In today’s Recap, Marcello talks to us about how Europe is facing a tough mix of crises, with both weather and economic warnings piling up. In Spain, record-breaking rainfall in Valencia flooded streets, destroyed homes, and left dozens dead, marking one of Europe’s worst floods in years. As citizens continue to search for the missing, the EU is urging people to stock up on supplies, cautioning that many countries aren’t ready for a prolonged emergency. At the same time, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has sparked concern by selling a large chunk of its Apple shares, hinting at possible stormy waters ahead for the markets.
Meteorologists said a year’s worth of rain had fallen in 8 hours in parts of Valencia, Spain on Tuesday. Residents described seeing people clambering onto the roofs of their cars, as a churning tide of brown water gushed through the streets, uprooting trees & dragging away chunks of masonry from buildings. In the hard-hit rural town of Utiel, some 85 km (53 miles) inland, the Magro river burst its banks, sending up to three metres (9.8 feet) of water into homes, which are mostly single-storey. The floods have also wrecked crops and killed livestock.
Spanish rescue teams scoured flooded homes & stranded cars on Thursday for those still missing after devastating floods in the Valencia region that killed at least 95 people, with forecasts of more bad weather prompting storm alerts further north. Local authorities have not disclosed how many people are still unaccounted for after Europe’s deadliest floods in years,The floods battered Valencia’s infrastructure, sweeping away bridges, roads & rail tracks as well as submerging farmland in a region that produces about 2/3 of the citrus fruit grown in Spain, a leading global exporter of oranges.
The U.S. cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase fell -15.34% on Thursday at $179.25, in the worst day in over 2 year, after posting a Q3 earnings & revenue miss. Coinbase’s revenue came in at $1.21B, while analysts anticipated a top line figure of $1.26B. The stock is down -9.44% in the past 3 months, but up +6.45% in 2024 & +115.78% y/y, with a market cap of $44.88B.
The most recent jobs report offered a final look at the U.S. labor market ahead of next week’s election. The economy added a mere 12,000 jobs. The softer than expected October jobs report made traders more confident that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at both of its remaining policy meetings this year, rather than remaining passive.
Crude oil prices slightly rose on Friday, on reports that Iran is planning another attack on Israel through proxies. Despite the rebound, prices are still headed for modest weekly losses, due to widespread concerns over a weaker demand outlook & an oversupplied market in 2025, with traders waiting to see if OPEC+ will stick to its plan to start hiking output in December.
The e-commerce giant stock Amazon surged +6.19% on Friday at $197.93 on Q3 results that beat analysts’ expectations. The firm said on Thursday that it expects revenue in a range of $181.5B to $188.5B in Q4. Analysts had forecast $186.36B in revenue for the quarter. Amazon said operating income is expected to be between $16B & $20B during Q4. Wall Street had projected $17.49B. In Q3, Amazon posted earnings per share of $1.43 on revenue of $158.9B. Analysts had expected EPS of $1.16 on revenue of $157.29B. The firms’s cloud segment, Amazon Web Services, grew +19% y/y for the quarter. Shares are up +17.89% in the past 3 months, +30.27% in 2024 & +42.81% y/y, with a market cap of $2.08T.
A tax amnesty program in Argentina encouraging residents to deposit foreign currency kept in their homes or saved in accounts abroad drew around $18B by an initial deadline on Thursday, an official said. Libertarian President Javier Milei rolled out the plan earlier this year, to draw much-needed dollars back to Argentina’s formal economy, as it deals with a shortage of foreign currency reserves, amid a technical recession. The deposits are seen as signs of a vote of confidence in Milei’s leadershi,p as his austerity measures have helped bring down month-on-month inflation to single-digit figures. Annual inflation, however, remains in the triple digits.
Ukraine is using dozens of domestically made AI-augmented systems for its drones to reach targets on the battlefield without being piloted, a senior official said, disclosing new details about the race against Russia to harness automation. Systems that use artificial intelligence allow cheap drones carrying explosives to spot or fly to their targets in areas protected by extensive signal jamming, which has reduced the effectiveness of manually piloted drones.
Researchers have recently uncovered a secret Mayan city in Mexico which once featured an urban landscape of over 6,500 structures. The scientific team used lidar technology to create 3-dimensional models across 50 miles of land in Campeche, allowing them to map areas, not visible to the naked eye. The method revealed a 21-square-mile metropolis with iconic stone pyramids, houses & other infrastructure that have been concealed for over 3,000 years.
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