Argentina devalues peso to treat fiscal deficit 'addiction'

and thank you very much for joining me here today I'm Don ma US Stocks closed higher on Tuesday as the major indexes hit fresh highs for the year after inflation data did little to alter views for the timing of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve and of course as investors awaited the central bank's latest policy decision of the year later today here's a quick recap of markets US Stocks closed at Fresh year highs on Tuesday after inflation data came came in near expectations consumer Prices rose slightly in November when they were expected to Hold Steady though they grew 3.1% on an annual basis matching forecasts the Dow and S&P 500 added about half of 1% each while the NASDAQ climbs 7/10 markets see the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates on hold Wednesday after a two-day meeting and predict the next move will be a cut now expected in May retirement planners of America founder and CEO Ken Mora said there is still a chance the FED could go the other way we still have the risk that the FED may have to raise interest rates again in the future although that risk is declining and therefore we we see that as becoming less and less of something to be concerned about and actually interest rates staying where they are for the for a longer time than maybe the market is expecting is probably a more likely event because of that one stock mover of note was Oracle which plunged 12% % after it forecast third quarter Revenue below estimates due to the uncertain economy and competition in the cloud computing market and major news out of Argentina the country's peso opened down 54% at 801 per dollar on Wednesday this is after the country announced yesterday that it's going to weaken its peso by over half its new economy Minister said this is economic shock therapy aimed at fixing the country's worst crisis in decades here's the report Argentina on Tuesday said it is devaluing its currency the peso by over a half it's part of a series of measures coming days after new Libertarian president Javier M assumed office that his government says aim to salvage the country's deteriorating economy other measures include cutting energy and transport subsidies as well as a halt to seeking contracts for Public Works new economy Minister Luis Caputo as I said before there is no money to pay for more public infrastructure which as we all know often ends up in the pockets of politicians and business people Public Works have always been one of the main sources of State corruption and with us that will end Caputo said the plan would be painful in the short term but was necessary to cut the fiscal deficit and bring down triple digit inflation he added Argentina had recorded a fiscal deficit for 113 of the last 123 years which he said was the cause of the country's economic Wows its latest inflation rate stands at nearly 150% the economic package was welcomed by the international monetary fund which loaned Argentina $44 billion last year now the key doubt is whether mes coalition which is only the third largest Block in Congress can implement the ambitious Cuts credit rating company fidge said in a Monday commentary that M's party has little representation in the legislature adding alliances with more influential parties remain in flux and Macy's shares have soared over reported buyout offer according to the Wall Street Journal a nearly $6 billion proposal has been made for the iconic department store in response shares of Macy's shot up more than 177% the buyout offer is coming from real estate investment firm Ark house management and asset manager Brigade Capital Management they submitted a proposal to buy Macy's stock that they don't already own for $21 a share that's 21% higher than what the stock closed last Friday Mac's or Ark house had no comment in the report by The Wall Street Journal and represent atives from nearly 200 countries agreed at the cop 28 climate Summit on Wednesday to begin reducing Global consumption of fossil fuels and this is signaling the eventual end possibly of the oil age here are the details no objection it is so decided cop 28 climate Summit Nations on Wednesday agreed to a deal to quote transition away from fossil fuels which scientists say is the last best hope to avert climate cast catastrophe the historic deal was struck by nearly 200 countries gathered for the conference it marks the first time in three decades of cop climate Summits the Nations have agreed on a concerted move away from oil gas and coal which account for about 80% of global energy the future role of fossil fuels has by far been the most contentious issue at the twoe cop 28 Summit in Dubai negotiations had faced resistance from members of the OPEC oil producer group and its allies especially Saudi Arabia according to sources familiar with the discussions and an earlier draft was criticized by scores of countries for failing to call for a quote phase out of fossil fuels the new draft came after overtime negotiations at the conference stretch late into the early hours of Wednesday morning the deal calls for quote transitioning away from fossil fuels and energy systems in a just orderly and Equitable manner so as to achieve Net Zero by 2050 in keeping with the science it also calls for a global tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030 speeding up efforts to reduce coal and accelerating Technologies such as carbon capture and storage that can clean up sectors difficult to decarbonize Deals struck at un climate Summits must be passed by consensus at which point individual countries are responsible for executing on the agreements new research is confirming again what many people already knew that te are always on social media YouTube and Tik Tok came out on top in the new Pew research survey nearly one in 15s reported using the video streaming apps almost constantly for the second year YouTube dominated Tik Tok as the most widely used platform 93% surveyed said they used YouTube Compared to just 63% for Tik Tok as for Facebook and X formerly known as Twitter both have seen declines about a third of teens reported using those sites Pew research said little has changed in the last year on how teens are using social media and US Consumer Price inflation cooled further last months according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics one of the reasons for the slight drop following gas prices but even with the encouraging Trend a closer look at the numbers shows prices in some sectors are still Rising here's the story stocks in ing higher during the trading day Tuesday after the release of new figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics continued to show inflation is easing the latest Consumer Price Index Rose 3.1% for the 12 months ending in November showing a slight decline from the 3.2% in October compared to pre pandemic levels prices are still higher the good news is that inflation peaked a long time ago gas prices sank 5.8% from October driving the drop in CPI but the cost of shelter still shows no signs of easing we still have higher costs for shelter and Services overall so there's still a bit of a battle going on out there with respect to prices food prices on the other hand moderated from the month before with inflation down nearly 2/3 from its peak of 99.1% last June President Biden is celebrating progress America's had the strongest growth and now is the lowest inflation of any major economy in the world but there's more to do when taking out more volatile components like food and gas prices core CPI Rose 0.3% from October leaving the year-over-year growth rate unchanged at 4% the lowest it's been since September 2021 inflation has moderated somewhat more quickly than expected of late and so we could get a pleasant surprise that inflation is is not nearly the factor that we might have thought in the coming year but there's good news for your holiday feast this year food prices are finally Rising slower than inflation grocery store prices are up just 1.7% for the year that's much lower than the overall rate of inflation of 3.1% but there are still a few aisles where you're going to find exceptions uh for example frozen juice is up 18.6% and beef and ve prices are up 88.7% the cost to eat out is also still Rising faster than inflation and due to labor costs Rising restaurant prices are up 5.3% up until now overall food prices had outpaced inflation for nearly two years small businesses in the US have a pessimistic outlook on the future this is as owners face difficulty hiring and about concerns with inflation us small businesses sentiment Edge down to its lowest level in 6 years the national Federation of Independent Business reported its small business optimism index falling to 90.6 in November about a fourth of owners point to inflation as their single most pressing problem another major issue is filling open roles half of businesses say they're unable to find Qualified applicants owners who are expecting Better Business conditions in the next 6 months did increase by one point in November though poison control centers are seeing an uptick in calls related to Accidental overdoses of semaglutide that's the injected medication used for diabetes and weight loss like OIC and wovi from January through November poison centers reported nearly 3,000 calls involving semaglutide it's more than 15-fold increase since 2019 poison control centers say they believe dozing issues with knockoff or compounded versions of the drugs are behind many of the calls signs of a semi glutide overdose include dizziness shakiness chills impatience weakness fatigue seizures and confusion Google's stunning defeat in a legal battle with fortnite maker epic games May clear the way for rival app stores on its Android mobile system but a lengthy appeal process will likely prevent any changes for many years this is according to analysts and legal experts here's the report epic games is the company behind the fortnite video game and this week it scored a pretty epic win over Google analysts say the consequences could play out over years the California court on Monday ruled that Google's Play Store had operated as an illegal Monopoly crushing competition now epic can submit a court filing on how the problem should be fixed that could see Google which denies all wrongdoing forced to allow rival app stores on its Android operating system system The Firm could also be forced to slash the fees it charges on app sales and inapp purchases it currently takes a cut of every transaction which experts say is a very profitable business model analysts at Wells Fargo say that all puts at risk what they estimate is $1 billion in annual sales for the tech giant Apple may also face fresh questions over the power of its App Store epic lost an earlier case against the iPhone maker but is asking the Supreme Court to review the case consumers and app developers hoping for Rapid change could be disappointed though epic's case against Google will now go to appeal and legal experts say the process could take years one said no verdict was likely before 2025 the next round of the legal battle is set to begin in a San Francisco Court in January conflict climate factors and high food prices are expected to drive more people into hunger in West and central Africa next year this is according to analysis from the United Nations world food program here's more a record number of people are expected to go Hungary in Western central Africa next year the United Nations has warned 49.5 million a rise of 4% due to a combination of high food prices climate change and conflict Millions have been displaced by Insurgent violence in the Sahel region in addition to multiple ongoing conflicts in Democratic Republic of Congo allos SBA senior research adviser at the un's world food program said 80% of those currently affected by food insecurity live in Conflict zones we also witness the impacts of climate change for instance this year there have been prolonged periods of halted rainfall in certain areas resulting in significant crop losses for local farmers a wfp regional security analysis said more than two out of three households in West in central Africa cannot afford healthy diets it said the cost of a daily nutritious diet in countries like bikina Faso marlei and ner is 110% higher than the daily minimum wage to economic challenges such as soaring prices inflation and currency devaluation in some countries have made it exceedingly tough for many households to regularly ACCESS food s warned that without intervention the situation could deteriorate further in certain areas as over 2.6 million people were at risk of falling into famine and and Zara owner index saw strong holiday season trading with sales up 14% in the 6 weeks to December 11th this is what it said on Wednesday as it reported earnings in line with analyst forecasts and raised its margins outlook for the year take a look inditex is in festive mood the Zara owner reported Wednesday's sales were up 14% over the 6 weeks to December 11th the Spanish fashion giant said earnings were in line with analyst forecasts and raised its margin outlook for the year it reported a net profit of just over $4.4 billion for the 9 months to the end of October sales in stores and online were up just over a tenth slower than the near 20% growth of a year earlier inditex now sees its profit margin for the year Rising having previously said it would hold steady that optimism flows from its policy of cutting store numbers and investing in larger more attractive Outlets the firm is also trying to improve prove its Logistics to deliver online orders faster than Rivals one analyst said the company's gross margin puts profitability up to levels not seen in close to a decade but inditex did warn that a stronger Euro would trim sales by 4% this year the results came a day after it was forced to pull a marketing campaign by Zara there were calls for a boycott after some viewers saw the imagery of statues wrapped in white as evoking corpses in shrouds in Gaza in Tech shares Rose over 1% in the first hour of trade following the results meanwhile business confidence at big Japanese manufacturers hit a near 2-year high in the 3 months to December this is according to a closely watched Central Bank survey suggesting the economic conditions needed to unwind massive stimulus were falling into place let's take a closer look Japan's big automakers are leading a Revival in business optimism a closely watched survey out Wednesday showed confidence at Big manufacturers approaching a 2-year High the tank can index for those firms Rose to+ 12 over the 3 months to December that was ahead of analyst forecasts and marked a third straight quarter of improvement car makers saw some of the sharpest gains as they look forward to a weakening Yen and easing of Supply log jams sentiment at non- manufacturers also Rose it hit plus 30 improving for a seventh quarter and touching a high not seen since 1991 economists say the sector is benefiting from pent up demand following lockdowns and a Resurgence in tourism but the gloomy Global Outlook could still weigh on the economy with firms of all kinds expecting conditions to worsen 3 months ahead the numbers will be closely studied by the bank of Japan as it muls how to exit from negative interest rates Governor Kazo Eda has said he won't move until he sees evidence of sustained pay hikes the tank can suggested that could be coming showing firms still feel they face a tight labor market one Economist said there was nothing in the numbers to stop the boj acting on rates a looming election rematch next year between US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump would be closely fought this is according to new polls with both candidates saddled with profound vulnerabilities that could CA them the White House have a look a looming election rematch next year between US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump would be a closely fought contest according to a Reuters ipsos poll out Tuesday Nationwide the poll put Trump 2 percentage points up in a head-to-head matchup with 38% to Biden's 36% we need a landslide so big that the radical left cannot rig it or steal it the bigger it is but presidential elections aren't decided by the popular vote the state-by-state electoral college system used to pick presidents means that voters in just a handful of states will play a decisive role in the elections outcome and in the seven states where the election was closest in 2020 Wisconsin Pennsylvania Arizona Georgia Nevada North Carolina and Michigan Biden had a fourpoint lead among Americans who said they were sure to vote I've never been more optimistic about America's future than today we just have to remember who we are we're the United States of America the poll shows Biden an 81-year-old Democrat still saddled with voters doubts about his age and the strength of the economy the poll pointed to profound vulnerabilities for Trump Trump as well as the 77-year-old battles four criminal trials the poll found 31% of Republican respondents said they would not vote for Trump if he was convicted of a felony crime by a jury he has denied any criminal wrongdoing but the independent bid launched by Robert F Kennedy Jr an attorney and vaccine skeptic could tip the scales toward Trump the poll found that just 16% of respondents said they'd vote for Kennedy but that pulled support away from Biden growing Trump's lead to Five Points Nationwide the poll conducted online between December 5th and 11th surveyed roughly 4,400 American adults Nationwide and had a credibility interval a measure of precision of about two percentage points and that's all the stories we have today from NTD business see you next time