Central Bank Rates, Tik "Talk" & the Market Rebound.
The Fed has led global Central Banks on fighting inflation, the governments on stopping investor rout, who's going to win?
Hey Hisa fan,
The first months of 2023 have given us a taste for what even the speculators around the market could not reveal. As is often the case “bull markets” occur in the second half of the year which we is fast approaching. The price lows that often come in March or April could provide a good point for investors to kickstart their investment journey.
Central Bank Rates.
The United States Federal Reserve last week indicated to investors its continued active role in taming inflation, with both major and small banks becoming subject to its latest declaration as it raised the benchmark lending rate in the U.S by 25 basis points (0.25%). As a result, investors have been issued with a great deal of uncertainty, navigating an ever-changing landscape of financial regulations and policies.
Analysts had forecasted that the Fed would pause its rate hikes, at least temporarily, in order to assess the fallout from the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this month, in addition to the global banking system rout with one of the largest banks in Europe; Credit Suisse going down.
The FOMC maintained its outlook for a peak fed funds rate of 5.1%, implying that perhaps one more rate hike of 0.25% may be coming ahead within the year.
The Bank of England (BoE) equally raised their benchmark interest rates to 4.25% from 4.00%, the 11th consecutive increase that began on the onset of the pandemic.
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) left its benchmark one-year and five-year loan prime rates (LPR) at 3.65% and 4.3%, respectively, for the seventh consecutive month.
Byte Dance - Tik Tok
The U.S Congress grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in a (messy) five-hour testimony as momentum grows in DC to ban the ByteDance-owned platform over espionage allegations, this action could upend the social-media industry.
TikTok has been struggling to avoid a ban in the US amid mounting pressure in Washington to ban the app if its Chinese owners don't sell a stake of the company to the U.S public.
The highly popular platform developed using China-specific technology is inaccessible in China. In fact, it doesn’t exist there. Instead, there is another version of the TikTok, a sister app called Douyin.
As investors look at the possibility of a U.S. ban on TikTok, by far China’s most popular technology export, could lead to a larger trans-Pacific business wars in a direction that could have an even bigger impact on Chinese software and services companies and also create a division across the world of countries allied with the U.S. and those that would embraces tech from China.
Coffee Break.
If you're looking for a fun way to spend time with your friends while also learning more about money, there are plenty of games out there that can help. This week's game is no exception, offering a unique and engaging experience that will challenge your financial skills while providing plenty of laughs and entertainment. So gather your friends and get ready to put your money skills to the test!
Markets
Major benchmark indexes on the U.S markets posted varying returns as growing global banking industry and recession worries weighed on value stocks and small-caps, while large-cap growth stocks benefited from falling interest rates.
The S&P 500 Index gained 1.4% to close Friday at 3,970.99; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 1.2% closing the week at 32,237.53 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.7% to close Friday at 11,823.96.
Local Markets.
Large cap stocks on the Nairobi Securities Exchange rebounded, pushing the benchmark indexes on the NSE to regain lost ground.
The benchmark all share index (NASI) was up 7.52 points or 7.27% to end the week at 110.93 bps. The NSE 20 share index picked up 33.99 points or 2.22% to close the week at 1,564.16 and, the NSE 25 Share index was up 122.77 points or 4.54% to settle at 2829.05.
What cowries are we collecting this week?
Equity Group Holdings Plc [NSE: EQTY 0.00%↑ ] - The largest bank in the region by assets and balance sheet is set to release their 2022 full year results on Tuesday, our focus will be on the growth metrics and dividend returns for FY2022.
Safaricom Plc [NSE: SCOM 0.00%↑ ] - The Ethiopian subsidiary; Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia hit 2.8 million subscriber, just 6 months since it began operations. Let's watch how shareholders react after a rollercoaster week.
Global Economic Data - We will be looking at more economic data, from the U.S weekly initial jobless claims data, to the monthly closing data for local and global markets.
Disclaimer: The writer of this article owns SCOM 0.00 , HAFR , EQTY 0.00%↑ , NVDA -0.72%↓ & AAPL 2.08%↑ shares. This article does not constitute any investment recommendations. Investors and the general public are advised to do their own research before making any investment decision.