In this week’s Recap, we talk about how mega-billionaire Ray Dalio warned that Bitcoin could be banned by the U.S. Government. Marcello also explains how the 10% richer are getting even wealthier by controlling 97% of the capital income.
The year 2020 saw the world suffer due to the COVID-19 pandemic & the global economy faced its worst recession since World War II. Yet, nearly 2/3 of the world’s billionaire class amassed even greater fortunes, with an increase of wealth of some 20%. Many of them will soon be relocating to countries & areas where the tax regimes & societies overall are friendlier for the mega-rich.
A giant container ship (400m-long or 1,312ft) is wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal, where 12% of global trade passes through & thus blocking 1 of the world’s busiest trade routes. Dozens of vessels are trapped, waiting for the ship to be freed, knocked off course by strong winds. The blockage sent oil prices climbing on international markets.
The United States blocked Venezuela from proceeding with its dispute over sanctions at the World Trade Organization, underscoring its rejection of Maduro as the country’s legitimate president. Venezuela had planned to request the formation of a WTO panel to rule on whether sanctions the United States imposed in 2018 & 2019 breached global trading rules.
The dispute with Germany over the Nord Stream 2 project complicates U.S. President Biden’s push to establish a more unified front among NATO allies. If the project comes to fruition, a requirement of U.S. law is to impose sanctions on firms involved in the venture, likely affecting numerous German businesses.
Shares of GameStop fell -6.55% on Tuesday to $181.75. The stock had fallen a total of -13.4% over 4 trading days. Shares in the pre-market on Wednesday down another -12% to $160.00 on fiscal Q4 profit & sales that missed analyst expectations. Shares remain up over +800% in 2021 & +4,000% year on year on a market cap of $12.6B.
U.S. existing-home sales climbed considerably in February to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.77M units, the highest since Feb 2007. Total existing home sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums & co-ops +6.5% from month before. In addition, for the 8th consecutive month, overall sales rose on a y/y basis, rising +7.2% from February 2019’s 5.38M. The median existing-home price for all types of housing was $270,100 last month.
Colombia, Mexico, South Africa and the Philippines kept their interest rates stable; The US and Brazil still the countries with the most cases of covid-19 in the world; North Korea launched 2 ballistic missiles into the sea near Japan
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