Breakfast Bites - Wed Dec 21, 2022

Rise and shine Traderade family

The major news today is that Elon Musk will resign as Twitter CEO: “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.” There was no doubt that he was looking to step aside, because it was creating negative optics for Tesla, where he can’t afford to lose.

Asia and Australia

  • JGB 2Y yield turns positive for first time since 2015, bringing global era of negative rates closer to end

  • China's budget deficit hits record $1.1T on Covid woes and property slump

  • New Zealand consumer confidence drops to record low as rates rise

  • Japan warns of China's Covid situation and cuts views on factory output

Europe, Middle East, Africa

  • Russia's seaborne crude exports plunge by more than half in first full week of sanctions. The pressure on crude continues.

  • Economists anticipate UK house price fall of at least 10% next year

  • Stoxx 600 index on track to record biggest annual slump since 2018 amid concerns about damage to earnings and the economy from persistent rate hikes in addition to the war in Ukraine and the resulting energy crisis.

The Americas

  • Street strategists expect US stocks to fall back toward 2022 lows in first half of next year with more pain likely ahead

  • Ukraine President Zelenskyy expected to visit Congress in-person on Wednesday

  • US government's $1.7T spending bill contains TikTok ban on government devices

  • Nike shares rise after buoyant North America sales, boosted by discounts and promotions; FedEx steps up cost cutting but the market still liked their earnings.

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