This is a Mixed Bag💰
GM Friends & Investors,
Today is the last Saturday in January. Feb. 3rd marks the halfway point to the spring equinox from the winter solstice.
In scarier news, MSFT released their earnings this week with their slowest growth since 2016.
Highlights:
GDP Data
Warnings from the IRS
Australian Inflation?
S&P 500
Stocks rose this week following the release of GDP data that was higher than expected.
According to CFRA Research's chief investment strategist, this suggests that a mild recession may be avoided.
In terms of earnings, reports were varied. Tesla saw a surge in its stock price after posting record revenue, while IBM dropped despite beating revenue estimates for the quarter.
Economy
On Thursday, the U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.9% in the last quarter. This is slightly better than what was expected.
This is important because it shows how much people are spending. Most of the economy, about 68%, comes from how much people spend.
People spent 2.1% more during this time, which is slightly less than the previous period but still growing.
Tax Seasons Troubles
What does this mean for you? Experts suggest that your 2022 tax refund may be smaller than in previous years due to the expiration of generous pandemic relief tax breaks.
What can you expect? Generally, you should anticipate a federal refund if you have paid more taxes than you owe or have withheld more than the amount you are liable for.
A worrying reality: A Credit Karma survey revealed that nearly a third of Americans depend on tax refunds to make ends meet.
Around the World
Australia's inflation rate has hit a new 32-year high of 7.8%, with domestic and international travel costs have seen the greatest rise.
Here's a look at the country's inflation since 1990:
Staff at an Amazon warehouse in the U.K. have gone on strike due to dissatisfaction with below-inflation pay increases and tough working conditions.
Last summer, the company introduced a 50 pence ($0.56) per hour pay raise, which is only 5%, compared to the U.K.'s inflation rate of 9.2%. As one worker says, "Robots are treated better than humans at Amazon U.K."
Crypto
QuickNode, a blockchain deployment platform, recently reached an $800 million valuation after its Series B round of funding. The $60 million raised has seen the startup welcomed by the likes of Twitter, Adobe, and Coinbase.
QuickNode will use the new influx of money to further its mission of ushering in a new era of blockchain technology and startups.
Crypto markets may be in a slump, but that hasn't stopped QuickNode from forging ahead.
Real Estate
What do Rent Protection measures taken by the US Government mean?
Recently, the US Government has unveiled several initiatives to make rental payments more affordable and to foster a fairer rental market. It's worth noting that more than one-third of US households (44 million) rent.
Goldman Sachs is forecasting a further decrease in house prices in the period between now and 2023 due to the high-interest rates. Just last year, mortgage rates jumped from 3% to 6%.
The bank believes that the four major cities in the US mentioned below will experience a dip in housing prices similar to the one that occurred during the Great Recession, with a 27% drop in home prices in the US as a whole:
San Jose, CA
San Diego, CA
Austin, TX
Phoenix, AZ
What do these predictions mean for renters? We will have to wait and see.
Thank you for reading! I’ll see you next Saturday!
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