What's up, Market Movers! Welcome to the podcast where we serve up a curated, snackable summary of the latest news, trends and financial models, giving you all the intel you need to make better decisions when it comes to thinking about your money, protecting your money, and building wealth. For more, visit us at MarketMoversDaily.com But now for your market mover's, daily update for today, Tuesday, February 14th, 2023. Is copper the new oil?
Copper prices surge as industry shifts to green energy. As the world moves towards a greener future, industrial metals such as copper, are poised to benefit from the growing political capital invested in the decarbonization and net zero energy transition trend. Copper is widely used in construction and machinery and is now being viewed as the "new oil". Analysts predicts short-term strength and a long-term generational shift in copper prices.
TikTok's, Parent Co. ByteDance takes on Meta in a virtual reality battle. ByteDance Limited is making waves in the VR headset market, snagging market share from Meta Platforms, Inc. It's VR company Pico is now the second largest player in the global market offering personal VR headsets in Europe and Asia, where Chinese devices are more widely accepted. The company is poised to challenge Meta's dominance in the space. Uber takes things to the cloud with Google and Oracle.
Uber has signed seven year deals with Google Cloud and Oracle to move its IT completely off its data centers in the coming years. Kamran Zargahi, Uber's Senior Director of Technology Strategy stated that over 95% of Uber's IT is currently housed in these data centers. The move to cloud will allow the San Francisco based ride hailing company to operate more efficiently and cost effectively. Mixed US futures ahead of inflation data release.
Investors are keeping a close eye on Tuesday's release of US consumer price data as it could determine whether the inflation battle is over. Wall Street equity futures are mixed with the: S&P 500 barely higher, the Dow Jones Industrial Average flat, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 advancing just 0.4%. Traders are weighing the potential impact of the inflation data on the Federal Reserves rate pivot. Amazon squeezes more from its merchants.
As sales growth slows and costs rise, Amazon is taking a larger cut of each and every sale from its nearly 2 million small business sellers. For the first time, Amazon's average cut surpassed 50% in 2022, according to a study by Marketplace Pulse. With more and more businesses relying on the online marketplace, Amazon maintains its dominance and is looking for every possible way to increase net margins. What to watch this week? Qatar poised to make bid for Manchester United.
A Qatari consortium is preparing to submit an initial bid for English Premier League Football Club, Manchester United in the coming days. The move would solidify Qatar's desire to become a major player in the global sports arena. With the backing of wealthy investors, the bid is expected to be a significant offer for the football club. Surprise, surprise more cuts. Twilio to cut 17% of its workforce.
Twilio, the cloud communications software maker will lay off approximately 1,500 employees or 17% of its workforce. The cuts come after 11% of the workforce was laid off as part of a restructuring plan in September. In an email to employees, CEO Jeff Lawson stated that the cuts were necessary for the company to succeed. Could this twist plunge the housing market back into a freeze?
The market typically picks up after the holidays and then takes off in the spring, but on the precipice of the busy season, rising mortgage rates could drive the market back to a standstill. Large swings in rates often unnerve potential buyers and increases erase any savings they might have found just weeks ago, an extremely frustrating experience for buyers. On the flip side, some say real estate inventory is set to pick up now and see more sales.
BowTied Bull says that in the end, if you're focused on the southeast region, just sit back and wait and get ready for Q4 or so of this year. Since real estate is seasonal, it means you should naturally see prices and transactions go up in spring versus winter. UK semiconductor industry fights for government support. UK semiconductor bosses are calling on the government for subsidies as they fear that some chip firms may be forced to move overseas.
The US and EU have announced multi-billion dollar packages to boost domestic chip production leaving the UK at a disadvantage. Without similar support, the country's competitiveness in the semiconductor industry is at risk. And that caps off your snackable new summary for the day. But now what? What can you do with this new found intel? How can you wield this information to protect and grow your money? The first thing you can do is head over to MarketMoversDaily.com and subscribe.
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