This week, Marcello talks about how U.S. aid money is once again under scrutiny, with growing concerns over corruption and mismanagement. Meanwhile, Trump hit the brakes on his trade war (at least for now) pausing new tariffs on Mexico and Canada, which sent markets swinging. And gold? It just smashed through record highs, climbing past $2,900 an ounce as investors scramble for safe-haven assets.
Markets had a wild start to the week after Trump’s tariff threats. The Dow slid 0.99% to 44,303.40, the S&P 500 dropped 0.95% to 6,025.99, and the NASDAQ took the biggest hit, down 1.36% to 19,523.40. International markets were mixed, with Spain jumping 2.58% while Argentina’s Merval tanked 6.13%. Bitcoin also took a hit, sliding 5.9% to $96,161 as volatility ramped up again.
Gold continued its run, gaining 2.13% to a new record high at $2,900, while silver was up 1.62% to $31.89. Oil prices, on the other hand, dropped, with U.S. WTI crude down 2.15% to $71.00 and Brent falling 2.81% to $74.66. In Argentina, dry weather is wreaking havoc on crops, forcing the country to slash its grain production forecasts. Over in Europe, defense spending hit 1.9% of GDP last year, up 30% from 2021, but Trump wants NATO allies to go even further, pushing for a 5% target—something no country, not even the U.S., currently meets. Meanwhile, the Bank of England cut interest rates by 0.25%, bringing rates to 4.5% and hinting at more cuts ahead.
In the U.S., factory activity expanded in January for the first time in over two years, but job creation wasn’t as strong as expected. Nonfarm payrolls rose by just 143,000, well below December’s 307,000. China, never one to back down from a tech fight, launched an antitrust probe into Google. In the markets, PayPal got crushed, falling 13.17% after reporting slowing growth in card processing, while Expedia soared 17.27% on strong earnings. Spotify had a big week, jumping 13.24% after posting its first full year of profitability, with net income hitting $1.18 billion. On the other hand, Google missed revenue expectations and fell 7.29%, though Alphabet still announced plans to invest $75 billion in AI next year.
China is stepping up its trade war, placing new export controls on rare earth metals crucial for electronics and military equipment. It also slapped a 10% tariff on electric trucks coming from the U.S., which could be bad news for Tesla’s Cybertruck in China. In Greece, hundreds of people swarmed the port in Santorini after a string of earthquakes shook the region. Meanwhile, Greenland’s ruling party is pushing for an independence vote after the next general election. And here’s something to keep an eye on: Earth’s oceans are heating up faster than ever. Back in the late ‘80s, ocean temps were rising by about 0.06°C per decade. Now, that number has jumped to 0.27°C, with 2023 and early 2024 breaking records for 450 straight days. El Niño played a role, but the trend is hard to ignore.
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