Feel the Heat: Inflation Climbs
Market Sizzle: Inflation Spikes, Tech Giants Profit, Oil Stumbles, World Bank Warnings
Hey there, Josh here from sunny Miami, FL!
Can you believe it? James Cameron, the mastermind behind the menacing Skynet in "The Terminator," recently mused that an advanced AI might one day direct movies like him.
But, he chuckled, it won't be stealing any Oscars from Schwarzenegger anytime soon. Makes you wonder, if robots start making movies, what would a popcorn machine dream about?
Inflation Surges, Shaking Markets to the Core
Prices are still too high, folks! The Federal Reserve says inflation rose 2.7% in March from last year. That's more than their 2% target. The main prices, without food or energy, went up 2.8%. People thought it would be a bit lower.
The news made bond markets nervous. It showed prices are climbing faster than expected. Prices from February to March rose 0.3% too.
A report last Thursday made things clearer but calmer. It showed that prices in January were higher than first thought. This calmed people who were worried about March's numbers.
Everyone thought the Fed might lower rates this year. But with prices staying high, that might not happen. Now, only a few people think the Fed will keep rates the same all year.
Oil Titans Stumble as Profits Plunge
Exxon Mobil and Chevron, two oil giants, had a dip in profits. They made $13.7 billion together. That's a lot but not as much as before. Prices for natural gas went down. Making fuel didn't earn as much either.
Exxon got $8.2 billion. That's 28% less than last year. Chevron did a bit better than expected. They earned $5.5 billion, down 16%.
Oil and gas prices were high before. Now, they're more stable. Exxon and Chevron need to keep costs low and make more oil and gas.
Exxon's oil work in Guyana helped them some. They made $1 billion more than thought. Chevron is also doing more oil work around the world.
Oil prices went up this year. This helped Exxon and Chevron's stock prices go up too. But, investing in oil is tricky. People aren't sure how long oil will be important.
AI Surge Powers Massive Tech Gains
Microsoft and Alphabet, the big tech names, are doing great thanks to AI. They made a lot more money because companies want their cloud services. Their value jumped by $250 billion just yesterday. This is good news for them and their stock prices.
Google and Microsoft spent a lot on AI, but it's paying off. Google also made more from ads. People are still using Google a lot, even with new AI chatbots around.
Other tech companies like Amazon and Nvidia are also seeing benefits from AI. They got a small boost in their stock prices too.
Big tech companies will spend a lot more this year on AI. For example, Google plans to spend $48 billion. Microsoft's spending is up 79% from last year.
People say if you're not using AI in your business, you might fall behind. AI is a big deal, and it's changing how companies work.
World Bank Sounds Alarm: High Prices Here to Stay
Energy and raw materials won't keep prices low much longer, the World Bank says. These prices used to help lower inflation, but that's changing.
Prices of things like oil and metals have stopped falling. They dropped 40% last year, which helped reduce global inflation. Now, they've leveled off. This means interest rates might stay high.
Prices might only drop a little over the next two years. This is bad news for banks that want to lower interest rates. The high prices and slow economic growth are starting a new tough time, similar to what happened after the 2008 crisis.
Also, copper prices might go up because it's needed for electric cars and power grids. More spending on energy could keep prices high. Tensions in the Middle East could also raise the prices of gold and oil.
Quick Sizzles:
Insider Trading Crackdown: A Frankfurt court has sentenced a former adviser to over three years in jail for insider trading, ordering him to return €24 million in illicit gains. He profited massively from confidential stock tips over four years.
Copper Prices Skyrocket: Copper futures have soared to a two-year high, driven by sanctions on Russian metals, tight market conditions, and soaring demand. This surge reflects growing concerns over supply shortages.
G7’s Bold Energy Storage Plan: The G7 aims to boost global electricity storage sixfold by 2030, addressing the challenge of maintaining power with intermittent renewable sources. This ambitious target highlights efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.
Yen Plummets, BoJ Unfazed: The Japanese yen has hit a 34-year low, but the Bank of Japan remains undisturbed, attributing no significant impact on inflation. Despite market turbulence, the central bank has no immediate plans to adjust its monetary policy.
Mining Giant Under Siege: Anglo American faces potential buyout or breakup pressures after rejecting a £31bn bid from BHP. Activist investors circle, forecasting a turbulent future for this mining stalwart.
That’s this weekends Market Sizzle! Enjoy the rest and relaxation.
If the people elect Joe Biden and inflation continues, open boards, no oil independence, interest rates, no crackdown on crime, kangaroo courts as now, don't stop insider trading for all the politicians, communist news channels, no freedom of anything just a slave to the elite, GOOD BYE USA AND THE FREE WORLD.
The WEF under Klaus Schwab will take over as per their 20230 addenda make no mistake.
The Democ-rats will see to it that, we will OWN NOTHING AND BE HAPPY.
So if you want nothing and be a low life to the elite VOTE DEMOCRAT AND YOU WILL HAVE ALL OF THE ABOVE.
Use you head PLEASE, only one way to SAVE the USA and the WORLD is to VOTE REPUBLICAN and that is DONALD J. TRUMP WHO WILL SAVE THE USA AND THE WORLD.
EVERYONE PLEASE WAKE UP FOR YOUR SAKE AND YOUR CHRILDREN.