Global market update and executive summary of tech industry news headlines, brought to you Hunter Muller and the editorial team at HMG Strategy.
Despite Turbulence and Uncertainty, S&P 500 Heads for Winning Week and Goldman Sachs ‘Crushes’ Wall Street Expectations
It’s always a good sign when markets pay attention to the underlying numbers. And when investors looked at the numbers this week, they apparently liked what they saw.
“U.S. stock indexes rose on Friday as better-than-expected third-quarter earnings reports set the S&P 500 on track for a winning week,” write Hannah Miao and Pippa Stevens of CNBC. “The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 310 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 added 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4%.”
One of the world’s leading investment banks also surged in early trading. “Goldman Sachs posted Friday third-quarter results that exceeded analysts’ expectations, as investment banking revenue surged nearly 90%, and the bank reaped record fees from equities financing,” writes Hugh Son of CNBC. “Profit at the bank surged 63% to $5.28 billion, or $14.93 a share, as revenue climbed 26% to $13.61 billion. Shares of the New York-based bank rose 2.4%.”
Apple Will Likely Cut Production Targets for iPhone 13 as Chip Shortage Continues
Chip shortages and supply chain woes are forcing major manufacturers to rethink their production goals.
“Apple Inc. is likely to slash its projected iPhone 13 production targets for 2021 by as many as 10 million units as prolonged chip shortages hit its flagship product, according to people with knowledge of the matter,” writes Debby Wu of Bloomberg News. “The technology giant is one of the world’s largest chip buyers and sets the annual rhythm for the electronics supply chain. But even with strong buying power, Apple is grappling with the same supply disruptions that have wreaked havoc on industries around the world.”
Amazon Shifts Remote Work Policy, Offering Workers Greater Flexibility
Amid uncertainty over the impact of the pandemic, another major firm is modifying its remote work policies.
“Amazon is shifting its approach to remote work again, giving its workers more control over how much time they spend in the office and opening the door for more corporate workers to continue working from home,” writes Rishi Iyengar of CNN Business. “The company will now allow individual teams to decide which policy works for them, ranging from a full-time return to office life to remaining mostly remote, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a note to employees on Monday.”
Boldly Going: Space Tourism Takes Another Leap Forward with ‘Captain Kirk’ as a Passenger
The space tourism business took yet another leap forward this week as a celebrity who is closely identified with the idea of interplanetary travel touched the edge of space and returned safely to Earth.
“Famed Star Trek actor William Shatner and a crew of three fellow passengers successfully flew to the edge of space and back (Wednesday) morning on Blue Origin’s New Shepard tourist rocket,” writes Loren Grush of The Verge. “Flying alongside Shatner today were two paying customers and a Blue Origin employee. They included Chris Boshuizen, co-founder of small satellite company Planet Labs, and Glen de Vries, co-founder of Medidata, a software company. Audrey Powers, vice president of mission and flight operations at Blue Origin, represented the company on the flight.”