After US inflation statistics came in lower than anticipated, investors bought into the idea that the Federal Reserve would slow the rate at which it raises interest rates. Two Fed members have commented on recent inflation statistics showing a slowdown, stating that this would not deter the US central bank from raising interest rates further this year and next. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Fed’s most dovish policymaker before the epidemic, has said that he hopes the Fed’s benchmark interest rate will reach 3.9% by the end of this year and 4.4% by the end of 2023.
An Asian stock index rose by almost 1 per cent on the strength of a rise in technology stocks, which were also supported by advances in Hong Kong and China. After the S&P 500 achieved a three-month high and the Nasdaq 100 moved 20% above a June low, futures for both the US and Europe are trading higher.
Crisis in the UK
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reports that in July, sales and buyer demand decreased, and agents were more pessimistic about the future of the UK property market due to the cost-of-living problem. New buyer enquiries have also decreased for three consecutive months, the longest such streak since the beginning of the epidemic, and sales forecasts for the next 12 months have fallen to their lowest level since March 2020.
Forex
Due to Liz Truss’s ideas for running the BOE, the pound and British government bonds face increasing danger. Calls for a review of the BOE’s mandate and perhaps a new money supply goal have been amplified by the foreign secretary, who is now in the lead in the campaign to succeed Boris Johnson as prime minister. Despite the hazy statements, experts and investors are paying more consideration to a danger that has not yet been included in market prices.
Cryptos
Ethereum’s developers have been working on implementing a new network security architecture called proof of stake. The new technique does away with the need for energy-intensive mining and instead has users utilise their current supply of ether to validate transactions and create new tokens. Reduced energy use should result in quicker financial transactions.
The Ethereum Core Developers are meeting on Thursday to talk about when exactly they’ll release the update. Previous projections were that the merger would become official around the middle of September.
Over the previous 30 days, ether’s value, the native currency of the ethereum blockchain, has increased by about 80%, with a 10% increase in the last 24 hours alone. It is now trading at roughly $1,875. Nonetheless, annual declines of around 50% persist.
Stocks To Watch Today
After reporting profits that blew away Wall Street’s expectations on both the top and bottom lines, thanks in large part to robust spending at Disney theme parks, the company’s stock price jumped more than 5% after the closing bell. In addition, the number of people who signed up for Disney+ during the quarter grew to 152.1 million, more than the 147 million predicted.
Disney also said that it would increase the price of Disney+ without advertisements while setting the monthly fee for its new ad-supported tier at $7.99.