Global Overview
The Worst GDP Slump in 300 years
Bank of England has reported the largest UK economic slump in more than 300 years. The economy has plummeted by 9.9% in 2020 amid the global pandemic and is more than double of GDP shrinkage that has occurred during the financial crises of 2009.
As BOE forecasts the country’s GDP to shrink by another 4% in the first quarterof 2021, the overall outlook is positive with a strong recovery projected by the end of the year as the country is set to open up again.
Silicon Valley War
Facebook has been preparing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple for months now, and Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg are publicly exchanging blows. As Facebook aimed at monetizing user data on all possible devices and platforms, meanwhile, Apple is concerned with this move and has declared the protection of privacy, but within its ecosystem.
On the other hand, Facebook’s founder accuses Apple of tracking their own competitive interests and engaging in unhealthy competitive practices.
Capital Markets
Equities
| PX Last | 1 Week | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | |||
| S&P | 3 871.74 | 1.24% | 5.58% |
| NASDAQ | 13 777.74 | 2.24% | 9.69% |
| Europe | |||
| Euro Stoxx 50 | 3 642.12 | 0.91% | 3.19% |
| FTSE 100 | 6 503.72 | 1.32% | -0.19% |
| DAX | 14 060.29 | -0.02% | 2.10% |
Fixed Income
| 10 Year | Week* | YTD* |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3.84% | 32.31% |
| United Kingdom | 7.35% | 174.1% |
| Germany | 4.21% | 25.18% |
| Switzerland | 6.29% | 37.14% |
| *Change in sovereign debt Yield | ||
SEC Targets Retail Investors
Securities and Exchange Commission, at last, has decided to get involved in yet another social media-fueled trade. SpectraScience, is a penny stock company with a market cap of about $11 million has seen a surge of up to 450% over the month. The company has not filled earnings reports in a few years and does not seem to have any activity, although retail investors have flooded its trading volumes.
As the GameStop saga has been evolving in the past month, the SEC has decided to halt trading this time amid a suspected attempt to manipulate stockprices.
A Wild Ride.
With Biden’s administration in the office, analysts have been eager for big announcements on cannabis stocks, which has led to a significant surge in Pot Stocks Prices. Since Investors have been betting on chances that federal cannabis laws will be inevitably changed, Canadian marijuana stocks such as Tilray, Aurora Cannabis, and Aphria surged more than 20% with a sudden drop on Thursday.
The crush in prices is associated with market correction as well as a prior run-up linked to Reddit retail investors that have created high fluctuations. While POTUS does not fully support cannabis legalization on the federal level, his administration weighs in on decriminalization.
Private Equity & Venture Capital
Matching IPO
The Blackstone-backed operator of dating services has raised $2.2 billion in its recent IPO. Bumble, famous for its couples matching approach where a woman requires to send the first message, has exceeded the proposed price range of $37-39 per share and IPOed at $43.
Company has posted 9 months revenue of $376 million in 2020 and a net lossof $84.1 million. Bumble had reached 42 million active users in the same period. In late 2019 the company was sold for $3 billion to Blackstone by Russian entrepreneur Andrey Andreev.
VC’s target Health & Wellness
Health & wellness tech sector is on a rise, increasing its capital raised by 60% in the fourth quarter of 2020. The year’s total venture capital funding in the sector has reached $8.3 billion.
The spike is associated with digital adoption as it is accelerated by the focus on patient-driven care, while healthcare enterprise is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025.
Commodities & Digital Assets
| PX Last | 1 Week | YTD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| WTI Crude | 62.71 | 6.58% | 22.74% |
| Gold | 1 814.11 | 1.68% | -2.87% |
| XBT/USD | 37 858 | 27.08% | 78.05% |
King of Bitcoin
Bitcoin has hit a new all-time high, as CEO of Tesla announced the adoption of cryptocurrency as well as $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin. SEC filing has disclosed that Tesla has purchased cryptocurrency for about 11% of its cash reserves as they seek to diversify their return on cash.
Musk is one of the frontrunners and avid supporters of digital assets, particularly Bitcoin. His tweets have famously spiked crypto prices and increased retail investor’s interest.
