Optimism is returning to the market, with earnings and hopes of a Fed pivot serving to allay investors apprehensions. Here's a recap of a few major headlines that hit the wire over the weekend and could have a bearing on the direction of the market.
1. Doge Takes Off: Meme crypto DogecoinDOGE/USD ,which began picking up momentum last week amid a rise in risk appetite, saw an acceleration in its upward trajectory. The dog-theme currency hit an intraday high of $0.149392 on Saturday, a 78% jump from the previous session. Although the meme currency has come off this level, it still added about 40% between Friday and Sunday.
Now, an analyst has called for Doge to top the $0.50 level before the end of the year.
See Also:Elon Musk Responds After Pranksters Posing As Laid-Off Twitter Employees Fool Media Outlets
2. Elon Musk Gets Down To Business At Twitter: Following his Twitter takeover, Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk responded to queries about how he is going to shepherd the social media giant and the team there. Musk made it clear that no content changes or ban revocations will happen before a content moderation council is put in place. He also said the verification process is being revamped now, which might result in taking away the current verified users blue badge.
A Verge report suggested that Twitter under Musk will likely hike the cost of the Twitter Blue subscription from $4.00 currently to $19.99.
3. Apple In For Setback? Apple Inc. AAPL hinted at a sequential slowdown in revenue growth for the holiday quarter and this forecast could be at further risk. Hon Hai Precision Manufacturing Company Limited HNHPF , popularly called Foxconn, went into closed-looped production recently following the COVID-19 resurgence in China.
Taiwan-based Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo warned more than 10% of global iPhone production capacity is currently affected, but expressed confidence that fourth-quarter shipments wont be impacted. He noted that Cupertino has turned to its other suppliers to open production lines for its latest iPhone iteration.
4. Goldman Raises Terminal Fed Rate Estimate: Goldman Sachs economists, who were earlier predicting a terminal rate range of 4.50%-4.75%, reportedly said last week the central bank may have to go up a little bit more to 4.75%-5% and continue to raise rates beyond February. The economists premised the expectation on a trio of factors, such as high inflation, the need to cool off the economy as real income climbs and avoiding premature easing of financial conditions.
5. Trump Ally Loses In Brazilian Election: The results of the run-off election in Brazil saw the nation choosing left-leaning Luiz Incio Lula da Silva as the countrys next president over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro. Incidentally, the latter had the backing of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who even gave him the title Tropical Trump.
What Else: The Biden administration received a pat on the back from noted economists and Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman over how it handled the COVID-19 crisis.
European Central Bank'sChristine Lagarde reportedly blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the raging inflation in the region, adding that he is striving to cause chaos and destroy as much of Europe as he can.
Read Next: Investing For Beginners