In today’s Recap, Marcello tells us how Bitcoin reached a new record high during this week of trading, also gold reached also a new historic high on Tuesday; Elon Musk is now the second richest person in the world. Musk has suffered a lost in his net worth of about $31B over the past year. There is another regional bank in the US that is facing trouble as the New York Community Bancorp halted trading on the NYSE.
Despite the present political rhetoric in the U.S. concerning inflation over time, the actual evidence is quite shocking. In January 2021, the cost of a monthly fixed 30 mortgage on a $400K home was $1,349.00. In January 2024, just 3 years later the cost was $2,148.00 at 7.09% interest, a +59.2% increase.
Britain’s Conservative government in power for 14 years announced a 10B-pound ($13B) cut in labour taxes on Wednesday, paring emergency reserves to pay for it, in what may well be the last budget, ahead of an election where the Conservatives are down by 20% in polls. The budget fell short of the big give-away, which the right wing of the party had been hoping for. Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer nonetheless said the budget was the “desperate act of a party that has failed. The rate of social security contributions is to be reduced by 2% for the 2nd time in just over 3 months, in a move worth several 100 pounds a year to some 27M workers.
The Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest in Texas history, has ravaged over 1 million acres of the Texas Panhandle. With only 15% containment, it has claimed two lives and spread into Oklahoma, scorching 31,000 acres. Reports indicate that over 80% of Texas cattle feed lies in its path. The local utility company is suspected as the likely cause.
Another regional bank finds itself in dire straits as trading of New York Community Bancorp is halted on the NYSE. The bank has acknowledged “material weaknesses” in loan oversight, sending shockwaves through the financial community. Wednesday’s plummet of more than 42% underscores the severity of the situation, with shares now down 60% since the beginning of the year.
Tesla’s Euro Gigafactory near Berlin faced an unexpected halt in operations as CEO Elon Musk labeled an arson attack nearby as “extremely dumb,” resulting in a power outage. This outage incurred significant losses for Tesla, amounting to hundreds of millions of Euros and leaving around 1,000 vehicles unfinished on Tuesday alone. The situation prompted the evacuation of the Tesla site, which employs 12,500 people, with most employees sent home until further notice.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: RSS