Weekly news summary for January 19 to January 25
Friday, Jan. 19: S&P 500 Posts First Record High Close Since 2022
The S&P 500 index ended the session on Friday at a record high for the first time in two years, driven by a tech rally and expectations of the Federal Reserve trimming interest rates this year.
The benchmark index closed at 4,839.81 USD to beat its previous high of 4,796.56 USD on January 2022, as a positive outlook for artificial intelligence (AI) lifted chipmakers and other major tech stocks on Friday, while the Fed sees three rate cuts this year, signaling a turnaround from its aggressive approach.
Monday, Jan. 22: Do Kwon’s Terraform Labs Files Chapter 11 in US
Do Kwon’s crypto firm Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US after the failure of its TerraUSD (USTO) stablecoin and Luna token in 2022, citing estimated assets and liabilities in the range of 100 million to 500 million USD, while it owes between 100 and 199 creditors.
The filing came a few days after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) agreed to move Kwon’s fraud trial schedule to Mar. 25, while a court filing in Delaware stated that Singapore-based Terraform Labs also intends to proceed with the expansion of its Web3 business.
Tuesday, Jan. 23: BOJ Maintains Ultra-Low Rates, Eases CPI Forecast
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) held its interest rates steady on Tuesday, keeping them at historic lows, while yield curve controls were also maintained, although the inflation outlook for this fiscal year slightly eased, with the core consumer price index (CPI) now estimated at 2.4% for the period.
The BOJ left its short-term rate unchanged at negative 0.1%, stating that the yield curve control will continue allowing the 10-year yields to fluctuate between negative 1.0% and 1%, with a 0% target, and it expects the country’s CPI to remain above its 2.0% target through fiscal 2024 before easing next year.
Wednesday, Jan. 24: Netflix Rises as Subscriber Growth Beats Forecasts
Shares in Netflix rose in premarket trading on Wednesday after the US streaming media giant saw its subscriber base grow more than expected in the fourth quarter.
Netflix’s stock climbed as much as 14% in early trading after the company reported subscriber gains of 13.12 million in three months ending Dec. 31, marking a 71% increase from the same quarter in 2022 and ending above Netflix’s estimate of around 9 million users.
Thursday, Jan. 25: Euro Above 6-Week Lows Ahead of ECB, US GDP Data
The euro traded above its lowest level in six weeks against the US dollar on Thursday as traders await the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting and the release of the fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data of the world’s largest economy which may offer some cues on upcoming interest rates.
The euro was last trading 0.12% higher at 1.0899 USD, slightly far from the 1.0822 USD logged on Tuesday, which is its lowest since mid-December, while the ECB is expected to leave interest rates unchanged, and the US GDP is anticipated to post a 2% annualized growth later in the day.
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