In this week’s recap, there are two main topics: The prospect of a Russian attack on Ukraine rose & the more aggressive monetary policy by the US Fed. NATO said it was putting more forces on standby & reinforcing Eastern Europe with additional ships & fighter jets, in what Russia has denounced as Western hysteria, in response to its 100,000 buildups of troops on the Ukraine border to the north, east & south of the country. About 8,500 U.S. troops were put on heightened alert & were awaiting orders to deploy to the region, should Russia invade Ukraine. World markets ended the week mostly negative, however, the US market recovered a bit.
Bitcoin fell -7.8% to $33,070 early Monday morning later falling as much as -10%, some -20% over the past week, wiping out $1T in cryptocurrency market valuation since November. Later in the day came a rebound for Bitcoin, that exceeded over +10%, bringing the leading cryptocurrency back above +$36,500.00.
On Tuesday, the IMF lowered its economic forecasts for China, the United States & the global economy. Stated the uncertainty over the inflation, the pandemic, supply disruptions & U.S. monetary tightening posed even further risks. Global growth projected for 2022 is now +4.4%, -0.5% lower than previously forecast, mainly due to downgrades for China & the U.S. Global growth is expected to slow to +3.8% in 2023, which is a +0.2% uptick, from the previous forecast in October.
Oil prices pulling at 7-year highs this week; Breyer may retire from his position on the Supreme Court in June; seventh consecutive decline in U.S. lumber futures; precious metals rise in price as investors seek safe havens; Coup d’état and border closure in Burkina Faso on Monday; world’s ten richest men saw fortune double during a pandemic; Malaysian palm oil futures fell from a record high on Monday; DC Asks People To Limit Supermarket Purchases As Empty Shelves Persist.
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