Wall Street Is Battered by Rising Fear about the Economy

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The S&P 500 plunged nearly 9 percent in April, its worst monthly decline since March 2020, as rising interest rates and high inflation raised concerns about consumer sentiment.

April wound up being the worst month for Wall Street since the March 2020 panic over the coronavirus, capped by a plunge in stocks on Friday.

The S&P 500 fell 8.8 percent for the month, and is down more than 13 percent in 2022, a drop that shows many investors are coming to the same conclusion: The economy is about to take a hit, and everywhere they look, they see trouble ahead.

Runaway inflation, and the interest rate increases meant to contain it, will make life harder for consumers. A severe Covid lockdown in China and the invasion of Ukraine are worsening disruptions in the flow of goods across borders, contributing to rising food and energy prices, and threatening corporate profits.

On Friday alone, the S&P 500 slid 3.6 percent after the tech giants Amazon and Apple reported their results for the start of the year, crystallizing fears of rising costs and supply constraints. Analysts say Wall Street’s pessimism isn’t likely to end until the major concerns are resolved, and when that will happen seems impossible to know. » | Coral Murphy Marcos | Friday, April 29, 2022

Concern over Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover Wipes $126bn Off Tesla Value

THE GUARDIAN: Fears that carmaker’s CEO may have to sell shares to fund $44bn acquisition of social network

Investors have wiped $126bn (£100bn) off Tesla’s value amid concern that Elon Musk may have to sell shares in the electric carmaker to fund his personal contribution to his $44bn acquisition of Twitter.

Tesla stock has been targeted despite the company not being involved in the bid but Musk, its chief executive and largest shareholder, is part-funding the Twitter deal with $21bn of his own equity and a further $12.5bn loan secured against his Tesla stake.

The 12.2% drop in Tesla’s shares on Tuesday equated to a $21bn drop in the value of his Tesla stake, equal to the cash stake he committed to the Twitter deal. » | Guardian staff and agency | Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Endlich gibt es wieder Zinsen

Bild: THOMAS FUCHS
ANLEIHEN WIEDER ATTRAKTIV
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG: Zwei oder drei Prozent für Anleihen – das ist jetzt wieder normal. Sparer müssen dafür noch nicht einmal große Risiken eingehen.

Die Anleihemärkte stehen gewöhnlich im Schatten der Aktien. Doch jetzt sind sie mit voller Wucht in den Mittelpunkt der Aufmerksamkeit ge¬rückt. Dort tut sich unglaubliches, längst vergessenes. Die Renditen lassen in einem irren Tempo die vielen Jahre mit negativen Zinsen hinter sich. 2014 waren sie erstmals unter null gerutscht. Noch bis Ende Januar und noch einmal Anfang März notierten sie unter dieser Schwelle. Und jetzt nur wenige Monate später bringen sie fast ein Prozent im Jahr.

Das ist noch nicht viel, aber derart schnell steigende Zinsen haben Anleihen seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr erlebt. Es ist wahrhaft eine heftige Trendwende, die sich da gerade ereignet. Denn die Sparer können sich erstmals wieder seit Langem mit Anleihen befassen. Es gibt wieder Zinsen aufs Geld – ein neuer Zustand, der eigentlich historisch der Normalfall ist. So haben wir es in der Schule gelernt. » | Von Dyrk Scherff, Redakteur im Ressort „Wert“ der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung | Sonntag, 24. April 2022

How London Became the Dirty Money Capital of the World | FT Film

Apr 22, 2022 • Russian oligarchs and companies have been investing in London for two decades, encouraged by British politicians of all stripes, but critics say the 'London laundromat' cleans dirty money from Russia and across the globe. The FT examines why it took Russia's invasion of Ukraine to put the issue in the spotlight and whether new sanctions and measures to tackle the problem go far enough

Elon Musk Offers to Buy Twitter for $54.20 a Share.

Elon Musk said his offer to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share represented a 54 percent premium over the share price on the day before he began investing in the company in late January. | Pool photo by Patrick Pleul
THE NEW YORK TIMES: Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share, just weeks after he became the social media company’s largest shareholder.

Mr. Musk said this was a “best and final offer,” representing a 54 percent premium over the day before he began investing in the company in late January, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. It would value the company at about $43 billion.

If the offer is not accepted, Mr. Musk said he would “need to reconsider my position as a shareholder,” according to a letter sent to Bret Taylor, Twitter’s chair, on April 13 and enclosed in the filing. “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”

Twitter shares were 11 percent higher in premarket trading. On Wednesday, the closing price was $45.85. » | Eshe Nelson | Thursday, April 14, 2022

Tesco Vows to Rein in Prices as Profits Treble

GETTY IMAGES
BBC: Tesco profits more than trebled last year amid rising sales and a fall in Covid-related costs.

The UK's largest supermarket chain reported pre-tax profits of £2.03bn, up from £636m the previous year.

Group sales, excluding fuel, rose by 2.5% to £54.8bn, while in the UK retail sales rose by 2.3% year on year.

However, Tesco warned of "significant uncertainties" and said performance would be affected by the the investment needed to keep prices down.

Chief executive Ken Murphy said: "Clearly, the external environment has become more challenging in recent months.

"Against a tough backdrop for our customers and with household budgets under pressure, we are laser-focused on keeping the cost of the weekly shop in check - working in close partnership with our suppliers, as well as doing everything we can to reduce our own costs." » | Wednesday, April 13, 2022

USA : l'inflation de mars attendue «extraordinairement élevée»

LE FIGARO : L'inflation du mois de mars aux États-Unis, qui sera publiée mardi, devrait être «extraordinairement élevée», a averti lundi la porte-parole de la Maison Blanche, Jen Psaki, lors de son point presse quotidien. » | Par Le Figaro avec AFP | lundi 11 avril 2022

Thomas Piketty Thinks America Is Primed for Wealth Redistribution

THE NEW YORK TIMES: In 2013, the French economist Thomas Piketty, in his best seller “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” a book eagerly received in the wake of the 2008 economic collapse, put forth the notion that returns on capital historically outstrip economic growth (his famous r>g formula). The upshot? The rich get richer, while the rest of us stay stuck in the mud. Now, nearly a decade later, Piketty is set to publish “A Brief History of Equality,” in which he argues that we’re on a trajectory of greater, not less, equality and lays out his prescriptions for remedying our current corrosive wealth disparities. (In short: Tax the rich.) If the line from one book to the other looks slightly askew given the state of the world, then, Piketty suggests, you’re looking from the wrong vantage point. “I am relatively optimistic,” says Piketty, who is 50, “about the fact that there is a long-run movement toward more equality, which goes beyond the little details of what happens within a specific decade.” » | David Marchese | Photograph: Christopher Anderson/Magnum, for The New York Times | Friday, April 1, 2022

How Putin’s Demand for Ruble Payments for Gas Will Play Out (w/ Richard Wolff)

Mar 30, 2022 • Germany buys 40% of its gas from Russia, via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. These contracts are in euros and dollars, yet Russia is now demanding payment in Roubles. Germany has declined and warned that there may be shortages and rationing of gas.

Chris Hedges | Richard Wolff: The Future of the American Economy

Martin Lewis: ‘We Need Political Intervention on Cost of Living’

Personal finance expert Martin Lewis has been campaigning for government intervention for disabled people and those on lower and middle incomes.

Speaking to Radio 5 Live’s Tony Livesey, Martin said many people have tightened their belts “to the point that they can’t be tightened anymore, and the only room, therefore, is political intervention.”

Martin highlighted the plight of disabled people who “have to keep all types of medical equipment on 24 hours a day.”

“For God’s sake, we need to help them… this is not a party political point, this is a humanitarian point,” Martin added.

His comments came as the energy price cap rise came into effect, meaning millions of people will be paying more for their energy bills.

This clip was originally broadcast on 5 Live Drive, Thursday 31 March 2022.