This is Making the Maret Move📈
Earnings, Departure of the EU, and Wall Street vs Crypto.
GM Friends & Investors,
Fun Fact:
Today is Facebook’s birthday.🎂
Facebook today has more than 2.8 monthly active users making it the most popular social media platform worldwide.
Highlights:
Massive Earnings Reports
The UK is leaving…
Wallstreet vs. Crypto
S&P 500
On Thursday, the world’s biggest companies reported earnings, and the results were felt throughout the market.
#1. Apple (AAPL +3.71%): Apple had its worst quarterly revenue decline since 2016, missing expectations for revenue, profit, and sales.
Reasons for the poor results included a strong Dollar, production issues in China, and the overall economic environment, according to CEO Tim Cook.
AAPL was down about -4% in extended trading.
#2. Amazon (AMZN +7.38%): Amazon beat estimates for its fourth quarter, with revenue of $149.2 billion versus the $145.42 billion expected. Unfortunately, it provided light guidance for the first quarter.
AMZN was down about -3.5% in extended trading.
#3. Alphabet (GOOGL +7.28%): Google's parent company fell short of estimates for the fourth quarter, missing on the top and bottom lines.
YouTube revenue was $7.96 billion instead of the anticipated $8.25 billion. The company also said it would take a charge of around $2 billion in the first quarter of 2023 related to layoffs (12,000 employees).
Economy
Yesterday, the Federal Reserve made the eighth increase in interest rates since March 2022, raising the rate by 0.25%.
Investors were looking for clues that the Fed would soon end the rate hikes, but no such indication was given. Additionally, Fed Chairman Powell stated that he does not expect to see a rate cut in 2023.
Contrastingly, markets surged after Powell's press conference, in which he declared that the process of disinflation had begun, evidenced by decreased goods prices.
Powell stated that the Fed is closely monitoring the January jobs report, expected to be released this Friday.
Around the World
The Cost of Departure from the European Union
Bloomberg Economics reports that since the U.K.'s departure from the EU in 2016, the EU's economy has been estimated to be 4% smaller than it would have been without Brexit. This results in a yearly loss of approximately £100 billion ($124 billion).
Highlighting the Impact: Businesses in the EU are predicted to suffer a decrease in investments and difficulty in finding workers by 2023.
U.K. Halts Funding
The government has ceased to finance Tech Nation, a startup accelerator program that worked to create new possibilities and advances within the tech sector, as of March 31st.
What is Tech Nation? Aiming to replicate Silicon Valley in the U.K., Tech Nation was a startup accelerator that the government funded.
A Success Story: Despite most startups not making it past the first few years, Tech Nation's accelerator programs have had a success rate of over 95%.
The organization is currently working to find potential buyers for its portfolio of assets to take charge in a new form.
Crypto
Wall Street vs Crypto
A recent JPMorgan survey revealed that an overwhelming majority of institutional traders (traders that buy and sell securities for accounts that they manage for a group or institution) have no intention of trading cryptocurrencies or digital assets this year.
Only 8% of such traders said they were currently actively trading crypto. The survey cited volatility and the lack of real-world applications as the primary causes for this stance.
The CEO of JPMorgan, Jamie Dimon, has been vocal in his criticism of Bitcoin and other cryptos, often comparing them to "pet rocks.”
However, the crypto rally continued yesterday, with Bitcoin jumping to the $23,600 mark during Jerome Powell's speech about inflation and what's to come for the economy.
Matrixport has predicted that Bitcoin could reach $45,000 by Christmas, largely due to an influx of investors before Bitcoin's "halving" cycle in March 2024.
Real Estate
High Prices
How much would you be willing to pay for a condo in Los Angeles?
The answer lies in two L.A. developers who have set the bar high, asking potential buyers to fork out between $50 million to a whopping $100 million for a single unit.
Fact: A record-breaking $22.5 million is the highest-ever price paid for a condo in the area.
What makes the condos so expensive? The condos come with an unbeatable view and are part of an ultra-luxurious project connected to the Four Seasons Private Residences. Even at the current asking price, the unfinished unit is priced over $5,700 per square foot.
Bottom line: Despite interest rates falling, the demand for high-priced condos in L.A. is still booming.
Thank you for reading! I’ll see you next Saturday!
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