.1% from the previous month and 7.1% from a year ago. Which is better than the 0.3% increase economists expected.
This means that prices still aren’t cooling down the way we need them to.
The Fed had its December FOMC meeting, where they raised rates by 50 basis points, breaking the 75 basis point chain.
The Fed officials also expect to keep raising rates throughout 2023 and stop in 2024.
Meaning the battle is far from over yet.
And are we going into recession??
It depends on who you ask.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is optimistic about 2023.
“I believe by the end of next year, you will see much lower inflation if there’s not an unanticipated shock.”
She also said the same thing last year. So take everything with a grain of salt.
Around the World
According to a new report, The US Commerce Department plans to blacklist over 20 Chinese chip companies.
What does this mean?
The blacklist would prevent those companies from buying various American components.
Including the largest chip manufacturer in China, Yangtze Memory Technologies.
Further increasing the trade tension between the US and China.
Crypto
Wednesday, Shaquille O’Neal, a known spokesperson for FTX, had some less-than-positive words to say about the industry.
“A lot of people think I am involved, but I was a paid spokesperson for a commercial.” - O’Neal said.
Shaq has made it super clear he was only a celebrity doing an ad and that he doesn’t believe in crypto at all.
Lesson Learned:
Never meet your heroes.
Real Estate
According to redfin economists, the housing turnover predicts that home sale activity will drop to the lowest level since the 1980s.
What does that mean?
They are predicting that home sales will drought, and buyers and sellers will both retreat.
Redfin projects only 32 out of 1,000 households will sell their home in 2023.
Leaving many home buyers underwater…
A large number of people who recently bought a home discovered they owe more money on their property than it’s worth.
About 250,000 people who took a mortgage out this year are now “underwater.”
Thank you for reading!
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