For investors to begin their trading day, the following news items are the most crucial:
1. Concerns about inflation
As soon as you’ve heard this one, stop me. New information demonstrating ongoing U.S. inflation alarmed investors on Thursday. Following a new reading from the Labour Department, which revealed that the consumer price index was up 0.4% on the month and 3.7% on the year, key market indices declined.
2. One for the purse, two for the spectacle
The big screen has now seen Taylor Swift. Due to “exceptional demand,” the concert movie about the superstar’s Eras Tour opened in theatres Thursday night, one day earlier than expected. With some box office analysts projecting a $150 million opening weekend, the short run was already expected to be a blockbuster (and a dance party). A box office result of that magnitude would put the movie on par with titles like “Barbie,” “The Super Mario Bros.
3. The boss level
The remaining obstacle to the $69 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard by Microsoft was removed by UK regulators on Friday. The acquisition had been put on hold by the Competition and Markets Authority because of worries that it would reduce competition in the young cloud gaming market. The transaction may proceed, according to CMA, which noted that Microsoft had consented to sell off some of its cloud gaming rights on Friday.
4. Evacuation calls
The Israeli military has ordered residents of Gaza City to leave as unrest in Israel has lasted for almost a week, raising worries about the likelihood of an Israeli ground invasion into the region. The Israeli Defence Forces have not acknowledged such preparations, but they have progressively gathered troops near the border and, according to the United Nations, have given the approximately 1.1 million people who live in north Gaza about 24 hours, or before midnight local time, to leave the area. The evacuation requests have been rejected by Hamas.
5. The first banks
On Friday morning, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo launched the bank earnings season amid worries about declining bond holdings and increasing loan losses. In addition to reporting better-than-anticipated interest income and credit charges, JPMorgan outperformed profit forecasts. Similar to Wells Fargo, it exceeded expectations. They are the first of the third quarter results following yet another era of rising interest rates. Increased yields put stress on banks’ capital and cause their bond investments to lose value. A bit later in the morning, Citigroup releases its results.
Source (CNBC)
