Eiffel Tower Is Closed for 4th Day as Its Workers Strike

This article describes a labor strike occurring in Paris that resulted in the Eiffel Tower being closed for 4 days as of February 22nd. Eiffel Tower workers went on strike due to the Société d’Exploitation de la Tour Eiffel's (SETE) financial management leading to insufficient funds for necessary maintenance on the monument. The catalyst of the perceived lack of funds by workers is an increase in yearly royalties paid to Paris. Paris owns the Eiffel Tower and SETE pays a yearly fee to manage and operate the tower. This significant increase in the yearly fee after the company has faced a massive loss of revenue due to COVID left unionized workers believing the maintenance fees and salaries of employees may not be affordable in regard to the Eiffel Tower. Currently the tower is behind on required maintenance to prevent it from falling into disrepair. With the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games approaching in Paris, fears have arisen that this strike may spiral into a highly publicized labor dispute. 

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/22/world/europe/paris-eiffel-tower-closed-strike.html

Fed's Waller wants more evidence inflation is cooling before cutting interest rates

 The Federal Reserve Governor Chris Waller said on Thursday that he will need "at least another couple more months" of data to cut interest rates due to inflation. He acknowledged higher than expected inflation readings for January, which questions the trajectory of prices. While Waller said he still expects the Fed to begin lowering rates at some point, he said he sees “predominately upside risks” to his expectation that inflation will drop to the Fed’s 2% goal. He also added that there are few signs that inflation will fall below 2% anytime soon. 3.3% annualized growth in GDP and an increase in employment show that a recession is not in sight anytime soon. I believe that taking this cautious approach is a good idea. With not many signs pointing to a recession, there is no reason to rush and cut rates quite yet. 

Leading Economic Indicators No Longer Forecasting a Recession

 Article Link: https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2024-02-20/leading-economic-indicators-no-longer-forecasting-a-recession

This article focuses on the Conference Board's leading economic index. This index is otherwise known as the LEI and is published monthly and include factors such as consumer spending and business investment.  For the first time in the past two years, 6/10 components of the LEI were positive. 

Economists say this is a sign that we are in fact not heading towards recession; although, we will face a much slower GDP growth by the second quarter this year. I find this indicator interesting because it takes a broader look at the economy by combining many factors.

Another thing that stood out to me was this article is one of the only ones I have seen in a while to claim that we aren't heading into some type of economic turmoil or recession. 

Cisco says it’s cutting 5% of global workforce, amounting to over 4,000 jobs

 Cisco says it’s cutting 5% of global workforce, amounting to over 4,000 jobs

This article touches on the recent layoff pattern of many big tech companies across the US. Cisco announced last week that it has plans to cut down on 5% of its global labor force to restructure its business. The 5% layoff would be eliminating 4,250 jobs from across all Cisco offices. These layoffs are in an effort to "downsize the company" They are facing a lot of financial issues as the company's shares, revenue, and net income are down from the last quarter. Their predictions for the quarter are also down around 6% as their revenue went from $12.79 billion down to $12.71 billion expected. The Cisco CEO and chairman, Chuck Robbins, has commented on these declines and says that after some guidance the company is "seeing a greater degree of caution and scrutiny of deals given the high level of uncertainty."  Overall their demand is looking "sluggish" so by taking these proactive measures, they hope to be more conservative with their forecasting and look for a higher dividend payout in the next report.

“EV Maker Rivian to Cut Salaried Workforce by 10%”

 “EV Maker Rivian to Cut Salaried Workforce by 10%”

This article discusses how Rivian, an electric vehicle maker, will cut ten percent of its salaried workforce. The company cites that vehicle output will be flat this year, citing tougher market conditions for its electric trucks. “Rivian Chief Executive RJ Scaringe said “challenging macroeconomic conditions,” including higher interest rates that make monthly vehicle payments pricier, were behind the weaker manufacturing outlook.” Moreover, electric car makers have been dialing back their investment plans for electric vehicles, citing deceleration in the growth of sales and waning consumer interest. Companies such as Ford and General Motors have also delayed or downsized their plans for battery factories. Lucid Group, an electric vehicle maker, said it will boost output to 9000 this year compared to 8500 last year with plans to build more if consumers demanded them. Although buyers are still enthusiastic about electric vehicles, they complain about charging inconveniences and high prices. Overall, U.S. electric vehicle sales rose 47 percent last year, down from about 70 percent growth in the previous year. 

https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/ev-maker-rivian-to-cut-salaried-workforce-by-10-894d7769?mod=business_lead_story

$300 Million Development Policy Approved for Ghana

    The World's Bank International Development Association (IDA), helps poverished countries by providing grants and zero or close-to zero interest loans for projects and programs that aim to help economic growth and stability. The IDA is one of the worlds largest sources of assistence for 74 of the world most poverished countries, 39 of which are found in Africa. Since being founded, IDA has given $458 billion to 114 countries. 

    On January 23rd, 2024, The World Bank offically approved a $300 million Development Policy Operation for Ghana. This policy will help maintain and grow Ghana's economy by restoring debt sustainability. This is the first of three, $300 million dollars operations for crisis response and resilience in Ghana. The main goal of the policy is to 1.) restore fiscal sustainability 2.) support financial sector stability and private sector development 3.) improve energy sector financial discipline and 4.) strengthen social and climate resilience. Ghana is looking forward to focusing on the tasks ahead and puting fourth vital efforts to maintain momentum.  

    I enjoyed reading this article because I will (hopefully) be traveling to Kenya over the summer for a summer program that would allow me to serve and shadow dentists in underserved communities. The work that is being done to progress infrastructure and economy is astounding and I think more of the world needs to look into giving their time and energy for programs that propel societal well-being. 

Link to Article 

FuboTV sues Disney, Fox, Warner Bros. over sports joint venture

    This was a very interesting article that talked about how huge streaming companies (Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros.)  are planning on doing a joint venture that could kill lots of competition in the sports broadcasting market. This is exactly the point that Fubo is making with suing them. Fubo is a relatively small company compared to these other companies with it having about 1% of the subscribers of Disney. I definitely agree with Fubo's point here, and I think this joint venture. is definitely concerning and should be stopped to avoid a monopoly. Fubo also makes the point that if only a couple of companies control the whole market it could be horrible for fans/subscribers because they would be able to jack up the price and leave the customers with no other alternatives. Overall, this joint venture is something that I find concerning and should be stopped in my opinion.  

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/20/fubotv-sues-disney-fox-warner-bros-over-sports-joint-venture.html

Capital One Is Buying Discover Financial

 

The two of the largest credit card companies in the U.S. are merging. Capital One announced monday that they will buy Discover Financial Services for more than $35 billion. 

As a result of the deal, Discover shareholders will receive 1.0192 Capital One Shares. Once the deal closes, Capital One Shareholders will hold about 60% of the combined company. 

This is a major deal for the credit card world. Capital One is capitalizing on a time where consumers are taking advantage of digital rewards programs. One reason online banks are able to offer great deals on cash back is because they do not have the brick-and-mortar costs that most traditional banks have.

Overall, everyone involved is benefitting. Discover account holders are gaining access to high yield savings accounts while Capital One is gaining a large number of card holders. After the deal, Capital one will have a market value of over $52 billion. This will add to the power in the banking world of the ninth largest bank in the US. 

Link: Capital One Is Buying Discover Financial - WSJ

Inflation Retreat: Hopeful Signs Expected With Year’s First Reading

On February 12th, reports show an inflation retreat in the U.S. Our CPI has fallen from 3.4% to 2.9% in the past year. The core CPI excluding food and energy costs, is forecast to have declined from 3.9% rate to 3.7% in December.

" Core inflation rates have generally been on a downward trend for a while now but generally doesn't necessarily mean linear or consistent – there could very well be bumps ahead,” said BeiChen Lin, investment strategy analyst at Russell Investments.

“Core inflation today is being primarily driven by shelter and wage-sensitive core services,” Lin added. “A well-documented lag between market rent prices and CPI rent measures suggests that we should see further easing in shelter inflation in 2024.”

But, he cautioned, “The core services side of the puzzle, however, might be trickier. Although wage inflation rates have generally been moderating, an unexpected repeat of the blockbuster January job creation in subsequent months could cause wage pressures to persist for longer than previously anticipated, ultimately delaying progress on core services inflation.”

https://www.usnews.com/news/economy/articles/2024-02-12/first-2024-inflation-reading-poised-to-show-retreat

U.S API Crude Oil Stock

 

On February 13th, the weekly U.S. API Crude oil stock inventory numbers were released. This report tracks the number of barrels of crude oil that the United States is holding in inventories. If the number of barrels for oil increases more than expected the market is seemingly bearish towards oil as less is being consumed, if there are less barrels than expected in inventory then the market is bullish and oil is being consumed. This weekly report allows a little glimpse into economic activity, if large stockpiles are seen then we obviously see less demand for oil, but we may also see less demand in economic growth as a whole. API is America's largest U.S trade association holding high power over the commodities market and the financial markets.

In the previous week This week marked the highest jump in crude barrel inventory since mid November of 2023. The market expected about 2.6M in inventory, but API released that there were 8.52M barrels. This immediately is a sign that the commodities market is cooling down, but a jump this high may be a sign of an economic downturn, and is something I’m sure financial analysts and commodities traders have taken note of.  

This may be due to the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine. People are fearing the United State’s ability to continue trade for oil with the many conflicts ongoing in the area. 

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/api-crude-oil-stock-change 

https://www.investing.com/economic-calendar/api-weekly-crude-stock-656 

https://www.fxstreet.com/economic-calendar/event/bcf389bd-5fe2-4bd1-b1e0-d0b3910ba944#fxs_home 

https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-prices-headed-weekly-gains-israel-rejects-ceasefire-offer-2024-02-09/